# Chapter 71. Han River Battle (2)
"So that monster with the upper body of a horse and the lower body of a fish... they called it an Each-Uisge, right?"
"Kelpies and Each-Uisge are both from Scotland in Europe, aren't they? They really do look similar."
"Look carefully. The Each-Uisge is bigger, and its face is much uglier."
"They're said to be much crueler too. The Each-Uisge is definitely the more dangerous monster."
"Still, they don't seem like much of a threat to those guys."
"Right. As long as he stays focused, Lee Jukheon could probably wipe them all out by himself."
The social chatroom was filled with all kinds of Constellations.
B-rank Constellation "Golden and Silver Children."
A-rank Constellation "Naval Commander Holding a Pitchfork."
A-rank Constellation "Prodigy with Three Heads and Six Arms."
And many others.
As usual, they were watching Kang Yujin's group and chatting excitedly.
"This is a little boring."
"Yeah. Like we just said, Lee Jukheon alone could probably handle all of them."
"And Kang Yujin, Seok Taejun, and Won Pilso are there too."
"Shin Minyu and Lee Hyeonje are watching from behind as well."
"The preview on Constellation Tube made it sound like something huge was going to happen."
"Well, they don't have to fight deadly enemies every single day."
"Sometimes they need to hunt small fry too."
The preview video had been uploaded late the previous night.
It announced that Kang Yujin's group was finally advancing into Seoul, the very center of the Capital Region.
The video showed a wide view of the Han River and claimed that an unprecedented incident would occur there.
But so far...
Nothing particularly dramatic had happened.
"Could the important part be Shin Minyu and Lee Hyeonje showing up?"
"Ah, that's possible."
"Shin Minyu is one thing, but Lee Hyeonje is a really big name."
"He's on a different level even among the Eight Guardians."
"He's equal to Cheon Sangwoon."
"Maybe something is going to happen with Lee Hyeonje."
"Like what?"
"Kang Yujin's group has no connection with Lee Hyeonje."
"Maybe Lee Hyeonje wants to recruit Kang Yujin?"
"But Kang Yujin is carrying a Durandal Replica. Cheon Sangwoon has probably already marked him."
"Lee Hyeonje should know that."
"Maybe he plans to steal Kang Yujin away even knowing that."
"What if Lee Hyeonje suddenly grabs Kang Yujin by the collar and says, 'I won't hand you over to Cheon Sangwoon. You're mine.' Wouldn't that count as a huge incident?"
"Stop. It."
Meanwhile, the battle against dozens of Each-Uisge continued.
Joo Minha was absent from Kang Yujin's usual group.
But in her place was Won Pilso, the best tank among the Eight Guardians.
That made the battle feel completely safe to the viewers.
The chatroom was filled with nothing but nonsense.
"Whatever. I'm going to watch something else."
"Yeah. Today doesn't seem that interesting."
"Whenever they uploaded a preview beforehand, it was always fun."
"This is weird."
"Why don't we wait a little longer?"
"Right. It might suddenly get interesting."
"How is it supposed to get interesting from here?"
"Maybe if Leviathan suddenly jumps out of the Han River."
"What's Leviathan?"
"You don't know? It's a primordial monster from the western regions."
"A gigantic sea monster."
"Wait... is that it?"
"What?"
The chatroom suddenly fell silent.
Everyone focused on their observation devices.
"What is that?"
"Don't tell me that's really Leviathan."
"Wasn't Leviathan a sea monster?"
"Maybe it swam upriver."
"It looks like it's coming down from upstream."
"No."
"That's not a western monster."
A snake-like creature covered entirely in scales began emerging from the river.
Its massive body twisted through the water.
"That's..."
"A Jiaolong!"
***
"A Jiaolong is a creature that governs water and rules over fish."
Princess Longji's voice came through the communication window.
"According to one tradition, a snake that lives in water for five hundred years becomes a Jiaolong."
"And if that Jiaolong lives for another thousand years, it becomes a dragon."
"So it's like what Koreans call an Imugi."
"Yes."
"However, they are not normally that large."
"This one seems to be some kind of mutation."
The Jiaolong visible through the observation device looked at least twenty meters long.
It was far bigger than the Hydra or Scylla Kang Yujin had fought before.
"Nameless Constellation."
Princess Longji's voice became worried.
"This is honestly quite dangerous."
"A Jiaolong is the ruler of aquatic life."
"Now that one has appeared, all the monsters in the Han River will follow it."
"If they form a group and begin invading land together, enormous chaos will break out."
"..."
"You should have Kang Yujin's group retreat for now."
"Lee Hyeonje is already there."
"Shin Minyu is there too."
"If a monster like that starts rampaging, Cheon Sangwoon will probably appear as well."
"It would be safer to pull them back until the Eight Guardians organize a proper response."
Princess Longji sounded genuinely concerned for Kang Yujin's group.
"If I planned to make them retreat here..."
I answered calmly.
"I wouldn't have uploaded the preview video to Constellation Tube."
"Nameless Constellation..."
"Don't worry."
I manipulated the observation device.
"I've already finished preparing."
[Event: Ruler of Water]
Overview: A gigantic scaled creature is moving down the river. It is the ruler of water and the leader of all aquatic life. Now it seeks to leave the vast river and spread its will across the world. Kill the Ruler of Water before it leaps into the world.
Completion Condition: Defeat the Jiaolong.
Completion Reward: 100,000,000 Coins, 10 Enhancement Crystals.
***
"W-What is that?!"
"It looks at least twenty meters long!"
"That's not some low-level dragon species!"
Everyone stared in shock at the Jiaolong that had suddenly emerged from the water.
"..."
Lee Hyeonje, who had been watching from the rear, was equally surprised.
Today was supposed to be nothing more than a routine subjugation.
Nobody had expected such a giant monster to appear.
"Lee Hyeonje!"
Won Pilso turned and shouted urgently.
"What the hell is going on?!"
"I don't know either."
Lee Hyeonje answered in a stiff voice.
"Did it come down from the Bukhan River?"
"To think we failed to detect something that huge..."
"If it's that large, it probably has techniques that let it conceal itself."
Shin Minyu frowned.
"Lee Hyeonje, Won Pilso."
"This is an emergency."
"Look at the Quest that just appeared."
"It looks like the Han River monsters are about to go wild on a large scale."
"Look over there."
Various aquatic monsters were sticking their heads out of the water...
Responding to the Jiaolong.
"There are plenty of monsters among them that are dangerous even on land."
"If all of them rush out under that Imugi's command..."
"Seoul will be turned upside down in no time."
"Seriously..."
Won Pilso clicked his tongue.
"Ha Mina should've predicted something like this."
"Complaining now won't help."
Shin Minyu looked toward Lee Hyeonje.
"Lee Hyeonje."
"Contact Cheon Sangwoon and respond together."
"This is exactly when Gangnam and Gangbuk need to join forces."
"No."
"What?"
Shin Minyu stared at him.
"Hey, Lee Hyeonje."
"I know you don't get along with Cheon Sangwoon, but this isn't the time for..."
"Won Pilso."
Ignoring Shin Minyu...
Lee Hyeonje looked at Won Pilso.
"Sorry, but contact my adjutant."
"We need to form an emergency response headquarters."
"Hey, Lee Hyeonje!"
"Shin Minyu."
"You contact Cheon Sangwoon."
"Then what are you going to do?!"
Shin Minyu shouted.
Lee Hyeonje answered coldly.
"I'm going to stop that thing."
"What...?"
