The Foreigner on the Periphery - Chapter 153

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The lungs of the earth were burning. It was like a volcano erupting. The villagers adjacent to the jungle looked in that direction in horror. The tropical rainforest, which should have been filled with water, was helplessly engulfed in flames. Mountains of fire engulfed the earth. The crackling screams of the vegetation were buried in the fire. 

The space seemed distorted by the intense heat. A thick layer of smoke spread over the flames, and a hot wind blew wildly. And at the center was a place that was once a rare poison dragon. The barrier that made up the transparent dome had already been broken and melted away. Those who created this inferno were very satisfied with the result. They even flirted with each other through mental waves. 

=As expected, it is as expected.= 

=If the mother carrying the eggs is taken away, it is obvious that she will rebel even though she can’t even fight properly. 

Among the members of the unit, there were those who were active in the old war against the dragon and still survived. Originally, the lifespan of ancient races was not that long, but a lot had changed after the first war. Veterans remembered the fierce fighting. Although they won, the sacrifices on the committee side were not small. It reminded him of his fellow countrymen who were dying. In the harrowing flashback, the dragon broke the goal and was a worthy enemy. Even after the war, they still hated dragons. 

=If you kill that dragon and release the space condensation, everything you hid in the subspace will come out. 

The Toads also expected her to be unable to properly use her main weapon, poison. This was because eggs that had not yet hatched were not fully immune to extreme poison. This was also because they did not go through the process of planting various poisonous plants in their bodies and adapting to them. 

And so, Inais couldn’t release poisons here that could penetrate her shell and permeate. The response was beyond expectations. Now she was curled up in her bunch in her flames. Confusing questions kept popping up in her mind. 

‘How did you get caught?!’ No matter how much the committee was, it couldn’t possibly grasp all the conversations and transactions of the dragons in the faraway frontier dimension. If they had such omniscience, the Balaur would have perished long ago. No matter how one were to think about it, this was the result of pointing at her and actively dusting her. 

Inais realized that she had been targeted by the committee. It was a kind of targeted investigation. But why?

Roaring! With that, the fire intensified. The ancient races were stronger than Inais expected. Flames mingled with magic gnawed away at her defenses bit by bit. The various poisonous weeds that covered the skin instead of the scales had already turned to ashes and disappeared. 

The Poison Dragon exposed her bare skin for the first time since her hatchling days. That, too, was revealed in front of harsh flames, not in an ordinary environment. It looked like a gruesome sight of being burned with the skin peeled off. 

‘My egg, I must protect it!’ 

As time passed, the dragon’s thoughts became simpler. Desperation filled her mind. In addition to this, Inais remembered the one elder dragon who was no longer by her side. In times like this, she had only one dragon she could rely on. 

‘Lord!’ 

The one who gathered the will of the dragons to protect the race was the Lord. A dragon without a rod could not function 100% as a group, as a group. Only entities chasing self-interest remained. Inais had a foreboding feeling. She would have one less heir to share her legacy if she and her child were gone. 

—!

Thought waves were roughly intertwined inside the egg and leaked out. The embryo felt anxious. Due to the overlapping and complex mixture, Inais could not understand her meaning. 

She replied as if reassuring Al. ‘It’s okay, I’ll protect you.’ 

Inais thought of someone to turn to for help instead of Rod. The message could not be sent due to spatial condensation, but the burning of the jungle would have been known to the outside world. Would she really come forward to help her? 

However, she had nowhere else to pin her hopes. They must hold out like this until she was to reach out to save them. ‘It’s okay, don’t worry,’ she whispered to her egg, focusing most of her shields on it to protect it. No warmth beyond body temperature was transmitted to the egg she held. 

In contrast, on Inais’ back, the terrible pain caused by super-high temperatures and flames that could not occur in nature run. The dragon, having lost its shell, crouched down even smaller to protect the shell of its egg. 

*** 

Elementalist, Lakefield suddenly felt himself distant from everything. He looked around in embarrassment, but the scenery inside the bookstore remained the same. However, the elementalist’s senses caught a clear change.

Before long, he realized that the link between him and the spirits had been severed. 

‘Space condensation!’ The goblin, Dong-cheol, looked out the door. It was for a different reason than Lakefield. 

Sooner than later, he felt a presence. “Uh? The boss… The guest…” 

With that, Dong-cheol took a few steps toward the entrance door. “Uh… uh…?” 

The people approaching the bookstore and shopping district, located in the middle of a neighborhood with a fairly floating population, all looked like human beings. However, Dong-cheol knew that they were not human.

That kind of thing… couldn’t possibly be human. Some time ago, this goblin encountered a young dragon named Edelines. He had no idea of its identity until she then transformed into a human, and exuded her peer. It was actually the first Dragon Fear that Dong-cheol had ever encountered since he was born. 

The desperate fear he felt at the time seemed to have awakened something sleeping inside. After that, Dong-cheol’s senses became very sharp. He never showed off, but now Dong-cheol knew – the owner of this mall was not an ordinary quarter elf. 

It was as if the short-haired female customer who came to him one day was not an ordinary human being. He just knew that the person visiting the second floor was actually a dragon, even though he had never spilled his piercing. The dragon was literally ‘over his head’ at this moment, but he was not making a fuss like before. 

This was because that dragon didn’t seem dangerous. It felt like it would. 

However… what about those who were approaching now? 

“Ah, ah…!” His head burned. Dong-cheol was overcome with fear that surpassed the day he first encountered Dragon Fear. It felt like all the hard work and practice he had put in to overcome his fear of dragons all turned out in vain. 

This was because there were creatures more terrifying than dragons in the world. Something inside him that he hadn’t been aware of was revealed to him. The goblin felt extreme disgust and rejection. 

– Phat! 

A sudden presence covered the goblin’s gaze toward the uninvited guest. It was Minjun who appeared with his back to Dong-cheol. Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at – “ ”

“···What?”

He just sensed the entire space condensation. Minjun could see the soul of the other person. He was like a human, but he could tell he was different. Although he was of a different race, his identity was uncertain. He looked at the wary face and smiled uninvited. 

From there, he spoke in a low voice. At that moment, with the elf’s sensitive ears, Lakefield heard a word he never imagined would be mentioned here. 

“Asif-666.”

 *** 

Gedwick felt his heart race. What did the primitive races eat? 

“We thought If you imitate their eating habits, you will be able to hold a perfect eternal life in your hands as well. How is it? What a wonderful plan, isn’t it?” 

“Yes, I can’t stop admiring it.” Gedwick was genuinely excited. Unbeknownst to him, the elders of his own tribe had arranged this far and carried out the plan. 

“If you were a perfect being from creation, you wouldn’t need to consume anything else. You could consider it born with the seed of eternal life in itself. But we found out. They had stock. And the act of eating was an incredibly important act in their culture. To some extent, those who prepare the meat and blood for them to eat were considered a noble class.” 

“I see!” 

“I think there is only one reason for that. This was because it was an indispensable element for their eternal life. Even for them, the livestock farmer was a benefactor who guaranteed eternal life.” 

“If that’s true… it could be!” 

Gedwick recalled. “Meat” and “Blood”? Both were appendages of living things. He waited for the Grand Commissioner to speak the decisive word. So, what was the identity of the animal that promised eternal life? 

“Oh yeah.” Contrary to expectations, however, the commissioner suddenly changed the topic. 

“How’s the tax investigation going into Asif-666?” 

Gedwick couldn’t understand. Why did the topic suddenly jump there while talking about the butcher? However, he wanted to get an answer to the part he was curious about, so he answered without delay. “The original body is also a secrecy institution, so it doesn’t share information well… but the Todds I know secretly leaked information. They say they caught something pretty big.”

“Is it bold enough? Enough to add about 20 million new talents to his severance pay.” 

Hearing that, Gedwig was once again convinced. The superior did not want Asif-666 to be obliterated. Rather, the opposite ended up being desired. May the prisoner move forever bound by the shackles of the Commission. “Yes, maybe… there will be a movement soon.” 

“Okay, very good.” 

After confirming it, the commissioner spoke once more. “You always wondered why I care so much about Asif-666.” 

“And the Commissioner explained the reason. It’s because of his sins. Because he is the creator of Asif-1, the worst terrorist in the history of the universe.” 

Although he was a practitioner of black magic, he was not made a prisoner for creating black magic. However, the act of creating Asif-1 became the basis for imposing a severance pay of over 5 million Talents on him. This difference was due to the purpose of creation. Asif-1 was the worst offender, created to bring down the Council, and operated solely for that purpose. 

“But it is Asif-666 There is no reason not to exterminate them. Have you ever thought about it?” 

“Yeah.” Gedwick, of course, also rolled his head. “As the creator of Asif-1, there might be a way to collect his scattered soul fragments. It was Endelion who removed his memories. Hypocrites, hopeless idealists who care more about Asif-1 than any other race. He seems to have planted additional allusions in working on it. He wanders the fringe dimensions, collecting pieces of criminals he has created, or drawing himself to them…” 

“Then why do we, Kavite, want Asif-1? He even acts like he doesn’t care much on the outside.” 

“I’m not sure, but I guess it’s different from Endelion’s purpose.” 

“That’s right, it’s not at all what they want.” 

The Great Commissioner was about to share a more dangerous secret. “Asif-666 and his collection of Asif-1 are key to our plan. It is a stepping stone to reach the final destination.” 

It was a plan to achieve perfect eternal life. The captain said in a soft tone. “The primitive race ate dragons.” 

It was so casually mentioned that Gedwig knew for a moment that he had heard it wrong.

“···Yeah?” 

“The stock that brought immortality to the primordial race was the dragon.” 

Gedwick was confused. Is that a homophone? Was there another creature with the name dragon? However, the words that followed had a clear meaning. “Dragon. Balaur. The monsters we know well. The main enemy I finally subdued through two wars.” 

“···Oh My God!” Gedwig’s scream-like exclamation was mixed with joy and astonishment. He was happy to realize that the destruction of the monsters was at the end of this plan. On the other hand, he felt overwhelmed by the realization that there was a race that used those monsters for food… and that the Kavites were also planning to go that way. 

“Then, a plan is, after all…” 

“Those beasts presumptuously roamed this world for far too many years. I had more freedom than I needed.” 

The commissioner then spoke in a whisper. “We intend to follow the path trodden by the primitive race. The way Asif-666 will lead. But to reset the relationship between the dragon and us, the Kavite must also change. You have to go beyond your limits. It can’t be in this state right now. But don’t worry. Because I have a talent.” 

Gedwig recalled how their bodies reacted to hemolysis. In addition to this, he also thought about what he could do with his talents. He also recalled the phenomenon that the mind of a prisoner whose body was forcibly changed was eventually crushed, collapsed, and stained with madness. It wasn’t as fast as when possessed by a dragon, but in the end, destruction awaited. 

‘Perhaps the reason we agreed to the prisoner system proposed by Endelion… was because we thought it was also a kind of experiment?’ 

“And dragons have to change too. To that end, we’re doing a lot of secret work in the outskirts. Even some experiments have included borrowing the hands of dragons. Change the dragon’s body, change its soul, swap them with each other, or mix them up. they can’t imagine What kind of fate their actions will ultimately bring to the Balaur. Cooperating without knowing that you are contributing to the dragon’s destruction. I have no idea. All of this, Carbite is an experiment to possess dragons in as many different forms as possible.” 

“Various… forms?” 

“Yes. This is because beasts have to be beasts. It is our hope to bring it back like that. Leave the good blood and weed out the bad blood, and change it into a form that can be raised more comfortably. And we will diversify according to the purpose and function.”

The commissioner said as if emphasizing. “Live cattle, like cattle.” 

Only then did Gedwig fully understand. The Great Commissioner was talking about the dragon’s re-domestication plan.