Chapter 128 The Prelude to War
5 days until Argentarvis’s complete recovery.
I had 5 days as well.
Training.
And more training.
The prelude to the Komodo training.
Day 1 of training.
“Gaaaargh!”
I exhaled loudly, releasing my breath control.
I had almost witnessed a horrifying sight.
Just thinking about that terrifying scene again felt like it was draining my mental strength.
“Urgh…”
As expected, it wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
But, I had already drawn my sword.
Whether I succumbed to my inner demon or gained enlightenment.
I had to cut something.
Once again!
Day 2 of training.
“Graaaargh!”
I saw it.
That large, red dragon approaching me, dressed in clothes perfectly blending black and white, winking with one eye.
Oh, Almighty T. Rex, protect me with your eternal light.
Oh, Almighty T. Rex, protect me with your eternal light.
Oh, Almighty T. Rex, protect…
Gasp…
Pant…
“Urgh…”
I barely pulled myself together.
I wanted to run away.
I didn’t want to witness that scene again.
But I couldn’t.
Once again.
Day 3 of training.
I decided to ignore it.
The ‘inner demon’ was a demon of the heart.
If I didn’t pay it any mind, it wouldn’t have a reason to appear.
Of course, I knew this demon was different from the usual kind.
If I had only seen my own demon, I might have thought it was just an ordinary thing, but I had seen the Snake Queen’s demon.
It seemed to be constantly lurking, waiting for a chance to take over my mind, but no way was I going to lose to it.
I calmed my mind.
“Bright and clear as a mirror, calm as still water.”
It symbolized a heart that wouldn’t be shaken.
Why was I training?
To gain enlightenment.
I remembered what the Snake Queen’s master had said.
I was the leader.
At least within my own mental image.
I let out a forceful breath.
“Gegegek!”
I focused my mind.
Day 4 of training.
To be honest, I still didn’t understand.
If even the Snake Queen couldn’t understand it, how could I?
So, I changed my way of thinking.
The reason I could use martial arts was because my master taught me.
Baek Yeonyeong. A human with the most overwhelming power of anyone I had ever encountered.
I recalled her teachings.
She had said that the scriptures and secret manuals circulating in the world were illusions.
No, in reality, they probably did serve their purpose.
Just like how Baekwoon demonstrated the Thirty-Six Swords of the World, saying they were illusions made no sense.
Even Baek Yeonyeong was searching for the verses left behind by the Heavenly Demon.
So why had she said such things?
Baek Yeonyeong had never read the Nine Yin Manual.
Yet, she had shown me exactly what the Nine Yin White Bone Claws were.
The meaning of her words was likely that it wasn’t about what you see, but how you interpret it.
Yes.
It didn’t matter what the Snake Queen’s master said or why.
Even if it did matter, I couldn’t understand it now.
That left me with one choice.
To interpret those words in my own way.
To carve out my own path, just like Baek Yeonyeong.
Day 5 of training.
Gaining enlightenment was as difficult as expected.
If I could gain enlightenment in less than a week, anyone and everyone would walk around with their heads held high, claiming to be a spirit creature.
But it wasn’t all a failure.
[The level of 「Dragon’s Reverse Scale lv1」 has increased.]
[The level of 「Dragon’s Reverse Scale lv2」 has increased.]
[The level of 「Dragon’s Reverse Scale lv3」 has increased.]
[The level of 「Dragon’s Reverse Scale lv4」 has increased.]
「Dragon’s Reverse Scale lv5」
I raised the level of Dragon’s Reverse Scale to 5.
As I cycled my internal energy and struggled for enlightenment, this was the result.
From the start, I had used Dragon’s Reverse Scale in almost every battle.
That meant my proficiency had long surpassed what was required.
Despite that, the level hadn’t increased, meaning it was a different issue than just proficiency.
As if the blocked meridians were cleared while I twisted my body in pursuit of enlightenment, the level of Dragon’s Reverse Scale skyrocketed.
The fact that my main technique’s level had increased was a very good sign.
Until now, even when I copied skills with Dragon’s Reverse Scale, I could only bring them in at lv1.
Now that the level had risen, the copied skill levels had also increased.
This meant the efficiency of Dragon’s Reverse Scale had significantly improved.
For techniques without levels, like the Reverberating Aura That Covers the World or the Nine Yin White Bone Claws, there might not be much of a change.
But something like the Gecko Death Beam, which clearly had a level, had certainly improved.
And that was one of my main techniques.
With this, I could deal a fatal blow to the Bird King as well.
Of course, I hadn’t achieved my initial goal.
Although I raised the level of Dragon’s Reverse Scale, I still didn’t know what happened during the fight with the Dilophosaurus.
It would be greedy to try and figure that out with the limited time I had.
Even this was not a bad result.
You can’t be full from just the first bite.
With that, my training ended.
“Are you ready?”
The Snake Queen woke me.
I opened my eyes, which I had closed, and replied.
“Gek.”
It was time.
Even though I was training, I hadn’t spent the whole day just practicing my breathing techniques.
Whenever the Snake Queen was at the temple, I spent time with her.
Not idly, but engaging in sparring that felt like actual combat.
When she wasn’t around, I focused on breath control, seeking enlightenment.
There was a huge difference between the Komodo-Lania from 5 days ago and the Komodo-Lania now.
It was like the difference between the Mosasaurus in movies and the real-life Mosasaurus.
I was just as shocked when I found out that the creature that looked like it could devour a Spinosaurus in one bite was only about 15 meters long.
The shock I felt when I learned that Velociraptors were only 50 cm tall was on a similar level.
…Anyway, that was how much I had changed.
Even though it was a short period of time, I had continuously sparred with the Snake Queen.
Together, we went outside the temple.
Like soldiers lined up for a parade, numerous statues were standing in rows.
These were the ones the Snake Queen and I had moved one by one last night.
I was pressed for time to train, so why had we moved these?
I shall answer this question by looking ahead.
“They’ve all gathered.”
Ten black dragons boasting sharp tails.
Dozens of massive snakes, including anacondas.
And smaller but venomous vipers gathered as well.
This was the Queen of Snakes’ current available forces.
Of course, this wasn’t all.
“Ho, quite a grand setup.”
A massive bird was observing the statues.
It was the previous Bird King, Argentarvis.
Having fully recovered his strength with the unicorn’s horn, he was now exuding even greater power than when I last saw him.
He hadn’t come alone, either.
Numerous pterosaurs, including Pteranodons, were resting with their wings folded.
The ground forces mobilized by the Queen of Snakes.
The airborne forces mobilized by Argentarvis.
The Basilisk and Argentarvis were both as strong as divine beasts.
And then there was just me, the Komodo-Lania.
It was a scale truly worthy of the word “war.”
What were the battles I had fought so far?
One-on-one.
Or a small number against many.
That’s how they’d been.
But now, it would be a battle of many against many.
Unless something extraordinary happened, this would likely be the lizard’s final war.
Why would I, of all creatures, involve myself in such a large-scale battle for fame or glory?
I could just crawl around searching for elixirs and cores, spend my days idly watching spiders, wondering when I would transform back into a human.
This kind of fight didn’t even suit my temperament.
But I had gotten too deeply involved in this jungle.
At first, it was because of Baek Yeonyeong’s words.
I was searching for the hidden elixir in the jungle.
Then, the Bird King attacked me.
I met Shikshik.
I obtained cores and elixirs and met the Queen of Snakes again.
Originally, we wouldn’t have had much to do with each other, but now we were tightly intertwined.
I was the Queen of Snakes’ mate, the son-in-law of the Soaring Dragon.
And I could be called Shikshik’s divine beast.
Their enemies were my enemies, too.
It was time to put an end to it.
A mist surrounded the entire body of the Queen of Snakes.
She returned to her true form from her human appearance.
A massive Basilisk raised its head and howled towards the sky.
“Sssssaaaah!”
At her roar, the noisy jungle fell silent in an instant.
“Listen.”
Even in her snake form, human words came out.
Not every beast here would be able to understand human language.
But they could at least understand her intent.
“You all know what my goal is.”
“Crwaaark!”
The black dragons responded to her words.
Considering that they had been stationed around the temple, acting as its guards, it seemed like they had a rather friendly relationship with the Queen of Snakes. Some of them even believed in the Queen’s faith.
“It is to kill the Bird King, Gaetsalgoadal.”
“Rrrrkk!”
“Grrrrr!”
It wasn’t just the Queen’s and Argentarvis’s forces that had gathered.
Many beasts, sensing the ominous atmosphere, had gathered in this place.
“Staying in my territory means you know the ugliness of that creature. Yes, he is a ruthless being. Many here have lost something precious because of him.”
“Graaargh!”
“Kiieeek….”
The statues we moved overnight.
The countless forces.
The Queen of Snakes, Argentarvis, and the massive lizard rumored to be the Queen’s mate.
The hearts of the beasts that had merely been spectators began to stir.
“He sought forbidden power, staining his wings with the blood of many.”
“Kiiieee!”
The pterosaurs responded violently.
Even when I first encountered them, they had risked their lives, charging at the Imoogi Bird.
Just like the Queen of Snakes, they clearly had bad blood with Gaetsalgoadal.
“Survival of the fittest. I won’t deny those words. After all, I too reached this point by devouring countless beasts.”
From the start, to survive, one had to take the lives of others.
No one would blame anyone for that.
“But he has crossed the line.”
Gaetsalgoadal was different.
He had betrayed the Soaring Dragon who had nurtured him and killed all of his disciples.
“He kills for mockery, and kills for power. Though they live, he breaks their spirits and takes them. You’ve all gathered here because you share the same scars.”
“Graaaargh….”
“Kiiieeek!”
Cries were heard from all around.
Beasts that had lost family or friends, or had been brainwashed and used as Gaetsalgoadal’s pawns.
“Even if you haven’t been harmed by him yet, you’ve gathered here because you cannot continue living in fear.”
“Grrrr….”
The Queen of Snakes surveyed the assembly.
The beasts, unable to speak, expressed themselves through their cries.
The grief of losing family to Gaetsalgoadal.
The anger of losing friends.
The frustration of living in constant fear.
The beasts were voicing their resentment.
“My mate killed the Imoogi Bird.”
As we had discussed beforehand, I held my head high and tried to maintain the coolest face possible.
I could feel everyone’s eyes on me.
I wanted to squirm and flail around, but I had to hold it in.
“His strength is weakened. Victory is already within our grasp.”
“Grrrr, grrrr!”
The beasts all started thinking.
Those who had been harmed by Gaetsalgoadal were already gathering behind the statues.
The anxious ones had also gathered in one place.
The beasts that neither feared him nor had suffered from him wouldn’t have a reason to join this fight.
They wouldn’t want to risk anything unnecessarily.
But what if the Queen of Snakes won this battle overwhelmingly?
They could reap the benefits under the pretense of having helped her.
“Krrrgh!”
All the beasts gathered here joined the ranks.
The Queen of Snakes looked around the assembly.
“A battle unlike any before. No, a war is about to begin.”
Twice the number of forces originally gathered were now present.
“But it won’t last long.”
The Queen of Snakes moved her tail.
In her tail was a beautiful greatsword.
“I swear on the name of the Queen of Snakes. Today, the Bird King will die.”
The Queen’s speech ended.
“Krawwwaaaark!”
The beasts let out cheers.
“Honestly, even I’m getting riled up.”
Argentarvis grinned in satisfaction.
“Krawwwaaaark!”
“Kiiiieeeek!”
“Ssssaaaah!”
Beasts, each capable of being called a warlord, continued to shout.
Even my heart was beating fast, and I was a cold-blooded reptile, so how must the others feel?
“Graaaaargh!”
“One mate onlyyyyy!”
…It seemed there was a particularly angry one, but it was probably just rage toward the Bird King.
And so, with a massive force gathered, we advanced towards Gaetsalgoadal’s nest.
The prelude to war had begun.