Chapter 93

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 93

Chapter Title: Yor Divided into N Parts #4

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【Snake kin! Help us kill the intruders!】

"Offer your slaughter to the Blood Tree, Yordari!"

Everyone was desperate to get me on their side.

My head felt like it was splitting from the dilemma.

'Let's think calmly. For starters, aren't those snake monsters connected to Sabrannik somehow?'

If they found out I was Sabrannik's contractor, they might welcome me with open arms.

They could even throw a welcome party with cake!

Deep down, I wanted to side with them.

But—.

I spotted Erdari adjusting her thick gauntlets and assuming a fist art stance.

That Erdari Grand Duke was level 20—a monster on par with Yona or Vane.

She was someone we couldn't afford to turn into an enemy.

"Grgh! This is a total mess!"

"...Hammer, what should we do?"

Hammer and Felix were gripping their weapons, just watching and waiting.

With things like this, there was only one option.

I pulled a gold coin from my pocket and flicked it with a ding.

'Emperor's face up means snake team! Sun on the back means Erdari team!'

Tiiiing—.

It spun round and round—.

And right then, the snake monsters and Erdari charged at each other.

【Die! You scaleless ones!】

"Kill those bastards and offer the slaughter to the Blood Tree!"

Ching, kwaduk, surgeuk—.

A chaotic melee erupted in an instant.

Amid the blood splattering on the ground, I checked the coin.

The fallen coin showed the sun emblem.

Fate had sided with the Erdari team.

"...Long live the Blood Tree!"

I joined the Erdari side, tears streaming in my heart.

At that moment, Hammer and Felix swiftly followed suit.

"Felix, Hermit! Watch out for the snake monsters' blood!"

"Yes! It seems like poison!"

"<Fireball>!"

Was it because we joined in?

The snake monsters were slaughtered in no time.

No, honestly, we hadn't done much.

"Foolish snake spawn."

Kwaduduk—!

The level 20 Erdari Grand Duke darted through the snakes, piercing their bellies and smashing their heads with those ferocious steel gauntlets.

"Fist Strike!"

Jjejeok, urur—.

Just stomping her foot cracked the ground like an earthquake.

'...Fuck! If we'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sided with the snakes here, we'd all be dead?'

The coin's choice had been right.

With the tension of the decision gone, I noticed the Ether scattered at my feet.

Jjangrang—!

What—!?

Each snake monster gave 1 million Ether?

High-level monsters really paid out big.

But as I was hesitating, the Grand Duke wiped the scales from her gauntlets and spoke to me.

"777th Ascendant, Yordari."

"...Yes?"

"You're living among the Rendo with the slaves, right? Pick up the Ether if you need it. I permit recovering spoils from the corpses."

Spoils acquired!

I hurriedly looted the snake corpses before she could change her mind.

But one snake warrior that wasn't fully dead yet grabbed my arm and shouted.

【You... traitor....】

【I thought... you were kin....】

Jjangrang—.

With those words, it turned to Ether.

And so, I netted a total of 3 million Ether.

'I didn't really want to side with the Erdari either!'

I hated the Erdari more than anyone in this world.

If I could, I'd slaughter them all.

But right now, there was nothing we could do.

We had to survive first, right?

"Yordari, you really seem resistant to those bastards' poison gas, huh?"

At any rate, it looked like I'd earned some trust from the Erdari Grand Duke.

She placed a hand on my shoulder and issued an order with eyes full of expectation.

"Sneak into the temple and retrieve the treasure. I'll grant you access to the supply depot, so take what you need from there."

That was the end of the Grand Duke's words.

She returned to her tent, eyes glued to the stacks of documents.

"Man, I thought I'd aged ten years!"

On the way to the Erdari supply depot.

Hammer wiped his chest in relief.

"But Yor, the snakes called you a traitor. Aren't you worried about getting hated by your idol, Sabrannik?"

Hammer seemed to be second-guessing whether siding with the Erdari had been right.

The cool-headed, ruthless killer Felix answered instead.

"That Grand Duke guy's no joke. If we hadn't joined the Erdari, we'd have been wiped out by him."

"That much is true. But flip it around—that monster of a Grand Duke can't easily approach whatever horror lies in that bone pile, right?"

Rattle— Hammer shuddered in his armor.

That's when I recalled the gas masks the Erdari were wearing.

"They said some poison gas makes it impossible to approach. The air around here is so thick with toxic energy that it's hard to breathe carelessly!"

"Poison? Ever since I became this skeleton body, poison doesn't affect me."

Sure enough, Hammer's skeleton form was immune to poison.

What about Hermit or Felix?

"...Has my magic circuit reinforcement boosted my poison resistance?"

Hermit stared at her palm.

Then what about Felix?

Felix showed me the tattoo on his wrist.

"I made a deal with the badger idol Bakur recently. It auto-detoxes most poisons."

"For real?"

"With a poison-using thief in the party, that kind of insurance is a must."

Felix shot me a glare.

Hearing my poison no longer worked on Felix left me oddly disappointed.

"—Tch."

"You little shit? Did you just click your tongue?!"

We bantered like that until we reached the depot.

A bespectacled female Erdari jumped in surprise.

"Wh-wh-who? Rendo...!?"

"We're here for supplies on the Grand Duke's orders."

"Oh.... You're the weird ascendant and the Rendo slave...."

The Erdari was extremely timid.

Her bushy-haired, masked face looked stuffy.

With her level being the lowest here, was she some major pushover?

She handed us 「Erdari Biscuits」.

"That's it for supplies?"

What a huge letdown.

Just like stingy Erdari who love freebies.

The bushy-haired Erdari let out a sleazy nehehe— laugh.

"Y-yeah, you're gonna die anyway. No point giving much."

"We're gonna die anyway?"

"Yeah! We're all gonna die in this jungle. Hehehe, by the snakes' hands! The snake god shrouded in hatred and death will kill us all!"

...Is she insane?

Better not get tangled up; I quickly put some distance.

So, what did this 'Erdari Biscuit' taste like?

Kkaduk— One bite, and it was like chewing sawdust—dry enough to choke me.

"Ughhh!"

Hammer burst out laughing at that.

"Erdari food is infamous for tasting like crap!"

These devil-blooded bastards!

They love freebies and mooching, but their cooking sucks.

Infuriating.

As I thought that, a tunnel appeared.

A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠secret passage discovered by the Erdari stationed here.

"Going in here leads to the snake temple's underground."

"May the Blood Tree's blessing be with you."

The Erdari guards blessed us.

I felt a strange vibe as we entered the tunnel.

Once the Erdari were out of sight, Hammer confirmed the plan.

"Grab the goods and call the dragon to bail. Got it?"

"You're just gonna hand the Night Flower to Isidore?"

Hermit made a sad face.

She needed the 'Night Flower' to improve her constitution too.

Hammer scratched his iron lid helmet like it was a headache.

"With that terrifying dragon in the way, what choice do we have?"

What a real pain.

Better secure the treasure first and think later.

With that in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind, we exited the tunnel into a cave floor littered with bones everywhere.

Shh-shh— Snake hisses echoed from all directions.

"From here on, we move carefully."

I crouched low as much as possible.

Everyone followed my lead and hunched down—.

【Who's there?】

Fuck!

Busted immediately.

These snake monster bastards have insane senses!

Snake monsters swarmed from all sides.

Average level 17.

This was bad—I raised both hands.

"I'm Yor, contractor of the Bone-Eating Serpent, Sabrannik! Er... or whatever, Palabradike? Anyway, our idol sent me on an errand!"

【An errand from the Serpent of Death?】

【Scaleless things claiming to be serpent contractors? Lies!】

The snake monsters were wary of me.

Was it because I'd sided with the Erdari on the surface earlier?

To counter that, I had to slice my finger and show everyone the flowing blood.

"I'm on your side too! This blood is proof!"

Dduk-dduk-dduk—.

My blood was serpent blood.

They recognized it and lowered their guard.

【It really is serpent blood.】

【Being able to talk to us is proof too.】

【Perfect timing—we needed someone just like this.】

【Follow us.】

Whatever it was, the misunderstanding seemed resolved?

The snakes led us deep into the bone pile.

Hwaaaaa—.

A brilliantly lit room, like dazzling lights shining.

"Partner! L-look at that!"

Hermit pointed at something.

A flower that looked like a silver cabbage.

'Night Flower!'

No way it was this close?

But there was a problem.

A huge one that made the flower irrelevant.

'Fuck, level 37—!?'

A muscular brute covered in black scales sat on a throne of bones, staring at us.

Four horns sprouted from his head, and his face was a rotting goat skull.

Bubbling—.

Magma boiled between his scales like a furnace.

'...What the hell is this monster...!?'

【Serpent! We've brought your errand runner!】

【Long live the Serpent of Death, Derjurak!】

Everyone bowed before this monster.

At the sight, Hermit nudged my side.

"Partner, that must be Sabrannik's incarnation, right!?"

"Oh, then things should go smoothly?"

Hammer grinned in anticipation.

Then the terrifying, hideous thing spoke.

【—Offer tribute to me—.】

【—One of you dies here—.】

...Sacrifice one of us?

Was this the moment to part with dear Felix—.

No, not yet.

Something was off from the start!

Hermit seemed to notice too.

"...But I heard Sabrannik was a female idol? That thing looks totally male...."

Hermit clamped her mouth shut.

She'd probably reached the same conclusion as me.

'That guy's not Sabrannik!'

'Sabrannik doesn't look like that!'

'That's way too grotesque!'

Bingo!

A scam!

These guys were all fakes.

Some hideous thing had taken over Sabrannik's tomb!

Hermit trembled.

"...What... the hell... is that...!?"

A level 37 unidentified monster.

【—Offer tribute to the tomb's master—.】

【—I am lord of all death—.】

【—Serve me with death—.】

It lorded over us.