Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant - Chapter 61
Chapter 61
The color of the approaching wyverns was close to sky blue.
They were Sky Wyverns.
‘As expected.’
The mountain they were in and the color of the wyverns confirmed that he had come to the right place.
As soon as Suho sensed their presence, he moved away from the outer wall he had been climbing and stood on a spiraling path.
Then, he pressed his sword to his waist and waited calmly for the creatures to approach.
– Sky Wyvern Lv.98
– Sky Wyvern Lv.100
– Sky Wyvern Lv.99
– Sky Wyvern Lv.101
……
The Sky Wyverns had levels hovering around 100.
Not only were their levels high, but as a subspecies of dragon and being capable of flight, they possessed tremendous power from birth.
At the moment Suho came into the creatures’ clear view, they noticed him.
“Kree?”
The Sky Wyverns blinked in disbelief.
They were aware that an intruder had entered their territory, but surprisingly, the intruder was alone.
And audaciously, he was standing there holding just a tiny sword, waiting for them.
It was absurd.
Among all the invaders they had faced, never had there been one who looked so reckless and insignificant.
Instead of being angered by such arrogance, they found it amusing.
They figured he must be one of those naïve, wandering heroes who had no grasp of reality.
And so, the cunning Sky Wyverns decided to toy with this intruder.
Like orcas who torment their prey before finally consuming it.
The first step was to knock him off balance with a gust from their wings.
The Sky Wyverns, lined up horizontally, shifted formation into a column under their leader’s command.
They then swooped close to Suho and suddenly shot upwards like a roller coaster.
An enormous gust was generated, shaking Suho’s footing.
But when they turned around in midair to look at him again…
“…?!”
Amazingly, the intruder stood firm in the same spot, neither flustered nor fatigued.
Suho snorted.
‘Of course, these cunning beasts have such predictable patterns.’
By now, they’d likely be annoyed enough to try another wing-blast attack.
But this time, he wasn’t planning to play along.
As the wyverns approached, generating another gust of wind, Suho drew his sword to waist level and swung it broadly in a horizontal slash.
[ Draw Slash activated. ]
Ssslash!
A satisfying resistance traveled through the tip of his sword.
As Draw Slash activated, the blood-red blade traced a crimson arc, inflicting a deep wound on the abdomen of one wyvern in the column.
The attack had been successful.
The proof was in the spray of Sky Wyvern blood splattering into the air.
“Kriiieek!”
The leader wyvern was startled.
And enraged.
They had been flying just out of reach of his sword, yet this pathetic swordsman had used some strange technique to wound them.
With that, the leader wyvern decided to change tactics.
Realizing the wing-blast was ineffective, and being cunning enough not to let pride interfere, the Sky Wyverns were ready to adapt.
“Kyaooo!”
At the leader’s cry, the Sky Wyverns spread out, starting to circle around Suho, applying pressure.
The intention was to provoke a psychological strain by making him feel surrounded.
At least, that was what the leader wyvern thought.
But Suho just chuckled.
‘These wyverns, how obvious.’
The wyverns circling around him in formation.
Suho understood their tactics.
It wasn’t just that he was familiar with records of the Celestial Mountain Gate; it was that all wyverns were the same.
This was precisely why he had chosen to come alone.
Aside from other reasons, coming alone meant the wyverns would feel he was too insignificant to take seriously, and they’d be taunted into attacking.
At that moment, as they spun around him, the wyverns rushed in to attack all at once.
“Kiiieek!”
Wyverns closing in.
When they reached within arm’s reach, all but one retreated with a flap of their wings.
But one of them.
Only one rushed forward, lunging at Suho.
The earlier advance had been a diversion.
A setup for this final attacker.
But Suho was not fooled.
Instead, he waited patiently, and when the last one lunged in, he unleashed his sword in a flash.
[ Draw Slash activated. ]
Swooosh!!
A crimson arc cut deeply into the last Sky Wyvern as it entered the blade’s range.
A clean hit.
The proof was in the way its body became tattered, with blood and flesh scattering into the air.
However, it didn’t die.
Only wounded to the point of near death.
The slashed wyvern shrieked in agony.
“Kiiieeeeee!!”
[ Sky Wyvern uses Fear. ]
The Sky Wyvern cried out in pain.
However.
[ Dragon Blood activated. ]
[ Immune to Fear due to the Dragon Blood’s dragon fear resistance effect. ]
Sky Wyverns were still wyverns.
And wyverns were a subspecies of dragons.
Their fear ability had no effect on him.
Then another wyvern let out a shriek.
“Kiiaaaa!”
This time, it was the leader wyvern.
Hearing the sound, Suho smiled.
‘Looks like they’re really angry now.’
The sound of a wyvern’s cry varied with its emotional state, and Suho understood the difference.
His plan had worked.
There was nothing easier to handle than a cunning creature that had lost its temper.
The furious Sky Wyverns charged once more.
***
How much time had passed?
The Sky Wyverns began to rethink their strategy, having nearly given up on attacking Suho.
It was only natural.
They had tried dozens of attacks and different patterns to land a hit on him, but almost every attempt had failed.
They had even resorted to hurling large boulders at him, only for Suho to split each one in half with ease.
To make matters worse, at some point, it began to feel as if the range of that cursed red sword of his was gradually increasing.
“Krii…”
They needed a new plan.
He and his subordinates had already sustained quite a few wounds.
However, he didn’t want to give up.
Somehow, he felt like if they tried just a bit harder, they might be able to capture the enemy in front of them.
But caution was necessary.
He wasn’t just any ordinary Sky Wyvern; he was the Leader Sky Wyvern, leading the pack.
So, he had to make a decision.
If he continued with reckless attacks and poor judgment, he could lose not only all of his subordinates but also his hard-earned rank as leader.
After much deliberation, the Leader Wyvern finally had no choice but to order a retreat.
At that moment.
[ Leap activated. ]
The moment he resolved to retreat, the prey began to move.
The enemy started hopping up Celestial Mountain like a frog, and the Leader Wyvern’s eyes widened.
This was an opportunity.
Perhaps the reason it had been difficult to catch him so far was because he had been entrenched in one place.
After all, wasn’t his goal to reach higher ground?
Then, if they could strike while he was moving?
The Leader Wyvern finished calculating and cried out once more, giving orders to his subordinates.
“Kieeeek!!”
There was still a chance.
Don’t lose hope; let’s attack once more with renewed strength!
The Sky Wyverns received the command, began circling again, and prepared for a wheel formation attack, while Suho watched them with a smile.
‘Idiots.’
“Kieeek…”
A Sky Wyvern, its wing injured, plummeted downward.
By now, there were multiple wounded… no, they should be considered casualties since they fell from such heights.
The squad led by the Leader Wyvern had already lost over half of its members, and they could no longer demonstrate the force or power they once held.
Meanwhile, Suho could see the peak of Celestial Mountain coming into view.
The Leader Wyvern gritted his teeth.
Damn it.
He was infuriated.
Infuriated beyond measure.
He had thought the enemy was within his grasp if he just pushed a little more, but that was a delusion.
The enemy had baited him, and he had taken it without hesitation.
So now he had to admit it.
Beyond this point lay the boss’s territory, not his own.
Even if he’d be scolded later, he had no choice but to leave it to the true boss.
Having reached a decision, the Leader Wyvern cried out to signal retreat.
But at that moment.
[ Spear Throw activated. ]
Thud!
He didn’t even see it coming.
The moment he signaled retreat, something the enemy threw pierced his wing.
“Krrrk!”
His wing lost strength.
He struggled, but it was pointless.
Even as he tried to keep flapping his single wing, he continued to fall, dropping further and further below.
Finally, when he had shrunk to a mere dot, Suho nodded.
“Where do you think you’re running off to?”
It was just as he’d expected.
By this point, he had anticipated the Leader Wyvern would retreat, and just as expected, he was trying to escape, so Suho quickly threw his Phantom Spear to bring him down.
The remaining Sky Wyverns, startled, began to scatter in all directions, and Suho took a final deep breath before entering the boss room.
‘Seems like I’m still not quite there yet.’
Suho furrowed his brow at the lack of a noticeable response.
One reason he had insisted on coming here alone.
Among those reasons were certain skills he wanted to master here.
Just like he had obtained Severing Steel in the Twisted Forest.
But it seemed that learning new skills would require even more effort than back then.
‘No need to rush.’
After all, there’s wisdom in taking the long way around when in a hurry.
After preparing himself, Suho resumed his climb up the outer wall.
[ Entering the boss room. ]
Crossing a certain threshold, he received the notification that he had entered the boss room, and the wind intensified.
At the same time, the previously faint clouds started to come into clear view.
From here on, it was truly the domain of the ‘Sky.’
At that moment.
Grooooaaaaar!!
A loud roar reverberated through the heavens.
[ Sky Wyvern King uses Fear. ]
[ Dragon Blood activated. ]
[ Due to the Dragon Blood’s immunity to dragon fear, Fear does not apply. ]
The boss monster’s fear.
Of course, with the Dragon Blood effect, no damage was taken.
At that moment, darkness descended.
It wasn’t because the sun had set.
The lord of Celestial Mountain was passing above Suho.
Looking up, Suho marveled at the massive Sky Wyvern King, far larger than any he had seen before.
‘It’s my first time seeing it in person.’
Suho observed the name card floating above its head.
Sky Wyvern King Lv.113
A level of at least 1-star.
In fact, it was the highest level among all the monsters he had encountered.
Not to mention, its body was vastly larger than the average wyvern.
At a glance, it almost looked like a real dragon.
But it wasn’t a true dragon.
Even if its horns were larger and its hide thicker, it was still merely a wyvern.
The dragons Suho had seen were far more impressive beings.
Not even comparable to this mere lizard.
Therefore, Suho felt no fear at all.
‘Let’s get started.’
Suho gripped his blood-red sword and began climbing the wall again.
His target was the Sky Wyvern King’s nest at the very peak of Celestial Mountain.
As Suho began his ascent toward the nest, the Sky Wyvern King’s gaze grew more hostile.