Ch. 197 - This Wasn't In The Plan

Do Daecheol wandered around the 'Grave' following the guide. During the search, they encountered monsters frequently and fought them off. While advancing 500 meters, they had six battles.

“All these damn are so damn strong. Why do strong ones keep showing up so often?”

Most of the monsters that attacked were strong ones typically seen at the entrance of the upper Gate, such as the three-tailed scorpion, spatula-billed bird, and shelled monkey. Fortunately, Do Daecheol and his men were a large guild expedition force. They had come well-prepared for the hunt, so they wouldn’t be easily defeated. But, the Grave was not a comfortable place.

“Of course, this is why Hunters avoid this place. They can’t even set up camp because they have to keep moving. It’s a more difficult place than a Gate,” one of the men grumbled. Do Daecheol agreed with him, although he didn’t say anything.

'Since you move around without a base, you get tired quickly and your stamina recovers slowly. Always being tense means your fatigue level is high. I guess there's a reason it's called the Grave.'

As time went by, the Hunters became more and more tired. At some point, the number of battles decreased, and even stronger monsters began to appear. The number of fights decreased, but the difficulty increased drastically. It was to the point they missed the entrance to the Grave, where they’d encounter monsters every 100 meters. But they didn’t back down despite the intense battles. They lost several comrades but didn’t waver.

Yet, even a Hunter had his limits. In the end, they were all so exhausted that they couldn't tell who was alive and who died. If they fought any longer, everyone, including Do Daecheol, might have to give up on their lives here. Everyone regretted coming here. They were anxious that at this rate, they’d die without being able to accomplish the plan.

Of course, the person who regretted it the most among them was the guide.

‘I shouldn’t have been so greedy for a sword...’

He took on the job on the condition of receiving a magic-grade sword that was hard to get even with money, but he might end up dead before he could even use the sword. They were protecting him while he showed them the way, but once he was no longer needed, he began to doubt whether he would be as safe as before.

“Guide, is this really the right place?”

“Just get over the hill, and it’s right there.”

“Okay. That aside, why didn’t you tell me that there are monsters here this strong?”

“Did you think I knew? It definitely wasn’t like this before. If it had been, I would have died long ago. Something has changed.”

Do Daecheol didn't think the guide was lying. He wouldn't have come in here knowing he was walking into his own death. If so, then he had to assume that something had changed recently, as the guide had said. He could guess the reason for the change.

'The leader of the Monster Gate. I don't know who he is, but it's clear that he's taken seat here.'

After a few more battles, the party finally managed to get over the pass. As soon as they crossed the pass, the monsters stopped attacking them as if it had never happened. They felt that the end of their journey was near.

The guide moved out of the forested area into an open space to check the terrain.

“We’re here. This is the final battleground.”

A gaping hole in the middle of a dense forest of trees. There were several huge sinkholes with a radius of tens to hundreds of meters.

“So this is where they took down the Nine-Headed Dragon(Tl/N:: Gu-nine ryong-dragon; Guryong)...”

The site of the Guryong Raid, a legendary event always mentioned in the history of monster wars, was right before their eyes.

Do Daecheol glanced behind him and gestured.

“Kim Bokrye!”

“Yes.”

The woman named Kim Bokrye quickly approached and stood next to Do Daecheol.

“Do you know where it is?”

“Yes, I can feel it. It’s the biggest hole at the end in that direction.”

“It must be a big one, huh? What do you think? Can you handle it?”

“My ability isn’t offensive. It’s about approaching in a friendly way, so it should work even the leader of the Demon Gate should be manageable.”

“Alright. I’ll get it to the front somehow, so get ready.”

Do Daecheol and his team moved toward the hole Kim Bokrye had pointed out. 

The sinkhole was massive, with a radius well over 300 meters. It was so deep that they couldn’t see the bottom. A Hunter with detection skills tried to measure it, but their ability was canceled out by an unidentified energy.

“Bokrye? Did your ability get you there?”

“No, I can’t form a connection yet.”

“There’s no choice. Then, we have to head down. Only the minimum number of people will descend. The rest, stay here in defensive formation. Group 1, you’re with me.”

Do Daecheol led Kim Bokrye and five members of Team 1 down into the sinkhole. Two hours passed as they climbed deeper underground, hammering specially-made climbing tools called ‘rock awls’ into the walls.

The light from the surface had disappeared entirely. Even Hunters with Night vision skills couldn’t see their own hands or feet in the overwhelming darkness. Due to the raging wind in the valley, even the sounds of the allies' breathing was barely audible.

At some point, Do Daecheol’s encouraging voice fell silent. The team could sense it. There was something here. The chilling wind that had been biting at their backs suddenly stopped. In its place, the sinkhole became stiflingly hot. Sweat poured from the Hunters, soaking their clothes more than when they sweated during their descent.

‘How are we sweating this much?’

Do Daecheol knew something was off. Hunters wouldn’t sweat this much just because it felt hot.

“Bokrye! It’s close!”

The Hunters instinctively turned around.

In the empty darkness, two bright lights suddenly flared to life. A long vertical pupil, set in a glowing yellow eye, moved from side to side. It was the eye of a massive monster.

“!!”

In an instant, red light gathered beneath the creature’s eyes. Part of its body became visible in the glow: scales covering its skin, with light and heat leaking through the gaps in its skin.

“Hold on tight!”

Along with Do Daecheol’s scream, flames erupted from the creature’s mouth, shooting upward toward the surface. The destructive heat melted the sinkhole walls, causing the exit to widen significantly.

The deafening roar of flames echoed through the space, shaking the walls. Hunters clung desperately to the cliffside, screaming. Then, as the monster stretched, it struck a portion of the wall, causing it to collapse, and the Hunter who was there ended up falling.

After a long bout of fire-breathing, the monster finally closed his mouth. Do Daecheol looked up. The exterior light, which hadn't been visible just a moment ago, was now casting a faint glow inside. This meant that the hole had widened.

The walls radiated residual heat, molten rock dripping like liquid fire.

“Captain… Our guys up there…”

“Don’t say it. Just think about the mission.”

Despite his firm words, Do Daecheol’s heart was wavering.

How could it not?

‘A yong... Why is there a dragon here?’

The Jilin City Gate Boss was none other than a yong—or what the West would call a dragon. The only distinction was its oriental appearance, contrasting with the Western portrayal of dragons. Plus, its majesty was so terrifying that it was difficult to regard it as just a simple Gate boss.

Before they could recover from his confusion, the dragon began gathering heat to breathe fire once again.

Do Daecheol shouted, “Kim Bokrye! Hurry up!”

“I-I’m doing it!” 

Do Daecheol knew that she was already using her abilities, as blood streamed profusely from her nose. Instead of tears, blood flowed, and the blood vessels at the corners of her mouth had elongated.

‘Of course it won’t be easy. The opponent is a dragon.’

The very next moment, Kim Bokrye spewed blood in a violent spray. Her arms and legs drooped. Just as she was about to fall, Do Daecheol hurled himself and grabbed her. Holding her close, he pounded an awl into the wall.

But the wall, scorched and weakened by the dragon’s heat, gave way under the weight. Daecheol and Kim Bokrye plummeted, hitting the wall several times as they fell. Finally, Daecheol abandoned the failing awl and infused mana into his arm, punching deep into the rock to stop their descent. His shoulder throbbed in pain, but they avoided death from falling.

“Captain! Are you okay?!”

The frantic voice of the first platoon leader echoed from above. But Daecheol couldn’t respond. His eyes were fixed below, where he could see the dragon's massive form entirely.

On both sides of what appeared to be the chest area, there were four small hands attached. Although they were described as small, they were only small relative to the dragon's massive size, actually being as large as a small building.

Soon, Do Daecheol noticed an object in the dragon’s hand. It turned out to be an unusually shaped skull.

By looking at the skull, Do Daecheol could guess why the Gate Boss had come here.

“Dragon bones…” 

The Gate Boss had come here for the remains of the Nine-headed Dragons, left behind after the legendary battle at Guryong Ridge. 

Young dragons devoured the bones of their predecessors to inherit their strength. This was why dragons were always strong.

‘The Yellow Dragon Guild made a grave mistake. This thing has been feeding on the Nine-Headed Dragons' remains. This is out of our league.’

As Do Daecheol's body stiffened with despair, Kim Bokrye regained her senses.

“C-Captain…” 

“You’re up?” 

“R-Run...”

“What are you talking about?” 

“Fail…” 

“Are you saying the mission failed?” 

“Only… half…” 

“What do you...?”

The dragon moved and ascended along the sinkhole.

As the dragon thrashed about, the Hunters in Group 1 above fell one after another. The squad leader was completely crushed by the dragon's body, his bloodied form skimming past Do Daecheol's side before dropping down. Do Daecheol reached out his hand too late, but the fallen group leader couldn’t react and sank into the darkness.

“”Th-the dragon… flew... moved… but… it can't be controlled…” 

“Bokrye! Wake up! Say that clearly!”

“Ahh. There goes... the dragon. Hehe... It’ll burn everything to ashes.”

In her final instant, Kim Bokrye looked at the dragon's tail, vomited blood, and breathed her last. For the resonance ability user, she attempted to control a being beyond her strength, but the failed effort caused a backlash she couldn’t endure.

In the end, Do Daecheol, now alone, muttered words into the void.

“This wasn’t in the plan. I didn’t know it was a monster like that. What on earth have I… done?”

***

Kang Mu-hyuk stood in Cheongjin General Hospital, looking down at two Hunters lying unconscious in their beds. They were members of the Yellow Dragon Guild’s expeditionary force, rescued from Jilin City. 

Sung Seonjae, who brought them here, asked him, “Did Kamensky do this?” 

“It’s more likely the Tyrant.”

“The Tyrant?”

“Yes.”

They were alive because of Kang Mu-hyuk’s instructions to do so. He had instructed Ju Se-ah and Igor to refrain from going out of their way to chase and kill Hunters during the mission, except for Shimwol. He told them that keeping some alive would actually be better.

‘I was going to capture some of the Hunters who had made it out that way with the Unified Strike Force..’

As expected, Igor's nickname wasn't earned in vain. True to Tyrant's reputation, he nearly annihilated them without leaving a single witness. If that had happened, it would’ve taken the Yellow Dragon Guild a long time to realize that the Jirin City Gate operation had failed, causing setbacks to Kang Mu-hyuk's plan.

‘Thank God that at least two of them survived.’

It might just have been Igor’s whim to spare them, or perhaps he had been too focused on capturing Shimwol. Either way, it was a reasonable possibility considering Igor.

“But how did you know this was the work of the Tyrant?”

“We had an understanding. Because I made a deal with Darden, the Tyrant’s brother,” Kang explained, brushing off Sung Seonjae’s suspicions. He ordered this, but what he said wasn’t exactly false either.

This operation had been orchestrated by Kang Mu-hyuk, and Darden agreed to it. By using a satellite phone, even within the Demonic Realm, Kang Mu-hyuk had managed to temporarily command over the Tyrant’s actions.

With the communication network still active in the Demonic Realm, Darden had to agree, despite his dissatisfaction.

“So, why did you bring them here?” 

“These Hunters were abandoned by the Yellow Dragon Guild. And as you can see, they’re not Han Chinese.”

“An expeditionary force that isn’t Han Chinese… Ah, the Uyghur unit of the Yellow Dragon Guild.”

“Correct. Officially, they’re called Expedition Team 3. Unofficially, they’re known as the ‘Death Row Squad,’ a minority expedition team. The Yellow Dragon Guild practically threw them as prey against an S-rank. It was essentially a death sentence.”

Sung Seonjae realized what Kang Mu-hyuk was planning.

“Don’t tell me that for securing the witness or whatever, you’re gonna make them change sides?”

“The Great War. And even in the Minor War. China has taken countless Korean Hunters over the years during major incidents. There’s no law saying we can’t take some from them in return, is there now?”

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