Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

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Chapter 392

“Uwaaaah!!”

“Heh, cha!!”

I caught the person falling from above the gorge and laid him down on the ground.

Yeon-woo placed her hands on the man’s bloated belly and concentrated her mana. The mana penetrated into the man’s body, understanding and relaying the situation.

‘Just as I heard.’

A massive amount of spiritual energy flowed through the weak meridians. Feeding such a powerful elixir to a civilian who didn’t know how to handle internal energy turned them into a colossal explosive.

The Dang duo couldn’t absorb others’ mana and had to dissolve it with poison, but Yeon-woo was different.

Easily able to absorb any kind of mana, Yeon-woo could extract the energy and transform it into mana within her heart.

As Jegal Yeon said, the battle in the gorge flowed absurdly smoothly.

All Yeon-woo had to do was purify the area while healing the falling hostage bombs.

The Dang duo consumed mana with every action, but Yeon-woo, on the contrary, absorbed mana every time she acted, making her endurance exceptional.

At this point, semi-intelligent demons began to appear, yet the ferocity of magic remained frightfully high; at the moment something went awry, they lost their sanity.

It seemed no formidable demons were planning to show up just yet.

At first glance, it seemed as if they were inviting the expedition deep into their territory, but it was impossible to ignore the invitation.

While it wasn’t the imperial palace where the Heavenly Demon resided, they were proceeding with the expedition to at least push back an area that was somewhat contaminated.

Knowing that the area Yeon-woo purified wouldn’t be covered by magic for a while, the insufficient numbers didn’t seem as bad when thinking of the reinforcements that would come from behind.

‘It feels kind of wrong to think this, but the elixir bombs are actually pretty tasty.’

[It’s a story that I can’t just casually mention to others.]

When Yeon-woo absorbed the elixir bombs, Shar received that mana and unleashed magic that swept through the demons.

For demons that had only faced martial arts their whole lives, magic turned out to be a particularly effective antidote.

Though there were somewhat similar things, the scale was different, making it difficult for demons to cope.

Even now, countless demons were suddenly being blown away by the winds and were crashing down under the gorge, bursting with a loud .

The wind was extremely erratic and its intensity immense, suggesting that Jegal’s support was blending in.

“Remember, you won’t be able to do this from the next battle.”

“Heh, that’s absurd.”

Even Jegal Yeon, who had confidently asserted there wouldn’t be any problems, was left speechless in the face of Yeon-woo’s countermeasure against the elixir bombs.

Of course, Jegal Yeon hadn’t failed to formulate a plan. What was that plan? Bombs.

The thunder bombs, known as wall-penetrating explosives, were fundamentally under the control of the imperial family in the world of martial arts. Because they were dangerous.

With just one wrong move, even the most skilled master could send someone straight to the afterlife, effectively functioning as a weapon of war.

The imperial family couldn’t just watch as the thunder bombs proliferated, especially before the demon cult brought forth even more threatening magic capable of corrupting the land.

While bombs were undoubtedly dangerous, could they really be more dangerous than contaminating the land? The imperial family fought the demon cult with all their might, inflicting tremendous damage.

Particularly, after the imperial family had buried themselves underground along with the demon cult’s main forces, the rights to use the thunder bombs had been thrown into chaos. Moreover, since the portal to another world had opened, that chaos escalated.

Isn’t the other side equipped with an even more potent bomb than the thunder bombs?

Thus, the rights to use bombs, including the thunder bombs, were scattered across the world.

Who made that decision? The only remaining bloodline of the imperial family, the Gongson family.

“I can’t believe I’ve lived half my life without being able to use something so wonderful.”

Looking down adoringly at the thunder bomb, Jegal Yeon felt an inexplicable sense of kinship.

Could it be that a faithful follower of the gunpowder cult existed here too? Quite unfortunate.

Anyway, thanks to the devoted gunpowder cult, the gorge was utterly devastated.

With not just thunder bombs but also Shar’s magic striking in various ways, the once famously tight gorge had widened enough to let not just sparrows but even two carts pass through.

“Alright, let’s keep moving forward, everyone.”

At Jegal Yeon’s cheerful words, the expedition advanced. At the very forefront were the ever-energetic Jin Baek-cheon and, oddly enough, Choi Yeon-woo, who seemed in better condition than before their departure.

*

“How long do you plan to stay like this?”

The Man in Black Rags asked. The Heavenly Demon answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

[I’ll stay like this until I feel like moving.]

The voice of the Heavenly Demon echoed throughout the half-collapsed imperial palace, causing the man, Soolma, to shudder.

It was clear that the Heavenly Demon was still powerful, indicated solely by the overwhelming aura carried within that voice.

Of course, Soolma had no intention of doubting the Heavenly Demon. Unlike the thoughtless Shadow Demon and Color Demon, or the ailing Poison and Jin demons, Soolma was a rather faithful follower.

That’s why he was worried about the Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon was their god. Of course, all gods have their followers. Other gods might not be so, but at least the demon cult operated like that.

Thus, even if a god treated their followers like discarded items, there wouldn’t be any problem. Soolma didn’t particularly hold any grievances about that fact.

What he found problematic was that the Heavenly Demon was not raising the status of the demon cult.

The Heavenly Demon Cult had become almost like a nation. Being beings able to survive solely on magic without eating or drinking, the demon cultists only needed land.

Now that such precious land was being invaded, the lack of action from the Heavenly Demon was Soolma’s frustration.

With the Heavenly Demon not taking direct action, they were not only stalling the invasion but were also being counter-attacked.

“Please move. If the god doesn’t move…”

Soolma’s mouth snapped shut, stopping mid-sentence. It felt as though his breath was being cut off. The Heavenly Demon’s magic was suppressing Soolma’s life functions.

It was as if a giant rock had been placed on his head; Soolma stopped talking.

[I may cherish you, but let’s avoid meddling in my affairs. Understand?]

“…Understood.”

In the end, he was a servant of the god. He was a being unable to act against the will of the deity. All he could do was minimally hinder their advance. That was the extent of his capabilities.

[If you understand, step back. I don’t want to see you.]

“Heavenly Demon reincarnation, blessings of the myriad demons.”

Soolma offered praises to the Heavenly Demon as he exited the main battle. The first place he sought was nowhere but…

“Hey Poison Demon, the Dang family duo has shown up.”

“Ugh, I know. Of course, I know, heh.”

In the discomforting and twisted space of the old man, anguished screams still echoed.

The old man, who ruled this space like a god, did not even allow death to his victims who had fallen into his hands.

“Did the Heavenly Demon permit this? Heh?”

“No. But he didn’t say I couldn’t either. It means you can do as you wish.”

“That’s good enough for me, heh. Even if the others don’t know, the technique of the Poison Master is indeed attractive.”

The old man, chuckling with glee, brushed past Soolma and exited the lab. Soolma, who lingered momentarily, grimaced deeply.

“…Isn’t the smell too strong, that damn old man?”

*

“Something should be showing up soon.”

“What do you mean?”

Whether or not Yeon-woo’s presence had been a tremendous help, Dang Sa-ryeon appeared much more at ease as she asked Yeon-woo. Naturally, there was no need to explain.

“One of the Five Demons should be showing up anytime now. I think the Heavenly Demon won’t make an appearance yet.”

“Oh, you seem rather confident? Do you know them well?”

“Not really. It’s just circumstantial. They’ve succeeded in advancing to some extent, and for some reason, the Heavenly Demon isn’t moving. If so, wouldn’t there be at least one loyal one among the Five Demons to come hunt us down?”

“That’s a possible scenario.”

To that exchange, Jegal Yeon interjected positively. It was a believable scenario, indeed, as it had actually happened before.

Before the regression, most expeditions that set out to the martial arts realm were halted by the Five Demons.

Of course, Yeon-woo didn’t know exactly how that had turned out. Back then, Jin Baek-cheon wasn’t part of the expedition.

Well, still, who was the most likely to show up? The answer was clear. Even with just the Poison King, they would have arrived, not to mention the presence of Dang Sa-ryeon.

“Probably the Poison Demon?”

“It must be the Poison Demon.”

The voices of Jegal Yeon and Yeon-woo overlapped. The one watching them with curiosity was Dang Sa-ryeon.

Why were they surprised? It was utterly obvious.

“It seems the Poison Demon craves the Dang family’s vision. The Poison King goes without saying, but that Poison Master’s techniques are renowned, right? I don’t see how the Poison Demon could miss the chance to capture both at once.”

“I have no intention of being captured.”

“That’s how the relationship between hunter and prey always is.”

In response to Dang Sa-ryeon’s prim reply, Jegal Yeon smiled broadly. The two exchanged sharp glances.

Watching them, Yeon-woo thought, why are they acting like this? Why were they bickering when it was the Poison Demon that was coming after them?

“I’m confident I can burn away even the Poison Demon’s poison.”

“That’s good confidence. However, please understand that our military will have to act based on the worst-case scenario.”

…Honestly, I really don’t get what they’re on about. With a dumbfounded expression, Yeon-woo shook her head.

The signs of the Poison Demon’s appearance were pretty easy to recognize. The stench was already wafting through the air.

“…Leader, is the Poison Demon…an idiot?”

“Just a fool who only knows about poison.”

Had she never met the Poison Demon before? Dang Sa-ryeon asked about the Poison King. Clearly, the Poison King was someone she knew well, it seemed.

Well, it’s not like there were many users of poison techniques, so it could be plausible that they had mutual acquaintances.

“Yet the timing is impeccable.”

With Yeon-woo’s muttering, Dang Sa-ryeon nodded. Coincidentally, the current situation, with the strong smell of poison wafting, was the evening just before their camp.

It was clear that if news spread about the Poison Demon showing up in this situation, it would not bode well for the warriors.

“I might not be able to sleep well after this.”

It was undoubtedly a grim situation. Both meals and sleep were threatened.

(Continued in the next installment)