Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 369

[Hot, hot, hot! What’s going on? Can’t you even take a step closer? The only one coming near is the Great Warrior of Hwayo? You need to step it up a bit!]

From the moment Yeon-woo broke free from the hallucination, the Demon King’s onslaught intensified. Unlike before, where monsters that looked like earthly creatures merely popped out, now chaotic-tasting monsters in all shapes began appearing.

From cyclopian giants to monsters with mouths stretching vertically across their faces, flying creatures with snake bodies and bat wings, to slimes reminiscent of bubbling foam, revealing countless eyeballs.

Each one wasn’t weak at all. They seemed slightly weaker than the demon king’s clones fighting on the ground, but the sheer variety of their unpredictable appearances and fighting styles caused way too many variables.

Because of that, Baek In-hwa was having quite a tough time. The War Leader and Baek In-hwa had no choice but to fight inefficiently to protect Yeon-woo up till now.

It was only natural. It’s hard enough to protect someone who’s fainted from a wolf pack; they were managing to shield a completely dazed Yeon-woo from the Demon King.

At that moment, Baek In-hwa’s low realm was clearly a hindrance. The difference between Master and Expert is innumerable, but the most significant is the mana loss rate.

A Master, whose control has peaked, adjusts mana use with extreme precision.

One could say they can use mana completely without loss in accordance with the enemy’s strength. In other words, zero waste mana use.

Whether that is possible shows a huge difference in large-scale battles, especially in situations like now, where they are continuously fighting powerful entities.

While the War Leader and Yeon-woo fought at full strength and maintained their stamina, Baek In-hwa had to expend all her energy even in a single skirmish.

“Are you okay, Baek In-hwa!!”

“Shut up, you’re driving me crazy…!!”

At times like this, being cheeky makes one get up with determination. Coincidentally, Yeon-woo doesn’t see Baek In-hwa as something to protect.

She wasn’t unconscious yet, and while she was bleeding quite a bit, she hadn’t sustained any fatal injuries. Worrying about her would be nothing but empathy from her perspective.

If Baek In-hwa were to say she wasn’t okay, Yeon-woo would soon respond with the same cheekiness – then Baek In-hwa, who doesn’t want to owe anything to Yeon-woo, would act desperately.

Though not entirely unfeeling, Yeon-woo also hoped that Baek In-hwa would endure as long as possible.

The War Leader was paving the way. Baek In-hwa was firmly holding down the rear. Ah, though it did make her a bit anxious, given that the back could break through at any moment.

Anyway, with the two holding solid support, Yeon-woo just had to fulfill her assigned role.

The third form of White was too taxing on her mana to use right now. If she used it, it would be when directly facing the Demon King. At that time, the third form, which had no advantages outside its might, would still be helpful.

“Wooooo!!”

The War Leader let out a roar and was dismantling the monster with a mouth like a vertical slit in front of him with his dual axes. Splash!! The axes soaked in monster blood mercilessly tore through the beast.

However, the monster didn’t seem to be passive either. Screaming in agony, it desperately swung its arms.

The War Leader didn’t retreat either. He took a punch while swinging his axe. They were quite the madmen. It was strange that one would allow the monster’s fist while the other was not dodging but instead trying to counter.

Watching their madness, Yeon-woo transformed White into a spear. There’s nothing better than a spear to be used behind someone. This is a fact well-known since ancient Rome.

She thrust the spear into the visible monster protruding from the War Leader’s body. Simultaneously, she swatted away one charging from the side with her spear. Regardless, this was a position she was more than familiar with since before her regression, so she felt at ease.

“Hahaha!! I never thought I’d fight while relying on a hero’s back!!”

“Same here.”

I replied briefly to the War Leader, who was laughing heartily despite gushing blood. Yeah, doesn’t everyone know? The one standing here is a hero.

A hero protects comrades and saves people. At least during their cooperative fight against the Demon King, no one would be allowed to die.

*

‘I can’t keep up….’

No, they were barely managing to follow. They were pushing their abilities to the edge to the point where they thought they might not catch up.

The most miserable part is thinking that they consider her a sufficient help rather than a burden. Even though she felt she wasn’t helping at all.

Choi Yeon-woo or the War Leader would take down monsters, and Baek In-hwa would envelop the regrowing corpses in elemental mana. The bodies would harden to an icy rigidity, halting their regeneration.

That was about all Baek In-hwa could do. At the back, she could merely handle the enemies that the two in the front dealt with. She could prevent the monsters appearing from behind.

That was the limit of what Baek In-hwa could do in this space. Suppressing her throbbing headache, she had to use her mana in the most efficient manner possible.

Of course, one couldn’t say her help was entirely useless. Her presence reduced the mana the two in the front had to use. That was no small contribution in the fight against the Demon King.

‘I can’t be satisfied with just this…!!’

Who could be satisfied? Even if she couldn’t receive his love, she wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder beside him at the very least. That was the last remnant of Baek In-hwa’s pride.

She wanted to be helpful. She wanted to lift a bit of his burden. She hoped he could let out a sigh of relief because of her, even if just a little.

A deep desire for affection was embedded in her mana. Sadly, in front of the Demon King, steeling herself and whispering her intentions wouldn’t suddenly cause her to awaken strength.

It was nothing but arrogance to believe that just some humans could suddenly grow stronger when every Hunter was firm in their will and preparing for war.

Yet, she could still get a bit better. After all, humans are those types of beings. Bit by bit, moment by moment, they improve. If a person has the will to do so, their mind will yield to the extent they hope for.

Tiny ice crystals fell gently. She looked where the crystals landed, but not only ice, it left no trace of water behind either. Perhaps it was just an illusion. However, that sight reminded her of something.

‘…Can I do it now?’

In that moment, such a thought crossed Baek In-hwa’s mind, and she clenched her fists.

It was instant. In that instance, the ice surrounding Baek In-hwa suddenly burst forth. The space, neither cold nor hot, suddenly plummeted to a temperature where visible breaths escaped.

“You, what’s going on all of a sudden….”

Yeon-woo gasped and turned around in surprise. It was a technique she was quite familiar with—or rather, it was a method of using the Ice Bloodline Technique. It was renowned as something the current Ice Palace Lord, Baek Joo-han, frequently employed to showcase their realm.

Instantly freezing the opponent in place, the Cold Moon (冷月).

“Hmm, I feel like I can do a bit more.”

Even having executed a technique that surpassed her realm, Baek In-hwa muttered with a hint of regret. Countless monsters were frozen around her.

It was a realm that couldn’t even be described as being right in front of a Master. Yeon-woo couldn’t help but chuckle at her appearance.

“Stop daydreaming and run!!”

While correctly distinguishing between who to freeze and who not to freeze, she managed to create space for Yeon-woo and the War Leader to advance. The Demon King, watching from afar, slammed his arm down with a bang.

[My, my rare beasts…!! I can’t forgive you!!]

As the Demon King swung his arm, an enormous blow that contained tremendous shockwaves shot toward Baek In-hwa. However, Yeon-woo and the War Leader standing in front of her had no intentions of stepping aside.

The War Leader took the blow with the flat of his axe as he was pushed back. In turn, the rebounding force traced a parabolic arc, beginning to descend toward Baek In-hwa after passing right by Yeon-woo.

Indeed, it was a trajectory that seemed logically unexplainable. Yet Yeon-woo didn’t take her eyes off the shockwave even for a moment. At this point, the fact that it’s illogical was not much of a bother.

Because she merely had to approach everything that existed in this space differently than she normally would.

“Hey, I’m starting to get a feeling!”

Yeon-woo threw her body into the air, swinging the spear to counter the shockwave. Just like playing baseball, the rebounding shockwave rampaged through the space until it collided with a poor monster, erasing both.

“Huh!”

While it may look like she handled it easily, Yeon-woo’s palm was bleeding profusely. That seemingly playful blow contained a massive amount of power.

A playful blow? No, she was practically still just messing around right now. The Demon King hadn’t personally taken action yet. He was merely utilizing this space reasonably without maximizing its potential.

He seemed to have the mindset that he could die here and still be fine. Yeon-woo found that presence utterly repugnant.

If that were the case, he should have died long ago. Why has he stayed alive till now, tormenting so many people?

“Alright, I’ll grant your wish.”

Muttering that, Yeon-woo unfurled her mana over the ice surface spread beneath her feet.

Having entered the Demon King’s space, Yeon-woo had refrained from using magic. It was unavoidable since most of the magic fell under natural interference.

In this space, there was only the Demon King’s body, no nature involved. Thus, Yeon-woo hadn’t attempted to use magic; she didn’t know how she would be interfered with.

But this time was different. There was a clear form of nature present—ice, created by Baek In-hwa.

Moreover, since they had wiped out the enemies around them, they even had time to perform a simple groundwork.

“Just borrowing a bit, Baek In-hwa!”

“Uh, what….”

As Yeon-woo added mana, Baek In-hwa let out an odd voice. Although her bewilderment was understandable; she was, after all, being stripped of her entire realm.

Yeon-woo hadn’t forgotten her experiences within the hallucination. No matter how much she walked, she couldn’t reach the Demon King—it was only through a space-up-hopping technique that she could arrive.

Of course, the Demon King had probably seen the same thing as her, so he might have prepared countermeasures against the acceleration technique.

‘But he probably didn’t expect this.’

Using the Ice Bloodline Technique as a pivot rather than her physical body for the spatial acceleration. Truthfully speaking, even Yeon-woo couldn’t guarantee 100% success.

“Hold on tight, you two!!”

“What are we holding onto!!”

Leaving behind the bewildered voice of the War Leader, Yeon-woo’s thoughts and mana flowed. Well, even if she failed, it was unlikely she would die. Probably.

(To be continued in the next installment)