Chapter 116

Foreseeing the battle to come, Yuwon stood in place, waiting for it to unfold.

“Go back now. You’ll get hurt if you stay here.”

Keeping his distance, Yuwon forced all the serpents of the Great Jungle that had followed him to return.

Those serpents would have even fought the River Serpent itself if Yuwon commanded it, yet he did not wish for that.

The serpents, ordered to return, turned back reluctantly, looking over their shoulders again and again at Yuwon as if regretful they could not fight beside him.

Seeing that, Yuwon gave them a small grin and waved his hand.

“Don’t worry about me. Go quickly—stay longer and you’ll get caught in this.”

About a minute passed.

Under ordinary circumstances, such a span would have been brief—but on a battlefield, a single minute held a different weight. As if to prove its worth, two monstrous beings radiating dreadful presence were drawing closer to Yuwon step by step.

He stood upright where he was, waiting for them to arrive. Truthfully, Yuwon had never intended to avoid this battle.

‘…To be this excited before a fight. Perhaps the Heavenly Slaughter Star and the Evil God were not mere fables after all.’

He simply stood there, waiting for the enemies aiming for him to show themselves.

Every fiber of his being came alive as if breathing, readying itself for combat.

His heated heart pumped blood fiercely through his veins, while his cooled head calmly anticipated how the fight would unfold.

A fierce will to struggle, the heat of battle, and that faint tension mingled together—everything about it thrilled Yuwon.

“One’s a serpent… and the other’s an orc, huh.”

The two presences that had been mere distant auras grew clear enough for him to discern their nature.

“…The serpent carries a familiar scent.”

Reptiles usually had little scent compared to other beasts.

This one was different. It reeked of all kinds of monsters it had devoured.

‘…You really have eaten quite a lot.’

He had smelled it before—when he first arrived in the South and dealt with that giant beast. It was that very same stench.

Looking down at the twin daggers hanging from his waist, Yuwon smirked.

“The orc, I can understand. But as for the serpent chasing me so desperately—it seems there’s a reason after all.”

He could not be sure whether monsters had such a concept, but to this one, Yuwon was not only the murderer of its kin, but also a shameless thief who had crafted weapons from their remains.

“In that case… there’ll be no getting through this the easy way.”

His murmuring stopped there. Of the two, the first to arrive was the River Serpent. It finally revealed itself before him.

“…So, you’ve come.”

Instead of fleeing, Yuwon stood arrogantly in place. Perhaps disliking that composure, the serpent flicked its long tongue, tasting the air.

“Tsut, tszsz―”

Yuwon’s reflection gleamed in the serpent’s vertically slit pupils; likewise, the serpent’s image burned within Yuwon’s blue eyes.

The meeting of two predators, each viewing the other as prey.

In a low voice, Yuwon greeted his guest.

“You’re late.”

There was no fear in his tone or his gaze. No predator trembles before its prey.

“Over there…!”

“…Someone’s coming.”

“Damn it… what now?”

Around the same time Yuwon waited for battle, Bernid, Terrien, and Hastings—who had been fleeing—were suddenly faced with uninvited guests.

“…Who are you?”

There were about a dozen of them.

All cloaked in common robes, their silhouettes seemed human enough from their builds.

But the question was whether any being living unharmed in the heart of the Great Jungle could truly be called human.

Bernid, who had been riding awkwardly on Terrien’s back, climbed down and faced the strangers.

“No answer, huh? Guess you don’t speak our tongue—but that doesn’t matter. Move. This isn’t the time for us to show mercy. Keep blocking the path, and I’ll kill my way through.”

To prove his words weren’t idle, Bernid drew upon his mana, sheathing both hands in blue lightning.

Crackle—! Crackle—!

“Even if you don’t understand words, you can see this, can’t you?”

Confidently, Bernid confronted the strangers.

Behind him, Terrien and Hastings placed their hands on their sword hilts, ready to draw at a moment’s notice.

But to Rok Kahaad, who stood blocking Bernid’s way, the Third Prince’s display looked pitiful.

Stepping forward, Kahaad removed the hood drawn deep over his head and replied.

“Cute—no, pitiful. Trying to face me with such dead magic.”

“…You speak Imperial?”

At Kahaad’s fluent use of the Imperial tongue, Bernid’s eyes widened in surprise. The man continued,

“That’s basic. Did you think living in a jungle means we can’t manage that much?”

“Then you understood what I said earlier. Move. That’s your final warning.”

Bernid thought things might go more smoothly if they could communicate—but it didn’t.

“Sorry, but I can’t. I’ve got business. That guy playing hero alone over there—what’s your relationship with him?”

At Kahaad’s insolent tone, Bernid and his group frowned. Hastings, silent until now, cut in sharply.

“I see no reason to answer that.”

Kahaad, meeting Hastings’s piercing gaze, grinned brightly.

“It’d be better to talk while I’m still being polite.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then I guess… there’s no choice but to use rougher methods. I’ve got business with that man, and judging by the looks of it, it’ll be easier to deal with things on this side first….”

Rok Kahaad was no fool. No—he was closer to a cunning serpent or a sly fox.

Now that the new predator whose name he didn’t yet know—Yuwon—had caught his interest, Kahaad was the type who would stop at nothing to obtain what he wanted.

“Bring him carefully. He mustn’t be harmed.”

Yuwon and the River Serpent.

Between the two—no, between two ferocious predators—there was no need for words.

The pair immediately clashed, blades, claws, fangs, and daggers flashing as the hunt began.

Clang―!

The dagger that had lain silent within its sheath was drawn in a single sharp motion, ringing with a clear metallic note.

“Kiyaaahk―!”

Sensing the familiar aura that flowed from the blade, the River Serpent’s eyes rolled back, and it lunged forward, jaws wide open toward Yuwon.

Kugugugugu―!

A maw large enough to swallow a man whole tore across the ground toward him. Of course, Yuwon wasn’t foolish enough to simply stand and wait.

“Not so fast!”

Whoosh―!

Small and swift, Yuwon moved like the wind, slipping back just as the serpent’s foul-smelling jaws closed in.

Snap―!

When its gaping maw slammed shut, the serpent bit down on nothing but dirt instead of its intended prey.

After evasion came the chance to counterattack.

Having retreated only as far as necessary, Yuwon did not miss the opening and drove his blade into the exposed head of the serpent.

“You bastard!”

Clang, clang, clang!

Things didn’t go as smoothly as he’d hoped.

The dagger, pulsing with his internal energy, struck the serpent’s scales—harder than steel—and sparks flew with a harsh, grating noise.

“Ha, I figured as much.”

Unsurprised, Yuwon stepped back again, smiling as if he had expected this result. Then he gathered his strength, channeling his inner energy into the blade.

The elixir that had nearly killed him back in the Grave of Swords now proved its worth, greatly enhancing his inner energy.

Yuwon’s energy was now nearly half again what it had been before taking the elixir. Without hesitation, he released that overflowing power to bolster his attack.

“In that case…!”

Darkness descended upon the twin daggers in his hands.

Concentration of power—energy that had once scattered like wild flames now compressed into a small, razor-sharp point.

An unfathomable abyss consumed the blades, staining them pitch-black.

‘Didn’t think it’d work… but it does.’

He had never tried it before, but instinctively, Yuwon knew—it was now within his reach.

This was proof of his growth. He wasn’t content to merely retrace the path of his previous life; he stepped beyond, into an unknown realm he had never before attained.

The abyss that had devoured the blade’s edge turned toward the enemy, and Yuwon struck again.

“Try taking this one.”

Swish―!

The twin daggers crossed, tracing an X in the air.

Flash―!

A jet-black gleam sliced cleanly through space, as though measured with a ruler.

The flash vanished, leaving a deep gash along the serpent’s tail.

‘Got it!’

Having landed a blow, Yuwon retreated swiftly, a thrill running through him at the sensation transmitted to his fingertips—it was unmistakably the feeling of cutting through flesh.

“Kieeeek―!”

The River Serpent roared in fury at the unexpected strike.

Beneath its hard, black scales, red blood beaded along the tender skin that had been exposed.

It wasn’t a mortal wound—but its pride was undeniably damaged.

Even Muquiam, the mighty Orc Chieftain himself, had once given up trying to pierce the River Serpent’s scales and instead attempted to strangle it to death.

Though the wound was shallow, the serpent’s enraged roar was anything but. Every creature in the Great Jungle turned its eyes and ears toward that sound.

‘The River Serpent has been wounded!’

‘The new predator actually cut through its scales!’

‘As expected, that new one is no ordinary being!’

From intelligent beasts to those driven solely by instinct, all focused on the serpent’s roar.

Just as Yuwon confirmed his attack had worked and prepared to strike again—

“Kwaaaargh―!”

The Orc Chieftain arrived!

A moment late, Muquiam thundered onto the battlefield with a roar that made the heavens of the Great Jungle tremble.

Perhaps thinking his prey had been stolen by the serpent, his voice was filled with fury.

It was impossible not to look. Seeing the enormous figure of Muquiam, adorned with the bones and hides of his enemies, Yuwon muttered in exasperation,

“Damn it, one mountain after another.”

His words and expression, however, didn’t match.

A deep smile curled across his lips.

A deadly battle, one where death could come at any second—such moments made Yuwon smile.

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