The Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company is a Poison King - Chapter 184
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 184: Wuhan, Hubei Province
Tae-ju caught the Twin-headed Demon Dragon in Henan Province and headed southwest.
The place he arrived at was the monster-infested area of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an.
The Beyond Elite he encountered in Xi’an was BEM – C05 Black Centipede Earth Dragon, a creature with an elongated body and centipede-like legs that moved underground like a submarine.
It wasn’t difficult.
Even though it moved underground, it had to come outside to attack.
So he easily took it down and obtained another Beyond mana crystal.
Elite crystals had also accumulated enough to fill his subspace bag.
Ilisambaeyi had practically annihilated the subordinate elite monsters, and The Emperor and Geum Su-ho who followed behind did an excellent job as pack carriers.
Then he headed south.
Chongqing, or Chungching in Chinese.
A major Chinese city from 300 years ago.
There was a time when its population exceeded 30 million.
Now those towering skyscrapers had all collapsed, leaving only ruins piled with concrete debris.
Beyond monsters existed here too.
The very one that destroyed Chongqing.
A monster called BEM – C02 Iron Horn Thunder Dragon had made Chongqing its territory.
It was about the size of a 1-ton truck, making it the smallest among Beyond monsters, but surprisingly very troublesome.
It was a swift creature.
As you could tell from its name, Thunder Dragon.
It didn’t use lightning attacks, but it was as fast as lightning.
Speed was its greatest strength.
And its iron horn – a terrifying metal horn.
If you got hit by it, whether it was a building or a tank, you’d burst like a balloon.
The key to the Iron Horn Thunder Dragon raid.
You had to effectively counter its fast speed and absolutely avoid its horn charge.
If you failed to do so…
Tseupapat!
Kwaaaaak!
“Hueok!”
Kwakwang!
Geum Su-ho was struck by the Iron Horn Thunder Dragon’s horn and slammed into a half-collapsed building wall.
Jiiing.
Fortunately, his protective talisman activated.
It wasn’t just Geum Su-ho.
Tseupapat!
Kwaaaaak!
“Keuhuk!”
Jiiing.
The Emperor too.
Kwajik!
“Keurung?”
Ilisambaeyi as well.
The creature had been hiding and ambushed them from behind.
Unlike other Beyonds, it had concealed its presence.
It even attacked the weakest beings first.
Geum Su-ho was hit first, then The Emperor, then Ilisambaeyi in that order.
‘…It’s smart too.’
The Iron Horn Thunder Dragon had struck all three almost simultaneously with its horn charge rush in barely one second.
At least it was fortunate that no one was injured since their protective talismans activated.
‘I need to catch it quickly.’
The creature’s attack turned toward Tae-ju.
Seupot! Papapat! Papat!
Flash, flash, flash.
The Iron Horn Thunder Dragon rushed toward Tae-ju while stepping in a zigzag pattern.
If it had been before he comprehended Toxic Spirit, he might have panicked and been at a loss against that speed.
Seuseuseuseuseuseus!
Already tens of thousands of hidden weapons were floating in the air, waiting only for the launch command.
Syuwing! Syuuuuuwing! Pipipipit!
A carpet bombing of hidden weapons unfolded.
The startled Iron Horn Thunder Dragon hastily changed direction.
It fled like lightning.
Tae-ju’s Black Dark Iron Death-Seeking Flying Daggers followed like guided missiles.
Pipipipipipit!
But they failed to hit the creature’s body and got stuck in the ground instead.
Tae-ju was slightly surprised.
Since comprehending Toxic Spirit, his launched hidden weapons had never missed even once.
“Oh! It dodged this?”
It wasn’t really that surprising.
What was so impressive about dodging a few hidden weapons?
He took out the Immortal Realm’s Iron Seonin’s treasure, the Divine Spirit Flying Blade, from Infinite Space.
‘Chase!’
A weapon that possessed spirituality and would carry out initial commands to the end even without Toxic Spirit control.
Seupaat!
The Divine Spirit Flying Blade left a long silver tail as it persistently gave chase.
It gave no room for direction changes.
And ahead waited a dark cloud of hidden weapons for the creature.
“Kikik?”
Kwakwakwakwakwak!
The hidden weapons swarmed like a swarm of bees.
Seogeogeogeogeogeok!
The Iron Horn Thunder Dragon was torn to shreds.
Its terrifying horn, thick hide, and solid bones.
Everything disappeared.
All that remained was the Beyond mana crystal.
‘This crystal is small in size.’
Of course, like a Beyond, the mana was densely condensed within it.
Actually, smaller size was better.
It was also easier to process.
‘But anyway… we should rest for a bit, right?’
The Emperor’s, Geum Su-ho’s, and Ilisambaeyi’s protective talismans had all activated simultaneously.
They couldn’t be used again until 24 hours passed…
‘Let’s rest here today.’
The Emperor and Geum Su-ho looked at Tae-ju from a distance with expressions of being fed up.
His words were absolutely correct.
When the Beyond monster first ambushed them from behind, they couldn’t even move.
They thought they were really going to die, not just pretend to be dead.
But they were fine.
Even though they were stabbed by that terrifying horn, they didn’t even get a scratch.
“The talisman was real.”
“Yes. I survived thanks to you.”
“By the way, I’ve become a burden.”
“What’s so surprising about that? You’ve been like that from the beginning.”
“…Tsk, the Empress and children should realize too – what’s the point of seizing the Empire’s power in the face of that strength?”
“From Chairman Kim’s perspective, the Samhan Empire is probably just laughable. Yet he casually offered to hand over the Empire or not.”
“Tsk, did we know it would be to this extent? Let’s just focus on our own business. Leave Chairman Kim to play around in the heavenly realm.”
Tae-ju chose a suitable location to pitch a tent and set up chairs and a table.
He specially brought out immortal wine and seondo.
Ilisambaeyi had worked hard cleaning up the elite monsters, and the Emperor and Geum Su-ho had helped by cutting open bellies one by one to collect crystals.
A tranquil atmosphere.
Before they knew it, darkness had fallen and moonlight stretched distantly.
They shared wine and seondo amicably and sat in a circle around the campfire.
However, instead of conversing with each other, everyone was busy focusing on their own affairs.
Tap tap! Tap tap tap!
Geum Su-ho was sending messages on his smartphone.
It seemed like there was someone he was separately keeping in contact with.
“Hmm.”
“How is it? What’s the current situation?”
The Emperor casually asked Geum Su-ho.
“It’s quiet. There’s no reaction as we expected yet.”
“Really? Perhaps… they’re confused.”
“Of course, it’s not something they can easily believe, is it? It seems more time will be needed.”
“Let’s wait leisurely. We have plenty of time.”
The deaths of the Emperor and Geum Su-ho.
It wasn’t a matter to judge hastily.
Announcing false deaths was like washing rice, putting it in a pressure cooker, and pressing the cook button.
Now they had to wait until steam started rising.
Tae-ju was also exchanging messages with Danggumak.
Dok-seon was currently in New Seoul.
It seemed like he was meeting Igor Baranov at the Leaders Club.
Even though they were both Immortals, Swordsman and Dok-seon had completely different personalities.
It wouldn’t be wrong to say they were polar opposites.
Swordsman didn’t pay attention to others’ feelings at all.
He had no hesitation when it came to spending money.
If he felt like it, he just splurged.
On the other hand, Dok-seon was cautious.
It had been quite a while since he came up to New Seoul, but card payment notification messages rarely rang.
Occasionally a few thousand won was charged at coffee shops, but that was all.
Still, there were photos he sent from time to time.
As if trying to show he was having a good time.
Today was the same.
Photos with people at the Leaders Club.
‘Hmm, is he in a good mood?’
Looking at the faces, they were all recognizable people.
Actors, talents, singers, entertainers…
In the photos, Dok-seon was beaming with joy.
‘He likes celebrities.’
Maybe he should acquire an entertainment agency.
The actors probably didn’t know.
That they were being loved by an Immortal from the Immortal Realm.
The night grew deeper.
Crackle, crackle, crackle.
The campfire blazed fiercely.
“Oh! Where are we planning to go tomorrow?”
Tae-ju answered the Emperor’s question.
The destination was already decided.
“I’m thinking of going to Wuhan.”
“Hm?”
The Emperor tilted his head and asked again.
“…Wuhan? Hubei Province?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm, Wuhan.”
Wuhan, Hubei Province – in Chinese nomenclature, Wuhan, Hubei Province.
The place where the most nuclear warheads from the Chinese military were concentrated and dropped in the past.
More than 10 fell there alone.
“Do you know what kind of Beyond Elite has made the Wuhan area its territory?”
“I’m curious about that too. I heard there’s a Beyond in Wuhan, but no information comes out.”
“I don’t know either. Actually, that place can’t be scouted.”
“…Not even drones?”
“We launched high-altitude aircraft to drop drones, but they broke as soon as we sent them. Nothing showed up in aerial photography either.”
“Couldn’t you figure out the reason?”
“How would we know that? Since the nuclear bombs fell, no one has been directly to Wuhan.”
Beyond reconnaissance is very important.
You can roughly gauge their location and assign identification numbers.
But it meant they couldn’t do that with Wuhan’s Beyond.
“Anyway, it’s strange. Only Wuhan is like that.”
For this reason, people often say.
That Wuhan is the most dangerous place on Earth.
If the world were to end, that would be the starting point.
“Honestly, I don’t understand how Beyond Elites were born from nuclear weapon radiation in the first place.”
“Right. There’s no scientific basis, it’s just speculation.”
The Emperor nodded as well.
“So some people say this.”
“What do they say?”
“Why did China recklessly detonate nuclear weapons? And more than 10 of them just in Wuhan.”
“I wonder.”
“There’s a hypothesis that Beyond Elites existed before that. Not that nuclear weapons created Beyonds, but that nuclear weapons were used because of Beyonds.”
“Ah!”
That made perfect sense.
But would anything change?
Regardless of the causal relationship, it was true that China was ruined because of Beyonds. And it was true that humanity’s peace was still being threatened.
* * *
The next day.
The Manribibeom carrying Tae-ju’s group flew toward Wuhan, Hubei Province.
The Emperor and Geum Su-ho flew by clinging to Tae-ju, but they seemed to have adapted quite well as they were very stable.
After the nuclear weapons fell.
Wuhan became an uncharted territory where even reconnaissance was impossible.
Since no one had been able to go there, there was no information about the Beyond either.
Tae-ju was excited.
Just how strong could the creature be that even drone filming was impossible?
But right at that moment!
An ominous energy that struck as soon as they crossed the border of Hubei Province.
‘…Huh?’
Wuhan was still very far away, but already?
Let’s keep going for now.
Swoooosh!
The closer they got, the thicker the energy became.
‘This doesn’t look good?’
This was on a completely different level from the Beyond energy he’d felt so far.
“Chairman Kim, this is….”
The Emperor seemed to sense it too.
And Ilbaek, who had been sleeping soundly in Tae-ju’s arms.
“Nyaaah?”
Stuck his head out and became alert.
‘This won’t do.’
He set down The Emperor, Geum Su-ho, and Ilisambaeyi on what looked like relatively safe flat ground.
“Please wait here, I’ll go take a look by myself.”
“We should also….”
“I have a bad feeling about this, it’ll be easier for me to escape alone if something happens.”
“…Ah, understood.”
Flying alone, his speed increased dramatically.
The energy also became strong enough to make his skin tingle.
‘This isn’t ordinary.’
What could it be?
Just in case, he activated his invisibility cloak too.
Swoosh.
Thick fog visible in the distance.
Ruins glimpsed here and there through it.
It was Wuhan.
The city outskirts were relatively thin, but inside, the fog was so thick nothing could be seen.
‘Almost there… huh?’
Stop!
Manribibeom halted in mid-air.
Tae-ju doubted his own eyes.
At the city’s edge, one massive life form emerging from the thin fog.
“What the…?”
It was a Beyond Elite.
A Mutated Dragon in the form of a giant reptile.
Its existence wouldn’t be strange, but….
“Grrrrrrr.”
“Grroar! Kang!”
“Kyaooooo….”
“Gruk, gruruk!”
.
.
.
It wasn’t just one or two.
The ruined city, Wuhan covered in thick fog, was completely filled with Beyond monsters.
“Crazy!”
Beyond Elites, each with their own territory, gathered in one place?
Not even fighting each other?
Moving around together?
That sight meant only one thing.
It was similar to the ecological characteristics of Elite monsters.
Originally, Elites were also monsters with their own territories.
But the subordinate Elites controlled by Beyond were subjugated ones, so they could all gather together without territorial disputes.
‘Does this mean Wuhan’s Beyonds have been subjugated by something even stronger?’
Let’s investigate more.
And film it too.
Tae-ju took out his smartphone, started video recording, and floated it in the air with Toxic Spirit.
That’s when it happened.
Flap, flap, flap.
The sound of wingbeats from somewhere.
Tae-ju looked up.
The sky was also thick with fog, but.
“….”
There were many.
Just the number emerging from the fog looked to be easily several hundred.
“Gurrrruk, guk”
“Kuruk, kuk!”
“Krararararark!”
“Kraaaaaah!”
.
.
.
Winged flying monsters.
Every single one was a Beyond.
Since they also had dragon-like forms, should they be called Pteranodons?
Their numbers were tremendous.
That might only be a portion of them.
‘I thought there might be something unusual….’
Now it was certain.
There was a leader.
A Dominant Species that commanded Beyond monsters as subordinates.
Right here in Wuhan.
‘Maybe the reason China launched nuclear weapons is completely different from what we knew.’
And the cause of Beyond’s birth too.
‘…Let’s retreat for now.’
If he were alone, it might be different.
But since The Emperor and Geum Su-ho were with him.
They came to fake his death but might actually die for real.
* * *
The Dragon Palace’s sunshine policy was proceeding smoothly.
The Immortals shared results with each other daily, discussing what strategies and tactics to use depending on the situation.
The representative medium of communication was Bopaedeurim, the Immortal Realm community that only Immortals could join.
Countless posts were uploaded to Bopaedeurim.
[Breaking News]: Dragon King watching drama, flies into a rage!
– Dragon King watching His Majesty’s game, shocked upon seeing fire-breathing lizard, roared loudly asking what kind of dragon that was supposed to be.
└ Heh heh heh, you should have told him it’s not a dragon but a dragon, right?
└ So I said, if you’re frustrated, let’s go directly to Earth and show what a real dragon looks like.
└ Let’s show off a bit more.
[Breaking News]: Dragon Palace Mermaid Chief Handmaiden bursts into tears after watching The Little Mermaid movie!
– The Mermaid Handmaiden cried her eyes out after watching the movie. She’s making a fuss saying the protagonist mermaid’s face in the movie is too dark. It breaks my heart to watch.
└ Are all mermaids white? Among fish, there are black sea breams, silver black porgy, and red sea breams too.
└ You should have called it racist remarks.
└ What racism for fish! It’s species discrimination.
[Breaking News]: Dragon Palace General Baekgyeong expresses deep concern about the fact that Earth’s marine monsters are occupying the seas, even though it’s a different world.
└ That stupid whale. He’s expressing concern boringly.
└ Tsk tsk, is that what “deep” means? It means profound.
└ …I, I knew that too. I was just making a joke.
└ Anyway, if the Dragon Palace army is deployed to Earth’s oceans, we won’t have to worry about marine monsters.
└ Then the demand for Dark Iron would decrease too.
└ Oh! That’s welcome news. I was sick of seeing those Hwangcheon-gye bastards showing off with their Dark Iron.
[Breaking News]: Dragon King shows interest in smartphones, inquires with Yama about opening gates in Dragon Palace to connect to the Immortal Realm network.
└ Hehe, he also asked me how he could get a smartphone.
└ And?
└ I just told him he needs lots of coins.
They were gradually being influenced.
Though they weren’t being very proactive yet.
Well, is it easy to obtain a Dragon Pearl?
There were other obstacles to overcome besides that.
└ Dok-seon needs to return quickly, since precious items like smartphones are all stored in his Infinite Space.
└ Actually, even if he returns, it’s still a problem. How do we convince Dok-seon?
└ Right. He doesn’t really like us crossing over to Earth.
└ He probably thinks that way because it would cause trouble for Kim Tae-ju.
In the end, Dok-seon had to give permission.
└ What if a situation arises where we have no choice but to cross over?
└ Like what?
└ For example, if monsters stronger than the Sahara Grassland Gate demons appear.
└ Haha, let’s at least not become monsters. If we use Earth’s misfortune to fulfill our desires, would that make us Immortals?
└ I’m just saying. And there’s no law saying great demons like Jecheon Daeseong won’t appear on Earth.
└ Why are you picking on me? What makes me a great demon?
└ Huh? How did that monkey join Bopaedeulim?
└ Expel him immediately!
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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