Record of a Thousand Lives - Chapter 187

Chapter 187
“Alright, it seems you guys were stronger than a mosquito, at least. Let’s move on to the next creature,” the Dragon of Destruction said.

The mosquito slowly grew larger, transforming into another creature. It had wrinkled green skin and its body appeared quite feeble. However, the creature still retained the Dragon of Destruction’s arrogant voice as it said arrogantly, “Entertain me more, my playthings… and what I mean by ‘entertain’ is for me to wipe you out while in the form of the weakest monster on the continent.”

[The Dragon of Destruction has transformed into a Poison Goblin.]

[The dragon’s appearance has changed from that of a mosquito to that of a goblin.]

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

[All of its physical abilities have been reduced.]

[It may now use poison-related skills.]

Danesh, whose pride seemed to have been hurt, growled angrily, “A goblin?! So you decided to transform into something we can easily hunt!”

Compared to a mosquito, a goblin was an opponent they could at least manage to fight against. Its body was small and its arms and legs were short, and on top of that, it was not even holding any weapons.

Harpoon remained vigilant while gripping his magic scrolls, warning the others, “Don’t let your guard down! That dragon was able to break a titan’s arms while it was a mosquito!”

The men raised their weapons and surrounded the goblin.

“I’ll kill you and grant my nether region its freedom!” Swemer shouted before raising his spear and darting toward the goblin. The spear was a very advantageous weapon, as it had a long reach while the goblin’s arms were short.

Swemer was certain that he had managed to pierce through the goblin the moment his spear connected with it. However, the goblin managed to evade the speartip at the last moment, and it kicked Swemer back.

“Aaack!” Swemer exclaimed in agony, as quite a few of his ribs had been shattered when he was flung back. It was a serious injury, but he immediately got up and raised his spear once again, cursing, “Damn it! That’s impossible! Where the hell can you find a goblin this strong on the continent?!”

Goblins were weak monsters that the men could kill with one punch, but the goblin before them at that moment was strong. The Dragon of Destruction’s physical abilities had been reduced when it turned into a goblin, but it still managed to avoid every single one of the men’s attacks while sneaking in devastating counterattacks.

“Tighten the encirclement!”

“We’ll start cornering it!”

The stubborn onslaught from the men managed to graze the goblin a few times, but its scaly arms simply deflected any attacks and it remained unscathed.

“Earth-Splitting Strike!” Ramel shouted as he used his most powerful skill, leaving a crater where the goblin was standing.

The goblin’s movements slowed down tremendously, and the men unleashed an onslaught of attacks. However, as dozens of swords, spears, and axes rushed toward the goblin…

Puseok!

Fwoooosh…!

The goblin dropped to the ground and spewed out poison. The men’s weapons, which had withstood many years of mining, instantly crumbled when they came into contact with the poison[1].

“Damn it!” the men cursed.

The goblin rolled along the ground and grabbed one of the men, spitting poison at him. The man resisted with all his strength, but he failed to avoid the poison and it melted his face. Then, the goblin jumped over the collapsed man, spewing poison all around it.

“I’ve been hit by the poison!”

“The goblin’s fists can break through our shields! Avoid its punches instead of blocking!”

The goblin started a one-sided massacre in the midst of a sea of titans, leaving them in disarray as it wreaked havoc. At times, the titans even hit their own allies while aiming for the goblin. Soon, the goblin’s green skin was drenched in the blood of its enemies.

None of them could look down on the monster anymore. In fact, the goblin had begun to seem more akin to a grim reaper, spreading terror through the entire army. The titans let out war cries in order to nullify the fear they felt and swung their stone weapons, but the goblin smashed their stone weapons and stabbed its hands through their chests, crushing their hearts. Anyone who beheld such a sight was bound to remember the creature not as a goblin, but a demon out to quench its unending bloodlust.

Kang Yoon-Soo calmly watched the scene unfolding before his eyes, eventually reaching a conclusion. ‘The Dragon of Destruction isn’t being serious right now.’

The Dragon of Destruction would not have changed its species if it had decided to get serious from the start. It would not be difficult for the most powerful dragon on the continent to annihilate them in an instant if it wished to. Rather, it was unleashing its anger against the army by toying with them bit by bit until they died. However, Kang Yoon-Soo welcomed that response.

‘There’s no retreat this time,’ Kang Yoon-Soo thought. He had fought against the Dragon of Destruction in his previous lives, but the most he had been able to do was run away without being killed by it.

However, it would be different in his thousandth and final life. He had burned all the bridges, and his back was against a river.[2]

‘I devised a plan to kill the Dragon of Destruction, but not a plan to run away from it. I’ve never visited the dragon’s lair while being as weak as I am now, and that’s why I have to bide my time and wait for the perfect opportunity,’ he thought.

The Dragon of Destruction’s biggest weakness was its arrogant attitude. That was the precise reason why Kang Yoon-Soo had enraged it, so it would drag out the battle for a long time. It would not be easy to find an opportunity against the dragon, but it would still be easier and more feasible for him to inflict critical damage against it if it had shapeshifted into another species. It would be possible for him to kill the Dragon of Destruction if he exploited that weakness.

Kang Yoon-Soo called on Kalriven and White, saying, “I need your help.”

“As you wish, my lord,” Kalriven replied.

“Ramurikura,” White let out a low growl in response.

Kang Yoon-Soo ordered Kalriven to face off against the goblin before mounting White. White dashed across the battlefield, while Kang Yoon-Soo observed the events from atop the werewolf. Soon, he found Recifer, who lay in wait for an opportunity to strike while cloaked.

“Recifer,” Kang Yoon-Soo called out.

“Hmm? I’m certain that I was cloaked. How did you find me?” Recifer asked in confusion.

Kang Yoon-Soo ignored his question and said, “I need your help.”

He did not even bother to wait for a response, grabbing Recifer by the back of the neck. Recifer was soon being dragged along, dangling from the side of the werewolf.

“Keok! Keok! What are you doing?” Recifer spluttered.

“Please become my shield,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“W-What did you say…?” Recifer muttered, his face pale.

Kang Yoon-Soo ignored the assassin’s reply once again as he scanned the battlefield. Kalriven was tying down the goblin with his swordsmanship, but it did not come out unscathed; the goblin’s poison seemed to do quite a bit of damage against the Death General.

“Move, Kalriven,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Please be careful, my lord,” Kalriven said before it stepped aside.

Then, the goblin spat more poison toward Kang Yoon-Soo. However, Kang Yoon-Soo raised Recifer as a shield and blocked the poison with the assassin’s body.

“Kuheoook!” Recifer let out a scream when his entire body was hit by the goblin’s poison. However, even though a portion of his skin was slightly grazed, he did not melt the way the others had when the poison hit them.

“I-I’m alright?” Recifer muttered in surprise, looking dumbfounded.

The assassin had handled many different kinds of poison all throughout his life, and he had purposely built his resistance against it by drinking and even bathing in poison. The poison resistance he had accumulated throughout his life was strong enough to withstand the attacks of Dragon of Destruction’s Poison Goblin form.

Kang Yoon-Soo brazenly said, “Then, I hope for your kind cooperation.”

“Go ahead, if my sacrifice will reduce the casualties our allies will… Kuheok!” Recifer groaned in agony.

Whooosh!

Kang Yoon-Soo counterattacked by swinging his halberd after blocking the incoming poison attack with Recifer. The Death General, Kalriven, timed its attacks to assist its master in striking the goblin.

“Grrrr…!” Meanwhile, White let out a low growl while moving as nimbly as it could to avoid as many of the incoming attacks as possible.

It was the first time that Kang Yoon-Soo and Kalriven had launched a joint attack, but their timing and rhythm were in perfect sync for some strange reason. The Death General, who was a high-level undead being, was not held back by Kang Yoon-Soo at all, and it was able to unleash its full potential while maintaining coordination with its master.

“As expected of my lord!” Kalriven exclaimed.

The goblin was able to evade many of the attacks from the Death General, but Kalriven eventually managed to land a hard strike on its scaly arm. Kang Yoon-Soo threw Recifer aside, gripping his halberd with both hands and sweeping it across the goblin’s defenseless chest.

Sukeok!

The halberd’s sharp and heavy blade slashed the goblin’s chest. The goblin tried to avoid it by taking a step back, but it was already too late, and a wound formed on its chest.

It was then that the goblin suddenly stopped moving. It silently stood still, staring at the wound on its chest with its golden eyes that had remained the same even after it changed species.

“Now’s our chance!” Acle shouted, freezing the goblin’s ankles.

It was a one-of-a-kind opportunity, and the entire army unleashed a barrage of attacks against the goblin. Shaneth and Sally used their flames, Iris used her bolts of black lightning, Rick punched the goblin, Mini-Lich cast a curse, and Light fired a shining beam.

However, the goblin was no longer a goblin by the time their attacks reached it.

[The Dragon of Destruction has swatted your attacks away.]

[The dragon’s tough scales have nullified 98% of physical damage.]

[The dragon’s tenacious body has nullified 97% of magic damage.]

“Damn it! This is driving me crazy!” Henrick exclaimed, clicking his tongue.

The Dragon of Destruction had quickly returned to being a dragon. Its disheveled beard and slightly cracked scales looked different from how they had previously, however.

The titan army nervously looked at the dragon, but the dragon did not show any signs of attacking them anytime soon. In fact, it seemed as if the hostility they had felt from the Dragon of Destruction just a moments before had instantly disappeared.

The Dragon of Destruction slowly said, “You managed to inflict a wound on me with your weapon, old geezer.”

The wound that Kang Yoon-Soo had inflicted still remained on the dragon’s abdomen. It was an insignificantly tiny wound that almost seemed like a mere graze, and only a few drops of blood emerged from it. However, the Dragon of Destruction looked curiously at that very wound as if it had encountered a strange phenomenon for the first time in its life.

The Dragon of Destruction maintained its silence for quite a while before asking, “What are you, really?”

“None of your business,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

“Something strange happened just now,” the Dragon of Destruction said, seemingly deep in thought. Then, it continued, “I felt something the moment I was cut by you. I was able to feel it because that attack cut through my scales and left a wound on my body. It was not a feeling that came about just because you have lived for a long time. No, it was a feeling I have never experienced in my life…”

Kang Yoon-Soo could not understand what the dragon was talking about. For the first time, the Dragon of Destruction seemed to be on guard. In fact, it should have changed its species into something else and continued the fight, but it had stopped fighting and seemed to be vigilant after being cut by Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo bit his lip before saying, “I have the amulet of the Ignus Dragon.”

“So it is a symbol from my ex-wife. That is indeed an item suitable to kill me,” the Dragon of Destruction muttered.

The Ignus Dragon’s Amulet had a hidden ability that allowed its user to ignore the defenses of the Dragon of Destruction. Of course, simply penetrating the dragon’s defense was nowhere near enough to kill it, as one would still need to put their life on the line to deplete its monstrous life force.

“However, the feeling I experienced was not from her amulet,” the Dragon of Destruction calmly said. It added, “The feeling I got from you, old geezer, was the presence of one who has broken the balance of this world. I felt the presence of one who should not exist in this world from you.”

Kang Yoon-Soo furrowed his brows. One who should not exist in this world?

The being that the goddess had requested him to find and kill was also ‘one who should not exist in this world’, but he had been unable to progress in the goddess’ quest because he could not find any clues about it. However, the Dragon of Destruction had begun talking about something related to that very same thing. The dragon felt the presence of that being from him?

Kang Yoon-Soo asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“I am certain that there is something connecting you and that being. I am certain that you have come across that being in the past,” the Dragon of Destruction said.

“Can’t you explain it in a simpler way?” Kang Yoon-Soo grumbled.

“I have no reason to do as you asked. However, I am certain of what I felt,” the Dragon of Destruction replied.

Kang Yoon-Soo grimaced upon hearing those words. The ‘one who should not exist’ was someone connected to him, and it was also someone he had already met? Then, that meant Kang Yoon-Soo should have already been aware of who that ‘one who should not exist’ was.

The Dragon of Destruction continued, “This is my conclusion.”

The ground suddenly shook as the dragon’s powerful underlings, thousands of which were spread across the castle, rushed toward the art room.

The Dragon of Destruction’s voice resounded amid the multitude of creatures as it said, “I have come to the conclusion that I have to kill you because you are related to a being that should not exist in the first place. I shall now set aside my arrogance. I shall continue the war in all seriousness—with my current form.”

1. Technically, this property should refer to acid, not poison, but the author uses ‘poison’ specifically in the raws. ☜

2. The raw says ‘배수진’ (Bae Soo Jin), a term derived from warfare in which the army burns all its bridges and boats before making a last stand against the enemy, leaving no room for retreat. The term is used to paint a picture of desperation or a do-or-die situation. ☜

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