Dragon

“I shall continue as well.”

The Blood Shadow Death God drove the final nail into the situation.

Like a thread following the needle, if the Evil Emperor Alliance was going, the Murim Alliance had no choice but to go as well.

Only the wandering warriors remained.

Unlike the Murim Alliance and Evil Emperor Alliance, quite a few of the wandering warriors who prioritized survival above all else wanted to leave, but practical concerns held them back.

“No matter how I think about it, this is suicide. Whether it’s the Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon’s legacy or whatever, my brother and I will take our leave.”

“You fool. How do you plan to leave from here?”

“What do you mean how? We just need to go back the way we came…”

The wandering warrior fell silent when he turned back and saw the corridor filled with corpses.

The corridor of death where over two hundred casualties occurred even with the combined might of the Murim Alliance, Evil Emperor Alliance, and wandering warriors.

Would it be possible for just the wandering warriors to pass through there?

Obviously, it was absolutely impossible.

In the end, the wandering warriors only had one choice available.

“…We’ll go too.”

Though the deliberation was long, action was swift.

Once the decision was made, people immediately began tending to the wounded and checking their conditions.

Watching this scene from a short distance away, Yuseong closed his eyes and recalled the layout of the hidden chamber.

If it had been the original hidden chamber, they could have conquered it with just half their current forces.

However, after some remodeling, the hidden chamber’s difficulty had risen to an incomparable level.

‘I can’t be certain since I don’t know Blood Shadow Death God and Elder Muwon’s exact abilities, but with these forces, they’ll probably be wiped out before reaching the end of the hidden chamber.’

That wouldn’t do.

He had modified the hidden chamber purely to prevent the treasures from being too easily conquered and stolen by others, not to kill everyone who entered.

‘Looks like I’ll need to help them a bit.’

Though it was a case of giving medicine after causing the illness, no one would know that fact.

* * *

About half a day after entering the hidden chamber, the survivors could realize one fact.

The Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon’s hidden chamber was on a completely different level from other hidden chambers.

Unlike other hidden chambers that ended with traps at most, or formations at best, the Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon’s hidden chamber was filled with all sorts of dangers like traps, formations, mechanical arrays, and strange creatures.

No amount of caution was enough.

Various dangers struck from all directions – up, down, left, right – and people kept dying without pause.

Boom!

“Arghhhh!”

“…Another one exploded.”

“Damn you! Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon, you madman!”

The most dangerous among them were the thunderbolt bombs.

The thunderbolt bombs in the Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon’s hidden chamber were even more lethal because, unlike the commonly known black spherical form, they came in various shapes.

They would explode when people passed by thinking they were wall decorations, the ground would suddenly explode taking a peak master’s ankle, or they would detonate when touched thinking they were secret manuals or treasures.

The thunderbolt bomb that just exploded was one that shot out hundreds of metal balls.

Though Elder Muwon and Blood Shadow Death God blocked it with energy barriers, they couldn’t completely stop it because the metal balls spread over too wide an area.

“What are our losses this time?”

“Nine dead. Thirteen severely or moderately injured.”

“Amitabha, amitabha.”

They could somehow deal with traps and mechanical arrays.

However, there was nothing they could do about the thunderbolt bombs that exploded without warning, and they lost over half their forces in less than half a day.

Still, this level of casualties could be considered acceptable.

If Yuseong and Alice hadn’t helped, the survivors wouldn’t even be half their current number.

“Ugh! Hurry and get out!”

“Th-thank you!”

“Thank you!”

Yuseong strained his arms to push back the narrowing corridor.

Though the weight was almost too much even for Tyrant’s arms, Yuseong desperately held on, and only after the last person escaped the corridor did he use Flash Step to escape.

Thud!

“Hah, hah, hah…”

“Great Master Han! Are you alright?!”

“Well well, your title Mountain Lifter wasn’t given for nothing.”

Collapsed on the ground and breathing heavily, Yuseong smiled inwardly.

Elder Muwon, who had been subtly showing killing intent before, now called him ‘great master’ and showed concern, while the Blood Shadow Death God no longer showed hostility.

Of course, they had no choice.

They had received help not just once but over ten times already.

Knowing the hidden chamber’s structure, Yuseong unhesitatingly threw himself in to save people whenever he could handle traps that seemed likely to cause major casualties.

Though Yuseong had merely acted to keep as many people alive as possible until the final gate, the perspective was different for those whose lives were saved.

“Miss.”

“Ah, yes!”

Thump.

“Great Master!”

“Please rest a bit longer!”

For a warrior strong enough to be called Mountain Lifter to struggle to stand even with a woman’s support.

He must have overexerted himself saving them from the trap just now.

People watched Yuseong’s staggering back with worried eyes.

Poke poke.

Alice poked his side but Yuseong ignored her and kept leaning.

It was still too early to show he had recovered.

[In Search of Treasure] was an A-rank quest.

Though everything was going well for now, he couldn’t know when or where some variable might appear and flip the situation.

And in the current situation, the biggest variables were the martial artists.

‘Though we’re cooperating now, they’ll definitely fight over the treasures after conquering the hidden chamber. Thinking of potential situations, it can’t hurt to raise their goodwill.’

“I’m alright now.”

When Yuseong stood up, the exploration resumed.

Though casualties increased due to the thunderbolt bombs, or more precisely the bombs Yuseong had installed, conquering the hidden chamber proceeded without much difficulty.

Though the hidden chamber’s difficulty was beyond imagination, the people present were not to be underestimated either.

The wandering warriors handled the traps with their extensive experience, Jegal Yong dealt with formations and mechanical arrays, and the martial artists could handle the strange creatures.

For extremely dangerous traps or powerful spirit beasts, Yuseong appropriately intervened to bypass them. After half a day progressing this way, the group finally reached the end of the hidden chamber.

Observing the stone door large enough to remind one of a castle gate, Jegal Yong spoke in a serious voice.

“All paths connect here, so this seems to be the end of the hidden chamber.”

“Why make such a huge door? How do we open and close it?”

“I don’t see any traces of mechanical arrays or formations. It seems to be a door that opens and closes purely through physical force.”

People unconsciously raised their heads to look at the door.

There was only one person who could open a door of this size using physical force.

“Please step back everyone.”

Sensing the gazes directed at him, Yuseong approached the door and extended his arms.

The door didn’t budge when he applied slight force.

When he pushed harder, he felt it move ever so slightly.

‘I could probably open it using full power… The problem is not knowing what’s behind it.’

Though he hesitated briefly, the answer was already set.

Having come this far, they had no choice but to go all the way.

After catching his breath, Yuseong began pushing the door with all his might.

Grooooan.

With the sound of stone grinding, the massive stone door began opening very slowly.

Through the faintly opened gap, Yuseong could see what lay beyond.

In the center of a vast space stood a pyramid-shaped altar with several boxes placed on top.

“Kahaha! The Heaven-Communicating Divine Demon’s legacy is mine!”

“Blood Shadow Death God! Stop right there!”

As soon as a gap large enough for one person to pass through opened, the Blood Shadow Death God ran toward the altar with maniacal laughter, and Elder Muwon chased after him.

Though Yuseong also wanted to run toward the altar, having used all his strength to open the door, he could only watch as others passed through.

And that ultimately turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Woooong!

A massive reverberation shook the entire hidden chamber.

The Blood Shadow Death God, who had been running toward the altar, froze upon discovering something after looking around at the overwhelming presence he had never felt before in his life.

A massive, overwhelmingly massive black snake was coiled around the altar in rings.

Vertically slit pupils like a reptile, long whiskers extending left and right, jet-black scales that seemed to absorb even light.

The Blood Shadow Death God muttered in a trembling voice.

“…A dragon?”

Boom!

“Alliance Leader!”

The black dragon swung its tail to strike down the Blood Shadow Death God.

The Crimson Blood Corps members who lost their leader before their eyes all charged at the black dragon.

The Evil Emperor Alliance’s strongest military force where all regular members could use sword energy and executives could use sword light.

The black dragon’s response to this was simple.

Whoosh!

A simple attack sweeping its tail low as if to brush the ground.

However, from a human perspective, it was absolutely not a simple attack.

What could humans do against a massive tail weighing at least dozens of tons, with a diameter of 10m, being swung at terrifying speed?

The Crimson Blood Corps were now demonstrating the answer to that with their bodies.

Crunch!

Most turned into lumps of blood without even being able to scream when hit by the tail.

Only two survived.

Only the Crimson Blood Corps’ squadron leader who possessed footwork skills good enough to leap over the dragon’s tail, and a member who had barely escaped the attack range by being in the back.

Silence fell over the chamber for a moment.

The black dragon rolled its golden eyes examining the humans, and the humans, overwhelmed by its massive presence, could only freeze unable to do anything.

The voice that broke the silence was the Blood Shadow Death God’s.

“You damn snake!”

Boom!

Kyaaak!

The moment the Blood Shadow Death God struck the tail using energy shaped like a giant palm, a scream burst from the black dragon’s mouth.

Having suffered an unexpected blow, the black dragon swung its tail at the Blood Shadow Death God with an enraged roar.

However, this time the Blood Shadow Death God didn’t just take it.

Thud!

A massive energy wall that appeared before the Blood Shadow Death God blocked the black dragon’s tail.

The Blood Shadow Death God leaped toward the black dragon who was bewildered by its full-power attack being blocked, and dropped onto its crown while spinning like a top.

Boom!

With an impact so massive it could barely stand, the black dragon’s head was driven into the ground.

“What are you all doing?! Come help me kill this thing! Monk! Are you just going to watch?!”

“Kuh! You don’t need to tell me!”

“Uwaaaah!”

“Let’s go!”

Inspired by the Blood Shadow Death God’s display of divine might, people began charging at the black dragon.

Elder Muwon unleashed the Hundred Step Divine Fist while enveloped in golden energy, and numerous martial artists swung their weapons at the limp black dragon.

And watching this scene from behind, Yuseong muttered in a small voice.

“…We can’t kill that.”