Beyond Elite Black Evil Dragon (3)
Identification Code BEM-C04
The Black Evil Dragon's movements are monitored in real-time by high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.
A surveillance soldier analyzing footage of the Black Evil Dragon transmitted from the reconnaissance aircraft.
The more he watched, the worse it felt.
Just how far up is this bastard going to climb?
Why is it even climbing in the first place?
There was speculation that it had been pushed out of its territory in a turf war, which implied there was something even stronger than this Black Evil Dragon.
He was just staring blankly at the monitor when—
"Huh?"
The Black Evil Dragon suddenly stopped moving.
"Oh! It stopped."
Yeah, stay put. That's your territory from now on.
To observe its movements more closely, the surveillance soldier zoomed in on the screen.
But!
"...What the hell?"
Was he seeing things?
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
He even wiped the monitor with his finger.
It didn't change.
"A person?"
A single human blocking the Black Evil Dragon's path.
The surveillance soldier hurriedly reported to his superiors.
Commanders and staff from each unit gathered at the Great Wall Wave Defense Headquarters.
Among them was Major General Oh Jinhyeong, who had led the Jirisan Defense Legion to join in Beijing.
"It's a person, alright."
"Why the hell is he there...?"
"Suicide mission?"
"Hah..."
Oh Jinhyeong felt an eerie sense of déjà vu.
This scene feels familiar... like something I've seen before.
Back during the Jirisan monster subjugation op, at Cheonwangbong Peak.
Joint Chiefs Chairman Kim Songgyeom asked the surveillance soldier.
"Can we get a closer look at his face?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do it."
"Deploying reconnaissance drones."
A massive shell dropped from the high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft.
As it neared the ground, it automatically disassembled, releasing dozens of drones.
Whirrr! Whirr!
"We'll have a facial confirmation shortly."
Gulp.
Oh Jinhyeong tensed up.
No way it's him again...
Soon enough,
"Face captured."
The face of a young man appeared on the screen.
"Huh?"
"...Who is that?"
"Anyone know him?"
"First time seeing him."
"Me too."
Oh Jinhyeong breathed a sigh of relief.
Of course.
It couldn't be Chairman Kim Taeju.
The face was completely different, and so was the build.
He was busy making Taehong recovery agents.
Running around securing materials even now.
Suddenly!
BOOM! RUMBLE!
A deafening roar like an explosion, followed by a thick dust storm billowing up.
Crack! Crackle!
The drones got caught in the storm and shattered to pieces.
The feed cut off there.
※ ※ ※
There are two ways to take in a new poison.
One is to collect the poison separately and inject it into your veins or ingest it.
The other is to stupidly take it head-on.
The latter is extremely dangerous.
Especially against that thing.
Even in the murim world of the strong, all sorts of yokai exist.
From human-faced earth spirits to thousand-year-old imugis.
But nothing like that monster.
A demonic beast that shouldn't exist in the human realm—couldn't exist.
Well!
These things can even withstand nuclear bombs.
Taking a Beyond Elite monster's attack directly?
That'd be your funeral.
So, go with the former.
Collect the poison somehow and apply it indirectly to the body.
But that's a problem too.
Elite monsters inherently have something called a qi barrier.
A protective shield that even a Mana Blade can pierce.
But this Beyond bastard's qi barrier was ridiculously immense, sending chills down the spine.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Kicking up clouds of dust, the Black Evil Dragon pressed forward relentlessly.
Hummm! Hummm!
Every movement made its qi barrier surge visibly around its body.
Crunch! Crumble!
It was like a giant eraser passing through.
Everything touching the qi barrier turned to powder and vanished.
Dry grass carried by the wind, massive boulders rolling on the ground, even the soil under its feet—all crumbled to dust and rose up.
The Beyond Elite monster's qi shield wasn't just for defense; it served as an attack too.
No wonder major cities turned to ruins.
So, what now?
First, pierce that absurd qi barrier somehow.
"Ilbaek?"
"..."
"Ibaek—no, Sam-baek?"
"..."
Silence.
He opened the backpack. It was trembling in cat form.
"You're scared, huh."
"..."
"The important thing is an unyielding spirit. No backing down! Don't you get it?"
"..."
He understood.
Beyond and regular Elite were worlds apart.
No other monsters lurked nearby, probably for that reason.
If he hadn't brought it along, even Ilbaek wouldn't have approached.
This guy was too weak.
It hurt his heart.
He wanted to raise it strong, but how?
Taeju closed the backpack, placed it in a safe spot far from the Black Evil Dragon, and said,
"Stay here. Don't come out, no matter what."
He returned to his position and stood before the advancing Black Evil Dragon.
Ready to pull out his talismans at any moment.
"Groooaaar..."
A lethal stench piercing his lungs.
From its perspective, he was a moth flying into a blazing torch.
Yet it seemed aware of him.
The Black Evil Dragon halted.
A moth would've just been trampled.
Suddenly!
Whirrrrr!
Drones descending from the sky.
Damn, their tech is impressive.
Similar to that time at Jirisan's Cheonwangbong.
Taeju double-checked his Reverse Face Technique and Bone Shrinkage Skill.
The drones wouldn't last long anyway.
Would the monster leave them be?
BOOM! RUMBLE!
Like right now.
Crack! Shatter!
Immense mana surged, smashing the drones and whipping up a massive dust storm that obscured everything.
Shing!
Taeju pulled out a Protective Talisman and slapped it on his left chest.
Swiftness Talisman on the right.
Let's go.
Whoosh!
Screee!
Taeju shot forward like a streak of light.
Crunch!
His body collided with the Beyond monster's qi barrier.
Crack!
Fwoosh!
The Protective Talisman ignited, enveloping Taeju in a divine shield.
30 seconds remaining.
A Wall Demon Talisman from his infinite storage flew toward it.
A talisman forged from spiritual energy.
It had to work on demons or monsters alike.
Pssht!
Upon contact, the Beyond Elite flinched and recoiled.
Don't hold back.
Wall Demon Talismans weakened demonic power—10 in total.
He unleashed them all, slapping them on.
"GRRROOOAAARRR!"
The Black Evil Dragon's ferocious roar.
Incredible.
Even with 10 talismans, visibly weakened, it still raged like this.
Whoosh!
Taeju pierced the qi barrier and landed on its back.
Shing!
The Spiritual Flying Sword already in hand.
Plenty of time.
Time to test it.
The power of this treasure sword.
Zing!
Qi gathered around the Spiritual Flying Sword.
Taeju stabbed hard into its back.
Stab! Stab! Poke!
Intense resistance pushed back against his hand.
What a monster.
The blade wouldn't go in?
Truth be told, the Spiritual Flying Sword's divinity lay not in its sharpness.
It linked the sword and user's mind, enabling Sword Flight effects.
Still, as a treasure, it penetrated a bit.
Poke! Poke! Poke! Poke!
He kept stabbing until it sank fully.
"GRROOOAAAR!"
15 seconds left.
The Black Evil Dragon craned its head back with a mocking sneer.
Simultaneously, its tongue shot out like lightning.
Tsss!
A black tendril wrapped in qi whipped straight at Taeju's waist like a lash.
Thwack!
"...Huh?"
Weird.
No pain at all.
Not even knocked back.
From a tongue as thick as a grown man's thigh.
Its potent corrosive poison had zero effect.
"Grooo...?"
The beast looked confused too.
What perfect efficacy.
Only one Protective Talisman per day was the pity.
Two in a row had no effect.
Needed at least 24 hours for reuse.
Poke! Poke! Poke! Poke!
He kept stabbing its back.
About 8 seconds left.
Suddenly, its long tongue coiled around Taeju's torso.
Whip!
Probably to reel him in and chomp.
Sticky mucus laced with corrosive poison on the tongue.
Got it.
Shing!
He pulled out a pre-prepared ceramic vial.
Scraaape!
Scraping it against the tongue filled the vial with corrosive poison. Into infinite storage it went.
Collection complete.
Time to bail.
Taeju sliced through the tongue wrapped around him.
Unlike its ironclad hide, the tongue severed easily.
He slapped a Binding Talisman on its back.
Swiftness Talisman on himself.
Time left...
Less than 2 seconds.
Shatter!
Screee!
Taeju retreated swiftly.
In the blink of an eye, he escaped the attack range.
But right then.
Plop!
Tsss!
A bizarre rupture from behind.
Like a projectile tearing through air.
What the—?
Whip!
"Gasp!"
A black tongue segment coiled around Taeju's ankle.
He tumbled to the ground, rolling.
Thud!
...Tongue? Didn't I just cut it?
Plop!
Tsss!
Another tongue segment flew at him.
This one speared toward his face like a spear.
It can regenerate?
Chose regeneration over durability, huh.
And detached segments on demand for ranged attacks.
Taeju poured all his qi into the Spiritual Flying Sword.
Raised the massive blade,
Ziiiiing!
Blocking the Black Evil Dragon's tongue.
Craaaack!
The tongue split lengthwise along the qi edge, drenching Taeju in sticky fluids.
Splash!
"Urk!"
Sizzle!
The moment the Protective Talisman expired, the corrosive poison's power hit full force.
His clothes melted.
Flesh burned.
Wriggle!
His poison core reacted instantly.
But no time to celebrate.
Sizzle! Szzzz!
The corrosive poison burrowed into his skin.
Dizzying!
"Ngh..."
Mind fogging.
Strength drained from his body.
This was normal, actually.
The inevitable adaptation process when taking in new poison.
Tsss!
Another tongue segment hurtled toward him.
He needed to flee farther, while the Binding Talisman held it in place—but his ankle was bound tight by the segment.
Szzzz!
His ankle burned like it might snap.
"Fuck!"
Taeju gripped the Spiritual Flying Sword.
Of all times, for the poison core to react now.
...This much.
This wasn't even a real crisis.
Taeju trusted his Hunwon Musang Dokryeonggong.
Ignoring the writhing poison core, he forcibly drew up poison qi.
Ziiiiing!
Poison qi, spiritual qi, mana surging through his body.
Craaaack!
The sword severed another tongue segment.
"You're done for."
Daring to attack the Absolute Poison Demon, master of hidden weapons?
Taeju swiftly sliced the tongue from his ankle.
Slash!
Suddenly!
Plop! Plop!
Tsss! Tsss!
Two segments flew at once.
Shing!
Hidden weapons appeared in Taeju's hand.
Fight like this?
No.
Bail.
Quick decision.
His body wasn't fully ready yet.
Flee while he could.
Mission accomplished, and the Binding Talisman still held.
That's when.
"Grrrrowl!"
A house-sized creature blocked Taeju's path.
"Graaang!"
The central second head snapped up Taeju in its jaws.
"...Huh?"
It was the three-headed white tiger.
"Hey, what the hell are you—"
No time to stop it.
Mouth clamped around Taeju, the three-headed tiger bounded away.
Thud! Thud!
Two tongue segments from the Black Evil Dragon pierced its body simultaneously.
"Grrrng! Grrowl!"
A cry of agony.
But the central head didn't even scream.
Lest it drop Taeju.
Two holes punched through its massive frame.
Red blood streamed endlessly from the wounds.
Yet it didn't stop.
Just one thought: save Taeju at all costs.
It ran until the Black Evil Dragon was a distant speck, then halted unsteadily, gently opening its mouth to set Taeju down before collapsing beside him.
And,
Shhh...
Its huge body shrank in an instant, turning into a cat.
"Are you insane?"
"...Nyaa..."
He could've handled it alone.
Never imagined it would jump in.
"Nya..."
Its breathing grew ragged.
"Hah."
Emotions surged.
His heart ached.
It saved him, knowing it might die.
"You idiot..."
Not the time.
Both of them were dying.
The three-headed white tiger, fading fast.
Taeju's body, still sizzling from the poison drenching.
Plus, forcing the poison qi earlier had his poison core raging.
Critical moment.
The poison core was on the verge of reaching 9th stage.
He needed a quiet spot to regulate his poison qi.
"Hang in there just a bit."
He pried open the cat-form three-headed tiger's mouth and crushed a fairy peach in his hand.
Gulp.
The fairy peach juice slid down its throat.
Will this work?
At least first aid.
Then slathered on heaps of Fresh Flesh Growth ointment, force-fed recovery pills.
Earth Escape Technique.
Plunge!
Taeju burrowed underground with the tiger.
Using the Earth Escape Technique Dang Gunak learned wandering murim, diving deep.
Like a mole.
The Black Evil Dragon was still fine.
If it moved and found them, disaster.
Key to Earth Escape: air hole.
The Spiritual Flying Sword spun like a drill at Taeju's will, carving upward to make a hole.
Packed firm to avoid collapse.
Underground, he curled up, creating space, and hugged the cat—Ilbaek, Ibaek, or Sam-baek, he didn't know which.
The space warmed quickly from their body heat.
"Revenge later."
"Oong..."
First, tame the poison core.
Ascend to 9th stage.
Hunwon Musang Dokryeonggong circulated automatically underground.
Taeju's steady breaths.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo..."
"Nyaa, nyaa, nyaa..."
The three-headed white tiger cat's breathing synced naturally with his.