Book: 2: 76

Book 2: Chapter 76

Shortly after Lukas, who had flown to the desert, landed, the first thing that greeted him was a dagger.

Clang!

It was an attack that had probably been aimed at his eye. Luckily, the dagger bounced off the barrier that constantly surrounded him.

The man who threw the dagger jumped lightly and caught the dagger that had been sent flying through the air. Then, he drew a sword that hung at his waist and swung in a lightning-fast motion.

“...!”

Lukas couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

This attack was also blocked by the barrier, but the weight of this attack was very different from that of the dagger he threw.

‘This...’

It couldn’t handle it.

The moment he had this thought, his barrier shattered like a piece of glass. The man twirled the dagger in his hand before swinging it.

Woosh.

Lukas avoided the attack by a hair’s breadth. He’d aimed for his carotid artery without hesitation. He didn’t show any restraint in his attacks.

Immediately after missing his attack, the man kicked upwards. This time, he was aiming for his chin.

Lukas blocked the attack with his palms.

Paak!

Even though he blocked the attack perfectly, heavy shock still flowed through his hands. Unable to overcome it, Lukas’ body was sent flying into the air.

If he had been hit in the chin where the man was aiming, Lukas’ head would have been ripped from his body and sent flying like a soccer ball.

While Lukas was sent flying, the man drew another weapon. Upon seeing this weapon, Lukas was surprised for the first time.

It was a gun. But it wasn’t a small-sized gun like a pistol. Lukas didn’t know a lot about guns, but he realised that the gun this man was holding was a shotgun that had incredibly lethal power.

Boom!

Has it been modified? The sound that came from the gun was closer to an explosion than the sound of a shotgun.

Lukas dodged the bullets in the air. If he hadn’t been good at using the flight spell, his body would have already become a sieve.

Even the best Wizards, like Joanna, would have died at least five times in that short exchange. This showed how lethal, varied, and strange this man’s attacks were.

More importantly, Lukas didn’t believe he was even using his full strength yet.

“...”

The man narrowed his eyes slightly. This was because Lukas, who had avoided all of the bullets with strange movements in the air, suddenly disappeared.

Snap-

At the same time, an invisible force broke his shotgun in half.

Clicking his tongue, the man threw the gun to the side. Then, he slowly turned around. Lukas was standing behind him.

“I’ve never seen a Demon who could use magic.”

This man, one of the Top Three, Kran, finally opened his mouth and spoke with a blunt tone.

He only spoke after his barrage of attacks.

‘Besides...’

Lukas’ expression became strange as he looked at Kran.

Now that he could see him up close, he realised that this was a much more bizarre and chaotic being than he expected.

“Do I look like a Demon?”

Kran didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked down at his sword. The blade’s edge had been completely destroyed. This was the consequence of smashing Lukas’ barrier.

This sword was a magic sword that was once used by a Baron, and it was at least five times stronger than steel. And yet, it had become like this just from hitting a barrier.

“As I said, I’ve never seen a Demon who could use magic.”

“Then...”

“However, that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible. After all, you feel different from any Wizard I’ve ever encountered before.”

Lukas shook his head.

“I’m not a Demon.”

“Then you must be something that’s even more suspicious than a Demon.”

His cold voice contained clear hostility.

Lukas couldn’t help but sigh. He didn’t have the time to convince Kran or explain the situation right now.

“You’re heading to Zinga right now. To kill the Vampire Duke, right?”

Muscle density, organ position, skeletal structure, size, and habits were all completely different depending on the creature.

And Lee Jong-hak’s enemies were such horrible creatures that even the most ferocious animals looked cute in comparison.

Demons.

Beings that were naturally stronger than humans. Beings so ferocious that the word ‘voracious’ was still not enough to describe them.

They were his targets. And in order to hunt them, he needed to find the ultimate shortcut.

There was no way to defeat them in a head-on confrontation, so he would need to use tools and sly, cowardly methods to restrict his opponent’s strength while maximising his own.

He refined the sword methods to form a hunting method.

That was how his sword method was born.

Lee Jong-hak called this sword method the Evil Vanquishing Sword Method. (Note: author-nim... no more technique names please... they’re so hard T~T)

After the creation of the Evil Vanquishing Sword Method, he gained the title Human Dragon and became a hero in East Asia.

His success story continued. His Evil Vanquishing Sword Method continued to display overwhelming power even when used against Demon Nobles. And he couldn’t help but feel that his efforts had been rewarded.

That was until his first battle against a Duke in Shanghai.

Clang!

The Evil Vanquishing Sword Method, the creation of which he was so proud, was blocked.

Using nothing more than a combination of the Imperial Sword Method and Thirty Six Worlds Sword Method.

‘The Evil Vanquishing Sword Method...’

Had it reached the limit of a manmade sword method? Had all the efforts he’d made so far been meaningless? Had he only been chasing an unattainable illusion?

‘There is a limit to a human’s power.’

Nodiesop’s voice rang out in his head.

The divine authority that he’d shown and his offers were extremely alluring. So it was understandable why most Asian hunters chose to follow him.

‘...however.’

Lee Jong-hak bit his lip.

He couldn’t help but wonder if there really was no price for such a sweet fruit.

There was no logical explanation for why he felt this way. However, the life that Lee Jong-hak had experienced up to that point spoke strongly.

There was nothing in this world that could be obtained for free.

“...”

Although Lee Jong-hak was visibly struggling, Gullard was also displeased with the current situation.

This was because he’d had enough of their fight.

He was tired of playing with the humans.

This was usually a form of entertainment for the Demons. Especially when the opponent was someone who was considered special among the humans. These people were usually tougher than other toys, so it was more fun to play with them.

But it didn’t take long for this little game to become boring.

From that point, he’d been trying to end it.

But it was hard for him to do so. Because of the woman at the back.

‘A Wizard.’

This had to be the case. After all, he could feel the mana fluctuations.

Gullard had some knowledge of magic. This was unlike the other Demons, who looked down on human techniques as crude practices that didn’t need to be cared about.

This was why he could tell that the spell this girl used to freeze his body was extraordinary.

In short, if it wasn’t for her interference, he would have already captured Lee Jong-hak alive.

“It can’t be helped.”

Gullard turned to look at the Demons who were standing behind Joanna.

The two Demons who had slaughtered Joffrey.

Most humans thought that they were his subordinates. That was intentional because this way, no one would be able to realise their true nature.

He didn’t order them. He didn’t need to make any hand gestures. With just a thought, they would be able to do what he wanted.

The two Demons quickly narrowed the distance to Joanna.

She was probably on high alert, but that didn’t matter. After all, she was just a Wizard.

“Ah...!”

Just as Joanna turned around, someone fell from the sky.

Crack!

It was a young man who wore a thick cloak that was meant to protect him from the desert winds.