Chapter 181. The Seven Extreme Stars, Varkanon (1)

Facing one of the Seven Extreme Stars was a life-or-death battle that required Evan, even as someone who once held that title, to put his life on the line.

‘If the previous confrontation with Harashin had gone to the end, I would have been on the verge of death. If he hadn't diverted his attack, I would have already been fatally wounded.’

It was fortunate that it ended with minor injuries because neither had the intention of killing the other.

But this time was different.

This fight was a battle against a clear enemy.

And the objective was simple.

Only the death of the opponent.

‘Injuries will be unavoidable. But I cannot suffer a fatal wound. I still have a revenge to carry out.’

He repeated his resolve, but this was not a problem that could be solved with simple will.

Naturally, the enemy of the Empire was not going to give him any consideration for his circumstances.

What Evan could believe in was, in the end, only the skill he had honed his entire life.

‘The weapons I held so much that my hands were never without calluses. The experience of crossing the threshold of death countless times. Then and now, that is the only thing that will save me.’

Evan gripped the axe and stood at the edge of the temple.

He stared at the being that looked like a dot in the far distance and muttered lowly.

“I’m going. The footholds must be without a single inch of error.”

At those words, Harashin nodded his head vigorously.

“Don’t worry. I pride myself that these eyes are second only to the Divine Archer of the Manoa Kingdom.”

“Good. I’ll trust those words.”

Evan left the temple, passed the ground that supported it, and threw his body into the empty air.

At that moment, the sand footholds created by Harashin appeared in mid-air, supporting him.

‘This level of reaction speed is trustworthy enough.’

Any lingering doubt about Harashin’s ability disappeared.

All that remained was the confrontation with the Seven Extreme Stars.

“Come. You feel it too. That your opponent is me.”

At the end of his gaze, a being moved from the rear of the temple.

A Dragonkin whose entire body, except for the face, was covered in blue scales.

A being who inherited the blood of a dragon, the Seven Extreme Stars Varkanon.

“……”

He had not once stepped directly onto the battlefield until now.

He only followed the Emperor's orders, and not even the commander could move him.

Since no opponent worthy of him had appeared, only boredom lingered by his side.

Such a man finally opened his mouth.

“Tell the commander. I will destroy that temple.”

“What? Do you mean you will step in yourself?”

The adjutant by his side said, startled.

“Why? Is that so surprising?”

“N-no, sir. Then we will clear a path for you to the temple……”

“Stop. You all will be of no help.”

Varkanon’s blue wings spread out.

—Tuhoong!

A single flap of his wings.

The wind pressure alone made the surrounding soldiers stagger.

“Heut!”

Varkanon, unconcerned, rose into the air and stared at the temple and Evan, who stood before it.

“……”

A moment of silence.

And then a charge without hesitation.

—Hwoong!

With a single flap of his wings, Varkanon instantly reached the vicinity of the temple.

And what greeted him before Evan were hundreds, thousands of sand swords.

“Annoying.”

Sharp sword strikes extending from all directions, from the air and from the ground.

But Varkanon neither dodged nor blocked.

—Kakakakang!

The sound of steel clashing. The sand swords shattered and bounced off the moment they hit the scales.

Neither consecutive attacks nor a storm of sword strikes could penetrate the Dragonkin's scales.

Evan watched the scene and analyzed it.

How strong the opponent he had to fight was, and what the source of that strength might be.

‘Even if he’s a half-blood…… his durability is close to a real dragon.’

The swords made of sand boasted a hardness like steel.

The fact that they could not even leave a scratch was proof that the being before him was comparable to a dragon.

At least in terms of that hardness.

‘Without a dragon harpoon, all I have in my hand is this axe…….’

Evan, who was a mere human, acknowledged his weakness, and to overcome it, he recalled countless methods of fighting.

He contemplated how he could avoid death, and how he could kill his opponent.

On the other hand, Varkanon was a powerhouse from birth.

A complete being who had everything.

No weaknesses.

He himself had thought so his entire life.

Except for the dragons who no longer involved themselves in the continent's affairs, no one could defeat him.

‘However, I too was soundly defeated before that bastard’s sword. The strongest human I acknowledge. But what about you?’

The powerhouse of the Empire who had broken the pride of the arrogant Dragonkin.

After the duel with that powerhouse, Varkanon had felt a slight interest in humans.

Perhaps there was another being who could defeat him.

But since then, no such human had appeared.

The people of the world called him one of the Seven Extreme Stars, but in truth, he had lived without caring about such things.

Because he thought that if he ever got serious, he could kill them all anyway.

‘It would be difficult even if that guy named Harashin came out, so there must be a reason they sent you. A trivial reason, I’m sure.’

He thought the aura he felt from Evan was decent, but he did not have high expectations.

Because all those who had been called powerhouses until now had only shown disappointing results.

This time would be no different from then.

But Evan, contrary to Varkanon's inner thoughts, smiled.

He judged that even that seemingly flawless Dragonkin must have a weakness.

‘If he was truly a being that humans could not contend with, he would have been called the One Extreme Star, not Seven. I’ve seen plenty of guys who ran their mouths relying only on their bloodline end up in a coffin.’

He recalled the monsters he had faced in his past life.

They were stronger, if anything, not weaker than the opponent before him now.

And it was he who had ultimately survived those battles.

This time too, he would survive.

No, he would definitely win.

Varkanon, who had torn through hundreds of sand swords.

His and Evan's gazes met in mid-air.

“For a mere creature, your spirit is quite impressive. Besides, looking at your pale face, you don't seem to be from the Solaid Kingdom? Are you a mercenary from the Manoa Kingdom?”

As a kingdom where most of the land was desert, the sunlight was strong, so the residents here had dark skin.

Naturally, it was a completely different skin color from Evan and his group.

“Is that really important in this situation?”

As Evan raised his axe high, Varkanon narrowed his eyes as if observing him for a moment, then slowly nodded.

“……It’s not important.”

“Then let’s just do what we have to do. We don’t have time to be leisurely in a situation like this, do we?”

The next moment, the tip of Evan’s foot tapped the empty air.

In every spot his foot landed, hard sand footholds created by Harashin continuously rose, creating a virtual battlefield in the air.

A sense of stability no different from the ground was laid beneath his feet.

“Hoo-eup!”

Evan took a deep breath, and strength filled his lower body.

The strength that flowed from his firmly planted toes, through his waist, to his shoulders, and to the ends of his arms.

That straight line of explosive power was unleashed forward through the blade of the axe.

—Kang!

The blade was aimed precisely at Varkanon’s neck.

However, the blue scales that surpassed steel did not even flinch.

Varkanon did not block it, and there was not even a scratch.

Evan immediately bounced back and composed his breathing.

From the fingertips of the hand gripping the axe again, a thin aura began to rise.

A sharp aura that only those who could handle Aura, by imbuing their weapon with qi, could create.

“Haap!”

—Kang!

This time too, the blade struck Varkanon’s neck.

But the result was the same.

The hard scales did not allow for even a slight wound.

Only this time, his head tilted slightly to the side from the attack.

‘As expected, this much won’t be enough.’

Evan gritted his teeth and enveloped the axe with even more qi.

The aura surrounding the axe became increasingly thin and sharp, refined to a level that only a Sword Expert could handle.

With a slight vibration as if the air was splitting, the axe was swung again.

—Kakang!

This time, Varkanon raised his palm and caught the axe blade.

He, who had not been dodging, showed a reaction for the first time.

‘Finally, he’s starting to react.’

Varkanon tilted his head slightly and muttered lowly.

“Not particularly impressive……”

A blue light condensed at the tips of his fingers that had blocked the axe, and that power exploded in an instant.

The wave of mana that shot out split the wind and even blew away the clouds in the sky.

—Teong!

The blue wave completely erased the space where Evan had been standing.

The Karnak temple, which was not far away, also shook visibly.

‘Whew, my bones almost crumbled.’

If Evan had not dodged, he would have disappeared without a trace.

However, Evan had already dodged to the side and widened the distance.

He balanced himself on the foothold and provoked Varkanon with a sneer.

“Aren’t you using too much strength? Against a mere creature.”

At Evan’s words, thrown as a provocation, Varkanon just chuckled.

“Using strength? Do you think I would get tired from just this much?”

“No way. You’re of the noble dragon bloodline, how could that be.”

Varkanon spread his right hand instead of answering.

On his palm, blue mana gathered like a giant vortex, and soon, a single drop of water was formed.

However, that water droplet instantly grew and transformed into a giant sphere.

In a matter of seconds, a sphere of water that far surpassed the size of the temple was floating in the air.

“Behold. How futile it is, to bring something you call a secret weapon.”

It seemed Varkanon intended to drop the sphere and submerge not only the temple but also the sand soldiers below.

‘I can’t let that happen!’

At this, Evan raised his axe above his head and charged straight at Varkanon.

A sharp axe strike that tore through the air resistance.

—Swaek!

Varkanon tried to catch the blade with one hand like before.

But at that moment, his instincts whispered ‘danger.’

He reflexively twisted his arm, but it was already too late.

The blade of the axe grazed the scales.

—Chwaak!

A thin red line was drawn between the blue scales.

A wound too faint for blood to flow.

But that was not what was important.

The important fact was that Evan’s axe had finally left a significant wound.

Against that hard Dragonkin.

“……”

Varkanon’s gaze sank coldly.

He fixed the giant sphere floating in the sky in mid-air for a moment and did not take his eyes off Evan.

“……Now, I feel the aura of a Sword Master from you. Were you hiding your strength?”

Evan examined the blade of the axe and chuckled.

“It wasn't my power to begin with. It's a power I received from someone.”

“So…… have you also reached the pinnacle?”

A Sword Master signified the supreme state that a human could reach.

That was why there were only a handful in the history of the continent.

“Well. It's hard to say I've reached it, you could say I just touched it for a moment and am coming down. For about 5 minutes?”

The corners of Varkanon’s mouth twisted subtly.

Judging by his expression, it was as if he was looking down on his opponent.

“Saying something like that won’t do you any good, you know?”

“I don’t care.”

Evan aimed his axe at Varkanon and whispered lowly.

“Because it means I’ll cut you down within 5 minutes.”