Chapter 283: The Flower of the Tang Clan
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 283: The Flower of the Tang Clan
Having struck all nine of his demonic acupoints and injected a poison potent enough to affect even him, he should have collapsed.
KWAAAANG!
But Gomodo was still moving.
To be precise, he had thrown off Go-Hui's control over the body and sent Tang Soyeong flying.
Swoosh.
“Are you alright?!”
Fortunately, Chodo's plants caught her and the spider sisters, but Tang Soyeong, having taken a direct hit from Gomodo at close range, was far from unscathed.
“Ugh… My, my leg… More importantly, how…?”
Her injured leg wasn't important.
She had to figure out why he was still moving after she'd struck all his demonic acupoints.
“It wasn't completely ineffective. He's noticeably weaker.”
That's him in a weakened state?
The thought was absurd, but seeing as she was still breathing, it seemed to be true.
“As expected of the Tang Clan. That single move was more threatening than the combined power of all the spirit beasts gathered here.”
Gomodo was death itself, a being more dangerous than any natural disaster.
To be acknowledged by such a being brought her no joy.
After all, she had failed to save Hui.
“But even so, we cannot defeat Gomodo. All we can do… is buy time for you.”
Even if Chodo, Taotie, and Honhwi joined forces, they couldn't defeat Gomodo.
So, they had no choice but to rely on Tang Soyeong, the only one who had landed an effective blow.
Unlike before, Tang Soyeong's leg was injured, and she couldn't receive Hui's help.
It was nearly impossible for her to play a decisive role again, but there was no other way.
Chodo blamed herself for placing such a heavy burden on Tang Soyeong as she stepped forward again.
“So, it's Chodo.”
“Yes, Lord Gomodo.”
For now, she had to buy time.
To lessen Tang Soyeong's burden, even if just a little.
“You intend to stop me as well, I presume.”
“I do.”
“I will ask you one last time: why have you made such a choice?”
Chodo was a child of the True Dragon, yet she had chosen to side with Gomodo.
Of course, during the ancient war, she had been too young and weak to play a part, but her heart had been with Gomodo.
That was why she had made her nest in the 100,000 Great Mountains, not in Kunlun.
“To be honest, I was very confused.”
“Confused. About what?”
“About my own heart.”
“Hoh, your heart, you say.”
Gomodo seemed quite intrigued.
For him, who had returned to the world after so long, everything was a source of both nostalgia and fresh stimulation.
“My bond with Hero Go wasn't very old, and the one I longed for was you, not him.”
There was only one reason Chodo had joined Hui.
Because he was a descendant of Gomodo.
The one she wanted was Gomodo, not Hui.
“Then why have you sided with this lizard, and not me?”
“…I don't know either.”
“You don't know? To think of opposing me without even a reason. Should I praise your courage, or call it recklessness?”
Gomodo shook his head from side to side.
It wasn't the answer he had expected.
“Because the you I knew wasn't like this. I still remember how you were gentler, how you seemed indifferent but cherished even the smallest of lives.”
“That memory of yours is mistaken. I have been death since time immemorial. Do you think a word like 'gentle' suits me?”
Gomodo's fighting spirit grew stronger.
“…Why have you changed so much?”
“How can you see the waves crash and say the sea has changed? I have always been this way; I have not changed.”
A killing intent so suffocating it felt hard to breathe spread through her entire body.
“That lizard, who cries like a fool but tries to protect his own no matter what… is far better than the you of today.”
“Hmph, he is better than me? Ridiculous. Look where he is now.”
The light in Gomodo's eyes intensified.
“Gentle? Protects his own no matter what? That is what you call foolishness. Look at him, who gave his body to me to protect all of you. Do you think this creature can properly protect a single thing?”
He raged as if she had touched his reverse scale.
“This one, who can do nothing, and all of you, who can also do nothing.”
Nearby, Taotie and Honhwi, who were in their stances, trembled slightly.
“And you claim you will defeat the True Dragon. I can't even laugh.”
Further conversation was meaningless.
To buy more time, they had no choice but to fight.
“Yes… All of you, and the one inside me. It would be best for you to see for yourselves.”
The air around them began to churn.
A tremendous storm erupted as it was continuously drawn to a single point.
“This is the same as what the True Dragon uses. Let's see if you can handle it.”
The storm was not meant for a direct attack.
Swoooooosh.
Gomodo's chest expanded enormously.
In an instant, he sucked in all the surrounding air.
“This is… a dragon's breath! Dodge it! To the corners!”
And then he exhaled.
FWOOOOOSH!
KRA-KOOOOM!
“Kuaaaargh!”
Though she had shouted to dodge, Taotie was sent flying as the breath grazed her.
FWOOOOSH!
Gomodo's breath continued to pour out.
KRA-KOOOOOOM!
It was an attack that seemed to combine the Red Dragon's breath and Hui's beam.
The widely scattered black breath corroded everything in its range, while a continuously firing black beam incinerated everything even farther away.
The Dragon-Slaying Breath, a mixture of all kinds of negative energies.
This was the true power of Gomodo, the very power that all divine beasts feared.
“Kgh…”
Taotie was a wreck from just being grazed by it.
If Gomodo had been in his normal state, it would have been impossible to even survive.
It was an overwhelming power that should have made everyone lose their will to fight.
And yet, not a single one of them lost their fighting spirit.
“Hoh…”
Having stopped his breath, Gomodo looked down at the spirit beasts with interest.
“Shall we try fighting up close this time?”
Thud.
He was no longer in Hui's stance, but in the stance of a dragon, with four feet planted on the ground.
It was, in fact, the same stance as the True Dragon, but those focused on stopping Gomodo failed to notice.
And so, a battle where blood scattered began.
No, it was more of an amusement for Gomodo, watching them struggle against his overwhelming power.
In a corner of the battlefield, a brown-haired girl was panting for breath.
She trembled, watching the terrifying being rampage.
“…Can you do it?”
Baek Rang stood beside her, watching the battle.
She had been guarding her while she recovered.
“My hands can move, but my legs still won't work properly.”
The reason they were risking their lives to buy time was because they were betting on a single possibility.
Tang Soyeong, who had accomplished the incredible feat of succeeding where two Profound Realm spirit beasts had failed.
Only her poison and acupressure could pierce Gomodo's scales and deal damage.
With all nine demonic acupoints struck, his movements had certainly slowed.
If she could strike additional vital acupoints now, they might have a chance of winning.
No, if she could strike all nine vital acupoints, even Gomodo would have no choice but to fall.
Because then both his demonic and vital acupoints would be sealed.
That was why her role was the most crucial.
And why a valuable asset like Baek Rang was staying by her side.
“Then, a little more time…”
“No, I can still do it.”
Baek Rang looked at Tang Soyeong's face.
She was pale from her injuries, but her eyes burned with determination.
Her body trembled, but her will was not broken in the slightest.
The fate of the Gaegaek Cult rested in the hands of a Second-Rate martial artist.
Tang Soyeong was a Second-Rate martial artist.
Not Third-Rate, not First-Rate, but Second-Rate.
An awkward, clumsy level.
Her martial prowess was insignificant.
Especially among monstrous spirit beasts like these.
Among them, Tang Soyeong did not shine.
Their light overshadowed her.
It was the same in the Tang Clan.
The Poison King, Tang Seong-ik.
She was overshadowed by the patriarch of the Sichuan Tang Clan, a poison master who boasted the martial prowess of the Transformation Realm.
The Poison Rain, Tang Muyeong.
She was overshadowed by the young master of the Sichuan Tang Clan, a martial artist who boasted the prowess of the supreme Peak Realm.
The King of Poison and the Rain of Poison.
Before them, she couldn't even present her own alias.
What kind of alias could a mere Second-Rate martial artist have?
Even if she had one, she believed it wasn't something a Second-Rate martial artist should flaunt. But unfortunately, she had received an alias from the patriarch.
The Poison King and the Poison Rain.
And the Poison Flower, Tang Soyeong.
Tang Soyeong hated that alias.
It felt like being given a title she hadn't earned.
She was 'Poison' because she was from the Tang Clan, and 'Flower' because she was the most beautiful among them.
There was no way she could like such an alias.
Even with the alias 'Flower', she couldn't shine.
Why was she a flower?
How could something that didn't shine be a flower?
“That's not going to work. Even if we create an opening, it will only be for a fleeting moment. In your current condition, you'll struggle to even get close. How do you plan to strike nine acupoints?”
Despite Baek Rang's attempt to dissuade her, Tang Soyeong shook her head.
“Even if it's impossible, I'll make it possible.”
To her, Hui was the one who had made her shine.
Her words gave power to the name 'Gaegaek', and perhaps it was because of her that Hui had been able to come this far.
And for Hui, Tang Soyeong had also been a source of light.
Because she spoke of Gomodo, he was able to become Gomodo.
Because she spoke of 'Gaegaek', he was able to create the Gaegaek Cult.
Tang Soyeong thought of Hui as her light, but it was because Hui had also received her light that he became the shining Hui (曦, meaning sunlight).
As if she had no choice, Baek Rang lowered her body slightly.
Helped by the spider sisters, Tang Soyeong climbed onto Baek Rang's back, her eyes more determined than ever.
And now, they would act.
Thwip!
Nephila's spider silk shot out once more.
The same silk that had been so easily torn before.
But this time, the silk wasn't meant to obstruct his movements.
“Now!”
“Kegegek!”
Nephila's silk was merely the signal.
The moment the signal was fired, all sorts of attacks flew in from every direction.
The purpose of the attacks was to create a momentary opening against Gomodo.
In that brief opening, she had to strike all nine vital acupoints.
Gomodo, too, had more or less figured out their plan.
The time they could buy would be, quite literally, an instant.
Unlike before, it was not enough time for the current Tang Soyeong to do anything.
No, it wasn't even enough time for her to reach him.
Once he witnessed their final dance, the battle would be over.
So Gomodo thought.
Until he saw Baek Rang's white fur being plucked out.
Her beautiful fur was clutched in Tang Soyeong's small hands.
It was impossible for her to get close to Gomodo now.
If so, couldn't she just throw hidden weapons from a distance?
Even then, could she hit the precise acupoints?
All nine of them?
“An impossible task.”
But Tang Soyeong had said it.
Even if it's impossible, she'll make it possible.
Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip!
White flowers bloomed in profusion.
Clumsy, yet clearly blooming—the flower of the Tang Clan.
They didn't fill the sky, but her flowers found their way to precisely nine spots.
It was the Sky-Filling Flower Rain.
Puk!
It should be impossible for Tang Soyeong, a Second-Rate martial artist, to use the Sky-Filling Flower Rain.
But right now, she was no mere Second-Rate martial artist.
She was the divine physician of the Gaegaek Cult, who had overcome even the True Dragon's curse, if only for a moment.
“Huu… To have a child like this… by his side…”
His nine acupoints struck, Gomodo's eyes slowly closed.
The corners of his mouth curled upward.
“Splendid… indeed…”
Satisfied at having witnessed the sight he had so longed for, he chose to retreat for now.
“Hero Gooooo!”
Seeing Gomodo collapse, the others quickly rushed over to check on his condition.
At the very front, of course, was Tang Soyeong.
She was a physician, and she was the one who had struck his acupoints.
Everyone watched Hui with anxious hearts.
“Hero Go, are you okay?”
Hui weakly lifted his head.
His blue eyes were reflected in Tang Soyeong's.
And in his eyes, the figures of his followers were reflected.
As Hui started to raise a hand as if to say 'good work', his eyes widened in an instant.
He wore an expression of disbelief.
“Gerong…”
Making that sound, Hui tried to crawl into none other than Tang Soyeong's arms.
Tang Soyeong, finally acknowledged.
She was truly the Poison Flower, the Flower of the Tang Clan.
“Did you hear that? He said Gerong! Gerong!”
Of course, it was a temporary phenomenon that would soon disappear, but what did that matter?
Now was the time to savor their victory.