Jin Chen’s Final Strike
Jin Chen rose with the iron staff clutched in his hand, launching himself upward until the entire fortress came into view beneath him. A single leap carried him to a height from which the whole stronghold lay spread out like a map.
“Alright! Let’s finish this off!”
A single roar of energy exploded outward. The mana swirling around him surged in perfect sync, rushing toward the staff like rivals fighting for a prize.
The strange glyphs etched into the iron began to glow with myriad colors, as if the staff itself was breathing. A clear, resonant tone echoed through the air, pure and steady.
Jin Chen wiped the faint smile from his lips. “The energy’s strong, huh? Takes almost no time at all.”
He lowered his stance, the iron staff humming with an aura no ordinary weapon could match.
“Let’s go!”
His body shot downward at terrifying speed, still unhindered.
With a final roar he slammed the staff straight into the center of the fortress.
The ground split open in a single heartbeat, the staff plunging deep beneath the surface.
Every bandit and follower froze, eyes wide as they watched. Jin Chen slowly lifted his foot and brought the protruding end of the staff crashing down with bone-crushing force.
The impact rang out like thunder across the entire mountain range. Brilliant light erupted outward in every direction, spreading in a spider-web pattern that quickly swallowed the whole fortress.
The colors were so vivid they stole the breath from anyone watching. The air itself trembled with a living, short vibration that seemed to pulse with life.
Then the light began to fade, sinking gently into every corner of the stronghold until nothing remained but a faint, lingering glow.
Jin Chen slowly scanned the bandits and followers with a satisfied smile. “You lot have kept me busy lately. Sorry I’m late.”
“No, not at all!” “It’s fine!” “Of course it’s fine, kids! I spent years of hard work just to feed you lot.”
Laughter exploded across the fortress, loud and genuine.
Jin Chen rolled his foot once. A low, resonant boom rolled through the ground.
More than two hundred pairs of eyes locked onto him in silence. He straightened and spoke without hesitation.
“From now on… this is Jinryong Chae.”
Before the words even finished fading, every voice rose in a single, roaring cheer that shook the Dragon Mountain Range itself.
“WOOOOAAAAAHHH!”
***
The instant the iron staff struck the earth, Sybel was flung backward like a leaf in the wind. He tumbled across the ground for a long time before finally coming to a halt, dazed and unmoving.
He felt no rage. No shock. He simply stared at Jin Chen standing there as if the world had gone mute.
Every last strand of mana in existence seemed to be moving at once. It couldn’t be a trick of the light.
Jin Chen had driven the staff into the ground and the natural energies of the continent answered with one voice, flooding the fortress from every direction.
The sheer scale of it stole Sybel’s breath. The depth of its power made even the highest-ranked spirit kings seem ordinary by comparison.
A phenomenon he had never seen in his entire life. The dragons themselves might not have been able to wield nature’s power so effortlessly.
But the real shock came afterward.
The force now surrounding the entire fortress felt like it had become part of nature itself. Mana of every color flowed in perfect, calm harmony.
If that balance broke… Sybel felt a chill crawl up his spine. He knew, deep in his bones, that he would never be able to withstand what came next.
Where the hell had these people come from?
The wonder quickly turned to horror, then to a burning, insatiable curiosity.
A sudden shout pierced the air beside him.
“AAAAAHHH!”
He turned to find a human mage crying tears of pure amazement. Even someone who practiced magic couldn’t help but feel the raw power of the harmony that had just settled over the land.
The mage collapsed to his knees, eyes closing as the mana from the fortress gathered around him like loyal servants.
A second phenomenon began at the exact moment. Five magic circles appeared on the mage’s chest and started devouring the mana like starving beasts. Six. Seven. Eight.
Sybel let out a strangled laugh. “This is insane…”
He respected the fact that humans could be mages. He even acknowledged that being born a dragon came with special privileges. But this? This was beyond anything even the elves could manage.
And at the center of it all…
Sybel slowly rose to his feet and stared at Jin Chen standing in the heart of the fortress. A human. A human unlike any other human he had ever seen.
For the second time today, Sybel felt a strange, warm relief wash over him. To have turned an enemy into a friend. Yes… cooperation felt more accurate than friendship.
He nodded to himself when the thought hit him. Then he remembered the moment earlier. Had Jin Chen still been angry about what happened just now?
Concerned, Sybel took a small step toward him.
“Jeombaki,” Jin Chen called. “Come here.”
“Yes, Chaeju-nim!”
“Bang your head against the ground.”
“Bang it.”
Without a single complaint, Jeombaki dropped to the ground and slammed his forehead against the dirt.
“You brat. Did I say not to add formations?” Jin Chen asked.
“I didn’t know, Chaeju-nim.”
“I see. You absolute rascal!” Jin Chen laughed.
“Hah! While I was reading the magic scrolls you sent with Gannon, I remembered a few things and added them on the spot. Only about ten.”
“Ten?” Jin Chen’s eyes lit up. He burst out laughing.
“Hahaha!” Jeombaki joined in, grinning from ear to ear.
“Hey, Muscle.”
“What is it, Chaeju-hyung?”
“Tie this idiot to the top of that tree and leave him standing there.”
“Got it!”
A cheerful voice answered. Before anyone could blink, Muscles had already picked up Jeombaki and planted him firmly at the very top of the tallest tree.
“Chaeju-nim! I really studied hard this time! It’s completely stable!” Jeombaki cried out in panic.
“Stay there for three days and don’t move. If you fall, I’ll bury you in a nice spot of sunlight. Understand?”
“C-Chaeju-nii-ninini-nim!” Jeombaki wailed as he was carried away by Muscles.
Jin Chen let out a soft laugh and slowly looked around the fortress. “Who would have thought? The formations look perfect.”
He muttered the words when Sybel walked over.
“Heh. What was that just now?” Sybel asked, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
Jin Chen crooked one side of his mouth. “Curious?”
“Y-yes.”
“What do you want?”
“Anything.”
The reaction was completely different from the one when Jiangshi had appeared. Jin Chen’s eyes gleamed as he pointed a finger at Sybel’s chest.
“Can you split that thing in half?”
You absolute monster…
Sybel could not bring himself to speak the words out loud. He didn’t want to risk being kicked out of the fortress.
Hah. I should just head back to the Demon Realm.
Sybel had spent his whole life regretting his past choices.
***
Inside the Chaeju’s quarters.
Jin Chen and Sybel sat facing each other. Sybel took a sip from the cup in front of him, then widened his eyes in surprise.
“What is this?”
“What else? Tea.”
“I’ve drunk plenty of tea in my life, but this taste… it’s the first time I’ve ever had something so deep and rich.”
“You must have only been drinking cheap stuff until now.”
“Cheap? From a dragon?”
Jin Chen snorted. “You’ve been drinking only the tea directly brewed by elves, haven’t you?”
He decided to change the subject before the question got too awkward. “Now tell me. What exactly was that?”
“What? The formation?”
“It’s called a formation?”
“Correct. One way to make nature bend to your will without using magic.”
“Bending to nature. A pretty unfamiliar yet strangely familiar word.”
Dragons are born with the blessing of mana. The Dragon Heart is living proof.
That was why so many dragons misunderstood the word “adaptation.”
“Why? Do you want to learn it?” Jin Chen asked.
“I’m a dragon. I’m not weak enough to need a teacher.”
“You’re weaker than me.”
“T-that’s—”
“If you don’t want to learn, just say so.”
Sybel let out a pained groan.
“Ugh, tell me then.”
“What do you want?”
“Anything except the Dragon Heart.”
Jin Chen clicked his tongue. “Too bad.”
Sybel shook his head. “Tell me what you really want. I’ll give you anything you can possibly accept.”
“When it comes to wisdom, I’m a Gold Dragon.”
“When it comes to knowledge, I’m a Gold Dragon.”
But he had just witnessed something he didn’t know, something that had produced results so vast they defied imagination.
The opponent in question was a monster who refused to be measured by strength or words.
Pride and dignity of the dragon race? Trying to use that to argue would be pointless.
The bastard was just too… underhanded and shameless.
Jin Chen opened his mouth. “You look a little tense.”
“It’s not that! As Gold Dragons—”
“Fine. Let’s add two more. The Jiangshi and whatever else you can think of.”
“I already told you, the Dragon Heart is off the table.”
Jin Chen’s gaze locked onto Sybel’s chest. Sybel quickly raised his teacup to hide it. Jin Chen clicked his tongue again.
“If you ever find out about any magic that can send someone back in time, tell me right away. I want to go back to that moment when I was deciding whether to kill you or not.”
“…It will never happen.”
“Why? You were all ‘past, past’ earlier.”
What a petty, scheming little monster. How in the world did someone like that end up possessing power like this? Jin Chen couldn’t understand it.
“Good. The main subject is over?”
“You’re more cunning than any demon.”
“What?”
“I’m a dragon. Even if I lost to you, you should at least respect the dignity and honor of my species.”
“What are you even saying?”
“I did it on purpose! I knew you wanted to ask something more, so I made you ask me!”
Jin Chen’s eyes widened in genuine surprise. “Whoa. You’re pretty sharp.”
“As a dragon, that’s only natural… no, that’s not the point! Stop joking around. Tell me what those things are. It might be a serious threat to the entire continent.”
“Two things already added? Fine. I’ll answer this one. Thanks?”
“I’m so grateful my eyes are about to tear up.”
“Don’t cry yet. Should I explain the Jiangshi?”
“Yes. How you first discovered them too.”
Sybel had been completely in the dark. He hadn’t even known such creatures existed… in his own Cologne.
But Jin Chen had seen them instantly and pursued them at once. There must be a way to identify them.
If he knew how, finding them would be easy. He could even figure out whether the ones he was chasing and the ones caught today were the same group.
So tell me, what exactly do you know? Sybel’s eyes were full of hope as he stared at Jin Chen’s mouth.
Jin Chen met that steady gaze and spoke. “First, about the Jiangshi. What I know is…”
He narrowed his brows, words faltering. How important was this fact that it made him look like that?
Sybel leaned forward, closing the distance between them.
Jin Chen continued, as if he had made up his mind. “There’s nothing else?”
“What?”
“I only heard about them from stories. I didn’t face them until right before I came here.”
Sybel trembled slightly.
Jin Chen took another sip of tea, as if he didn’t notice. “So study the Jiangshi I gave you. If you find anything, report it to me immediately.”
“Hahaha! Hahahahahahahahaha!”
Sybel suddenly burst into loud laughter.
The madman who had been laughing suddenly stopped and glared at Jin Chen. “I can’t hold back anymore. Let’s end this today!”
A bright light exploded from Sybel’s body.
A moment later…
“KRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAHHH!”
The Chaeju’s quarters exploded into pieces as a massive golden dragon with enormous wings burst forth into the sky.