Chapter 189: The Disgrace of the Gaegaek Cult, Tang Soyeong
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 189: The Disgrace of the Gaegaek Cult, Tang Soyeong
“Are you leaving now?”
I had finished everything I needed to do here. And I’d stolen more than enough dango.
“Gekgek!”
I made a cupped-fist salute to my Master.
Baek Yeon-yeong raised the corners of her mouth slightly and gently felt my tail.
“Yes. Tell the Snake Queen to wait a little longer.”
Unfortunately, it seemed the school swimsuit hadn’t been made yet. Well, given the material, it wouldn’t be easy to make. It would probably be ready by the time I defeated the Iron Head Dragon.
Hehe… Master… hehe….
“What am I to do with this foolish disciple of mine?”
“Gek…”
I couldn’t help myself.
As she said that, my Master tied a bundle to my tail.
“I’ve packed some snacks.”
“Gek!”
“It might not suit your palate, disciple, but it seems the girl from the Tang family likes spicy food.”
Just as you’d expect from someone from Sichuan, she likes spicy food. It didn’t seem like it was for me, so I figured I should give it to Tang Whatchamacallit.
“I’ve also included some other sweets besides the Okbong honey. The Snake Queen should be satisfied with the tanghulu.”
So there was other food too. It seemed the news that the Snake Queen liked sweets had spread all the way here. Right, I didn’t get the school swimsuit, but I should at least deliver this.
“And there’s a letter, so don’t forget to deliver it.”
I felt like my Master’s carrier pigeon. Not that I minded.
I walked around the cult’s grounds with my Master for a bit. Thanks to her consideration, there were no cultists wandering around, which meant I could walk around in my true form. If I were a small lizard, it would be one thing, but at this size, the cultists would definitely be shocked. They might even try to hunt me. Not that I’d be in danger, but the person who would have to face my Master’s wrath certainly would be.
“You’ve grown so much, and your internal energy has reached a high level.”
Was she complimenting me because I was about to leave?
“Gek.”
“You can even hold a clumsy conversation now. So this is the joy of a master watching their disciple grow.”
“Gekgekgek.”
I had so much to be thankful for to my Master. When we first met, she could have just ignored me as a passing lizard, but she went out of her way to pay attention to me. If I hadn’t met her, I never would have become this strong. I might have just remained at the level of a monitor lizard.
“Hoh. What’s with that look in your eyes?”
I wanted to tell her I was grateful. I wondered if it would come across.
“Grrrr…”
I let out a low growl. Not as a warning, but the kind of sound a large carnivore makes when it’s pleased. Then I pushed my face close to her.
“You’re so big, it’s certainly fun to touch you.”
As if she understood, my Master reached out and gently scratched the area around my neck.
“Grrrrrr…”
Just as my Master was petting me…
“Kieeng!”
“Kioong!”
Tus and Pus came scurrying over. They looked back and forth between me and my Master, then waved their short arms.
“Hioong!”
Looking closely, it seemed they were making a cupped-fist salute.
“Yes. You two have worked hard as well.”
“Ke’ek!”
“Ki’ek!”
Judging by how they acted around Tang Soyeong, Tus and Pus didn’t seem to take to people easily. They were captured by the Tang Clan and almost turned into gu-poison, so it was understandable they’d hate humans. And yet, they were so friendly to my Master. Was it because they saw her martial prowess when she was tormenting the Utahraptors? No, it felt different from that.
How should I put it? Right, they looked like daughters-in-law meeting their future mother-in-law. I couldn’t explain it clearly, but I could see a hint of that.
“Stay by Hui’s side and make sure he doesn’t go astray.”
“Ke’eng!”
Tus and Pus clacked their jaws as if to say, “Don’t worry.” They made another cupped-fist salute, then climbed onto my body.
“Kioong!”
“Hioong…”
I wondered where they were going, and it seemed they settled on my horns. One on each, getting along nicely.
“Hieeek! Let me go! I told you I’m not going!”
I heard the voice of Tang Whatchamacallit from over there. She said she would last time. It seemed her resolve was as weak as her slender chest.
“Ugh!”
But it was no use. Nephila was walking over, having tied her up with spiderwebs.
“I-I must have treated a tiger…!”
Not a tiger, but probably a tiger spider.
Tang Soyeong, who had been making such a fuss, suddenly turned pale.
“Heek!”
It seemed she had seen my Master’s face.
“Hmm. You really don’t want to go?”
“N-no. I-I was just joking…!”
“Yes, a joke.”
She had been here for quite a while, but she still seemed to be scared of my Master. Why was she scared of Master? Where else would you find someone so pretty and kind?
“I’m glad it was a joke.”
“Hieeek…”
Tang Soyeong’s shoulders slumped. It seemed she realized she couldn’t escape.
“Wait… does this mean I get to ride on Hero Go’s back?”
Suddenly, her eyes were sparkling. Twinkle, twinkle. It seemed the thought of riding on my back had cheered her up. I liked how simple-minded she was.
Tang Soyeong started waving her hands strangely.
“I-Illuwat!”
She tried to climb onto my back, but she was so short that she failed.
“Eek…”
It felt a bit pathetic to just leave her like that, so I wrapped my tail around Soyeong’s waist and lifted her onto my back.
“Hehe… Fur… scales… horns…”
Tang Soyeong drooled while touching my scales. Hey, are you really Tang Soyeong? You look more like a Unicorn.
“Hmm… Well, I suppose one must be like that to be able to treat spirit beasts.”
Even my Master looked like she didn’t quite understand Tang Whatchamacallit.
“Huat? S-Spider Lady! Why are you suddenly doing this!”
It seemed the admirable Nephila was punishing Tang Soyeong for touching my scales all over.
“Kyaak!”
What a commotion. Tus and Pus on my horns. Nephila and Tang Soyeong on my back. What an absurd combination. Still, you could call them the original members.
“That’s enough. You can’t block the path forever. It’s time for you to depart.”
“Gekgek.”
I bowed my head one last time. My Master reached out and stroked my head.
“Yes. Stay healthy until we meet again.”
“Gekgegek.”
After replying to my Master, I turned my head and braced my legs.
Paaaaang!
I leaped as if flying through the sky. It was the Little Dragon’s Sky-Ascending Steps.
“Hyaak! H-Hero Go! Y-you’re too faaaast!”
“Ki, kieeek!”
*
Before going to Dragon Gate, there was one place I had to stop by: the Temple of the Snake Queen.
“Is this your territory, Hero Go? It’s nicer than I thought! It’s even a proper building.”
You could call it my territory, but it’s not a place for you to stay.
“Ppyak!”
Swish-Swish, having spotted me, quickly slithered over.
“What a cute snake! It’s like looking at a smaller version of you, Hero Go.”
Swish-Swish was pretty cute.
“Ppyak…?”
Perhaps because she heard a stranger’s voice, Swish-Swish tilted her head.
“Ppyak?”
Swish-Swish stretched her body long, as if she had discovered the two on my head.
“Kioong…?”
“Kieee…?”
Come to think of it, you guys. This is your first time meeting.
“Gekgekgek.”
Say hello. This is Swish-Swish, a charming snake with a long, slender body. And these are Tus and Pus.
“Gekgegek.”
Charming spiders with plump spinnerets and sharp venomous fangs.
“Saaaak!”
“Kieeek!”
Despite my introduction, it seemed they didn’t like each other.
“Ppiyaaaak!”
Swish-Swish shrieked as if to ask why those things were stuck to my body.
“Kioooong!”
Tus and Pus shrieked as if to ask who on earth that snake was.
“Gekgegek.”
Everyone, stop. I’ll explain everything.
“Saaaaak!”
“Kieeeek!”
“It seems it’s my turn to step in.”
Right. We had a spirit beast expert, Tang Soyeong.
“Ppyak?”
Swish-Swish stared blankly at Tang Soyeong, who had gotten off my back.
“Handling spirit beasts is my specialty. Especially the scaly kind.”
Was I finally going to see it? The true power of Tang Soyeong, the regular physician of the Gaegaek Cult.
Crunch.
“Kyaaaaak! It hurts!”
I wasn’t expecting anything.
“Gekgek.”
I grabbed Swish-Swish’s tail and pulled her back slightly. Swish-Swish, who had lightly bitten Tang Soyeong’s hand, immediately let go.
“I-it doesn’t seem like a venomous snake, but why are its teeth so sharp!”
What a baby. How much could a bite from Swish-Swish hurt? She was a bit big, but she was still a Ball Python. She wasn’t even venomous, so why was she making such a fuss over a little bite?
“…Her head turned into a triangle?”
“Shreereek!”
“H-Hero Go! I feel like something strange is happening to my body!”
Tang Soyeong was making a scene.
“…Petrification! I’m turning to stoooone!”
At worst, her skin was probably just itchy. Still, I couldn’t keep listening to her racket, so I lightly touched Swish-Swish’s mouth.
“Ppyak!”
Her long tongue naturally came out. I had her touch the spot she bit with her tongue.
“I-I guess this is how I die! H-how frustrating… If I knew this would happen, I would have used the Bewitching Poison…”
I wanted to hear more of her nonsense, but the effect of Swish-Swish’s saliva was incredible.
“Shreek!”
Soyeong’s wound healed in an instant.
“…Huh? How can saliva detoxify…?”
Usually, putting some spit on it makes everything better.
“N-no. Isn’t that a little strange? How can a snake use the power of healing?”
It wasn’t strange at all. The strange thing was you talking about some Bewitching Poison.
“Pik.”
Even Swish-Swish sighed, as if thinking what a weird human this was.
“Hmph.”
Nephila didn’t seem to care, despite the commotion. Was it because she was humanized, so it didn’t concern her? The fight between Tus, Pus, and Swish-Swish seemed like children’s antics to her, as she just fiddled with my fur.
However, Nephila’s attitude didn’t last long. Her movements stopped in an instant. A formidable enemy that Nephila had to be wary of had appeared.
“Hoh.”
The master of this temple. It was the Snake Queen.
“Uuh…”
Nephila hugged my neck tightly, as if she were anxious. Tus and Pus were the same. The two who had been ready to fight Swish-Swish also scurried back and hid in my fur.
“Hioong…”
Well, it was their first time seeing the Snake Queen.
【Basilisk LV138】
It was understandable they’d react like that after seeing a spirit beast that was level 138.
…By the way, the Snake Queen’s level was incredible. It was higher than the Red Dragon’s before she joined the Gaegaek Cult. Of course, level alone didn’t determine strength, but the fact that she was an incredibly powerful spirit beast wouldn’t change. And so was the strength of the Crushing Dragon who could now see the level of that spirit beast.
“Gekgekgek…”
“Ppyak!”
Swish-Swish climbed up the Snake Queen’s body. Was it just me, or did she look like a troublemaker who just called her parents?
“Yes. Are these your followers?”
The Snake Queen looked over the spiders one by one.
“Hmph.”
She scoffed when she saw Nephila.
“Eek…”
Nephila made a frustrated sound. When I turned my head, Nephila’s gaze was fixed on the Snake Queen’s profound internal energy pouches. It seemed she was frustrated at seeing someone overwhelmingly stronger than herself. The Snake Queen had claimed victory without doing a thing.
“Hioong…”
“Kioong…”
Tus and Pus also seemed to be discussing the formidable foe that just appeared.
Wait. If these guys were reacting like this… what about the weakest one, Tang Soyeong?
“Wow, she’s huge!”
No, Soyeong. What kind of reaction is that? If you act like that, what does that make me?
“…She is certainly your follower.”
Huh?