Soora.
In countless stories, anytime this being appears, it’s never as an average powerhouse, and in Heavenly Bright Moon, Soora was definitely flaunting that strength.
Contracted with a dragon, guarding the dragon’s temple, and testing those who dare to meet the dragon, he moved six arms effortlessly, batting away five attacks.
Even the Sword Saint, Hongryeon, and Chaekin had their powerful energy wrapped around their weapons as they fought.
“Haaaaaaap!!”
Chaekin’s strike pierced Soora’s body. White energy left a mark on that large, solid frame, but Soora seemed uninterested, swinging his arm to knock Chaekin away. As Chaekin, pushed back, took a deep breath to regroup, I shouted loudly.
“Now!!”
The Sword Saint, Hongryeon, and Sayoon.
As soon as I signaled, the masters of Hongseong moved swiftly.
Hongseong Small Sword Formation.
When the Hongseong clan members gathered, the formation unfolded, and at that moment, with Soora’s three faces focused on him, Chaekin and Chaeryun attacked Soora’s side.
– Swaaaack!!
Red blood splattered. This time, had he taken a hit? Soora roared and leaped backward.
The Sword Saint, watching the distance widen, chose to observe rather than chase after.
Could it have been from taking dozens of hits?
Soora’s expression, once twisted like a demon, suddenly softened.
In Heavenly Bright Moon, they referred to this as the second phase.
Naturally, they were also informed of this change.
Amidst the building tension, Soora laid down his weapons.
It became a pure hand-to-hand fight, but they couldn’t drop their guard.
Even without my explanation, they probably sensed that the real fight was just beginning.
Truly, experts are experts.
I watched them and finally spoke.
“I say again, to capture the unarmed Soora, we must all pool our strength. And be mindful when Soora’s mouth opens. And Sayoon and Chaeryun, be careful. He’ll attack the two of you first.”
The moment Soora opened his eyes, which had been closed, that massive figure vanished. At the same time, Soora’s fist targeted Sayoon, and a beam shot from Soora’s eyes aimed straight for Chaeryun’s heart.
“Oof!!”
Was it because I had warned her beforehand? Sayoon jumped nimbly to evade that fist. Chaeryun was the same. Even though his attack failed, Soora didn’t stop.
He kept pressing forward like before.
Not participating in the battle, I could only shout to those fighting Soora.
“When Soora’s second right arm bends, flames will erupt from his mouth, so be careful! Those flames can only be blocked by qi defense! Also, if Soora throws the skull hanging around his neck, you must destroy that first! Those skulls create hungry ghosts! And when Soora’s weapons rise into the sky, you must be on high alert! They will launch an attack! And…”
Even while battling this formidable opponent, following my orders, everyone somehow managed to defend and fight against Soora.
I sighed.
Wow, Soora was notoriously strong even in Heavenly Bright Moon, but seeing three superhumans challenged like this is just…
Looking at the three of them holding on like this, it’s really…
Thank goodness I know the strategy; otherwise, the battle would have gotten even more chaotic.
“Haah!!”
At that moment, light gathered on Hongryeon’s sword. Seeing this, Chaekin moved as if pulling in Dool.
In the end, Soora lost both arms. Taking advantage of that moment, Sayoon and Chaeran also sliced Soora’s legs.
“Kaaaargh!!”
Soora’s last-ditch struggle. It was the moment when all three mouths opened simultaneously, and light was about to burst from all her eyes.
“…Huh.”
And then the Sword Saint moved. Her sword flashed, and Soora’s movements stopped.
Her heart was pierced. Gradually disintegrating, Soora smiled with a satisfied expression before turning to ash and vanishing, causing everyone involved in the battle to slump to the ground.
“…Wow, wow…”
Only then did Hongryeon let out a gasp and looked at me, and I applauded her.
“You did a great job.”
“I-I was really tense. She seemed stronger than Dool…”
Soora was indeed stronger than Dool. I agreed with her, and Chaekin, who was sitting and resting, tilted her head as she looked at the spot where Soora had turned to ash.
“What’s that?”
I picked up what was lying on the ground.
“This is…”
“Do you know what it is?”
“It’s called ‘Soora’s Sword.'”
I picked up the long, thin sword, which resembled the weapon Soora was using earlier.
“It looks something nice.”
“A good weapon.”
It was certainly one of the weapons you could obtain by defeating Soora.
I’m glad a usable weapon came out.
If it had been an axe or some golden staff, it would have been a bust.
I offered the Soora Sword to Chaeran.
“Huh?”
“You take it. Chaekin, is that okay?”
“Uh? Yeah. I’m fine.”
Chaekin didn’t seem to care much, while Chaeran looked back and forth between me and Chaekin, her eyes wide open.
“This, this… Is it really okay for me to accept this?”
“You’re going to take the Yonghyeongdo anyway, and Hongryeon will get the Yonghwan sword. So it’s better for you to take Soora’s Sword.”
Of course, she could sell it too, but I doubt a swordsman would sell a sword of this caliber.
Unless they found something better.
“…Thank you.”
Chaeran tightly grasped the Soora Sword and bowed her head to everyone. The Sword Saint spoke to her leisurely.
“Don’t worry about it, it’s fine.”
“Yeah. You worked hard too.”
“I’m glad you got a good weapon; it makes me feel good.”
“Everyone…”
Chaeran was so happy that if you poked her, tears would flow like a fountain. I looked at her and tapped the Soora Sword.
“Soora’s Sword has many advantages, but the best advantage is that it doesn’t break. Also, since Soora’s power is infused in the sword, low-level evil monsters will be cautious and won’t recklessly charge at it.”
“But the greatest advantage is that it cannot be destroyed. Also, since the power of Soora is contained within it, evil monsters below a certain level will be cautious and won’t recklessly attack.”
“Wow…”
“Furthermore, I’ve heard that if you unlock the second form of Soora, you can use some of Soora’s power.”
“What?!”
“It’s called Soorajin Gongsam… something like that.”
It was a powerful martial art that fell under the category of area attacks in Heavenly Bright Moon.
Recalling the terrifying Soora from earlier, Chaeran gripped the Soora blade tightly. Seeing her look satisfied, I turned to everyone and said,
“Alright. There’s something just as dangerous as Soora in the next room, so let’s prepare ourselves.”
We’ll need to exert all our strength.
After defeating Soora and recovering, we explored the interior of the Dragon’s Temple.
We encountered quite a few formidable evil monsters along the way, but with three super beings, what was there to worry about?
Arriving at the next room without any issues, I was greeted by quite a few statues and decided to rearrange their positions with everyone’s help.
To meet the master of the next room, we needed to discover the correct positions for these statues through dragon-related events, but since we already knew how to do it, we could just proceed.
While it was a pity to miss out on rewards for completing the related events, they were minor rewards that would merely increase our fame, and we could handle that later.
– Kuruuung…!!
As Sayoon set down the last statue, I stepped back.
“As I said before.”
I saw the massive pitch-black lion, characterized by its two horns, named ‘Hu’ approaching us, revealing its hostility with a vicious grin.
“I trust you are well-acquainted with the strategy for this fight.”
The battle was fierce, but we were eventually able to take it down.
Once Hu’s head was completely severed, its body turned to ash, leaving behind the two horns that had once adorned its head.
These could be used as materials, specifically for crafting an outfit for the Sword Saint.
After gathering it up, I watched them recover their energy and said,
“Alright. Let’s go.”
The path after defeating Hu was more complicated than the one after Soora, filled with traps and stronger evil monsters.
However, with such skilled companions, it didn’t pose much of a problem.
Additionally, having gained Soora’s blade seemed to have sharpened Chaeran’s focus, as she adeptly spotted traps like a ghost.
Thus, without any issues, we arrived at the final room.
It was so expansive that one might question if it could be considered a room. In the center, there were quite a few statues, and as we placed them in their proper locations.
– Kuguuung!!
This time, the ceiling opened. Just as everyone was tense.
A voice echoed from the sky.
“I didn’t expect any to visit this place again…”
It was a weary voice. I slowly raised my head and could see what was descending from the heavens.
A dragon.
A stunning blue-scaled dragon that sparkled exceptionally bright and beautiful.
This colossal dragon, with a long serpent-like body and whiskers that reached its tail, floated in the sky, gazing down at us calmly.
The massive dragon with a beard reaching down to its tail floated in the sky, looking down at us calmly as it spoke.
“Yes, humans. What is the reason you sought me out?”
“I wish to take your test.”
“Is that so?”
That was all. The dragon looked at us with eyes as clear as a lake and flashed the orb it held in its hand.
At that moment, a thunderous sound erupted from the sky.
“Then go ahead and try to pass.”
The dragon vanished. Then, from the now darkened sky, something began to descend.
Similar to when the dragon appeared, but it looked horrifying.
Black scales and a ferocious face.
Unlike the dragon with a single orb, this being bore four orbs on its four legs.
It was an Imugi.
“Are you all ready?”
As I watched the Imugi dive down toward us, gleaming with anticipation, I turned back to see everyone nodding.
Well, as the team leader, I’m feeling reassured.
“Then let’s go.”
No sooner had I said that than everyone who had memorized the strategy charged at the Imugi.
The battle was fierce. But in the end, the victory was ours.
After all, we were thoroughly prepared, and there were three superhumans with us.
Such strength was unheard of even in Heavenly Bright Moon.
It would be strange if we couldn’t take it down.
“Let’s heal up.”
But injuries were inevitable.
The Sword Saint had wounds all over, and Hongryeon and Chaejin weren’t unscathed either.
Sayoon, exhausted, sat on the ground and coughed, spitting out blood.
Chaeran was completely unconscious.
Having avoided combat, I gathered the Imugi’s black scales and the incomplete orb, items we could obtain from it.
The black scales of the Imugi would be used to craft equipment for Sayoon…
The incomplete orb should be given to Doje.
That would help him overcome Simma.
After collecting the guaranteed rewards, I began to treat the injured with the medicine and bandages I brought.
The dragon, watching for a while, chuckled softly.
“That was quite an entertaining battle. Haven’t you come here before? How did you move as if you knew all of Imugi’s attacks?”
“…Because Shinsan Seonja is with us.”
As Hongryeon smiled, the dragon fixed its gaze on me. It flew towards me, looking intently and then bursting into laughter.
“Ha ha ha! What an interesting fellow you are. How can the will of a human be so strong?”
The dragon’s lips twisted as it studied me like a fascinating object.
“Long ago, before I stayed here, I met someone who wasn’t quite at this level. Of course, that person had strength unlike yours, so balance must be maintained.”
“Who was that?”
Chaejin, whom I was treating, asked, and the dragon’s face darkened.
“Ah… that person called themselves Cheonma.”
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