Chapter 1206: 193. Poison

“You dared to divide your attention while fighting Miss Dragon. Are you truly not afraid of death?”

Muen released his hand, and the wound in his abdomen was restored by the black flames in the blink of an eye.

He had merely been stabbed straight through.

A minor injury.

The greater problem was the one before him.

To be honest, Muen truly had not expected Avik to be able to “return from the dead through another’s corpse” by using Kran’s body. In that regard, he had indeed been somewhat careless.

But what he had expected even less was that, despite already being in the dangerous situation of being chased like a dog by Miss Dragon, this fellow had still left a fragment of his consciousness inside Kran.

He was already in a precarious situation, only a hair’s breadth away from death, yet he still wanted to jump around on the spot?

What was he trying to accomplish?

Did he think he was not dying quickly enough?

“Is there any difference?” Kran suddenly asked.

“What?”

“To her, whether I give it everything I have or divide my attention elsewhere, is there any difference between the two?”

“Kran” continued smiling strangely, but a faint trace of ferocity could be seen within that smile.

“Either way, I die. From the moment I was discovered, the ending was already decided.”

“So you do know how terrifying Miss Dragon is.”

Muen was surprised. He had thought this fellow had hidden for several hundred years and suddenly decided he was capable again.

“Of course I know how terrifying she is... After all, I witnessed everything with my own eyes. I watched her destroy everything important to me with my own eyes...”

“Kran” covered his face with both hands.

His ten fingers slowly dragged downward, tearing apart that smiling face...

Bright red liquid flowed from the corners of his eyes.

It was impossible to tell whether it was blood or tears.

“That is why... I am here. For the past eight hundred years, we were utterly helpless and could only flee in every direction like rats. But now that a sliver of hope has finally appeared before us, how could we possibly refuse to seize it? This hatred, this hatred born from having everything taken away from us, must naturally be repaid with her blood and suffering!”

“No way. Do you truly think you are capable now?”

Muen raised an eyebrow.

“You want to make Miss Dragon repay you? On what grounds? That so-called weakness of Miss Dragon you people kept talking about?”

“You will learn that.”

“Kran” said meaningfully:

“Provided you live long enough to see it.”

Buzz!

In an instant, warning signs abruptly erupted!

This time, Muen’s premonition of death did not fail.

Because the person standing before him was no longer that reckless, innocent fool who was absolutely incapable of posing any threat to him.

It was a genuine old monster who had been hunted by Miss Dragon for eight hundred years!

Elizabeth slid into his palm.

“Kran” made no movement within his field of vision, but Muen had already instinctively assumed a defensive stance.

Clang!

The sword’s edge and the blade collided in an instant, and the scattering sparks illuminated the dim sky.

The motionless “Kran” slowly vanished like an afterimage.

Another “Kran” had already appeared before Muen.

The longsword in his hand thrust forward with a technique a hundred times more exquisite than the real Kran’s.

Had Muen not reacted quickly, his heart would probably already have been pierced.

A cold sweat instantly broke out across Muen’s body.

This old bastard’s combat experience was truly terrifying.

What appeared to be an ordinary move was actually incomparably sharp, making Muen feel as though he had returned to his previous battle against Zagu.

No.

This fellow had once reached an even higher realm.

He should be called Zagu Plus Max.

“Impressive, Muen Campbell. You are even more impressive than I imagined.”

Seeing his attack blocked, “Kran” tilted his head.

With his face dyed red by his own blood, it was impossible to tell whether he was excited or admiring.

“I never imagined that a Fifth-Rank warrior could receive my technique so easily. Perhaps there is no need for that dragon at all. You alone would probably be enough to sweep through this entire city.”

“Thank you for the compliment.”

Muen nodded reservedly and politely, fully expressing his respect toward an eight-hundred-year-old senior...

Then he sneered disdainfully.

“But saying you never imagined it only proves that you old bastard have spent so long being a rat that your horizons have narrowed. Without mentioning anything else, I can name five people in a single breath who could beat you senseless at this rank.”

“Boasting is of no use,” “Kran” said with a smile.

“I may boast to you about other things, but I am being serious about this.”

Muen spoke solemnly.

“I truly can name that many.”

“...”

“Forget it. There is no point explaining it to you. But if you truly want to kill me, come here in your real body. No matter how much you chatter while borrowing someone else’s body, you are still nothing more than a rat!”

As Muen finished speaking—

The blade turned lightly.

Hundredfold—

Alchemical Core activated.

Time Deceleration activated.

A terrifying vibration was layered into the blade more than a hundred times within a single instant.

Muen did not create any distance at all.

He merely drew back slightly.

Yet this strike carried a vast, sweeping momentum, unleashing a brilliant slash across the distance of less than ten centimeters separating them!

Clang!

This time, it was “Kran” who was forced to defend with difficulty in his haste and retreat in a wretched state.

But Muen refused to let him go.

He pressed forward, his speed far surpassing “Kran’s” under the enhancement of Time Deceleration!

Just as Muen had said earlier, this old bastard possessed extraordinarily rich combat experience.

Any casual move from him could make cold sweat break out across Muen’s body.

But after calming down, one would realize...

No matter how rich his experience was, no matter how long he had lived, what he was using now was only a body that was comparatively not that powerful.

Kran’s own strength was fixed.

Therefore, the upper limit of what Avik could display had been locked from the very beginning!

If the hardware was inadequate, even the finest technique was useless.

Moreover...

I have not even backed down when facing a genuine Crowned being. Why would I fear an old bastard borrowing a corpse to return from the dead?

“Lie back down!”

A diagonal cross-shaped slash tore through “Kran’s” chest, and blood sprayed outward.

However, Muen did not directly attack his vital points.

Instead, the instant a flaw appeared in his opponent’s mind, he met his gaze.

Profound darkness filled Muen’s pupils.

Like a reflection within a mirror, “Kran’s” pupils also became completely black.

Then, within that pure darkness, points of light resembling sparks gradually began illuminating one after another.

It was the light of the Flame of Annihilation.

Muen was using the soul-burning property he had inherited from the Withering King to completely annihilate the fragments of Avik’s consciousness and soul within Kran’s body.

Under normal circumstances, directly attacking an enemy’s soul during a battle like this was extremely difficult.

Unless the difference in strength between the two sides was overwhelming, it was almost impossible to accomplish.

But Muen believed that Avik’s true body was still being hunted by Miss Dragon.

The consciousness or soul fragment he had left inside Kran’s body had to be extremely weak.

As long as Kran himself still possessed the will to resist and cooperated from within, this would not be difficult.

And the one thing that dragonblood-bathed warrior named Kran lacked least...

Was the will to resist.

Therefore...

This could work!

“Kran!”

Muen roared:

“Wake up!”

His voice carried battle aura and exploded like thunder.

At the same time, as the Flame of Annihilation spread, the firelight within Kran’s pupils became increasingly brilliant.

Muen could already hear the faint wailing coming from Kran’s body...

The wailing of a soul!

At this rate, as long as he persisted for just a little longer, the raging flames capable of burning souls would soon completely incinerate Avik’s soul and consciousness within this body!

That was right.

As long as...

“Thank you... for saving me...”

Kran’s face twisted slightly.

His expression suddenly changed, and he gave Muen a grateful smile.

“Muen Campbell... Thank you... You truly are a good person...”

It appeared that within that body, the soul belonging to its original owner had finally regained the upper hand with Muen’s help and was about to completely expel the outsider occupying its nest...

But before Muen could breathe a sigh of relief...

That smile transformed into an intensely mocking sneer.

“Did you think... I would say that?”

The treasured sword belonging to the dragonblood-bathed warrior thrust forward once again.

An ancient martial technique empowered it.

Although it did not appear especially imposing, Muen’s death warning began buzzing madly once more.

Muen was forced to dodge and had no choice but to interrupt the process of burning the soul.

And he finally realized that something was wrong.

“What is going on? Your soul...”

“Ha! Muen Campbell, the surprises you give me... No, the frights you give me, are becoming more and more numerous. You actually possess a method capable of directly attacking the soul and consciousness.”

“Kran” floated backward, creating distance between them, and grinned.

“However, even you know that I am currently too occupied elsewhere and can use very little soul power. Do you think I would not know that myself? Both to eliminate my own weakness and to leave more power on the other side to delay her, after taking complete control of this body...

“I already thoroughly destroyed the consciousness belonging to that brat.

“Therefore, no matter how hard you try, there is only one consciousness left inside this body.”

“What?”

Muen’s movements abruptly stiffened.

He slowly raised his head and stared in disbelief at the pale-faced man before him.

His gaze seemed ready to pierce through the flesh and nail down the “Lord Hero” who should have represented beauty and salvation to Kran.

The murderous intent and savagery he had long since learned to control gradually began surging.

“Oh? Are you angry? How strange. That brat was only a stranger to you. Why would you become angry for the sake of a stranger?”

“This has nothing to do with whether he was a stranger. You killed an innocent person right in front of me. Of course I am angry!”

“Yes, I killed an innocent person. I am guilty. But why are you only stopping and condemning me? I merely killed this one person. Big Sister Dragon... No, that evil dragon, that calamity—how many innocent people has she killed? If you are angry at me, should you not be even angrier at that dragon? Yet all you do is cling desperately to her thigh.”

“Do not twist the issue. You and Miss Dragon are completely different.”

“How are we different? Hahaha... How are we different? You claim she did those things to save the world? Pah! If she truly possessed the ability to save the world, why did everything still become like this? Hahaha! We are all the same! Nothing more than the contemptible wailing of those who are powerless!”

Clang.

The blade light slashed toward him once again.

“Kran” tilted his head and dodged, yet allowed the remaining force to cut across his cheek.

Bright red blood flowed and instantly stained his collar.

“Shut up. A rat who only knows how to hide has no right to say such things,” Muen said, enunciating every word.

“How interesting.”

“Kran” did not shut up.

He merely stared at Muen and murmured:

“You should clearly have seen her cruel nature as well. Why are you not afraid at all? Are you not afraid that one day, you too will become a necessary ‘sacrifice’ for her to save the world?”

“Sorry.”

Muen said expressionlessly:

“I still have not clearly seen Miss Dragon’s true nature. There are also some things I remain puzzled about and have not yet found the answers to. So for now, I cannot be bothered to consider that question about becoming a ‘sacrifice.’

“I only know one thing right now.”

“What?”

“It is time for you to hit the road.”

Muen’s figure flashed as he closed in once again.

Since he now knew that attacks against the soul were ineffective, he could only destroy this fellow on the physical level.

Kran’s death made him furious.

But at the same time, it also completely removed his restraints.

There was no longer any need for him to hold back.

And so, the Alchemical Core activated.

Time Deceleration activated...

After this opening sequence, which had almost become his standard activation routine, Muen’s true full-power strike, without the slightest reservation...

Aimed directly at “Kran’s” vital point.

The brilliant blade light transformed into a full moon descending upon the world.

Everything beneath the heavens grew dim.

Only “Kran’s” face was illuminated, becoming incomparably pale.

The silence before destruction was always so beautiful.

Even “Kran” could not help feeling emotional.

He even felt fear...

If this yellow-haired brat were given a little more time, he would undoubtedly grow into something terrifying.

But he did not move.

He neither dodged nor defended.

He merely watched Muen attack in silence, his gaze perfectly calm.

“The time... should be about right.”

“Kran” spoke softly.

It was only an extremely ordinary sentence.

Like a person who had worked for an entire day suddenly glancing at the darkening sky and casually muttering, “That should be enough for today.”

Yet as those words fell, the full moon scattering destructive light...

Abruptly collapsed!

“Huh?”

Even Muen himself froze.

He tightened his grip on the blade and instinctively tried to continue attacking.

But as an inexplicable pain pierced through his body, forget attacking—he could not even remain standing steadily.

“This is...”

He swayed and looked down at himself.

At some unknown point, tiny pitch-black things resembling insects or ants had begun moving beneath his skin.

Yet when his perception swept over his body, there were no foreign objects within his flesh, much less any insects or ants.

Only after examining himself more carefully did he detect a slight abnormality deeper inside.

Some kind of filth was fusing with his flesh and blood.

Interweaving.

Entangling.

As though they were one.

“Poison? This is poison?”

Muen finally understood what that filth was.

He also recalled the sword that had pierced his body earlier and realized that the poison had been delivered into him at that moment.

But he still could not understand.

“But if this is poison, why is it affecting me?”

One had to know that he had immediately restored the sword wound with his black flames.

At the same time, to prevent the enemy from adding anything extra, the black flames would also remove every harmful presence within the wound...

Whether poison, curses, or Pollution.

It could be said that ever since acquiring the black flames, he had never again needed to worry about those strange and bizarre things.

But why, this time...

“Is it strange?”

“Kran” took in Muen’s reaction.

A trace of complicated emotion that was difficult to notice flashed through the depths of his pupils as he smiled.

“Why were you poisoned without noticing? Why can this poison not be removed? You must be very curious about the true nature of this poison.”

“...”

Muen could not be bothered to respond.

He continued examining himself and even tried using the black flames to remove it again...

But he still failed.

That filth had already fused into one with his flesh and blood.

To remove it completely would mean that the black flames would also have to devour that flesh along with it.

“The reason is very simple.”

Faced with Muen’s disregard, “Kran” did not become angry.

He toyed with the sword in his hand while speaking to himself.

“Because the one that has actually been poisoned is not you.

“It is the... dragon blood inside your body.”