Childhood Friend of the Zenith – 421 (Part 1)



421 (Part 1)

”’〈 Chapter 422 〉 The River of the Dragon.(3)

A massive vessel capable of carrying hundreds of people at once.

A shadow reflected on the river that felt even larger than that vessel.

“Damn it.”

As soon as I saw it a curse slipped out.

Why is that thing appearing here?

“What is that…?”

“Report to Captain immediately!”

“What is that…!!”

It seemed I wasn’t the only one panicking; everyone around me was equally flustered. Amidst the chaos unsure of what to do.

I glared at Dangdeok and sent a telepathic message.

– Is that what you prepared?

“…”

Dangdeok didn’t respond but I could see his eyes trembling.

I asked again wanting a definite answer despite my doubts.

– This is an order so answer clearly.

– I… don’t know… that’s the case.

Dangdeok said he didn’t know? Given the circumstances I had assumed it was something he prepared to capture the Red King.

Surprisingly it seemed that wasn’t the case.

Then….

“What the hell is that…?”

It was obvious it was deep in the river. Its massive size made even the slightest movement visible on the water’s surface.

Following that movement blue demonic beasts were being led along as if to escort it.

I had to be certain.

That enormous something was definitely a red demonic beast.

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I had seen it in my previous life but compared to the green and blue demonic beasts that fought each other red-grade demonic beasts had the characteristic of dominating lower-tier creatures.

Their sheer power was at the level of a martial artist who had reached the peak.

Considering the traits of those who led other demonic beasts one could imagine how daunting it would be to hunt them.

And the problem didn’t end there.

Crack—

I clenched my fist tightly.

‘What the hell.’

Why are those things appearing already?

‘It’s not time yet.’

The reappearance of red-grade demonic beasts occurs after the descent of the Heavenly Demon.

It was around the time she began to properly manifest on this land calling herself the Heavenly Demon.

That was the time when the reappearance of the long-forgotten red demonic beasts was supposed to happen.

“It’s still not time. Damn it….”

How could such a creature be rampaging through the river?

Moreover.

I looked at the waists of the escorts and the guards.

The magic talismans they wore were perfectly intact showing no signs of distress.

The fact that the items meant to alert us of a magic gate were so calm indicated that no magic gate had appeared nearby.

This meant.

‘That thing isn’t a newcomer.’

It suggested that some time had passed since the appearance of the red magic gate.

When exactly? When did the red magic gate start appearing?

I couldn’t tell. At least there had been no such news reaching the Central Plains.

As I frowned and observed the state of the demonic beasts.

“What’s going on?”

The Poison King appeared and began to assess the situation.

The Poison King also widened his eyes sensing the presence beneath the river.

“What is that…?”

“It seems to be a red-grade demonic beast.”

I said this while looking at him.

Upon hearing my words the Poison King flinched and increased his movements.

Not only him but everyone around began to show reactions close to shock.

“A red one…?”

“That’s nonsense…! A red demonic beast? Isn’t that a story from hundreds of years ago!”

“What is the Flame Demon saying right now?”

The murmurs grew louder.

It was only natural to react this way to the emergence of a grade that had only been recorded in history.

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Even amidst this my gaze remained fixed on the river.

The sudden appearance of a red-grade demonic beast was astonishing.

But right now understanding the situation was the priority.

‘Of all places why the river?’

The more I understood the more I realized how terrible the situation was. This was the most undesirable scenario for hunting.

The range of action was reduced and it was the perfect situation to be in danger.

‘It’s not extremely dangerous but….’

I glanced back at those gathered behind me.

What I found was the location of the Great General and the Dark King.

The Great General looked surprised by the appearance of the red demonic beast his eyes wide.

The Dark King seemed to find the situation somewhat interesting as he observed.

‘We have enough power….’

We had more than enough strength to hunt the red demonic beast. With numerous peak martial artists and several martial artists at the boundary it shouldn’t be too difficult.

The problem was.

‘Right now… it’s an era unfamiliar with red demonic beasts.’

The issue was that we were in a time when we had no idea how to hunt red demonic beasts only passed down through records.

And that was because.

From the red-grade demonic beasts onward there were specific methods for hunting them.

Just as I was feeling a headache from the unexpected situation.

Whoooosh—Whoooosh—!!

Boom—!

A tremendous sound erupted from the river and waves began to crash on the previously calm surface.

The waves were so strong that the massive vessel rocked violently.

“Hold on tight!”

“Ahhh!”

Most of us were martial artists so maintaining our balance wasn’t too difficult. However there were still a few who couldn’t react in time.

Those who couldn’t grab hold were thrown from the swaying vessel and fell into the river.

Normally they would have easily escaped but.

The green and blue demonic beasts sensing prey charged fiercely.

“Ahhh—! Save me… save me!”

The confined space of the water suppressed their abilities.

The incapacitated bodies of even top-tier martial artists became mere prey.

As we watched people being devoured and disappearing in an instant everyone’s nerves were on edge.

Each of us being martial artists began to prepare for battle rather than succumbing to fear.

They drew their swords and raised their qi.

The qi emanating from their bodies mixed with the air creating a single flow of energy.

‘This…!’

I had to flinch at the sight.

This is dangerous.

I wanted to shout for everyone to gather their energy immediately.

Whoooosh—!

It was too late.

The creature had already begun to move as if provoked.

As it moved the waves grew even stronger.

Soon its shadow became more pronounced piercing through the river beside the vessel and revealing itself.

Swoosh—!

As it raised its massive head the water surged violently.

On the rocking vessel everyone held their breath.

The qi that had been swirling in the air quietly dissipated as if it had never existed.

Its size was no less than that of the vessel itself.

With a long slender body and beautifully arranged red scales.

It flicked its long tongue at the tip of its snout rolling its eyes to gaze at the vessel.

Someone upon seeing its appearance spoke in a trembling voice.

“…a snake…?”

Yes.

Its appearance resembled that of a snake.

Only it was unimaginably gigantic.

******************

Red-grade demonic beast.

The last recorded sighting was approximately five hundred years ago during the era of the Senior Uncle.

It was said to be a demonic beast boasting power and size incomparable to green and blue-grade demonic beasts.

White demonic beasts could transform vast plains into rivers or bring snow during tropical nights.

If they could alter the terrain and impact the ecosystem to that extent.

Then the red-grade which resided just below them was said to be powerful enough to reign as the king of a region.

As long as they resided there no unauthorized beings could live or wander there due to their terrifying power.

It was a record that seemed absurd to say it was merely a demonic beast.

When the Poison King saw this he had no doubt that it was a false record.

If one surpassed the top tier handling green demonic beasts and even blue ones would be easy.

Would a demonic beast just one tier higher show such a vast difference?

Even if that were the case it was merely a demonic beast that had already vanished into the annals of history never to appear again.

The Poison King had never considered red-grade demonic beasts to be particularly dangerous.

And this was a common thought shared by all who lived in the Central Plains.

After all it was a grade that would never appear again.

A hollow and exaggerated record.

That was all there was to the red grade.

But now the Poison King had no choice but to change his mind.

“This is….”

The records weren’t that far from the truth.

“It’s an absurd size….”

With the evidence right before his eyes how could he think otherwise?

Swoosh—!

It was a snake. An incredibly gigantic snake.

The red-scaled snake true to its name as a red demonic beast was as large as the vessel they were on.

It rolled its yellow eyes around scanning the people on the deck.

As it did those around began to tremble in fear.

Most were martial artists below the top tier and some were so overwhelmed they foamed at the mouth and lost consciousness.

Seeing this the Poison King couldn’t help but frown deeply.

‘What on earth…!’

Suddenly the appearance of a red grade. What kind of disaster is this?

What about the other demonic beasts that had gathered around?

No matter how he looked at it the situation was dire.

The eyes of the demonic beast were the same.

The Poison King immediately realized. The gaze of that demonic beast was filled with hunger.

It was clear it saw us as prey.

Having grasped that much the Poison King shouted without hesitation.

“Turn the ship around!”

First we needed to get out of here. The Poison King wasn’t foolish enough to think of keeping the ship still in front of such a creature.

At the same time.

Swoosh—!

He didn’t think that the monster would let the ship turn without interference.

The moment the ship began to move the demonic beast’s eyes gleamed and it charged forward.

Seeing this the Poison King leaped from the deck and charged at the demonic beast.

In his hand a dagger had somehow appeared.”’