Chapter 205: The Dragon’s Lair (3)
The vast cavern was surrounded by thousands of pairs of glowing eyes, and in front of them, tens of thousands of sparks flashed.
The trajectory that began from the muzzle flare raced through the darkness at a speed several times faster than sound.
Before the copper bullet could reach the end of its diagonal path, in that fleeting moment, Dalen drew his sword.
Zing!
The leading bullet ricocheted off, a blinding flash momentarily illuminating the surroundings.
In his heightened sense of time, Dalen could see the barrage of bullets filling his vision.
It seemed they had given up on precise sniping, opting instead to sweep the area with a rain of bullets.
Even transcendents weren’t immune to physical harm. Some transcendents, despite their powers, had bodies that weren’t particularly durable.
For those like that, a sudden barrage of bullets would be hard to withstand.
But not today.
Thud—
Dalen took a step forward, tilting his sword to align with his shoulder.
He didn’t need to deflect every bullet. It was enough to sweep away the barrage aimed at him and his companions behind him.
From Dalen’s fingertips, the jewel-like blade of his sword, Tyrfing, scattered a dazzling array of colors.
Clang—clang—clang!
As the sword’s surface unfolded into dozens of paths, thousands of bullets shattered, creating a curtain of light in the center of the cavern.
[······!]
The darkness stirred. More precisely, the dwarves aiming their guns from behind the shadows did.
There were at least a thousand dwarves surrounding the cavern on three sides, each holding a uniquely crafted firearm, aiming at Dalen and his group.
The dwarf who seemed to be their leader, wearing a crown, had a face covered in a wild beard, slightly twisted in expression.
It wasn’t a look of panic. More like mild annoyance at the inconvenience.
Though his own abilities didn’t surpass the fifth rank, it was clear he had faced transcendents like Dalen before.
“Keep firing! If you can’t take him down, get the mage!”
The leader shouted, and Dalen chuckled.
Ratatatatat—!!
Even after witnessing Dalen deflect thousands of bullets with a single sword, the dwarves showed no sign of intimidation, following their leader’s orders with even more vigor.
Their confidence wasn’t unfounded.
Their master, the Earth Dragon, was a true dragon rivaling the great demons, and had likely fought countless battles against beings that transcended humanity.
If that had been the case for centuries, it wouldn’t be surprising if they mistook their master’s victories for their own.
But today, their arrogance, honed over centuries, had met the wrong opponent.
“Old man, I’ll leave the rear to you.”
“I’m ready.”
As Felber nodded with a smile, Dalen’s form vanished, his sword swinging tirelessly.
Slash!
From one side of the encirclement, the sound of fabric being shredded began to spread.
“Keep the fire going! Kill them—urk!”
A dwarf, shouting orders, suddenly found a large axe embedded in his forehead.
The massacre had begun.
The battle that started in the cavern continued into the deeper passages of the dragon’s lair.
Dalen and his group descended further into the lair, clashing with the dwarves trying to stop them.
Ratatat!
Boom!
Bullets whizzed past, and booby traps exploded, filling the room with flames.
The gold-plated walls melted and deformed from the heat. Ornate candlesticks and bowls, along with the coins they held, were shredded by the hail of bullets.
[Aaaagh!]
The one suffering the most from this sight was Arvor, the immortal demon hiding in a pocket dimension.
[My treasures! My gold and jewels—!]
Clink!
Chains shot out from a hole in the air, selecting the most valuable treasures scattered around and pulling them into the pocket dimension, while also lashing out at the dwarves threatening the hoard.
Every time the chains, imbued with the chill of hell, sliced through the air, walls of ice formed, and icicles rained down like arrows.
“Aaagh!”
“Take cover! You never know where the chains will come from!”
“There’s another spellcaster. Find them!”
Caught off guard by the unexpected icicle barrage, the dwarves took cover more thoroughly.
Of course, their cover was the dragon’s hoard itself, which only made the demon’s wrath more vicious.
[How dare you touch my treasure—!]
Crack!
The floor froze, hindering movement, and massive icicles formed on the ceiling, crashing down to disrupt the dwarves’ formation.
Amidst this chaos, dark red magic surged, finishing off any dwarves who survived the ice storm.
‘The essence is definitely effective.’
Dalen thought as he crossed the room littered with treasure and dwarf corpses.
The army of demons from Suum numbered in the dozens. The essence shards obtained from defeating them were also numerous.
Lucia, now a high-ranking knight, had purified a few shards that Arvor fancied, under the guise of local purification.
The result was the scene before him.
Effortlessly dispatching the dwarves blocking Dalen’s path, while ensuring no valuable item was left behind, swept into the pocket dimension.
“Grab a few guns too. Bjorn will like them.”
[Understood, master!]
Leaving the demon’s enthusiastic response behind, Dalen pushed open the door the dwarves had desperately guarded.
Creak…
Beyond the door lay a spacious hall.
In the center stood a high stone platform, surrounded by a hundred dwarves and metal golems standing guard.
On the platform, a crown-wearing dwarf sat on a gilded throne, pointing a finger at Dalen.
It was the same dwarf he had seen in the cavern earlier.
“Kill him—urk!”
Crash!
The dwarf king barely managed to raise a shield the size of his torso to block the axe.
His reaction was better than before, but Dalen approached him without much interest.
「Pillar of Crimson Flame」
「Thunderbolt」
Boom—!!
The spells flowed as naturally as breathing.
A pillar of fire blocked the entrance, twisting like a whip, sweeping away the dwarves raising their guns.
Following the scorched floor, blue lightning surged like a wave, mercilessly tearing apart the golems that withstood the flames.
Clang—!
The remaining dwarves and a half-destroyed golem were frozen alive by chains that shot out from the air.
Having easily dealt with the guards, Dalen climbed the steps of the platform, reaching for the crown-wearing dwarf.
[You, you—!]
The dwarf swung his shield, still embedded with the axe, but Dalen effortlessly snatched it away and tossed it aside, grabbing the dwarf’s head.
There was no need to stain his weapon with blood. A little pressure from his fingers was all it took.
[How dare you defy the lineage of the Dwarf Kingdom Belagor—aaagh!]
Crunch!
The dwarf’s head, caught in Dalen’s bear-like grip, burst like a watermelon. What spilled out wasn’t blood and brains, but gears and lubricant.
“Damn it. Another fake.”
Dalen wiped the oil from his face. From the cavern to now, he had crushed five fake dwarf kings with his own hands.
They looked identical to other dwarves, with nearly perfect breathing and heartbeats.
With the enchantments in the lair clouding his senses, even Dalen couldn’t tell until he had them in his grasp.
And there was only one reason he kept capturing and cracking open their heads.
To lure out the true master of this lair.
‘To a true dragon, a lair is akin to a demon’s hell. It’s where their true form resides, where they gather their minions and grow their power.’
The difference was that a true dragon’s lair had something hell didn’t—a special place.
The grand cavern located at the deepest part of the lair. The place where a dragon, from the time it becomes an adult, rests for hundreds or thousands of years.
‘The grand cavern is where the dragon’s power is at its peak… I must avoid fighting there for now.’
The Earth Dragon was a true dragon rivaling the great demons. Among the dragon god’s true dragons, it was one of the few on par with the Red Spear.
Though Dalen had swiftly defeated one of its avatars at the lair’s entrance, that was only possible because it was an avatar.
Unlike demons, dragons don’t imbue their avatars with immense power.
Dragons, unlike demons who descend to the surface through avatars, have always existed on this continent.
They can bring their true form out whenever they wish, so why disperse their power into avatars?
In any case, the Earth Dragon’s true form was undoubtedly as powerful as the strongest of the great demons, and its power would be even greater in the grand cavern.
Gwon Gap had reached the sixth tier long ago, a dragon who had ascended to the rank of a demigod thousands of years past. While it’s true that the vast potential of your domain isn’t bound by such ranks, there’s no need to dance to his tune.
“That’s why we’re hunting down this dwarf king, isn’t it? You said that killing him would drive the enraged earth dragon out of its lair.”
”…Indeed. But I didn’t expect it to be so well-guarded,” Jeokchang replied, his voice tinged with exasperation.
Half a day had passed since they entered the dragon’s lair. Despite Dalen scouring the vast caverns, the earth dragon remained stubbornly within its main chamber, refusing to emerge. Perhaps it had sensed something during their clash at the entrance. Facing a transcendent being nearing the sixth tier and a grand mage who could manipulate time, even an ancient dragon would be wise to prepare thoroughly.
Jeokchang had revealed how to lure the dragon out: by killing the dwarf king it kept as a pet. The earth dragon, it seemed, had a penchant for being worshipped, having captured and raised over ten thousand dwarves. Jeokchang explained that the dragon had a particular fondness for the one it crowned as king, and would be inconsolable and furious if it were killed. The multitude of dwarves was a safeguard against any potential intruders.
“Traces of the Sandstorm Dynasty remain. It’s clearly a technique they shared during their alliance,” Jeokchang noted.
“Why not just keep them in its main chamber? No intruder would dare venture that far,” Dalen mused.
“It wouldn’t allow that. The king and a god cannot share the same space. The earth dragon is particularly obsessed with its divine status.”
What a crazy dragon, Dalen thought, scratching his chin. Many transcendent beings had a screw loose, but he hadn’t expected it to apply to dragons as well.
“Not all dragons are like this,” Jeokchang insisted. “Gwon Gap’s eccentricities have been a topic of conversation among dragons for ages.”
”…I see.”
“You don’t seem convinced. Look at me—how normal I am for a true dragon.”
”…”
“Dalen! We’ve found the real one! Over here!” came Felber’s voice from a distance. Dalen stood up. It was time to finally face the creature that had led them on this half-day chase through the labyrinthine lair.