Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel his mind calming down.
‘The flow of mana…’
He never knew it was this warm. Whenever he had activated his mana stream, it felt as if a storm of energy was flowing through his body.
However, what he learned from Won-Hwa was completely different.
“You can continue with how you’re doing it.”
It was incredible.
He could feel the mana flowing through his body powerfully but freely, just like how water coursed through the Yangtze River without freezing.
Won-Hwa concentrated and placed his hand on Lee Jun-Kyeong.
“...”
The physician was helping him guide the mana as that would be the easiest way for him to learn internal qigong.
Won-Hwa instructed, “You have to remember it.”
Internal qigong had a lot of complicated parts. He had to follow the flow of mana properly, and he would have to weigh its compatibility with the mana stream he had self-learned.
The training itself wasn’t something he could easily complete, even if he wanted to.
Nevertheless, it was amazing.
This method had its own merits. It was completely different from his mana stream. Although it had the same principles, it was a completely different skill with a completely different origin.
Lee Jun-Kyeong became deeply immersed in the flow of mana that Won-Hwa was sending into him. Furthermore, that mana began to move toward a special place.
“I’ll begin to approach the zhuo qi. It will be a little painful…” the physician warned.
“Ugh…”
Before Won-Hwa had even finished speaking, Lee Jun-Kyeong groaned.
The black beads that existed all over his body suddenly started emitting light.
As the black beads emitted light, it meant that the zhuo qi that was contained in them—that is, the demonic mana and the dragon’s blood—and also the Madness that was mixed in, had appeared.
“This…”
Won-Hwa’s expression contorted in bewilderment. He had known the zhuo qi was there, but it was astonishing how much there was.
The power of the black beads was beyond imagination. Won-Hwa concentrated even more and tried to put the zhuo qi to sleep and guide his mana. However, it was easier said than done.
“Cough cough…”
Won-Hwa admonished. “You can’t make a single sound!”
He could feel Lee Jun-Kyeong’s pain getting worse. There was no way that it wouldn’t.
‘The flow…’
The flow of the mana that Won-Hwa was guiding had changed. If the mana he had been guiding had been like the haughty Yangtze River before, the power that the black beads in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s body were radiating was like a tsunami!
It devoured both Won-Hwa's and Lee Jun-Kyeong's mana and was tearing through all of the walls.
Gulp.
Lee Jun-Kyeong bit down on his lips, but there was nothing he could do about the blood that seeped through them.
‘No, this can’t be…!’
Won-Hwa had no choice but to admit that he had made a mistake. The zhuo qi in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s body was special, and it was an incredible thing that went beyond imagination.
Now, because of his mistake, Lee Jun-Kyeong was experiencing intense pain.
‘I won’t let it.’
He would have to do it. He had to take responsibility for the mess he had made.
Won-Hwa drew out even more strength and forced it into Lee Jun-Kyeong.
Every second felt like a year.
The space that Lee Jun-Kyeong and Won-Hwa were in, the formation created by Won-Hwa, fluctuated and consumed all of the mana outside around them.
Everything was in shambles.
“...”
“...”
In that space, Lee Jun-Kyeong and Won-Hwa were breathing heavily and recovering their strength.
***
"What’s this?" asked Thjazi.
The giant felt something as he stood, guarding the post.
In the frozen wasteland, he could sense it.
‘A great energy is fluctuating.’
It was an unprecedented event, and it came from the outside.
‘Is it Ju Gyeung…? Or Ha Ta…?”
Or even, it could be the Nar as well.
However, Thjazi already had his suspicions.
‘Thrymr.’
He thought it would be the Nar—no, Thrymr.
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s and Hua Tuo’s strength wasn’t at this level. Thrymr was the only entity capable of emitting such powerful energy.
Thjazi's expression contorted, remembering the time he had met Thrymr a few days ago.
“The Warguard of Utgard will prepare for battle right now."
This time, even if he encountered Thrymr, he would not run away. With that in mind, Thjazi gave his orders.
"Leader!" one of his subordinates shouted with a worried expression.
"The king will not allow it!"
"The chieftain will never allow…”
His subordinates continued to mention the king or the chieftain.
That being wanted to conserve power, which was why he expected them to act passively in any raids the Nars did so that he could maintain the balance.
However, Thjazi disagreed.
“How long are we going to live like this?" he lamented.
"How long will I have to hold my breath, and how long will I live wary of the enemy? Where have the pride and honor of our frost giants gone!"
"However…!"
Thjazi’s warriors attempted to dissuade him. The power of the chieftain who had become king was strong. If, by chance, things went south this time…
“Even if you come back alive, it won’t mean that you would still survive,” they finished.
There was no way that the chieftain would be able to lead the warriors if he left those that failed alone, so they were worried about Thjazi’s life.
“I will take responsibility for everything."
However, Thjazi's eyes and tone were incredibly firm.
.
“We have received the order!”
Eventually, the frost giants began to pick up their weapons that had not yet rusted.
Booooo!
A horn trumpeted, announcing the call to war. All the giants began to panic. However, the warriors who protected Utgard were different.
“Prepare the ice drakes!” he shouted.
They calmly prepared for the battle.
“Let’s go!”
The anger that had accumulated until now…
Countless colleagues had been turned into victims by the traitors.
Even the painful days of falling into an unknown land.
All of it.
"AHHH!”
The suppressed emotions all began to emerge.
***
"What is this…"
Giants dressed in black looked outside and could feel a huge energy welling up beyond the walls of the fortress they were building.
“What…?”
It was a very sudden burst of energy. There were very few individuals who could show this level of power.
Thrymr had an inkling of who it may have been.
'Thjazi... ? No, Thjazi is not like this.'
Only one individual could have emitted such immense power outside their walls.
‘The chief!’
"Assemble the warguard!" Thrymr shouted.
The giants roared in unison, "Ooah!"
The warguard had gathered. Since he had left Utgard under the banner of the Nar, Thrymr had never summoned all of the warguard in one place.
The fact that Thrymr was now summoning all the warriors means that an unprecedented battle would take place.
"We will occupy Utgard!" Thrymr exclaimed.
His command meant that they would be going into an all-out war.
Thrymr had been looking for an opportunity so far, so the reason why he gave the command now was simple. The king had closed himself off in the royal palace and hadn’t appeared until now.
If that king were outside, then this would be a great opportunity to catch him, as it would be difficult to defeat him inside Utgard.
‘Although I don’t know what his reason is…’
Thrymr wasn’t sure as to why the king had emerged to the outside or why the king had left his fenced-off protection.
It could be a trap.
However, he was determined to turn it into an opportunity.
Regardless of what it was.
With a harsh flare, mana began to fluctuate around Thrymr, his fighting spirit revolving around him.
One of the frost giants approached him.
“Thrymr.”
“Did they arrive?”
The humans had arrived. The strength of the Nar wasn’t just limited to the giants. While there may not have been as many beings of strength among the humans as the giants, there were still some humans with abilities superior to those of the giants.
These humans were called the Hunters.
“We will go with you,” said the leader of the Hunters.
Thrymr snorted and spoke to the man with the gigantic flapping ears.
“Tsk. You say that as if it wasn’t something that was guaranteed.”
‘The time has finally come.’
The leader of the Hunters had waited and waited for this moment: the moment of capturing the king of Utgard.
This was why he had betrayed Utgard in the name of a cause and sided with the Nar.
“Brothers, prepare.” He announced, “Today, it’s the day we capture the king.”
Within the fortress of the busily moving Nar, a massive amount of mana began to shift.
***
“Damn it. To think this sort of thing would happen when Mr. Lee isn’t here.”
Jeong In-Chang’s expression wasn’t good as he was suddenly called to answer the giants. He had been called with the information that an all-out battle with the Nars had begun.
‘Of all the time, to think that this mess had happened when Lee Jun-Kyeong isn’t here.’
"Princess."
"Goongje…"
"It’ll be fine."
Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t just a colleague; he was more than that. He was someone Jeong In-Chang could rely on and, therefore, someone he could trust.
In that manner, he was someone who had taken away his worries. He was someone who seemed to know everything and was always able to point out the next path.
An all-out battle with the Nar meant that there would be war. Jeong In-Chang was astounded. To think, in all the years he had lived, he had never thought that he would fight in a war of this scale, especially for beings that weren’t even human.
‘Is he okay?’
Jeong In-Chang was also worried about Lee Jun-Kyeong. There was no way the Hunter would be unaware of such a commotion. Lee Jun-Kyeong’s senses were far beyond the ordinary. Even Jeong In-Chang, who held the power of a Hero, couldn’t keep up with him.
If things had gotten so serious that even he could feel the commotion…
‘There’s no way that he’s already clashing with them, could it?’
If it was that person, then he may have already approached the Nar first and started the battle. That was why Jeong In-Chang was in such a hurry.
"Quickly! Quickly!" shouted the giants.
Thud, thud, thud.
Even though there was no way that they could have understood the shouts, the ice drakes still increased their speed.
At that moment, Jeong In-Chang noticed something.
"Fenrir!" he shouted.
A giant wolf was coming toward them with a corpse of a monster dangling from its jaws.
“Grr.”
Fenrir quietly laid down the monster's corpse and opened its jaws, seemingly to say something.
"Grr."
However, Jeong In-Chang couldn’t understand the wolf, and finally, Fenrir shook his head and started running.
“Fenrir!”
He raced toward the direction of the giants’ march, the place where the Nar was supposed to be.
‘There’s no way.’
Could he have clashed with them first?
‘If Fenrir is running to reach his master…’
Thump.
Jeong In-Chang jumped from the top of the ice drake.
"I’m going first!"
He bolted off in a run after having conveyed his intentions roughly with hand gestures to the giants, barreling off at full speed.
His thighs felt like they were going to burst, his calves swollen, and his muscles tearing. Still, Jeong In-Chang didn’t slow down.
"…!"
In front of him, he saw a black vortex—a vortex swirling in black and red mana.
“...”
In front of it stood a wolf guarding anyone against approaching and giants dressed in black.
Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel his mind calming down.
‘The flow of mana…’
He never knew it was this warm. Whenever he had activated his mana stream, it felt as if a storm of energy was flowing through his body.
However, what he learned from Won-Hwa was completely different.
“You can continue with how you’re doing it.”
It was incredible.
He could feel the mana flowing through his body powerfully but freely, just like how water coursed through the Yangtze River without freezing.
Won-Hwa concentrated and placed his hand on Lee Jun-Kyeong.
“...”
The physician was helping him guide the mana as that would be the easiest way for him to learn internal qigong.
Won-Hwa instructed, “You have to remember it.”
Internal qigong had a lot of complicated parts. He had to follow the flow of mana properly, and he would have to weigh its compatibility with the mana stream he had self-learned.
The training itself wasn’t something he could easily complete, even if he wanted to.
Nevertheless, it was amazing.
This method had its own merits. It was completely different from his mana stream. Although it had the same principles, it was a completely different skill with a completely different origin.
Lee Jun-Kyeong became deeply immersed in the flow of mana that Won-Hwa was sending into him. Furthermore, that mana began to move toward a special place.
“I’ll begin to approach the zhuo qi. It will be a little painful…” the physician warned.
“Ugh…”
Before Won-Hwa had even finished speaking, Lee Jun-Kyeong groaned.
The black beads that existed all over his body suddenly started emitting light.
As the black beads emitted light, it meant that the zhuo qi that was contained in them—that is, the demonic mana and the dragon’s blood—and also the Madness that was mixed in, had appeared.
“This…”
Won-Hwa’s expression contorted in bewilderment. He had known the zhuo qi was there, but it was astonishing how much there was.
The power of the black beads was beyond imagination. Won-Hwa concentrated even more and tried to put the zhuo qi to sleep and guide his mana. However, it was easier said than done.
“Cough cough…”
Won-Hwa admonished. “You can’t make a single sound!”
He could feel Lee Jun-Kyeong’s pain getting worse. There was no way that it wouldn’t.
‘The flow…’
The flow of the mana that Won-Hwa was guiding had changed. If the mana he had been guiding had been like the haughty Yangtze River before, the power that the black beads in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s body were radiating was like a tsunami!
It devoured both Won-Hwa's and Lee Jun-Kyeong's mana and was tearing through all of the walls.
Gulp.
Lee Jun-Kyeong bit down on his lips, but there was nothing he could do about the blood that seeped through them.
‘No, this can’t be…!’
Won-Hwa had no choice but to admit that he had made a mistake. The zhuo qi in Lee Jun-Kyeong’s body was special, and it was an incredible thing that went beyond imagination.
Now, because of his mistake, Lee Jun-Kyeong was experiencing intense pain.
‘I won’t let it.’
He would have to do it. He had to take responsibility for the mess he had made.
Won-Hwa drew out even more strength and forced it into Lee Jun-Kyeong.
Every second felt like a year.
The space that Lee Jun-Kyeong and Won-Hwa were in, the formation created by Won-Hwa, fluctuated and consumed all of the mana outside around them.
Everything was in shambles.
“...”
“...”
In that space, Lee Jun-Kyeong and Won-Hwa were breathing heavily and recovering their strength.
***
"What’s this?" asked Thjazi.
The giant felt something as he stood, guarding the post.
In the frozen wasteland, he could sense it.
‘A great energy is fluctuating.’
It was an unprecedented event, and it came from the outside.
‘Is it Ju Gyeung…? Or Ha Ta…?”
Or even, it could be the Nar as well.
However, Thjazi already had his suspicions.
‘Thrymr.’
He thought it would be the Nar—no, Thrymr.
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s and Hua Tuo’s strength wasn’t at this level. Thrymr was the only entity capable of emitting such powerful energy.
Thjazi's expression contorted, remembering the time he had met Thrymr a few days ago.
“The Warguard of Utgard will prepare for battle right now."
This time, even if he encountered Thrymr, he would not run away. With that in mind, Thjazi gave his orders.
"Leader!" one of his subordinates shouted with a worried expression.
"The king will not allow it!"
"The chieftain will never allow…”
His subordinates continued to mention the king or the chieftain.
That being wanted to conserve power, which was why he expected them to act passively in any raids the Nars did so that he could maintain the balance.
However, Thjazi disagreed.
“How long are we going to live like this?" he lamented.
"How long will I have to hold my breath, and how long will I live wary of the enemy? Where have the pride and honor of our frost giants gone!"
"However…!"
Thjazi’s warriors attempted to dissuade him. The power of the chieftain who had become king was strong. If, by chance, things went south this time…
“Even if you come back alive, it won’t mean that you would still survive,” they finished.
There was no way that the chieftain would be able to lead the warriors if he left those that failed alone, so they were worried about Thjazi’s life.
“I will take responsibility for everything."
However, Thjazi's eyes and tone were incredibly firm.
.
“We have received the order!”
Eventually, the frost giants began to pick up their weapons that had not yet rusted.
Booooo!
A horn trumpeted, announcing the call to war. All the giants began to panic. However, the warriors who protected Utgard were different.
“Prepare the ice drakes!” he shouted.
They calmly prepared for the battle.
“Let’s go!”
The anger that had accumulated until now…
Countless colleagues had been turned into victims by the traitors.
Even the painful days of falling into an unknown land.
All of it.
"AHHH!”
The suppressed emotions all began to emerge.
***
"What is this…"
Giants dressed in black looked outside and could feel a huge energy welling up beyond the walls of the fortress they were building.
“What…?”
It was a very sudden burst of energy. There were very few individuals who could show this level of power.
Thrymr had an inkling of who it may have been.
'Thjazi... ? No, Thjazi is not like this.'
Only one individual could have emitted such immense power outside their walls.
‘The chief!’
"Assemble the warguard!" Thrymr shouted.
The giants roared in unison, "Ooah!"
The warguard had gathered. Since he had left Utgard under the banner of the Nar, Thrymr had never summoned all of the warguard in one place.
The fact that Thrymr was now summoning all the warriors means that an unprecedented battle would take place.
"We will occupy Utgard!" Thrymr exclaimed.
His command meant that they would be going into an all-out war.
Thrymr had been looking for an opportunity so far, so the reason why he gave the command now was simple. The king had closed himself off in the royal palace and hadn’t appeared until now.
If that king were outside, then this would be a great opportunity to catch him, as it would be difficult to defeat him inside Utgard.
‘Although I don’t know what his reason is…’
Thrymr wasn’t sure as to why the king had emerged to the outside or why the king had left his fenced-off protection.
It could be a trap.
However, he was determined to turn it into an opportunity.
Regardless of what it was.
With a harsh flare, mana began to fluctuate around Thrymr, his fighting spirit revolving around him.
One of the frost giants approached him.
“Thrymr.”
“Did they arrive?”
The humans had arrived. The strength of the Nar wasn’t just limited to the giants. While there may not have been as many beings of strength among the humans as the giants, there were still some humans with abilities superior to those of the giants.
These humans were called the Hunters.
“We will go with you,” said the leader of the Hunters.
Thrymr snorted and spoke to the man with the gigantic flapping ears.
“Tsk. You say that as if it wasn’t something that was guaranteed.”
‘The time has finally come.’
The leader of the Hunters had waited and waited for this moment: the moment of capturing the king of Utgard.
This was why he had betrayed Utgard in the name of a cause and sided with the Nar.
“Brothers, prepare.” He announced, “Today, it’s the day we capture the king.”
Within the fortress of the busily moving Nar, a massive amount of mana began to shift.
***
“Damn it. To think this sort of thing would happen when Mr. Lee isn’t here.”
Jeong In-Chang’s expression wasn’t good as he was suddenly called to answer the giants. He had been called with the information that an all-out battle with the Nars had begun.
‘Of all the time, to think that this mess had happened when Lee Jun-Kyeong isn’t here.’
"Princess."
"Goongje…"
"It’ll be fine."
Lee Jun-Kyeong wasn’t just a colleague; he was more than that. He was someone Jeong In-Chang could rely on and, therefore, someone he could trust.
In that manner, he was someone who had taken away his worries. He was someone who seemed to know everything and was always able to point out the next path.
An all-out battle with the Nar meant that there would be war. Jeong In-Chang was astounded. To think, in all the years he had lived, he had never thought that he would fight in a war of this scale, especially for beings that weren’t even human.
‘Is he okay?’
Jeong In-Chang was also worried about Lee Jun-Kyeong. There was no way the Hunter would be unaware of such a commotion. Lee Jun-Kyeong’s senses were far beyond the ordinary. Even Jeong In-Chang, who held the power of a Hero, couldn’t keep up with him.
If things had gotten so serious that even he could feel the commotion…
‘There’s no way that he’s already clashing with them, could it?’
If it was that person, then he may have already approached the Nar first and started the battle. That was why Jeong In-Chang was in such a hurry.
"Quickly! Quickly!" shouted the giants.
Thud, thud, thud.
Even though there was no way that they could have understood the shouts, the ice drakes still increased their speed.
At that moment, Jeong In-Chang noticed something.
"Fenrir!" he shouted.
A giant wolf was coming toward them with a corpse of a monster dangling from its jaws.
“Grr.”
Fenrir quietly laid down the monster's corpse and opened its jaws, seemingly to say something.
"Grr."
However, Jeong In-Chang couldn’t understand the wolf, and finally, Fenrir shook his head and started running.
“Fenrir!”
He raced toward the direction of the giants’ march, the place where the Nar was supposed to be.
‘There’s no way.’
Could he have clashed with them first?
‘If Fenrir is running to reach his master…’
Thump.
Jeong In-Chang jumped from the top of the ice drake.
"I’m going first!"
He bolted off in a run after having conveyed his intentions roughly with hand gestures to the giants, barreling off at full speed.
His thighs felt like they were going to burst, his calves swollen, and his muscles tearing. Still, Jeong In-Chang didn’t slow down.
"…!"
In front of him, he saw a black vortex—a vortex swirling in black and red mana.
“...”
In front of it stood a wolf guarding anyone against approaching and giants dressed in black.
