Chapter 271
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 271
Chapter Title: I'll Step Up
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"Among our seven princesses, the blood I inherited is particularly special."
Dragon blood is lethal to humans in its own right.
Especially the blood of the Venom Green Dragon Apothecary King, whose title even included the character for "poison," possessed an exceptionally fearsome toxicity among the seven dragons.
But in the Bronze Age, few people actually feared approaching the Venom Green Dragon Apothecary King.
If anything, it was the opposite.
Most people desperately wished for even a single encounter with the Venom Green Dragon Apothecary King.
Just as a good medicine can become poison if overused.
A poison that reaches its extreme can instead become a medicine.
And the Venom Green Dragon Apothecary King, who wielded psionics of biometric manipulation as naturally as breathing, could perfectly control her own toxicity and transform it into a medicinal property.
Diseases healed with a mere breath.
Wounds mended at a single touch.
A single drop of blood granted immortality.
An absolute being who could accomplish what even gods required miracles for, simply by breathing.
That was the existence known as the Venom Green Dragon Apothecary King, and thus her blood was regarded as the supreme blessing.
But after the Venom Green Dragon Apothecary King died.
That blessing turned into a curse.
"Unlike the Ancestor, I couldn't perfectly control the toxicity in my blood. As a result, mere contact killed everything around me."
That was why rebellion broke out after the seven dragons died.
Those who had experienced the Venom Green Dragon Apothecary King's miracles could not accept the Green Dragon Princess, who spread horrific death, as a true heir of the dragons.
"The biggest problem of all was that I myself was gradually being poisoned by my own blood."
It was inevitable.
The pure blood of the Venom Green Dragon Apothecary King they inherited was the ultimate deadly poison.
No matter how sturdy the Green Dragon Princess was among the dragon heirs, it wasn't something she could fully endure.
"That's why our clan developed the Seventy-Two Forms Martial Style in a direction focused on protecting and tempering the body."
The Green Dragon Clan's emphasis on external hardening techniques wasn't to leverage the advantages of biometric manipulation.
If anything, it was the opposite.
It was to temper their bodies so the short-lived Green Dragon Princess could endure the toxicity a little longer and overcome that flaw.
The same reason they had researched medicine and crafted elixirs for generations.
"But that alone wasn't enough."
The world's greatest medicine.
Myriad rare elixirs.
The power of the Seventy-Two Forms Martial Style.
Even using all of that, the limit was merely extending the Green Dragon Princess's lifespan a little.
In the end, they couldn't prevent her from being poisoned by her own blood.
Especially right after hatching from the egg, when psionic control was imperfect, the Green Dragon Princess always teetered on the brink of life and death.
"So our clan devised an extreme countermeasure."
At this rate, the dragon's pure bloodline might end.
That nightmare worse than death for the Seven Dragon Society clans drove the Green Dragon Clan to any means necessary.
"The moment a Green Dragon Princess was born, we assigned a clan master as her close attendant to assist with psionic control and shoulder some of the toxicity."
Though they didn't inherit the dragon's pure blood, the Green Dragon Clan were still descendants of the Venom Green Dragon Apothecary King.
Especially a master who had tempered themselves to the limit; they could withstand the princess's toxicity to some degree and even make brief contact.
They could even take on the excess toxicity the princess couldn't handle.
Only after employing such methods could the Green Dragon Princess avoid dying young from her own toxicity.
"—At the cost of her attendant's life."
The problem was one thing.
No master could endure toxicity that even the Green Dragon Princess couldn't handle.
Moreover, since multiple psionics could clash if mixed, they couldn't rotate in taking the toxicity.
Even so, the attendants of past Green Dragon Princesses never hesitated to shoulder the toxicity, and thus they lasted at most ten years before meeting their end.
Like mountain sacrifices offered in human tribute.
"And my original attendant was Karra, the mother of those sisters."
"......So that's what you meant when you said you killed the sisters' mother, my lady."
"Yes."
Maya closed her eyes.
Karra had been an extraordinary woman.
Not only had she become a master at a young age and restored her fallen house to the ranks of prestigious clans.
She had volunteered to be the first attendant when Maya hatched from the egg and treated her, whom everyone feared, like a normal girl.
Thus, to the young Maya, Karra was more than just an attendant.
A wet nurse, a friend, family.
Above all, the only one who taught her what human warmth felt like.
But even Karra couldn't endure Maya's toxicity forever, and in the end, she passed away, leaving two daughters behind.
"After Karra died, with no one left to care for them, I took those girls as attendant candidates."
The house that had fallen once and barely revived thanks to Karra lacked the talent and traditions to sustain its glory without her.
Thus, Maya kept Arvela and Barbara close.
To act as their patron in place of their deceased mother, protecting and caring for them.
That was the gratitude Maya could offer Karra as a princess of the retribution-obsessed Green Dragon Clan.
"Do you know what those girls did most eagerly after becoming my attendant candidates?"
Maya didn't wait for Rimon's answer.
She merely twisted her lips into the coldest, most cynical smile.
"They competed fiercely with each other to become my chief attendant."
"......To become your attendant and take on the toxicity like their mother, preventing the other from dying?"
"Foolish girls."
"That's......"
Rimon scratched his cheek.
Attendant candidate was just an excuse to protect them.
Maya had never intended to take either sister—or anyone—as a true attendant from the start.
She wouldn't want anyone else to suffer the same wounds, even if it meant sacrificing her own lifespan to the accumulating toxicity.
Unaware of that, the sisters fought like enemies to protect each other by sacrificing themselves.
Imagining how Maya must have felt seeing that.
It was a tragic tale that left him at a loss for words.
"So I began my research."
As if she neither sought nor needed words of comfort.
Without even looking at Rimon.
Maya spoke coldly.
A secret she had never shared with anyone over long years.
The goal she had pursued, using herself as a test subject and ruining her body in the process.
"To find a way to control my toxicity without the Eighth Dragon Psionic."
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To put it plainly.
Gula wasn't the smartest monarch.
But he excelled in underhandedness and cunning.
He had spent years sharpening his blade for revenge against Maya, preparing every trick in the book.
Even while confident of overwhelming victory, he deliberately started with the gangs to attack the Green Dragon Clan.
Thus, he remained composed even when the gangs were crushed by the military.
He smugly thought it had drawn out the Green Dragon Clan's hidden card and resolved to kill off the top brass of the military and government later.
When the riots by the gangs he'd planted in São Paulo were blocked by BOPE agents.
When the guild members he'd ambushed in hiding spots were discovered and contact cut off one by one.
He merely hardened his expression a bit.
He leisurely dismissed it as the Green Dragon Clan's final struggle.
But at this moment.
The report from the pale-faced guild member finally twisted Gula's face.
"Luiz, that bastard too? Contact cut off while going after that bitch's attendant?"
"Yes. We're trying every means to reach him, but......"
The guild member trailed off.
Hearing the hesitation, Gula's forehead vein bulged.
"That fucking prick—it's obvious without seeing! He probably bolted the moment things got a bit unfavorable!"
It was a harsh judgment right after hearing the vice-guild master's contact was lost.
But the guild members didn't find Gula's reaction strange.
They too thought it more likely Luiz had fled than met some mishap.
Setting aside his self-preservationism, Luiz wasn't someone who could be killed easily in terms of ability.
"Fuck, there's never anyone reliable!"
Gula gnashed his teeth.
Luiz commanded the forces hidden in São Paulo.
With him suddenly gone, the ambushed guild members would dawdle instead of engaging aggressively.
The Forest Guild wasn't called the most ragtag of the top ten guilds for nothing.
'......But did that bastard really run?'
His anger was short-lived.
Gula felt something off.
He had warned Luiz, who fled first in the previous fight with Maya, that he'd kill him if he ran again.
So it was strange for Luiz to bolt again.
And if he had fled, it meant something disadvantageous enough for a high-rank player like Luiz to run had occurred.
Above all, nothing had gone right since the attack began, which grated on him.
'São Paulo's the Green Dragon Clan bastards' front yard from the start, so some snags were expected...... but this is too much.'
It was within projected range.
They still held the advantage in forces.
They even had aces up their sleeve.
Yet the uneasy feeling only grew.
As if invisible ropes were slowly tightening around him.
Or like being gradually swindled out of his fortune by some outrageous con artist.
That nagging irritation vexed Gula.
'Tch, should have brought old man Diego after all.'
Diego was the one subordinate with a brain for consultation and unwavering loyalty.
It rankled that Ambrosia production had hit a snag right then, forcing him to leave Diego in the jungle to manage it.
But that regret was brief.
Gula soon shelved it.
In the end, the only one he trusted was himself.
He had never relied on underlings, nor did he intend to.
Kiiiik.
"Everyone, prepare."
That was why.
He rose from his seat.
"I'll step up myself."
"Pardon? You mean you'll fight personally, Monarch?"
"Yes."
"But then São Paulo......"
Thwack!
The guild member's head flew off as if he'd heard something outrageous.
To the now-silent guild members, Gula asked in a murderous tone.
"Anyone else object?"
"......"
"Then hurry up and prepare, you fucks! Before I kill you!"
Clatter!
Whether from the shout or the blood dripping from his fist.
Gula wore a chilling smile, leaving his now-hustling subordinates behind.
Maya likely wasn't in any state to fight properly.
In that case, no more tricks were needed. Overwhelming force would crush everything.
And in truth, that was what he was most confident in among all monarchs.
Crunch, cruuunch!
Thus, the moment Gula activated his absolute skill while heading toward São Paulo.
The transformation began.
His bloated body swelled further.
Flesh tore as new flesh burst forth.
Hands split, sprouting teeth.
Legs enlarged, claws protruding.
Rumble rumble rumble!
And shortly after.
—Amid deafening vibrations, a colossal shadow loomed over São Paulo.
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Rumble rumble rumble.
'Earthquake?'
When he first felt the vibrations.
Mota, commanding the soldiers, thought their luck was rotten.
Brazil rarely had earthquakes.
Let alone during a firefight with gangs—this was no ordinary coincidence.
But moments later.
Mota realized.
This wasn't some earthquake.
Thud.
A massive shadow suddenly ballooned like an explosion in the distant hills.
BOOM.
And the resounding booms with each movement revealed the vibration's source to Mota.
"M-Monster?"
Mota's eyes widened.
Mountain-like size, dizzyingly tall.
Spikes bulging across its body.
Four pillar-thick legs.
Six long necks and heads extending out.
It could only be called a monster.
The problem was, even as a high-level player officer, Mota couldn't guess what kind it was.
'Hydra? No, Doom Akhan? Or Giant Eater......?'
Multiple snake heads resembled the Dungeon 95th floor boss, Hydra.
The spiky, armor-like hide matched Dungeon 97th floor boss Doom Akhan.
The massive frame and jagged maw evoked Dungeon 92nd floor Giant Eater, which devoured giants.
Thus, Mota grew only more confused.
If it were one monster, he'd suspect a high-rank summoner player.
No player he knew had a skill summoning a freak blending traits from multiple ultra-high-level bosses.
Not even a summon monarch could...
'Wait.'
That instant.
Mota flinched.
Assuming it wasn't a monster, one prime suspect emerged.
Too changed from the video he'd seen years ago to recognize at a glance, but that one altered his form with every fight.
'No way......!'
The pinnacle of monster-type players.
The one who gained power by devouring monsters.
The most horrific monarch, blending traits from countless monsters for infinite might.
"Monster Monarch?"
The one who ascended to monarch via the absolute skill Predatory Evolution, growing stronger with every meal.
Watching Gula approach the city as a behemoth over a hundred meters tall, Mota could only gasp in horror.