However, Zen didn’t care about the particulars of that and swung his sword a second and third time, cornering Shiltz.
“You’re right,” said Zen. “I am nothing more than a mere government official. There’s no way my voice would reach the emperor. However, the golden dragon divine god is seeing His Majesty clear as day!”
As the first emperor Julian’s sworn friend and now the empire’s guardian, the dragon king was still keeping its promise to its friend to this day. Emperor Julian had stated that if the golden dragon deemed his descendants no longer fit to rule Catalan, he wanted the golden dragon to use its godlike magic to destroy the imperial family.
“What of it? Spewing gossip is disgraceful enough as it is. The golden dragon divine god does not seek perfection from the emperor, and the preceding emperors haven’t been perfect either,” Shiltz objected while nimbly swinging his body left and right, dodging Zen’s slashes. “While the fourth emperor, Emperor Jemma, was skilled in economics, he had a terrible drinking habit that led to an incident in which eight court ladies died. The eighth emperor, Emperor Luke, indulged in his favorite young mistress and neglected government affairs, ruining his reputation. Even so, the golden dragon divine god didn’t deem them unfit to rule the empire! The present emperor killing one imperial princess is nothing!”
“Don’t presume a mere human can tell what the gracious dragon king is thinking.” The point of Zen’s blade skimmed Shiltz’s face, leaving behind a vertical gash. “Nobody knows how much more mischief the golden dragon divine god will overlook, nor do they know when its patience will end. Does the emperor truly understand how terrifying that is?!”
Zen truly had no right to speak about politics. However, he’d known Aness and Heinri well. He knew better than anyone how upright their reign had been.
“Even so, that has nothing to do with me,” said Shiltz. “We sorcerer monks of the Vajra Temple are nothing but tools of His Majesty the Emperor. If he commands it, then we will accomplish what he desires no matter what.”
“That’s why I hate you guys! When the going gets rough, you refuse to think or feel any shame at all!”
Zen thought back to his student days when he was challenging the Advanced Civil Service Exam. He remembered Aness’s words about the examiner, who’d given him such a nasty assignment where the answer had been to say the question itself was wrong.
“However, I do think this was an important assignment for a good-natured person like you.”
“Picture yourself as a government official in the future. When your superior gives you incorrect instructions or when the empire is heading down the wrong path, are you going to just obediently keep your head down?”
“You need to question people and the rules more.”
Her words had taken root in his heart, shaping him into the person he was now. However, even if he explained what she’d told him to the sorcerer monk, Shiltz surely wouldn’t understand.
“Let’s finish this already.” As Zen swung his sword, he gathered an enormous amount of mana at his brow. That mana spouted all at once from his entire body like a fierce, raging fire.
Witnessing this with his own eyes, Shiltz shuddered. As a sorcerer monk, he probably had the advantage when it came to pure sorcery; however, the amount of mana that slept within Zen’s soul far surpassed his.
That was only natural. What tied the sorcerer monks of the Vajra Temple to the golden dragon divine god Catal Catalana was only a lesser contract.
First, the golden dragon lent mana to the current emperor, and then that emperor distributed that immense amount of mana to the sorcerer monks. How much mana each individual monk received, as well as when they were cut off, was all up to the emperor.
Since this mana had to go through the emperor first, it created a system that made it impossible for the Vajra Temple to oppose its lord.
Meanwhile, what bound Zen and Keel was a true, direct contract.
Of course, the amount of mana a young vanargand had was no match for what the golden dragon divine god held. Keel was closer to a magical beast compared to the godlike adult dragon.
However, it still made sense that Zen alone possessed more mana than any of the hundred sorcerer monks of the Vajra Temple.
“To think there was such a difference between us...” Even if it made logical sense, whether it could actually sink in was a different story. Shiltz gazed at him in astonishment.
Zen had already stopped walking and lowered his sword, concentrating on the strongest sorcery he could muster. Shiltz put some distance between them to prepare his sorcery too.
“I’ll use my secret arts, then!” Shiltz had officially lost his cool composure. The corners of his lips were pushed up, making him look strangely happy.
Zen hadn’t anticipated that Shiltz’s mind would work this way, but it was obvious that when he saw Zen gathering his maximum amount of mana, Shiltz’s response was to single-mindedly start preparing the strongest sorcery he could in return. It was all on the line for this sorcerer monk.
That was why Zen didn’t use a flashy sorcery spell. Instead, he chanted, “Shrink into the earth and teleport,” and teleported behind Shiltz. Then, he used his hand to strike his head.
That action shattered Shiltz’s consciousness, and he fell to his knees, crumpling to the floor.
Zen had made a gamble, bluffing by using the maximum amount of mana he could muster, and won.
The fight had ended a little anticlimactically, but Zen was well aware that that was just how things often went on the battlefield. It was something the sorcerer Shiltz certainly hadn’t known.
For the most part, he probably hadn’t fought against anyone other than magical beasts before. Shiltz excelled at pure sorcery, but Zen was the winner when it came to overall skill in combat.