The red dragon, Orse Tabul, awakened from its slumber.

Its sharp senses told it that visitors had arrived in the cave.

Stretching its wings and letting out a long yawn, the dragon mused. Could it be that the decades of waiting were finally over? Or would it, once again, be a fruitless expectation?

At that moment, the ceiling above rumbled as stalactites and dust fell from the cave roof. It was the signal that someone had forcibly opened the entrance. It seemed this time the visitors were real.

Orse Tabul slowly began to rise, preparing to greet the intruders.

There wasn’t much to the preparation, really. The dragon simply activated the magic circle and guardians it had placed around the cave. The once dark cave now glowed with a soft blue light of mana.

With its vision cleared, the dragon carefully dusted off the tomb at its feet, ensuring every inch was spotless, and meticulously checked the treasures surrounding it. The preparations were done in no time, as it had repeated this process hundreds, if not thousands, of times before.

Boom! Boom!

Still, it seemed that the intruders needed a bit more time to break through. The dragon had a brief moment of respite. And, like any elderly being with too much time on its hands, Orse Tabul drifted back into memories of the past.

The first thing that came to mind was its nest.

Though the dragon had guarded this place for decades, it never once considered it its real home.

No, its true lair was beyond the dimensional gate, in the Dwarven Kingdom filled with gold and mana metal.

It was a place overflowing with treasure and jewels, along with finely crafted ornaments and artifacts made by the dwarves themselves.

Among those treasures, the most beautiful was a life-sized statue, sculpted in the dragon's likeness.

It depicted a moment from its youth, carrying the Dwarf King on its neck, fighting off hordes of demonic beasts.

At one time, the statue had been the dragon's pride and joy. For the dwarves, it was history and mythology made real, a symbol of a glorious future.

...Until Stalin invaded the Dwarven Kingdoms.

The dragon shifted to the next chapter of its memories.

Far in the past, it recalled the war that destroyed its lair and statue.

That damned invader, Stalin, and his communists, who rained mustard gas and bombs upon them.

Against the deadly weaponry of Earth, the dwarves’ massive fortresses and underground highways had been worthless.

Future generations of dwarves called that era the “Yellow Winter.”

No negotiations, no offers of peace—just a continuous bombardment that lasted for an entire season.

Even the most stubborn dwarves had been forced to surrender, or were wiped out, under the relentless attack. When it was over, they raised their yellow-stained white flags, discolored by the mustard gas.

Stalin, having won the war, showed no mercy. To him, dwarves weren’t human, and animals had no place among the proletariat.

Countless dwarves were sent to the gulags. Whole clans were wiped out. The Dwarven Mountains were renamed the Lenin Mountains.

The dragon’s lair had fared no better.

The nest, which had stood for as long as the dragon’s ancient life, was obliterated without a trace under the bombing.

The statue’s fate had been even more tragic. The communists deemed the "reactionary" statue an affront and threw it into a smelter.

The dragon never learned what happened to it afterward. It could only assume the materials became part of the Palace of the Soviets or perhaps a statue of Lenin…

As the dragon reflected on this, its right wing throbbed with pain.

“Again... it’s happening again.”

The dragon traced the massive scar running across its right wing.

A scar earned while flying into Russia’s air defenses, the Dwarf King on its back.

Much like a hero defeating a demon king to restore peace, it had foolishly thought it could take down Stalin, the demon king of its time…

That thought was cut short.

The seal protecting the cave broke, and the magic circle at the entrance exploded.

!!!

A brief tremor shook the cave, causing the ceiling to rain down dust once again, covering the freshly cleaned tomb in a layer of dirt. The dragon frowned and turned toward the entrance.

And just as if to prove that the intruders had indeed breached the door, a neutral voice echoed through the cave.

“Come to me—now!”

It was a human voice, not a dwarf’s. Orse Tabul couldn’t hide its disappointment.

“They’re not guests—they’re robbers.”

Without hesitation, the dragon activated its guardians.

 

In the twilight of Manchuria’s evening, three motorcycles raced across the plains, casting long shadows in the setting sun.

They sped at an incredible pace, cutting through the rocky and sandy plains in no time. Considering that each motorcycle carried two riders, it was almost a death-defying acrobatic feat.

But the group had no trouble navigating the rough terrain—their drivers were all superhumans, after all.

After a long ride across the plains, the sun dipped below the horizon, and the twilight gave way to darkness. In the distance, instead of more plains, they saw the outline of a large mountain range.

Soon, the group left the plains behind and began riding through snow-covered forests and winding mountain paths.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the mountains had been left untouched by human hands, and the paths were as rough as could be. Even for superhuman senses, it was difficult to manage.

Eventually, after nearly tumbling down a mountain, Kim Mansu lost his balance, forcing the group to slow down.

As soon as they caught their breath, the Saintess broke the silence.

“How’s my driving? Manageable?”

Her tone was clearly teasing. Yeomyeong, who sat behind her, couldn’t help but twitch his eyebrow.

“…Worst ride of my life.”

“Come on, that’s just because you’re holding on to the wrong place. I told you, it’s fine to hold my waist.”

The Saintess giggled, likely trying to lighten the heavy mood with her joke, but Yeomyeong, who had been clinging awkwardly to the seat, wasn’t laughing.

It had only been a few days since he had gotten into a brawl with her insane mother over some absurd misunderstanding, and here she was, joking around again.

Yeomyeong thought about giving her a light smack on the back of the head but shook his head instead.

“Forget the jokes. How much further?”

“Forget the jokes? I was serious, though.”

“…Answer.”

“Ugh, fine. We’re almost there. Darulma said the place is near a huge, obvious-looking valley… so, once we get over that mountain, we should see it.”

Just as she said, after crossing a particularly rough patch of mountain, a large valley came into view.

Unlike the surrounding gentle slopes, the valley was flanked by nearly vertical cliffs.

If one were unaware, it might have been considered a breathtaking sight, but knowing that the valley supposedly housed an artifact capable of destroying Manchuria made it seem far more ominous.

“We go on foot from here.”

Coincidentally, the motorcycle fuel was running low, so Commander Kwon ordered the group to dismount.

They carefully laid their bikes down and quietly approached the valley.

Fortunately, there was no sign of the enemy. However, as they neared the valley, Commander Kwon’s brow furrowed.

“If the enemy is lying in ambush, we’ll be sitting ducks in this terrain.”

He pointed to the top of the valley. With nearly vertical cliffs and no cover, it was easy to imagine being helpless if the enemy rained bullets from above.

“…Should I go up and check?” Yeomyeong asked.

Commander Kwon shook his head.

“No, to check from up there, we’d have to go around the mountain… and we don’t have the time.”

“But we can’t just walk into an ambush,” Kim Mansu, who had been fighting off motion sickness, interjected, looking up at the cliffs with unease.

“I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe we should split up. My team and I can check the top first.”

“Split into an advance and rear team?”

“Yes, Commander, you, the Saintess, and Yeomyeong can stay here and wait while we check the top. Once we’ve confirmed it’s clear, we’ll proceed.”

“That’s not a bad idea. But let’s adjust the teams. Considering the strength we’ll need once we reach the treasure—”

As Commander Kwon and Vice Commander Kim Mansu continued discussing strategy, Yeomyeong quietly drew his sword.

Sling.

All eyes turned to Yeomyeong, then followed his gaze to the left cliff.

Atop the cliff stood a figure silhouetted against the moonlight.

At first, Kim Mansu thought it was a person in a suit, but as the moonlight revealed the figure’s face, he gasped.

“A pig head? Those guys… could they be the same ones who attacked us in northern Manchuria?”

They were the same grotesque figures they had faced during the northern Manchuria incident. Yeomyeong confirmed Mansu’s suspicion.

“It’s them. I told you earlier, I ran into something similar during the attack—a horse head this time, not a pig.”

Yeomyeong decided not to mention that these animal-headed monsters were actually modified humans created by the government. That information would only cause unnecessary panic.

“…So the attack in northern Manchuria wasn’t a coincidence.”

Commander Kwon seemed to be forming his own theories, but Yeomyeong remained silent.

As Commander Kwon deliberated, more pig-headed creatures began appearing along the cliff.

There were at least thirty visible, and even Yeomyeong knew this would be a fierce battle.

Finishing his thoughts, Commander Kwon looked up at the group.

“The enemy outnumbers us several times over, and their weaponry is better. A frontal assault is out of the question, but if we wait any longer, they’ll get the Jade Seal first.”

“…So what’s the plan? Are we retreating?” Kim Mansu asked.

Commander Kwon turned to the Saintess.

“Saintess, you said you wouldn’t risk your life. Will you retreat now?”

“…And if I say I want to fight?”

“Then we’ll set up an ambush. We’ll climb the right cliff and wait for them to enter the cave where the treasure is. We’ll strike when they’re distracted.”

Commander Kwon’s plan was reasonable, but it didn’t guarantee victory. Even if they dealt with the pig-headed creatures, there was no assurance they would find the Jade Seal.

Understanding this, the Saintess fell silent, then turned to Yeomyeong.

“What do you think?”

“What do I think?”

They’re all going to die. He swallowed the words and feigned indifference.

Even if the group had decided to retreat, he would have fought the creatures one way or another. Not for the Jade Seal.

Was it to claim the treasure and reap the dwarves’ rewards? No, that wasn’t it.

While obtaining the Jade Seal and getting a handsome reward from the dwarves wouldn’t have been bad, he had no intention of risking his life against a dragon.

But considering how much the government seemed to care about this operation… he was determined to ruin their plans, whatever it took.

Perhaps misinterpreting his thoughts, the Saintess nodded with a resolute expression.

“Alright. Then we fight.”

“…Saintess.”

“We’ve come too far to turn back now, haven’t we? Commander Kwon, let’s go with your plan. We’ll climb the right cliff and ambush them when they enter the cave—”

Before she could finish, an immense wave of mana surged from deep within the valley.

The surrounding trees shook, and the grass bowed. The overwhelming mana caused all the mercenaries to gulp nervously.

And the creatures on the cliff had noticed too. The pig-headed monsters hurriedly leaped from the cliff, precariously descending the steep slope.

They were attempting to rush down the cliffside.

“…Looks like we got lucky,” Commander Kwon muttered, though whether it was the right phrase was debatable, the group silently agreed.

There was no need for further discussion.

Click.

As one, the group loaded their guns and charged toward the cliff where the pig-headed creatures were descending.