Chapter 212
Translator: penny
Chapter: 212
Chapter Title: Dragon's Wrath
'Good position, good angle.'
It was quite fortunate that the reverse scale was located on the hatchling's hind leg pelvis.
At the very least, this spot was out of reach of the dragon's attacks, except for magic.
Considering the joint movement angles, neither the wings nor the tail could target it directly.
On top of its broad, flat surface comparable to Royal Erke, it was perfect.
The vibrations from the beast's frenzied thrashing weren't minor, but to him, they felt no different from a soft mattress bed.
"Huuuup—."
Jeong-hyeon took a deep breath and simultaneously hoisted the pickaxe high above his head.
Pickaxes were especially satisfying against large monsters, delivering an incredible thrill.
'Slamming it down like this really makes you feel like a miner.'
Boom—
Jeong-hyeon brought the pickaxe down without a moment's hesitation.
The sharpened blade, rivaling any sword, struck the hatchling's reverse scale dead-on.
"Huh?"
Then, something even Jeong-hyeon hadn't anticipated occurred.
Even with the brutally sturdy pickaxe amplified by Harado's neutral magic, he had expected it would take several strikes since it was still a dragon's scale.
Crack—
Yet the reverse scale shattered almost disappointingly in a single blow.
And that wasn't all.
Stab—
The pickaxe blade pierced straight through the fragments, burrowing deep into the hatchling's flesh.
'Is this... for real?'
At the same time, Jeong-hyeon couldn't help but question it.
Sure, the reverse scale breaking easily made sense, but wasn't this just like stabbing the flesh beneath the scales?
No matter how potent the neutral enchantment and the pickaxe's destructive power, against the hatchling's massive body, this was less than a human pricked by a needle.
As he pondered this most primal question—"Why is this the hatchling's weak point?"—with the pickaxe embedded below the reverse scale.
It wasn't Hwi-gon or the other hunters who resolved Jeong-hyeon's dilemma.
The hatchling proved it itself.
"Hm?"
Jeong-hyeon suddenly sensed the atmosphere shift and looked around.
Before he knew it, the space filled with deafening explosions had fallen silent.
Even the hatchling's body, which had been wildly convulsing without affecting him much, had gone still.
'No way... did breaking this kill it in one hit?'
If so, it wasn't a weak point—it was practically the power switch.
Turning toward the head to check if the dragon was truly dead, Jeong-hyeon froze in shock.
No, it wasn't shock.
It was fear.
A primal terror of death akin to any creature's instinct.
In the deathly quiet, as if the world had stopped, the hatchling had twisted its long neck back to stare at Jeong-hyeon.
A pair of golden eyes glared at him, though he didn't know since when.
At the same moment, a new alert appeared before his eyes.
['Young Dragon's Presence' converts to 'Dragon's Wrath.'
「Dullahan's Curse」 defensive effect diminishes.
Applies only to those who destroy the dragon's reverse scale.]
'You don't have to tell me...'
It was the presence that had grown even stronger once before.
Even so, after properly entering combat, he could ignore it and fight.
This time, the moment his eyes met the hatchling's, Jeong-hyeon's body locked up rigidly.
It felt as if only he and the hatchling remained in the world.
An eternity seemed to pass in that instant.
"Rooooaaarrr..."
The hatchling straightened its head and let out a sound unlike any before.
A massive, drawn-out roar.
Only after hearing it did Jeong-hyeon snap out of it, freeing himself from the presence's grip like awakening from paralysis.
'Not the time!'
Hwi-gon had only said the reverse scale was the hatchling's weak point, not what happened if destroyed.
No, it wasn't that he hadn't said—it was that he probably didn't know either.
Even if the hatchling had been hunted a few times, detailed data wouldn't be abundant or publicly disclosed.
They might know about the ultimate weak point somehow, but who could've predicted destroying it triggered the dragon's wrath?
Biting his lower lip, Jeong-hyeon gripped the pickaxe again.
He had no idea what would happen next.
One thing was certain: he had to act before that roar ended.
Crunch—
The pickaxe already embedded in the hatchling's flesh tore through it viciously as he applied force, then pulled free.
'Beating one spot won't kill this giant anyway!'
Jeong-hyeon targeted the scale next to the shattered reverse scale.
Even if sizable, the reverse scale was just a dot compared to the hatchling.
Ripping only there wouldn't end it.
He had no choice but to widen the gap he'd made in its body, success or failure be damned.
Boom— Boom— Crack—
Fortunately, his guess was right; even the intact scale loosened easily under his strikes.
Confirming it dangled, he wedged the pickaxe blade underneath, prying it up like a lever. With a gruesome sound, it tore free completely.
Each time, the hatchling's body thrashed far more violently than before.
At least the info that the reverse scale was its utmost fatal weakness seemed solid.
As healthy scales rained down in an instant.
"Rooooaaarrr..."
Finally, the hatchling's roar ceased.
Looking up, Jeong-hyeon saw five entirely new spells forming around its massive head.
'Five?'
He inwardly questioned the number.
The hatchling's strategy had always prioritized quantity over quality.
Not one powerful spell, but hundreds of weak ones forming a barrage to block approach entirely.
Of course, it hadn't worked on him and his party.
But five spells—whatever they were—signaled a change in the hatchling.
Fwoosh—
When the five spells fully manifested.
Jeong-hyeon realized.
Not 'only five,' but 'as many as five.'
And the one reacting most fiercely wasn't Jeong-hyeon—it was Seung-jun.
"Hunter Han Jeong-hyeon! Get out of there now! That's... that's!"
As a flame mage, he knew exactly what magic the hatchling was using.
No, even without being a flame mage, how could anyone not know?
"It's Hellfire!"
The pinnacle of publicly known magic.
Hellfire.
If 'Flame of Valkyrie,' which Seung-jun manifested at the fight's start, was the top B-Rank spell, Hellfire was a step above.
While Flame of Valkyrie could be cast by decent flame mages given time, Hellfire wasn't for every A-Rank.
Even elite A-Ranks needed exceptional talent for this top-tier spell.
It reportedly took over five minutes to cast once.
'What kind of broken balance is this...'
The hatchling conjured five in under 30 seconds.
Fwoom—
And those five Hellfires now homed in on Jeong-hyeon.
Hellfire wasn't visually unique beyond its signature blue flames.
Slightly larger than a standard fireball, its flight speed was even slower than a basic bolt.
But its name 'Hellfire' came from elsewhere.
'Guided tracking until the target dies? Where's magic like that!?'
Hellfire had homing that pursued the designated target.
Unless the caster canceled it voluntarily or otherwise, evasion was near impossible.
Moreover, no method existed to extinguish the flames until the target died.
So, if Jeong-hyeon got hit now, survival was impossible.
Thus,
"Get out of there now!"
Seung-jun's warning was essentially meaningless.
The Hellfires had already locked onto him.
"Damn it!"
No choice but to go all out, life or death.
"Let's see who dies first!"
Jeong-hyeon immediately swung the pickaxe mercilessly.
As he'd said, with the hatchling casting Hellfire, this fight had become a race against time.
Would Jeong-hyeon die first, or the hatchling?
Obviously, the former seemed far more likely.
Boom— Boom— Boom—
But Jeong-hyeon's momentum was no joke.
Closer to death than ever before.
Every second lifting the pickaxe or breathing was precious.
Each strike near the reverse scale sent scales flying like shattered marble.
'Destroying the reverse scale lowers the hatchling's defense entirely!'
He was getting the hang of it now.
Though uninvolved in combat, he'd watched the others fight.
They hadn't used neutral enchantments to save their aces, yet the party's firepower was no slouch.
Arguably unmatched in Korea.
Yet they couldn't scratch a single scale, except Seung-jun's ultimate.
It didn't feel like a monster designed to be raided.
But now?
Crack— Crunch—
Scales peeled off relentlessly under pickaxe blows.
The scales themselves remained tough, but their bond to the body had weakened absurdly.
So even the same force now effortlessly stripped away the core of its defense.
"Kraaaagh!"
The pain of scales ripping free and flesh gouging out was unavoidable, even for the hatchling.
After tearing off dozens of scales and the flesh beneath—chunk after house-sized chunk—a major blood vessel burst, blood erupting like a waterfall.
It twisted in agonized screams, but Jeong-hyeon, secured below the waist amid the scales, was unaffected.
Instead, blood sprayed even more fiercely from the wound.
Yet the hatchling kept its eyes locked on him.
It needed line-of-sight to guide the Hellfires, plus vengeful fury from unprecedented pain.