Chapter 241 - Chapter 241 (1/2)

The circular shadow spreading out from beneath Jin-Woo's feet rapidly grew large enough to swallow up the Dragon Emperor. The creature's expression hardened.

'From the beginning, had he been aiming for this....?'

From the moment he appeared in the battlefield all alone, directing the Shadow Army behind everyone's back and mopping up the western front, and finally, even drawing the Dragon Emperor to here – were all of those just for the sake of this moment?

Although this human was its enemy, the King of all Dragons couldn't help but admire the meticulousness of the Shadow Sovereign.

At first, he created a situation where it simply had to make a move, and through what looked to be a pretty obvious tactic to lower its guard, then finally, by relying on an unexpected hidden card, he eventually got what he was aiming for.

'….To think, he'd actually use Dragon Fear here.'

The Dragon Emperor formed an expression of someone suffering from a sucker punch. Jin-Woo's grip on the creature's arm tightened after witnessing that unmistakable expression.

'I did it.'

There had been no mistakes so far. A couple more steps, and then...

Soon, the shadow swallowed up both Jin-Woo and the Dragon Emperor.

The darkness blinding them quickly rescinded and they re-emerged at the pre-selected destination.

Having succeeded in his endeavour of inviting the Dragon Emperor to the true battlefield of his own choosing, Jin-Woo quickly distanced himself away from his opponent.

And now, finding itself in a location very far away from its underlings, the creature began scanning the surrounding scenery with mystified eyes.

[And this is....?]

"A place on the opposite side of the world from where your army is."

Truthfully, it was a bit incorrect to call it the exact opposite side, but regardless, that's how far they were now.

They were in Japan, a land where an enormous amount of Mana had densely permeated into its every pore after the King of Giants died.

The land and atmosphere fortified by Mana should be able to withstand much of the potential impact forces resulting from his battle against the Sovereign of Destruction.

Once a massive sea of forest, this location now resembled a barren wasteland stretching endlessly beyond the horizon, all thanks to the concerted efforts of his Shadow Soldiers cutting down the trees present here.

What particularly drew one's attention was this huge white-coloured fortress built up on the top of a hill. The Dragon Emperor pointed at it with a black flag flapping in the wind on top.

[Is that your castle?]

"....Something like that."

[For a castle of the Shadow Sovereign, its size is fairly lousy, isn't it.]

Why did Jin-Woo briefly feel apologetic to Beru all of a sudden? Of course, there was no reason to get suckered into his enemy's pace now, was there?

Jin-Woo threw out a genuine warning at the Dragon Emperor, currently looking rather relaxed despite the situation – it was unknown whether that was because of its sky-high confidence, or it was simply trying to bluff him.

"Well, I think that building's just about the perfect size to commemorate your death today."

Only then did the gaze of the Dragon Emperor fix on Jin-Woo. He didn't try to avoid meeting that glare.

[….]

The King of Berserk Dragons stopped looking at the human and closed its eyes for a moment while trying to communicate with its underlings.

Sure enough, not a hint of their signal could be captured. Some creature borrowing the power of the Shadow Sovereign was using a spell to interfere with all forms of communication.

The Dragon Emperor grew conscious of the fact that his human enemy had prepared everything from the beginning in order to perfectly isolate it.

It slowly opened its eyes again and found the entirety of the Shadow Army surrounding it from all sides.

A battle that should have been ten million against one was suddenly turned on its head to become two hundred thousand against one, with the 'one' being a completely different person.

The Dragon Emperor had been surrounded.

[So, this is it…. A battle where either I survive or fall, until my soldiers pinpoint my current location.]

However, its expression was not as gloomy as one would hope for in the current situation.

The thing was, although it didn't mind the types of battles where it'd use the overwhelming numbers to completely massacre its enemies, it also found the exact opposite of that situation quite enjoyable too, where it'd get to overwhelm the enemies alone.

In short, it was an existence born solely for warfare.

It was the incarnation of destruction, one who would not mind its own demise if it was all for the sake of blood, screams, madness, and destruction swirling in a dizzying storm of warfare.

That was why the Dragon Emperor could smile brightly.

[Allow me to show you the real thing.]

At the end of those words, that smile vanished from the creature's face.

Jin-Woo also sensed something at the same time. His senses that had far surpassed the limits of a normal human continuously rang loud warning bells.

Shiver.

Along with a chill running down his spine, goosebumps broke all over his skin.

It was then. Like a scene from an unrealistic movie, a truly frightening roar scary enough to stop one's heart just from hearing it exploded out of the Dragon Emperor's mouth.

Khayaaaaaaaah-!!

This was the Dragon Emperor's Fear, the ruler of all Dragons. The level of terror previously never experienced before slammed into the Shadow Army like a massive shockwave.

AAAAAH-!!

A seemingly endless chain of ripples began shaking the atmosphere. Even the ground quaked violently.

As the shaking akin to an earthquake rocked the world, Jin-Woo detected an extreme amount of terror, pain, and confusion from his soldiers and he urgently brought them back inside his shadow.

AAAAAH-!!!

During that process, vicious dizziness assaulted him and he wobbled unsteadily for a moment there.

The Dragon Emperor finally ended its roar. The corner of its lips curled up after seeing how pale Jin-Woo's complexion was.

[That was the real thing.]

The true Dragon's Fear.

Jin-Woo roughly shook his head in order to get rid of that attack's horrifying impact. Meanwhile, the Dragon Emperor addressed him in a calm manner.

[When you grabbed my arm, I could've easily shaken you loose.]

However, there was a reason why it didn't. It continued on.

[It's only because you impressed me with your efforts to trap me.]

Jin-Woo stared at the Dragon Emperor praising him with a suspicious glare. However, there was not a single hint of ridicule within that serious light shining from its eyes.

[That made me want to speak to you in a quiet place as two Sovereigns on equal ground.]

Jin-Woo's breathing, disrupted by the Dragon Fear just now, finally reverted back to being normal. He quickly righted his posture, his vigilance remaining high.

The Dragon Emperor continued to address Jin-Woo and his tightly-shut mouth.

[If you have inherited the previous Shadow Sovereign's memories, then you should know this by now…. Our real enemy is not this land, but well beyond the sky up there.]

It was referring to the armies of the Rulers. The first and the last ultimate command given to them was to annihilate all Sovereigns born from the darkness.

Quite obviously, the Shadow Sovereign wouldn't be an exception.

[I originally thought of disposing of you first and then get ready to fight them. However, I changed my mind after seeing how you conduct your battles. You possess a different set of skills compared to Osborne. And from your skill set, I foresaw our glorious victory.]

The Dragon Emperor extended its hand out towards Jin-Woo.

[If you take this hand, then I shall do as you want.]

His gaze slowly lowered towards the extended hand.

[If you wish to save your family, so it shall be. If you wish to save your nation, then that shall be done. If you wish for me to leave this land, fine. My soldiers and I shall quietly withdraw from this world.]

Jin-Woo gaze briefly lingering on the hand gradually rose up again until it stopped at the Dragon Emperor's face. The creature was carrying an expression full of compassion.

[You shall become the master of this world. Become a master of this whole planet, not just that small castle on the hill. You amply possess the qualification to do so. All you have to do....]

A gentle smile formed on the Dragon Emperor's lips now.

[….Is to take my hand.]

Once we cooperate and defeat the forces of the Rulers, not only you and your family, even your country – no, even more than that, everyone living on this land will gain peace and freedom.

That was the promise the Dragon Emperor was making here.

[So, how about it? Shadow Sovereign?]

Did he get enticed by the offer? A thin smile slowly spread on the face of the Shadow Sovereign as he quietly listened to the tempting words.

The King of Dragons also formed a smile of its own.

[Will you join me?]

Too bad, Jin-Woo's reply was rather curt in nature.

"Don't make me laugh."

The Dragon Emperor's expression hardened after hearing that pointed retort.

"You want me to trust a b*stard with the eyes of someone that can barely hide its desire to kill me?"

[Haha.... Euh-hahahahaha!!]

The King of all Dragons grasped its forehead and guffawed for a long time. Its laughter must've contained Mana, because every single wave of sound emitted by the creature caused a powerful reverberation within Jin-Woo's heart.

When it finally took its hand away from its forehead, both of its wide-open eyes had changed to that of a reptile's.

[I just can't seem to hide these eyes of mine.]

Appeasement attempt had ended in failure. If conning the other party didn't work, then the remaining way was to destroy him with everything it possessed.