Chapter 177

Lee Jong-hak said that he would remain with Ishuta for the time being. He was a man who took favours and grudges very seriously. So he probably didn’t intend to leave her side before he felt that he had repaid his debt in full.

This wasn’t much of a problem for Lukas. In fact, it could even be described as a good thing. Lukas intended to travel alone for the time being, and it wasn’t a bad thing to have a reliable contact in a major city like Babylon.

Of course, Lee Jong-hak wasn’t staying with Ishuta just to pay her back.

“Ms. Ishuta has a pass to Death Island.”

“Death Island?”

“Yes. I was looking for a way to go there. That is the only place in the Heavenly Realm I have yet to go.”

Lukas couldn’t help but look at him in surprise at those words.

“Do you mean that you’ve already been to the other six islands? Including Dragon God Island?”

“Yes.”

Lee Jong-hak nodded before deciding to explain a bit.

“It’s not as amazing as it sounds. I only went there and I wasn’t able to thoroughly search. As you should know by now, except for Dragon God Island, the seven islands which represent the Heavenly Realm are all similar in size to a small continent.”

It was impossible to thoroughly search such a large place.

Lee Jong-hak had visited the busiest regions and asked if any strangers had appeared in the region but to no avail.

Min Ha-rin was proof of just how difficult searching for each other was.

Even though they were on the same island, they hadn’t been able to find each other because they were both using aliases.

‘This is why fame is important.’

Championship.

If they were to participate in this event and fight to the top, rumors about them would certainly spread across the entirety of the Heavenly Realm.

After thinking this, Lukas turned to look at Lee Jong-hak again.

“Did you get to meet the Goddess?”

“No. I wasn’t allowed to. I simply followed Ms. Ishuta as an escort.”

“I see.”

Lukas also asked Lee Jong-hak about the ‘four special statues’.

That got a reaction out of him.

“The most important statue in the entire Heavenly Realm is definitely the Dragon God’s Statue.”

“I heard that it is kept on Dragon God Island. Did you get the chance to see it?”

I didn’t see it. From what I’ve heard, it only reveals itself to those worthy of seeing it.”

“The statue reveals itself?”

“That’s what the rumors… No. That’s what the legends say.”

“…”

Lukas fell silent for a while.

Of course, it didn’t surprise him that much that a statue seemed to have its own consciousness.

There were dozens of reasons for such a phenomenon.

Nevertheless, there was still something that weighed heavily on his mind.

If the Dragon God Statue was truly one of the ‘four special statues’ mentioned by the voice, then it might be troublesome if it really had its own consciousness.

After exchanging a few more words with Lukas, Lee Jong-hak returned to Ishuta’s side.

The 10 minutes period that he’d been granted was slowly running out.

When Lee Jong-hak left, Bargan approached Lukas once again. His expression was a bit tense.

“What did you talk about with the Whirlwind of the Arena?”

Whirlwind of the Arena.

Recalling that it was one of Lee Jong-hak’s titles, Lukas responded.

“He’s an old acquaintance, so we just had a short reunion.”

“…I see.”

Bargan nodded as if he’d understood something.

“Then do you plan to sell the Ancient Dragon’s corpse to Babylon?”

There was no time for Lukas to answer him.

This was because the five Major City Lords had approached him as if they were counting the time. The atmosphere in the clearing instantly became heavy.

Looking at their expressions, it was clear that they could no longer stall for time or refuse to answer.

“Now then. Let’s hear your answer.”

After saying that, Gargad pointed towards himself.

“Lukas, are you willing to sell the Ancient Dragon’s corpse to Uruk?”

“No.”

Gargad’s expression became hard at this answer which came without any hesitation.

Then, the Major City Lord of Bakdad, who was behind him, spoke.

“Then do you intend to sell it to Bakdad?”

“No.”

“…Tikrit?”

“I won’t sell it to you.”

The atmosphere became even heavier and a faint scent of blood began to fill the clearing.

The faces of the Major City Lords who had been rejected by Lukas were all as cold as ice, and their gazes were as sharp as blades. The killing intent that began radiating from their bodies was enough to make the other Dragonmen in the clearing numb.

Spera, the Major City Lord of Akad, seemed to have roughly understood the situation. He smiled in embarrassment before speaking up anyway.

“Looking at this situation, I don’t suppose you will sell it to Akad either, right?”

Lukas simply nodded without answering.

Then the Major City Lord of Akad scratched his cheek with a complicated expression.

“Hmm. This is awkward.”

At that moment, a roar of laughter could be heard.

It was Ishuta. She spread her folding fan wide and gently waved it at her face.

“Ahaha. It seems that you have a good relationship with my ‘Li Hao’.”

“…”

“You’re definitely his close friend, so it’s not strange that you also have amazing abilities.”

Although Li Hao was an outsider, he was strong enough to easily overpower all but the most powerful Dragonmen Fighters in her arena.

Amazing people usually grouped themselves with other extraordinary people, so she could barely accept the fact that her Magical Eye, which she was most proud of, didn’t work on him…

‘…but I can’t really…’

Of course, even if she tried to brainwash herself, it wasn’t something that she could overlook that easily.

But for now, the Ancient Dragon’s corpse was more important.

She wondered if this victory could be attributed to luck. It was all thanks to Li Hao, a Fighter that she’d worked hard to acquire, that she was able to win the competition for the Ancient Dragon’s corpse today.

Ishuta smiled brightly and said.

“Mr. Dragon Hunter, Babylon guarantees that you will be treated as our greatest guest…”

“There’s no need for you to do that. I don’t intend to sell it to Babylon either.”

When Lukas finished talking, Ishuta’s expression cracked for the third time since they had met.

The Major City Lord of Bakdad spoke up with an angry expression.

“Did you call us Major City Lords out to such a distant place just to tell us that you won’t sell it? Don’t tell me you just wanted to use us to get rid of that trashy City Lord over there.”

The once confident Sshiris, who was now being called out despite trying to make himself as small as possible, flinched.

Even Spera, who had maintained a playful attitude all this time, couldn’t help but speak out with a vicious smile on his face.

“We all rushed through the sky for four days and four nights without even taking a break to rest. And it’ll take just as long for us to return. So that would mean that you made five Major City Lords waste an entire week.”

It wasn’t just about wasting time.

Each of them had brought multiple Sky Carriages and troops with them to assist with the transportation of the Ancient Dragon’s corpse. If they hadn’t been brought for this task, they could have been sent to complete at least a few dozen tasks even if they were to only do the most important ones. Naturally, this meant that the losses for this trip would be enormous.

The Major City Lords’ anger was more than justified.

“Answer me, Dragon Hunter. Do you intend to make fools out of us Major City Lords?”

“You’re being too hasty. Why are you already concluding that you will return with no gains?”

It was Ishuta who shot back an answer with an annoyed expression on her face.

“You’re the one who said you won’t sell it to anyone.”

“I did say that I wouldn’t sell it, but is that synonymous with saying that you won’t be able to obtain the Ancient Dragon’s parts?”

“What are you talking about?”

“…”

When Lukas didn’t respond for a while, Gargad decided to speak up.

“If you’re trying to play some trick…”

“I’m not. I just have one thing to say.”

Lukas pointed towards the Ancient Dragon as he continued.

“I won’t accept your money. Instead, I intend to split this Ancient Dragon up and share it among the Major City Lords.”

“…wh-, what?!”

It was Bargan, who was beside him who cried with disbelief.

Although there was a certain gap of strength between them, the Major City Lords reacted similarly.

“…”

On the other hand, Lee Jong-hak looked at Lukas with narrowed eyes.

He knew a bit about Lukas, so he wasn’t as panicked as the others.

Lukas wasn’t the type of person who would simply do good deeds for no real reason. He was extremely logical, had more experience than probably everyone there put together, and had the broadest and furthest vision.

That was why, more than anything, Lee Jong-hak was curious at that moment.

Just how far ahead was Lukas looking to make such a decision?

(TL: What is Lukas up to?)