Chapter 142
Chapter 142
Chapter 142: The Undefeated Sargas (1)
Translation: godtl
The Fate Line of the dwarves.
That single phrase alone made it no stretch to discern Sargas's identity.
Yet from the moment he heard the name "Sargas," Si-mun had already pieced together who he was.
'The Undefeated Sargas. The Dragonkin that made Dayna so terrified, wasn't he?'
The Squama One he had faced before in the poisoned supply route.
Unlike Drahel, a true powerhouse—an executive of Squama One who bore the epithet "Undefeated."
Dayna's reaction when mentioning him was still unforgettable.
And just as expected.
"Ah, no way...."
Dayna trembled like an aspen leaf, her entire body shaking violently.
Clutching her quivering body tightly, just as she had back in the poisoned supply route, her embrace revealed—
A glimpse of an unusual scar that seemed almost tender, yet anything but ordinary.
-That Dayna is shaking like that?
-Oh shit! Dayna, what the hell happened back then?
-We're getting to see all sorts of sides of Dayna today.
-Maybe that muscle-bound Dragonkin has some dirt on her. WWWW
-The lady's trembling like that, and what's Kim Si-mun doing? This is why men from small countries are like this!
Dayna, who even looked down on Diamond-grade Players.
The chat was ablaze over the uncharacteristic reactions she had been showing.
But Si-mun, who wasn't paying attention to the chat, was drawn to something else.
[The five Constellations observing the situation begin to converse.]
[The five Constellations issue a mission.]
The five Constellations had suddenly issued a mission.
Without lowering his guard against Sargas,
Si-mun immediately checked the mission window.
[Mission]
-The five higher-ranking Constellations do not wish for your defeat.
Survive against the 'Undefeated Sargas' until you clear the Arena.
Reward: 5,000 Achievement Points
And then—
"What?"
He let out an involuntary exclamation.
Perhaps misunderstanding his reaction—
"Is it that surprising that I know your true nature?"
The rigid corner of Sargas's mouth twisted slightly.
"Do you think that's all I know?"
Thud.
With just a single step forward,
it felt as if a massive golem had moved—a heavy tremor rippled through the ground.
"The great Dragon Emperors are well aware of all the schemes you've been pulling. As am I."
A born predator.
"I also knew that one day, you would set foot here—"
The arrogance and confidence that had filled Sargas's face twisted into a frown.
The reason was simple.
"You. You're not listening to a word I'm saying."
Si-mun stood motionless.
Though his gaze seemed directed at Sargas,
Sargas had noticed—he was actually staring into empty space.
In reality—
'Not to defeat him, but to survive? That's the mission condition?'
Si-mun's attention was entirely fixed on the mission given by the five Constellations.
After double-checking the mission details, he let out a hollow laugh.
'Do the Constellations really think I can't beat this Dragonkin named Sargas?'
He didn't even get to the thought of—
Just how strong is he, exactly?
Dayna's reaction, the Dragon Power emanating from Sargas—none of it mattered.
"Insolent brat!"
Boom.
A furious roar accompanied a stomp of his foot.
The shockwaves radiating each time that muscle-packed foot struck the ground were anything but ordinary.
Snap.
Si-mun flicked his fingers instantly.
Simultaneously—
Thud.
Si-mun, too, stomped the ground.
KABOOM!
The floor between them violently exploded.
A storm of dirt and debris erupted from the impact.
Through the flying fragments, the gazes of Sargas and Si-mun clashed.
Once the dust settled—
"Hmph."
Sargas, who had been silently observing Si-mun, gave a slight nod.
"So you've got some nerve, huh? Then again, you can't twist the Fate Line on luck alone."
Crossing his arms—thicker than logs—he relaxed his single eye slightly as he looked at Si-mun.
"Human. I'll make you an offer."
"I won't tell you to kneel. Just follow me quietly. In return, I'll let those you wanted to save go."
"What—?!"
Perhaps having regained some composure,
Dayna gasped in shock.
The thousands of Dark Elves, who had been holding their breaths like dead mice, also widened their eyes in disbelief.
Then—
"Your Excellency! Don't listen to him!"
Dayna urgently shouted.
"He's an executive of Squama One—a vile servant who attends the Dragon Emperors at their side!"
Distrust dripped from Dayna's voice.
And who could blame her?
Wasn't Sargas the very overseer of the Black Smeltery—the place that had oppressed her kin all this time?
However.
"There's no reason you shouldn't trust me."
Sargas cast a leisurely glance at Dayna as he spoke.
"Just now, Dayna insulted the exalted Dragon Emperors. Yet I haven't taken any measures against her."
As he said.
Squama One was a secret society serving the Dragon Emperors.
Yet despite Dayna openly insulting the Dragon Emperors, Sargas hadn't even revealed a hint of killing intent.
He had simply been silently observing the situation.
What could this possibly signify?
"By the way, letting them go like this would mean tremendous losses for me."
Sargas' gaze turned toward Si-mun.
"Dayna is the first escapee from this place. Because of her, both my honor and position have become unspeakable. Despite this, I'm proposing to let them go."
The magnitude of this proposal needed no further explanation.
As Sargas spoke these words, Si-mun nodded.
"I accept your proposal."
"Your Eminence!!"
At Si-mun's acceptance, Dayna's voice rose sharply, nearly tearing.
She wasn't alone.
"No, this cannot be! How could the Companion of our Parent do this!"
"We'd rather all stay behind!"
The Dark Elves who had been holding their breath since Sargas' appearance also raised voices of opposition.
To which.
"Companion of your Parent?"
Sargas' firm eyes slightly narrowed.
"You. Could you possibly be the Companion of the World Tree?"
A hint of surprise mingled in his gaze.
"So it is!"
That small surprise grew in an instant.
"No wonder the Dragon Emperors suddenly ordered us to find the High Elves they had exterminated... It was because of you!"
For the first time, Sargas displayed deep emotion.
Yet Si-mun didn't even glance at Sargas, instead turning to Dayna.
"Dayna. Don't worry and leave first. He doesn't seem like someone who would break his promise."
"I can't do that!"
Perhaps because of what Sargas had just said?
With even more desperate expression, Dayna grabbed Si-mun's arm.
"Please reconsider. This isn't why I asked for your help! Rather than sending you to that creature—"
"Dayna."
Si-mun gently cut off Dayna's words.
He looked at her with a somewhat troubled expression before saying:
"I didn't want to go this far. But I have no choice."
After releasing a small sigh, he spoke decisively.
"This is an order from the Companion of the World Tree. Take your kin and leave immediately."
"Such an—!"
Dayna expressed rejection with her entire body.
But to an elf, the World Tree—
And an order from its Companion was no different from an order given by a Dragon Emperor to dragonkin.
"...I shall obey."
Dayna had no choice but to bow deeply.
As she straightened up, Dayna glared at Sargas.
Then.
"Please be careful. For reasons unknown, no attack seems to work against that creature."
After leaving this whispered warning, she turned away.
Far down the passageway.
The Dark Elves gradually disappeared into the darkness.
Creak.
With the departure of the three-meter stone golems escorting them.
"Impressive."
Sargas looked at Si-mun.
Dark Elves.
A stubborn race with considerable hidden strength—enough that even the legion commanders of the Five Dragon Emperors had to personally intervene during their capture.
And Si-mun had moved them with just a command.
"To think a human would truly be the Companion of the World Tree."
Sargas even brushed away the last lingering thread of doubt in his mind.
"Human, I have one question."
Sargas studied Si-mun with a peculiar gaze.
"Why did you accept my proposal? Do you really believe I'll let them go?"
"Well, about half."
"Half?"
Si-mun, who had nodded, also looked at Sargas with a strange expression.
"Because dragonkin of your caliber don't lie easily."
"You know quite a bit about us."
"You did let the Dark Elves go, didn't you? 'You' did."
Si-mun particularly emphasized the word "you."
At this, the corner of Sargas' mouth twitched upward.
"Indeed. I clearly let them go. And I won't pursue them either."
Yes.
Sargas himself, that is.
"But your subordinates wouldn't do the same, would they?"
"So that's why you sent those golems as escorts. Suddenly, a thought occurs to me."
Interest gleamed in Sargas' gaze as he looked at Si-mun.
"If you only half-believed my proposal, then you must have only half-agreed to it as well."
In response, Si-mun chuckled lightly and shook his head.
"Correct. I agreed to accompany you on the condition that the Dark Elves would be let go."
Had Sargas realized what part Si-mun had agreed to?
His smile deepened further.
"Then the part you discarded must be the 'obediently following along' bit."
"Exactly. You're sharper than that other Squama One, Drahel."
"Drahel? Ah, right. So his delayed arrival is also connected to you. Eliminating you would solve many problems."
With those final words—
Snap.
Boom.
The sound of fingers snapping and a violent shockwave reverberated through the Transport Path.
Before anyone realized, Si-mun had closed the distance, the intense Demonic Energy concentrated in his fist—
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Strike Technique: Tyrant Emperor Break.
He unleashed it toward the fist the size of a cauldron lid flying toward his face.
CRAAACK!
An unthinkable impact, impossible to believe came from mere fists, echoed through the Transport Path.
The recoil sent Si-mun's body reeling back—
Whoosh.
With a clean aerial flip, he landed firmly on the ground.
Then he glanced down at his own fist, still trembling faintly from the aftermath of the collision.
'Incredible strength.'
No other adjective was necessary.
In that single exchange, Si-mun had already grasped his opponent's power, staring at Sargas with astonished eyes.
'That was a full-powered Tyrant Emperor Break... and he didn't even budge...'
Human body refinement and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Hadn't his Demonic Energy grown overwhelmingly strong, even difficult to control, after obtaining the original Lemegeton?
Yet Sargas remained perfectly steady in his stance after the collision.
Even that cauldron-lid-sized fist showed not the slightest scratch.
'No wonder the Constellations gave such a mission.'
The five Constellations who had first given him the mission to survive.
Why they had issued such a mission—
He understood perfectly after that single exchange.
And it wasn't just Si-mun who was surprised.
"Impressive..."
Sargas slowly retracted his fist.
One of his eyes flickered with something like admiration.
"No wonder you've been giving the Dragon Emperors such headaches."
Outwardly, his fist appeared unharmed.
But that was only on the surface.
Sargas repeatedly clenched and unclenched his hand.
Ironically, despite that motion—
"Such strength. It's been a while since my blood boiled like this."
Sargas's elongated pupils dilated with excitement, trembling incessantly.
Then—
Thud.
The ground shook once more.
Planting his foot, Sargas closed the distance to Si-mun with terrifying speed, belying his massive frame.
Whooosh.
An impossible shockwave erupted from what should have been a simple swing of his fist.
Instead of blocking it, Si-mun—
'A pure contest of strength puts me at a disadvantage.'
—dodged, while his left hand brushed against Paracelsus' Cylinder attached to his arm.
More precisely—
'First, buy time with Demonic Beasts while switching to ranged attacks...'
He tried to evade the fist and activate the Cylinder.
But Sargas's fist pursued him like a vengeful spirit.
"Predictable."
Swish.
—until it followed his evasion path.
"Tch."
Si-mun clicked his tongue briefly.
Then—
Crack.
Like a transformation scene from some movie—
Si-mun's body grew even more defined.
With Dragon Body Transformation enhancing his strength, black Demonic Energy coalesced around his fist.
CRAAASH!
Another deafening impact echoed through the Transport Path.
The difference this time—
KABOOM!
—was that the shockwave sent fragments of earth flying from the ground and walls.
The recoil forced Si-mun back once more.
'How did he read my movements?'
He stared at Sargas with astonished eyes.
"You..."
Sargas's reaction was no different.
"Just what are you? How does a human wield Dragon Power?"
Unlike his earlier excitement, his gaze had turned icy cold as he glared.
But instead of answering—
'I need to test this.'
—Si-mun responded with action.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Wave Technique: Annihilation Cannon.
Pew.
A black beam shot out in an instant.
Yet astonishingly—
Fwip.
Sargas tilted his head slightly, evading with minimal movement.
At a glance, it seemed like an effortless dodge—but not to Si-mun's eyes.
'That wasn't a reactionary dodge.'
For a Dragonkin of Sargas's caliber, reacting to the Annihilation Cannon after seeing it gather at his fingertips wouldn't be strange.
But this evasion was different.
Si-mun fired another Annihilation Cannon.
Pew.
The beam followed a trajectory similar to the first.
Only the direction was the same—
This time, the black beam aimed for Sargas's left carotid artery.
Yet once again—
"Hmph."
Fwip.
Sargas tilted his neck slightly and dodged.
At first glance, it seemed like minimal movement evasion, but—
'Just as I thought.'
Seeing this, Si-mun reached a firm conclusion.
'He's not seeing and dodging the attacks. He already knows they're coming.'
Just before Dayna had left earlier—
'For some reason, no attack seems to work against him.'
Now he understood exactly why she'd said that.
"Sargas. You......"
And why Sargas bore the epithet 'The Undefeated.'
"You can see the future."