Ranker Who Lives Twice
chapter-238

Team: HH, thursdays, Yahiko

‘Heh…..’

Yeon-woo snorted unintentionally. He couldn’t believe the Martial King had the nerve to wave his middle finger in front of a large, threatening dragon.

It was so like the Martial King. It was so hard to understand him. Strength and relaxation. The arrogance of the strongest was natural for him.

And on one hand, he had this thought.

The Martial King was acting up, but his back seemed wide open.

* * *

[Nayu!]

Although the Summer Queen wasn’t in her right mind, she wasn’t stupid enough to not recognize when she was being mocked.

No, she became even angrier as she saw the Martial King act so shamelessly.

For a long time, the Summer Queen’s greatest obstacle was Allforone. She was passionate to see the top of the Tower more than anyone, but she hadn’t been able to go past the 76th floor because he was always blocking her.

After establishing the Red Dragon, she spent most of that time fighting against him.

And she always lost. She was 2nd place. She wasn’t able to surpass him. Her inferiority towards Allforone became a curse that bound her soul.

Just then, someone from the One-horned tribe arrived.

Nayu. When she first heard his name, all she thought was that he was a ‘new rookie.’ She only knew of him because of a report from her subordinate.

The One-horned tribe. They were a Superior Species that was once equal to the Giant Species or the Draconic Species.

But the One-horned tribe threw away the holiness that was given to them like it was nothing. They even moved outside of the Tower on their own.

They said they weren’t going to depend on their ancestors and that they would forge their own destiny.

And in fact, even though they threw away all their duties, they were successful in building a territory of their own.

That was why the Summer Queen admired the One-horned tribe.

And she always advised her subordinates not to get into fights with them.

She wasn’t telling them to avoid the fight or to surrender. There was nothing she could do about it if they did fight, but there was no need to go out of their way to fight them.

It was a sign of respect from the Summer Queen. And the One-horned tribe knew this well.

Some time went by, and the next time the Summer Queen heard about Nayu was when he defeated her shadow.

Even then, she had thought he was ‘impressive,’ but that was it. He still needed 1000 years to catch up.

But after that, she heard that he defeated the ranker, Ice King. Next, he made it up to the 30th floor in record time.

From then, the rate at which she received reports about him increased.

Sometimes, she heard news about him every day.

The Summer Queen began to feel anxious. In the history of the Tower, was there someone who had grown as fast as him?

The Vampiric Lord Bathory, the Demon Hunter De Roy, and the Dark Philosopher Faust.

They were all people who had ruled during their eras.

However, they had never defeated the Summer Queen. They attempted the 76th floor, but they kneeled at the end.

Bathory used his drain energy, and De Roy and Faust used their demonic powers. But they all failed.

They had stated from the beginning that they could defeat the Summer Queen and Allforone, but the Summer Queen never felt threatened by them.

That was how strong and powerful she was. Nobody could threaten her but Allforone.

But for the first time, she felt like she was in danger—and it was because of a newbie whom she didn’t even know about.

Then, Nayu became the youngest king of the One-horned tribe, and he coincidentally met the Summer Queen in battle.

-Are you that dragon thing, old lady?

-O, Old lady…..?

-Hm? Did I say something wrong?

Dragon thing was enough to make her mad, but old lady? But Nayu didn’t seem to know what he did wrong.

He was just as she heard.

That was when the conflict between the Summer Queen and the Martial King began.

It was a tense battle. It was rough enough to make a few floors into a mess.

People cheered, saying that the Martial King was the new hope to help the Summer Queen defeat Allforone.

But this was embarrassing to the Summer Queen.

A newbie that hadn’t even lived 100 years was equal to her? It was nonsense.

But the Summer Queen’s attempts to defeat the Martial King failed every time.

Then, she realized that her focus was no longer directed above, to where Allforone was, but below, at the Martial King.

Her motivation for the last thousands of years had changed.

So she had turned away from the competition with the Martial King and turned her focus above.

But the sense of loss always bothered her. She would make him pay for this, as fitting of the Draconic species.

She promised herself to pay the Martial King back for the humiliation she received.

She said that she would rip the Martial King apart with her teeth.

And—

[If now…..]

She thought this was the perfect time to do it.

Far away, she could see the masked man standing behind the Martial King.

It was the person who killed Vieira Dune. He had been the most successful in the quest she gave. It meant that he was closest to the Philosopher’s Stone.

The aura he emanated was similar to hers. Her Draconic Eyes told her that he was hiding something.

Just then, the Summer Queen realized something. That masked man was behind all of this.

And the Martial King was defending such a person? Then she had to step on him. Along with the guy behind him!

[Give it!]

Kwang!

She kicked off from the ground. With Dragon Fear, her long body rushed at the Martial King.

From far away, it looked like a great mountain was moving.

“Disciple. Look closely at how amazing your teacher is!”

“Just don’t cry when you get beat up.”

“That mouth of yours!”

The Martial King joked with Yeon-woo even as the fearsome aura rushed at him. He spread his arms wide apart, flashing his canines.

Boom!

Aura collided with aura. The world shook up and down. A loud explosion that sounded like another meteor came down and spread out around them.

Yeon-woo spread apart his wings of fire and used Blink to move to the back in case he was swept away by the magic power storm.

‘You have to win. No matter what.’

While Yeon-woo was inwardly wishing for the Martial King’s victory, things were tense between the Martial King and the Summer Queen.

‘Seseungnim.’

The Martial King pushed his arms against her mouth. His arms were tiny compared to her.

Kraaaa!

The Summer Queen cried out. She growled, trying to swallow the Martial King who was smaller than her mouth, but he did not budge.

It was a fight of power to push their opponent down. Power clashed against power.

Kwakwakwak—

The aura that emanated from them didn’t allow anyone else to interfere.

“Ugh, seriously. Lady, don’t you diet? You’re freaking heavy!”

The Martial King grimaced as the Summer Queen didn’t move an inch.

He had stepped up to save his disciple but this was the situation he was in. What was he doing as the teacher? It was embarrassing.

He had originally come this way to avenge his subordinate. After chasing the Bow God, he saw his disciple and stepped in.

If the guy with the suspicious mask behind him wasn’t here, he wouldn’t have stepped into such a noisy battlefield in the first place.

Disciple. A disciple. The word has always felt unfamiliar to the Martial King. It was a word that he could never get used to.

There were two fellows he could call his disciples, but they had only disappointed him.

One left saying he wanted to do his own thing, and the other left saying the path of the Martial King didn’t align with his own. Technically, they were failed products.

So when he accepted his third disciple, the Martial King tried not to become too attached. Just by a glance, his new disciple seemed to be more stubborn than the other two, and he was probably going to leave soon.

But such a guy was now depending on him. Sometimes he even looked at him with eyes of respect.

Like now.

Respect.

That word opened the Martial King’s heart.

‘If he looks at me with those bright eyes…..’

To regain his dignity as a teacher, he clenched his teeth. He would try to shine a light on his disciple’s path, even just by a little bit.

“Fuck. I can’t just sit back! Right?”

The Martial King laughed with his canines flashing. The veins popped out from his muscles.

“Arghh!”

Just then, the tables turned slightly for the Martial King. As he took step by step forward, the Summer Queen was pushed back.

Seeing the large mountain pushed back, the Nine Dragon Sons and the Red Dragon members who came with her had faces of shock.

“Mother!”

“Your Majesty!”

They knew that the Martial King was strong, but they had never once imagined that he was strong enough to push their owner back.

No, they didn’t even think about it.

It was something that couldn’t happen in their minds. In the Red Dragon, the Summer Queen was their god and lord.

Tom pulled himself together first.

‘This is it!’

As expected of the greedy youngest son, Tom was searching for the right time. He thought this might be his last chance. No, not only was this his final chance, but it was also an opportunity for him to become the oldest.

He would have to give up his position in the Nine Dragon Sons anyway, so he was going to turn it around by saving the Summer Queen.

Boom!

Tom kicked off from the ground and ran into the fight between the Summer Queen and the Martial King.

Their aura was enough to rip the atmosphere apart, but he didn’t care about such things.

The other Nine Dragon Sons realized what Tom was thinking and followed.

“That bastard!”

Especially the oldest of the Nine Dragon Sons, Bihee (贔屭) [TN: Means using one’s strength to the fullest] Waltz, ground her teeth.

As the first apostle of the Summer Queen, Tom’s attempt to take her position only seemed underhanded.

Kwakwakwang!

With Tom at the front, the other Nine Dragon Sons used their signature skills as well.

Fancy effects split the sky. Their strength was proved by the fact that they could catch their balance and attempt attacks in the midst of this fight.

And behind them, the other 81 Eyes joined in. Troy and the other high rankers attacked.

Their goal was the Martial King. They didn’t like fighting together, but they had to help the Summer Queen.

However—

“Who dares to bother our king?”

A sharp voice rang from the sky, and red lightning came down on the Nine Dragon Sons and the 81 Eyes.

Krrrrng—

The Nine Dragon Sons and 81 Eyes paused the use of their skill and tried to move back to escape.

They realized that they wouldn’t survive if they were hit with that blood-red lightning.

And they were right.

A giant crater dug into the ground where the lightning landed. It was like the Meteor Strike had appeared again.

However, the lightning didn’t end there.

Thousands of sparks connected on the ground, and everything around them turned blood red.

Fizz!

When they regained their sight, the faces of the Nine Dragons Sons and the 81 Eyes stiffened.

Tak!

An old man with one horn landed where the lightning had been.

He seemed like a scholar, but the vibrant red sparks around him made them shiver.

Fizz, pop—

“The Blood Red…..Philosopher.”

The ruler of the Tower along with the Devil Army’s Black Dawn.

But with the appearance of the Martial King, he had stepped back to become the Head Elder. Of course even the Nine Dragon Sons would be on their guards.

“I didn’t know people still recognized an oldie like me. I’m honored.”

Actually, it was weird not to know him if you were a high ranker.

Even if he retired, he was once as powerful as the Martial King. Since there was another monster like the Martial King, the Red Dragon became nervous.

“I guess you’ll understand then. Even though he acts like a thug, he’s our king. If you bother him anymore—”

<Lightning Control>. It was the heirloom of the Cheongram family, and also the power that symbolized Phante. However, as the Head Elder, he had recreated the Lightning Control to create something that was as destructive as the Eight Extreme Fists.

It was called <Blood Mine>. The blood red lightning thundered like it was going to swallow them up any second.

“You’ll die.”

Kwakwakwang!

The lightning around the Head Elder sparked around him again. Everything in his surroundings was swept away.

Krrrrr—

The Nine Dragon Sons and the 81 Eyes couldn’t muster the courage to face Blood Mine head on and fell back.

Although they were the executives of the Red Dragon, the Tower’s rulers, they were weaklings in front of a dominating power.

But there was one person who didn’t leave.

It was a woman with black hair all the way down to her feet. Bihee Waltz turned her body and reached out for the Blood Mine falling from the sky.

As a magic power storm whirled around her, dragon scales grew on her skin up to her eyes. The wings and tail on her back showed the birth of a new Dragon Human after Heaven Wing Cha Jeong-woo’s death.

Kwanggg!

Kwakwakwa—

Waltz struck the Blood Mine in her hand in the ground and ripped it with her hands.

The broken lightning dug into the ground. Dust clouds floated up, and a burnt smell spread all around them.

She hadn’t used her full power, but she was powerful enough to rip apart the Head Elder’s power.

It was unknown to the public, but as the oldest of the Nine Dragon Sons, she had surpassed the limits of a Dragon Human, and she had already awakened up to step 5 of the Authorities.

Except for the Summer Queen, there was no one who could defeat her.

“Did you just say we would die?”

Revealing her violent aura, she growled with a Dragon Fear that didn’t fall short of the Summer Queen’s.

“I’ll return those words to you. I’ll teach you what it means to resist the Red Dragon.”

She spread her dragon wings apart and rushed towards the Head Elder in a single leap.

The Head Elder exploded the Blood Mine that he gathered in his hands. <Ultimate Blood Mine Power>. Blood red lighting poured down on her.

Krrrngg, krrng, krrrrr—

And with that as the start.

Swekkkkk—

Kwakwakwang!

“Cover Waltz!”

“We have to save the Summer Queen!”

The 81 Eyes gathered again and ran.

In front of them, the warriors and Elders of the One-horned tribe clashed with them.

“We’ll be able to have some fun, hey?”

It was a battle between the Red Dragon and the One-horned tribe that was on a completely different scale than the war with the Cheonghwado.