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Chapter 338

Yeonwoo’s eyes moved busily. They darted around rapidly in a zigzag pattern, absorbing information about his surroundings.

The number of undead surrounding him, their strength, and the state of the battlefield. Yeonwoo’s aura spread out in a semi-circular shape, grasping and understanding all of it.

‘Is there more to sense?’

However, that aura, which had spread out, was suddenly blocked at a certain point, as if it had hit a wall.

An unholy energy that couldn’t even be articulated. It must be the veil placed by the Demon King. The battle occurring beyond that veil was likely enshrouded in thick fog, obscuring everything.

‘I feel a bit uneasy.’

Yet, there was no choice but to charge in. As long as the purified undead army continued to multiply indefinitely, it would only be controlled by the Demon King.

Whether they increased or decreased depended solely on the will of the Demon King. This meant that unless they could force the Demon King to retreat or eliminate him, this fight could go on forever.

Therefore, no matter how anxious or blind the future looked, he had to leap into the fray himself. His instinct was shouting that he was the only one who could survive inside there.

‘Well, that’s true and all, but…’

For now, he was dissatisfied with the current situation. The gleeful atmosphere that seemed to flow as if everything was going according to their wishes was utterly despicable.

When he first revealed himself, the enemy seemed taken aback for a moment, but he quickly managed his expression, suggesting he had some tricks up his sleeve. Perhaps he was planning to escape using the Demon King’s Gate.

Even if that happened, it didn’t matter much. After all, the immediate goal wasn’t to kill the Demon King but to deal with Apophis, who would be a major hindrance in the unfolding war.

Organizing his thoughts, Yeonwoo took in the swords flying at him from all directions.

They were slow and their trajectories were obvious. However, it was undeniably true that they were overwhelming in number to the point where Yeonwoo might have been in danger if he hadn’t reached the Master’s domain.

Before instinct, his mind plotted a trajectory. A smooth, semi-circular line enveloped Yeonwoo’s whole body.

What unfolded was exceedingly simple. The weapons wielded by the skeletons were bowing down toward him as if to pay their respects.

And on top of that, like a king reigning, was Yeonwoo’s single sword, suppressing countless soldiers.

Coincidentally, the realm Yeonwoo had reached couldn’t be handled just by blind swordsmanship.

As if a flower had sprung forth from iron, Yeonwoo placed his foot on the gathered weapons. As he lightly shifted his weight, dozens of swords shattered like glass. Rusty shrapnel scattered like snowflakes falling from the sky.

Naturally, Yeonwoo’s wings stirred. It was a gentle breeze. But soon, it became a storm, sweeping through the battlefield.

A vortex engulfed in rusty shrapnel slammed into the center of the battlefield. Bone dust flew. Rotting flesh scattered. A violently chaotic natural phenomenon—akin to a blender spontaneously occurring—devastated the Demon King’s army with mere touches.

*

Apophis’s massive body rolled in the empty center of the battlefield.

A monster that exceeded 200 meters in length. A vast cloud of dust rose, obscuring visibility.

It was far from the sight expected of something said to threaten even the mightiest sun god of mythology. Yet, nobody deemed it a disgrace.

A gigantic golden wolf crouched down, growling low. When compared to Apophis, its size was insignificant, but its unique agility and sharpness played a significant role in targeting Apophis.

Yet, more enormous than that was the great golden dragon standing behind the wolf. It was truly a dragon—there were no other words to describe its majesty.

Even when compared to Apophis, its massive form didn’t lag behind, and its exceptional combat capabilities surpassed in ability.

While Apophis was hindered by restrictions on its divine position, it felt like the dragon was in no way inferior to Apophis at this stage.

[Ugh, this is annoying.]

[Seriously!!]

Just like Nea and Shar, the dragon’s body was focusing on reducing damage through its scales, while Apophis’s body was the complete opposite.

Flabby. It was so soft it made one question how that enormous form was even supported. Yet its strength lay in its regeneration speed.

It was as though peeling away rotting flesh. As the decaying parts were excised, new flesh grew in their place—Apophis’s body was endlessly regenerating.

In Apophis’s case, where decayed flesh was excised, freshly rotting flesh grew back in its stead.

[It doesn’t taste good!!]

[Be careful not to let it touch your tongue. It’s a body with absolutely no flavor.]

But it wasn’t a fight that could allow cautiousness. Nea casually smiled as she lifted her upper body. With her enormous wings spread wide, she dove in with a grace that seemed impossible for her massive form.

She applied magic alongside her aura. Using the aura she had mastered during her fight with Yeonwoo, she drew her physical abilities to their peak.

Shar did the same. Leaving behind a golden afterimage, the two dragons slammed into Apophis’s side simultaneously.

Shar’s sharp teeth bit into Apophis’s neck. She struggled to throw the massive body, but her strength fell short. Beside her, Nea viciously attacked while using her forelimbs to leverage the weight.

Both dragons had already given up on killing Apophis in their turns. Just with their combined Dragon Breaths, they couldn’t finish him off. So, they chose to improve the situation instead.

The gigantic body was a weapon. Conversely, that meant no matter how massive it was, if it was wielded by someone else, danger was imminent.

While Nea and Shar were enormous, they lacked the ideal shape to roll among the lion’s ranks. But what about the sun-breathing Taisa, which could overshadow even the sun? Its exquisitely cylindrical body could undoubtedly roll.

[Here we go!!]

[────!!]

The black serpent soared through the sky. It just rose a little, but that small ascent was more than enough. Although Apophis was struggling to stabilize its massive form, those efforts were meaningless as they scattered into the air.

Boom!!

A massive cloud of dust exploded. While hunters had vacated the area to allow the dragons to fight, the undead were different.

Lions lacked reason, and the Demon King, who could control them, wouldn’t care whether they were swept aside by Apophis. Perhaps they were just waiting for a dragon to die to revive it.

In any case, the fierce battle between the two dragons and Apophis was certainly boosting the hunters’ morale.

As evidence, the frontline was slowly pushing back the undead. Indeed, nothing boosts morale better than visual impact.

“Compared to that, mine looks pathetic.”

In contrast to the skeletons being swept away like they were being broomed by Apophis’s grand body, the vortex made of rusty shards only seemed somewhat stylish.

However, the one who had the best view of the situation was undoubtedly Yeonwoo.

At the top of the vortex, Yeonwoo looked down at the ground. Whether the skeletons were being swept away or not, the Demon King was merely watching the scene from behind with a blank expression.

Suspecting whether it might not be the real one but merely a substitute or a decoy, it didn’t seem to be the case.

“I have no idea what he’s thinking.”

Just like Wednesday, Saturday was the same. Considering that the simple phenomenon became the Demon King and gained form, I thought it would be easier to comprehend than Wednesday, but apparently reading a lunatic’s thoughts was impossible.

“Well, I guess there’s nothing I can do. I’ll just have to rampage.”

The vortex stirred. When the vortex subsided, Yeonwoo was soaring through the air, gripping White like a baseball bat.

As if trying to strike something, Yeonwoo glanced up and spotted a flask bottle swirling downwards.

“Holy water incoming, cha-ching-ching, cha-ching!!”

Bam!! With a refreshing crack, the flask collided against the blade of White and plunged deep into the horde.

The flask shattered spectacularly, and the holy water inside erupted forth. Zombies and skeletons that came into contact with the holy water melted away. It was a tad grotesque.

But still, what else could he do but dive in? Wishing for the souls melted by the holy water to find peace, he dropped down like he was gliding.

What lay ahead was exceedingly simple. By properly combining holy water and White, he just had to break through to where the Demon King was.

“That’s easier said than done.”

Looking around, he saw armoured knights with only their heads decapitated, skeletons with flames erupting from their sockets, Death Knights, and Flash Golems stitched together from dead corpses.

Yikes. They were all high-ranking monsters that could reign over hunters with terror.

A butcher’s knife swung down towards Yeonwoo’s head, wielded by a Flash Golem. He glanced around before he could respond. Being surrounded by enemies meant that one small mistake could be fatal. If either the direction or method went awry, death awaited.

A Dullahan quickly drew the lance wedged in its side. A Death Knight brandished the greatsword it wielded, descending like a guillotine. That was just what was immediately visible.

Through the rib cage of the skeleton in front of him, rusty weapons flew in, breaking the spine of another skeleton, and shattering the bones of yet another.

The back was no different. Getting pierced would be equivalent to becoming a porcupine. But he didn’t dodge. Dodging wouldn’t change this situation.

“…Ugh!!”

Using White’s blade to forcefully push through the weapons coming from his shoulder, he swept them aside. He narrowly dodged the weapons piercing from behind. With the power of courage and a shout, he could generally avoid danger.

To speak the truth, while a hole had been made in his body as they passed, it didn’t feel as painful because the greatest advantage of courage’s mana was that despite whatever happened to his body, it didn’t hurt much.

Suddenly, his body changing at will would surely shock his insides to death in sheer pain.

Bend, bend, bend, bend. Moving forward while bending. Not retreating. Sizzle, smoke surged from the undead who contacted White. The purifying energy encapsulated by his blade was slightly cleansing them.

Cutting through would be an impure flow. A dreadful entity that taints this world. A madness trying to forcibly draw the realm of the dead onto the lid of the living world.

The closer he got to the Demon King, the sharper that reality felt. He had previously thought of him merely as a simple madman. He assumed that he had merely chosen the means of becoming a Demon King driven mad by power. He thought necromancy was just an option he selected in that process.

He didn’t intend to justify the Demon King—he was an unprecedented piece of trash in the world, a lunatic, and a being that deserved to die.

However, something felt different. The feeling wasn’t the same as any of the countless gods he had faced before. That was clearly a strange notion.

The Demon King of Shuyo was a being who accidentally gained the form and qualifications of a Demon King while the phenomenon was destroying the world.

Yet, beneath that lay various attributes hinting at the essence of Shuyo being a phenomenon.

However, the Demon King of Toyo was different up close. It was no longer a god. It was too different from the many gods he had seen. Alien. So distinctly alien. If he had to pick the one god it resembled…

‘Dawn.’

An interdimensional god from another world. Though it felt slightly different from Dawn, he couldn’t quite articulate what it was. Was Nephren-Ka coiling inside the divine being of Toyo’s Demon King?

“Ugh….”

This already smells like a troublesome affair…

(To be continued in the next chapter)

 

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