Chapter 210
Translator: penny
Chapter: 210
Chapter Title: Reverse Scale
"Earlier, the section chief said that babies can't control their sleep, right?"
"But they won't just keep sleeping like that once combat starts."
Ye-rin nodded in agreement with Jeong-hyeon's words but insisted that couldn't be the answer.
She was right.
No matter how young it was by dragon standards, it wouldn't fall asleep in the tension of a life-or-death fight.
Jeong-hyeon hadn't overlooked that either.
"We can only attack while it's sleeping at best once, maybe twice at most."
"So what do we do?"
"From now on, let's treat it like we're dealing with a child."
Something seemed to click into place, though it wasn't entirely clear.
But when Jeong-hyeon began outlining the plan, everyone could guess his intent.
Treat it like a child.
The meaning of that simple yet vague phrase.
"First, Section Chief and Ji-myeong draw its attention from both sides."
That was step one.
"Then, while it's focused on you two, Won-ho hits it with his axe from the front."
Step two.
"And Seung-jun, prepare your brand in advance and use it right after Won-ho's attack lands."
"Let's... give it a try."
Step three.
"Next, the three who charged in earlier close in again to draw its gaze."
Step four.
By now, everyone had a rough sense of the strategy's core.
"We keep disrupting its attention. Make it impossible to focus on one spot. No ordinary party could even attempt this."
A child's focus shifts easily.
That was the idea behind the plan.
But as he said, it was something no average party would dare try.
Splitting a young dragon's attention—aggro ping-pong in common terms—was no different from staking their lives on switches.
Everyone in close combat needed the agility to read and react to the hatchling's movements, plus the firepower to hold its gaze.
If they met those conditions, the hatchling's attacks wouldn't concentrate on one person, easing the burden. Fail, and they'd be picked off one by one in a disastrous wipe.
"Let's do it."
The high risk came with guaranteed payoff.
But Hwi-gon spoke up with a worried look.
"This is just my thought, but it's still unsettling. What if our attacks don't work? Then what?"
Drawing attention and maneuvering was fine.
But the opponent was a hatchling.
Young or not, a true dragon incomparable to drakes.
Even elite hunters' spells and physical strikes might not scratch its scales.
It wasn't Jeong-hyeon or Ye-rin who answered Hwi-gon.
Won-ho, who had been listening quietly, grinned despite his pale face.
"Then we die, don't we?"
"......"
True enough—if their plan against a hatchling failed, there was no next step.
But talking about death so boldly wasn't exactly normal either.
After a moment's thought, Hwi-gon cautiously broached the topic.
"If you all can buy enough time following Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon's plan, that's already a miracle. But there's a weakness we can aim for."
All eyes turned to Hwi-gon.
A weakness—even on a hatchling?
"It's......"
Jeong-hyeon reacted with disbelief to the hatchling's weakness Hwi-gon revealed.
"Does that really exist?"
Reverse scale—did that actually exist?
***
What would the end of the world look like?
Everyone here had lived through the cataclysm, the closest thing to it.
Yet the desolation they felt now was no less.
Boom—scraaape—roooar—
Dozens of collision sounds echoed every second.
Most were spells from the hatchling, the rest from its massive body thrashing violently.
"Watch out!"
Seung-jun's flame spell soared through the barrage of elemental basics swirling chaotically.
"Why is it so damn tough!"
Ye-rin, Ji-myeong, and Won-ho's strikes slipped past the hatchling's iron scales and muscles.
But the same thought gnawed at their gritted teeth.
Could they take it down?
Zzaaap—
The Raiderun leg guards, infused with basic lightning.
A solid spark flew, yet the scales didn't budge.
Thud—
Ji-myeong's sword, which had once scarred Royal Erke's head unbeknownst to him, fared no better.
Boom—
Won-ho's axe, loaded with immense power, was equally futile.
The three dodged wings and tail to land blows, but the hatchling seemed utterly unscathed.
From afar, though, their evasion looked frantic—it wasn't.
Ji-myeong and Ye-rin worked from front legs toward the tail; Won-ho shuttled across the exposed chest.
Their paths screamed one thing.
Find the reverse scale at all costs.
"Graaaah!"
Oblivious, the hatchling fixated on swatting these pesky tiny humans.
It knew their attacks couldn't dent its scales, but nothing had annoyed it this much before.
And those occasional flame spells stung more than expected for human tricks—not as bad as the one that charred a whole scale, but enough.
It wanted that mage dead, and these three loitering nearby gone ASAP.
But what was this?
Spells rained, wings and tail swept—no catches.
They darted everywhere, dodging like ghosts.
Approach one, it ghosts away; another lunges.
The skirmish dragged on, endless.
Whoooosh—
Tail swung at Ji-myeong; he leaped high.
Not just dodging—he stomped the very tail targeting him.
In one leap, he cleared the hind leg thigh to perch on the hip, scales gleaming.
Unusual move.
Jumping to evade was the worst-case last resort.
Ji-myeong knew that.
'Not visible from below... the top?'
Still hunting the reverse scale.
If below, Ye-rin or Won-ho would've spotted it.
No signal yet.
So it must be hidden by angle from ground level.
Risking it, he used the tail for extra height.
In that brief apex before descent, he scanned the hatchling's upper body thoroughly.
And.
"Found it!"
Scales flowing like waves—one flaw against the grain.
Ji-myeong grinned triumphantly and shouted.
The culmination of every hunter's efforts.
But victory demanded payment.
Screeeam—
"Guh!"
Midair, defenseless—tail struck true.
A casual brush like swatting a fly, but devastating to a human.
Spells poured relentlessly after.
"Hunter Ji-myeong!"
Hwi-gon bolted from position in horror.
Healing worked at range, but efficacy dropped sharply with distance.
That hit—even with full gear, Ji-myeong couldn't last.
Prior damage would've weakened his defenses.
Instinct overrode risk.
Boom—
Tail slammed down; Ji-myeong cratered into the ground, bouncing far.
Hwi-gon needed time to assess.
"Raaah!"
Hwi-gon poised for the kill shot.
"Not on my watch!"
Zzaaack—
Lightning from one side, axe to the chest—foiled.
Pity no confirmation kill, but it'd buy time to regroup.
Maybe instant death anyway.
Either way, hatchling refocused on the remaining two.
Two versus what three struggled with meant double the burden.
Yet despite Ji-myeong's peril and the onslaught, they didn't despair.
They'd found it.
Time to play their ace, held back till now.
Overkill for one-on-one, but absurdly potent.
"Hey, lizard."
In the brief lull as Ji-myeong leaped, now reignited chaos—a low voice cut through.
Tiny amid the din, yet the hatchling, fixated on Ye-rin and Won-ho, snapped toward it.
Screeeam—
That distant speck ballooned rapidly.
Jeong-hyeon's Black dagger.
"Keeek!"
Eyeing it—straight for the eye.
Startled, hatchling jerked its head, layering shields over the orb instinctively.
Dragon-only reflexes—spellcasting on pure instinct.
Krakrakrak—
Attribute-less Black shredded the shields one by one.
One layer, two, three...
All shattered in seconds, but not for nothing.
The null attribute faded, then vanished.
Momentum weakened.
Tok—
Head twitch sent it glancing off the brow, not eye—clattering down.
Jeong-hyeon and hatchling locked eyes midair.
A teammate down—Ji-myeong.
First for Jeong-hyeon.
'Kill it.'
Something snapped inside him.