Chapter 403
Chapter 403
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 403
>Chapter Title: The 31st Horse Overturns the Game Board
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Whoooosh…
Whoooosh…
Hwagmu, spinning his spear, bent his legs before kicking them out wide.
Fwaaaaaang-!
Hwagmu shot forward at tremendous speed. He was heading straight for the cluster of dragonkin.
In his entire life, he had never once shown his back to an enemy.
Not even if it was strategically necessary.
His arrogance had been suppressed, forcing him to prioritize practicality.
Kang Seol thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers.
Ting-!
[Secret Art: Dark Dweller activated.]
[Summoning Dark Dweller.]
Whirrrrrr…
A massive figure rose from the darkness, scooping up Seolhong and Jinryeo.
“Follow slowly.”
The safest place was with Kang Seol. He couldn’t leave them behind.
“Let’s go.”
Nod…
Fwaaaang-!
Doeksini, Kang Seol, Karen, and Karuna leaped up simultaneously, chasing after Hwagmu.
“Kraaaagh-!”
“Urgh…”
Thud…
Visitors caught up in the Dragon Emperor Tournament and the dragonkin were tangled together, fighting the pus-filled dolls.
And Hwagmu had prepared something else.
Gurgle… Gurgle…
The blood of the fallen dragonkin, defeated by the pus dolls, was drawn into Hwagmu.
“Feeling cocky, are you?”
Hwagmu’s aura grew larger with every drop of blood he absorbed.
Doeksini said,
“That thing hadn’t even unleashed two-tenths of its power. If we don’t take it down before it regains everything, we’ll need a thousand times the effort next time.”
The goblin shrugged.
“Well, dying’s par for the course anyway.”
Zing…
Ziiing…
He tried ringing the Wildfield Spirit, but there was no response.
“It’s useless. It’s blood from the already dead.”
Fresh blood would bring it closer to full resurrection, but there was no other way right now.
Breaking through the wall of Doeksini and Kang Seol would be difficult.
Grrrrrind…
[Hwagmu absorbs Blood Serum.]
[Hwagmu’s power grows immense.]
Whirrrrr…
Hwagmu gathered bloody energy, swelling even larger.
Grrrrrind…
Even his massive dragon robe could no longer cover his bulk.
Grrrrrind…
The dragon robe tore apart, revealing the flesh of a dragon within.
No—a body that was half-human, half-dragon: a dragonkin.
Hwagmu’s elongated snout twisted into a sneer.
“Did you really think those pathetic trinkets could hold back a dragon’s power forever?”
[Some of Hwagmu’s sealed power is released.]
Hwagmu raised his hand high.
Whirrrrrrr-!
[Hwagmu uses Bloodline: Forced Recall.]
[All of Hwagmu’s blood slowly gathers toward him.]
[In Forced Recall, no action can shorten this time.]
With this, the evil dragon’s resurrection began its prelude.
Hwagmu had forsaken full, swift revival for a gradual reclaiming of partial power.
“Uwaaaagh!”
“Urgh…”
The heads of all dragonkin turned partially white. Hwagmu was stealing their life force.
“Very well… I’ll give you time. Show me. Prove you can defy my dominion.”
Kang Seol frowned.
Rustle…
Thud…
Thud…
Behind him appeared a figure as massive as the dragonkin Hwagmu.
“Much smaller than the dragon I saw before.”
“Right?”
Jamad’s disappointed expression drew agreement from Kang Seol.
Hwagmu, exasperated by this ominous newcomer from who-knows-where, slammed his lightning-charged spear into the ground.
Crackle…
Kwaaaaaaaaang-!
The area vaporized, forming a massive crater.
“Dodgeee!”
“Fall back!”
The dragonkin retreated, wary of power beyond human limits.
They couldn’t join the fight anyway, hounded by pus dolls and feral dragonkin.
No one who witnessed this battle dared step into it.
Papat-papat-!
A small circle spun.
Crackle…
Kang Seol took the lead more aggressively this time.
[Aggregate: River Cleaver activated.]
[Draw the sword from its sheath at high speed, dealing massive damage to a single target.]
[Unavoidable attack.]
[Deals 50% fixed damage to large foes.]
Kwaaaaaaaaang-!
The slash fell from above.
Hwagmu staggered, his spear shaft wobbling from the immense blow.
He hadn’t anticipated this level of power from their first clash.
But Kang Seol wasn’t the only problem.
Slash-!
“Krgh…”
Slash-!
“Kraaaagh!”
Twin knights crossing paths, shattering scales and leaving gashes.
Without those black scales, his body would already be minced.
Still, their power fell short.
Rumble-!
As he dropped lightning to secure space, someone charged in.
Whoooosh…
It was Jamad, clad in earth armor.
‘Tch…’
Hwagmu had expended power on the lightning, leaving him exposed.
He figured he could at least defend easily.
At least, until he blocked Jamad’s fist.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang-!
“Urgh…”
The sound was so immense everyone present heard it clearly.
For the first time, Hwagmu let out a groan of strain.
Jamad smirked and dodged back.
“Soft one, aren’t you?”
The sight shocked everyone.
“Wh-what the hell… who is that…”
“Hwagmu… Hwagmu is…”
“Being pushed back…”
Waaaaaaaaah-!
Realizing the tide had turned, they cheered in unison. Unable to fight, they vented their elation this way.
“Huff… huff… Inferior… inferior scum…”
Hwagmu’s face darkened slightly. In truth, this was all because his plans had gone awry.
He had waited eons for resurrection, but his contingencies were crushed.
Doeksini, meant to revive quietly and grow strong, vanished upon revival. Goseondae’s revival failed when its soul suddenly dissipated.
Finally, his plan to shake the Four Heavenly Prisons with yacha and sow chaos in the East was blocked midway.
Nothing went right.
It was as if fate itself conspired against him.
And only now did Hwagmu realize who stood before him.
“You… you’re Kang Seol. The one who killed Doeksini… even the yacha… you’re Kang Seol.”
If Doeksini and Goseondae had both revived and received his power.
If the yacha had sown chaos in the East and sided with him.
The outcome would have differed.
No, even beyond that—if Kang Seol weren’t this strong now.
If his summoned beast were only at a level Hwagmu could handle.
Yes.
Fate had been overturned.
This was an unbestowed fate.
A fate altered by someone.
Kang Seol was his fate.
“Huff… huff… I can’t accept it.”
He couldn’t accept that the era had abandoned him.
“I am Hwagmu.”
Whoooosh…
His chest glowed red.
“Dragon’s breath! Dodgeeee!”
At Doeksini’s shout, everyone turned and fled.
The dragon’s breath was the greatest reason they feared it.
Once burned by it, you burned forever.
Kwaaaaaaaa-!
Flames shot straight ahead.
Zzzzzzzing-!
Rumble rumble rumble-!
Jamad clapped, and a massive rock wall rose in the flames’ path.
Kwaaaaaang-!
Kwaaaaaaaaang-!
“Tch…”
The flames melted the wall entirely, then poured weakened toward Kang Seol.
“Kang Seol! No!”
“Dodge!”
Shinyo and Taeyul, recognizing Kang Seol, screamed—but he didn’t.
‘Sinyu.’
- Yes!
Shing…
[Phantom Secret Art: Yacha activated.]
[Resonating with Yacha’s senses.]
[Resonating with Yacha’s memories.]
[Imitating Yacha’s movements.]
[Gaining Yacha’s power.]
[Spell reaction speed increases.]
…
Crackle crackle…
Bitan brimmed with storm energy.
Kwaaaaa-!
A horizontal slash extended in an instant.
Fwoosh…
Hwagmu’s breath scorched only empty ground and fizzled.
“No way…”
“He… he slashed the fire.”
Kang Seol’s power was a tower built solidly from the ground up.
He intended to use its sturdiness to shatter even the hardest adventures with ease.
A reward for all the trials overcome since arriving in the East.
“That guy! It’s him!”
“The one who killed the yacha!”
“It’s the Obsidian! For sure!”
“He went missing… we thought he died…”
Now they recognized Kang Seol.
A massive wing pattern briefly formed on Hwagmu’s back…
Kwaaaaaang-!
And he leaped high.
Flight was impossible, but hovering seemed feasible.
Whoooosh…
Hwagmu prepared a greater inferno.
If this wouldn’t burn anything… he’d gather flames to burn everything.
“I’ll turn you all… to ash…”
Grrrumble…
Hwagmu’s form shifted closer to a full dragon.
As he concentrated the flames, five figures hesitated, each with their own plan.
Karen, Karuna, Jamad, Kang Seol.
And Doeksini.
Each had one way to block those flames.
Kang Seol and the others realized it and smirked, but Doeksini, in the urgency, didn’t.
“Kang Seol, it’s choosing mutual destruction. I’ll sacrifice myself. The barrier will fall, so it might flee—”
Swipe…
Mid-sentence, Doeksini stopped as Kang Seol extended a finger forward.
Doeksini looked where it pointed.
Rustle rustle…
A robed figure stood in the battlefield’s center—none knew when he’d arrived.
A raven seal of the Veil hung from the robe’s seams.
“No, no… perfect timing. Heh…”
The man laughed like a madman.
His robe parted, revealing snow-white hair.
“Th-that guy…”
Seolhong, arriving at the dragonkin’s location, alternated glances between Kang Seol and the man.
“…Kang Seol?”
They resembled each other.
No, they were identical.
Everything but hair and eyes matched Kang Seol perfectly.
Hwagmu’s face flushed crimson.
Eeeeeeeeeeng…
“This level… should be just right.”
Hwagmu exhaled his breath.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!
“…A perfect signal flare.”
Whoooosh…
Overwhelming mana gathered toward the white-haired man.
Crack…
In an instant, snowflakes bloomed around him, forming a snowflower pattern.
[Ur uses Secret Art: Event Freeze.]
[Everything freezes.]
Crackle crackle crackle crackle crackle-!
The ferocious flames, hot enough to melt all, froze mid-air along with the atmosphere.
No heat remained—only cold.
And some recognized this revival of great power.
“Th-that snowflower… Azran… it’s Azran.”
“That’s Azran! The Duke of Frost!”
“The Duke of Frost has returned!”
Pitiful visitors invited to the Dragon Emperor Tournament post-retirement, caught in Hwagmu’s revival. Zodiac elders saw the snowflower at Ur’s feet and nearly fainted shouting.
“I’ve returned… rest easy, for you are now…”
Hwagmu’s body swelled further. He was shedding his shell to become a true dragon.
A swift, tragic revival.
And the ones who’d orchestrated this…
“Under the Veil’s protection.”
Flash-!
Fwaaaash-!
Ravens except Ur flew toward Hwagmu.