#91. Rise of the Evil Dragon

Both sides had had their own secret agendas heading into the war, but it was the white bears’ side that was left feeling more upset at the outcome.

Kim Jin-Woo had almost been pushed back to the point of defeat by the sudden surge in his enemy’s strength, and his enemy had also attempted to kill him with a surprise explosive blast attack. There was no way he would take kindly to an enemy who had tried to backstab him twice.

Facing the outright hostility of the Undefeated Conqueror, the Ursus King looked rather resigned. He remarked, “You are a ruthless Conqueror that knows not the meaning of unity, and a dangerous tyrant who knows no defeat and is too dangerous to be kept alive.”

Looking back, the White Bear Duke’s words weren’t completely unreasonable. However, despite what had happened, there was no possibility that each party would be able to understand the other’s position and end things in a peaceful manner.

“Well, there’s no use belaboring the point.” Kim Jin-Woo admitted to the white bear’s words nonchalantly before continuing, “Because what’s important now is the future.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Kim Jin-Woo’s presence exploded.

“Hgght!”

The White Bear Duke breathed deeply and unleashed his strength. White light flickered between his jaws, and his stiff fur rose sharply like a million blades. Because he was the one who had provoked the Undefeated Commander, naturally, he assumed the attack was directed toward him.

However, contrary to his expectations, the Undefeated Commander charged toward a different direction—toward the Taurus, who had been scrutinizing them while being unable to understand their words.

***

The Taurus Duke became nervous due to the sudden reappearance of the Undefeated Commander. Although they had entered into an alliance, considering that the balance of power on the battlefield had shifted, he could no longer trust his ally.

However, the hostility shown by the Undefeated Commander toward the white bears was somewhat unusual. Although he couldn’t understand the conversation between the two, he could tell that the Undefeated Commander was being outright hostile.

Seeing the harsh atmosphere, the Duke smiled to himself. For the time being, it appeared the Ursus King had no time to be concerned about him. Although it was a pity that his insidious ally had been hiding a power greater than he had expected all this time, he was already satisfied to have bought enough time to restore his strength.

But his joy was short-lived, as he saw the Undefeated Commander, whom he had expected to deal with the white bears first, charge toward him instead.

“What the!?” The Taurus King was taken aback, but he wasn’t a Duke for no reason. He tensed his body in an instant, ready to clash with his former ally.

Crash!

An explosion occurred between his two horns, and blue lightning bolts appeared. They quickly transformed into lightning armor that covered his entire body.

***

Kim Jin-Woo frowned when he saw the muscular giant surrounded by flashing lightning bolts. He had attempted a surprise attack, but it didn’t work. The Duke had gotten ready for battle in an instant, and there seemed to be no weaknesses in the lightning armor. However, he didn’t slow down or turn tail.

Obviously, the giant bull in front of him was a powerful opponent. The power he must have accumulated while reigning in the Deep Floors for a long time was nothing to be scoffed at, and he had an overwhelming amount of power that couldn’t be surpassed by any number of Counts.

Nevertheless, that Duke was still the weakest being among those gathered. He had fallen into the Ursus’ trap and had already exhausted his power once, and because of how the war had turned out, the Duke was already finding it difficult to utilize his full strength.

Naturally, Kim Jin-Woo intended to deal with the weakest opponent first, which was unfortunate for the Duke.

“Ha!” Kim Jin-Woo aimed his spear as he continued to charge forward, before sending it flying toward the Duke.

Kaaaaaaaaargh!

The ancient weapon that never missed its target roared through the air.

Clang!

The Duke took a step back as the spear flew toward him with all of the Undefeated Commander’s might behind it.

Kaaaaaaaaargh!

The Mystical Spear bounced off the Duke’s lightning armor, but it quickly returned, flying back into the Undefeated Commander’s hand. He threw the spear once more.

Clang!

This time, the Duke took two steps back.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Gradually, the speed of the spear’s flight toward the Duke increased. The Duke was now being constantly pushed back, as if he were retreating backward. He cried, “Move, you weaklings!”

Despite trembling from the Undefeated Commander’s overwhelming presence, the Taurus King’s bodyguards stepped forward to assist their master out of his predicament, only to be caught up in the power of the Mystical Spear and torn to shreds. In an instant, the area was covered with Taurus blood, and a bloody red mist enveloped the area.

“Gwaaaaaar!”

For the Duke, however, that brief moment was enough to buy him some much-needed time. He stepped forward once again and lowered his head, and another explosion of lightning crackled between his two huge horns.

Kim Jin-Woo reached out with his other hand that was not holding the Mystical Spear, and completely absorbed the lightning strike flying toward him. The energy was so strong that he felt a tingle at the tips of his fingers, but it wasn’t enough to break through his own power.

Clang!

The Mystical Spear started flying toward the Taurus King again. This time, however, the Duke didn’t back down. Knowing that he would be cornered with no way out, he refused to retreat, choosing to run toward the Undefeated Commander and fight him face-to-face.

Kim Jin-Woo once again threw his spear at the Duke, who seemed to have become one with his own lightning, before glancing back at the white bear behind him.

The white bear seemed to have been caught off-guard by the sudden change in the situation, but he was now quickly contemplating how to take advantage of the sudden development.

Kim Jin-Woo knew he didn’t have much time. He had to subdue the angry Taurus before the white bear could attempt to take advantage of the situation. As such, he raised his power levels even higher.

[Unique Ability—Frost Battlefield has been activated.]

[A powerful chilling aura has been generated in a 300-meter radius. Enemy movement has been slowed, and even their tough hides have become brittle.]

[Frost Armor has been activated. Wearing this armor of frost, you will no longer feel the shock of any attack.]

[Frost Blades have been activated. Hundred of Frost Blades will be fired at the heart of your enemy.]

The chill spread everywhere in an instant. It was much more effective than Kim Jin-Woo had expected. Its effects must have been amplified because of the innate cold attribute of the Ursus’ labyrinth. Thanks to that luck, he had been able to draw out yet another power. It was a completely new power that he had never used before.

[The most noble and mighty Naga, the Nagaraja (Dragon King), has reemerged.]

[The dragon's power, which has been completely absent since ancient times, has reappeared in the Underworld.]

Tough scales and sharp protrusions sprouted from every joint through Kim Jin-Woo’s fragile mortal skin. Compared to the monsters of the Underworld, Kim Jin-Woo’s shoulders became extremely broad, and his arms and legs became extremely long.

While his eye level had barely reached the thighs of the Taurus just moments before, now, the Taurus were beneath him. Kim Jin-Woo, drawing on the power of the Nagaraja, had transformed into something similar to a Drakan. Aside from the lack of a long snout, just from his new appearance, he resembled a distant relative of the Drakans.

However, while his appearance might have changed, his transformation wasn’t over.

[The energies you have absorbed so far have combined into a complete mess. The power of the Guardian of the Naga Clan, the Dragon King, has begun to be eroded by the impurities.]

[This is something that not even the Mysteries of the Underworld expected.]

“What the hell is this?” Kim Jin-Woo frowned as he felt the power of the Dragon King, which he had been saving as his trump card, start to run rampant.

A black spot appeared between the scales that had suddenly grown out of him, and in an instant, it spread all over his body.

[The all-consuming resentment of the Demon Army of Sin.]

[The greed to devour everything of the Lord of Greed.]

[The carefree extravagance of the Fairy Lord.]

[The truth obsessed over by the One-Eyed Lord.]

[All the powers you have absorbed so far begin to resonate as one. No one can predict what the outcome will be.]

[There is no other option. The moment the Dragon King’s power manifested, all the energies within you began to unite. You can only pray that the outcome will be a favorable one for you.]

Despite seeing the sudden change, the giant bull continued to rush in blindly. However, when he saw the half-dragon, half-man frozen on the spot, the Duke sped up even more, yelling, “You bastard! I’ll defeat you first before taking care of those pathetic white bears!”

Kim Jin-Woo couldn’t comprehend the Taurus King’s words, but he could feel the sense of triumph behind them. At the same time, a white light exploded from behind him, and a formidable presence began to show itself.

“I will settle the score with you later!” the Ursus King cried. Observing the situation, he seemed to have realized that there was now an even more menacing opponent to take care of first.

Kim Jin-Woo was furious at the two-pronged attack, and combined with his violent rage, his resonating energies combined into a turbulent storm before finally settling down.

[The energies that began to combine failed to unite in the end. It was impossible to prevent the energies contained within you from tainting the purity of the energy of the clan’s guardian, the Dragon King.]

[The noblest Naga and the Guardian of the Naga Clan, the Dragon King, has become the Evil Dragon.]

***

Communication with their master had been restored, but there was a bad feeling connected to it. Morrigan and the other summons couldn’t be relieved just yet.

Crack.

Suddenly, a noise interrupted the summons, who had already been on edge from the tension.

Craaaack.

Turning her head, Morrigan’s eyes widened. The Naga Eggs, which had been covered with fractures, had changed and were beginning to crack.

“Ahh...”

A blue forearm popped out from one of the cracks.

“The Nagas!”

***

In the terrifying awakening of the Evil Dragon, the first to be sacrificed was the Taurus King.

He confidently charged forward with his mighty thunderbolt attacks, but only when he reached close proximity to the Evil Dragon did he finally understood his place. It was already too late to back off. Thus, all he could do was his best.

The Taurus King felt a sense of crisis, and he knew that if he paused even for a moment, it would mean his end. Fortunately for him, the White Bear King, sensing the threat behind the appearance of the sinister monster, was also charging wildly toward it.

However, it was way too early for the Taurus King to let down his guard.

“Kurgh!”

Sensing a terrifying pain he had never felt before in his life, the Duke had no idea what was happening. He was certain he had struck the Undefeated Commander with his thunderbolt attack, but why was he the one feeling the pain? He exhaled violently as agony tore through his chest, as if it were about to break apart.

“Mm?”

Something was off. He had been certain he was being protected by the lightning armor. However, all he could see was that his body was completely exposed and defenseless, with his yellow hide sticking out.

Above him, he saw an abominable being that looked like a leech tearing through his thick pectoral muscles.

“Kaaaaaargh!”

The Duke screamed when he felt his energy slowly being drained away, as the Evil Dragon dug deeper into his cranium.