Chapter 33
Just before the purple flames could swallow everything,
Cheon Mujin’s hand—having barely reached under the monster’s jaw—shot upward, smashing its chin.
As the crow-like face jerked back, feather-like hairs scattered in the air.
Unfortunately, his strike had come a bit too late; he couldn’t lift the angle completely, and the tops of the large tents in the encampment brushed against the flames.
Crackle!
They didn’t burn—they decayed.
Wood and fabric withered away, disintegrating with strange smoke and sounds. Mujin swallowed a bitter chuckle.
This wasn’t even a master of Hwagyeong-level poison arts.
So this is what “Dragon-class” really means… even stronger than I thought.
He had believed he’d adjusted his expectations well to fit this era, letting go of the standards from his previous life—but apparently, he was wrong.
The moment the beast strained its neck muscles to force its chin back down—
“Tch.”
Unable to hold on, Mujin dropped to the ground.
The creature’s body was more than twice his size.
In pure strength, he was no match.
He would have to fight with something other than brute force.
Smack!
He raised his left arm and leg to block the side, letting his body ride the impact and dispersing the shock as he twisted lightly away.
“Brutal.”
A numbing pain surged through him.
Even though he had poured in the stored demonic energy from the monsters within his body without reservation, he hadn’t been able to fully absorb the blow.
If he was already pushing his body to its limits just to handle demonic energy and this was the result, it was proof that his current vessel wasn’t ready to fight such a monster.
Still—
“Now that I’ve finished sizing you up… let’s start for real.”
That didn’t mean he couldn’t fight it—at least, not for Mujin.
Without hesitation, he charged.
The monster slashed at him with the claws on its hands and feet—a simple motion, but far from something to underestimate.
Considering the poisonous breath it had exhaled earlier, it wouldn’t be surprising if its claws and talons were laced with venom too.
So, how should Mujin deal with it?
It was simple.
Dodge everything.
Its speed made that no easy task, but it wasn’t impossible—especially since its left foot was still pinned in place by a spear, keeping it rooted.
So you really are lacking battle experience.
The right answer for the beast right now was to rip out its own trapped foot and regain mobility.
The fact that it wasn’t doing so because of the pain only confirmed to Mujin that it wasn’t a fully realized Dragon-class monster.
This single fact greatly broadened the range of strategies he could use.
If the enemy was clumsy—
“Hup!”
—then the best move was to do something it wouldn’t expect.
Mujin’s hand met the monster’s.
It was his first direct clash after having only dodged until now.
It’s going to hit, the monster seemed to think, its eyes lighting with victory.
And then—
Huh?
His hand slid away like water, driving into the ground, and in the next instant, Mujin’s knee slammed into its chin.
With a dull crack of bone, its head whipped upward, its beak full of terrifying fangs opening wide.
A roar of fury tore from its throat as it snapped its head sideways to bite him.
“This’ll do nicely.”
Mujin flowed up along its neck, arriving on its back in a smooth, almost liquid motion.
The beast’s eyes flickered with confusion at his unpredictable movement.
“What, you think you can figure me out just by thinking? That’d make you a demon, not a monster.”
He looped his arm around its neck and squeezed.
And instantly realized—
This isn’t going to work.
It had no effect.
The difference in physical mass was too great; his chokehold couldn’t do any real damage.
Groooar!
Maybe it sensed the weakness in the arms gripping its neck.
A confident rumble rolled from its throat.
“Oh, you think so?”
Smirking, Mujin drew up his demonic energy without letting go.
If physical destruction wasn’t possible, he’d just destroy it through other means.
His will-driven energy seeped into the beast’s body—a feat that would normally have been blocked by the torrent of the creature’s own demonic power.
Grr?
But Mujin’s mastery over demonic energy was absolute; he made the impossible possible.
Slowly but surely, he sent his power deeper, mapping out its insides.
Groooooar!
The monster began thrashing.
Even for a monster, it was natural to sense danger.
Damn, it’s strong.
Even with one foot still pinned, the force of its upper-body thrashing was no joke.
Eventually, Mujin had to release and land lightly on the ground.
Groooar!
“No matter how much you cry, nothing’s going to change.”
He hadn’t gotten a perfect read before letting go, but he hadn’t expected perfection anyway.
There were two main types of vital points:
The pathways where crucial energy flowed, and the key nodes where that energy gathered.
Hitting the first required prolonged observation, but the second could be found much more quickly.
Dodging a swipe of claws, Mujin slipped into range and stabbed with spear-like fingers—
not a grand strike, just a quick jab to the beast’s side.
Because it was light, he could pull back in time to dodge the next attack.
Dodge, stab.
Sometimes the same spot repeatedly, sometimes switching to different points.
The monster’s attacks grew faster and more complex.
Mujin’s breathing grew heavier.
Only one thing stayed the same—
Groooar!
He still hadn’t taken a single hit.
The monster roared in frustration, and Mujin gave a wry grin.
Even half-baked, Dragon-class is still Dragon-class.
He’d struck probable vital points dozens of times, yet the thing was still fine.
Even an artificially elevated Dragon-class monster was still formidable.
However—
Looks like it’s about ready.
He’d never expected to kill it with probing strikes alone.
It lashed at his head with venomous claws, and Mujin clenched his fist.
Light pokes wouldn’t do anymore.
He needed one solid blow to trigger all the energy he’d been planting.
Even if it meant overextending.
He ducked low, exaggerating the movement to avoid the attack.
Anyone watching would have wondered why he moved so much.
When he rose, his right foot had already slid forward.
Drawing his upper body back to hide the reduced distance, he evaded another swing—
—and drove in his prepared strike.
The instant his left hand hit its chin, Mujin released his energy.
Not the muddied power absorbed from monsters, but pure, refined energy he’d taken time to cultivate, spearing into the beast’s head.
It tunneled through the creature’s murky aura, triggering a chain reaction throughout its body—
—but before it could go off, its knee smashed into him.
He hadn’t expected that.
The pinned leg had moved, yanking the spear from the ground along with it.
Gahk!
Coughing blood, Mujin’s body went flying.
Groooar!
The beast’s triumphant cry made his face twist.
Its mocking tone told him everything—
So you weren’t unable to pull it out from the pain… you were saving it for a decisive blow.
Whether planned from the start or improvised mid-fight, he’d been played.
He’d managed to avoid every strike so far only by perfectly predicting its moves.
That one failure was fatal.
He used his inner energy to shield himself at the last second, but—
Three ribs… no, four broken. Bad internal damage too.
He was in no shape for a normal fight.
“…Tough bastard.”
It wasn’t that his attacks hadn’t worked—the beast was wounded inside, its body twisted from the damage.
But it still stalked toward him.
Its mobility… hindered, but not enough to stop it.
If he tried to retreat, it would catch up.
And it probably wouldn’t follow him far.
“Haaah.”
Forcing himself up, Mujin raised his arms.
He didn’t know if it had grown stronger or just been hiding its true level, but he couldn’t stay down after one hit.
And he wasn’t the only one who thought so.
“You son of a—!”
The head of the Mupung Unit burst out, his punch meeting the monster’s hand.
Claws slashed his face, blood blurring his vision, but he didn’t groan—he swung again, buying Mujin time to recover.
Smack!
His fist landed square on the monster’s jaw—
—and for a split second, he looked startled.
“That’s not very fair, picking favorites.”
Mujin appeared, blocking the beast’s counterattack.
The killing intent in its eyes now was nothing like the clumsy presence from before—it was pure, suffocating Dragon-class malice.
This is going to be tricky.
He forced down his ragged breathing and clenched his fist.
Its gaze said it wouldn’t fall for the same tricks twice.
It drew its arms in, glaring, fully guarded.
Wariness.
It was on alert against him.
That meant one thing—his earlier blow had landed well enough to make it wary.
If it worked once—
—I just have to land it again.
Even if it meant pushing himself.
Just as he steeled himself—
Yip!
A cry rang out from behind him, making him freeze mid-step.
A refreshing energy wrapped around his body.
Oh?
He didn’t need to turn to know who it belonged to—he smiled.
Alright, if you want to pull your weight, I’ll let you.
I’ll have a nice meal ready when we’re done.
Accepting Cheonghwa’s power as it flowed into him, Mujin shifted sideways.
Claws sliced through empty air.
If the beast had realized its attack failed, it should have tightened its guard.
But—
Perfect.
Its defense slackened instead, as if thinking Mujin had been driven back, torn apart by its claws.
An illusion, crafted by Cheonghwa.
Nowhere near the absolute darkness her mother could create, but enough to fool an enemy briefly.
Swish!
Mujin slid in at its flank and drove his fist home.
By the time the monster realized, it was too late.
Crack!
“I’m the type to pay back what I’m owed.”
With a chilling snap of broken ribs, a black light rippled from the monster’s body.
At last, the fuse of demonic energy Mujin had planted ignited.
