A Dragon’s Wrath Awakens
“How did this happen?”
People stared at Ha Dojin in worry, his clothes torn and wounds visible through the rips.
How could someone endure a month of such vicious fighting and still be covered in so many scars?
Yet Ha Dojin looked completely unbothered as he spoke to the group.
“Now I have to catch that Drake.”
“A month has passed. So much has changed, hasn’t it?”
Han Sohee looked at Ha Dojin and asked.
Ha Dojin replied, “I don’t know if it’s just coincidence, but… this weapon was forged from Arkal’s fangs.”
“Arkal’s fangs?”
“That light dragon Arkal?”
Every hunter knew the name of the light dragon that had razed the United States to the ground.
But that…
“It was forged from the fangs of the light dragon Arkal?”
“Something this rare… where did you even get it?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Lee Hyejin, the master of the Firebird Guild.
After all, Ha Dojin had joined as a member of their guild.
Yet Hyejin quickly waved her hands. “I-I don’t know anything about that. I can’t even get something like that.”
“May I take a look?”
Park Namhee, master of the Black Snake Guild, asked cautiously, his expression wary.
Of all the hunters who had entered this place, he was the one whose style most closely matched Ha Dojin’s.
Ha Dojin nodded and handed Arkal’s Wrath to Namhee.
The eyes of the hunter who received the weapon shot wide open.
“M… this is insane.”
Park Namhee, unable to stop himself from cursing, looked at Ha Dojin.
“Where did you get a weapon like this?”
“A master craftsman of exceptional skill personally forged it for me. As far as I know, there’s no way to obtain something of this caliber in the current market.”
Combined with Kwak Hansu’s skill, it was a weapon infused with the essence of SW Technology’s technology.
In fact, among weapons currently in existence within the country, nothing surpassed this one.
That was why Ha Dojin had decided to try it.
Ultimately, this Arkal’s Wrath had been created to fight dragons and their kin.
“Ha Dojin Hunter-nim, do you have confidence?”
Lee Hyejin asked Ha Dojin.
Only a month had passed.
Even a normal hunter would struggle to achieve major changes in that short time.
Ha Dojin had thought the same.
Yet the Ha Dojin who returned after just one month possessed an aura entirely different from before.
Responding to Hyejin’s question, Ha Dojin nodded. “Yes. I’ll give it a try.”
At those words, Hyejin declared, “Then let’s plan the operation. The Drake raid.”
Every raid leader from the other guilds nodded their heads in agreement.
After all, failing to defeat the Drake would inevitably lead to a dungeon break.
“Red Circle bastards… let’s take them out once we’re done here.”
“First, let’s deal with the immediate crisis. We gathered here because of this, so if we can’t clear even one gate, we won’t be able to show our faces anywhere.”
Even after Red Circle had withdrawn, the raid teams of two of Korea’s three major guilds, along with their allied guilds, had gathered.
In the presence of such elite forces, failing to clear the Red Gate would result in endless ridicule.
Ha Dojin spoke. “I and Park Namhee Hunter-nim will take the lead. Given the nature of the Drake, we need precision strikes aimed at vital points rather than overwhelming it with brute force.”
“Then the rest of us will distract its attention, anchoring two dealers to keep it occupied.”
Jeong Woo-hyeon immediately continued, “We’ll split into two teams, one at the front and one at the back, to draw its gaze. That way it won’t be able to choose a side and will have to attack the whole group.”
The Drake’s tail was a deadly weapon in itself.
It could swing with enough force to send even tankers who could tank artillery with ease flying through the air.
Before Ha Dojin’s words had even finished, Na Jeong-hyeon, raid leader of the Hwarang Guild, spoke up.
“The Drake’s tail swing is an attack we’ll struggle to withstand. If we split left and right to draw its attention, it will definitely lash out with its tail.”
“That’s exactly the point. Tail swings are terrifying, but to generate the destructive power they require centrifugal force.”
Ha Dojin pointed at the rear part of the Drake, where its tail was attached. “The moment it swings its tail, we’ll strike at the starting point. That will stop its movement.”
It was absolute certainty.
Yet at that moment, Woo-hyeon asked, “But we don’t know which side it will swing toward. If I stand on the right and it swings left, the team facing it will be in danger.”
Even a fifty-fifty chance meant gambling with lives.
At those words, Ha Dojin said, “It will swing right.”
“…What do you mean?”
Jeong Woo-hyeon’s question left the gazes of everyone else fixed on Ha Dojin.
Ha Dojin explained, “When Hao Chen woke the Drake and tried to escape, the dragon swung its tail at me.”
The direction the Drake had attacked from at that time was precisely the right side.
“Doing it not once, but three times in the exact same direction, means the beast is familiar with that side.”
Moreover, standing on the right would allow it to swing its tail while thinking it could crush this entire group as well.
“…Just believe me. After all, only Ha Dojin Hunter-nim has actually seen the Drake in action.”
“Huu… this is crazy.”
Jeong Woo-hyeon scratched his head, but soon nodded with resolve. “Fine. Let’s try it.”
Following Ha Dojin’s words, “The instant its tail swing begins, we’ll block it at the starting point. The dragon’s body will freeze momentarily.”
And at that exact moment when its body froze…
“The team in front will attack the Drake’s front simultaneously. The moment its gaze shifts forward…”
Ha Dojin looked at Namhee. “I and Park Namhee Hunter-nim will climb onto its back from the rear. We’ll strike precisely at the nape of its neck… to destroy its brain.”
“…Is that possible? It’s a large creature, but its reflexes aren’t normal.”
Jeong Woo-hyeon asked.
Ha Dojin nodded. “We have no choice.”
If we fail, we all die.
Unless we hide until the dungeon breaks, that is.
“We must succeed.”
At Ha Dojin’s words, Hyejin nodded. “I’ll attack the front of the Drake.”
“I’ll assist as well.”
“Then blocking its tail from behind… will be our job.”
At Na Jeong-hyeon’s words, Jeong Woo-hyeon nodded.
In the end, the raid’s starting point was to distract the beast’s gaze, lure it into swinging its tail, then repel the attack and unleash a devastating counterstrike in a single moment.
“It’s a raid with a considerably large size… but the strategy is pure hit-and-run.”
“The longer we drag this out, the more disadvantageous it becomes for us. Whether in stamina or strength… we won’t be able to withstand it.”
That was why the Drake raid had to be a hit-and-run.
Everyone else nodded, understanding the reasoning.
“It’s not fighting a light dragon, and it can’t even breathe fire… but it’s still worth a try.”
He spoke calmly, but everyone knew it was a difficult raid.
Yet there was no time left to deliberate further.
“Let’s finish this.”
Ha Dojin stood from his seat and gazed at the mountain crest.
After all, there was no guarantee how long the beast would stay here.
At Ha Dojin’s words, everyone in the group nodded.
Soon, the hunters present raised their grim expressions and began ascending toward the mountain crest.
And they saw the Drake in the distance.
A creature over twenty meters long from tail to head.
The moment they actually saw it, the size became far more tangible.
“…We have to stop something like that.”
Jeong Woo-hyeon, who had been tasked with blocking the tail swing, let out a heavy sigh.
But soon he gripped his shield and channeled his mana.
After all, hadn’t he decided not to hesitate anymore?
“Then let’s begin.”
“Let’s go!”
The ground roared.
“Kuuuuaaaaaaarrr!”
Along with Jeong Woo-hyeon’s shout, the defense of every hunter in the surrounding area rose.
“Power Up! Skin Reinforcement! Defense Up!”
With the buffers’ magic boosting the tankers’ abilities, a resounding boom erupted.
“Kuuuuaaaaaaarrr!”
Jeong Woo-hyeon and the other tankers rushed toward the Drake at full speed.
The sight caused Ha Dojin’s gaze to calm.
‘Finally…’
Ha Dojin looked at Namhee.
Since they had coordinated, their synchronization was crucial.
He nodded.
Namhee nodded back, and Ha Dojin moved to the left.
And…
“Uwaaaaaaarrr!”
“Huaaaaaap!”
The tankers who had advanced in front and behind shouted loudly as they slammed into the Drake’s body.
At that moment, the Drake spotted the tanker in front.
“Kuuuuaaaaaaarrr!”
The instant it raised its foreleg to attack the front tanker…
“Thud!”
The dealers from the allied raid on the rear attacked the back leg of the Drake.
The dragon’s body shook slightly.
“Kruuuk!”
The beast turned its head to look behind it.
It wasn’t a great shock, but the relentless barrage of hunter attacks from both sides was clearly irritating.
But…
“Damn it! This leather’s unbreakable?!”
“We’re barely making scratches!”
The dealers who had been attacking the Drake frowned at the unexpectedly tough hide.
They had poured everything they had into the assault, yet all they had achieved was tiny wounds.
But at that moment…
“Whoosh!”
The beast’s tail flicked sharply.
Tail swing.
“Everyone, back!”
“It’s swinging its tail!”
The threatening tail of the Drake swept toward them.
‘Which side?!’
‘Please, please right side…’
The tail, which had been moving slightly left and right, finally whipped with immense force.
It swung right.
“Grand Shield!”
The moment Jeong Woo-hyeon activated his skill, golden light surged into his shield.
“Kwaaaang!”
At that instant, the Drake’s tail slammed into Jeong Woo-hyeon’s shield.
The auxiliary tankers, who had also been struck, immediately moved to his side and lent support.
And…
“Crack… crack… crack…!”
As the dust settled, the sight revealed…
“We… stopped it!”
“We stopped it!”
“Everyone, attack the Drake!”
The joy of having blocked it lasted only a moment.
Along with Hyejin’s shout, the hunters, now fully alert, unleashed a concentrated assault on the Drake.
“Kwaakwaakwaak! Puff! Kwarung!”
“Kuuuuaaaaaaarrr!”
Under the concentrated bombardment, the Drake shook its body violently left and right and roared.
Large damage was impossible due to its tough hide, but it was impossible to claim no damage at all.
And at the very moment the attack began…
“Parrrrrt!”
Ha Dojin and Namhee charged simultaneously toward the Drake.
Namhee moved first.
“You damn lizard. I’ll kill you with this!”
The sword Namhee wielded was similar to a standard longsword.
But it specialized in thrusting rather than slashing.
The instant Namhee leaped, a faint red light seeped into his blade.
And just as he aimed for the Drake’s nape…
“Flash!”
The Drake, which had been concentrating its gaze ahead, suddenly turned its head to the side and looked at Namhee.
At the same moment, the incoming foreleg attack from the beast slammed into Namhee.
“Kwang!”
“Kuaaaak!”
It was a strike so powerful that no scream could escape.
Stuck in the ground from the impact, Namhee struggled to rise immediately due to the severe shock.
“Park Namhee Hunter-nim!”
“Damn it! Draw its gaze!”
The raid team in front attacked the Drake even more fiercely, but…
“Kuuuuaaaaaaarrr!”
The dragon instead roared even louder and rampaged.
But then…
“This side has one too.”
Ha Dojin leaped onto the opposite side, muttering as he activated Warrior’s Oath.
[Warrior’s Oath activated.]
[Attack power increased by 20%.]
[Spirit power decreased by 30%.]
[Status abnormality resistance activated.]
A single strike that poured every ounce of power into it.
Yet the Drake, having already perceived Ha Dojin’s movements, reacted instantly.
“Shuaaaak!”
It swung its foreleg to slash at Ha Dojin.
But…
“Spin.”
Ha Dojin, who had rotated in mid-air to dodge, kicked off the beast’s leg with a thud.
He leaped again and, in the blink of an eye, rocketed toward the beast’s face.
And…
“There will be no ill fate between us in this life.”
“Kwa-dak!”
“Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrr!”
The Arkal’s Wrath plunged into the nape of the Drake’s neck, and the beast thrashed in agony, letting out a roar of pain.