Chapter 25
Chapter 25
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Underground World (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The Maze Moles were an extremely weak race.
For demon beasts, they had small bodies and short lifespans.
Their only advantage was their exceptional reproductive ability.
Even so, they had impressive numbers despite their weakness.
They were little more than walking punching bags for the neighborhood.
Every demon they encountered devoured the Maze Moles.
The race had been pushed to the brink of extinction.
But then, some event completely reversed their fate.
It was the alliance they formed with the Black Bamboo Sect around a thousand years ago.
With just one trade agreement, the race entered its golden age.
The terms were very straightforward.
The Black Bamboo Sect promised unlimited food in exchange for underground resources.
The Maze Moles, of course, cheered.
Rocks and metals piled up to the point of being a nuisance anyway while digging.
From the Maze Moles' perspective, they were trading inedible trash for food.
Once the food problem was solved, their population exploded exponentially.
They began regular trade, and in just three hundred years, the Maze Moles came to dominate the underground of Yang Kingdom.
They systematically eliminated their competitors one by one.
Their natural predators couldn't withstand the mole legions flooding in like seawater.
The last one to resist to the end was the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake.
The massive serpent, with its enormous size and swift movement speed, laid waste to the Maze Mole army.
It even had outstanding regenerative abilities, making a war of attrition ineffective.
In the end, the Maze Moles resorted to their final measure.
They called for their allies.
Soon after, a few elite cultivators descended from the surface and wiped out the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake, drying up its lineage before leaving.
The price was the Inner Pellet of the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake.
The elite cultivators returned with beaming smiles, gums fully exposed.
The Maze Moles were thoroughly satisfied too.
They had no need for a snake's inner core that they couldn't eat anyway.
They just grilled up the giant snake meat and that was that.
It was a satisfactory outcome for both sides.
Their alliance grew ever stronger day by day.
They forgot all about the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake.
No one could have predicted that a single surviving hatchling would reappear centuries later to cause havoc.
Seoran, who had been listening to the explanation, asked,
"Couldn't we just punch a hole in its stomach and escape?"
It was a suggestion to give the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake a stomach ulcer as a gift.
The self-proclaimed yokai expert, who had read the Yokai Almanac dozens of times, shook their head.
"With our power, we can't overcome the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake's regeneration. It heals much faster than we can tear into its guts."
Even the Maze Mole army couldn't defeat the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake in a war of attrition.
Dozens gathering to flail about was meaningless.
That was why the Maze Moles had sat in a circle holding a moment of reflection.
Seoran held back from using her rock bomb.
It would undoubtedly reduce not only the snake demon's stomach but also Seoran and the mole demon beasts inside to powder.
Even using a barrier spell posed problems.
Seoran had never even approached an engineering department, but she knew better than to use explosives underground.
If an explosion caused the walls or ceiling to collapse, it would be a catastrophe.
In the worst case, parts of the underground world could collapse in an instant.
No one knew how many mole demon beasts would die.
They needed to find another way.
After pondering, Seoran asked the yokai expert,
"Do you know any offensive spells by any chance?"
"I'm just a miner, so I don't know any of that stuff. The soldiers probably do. Ask Toto-seo."
"Isn't Toto-seo an investigator?"
"He was an officer until a few years ago. He got kicked out after whistleblowing on his superior's military supply corruption."
He must have been a righteous Maze Mole from the start.
Seoran approached Toto-seo in the corner of the stomach.
He was cuffing the fainted mole.
"Investigator, why are you arresting that mole?"
"Ah, my assistant! No need to worry about this animal trash. It's an ugly criminal who lurked in society wearing a mask. But what brings you to me?"
"Is there an offensive spell strong enough to punch a hole in the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake's belly? I heard you used to be a soldier."
"You're planning to drill a hole with a spell to escape? That might be tough. Our race has so little spiritual power that powerful offensive spells are rare."
"What if I pour in a lot of spiritual power?"
"Spells where the infused spiritual power directly scales with the power output are extremely rare. At least among the ones I know, almost none. The Enlargement Spell is about the best there is."
"Enlargement Spell? What's that?"
Toto-seo briefly explained the Enlargement Spell.
At that moment, a flash of inspiration struck Seoran's mind.
*****
Here was the list of what the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake had swallowed.
Dozens of Maze Mole soldiers and miners.
Dozens of large mining carts.
And the high-purity spirit stones loaded on them.
To mole demon beasts, spirit stones were just rocks.
But to Foundation Establishment Cultivators, spirit stones were fuel.
If one's aptitude allowed, they could instantly convert spirit stones into spiritual power.
Seoran planned to use the spirit stones and the Enlargement Spell to break through.
Toto-seo taught her the Enlargement Spell on the spot.
The Growth Technique temporarily enlarged one's body.
It was notorious for being hard to learn yet having almost no practical uses.
If one could use spells in the first place, a giant body held little meaning.
It also had too many drawbacks.
Maintaining the Growth Technique was so difficult that using other spells was practically impossible.
On top of that, it consumed enormous spiritual power just to support the increased weight.
No one knew what earthly purpose it served.
But in a situation like this, the fact that the body enlarged in proportion to the spiritual power invested was key.
Seoran explained her plan to the gathered Maze Moles.
The plan was incredibly simple.
First, use the Growth Technique to enlarge the body.
Replenish the consumed spiritual power with the mountain of spirit stones.
Then use the Growth Technique again.
Repeat the process until the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake's belly burst.
A mole demon beast in the front row asked,
"What after we escape? Can we outrun the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake? Won't it just swallow us again right away?"
A neighboring mole chimed in.
"Idiot, we just scatter and run!"
"Yeah, then at least half can survive and deliver the news to the central hub."
"Sounds like a good plan!"
Seoran spoke to the murmuring moles.
"There's a way for everyone to survive. I'll take care of the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake."
Toto-seo asked skeptically,
"Assistant, are you good in a fight?"
"Few masters are on my level. Leave it to me."
Seoran declared confidently.
The Maze Moles eyed her closely.
They looked utterly unconvinced.
Then the self-proclaimed yokai expert spoke up.
"Looks feasible to me."
"Really? What about its regeneration?"
"I read that the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake has an Inner Pellet under its chin. Removing that Inner Pellet temporarily disables its regeneration. That's what the humans discovered when they exterminated them."
The moles all had the same thought.
Without regeneration, all that was left was speed and size.
That seemed manageable.
The soldiers quickly devised a strategy and assigned roles.
The miners pushed and pulled the mining carts full of spirit stones.
The hunt preparations were complete.
Seoran handed her clothes and belongings to Toto-seo.
Because only the body enlarged with the Growth Technique.
There were only moles around anyway, so she felt no shame.
Nude, she cast the Growth Technique, and her body began to grow.
Since her proportions stayed the same, it was more like magnification than growth.
Burning massive spiritual power, she swiftly grew large enough to fill the snake demon's stomach.
Seoran curled up like a fetus.
"Spirit stones, please!"
At the signal, the moles promptly overturned the mining carts and poured out the contents.
Seoran, mouth agape, swallowed the spirit stones.
Gulp, gulp—the spirit stones melted away instantly, turning into Pure Earth Spiritual Power.
The belly of the dozing Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake in its lair began to swell.
Whether the panicked snake demon thrashed or not, the plan proceeded smoothly.
The giant Seoran had already swallowed spirit stones from dozens of mining carts.
"Everyone, gather here!"
Toto-seo, who had called everyone together, activated a barrier spell.
The narrow barrier filled with Maze Moles.
Seoran ceaselessly converted spirit stones into spiritual power.
It was a contest of strength between Seoran's expansion and the snake demon's compression.
Seoran desperately maintained the Growth Technique while enduring the intensifying pressure.
She strained her whole body, mustering all her strength to extend her limbs.
Finally, Seoran fully stretched out her arms and legs with all her might.
At that moment, the Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake's belly, bloated to its limit, could hold no longer.
The snake demon's torso erupted with a thunderous boom.
Blood and flesh sprayed like fireworks, splattering everywhere.
The Black Scale Reverse Flow Blood Snake writhed in excruciating agony.
Its waist was completely severed from the middle—a fatal wound.
Amid the downpour of blood like a torrential rain, the nude giant rose from the massive corpse.