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The tide of war had shifted against Kang Yoon-Soo and his army. The dragon’s underlings were powerful monsters such as Magic Gargoyles, Century-Old Wyverns, and White Wolf Generals, and none of those monsters were afraid of death.
However, the titans faced these powerful monsters head-on without retreating, and each of the men killed twenty of the dragon’s underlings. The tide of war could be said to be on their side if only the underlings were considered, but the Dragon of Destruction had to also be taken into account.
“Kruuwaaaaah!”
The army froze stiff from fear whenever the Dragon of Destruction roared loudly, and it seemed that their weapons were of no use against the dragon’s tough scales, as they could not even scratch it no matter how many times they attacked. The titans were squashed helplessly whenever the Dragon of Destruction brought down its gigantic feet, and hundreds of them were killed instantly with every light swing of the dragon’s tail.
“That crazy dragon doesn’t care whether it hits an ally or an enemy!” Henrick exclaimed, clicking his tongue at the sight of the dragon trampling on its own underlings.
The battle would have been a bit more favorable for them if the dragon carefully moved around to preserve the life of its underlings, but the Dragon of Destruction did not seem to care at all, recklessly trampling on both its underlings and its enemies. Mere minutes after the battle started, thousands had already died from being crushed beneath the dragon’s feet.
Kang Yoon-Soo swung his halberd and gave out commands without stopping his train of thought. ‘Things aren’t looking good.’
He had initially planned to immediately escape with his party if things went south at the dragon’s lair, but he had changed that plan after thinking about it for many days and nights.
It would have taken time to prepare a suitable escape route before the war started, and they would end up having to go into hiding for quite a while to avoid being hunted down by the Dragon of Destruction if they successfully managed to escape.
Kang Yoon-Soo did not have time to waste, as the Demon Lord would appear earlier in his final life. That was why he had not bothered to set up an escape route this time. He had arrived at his conclusion because he was confident that he could kill the Dragon of Destruction this time.
‘I have to change my plans again,’ he thought.
He had to acknowledge the fact that he had made the wrong call, and adjust to the changes that had come in his thousandth life. The wound he inflicted on the Dragon of Destruction had made it sense the presence of the ‘One Who Should Not Exist’, causing it to fight seriously. All of the plans he prepared had become useless, and he urgently needed to come up with a new plan.
Kang Yoon-Soo quickly came to a conclusion after cutting down two of the dragon’s underlings. ‘I’ll have to give up on hunting the Dragon of Destruction.’
He did not think that it would be impossible to kill the Dragon of Destruction if he fought with his life on the line, but there was no guarantee that he would succeed either even if he staked his life on it.
‘This is my final life. Everything will be over if I die here.’
There would be no more regression, and it would mean an eternal farewell if his companions died this time. If that happened, he could no longer meet them even if he wanted to, so he had to prevent their deaths at all costs.
‘It wouldn’t be strange if any one of us died in this battle. I have to retreat this instant,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought, deciding to change his plans and focus on running away from the Dragon of Destruction.
“Kyaahk!” Sally screamed, collapsing shortly after imbuing all of the allies’ weapons with her flames.
The Dragon of Destruction extended its long neck, coming face to face with Sally. It said, “There are no delicacies I enjoy more than fairies and spirits.”
Sally started to tremble uncontrollably from the pressure emitted by the powerful dragon. The intimidation that came from those golden eyes that stared at her was more than enough to make her lose her mind.
In an instant, the Dragon of Destruction’s jaws opened and snapped shut.
Kwachik!
Sally disappeared, leaving only a trail of blood where she had been standing.
The Dragon of Destruction looked back and said, “You will not be able to hold on for much longer, old geezer.”
***
Many things happened in the blink of an eye. Sally closed her eyes tightly and could not think clearly from fear. However, only after she slowly opened her eyes and peeked was she able to understand what was going on.
Somehow, Kang Yoon-Soo was standing with her in his arms. He had thrown himself toward the Dragon of Destruction without any hesitation and saved Sally from its jaws!
Sally was amazed. How was it possible for him to have moved so quickly and save her in that split second it had taken for the dragon to bite down? It was as if Kang Yoon-Soo had already known that the Dragon of Destruction would eat her at that moment.
“Papa…!” Sally exclaimed. She was about to smile, but her face faell. Then, she broke into tears while in Kang Yoon-Soo’s embrace. She cried, “Papa…! Blood…! You’re bleeding!”
“It’s fine as long as you’re alive,” Kang Yoon-Soo said casually.
Deep grooves had been carved into the flesh on his back by the Dragon of Destruction’s sharp teeth. The bloody wounds would certainly leave a mark even after they healed, but Kang Yoon-Soo did not grimace in pain or show any reaction whatsoever as he said with his usual emotionless expression, “Iris, you will find three secret passages hidden in the cracked part of the outer wall. Open the northwest door. You will find a small switch protruding from the top of the door.”
“Alright!” Iris replied, then spread her black wings and flew toward the castle walls.
Then, Kang Yoon-Soo gave out another command. “Mini-Lich and Kalriven. Use the undead as shields to secure a path of retreat.”
“Alright, teacher,” Mini-Lich replied.
“I suppose there is no choice given the situation we are in… I shall carry out my lord’s order,” Kalriven responded.
Kang Yoon-Soo used his war cry skill to shout a command to the entire army. “All forces, retreat.”
The undead legion, which had greatly multiplied in number as the war raged on, acted as shields to secure a path of retreat for the army. Even though they sustained heavy losses, their sacrifice was able to buy time for the titan army to retreat. The army retreated through the wide corridor as quickly as they could.
Quite a few of the dragon’s underlings had died in battle, but the main problem still remained—the Dragon of Destruction.
When it seemed as if the Dragon of Destruction would catch up to them at any moment, Kang Yoon-Soo immediately gave another command to Harpoon. “Tear apart a Time Freezing Magic Scroll.”
Harpoon could not hide his shock as he asked, “H-How did you know I have that? Even the magicians who are after my items wouldn’t know about it!”
“None of your business,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.
“I can’t use that! Never! That’s a magic scroll passed down for generations by my ancestors!” Harpoon protested.
“We’ll all die at this rate,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
“Damn it! The magic scroll of Haselit and Haelian! I really wanted to save this at all costs!” Harpoon cried while hesitating for a few moments, before finally tearing apart the magic scroll. Just like that, the Dragon of Destruction suddenly stopped moving. Harpoon quickly shouted, “Time has stopped for around thirty seconds in that area! So run as quickly as you can!”
Hawk’s eyes shot open as he ran for dear life. He asked, “Huh? Why didn’t you use such an amazing magic scroll a while ago when the Dragon of Destruction transformed into another species?”
“It was impossible to aim at it when it was a mosquito or a goblin because it was moving too fast! Only one of these magic scrolls existed on the continent! I couldn’t carelessly use it and let it go to waste!” Harpoon replied.
Using the brief reprieve, the army managed to reach the outer walls.
“This way!” Iris exclaimed from the secret passage she had opened in advance.
They managed to escape from the castle, hiding in the filthy swamp that was not covered by the Dragon of Destruction’s detection magic.
“Let’s rest for a bit,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
The entire army collapsed to the ground, exhausted by the continued fighting and their escape. Their number had reduced quite a bit, and there were a lot of injured among them.
Even though the titans were a warlike race, they did not seem to resent Kang Yoon-Soo for ordering the retreat, as they were well aware that they would have been wiped out if they continued to fight against the Dragon of Destruction. Despite setting off for war in a hurry, they had brought quite a few first aid kits and medicines with them.
“Give me your injured arm. I’ll bandage it for you,” Shaneth told one of the injured titan soldiers. She was quite exhausted herself, but she prioritized nursing the injured over her own rest.
Iris tried to help in bandaging the injured, but her skill at wrapping bandages was hopelessly poor.
“Hey! You punk! Are you trying to strangle me to death or something?!” Henrick protested.
“Hmph! Then why don’t you bandage yourself then?” Iris retorted, slapping Henrick on the back and making his face crumple in pain.
Rick seemed to be deep in thought for a moment, before looking up at Henrick and saying, “I want to be a nurse.”
“In your dreams, kiddo,” Henrick grumbled.
“Why?” Rick asked, tilting her head in confusion.
“Nurses can’t kill people,” Henrick replied.
“Then I don’t want to be a nurse,” Rick replied, instantly losing interest.
Their strange conversation made a few of the others laugh. It was a relief that there was still laughter among their ranks despite the dire situation they were in.
Kang Yoon-Soo pondered what to do next. He was not certain whether they would manage to survive even if they hid in the swamp. However, it would take some time for the Dragon of Destruction to find them, and he had to make use of that time to find a way out of the dragon’s lair.
He continued thinking while rummaging through his things. ‘Retreating was the right choice, because the Dragon of Destruction acted differently from how I expected it would.’
Victory and defeat did not matter. What mattered was avoiding the Dragon of Destruction; even if it took a long time, it was possible to do that. Time was of the essence, as he did not know when the Demon Lord was going to show up, but losing some time was still better than dying outright. However, something kept bothering him. It felt as if the changes that were happening in his thousandth life were driving him into a corner.
He took out the bone he had in his possession and rubbed it while deep in thought. ‘The King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone…’
It was the reward he had obtained after completing the five nightmarish trials. He might have been able to turn the tide of war if he used it previously.
‘If I had used this, though…’
He felt conflicted and needed a drink to clear his mind. He took out a bottle of alcohol, but he decided to put it back when he realized that it was his last bottle.
“Aren’t you going to drink?” a voice called out from behind him.
Kang Yoon-Soo turned around and saw Shaneth smiling brightly, walking toward him with ointment and bandages in her arms. Only then did he feel the agonizing pain from the wound on his back. However, he replied, “It’s the last bottle.”
“That’s a relief. Alcohol isn’t good for the sick,” Shaneth said.
Those were the last words she spoke. The Dragon of Destruction was kind enough to wait for her to finish speaking before kicking her.
Kang Yoon-Soo heard the sound of something being crushed. He was not sure whether that sound came from Shaneth, or from his own heart.
Shaneth was a bloody mess after being impaled on the dragon’s claw, rolling across the ground while leaving a carpet of blood.
At that instant, time seemed to slow to a crawl for Kang Yoon-Soo. However, he could not move as quickly as he wanted to, and he merely stood in place, staring at the sight before him. His body refused to move no matter how much he tried forcing it to.
He felt agonizing pain.
The woman who had just been smiling at him was going to disappear.
Her flesh had been torn apart, and her eye had exploded.
Her blood had splattered everywhere.
He was drenched in her blood.
The woman who had protected him her whole life was going to die.
Kang Yoon-Soo pleaded inwardly.
No.
This can’t be happening.
Please.
He was already running toward her before he realized it.
“Shaneth!”
He could not hear the screams of his companions.
“I followed the strange feeling you left when you wounded me. I see you were hiding in a place my detection magic did not cover,” the Dragon of Destruction said.
Even the dragon’s voice was a blur to Kang Yoon-Soo. The titans and the men wielding their weapons disappeared from his sight. His vision focused only on one person, and one person alone.
Kang Yoon-Soo ran frantically toward Shaneth, who had been flung quite a distance into the forest after being kicked by the Dragon of Destruction. It was not difficult to find her, as she had left a trail of blood leading all the way toward her.
He found her lying surrounded by numerous trees that had been destroyed by the impact of her body. Her left eye had exploded, and several of her bones had been crushed. Her waist, where the dragon’s claw had pierced her, bled profusely from a large hole in it.
And yet, she was alive. Kang Yoon-Soo checked once again, and she was still alive.
Shaneth cried tears of blood, covered in a mix of dirt and her own blood. The woman who had lost an eye murmured slowly through torn lips, “K… Kang… Yoon… I… I…”
“Don’t talk,” Kang Yoon-Soo said before slowly hugging her. He adjusted her bones so that her twisted body could lie flat on the ground, making it easier to treat her.
“These kinds of wounds will start to rot if we don’t disinfect them as soon as possible,” Kang Yoon-Soo said before opening the last bottle of alcohol he had. He poured every last drop of the strong alcohol on her wounds, his hands moving as quickly as they could to disinfect them.
Shaneth continued crying tears of blood while saying in a barely intelligible voice, “I… I… S-Sorry… I… dying first… I promised… not to… die… first… Can’t… stay… till… last… you… My promise… can’t… keep…”
“You can still live,” Kang Yoon-Soo said in a low voice, taking her blood-soaked hands.
Shaneth’s hands were rough because she had cooked and wielded weapons all her life, but to Kang Yoon-Soo, they were the softest hands in the world. The owner of those hands had once held his child, and she was the one who had loved him unconditionally and given him a reason to continue living. She was the most precious person to him.
Kang Yoon-Soo said, “You’ll live. I’ll make it so that you’ll live. I know I can.”
“H-How… can…” Shaneth murmured.
Then, Kang Yoon-Soo gave her a short but long awaited confession. “Because this is my thousandth life.”
A few of the titan soldiers followed the blood trail Shaneth had left behind, and they could not hide the shock on their faces when they saw her bloodied state.
“Protect her at all costs. I’ll be back,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
The titan soldiers nodded and took out all the healing potions and bandages they had.
Kang Yoon-Soo ran back and saw the whole army fighting with their lives on the line, while the Dragon of Destruction took no damage at all.
Henrick’s gaze darted toward Kang Yoon-Soo and he quickly asked, “What about Shaneth?”
“She isn’t dead,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied. Then, he used his war cry skill and shouted so that the entire army could hear him, “There’s no more room for retreat, because the Dragon of Destruction has found us. Prepare to fight until your dying breath.”
“I would love nothing more than that,” Iris said while glaring at the Dragon of Destruction.
The titans, the men, and Kang Yoon-Soo’s summons showed their agreement, responding either by letting out loud cries or unleashing attacks against the dragon.
Kang Yoon-Soo walked toward the Dragon of Destruction, and the dragon looked down at him with an indifferent gaze. Kang Yoon-Soo slowly said, “You hurt my wife.”
“You woke me up from my sleep and told me directly to my face that you would kill me, you old geezer. So, my actions can be considered self-defense. Please do not try and portray me as an evil being that killed your loved one,” the Dragon of Destruction replied.
“I don’t have any plans to do that. I’m just feeling a tremendous amount of killing intent toward you right now for my own selfish reasons,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.
Baaaaam!
The Dragon of Destruction stomped down on where Kang Yoon-Soo was standing. However, when it raised its foot to check the underside, he was nowhere to be found.
“The only reason why I hesitated to come to your lair was because of the fact that one of my companions could die,” Kang Yoon-Soo said. Nobody saw when he had managed to evade the dragon’s foot, but he was standing behind a group of trees some distance away. He added, “That doesn’t mean that I don’t have the power to kill you, though.”
Of course, that was a lie. The Dragon of Destruction was not a being that could easily be killed. However, Kang Yoon-Soo was a man who could turn his lie into reality if he wanted to.
The Dragon of Destruction grimaced upon hearing Kang Yoon-Soo’s claim for the first time, then said, “Your bluff has crossed the line this time, old geezer.”
“I only speak the truth, and nothing but the truth. You hurt my wife, and for that, you have to pay with your life,” Kang Yoon-Soo said, taking out a bone. The King of the Underworld`s Summoning Bone glowed with a green light.
“I only want one reward right now,” Kang Yoon-Soo muttered.
[You have used the King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone.]
[You have not met the requirements to call forth the dead.]
[The King of the Underworld has refused your call.]
[Instead, the King of the Underworld will temporarily bestow its powers onto you.]
[The King of the Underworld’s powers are a double-edged sword.]
[All of your friends, family, and companions will die if you fail to kill your target.]
[You have designated the Dragon of Destruction as your target.]
[The power of death flows through your body.]
[You are now able to use the abilities of every being you have killed so far.]
[The durability of the King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone will be reduced whenever you use those beings’ abilities.]
Kang Yoon-Soo said coldly, “I swear on the life I have lived a thousand times. I will kill you in the most agonizing way possible.”