“Why did you stop me? If you had just attacked properly from above, we could have shown the dignity of a great being!”
Nakstu spat out his complaints as soon as they arrived at Alsdine’s lair.
Crash!
Alsdine struck Nakstu’s head with his tail.
“If I had done that, you would be dead, and I would have been on the run!”
“How could an inferior creature defeat a great being?”
“You fool! Do you think all inferior creatures are weak? Even if you just go to Marsala, there are countless Elves stronger than you!”
“That can’t…”
“Do you think there’s a reason the Lord hasn’t conquered Marsala yet?”
At the mention of the Lord, Nakstu’s wagging tail went stiff. Dragon Lord Ladespina was an object of fear even to fellow dragons.
“Then why did you invite him?”
“Because even if we lose there, we can win here.”
Nakstu jerked his head up.
“Of course! You had a plan all along, Alsdine.”
“Watch and learn. Even for a dragon, there is a time to retreat.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
The Central Stealth Scout clung to the ceiling of Alsdine’s lair, monitoring him.
Alsdine planned to call two more dragons and gather a large number of Guardians.
Since they couldn’t just sit and wait for Choi Kangjoong to arrive, he decided to summon them once Kangjoong reached the lair.
Kangjoong discovered an interesting fact through his surveillance.
The number of dragons Dragon Lord Ladespina had gathered was thirty, which was quite a large number.
Other dragon tribes usually had as few as five or as many as fifteen.
The reason for such a large gathering was the invasion of Marsala.
Ladespina harbored the ambition to avenge a humiliating expulsion from 100 years ago and to rule over the vast world of Marsala.
‘This isn’t just an issue with the demons.’
If enough time passed, Ladespina would have led the dragons, Guardians, and the races he ruled to attack Marsala.
‘Or did the demons incite this?’
Choi Kangjoong wondered if it was a demonic scheme, similar to how they had tormented Earth with Disorder.
However, the demons would want Marsala and Earth to grow further, so it didn’t seem likely they would incite a war between Ladespina and Marsala.
‘Going to eat the Anti-Magic Shells led to this.’
Choi Kangjoong naturally intended to stop Ladespina. If a war broke out in Marsala, not only Iselin but Earth would inevitably be affected. The economy would be shaken, and in the meantime, another demon Fortress could be established to the east of the Enterprise Union.
“An invasion should be done by the Apocalid.”
“Ku-eong.”
Kuongi and the large Apocalids near the Apocalid Dimension turned their heads north.
“They really look like a true Apocalid swarm now. Well, they are the real deal.”
The Apocalid invasion sequence went like this: A fleet centered around large Apocalids would wander the Dimensional Sea, scattering Central Units and Titans in every direction.
These Apocalids would sense Mana or heat and approach locations where they felt a strong presence.
If prey was found, they would signal the fleet.
Once the fleet began to move, the Outer Mind would open a Gate using its massive Hive Mind psionic power to transport the fleet.
Choi Kangjoong was currently at the middle stage—moving after discovering prey.
“Now, I have to open the Gate for them.”
Choi Kangjoong concentrated. As his Source Energy drained away, a massive Gate appeared in front of Kuongi.
Kuongi was the first to pass through, followed by a line of Titans and Light Titans. Inside their bellies, countless small Apocalids lay dormant.
“Where should I attack first?”
Thanks to the map Alsdine possessed, Choi Kangjoong was able to know the territory occupied by Ladespina’s dragon tribe in detail.
Centered around the sea territory ruled by Ladespina, the dimensions or sea areas occupied by thirty dragons were arranged in a circle.
“That place looks more delicious than where Alsdine is.”
Since Alsdine was a Gold Dragon, his Guardians consisted mostly of Golems, and the dimension he occupied was rich in minerals.
Consequently, there were few living creatures, meaning there was little nourishment or Evolution Points to be gained.
On the other hand, if Alsdine’s lair was at the six o’clock position relative to Ladespina’s territory, a Green Dragon was located at the four o’clock position.
True to a Green Dragon’s love for vegetation, his dimension was filled with plants.
Accordingly, there were many animals and even Elves living there. It was a place where, even if Evolution Points were low, an immense amount of nourishment could be obtained.
“Let’s go there.”
“Ku-eong.”
The Apocalid fleet turned right, bypassing Alsdine’s territory.
‘I’ll deal with the Anti-Magic Shells and then pay a visit to Alsdine’s lair.’
Choi Kangjoong entered the Evolution Chamber.
[Anti-Magic Shell Evolution Code Decoding Rate: 100%]
Since the number of Anti-Magic Shells consumed by the Light Titans had long surpassed 100, the decoding of the Evolution Code had been completed for some time.
The Evolution Code from the Anti-Magic Shell was Magic Resistance.
Choi Kangjoong applied it to everything from the Walkers to the Super Titans.
“Since everything from the Giants up now has Mineral Accumulation and Magic Resistance, they’ll be incredibly sturdy.”
A dragon acting alone would find it difficult to kill even a single Kuongi.
‘While I’m at it, I hope there’s an Evolution Code related to regeneration. I heard Green Dragons use Hydras as Guardians.’
The Hydra’s Evolution Code was Monster Regeneration, which could yield an excellent regeneration code if synthesized with Rapid Regeneration. He had hunted ten Hydras so far, and he only needed to eat ninety more to decode the Evolution Code. However, Hydras were originally a rare monster, making them difficult to find.
‘It would be great if there were at least ten.’
Choi Kangjoong took some Anti-Magic Shell meat to Iselin’s mansion.
Since Iselin and Arthil were away, he left the meat with an Elf Knight and returned.
Over the weekend, he grilled and ate the Anti-Magic Shell meat in the yard with his family.
Just as they had done on the dimension ship, they ate it raw and even cooked it into ramen.
He decided to process the shells before sending them off.
After his parents, who had stayed for a night, left on Sunday afternoon, Choi Kangjoong was alone again. Then, the Apocalid fleet arrived near the Green Dragon’s territory.
“Let’s go.”
The Apocalid Wave stretched out long, washing over the Green Dragon’s domain.
A dimension lush with greenery. In the center of that place, where the trees grew so high they formed a near-hemispherical shape, the Green Dragon slept.
His name was Grifinel, a member of Ladespina’s tribe, the ruler of the forest, and the overseer of the Elves.
-Hmm?
Grifinel, who rarely woke up for anything once he fell asleep, opened his eyes. He had sensed an ominous energy.
-Screeeech! Screeeech!
-Kee-eeeeek!
-Chirp! Chirp!
Not only that, the entire forest was in an uproar.
Sloths, which never ran, were frantically digging burrows. Predatory animals that always growled lowly were now howling loudly.
Trolls went berserk, and trees collapsed under the thrashing of Ogres.
-Quiet!
Grifinel unleashed his DRAGON FEAR. The animals nearby died in droves.
Only then did the distant animals and monsters quiet down.
To be precise, they were trembling in even greater terror.
‘I’ve never felt such an unpleasant sensation before. It’s like I’ve entered the maw of a giant dimensional monster.’
To check the situation, Grifinel tried to contact Alsdine using Dimensional Communication Magic. However, it didn’t work at all. His eyes narrowed.
‘Is this energy interfering? Where is it coming from?’
Grifinel took flight to find the source of the energy.
Since he couldn’t tell from within the dimension, he headed out into the Dimensional Sea.
There, he realized that the mysterious energy had spread not only through the dimension but across this entire sea area.
‘What on earth is…?’
Grifinel flitted around the surrounding dimensions. The situation was the same everywhere.
‘This is serious. Should I inform the Lord?’
But with communication magic down, the only way to deliver the news to Ladespina was to go in person.
‘I cannot leave my post.’
If a dimensional monster attacked while he was gone and damaged his dimension, it would be a massive loss.
Although he had Hydras and Elves serving as Guardians, the Dimensional Sea was vast, and the number and size of dimensional monsters were beyond counting.
‘I don’t know who you are, but you will regret this.’
Grifinel flew in the direction from which the mysterious energy was emanating. Before long, he discovered a swarm of monsters covering a certain dimension.
-A dimension filled with the fruit I cherish!
The enraged Grifinel increased his speed. Even if there were monsters larger than him and their numbers were far greater, he was confident he wouldn’t lose.
A dragon fueled by a Dragon Heart and wielding Dragon Tongue Magic was the apex predator of the Dimensional Sea.
Once the largest of them came within range, Grifinel fired his ACID BREATH.
A powerful stream of acid was discharged at ultra-high pressure. Reinforced by Mana, it traveled an incredible distance without any loss in power.
Ssssssssssh!
Grifinel sprayed the breath in a wide horizontal arc. He intended to slice the largest creature in two.
‘This can’t be!’
However, nothing happened. Though the creature should have been cut and melted, the lethal acid merely sat harmlessly on its back like water.
“Ku-eong.”
Kuongi turned and fired the Mana Cannons lined along his side. Even Grifinel, with his tough scales and Shield, couldn’t afford to take the massive barrage of shells head-on.
‘To think such a monster exists in this world!’
While performing an emergency evasive maneuver, other things caught Grifinel’s eye.
There were many others with rows of cannon barrels along their sides, similar to the largest one.
If he were surrounded by them, he certainly wouldn’t return in one piece.
Whirrrrrr!
There was also an individual approaching at an incredible speed. Its size was very small, but Grifinel’s intuition was screaming in alarm.
-FROST NOVA!
Blue ice crystals spread out in a circle. It was a frost-attribute spell that Grifinel rarely used. It was intended to both attack and slow down the enemy. However, nothing touched by the FROST NOVA was affected.
‘What…! Do they perhaps possess abilities similar to the Anti-Magic Shell?’
There were rumors among dragons.
They said if an Anti-Magic Shell could move quickly, it would become the most troublesome monster for a dragon.
That rumor was becoming a reality.
Grifinel hurriedly pulled back. He beat his wings with all his might to accelerate as much as possible.
Boom!
Grifinel rolled his body to avoid a beam of light coming from behind.
Kuongi’s breath grazed his scales. He also easily dodged the breath fired by a Super Titan.
However, what he feared wasn’t the powerful, destructive breath. It was the small individual that was steadily closing the distance.
-Get away!
Grifinel unleashed a barrage of spells to widen the gap.
Pursuing a dragon that was both fast and capable of carpet-bombing with magic was no easy task.
However, the Brutal Lord, possessing Level 7 Psionic Combat Nerves and Enhanced Psionics along with Magic Resistance, was an existence that even a dragon found difficult to shake off.
As it drew closer, Grifinel felt an indescribable hunger emanating from those pitch-black eyes.
‘It’s this thing! These things were the cause of that energy!’
The joy of realization was short-lived. That immense hunger struck even a dragon with terror.
The Apocalid, equipped with four Abyssal Claws, reached Grifinel’s back.
Then, the DEATH BLADE manifested upon those scythe-like claws.
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