ALL NOVEL Chapter 458
Chapter 459: The Earth Serpent’s Retreat
The Earth Serpent began to slowly back away. Anyone could tell that it was a bizarre behavior. Why would it retreat after such a hard-fought battle?
Noticing this oddity, Hwayo charged in at once. In a flash, Hwayo wrapped his whole body around the tail tip of the Earth Serpent.
Naturally, this was an incredibly foolish act. There was no way he could lift that giant creature. Everyone thought so.
Even a superhuman wouldn’t be able to lift something as massive as the Earth Serpent, which was more like a geological feature, disregarding the laws of physics and the durability of the human body.
‘…What’s that?’
Yeon-woo’s eyes sharpened as he watched the situation unfold, warning Yuri to be cautious.
He wasn’t the only one. Noel, who had also tried to stop Yuri, the friends resting in the back, and even Yuri all displayed the same reaction.
There were six Masters present in this place. In that brief moment, they all sensed what was happening.
It was hard to say that the tail had been lifted. At most, that massive tail tip had just floated slightly in the air.
But there was no one who could watch without being astonished.
What kind of being is the Earth Serpent? If it raises its head, it touches the clouds. If it lifts its tail, its tail reaches beyond the clouds.
Just a single scale, a piece of flesh, or even the bone that supports all of it must be unimaginably huge and heavy; one wouldn’t even need to weigh it to know that.
However, the shocking situation didn’t end there. The Earth Serpent’s body dangled precariously, even though only the tail tip had been lifted.
“…Martial Arts, huh.”
The Demon King doesn’t use martial arts. Most didn’t. The only exception might be the Heavenly Demon, who was human in origin.
But even that one relied more on magic itself than martial arts, so it wouldn’t be easy to say that it matched the level of a true martial artist.
It’s not that a lion doesn’t learn martial arts for a different reason. Why would such a powerful being bother to learn martial arts?
However, Hwayo was learning martial arts. It’s not that his depth was shallow either.
It was martial arts at the utmost extreme, a realm unreachable without investing a lifetime into martial arts.
‘…Did he have endless time to spare?’
No, he probably did. With a title like the world’s first human, who knows how many countless years it took for that Demon King to decide to ruin the world?
Supporting Yeon-woo’s guess, the Earth Serpent’s body swayed greatly to the side.
It almost appeared as if Hwayo had thrown the Earth Serpent aside. Perhaps that was the truth.
Hwayo followed the swaying Earth Serpent. The serpent, astonished at being lifted and pushed back, opened its mouth wide and lunged at Hwayo.
The poisonous fluids splashed, and its massive teeth sparkled, but Hwayo was unfazed.
He slid his body sideways and clenched his fist. A crimson aura flickered atop his fist before swinging down.
BAM!!
The sound was like a heavy hammer striking leather. The Earth Serpent’s massive head spun sideways.
Holding onto the head as it was pushed away, Hwayo grabbed its lower jaw with his foot and its upper jaw with his hands.
CRUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH….
It was a sound that could only be described as horrific. The flesh tore apart.
Even the Hunters who were still engaged in battle with the Order and the Order members who were resting turned to look.
At that moment, a man who was barely the size of an Earth Serpent’s tooth appeared larger than life.
The flesh connecting the upper and lower jaws of the Earth Serpent split open. As if that wasn’t enough, Hwayo began to descend lower.
It was a terrible sound, a ghastly sight. Once again, a fountain of blood began to rain down from the heavens.
The blood rain that started to fall seemed to represent the future of this world.
Yet, the Earth Serpent was not just watching passively. Its mouth, now torn to the neck, opened wide as if completely unbothered.
With that movement, Hwayo’s legs slipped from its lower jaw, and as the serpent swung its head around, unable to hold on, Hwayo let go in mid-air.
Hwayo’s body plummeted down with a splash into the blood-soaked crater.
Once dead, and then revived. In the massive crater created by the two monsters’ battle, the blood that poured down like a deluge had risen to his ankles.
[Is this enough to not die?]
Hwayo muttered absently. Despite being a very small voice, it resonated throughout the battlefield.
*
[Wow, I lost, I lost. I can’t do this.]
The Earth Serpent’s chuckling voice echoed in Yeon-woo’s mind.
The response was immediate. Sending a glance at Noel, Yuri was freed from her restraints. With her body lowered, Yuri gripped the handle of her sword and charged forward.
The speed was so fast and the technique so precise that only a few ripples disturbed the surface of the blood-soaked crater.
CLANG!!
A clear metallic sound resonated. Yeon-woo turned his eyes towards the retreating Earth Serpent. The massive creature that had been in that spot moments before had suddenly vanished.
‘…Was that not the real body?’
[It can be said to be the real body or not. After all, I am a God. Remember that I exist only as the embodiment of the Gorge?]
What that meant was that if they wanted to kill it, they would have to destroy the very landscape itself.
Yet that didn’t mean the Earth Serpent hadn’t fought earnestly. There was no doubt that the size it manifested was the largest it could attain.
[Well, it feels like I’ve done what I needed to do, so I’ll take my leave now. I’ll leave the rest to your efforts.]
‘Thank you. That was plenty of help.’
As Yeon-woo expressed his gratitude, the Earth Serpent snorted softly. To be honest, this battle was purely a loss for the Earth Serpent.
In the eyes of a god, maintaining a good image is also quite important. However, the Earth Serpent had expended that image too much through this incident.
A God must provide absolute belief to its followers. With the way the Earth Serpent had shown itself losing to Hwayo, it would be hard to provide that absolute belief even if a human follower appeared.
Well, since the Earth Serpent itself didn’t care much for human followers, it might not matter too much. It could be a win-win scenario. Although it had instilled a slight sense of fear among the Hunters.
As Yeon-woo felt the presence of the Earth Serpent slipping away, he turned his head.
In the midst of the crater, where the metallic sounds continued, he saw Yuri fiercely clashing swords.
“I’m completely amazed. To charge in without hesitation after seeing something like that.”
Even Yeon-woo had been momentarily startled by the sight, yet there was not a shred of hesitation in Yuri’s demeanor.
Not someone else’s master, but her own, that tenacity was almost terrifying.
“Shouldn’t you go help instead of just admiring?”
“That’s true.”
At Namgung Seong’s nonchalant remark, Yeon-woo nodded. Today, he felt a burst of positivity. Perhaps everyone was just saying the right things.
The group slid down the slope of the crater. The sticky bloodwater that rose to their ankles, with its slimy and pungent odor, tickled their noses.
It felt almost like they were being drawn down from a great height to the swamp below. The presence of murderous intent pooling in the crater disoriented the group.
“I feel like we’ve made some kind of mistake.”
“We’re already in a state that’s practically our own territory. This is troublesome.”
“To adopt someone else’s blood as their own territory despite it not even being theirs, I wonder if that’s alright.”
The friends expressed their thoughts one by one. They were right.
The amount of blood that could take a week to scoop out with a bucket mostly came from the Earth Serpent. And even now, they still held a faint trace of its energy; however, the one who exerted control over the space was Hwayo.
Just stepping into it felt like they were being drained of their energy. Their momentum dampened. What was once resolute will began to bend and weaken.
It felt as if the murderous intent embodied a force that pressured them.
For those at the Master level, it didn’t mean much; however, if an Expert were to step into that space, they might faint right away.
As Baek In-hwa frowned at the blood puddle for a moment, she soon brought her hand to touch the blood. The sticky blood slowly froze and began to transform into a red ice rink.
“Is this better?”
“Nice. This works.”
Yeon-woo and Kim Yoo-min gave a thumbs up to Baek In-hwa, who calmly asked if it was alright. They climbed onto the ice rink. Namgung Seong could just fly over it.
Baek In-hwa’s ability to establish her territory inside someone else’s area was incredibly powerful, no matter how you looked at it.
It was also a sign that she had a strong personal conviction. Not being swayed by the strengths of others is quite a rare talent.
With this, even Yuri, who had been briefly submerged in blood, would surely find it a bit easier to move. Yuri, who was locked in a back-and-forth battle with Hwayo, was approaching closer.
“I’m joining in, Master!”
Then, Noel darted out like lightning. A streak of brilliance crossed between them. The physical force collided with Hwayo from the side, and Yuri seized the moment.
SWISH!!
In an instant, dozens of strikes, dark lines ravaged Hwayo’s body. With a sound like a water balloon bursting, blood splattered around, seemingly sucked back into Hwayo’s body as if time had reversed.
At the same time, Hwayo’s arms stretched out. The massive right arm swung out, pushing Noel far away, while the left arm reached for Yuri.
The speed wasn’t unfathomable, but in a split second, the crimson aura wrapped around the space, causing his body to freeze.
It was a moment where it was uncertain whether Yuri’s defense would even reach in time. Yeon-woo dove right in. The wide blade of White connected with Hwayo’s fist.
BOOM!!
“Gah…!!”
The force was so powerful that it involuntarily elicited a groan of pain. Unlike the martial arts demonstrated against the Earth Serpent moments ago, this was an entirely different kind of force.
A force of dominance. Compared to Hyuk Mu-ryeon, it was an equal show of strength, and Yeon-woo’s body was violently pushed back.
[Finally made it, Hero.]
Yeon-woo’s gaze met Hwayo’s. Cold sweat streamed down Yeon-woo’s cheek.
Was encountering another person’s gaze supposed to feel this constricted? Such thoughts crept in at the overwhelming aura of menace.
[Come now, come kill me. If you fail to fulfill your duty, this world will perish.]
With a dry voice, Hwayo said that while spreading his arms wide. It was an attitude that dared me to do anything. Yeon-woo observed that scene and thought.
‘Oh? This is kind of enjoyable.’
(To be continued in the next episode)