[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]
Chapter 30
Whoosh!
Zeke ran deeper into the forest, avoiding the swarming Hounds.
'Persistent bastards.'
Zeke had already experienced more than enough of how tenacious the Hounds were in his previous life.
He turned on the minimap and counted how many Hounds were chasing him.
A total of thirty-six Hounds were on his tail.
It was clear that the number of pursuing Hounds would only increase with time.
Just then, a new Hound unit appeared in front of Zeke.
Slash!
They must have been specifically trained in assassination techniques, as their movements were similar to those of assassins from the desert regions.
Whoosh!
Zeke twisted his body in mid-air to avoid the attack and retreated.
Thanks to his infinite stamina, he wasn't tired, but there was no way the Hounds would back down now.
'Should I just kill them all?'
The problem was that if any trace of Zeke Draker was left behind, things could get complicated.
He had to leave only enough traces to be identified as a hitman from the Southern Continent's cartel.
Dozens of Hounds surrounded Zeke, their eyes fixed on him with sharp gazes.
He, too, glared at the Hounds and held daggers in both hands.
"Haaa!"
The knights at the front lunged at Zeke first.
Zeke skillfully dodged the knight's sword, rolled on the ground, and aimed for his Achilles tendon.
Whoosh!
Perhaps experienced in fighting Southern outlaws, the Hounds jumped to avoid the attack.
Zeke lowered his stance as much as possible, held his daggers, glared at the Hounds, and said,
"Damn Imperials, even if I die here today, the McCain Cartel will have their bloody revenge."
Despite Zeke's words, the Hounds remained silent.
He had provoked them to get more information, but the Hounds didn't take the bait.
If he were a real McCain assassin, he would have taken poison and committed suicide or made a deal to hand over information, but Zeke made a different choice.
He took something out of his pocket and quickly blew on it.
Boooooo!
A loud sound, unimaginable from such a small horn, echoed through the entire forest.
The Hounds were startled by the sudden noise and looked around cautiously.
But nothing happened, and the one who appeared to be the deputy commander nodded,
signaling to capture Zeke.
Several Hounds approached Zeke.
Just then, Zeke threw something in front of them.
Whoosh!
It was five smoke bombs he had taken out from his inventory.
Smoke billowed up, completely blocking their vision.
Zeke concealed his presence and quickly escaped.
The deputy commander, sensing this, shouted,
"Catch him now!"
But something happened that made that impossible.
Crash!
They appeared, pulling trees out of the ground.
Over two meters tall, with muscles covering their bodies like armor.
Their bare skin, adorned with menacing tattoos, was clad in their unique attire made of monster hides.
They were the barbarians, the true masters of the Giant Mountains.
"Haaaaaaa!"
The barbarians' war cry shook the entire forest.
The Hounds were flustered by the sudden appearance of the barbarians.
"Kill those savages!"
The Hounds charged at the barbarians who appeared from all directions.
The knight who ran at the forefront tried to cut a barbarian.
Clang!
"Huh?"
Surprisingly, the knight's sword couldn't pierce the muscles and bounced off.
The barbarian warrior grabbed the knight's arms and legs and literally twisted and crushed them.
Crack!
The knight, unable to resist, had his limbs torn off and died.
The deputy commander shouted in a panic,
"Aura! Use aura! Swords without aura won't work against barbarians!"
The knights imbued their swords with aura and charged at the barbarians.
The swords, concentrated with aura, were able to pierce the barbarians' thick muscles.
But the problem came after that.
"Ugh!"
The barbarians, having defended their territory for a long time, had learned to fight against knights who used aura.
They sacrificed flesh to gain an advantage.
They used their strong muscles to grab the swords that pierced their bodies, preventing them from being pulled out.
And then they struck the knights' heads with their powerful fists.
Thud!
The barbarians' fists, possessing unbelievable strength, were like maces wielded by trained knights.
Everywhere, barbarians grabbed the knights' swords, closed in, and smashed their heads.
As the barbarians pushed the knights back in hand-to-hand combat, the Hound unit commander soon ordered a retreat.
"Fall back! Fall back!"
But the barbarians were no less tenacious than the Hounds.
They didn't just watch the Hounds flee; they began to chase them.
The Giant Mountains were like their backyard.
Like a raging storm, the barbarians chased the Hounds with shouts.
Zeke, watching from afar, slowly revealed himself.
'It worked better than I thought.'
Zeke fiddled with the horn that had summoned the barbarians.
In his previous life, he had fought against barbarians, but when monsters appeared that were too difficult to handle alone, he had also formed a united front with them.
The Mohakin tribe, one of the tribes he met at that time, had a very friendly relationship with Zeke.
Zeke was able to learn how to make the horns used by barbarians and their signal system from the Mohakin tribe.
The signal Zeke had sent with the horn earlier meant, "A foreign group has invaded the sacred motherland. They are here."
Although they appeared to be simple savages on the outside, the barbarians were people who lived with their own culture within their traditions.
It was only in the Central Continent, where only human nations existed, that they were dismissed and ostracized as uncivilized.
"If you mess with the barbarians, you're dead that day."
Zeke turned back in the opposite direction from the Hounds who were fleeing from the barbarians.
He, too, wanted to avoid becoming a target of the barbarians' pursuit.
After putting some distance between them, Zeke turned on the minimap and headed straight for Kaisir's ruins.
Since it was located deep in the Giant Mountains, the terrain was rough, making the journey itself an ordeal.
He occasionally entered caves to eat the food he had brought to satisfy his hunger, and when fatigue accumulated, he used Gluttony to hunt and consume monsters to replenish his mental strength.
After climbing the mountain for several days, he finally reached the entrance to the ruins.
"This cave seems to be the entrance."
The entrance itself was hidden by giant trees, so if it weren't for the minimap and the guidance function, it would have been impossible to find even after months of searching.
Zeke cautiously entered the cave.
The cave was no different from an ordinary dungeon.
Zeke proceeded cautiously, following the path indicated by the minimap.
There were occasional forks in the road, but thanks to the guidance function, he was able to find his way without getting lost.
He encountered monsters from time to time along the way. And they were all turned into Zeke's precious points.
The journey was easier than expected.
Soon, the cave ended, and the floor changed to a hard brick path.
Underground structures in artificial caves, such as ruins, were usually constructed like this.
Zeke approached the entrance to the ruins while checking the map.
But at some point, Zeke tilted his head in confusion as he looked at the map.
'What's this?'
A red dot was blinking continuously in front of the entrance to the ruins.
It was a completely different reaction than anything that had been displayed on the map so far.
Zeke sensed that something ominous was present at the entrance. He immediately took out Bahamut and cautiously entered.
It was then, as he turned a corner and arrived in front of Kaisir's ruins,
'Damn it. I thought things were going too smoothly.'
Growl!
A giant Hydra was sitting in front of the entrance to the ruins.
Judging by the size of its body and its nine heads, it seemed to be at least a few hundred years old.
Just then, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[A fallen dragon corrupted by tainted energy has been detected.]
'Fallen dragon?'
He couldn't understand why the system was suddenly showing this message.
Zeke shook his head and pondered as he watched the Hydra guarding the area.
'How do I get past that thing?'
His goal was to find Kaisir's secret swordsmanship manual, so there was no need to go out of his way to fight the Hydra.
Zeke, recalling his experience in the Dragon Slayer's tomb, gave an order to the system.
'System, can you open that door?'
As Zeke asked, letters appeared.
[Accessing the control device as requested by the administrator.]
[Accessed the administration system of King Kaisir's resting place.]
[Entry permission granted.]
[Opening the entrance.]
Simultaneously, the tightly closed door behind the Hydra began to open.
The Hydra, which had been guarding the entrance, rose from its spot.
Roar!
The nine heads roared and shook their bodies.
The entire cave began to shake.
'Oh, damn it.'
Zeke quickly used the Gale Force while the Hydra was roaring.
Dragon Slayer Technique Application
Gale Force
Phantom Step
Zeke's body floated into the air and flew towards the door like the wind.
Roar!
But the Hydra wouldn't let the intruder enter the door so easily.
One of the Hydra's nine heads descended towards Zeke and opened its massive jaws.
Zeke gripped Bahamut and focused his aura.
A blue aura blade surged.
Zeke raised Bahamut, enveloped in the aura blade, and swung it towards the Hydra.
Dragon Slayer Technique
7th Form, 1st Verse
Dragon Head Beheading
The Dragon Slayer Technique originated from sword techniques created to slay dragons.
The forms of the Dragon Slayer Technique, characterized by large movements, weren't suitable for battles against humans, but they were perfect for fighting giant monsters.
Crash!
The massive aura blade sliced through the Hydra's mouth.
Roar!
The Hydra, its mouth cut, roared in pain.
Blood gushed from the wound, splattering everywhere.
The Hydra's blood, with its strong acidic properties, corroded the hard stone floor.
Whoosh!
Zeke's Flight Step didn't stop and accelerated forward.
Then, the Hydra blocked the open door of the ruins with its body.
Zeke pointed Bahamut at the Hydra and raised his energy.
Wooong!
A massive aura blade surged.
The Hydra's heads lunged at Zeke.
The moment the Hydra's heads got close, Zeke used the Draconian skill Dragon's Majesty.
Thud!
The Hydra, feeling the Dragon's Majesty, trembled in fear and retreated.
Zeke didn't miss that opening.
In that split second, he launched the aura blade surrounding his sword towards the Hydra.
Dragon Slayer Technique
3rd Form, 2nd Verse
Half Moon Throw
Wooong!
A crescent-shaped aura blade shot out from Zeke's sword.
Whoosh!
The rotating crescent moon cut off three of the Hydra's heads.
Roar!
Acidic blood gushed from the severed necks and poured down on Zeke.
Sizzle!
The acidic blood immediately burned Zeke's skin.
If it were an ordinary person, their bones would have melted, but Zeke was different.
His Healing Factor immediately healed him.
"Tsk!"
Zeke immediately jumped through the open doorway.
And as soon as he entered, he shouted,
"System! Close the door!"
[Closing the entrance as requested by the administrator.]
Rumble!
The door to the ruins began to close again.
Then, the Hydra's heads squeezed through the gap in the door.
Roar!
Three heads forced their way through the door and lunged at Zeke.
"Get out of here, you snake bastards!"
Zeke leaped into the air with Bahamut.
The Hydra's heads spewed poisonous fumes towards Zeke, but Zeke, trusting his Healing Factor, charged through the poisonous fumes.
An aura blade over 3 meters long formed on his sword.
Dragon Slayer Technique
1st Form, 1st Verse
Sky Cleaving
Crash!
The massive aura blade cleaved through the three heads stuck in the doorway, from top to bottom.
Slice!
The Hydra's heads were split vertically.
Zeke glared at the Hydra, sword still in hand.
It seemed like the creature wasn't dead yet, as its body outside the door was still writhing.
Growl
A moment later, the other heads tried to force their way through the gap again.
"Persistent snake bastards..."
As he muttered and prepared to attack again, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have instilled fear in the fallen dragon corrupted by tainted energy.]
[Inherent Authority Dragon Domination activates.]
[Translator - Peptobismal]
[Proofreader - Max]