Chapter 79

An AA-rank dungeon truly was different.

The fact that B+-rank Spotted Jungle Alligators appeared right from the start spoke volumes.

After that, the attack unit engaged in numerous battles with monsters.

However, the difficulty was vastly different from previous expeditions, and Gil Hyeok-jun’s participation played a crucial role.

As if reading Kang Yuseong’s mind, he precisely found his place and performed brilliantly. What was even more surprising was that he never flaunted his strength.

One might expect him to get greedy after cornering a certain number of monsters, but he followed Kang Yuseong’s instructions perfectly.

With his addition to the attack unit, the hunt became incredibly smooth.

It was as if there was another presence similar to Kang Yuseong, making even an AA-rank dungeon feel less challenging.

‘Two hours since the start of the expedition…’

D-328 Dungeon was classified as a medium-to-large AA-rank dungeon.

This meant its field was quite extensive.

They had slain so many monsters that their corpses could form a mountain, yet the Earth Dragon Gainok had still not shown its face.

But Kang Yuseong had been on edge for a while now.

Splash, splash!

The ground had been like this for some time.

It was a marshy area, made of mud from decaying, unpleasant floating matter.

From Kang Yuseong’s memory, the Earth Dragon Gainok resided precisely in this kind of terrain.

They might have already entered its territory.

From now on, they needed to be extremely careful.

“Kyah!”

Crunch! Crackle!

Giant Poisonous Frogs, common to swamps, lunged from all directions but were swiftly dealt with by the Hunters.

Rumble—

Then, a faint tremor ran through the ground.

It was a very small, subtle movement, but Kang Yuseong definitely noticed it.

Rumble—

Kang Yuseong stopped dead in his tracks.

Gil Hyeok-jun also stopped and meticulously scanned their surroundings.

The Hunters following behind, however, looked puzzled, unsure why they had stopped.

But knowing Kang Yuseong wouldn’t act without reason, they immediately took defensive stances.

Boom—

This time, a considerably louder tremor occurred.

The Hunters also clearly noticed it this time, their faces etched with tension.

They knew instinctively.

This tremor must not be overlooked.

‘Something is coming!’

Baek Myeong-han and the other Hunters also scanned their surroundings warily.

Just then, Kang Yuseong’s comms crackled.

“Attack unit, protect the Porters and fall back. Do not rush. Move as quietly and carefully as possible.”

Kang Yuseong’s transmission brought a glint to the Hunters’ eyes.

Kang Yuseong rarely sent such a message.

When such a message came, it invariably meant a monster too formidable for them had appeared.

Baek Myeong-han gestured to the surrounding Hunters.

The Hunters nodded and slowly retreated.

The experienced Porters also watched the Hunters’ movements and slowly moved backward.

After retreating for some time, they found a relatively flat spot and took position.

Boom—

Even at that moment, the tremor grew louder.

Baek Myeong-han quietly sent a transmission.

“Attack unit, safe zone secured.”

Kang Yuseong nodded.

“Do not, under any circumstances, leave that area.”

“Understood.”

The Hunters looked puzzled by Kang Yuseong’s order to exclude the attack unit from combat, but their expressions soon reverted to ones of intense tension.

For Kang Yuseong to take such measures, the battle ahead must be something they couldn’t handle.

Rumble—

Crack—

A few towering trees in front of them were seen toppling.

Kang Yuseong tightened his grip on his sword, looking at the trees ripped out by their roots.

“The one coming out this time will be a tough fight.”

He said to Gil Hyeok-jun.

Gil Hyeok-jun’s eyes gleamed as he quietly nodded.

“So that’s the one. The monster needed to create Ji-yeon’s cure.”

Before bringing Gil Hyeok-jun here, Kang Yuseong had already asked him.

If he would come along to make a cure for his daughter.

Gil Hyeok-jun had no reason to refuse him.

So he came here, and finally, they were about to face the Earth Dragon Gainok.

“That’s right. The Earth Dragon… Gainok, as it’s called.”

Gil Hyeok-jun’s lips curled into a broad smile.

“In that case, I can’t lose. I’ll definitely catch it.”

Kang Yuseong also smiled.

Reliable.

Just as expected of Gil Hyeok-jun, who had once been his powerful spear.

Boom—

The tremor grew increasingly violent.

The two stood firm, gripping their weapons.

But this time, the tremor ceased.

In the moment of deathly silence, the two focused on what lay ahead.

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!

At that instant, the entire ground shook wildly.

CRASH!

And the ground, as if struck by an earthquake, caved in, and something erupted from it.

“KIIIIEEEK!”

A monster of immense size!

Its colossal body, too massive for ten adult men to encircle with outstretched arms, and its head alone was so enormous that its maw, which briefly appeared and vanished, looked capable of swallowing two or three humans at once with ease.

The creature, having burst from the earth, stood its long body upright, glaring down at the two from its towering height.

Its imposing physique, reminiscent of the giant serpent from Japan’s creation myth, was densely covered in countless thorns and scales.

This was the Earth Dragon Gainok.

The very monster that had troubled countless attack units had appeared.

With ‘Dragon’ in its moniker, it was indeed savage and powerful.

Clang—

But the moment the creature surged upward, sparks violently flew from its body.

It wasn’t just one.

On one side of its body, a massive spark flared once, and on the other, two more sparks erupted with a slight delay.

Splash—

Only after the sparks flew did the swamp water, expelled as Gainok burst forth, rise and then cascade down.

“KYAAAH!”

Gainok glared at the two who had attacked it, issuing a threat.

“This bastard… it’s quite tough, isn’t it?”

Gil Hyeok-jun grinned wryly.

Nothing was on his twin axes.

The same was true for Kang Yuseong on the opposite side.

Only clear water dripped from his sword.

‘As expected, an Earth Dragon.’

The reason for its ‘Earth Dragon’ moniker was not only its subterranean habitat but also the sheer toughness of its carapace.

Its scales and carapace, reinforced by consuming countless rocks, were practically impenetrable steel shields.

Clink—

Kang Yuseong adjusted his grip on his sword.

It seemed he would have to struggle quite a bit to take down this creature.

“KUWAAAH!”

Then, the Earth Dragon let out a monstrous roar.

Simultaneously, Kang Yuseong’s gaze sharpened.

“Danger!”

He shouted curtly, throwing his body sideways.

CRASH!

At the same instant, a massive water droplet slammed down where he had been, causing a huge explosion.

BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The water droplet spewed countless water spheres in all directions, like shrapnel from a grenade.

‘Ugh!’

Kang Yuseong quickly activated Iron Armor to block the attack, but his body was still pushed back significantly.

The force contained within the water droplet was formidable.

Glancing at Gil Hyeok-jun, he saw that he too was blocking the water droplet with his twin axes, but his massive frame was being violently shaken, indicating a severe impact.

Whoosh!

As soon as Kang Yuseong fended off the water droplet, he pushed off the ground and leaped into the air.

Since its vulnerable head was so high up, he had to attack its body first.

“Haaat!”

Chakra Force intensely surged from Kang Yuseong’s sword.

Scratch!

Chakra, Critical Strike mercilessly scraped against its scales.

Fwoosh!

But as expected, the hardness of its scales transcended imagination.

As his sword slid off, something slammed down at him from above.

‘Ugh!’

CRUNCH—

Kang Yuseong was hit directly by the attack, with no time to dodge.

“Kuk!”

The creature had opened its massive maw and simply bitten him.

CRACKLE!

He instantly activated Iron Armor, barely preventing a fatal injury, but Gainok’s jaw strength was beyond imagination.

As Kang Yuseong struggled with all his might between Gainok’s teeth, the bones throughout his body groaned and creaked.

“KUWAARGH!”

As the monster’s maw continued to clench, it suddenly twisted its body violently.

THUD!

As a result, Kang Yuseong was flung to the ground.

Intense pain, as if his entire body was shattering, erupted, but Kang Yuseong quickly rolled to regain his posture.

It was Gil Hyeok-jun who had saved him.

His two axes were embedded in Gainok’s body, and Gainok was writhing, seemingly having taken a proper hit this time.

But Gainok then turned its attention to Gil Hyeok-jun, opening its maw.

At that moment, Kang Yuseong pushed off the ground as if taking flight.

“Haat!”

CRACK!

His sword pierced through the gaps in Gainok’s tough scales.

This was because it was an attack combining Chakra, Critical Strike with Chakra, Carapace Melt.

CRUNCH, CRACK!

The gaps between its steel-like scales widened, and the sword plunged straight in.

But only for a moment; he then pulled the sword back out.

It was difficult to penetrate the creature’s tough muscles beneath its hard scales.

The muscles clenched with unimaginable tightness, gripping his sword, which is why Kang Yuseong pulled it out.

With his extensive experience, he knew that pushing further might cause him to lose his sword.

But the attack was highly effective.

The creature, which had been lunging at Gil Hyeok-jun, writhed and struggled violently.

“KHEEEK!”

As a gap appeared in the monster, Gil Hyeok-jun, without a moment’s hesitation, exploited it.

“KRAAAT!”

CRASH— BANG—

His twin axes fiercely sliced through the air, then began to pound the creature’s body.

The tough blades, forged from Crydesicle, might not have pierced its scales, but they exploded against its body as if to shatter them.

Kang Yuseong, for his part, imbued his sword with the power of flames and plunged it into the wound he had just opened.

Thwack!

The gap between the scales widened further, and he felt the creature’s muscles clench tightly around the blade.

But at that moment, Chakra, Blade Twist activated.

CRACKLE!

The sword twisted violently while still embedded.

A powerful blow, ripping through skin and tearing at tough muscles, erupted like an explosion.

“KHEEEK!”

Gainok twisted its body violently once more.

But the creature was no pushover either.

BOOM—

Countless water droplets slammed down around it.

One shouldn’t underestimate them just because they were water droplets.

These were Gainok’s attacks, descending with destructive power almost equivalent to missiles.

Kang Yuseong grit his teeth and pulled out the embedded blade.

CRASH—

At that moment, a massive explosion erupted around him.

Kang Yuseong, whose posture was unbalanced from pulling out his sword, stumbled momentarily.

Just then, a gigantic water droplet descended, threatening to engulf him.

The water droplet was plummeting at a terrifying speed!

With no time to activate Iron Armor, no time to dodge, Kang Yuseong gritted his teeth.

That’s when it happened.

WHOOSH!

CRACK-CRACK-CRASH!

SPLASH!

Something tore violently through the air towards the water droplet, and upon impact, they caused a fierce explosion.

Kang Yuseong, drenched by the cascading water droplets, turned around.

And he laughed, an incredulous look on his face.

“You… you bastard!”

A man stood there.

Dressed in black, wearing a fedora, and watching them.

He smiled faintly at Kang Yuseong.

“My flight was delayed, you see. So I’m a bit late.”

It wasn’t just ‘a bit,’ but several hours late, yet Kang Yuseong couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Make up for lost time, then.”

Kang Yuseong grinned.

“Kim Do-jin.”