Zeke ran deeper into the forest to avoid the approaching hunting dogs.
'Stubborn bastards.'
Zeke had already experienced in his past life how vicious hunting dogs could be.
He turned on the minimap and counted how many hounds were chasing him.
A total of thirty-six hunting dogs were chasing Zeke.
As time passed, it was clear that the number of hunting dogs chasing them would increase.
At that moment, a new hunting dog unit appeared in front of Zeke.
Chomp!
They must have learned assassination techniques separately, as their movements were similar to those of assassins in the desert.
WHEEK!
Zeke dodged the attack by leaning forward in the air and stepped back.
Thanks to my infinite stamina, I didn't get tired, but there was no way the hunting dogs would back down at this point.
'Should I just kill them all?'
The problem was that if any trace of Zeke Drake were left behind, things could get complicated.
I had to leave behind just enough traces to identify myself as a hitman for the Southern Continent Cartel.
Dozens of hunting dogs surrounded Zeke and glared at him with sharp eyes.
He too held a dagger in both hands and glared at the hunting dogs.
"Haaaah!"
The knights at the very front rushed towards Zeke first.
Zeke skillfully dodged the knight's sword and rolled on the ground, aiming for Achilles' tendon.
WHEEK!
The hounds leapt upward to dodge the attack, perhaps having had experience fighting Southern outlaws.
Zeke spoke, lowering his posture as much as possible, holding his dagger and glaring at the hounds.
"You damn empire bastards. If I die here and now, the McCain cartel will take bloody revenge."
The hounds didn't say anything else despite Zeke's words.
It was a provocation to get other information, but the hounds didn't fall for it.
If he had been McCain's actual hitman, he would have either committed suicide by poisoning himself or made a deal to hand over the information, but Zeke made a different choice.
He took something out of his bosom and quickly blew on it.
Booooooo!
A sound so loud it was hard to believe it came from a small horn echoed throughout the forest.
The sudden noise made the hunting dogs look around on alert.
But nothing much happened, and the one who seemed to be the unit commander nodded and signaled for Zig to be caught.
Several hunting dogs approached Zeke.
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Then Zeke threw something in front of them.
Whoosh!
There were five smoke grenades taken out of the inventory.
As the smoke rose, the surrounding vision was completely blocked.
Zeke quickly dodged, hiding his presence.
The unit commander who sensed it shouted.
"Catch that guy right now!"
But a situation arose where that was not possible.
Kwakwakwang!
They appeared, pulling out the tree whole.
Muscles that cover his entire body like armor, with a huge physique that is over 2 meters tall.
On his bare body, covered in menacing tattoos, he wore a unique outfit made of monster skin.
They were the barbarians, known as the true masters of the Giant Mountains.
"Hoooooooo!"
The Barbarians' shouts shook the entire forest.
The hunting dogs were confused when they saw the barbarians who suddenly appeared.
"Kill those savages!"
The hounds rushed at the barbarians who appeared from all directions.
The knight running at the very front tried to cut the barbarian's body.
Boom!
"uh?"
Surprisingly, it bounced off without penetrating the knight's black muscles.
The barbarian warrior literally grabbed the knight's arms and legs and twisted them, squeezing them.
Wood crunch!
The knight died with his limbs torn off without even being able to fight back.
The squad leader shouted in confusion.
"Use your Aura! Use your Aura! A sword without Aura won't work on the savages!"
The knights draped their swords and charged at the barbarians.
It was able to penetrate the thick muscles of the black barbarians with concentrated aura.
But the problem came next.
"profit!"
The barbarians had long learned to fight against knights who used aurors while protecting their territory.
They gave flesh and took bones.
They held the sword that had penetrated their bodies with their strong muscles, preventing it from slipping out.
Then he struck the knights' heads with his strong fist.
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puck!
The fists of the barbarians, with their incredible strength, were like the maces wielded by a trained knight.
Everywhere, barbarians seized the knights' swords, got close, and blew off their heads.
As the barbarians pushed back the knights in hand-to-hand combat, the leader of the hounds immediately gave the order to retreat.
"Get back! Get back!"
But the Barbarians were no less tenacious than hunting dogs.
Instead of watching the hounds run away, they started chasing them.
To them, the Giant Mountains were like their own backyard.
The barbarian hordes chased the hounds with shouts as if a storm was brewing.
Zik, who had been watching this from afar, slowly revealed himself.
'It tasted better than I expected.'
Zeke blew the horn that summoned the barbarians.
In his previous life, he fought against barbarians, but when a demon appeared that was too difficult to deal with alone, he would form a united front with them.
One of the tribes he met at that time, the Mohakin tribe, had a fairly friendly relationship with Zeke.
From the Mohawk tribe, Zeke was able to learn how to make the horns used by the barbarians and the signaling system.
The signal that Zeke had sent with his horn earlier meant, 'There are foreign forces here who have invaded the sacred mother land.'
Although they appeared to be simple barbarians on the outside, the Barbarians were people who lived within their own traditions and culture.
The only place that pointed the finger at them and rejected them as uncivilized was the Central Continent, where only human countries existed.
"If you get caught by the Barbarians, you're dead that day."
Zeke ran in the opposite direction from the hounds who had been chased by the barbarians.
He too wanted to avoid being pursued by the Barbarians.
After gaining some distance, Zeke turned on the minimap and headed straight for the ruins of Caesar.
Because it is located deep in the Giant Mountains, the rugged terrain itself was a challenge.
He would occasionally enter the cave and eat the food he brought to satisfy his hunger, and when he became tired, he would hunt monsters and eat them to replenish his mental strength.
After climbing the mountain for several days, I was finally able to reach the entrance to the ruins.
"This looks like the entrance to a cave."
The entrance itself is obscured by huge trees, so if it weren't for the minimap and navigation features, it would have been impossible to find even after months of searching.
Zig carefully entered the cave.
The cave wasn't much different from a normal dungeon.
Zeke followed the path indicated by the minimap while keeping a close eye on his surroundings.
There were some forks in the road here and there, but thanks to the route guidance function, I was able to find my way without getting confused.
Monsters occasionally appeared along the way. And they all turned into precious points for Zeke.
The way there was easier than I thought.
Soon the cave ended and the floor turned into a hard brick road.
Usually, artificial caves, such as historic sites, had underground structures structured in this way.
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Zeke checked the map and approached the entrance to the ruins.
But at one point, while looking at the map, Zig tilted his head.
'What is this?'
A red dot kept blinking in front of the entrance to the ruins.
It was a completely different reaction from what had been shown on the map so far.
Zeke felt that something unusual was at the entrance. He immediately took out Bahamut and went inside, keeping a close eye on it.
It was then that we turned the corner and arrived in front of the ruins of Caesar.
'Damn. I thought things were going well for some reason.'
Krrrr!
A giant hydra was sitting on its belly in front of the gate of the ruins.
Judging by the size of its body and the number of its nine heads, it appeared to be at least several hundred years old.
At that moment, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[A corrupted dragon species has been detected, eroded by the polluted energy.]
'Fallen Dragon?'
I couldn't figure out why this message suddenly appeared on my system.
Zeke looked at Hydra, who was shaking his head from side to side and looking around cautiously, lost in thought.
'How do I get over that guy?
Since his goal was to find Caesar's Book of Vision, there was no need to go out of his way to kill the Hydra.
Zeke, who was worried, used his experience at the Dragon Slayer's Tomb to give orders to the system.
'System, can you open that door?'
As Zeke asked, a message came to mind.
[Connecting to the control device at the administrator's request.] [Connected to the Hero King Kaisir's Rest Management System.] [Access granted.] [Opening the entrance door.]
At the same time, behind Hydra, the tightly closed door began to open.
Hydra, who had been sitting guarding in front of the door, rose from his seat.
Kaaaaaaah!
The nine heads shook their bodies with a scream.
Then the whole cave began to shake.
'What the hell.'
Zeke quickly unleashed his whirlwind while Hydra roared.
Application of the dragon killing method
Whirlwind
Flying step
Zeke's body rose up and flew towards the door like the wind.
Kaaaak!
But Hydra never let intruders enter its gates.
One of the Hydra's nine heads descended towards Zeke and opened its massive mouth wide.
Zeke held Bahamut and focused his aura.
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The blue aura blade soared.
Zeke raised Bahamut high, engulfed in the Aura Blade, and swung it at the Hydra.
Dragon's method
Chapter 7, Section 1
Dragon head cut
The Yongsal method originated from a sword technique created to kill dragons.
The form of the Yongsal method, which mainly relies on large movements, was not suitable for fighting humans, but it was perfect for dealing with giant beasts.
Kwakwakwakwa!
A massive aura blade passed through the Hydra's mouth.
Kaaaaaaah!
The hydra with its mouth cut off screamed in agony.
Blood flowed from the wounded area and scattered everywhere.
The Hydra's blood, which had a strong acidic content, corroded the solid stone floor.
Phew!
Zeke's flight track continued to accelerate forward without stopping.
Then Hydra blocked the open door of the ruins with its body.
Zeke aimed Bahamut at Hydra and revved up his energy.
Woohoo!
A giant aura blade rose up.
The Hydra's head lunged at Zeke.
The moment the Hydra's head got close, Zeke used the dragon tribe skill, Dragon's Dignity.
Kookung!
The Hydra, sensing the dragon's majesty, trembled in fear and retreated.
Zeke didn't miss that opportunity.
In a split second, he swung the aura blade wrapped around his sword at the Hydra.
Dragon's method
Chapter 3, Section 2
Half moon flying
Woohoo!
A crescent-shaped aura blade shot out from Zeke's sword.
Hooooooooooo!
The crescent moon rotated and cut off three of Hydra's heads.
Kaaaaaaah!
Acidic blood gushed from the severed neck and poured down on Zig.
Cheeeeek!
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Immediately, the acidic blood burned Zeke's skin.
If it were a normal person, it would have melted down to the bones, but Zeke was different.
Because the healing factor immediately restored my health.
"Cha-ha-ha!"
Zig jumped straight into the gaping door.
And then as soon as he entered he shouted.
"System! Close the door!"
[The door is closed at the administrator's request.]
Kookookookook!
The gates to the ruins began to close again.
Then the Hydra's head dug through the crack in the ruins' door.
Kaaaaaaah!
Three heads burst through the door and rushed at Zeke.
"Get out of here, you little snakes!"
Zeke jumped into the air holding Bahamut.
The Hydra's head spewed poisonous smoke towards Zeke, but Zeke trusted his healing factor and charged through the poisonous smoke.
An aura blade over three meters long was created from the sword.
Dragon's method
Chapter 1, Section 1
Sky cut
Kwakwakwakwa!
A massive auror blade sliced through the three heads of the Hydra wedged in the door, from top to bottom.
Crunch!
The Hydra's head was split vertically.
In that state, Zeke held his sword and glared at the Hydra.
The bodies outside the door seemed to be writhing, as if they were not dead yet.
Krrrrrr—
After a while, other heads tried to squeeze through the crack in the door again.
"You tenacious little snakes… … ."
As he muttered and prepared to attack again, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[You have drawn fear from a fallen dragon that has been corrupted by the polluted energy.] [The unique power Dragon Domination is activated.]