Chapter 314
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 314.
A calamity appeared in the world.
Monsters capable of destroying a nation single-handedly, and even monsters capable of bringing ruin to the entire world.
―Kyaaaaah!
―You insignificant snake! Do you think a wretch like you deserves to stand here?!
―Thanatos! I will have my vengeance!
They were entangled in battle with one another.
The eight-headed serpent, Yamata-no-Orochi, spewed venomous energy.
A deadly poisonous mist spread in all directions, contaminating the Dragon’s Land.
―Kyaaaaaaah!
Each of Yamata-no-Orochi’s eight heads spewed venom as it attacked the Evil Dragon and Thanatos.
―Have you lost your mind? Pathetic!
Yamata-no-Orochi had been sealed away for a long time, and as a result, its mind was not in a stable state.
The Evil Dragon evaporated the incoming venom and unleashed a black breath.
―Do not interfere with me!
The Evil Dragon, Tiamat, had only one goal.
To kill Thanatos.
―For the vengeance of my kin!
A massive rift tore open in the sky, and from within it, countless meteors emerged, hurtling toward Thanatos.
It was a spell powerful enough to effortlessly annihilate an entire continent.
―Tiamat……!
Thanatos swung his scythe with immense force.
A colossal slash split the very fabric of space, cleaving even the incoming meteors apart.
From the torn space, countless souls emerged before simultaneously exploding.
Boooom!
The meteors, now completely shattered into fragments, scattered in all directions.
Amidst the chaos, Tiamat flew at an incredible speed, closing the distance.
―Are you still shackled by worthless old memories, consumed by rage?
Thanatos gestured, and the Bone Dragons arrived by his side.
Tiamat’s eyes burned red.
―That rage will be your undoing.
―Grrr… I will never forgive you……!
The Bone Dragons under Thanatos’ control clashed with Tiamat, and Yamata-no-Orochi resumed its assault.
Thus, the three monstrous beings tangled in a chaotic battle in the skies.
―For Lord Thanatos……!
―We shall spread death!
The ground was no better.
Thanatos’ undead had been summoned to the Dragon’s Land and began indiscriminately attacking the living.
Specifically, the members of the Black Shadow who were present there.
“Undead……!”
“This land is no place for wretches like you to tread recklessly!”
―Kehahahaha……! There is no place death cannot reach……!
The priests of the Death Cult commanded the undead as they waged battle.
Belus, a high-ranking member of the Black Shadow and a dragonkin who had followed the Evil Dragon since the organization’s inception, gritted his teeth.
“Literally surrounded by enemies.”
―Groaargh!
Cutting down undead as he moved, Belus surveyed his surroundings.
At the forefront were humans.
And in the sky, countless undead appeared, launching attacks.
“And those flying ships up there……”
Most troublesome of all were the Airships soaring through the sky.
If not for them, the humans at the frontlines would have been dealt with long ago.
‘Things have taken a bad turn. This isn’t going as initially planned.’
Belus sensed an unknown hand at work in this situation.
Someone no one had anticipated seemed to be pulling the strings.
‘Who could it be?’
Belus turned his gaze toward the Airships.
Coincidentally, at the end of his line of sight was Yoo Baek-jun’s Airship.
“Wow, they’re really going at it.”
The mastermind behind this situation.
Yoo Baek-jun sat leisurely aboard his ship, watching the battle unfold in the sky.
Kwaaaarururu!
Boooom!
―Kyaaaaah!
Deafening roars and explosions echoed.
The three monstrous beings fighting in the sky were engaged in a battle beyond ordinary comprehension.
To be fair, Yamata-no-Orochi was slightly inferior in power, but its presence ensured the battle remained chaotic.
“…….”
“…….”
Those aboard the Airship stared blankly at the sky.
Han Seong-ah was no exception.
“…Family head. I’ve recently picked up a new hobby.”
“Oh? What is it?”
“Watching movies.”
Han Seong-ah gazed dumbfounded at the sky.
Explosions erupted like fireworks.
“This… reminds me of something I’ve seen in movies. Monster films……”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
Yoo Baek-jun smirked bitterly.
A monster brawl. Watching the battle in the sky evoked that image.
“Is it okay to leave them like this? The scale is too big—it’s worrying.”
“Let them fight. It’d be great if they exhaust themselves.”
“…They don’t seem likely to cooperate.”
“They’re sworn enemies.”
The compatibility between Thanatos and Tiamat was the worst imaginable.
An Evil Dragon who cherished its kin above all else.
And Thanatos, who had slaughtered those very kin and turned them into Bone Dragons.
‘There’s no way it’d forgive that.’
Though extreme circumstances might force a change in perspective.
But even then, there were ways.
Yoo Baek-jun looked around.
‘Now’s the chance.’
Most of the enemies were preoccupied with the Airships, leaving the defenses of the Dragon’s Land weakened.
Yoo Baek-jun signaled to the gnomes.
“We’re heading to the center.”
The heart of the Dragon’s Land.
Where the ruins of the temple lay.
The gnomes, following Yoo Baek-jun’s orders, manipulated the Airship as an immense amount of magical energy gathered in the propulsion device.
Booooom!
With a deafening explosion, the propulsion device ignited, and the ship shot forward at incredible speed.
It flew straight toward the heart of the Dragon’s Land.
―Tch! Stop them! We can’t let them reach the center… Ugh!
―Groaargh!
Enemies tried to block Yoo Baek-jun, but other Airships came to his aid.
Under the sudden barrage of artillery fire, the enemies were helpless.
Yoo Baek-jun’s ship traversed the vast Dragon’s Land in an instant.
―You humans……!
Tiamat, engaged in battle in the sky, noticed Yoo Baek-jun’s movements.
He was interfering with the ritual.
―No! My children, protect the ritual at all costs!
―But, Evil Dragon! If we do that, the undead on the ground will…!
―The ritual takes priority!
The Black Shadow’s high-ranking members had been fighting the undead, but upon hearing Tiamat’s command, they gathered at the temple ruins.
But it wasn’t enough.
Something was still missing. Something more was needed to stop them.
―……!
Then, an anomaly occurred in the two rituals taking place at the temple ruins.
A sinister energy erupted from the magic circles constructing the rituals.
―O Dragon.
A voice echoed.
A hollow, empty voice that resonated directly in Tiamat’s mind.
―Your wish shall be granted.
The voice of a ‘demon’ spoke.
Black energy surged from one of the magic circles, scattering in all directions.
Where that energy landed was where corpses lay.
The resting places of dragon corpses.
Shoooook!
The black energy was absorbed into the dragon corpses.
Shortly after, massive magic circles formed beneath the corpses, emitting an intense light.
―W-what is this……?!
Then, something horrifying happened.
The corpses atop the magic circles—the long-dead dragon corpses—began to move.
Slowly, the corpses rose.
―Grrrr…….
Flesh regrew on skeletal remains, and decayed scales reformed.
The corpses were reverting to their former appearances—as though resurrecting.
―Grr… Graaaaah!
―Huuurk!
In an instant, the resurrected dragons spread their massive wings and roared.
A wave of draconic fear, brimming with overwhelming power, swept through the area, forcing the death priests to cover their ears and tremble.
“Family head!”
“Don’t worry.”
Yoo Baek-jun’s Airship was also within the range of the effect, but it didn’t matter.
―Those who resist.
One of the options of Yoo Baek-jun’s artifact, Dragon Slayer’s Destiny.
An option that allowed him to overcome negative effects caused by dragons—one that could be shared with others.
‘Huh? That was faster than expected.’
One thing was strange.
The dragons had appeared sooner than anticipated. Not that it mattered, since preparations had already been made.
‘This feels off.’
The growing discrepancies in the situation unsettled him.
Yoo Baek-jun observed the dragon before him.
―This place… Grr, graaaaah!
These were beings who had long been dead, their souls left to wander.
Now, they seemed disoriented, displaying only bestial savagery.
“Family head! Two dragons have appeared! One here, and the other…!”
Yoo Baek-jun looked back.
Where he had come from—the coastline of Busan, where it met the Dragon’s Land.
There, another dragon was rising, resurrecting.
“Leave it be.”
“Huh?”
“They’ll handle it themselves.”
There was a reason Yoo Baek-jun had built over a dozen Airships and called upon the guilds he had been cultivating.
It was for the dragons.
He had known the dragons would resurrect here and had prepared the Airships to counter them.
―The Dragon’s Land.
Why was it called the Dragon’s Land? Because it was literally a land where dragons once lived.
Now, it was a ruined land where not a single dragon could be found.
But their bodies and souls still lingered, unable to leave.
‘But… this isn’t good.’
The number of dragons in the Dragon’s Land was beyond manageable.
Hundreds, at the very least.
Considering that a single dragon possessed power beyond S+ rank—immeasurable strength.
‘If we let them keep resurrecting, we won’t survive.’
In other words, this was a race against time.
The ritual had to be stopped before too many dragons revived.
However, one thing was puzzling.
‘What’s this? Two magic circles? And both are different from what I knew.’
There was more to the ritual than just resurrecting dragons.
Moreover, both magic circles were slightly different in form from what Yoo Baek-jun had known.
Something was off, but—
“They’re attacking! Shields up!”
“Yes!”
Now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.
The newly resurrected dragon glared at the Airship and gathered its power.
From its maw, a breath of extreme frost shot forth.
Kwaaaadududuk!
“Ugh!”
The shield clashed with the breath, and the ship shook violently.
The dragon roared and charged toward the ship.
“Here it comes!”
Kwaaaaang!
The dragon slammed its massive body directly into the ship.
Simultaneously, it unleashed numerous spells, bombarding the shield.
“Family head! We can’t hold out much longer!”
“I know! It’s about time!”
“Magical reaction detected above!”
Hearing this, Yoo Baek-jun looked up. A portal was opening above the ship, accompanied by a surge of magical energy.
Slowly, something emerged from within.
A pristine white Airship.
Booooom!
The ship’s numerous magical cannons fired, engulfing the dragon.
But a dragon was still a dragon.
Though it staggered under the barrage, it sustained no major damage.
“The dragon’s been forced back!”
Still, it was enough to force the dragon away from the ship.
Yoo Baek-jun raised his head.
―Am I late?
“Yeah, very.”
Jin Seo-yeon, standing atop the white ship, smiled faintly.
Yoo Baek-jun nodded, and Jin Seo-yeon and the mages channeled their magic.
The ship resonated, amplifying their power even further.
Chaaaarrrge!
―Grrruuuh!?
Countless chains of magical energy materialized around the dragon.
The chains bound its body, immobilizing it.
―Graaaaaah!
Yoo Baek-jun took a deep breath.
The extradimensional monster opened its maw wide and spat out a spear.
He grasped it tightly.
“Huuu……!”
The Dragon Slayer’s Spear.
A weapon forged solely to slay dragons. Now, facing a dragon, the spear pulsed ominously.
―Grrrr……!
The bound dragon, sensing the spear’s presence, thrashed violently.
Though the chains were powerful, they wouldn’t hold for long.
But it didn’t matter.
‘Now.’
It would be over in a single strike.
Yoo Baek-jun drew his arm back, then stepped forward with all his might.
His trained muscles bulged as if ready to burst, and magical energy gathered in his grip.
And when it reached its peak—
―Kyaaaaaah!
The Thunder Dragon was unleashed.
A colossal dragon of lightning tore through the sky, and in an instant—
Thud!
It reached the dragon’s heart.