Chapter 275
Chapter 275
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 275
Chapter Title: Large-Scale Raid (4)
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Dragon.
The worst existence humanity had ever faced since the world changed.
“This isn’t right.”
Kwagagaga!
A barrage of magic missiles raining down like a squadron of bombers.
Huduk, hudududuk!
Skeletons materializing in midair and hurling themselves toward it.
He watched the spectacle.
“This isn’t right.”
A certain man muttered.
“I’ll admit the Skeleton Emperor is impressive. But I can’t accept fighting for his benefit.”
“Exactly! Why should we have to battle that ridiculous thing?!”
One by one.
Dissatisfied voices began to rise.
Anxiety and fear started spreading like a contagion.
“Right, that dragon said it has no intention of wiping us out.”
“So that means coexistence, right?”
“Yeah. It’s talking about respecting each other’s territories, isn’t it?”
“Look at the name. Earth Guardian Dragon. A dragon that protects the land! And what land is that? Earth! It’s the dragon guarding Earth!”
“Yeah? Even that all-knowing system recognized it?”
Opinions formed to treat the dragon not as an enemy, but as an ally.
“Ugh, a dragon protecting Earth? Then it’s a guardian dragon!”
“Right! The dragon is one of us!”
Some even dove headfirst into extreme dragon fandom.
“I’m heading back.”
A husky declaration from a ranker decked out in flashy gear.
“You’re a big shot, so I’m sure you’ll handle it fine on your own.”
From his aura, he seemed like a high ranker with a top-tier position.
“Me too. I only answered the World Association’s call because that monster could spell the end of humanity.”
“There wasn’t even a word of explanation about a situation like this? I’m not dying a pointless death.”
Those silently preparing to fight.
Those observing the situation.
Those raising their voices.
Those leaving.
Briath’s words prompted the rankers to make their own subjective calls—and act on them.
“What the hell are these assholes saying...? You’d think our master and that dragon were old pals.”
Pazuzuk!
Amid the sudden desertions, Thunderclap Floa muttered in disbelief.
“Kahat! Don’t you get it? It’s all excuses! I never imagined there’d be this many cowards in the world!”
Jang Dae-woong let out a derisive chuckle.
Of course, even as that happened.
Kwagagaga! Kwagang!
The fierce clash between the dragon and the Skeleton Emperor raged on.
The rankers’ area saw only sporadic blasts.
The bulk of the fight was between the skeletons and the dragon.
“...The Skeleton Emperor really is something else.”
“Yeah, even three hyper rankers would struggle to hold out, but he’s managing alone for quite a while.”
“They say he’s taken down dragons before and even tamed some... Looks like that dragon’s wary of him too.”
“Maybe he’s specialized against dragons?”
A few rankers, purely in admiration of Joo Dong-hoon’s prowess, gripped their weapons.
For every person fleeing, there were those determined to fight.
* * *
Ududuk!
At that moment.
In the command center, Dark Moon Goddess Aira ground her teeth.
- No! We can’t scatter just because of one word from a dragon! No one here can vouch for what that dragon says!
- You have to follow orders!
- Warning! Do not desert! Rankers who desert will face association disciplinary action later!
She kept issuing commands through the special abilities of association hunters.
But it was all for naught.
The screens in the command center showed nothing but the growing number of deserters.
“How can people calling themselves rankers...!”
Kung!
Aira slammed her foot into the conference room floor in frustration.
“Falling for tricks that wouldn’t fool an elementary school kid...!”
The dragon was looking out for humanity?
It had no plans to exterminate them?
“Ha.”
Aira was utterly exasperated.
If that was true, it never should’ve writhed underground and triggered a cataclysmic earthquake in the first place.
It never should’ve hit the gathered rankers with an earthquake and melee attacks the moment it emerged.
- That dragon is just toying with us!
- Doesn’t it bother you when it calls us a dim-witted race, bugs, and blusterers?
- Did it even greet us when it showed up? Did it make any proposals?! It was the dragon that attacked first, out of nowhere!
Aira kept relaying the message.
But the command center and the field were worlds apart.
Reversing the mood was no easy task.
‘If only Joo Dong-hoon would say something...!’
Aira, biting her lip, stared at the hologram in the center of the command center.
It was broadcasting the Skeleton Emperor’s battle live in real time.
‘He’s not even paying attention.’
She could tell from his eyes.
The man’s gaze was resolute as he bellowed something at the skeletons and swung his spear—his mind fixed solely on the dragon.
Whether the rankers went home or helped didn’t matter to him one bit.
“...This is.”
In the end, Aira steeled her resolve.
“It looks like the command center has lost control.”
She hurriedly grabbed her combat gear.
She was a world rank 20 hunter.
Dark Moon Goddess.
Earth’s strongest buffer.
“Starting now, the World Association is scrapping all ranker control and joining the fight directly.”
The conference room sat at the edge of the earthquake zone.
The battlefield wasn’t far.
“W-what, you’re going all of a sudden?”
“Then what are we supposed to do!”
“Even so, the Dark Moon Goddess should be the one handling control...!”
Heads of state and hunters tried to dissuade her.
“No, I need to lead by example.”
She shook her head.
“And show them which choice is truly for humanity.”
* * *
Kwagagaga!
Another deafening explosion that shook heaven and earth.
Amid the standoff with the dragon, the rankers suddenly noticed the noise in their ears subsiding.
The relentless eardrum-pummeling racket that could’ve caused headaches vanished all at once.
“...What?”
“Are my ears messed up?”
The tremors stopped. The subtle ringing in their ears faded away.
The dragon was still flapping its wings, yet the surroundings fell eerily silent, like a graveyard.
In that bizarre quiet.
- Listen up!
The hunters heard a forceful female voice.
It belonged to the Tower Master, Sophia Silverstone—blood trickling from her mouth, not even a moment to wipe it.
- Those who will fight, raise your weapons and follow the Paladin and the Raider. Those who want to run...
Her voice was soft and measured, yet it rang crystal clear in every hunter’s ears.
The Tower Master’s lips parted slightly once more.
- Quit the pointless agitation and just get lost.
A resonant hush.
People felt the Tower Master’s fury in her tone.
- From this moment on, anyone spouting nonsense from their mouths—I, Silverstone, will personally cut out their tongues.
Gulp.
A ranker who’d been about to speak froze.
He’d sensed her sincerity in the transmission.
Having witnessed her mana dominating the space, it didn’t seem impossible.
- But as you slink away, remember one thing.
- If Joo Dong-hoon were selfish, he wouldn’t have thrown his subordinates into that barrage of magic missiles just to save you lot.
- If Joo Dong-hoon were selfish, he never would’ve crossed the Pacific to come here where the dragon appeared.
“...”
Fury toward those who’d badmouthed Joo Dong-hoon from behind.
And then.
- I am the Tower Master.
- The Tower has a library, one so vast it’s no exaggeration to say it holds all the knowledge of the universe.
- That library describes the dragon race as the most dangerous—and most selfish—species in the universe.
- They will never respect us.
- They’ll never see us as equals.
- To them, we’re nothing more than toys.
Resonance.
Her voice carried an echo that set something boiling in their chests.
“Right.”
Someone muttered dazedly.
“Come to think of it, the dragon said it too. That all living beings instinctively bow to the strong. That it’s the law of nature.”
“...So what does that mean?”
“It means it plans to dominate us. Suppress our freedom and colonize us.”
“Like the old emperors?”
“Yeah, but at least the old emperors had some goal of making their subjects prosper... A dragon? No chance. It’s a whole different species to begin with.”
“...Yeah, you’re right.”
“What’s the difference from human extinction? Humanity without freedom isn’t really alive!”
People gripped their weapons once more.
Of course, those fleeing out of genuine terror didn’t stop.
But a few courageous souls kicked off the ground and leaped forward.
“We can’t live like that!”
“Help Joo Dong-hoon! We can’t let him die! That’s the surest path to humanity’s end!”
The one person who could stand against the dragon.
The one who could hold out even a few minutes against that monstrosity.
They couldn’t abandon such a vital asset.
“Waaah!”
“Waaaaaah!”
Unity.
Their numbers had dwindled since moments ago.
But their strength had grown even fiercer.
Their bonds, more solid.
That’s the nature of a fight with purpose.
- Kkukuku. Vermin who don’t know the value of their own lives!
Briath roared.
His interest apparently waned—his upturned lips now downturned.
The Destruction Dragon was steadily pulling away.
He figured it was time to wrap things up.
- Consider it an honor.
Whoong! Whooung!
Its wingbeats propelled its massive bulk even higher.
The sun hung high at midday, yet the world plunged into darkness.
The dragon’s body had completely eclipsed the sun.
And then.
[Earth Guardian Dragon prepares its breath.]
Kwadudududu...!
With the dragon’s immense power, all the energy spreading beneath it began converging in one spot.
Right at the dragon’s maw.
“T-that’s...”
“No way!”
Dudududu...!
Rocks scattered across the ground started rising into the air.
Fragments spun like a tornado, battering the hunters.
“B-breath? It’s the breath!”
“Damn it, hold on tight!”
“Oh, Jesus! What the hell are we supposed to do?!”
The colossal suction pulled at them, and the hunters strained with all their might.
“Kuaak!”
“Kwaaaak!”
A few hunters were yanked into the air.
It exceeded even their grip strength.
And worse.
Jeejejeok!
With the ground itself ripping up, there was no longer anything to hold onto.
They had no choice but to float helplessly, drawn inexorably inward.
“Eum.”
Even I was caught off guard.
Caden had landed and driven his shield deep into the earth.
That was letting him resist the suction.
But still.
“...This won’t cut it.”
Holding on was only half the problem.
Once the suction ended, the real breath would blast out. How were they supposed to block that?
‘Breath.’
I furrowed my brow.
Memories surfaced from my encounters with Aranbalon and the Giant Dragon.
Without the aid of ‘Ancient Magic’ (SSS Grade).
Without ‘Space Separation’ (SSS Grade), there would’ve been no answer back then either.
‘No other options?’
I asked the old man.
“Hm, even I can’t just hand out solutions. Even my true self wouldn’t have tried blocking something like that. Dodging would’ve been the play.”
‘Dodge?’
That thing?
No.
Impossible.
Countless rankers were already caught in it, and escaping alone would be dicey.
Was there no other way?
As I racked my brain.
“...!”
My body hair stood on end.
My instincts and senses screamed.
Right here, right now.
Besides the dragon, something else had appeared.
Not sure if it matched the dragon, but far—vastly—stronger than me.
“Hm?”
The old man noticed too, his eyebrow arching.
- ...Everyone, grab on.
A gruff male voice rang in my ear.
At the same time.
Kwagagagaga!
A massive magic circle etched itself in the sky, and black tentacles began bursting out beneath it.
Whoa.
What the hell?
- They’re grotesque magic beasts, but if you want to live, grab them. They’ll at least withstand the breath’s suction.
Magic beasts!
And massive ones at that!
My eyes went wide.
As far as I knew, only one person could summon things like that effortlessly from the ground.
‘For real?’
My hero—the one I’d never seen since becoming a hunter.
Kwagagagaga!
From the center of the magic circle, a black-robed man leaped out.
“Demon King...!”
I muttered blankly.
World ranking 2, Demon King.
The guy who’d said he couldn’t join the fray in the demon realm—Jack Smith—was now in my sights.