Chapter 309: A Peculiar Power (4)

"Do you think Cale has already reached the vicinity of the Lair?"

"It seems like he has."

At Rosalyn’s response, Eruhaben smiled slightly and exhaled deeply.

His gaze shifted to Sheritt, who was standing beside him.

Buzzz—

A white light enveloped her.

In the innermost room on the first floor of the black castle.

The room that used to house the eggs of Lord Sheritt’s children.

In the center of that room, Sheritt opened her eyes and spoke.

"Descent."

The black castle began to descend toward the ground.

Boom—

The ground trembled.

The black castle, which had landed smoothly, opened all its windows.

Curious gazes turned outward.

In a vast hall.

"They’ve arrived."

Jegal Miryeo, the General Commander of the Murim Alliance, looked out at the vast field through the window.

A solitary castle in the middle of the field. The people inside the hall looked toward the castle.

"Originally, that castle was the birthplace of the first emperor who founded the Har Empire."

King Dennis of Har Kingdom stood up from his seat.

"But now it’s nothing more than a gathering place for those who seek to destroy this world."

The young king was already dressed in his armour.

"They’re opening the castle gates first."

Creeeak—

The castle gates opened.

"The enemies don’t seem surprised. I suppose they were expecting us."

They knew we were coming.

Dennis smiled.

"Ha."

The one who stepped out of the open gates was the Emperor of the Holy Empire, Alt.

Accompanied by a few knights, Alt clearly acted as an emissary.

"In the end, even the emperor of the empire that rules the continent is insignificant here. The enemies are ridiculous."

No, the Dragons are ridiculous. They started this and caused this disaster.

"It’s ironic that they send the humans first."

Dennis headed toward the exit. The cape over his armour fluttered.

"Then we should send a human first as well."

If Alt had come out from their side, it was fitting that he did the same from his. Dennis walked toward where the Ancient Dragon was to announce his intent.

Creeeak—

But he couldn’t move. The door of the black castle opened.

‘Already?’

The black castle. Despite having many people inside, this was only the first wave, and they were significantly fewer in number compared to the large fortress they faced.

In this situation, opening the doors and facing the enemy without preparations?

‘What kind of conversation are they trying to have?’

Dennis approached the window again. Someone was stepping out through the open doors.

"Huh?"

A surprised exclamation escaped his lips. And he wasn’t the only one seeing this scene.

"As expected."

Witira, the whale, left the window with a smile.

"There’s no need to watch anymore."

At that moment, Wisha, the White Snake, looked out the window over Witira’s shoulder.

Seeing the Emperor approach, and someone advancing toward him.

Gulp.

Wisha swallowed nervously.

Boom—!

A loud noise echoed.

"Hahaha, ha!"

The mischievous Dragon, or rather, the impatient Dragon.

Rasheel, the one with the Indomitability Attribute, burst into loud laughter.

"Ha, hahaha!"

Rasheel threw a punch.

"Guh!"

Emperor Alt, a Sword Master, barely managed to block the punch but was sent flying into the air.

Boom!

After being lifted into the sky, he plummeted back down, crashing deeply into the ground.

"Gah!"

Rasheel stepped on his body. With one foot on Emperor Alt’s abdomen, he shouted.

"Hey, Dragons without pride! Let’s fight! Hahaha!"

Ah, damn it!

Alt groaned as he tried to speak.

"...I come, I come on behalf of the Dragon Lord."

He tried to say that he was there to deliver the Dragon Lord’s message.

"The emperor, a coward trying to flee? That’s what you are! Pathetic!"

Alt was met with another kick from Rasheel. And this action didn’t just reflect Rasheel’s intent.

"Today, we were given permission to do whatever we want, the elders allowed it!"

"Who are you calling elders?"

The one who appeared behind Rasheel was the Dragon Mila. Although her specialty was Unification, she was not weak in combat. In fact, she was quite strong.

(TL Note: I’ve updated the name of Dragon Mila’s attribute to Connect Together in Unification for better clarity and alignment.)

"..."

Rasheel fell silent. And he pressed his foot down on the emperor.

"Gah, gah!"

Mila smiled and spoke.

"Rasheel. Why fight with trash?"

Tsk.

Rasheel clicked his tongue and stepped away from the Emperor.

Mila walked up to the Emperor and looked at him.

"Human."

Huff, huff.

The panting Emperor Alt looked up at Mila.

"Convey this to the dragons."

But Alt knew he didn’t need to convey the words of this Dragon.

Buzzz—

Mana stirred around her as she released a faint dragon’s breath. Her voice, infused with mana, echoed between the black castle and the Purple Blood Family’s castle.

Convey this to the dragons.

Mila was speaking directly to the dragons.

"The strong don’t use the weak as shields."

Though they needed to buy time until Cale gave the signal,

"It could take up to a full day."

Maybe looting the Dragon Lord’s treasure would take a long time.

But that didn’t mean they would hide.

"If you want to fight, come out."

She stomped the ground.

Boom—

The ground shook.

All eyes focused on Rasheel and Mila.

Buzzz—

She fully released her dragon’s breath.

"Guh!"

She felt the emperor tremble, but she ignored it.

"Don’t hide cowardly, come out."

Yes.

Come out, all of you.

‘Because we will be infiltrating.’

In the lowest level of the black castle’s basement.

There, the Three-Star Dragon Exion placed a hand on a wall.

Buzzz—

With a vibration, a tunnel opened in the wall.

"I’m very familiar with the castle’s layout."

Exion turned around.

Three people stood behind him.

"Are you really sure you can release the poison in there? Can you withstand the Dragon’s Breath?"

At his question, a middle-aged woman smiled.

It was Tang Yu, the Leader of the Tang Family from Sichuan.

She wore black combat attire.

"I’ve already designated the next head of my family."

She had come here prepared to give her life.

The reason was simple.

"The Tang Family has a clear rule."

Vengeance is carried out, no matter what.

Tang Yu was determined to fulfill her family’s teachings, to show it to the next leader and the family members.

Moreover, the family had lost half its strength.

They could even be dethroned from their place among the Five Great Families by the Dogo Family.

In that situation, they had to prove something.

To show why the Tang Family shouldn’t be underestimated, why they shouldn’t be provoked.

That’s why what she planned to do was both revenge, a warning, and a matter of survival, for the future of the family.

She had no intention of taking this lightly.

"Even if I have to risk my life, I’ll do it properly, so don’t worry."

Exion recognized the determination in Tang Yu’s grim voice and closed his mouth.

However, someone else spoke in a casual tone.

"I don’t think there’s a need to risk your life."

The dark elf Tasha smiled.

"I’ll handle the escape."

Whoosh—

A small breeze swirled around her. If things went wrong, Tasha planned to use a Wind Elemental to escape.

"Besides, there will be companions waiting in the sky."

When they released the poison in the castle, the battlefield would already be in chaos.

In the sky, Mary and her skeleton army would be ready.

"And, we have a veteran in these things, right?"

Tasha’s gaze shifted to the side.

There, Ron was cleaning a knife with a white handkerchief.

"Before young master arrives, let’s release the poison quickly."

He smiled gently.

Ron lifted his head.

Boom!

The ground shook.

Mila was talking to the enemies on the surface.

"Why aren’t you coming out yet? You outnumber us and are still scared!"

"Yes, cowards! Fight us! Are you scared?!"

Rasheel joined in, shouting.

The voices of the two dragons echoed everywhere.

One of the enemies reacted to their shouts.

"Ha! Fools who think all Dragons are the same, how dare you speak of us like that!"

A red-haired man appeared.

Standing atop the wall, his voice filled the battlefield.

Boom!

Someone appeared in the open field between them.

"Huh? What is that old man doing here…?"

Rasheel shuddered and shrank back.

"Who are you?"

The red-haired man frowned as he looked at the newcomer.

"It’s you, isn’t it?"

With a serene smile, the Ancient Dragon Eruhaben brushed his long silver hair over his shoulder.

‘Eruhaben! That Dragon looks like he wants to devour me! His Attribute is Gluttony!’

The red dragon.

"So, it’s you…"

The one who wanted to devour our unfortunate little punk.

"Ha, ha—"

Eruhaben chuckled, and Rasheel hid behind Mila, whispering urgently.

"Hey, wasn’t that old man not supposed to come out now? Why is he suddenly acting like this? Huh? I’m scared! That old man rejuvenated and went a little crazy!"

Mila, unfazed, smiled in satisfaction.

"Rejuvenation is definitely a good thing."

At this, Rasheel moved even further away from Mila.

Boom—!

Simultaneously, a cloud of golden dust rose into the sky.

In the open field, a golden whirlwind appeared.

The enemies.

The Dragon Lord.

They were all so focused that they couldn’t think of anything else.

With the great golden whirlwind as the start, Eruhaben and the Dragons began to cause total chaos.

"This is insane."

The Sword Master Hannah stood with her mouth agape.

"It’s beautiful."

Clopeh Sekka couldn’t help but show a smile of awe.

"……."

The Heavenly Demon watched the battlefield with intense interest, like a researcher who had just discovered something new.

***

"Exion said this."

‘The Dragon Lord’s Lair looks like an ordinary hunter’s or woodcutter’s cabin from the outside.’

But once they entered and opened the door leading to the basement, they would understand.

"The cabin and the entire forest are the Lair."

Cale continued.

"Exion could only confirm the entrance to the Lair and couldn’t go any further."

‘Dragon Lord. Neo once told me.’

‘Even if someone discovers his Lair, they won’t be able to harm it easily.’

‘It was probably also a warning to me. Anyway, there will be many traps inside Neo’s Lair. It won’t be easy to reach the reference point.’

‘Without a doubt—’

"Without a doubt, Neo’s Lair will be heavily fortified."

Cale’s gaze turned to Raon.

"Human, there are no surveillance devices or alarm magic."

Since they entered the cabin and descended into the basement, they hadn’t found any surveillance magic or alarms that would alert the intrusion.

"Of course."

He had no doubts about why.

"This way, there’s no need for surveillance devices or alarms."

Ha.

Cale chuckled.

"Cale-nim, what is this?"

"I want to know too, Nyaa!"

"…It’s strange, Nyaa."

Choi Han, On, and Hong voiced their confusion.

Cale sighed and looked at the translucent screen in front of him.

Dragon Lord Neo.

He hadn’t fortified his Lair.

"Damn."

This guy is cunning.

No, this is something new.

What the hell has he done?

[You have entered the Dungeon of the Hell of Time of the 7th Evil.]

As soon as they entered the cabin’s basement and opened the door, a familiar translucent screen appeared before Cale.

"Haha—"

Cale couldn’t help but laugh.

"Incredible."

He also felt admiration.

Dragon Lord Neo. His Lair was linked to the game "Raising My Precious Absolute God."

No, to be precise, this was an entrance to the game.

Like a portal between the Central Plains and Aipotu.

"Yes. It’s a portal. But how does placing the reference point here keep Aipotu’s energy contained? Isn’t this just a portal? Is Aipotu and the New World already connected—"

Raon approached Cale, who was murmuring to himself, and asked.

"Human! Where are we? And what are these weird screens? Unidentified user? What is that? What are the 7 Evils?"

"Ah."

Cale began to explain.

"This is a virtual reality game. You know that new world the Transparent Ones are creating? This is the place."

The Hell of Time.

Despite its name, the hallway looked like something out of a fairy tale, with fluffy clouds of cotton candy.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Uh?"

No matter how his companions reacted, Cale kept looking around and spoke.

"In that world, there are 8 Evils, which are entities that players have to defeat."

8 Evils.

"One of them, the 7th Evil, seems to be what the Dragon Lord turned into his Lair."

Haha.

Cale laughed.

He pointed at himself.

"Oh, and by the way, I’m the final boss of the 3rd Evil."

Hahaha.

He couldn’t stop laughing.

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

While Choi Han, On, and Hong showed confusion on their faces.

Raon shouted.

"Human! I don’t understand, what have you done now?"

Hahaha.

Cale just kept laughing.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]