Chapter 147: The Dragon of Baekdu Mountain

The movements of the Kanora church were not normal.

Han Sang-jae felt a sharp pain in his head.

“Could they just be trying to handle things close by first?”

“If the Kanora Sect starts moving, won’t China take notice too?

Even if those idiots seem dumb now, they’ve always had their eyes on North Korean land.”

Those bastards had been preparing to interfere in North Korea even before the Great Cataclysm.

If any movement in North Korea were to be noticed by either the CCP or South China, how would they respond?

“The problem might be the numbers.”

That made sense.

Could they even take control over all of North Korea with those numbers?

Monsters aside, what about the former North Korean military forces hiding in the mountains, still armed with conventional weapons?

Strong or weak aside, those guys were the ones that needed to be dealt with quickly for South Korea to gain control.

Could they be subdued as well?

He had originally planned to gather Hunters and head north when the time was right… but now things were getting complicated.

‘What will the U.S. say? Even if they verbally support us, they won’t be thrilled about any friction with China right now.’

Even after swallowing the territory, problems would remain.

It wasn’t as bad as before the Cataclysm, but still, millions of beggars would be incorporated into South Korea.

South Korea currently didn’t have the capacity to handle that.

That’s why they were preparing first — receiving foreign investment, securing the mana stone resources up north — then planning to push forward.

But now North Koreans might flood in before preparations were complete.

“Hngh… well, they’re different from ordinary Hunters, maybe it’ll work out.”

What’s done is done.

Yeah.

Those kids aren’t thoughtless.

They must have some kind of plan if they’re heading up there.

Let’s just trust that.

No — please, let that be the case.

***

They finally arrived at Mount Baekdu.

But this wasn’t the Mount Baekdu she knew.

It looked different — the whole atmosphere was off.

Dark clouds loomed over the mountain’s summit, and lightning flashed as an unknown light flickered over the Heaven Lake.

A massive pillar of light soared into the sky.

“Mount Baekdu looks like some kind of dungeon now.”

“No, that’s just a gate in itself, isn’t it?”

Yeah, it really did look like a gate.

Just from its appearance, it was enormous — as if something was going to ascend from it and devour them all.

Maybe because there was already a dragon inside?

“Right? That’s not the Heaven Lake I remember.”

“It’s a literal hellscape. Wouldn’t be surprising if it erupted any second.”

RUMBLE. CRASH.

The thunder roared obnoxiously loud.

“Were the dead monster corpses we saw on the way up taken down by the Hero?”

“Probably?”

“Whoa, look at that massive thing in the middle. What is that? That black thing — is that a dragon?”

“Looks like a dragon.”

Something was flying up into the sky.

“This time let’s try to do things the easy way. Young girl, can’t you just turn that thing into a worm?”

“Sure. This time, you go handle it, Young girl.”

“Damn it, you bastards really work me like a dog. Fine, hold on. Should I make it a worm or just a big lizard?”

—No!

“Wait! The goddess says not to do it.”

“What? But if I turn it into a worm, it’ll be over in a second. Why not?”

—That’s a divine beast, and it’s supporting the local terrain. If those dragons leave Mount Baekdu… the mountain might collapse.

So… in short, don’t kill it?

—It’s not that you can’t kill it. But if you do, the humans nearby might get caught in the aftermath. More importantly…

More importantly, what?

There’s another reason?

—Those souls look tasty.

So basically, evacuating the North Koreans isn’t an issue, but the goddess wants to enjoy those souls — and if the thing is turned into a worm, the souls shrink too much to be delicious?

Jeez.

She really has a thing for souls.

“She says it’s supporting Mount Baekdu.”

“Then what do we do?”

“Well… she also said the souls look tasty. So I guess we shouldn’t turn it into a worm.”

If turned into a worm, the soul’s size would shrink drastically, so it wouldn’t taste good.

That must be what the goddess is concerned about.

“So we have to capture it in its current state?”

“For now, let’s just beat it within an inch of death and have it lift the curse on the fox. Then we can smash its head afterward.”

“Before we go the brute force route, let’s think a little. Talking comes first. If there are multiple beings on par with the gumiho, this might get tricky.”

There are also geographical constraints.

So it’s better to deal with things moderately and then enter.

“Talking is important. We also need to stall for time. Didn’t they say those guys could teleport people?”

“Yeah, they did.”

“We’re civilized people. It’s better this way. Also — hey, Pride of Korea.”

“Me?”

“Since you’re the Pride of Korea, gather the North Koreans who are hiding from the monsters around Mount Baekdu and lead them south. You can use your charm for that, right?”

As for integrating them into the Kanora Sect — that can come afterward.

They had already set up several goddess statues on the way up.

North Koreans gathering around those would naturally adopt Kanora beliefs, especially through the influencers they had already planted.

That would be enough.

Succubus would be perfect for the job.

For now, it was all about using seduction or whatever means necessary to guide them south.

“…Ugh, such a hassle.”

“Is this girl serious? Is she really trying to start something with me right now?”

“It’d be more annoying if your skull got smashed by my sickle and you had to take time off to heal, don’t you think?”

“Fine, fine. I’ll do it, okay?”

“Hmm, Ttaengchil, help the Succubus out. You’re good at spotting people and stuff.”

Anyway, those things seem capable of communication.

As we got closer to Cheonji (the crater lake), just as expected, there was a massive dragon shimmering with a blue light.

Was that the Azure Dragon?

Hm.

According to the Hero, there should’ve been one more.

In any case, we needed to listen more first.

We sent two people ahead and approached Baekdu Mountain’s Cheonji area.

Sure enough, a huge blue dragon and a black dragon were swimming around inside Cheonji.

They must have noticed us approaching, as they bared their teeth and glared at us.

The blue-bodied dragon opened its mouth first.

“Who dares to intrude on this place again!?”

“We are followers of the goddess Kanora.”

Calling ourselves followers of the goddess Kanora… It was a little funny to say out loud, but it was true.

“Hmm. I sensed a strange energy recently… So it was you lot?”

“Yes.”

“Don’t tell me you’ve come to steal our territory? Like the ones who harassed the Black Dragon?”

The ones who harassed the Black Dragon—must be the Heroes.

But that had nothing to do with us.

Although… if those Heroes harassed the Black Dragon and even subdued the Azure Dragon, then we shouldn’t have too much trouble either.

The real issue is the Azure Dragon’s teleportation ability.

The Hero once said that when the Azure Dragon sent them to the UK, it didn’t use any obvious magic or incantation—just roared.

If that’s the case, then the key must be its eyes.

A dragon that lives here wouldn’t use some complex ritual for that power.

They’re sacred beings to some people, but all they do now is cause trouble.

Suddenly, I wondered—was there really any point in stalling?

Dragging things out would only make them suspicious and push them to use their powers. In times like this, being direct was the better move.

“I don’t know who you’re talking about, but we came to ask you a favor.”

“Let’s hear it, then. What is it?”

“Please lift the curse you placed on the nine-tailed fox down south.”

“Hmm. The nine-tailed fox… Ah, you mean that white fox?”

“Yes.”

So the fox wasn’t lying.

Judging by their faces, it was clear they had indeed cursed her.

The two dragons began muttering to each other.

“Why should we do that?”

“Because that fox is causing trouble for the people down there. If you lift the curse, then we can deal with her however we like, right?”

“Kukuku. How amusing. That little fox is no match for us, but do you humans really think you can manage her?”

I ignored the Black Dragon’s condescending tone.

What are you even yapping about—you got wrecked by the Hero.

At least the Azure Dragon had the decency to teleport them away.

“Hmph. And why should we listen to you?”

“Because we’re the rightful owners of this land.”

The Korean peninsula belongs to Koreans!

That kind of thing.

“What!? How dare you!?”

“If you calmly lift the curse now, I’ll overlook this.”

I was actually planning to strike the moment they let their guard down.

But unfortunately, they took my words as a mere provocation.

Both dragons let out thunderous roars.

“Hmph! How dare you insult us dragons! You shall die!”

“Saintess, do you even know what diplomacy is?”

“Screw diplomacy. We were gonna kill them anyway.”

In the end, a fight was inevitable, and there was no time to hesitate.

The other returnees entered battle as well.

“Shouldn’t the Succubus at least start evacuating people first?”

“Ah, yeah. Good point.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

Ultimately, the most important target was the Azure Dragon.

“The teleportation ability only seems to belong to the Azure Dragon. Let’s go all-out from the start. Stay out of its line of sight.”

“Hooh, you’re fast, but—”

KWAKWAKWANG!!

The Azure Dragon’s tail swept across the ground.

Then, the Black Dragon’s tail followed, shaking Cheonji and the whole mountain like an earthquake.

Still, we had stalled enough time coming up here—hopefully, the Succubuc did its job right.

“Damn. Why is it so big?”

“We already lost to those little ones, we can’t lose to these!”

“Careful with the Black Dragon! These girls are no joke either!”

The dragon’s scales were tough.

My spear, Battle mage, could damage them, but not pierce them in one strike.

Even Cheonma’s sword only managed to scrape some of the scales off.

The orc was trying something too, using his powerful muscles, but at most he was just blocking tail attacks.

“It’s not just the size—their tails are insane.”

I agreed with the orc as he shook out his arms.

How do we even take them down?

It’s doable, but their powers are seriously annoying.

With that teleportation ability, they could send us anywhere—not just the UK.

Wait.

Hold on.

We just have to avoid turning them into worms, right?

What if, as a joke, I just swapped their scales with something else?