Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Welcome Ceremony (3)
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He had hunted exactly one hundred Drakans and Dragonians, turning them all into summons.
No more Drakans or Dragonians appeared after that.
‘So only the Demon Dragon Karas is left now?’
The odds were high.
‘Time to pull back.’
Deep down, he wanted to snag the Demon Dragon Karas the moment it showed up, make it a summon, and pamper it forever.
‘But it’s too strong for that.’
Thanks to Kang Hyun-soo stepping in early, the army of dragonkin monsters had been completely wiped out.
Even without any subordinates, the Demon Dragon Karas was still powerful.
‘At least this time, it should be relatively manageable.’
Before his regression, the Muran Kingdom had requested aid from surrounding nations, including the Rokto Empire, when invaded by the dragonkin monster legion led by the Demon Dragon Karas.
The no-interdimensional-gate policy between nations had amplified the damage.
Still, a fair number of Named Players and Rankers had been assembled relatively quickly.
‘The problem was that not even the Named Players and Rankers could get close to the Demon Dragon Karas.’
To reach it, they had to break through a wall of dragonkin monsters that numbered at least a hundred thousand.
‘Nearly a million troops vanished, and it took the sacrifice of thirteen Named Players and two hundred Rankers before anyone could approach the Demon Dragon Karas.’
In the fierce battle that followed, eight more Named Players and a hundred Rankers died.
If anything, the losses from fighting the dragonkin monster legion outweighed those from battling the Demon Dragon Karas itself.
‘The difference between having its dragonkin monster legion or not is huge.’
The Demon Dragon Karas had used its dragonkin monster legion as meat shields.
‘It was brutal.’
The Demon Dragon Karas positioned its legion up front while unleashing powerful attack skills from the rear.
It occasionally came forward, but when Named Players and Rankers charged, it hit and ran using its dragonkin monsters, prioritizing its own safety.
That was the worst thing a commander could do.
‘But the dragonkin monsters follow the Demon Dragon Karas absolutely.’
If a human commander pulled that, they’d be fired or face a mutiny.
But with an army of dragonkin monsters, that never happened.
‘It won’t be able to fight like that this time.’
It could still pour out more mid-, low-, and upper-tier dragonkin through the dimensional gate.
‘But the top-tiers are different.’
Kang Hyun-soo had eliminated a hundred of them, turning them into summons.
The ones that came with the Demon Dragon Karas numbered no more than ten at most.
That wasn’t enough to recreate its pre-regression might.
“Not much left! Everyone, hang in there!”
“Got it!”
“Can’t miss this chance!”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s shout, Song Hana and the Fist Emperor’s eyes flashed as they swung their sword and fist.
‘It really is a great hunting ground.’
High-level monsters kept pouring out endlessly.
As a result, even after resetting once, Kang Hyun-soo’s level had surpassed 500.
‘Might even hit 600 if things go well.’
It was a shame the skill reinforcement cooldown was seven days.
Song Hana and the Fist Emperor killed monsters slower than Kang Hyun-soo.
They couldn’t match his pace when he deployed nearly two thousand summons while they had to smash monsters with their own bodies.
But with the sheer volume of dragonkin monsters, hitting 600 seemed feasible.
‘I can’t fall behind either.’
Kang Hyun-soo diligently hunted dragonkin monsters for power-leveling too.
Boom!
At that moment, a massive dragon forepaw gleaming with jet-black sheen emerged from beyond the dimensional gate.
Following it was a head adorned with sharp horns.
Even with just the head and forepaw visible, it filled the dimensional gate.
Its size dwarfed all the upper-tier dragonkin monsters that had appeared so far, making them look like children.
‘Demon Dragon Karas.’
Kang Hyun-soo poured everything into retreating from the battlefield.
It was really time to withdraw now.
‘But before I go.’
Since it was their first meeting, a light greeting was only polite.
-Total attack.
Kang Hyun-soo issued the attack order not with his voice, but with his will, to Song Hana, the Fist Emperor, and all his summons.
Whoosh!
Song Hana squeezed out her last bit of mana to launch a powerful fireball.
“Hah!”
The Fist Emperor swung a mana-infused fist, sending forth a golden aura.
Rumble!
With a thunderous roar, the Sword King’s aura, crackling with lightning, flew out.
The other humanoid summons followed, unleashing their ultimate attack skills.
-Kaboom!
The dragonkin monster summons spewed their most powerful weapon: their breath.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out as the Demon Dragon Karas, just emerging from the dimensional gate, was engulfed in flames, lightning, auras, breath attacks, and every other skill imaginable.
-Roar!
The enraged Demon Dragon Karas bellowed furiously, jaws gaping wide.
An unimaginable surge of mana pulsed at the same time.
The gathered mana erupted from its maw.
Kaboom!
The Demon Dragon’s world-destroying breath blasted forth.
In that instant.
Shimmer!
All the enemies that had attacked the Demon Dragon Karas melted into the air and vanished.
Boom!
The Demon Dragon Karas’s full-powered breath slammed into the empty ground.
Grrr!
Having unleashed its breath, the Demon Dragon Karas growled low, venting its rage.
-Puny rats.
He didn’t know what trick they’d used, but they’d vanished right before its eyes.
Then, as it scanned the surroundings, shock filled the Demon Dragon Karas’s eyes.
They were gone.
Its soldiers, who should have been lined up as the vanguard.
-How in the world?
It was alone in this place.
-Don’t tell me those bastards just now!
It was certain.
Those bastards had wiped out its subordinates.
Come to think of it, quite a few dragonkin monsters had been among the enemies.
-How?
It made no sense.
Dragonkin monsters couldn’t resist the Demon Dragon Karas on instinct alone.
Yet somehow, they had turned on it and unleashed breath attacks.
Of course, something was off.
They lacked any vital energy of living beings.
-Undead?
Had they killed its subordinates and turned them into undead?
But that didn’t fit—no aura of death lingered.
Besides, undead were created by necromancers.
Even a necromancer empowered by a contract with demons couldn’t challenge it.
Why?
The Demon Dragon Karas was a dragon and a demon itself.
A high-ranking demon with a noble title, no less.
A variable had emerged.
-What kind of bastard is this?
Faces of other demons flashed through the Demon Dragon Karas’s mind.
There had to be a traitor.
Without that, the current situation was inexplicable.
Humans had anticipated its invasion and struck first.
Humans couldn’t know its plans ahead of time, so a traitor must have leaked the info.
No matter how it racked its brain, that was the only conclusion.
-Grrr!
It couldn’t contain its boiling fury.
The countless mid-, low-, and upper-tier dragonkin it had sent through the dimensional gate first.
The top-tier ones sent to command them.
All its dragonkin monster subordinates.
Wiped out.
Strictly speaking, the blame lay heaviest on the supreme commander, the Demon Dragon Karas.
If the strongest one had gone through the dimensional gate first?
This wouldn’t have happened.
But the arrogant Demon Dragon Karas had sent its weaker subordinates ahead.
In order of increasing strength.
But that was only natural.
Dimensional gates were unstable.
Forcing through the Gaia system protecting the Atlantis dimension guaranteed instability.
Those passing through first had a high chance of becoming lost in the dimension.
Especially if they wielded greater power—the risk skyrocketed.
The haughty Demon Dragon Karas had no intention of risking the dimensional gate first for its subordinates.
Even unstable dimensional gates stabilized over time.
The Demon Dragon Karas had waited until it was fully stable before crossing.
Ideally, all troops would cross after stabilization.
But with such vast numbers, it had no choice but to take risks.
A single mistake could collapse the gate before half the forces made it through.
-I’ll never forgive them.
Once it returned, it would report to the Demon King and root out the traitors.
The problem was there was no way back right now.
Thud! Thud!
Even as the Demon Dragon Karas raged, the dimensional gate continued spewing dragonkin monsters.
-No choice.
Regrettable, but.
It had to rally the trailing forces and invade a human nation to gather enough power for a new dimensional gate.
* * *
‘Just when the hell is it coming?’
Count Bukaku’s face filled with embarrassment.
Following the warning from the unknown figure, he’d issued an emergency muster.
He’d repaired the walls, stockpiled war supplies, and bolstered defenses.
Not enough? He’d formally requested reinforcements from the Muran royal family.
Players from the Muran royals and massive guilds had arrived and were waiting.
Yet the supposed enemy remained silent.
‘Did I get played?’
Count Bukaku, a Named Player, had believed the words after witnessing the man’s prowess.
But Baran, the great city, hadn’t seen so much as a goblin whelp, let alone a massive monster wave.
Mutterings of discontent rose among the exhausted soldiers after the prolonged alert status.
That wasn’t all.
The royal reinforcements and guild players felt mounting frustration, subtly badmouthing Count Bukaku.
Why trust some nobody?
If he could get duped by that guy, he didn’t deserve the title Western Tiger.
What’s with the beastkin being so cowardly? Aren’t you actually dirtkin?
I could challenge him and steal that Western Tiger title myself.
Do you know how much we’re worth? Why tie us up here?
Can’t hunt, so I’m bored to death.
Just lift the alert and we’ll come running if something pops up.
Is a monster wave even really happening?
They didn’t say it to his face.
Just whispers among themselves.
But knowing full well beastkin had keen hearing, chattering like that was as good as shouting it for him to hear.
Grind!
His teeth ground together involuntarily.
‘No helping it.’
What’s done was done; no turning back.
‘Actually, maybe it’s for the best.’
If the guy was lying?
He’d just eat some embarrassment, and that’d be that.
But if he was telling the truth?
‘Baran would be drowned in blood.’
Count Bukaku decided to wait three more days.
If nothing happened after?
He’d lift the alert and send the royal reinforcements home.
‘My reputation’s gonna tank.’
Trouble loomed ahead.
Right then.
-Roar!
A roar carrying immeasurable mana thundered in Count Bukaku’s ears.
‘What monster is that?’
Turning toward the sound, Count Bukaku’s eyes caught sight of.
A massive Demon Dragon flapping jet-black wings, hovering in the sky.