Chapter 37. Hunting the Peacock Dragon.

Srrrrrrr!

A green monster softly landed from the sky.

Measuring about 11m from head to toe, this was a unique monster species, displaying features of a dragon and a peacock.

It was beautiful.

Like all peacocks, the Peacock Dragon’s figure was elaborate and had unmatched beauty. It was appropriate that it ranked at the top among the dragon species with respect to aesthetics.

A Male.

Kang Chul-In determined the gender of the Peacock Dragon after observing a half-moon shaped feather around its waist (In fact, such a feather is also on a normal peacock’s waist). The females of the Peacock Dragons did not have the uniquely shaped feather that was present on the male Peacock Dragons.

A female would have been easier.

Kang Chul-In smacked his lips.

The fighting power difference between the male and female was like the heavens and the earth.

If the fighting power of the male was more or less like 4-5 fully grown Ogres, then that of the female was far below that.

No, perhaps, it is a good thing.

However, as the heart of a male dragon was more precious, Kang Chul-In replaced his disappointment with the anticipation towards rewards.

– Podolski, you are first.

Kang Chul-In sent a hand signal to Podolski.

– Just leave it to me, my lord.

Podolski nodded.

The best, first step in battling a Peacock Dragon or any other winged monsters was to take away its mobility. It required breaking its wings or shackling up its ankles. That was the reason for Podolski, the master of shackles, to make the first move.

– Wait, wait.

Kang Chul-In waited for the most opportune time without taking his eyes off the Peacock Dragon. Hunting demanded patience.

After about 30 minutes….

The Peacock Dragon finally came to a rest in the middle of the basin after moving around the area for a while. Then, twisting its body, it buried its beak into its left wing.

It’s sleeping. This is the chance.

It was the best opportunity for Kang Chul-In and the adventurers as the Peacock Dragon prepared to sleep.

– I will lure its attention from the front.

Kang Chul-In sent a hand signal.

– Within that time, tie it up. Failure will not be tolerated.

Podolski’s eyes suddenly looked piercing as it was the first strict order that he had received since he had come to the Laputa territory.

Failure not being tolerated meant that strict accountability would follow. For Podolski, he had to ensure that his duty was carried out with all his might.

– Lucia, let’s synchronize.

– Anytime, I’m always waiting, my lord.

After giving strict commands to Podolski, Kang Chul-In turned to Lucia and requested the same performance that she had shown during the battle with the Ogre.

– On three, we shall attack.

After the final hand signal to the adventurers, Kang Chul-In tightened up his entire body’s muscles.

Inhaling, exhaling. Inhaling, exhaling.

Kang Chul-In observed the sleeping Peacock Dragon as he waited for the right timing.

This was the utilization of the feature that Dorian had discovered in the past where the time that it took a Peacock Dragon from inhaling to exhaling takes a long time. It also becomes quite sensitive while inhaling.

However, during exhalation, the Peacock Dragon becomes completely defenseless, and this could afford them about 10 seconds.

If the attack was made right at that moment, it was possible to gain the advantage when engaging in battle.

Inhaling, exhaling. Inhaling, exhaling… Inhaling… Now!

Finally, Kang Chul-In stood up after finding the right time to attack. After him, Lucia and the adventurers with Blood swords followed.

GO!!

The front line of the Slayers led by Kang Chul-In began rushing towards the Peacock Dragon.

Lucia, throw me!

Kang Chul-In stretched his hand towards Lucia.

Tuck!

As soon as their hands met, Lucia turned her body, using her right leg as the axis and threw Kang Chul-In with all her might. It was an incredible power similar to a war catapult.

Taat!

Springing forward in an instant, Kang Chul-In reached the sleeping Peacock Dragon in the blink of an eye.

Flash!

Having transitioned from exhaling to inhaling, the Peacock Dragon sensed someone and opened wide its unique emerald eyes and leered at Kang Chul-In. Then, spreading its wings, it prepared to punish the human that dared to attack it.

However, as Kang Chul-In had come as close to the tip of its nose, there was no way that it could dodge his blow.

Hrrrrr…!

Kang Chul-In’s Blood sword was coated with an intense Mana Fire, and it flared up as it struck the Peacock Dragon.

Chi-ching-!

The beak of the Peacock Dragon and the Blood sword met, causing a clashing sound as if metal had met metal.

Its head was knocked back, and the Peacock Dragon stumbled. It illustrated the destructive power that Kang Chul-In’s attack carried.

This was the chance.

Kang Chul-In’s strike partially stunned the Peacock Dragon’s brain and prevented it from taking flight, even buying time for the adventurers to approach.

“Let’s go!”

“Die!”

The leading adventurers attacked like a colony of bees as they swung the Blood swords at the Peacock Dragon.

Snap, snap!

The adventurers with Parvis shields and the adventurers with Blackthorn spears assembled, following right behind.

“Podolski, hurry!”

Kang Chul-In did not look towards the adventurers. He kept his eyes only on Podolski, who was holding the iron shackles, Billy, and the 2 other adventurers. The most important issue was to succeed in tying up the Peacock Dragon to the ground.

Chuk, Chuk!

Aiming at the left leg of the Peacock Dragon, Podolski launched the iron chain.

Click, click, snap!

The iron chain has successfully wrapped around the left leg of the Peacock Dragon.

Done!

Upon seeing what Podolski had done, Kang Chul-In thought that bringing him was an amazing decision. As a master of shackles, he was certainly a useful talent.

“Everyone, attack!”

Kang Chul-In suddenly shouted and led the adventurers.

Having been suddenly ambushed and having its left leg tied up tightly, the Peacock Dragon did not even have a chance to fly and was getting indiscriminately pummeled by more than 40 or so humans. All the while, Podolski tied the iron shackles around a number of Cyprus trees in order to strengthen the hold.

However… even with the successful ambushing and shackling, the Peacock Dragon was not an easy opponent.

Kooooo!!!

The dragon blood wasn’t flowing inside the Peacock Dragon for nothing as its large body mass alone was sufficient to overcome Team Slayers’ attack.

On top of that, as if the shackled left leg was maddening, it crazily shook its body.

As a result of that shaking, the first casualty occurred.

Puck!

An adventurer’s neck snapped after receiving a direct headshot by the wildly flailing tail. He then fell and rolled across the ground. Anyone could tell that it was an instant death by the broken neck.

“……!”

With the first casualty, some adventurers showed shock in their eyes. They did not imagine someone would meet instant death right in front of them. That was the discrepancy between having confidence and reality.

“Focus!”

Helping them overcome that discrepancy was Kang Chul-In’s role.

“All will die if you retreat! Killing it is the only way to live!”

It only takes a matter of seconds for a team to disintegrate after a colleague’s death. Well aware of this, Kang Chul-In saw a need to severely push the adventurers so that they did not break.

Nonetheless, there was nothing that Kang Chul-In could do as the number of casualties rose one by one. As his level was also low at the moment, it was impossible for him to save every adventurer.

With a sheeek sound, an adventurer with a Blood sword fell as he was sliced in half from top to bottom. Another adventurer was killed when his upper body was pierced by the Peacock Dragon’s beak.

The movements of the crazed Peacock Dragon produced immense power.

This is the limit. Losing more will mean no future.

When the number of casualties rose to seven, Kang Chul-In felt a crisis. If the casualty count kept rising like this, there was a very high chance that the adventurers would collapse. Something had to be done before reaching that point.

“Lucia, let’s go!”

“Yes, my lord!”

Ultimately, leaving the large formation that he had formed with the adventurers, Kang Chul-In joined Lucia, rushing towards the Peacock Dragon for a full-frontal assault.

It was a highly risky maneuver, but someone had to carry the torch. As it was also a living thing, the Peacock Dragon would eventually become exhausted. Hence, the real key to victory was who lands the fatal blow.

The duo of Kang Chul-In and Lucia faced the Peacock Dragon. As a result, the Peacock Dragon’s attention was focused on the two, providing the adventurers with some breathing room. As defending against the Peacock Dragon’s attacks fell almost entirely on Kang Chul-In and Lucia, they felt like it would be the death of them.

Kang Chul-In was nearly burned out, but he did his best to sustain himself. As long as he was able to sustain himself, the adventurers’ attacks would become more active.

Damn it!

While he was holding himself up, his inside was filling up with the inferno of wrath.

He felt suffocated.

Since he was engaged in a battle with an opponent that his old self would have been able to cut into two pieces with effortless wielding of his great sword, Fragarach, he realized how powerless he was at the moment.

Be patient. Being impatient is a poison. I will become strong after this hunt. What I need right now is patience, not wrath.

He grew angry but did not lose control. He focused on battling the Peacock Dragon, suppressing the sense of suffocation. He knew that by overcoming the current situation, he would obtain a dragon heart that would become the foundation for regaining his old power.

And then, patience finally opened up a chance.

The Peacock Dragon, having shed so much blood after being stabbed countless times with the Blackthorn spears, had become very weak, and the tail that was swinging around wildly was neutralized by the Parvis shields. Along with that, with the advanced coordinated attacks by the adventurers, Kang Chul-In and Lucia caused the hard exterior leathery scales to begin to show cracks as it became brittle.

“Abdomen, lower abdomen!” Kang Chul-In shouted. He couldn’t lose this great chance.

“Let’s go!”

“Stab-!!!”

“Die, you bastard!!!”

Filled with rage, the adventurers wildly stabbed the lower abdomen of the Peacock Dragon as they shouted. Designed just for the purpose of stabbing, the sharpness of the 24 Blackthorn spears was beyond imagination.

PUK,

PUUK,

PUK PUK!!

Blood began to pour out of the lower abdomen of the Peacock Dragon. Some areas showed scarlet skin through torn leathery scale.

It was then.

Feeling that its life was threatened, the Peacock Dragon roared and unleashed its secret weapon.

Whirrrrl!

The feathers on the back of the Peacock Dragon opened wide and formed into a fan shape. The Peacock Dragon had initiated its “Illusion feathers”, its most dangerous and lethal weapon.

The Peacock Dragon’s fan-shaped feather, the Illusion feathers, was a technique that causes one to suffer intense hallucination upon looking at them. Once one falls into it, one enters a near-unconscious state for about 5 minutes, during which time the Peacock Dragon could devour them as they fell victim to the technique’s crowd control mechanism.

Srrrr…. Srrr. Srrrr.

The Peacock Dragon’s feather swayed as if to be dancing as it cast its illusionary spell. Without a counter, everyone was in danger of falling into the hallucination spell.

Krrrrr?

The Peacock Dragon tilted its head.

Something was strange.

None of the adventurers that were in the Peacock Dragon’s spell showed any signs of swaying at all.

The Illusion feathers gave the dragon a sense of complacency. What was happening now must have looked impossible to the Peacock Dragon.

“Hugh.”

Kang Chul-In let out a long exhale as he raised his mana level.

He gave a terrifying smile. It was as if he was saying that he knew it all along, that it was a futile effort. Having drunk a focus potion in advance, he and the adventurers were free from the effects of the Illusion feathers.

Thuup!

Raising the Blood sword, Kang Chul-In became one with the flash of silver as he stormed towards the Peacock Dragon.

Shooook!

The Blood sword penetrated the Peacock Dragon in between the cracks of its leathery skin. The target was the lower abdomen, a single penetration moving from bottom to top.

Krrrrr!!!

The Peacock Dragon tried to shake, letting out a cry filled with pain.

This is the end.

However, Kang Chul-In had no interest in letting the Peacock Dragon go.

Scheek, scheeeek!

The Blood sword produced sparks.

Mana Fire.

Kang Chul-In devised a way to neutralize his opponent even with low sorcery power as he gathered up all his mana. It was an explosion, a great explosion that he visualized.

Intraburst.

Kang Chul-In’s mana transformed into an explosive that flowed down the Blood sword into the Peacock Dragon’s body.

The target was the head of the Peacock Dragon.

It took less than 1 second for Kang Chul-In’s mana to travel from the lower abdomen through the neck into the brain.

Kwang!

The sound of explosion.

Whirrrl!

…The skull of the Peacock Dragon and its contents broke into a million pieces and fell to the ground.

[Level has been raised! Level 26 reached!] [Level has been raised! Level 27 reached!]

2 levels had been raised instantly and…

[Secret Quest: ‘Ambush of the Peacock Dragon’ Cleared!] [Award for completing the Quest: Experience +1200/Gold +300/Buff: Dragon Species Prohibited/”One who bends air” title attained!] [Buff: With the effect of initiating dragon species prohibition, the monarch’s region will be free of any presence of dragon species for 6 months!] [Level has been raised! Level 28 reached!]

An additional level had been raised.

And that was how the Peacock Dragon hunt ended.

However.

As it appeared to have reached the finale, an uninvited guest appeared and threw a bucket of cold water over Team Slayers, who were about to pop firecrackers in order to celebrate.

“Lord, milord!”

Lucia ran towards Kang Chul-In crazily.

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