Episode 30
Whoosh!
Zeke sprinted deeper into the forest, evading the relentless hunting dogs on his trail.
“Persistent bastards.”
He had dealt with these tenacious hounds in his past life, so he knew exactly what he was up against.
Activating his minimap, Zeke counted the number of pursuers. Thirty-six hunting dogs were hot on his heels.
As time passed, he knew more would join the chase.
Just then, a new squad of hunters appeared before him.
Swish!
Their movements were reminiscent of assassins from the desert, suggesting they had specialized training.
Whoosh!
Zeke twisted mid-air to dodge an attack, retreating swiftly. Thanks to his boundless stamina, he wasn’t tired, but he knew these hunters wouldn’t back down easily.
“Should I just kill them all?”
The problem was that leaving any trace of Zeke Draker could complicate matters. He needed to ensure any evidence pointed only to a hitman from the Southern Continent Cartel.
Surrounded by dozens of hunters, Zeke met their sharp gazes with his own, gripping daggers in both hands.
“Haah!”
The knights at the front charged at him first. Zeke deftly dodged their swords, rolling to target their Achilles’ tendons.
Whoosh!
The hunters, perhaps experienced in battles with southern outlaws, leapt to avoid his attack.
Lowering his stance, Zeke glared at them, daggers ready.
“Damn imperial dogs. Even if I die here, the McCain Cartel will avenge me with blood.”
His taunt was met with silence. He had hoped to provoke them into revealing information, but they didn’t take the bait.
If he were truly a McCain hitman, he might have taken poison or negotiated for information. But Zeke had another plan.
He pulled something from his pocket and blew into it.
Bwooooo!
The sound from the small horn was surprisingly loud, echoing through the forest. The hunters paused, wary of their surroundings.
But nothing happened immediately, and the leader signaled to capture Zeke.
As several hunters approached, Zeke threw something at them.
Whoosh!
Five smoke bombs from his inventory exploded, obscuring their vision completely.
Zeke concealed his presence and slipped away.
Sensing his escape, the leader shouted, “Catch him now!”
But an unexpected event unfolded.
Boom!
They emerged, uprooting trees in their path.
Towering over two meters, their bodies were clad in muscle like armor, adorned with menacing tattoos and wearing unique garb made from monster hides.
They were the Barbarians, the true rulers of the Giant Mountains.
“Haaooo!”
The Barbarians’ roar shook the entire forest. The hunters were taken aback by their sudden appearance.
“Kill those savages!”
The hunters charged at the Barbarians from all sides. A knight at the forefront attempted to slash a Barbarian.
Thunk!
“What?”
To his shock, the sword bounced off the Barbarian’s muscle without leaving a mark. The Barbarian warrior grabbed the knight’s limbs and twisted them mercilessly.
Crunch!
The knight was torn apart without a chance to resist.
The leader, panicking, shouted, “Use your aura! Swords without aura won’t work on them!”
The knights enveloped their swords in aura and attacked the Barbarians. The aura-infused blades pierced the thick muscles.
But the real challenge came next.
“Eek!”
The Barbarians, having long defended their territory, had learned to fight knights wielding aura. They sacrificed flesh to capture bones.
They trapped the swords with their muscles and smashed the knights’ heads with their powerful fists.
Thud!
The Barbarians’ fists, with their incredible strength, were as deadly as a seasoned knight’s mace.
As the Barbarians engaged in close combat, the hunting squad leader ordered a retreat.
“Fall back! Fall back!”
But the Barbarians were as relentless as the hunters. They pursued the fleeing hunters, determined not to let them escape.
To them, the Giant Mountains were as familiar as their own backyard.
With a storm-like fury, the Barbarians chased the hunters, their roars echoing through the forest.
Watching from a distance, Zeke slowly emerged.
“Worked better than I thought.”
He fondly touched the horn that had summoned the Barbarians. In his past life, he had both fought against and alongside them when facing formidable beasts.
One of the tribes he had befriended, the Mohakin, had taught him how to craft the horn and understand their signal system.
The signal Zeke had sent was a call to arms: “Foreign invaders have trespassed on our sacred land.”
Though they appeared savage, the Barbarians lived by their own culture and traditions. Only the central continent, dominated by humans, scorned and rejected them as barbarians.
“Cross the Barbarians, and you’re as good as dead.”
Zeke headed in the opposite direction of the fleeing hunters, not wanting to become a target himself.
Once he had put enough distance between them, he activated his minimap and set off for the ruins of Kaishir.
Located deep within the Giant Mountains, the journey was arduous due to the rugged terrain.
He took breaks in caves, consuming rations to stave off hunger and hunting monsters to replenish his energy.
After several days of climbing, he finally reached the entrance to the ruins.
“This cave seems to be the entrance.”
The entrance was hidden by massive trees, and without the minimap and navigation, it would have been impossible to find.
Cautiously, Zeke entered the cave.
It was no different from a typical dungeon. He advanced carefully, following the path indicated by the minimap.
There were occasional forks, but the navigation kept him on track.
Monsters appeared sporadically, but they were swiftly turned into valuable points for Zeke.
The journey was smoother than expected.
Soon, the cave ended, and the ground transitioned to a paved stone path.
Such artificial caves often led to underground structures like this.
Zeke checked the map as he approached the entrance to the ruins.
But something made him pause.
“What is this?”
A red dot blinked persistently at the entrance to the ruins, unlike anything he’d seen on the map before.
Sensing something amiss, Zeke drew Bahamut and cautiously moved forward.
As he rounded the corner to the entrance of Kaishir’s ruins, he cursed under his breath.
“Damn, things were going too smoothly.”
Growl!
A massive hydra lay sprawled before the entrance, its nine heads indicating it had been there for centuries.
A message appeared before Zeke’s eyes.
[Detected a corrupted dragonkin tainted by malevolent energy.]
“Corrupted dragonkin?”
He couldn’t fathom why the system was suddenly displaying such a message.
Watching the hydra, Zeke pondered his next move.
“How do I get past that thing?”
His goal was to find the secret swordsmanship of Kaishir, so there was no need to risk fighting the hydra.
Drawing on his experience from the Dragon Slayer’s Tomb, Zeke issued a command to the system.
“System, can you open that door?”
A message appeared in response.
[Accessing control system at the request of the administrator.]
[Connected to the sanctuary management system of Hero King Kaishir.]
[Entry approved.]
[Opening the entrance.]
As the door behind the hydra began to open, the creature rose to its feet.
Screeeech!
Its nine heads shrieked, shaking the entire cave.
“Damn it.”
Seizing the moment, Zeke activated his Gale Step technique.
Dragon Slayer Technique
Gale Step
Flight Step
His body lifted off the ground, soaring towards the door like the wind.
Screeeech!
But the hydra wouldn’t let an intruder pass so easily.
One of its nine heads lunged towards Zeke, jaws wide open.
Zeke gripped Bahamut, channeling his aura.
A blue aura blade surged forth.
He raised Bahamut, enveloped in the aura blade, and swung it at the hydra.
Dragon Slayer Technique
Chapter 7, Verse 1
Dragon’s Head Cleaving
The art of dragon slaying was born from a sword technique designed specifically to kill dragons.
With its sweeping, grand movements, the dragon slaying technique wasn’t ideal for fighting humans, but it was perfect for taking on massive beasts.
Boom!
A colossal aura blade sliced through the Hydra’s mouth.
Screeeech!
The Hydra shrieked in agony as its mouth was cut open.
Blood, acidic and potent, gushed from the wound, splattering everywhere.
The Hydra’s blood, with its strong acidic properties, began to corrode the stone floor.
Whoosh!
Zeke’s flying board didn’t slow down; it accelerated forward.
The Hydra blocked the entrance to the ancient ruins with its massive body.
Zeke aimed Bahamut at the Hydra and summoned his energy.
Vroooom!
A gigantic aura blade surged forth.
The Hydra lunged at Zeke with its heads.
As the Hydra’s heads drew near, Zeke unleashed the dragon skill, Dragon’s Majesty.
Boom!
Sensing the dragon’s aura, the Hydra recoiled in fear.
Zeke seized the opportunity.
In a split second, he launched the aura blade wrapped around his sword at the Hydra.
Dragon Slaying Technique
Chapter 3, Section 2
Crescent Slash
Vroooom!
A crescent-shaped aura blade shot from Zeke’s sword.
Whoosh!
The spinning crescent severed three of the Hydra’s necks.
Screeeech!
Acidic blood gushed from the severed necks, pouring down on Zeke.
Sizzle!
The acid burned Zeke’s skin instantly.
For an ordinary person, it would have melted down to the bone, but Zeke was different.
His healing factor kicked in immediately, restoring him.
“Haah!”
Zeke dashed through the gap in the door.
As soon as he was inside, he shouted, “System! Close the door!”
[Closing the entrance at the administrator’s request.]
Rumble!
The door to the ruins began to close.
The Hydra’s heads forced their way through the narrowing gap, lunging at Zeke.
“Get lost, you damn snakes!”
Zeke leaped into the air, wielding Bahamut.
The Hydra spewed toxic fumes at him, but trusting his healing factor, Zeke charged straight through the poison.
An aura blade over three meters long formed from his sword.
Dragon Slaying Technique
Chapter 1, Section 1
Sky Cleave
Boom!
The massive aura blade cleaved through the three Hydra heads caught in the door, slicing them from top to bottom.
Slice!
The Hydra’s heads split vertically.
Holding his sword, Zeke glared at the Hydra.
It wasn’t dead yet; its body outside the door seemed to writhe.
Growl—
Moments later, other heads tried to force their way through the gap again.
“Persistent snakes…”
Muttering to himself, Zeke prepared to attack once more when a message appeared before his eyes.
[You have instilled fear in the corrupted dragon kin tainted by the polluted aura.]
[Unique Authority: Dragon Kin Domination is activated.]