Second Life of a Dragon Raising Hunter

---

Chapter 412

As a result of carefully designing the arena for the tournament, the success of Choi Game was practically assured.

Even the monsters seemed sensitive to the rowdy noises and disturbances, flooding in day and night in groups.

In truth, holding Choi Game now held little meaning. The real goals were one of two things.

To draw out Yuri and Noel or to bait them here while I took on the aggro myself.

If I succeeded in calling Yuri and Noel over while attracting aggro from this side, their positions would be revealed.

But having built all this only to see it wasted in a day would be a waste, so Yeon-woo decided to change the strategy.

By embedding Tae-oh’s fragments into Yuri and Noel and linking through him.

As a result, the chances of Choi Game becoming a hit seemed high, and thus it continued…

“Waaah, this is so touching, isn’t it?”

Yeon-woo asked the charging monsters. Rather than answering, the monsters let out a rough roar. It seemed they didn’t think so.

“Then forget it.”

Yeon-woo muttered as he swung his sword. The scenery ripped apart. Unintentionally, the additional wood he sliced through fell with a thud behind him.

Shar, who was watching, carefully spoke up.

“To be honest, just now you looked a bit crazy.”

“Really? I’d better exercise some restraint then.”

Was it because I spent time building out of nowhere in Pandemonium? Of course, while Pandemonium is right in front of the Demon King’s castle, I don’t recall it having that effect.

In other words, there could be two reasons.

“Either I’ve always been a strange person, or buildings make people weird.”

““Hmm.””

There was a lot of meaning hidden in Shar and Tae-oh’s brief breaths. Is that so…?

Up until now, countless monsters had fallen into the traps of Choi Game, but regrettably, the stage remained pristine, not even a drop of blood in sight.

“Big shots aren’t getting caught at all. This is no fun.”

Naturally, what Yeon-woo aimed for wasn’t just some mob of monsters but the high-ranking demon species that directly jumped out from the Demon King’s castle.

With such chaos occurring so close, it was about time one of them should come out.

It was a kind of fishing—casting the bait of explosive sounds in the direction of the Demon King’s castle to lure them here.

The farther away the Demon King’s presence is, the higher the win rate for Noel and Yuri.

The Demon King of Alkeon is strong. With the powers of the Creator God, he was a being capable of creating life.

Thus, he often faced the misunderstanding that it’s not his own strength, but rather that of his subordinates. But he is strong in his own right.

After all, it’s rare to find a Demon King whose special abilities alone are strong.

Leviathan possessed strong physical abilities typical of monsters along with powers over gold.

The Demon Lord of Thursday could be considered an exception; however, even he had his own combat capabilities.

“Could I lure all the demon species in the Demon King’s castle out and kill them all before joining in on the battle against the Demon King…?”

Honestly, Yeon-woo couldn’t guess. If he was going to finish everything in two weeks, that might be the right choice, but he didn’t know how strong the demon species really were.

“Dad’s an expert on monsters!”

“That’s true.”

Strictly speaking, while the demon species do belong to the monster classification, high-ranking monsters were no match for Yeon-woo before his regression.

They didn’t think he would ever encounter them, so what could they possibly know?

“Ah~, why won’t a demon just fall from the sky~?”

And just as if responding to Yeon-woo’s words, something fell from the sky like a meteor, slowly rising from the dust cloud.

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!! You’re a mad human, aren’t you!!”

“This is really falling, isn’t it?”

“The timing is almost terrifying…”

Seeing the heavy muscle-clad demon species, Yeon-woo, who had been lying down, got up.

It was the announcement of the true start of Choi Game.

*

“I don’t understand anymore. Maybe it’s not him but me that’s wrong….”

Yuri murmured with a confused expression. Noel, unable to find any comforting words, merely smiled.

To the two of them, it was indeed a hopeless strategy. If the Demon King comes out, they attack together; if not, they make an incursion? That was the plan.

Of course, their guerrilla-style Demon King assassination strategy was also absurdly foolish, but Yeon-woo’s plan was even more extreme.

What kind of madman would set up shop right in front of the enemy’s main base, planning to kill whoever comes out one by one?

Even giving the benefit of the doubt, what were the chances of that strategy being successful…?

Yuri had once thought that way. Just an hour ago. That means, of course, that now is not the time.

“Graaah!!”

She saw a demon species dying, screaming. Others looked on with pity at the death of that demon.

They had been watching from a distance, but Yeon-woo’s strategy had begun to bear fruit.

“Geh-geh-geh….”

“Eep, is there no one who can defeat that monster…!!”

Upon seeing Yeon-woo’s wicked grin, the demon species trembled.

It somehow felt like their roles had reversed, but Yeon-woo was oddly delighted as he licked the blade of White.

“Geh-geh-geh-geh…!!”

“How terrifying, could it be that I, having lived as a demon species, will one day feel ‘fear’ from a human…!!”

In the audience, a demon species sitting closest to the stage reacted animatedly to Yeon-woo’s actions, quite a spectacle.

Thanks to him, it was easy to set the vibe. He was skillfully pumping up the atmosphere, as if he was naturally doing so. Even Yeon-woo couldn’t help but admire his prowess.

“I should clean up the trash…”

Yeon-woo said that and kicked the corpse of the fallen demon species, sending it tumbling off the stage. Thud, for the first time, the corpse of a demon species stacked beside that of a monster.

“Ugh! That shameless brat, is there no respect for a warrior he fought fiercely against just moments ago…!!”

‘What on earth is he doing?’

When it came to mentioning honor and respect, even Yeon-woo could not hide his shock.

Everyone knew that demons were a species that discarded honor and respect—they knew it well, both heaven and earth—so what in the world was going on?

“Ahem, I’ll go!! I will avenge my kin, you lowly creature…!!”

Was it the demon’s encouragement that led him to approach the stage slowly from afar.

For Yeon-woo, this was not bad news. If he could reduce the number of demons, that was good enough.

After cutting down nearly ten of the charging demon species, even Yeon-woo began to show signs of fatigue.

To outsiders, it may have seemed easy, but they were indeed not simple opponents. Monsters have their own uniqueness.

Each approached with entirely different tactics, making it impossible not to feel tired.

‘Stronger than I expected.’

That was Yeon-woo’s assessment. They were tougher than anticipated. Under the assumption that their skill level was average, Yeon-woo could face about ten at a time.

More than that, it seemed he would need to endure some degree of injury to manage.

Still, it was fine; he could kill all the demons that arrived today. Well, almost all of them.

Looking at the setting sun slowly tilting away, Yeon-woo sighed softly and addressed the last remaining demon species.

“Aren’t you going to charge at me?”

“Ha-ha, there’s no way I’d dare to. Not against a monster like you.”

Hearing the demon species call him a monster felt oddly refreshing. Yeon-woo shrugged at the thought.

“Really? Then get lost quickly. If you stick around, I’ll kill you.”

“Ha-ha. Seems you really dislike demons.”

“Why would I have a reason to like them?”

“Yeah, that’s right. You’ve got a point.”

As Yeon-woo’s blunt reply set him thinking, the elder demon species fiddled with his beard.

Now that Yeon-woo looked carefully at the impression of the demon, it seemed cunning. He looked old for a demon, small in stature, and hunched over like an elderly goblin.

As Yeon-woo raised his sword, the demon species raised a hand, signaling to stop.

Since he’d technically helped, Yeon-woo thought he might let him live this time, but if he didn’t leave, he was ready to kill.

“I propose a deal! A deal!”

“…A deal? With a demon?”

“Ha, a deal? With those idiots? That’s a foolish thing to say. They’re all nothing but worthless beings ready to die. Right?”

In response to Yeon-woo’s words, the elder demon species spoke with fury. There was palpable animosity towards the demon species.

Yeon-woo nodded lightly. That hostility could also be a lie, so he decided not to think too deeply.

“Got it; you said you’d bring the demons. So what’s your condition?”

“Kill the Demon King for me.”

That made Yeon-woo frown.

Why would a demon ask him to kill the Demon King? No matter how he looked at it, that was a tale filled with suspicion.

“Yeah, I can see why you’d be suspicious. But I beg you. Please slay the Demon King. I have no one else to rely on.”

The elder demon species seemed to sense Yeon-woo’s doubts as he knelt, bowing his head.

Yeon-woo knew that demons were prideful creatures. For one to kneel and bow like this was shocking, to say the least.

“…Can I hear your reason?”

Of course, he could always fabricate a plausible reason. Lies aren’t hard to weave.

Still, Yeon-woo chose to listen. The air surrounding the old demon was thick with emotions like vengefulness, despair, and urgency that intrigued him.

Perhaps the demon before him was genuinely incapable of lying.

“Reason? You would ask for a reason? That beast killed my daughter and grandchild. The Demon King, no!! That monster!! They say they’re spies from humanity because they have human blood!!”

If there were truly beings who could never lie in this world, it would be those blinded by vengeance, mad with rage.

Those who hold the chance to slay their enemy would lay bare their hatred in such a pure form.

The elder demon’s eyes were glistening with madness. Unable to let go of the unsolved trauma, his emotions were spilling out like molten metal from a foundry.

He was no longer a demon. Just a father who had lost his family.

(To be continued…)