Chapter 210: The Beginning of War
Wriggle, wriggle.
The Fox Bead slipped out from my fur.
It looked just like an ordinary crystal ball, but in reality, it was an artifact imbued with immense power.
Considering the strength shown by Cheoldu-ryong when he swallowed this artifact, one could roughly gauge its potential.
Buzz.
Of course, seeing it flying around and rubbing against me made it seem like just a playful child.
“You know, it looks just like a Yeouiju when it’s doing that.”
Baekrang alternated her gaze between me and the Fox Bead.
If this truly were a Yeouiju, how amazing would that be?
If I obtained a Yeouiju and ascended into a true dragon, I wouldn’t need to worry about my current dilemmas.
I could handle everything on my own with overwhelming power.
“Why don’t you have a proper chat with it? Who knows? Maybe it’ll really turn into a Yeouiju.”
Buzz.
The Fox Bead quivered lightly.
“Honestly, they might not be that different. Just as an Imoogi creates a Yeouiju through persistent cultivation, the Fox Bead might simply differ in origin, as it was created by a fox.”
The Fox Bead flew over to Baekrang and rubbed itself against her fur.
It seemed like this bead really liked the fur of either Baekrang or me.
Since it was a fox’s artifact, this behavior was understandable.
“…It is kind of cute.”
Baekrang waved her paw at the bead, playing with it, and then opened her mouth as if she suddenly remembered something.
“Hmm, yeah. A Yeouiju… If I got my hands on a real Yeouiju, who knows?”
“Gek?”
“Of course, it’s practically impossible. Besides, you’re way too young for that.”
I’d heard that it took hundreds or even thousands of years of cultivation to obtain a Yeouiju.
Though I looked like this, I hadn’t even lived two full years as a lizard yet.
Regardless of strength, the Yeouiju was still a distant dream for me.
“Still, just in case, I’ll tell you what I know about it.”
Buzz.
“Yeoui (如意). It means ‘as one wishes.’”
So that’s what the ‘Yeoui’ in Yeouiju meant.
“I’ve never seen one myself, but they say it allows a dragon to achieve anything it desires.”
Achieve anything.
I remembered the ‘Yeoui’ in Yeouibong (如意棒) having the same meaning.
“That’s why it’s an artifact that symbolizes dragons. Spiritual creatures who undergo metamorphosis strive desperately to create a Yeouiju. They believe it’s the key to becoming a dragon.”
Baekrang’s tail swayed lightly.
The Fox Bead, as if satisfied with Baekrang’s fur, tried to burrow deeper into it.
“…Are you sure this isn’t something you gave birth to? Your scales are black, and this bead has a similar dark tone. Plus, it keeps coming toward your chest.”
Baekrang looked at me suspiciously.
What does it burrowing into my chest have to do with it being my offspring?
And why was her gaze drifting down toward my crotch?
“Don’t tell me… during that week…”
“Gek!”
What nonsense was she spouting now?
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. But really, there is a resemblance. It’s like a father-daughter vibe, you know?”
She seemed to be looking at me with some kind of expectation.
“Judging by how it likes your fur… Maybe it thinks of you as its mom….”
Pang!
The Fox Bead shot out of Baekrang’s embrace.
Buzz!
It spun in the air, as if telling her to stop talking nonsense.
“Well, I was just saying….”
Baekrang stared at the bead with a disappointed expression.
Buzz! Buzz!
The bead trembled violently, as if displeased by her words and actions.
“What’s wrong with it now?”
“Gek-gek.”
“Don’t tell me… it doesn’t think of you as its dad…?”
Baekrang’s face turned serious.
I didn’t know what she was thinking, but could she stop jumping to weird conclusions?
“No way, right? I mean, it’s just a bead….”
Slap!
I lightly swatted Baekrang’s butt with my tail.
“Kang!”
She let out a yelp, sounding nothing like a wolf.
Rubbing her bottom with her tail, she stood up.
“You know, you’re getting a bit too fond of hitting my butt. No spiritual creature likes that, you know?”
“Kaeng?”
Did Pus call me just now? She raised her short arm with that expression.
“What is with her?”
Seriously.
“Hmmm… the more I think about it, the more incredible it seems. How did you manage to charm every species without exception?”
I never seduced anyone.
“What bothers me the most is your expression, as if you really didn’t seduce anyone. They say dragons are lascivious, and I guess you’re no exception….”
Baekrang trailed off, then alternated her gaze between me and the Fox Bead again.
“…This might actually come in handy.”
I had undergone countless training sessions and made every preparation I could.
I had developed my personal strength and devised strategies to respond to various situations.
Finally, the time had come.
"Kioong…"
"Kieeng…"
Tus and Pus sat on Baekrang’s shoulders with determined expressions.
Tang Soyeong and Nephila were also seated on her back.
Their roles were more critical than anyone else’s.
They were tasked with eliminating Jeokryong’s stronghold.
"Awooo…"
"Polygyny…"
The wolves and the Igaksu herd snorted as if to indicate they were ready.
This battle would be unimaginably difficult.
It wouldn’t end with just blocking the enemy.
The goal was to annihilate the enemy while ensuring the safety of all the followers.
It was an ambitious and grand purpose.
“…We’ll move according to the plan, but are you really sure about this?”
Baekrang looked at me with a worried expression.
If we were to clash head-on with sheer forces, our chances of winning were slim.
Even if we miraculously won, the losses would be devastating.
I couldn’t achieve my goal through brute strength alone.
However, thanks to the efforts of the past month, I had succeeded in finding a breakthrough.
I could instinctively sense the countless intruders in my territory.
They had dared to enter my domain, but leaving would be impossible.
I looked at the followers one last time.
We could do this.
Even if we couldn’t, I would make it possible.
There was only one thing I needed to convey to them.
“Gekgek!”
With that, I charged toward the enemy.
The first cornerstone of achieving a perfect victory was seizing the initiative.
Ak Bulhui gazed at the mountain with a confident expression.
What he saw was a dense forest.
Plants of an extraordinary size loomed within.
"Hoo… A forest that seems to embody the essence of nature itself. But, it’s a bit different from what you described."
"Perhaps it grew in the meantime."
Jeokryong glared at him.
Her hostility toward him was blatant.
Grit.
She clenched her teeth tightly.
Having lost her family to the Ice Dragon and the Thunderbird, she regarded Lee Rihwa as her younger sister.
To ensure she would never lose someone precious again, Jeokryong had resolved not to form bonds with anyone.
Yet, Rihwa had approached her.
With a face, personality, and voice resembling her younger sister.
Rijamoun couldn’t help but see her as a younger sibling.
What tore at her heart was the fact that the opposite end of this scale held Gomodo.
A benefactor who was irreplaceably precious to her.
She couldn’t bring herself to let Rihwa die, nor could she betray Gomodo.
If saving Gomodo meant killing Rihwa, she would do so with a heart filled with anguish.
But she knew that wouldn’t change the bigger picture.
Choosing Gomodo and fighting head-on might cause massive damage to Hwasan.
In the end, Ak Bulhui wouldn’t have been defeated.
Though only ranked among the lowest, Ak Bulhui held a position among the Ten Great Experts of the World, and he was the sect leader of the Hwasan faction.
There were even rumors that they were evenly matched, and if they fought, the result would be too close to predict.
On top of that, Hwasan’s swordsmen and the enigmatic Namgoong Yeon were also present.
Even if she fought with all her might, defeating Ak Bulhui would be impossible.
At best, she might take one of his arms, but if she lost, he would take her core.
Even as a Paryong, she couldn’t defeat Ak Bulhui if he took Jeokryong’s core.
In that case, wouldn’t choosing Rihwa at least guarantee her survival?
Choosing Gomodo would be a futile death, and it might even put Gomodo in greater danger.
…Jeokryong deliberately led herself to think this way.
The old her would have rushed in without thinking about the consequences.
After all, she was both Jeokryong and Hwarong.
But ever since meeting Paryong, she had changed.
She now pondered what the right course of action was.
She looked beyond the immediate moment, considering the future.
That was why she had made this choice.
To induce the most decisive moment and inflict the most critical damage.
With the stronghold consumed, betrayal would mean certain death.
Thus, at the height of the battle, she would sweep away all the forces.
Even Ak Bulhui would sustain fatal injuries.
That was her plan.
If Gomodo emerged victorious, Hwasan would naturally be annihilated.
Rihwa would no longer be under Hwasan’s control.
And by giving her core to Gomodo, she could repay the favor of him melting her heart.
Though he wouldn’t understand her intentions, Gomodo wouldn’t take her core otherwise.
"Well, at least judging by this environment, they haven’t realized your betrayal yet. Even if they push their necks to the limit… they’ll be reduced to ashes by your flames."
Trees burn because it’s the law of nature.
Jeokryong’s breath would incinerate all those plants.
Rijamoun gazed at the plants, feeling both relief and concern.
He felt relieved because it showed that Gomodo had not remained idle over the past month and had fortified against external invasions.
He felt concerned because there was no excuse not to burn those plants.
It was a moment when he debated whether betrayal should come earlier than planned.
Pababak!
From the grass, a massive spiritual beast emerged.
Scales as black as pitch.
Two horns.
Enormous forelimbs and a long tail.
White, flowing eyebrows fluttered in the wind.
“Oh ho, that must be the spiritual beast called Gomodo.”
It was a spiritual beast of such magnificence that one might even call it beautiful.
“It’s a bit smaller than I expected, but that shouldn’t matter. Look at its grandeur. A beast like that…”
In an instant, Ak Bulhui’s expression shifted.
From delight at facing such a powerful creature to the realization that something was amiss.
The swordsmen of the Hwasan faction murmured under their breath.
“…A Yeouiju?”
It was understandable for a lizard to have horns or lush white fur.
But the purple orb floating around that lizard was something incomprehensible.
“A dragon!”
Even if the goal was to hunt spiritual beasts, the situation changed entirely if the opponent was a dragon.
Dragons were the holiest divine beasts, revered as sacred beings akin to gods.
Killing spiritual beasts that resembled dragons was acceptable, but an actual dragon was a completely different matter.
It was akin to pointing a sword at a god.
Symbolically and practically, the implications were enormous.
A few swordsmen with weaker mental fortitude trembled, their arms shaking.
They knew they wouldn’t stand a chance if that was truly a dragon.
“Everyone, pull yourselves together!”
Even Ak Bulhui faltered for a moment but quickly regained his composure.
That must be some sort of trick.
Although immense power emanated from it, it was nowhere near the level of an actual dragon.
“That thing…”
But what that spiritual beast aimed for was precisely that moment of hesitation.
Ssshhh...
In Ak Bulhui’s eyes, Gomodo’s chest swelled dramatically.
He urgently shouted.
“Cover your ears, everyone!”
KWA-AAAAAAANG!
An earth-shaking roar erupted.
The thunderous roar resembled a lion’s cry, but it was deeper and more commanding.
“H-hurk!”
Though there were no visible injuries, some swordsmen dropped their swords.
The roar just now was unmistakably that of a dragon.
Those who heard the dragon’s roar began to succumb to an inexplicable fear.
“Gaaah! It’s using the Lion’s Roar!”
“No, it’s not the Lion’s Roar, this is a dragon’s…!”
Everyone fell into chaos.
Facing a dragon was not part of the plan.
Ak Bulhui quickly tried to take control of the situation.
The momentum wasn’t favorable.
But he was a seasoned swordsman.
He knew better than anyone what needed to be done.
“Focus, everyone! That’s…”
Before he could regain control of the situation, Gomodo’s chest swelled once more.
“It’s just a normal Lion’s Roar! It’s not a dragon’s roar, so if you cover your ears, you’ll mitigate most of the damage!”
The Lion’s Roar was a sound-based attack that could be largely countered by covering one’s ears.
He shouted to instill the fact that the creature before them wasn’t a dragon.
But what came next was something entirely different from Ak Bulhui’s expectations.
ZZZZEEEONG!
A signal that marked the start of war.
It was the Gecko Death Beam.