episode_0309

Chapter 309 – Bloodline Ritual

“There are many. So many.”

Dozens of drakes were perched amidst the sheer cliffs. Even one such monster could lay waste to an ordinary village, yet they formed a group like this; it was impossible unless a Lord-class individual was present. As if to prove this, in their center was a creature easily twice the size of a regular drake.

“Pernia. I’ll draw its attention, so you have to immediately incapacitate its wings. Got it?”

“What about the other drakes?”

“Deborah will hold them off. Actually, once we take care of the Lord, the rest will be easy. We just need to buy a little time.”

“So, the success or failure ultimately depends on me.”

“Yeah. Don’t be nervous. It’ll be harder to fail now.”

Despite the encouragement, Pernia repeatedly took deep breaths. Everything depended on this one action, so she couldn’t help it.

‘Well, if things go awry, I’ll just have to deal with it somehow.’

I clenched and unclenched my fists, savoring the clue to the realization I had felt during the fight with the elder, and replayed the memory. It felt like I could do it with just a little more effort.

“Then let’s go. Deborah. I’m counting on you!”

“Yes!”

At the signal, Deborah activated the spell she had been casting. A deep hum! Beautiful violet magic covered the mountain, distorting the drakes’ vision. With this, they couldn’t see us.

“Growl!?”

Only the Lord sensed something amiss and lifted its head, but by then, it was too late. Whoosh! I, who had used Incarnation followed by Declaration of Rape, used Photonization to move to within arm’s reach of it in the blink of an eye.

“Here!”

Boom! When I struck its face with immense force, the Drake Lord’s head snapped around. But its scales were so hard that they only got scratched even after taking a hit from my fist.

‘Indeed, it would be difficult if I didn’t incapacitate its wings at least.’

“Roaaaaar!”

The enraged Drake Lord, its eyes turning bloodshot, opened its maw wide. It was a breath attack from the start. WHOOSH!! A tremendous flame poured out, melting the entire area. The rocky mountain lost its form, collapsed, and transformed into a magma zone.

‘It’s incredibly hot.’

Even I, who am nearly immune to flames, felt the heat, so what more needs to be said? Others would become one with the magma the moment they touched it.

“Shut your maw, you bastard!”

Whump! I flew past the ground, dove downwards, and uppercut its jaw. Though its scales couldn’t be pierced, the force didn’t disappear, and the Drake Lord’s mouth snapped shut instantly. It tried to open its mouth somehow, but as I held it firmly in place, it couldn’t move an inch. Finally, the struggling creature spread its huge wings wide and took flight.

“Roaaaar!!”

“Stay still!”

Thump! Whump! Crash! I rained down punches continuously and even used Samgeukhwan to pummel it. Now, in the Drake Lord’s mind, there was no room to pay attention to anyone else besides me.

-Pernia. Now!

Clinging to the Drake Lord while it flew, I abruptly twisted its trajectory and slammed it into the cliff with me. Crack! Its spine shattered and pain flared, but I didn’t even care.

“Hyaaah!”

Immediately after, Pernia, who had burst from the air, swung her Sakpung and shredded the Drake Lord’s wings. Riiiiip! Sakpung, imbued with the wind of the Sylphid and aura, cut through the wings with surprising ease. The glossy, crimson wings were severed as futilely as paper.

“Roaaaaaarrrr!!”

The Drake Lord, in incomparable pain, let out a roar. It thrashed its body, exuding immense killing intent to retaliate against Pernia, but a creature that had lost its wings couldn’t possibly move.

“Get off!”

Whump! The Drake Lord was hit by my fist and plummeted straight to the ground. CRASH! When the colossal beast crashed, with a thunderous roar, the ground caved in.

─Screeeeech! ─Roaaaaar!

Only then did the other drakes sense the abnormality and begin to wail. I boldly ignored them. Fwoosh! Using Photonization, I instantly descended to the ground, climbed atop the Drake Lord, and frantically rained down punches. Boom! Thud! Crunch! I focused everything on a single point. Without the slightest error, I continuously struck the same spot, accumulating impact. The scales gradually chipped and cracked open, finally revealing the flesh beneath.

“Die!”

“Fire Javelin!”

“Hyaaah!”

The other party members also began to pummel it, using the maximum power they could muster.

“Roaaaaarrrrk!!!”

The Drake Lord let out a scream-laced roar to its kin, as if asking ‘What are you doing?’ The drakes flew over in a hurry.

“Here!”

But they were all drawn away with just one light provocation from Abel and began to batter his shield. Watching that sight, I couldn’t feel relieved.

‘He can’t hold out long.’

Even Abel couldn’t withstand the drakes’ assault forever. I needed to deliver the finishing blow.

“Hoo-woo…”

I exhaled deeply and pushed away all extraneous thoughts. I condensed three distinct energies together and pushed them directly into my heart. Thump! As the immense energy penetrated, my heart throbbed violently. The unbearable force caused pain, and my heart pounded as if it would burst. But the three energies, keeping each other in check, slowly achieved balance and coursed through my heart, bestowing tremendous power throughout my body.

‘Simhon.’

This was the name I gave this technique. If Cain heard it, he might complain, asking what it was, but this was the best I could do. Following Shinma Geukyeong, my body, double-enhanced by Simhon, exuded transcendental power. I poured all that might into a single blow.

“Die!”

Fire Dragon Piercing Heaven Strike! The fangs of the enraged Fire Dragon savagely tore into the dragon’s neck. Crackkkk! My fist easily pierced through the scales and even shattered its muscles and bones. At the tip of my fist, I touched the drake’s core. Squishhh! When I pulled it out, along with bright red blood, a blazing orb was revealed.

“Roaaa….”

Thud! The Drake Lord, with its core extracted, collapsed to the ground with a final death rattle. Jumping off its back, I observed my own body.

‘The flow of magic is smooth.’

There weren’t any particular obstacles before either, but now, it moved as smoothly as if oiled, without any resistance. Yet at the same time, it was amazing that I could move it however I wanted, whenever I wanted. I realized I had crossed another wall.

‘Finally, 250.’

Breaking through the Level 200 barrier had taken quite a long time, but this time it was relatively fast. Actually, the Level 200 barrier required realizing a new technique called aura, whereas the Level 250 barrier simply required an increase in proficiency, so it was natural.

As I stood there, lost in a sense of accomplishment, Pernia quickly ran over and hugged me.

“You did great! Really great!”

She was so happy that her face was beaming. Her pure expression contrasted with her usual lewd parrot-like demeanor, which was quite amusing.

“You did well too.”

When I chuckled and praised her, Pernia looked up and met my eyes.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Thanks to you, we were able to win easily. You did well.”

“Eep…!”

When I stroked her perky cat ears, Pernia trembled. Her embarrassed reaction was quite cute. As I smiled contentedly, she, who kept twitching, sent a telepathic message.

-Hey, you made me horny. Let’s have sex later.

Cancel. Not cute at all.

*

A few days later, we returned to the tribe and proudly sought out the chieftain.

“Father. Here is the Drake Lord’s core.”

“Hmm… You managed to retrieve it, surprisingly.”

When I immediately presented the evidence, the chieftain, with a stern expression, caressed the core. Though he pretended to be unfazed, the slight trembling of his facial muscles revealed that he was quite agitated. Pernia didn’t stop there and delivered a second shock.

“And on the way, we were attacked by the Curse.”

“…Attacked?”

“Yes. They brought eight warriors and even an elder. They loudly declared they would kill the men and rape the women, but in the end, they died by my hand.”

“By your hand… Indeed. You’ve surprisingly attained enlightenment.”

The chieftain immediately, as if sensing Pernia’s level, nodded and accepted it.

“Is that all? I told you I killed the Curse!”

“So what about it? If that fellow attacked first, it’s their own doing.”

“Won’t the Hoin Tribe protest?”

“It doesn’t matter. The justification is on our side.”

Despite having pushed for a political marriage, strangely enough, the chieftain was remarkably calm. It was unclear if he was simply pragmatic and quick to accept it, or if he had no lingering attachment to an alliance with the Hoin Tribe from the start. But what was important was that this wouldn’t lead to complicated matters. Of course, there was a possibility that the Hoin Tribe might kick up a fuss, but we could just leave for the Empire again before they arrived. As for what remained, the chieftains could figure it out among themselves.

‘Once I receive the Bloodline Ritual, I’ll have to make a run for it.’

While I was formulating my escape plan, the chieftain, who had finished speaking, rose from his seat.

“Good. Then follow me.”

“Huh?”

“Weren’t you going to receive the Bloodline Ritual? I will perform the ceremony right now.”

The Bloodline Ritual was usually performed during the coming-of-age ceremony. Even though it should require considerable preparation, for him to conduct it immediately like this, it was correct to assume he had prepared it in advance.

‘He’s a sweeter person than I thought.’

Even if he pretended otherwise, his genuine concern for his only daughter was commendable. We quickly followed the chieftain. As we did so, I suddenly recalled a question and posed it to Pernia.

“Hey, but what if a non-beastfolk person receives the ritual?”

“Non-beastfolk? I don’t know? It’s never happened before.”

“Really? That’s surprising.”

Such an absurdly powerful ability as the Bloodline Ritual, and not a single outsider wanted to possess it, is hard to believe. Or maybe Pernia just doesn’t know?

‘The chieftain would know, though…’

I was curious, but seeing the chieftain’s stern face, I didn’t dare to ask. He must have heard it too, but his silence meant he didn’t want to tell me. I decided to let go of the lingering thought. Anyway, the Bloodline Ritual is a blessing received from ancient gods, and there’s no way a human god would remain in this country.

No sooner had I reached that conclusion than the chieftain stopped at a certain spot. It was a platform. On it, alongside a beautiful catfolk, a phoenix statue was erected.