What would Baek Yeon-Yeong have done?

If someone had simply begged for their life, she might have ignored them.

Her chivalry wasn’t about saving the pitiful without any conditions.

But that man wasn’t asking for his own safety.

There was someone else who was on the brink of death because of him.

He was kneeling and begging for that person’s life.

This man was the same person who had fled when I was the Crocodile King Lizard.

Now, I probably looked even more terrifying than back then, certainly not any less so.

And yet, despite that fear, he was praying for someone else.

He still thought I was a beast that might eat him, and yet he was asking for another's life.

I don’t know what his story is.

He might even be a villain.

But that's something to judge later.

I’ll figure it out after I try to save the person who has been turned to stone.

“Grrrr…”

I didn’t know if defeating the Cockatrice would break the petrification, but I had to try.

The distance between me and the creature shrank.

I had often wondered what a Gogadouris looked like.

The Snake Queen’s description was close, but not exactly the same.

I thought it would be more bird-like, but aside from the crowing sound, it seemed closer to a snake.

It had a snake tail, and its head looked like a bird's beak was attached to a snake’s face.

What kind of difference was there between us?

Judging by the level I could see, it wasn’t on the same level as the Snake Queen or the Bird King.

That meant I could win.

“Grrr…”

I let out a low growl, trying to intimidate the Cockatrice.

The reason I revealed myself was simple.

The power to petrify wasn’t something it could use consecutively.

Even if it could use it again, its power wouldn’t be strong enough to affect someone like me, who had built up a resistance.

If I wasted time, the creature would recover.

I needed to attack swiftly before that happened.

“Cock-a-doodle-dooo!”

The Cockatrice had another weapon aside from its petrifying gaze.

It could also use venom.

This venom was nearly as deadly as its petrification ability.

But I had already survived the venom of the Dilophosaurus.

Poison alone wouldn’t be enough to deal a fatal blow to me.

And since it was a venomous creature, my own poison attacks likely wouldn’t affect it much either.

Poison wouldn’t work on either of us.

The only thing that could hurt either of us was direct combat.

The Cockatrice was larger than a Terror Bird.

In terms of sheer size, I was at a disadvantage.

In a simple brawl, I was likely to lose.

But if that were all, there’d be no reason for me to engage it.

“Grrrr…”

I had a weapon it didn’t possess.

That weapon was information.

The gap in information between us.

I knew what moves it could make and what I could block.

If I exploited that gap, winning would become much easier.

“Keeee!”

The Cockatrice began releasing a cloud of poison.

A smart move.

It was trying to block my approach and deal damage from a distance.

If I hesitated here, the petrifying beam would follow soon after.

But that tactic would only work against a normal lizard.

Tat!

Using the techniques of Soaring Dragon’s Sky Step, I stepped on the leaves and leapt toward the creature.

The poisonous mist was thick.

The Cockatrice flapped its wings in a panic, clearly not expecting me to break through the poison.

This was the difference in information.

I knew the creature would use poison, but it didn’t anticipate that I had resistance to it.

[「Reverse Scale lv1」 activated.]

[「Heaven-shaking Courage」 temporarily acquired.]

Koooooong.

A deep, powerful energy pressed down on the Cockatrice.

Power that could uproot mountains, energy that could blanket the world.

The Heaven-shaking Courage wasn’t simply about overwhelming the opponent with presence.

Krrrrrrk.

My inner energy focused into a single point.

CRACK!

My claw, imbued with the essence of Dragon Claw Strike, slammed into the creature’s head.

Its head twisted halfway around.

There was no way it could stay conscious after that.

Shing!

With my other hand, I slashed its wing joint.

“Keeeeeek!”

The Cockatrice let out a pained screech.

Ideally, I should finish it off now, but the situation wouldn’t stay in my favor for long.

The flurry of attacks had been a surprise, exploiting the information gap.

I had to strike again before it recovered!

Clang!

It blocked my next strike with the claw attached to its uninjured wing.

I retreated immediately.

Continuing the close-quarters fight wasn’t a good idea.

“Keeeeee!”

The creature went berserk.

Even though its thick neck had taken a direct hit from Dragon Claw Strike, it hadn’t broken.

Its defenses were better than I thought.

“Kraaaaah!”

Its vitality seemed endless.

The Cockatrice charged at me with renewed ferocity.

Judging by how its claws twitched, it planned to impale me.

If those sharp claws pierced me, even my dragon scales wouldn’t stand a chance.

Boom!

I stomped down hard, shaking the ground.

My inner energy coursed through the earth and shot toward the Cockatrice.

Boom!

“Kkeeeee!”

The creature staggered, losing its balance.

Now was my chance.

I rushed forward, ready to use Dragon Claw Strike again.

“Keeek.”

Suddenly, one of its eyes began to glow.

A wicked smile spread across its beak.

The petrifying gaze.

It was ready to use it again—or maybe it had always been able to use it but was hiding its power.

Either way, I was now fully exposed to the gaze.

Was it pretending to be in a rage just to set this trap?

Smart for a bird-brain.

It had saved its trump card until the end.

But it should’ve saved it for a bit longer.

I activated Rush.

I had held back on using this skill until now to change the pace of the battle.

Even with Rush, I wouldn’t be able to fully escape the gaze.

But with the Great Dragon Kick, which I learned from Baek Yeon-Yeong, I didn’t need to evade.

The Great Dragon Kick wasn’t limited to kicks.

The technique, Roaming Dragon Illusion, mixed feints and deadly blows in unpredictable patterns.

Swish!

With the enhanced speed from Roaming Dragon Illusion, I quickly got behind the Cockatrice.

Its eyes were now staring into empty space.

Boom!

My inner energy-fueled claw slammed into its head again.

“Keeeeeek!”

Krrrk.

I heard the sound of its neck cracking.

But its supernatural muscles kept the bones from fully breaking.

Now was the time to stay close and prevent it from using its gaze again.

I grabbed its neck with my left hand.

“Kraaaaaak!”

The Cockatrice thrashed wildly.

It wasn’t just thrashing—its massive body was causing real damage to me as I held on.

Crack!

Its sharp claws dug into my flesh.

Drip, drip.

Blood started flowing.

But I was sure the Cockatrice was worse off.

Crunch!

I bit down on its neck.

Grrrrk.

I bit so hard that my teeth nearly broke.

Its neck was so thick that I couldn’t even pierce it properly, but its body was already in bad shape. If I kept piling on the damage, its thick neck would eventually snap.

Using Nine Yin Bone Claw would’ve dealt even more damage, but in this position, I couldn’t use it.

The movement was too large, and I might get caught by the petrification.

“Keeeeeek!”

The Cockatrice let out an ear-piercing scream.

It was so loud that blood dripped from my ears.

The fact that it was using this attack now meant it was nearing its limit.

“Grrrr…”

Victory was in sight.

If I kept draining its stamina like this, I would soon be able to break its neck.

Crunch!

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through me, and I felt my mind go blank.

The pain was coming from my right ankle.

The cause? The Cockatrice’s other head.

It had always had two heads.

The snake’s head on its tail wasn’t just for show.

Boom!

The Cockatrice used the moment when my grip loosened to break free.

“Keeeeek!”

It roared furiously and charged at me again.

Of course, its petrifying gaze accompanied the charge.

There was no way I could dodge it with my injured leg.

Crunch!

My body began to turn to stone.

“Cock-a-doodle-dooo!”

The Cockatrice charged at me, its large beak open wide, ready to tear me apart.

…

Did you think I hadn’t considered your second head?

[「Reverse Scale lv1」 activated.]

Crack.

The stone encasing my body shattered into dust.

The reason I believed I could win—the information gap.

I knew I could resist the Cockatrice’s petrification.

Maybe I couldn’t resist its full-strength petrifying gaze, but this half-powered attempt wouldn’t work on me.

[「Nine Yin Bone Claw」 temporarily acquired.]

The Cockatrice seemed to realize something was wrong and tried to change direction.

But it was too late.

Boom!

My five claws crushed its head.

“Krrrk…”

It wasn’t dead yet.

If it had died, I would’ve leveled up.

But it was on the brink of death.

I needed to finish it off before it had a chance to recover.

Its head was already smashed to pieces.

The only reason it was still alive was because of the snake head on its tail.

If I destroyed that, the fight would be over.

As I raised my hand to strike the snake head, it happened.

“Keeeeeeek!”

A tremendous noise rang out, and I found myself unable to move.

Crack.

My body started turning to stone again.

This was different from the petrifying gaze I’d experienced before.

How could it use such a powerful attack in its condition?

The answer soon revealed itself.

“Cock-a-doodle-dooo!”

From the mess of its shattered head, another head emerged.

A bright red comb. Snow-white feathers.

It was unmistakably a rooster’s head.

…Damn.

It wasn’t the snake head.

It was a new bird head.

This must’ve been an ability granted to it by the Bird King.

Even the Snake Queen didn’t know about this.

How terrifying.

I thought I had seen all its cards, but there was one more.

…Who would’ve thought the Cockatrice had three heads?

The new head hadn’t used its petrifying gaze yet.

Which meant this was its full-powered gaze.

My body kept hardening.

But it wasn’t over yet.

Think.

There had to be a way to break out of this, even without the use of my arms or legs.

[「Reverse Scale lv1」 activated.]

The Reverse Scale could reproduce skills and techniques I hadn’t fully learned yet.

I just needed to think.

What technique could I use without moving my arms or legs?

Yes, there was still one left.

The technique used by the Bird King.

The one that nearly killed me even though I had only been grazed by it.

The Destruction Beam.

[Insufficient understanding.]

What?

That was the first time I had seen such a message.

I had succeeded in using Reverse Scale so many times that I had never considered failure.

The Bird King’s Destruction Beam was beyond my comprehension.

Of course, I couldn’t replicate something I didn’t understand.

The Cockatrice slowly approached.

Even though it had a new head, its body was still the same, so it was slow.

But it would be fast enough to kill me.

Was this the end?

Would I turn to stone and get crushed by this monster?

…

No.

[「Reverse Scale lv1」 activated.]

I couldn’t understand the Bird King’s technique.

But what about the technique used by the Snake Queen and Bolpython?

I opened my mouth wide.

I had seen the posture many times.

I tried to imitate it, just like Shhshik did when she shot beams at the Snake Queen.

And like the Snake Queen when she shot her beam at me during training.

I recalled their actions.

[The Snake Queen smiles upon you.]

[「Destruction Beam lv1」 temporarily acquired.]

So this is how it’s done.

I had to finish the Cockatrice with this one attack.

There wouldn’t be a second chance.

If I missed or failed to kill it, I would die.

[Your divine power rises sharply.]

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the man who had been praying earlier.

Instead of running away, he was still kneeling and bowing to me.

[Your divinity responds to 「Destruction Beam lv1」.]

[「Kkeggeuk Death Beam lv1」 temporarily acquired.]

…That name.

Ssss.

I gathered all my inner energy into one point.

The powerful energy surged up from deep within my core.

All of my strength was focused on a single point.

I had only one thing left to do.

Release this overwhelming force.

Like exhaling a breath, naturally.

Kkeggeuk Death Beam.

 

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!

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