Record of a Thousand Lives - Chapter 186

Chapter 186
Kang Yoon-Soo’s body was devoured by the dragon amid the sound of bones grinding against teeth.

Silence filled the entire room for a few seconds as the army stared dumbfounded at the unbelievable scene unfolding before their eyes. Only one thought filled their minds as they witnessed the shocking scene—and it was not something they wanted to believe.

Kang Yoon-Soo had just died, eaten by the Dragon of Destruction.

“Damn it!” someone shouted, finally breaking the silence. It was one of the men, who had snapped due to his fear of the dragon.

One by one, the party members broke free from their paralyzing fear. Sally was the first one to run, letting out the loudest cry of her life. “Papaaa!”

Acle bit his lip and immediately pulled Sally back, shouting, “Stay still if you don’t want to end up like him! You dumbass!”

Sally looked at Acle with tears welling up in her eyes, crying, “But papa is…!”

“Shut up! I don’t want to see you end up like him!” Acle snapped back angrily.

“T-This can’t be…!” the titans cried upon seeing that the person they considered their savior and hero had been gobbled up by the dragon. The death of their savior plunged the entire titan army further into despair.

The army that had lost its commander started to panic and scatter. A few of them tried to run away. However, some others managed to maintain their cool despite the situation.

“He died more easily than expected.”

“Well, it happens often on the battlefield.”

“I’ve watched quite a few of my comrades die, but that guy will be the most memorable one.”

The men set aside their emotions, as could be expected from veteran warriors; instead, they infused their feelings into their weapons as they prepared for combat. To such men, who had gone through countless battles, sorrow was an emotion that was always present on the battlefield; the only way to appease the souls of the dead was to hunt down the monster that had killed them.

“But isn’t it funny? We lost the man to whom we owe our freedom to a lizard.”

“Rather than that… I’m disgusted at myself for letting the commander die right before my eyes.”

“Our skills might not have rusted over the years, but it seems our conviction has. We have to acknowledge that.”

“We have another reason to kill that monster now, don’t you guys think?”

Ironically, Kang Yoon-Soo’s death rekindled the fighting spirit in the men. Of course, the titans were still at a loss and were in a state of disarray, but the men did not seem to mind that at all.

White howled loudly, while Kalriven readied its sword and shouted, “Revenge for our lord!”

“I respected you, teacher. The fact that a skeleton cannot cry is quite sad…” Mini-Lich clacked its jaw with a hint of sadness, then waved its staff. Then, the undead legion let out an enraged cry.

Tears welled up in Iris’ eyes as she murmured, “Kang Yoon-Soo died…”

“Who knows…” Henrick muttered.

“Henrick is too cold and ruthless,” Iris said, glaring at him.

Henrick clicked his tongue and replied, “Have some faith, will you? Do you honestly think that guy is someone who would die as easily as that?”

Shaneth nodded while glaring at the Dragon of Destruction, then said, “There’s no way he would have died. He’s not someone who would die in a place like this.”

Iris looked confused for a moment before cupping her hands against her chest. She suddenly heard a voice from her heart—it was the White Shadow. She wiped her tears away after listening to what the voice had to say before murmuring with a nod, “I understand what you mean.”

The Dragon of Destruction slowly chewed on Kang Yoon-Soo. It was not chewing slowly out of pity or anything; rather, it simply wished to be better able to digest its food.

Suddenly, a burst of light erupted from within the dragon’s mouth.

Baaaam!

[The Light Clone has exploded.]

[You have dealt a minuscule amount of damage to the Dragon of Destruction’s palate[1].]

[Light’s skill level has increased.]

The party members who had been burning with vengeance looked dumbfounded for a moment.

It was then that Light laughed loudly and exclaimed, “My clone did it!”

“L-Light…! The Dragon of Destruction might hear you…!” Sharp said nervously.

It was certain that the dragon had heard her.

The Dragon of Destruction asked coldly, “Where is that old geezer?”

“Here.”

The dragon turned around and saw Kang Yoon-Soo walking out of the corridor behind it. He set down a whole sack of radiantly shining equipment and trinkets, saying, “I stole all your treasures.”

***

A few minutes before…

Just as they were about to enter the Dragon of Destruction’s castle, Kang Yoon-Soo had found a filthy swamp that was not within the dragon’s surveillance, and he had called Light and Sharp over in secret.

“Make a clone of me,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“That’s really easy! But what are you going to do while you’re away?” Light asked.

“Burglary,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Kyahaha! That sounds fun!” Light exclaimed, bursting out into laughter.

“Huu… Huu… That sounds dangerous…” Sharp murmured nervously.

Light had the ability to create a clone of someone else, but she was limited to making only one copy at a time, and she could only create a copy of an ally

[The Spirit of Light, Light, has created a clone of you.]

[The clone’s life force will be equivalent to half of the original’s.]

[The clone will disappear after one hour.]

[It will maintain the same personality as the original.]

[All of the clone’s skill levels will be set to 1.]

[The clone’s combat prowess will be a fraction of the original’s.]

[The clone will trigger a powerful light explosion and deal damage to its surroundings when it disappears.]

The clone looked and acted exactly like Kang Yoon-Soo. Clones created by the Spirit of Light were usually used to create simple diversions in battle, but Kang Yoon-Soo had other plans.

‘A being exactly like me…’ he thought, and a splitting headache struck him. He did not spare a glance at his clone as he said, “Go to the castle with the clone.”

“Then what about you?” Light asked.

“I’ll catch up later,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

The army entered the dragon’s castle with Kang Yoon-Soo’s clone leading them. Meanwhile, Kang Yoon-Soo himself infiltrated the castle through the sewer as the army went through the front door. The sewer smelled horrible and was filled with filthy, sticky liquid, but it was the only place in the lair that the Dragon of Destruction’s detection magic did not cover.

‘I used the sewer to infiltrate and escape this place in my previous lives,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought. His plan was to avoid any unnecessary battles and reach the treasure storehouse as quickly as he could.

A Cyclops was guarding the dragon’s treasure trove. Kang Yoon-Soo shot an ice arrow at its mouth, freezing its jaws shut so it would not be able to call for reinforcements. Then, Kang Yoon-Soo jumped onto the Cyclops’ head and smashed the Ice Gauntlets into the monster’s eye. The force of his punch popped the monster’s eye, and he dealt the finishing blow with his halberd.

[You have killed the Dragon of Destruction’s underling, the One-Eyed Monster, Cyclops.]

[The Dragon of Destruction is currently preoccupied with something else.]

[The Dragon of Destruction has failed to notice your actions.]

Kang Yoon-Soo took the ring of keys dangling on the Cyclops’s waist. There were five keys that resembled different animals, and he was supposed to insert them in the right sequence to open the lock.

Kang Yoon-Soo inserted the fox key, falcon key, wolf key, raccoon key, and goat key into the lock in order. Then, the door to the secret chamber containing the dragon’s treasure trove opened up. Beyond the entrance were mountains of dazzling gold, various unique trinkets, and some treasures only spoken of in legends.

‘The Infinite Chalice, the Magic Sword of Hemoptysis, and the Seal of Destruction… These are still sealed,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

Those three items would only be unsealed after the Dragon of Destruction died. In his previous life as a Rogue Master, Kang Yoon-Soo had regretted risking his life to steal them after finding out that they were sealed.

Kang Yoon-Soo swept up all of the precious items from the treasure trove, but left behind the three sealed items. Then, he headed toward the art room.

The Dragon of Destruction stared down at him and said, “You tricked me, old geezer.”

“Meet my demands if you want to preserve your treasures,” Kang Yoon-Soo said threateningly.

The Dragon of Destruction was still maintaining its respectful tone toward an elder, but it now spoke with a hint of disgust in its voice, “I have never been tricked by anyone in my life, nor has anyone ever stolen something that belonged to me.”

“That’s no longer the case, then,” Kang Yoon-Soo said with a shrug.

“I can always kill you and retrieve my treasures,” the Dragon of Destruction said threateningly.

“You know very well that you can’t do that,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

Kwachik!

The Dragon of Destruction’s jaws clamped down hard right in front of Kang Yoon-Soo’s face. His head would have been severed completely by the dragon’s razor-sharp teeth if it had come a little bit closer.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo remained unfazed as he nonchalantly remarked, “These treasures are just like your golden eyes. They’re heirlooms left behind by your parents. I’ll immediately destroy your precious heirlooms if you dare to inflict harm on me or my comrades.”

The titans could not hide their shock to see their savior threatening the Dragon of Destruction, but at the same time, they could not help but admire and respect the human for having the courage to blatantly threaten the supreme being before him.

‘He is… really amazing… No, he is frighteningly amazing…!’

‘Our savior is taking on such risks, but what the hell have we been doing all this time?’

One by one, the titans steeled their resolve and raised their weapons upon seeing their savior going head to head against the dragon.

After a while, the Dragon of Destruction slowly said, “I will accept your offer, old geezer.”

[The current legendary quest will be deleted.]

[A new quest has been created.]

[You have been forced to take the new quest.]

The Dragon of Destruction extended its long neck and opened its jaws. It gathered its breath, then spewed a terrifying gout of flame from its mouth.

Kang Yoon-Soo narrowly managed to avoid the dragon’s fire. Unfortunately, the sack of treasures he was carrying did not make it, and was burnt to a crisp by the dragon’s flames.

Having just burned its own parents’ heirlooms, the Dragon of Destruction said in a calm tone but with anger visible in its eyes and voice, “I will inflict as much pain as I can on you and your comrades now that my treasures are out of the way.”

[Legendary Quest—Wrath of the Dragon of Destruction]

The enraged Dragon of Destruction has officially declared war on you. The fact that this proud dragon has actually declared war on someone is unheard of.

Fight with your life on the line.

+The Dragon of Destruction wants to humiliate you and kill you.

+The Dragon of Destruction will not give you an easy death.

+Be prepared for a long, agonizing war.

+The Dragon of Destruction will draw a portrait of you to commemorate your memories.

The official declaration from the Dragon of Destruction signaled the start of the war.

Kang Yoon-Soo retreated, thinking, ‘It’s going according to plan so far.’

The Dragon of Destruction was an intelligent and mighty dragon, and it would definitely be tricky to fight against a monster of its caliber. In fact, it would have been better if the dragon lost all reason when Kang Yoon-Soo provoked it. However, it had maintained its cool, planning to slowly drag out the fight and inflict as much pain as it could.

‘Still, it’s going to be a tough battle,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought as he ran toward his party.

Sally was once again the first to react to his reappearance. She exclaimed, “Papa! Thank you for being alive!”

Shaneth let out a sigh of relief before saying with a smile, “I believed that you were still alive.”

The men were surprised to see Kang Yoon-Soo as they spoke up.

“You weren’t dead? I can suddenly feel my burning fighting spirit turn to cinders…”

“Why did you have to make a clone and burn the loot? Such a waste!”

“Now’s not the time to explain,” Kang Yoon-Soo said before burning a few strands of the angel’s hair in Sally’s fire.

However…

[You cannot summon the angel underground.]

‘So I can’t summon Yuriel, as expected,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The Level 600 angel had immense healing capabilities, and her ability to declare an area as her sanctuary would be tremendously helpful in such large-scale wars. However, it was not possible to summon Yuriel underground.

‘It’s a shame, but there’s nothing else I can do about that,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

He had already prepared another plan for the battle, and that was the King of the Underworld’s Summoning Bone. However, it would not be effective if he missed the perfect opportunity to use it.

‘Someone will end up dying in this battle against the Dragon of Destruction,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought. Despite that, he had to stop anyone from dying because it was his final life.

Kang Yoon-Soo activated the skill he had obtained as the commander of the titan army and let out a war cry. “The war has started. Everyone, charge forward and don’t retreat!”

The titan army let out a shout.

“The war has started!”

“Don’t falter! There will be no retreat from now on!”

“Let’s kill the Dragon of Destruction and earn our own freedom!”

The entire titan army raised their stone weapons and bravely charged at the Dragon of Destruction.

“Let me show you that you creatures are even more insignificant than a mosquito,” the Dragon of Destruction said, then suddenly vanished.

The charging titans were flustered by the dragon’s sudden disappearance.

“The Dragon of Destruction has disappeared!”

“Did it hide itself with magic?!”

However, a message showed up, visible only to Kang Yoon-Soo.

[The Dragon of Destruction has transformed into a mosquito.]

[The dragon is now able to display the characteristics of a mosquito.]

[It can flap its wings six hundred times per second.]

[It can suck the blood of its target.]

+This message is only visible to the one undertaking the legendary quest.

Kang Yoon-Soo shouted using the war cry skill, “The Dragon of Destruction has transformed into a mosquito!”

“It did say that we were more insignificant than a mosquito, but who knew it would turn into one itself? It seems the Dragon of Destruction is insane after all,” Henrick grumbled, clicking his tongue.

Then, a titan soldier suddenly shriveled up like a mummy.

“What the? What the hell is going on?”

“Eu… Heok…! My blood is…!”

A terrifying monster had been born after the most powerful dragon on the continent transformed into a mosquito. It was so small that they could not chase after it, and it was able to easily dodge any attacks aimed at it. Despite its size, it was still tremendously powerful, and its nearly weightless body was able to clash against swords and spears with no problems at all.

Nearly thirty titans were killed by the mosquito in an instant, and the tens of thousands of titans were left in disarray trying to chase after a single mosquito.

The titan army would normally be able to use their numbers to fight against a dragon, but there was no way those numbers would help them against a single tiny insect. In fact, they were receiving a one-sided beating from that very insect. The Dragon of Destruction was utterly humiliating them.

It was then that Kang Yoon-Soo activated the skill attached to the Yeti’s Armor. “Ice Field.”

A chilling wind suddenly filled the air.

[A chilling wind has begun to blow within a 200 meter radius.]

[Enemies within the wind will be slowed.]

[Enemies within the wind will sustain frost damage.]

[Tiny creatures will immediately freeze from the cold.]

The titans struggled due to their weakness against the cold, but the mosquito instantly froze.

“I caught it!” a titan soldier exclaimed after catching the mosquito with both hands.

However, the mosquito suddenly displayed monstrous strength, pushing the titan’s hands backward at an unnatural angle.

“Aaaack!” the titan soldier screamed when the tiny mosquito broke both of his arms simply by pushing them back.

The mosquito shook off the frost on its body before starting to morph into something else. The creature that the Dragon of Destruction transformed into next was not one the army could have expected.