Chapter 90
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 090
Chapter Title: Pursuit
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Without any delay, he prepared to leave.
“I’ll step out for a bit.”
“Where are you off to all of a sudden?”
Braknak asked, looking puzzled.
They had just finished the battle with the abominations. Everyone was celebrating the victory with drinks, so why was he suddenly heading out alone?
Woojin replied flatly.
“Something’s come up, so I need to gather intel. I’ll scout beyond the barrier. Hold down the fort while I’m gone.”
“Ah...”
Braknak thought for a moment before speaking.
“There’s no need for you to go personally, Guardian. I’ll send out the scouts to check the forest, so rest here.”
It wasn’t right for Woojin to shoulder everything alone. With that in mind, Braknak started to issue orders to his subordinates.
But Woojin turned him down.
“It’s fine. I don’t trust anyone else with it.”
He didn’t want to send anyone else into a forest crawling with abominations. Better to check it out himself—gave him peace of mind.
“Don’t wait up. Go get some sleep. Feels like it’ll take a while.”
“...It makes me feel ashamed always relying on your strength like this.”
“Don’t sweat it.”
The recent fight with the abominations had chased away any drowsiness. A nighttime stroll through the woods didn’t sound half bad.
He lowered a rope from the barrier. Woojin tugged it a few times with both hands to check its stability, then got ready to descend.
“Take care out there.”
“See you later.”
Leaving Braknak’s send-off behind, Woojin put his weight on the rope and rappelled down the barrier.
He soon touched down on the ground.
After wiping away his scent with tree sap, he ventured deeper into the forest where abominations lurked. Scanning his surroundings carefully, he spotted several fresh traces.
Blood splattered across the ground in spots. And marks like something had scurried away in a hurry.
Naga tracks.
A snake tail dragging across the ground left marks like these. The blood suggested it had taken heavy damage in the battle just now.
Let’s track it.
Woojin moved cautiously, making no noise. Following the trail, he soon reached his goal.
Naga abominations clustered around a large pond. There were quite a few of them.
Woojin roughly counted with his eyes.
Lowballing it, four hundred... no, five hundred at least.
Almost twice as many as the ones he’d faced earlier. Looked like the group that hit the barrier was just the vanguard.
The numbers were substantial, but Woojin wasn’t surprised. Nagas were known for their massive tribes.
They reproduced by laying eggs. Males trained as warriors from birth, while females spent their lives laying eggs, serving as the broodmothers to swell the horde’s ranks.
Ants pursuing totalitarianism.
Efficiency and gain.
A life of sacrifice for the tribe’s prosperity. Nagas never questioned it. If food ran short, they’d eat their own without hesitation.
That ruthless nature allowed the naga tribe to build the largest force in the Demonic Realm.
...Even so... that’s a lot.
Vanguard of three hundred, main force of five hundred.
Together, that made eight hundred. No small number. So many naga abominations meant their tribe had suffered heavy losses to the mutant strain too.
“Grak, gruuuuh...”
One naga abomination let out a guttural cry. Covered in wounds large and small, it seemed to be a survivor from the vanguard that hit the barrier.
A massive naga stood still, listening intently. These intelligent abominations could communicate with each other.
Soon, the big one bellowed.
“Graaaak!!”
In response, the nagas raised their heads. Then they started moving.
Going for the barrier again?
But they slithered in the opposite direction from the barrier. The naga abominations headed north, exiting the forest and pushing relentlessly toward the Demonic Realm’s depths.
Woojin watched from the dark shadows, hidden.
...They’re retreating.
The naga abominations had concluded there was no chance of victory. Fair enough—the three hundred that struck first had been wiped out in moments.
Abandoning the siege, they turned back. Watching them go sparked a new question.
Where are they headed?
Seemed like they were converging on another abomination stronghold.
...What if I follow and wipe out their base on the way back?
He mulled it over seriously. Infiltrating enemy territory alone was risky, but it could end this mess in one go.
But he couldn’t make it reality.
A massive lake loomed ahead. The naga abominations plunged in one after another. Woojin frowned at the sight.
Won’t be tracking them further from here.
Nagas had gills for underwater breathing. Even as abominations, they’d kept that ability.
They swam off like eels into the depths, faster than on land thanks to the fins dotting their bodies.
Tailing them unnoticed was impossible now. Woojin scratched his chin, pondering.
What to do.
Learning the enemy had pulled back was harvest enough... but heading back empty-handed felt unsatisfying.
His gaze lingered on one. A particularly huge naga abomination. The leader, watching its subordinates enter the water.
...Can’t let that one live.
Suppressing his presence as much as possible, Woojin approached. His steps were silent as a cat stalking a bird.
Eight out of ten nagas had already submerged. Few remained to guard the leader. Woojin sauntered in casually, slipping through the gaps like he belonged.
“...?”
The naga abominations stared blankly his way.
Too brazen an approach—they seemed momentarily stunned. Woojin moved as if he were one of them.
“...Graaak!!”
One naga suddenly roared, pointing at him. It had caught on late. But Woojin was already charging.
He kicked off the ground hard and leaped. Closing in instantly, he drew the machete from his waist and swung it in an iaido strike.
Shlick.
Something sliced clean off. The naga leader’s head tumbled down.
Not grasping what happened, the abomination’s head blinked on the dirt. At the same instant, the headless body stirred its arms.
Gestures like checking if its head was still attached. But its fingers grasped only empty air.
Dull creature.
Woojin smirked and crushed the leader’s skull underfoot.
He’d killed the abomination leader.
Its subordinates reacted late, charging with furious howls. He busily slashed, severing arms and necks.
Target assassinated—now just escape... but the real trouble started here.
As he finished clearing the area, the reservoir’s surface churned like boiling water. Endless nagas erupted from below. Claws and fangs assaulted him from all sides.
Have to tank it.
Only one machete, so he relied on scales to shield his body from attacks.
Clang, kagang-!
Metallic rings exploded nonstop. The nagas’ claws and teeth shattered against him instead. Their physical prowess fell short of piercing his dragon scales.
So they adapted.
Whip—
A snake tail suddenly coiled his ankle. Countless hands reached out, yanking hard.
Like tug-of-war, Woojin’s body dragged slowly toward the water. Soon it lapped at his ankles.
Trying to drown me.
The naga abominations aimed to drag him under. Like water ghosts...
...Déjà vu hit.
Ran into this before.
Weight amplification could hold them off, but he let himself get pulled in. His body sank deeper into the lake.
“Kyaaak, glug glug—!”
Mocking abomination cries echoed around. The nagas thrashed excitedly.
Woojin’s palms glowed red.
Kraaaack!!
Lightning exploded underwater. The surface bubbled furiously like boiling soup. Dozens of nagas shot up.
“Graaaak—!”
Rejecting the water, they screeched and leaped repeatedly, like dolphins performing tricks.
Woojin walked out slowly, wringing out his clothes hard.
Meant to fry them all... missed some.
The close ones burned up, but the distant survivors got lucky.
They weren’t unscathed, though. Scorched by lightning, they fled howling like beasts.
Similar symptoms to the witch.
The witch he’d zapped before went half-mad from the aftereffects.
From cases so far... lightning damaged not just the body, but the mind too.
...And me as well.
Woojin sneezed suddenly. The big blast had taken a toll on him.
Better head back and crash.
Overtime done—time for a break.
Woojin slept for nearly three straight days. His condition mostly recovered, and he took it easy afterward, resting without pushing himself.
A few days later... early morning.
A commotion outside roused him from sleep.
...Something going on out there?
He listened closely.
Casual chatter. Occasional laughter. The mood was upbeat—no emergencies.
Woojin yawned lazily, debating finishing his sleep...
...But I’m kinda in that awkward half-awake state.
Might as well get up.
He strapped the machete to his waist, scratched his nape, and stepped out.
Strolling leisurely, he spotted a crowd below the barrier. The man at the front looked familiar.
Rolang’s here.
For some reason, the guy who should be in Norn City had come to the northern barrier.
Woojin approached and spoke.
“Rolang. What brings you all the way here?”
“Straight to business the moment you see me. You must’ve learned that from the Cardinal.”
Rolang teased, then got to the point without beating around the bush.
“Something unusual came up, so I came to report. Last night, an envoy arrived at the gate.”
“Herald from the third expeditionary force?”
Rolang shook his head.
“No. Bunch of weird-looking freaks... nagas, I think they called them. Said they looked like the abominations that hit the barrier last time. Not that I saw them myself.”
A naga envoy had visited Norn territory. To discuss it, Queen Knartash wanted to speak with Woojin directly.
...Wonder what they want.
Woojin nodded readily.
“Let’s go right now.”