Chapter 349
Chapter 349
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 349
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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“Huff… huff…”
The moment he laid eyes on Azanic’s true form, Kang Seol’s heart screamed.
It was a different kind of shock from the lizard one.
Having to face a dragon alone, it was only natural that the impact felt even greater. No, could he even properly escape, let alone fight?
Kang Seol sprinted across the field like the wind.
Not too fast, not too slow.
“Haa… haa…”
Pandea was full of dragon tales.
Among the transcendent beings passed down orally, dragons were probably the only ones captivating enough to be talked about by so many.
Were they devices to make the fearless protagonists who challenged them stand out more?
‘They’re all crazy bastards!’
Those stories were probably all fiction, or maybe the hearts of those who faced dragons weren’t just one.
That overwhelming beauty dwelling in its physique.
That suffocating nobility.
A sense of inferiority that instantly plunged him into the realm of lesser beings washed over him.
And…
The ecstasy that came from realizing he was clashing with such a being!
Kang Seol laughed as he ran.
A smile spread across his lips, unbeknownst to him.
He ran while laughing.
It had always been that way.
He had once pondered while rolling his horses into that abyss of the heart.
Was he some horrific, lowly human who hid in safety and enjoyed others’ pain?
And now, at this point, he realized it was a misconception.
He enjoyed the pounding of his heart.
It was truly the final horse that suited him best.
“Uahahaahaha-!”
Perhaps those who challenged dragons were all mad from the immense thrill.
Roarrr-!
‘…Huh?’
But at some point, his right arm was on fire.
[You are engulfed in the flames of the Heavenly Dragon Azanic.]
[Azanic’s flames cannot be extinguished by ordinary means.]
It was a situation where he should roll on the ground screaming.
Slash-!
But Kang Seol swung Bitan downward, severing his right arm below the shoulder.
Spurt-!
Blood gushed out.
“Kaaaaah-!”
Only after detaching the burning arm did he roll on the ground.
“Haa… haa…”
Kang Seol, who had reached right before the ancient abyss, turned around to see Azanic approaching slowly.
“…You no longer laugh?”
“Heh…”
Kang Seol’s arm began regenerating.
The blood of the progenitor fiercely circulated through the wound it had endured after so long.
“Tankred. Hand over her remains. I shall spare your life.”
“Oh, you’ll spare me? Then… answer my question first.”
Azanic’s eyes blazed.
“How dare you…”
“First, did you plan to eliminate Tankred from the beginning?”
At the mention of Tankred, Azanic deemed it acceptable to entertain a brief conversation.
“I, Azanic, have no need for dragons that defy my will.”
Kang Seol grimaced and posed his second question.
“Second, did it not occur to you that her disappearance would unleash evil upon Pandea?”
Azanic shook his head.
The path he had chosen was no longer one of guardianship.
“…This land no longer holds value worth protecting. Even the sacred duty has faded.”
Kang Seol bowed his head deeply, groaning in pain as he asked,
“Third, did you receive all the gifts I prepared?”
“I was frankly disappointed by your insincere gifts. They were worthless.”
“You took them all without shame, I see… Then, my final question.”
The last question hurled at Azanic.
“Have you not met a man with a mustache?”
“Mustache? What do you…”
Right then.
Twitch…
To Azanic, his entire body felt chilled. Suddenly, it was as if his veins were clogged, blood unable to flow.
“Cough…”
He spat up blood.
Black blood spewed from the dragon’s maw.
Kang Seol laughed.
The underground garden required passing through three gates. And to pass each gate, one had to inhale all three poisons Kang Seol had prepared.
Plugging the nose was useless. They clung to the body and were absorbed.
“After passing the third gate…”
Lately, Kang Seol had grown numb to getting stronger. Jamad was the same, and even Karen was pulling ahead.
Yet he still felt stagnant. But today, he realized.
The strength he pursued was different from theirs.
Not the strength seized through battle…
“You’ll meet Charlie. You’ve lost.”
But the strength to win without fighting.
[The Heavenly Dragon Azanic becomes addicted to Charlie Special: Coat Theft.]
[The poison’s toll is not a synthesized substance.]
[The poison’s effect is downgraded from incurable disease to chronic condition.]
[Charlie visits.]
Whoooosh…
Azanic’s eyes lost their light.
His eyes turned stark white.
He stood in a pitch-black space.
“Why…”
As long as his authority existed, no threat could harm the dragon’s flesh.
Yet for some reason, he couldn’t regain his senses now.
He, who had been clad in armor, felt as if he were stark naked.
Shrinking back and turning his head, someone stood there.
A man in a bowler hat.
Head bowed, but his mustache was striking.
‘…Mustache?’
- Have you not met a man with a mustache?
The man held daggers in both hands and lightly doffed his hat.
Roarrr-!
Flames erupted from Azanic’s hand.
Intending to incinerate him before any mischief.
And in that instant.
‘No way!’
A chilling sensation raced up his neck to his brain.
Stab…
He vividly felt daggers piercing his neck from both sides, severing it.
His head floated into the air.
Azanic screamed.
“Kaaaaah!”
Right, it was an illusion.
Everything was an illusion.
The sensation of his neck being severed now was also an illusion.
There was no way he’d yield his neck to a mere human without resistance.
In that moment, a brand seared into his heart, pulling him from the illusion.
[The Heavenly Dragon Azanic becomes addicted to Charlie Special: Coat Theft.]
[Charlie steals Azanic’s authority.]
[Chronic condition: Cannot maintain authority until Phantom Damage Delusion is cured.]
[Authority: Dragon is seized.]
[Cannot breathe flames.]
[All resistances reduced by 50%.]
…
Emerging from the illusion, Kang Seol smirked at him. His arm had fully regenerated by now.
“You met Charlie, huh.”
“You bastard… you! What have you done to me!”
Smirk…
“This is just a greeting. See you next time.”
Kang Seol raised his regenerated right hand to his forehead in salute.
Swoosh…
And with that, he tilted his body and plummeted into the abyss.
Azanic swiftly flew toward the abyss.
Boom-!
If the bastard suicided like this, it would be a huge problem for him too.
Approaching the abyss entrance at tremendous speed, he saw Kang Seol falling into the darkness below, arms spread wide.
“You think I’ll let you escape!”
Azanic dove into the abyss.
The abyss was exactly his size, forcing him to grip the spiral stairs and descend like a lizard instead of a dragon.
It sent chills down his spine.
The only human who had ever made him feel this fear was the one from the Winged Mountains.
When Azanic had descended deep enough into the abyss, another voice echoed through it.
“Dragon…”
Instantly, the dragon’s eyes pierced the darkness, scanning the abyss floor.
A troll with glowing eyes cowered, glaring at him.
That gaze was one of defiance.
“The day we meet again…”
Azanic was currently unable to use his authority.
He couldn’t even breathe fire, and the advantages of his sturdy body were gone.
His senses warned him.
Fly to the sky.
“Damn it all-!”
As his wings began to unfurl, the abyss trembled.
“You will fall.”
Jamad pulled the earth toward him and thrust his fist skyward.
[Great Sorcery: Rock Fist is used.]
[Inflicts combined mountain and shadow damage on the target.]
Crunchcrack-!
A massive shadow hand coated in rock sorcery surged against the abyss.
Kaaaaaboom-!
“Guh…!”
The fist extended toward the ascending Azanic finally smashed into his abdomen.
Azanic floated into the air.
Grind…
The sensation of bones shattering made him groan in agony.
But his inherently tough body endured without him losing consciousness.
And he realized something.
‘They have no follow-up!’
The auras he sensed weren’t that impressive, so counterattacking while trading some damage was the right move.
That’s why he plunged back into the abyss at high speed from mid-air.
“I’ll kill youuuu!”
Crunch-!
Upon reaching the abyss floor, Azanic scanned the surroundings.
They were gone.
He stared piercingly at where they might have vanished.
From inside a translucent barrier, a human voice rang out.
“Oldest tree! I request a private audience!”
Another voice from within.
“How dare you disturb my deep slumber… You’re prepared, I assume?”
Azanic slowly approached the translucent barrier to confirm the presence.
A colossal tree.
It must have been filling the ancient abyss.
The massive tree had been sleeping underground.
Even Azanic had never seen a tree that large.
Its size dwarfed his own.
Today’s luck was truly rotten.
The sleepyhead rubbed its eyes with its branches and spoke.
“You helped with the garden work, eh. Fine, I’ll chat. But…”
Azanic couldn’t approach the tree.
The translucent barrier blocked his entry. How could it bar a transcendent being like him?
The answer was that this barrier wasn’t ordinary magic.
It was the authority of the transcendent sleepyhead itself.
Like Azanic, the sleepyhead slumbering underground was near-transcendent.
“Is that dragon part of your group?”
Azanic glared at Kang Seol, breathing raggedly. As his eyes blazed threateningly, Kang Seol waved it off.
“Whoa, scary! We just bumped into each other up ahead. Strangers, really.”
Azanic’s thread of reason snapped.
“I’ll kill you! I’ll… I’ll…!”
“I see. Understood. Yawwwn…”
The sleepyhead yawned and looked at Azanic.
“Then…”
The sleepyhead’s eyes ignited blue.
Soon, Azanic’s body was enveloped in blue particles.
“Get out of my garden, lizard.”
[The Sleepyhead uses authority: Futile Steps.]
[The Sleepyhead has no intention of meeting the Heavenly Dragon Azanic for a while.]
[The Heavenly Dragon Azanic is transferred to a random forest.]
It felt as if his very existence was being repelled.
Branches wrapped around Azanic.
Truly, an absurd turn of events.
Not only had he been sealed of his authority by a human and troll, but he’d even taken physical damage.
Tankred’s descendant’s whereabouts mattered, but right now, vengeance burned hottest.
[Faction: Enmity with the Heavenly Dragon.]
…
Azanic delayed the banishment with all his might to leave them a message.
“I’ll remember! I’ll… definitely… find you all…!”
Kang Seol waved with a laugh.
“No need for that.”
Whirl-!
Jamad emerged from Kang Seol’s body and joined in mocking Azanic.
Tantuinu just looked around dazedly, but with Jamad adding to the mockery, making it two, Azanic’s mental anguish doubled.
Kang Seol bid Azanic farewell with a laugh laden with meaning.
“Next time, we’ll come find you…”
It was the second defeat of Azanic’s life.
“Wait for us.”