ALL NOVEL Chapter 457
Chapter 458
What is the most powerful weapon the Earth Serpent can wield? Naturally, it’s its mouth.
Filled with sharp teeth, spewing venom, and no matter how much one can endure, there’s always gastric acid waiting inside.
However, even such a secret weapon must be used judiciously. Would it digest Hwayo just because it swallowed him?
Instead, it would merely expose its soft insides instead of its tough scales, rendering it practically useless as an attack method.
And if that happened, the Earth Serpent’s options for attack would be extremely limited. Having three means of attack, it would be quite troublesome not to use one of them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
The Earth Serpent’s tail slammed down, flattening the ground once more.
With each crash, Hwayo’s figure faded into the swirling sands.
Yet, it was clear that Hwayo was maintaining his fighting spirit.
The Earth Serpent was clearly targeting him, and every time it did, blood spurted from the wounds on its tail.
[Hah-hah.]
With each wound, the Earth Serpent couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
Pain was something it thought had nothing to do with itself, but every encounter with Hwayo made it feel that was a strong misconception.
Blood burst forth and flesh tore away. Yet the Earth Serpent spun its tail and rolled without a care.
Perhaps it was a bad choice to drag the fight out, but it didn’t give a damn.
Like rain, huge drops of blood, larger than people, fell in all directions. A vast crimson rain that could kill a person if hit.
In the blink of an eye, its completely mangled body returned to its original state.
All bones turned to dust, muscles liquefied under pressure, and no organ like the brain or heart remained intact.
But just like time had been reversed, Hwayo quickly took on a human form and reached out multiple times.
What seemed like harmless movements inflicted wounds on the Earth Serpent’s body in an instant. The aura from those hands moved like a weapon. Ripping, smashing, breaking.
Perhaps this encounter was especially significant for both the Earth Serpent and Hwayo.
An existence that doesn’t die and a nature deity that’s not easy to kill, no matter how much Hwayo tried.
The two monsters were wholly focused on each other. Blood rain fell from the red-tinted sky, and the ground slowly sank.
What else could one call this scene other than a catastrophic disaster? The onlookers simply didn’t know.
If those watching from a distance were shocked, how would Yuri, Noel, and Leviathan—those who had barely escaped—feel?
The scenery laid out there clearly made one realize that what was happening was a war deciding the fate of the world.
*
Not having the means to determine the outcome of the battle was quite painful. Whoever knew what those two were thinking, but it certainly meant trouble for the onlookers.
Kim Yoo-min sighed in amazement.
“Wow, what the heck is that….”
Hwayo and the Earth Serpent’s fight was visible even from afar. While the falling blood droplets obscured the view, it was still easy to see what kind of battle was unfolding.
It was like a scene where two monsters were fighting for the survival of humanity.
It seemed like whichever side won, humanity would face doom; however, the fact that the more monstrous-looking side was their ally brought a sort of strange comfort.
But judging if the Earth Serpent held the upper hand—well, that wasn’t the case. After all, he was known for causing tsunamis, making this fight a little hard to comprehend.
Well, if Hwayo weren’t immortal, it was true that the Earth Serpent would have won. Of course, in that case, Hwayo would have fought normally.
This was not a realistic premise, so even Yeon-woo had no further comments to make.
“So, can we really catch that thing?”
“Why? Seeing them fight is making you nervous?”
Namgung Seong asked, and Yeon-woo grinned.
She expected him to push back, but to her surprise, Namgung Seong was quite positive.
“Honestly? A bit. Seeing that kind of fight, how could I not be scared?”
“Hmm, that’s true.”
“Uh, to be honest, I feel a little anxious too.”
Well, that was only natural. No matter how much one believed they were prepared, there was no guarantee it would work.
But saying that to Yeon-woo felt problematic. The reason was simple.
“Do you really think it’ll work out for me?”
“Eh….”
“Do you think I jump into situations believing it’ll all go well? I’ve never thought like that before, you know?”
This was the truth. Even knowing future information didn’t guarantee solutions.
Except for a few instances, most of the information Yeon-woo possessed was resolved by someone else, not her. Hence, she often jumped in without knowing the details.
“Hmm….”
Kim Yoo-min wore a complicated expression. Only Baek In-hwa among her friends maintained a calm demeanor.
With so many incidents under her belt, she had somewhat become desensitized.
‘…or maybe not?’
Having spent a long time around people and becoming skilled at reading expressions, Yeon-woo could see a hint of unease in Baek In-hwa as well.
Well, she had never dealt with an immortal before, so that made sense.
“Don’t worry too much. We’ll figure something out.”
In truth, Yeon-woo wasn’t devoid of confidence. Just from watching that battle, it was clear that Hwayo tended to take hits unusually well before attacking.
She voiced this fact to her friends.
“…That is true.”
Kim Yoo-min nodded. It seemed she was asking, “But what does that mean?” However, that was significantly relevant.
“Even if it’s immortal, it doesn’t mean its pain receptors are paralyzed. Why is it fighting this way, which means considering the tendencies of the Violence Cult, alongside the former Great Warrior’s and Christopher’s characteristics, one could make a rough guess.”
“…Hmm…?”
Kim Yoo-min scratched her chin, looking puzzled. Among them, she had the closest ties to the Violence Cult after Yeon-woo, yet that didn’t mean she fully understood them.
“I heard they look for places to die.”
“Right. Despite being a Demon King, Hwayo tends to respect the opinions held by the Violence Cult.”
Looking at what had been shown during the Graveyard War gave a rough idea.
Though they could rampage on the battlefield, Hwayo had stepped back within the limits of letting his followers shine. So they could fight.
In other words, one could expect Hwayo wasn’t unusually aggressive. There was a flood of killing intent, yet it didn’t manifest in active behavior.
One could argue it’s a style that claims self-defense by taking a hit first before retaliating.
“So it means we can start by hitting once.”
“Hmm… I doubt it’ll be that simple….”
To be honest, Yeon-woo had that opinion too. However, from what she had seen so far, the pattern had been clearly to take a hit before countering.
“And there are reinforcements too.”
Naturally, Lucrecia was sharpening her blades, waiting for this very moment. Even if she didn’t use swords. So, she was quite busy preparing.
In the distance, two figures watched the fight between Hwayo and the Earth Serpent. Yeon-woo and the others rushed over to them.
*
Yuri and Noel were watching the fight. Particularly, Yuri couldn’t take his eyes off Hwayo’s movements.
Even usually, she often drew much from movements born from other worlds, but this time it was more about how he wielded killing intent that was most impressive.
Logically, it was impossible to control killing intent. It was based on the hostility one felt toward their opponent.
However, once one reached a certain realm, even that hostility could be adjusted, making it possible to wield killing intent.
It was a level that the names of the stars, including Yuri, could also reach. Yet, Hwayo’s was somehow different.
They adjusted the density of their killing intent, but Hwayo’s was always towering, as if it were trying to pierce the heavens.
Thus, one could say he wielded not killing intent but killing energy itself. Just like how they manipulated Aura, he manipulated killing energy.
“…Interesting.”
“Ugh, ahh! Master’s eyes are going wild…!!”
Noel, watching Yuri, shrieked. It was a bad habit of her master.
Whenever something interesting appeared, she couldn’t help but charge in. Though that penchant had led her to earn the title of the Best Sword, it wasn’t appropriate to come out in such a situation.
As if about to leap out at any moment, Noel tugged Yuri back, and they sensed a presence approaching from behind. Noel’s expression brightened as she glanced back.
“Y-Yeon-woo!! Hurry and stop Master!!”
“…What’s going on?”
Not understanding the situation, but seeing Noel was frantic, Yeon-woo stepped in to stop Yuri just like Noel did.
Whoa, look at that strength. Never thought I’d be in a contest of strength with Yuri.
“Master’s eyes are wild. I’ve never had to stop her when she gets like this….”
Ah, Yeon-woo nodded knowingly. It must have been triggered by her insatiable curiosity.
If they got caught in the chaos of Hwayo and the Earth Serpent’s battle, they wouldn’t stand a chance, so it was best to keep her restrained.
Well then, the method was simple. Hwayo was a lesser threat than the Earth Serpent’s area attacks, so they just needed to distract the Earth Serpent.
‘Earth Serpent, I’m here.’
[…Ah, you’re already here. Good. It was fun enough, but I suppose it’s time to pull back.]
The Earth Serpent’s voice had a hint of excitement, but it was gradually calming down.
Was it unexpectedly fond of fighting? Or was it just enjoying the chance to exert itself after such a long time?
‘We can’t have the Earth Serpent getting too enthusiastic….’
The Earth Serpent was someone they’d interact with often, so what was it doing, getting riled up over Hwayo?
It was a thought that crossed her mind, but there was no point in worrying now that it was already awake. If things went south, it’d be best for Harmony City to pack up and move.
After reaching such a mutual agreement, Yeon-woo said to Noel,
“I’ll give you the signal, and then you can let her go.”
“Y-yeah…?”
Noel nodded, looking as if she didn’t quite understand what was happening.
Codename: Yuri Missile. It had the distinct advantage of excellent tracking capabilities.
(To be continued in the next episode…)