Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 391

To cut to the chase, Choi Yeon-woo accepted Jin Baek-cheon’s proposal. Of course, that was the whole reason he came here in the first place.

The way the members of the Martial Arts Alliance were excessively moved by Yeon-woo’s cheerful acceptance was a bit… no, quite uncomfortable.

They seemed so happy he came that it felt burdensome.

But there was something to think about. The Demon King was mentioned to have something to do with the Earth Serpent, and that was particularly concerning.

Of course, for the Demon King, the Earth Serpent was no easy opponent, so some preparation time would be necessary.

However, if they heard news that Yeon-woo was not nearby, they might move a little faster.

“Ugh, what a hassle.”

Yeon-woo had prepared for times when he wouldn’t be around, but how effective that would be remained in question.

After all, it was Yeon-woo who had encountered the Earth Serpent, and it was Yeon-woo facing the Demon King. For now, he had the best talent he could gather in the current situation.

Delain would certainly do his part well. Since he was skilled in all forms of combat, delaying the situation until Yeon-woo arrived would be enough.

“…Anyway, I guess I need to focus on martial arts right now.”

“What should we do?”

“You can come with me, or you can stay with your sister. What do you want to do?”

“Hmm… I think it’s better to follow Dad. Is Down staying behind?”

“That seems to be the case.”

Nea had used up a lot of power when she forced a hole in space to save Yeon-woo in the previous battle against Toyo’s Demon King.

As a result, her body shrank to about one-third of its original size, weakening her mana drastically. Thus, they decided it was too risky for her to participate in actual combat.

Nea felt quite regretful about that. Everyone else was fighting, but she had to stay back.

Most of all, she was confident she could help Yeon-woo, which made it even harder to accept.

Well, what could she do? She might need to pour some elixirs later.

“Then I’ll follow along. Since Mom can’t go, I should at least go.”

“Is that so? That’s great.”

After all, not just anyone could tear apart the magic, only Yeon-woo could do that. If Shar joined, they could expect a smoother purification process.

Thus, their expedition to the martial arts realm was decided. Since the scheduled departure was set for tomorrow, it would be better to rest early today.

*

“What is this, it’s not like it’s a parents’ day or something…”

Seeing the countless martial artists lined up behind him, Yeon-woo felt a wave of anxiety.

Not that he hadn’t seen them yesterday, but what was with this crowd gathering?

Sensing Yeon-woo’s discomfort, Dang Sa-ryeon waved her hand as if shooing away flies toward the crowd.

“Alright, everyone disperse. If you just stand there staring, nothing is going to get done!”

Fortunately, without needing to exert any poison, the martial artists obeyed Dang Sa-ryeon’s words and returned to their positions.

It seemed that since she had saved so many, the martial artists respected her command without her needing to use force.

“Thanks.”

“Not at all. Treating guests well is a virtue of a lady. So please, don’t worry and focus on the purification.”

With a nonchalant response, Dang Sa-ryeon returned to the back where she belonged.

What a cool girl. As she watched, Jin Baek-cheon slowly approached.

“My martial artists caused quite the disturbance. I’ll convey my gratitude to the Tang family’s lady.”

“It wasn’t too much of a disturbance, but it was a bit burdensome.”

“In that case, my apologies. It was inappropriate to make a valued guest feel burdened.”

With a gentle smile, Jin Baek-cheon fluttered his white robe and stepped forward.

Though Yeon-woo wasn’t at a level where he needed protection from Jin Baek-cheon, it was good that he, as the leader, was taking the lead.

Thinking that way, Yeon-woo stood before the Gate. His heart fluttered a bit. Was it because it had been a while since he’d seen a glimpse of the Sword Saint?

Jin Baek-cheon stepped into the Gate first. With an unexplainable sensation, Yeon-woo threw himself into the Gate as well.

The martial arts dimension he returned to wasn’t much different from the last time he visited.

The most notable difference was that countless corpses littered the ground, causing a foul stench to rise.

It seemed that the Martial Arts Alliance had been throwing the corpses of the demons inside the Gate after killing them to prevent pollution on the Earth side.

That was a rational judgment. It wouldn’t be surprising to know it would come to this when heading out on an expedition, but they still thought it couldn’t be helped.

Given the stench from the corpses, it was clear that ordinary martial artists would meet their end as soon as they set foot in such a closely-monitored area.

Yeon-woo cast his mana onto the ground and pressed down with his foot. Bang!! The explosive wave of mana reverberated throughout the area.

The previously purple-tinted earth began to regain its original color in an instant.

Thanks to his increased familiarity, he could now use harmonization with minimal consumption.

Due to the atmosphere being polluted with magic, there wasn’t much mana to recover from nature, but with adequate rest, it might be possible to remain indefinitely.

“I saw it yesterday, but you’re truly amazing…”

Jin Baek-cheon exclaimed in admiration as he flung something through the Gate behind him. It seemed to be a signal indicating they were allowed to enter.

The Gate vibrated as countless people poured in.

“Let’s throw the corpses far away first. There shouldn’t be any magic left on the demon’s corpses.”

Jin Baek-cheon agreed with Yeon-woo’s suggestion. No matter how thick-skinned someone was, spending time among the corpses would be unpleasant.

Hearing those words, the martial artists began tossing the bodies away from the area.

Now, it was finally a sight that could be seen by children.

The martial arts realm was even more contaminated than when Yeon-woo had visited before. Back then, he hadn’t even been able to approach near the Sword Saint’s trace.

But now, it was no issue at all, as they were invading through the Sword Saint’s traces; that was only to be expected.

“Which way should we go? I’m not familiar with the path.”

Well, the Martial Church would know where the demon cult is situated; with that thought in mind, he asked, and Jin Baek-cheon pointed out the direction. Looking at the position of the sun, it was to the west.

He had heard that the Sword Saint’s trace was at the eastern edge of the continent, known as the Special Domain, so they would be heading toward the central area.

“Shar, you can come out now.”

“Is it okay? Can I show myself now?”

When Yeon-woo called Shar, the mana essence erupted from his body, forming Shar’s shape.

Numerous martial artists gasped at the sight. Our Shar is pretty cute, after all.

“I’ll clear the path first, so could you tidy up behind me?”

“Okay, got it!”

Hearing Shar’s enthusiastic response, Yeon-woo concentrated his mana in both feet and began walking. Using harmonization while walking wasn’t the most efficient in terms of mana.

However, stopping every few steps to use harmonization would take too long.

So, he decided that Yeon-woo, with his resistance to magic, would walk ahead and clear the dense magical energy while Shar would follow, clearing the residual magic beneath it.

This way, they could maintain efficiency in both time and mana.

*

“It’s quieter than I thought.”

“It’s always been like this since the takeover, but today it’s even worse.”

In a world where not even a squeak could be heard, that was the martial arts realm.

Except for the trees polluted by magic, all living creatures had died, unable to adapt to the excessively toxic mana.

It was incredibly quiet. An unnaturally quiet evening. There weren’t even the sounds of insects or the rustle of grass.

While it was advantageous that the sounds of the demons’ movements could be easily detected, this silence put everyone on edge.

In fact, the martial artists were so tense that they would jump at the sound of a comrade’s clothing brushing past them.

After a while of slowly moving westward, the expedition team finally encountered the demons.

“Kihee, kihehe!!”

With a manic laughter, a group of demons charged forward, thrilled that they had spotted prey.

Their movements were chaotic, revealing that they were typical low-level demons. Yeon-woo stepped aside.

The ground shook as if an earthquake erupted. The origin was right next to Yeon-woo.

Jin Baek-cheon took a step forward, thrusting a gleaming white spear into the demon horde.

What had been a simple and straightforward action lasted just a moment. However, its power was absolute.

A massive shockwave erupted as the demon horde was swept away by Jin Baek-cheon’s strike.

The group of merely dozens of demons vanished as if they had never existed.

The only evidence they had been there was a few drops of blood on the ground.

“Wow….”

“This level of hospitality is only fitting.”

As expected from a man known as the world’s strongest spear. Even Yeon-woo, who considered himself somewhat knowledgeable about spears, couldn’t see the end of that strike.

What kind of pursuit had that man gone through to attain such a strike?

Had Yeon-woo still been a spearsman, he would have rushed over to inquire immediately, but since he was wielding a sword now, he wasn’t as interested.

He just wanted to have a simple conversation as a fellow martial artist.

“Thanks to that, the demon cult probably noticed us. Although they likely already knew we were coming.”

From behind, Jegal’s soldier murmured as he watched the scene unfold. The current head of the Jegal family, Jegal Yeon.

His martial arts skills were incredible, but it was said that his strategy reached the heavens.

I wonder what Seong-ryong is doing these days? Though he knew it wouldn’t be good to bring both the head and the second head together in one place for fear of losing them both, he understood that.

“Well, I guess the soldiers will handle it. I’m counting on you.”

“Just leaving it to us would be troublesome, Alliance Leader. I’m a person too, you know.”

Speaking like that, Jegal Yeon had the same typical eastern dragon physique as his son. Truly, he didn’t look much like a person at all.

“Well, in any case, it seems we can expect the first battle to happen at Tongjak Valley. Are you aware of that?”

Jegal Yeon said as he looked at Yeon-woo. Of course, he didn’t know. Tongjak Valley? What was that?

“It’s named so because it’s narrow enough for only a sparrow to pass through. On either side, steep cliffs block the path, and we must navigate through them. The demons will likely be waiting for us there.”

Naturally, the terrain would play a significant role in any battle.

But wait, is it really that narrow? Narrow enough for only a sparrow to get through?

“Is Shar going to be able to pass through?”

[Tae-oh can pass through!!]

“If Shar can’t pass, then nobody here will be able to.”

“You can be assured. When they say narrow enough for only a sparrow to pass, it means that three adult men can pass through simultaneously. You can rest easy.”

Resting easy about that was a bit absurd when considering it would be the worst position for a battle to take place.

Seeing Yeon-woo’s sour expression, Jegal Yeon giggled behind his fan.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”

(To be continued next episode)