Chapter 422: Suryonggang.

A colossal vessel capable of carrying hundreds of people at once.

A shadow reflected on the river, feeling even larger than the colossal vessel.

“Fuck.”

The moment I saw it, the curse just slipped out.

Why is that thing popping out of here?

“What is that…?”

“Report this to the Great Master immediately!”

“What is that thing…!!”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one flustered, as the gathered people were filled with panic. Amidst the chaos of those who didn’t know what to do.

I glared towards Dangdeok and sent a telepathic message.

-Is that thing what you prepared?

“…”

Dangdeok didn’t answer, but I could see his pupils shaking.

Thinking it might be, I asked again to get a definite answer.

-It’s an order, answer me clearly.

-I… don’t… know about this.

Dangdeok claims ignorance? Based on the circumstances, I’d figured he’d prepared it to catch the Poison King.

Surprisingly, it seems that wasn’t the case.

Then….

“What the hell is that all of a sudden….”

It was obvious it was deep in the river. Its sheer size meant even small movements were visible above the water.

Following those movements, blue monsters trailed it, as if escorting it.

Seeing that, I had to be sure.

That colossal something was definitely a red-grade monster.

I’d seen them in my past life too; compared to green and blue monsters that just tear each other apart, red-grade monsters possess the trait of dominating lower-ranked ones.

Their inherent strength alone is on par with martial artists who’ve reached the ‘Hwa-gyeong’ realm.

Considering their characteristic of leading other monsters, you can imagine how overwhelming it would be to hunt them.

And that’s not the only problem.

Screech-

I clenched my fist and thought.

‘Seriously.’

Why have those guys started showing up already?

‘It’s not the right time yet.’

The reappearance of red-grade monsters occurs after the descent of the Heavenly Demon.

Around the time she, calling herself the Heavenly Demon, truly began to appear on this land.

That’s when the forgotten red-grade monsters were supposed to reappear.

“It’s not time yet. Damn it….”

How can something like that be brazenly churning up the river?

Moreover.

I glanced at the waists of the guards and swordsmen.

The ‘Maseonbu’ they wore showed no unusual signs; they were perfectly fine.

The fact that the artifact, which signals the occurrence of a ‘Magyeongmun’, was so calm meant that no Magyeongmun had appeared nearby.

This meant that.

‘This thing hasn’t just appeared.’

It meant some time had passed since the red-grade Magyeongmun appeared.

When, exactly? Since when did red-grade Magyeongmun start appearing?

I couldn’t know. At least, there was no mention of it in the news coming from the Central Plains.

As I frowned and observed the monster’s condition.

“What is the matter?”

The Poison King appeared and began assessing the situation.

The Poison King also noticed the presence beneath the river and widened his eyes.

“What is that…?”

“It seems to be a red-grade monster.”

That’s what I told him.

Hearing my words, the Poison King flinched and reacted more strongly.

Not only that, but everyone around also began showing reactions close to sheer astonishment.

“Red-grade…?”

“That’s impossible…! Red-grade monsters, isn’t that something from hundreds of years ago!”

“What is So Yeomra talking about right now?”

The murmuring grew louder and louder.

Given that it was a grade that only existed in records, such reactions were somewhat understandable.

Even amidst that, my gaze remained fixed on the river.

The sudden appearance of a red-grade monster was surprising, but.

Right now, understanding the situation was the priority.

‘Why here, on the river?’

The more I analyzed it, the more it felt like a screwed-up situation. This was the kind of scenario I hated most when hunting.

Because my range of movement was reduced, making it the easiest situation to fall into danger.

‘It’s not incredibly dangerous, though….’

I glanced back at the group gathered behind.

I looked towards where Paejon and Amwang were.

Paejon’s eyes were wide with surprise at the appearance of the red-grade monster.

Amwang watched the situation with apparent interest.

‘We have enough power….’

The force available to hunt a red-grade monster was more than sufficient. With numerous peak-level martial artists and several Hwa-gyeong martial artists gathered, it shouldn’t be too difficult, but.

The problem is.

‘This is… an era unfamiliar with red-grade monsters.’

The issue was that this era only knew them through records, with no practical knowledge on how to hunt red-grade monsters.

That’s understandable, because.

From red-grade monsters onwards, there was a specific way to hunt them.

As the unexpected situation caused a distinct headache.

Woowoowoong-woowoowoong-!!

Guguguguk-!

An immense sound echoed from within the river, and waves began to crash upon the calm surface.

The waves were so strong that the massive vessel rocked violently.

“Hold on tight!”

“Aaaah!”

Since most were martial artists, maintaining balance wasn’t difficult, but there were still a few who couldn’t cope.

Those who couldn’t grab a handrail fell from the rocking ship into the river.

Normally, they would have escaped without much trouble even if they fell in, but.

Caught in the feast of green and blue monsters savagely rushing towards prey, the martial artists were helpless.

“Aaaargh! Help… help me!”

The limited space underwater suppressed their abilities.

Their incapacitated bodies were enough to turn even a first-rate martial artist into mere prey.

Watching them get torn apart and disappear in an instant, everyone tensed up.

Being martial artists, they began preparing for battle rather than succumbing to fear.

Drawing their swords, they raised their internal energy (‘Naegi’).

The Naegi emanating from their bodies began to mix in the air, creating a flow.

‘Oh no…!’

Seeing that, I had to flinch.

This is dangerous.

I tried to shout for them to control their energy, but.

Woowoong-!

It was too late.

The creature had already started moving in the water, seemingly provoked.

As it moved, the waves grew fiercer.

Eventually, its shadow deepened, and it broke through the river surface next to the colossal vessel, revealing itself.

Swoooosh-!

As its massive head lifted, the water current churned.

On the rough deck, everyone held their breath.

The Naegi mixing in the air quietly subsided as if nothing had happened.

Its size was comparable to the colossal vessel.

A long body covered in neatly arranged red scales.

Flicking its long, forked tongue at the end of its snout, the creature rolled its eyes and looked at the vessel.

Someone, seeing its appearance, uttered in a trembling voice.

“…A snake…?”

Yes.

Its appearance was like that of a snake.

Except, its size was unbelievably enormous.

*******************

Red-grade monster.

The last recorded sighting was approximately four to five hundred years ago.

They were said to possess power and size incomparable to green and blue-grade monsters.

White-grade monsters could turn plains into vast rivers or make it snow during tropical nights, and so on.

If they could alter terrain and affect ecosystems.

The red-grade, just below them, was said to be sufficient to reign as the king of a region.

It was said they possessed such terrifying power that those unauthorized could neither live nor wander where they resided.

Because the records were unbelievable for mere monsters.

When he saw this, the Poison King firmly believed it was mere fantasy.

If one surpassed the first-rate level, it shouldn’t be difficult to treat blue monsters like toys, let alone green ones.

He wondered if a monster just one rank higher could really make such a significant difference.

Besides, even if that were true, they were monsters that had already disappeared into history and no longer appeared.

The Poison King had never considered red-grade monsters particularly dangerous.

And this was.

The common thought among everyone living in the Central Plains.

A grade that wouldn’t appear again anyway.

False and exaggerated records.

That was all the red-grade had been, but.

Now, the Poison King had no choice but to change his mind.

“This….”

The records weren’t exactly wrong.

“It’s an unbelievable size….”

With the evidence right before his eyes, how could he think otherwise?

Sssshhhhhh….

It’s a snake. And an incredibly massive one at that.

The snake, with red scales befitting its red-grade designation, was as large as the vessel they were on.

It rolled its yellow eyes around, scanning the people on the deck.

Under its gaze, those nearby began to tremble uncontrollably, seemingly overcome with fear.

Most were martial artists below the first-rate level, and some were even foaming at the mouth and losing consciousness.

Seeing this, the Poison King couldn’t help but frown deeply.

‘How could this possibly happen…!’

The sudden appearance of a red-grade monster. What kind of disaster is this?

And what about the other monsters swarming around?

No matter how I looked at it, the situation was bad.

The monster’s eyes were telling too.

The Poison King could tell immediately. That monster’s eyes held hunger.

It was clearly seeing us as food.

Having grasped that much, the Poison King shouted without hesitation.

“Turn the ship around!”

We need to get out of here first. The Poison King wasn’t foolish enough to think of staying put with that thing in front of him.

And at the same time.

Shaaaaaaaah-!

I didn’t expect the monster to just let us turn the ship around.

The moment the ship’s stern began to move, the monster’s eyes flashed, and it charged.

Seeing this, the Poison King leaped from the deck and charged at the monster.

A dagger was suddenly in the Poison King’s hand.

The Poison King, channeling his Naegi intensely, threw the dagger in his hand at the monster without hesitation.

The dagger, imbued with Hwa-gyeong energy, flew rapidly towards the monster’s crown.

The Poison King’s dagger, which could normally pierce steel effortlessly, however.

Ting-!

“…What the-!?”

The Poison King’s dagger bounced off harmlessly just before reaching the monster.

As if blocked by an invisible wall.

The moment the Poison King was taken aback by the unexpected situation, the monster changed its path towards the ship, heading for the Poison King, and opened its maw wide-! attempting to swallow him whole.

Just then.

Someone grabbed the Poison King by the scruff of his neck and flung him backward.

Thanks to that, the Poison King narrowly escaped being eaten by the snake and managed to evade.

“Wow, is she crazy? Why is she so fast?”

It was Baekryeon Sword who had thrown the Poison King.

The Poison King, sent flying backward, landed on the river’s surface.

It was the foundation of ‘Susangbi’, something usable only upon reaching the Hwa-gyeong realm.

Baekryeon Sword arrived beside the Poison King, and seeing her, he gave a short bow.

“Thank you. Thanks to you, I escaped danger.”

“Save the thanks…. What was that just now? It looked like the ‘Ganggi’ bounced off.”

“…That’s right.”

The Poison King replied with a frown to Baekryeon Sword’s words. Just as she said, I had confirmed the monster deflecting the previous attack.

Deflecting Ganggi…. How could something like that possibly happen?

Beside the Poison King, who couldn’t grasp the situation, another person appeared.

It was Pae Duyeol, the head of the Pae family and known as one of the Central Plains’ top experts, the ‘Martial Guardian Iron Fist’ (武保鐵拳).

“I’ll join you.”

The Poison King nodded at his words.

Three experts beyond Hwa-gyeong stood side-by-side on the river’s surface.

The vessel gradually began to turn and move.

The monster wasn’t looking at the ship, but at the three people positioned ahead.

It knew too. That it couldn’t reach the ship unless it killed the three in front of it immediately.

Seeing that, the Poison King inwardly wondered.

‘Could it be… the ship is its target?’

It felt like the monster’s objective was somehow related to the ship.

That couldn’t be it. The Poison King shook his head.

Regardless of the sudden appearance of the red-grade monster, the priority now was protecting that ship.

As the Poison King drew a dagger and took a breath.

Looking at the monster ahead, Baekryeon Sword said.

“Wow…. It’s huge. Seriously, ridiculously huge.”

The Poison King felt his strength slightly drain at her words, yet realized she wasn’t wrong.

She was right.

Compared to any monster he’d seen so far, this creature boasted an absurd size.

What would have happened if something like that was on land, not in a river?

What if there wasn’t just one, but several?

The horrifying thought made the Poison King grip his dagger tighter.

The snake wasn’t attacking as if testing the waters.

Monsters inherently act on instinct, so it should have charged with all its might by now, but.

It seemed to be observing the situation instead.

And the Poison King was doing the same.

‘I need to figure out what just happened.’

The Poison King recalled the moment his dagger had bounced off.

The dagger was properly imbued with Ganggi, and its trajectory was flawless.

But why did his attack bounce off before reaching the monster?

He couldn’t tell.

As he was thinking about this, Baekryeon Sword swiftly swung her sword, firing Ganggi at the snake.

It was a sudden attack.

Swish-! Her pale green Ganggi flew at high speed, aiming to slash the snake, but.

Pashak-!

Just like the Poison King’s dagger, Baekryeon Sword’s Ganggi crumbled before an invisible wall.

“As expected… it doesn’t work?”

Baekryeon Sword muttered regretfully, but the Poison King was startled by this.

“Baekryeon Sword…! What are you doing suddenly!”

“Why? I just wanted to check if this would work. I can’t just stand here and watch.”

Her unspoken implication that we’d have to fight anyway made the Poison King cover his forehead.

Fortunately, the attacked monster merely flicked its tongue, observing the situation, but the possibility of it retaliating if provoked was a concern.

Of course, while surprised by Baekryeon Sword’s actions, it wasn’t without benefit.

Thanks to her, we could confirm that attacks don’t work on the monster.

Having confirmed that, the Poison King quickly racked his brain for an answer to the situation, and something suddenly occurred to him.

Could it be….

‘…That red-grade monsters are beings impervious to Naegi?’

At the chilling thought that popped into his mind unintentionally, the Poison King swallowed hard.

It wasn’t written in the records, but it was a possibility.

The possibility that energy created by Naegi might not work on red-grade monsters.

This was a terrifying prospect just to imagine.

If that were the case, the value of martial artists who kill monsters using Naegi would diminish, and simultaneously.

It could signify the downfall of humanity, unable to stop monsters.

It was just a wild thought, but as the vaguely realistic imagination took hold, the Poison King kept swallowing dryly.

Movement was felt from the monster.

Shaaaaaaah-!

Just as the snake bared its fangs and was about to charge at the three martial artists.

Shwik-! Kwang-!

“!”

A fierce lightning strike, fired from somewhere, struck the snake’s head.

Shiaaaaaah-!

With a roar, the snake’s head shook violently.

The angle of its head, which had been lunging forward with a shriek, changed.

Its massive head crashed into the river, and the impact sent the water surging skyward.

The high-rising water soon fell back down.

It looked like rain.

The Poison King’s eyes widened upon seeing that.

I just saw attacks imbued with Naegi fail, so what was that just now?

The Poison King looked behind him with surprised eyes.

He was trying to identify the martial artist who had blocked the snake with a sword strike.

Finally, the Poison King identified the martial artist.

“What…? Why are those kids….”

Leaving behind the Poison King’s disbelieving reaction.

Kyaaaaaah-!

The monster, which had briefly disappeared underwater, quickly emerged and charged again.

The three Hwa-gyeong experts ahead raised their momentum to analyze the attack.

“‘Four spans back from the left eye, towards the right.'”

The voice came from behind, and immediately another presence charged at the snake. There was no hesitation.

Three sword blades carved trails in the air as they pierced the snake.

Precisely towards the snake’s left eye, slightly behind it, they extended, and then the energy burst from the sword tips, releasing the impact.

Pang-!

Shaaaak-!

Just like before, the snake’s head shook violently.

The Poison King could clearly see.

The invisible barrier cracking the moment the martial artist’s sword strike hit the snake.

What’s different about them? Even as the question formed, the voice continued.

“‘Next, five spans down from the tip of the jaw. Strike upwards.'”

When the words came, there was no hesitation in executing them.

A sword wrapped in golden energy went under the snake’s jaw and fired sword energy.

Tang-! It was the same this time.

The snake’s jaw, hit by the sword energy, shot upwards. Pashak! The invisible barrier surrounding the snake visibly cracked slightly.

The slightly opened gap felt faint.

“Woohyeok.”

Perhaps the brief call was enough. The handsome young master immediately raised his sword and nimbly fired sword energy imbued with ‘Dogi’ into the created gap.

Then, attacks that hadn’t worked until now grazed the snake’s scales, inflicting a wound.

Pfft-! A wound opened on the snake’s neck, scattering blue-green blood into the river.

Kyaaaaaah-!

Perhaps due to the injury, the snake cried out fiercely and widened the distance slightly.

The snake began to coil its body, as if wary of them.

The Poison King’s jaw dropped at the events that unfolded in an instant.

Those who had been relentlessly attacking the snake until moments before flew backward as it began to coil, landing on the river’s surface.

Splash.

On the river surface where the three martial artists returned, a young man had been standing from the start.

He was the one giving orders until now.

Looking at him, the Poison King whispered quietly.

“So Yeomra?”

At the Poison King’s call, Gu Yangcheon’s eyebrows twitched slightly.

He seemed slightly displeased.

Putting that aside. Who were those people relentlessly attacking the snake until just now?

Even they themselves, being Hwa-gyeong experts, had been agonizing over what to do.

Yet, late-stage disciples, who should clearly be at their peak, had effortlessly pushed the snake back.

Namgung family’s Sword Dancer, the successor of Sword Venerable, Murim’s Sleeping Dragon.

These individuals stood around So Yeomra, swords lowered, sheathing them.

As if awaiting the next command.

The energy swirling around their swords possessed different colors, creating a strange sense of pressure.

Moreover, how could those who hadn’t reached Hwa-gyeong possibly stand on the water?

The Poison King stared at the scene, utterly unable to comprehend it.

Around that time, So Yeomra, standing at the center, looked at the Poison King’s group and spoke.

“From now on, I will be in command.”

“…What? Young Master Gu, what are you suddenly talking about….”

“I will not accept any objections. If you don’t like it, stay put and don’t interfere.”

The Poison King tried to say something in response to Gu Yangcheon’s words, but.

Swoooosh-!

He had to shut his mouth due to the felt movement of the monster.

A massive wriggling could be felt beneath the river.

Gu Yangcheon seemed to feel it too, looking around as he said.

“Prepare yourselves.”

Sreung.

At his brief words, the three late-stage disciples sharply raised their momentum. They looked like well-trained sword guards.

Even setting those three aside. What was Gu Yangcheon, giving orders to them so casually?

The Poison King had to wonder about the inexplicable pressure emanating from Gu Yangcheon.