Snap.

The web broke helplessly.

Nephila Jurassica stopped moving.

The spider was dead.

Yes.

It was just a spider that died.

I’m completely fine.

Totally fine...

Crack.

I clenched my teeth.

Nephila Jurassica died because of me.

If I had been just a little stronger.

If I hadn’t let her go during the death roll.

Nephila could have survived.

The Dilophosaurus had stopped its attack.

It was panting heavily.

After continuing its relentless assault with only the bare minimum of rest, it was clearly exhausted.

“Grrrrrr…”

‘Tail Shedding.’

I left my severed tail next to Nephila Jurassica.

The speed I gained by shedding my tail was overwhelming.

Ever since I evolved, I hadn’t used the tail-shedding technique much.

Increased speed was a tremendous advantage, yes. But the tail didn’t grow back immediately.

While the tail was regenerating, maintaining balance became difficult. Plus, I lost an effective attack method. That’s why I only used it in special situations.

The disadvantages outweighed the benefits.

When I was smaller, it wasn’t an issue. But now that I had become the Crocodile King Lizard, I needed my tail to stand on two legs.

With my tail severed, it was like running with a broken inner ear.

Pababababat!

My legs felt like they were about to tear apart.

I almost lost my balance several times.

But what did that matter?

Nephila had suffered far more pain while protecting me.

I closed the distance between us with rapid speed.

Crossing my arms, I aimed for its neck.

Ka-kang!

Dragon Claw met Dragon Claw.

Like a battle between swordsmen, each strike was aimed to kill.

Cha-chang!

The creature was undeniably weakened.

The reason it hadn’t used a large-scale technique like Mancheonhwawu when we first fought must have been because of the cost associated with it.

Its crest and the fur around it had all fallen out.

Its fur, which had served as both a weapon and a defensive shield around its neck, was gone.

Its legs were in terrible condition.

After it leaped into the air and unleashed the barrage of concealed weapons and poison, it had to land several times and leap again to adjust the angle of its attacks.

With its injured legs, such leaps had only worsened the damage.

One of its arms was completely unusable.

My injuries were severe as well, but I still had the advantage over it.

I could win.

Its greatest weakness was its right leg.

It was a miracle it was even standing, considering the severity of its injuries.

I targeted that leg with my sharp claws, striking at it mercilessly.

Ka-kang!

Kang!

Despite its injuries, it was defending surprisingly well.

Ka-ga-ga-kak!

The battle was fierce, sparks flying from our clashes.

It was desperately protecting its injured leg, fully aware it was its greatest weakness.

And that meant other parts were left exposed.

Wham!

I struck its head with all my might.

Though it wasn’t a blow to its leg, it was still a significant hit.

I had poured all my weight into the attack.

“Kieeeek!”

Blood, dark and thick, spewed from its mouth.

This was my chance.

I had to finish it now.

Ssssaaak!

A massive amount of poison was released.

It was far stronger than the poison mist I had seen earlier.

It was an incredible display of power that shouldn’t have been possible with its remaining strength.

This was a level of poison I had never seen before.

Even the Mancheonhwawu attack hadn’t carried this much internal energy.

Poison Person?

No, the term Poison Dragon seemed more appropriate for the power it was displaying.

Where had this sudden strength come from?

Had it been hiding its true power all this time?

No, that was highly unlikely.

In such a desperate situation, there was no way it would hold back its strength.

Just like how it hadn’t used Mancheonhwawu right away, this technique must come with a heavy cost.

This overwhelming power.

The aura it was emitting far surpassed the strength it had shown earlier in the fight.

There was only one explanation.

Inborn True Qi.

It was burning away its life force.

It must have realized that without sacrificing its future, it would die right here.

Chi-iii!

The poison dripping from its body melted the ground.

If my claws touched that, they would melt away instantly.

So what?

Crack.

I ground my teeth.

Even if I die, I’ll take this thing down with me.

Thump.

My heart was pounding fast.

[You are surrounded by a sacred aura.]

A surge of heat washed over me.

[The sacred aura is filling you.]

All the power I had accumulated was gathering in one place.

[Your inspiration is being consumed.]

The inspiration I gained from gourmet meals.

[Your divinity is being consumed.]

Even the faint divinity within me.

The unprocessed power of medicinal herbs and inner cores was explosively building up in my dantian.

[The sacred aura is pushing your body beyond its limits.]

The power radiating from my body was surpassing all previous limits.

My heart pounded like crazy.

My body began to change.

A stronger body, capable of withstanding its poison?

No.

Regeneration, capable of healing all the injuries I had sustained?

No.

Overwhelming strength, enough to crush it?

Pabababak!

New armor began to form over my entire body.

A dark, almost black, blue-green color.

It wasn’t armor designed for defense.

It was a sharp blade, made for killing my enemy.

This evolution felt different from the ones before.

I wasn’t healing.

Instead, all the strength I had accumulated was transforming my body.

Transforming me into the perfect form to kill the enemy before me.

“Kraaaaaaah!”

“Grrrrr…”

Even as it used its Inborn True Qi, the creature retreated.

It must have been acting on instinct.

Crunch.

My scales continued to change.

Heavier. Sharper.

[You have acquired 「Dragon Scales LV5」.]

Scales worthy of being called dragon scales.

Moving was becoming increasingly difficult.

I only had one attack left in me.

The strength I had now was temporary.

Just as the Dilophosaurus was burning its life force, I was drawing on the power of the herbs and inner cores inside me.

One strike.

I had to end it with a single attack.

And the same was true for the Dilophosaurus.

It knew there was no point in dragging this out. Using Inborn True Qi for too long would mean death.

It was time to settle this.

“Kraaaaah!”

The Poison Dragon charged at me with blinding speed.

The ground melted beneath its feet as it moved.

I could see the Inborn True Qi depleting rapidly.

The poison kept growing stronger.

So strong that even my dragon scales might not be enough to withstand it.

The Dilophosaurus was creating a monstrous poison by burning its Inborn True Qi.

One chance.

This was my only opportunity.

I had to think of the strongest person I had ever seen.

‘Lizard.’

I hadn’t formally learned martial arts.

I had never studied martial techniques.

The only knowledge I had came from a few martial arts novels I read out of boredom.

I didn’t know the mysteries of quickness, illusion, and weight.

I didn’t know the meaning of straight and curved lines.

I knew nothing.

Born as a lizard, what would I have read or studied?

‘Little lizard.’

Even the strongest person I knew hadn’t studied anything.

She couldn’t read, and she couldn’t study.

‘Bones rolled across the ground.’

Bones were always near me.

‘The boy next door was killed for offending a great family.’

Nephila Jurassica had died protecting me.

‘I’m hungry. I’m thirsty.’

I had always been hungry and thirsty.

‘It was like reading someone’s journal filled with lamentations.’

She was like me.

Baek Yeon-yeong reached a realm of power without ever learning.

What did my master do?

Yes.

Like this.

[You have temporarily acquired 「Releasing Strength to Move Mountains」.]

Boom!

Strength to move mountains, a force that covers the world.

Craaaack!

Overwhelming energy crushed the enemy.

The Poison Dragon’s speed began to slow.

I focused strength into each finger.

Crack!

All my strength was concentrated in one place.

Dragon Claw.

A form worthy of the name, the claw of a dragon.

But it wasn’t enough.

Of course, I had never read the Nine Yin Divine Claw.

My master hadn’t read it either, so how could I have?

What I had seen were murals painted on the cave walls.

And the techniques my master had displayed.

I called her my master, but I didn’t really know Baek Yeon-yeong.

I had only learned a few martial arts from her in a very short time.

I didn’t know what she was thinking or what her intentions were in teaching me.

But I could understand one thing.

The Nine Yin Divine Claw was her world.

The starved corpses, the parched bodies, the dead who offended noble families.

Lamentations filled the streets.

That was her sorrow, her motivation.

Crack.

My Nine Yin Divine Claw was right here, in this moment.

The arm that struck to protect what was precious.

That was my Nine Yin Divine Claw.

Kwooooom!

It was the Nine Yin White Bone Claw.

Crack!

My five fingers brutally crushed the Poison Dragon’s skull.

It was over.

Everything was over.

Spider.

I’m sorry.

But at least your enemy…

“Gokji.”

From where Nephila Jurassica had fallen, I heard a voice.

It sounded familiar.

I quickly turned my head to see who it was.

“Samsamni, Cheonjeong.”

It was Tang So-yeong.

With Tus and Pus perched on her shoulders, she was sticking needles into Nephila Jurassica.

“Jungwan, Cheonchu, Shingwol.”

“Gegegegegek!”

Tang So-yeong didn’t even look at me.

“Kodaehyeoooob!”

She shouted loudly, keeping her gaze and hands fixed on Nephila Jurassica.

“Inner core! Bring the inner core now!”