Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Breakthrough #7
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< Chapter 10 - Breakthrough #7 >
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Karma, with Felicia on her back, scaled the debris with the speed of a gale. A horrific sight met their eyes.
The highest-grade guardian was on the verge of destruction. The hammer that had once summoned thunder lay abandoned on the ground, and the shield that had effortlessly blocked the Shadow Puppets’ attacks was shattered, along with its left arm.
The Zombie Dragon, roaring as it crushed the highest-grade guardian, spotted Felicia and Karma.
It was not unscathed, either. The wound in its chest gaped wide, and one of its arms was about to be torn off.
“Run!”
Karma broke into a sprint. Felicia conjured walls of flame all around them, distracting the Zombie Dragon and the Shadow Puppets.
The dungeon guardians charged the Zombie Dragon. The Shadow Puppets swarmed toward Felicia, their arrows and javelins blotting out the sky.
Felicia desperately summoned a wind spirit, but it wasn't enough. She couldn't deflect all the projectiles. Karma squeezed her eyes shut, and Felicia glared at the incoming javelins. A streak of pure white light intercepted them, shielding Felicia from harm!
*Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!*
White Eagle deflected the arrows and javelins. Green Wind, protecting Felicia in Juingong’s stead, cried out.
‘Master!’
“Kuraha!”
It was just like when they had broken through the trap zone. Karak, his magic shield raised, charged through the wall of flames Felicia had created, with Juingong following close behind. They had already reached the Zombie Dragon’s flank.
Numerous gazes met in mid-air. The Shadow Puppets tried to rush Juingong, but they were too far away. The dungeon guardians, as if recognizing Ascalon, desperately hindered the Shadow Puppets and the Zombie Dragon.
“Gashu!”
Karak crouched low, presenting his back. Juingong used Karak’s back and shoulder as a springboard and launched himself into the air. Unleashing the explosive power of the Beast God Fist, he soared nearly ten meters high.
The Zombie Dragon was unable to fire its third breath weapon. It tried to swing its tail at Juingong once more.
But the highest-grade guardian would not allow it. With its one remaining arm, it seized the Zombie Dragon. The resistance would only last a few seconds, but that was enough.
The Zombie Dragon lost its balance. Its tail couldn't reach Juingong, who thrust Ascalon into the air.
At that moment, a tremendous force erupted from the nozzle at the tip of Ascalon. It was nothing short of a lance charge delivered from the heavens.
Green Wind and Felicia were right. The Zombie Dragon was still incomplete. It let out a desperate roar, spewing not its breath but a torrent of violet malevolence. The foul miasma formed an intangible wall, attempting to block Ascalon’s charge.
It seemed to be working. For a brief moment, Ascalon’s advance was halted, as if caught in thick glue.
But Juingong did not stop.
He added one thing to Ascalon that the valiant dwarf warrior Tiny Spark had not possessed.
‘Dragon Blood!’
The Dragon Factor awakened, unleashing Earthquaker’s true power. Ascalon bucked, and Juingong felt a surge of immense pain, but he gritted his teeth and endured. He unleashed the Power of Conquest, dominating Ascalon. He even used the force of the repulsion to strike the enemy.
He added the power of the Gigantic Piston to Ascalon's might!
*CRACK-K-K-K-K-KOOM!*
Ascalon’s strike, gaining momentum once more, was like a bolt of lightning. It became a golden flash that pierced through the violet miasma and reached the Zombie Dragon’s shattered, torn chest. It burrowed into the creature's torso, following a path it had traveled once before, hundreds of years ago. But it didn't stop there, plunging deeper and harder than it had in the past. It destroyed the Fallen Dragon Heart that had once been its mana reactor in life and now served as its power source. It shattered the heart to pieces, piercing straight through the beast!
The Zombie Dragon shrieked. Violet miasma leaked from its mouth, eyes, and every other orifice, as the highest-grade guardian mustered its last ounce of strength. It drove its fist into the dragon’s obliterated chest.
A violent explosion erupted. The violet miasma detonated, and the Zombie Dragon’s remains collapsed. Just as when Valkarova had died, the violet miasma enveloping the Shadow Puppets vanished.
Juingong rolled across the floor. He deactivated Ascalon, which was resisting his Dragon Factor, and swallowed a groan. A pure white light enveloped him.
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[Boss: Zombie Dragon Partisan has been defeated.]
[Title: Dragon Slayer (Beginner) acquired.]
The pain in his body rapidly subsided. Juingong let out a long breath and pushed himself to his feet. His legs trembled, despite having gained a whole three levels and his stamina being restored by the level-up effect. It was the result of not only extreme aura usage but also of forcibly dominating Ascalon and wielding its power while ignoring the repulsion from his Dragon Factor.
‘Master!’
White Eagle was the first to fly to him. Atop the pure white shield sat the translucent form of Green Wind. One look at her face was enough to tell how worried she had been.
Juingong forced a smile for her, then raised his left arm to retrieve White Eagle. After storing Ascalon in his inventory, he looked ahead.
The highest-grade guardian lay motionless, buried under the Zombie Dragon’s remains. The Shadow Puppets, having lost the violet miasma, went berserk and scattered in all directions. The black-robed Shadow Puppet that had been commanding them collapsed to the ground, gasping as if it had suffered a great shock.
Felicia, Karma, and Karak ran to Juingong’s side, and the dungeon guardians surrounded him. The highest-grade guardian had transferred all of its authority to Juingong just before being destroyed. It had not forgotten Ascalon, the treasure of Thunder Doom Fortress.
“We have to keep going, right?”
They had defeated the Zombie Dragon, but the battle wasn't over. In response to Felicia’s words, Juingong commanded the dungeon guardians to move. They charged toward the Shadow Puppets, who were in disarray from the loss of the violet miasma.
“My shoulder hurts so much.”
Karak, who had served as Juingong’s springboard, joked as he let his shield, now little more than a tattered rag, hang limp. Felicia handed him a potion from her belt instead of casting a healing spell. She didn't have the energy to use magic right now.
The party watched the dungeon guardians fight. A fatigue that no potion could cure weighed down their bodies, so they didn't dare rejoin the fray.
And after some time had passed…
Juingong, who had slumped to the ground to catch his breath, slowly closed his eyes.
This mission was almost over. Once they subdued the Shadow Puppets and finished the battle, it would be time for rest and a delightful item haul. No matter how much it had been corrupted into a Zombie Dragon and torn apart, the corpse of the Black Dragon Partisan was sure to be useful.
But why?
Even though more than ten minutes had passed since he’d defeated the Zombie Dragon, he couldn't relax. Instead of the intense sense of accomplishment he’d felt after defeating Mustafa or Valkarova, a new tension and anxiety washed over him.
What was the reason?
Were there still missing pieces to the puzzle? Was it because the Shadow Puppets hadn't been captured yet?
No. It was something else entirely.
A premonition of doom.
That instinct, honed to a preternatural sharpness.
Juingong’s head snapped up. At that moment, a new collapse shook the central plaza.
*CRUMBLE-R-R-R-R-RUMBLE!*
The earth and debris, its foundation already weakened twice by the Zombie Dragon's breath weapon, collapsed once more. But the direction of the force was different. This time, it was from the outside in. And with this third collapse, outside light poured into the central plaza, which had been buried underground for hundreds of years.
Felicia, who had been sitting on the ground resting, shot to her feet. The dungeon guardians momentarily paused their fighting, and the Shadow Puppets that still had some semblance of reason suddenly cried out in joy.
Juingong understood the reason for his unease.
A man appeared from the hole in the distance. Instead of violet miasma, he was wreathed in a blue aura. He wore armor made of bone and a helmet resembling a dragon’s head. Gripping a single spear, he stood atop the pile of debris and gazed at the shattered remains of the Zombie Dragon.
“I am too late.”
He spoke softly. The central plaza was shrouded in silence, but he was too far away for his voice to reach them.
But Juingong could hear him. He didn't know why, but he heard the words clearly as the man took a light step forward and continued to speak.
“Was it a mistake to leave my post because the Second Prince did not arrive?”
The Second Prince.
A mistake.
Did not arrive.
A lightning bolt shot through Juingong’s mind.
The mission General Kashubal failed.
The mission everyone thought Zephyr would handle.
What if their goal wasn't Ascalon or Partisan's corpse?
What if those were all secondary, and the real objective was to lure Zephyr here?
They killed General Kashubal to draw out Zephyr.
They waited for Zephyr to come, but instead, it was Juingong and Felicia who arrived.
So the plan changed. They prioritized the secondary objectives: securing Ascalon and Partisan’s corpse.
The story clicked into place. The gears that had been stuck began to turn.
But a question still remained.
Why Zephyr?
What did they plan to do by luring Zephyr here?
‘Resist!’
A voice awakened Juingong. It wasn't Green Wind. It was the voice of a pure white woman wearing a golden crown.
Juingong urgently summoned the Power of Conquest. The man who had been looking at the Zombie Dragon had now fixed his gaze on Juingong.
A violet aura.
The blue aura that was its source.
This man wasn't the origin of that power. He, too, was a fragment. But even that fragment was overwhelming. A terrifying power of death assailed Juingong’s soul!
The powers of Conquest and Death clashed in mid-air. They canceled each other out and vanished.
Juingong unleashed a pure white aura, and the man who had projected the power of death frowned, a look of bewilderment on his face. Instead of continuing the invisible battle with Juingong, he caused his blue aura to flare up like a flame. He swung his long spear lightly and spoke.
“Whatever is left, I will clean it up.”
He took a step forward. In that instant, Juingong knew. This man possessed a power greater than the Zombie Dragon's.
Juingong squeezed out his aura. He hadn't yet recovered from the fight with the Zombie Dragon, but this was no time to worry about that.
“Prince, it’s been fun.”
Karak said abruptly, as if tossing the words aside, and raised his axe. Karma, too, gripped her weapon instead of crying out in fear, and Felicia smiled bitterly as she raised her arms.
“I don't know what that thing is, but don't give up.”
“I won't.”
Smiling back, Juingong clenched his fists. Earthquaker responded with a low growl.
The man took another step. The dungeon guardians gathered by Juingong’s side. Green Wind flew up with White Eagle and spoke.
‘Master was a good master. I do not regret following you out of the Enger Plains.’
“This is all very touching, but let's try not to jinx it with all the goodbyes.”
Juingong muttered a joke only he could understand and focused all his attention on the man.
The man took a third step. Blue will-o’-the-wisps flickered from the spear in his hand.
And just at that moment.
Just as a new battle was about to begin.
“That will be enough.”
A new voice interjected.
Spreading through the heavy silence, it was no mere voice.
Everyone’s gaze, which had been fixed on the man with the spear, shifted as if by magic. Even the man with the spear couldn't help but turn his head.
“I went to see the Prince, but they said he left the Demon King's castle for the fortress. I came to the fortress and found it filled with a sinister energy. I followed the energy here and there, only to find a Prince and Princess in peril.”
The owner of the new voice stood on the same pile of debris where the man with the spear had appeared. His hair and beard were beyond salt-and-pepper, nearly gray, and his robes, reminiscent of a grand coat, were pure white. An unremarkable sword was slung at his waist.
Juingong had never seen him before. But the moment their eyes met, he knew. Felicia, who had been prepared for death, cried out in elation.
“Sword Duke!”
Sword Duke Ishgard.
The strongest swordsman of the previous era, who trained the Demon King Mitra!
He didn't waste any more words. With a faint smile, he drew his sword.
End of Chapter 10 - Breakthrough. To be continued in Chapter 11 - Sword Duke.
< End of Chapter 10 - Breakthrough #7 >