Chapter 465

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Chapter 465: Friend (2)

Thunder Dragon, Song Jeongho.

The second among the Jinhyeon family’s three siblings, and second maternal uncle to Jeong Yeongwoo.

He was also, as Yeongwoo's blood relative, one of those sealed in the Aratubank—a sort of special ability, in a sense.

「Song Jeongho」

| Type: Dragonkin/Thunder Dragon

| Status: Alive / Fear

【Thunder Dragon in the Coffin】

| Gain 20% additional lightning damage to final attack power.

【Will of the Living】

| The closer to the states of “Alive” and “Happy,” the more damage reduction is gained, ranging from 5% to 25%.

【Legacy of the Dead】

| In the “Dead” or “Decayed” state, gain a 20% increase in attack power.

Even now, whenever Yeongwoo looked at the Aratubank, he was reminded of the effects granted by his second uncle sealed within.

∴ D-Do I have to fight too?

Although Song Jeongho had a combative personality rivaling that of his younger sister, today he seemed unusually reluctant.

And for good reason—the opponent waiting outside the coffin was the extraterrestrial expert who had easily beaten his crazy nephew into the ground.

“Of course. And try to look a bit braver, will you? You need that damage reduction rate, remember?”

Yeongwoo encouraged him, noting that his uncle’s status was still listed as “Fear.”

| Condition: Alive / Fear

The more a sealed person’s emotional state leaned toward “Happiness,” the higher the damage reduction gained through the Aratubank.

∴ …….

But it didn’t seem to help much.

“If you won’t come out, we’ll be forced to extract you.”

In the end, when Yeongwoo threatened him like this, Song Jeongho had no choice but to enact his own escape from the coffin.

Chaaaah!

The lid of the Aratubank burst open, and a stream of crimson liquid gushed out.

—W-What the…?

—Uh…!

The substance spewing out of the Aratubank formed a massive mountain, stunning the clan heads into gaping silence.

Even the “friends” seeing Song Jeongho in person for the first time stepped back in astonishment.

「He's huge!」

General Kim Younghyeom widened his eyes at the substance morphing into a dragon’s form. Next to him, Emel chuckled in disbelief.

—What a complete mess.

To someone like him—who had roamed the vast universe and fought countless battles—the transformed mutant forces before him must have seemed like a ragtag bunch.

Perhaps that’s why Emel graciously waited until Yeongwoo’s side had fully assembled their forces.

Just like a villain patiently waiting for the hero to finish transforming.

Whoosh!

Finally, Song Jeongho fully emerged from the Aratubank, his blue scales gleaming as he opened his jaws wide.

∴ D-Do we really have to solve this with a fight? Can't we talk it out instead?

“Don’t be ridiculous. You know we’ve already talked everything out.”

Yeongwoo responded sharply as he hoisted the Aratubank once more.

In response, Emel crossed his dual blades and uttered a chilling line.

Kwaat!

—I believe I’ve shown enough Deference for the dead.

Clearly, he was signaling that the battle was about to begin.

Seeing this, Yeongwoo, carrying both Bastard and the Aratubank, turned to his “friends” and spoke.

“Although today’s fight is six-on-one, it’s not because we’re dishonorable—it’s because we’re weak.”

「……!」

“But today, through this dishonorable battle, we will open the door to an honorable future. So fight with everything you have.”

Then he added in a quiet voice:

“And if something stings along the way... that’s just growing pains.”

Gripping Bastard menacingly, he charged forward.

Kwaquak!

“All forces, charge toward the futureeeeee!”

Given that there would be no future if they lost this fight, Yeongwoo’s rallying cry was simply a statement of truth.

And his “friends” knew this all too well.

「If we strike from six angles, there’ll be a gap somewhere. Fight with everything you've got!」

At General Kim Younghyeom’s command, they launched their attack all at once.

KWAGWAGWAGWAK!

And in that moment, the expressions of every clan head in the stadium froze.

—Uh…?

—What…

—What is that…?

As the five mutants began moving, the aura they emitted was overwhelmingly oppressive—and their speed was nearly impossible to track with the naked eye.

Simply put—

—Their combat strength is…

Just as Zeana muttered, the mutant force’s power had far exceeded expectations.

KUGUGUGUGU!

And it wasn’t just the onlookers who were shocked.

—……!

Even Emel could see that the mutants’ movements were no trivial matter.

In fact, they appeared more threatening than Jeong Yeongwoo himself, who held the title of Renaissance Clan Head.

Yeongwoo also sensed this shift quickly.

‘What’s going on? That guy looks… rattled?’

It couldn’t be because of their previous clash—so what had startled Emel?

There could be only one answer.

‘The effect of the First Calamity must be more intense than expected.’

Indeed, the First Calamity didn’t just empower mutants and monsters.

Its true value lay in the exemption from “Deference.”

Yeongwoo was at a disadvantage not only because of the basic gap in skill, but also due to the massive power reduction caused by Deference.

In contrast, the mutant army charging alongside him each had combat abilities comparable to a clan head—and they were all exempt from the penalties of Deference toward higher beings.

What’s more, there were five of these “ruthless” beings.

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—…….

Emel’s gaze shifted from Yeongwoo to the mutants behind him.

And Yeongwoo, seeing this, realized it instantly.

At this moment, the true threat to Emel… wasn’t himself.

It was his friends.

‘That bastard… He’s planning to reduce our numbers first.’

Emel had far more combat experience than this side.

Paradoxically, that’s why Yeongwoo trusted Emel’s judgment.

In other words, if Emel started by taking out his friends one by one, their chances of winning would plummet.

So what should Jeong Yeongwoo and his friends do?

‘Shit, the most useless one—me—has to be the bait……!’

It was the first time Yeongwoo had ever volunteered to be a scapegoat, but that’s how important this battle was to him.

Losing wouldn’t just mean giving up Aratubank—it would mean being branded a weakling in front of the heads of the lower galactic houses.

Therefore, from the perspective of the newly formed Renaissance family, a powerful impression was necessary.

And so Yeongwoo—

“Twenty Sword Mountain, summon……!”

—summoned Twenty Sword Mountain above Emel’s head and threw in Bastard as well.

Shwaaaaak!

Emel frowned as he saw the space above his head open once again.

—Sword Mountain? This is…

He looked momentarily perplexed at Yeongwoo’s Sword Mountain, then quickly retreated to avoid the falling blades.

Tat!

Then, with a swing of the sword in his right hand, he effortlessly deflected Bastard.

Paang!

Two movements—enough to neutralize Yeongwoo’s trump card.

But that was all they needed.

Because in that short time, his “friends” had already closed in on Emel.

『This isn’t the first time we’ve ganged up on someone, right? Look for openings and attack!』

∴ Wha…?

General Kim Younghyeom’s shout made Song Jeongho’s scales tremble.

In contrast, Yeongtae, Taejoon, and Younghyeom—who had long endured lives of hardship—boldly entered Emel’s attack range, and even the usually mild Geumhwa bared her claws and dove in with fierce momentum.

Shyaaaaaa!

Then, something incredible happened.

—Damn it.

Emel, realizing he couldn’t take on the entire mutant squad at once, pulled back.

Tat-tat!

Then he kicked upward, landing a blow squarely on General Kim Younghyeom’s chin.

Baaaaam!

Next, he blocked Yeongtae’s claw with the sword in his left hand and raised his right sword to guard against Taejoon’s punch.

Paaang!

A shockwave rang in their ears—but the mutant squad’s attack wasn’t over yet.

『Hngh……!』

Geumhwa, who had been descending in a diagonal line from midair, was still coming.

『Geumhwa! Go for the head! Rip it off!』

Yeongtae shouted as he clung to Emel’s left sword, prompting Geumhwa to grit her teeth and strike with her claws.

Paat!

『S-sorry, Emel……!』

Unable to look her opponent in the eye, Geumhwa squeezed her eyes shut.

But the situation she feared didn’t come.

Kwakwakwak!

Emel’s body, entangled by the mutants, spun violently.

“That bastard, again with the bullshit!”

It was the same move that had wrecked Kang Hongtae’s front paw earlier.

‘So that’s his signature technique.’

Yeongwoo’s eyes widened as Emel, spinning at high speed, flung the friends off and shot about 10 meters into the air.

Pababak!

‘Wait—he’s in the air.’

Yeongwoo had never seen Emel fly freely through the sky.

If the guy had no flight ability, then at that moment, he couldn’t move sideways.

Meaning he’d just fall due to gravity—for about one second, his position would be fixed.

“Now……!”

As Yeongwoo began to retrieve Bastard for a follow-up—

∴ Hup……!

A blue flash burst high above, and a claw covered in azure scales smacked Emel hard.

Puuuuuhk!

—Guh!

For the first time, Emel groaned.

Everyone in the arena turned their gaze not to Emel, but to the one who struck him.

∴ Oh……?

It was Song Jeongho, the second son of the Jinhyeon family, who looked just as shocked, his large snout agape.

—D-did you see that?

—The Deputy-lord……

Even the sub-lord of Shirach, Emel, wasn’t invincible…!

The shocking realization made all the family heads stare at the thunder dragon covered in blue scales—with a mix of awe and fear.

They were reminded that such a monster had been hiding behind Jeong Yeongwoo07’s shield all along.

Noticing the attention, Song Jeongho’s eyes flashed with a blue glow as he glared at Emel.

∴ Hey, now you get it? What Earth is really like.

Emel, who had been slammed into the ground, rose while cracking his neck side to side.

—Six is certainly too many.

His first acknowledgment—following his first groan.

But this was a misstep on Emel’s part.

Because that was when a searing presence flared up from the other side.

Crrrack.

『Then maybe seven will be enough to settle this.』

—What?

As Emel twisted his face and turned his head, he saw Kang Hongtae transforming into a human.

He had polymorphed into a swordsman form.

The guy had finally decided to join the fight.

“…….”

Yeongwoo, who had been staring blankly at Kang Hongtae, quickly raised his hand.

Fwoosh!

“Anyone else want to join us?”

—What?

“Cause I’m pretty sure 8-on-1 means we win for sure……?”

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