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chapter 217
Vroooom!
Five bikes passed through the dungeon gate.
The vanguard of Swaying’s reconnaissance unit.
Fwoosh!
“Ugh…”
“The sandstorm seems unusually fierce today.”
“Must be because of the magical winds stirred up fighting Shawing. How’s the surroundings?”
“Fortunately, no booby traps detected!”
The reconnaissance leader nodded in satisfaction.
They had rushed here in response to Shawing’s distress call. Usually, at times like this, traps would be set everywhere, forcing extreme caution.
‘Perhaps the dungeon is so vast that the enemy was too preoccupied with Shawing to set up traps… Good.’
If the enemy’s forces were scattered, they could unite and charge across the desert for a decapitation strike.
The reconnaissance leader brought the radio to his mouth.
“All units may proceed! I repeat! All units may proceed! The magical sensors detect nothing within a 5-kilometer radius.”
Chiiik.
“Transmission confirmed. Beginning operation.”
“Order confirmed.”
“Order confirmed.”
Until all 100 bikes safely passed through the gate, nothing went wrong.
Only the sandstorm was particularly strong, as the reconnaissance team noted.
Enwei covered his face with a mask and goggles, surveying the area.
“Given what we know about Jet, there must be something… but why is there nothing? Is the magical field disrupted by the sandstorm?”
It seemed locating Lee Hyun would not be easy under these conditions.
“This is troublesome. First, we need to find the survivors. All units, move out.”
Just as he was about to give the command,
Kwarrrr!!
[A lightning strike falls!]
A bolt of fire, concentrated from hellfire, struck down and destroyed the gate they had just passed through.
Their retreat route vanished in an instant.
“…!?”
“Damn it!”
“Lightning!! It’s Jet!”
“Ambush…!”
Just as the vanguard moved in unison,
Fwoooosh!
The sandstorm that had been obstructing their vision intensified, almost blinding them to even nearby allies.
“This!! The sandstorm itself was a trap! Everyone, be careful—”
Enwei tried to warn them magically, but the scent of blood mixed into the wind before he could.
Fwhoaaak!
“Argh!”
“Kraaah!”
Screams followed. Lee Hyun had been moving while hiding within the sandstorm.
A night phantom.
‘When did he acquire a skill or relic related to sandstorms? Covering the battlefield and even interfering with magical sensors…!’
Suddenly, an idea struck Enwei.
‘He mimicked the radio-cut method! Damn it!!’
The new skill Lee Hyun activated was none other than the power of the Kyomawang.
[Dragon King’s Reverse Scale]
A talisman made from a reversed scale under the jaw of the Dragon King Kyomawang, containing millennia of dragon will, capable of summoning wind and rain.
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Type: Sacred Relic, Talisman
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Origin: Myth ‘Journey to the West’
After forming a contract with Lee Hyun, Kyomawang personally handed him the relic, saying:
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“Since you can directly control lightning, this relic will be a great help. Storms follow lightning, after all.”
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“It’s too big… The reverse scale? Give me something else; this is a burden.”
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“No, precisely why I entrusted it to you. I want to entrust my life to you.”
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“…!!”
A reverse scale (Yukrin) isn’t merely a weak point for a dragon—it’s a fatal spot. Mistreat it, and the Dragon King could vanish from the world. Yet, Kyomawang smiled as he placed Lee Hyun’s hand over it.
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“Your life was already spared once; this is an extra gift.”
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“I entrust the rest to your will.”
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“So that in your endeavors, I can at least help in this way.”
The look in Kyomawang’s eyes was so intense that Lee Hyun couldn’t refuse.
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“Understood. I will use it well… no, this way.”
He attached the scale to his left chest with magic. Skin and relic fused—like an armor forming over his chest.
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“You…?”
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“As a human, if my left chest is pierced, I die. I’ll remain with the Dragon King as he entrusted his life to me.”
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“Hahaha… You always exceed my expectations.”
The reverse scale’s destruction would kill Lee Hyun alongside it—a meaning of absolute trust. Kyomawang laughed heartily at the sky.
And now…
‘Finally, I can use the Dragon King’s Reverse Scale.’
Lee Hyun judged this battlefield ideal for testing Kyomawang’s wind-summoning skill. The sandstorm could block magical sensors and the hunters’ vision.
Sure enough, the vanguard soon fell completely into the sand trap.
[Sacred Relic: Dragon King’s Reverse Scale activates, disrupting enemy senses!]
[The flying cloud expands, amplifying the wind-summoning power. A massive magical field is established.]
The flying cloud, a prized treasure of Kyomawang, combined perfectly with the sandstorm, darkening vision.
Next:
[Moving in the footsteps of darkness!]
Swish!
Thunk!
“Ugh…!”
“Kraah!”
“Where are you! Come out!”
Lee Hyun moved swiftly, aiming only for vital points. Some were struck by lightning, others lifted and suffocated by the chains in the sandstorm.
The vanguard, the terror of the desert, now trembled in fear themselves. Truly, he was elusive.
Yet, Lee Hyun’s gaze never left Enwei.
“Jet!! Come out! Clear this damn sandstorm!”
All that could be seen was golden sand.
Boom!
Enwei unleashed magic in all directions, hoping to disperse the sand. But the more he tried, the more it seemed to thicken.
He could neither communicate nor transmit by radio. Though his subordinates were nearby, he felt completely isolated.
Vroooom!
Some bikes attempted escape—the innate survival instinct of demons surfacing.
“Idiots! Do you realize that only gets you killed?!”
Sure enough,
Shhrrrk!
Through the golden sand, a black-golden chain flashed.
“Argh!”
“Let go!!”
Screams followed. The chains snagged riders mid-escape.
Enwei, enraged, faced near-total destruction of his unit minutes after entering the dungeon.
‘First, this damn sandstorm must be dealt with.’
He calmed himself and sharpened his senses. Only a sacred relic could control such a vast storm, consuming massive magic. Surely, Lee Hyun wasn’t acting alone.
‘Just catching a few of them, destroying a few structures, and this damn magic can be stopped!!’
Enwei wielded his claws, preparing for combat.
[Legacy: ‘Child-Eating Bird’ reveals its claws!]
The creature, a high-class demon bird, hunts abandoned children.
Flash!
Enwei detected something and turned sharply.
‘Here!!’
A black-golden chain pierced through the sandstorm like an arrow.
Clang!
“Hmph! You think this will stop me…!?”
Enwei deflected the chain and laughed. Though the force was strong, it was manageable.
But more chains kept coming, forcing him to flip and dodge repeatedly.
Chachachaan!!
He kicked away sweeping chains, deflected attacks targeting his shoulder and body—showcasing near-supernatural agility.
The chains repeated, retreating into the storm and striking again. Enwei felt as if thrown into a snake pit.
Even worse, the chains carried electricity, scratching his skin.
Rrrrrr! Flash!
The sandstorm filled with a rotating electromagnetic field. Every nerve stood on edge.
Shhrrrk!!
Finally, a chain latched onto Enwei’s right ankle, climbing and wrapping around his leg, knocking him to the ground.
“Damn it!!”
More chains advanced. Enwei screamed, cutting his right leg and rolling.
Thud!!
The chains missed narrowly, and Enwei leapt with his claw, tracing Lee Hyun’s position during the roll.
“Dieee!!”
Claw strike sliced through the sandstorm, exposing Lee Hyun’s location.
Patsuts!
[Location detected.]
[Footsteps of darkness halted.]
Lee Hyun, revealed, smiled while holding the tusk of Douksin, which he had used to cut the aura.
“Jet!!”
Enwei charged, agile despite one leg, balanced and deadly.
Boom!
Lee Hyun blocked with the tusk. Their breaths mixed, the heat and metallic scent of battle filling the air.
“Dieee!!”
Enwei’s eyes glowed red with madness.
“Still a high-ranker, huh? Fine. I’ll acknowledge your skill. You’re the only one who read Kyomawang’s wind-summoning and the flying cloud’s magical field here.”
‘The only…?’
Enwei’s mind cleared instantly.
He saw the battlefield—across the desert, all his cherished subordinates lay dead, faces frozen in terror.
After Shawing, now the destruction of Swaying’s forces.
“…!!!”
“You see, now only you remain.”
Lee Hyun smiled, tusks visible, like a grotesque goblin mask.
“Aaahhh!!”
Thunk.
Something broke in Enwei’s head as he screamed in madness, pouring out aura recklessly.
Flash!
Lee Hyun closed the distance, violently pulling out Douksin’s tusk.
Flash!!
Kwarrrng-
