Chapter 243
Chapter 243
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 243
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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The leader of the group, who had been watching silently, held back the young man.
“Enough. He said there’s no other way. Don’t you think it’s too much to snap at the man who came here for our sake?”
“But…”
“You know I worked with your father, right? At least calm down for my sake.”
“…Damn it.”
“Seolhong, we’ll talk among ourselves for a bit.”
Seolhong nodded.
“Understood.”
While Seolhong and the miners discussed what to do next, Kang Seol was conducting one experiment.
Crackle…
Sizzle…
Kang Seol extended his hand beyond the protective umbrella.
A stinging sensation coursed through his hand.
‘Manageable. Next…’
Kang Seol stuck his entire body out beyond the protective umbrella.
Sizzzzzle…
“Urgh…”
Immense yin energy.
But thanks to Yahum’s goblin gloves, which allowed him to handle yin energy to some degree, Kang Seol felt only slight pain and nothing else unusual.
“What are you doing?”
Chiwoo appeared at his side.
“…An experiment.”
“Looks fun. I want in.”
“It’s dangerous.”
“If you can do it, so can I. Watch!”
Chiwoo thrust his hand out.
And immediately screamed.
“Gaaahhh! W-What is this…”
Chiwoo’s arm nearly crumpled up.
Startled, he yanked his hand back in a hurry.
It felt like being suddenly sucked into the deep sea and crushed by immense water pressure.
“Hoo… Hoo… It hurts. This hurts, huh?”
“See? Told you it’s dangerous.”
“Why can you move like that? Weird…”
Swoosh…
Chiwoo suddenly extended his hand again.
An undeniable power dwelled within it.
Wham-!
Kang Seol swung his arm and smacked Chiwoo’s hand away.
“What the hell?”
“Testing. How strong are you? Why can’t I tell?”
“You’ve been nothing but a nuisance since we got here.”
“Nuisance? No way. I haven’t done anything.”
“That’s what a nuisance is.”
“Oh? Guess there’s no helping it then.”
Whoosh-!
Chiwoo assumed a stance and lunged at Kang Seol.
Crack-!
Splat-!
Kang Seol merely deflected the attacks without revealing any power of his own.
“Why aren’t you countering? Show me your strength. I have to get to the bottom of anything that piques my curiosity.”
“None of your business. The miners are on edge—we can’t afford to draw attention.”
“…Fun. How about this…”
Whoooosh…
Wind gathered in Chiwoo’s hand.
[Chiwoo uses Wind Crush.]
[Melee attack temporarily becomes a ranged attack. Inflicts additional elemental damage equal to 30% of base damage.]
[Chiwoo uses Wind Crush.]
[Melee attack temporarily becomes a ranged attack. Inflicts additional elemental damage equal to 30% of base damage.]
Baaang-!
Baaaaang-!
Kang Seol easily deflected them with Nightjar.
As Kang Seol and Chiwoo caused this commotion, people quickly gathered around.
“W-What the hell are you doing!”
“What do you think you’re…”
Kang Seol assessed Chiwoo like this.
‘This guy… stronger than a dragon, maybe?’
The power in his casual swings was tremendous. Kang Seol had kept a straight face, but he’d even briefly considered using Nightjar for real—Chiwoo’s strength was no joke.
Kang Seol didn’t know it, but Chiwoo was considered on par with Tae-yul, the top heir in martial prowess. The saying that he was the strongest dragon wasn’t wrong.
On the other hand, Chiwoo was just as shocked by the brief clash.
‘This guy… insanely strong?’
This exchange sparked his first interest in Seolhong, his sister, whom he’d never cared about before.
“Why’d you submit to Seolhong? With your power, other dragons would kill to have you.”
Unable to reveal the full truth, Kang Seol made something up.
“If I have power, she has purpose. Power alone changes nothing.”
“The other dragons are greater than Seolhong. You know that, right?”
“Maybe now. But Seolhong will be greater than anyone.”
“Ridiculous. How?”
“Because I’ll make her that way.”
As the unstoppable pair continued their argument, Chiwoo felt that old emotion stirring again.
Something unsettling and unpleasant.
He wanted to torment them. Deny them.
Test him and her.
“You’re such an idiot! Everything’s decided from birth!”
“If that’s how you see it, we’ve got nothing more to say.”
“You! Fight me! Let’s go all out. If I win, you’re wrong.”
“You’re crazy. Forgotten the situation we’re in?”
“Well…”
As they argued fiercely, the mine suddenly shook.
Rumble rumble rumble…
A voice echoed from somewhere.
- Found you…
The voice from everyone’s nightmares in this place.
Seolhong shouted.
“No time! Decide now!”
The miners buzzed nervously.
“W-What do we do?”
“I don’t wanna die in a coffin!”
“But if we stay…”
That’s when someone needed to step up with courage. The young man from before asked.
“Seolhong! Can we… really trust you?”
Seolhong nodded.
“I promise. I’ll do everything to get you all to the surface.”
“…”
Those words were the signal. The miners and mechanics exchanged glances, then rushed to the rectangular metal hunk.
A crude cargo bed conversion, rough as could be.
“Argh! It’ll crush us!”
“Tuck your body in!”
“My skin’s scraping—my skin! Ow! Fuck!”
“We gotta stay in here for days? Insane!”
“No way!”
“Shut your mouths! Is that what matters right now?”
Pssshhhh…
Seolhong quickly maneuvered another golem, leaving only minimal fuel, and hooked the cargo bed to Earth King No.1.
Kang Seol and Chiwoo glared at each other, then dashed toward Earth King No.1.
Soon, Seolhong climbed aboard too, and Earth King No.1 roared to life.
- Goodbye, world. I am Earth King.
Seolhong looked at the two.
“Chiwoo. Everyone, suits on. You too, Kang Seol.”
“I’m fine.”
“I-I’m fine too…”
Kang Seol glared at Chiwoo, who pouted and muttered.
“…Where’s the suit?”
With the situation urgent, Chiwoo sat quietly, his earlier rowdiness gone.
“It’ll block us.”
“I know. But we have to go. We can’t fight it here.”
“Seolhong, before we leave, there’s something I need to say.”
“Something to say?”
As Seolhong and Kang Seol whispered privately, Chiwoo got annoyed for no reason.
“Why exclude me? Why just you two!”
The pair talked with grave expressions, ignoring Chiwoo.
“But…”
“It’s the only way.”
“…Got it.”
With that, the two finished.
Earth King kicked off the ground.
Clank…
Clank…
It wobbled from the weight but charged ahead at decent speed.
The crude golem tearing through the mine was downright comical.
Clank…
Clank!
“…You watching?”
“Yes. The terrain keeps shifting.”
“Could turn into a long chase. Oxygen’s more worrying than fuel. I’ll lower the cockpit purification rate.”
Purification rate measured how much external air it could filter.
- Purification at 90%. External air inflowing.
“Hmm…”
Kang Seol frowned.
Seolhong and Chiwoo wore protective suits, but Kang Seol endured the yin energy bare, feeling slight pain.
“Can you handle it?”
“Plenty.”
“Sorry. Bear it if you can—we can’t waste fuel or oxygen now.”
“Understood.”
Chiwoo sat bored, idly watching the cockpit view.
It wasn’t his problem anyway.
He’d joined the dragon strife out of mere curiosity, with no interest in the throne. So whether this was hypocrisy or desperation, he planned to just watch.
Screeeeech-!
Finally, the threat lurking in the mine revealed itself.
Tiny ghosts appeared, blocking the golem’s path.
Thud-!
Splat!
Earth King crushed them with its massive bulk and pressed on.
Boom-!
BOOM-!
“So the door opening was real.”
“Those little ones couldn’t emit this much yin energy. There’s… something more.”
And Kang Seol’s words soon proved true.
Rumble rumble…
The terrain kept warping: long passages turning into dead ends, upward paths suddenly going down—pure spatial distortion.
Chiwoo watched quietly, then spat out a comment.
“The distortion’s worsening because we’re getting closer to it.”
“…”
“Wrong. We’re caught.”
A door.
A massive door formed right in the golem’s field of view. The bizarre markings someone had mentioned were probably on that.
But was it really that size? The door made the golem look small.
“Huh? This’ll kill me too?”
Chiwoo, watching calmly, widened his eyes at the aura from the door. He’d never imagined dying in any situation—until now.
“Seolhong…”
“…”
“Stick to the plan.”
“…”
“No hesitation.”
Grit…
Seolhong clenched her teeth, silent.
- Running… won’t help.
Rumble rumble rumble…
The giant door creaked open, revealing vast darkness.
Screeeech…
Blue light flowed from Earth King No.1’s undercarriage.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Earth King No.1 accelerated far faster than before. But the faster it went, the more it felt like sinking into a deep mire.
Chiwoo gasped.
“Eoduksini! This is Eoduksini’s power! My god… we can’t escape like this!”
“…”
“Drop the pod! Divert its attention! It’s…”
“…Shut your mouth, Chiwoo.”
Chiwoo turned to Kang Seol to speak.
“Hey! If it’s Eoduksini, then we’re… Huh?”
Kang Seol was gone.
“Where… did he go?”
Suddenly, light flashed.
A brilliant blue glow pushing back the sticky darkness.
Kang Seol had exited the cockpit.
Chiwoo rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
Kang Seol, turned pitch black, emitting blue light, charging not toward escape but at Eoduksini.
“…Huh? That guy… H-Hey!”
KABOOOM-!
A deafening roar shook the darkness violently.
“Your dragon…”
“I know! So please stay quiet.”
Seolhong trembled as she piloted Earth King. It never looked back.
Their pre-departure talk:
- There’s only one way out of Eoduksini’s domain: keep going forward. Never look at it.
- I know. But it’s impossible. If we’re already in its domain, no amount of running escapes spatial distortion.
- No, it’s possible. Someone looks at Eoduksini instead of you. It fixates all its power on whoever sees it. Absolute—and uniquely so.
- So someone else sees Eoduksini? You can’t mean…
- If Eoduksini appears, I’ll stay.
- Nonsense!
- It’s the only way. You know there’s no other in this situation. Its power grows over time. Then not just Sodung—Tomaku falls too.
- Kang Seol!
Grind…
Seolhong’s eyes bloodshot.
She stared ahead, fixed.
Even with her dragon left behind.
- No matter what, never look back, Seolhong. Just go forward.
Chiwoo couldn’t understand them.
“Why… why go this far?”
“…”
- The people? All under the Dragon Emperor owe him grace. Dragons, blood of dragons, have the right to toy with their dirt-pile lives!
Another dragon’s words from childhood lingered in Chiwoo’s heart. He’d brushed it off then, but maybe he’d agreed deep down. And hated himself for it.
“Why risk this danger! For dirt-pile nobodies! Your dragon’s back there! He’ll die to Eoduksini! Better to toss the miners and…”
Seolhong dropped even honorifics for him.
“Kang Seol won’t die, Chiwoo.”
“…Ha.”
“He’s the strongest man. He doesn’t lie.”
- Can you defeat Eoduksini?
- Can’t promise.
- …
- But I won’t die. I’ll buy as much time as possible.
“Kang Seol is immortal. He will never die.”
“You’re mad. Why… why do this…”
Chiwoo sensed something in Seolhong.
A madness-like faith. Or conviction-like resolve.
“Flowers bloom from soil, Chiwoo. So dragons must burn our present for the khan’s future. The miners will reach the surface with me.”
Chiwoo realized.
Seolhong was crying.
Her body shook, but she didn’t look back. She’d promised Kang Seol.
“I… promised to return everyone to their families.”
KABOOM-!
Eoduksini’s power focused on Kang Seol. The darkness thinned.
They’d escape its domain soon.
Seolhong screamed.
Her voice, near a wail, echoed through the resonator.
“I’ll come back for you! Don’t die, Kang Seol! I’ll… definitely come get you! That’s… a promise!”