Chapter 314
Chapter 314
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 314
Chapter Title: Dragon Hunt (3)
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[You have acquired Samalian's ????]
[Caution: Samalian's ???? has not yet fulfilled its function. The moment it re-enters the world, the mithril golem will activate.]
"Tch."
It was the end, but not quite.
The moment Rokan stowed it in his inventory, the pursuing mithril masses halted, reverting to inert lumps of metal. Yet the system warned that removing it would restore everything to its original state.
[Samalian's ????][Legend]
A legendary-grade item, yet unusable.
'Should I feed it to something?'
He considered feeding it to the Demon God's Fang belt since he couldn't use it anyway, but that felt like a waste.
He decided to save it as a last resort and focus on what he could do now.
"Time Reversal."
Rewinding time to restore his body to peak condition.
Gaokan's subordinates had been handling the remaining mithril golem, allowing Rokan to sprint back from the dragon lair's entrance.
"Let's go! Berserk!"
He held back on Storm Incarnation, though. No telling what lay ahead.
Instead, he activated Berserk to boost his power.
He methodically took down the nearest mithril golem first.
"Inventory open!"
He sealed it away as the finishing touch.
They weren't at Rokan's level, but as level 400 powerhouses, they could use Creation to shatter the golem's body in an instant.
"Any casualties?"
"None."
Gaokan, who hadn't intervened until all five mithril golems were dealt with, checked on his subordinates.
The priests had restored their lowered health, but the situation wasn't ideal. They'd all wasted their Creation skills.
Power they should have conserved.
Their force against the green dragon was weakened, but Gaokan's expression wasn't bad.
"No need to worry. If you hadn't stepped in, the losses would've been worse. Ending it with just a skill expenditure is a net gain."
He wasn't wrong. Without Rokan's inventory trick, the cost of total destruction would've been unknown.
Still, unease lingered. With four people wasting Creation, only six besides Gaokan retained it now.
Unclear how many more hurdles remained, it wasn't purely positive.
"Shall we stay here, or press on?"
"Press on."
Resting a day might've been wise, but Gaokan chose to advance.
They were deep in enemy territory. No knowing when the dragon might appear or deploy new guardians overnight.
They took a brief rest and moved forward.
"Golems first, now gargoyles?"
Deeper in, artistic statues greeted them like a gallery exhibit.
No one missed the implication.
Gargoyles.
Hundreds seemingly poised as statues, ready to gain life upon intrusion.
'Not ordinary stone, either.'
Preemptively sniping them with ranged attacks was an option before they woke, but their stone bodies were likely special too.
Gaokan halted, entering a standoff.
"Shall I handle this?"
Rokan stepped up again.
Limited to Throwing or Aura Bombardment for range, yet he seemed confident.
"You? How?"
"Hmm, what if we use this?"
"Oh ho? You carry all sorts of things."
Thud.
What dropped before him was a ballista.
A magically enhanced siege weapon with explosive power—one of the few he'd bought during past wars.
"This might just work."
Everyone reacted positively upon seeing it. What other options did they have?
They gave it a shot.
Whish. Thunk! Clang!
"Oh!"
A resounding success. Slow firing rate, but one shot, one kill. Methodical destruction.
Waking even one risked a chain reaction, but luckily Gaokan's forces included sharpshooters.
They passed the gargoyle area unscathed after some time.
"What's this now?"
Next up was unexpected.
"Dark Knights?"
Armored knights rose, their bodies sustained not by cores but souls—dark knights.
No waiting like with the gargoyles.
They drew weapons and charged.
"Turn Undead!"
"Holy Shower!"
The priests, natural counters to soul beings, unleashed holy light, but it was futile. The dark knights' souls were too potent.
They faltered slightly but pressed on.
"I think I can handle these too."
Rokan grinned at their menacing forms.
"Unicorn."
Neigh! Whoosh!
Dark knights trapped knightly souls in armor.
No obvious weakness, but their souls were the weakness.
He'd considered Soul Collector's Authority at first, but his 10,000-soul limit was reached en route. So, unicorn it was.
A divine beast radiating intense holiness, sending dark knights reeling.
Kieee!
They dissolved into hazy smoke, fleeing their armor.
Enlightenment, essentially.
Unclear how well the green dragon handled souls, but a holiness-specialized divine beast could purify them.
"Haha, glad I came with you."
Another stage cleared.
Gaokan laughed in satisfaction at the smoother-than-expected progress.
Clatter clatter.
"Huh?"
The next chamber held undead.
"Why these guys all of a sudden?"
Level 390 powerhouses, but a grade below prior guardians.
Why weaker foes? Simple reason.
[You have entered the Land of Death. Caution: Wounds will worsen, and upon death, body and soul will be claimed by death.]
Normally, reaching here meant heavy losses.
Near-death states made standing in the land taxing; wounds from undead or death meant resurrection as undead.
"Sweep them."
"Understood."
Their group was pristine, though. Gaokan scowled at the underestimation and issued firm orders.
Rokan and the unicorn could've sufficed, but the endlessly rising undead annoyed him.
"Krraaah!"
Rokan swung his battle axe furiously amid them.
High-level undead—not "mere" by any means—made from powerful corpses, bones, and souls. Solid opponents.
No need for his last Storm Incarnation, but he unleashed madness to silence them.
"What's next?"
Gaokan's confident forces crossed the Land of Death easily and entered the next area.
"Huh?"
"Those are...!"
Unexpected greeters.
"Celestials?"
"Demons too?"
"Insane. Enslaving celestials and demons...!"
Celestials and demons, brainwashed into loyal slaves by the green dragon.
"We'll take this one."
All over level 400.
Even Rokan would struggle. Gaokan stepped in.
Not personally, though.
"Eliminate them."
Ten disciples charged at his command.
Level 400 elites, trained under Lion King Gaokan—matchups even Rokan couldn't guarantee victory against.
Rokan itched to join but held back, observing their skills and analyzing Creation to sharpen his eye.
'Not bad.'
Comparing to his own Creation.
Pros and cons aside, if he reached Grand Master and used Creation, could he beat them? Yes—even all together.
That power's terror lingered.
"Wrapping up. Prepare to move."
The clashes dragged on—fiercely, as expected.
Brainwashing cost some power, but the dragon's tweaks seemed to boost stats beyond prior levels.
Yet celestials without heavenly might and demons without demonic couldn't match Gaokan's well-drilled disciples.
After thirty minutes of bloody combat, victors turned to aid, tipping the scales.
Meanwhile, Gaokan rallied his forces, buffing and healing via priests nonstop, priming everyone to move.
"This seems like the last one."
Gaokan's gaze fixed afar, sensing tremendous power nearby.
Green dragon Samalian.
Its turn now.
"Snore, huff!"
"Hm?"
"This..."
Gaokan's haste was simple: Samalian was close, still in sleep or light slumber.
What better ambush than striking a sleeping foe?
He urged the group forward to land a preemptive blow.
"Battle stations. We start now."
Disciples weren't fully recovered, but hesitation risked the dragon waking and heavier losses.
They spurred mounts to its snout.
He gripped his weapon.
[Sleeping Green Dragon Samalian][Lv 463]
"Grunt?"
"Damn!"
Rustle.
Just then, Samalian's closed eyelids began rising slowly. The commotion and approaching power roused it from slumber.
Tense standoff.
Rokan intervened.
"Giant Butterfly summon, sleep powder!"
Flutter.
He summoned the Giant Butterfly, spraying sleep powder wildly.
It worked decently on level 400s, but a healthy green dragon? No chance.
A half-asleep one? Viable.
Sluuuur.
As powder concentrated, the half-lidded eyes closed again.
Perfect opening created.
"Well done, Rokan!"
Lion King Gaokan, shaker of the heavens, unveiled his full might for the first time in ages.