Slaying the Bone Dragon
“Hunt the Bone Dragon?! With just the three of us?! That's insane!!”
Even Harun, who was always calm and composed, shouted in shock at Adel's words.
“It's not impossible.”
In contrast, Kasla slowly nodded at Adel's suggestion.
“To take down a Bone Dragon anyway, you need hunters who can wield a God's Blessing. In the Nakrang unit, the only ones who can use blessings are Hul and his two subordinates, Mulan and Byokcheon—but Byokcheon's back at base camp. So in the field with Nakrang, it's just Hul and Mulan.”
“And we've got two as well.”
“……It's not just about who can use blessings. To hunt a dragon, you need bait to draw its eyes, and someone to tie up its legs!”
“We've got that covered too, right?”
“……What? No way.”
Harun felt a bad premonition at Kasla's sly smile.
“Yep, you.”
Hiiiiiing……!!
Clack-clack-!
Clack-clack-!
“……Damn it!!!”
Harun gritted his teeth and yanked the reins, watching Kasla spur her kargon and begin circling the Bone Dragon.
[Kraaaaaargh……!!!]
The Bone Dragon threw its head back with a roar, glaring at the three who had surrounded it.
“Kasla, Harun. Take a good look. It might look like a dragon, but its body's smaller than you'd think. And it doesn't have many teeth. At best, it's just a drake.”
“Dragon or drake, to us fighting it, they're both monsters all the same, aren't they?”
“Not quite.”
Adel veered his kargon sharply.
Thud……!!
The Bone Dragon's head slammed down to devour him, cratering the spot where he'd been moments before.
“Drakes can't use breath attacks. Undead don't gain new abilities beyond what they had in life.”
“……What a comforting thought.”
Thud-thud-thud-thud……!!!
In response to Kasla, Harun clenched his teeth and charged between the two at full speed.
[Huff……! Huff……!!]
Chasing Adel's kargon seemed to tire Harun's mount, which panted heavily.
“Tough being paired with hotshots like us, huh? Hang in there just a bit longer. When I get my own kargon, I'll pick you.”
Harun patted his mount's neck encouragingly. It wasn't one he'd formally received—just a borrowed one raised without any special training during the sweep—but it was his first kargon in life.
[Hiiiing……!!]
It couldn't understand human speech, but as if their hearts connected, the kargon shook its head side to side and bolted with all its might.
“Good. We'll make it work. Whether we catch the bastard or not is up to you two!! If you need bait, I'll be the damn bait!!”
Groooar……!!!
Harun, dashing between Adel and Kasla, raised his bow with all his strength. His was a greatbow far longer than standard ones. Leveraging his long arms, he drew the string back fully—the extended length alone seemed 1.5 times that of normal bows. Matching the long draw, his arrows were elongated too.
He crooked his drawing fingers slightly.
“Swellsurge? No way, Harun—you perfected it?”
Even in the chaos, Kasla spotted his form instantly and watched with eager anticipation.
No. Still unfinished. But he's maximized rotation by lengthening the arrow.
Compared to Adel, Harun had a good build but lacked raw drawing strength. To compensate for his innate weakness, he'd turned to technique.
Pang---!!!
Unlike Adel's arrow, Harun's undulated like a wave, the shaft quivering.
Kuuuung……!!!
His arrow flew fiercely but scattered uselessly to the ground amid the Bone Dragon's massive wingbeats.
But it didn't end there. He tugged the bracelet's strap with his teeth.
Tung……!
Thudung……!!
The fallen bracelet hit with a heavy thud.
“Hup……!!!”
At the same time, he drew three arrows from his quiver at his waist and nocked them all at once. Unlike before, his forearms bulged with defined muscle.
[Kruuuaak!!!!]
Sensing real danger now, the Bone Dragon gaped its massive maw and lunged at Harun. Its wings were bare bone without membrane, so it couldn't fly—its legs sank into the sand, stumbling, but it still charged to devour him.
“Eat this……!!”
Sizzle-crackle-!!
Sparks erupted from Harun's arrows as if something burned. They were special thunderbolt arrows packed with gunpowder.
Shuuuk-!!
Kwang!!
Kwagagang……!!!
The arrows struck the Bone Dragon's leg, exploding in ferocious flames and thunderous blasts.
[Keeeak……!!!]
The Bone Dragon staggered from the impact, then toppled forward, unable to check its momentum.
“What the hell are its bones made of? Taking three thunderbolts and still fine!”
The fallen Bone Dragon rose unsteadily, shaking its head—sand poured from its skull like rain.
“Harun, duck!!”
That was when Kasla's shout came from behind. Harun clutched his head with both arms and bent at the waist.
Shwaaaaak……!!
A sharp whistle cut the air as an arrow embedded precisely in the rising Bone Dragon's skull. Imbued with Garon's blessing, unlike Harun's, it engulfed the beast's body in flames upon impact.
[Kraaaaaargh……!!]
In agonized roars, it rolled in the sand to extinguish the fire.
[Kak! Kak!! Kyakak!!!]
At the same time, the remaining Yong-a soldiers swarmed to protect it, swinging crude weapons wildly.
“Watch out!!”
Clang-!!!
Harun thrust his bow's limb forward, blocking a Yong-a soldier's sword in front of Kasla. Unlike Adel's bow, his greatbow's limb wasn't ordinary either—it didn't shatter against the blade but deflected the attack.
“Damn……”
Kasla spoke with exhaustion plain on her face. Only days after passing the Desert's Grace, she looked like she'd poured out everything she had.
“You okay?!”
“Not enough firepower. My flames can't burn it down.”
She spat in frustration.
“For bait like me who can't even use blessings, that's enviable enough.”
“Yeah. Harun's right.”
That was when Adel's voice came from behind the flaming Bone Dragon.
“……How?”
She looked at him with trembling eyes.
Stepping on the arrow Harun had lodged in its leg, Adel gripped the one in its forehead and leaped onto the beast's back with practiced ease.
Shing-!!!
Adel drew his sword. Just a standard trainee blade from the nest, yet the moment he gripped it, it seemed to sharpen with deadly edge.
Whoosh……!!!
Fierce flames erupted along the blade—twice the size of Kasla's, and not ordinary red but blue.
“No way……. You!”
Kasla couldn't hide her shock.
“Not only did you pass the Grace—you contracted with Garon?!”
Having challenged the Desert's Grace herself, she instantly recognized the blessing's power radiating from him. It was an infernal heat no mere recipient could match.
“To burn a Bone Dragon to death, you need flames like this. You think I'd step up without a real ace?”
“Ha……. Crazy.”
Kasla let out a disbelieving chuckle as she stared at Adel.
“This is why I hunt with you.”
Kwagagak……!!!
Flames bursting from Adel's sword pierced precisely into the Bone Dragon's cracked skull through Kasla's arrow.
[Kyaaaaak---!!!!]
The Bone Dragon began shrieking in agony from Adel's strike.
“Just a bit more……!!”
Harun shouted, watching.
[Kruk…… Krurruk……!!]
Its sharp roars turned to groaning gasps, its legs trembling.
“Danger……”
But Kasla's eyes wavered in that moment.
“Why?”
“To kill a Bone Dragon, you have to destroy the core in its head. To cleave undead bone, you need a sharp edge and divine flames.”
“We're doing that right now?”
“No. We've got the flames, but no edge.”
She shook her head at Harun's question.
[Careful. The sword can't withstand the blessing.
And as she said, Garon warned Adel as he infused divine power.
The embedded blade failed to split the skull and began melting instead.
“……”
Adel gripped the hilt tighter. The more he pushed, the less it felt sharp—the edge was dulling, mashing.
What now? Borrow Kalderet's power?
With Kalderet's void blessing, which severed all existence, he could maintain edge without a blade.
But no.
Even controlled, an ancient god's blessing would be instantly detectable by other contractors. An absolute pressure overwhelming any god—that was Kalderet's presence.
“……Tch.”
Deciding he couldn't finish it, Adel clicked his tongue in regret and slammed the sword down.
Splut---!!!
The blade melted fully in Garon's heat, crumbling shapelessly.
The Bone Dragon's half-shattered skull regenerated with black qi, slowly closing. Through the gap, a purple core pulsed as if mocking him.
“Adel!!!”
That was when it flew.
Whoosh!!
Whiiing--!!
Splat--!!!!
A thick odachi spun in a circle like a boomerang and embedded in the Bone Dragon's head.
[Kyaaaaak!!!!]
The heavy blade's weight snapped the Bone Dragon's head back, staggering it.
Whoosh……!!
Flames reignited from the blade in its jaw, Garon's fire surging fiercely once more around the fading beast.
“That should withstand Garon's flames.”
Adel looked down. The odachi was Hul's.
The jet-black blade was no ordinary weapon. Forged from goyeol ore, which grew only in desert gorges and boasted durability several times that of normal iron. Proving it, Hul's blessing burned along the edge.
But beyond material, Hul giving his sword to Adel held deeper meaning. It was one Haien had personally bestowed on Hul.
To any Ulan tribesman, regardless of rank, a sword from the desert's king was more precious than life. Handing it to Adel meant, to Nakrang's hunters, not just aid in the hunt—but Hul's recognition of him.
Adel knew it. Hul and Nakrang's hearts were shifting toward him, bit by bit.
“Finish it!”
Grip-
Adel seized Hul's odachi as if he'd been waiting.
Flames exploded from the blade like a volcano.
“Kraaaaaargh---!!!”
He knew this was his moment to meet their expectations.
Adel gripped the odachi with all his might and brought it crashing down on the Bone Dragon's skull.
Splut---!!
In that instant, a dull crack echoed as the Bone Dragon's skull shattered.