Chapter 144: Furious Strike of Sorrow, Gari-Gek-Gek
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 144: Furious Strike of Sorrow, Gari-Gek-Gek
“Gekgek.”
I lay still and opened my mouth wide.
“Kioong!”
The spiders scurried around, bringing me snacks.
I wasn't thrilled about it, but I accepted the snack from Tang Soyeong's embrace.
“…Hehe.”
Tang Soyeong, who had been whimpering just moments ago, was now grinning foolishly because I was being docile.
I'm only here because I have to maintain my body temperature.
“If it's alright with you, Hero Go, anytime…”
“Gek.”
That's a bit…
It's too hard.
“I'm not hard, you know? I'm actually quite…! …Why am I even explaining myself?”
This Tang-somebody's mind was all over the place.
Giving her some space to have a moment to herself, I popped the food the spiders brought into my mouth.
“Gegek.”
It was dried meat seasoned with spices.
The spices were strong and pungent, but I actually liked it.
The only spice I'd tasted since coming here was the salt Tang Soyeong had sprinkled on my meat.
My forgotten skill, Gourmet, was about to activate.
Chomp.
“Kiong!”
As I devoured the food, the spiders waved their legs languidly, looking pleased.
“Gekgek.”
You guys were eating this stuff behind my back?
“Kieeng…”
Tus and Pus cautiously watched my reaction.
No wonder their levels were rising so quickly.
“Kioong…”
Just as I was savoring the salty jerky…
Creeak.
The door suddenly opened.
“Kyaa!”
Tang Soyeong let out a shrill cry.
The person who entered was, of course, my master, Baek Yeon-yeong.
“What are you doing?”
“Th-that is…”
Tang Soyeong couldn't hide her flustered expression.
The scene was this: Tang Soyeong was holding a lizard in her arms while spiders took turns feeding it.
It was a truly bizarre sight by any measure, and whether fortunately or unfortunately, Tang Soyeong was also aware of that fact.
“And the treatment?”
“Ah, this is the treatment!”
Baek Yeon-yeong stared at Tang Soyeong with a blank expression.
“Uhm… that is… eating well and resting well is the treatment…” Tang Soyeong answered, her voice trailing off.
“Eating well is the treatment, you say…”
It's been nice knowing you, Tang-somebody.
Still, my master is a kind person, so she'll probably leave your head attached.
“This is perfect timing.”
Thankfully, it seemed my master had no intention of shedding blood just yet.
“Huiya. Come here.”
Baek Yeon-yeong held out her hand to me.
Scamper.
Poof.
“…I didn't tell you to come here.”
Though she said that, Baek Yeon-yeong didn't push me away.
“H-how can he look so happy…?”
Happy? The lighting in here is just bright.
Tang Soyeong and the spiders glanced down at their own chests, then looked back at Baek Yeon-yeong.
“Kioo…”
The spiders were seized by an inexplicable sense of defeat.
“For today, I will be taking care of Hui,” Baek Yeon-yeong declared.
But no one could object.
“Kioong.”
“Kieeeng.”
The spiders bowed their heads as if to say, "Of course."
Tang Soyeong stared blankly at Baek Yeon-yeong's internal energy pouch.
“Y-you bit my hand so much…”
“Gekgek.”
Tang Soyeong.
I didn't want to bite you either.
But one must experience pain to grow.
“Gegek.”
I wasn't sure if my meaning would get across, but I offered her a plausible-sounding aphorism.
“Why do you keep burrowing in?”
Now this feels like home.
Baek Yeon-yeong headed for another building.
As a disciple who would follow my master's words to the death, I had no choice but to burrow deeper to avoid being seen by others.
After walking for some time, we arrived at another building.
“You can come down now.”
“Gegegek.”
A rather splendid room appeared.
The difference from the previous room was that the furniture was a bit older.
The overall atmosphere wasn't bad.
Even I, with my confident aesthetic eye, had to nod in approval.
My guess was that this was Baek Yeon-yeong's bedroom.
The bed over there and the scent of Baek Yeon-yeong wafting from everywhere seemed to confirm it.
“There, there. Seeing you flick your tongue like that, you must be hungry.”
“Gek?”
I was flicking my tongue to smell, but I didn't bother to correct her.
I was taking in my master's scent in this room.
I couldn't exactly give her such a perverted answer.
And it's not like she would understand me anyway.
“Gekgek.”
It was true that I was hungry, so I nodded.
Given my original size, I needed a considerable amount of food to feel full.
“Huiya.”
“Gek.”
“Do you know what I have prepared?”
She prepared food! What on earth did my master prepare?
Could it be Dongpo pork? Dumplings wouldn't be bad either. I'd even be satisfied with just some somen noodles. Whatever it was, it would be human food.
Gulp.
My mouth was watering.
“Are you that excited?”
Baek Yeon-yeong took something out of a drawer.
“I heard this is a lizard's favorite food.”
Any food is fine. What was Baek Yeon-yeong's choice?
[Deathworm LV1]
“…Gek?”
I looked up at Baek Yeon-yeong.
“You like it that much?”
You want me to eat that? It says Deathworm.
Sure, its level is low and it looks like a baby, but it's still bigger than me.
I glared at the Deathworm.
“Kieeeeeek!”
Scuttle scuttle.
I quickly clung to Baek Yeon-yeong's leg.
“Gegegegek!”
What is that thing? It's wriggling all over.
“What's wrong?”
It has teeth, too.
“Kiaaaak!”
“Huiya, why aren't you eating?”
How am I supposed to eat that?
“Geeek! Gegek!”
Of course, if I fought it to the death, I would win.
But to tell me to eat it.
I may be a lizard, but I'm not exactly a fan of bugs.
And more than anything, that thing is just too disgusting.
Squeeze.
I clung tightly to Baek Yeon-yeong's leg.
“…Hmm, Seol-hwa was certain you would like it.”
Seol-hwa? Baek Seol-hwa?
“Gegegek!”
So she's finally getting her revenge for the honey.
“How strange. Ah, is it because of the light? I heard they only eat their prey in the dark.”
“Geeeeeeek!”
Don't turn off the lights! Don't leave me alone with that Super Great Giant Mealworm!
*
The skies over the 100,000 Great Mountains turned black.
The Central Plains are vast, but word travels fast.
The rumor spread in an instant.
By the time Jang Bong and Baek Woon reached their destination, the series of events had long since become the hottest topic of conversation.
The story of an ominous sign appearing in the 100,000 Great Mountains had become common knowledge.
Some people even seemed to know about the spirit beast called Gomodo.
“…Jang Bong. How is the story about Gomodo already out?”
Baek Woon glared at Jang Bong.
Only he and Jang Bong knew about Gomodo.
Namgung Yeon, who had left midway, was suspicious, but he, at least, shouldn't have known about Gomodo.
If he did know and was the source of this rumor, it meant he must have gotten the information from either Baek Woon or Jang Bong.
“It wasn't me!”
Jang Bong waved his hands frantically, horrified.
He may be a common ruffian, but how could he stab his benefactor in the back?
Baek Woon decided to believe Jang Bong.
The rumor had already spread far and wide anyway; there was nothing to be gained by suspecting Jang Bong.
“The situation is unusual. I intended to keep this information hidden, but that's no longer an option.”
So, Baek Woon changed his mind.
“You go to the marketplace and spread stories about Gomodo.”
“What do you mean?”
“The story of Gomodo has spread. People will surely appear, coveting that mysterious spirit beast.”
Stories of spirit beasts like Gomodo were information known only to a select few.
But now that the information was out in the open, anyone could turn their gaze toward the 100,000 Great Mountains.
“If you tell them that the spirit beast is benevolent, they will lose their justification.”
Justification. It was what those who bore the name of the Orthodox Factions valued most.
Even if they gathered their forces and marched on the 100,000 Great Mountains, they wouldn't be able to harm a Gomodo said to be so benevolent that it helps people.
“As expected of Master Baek Woon!”
Jang Bong admired Baek Woon's plan.
“I will do what I can, so you do what you can.”
He didn't particularly like the spirit beast.
But it was an undeniable fact that his life had been saved.
Repay vengeance like a sword, but repay grace like the sea.
It was a phrase written in a book he had stumbled upon in the marketplace, and it was a line Baek Woon was fond of.
And so, Baek Woon and Jang Bong each did their part to spread the word about the existence of Gomodo.
However, despite their efforts, it was inevitable that those who coveted Gomodo would appear.
*
The number of spirit beasts had exploded recently.
To be precise, sightings of spirit beasts had exploded recently.
The Five Great Families and the Nine Factions had been secretly raising spirit beasts long before that.
To use them as secret weapons for their respective sects.
And the Shaolin, who followed the will of the Buddha, were no different.
“Summon the Arhats.”
The Arhats. Also called the Luohan, they were the very beings who allowed Shaolin to be called the Mount Tai and Big Dipper of Murim.
Among the eighteen Luohan, there was one incongruous being.
KWWAAAAANG!
A dragon-like being that could shatter a great rocky mountain.
The 'du' in Taesanbukdu uses the character for 'head'.
A beast with an oval head befitting the name Taesanbukdu.
Bakgigae (拍璣鎧)
It was called Bakgigae because it wore armor and struck fiercely with its jade-like head.
“Kwoooar!”
The Shaolin Abbot believed that Bakgigae would be more than enough to defeat Gomodo.
It wasn't just the Central Plains that was interested in spirit beasts like Gomodo.
The Southern Barbarians, a land outside the Central Plains.
The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, a group based in the jungle where all manner of beasts roamed.
“Khahahahat! A Gomodo! To think such a creature actually existed!”
The Lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace laughed heartily.
Beside him, a gray giant dragon, large enough to be mistaken for a mountain, lay coiled.
“Hero Gi. It's Gomodo, Gomodo. What do you say, are you interested?”
The Palace Lord was speaking formally to a mere beast.
But no one dared to object.
“Furious Strike of Sorrow (憤奮巴憂)…”
Gigano (己訶怒).
For it was a spirit beast that held a status equal to the Lord of the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
“Gari-Gek-Gek (可里耕客)!”
“Indeed, no need to use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken, khahat!”
Thus, there were those who waited for Gomodo to grow stronger.
And there were those whose intentions were completely veiled in secrecy.
“…Cult Leader.”
A lake filled with blood.
“Grrrrr…”
“Yes, yes.”
A red giant dragon could be seen in the middle of the lake.
Blood flowed from the countless piles of spirit beast corpses.
All the blood filling the lake was from spirit beasts.
A group that hunted spirit beasts not for their inner cores, but solely for blood and madness.
“Everything, as the Blood Demon wills.”
They, too, had become aware of Gomodo's existence.
Besides them, numerous other spirit beasts and factions were paying attention to Gomodo.
Some, as an object of worship.
Some, to take its inner core.
Some, out of a competitive spirit, wishing to fight a strong spirit beast.
And some, to determine who was the true dragon.
For their own different reasons, all eyes were turning to the spirit beast known as Gomodo.