Chapter 161
The Tomb of the Radiant Dragons.
This was the site of the final war between the King of the Dead, the Shadow Monarch Sung Jinwoo, and the King of Radiant Dragons, the Monarch of Destruction, Antares.
The war between these two mighty forces had been brutal and relentless, and in the end, it was Sung Jinwoo’s Shadow Army that emerged victorious.
As a result, ever since that day, the remains of countless dragons, reduced to ash, scattered across this land like a never-ending snowstorm.
Cha Hae-In and Sirka had ventured into this barren wasteland to help restore the strength of the Shadow Wyvern, Kaisel.
Having weakened from constantly protecting Cha Hae-In, Kaisel had immediately curled up in her arms and fallen into a deep sleep upon arrival.
This was a form of hibernation.
Though it seemed like mere slumber, Kaisel was actually absorbing the faint remnants of dragon energy lingering in the gray ashes.
While Kaisel recovered, Cha Hae-In and Sirka had only one task—wandering aimlessly across the desolate land.
Initially, they had planned to stay in one place and wait for Kaisel to fully regain his strength.
However, before long, Kaisel woke up with an exaggerated yawn.
His intent was clear.
They had to keep moving.
The power he could absorb from a single location was limited.
It made sense.
The residual energy within the dragon corpses was weak at best.
If Kaisel were to regain all his lost power, they would likely have to travel across the entire region.
Understanding this, Cha Hae-In and Sirka continued searching for new locations, wandering the land in aid of Kaisel’s recovery.
After some time—
“…!”
Before them, a colossal and majestic silhouette emerged.
“Cha-cha! I’ll cover you!”
With Sirka providing cover, Cha Hae-In slowly drew her sword and stepped forward.
Pushing through the gray snowstorm, they finally reached their destination…
And what they saw left them speechless.
“My god.”
They were stunned.
“…So not all of them turned to ash.”
Surprisingly, a massive heap of dragon remains lay before them, bones still intact.
“This feels like a dinosaur museum.”
The sheer grandeur of the dragon bones was overwhelming.
[Grrr…]
Just then, Kaisel stirred awake, his drowsy eyes scanning his surroundings.
Cha Hae-In gently stroked Kaisel’s back and asked,
“How is it? Do you feel like you’re recovering faster here?”
[Grrrrr…]
Kaisel closed his eyes contentedly under her touch.
Seeing this, Sirka beamed.
“That’s great! It makes sense—remains that still have bones intact would naturally have a stronger recovery effect than mere ash. Dragon remains are treasures in themselves.”
Cha Hae-In nodded in agreement.
Even from her past life’s memories, she knew that dragon bones were immensely valuable.
They possessed enough durability and resilience to support the immense weight of a dragon and had an unparalleled affinity for mana.
“This is perfect. If we bring these bones back to Earth and forge weapons, it’ll be a huge help to Suho.”
“Exactly. Some are too weathered and eroded, but if we look closely, we should find some that are still in good shape…”
As Cha Hae-In reached for her necklace to open her inventory—
A chill ran down her spine.
“Dodge!”
“…!”
In perfect sync, she and Sirka leaped in opposite directions.
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted where they had stood moments ago.
KUUUUUNG!
The shockwave sent nearby dragon bones tumbling down.
Cha Hae-In and Sirka quickly dodged the falling debris and assumed battle stances.
“I’ll cover you!”
Swoosh!
Sirka swiftly retreated and pulled back her bowstring, while Cha Hae-In charged forward with her sword.
And then—
She saw them.
“Kiraraka!”
“Kirukadra!”
“…!”
Cha Hae-In’s eyes widened.
They were warriors and shamans made entirely of bone.
But they weren’t ordinary skeleton-like creatures.
From behind, Sirka fired arrows while shouting in shock.
“They’re Dragon Fang Soldiers!”
“Dragon Fang Soldiers?”
The Dragon Fang Soldiers—known in Greek as Spartoi (Σπαρτοί), meaning “the Sown Ones”—were legendary warriors.
According to myth, warriors would rise from the ground wherever dragon teeth were sown.
“The dragon teeth that didn’t turn to ash have transformed into magical beasts!”
Sirka realized what had happened.
The King of Radiant Dragons, the Monarch of Destruction, Antares was the strongest of all Monarchs.
A true apex predator of dragonkind.
His Radiant Dragon Army was an unstoppable force, possessing immense magical power.
For centuries, their remains had lingered in this wasteland.
And over time, the lingering power in their bones had manifested into Dragon Fang Soldiers.
But something felt… off.
“How are they manifesting without a master?! Is this even possible?!”
“What do you mean?”
Cha Hae-In shouted back while fending off the Dragon Fang Soldiers.
Their numbers were overwhelming, matching the vast amount of dragon corpses scattered across the land.
More and more were emerging from beneath the ground, encircling them.
However—
“Storm of White Flames!”
KRA-KOOM!
Cha Hae-In raised the Demon King’s Longsword high, summoning a storm of hundreds of lightning bolts from the sky.
“Kira-kraak!”
“Kar-kak!”
The Demon King’s Longsword was imbued with the power of Baran, the Monarch of White Flames.
The sword unleashed an unrelenting storm of lightning across the battlefield.
The overwhelming disaster rained down upon the battlefield, and the Dragon Fang Soldiers could only scream as they collapsed under its might.
However—
“Kraaaah!”
“They withstood it?!”
Cha Hae-In’s eyes widened in shock.
Despite being caught in the Storm of White Flames, which had inflicted severe damage on the Itarim’s Apostles, the Dragon Fang Soldiers were rising again.
“Cha-Cha! I heard Dragon Fang Soldiers are born from dragon teeth, making them highly resistant to attacks!”
“Yeah, that certainly seems to be the case.”
Cha Hae-In adjusted her grip on her sword.
[Grrr…]
“Don’t worry, Kaisel. You can keep resting.”
Kaisel had opened his eyes in concern, sensing the anomaly, but Cha Hae-In merely smiled and reassured him.
“Still, they definitely took damage.”
Just as she said, the Dragon Fang Soldiers hit by the lightning strikes had noticeably slowed down.
If they kept fighting at this pace, eventually, they would all be taken down.
Slash!
Cha Hae-In swung her sword, cleaving a Dragon Fang Soldier in half, then turned to Sirka.
“Sirka! What were you about to say earlier? What’s strange about all this?”
“Ah…!”
Sirka loosed an arrow at a Dragon Fang Shaman casting spells in the distance as she answered,
“I don’t know everything about dragons, but I do know one thing for sure! Dragon Fang Soldiers can’t exist without a master!”
“They need a master?”
“Yes! Normally, dragons pluck their own teeth to create Dragon Fang Soldiers! And the purpose of those soldiers is to protect their master! More specifically…”
Sirka’s gaze shifted to Kaisel, still asleep on Cha Hae-In’s shoulder.
“They protect their master while the dragon is in hibernation! That’s their true purpose!”
“What?”
Cha Hae-In’s mind clicked as she quickly scanned her surroundings.
“But there aren’t any living dragons here.”
“Exactly! That’s why it doesn’t make sense! When a Dragon Fang Soldier loses its master, it’s supposed to revert back into a tooth!”
“Then… what the hell are these guys?”
It was undeniably strange.
For this many Dragon Fang Soldiers to exist, that meant there had to be an equivalent number of living dragons nearby.
But there were none.
Which meant these soldiers were created from the teeth of the dead dragons scattered around them.
“…Could it be that they’ve found a new master?”
“Or maybe… someone who can create Dragon Fang Soldiers using the teeth of other dragons has appeared.”
“Either way, the conclusion is the same. And I doubt they’ll answer even if we ask.”
Thanks to her enchanted necklace, Cha Hae-In could understand the words spilling from the Dragon Fang Soldiers’ mouths.
“Kirrkara! (Kill the intruders!)”
“…Intruders, huh?”
‘That means we’re trespassing somewhere, or at least they don’t want us going somewhere.’
Where exactly was that place?
Cha Hae-In calmly surveyed the battlefield, cutting down another soldier as she called out—
“Sirka! I’ll hold them off here—send a prayer to the Monarch of Frost!”
As a descendant of the Monarch of Frost, Sirka could send messages to him through prayer.
Unlike Suho, the Priest, who had the power to awaken the Monarch’s lingering spirit, Sirka could only transmit one-sided messages through prayer.
But those messages would still reach the Monarch of Frost… and from there, be relayed to Suho.
“…This really isn’t what prayers are meant for.”
Sirka muttered awkwardly as she began praying to the Monarch of Frost, Silad.
“So, what exactly do you want me to tell him?”
—
Meanwhile, in Busan
Suho and Im Do-Gyun had arrived in Busan for a dungeon raid.
However, this mission was a little different from usual.
“Are you the Guild Master of Woojin Guild?”
“No, I’m the Vice Guild Master, Im Do-Gyun. Our boss is right here…”
“Oh! My apologies!”
The female hunter who had come to greet them blushed and hurriedly bowed in apology after hearing Im Do-Gyun’s response.
Then, with a slightly embarrassed smile, she turned to Suho and greeted him warmly.
“Hello! I’m Lee Ju-Hee, a healer from the Knights Guild. Welcome to Busan!”
“Ah, yes. Hello, I’m Sung Suho, the Guild Master.”
“…….”
“……?”
For some reason, Lee Ju-Hee, who had just introduced herself to Suho, suddenly stared at his face with a strange expression.
Suho, noticing her prolonged gaze, tilted his head and asked,
“Is something wrong?”
“Ah, no! My apologies. It’s just… you look kind of familiar. It’s probably just my imagination.”
“……?”
Realizing how awkward she sounded, Lee Ju-Hee quickly apologized.
‘What am I thinking? There’s no way I’d know someone this young. He wasn’t even born yet when I was living in Seoul…’
Scolding herself for her mistake, she quickly steered the conversation back on track.
“Ahem. Anyway, Guild Master Sung Suho, thank you so much for assisting our Knights Guild. Hunter Im Taegyu has already arrived at the guild office and is waiting for you. I’ll escort you there.”
Gulp.
At the mention of his father waiting for them, Im Do-Gyun swallowed nervously.
