Chapter 320: War of the Dragons (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 320: War of the Dragons (2)
Ancient Dragon.
It was the term used to describe the ultimate predators that inhabited the upper floors of the Tower.
[Ancient Species '???' has manifested!]
Along with dark red sparks, a massive dragon revealed itself.
"Kroooo...!"
The air trembled from its low roar alone.
The thick dark clouds that had blanketed the sky parted to the left and right.
The heavy mana that had encroached upon the surroundings also vanished as if it had never existed.
By a far stronger existence...
...the existing elements were being erased.
"Kraaa!"
The Blue Dragon let out a sharp cry.
Rather than a challenge to fight, it sounded more like a desperate plea to be left alone.
Samaja was equally bewildered.
"T-This is impossible..."
It had taken over a decade just to awaken the Blue Dragon.
Drawing the formation to subjugate the awakened Blue Dragon had required an unimaginable amount of wealth and manpower.
Even then, it was only possible because of his position as the second-in-command of the Heavenly Demon Cult. It was a grand undertaking that no one else would have dared to even attempt.
After such painstaking efforts,
he had finally obtained a Divine Beast powerful enough to rival an entire faction.
Whether it was the Murim Alliance or the toothless Heavenly Demon,
nothing should have been able to stand in his way anymore.
Now, it was finally time for all his plans to bear fruit.
That was how it should have been...
'Not only did he move the Empire... but he's even commanding such an absurd dragon?'
This was far beyond the realm of what an individual could achieve.
He wanted to scream curses right now, but even that was a luxury he couldn't afford.
He had to respond.
No matter what.
"Kill it! Now!"
Samaja focused his inner qi.
[Forbidden Art 'Gu Poison of Oblivion' has been activated!]
Vroooom!
"Kroooo!"
The Blue Dragon's pupils dyed red.
It was a forbidden art that stripped away reason, forcing absolute obedience to commands.
Even if the opponent was a higher predator, this would force it to fight regardless.
Terrifying mana erupted from the Dragon Orb held in its claws.
Zap!
Crackle!
It was at that moment that yellow sparks crackled between the parted dark clouds.
Rumble! Crash!
Dozens of lightning bolts rained down from the heavens.
Aimed precisely at Goguma's head.
However,
[Ancient Species '???' uses Lv??? 'Draconic Language Before Records'!]
The falling lightning bolts scattered into a handful of smoke.
As if the very fact that they had been cast was completely negated.
"Even if they're both Draconic, there's a world of difference between the Draconic Language of a Blue Dragon and that of an Ancient Species."
Jinhyuk spoke slowly to Samaja, who now looked as if he was on the verge of tears.
"If you want to fight with that single earthworm, one Dragon Orb is going to be far from enough."
"Krooooo!"
Goguma spread his wings as if in response.
As if he could no longer tolerate the Blue Dragon looking down on him from the air.
Whoosh!
Soon, his massive body soared high into the sky.
"Kraaa!"
"Kroooo!"
The two dragons clashed in the high heavens.
What followed was a desperate struggle to tear out each other's throats.
The relatively faster Blue Dragon moved at high speeds, looking for an opening.
Its skill in riding the wind with its flexible body was superb.
On the other hand, Goguma held his ground, attempting to snatch the approaching Blue Dragon's body.
If it was caught even once...
...the Blue Dragon's slender body would be snapped in two.
"Keeee!"
Evading Goguma's claws, the Blue Dragon took a position behind his back.
One of the factors determining the power of a Breath is its casting time.
Depending on how long energy is gathered, its destructive power varies wildly.
Naturally, the side that positioned itself first held an overwhelming advantage in terms of firepower.
Whoosh!
Having begun gathering its Breath first, the Blue Dragon unleashed its fully charged mana.
Immediately after, Goguma also spat out blue flames.
Boom! Rumble!
The two Breaths collided in midair.
Their trajectories warped, and Goguma's Breath veered toward the mountain behind the Blue Dragon.
KABOOM!
It was powerful enough to completely erase a small mountain.
However, the battle had only just begun.
* * *
While the dragons waged their war,
Samaja, left alone, shouted with veins bulging on his neck.
"You are a persistent nuisance! What on earth is your reason? You are merely a Player whose goal is to climb the Tower. If you had sided with me, you could have easily advanced to the next floor... Why are you meddling so deeply in the affairs of Murim?!"
A reason...
True, he could have met the conditions to advance to the next floor of the Tower even if he had sided with Samaja.
Just as the bastard said, that way would have been much less troublesome and far easier.
But you see,
"Life isn't always about efficiency."
I met my master.
To stand firm in what they believed.
No matter how much their faction had declined, no matter if the one they served had lost all power...
They did not abandon their lord.
I met the Heavenly Demon.
Even if he wouldn't be remembered by anyone, he fought to protect his world, to ensure Murim remained Murim.
Even if his end was miserable, he never regretted it.
"I can overlook most things. But I can't stand to watch a piece of trash who betrays those who trusted him, committing massacres by any means necessary, rise to success."
That is not my way of climbing the Tower.
The summit seen through such means... would surely be different from the summit of the past.
Because the summit of the Tower of Trials did not exist for people like him.
"And since we've come this far, are you going to keep babbling on with questions and answers? If you're the leader of a faction, you shouldn't just leave it to your subordinates—you should fight yourself."
Jinhyuk pointed Balmung forward.
Whoosh!
As the sword drew an elegant curve, a purple mist rose along its trajectory.
"Fine... Just as you said, if I worry about the means and methods, I will be the one to die. Then, I too shall stake my life on this battle."
Slide.
Samaja drew a white gem from his robes.
A magic stone holding an indescribable light.
There was no mistake.
It was the highest-grade Dragon Orb, the 'Dragon Orb of White Flame'.
Not only could it allow a human body to manipulate energy like a dragon,
'But with this Dragon Orb... it is even possible to birth a new dragon.'
[Samaja summons lesser dragons.]
Rumble!
A strange mana surged along the ground.
"I never imagined I would have to resort to this."
Dragons covered in blue scales appeared by Samaja's side.
They were slightly different from the Blue Dragon fighting Goguma.
They were much smaller, and the Dragon Orbs held in their claws possessed so little mana that it was almost embarrassing to call them Dragon Orbs.
"They are degraded versions created through forbidden arts. Their size and power are a mere tenth of the original."
However,
even that was strong enough to easily kill most peak-level masters.
Furthermore, there wasn't just one lesser dragon in front of Jinhyuk.
There were seven in total.
"Grrr..."
"Kieeeek!"
The lesser dragons bared their fangs, threatening Jinhyuk.
He hadn't expected this...
"Not bad. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised by this one. You had a Dragon Orb like that and kept it hidden all this time?"
"This was my trump card, prepared to bring down the Empire. It pains me to waste it on a bastard like you, but under the circumstances, I have no choice."
Even if the Ancient Species was overwhelming the Blue Dragon, it would still take several hours to completely finish it off.
In other words,
there was no one who could help Jinhyuk right now.
However,
even though he was completely surrounded by dragons, Jinhyuk's expression barely changed.
He merely continued to stare coldly at Samaja.
"That relaxed act of yours is getting sickening. You might as well beg for your life. I already know you're paralyzed with fear."
"I don't know. Is there any need for that?"
There was no need to be scared.
Nor was there any reason to fear.
At least when it came to the dragon race...
...at this very moment, he possessed the ultimate counter-compatibility in the entire Tower of Trials.
Jinhyuk channeled mana into Balmung.
I'll show you clearly.
That the winner of this battle has already been decided.
Crackle!
Running along the blade, the dragon-slaying sword that had slept for eons recalled its memories.
[Balmung's special ability has been used.]
[Lv5 'Battlefield Selection' has been activated!]
[Reenacting the myth.]
His vision dyed black.
Samaja, who had been glaring with murderous intent,
and the lesser dragons, who were absorbing the energy dissolved in the air to unleash their Breaths,
were all erased from his senses.
And when he opened his eyes again,
everything in his sight had completely changed.
* * *
The corpse of Fafnir, now reduced to white bones,
and the place where Siegfried's myth lay dormant.
This was the 'Demonic Dragon's Tomb'.
"There's no way we could have moved to another location in such a brief instant. Is this... some kind of spell?"
Samaja looked around in disbelief.
Having been suddenly transported to an alien space, it was only natural for him to be bewildered.
The lesser dragons also growled lowly with anxious expressions.
They were feeling it instinctively.
That every single second spent here was fatal to them.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Jinhyuk's heart pounded frantically.
The experience of a great hero melted completely and seeped into his body.
'As expected of the strongest. It truly is something else.'
Excitement and exhilaration dominated his entire body.
The memory of slaying a dragon writhed, eager to reenact that great feat this very instant.
Good.
Jinhyuk used 'Sword Demon Celestial Steps'.
His figure vanished with the wind.
Tap!
He reappeared right in the middle of the lesser dragons.
As if two souls were dwelling in a single body,
a strike that was both alien yet identical unfolded.
Boom! Crash!
A tempest raged.
"Keeeeek!"
The torso of the nearest lesser dragon was sliced in half.
"What!?"
Samaja's pupils shook violently.
To think that dragon scales, layered with the energy of the wind, could be severed in a single strike.
This was utterly impossible.
Even the Heavenly Demon, who had reached the realm of Demonic Transcendence, could not have sliced through the scales of these lesser dragons with a single sword strike.
Which meant...
"Y-You... are beyond even that?"
He was a cut above even the Heavenly Demon.
His soul-unity with Siegfried.
For the brief three minutes or so that the skill was active,
'I surpass the Heavenly Demon.'
He did not bother to suppress his rampaging mana.
Jinhyuk thrust Balmung, held in both hands, at high speed.
Thud! Splat!
This time, the upper half of another lesser dragon vanished.
It didn't even have time to scream or dodge.
With two of them dead in an instant, the remaining lesser dragons gathered in one place.
"Krooooo!"
The ultimate innate weapon of the dragons.
'Breath.'
Rumble!
The five dragons opened their mouths simultaneously, beginning to form a massive mass of mana.
The energy of rain and wind condensed toward a single point.
"Then, I'll bring out something worthy of that."
If dragons had their Breath,
Siegfried had a sword that could cut through that Breath.
The purple-grade relic.
The demonic sword that had slain the demonic dragon
roared wildly once more.
[The limited ability 'Dragon Slayer' has been activated!]
A sword path specialized solely in killing dragons.
And a strike that could force a result through that sword path.
Starting from the tip of Balmung's blade,
a line as white as snow sliced through space.