Chapter 42: Gomodo
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 42: Gomodo
Snap.
The spiderweb snapped weakly.
Nephila Jurassica moved no more.
The spider was dead.
Right.
Just a single spider had died.
I'm fine.
I'm... fine.
Grind.
I clenched my teeth.
Nephila Jurassica died because of me.
If only I had been a little stronger.
If I hadn't let go during the death roll.
Nephila would have lived.
The Dilophosaurus's attack stopped.
The beast was panting heavily.
It must have been exhausted, having launched attack after attack with only the barest of rests.
"Grrrrr..."
'Sever Tail.'
I placed my severed tail beside Nephila Jurassica.
What I gained from severing my tail was overwhelming speed.
I hadn't used Sever Tail often since I evolved.
The boost in speed was a huge advantage, but the tail didn't grow back instantly.
It made maintaining my balance difficult while it regrew. Plus, I lost an effective weapon. That's why I never used it except in special circumstances.
The drawbacks outweighed the benefits.
It might have been different when I was smaller, but as a Crocodile Monitor, I needed my tail to stand on two legs.
Now, with my tail gone, it was like trying to run with a broken inner ear.
Fwoosh!
My legs felt like they were about to tear apart.
I stumbled repeatedly, unable to keep my balance.
But what did that matter?
Nephila, who had shielded me, must have been in much more pain.
I closed the distance at blinding speed.
Crossing my hands, I aimed for the beast's neck.
Clang!
Dragon's Claws met Dragon's Claws.
It was like a duel between swordsmen, every move a killing strike aimed at the other's throat.
Ch-chang!
The beast was clearly exhausted.
The reason it hadn't used a major technique like Sky-Filling Flower Rain when we first met was surely because it came at a great cost.
The quills on and around its crest were all gone.
Its quills were a weapon, but they also served as armor to protect its neck.
Its legs were also nearly destroyed.
Sky-Filling Flower Rain, a technique that unleashed a torrent of hidden weapons and poison after leaping into the air.
To adjust the angle of the weapons, the beast had landed and leaped again several times.
Leaping like that on injured legs meant they couldn't possibly be intact.
One of its arms was shot, too.
My own injuries were severe, but I still had the upper hand.
I can win.
Its greatest weakness was its right leg.
The wound was so severe that it was a miracle it could even stand.
With my sharp claws, I relentlessly targeted its leg.
Clang!
Clank!
Despite its injuries, it was blocking my attacks surprisingly well.
Screeeech!
Sparks flew as we engaged in a fierce, close-quarters battle.
It was desperate to protect its weakened leg.
Which meant it had left another opening.
Thwack!
I slammed my fist into its head.
It wasn't the leg, but it was definitely a solid hit.
I had poured every ounce of my weight into that blow.
"Kieeeek!"
Dark red blood spewed from its mouth.
This is my chance.
I have to finish it now.
Shwaaaaa!
An enormous amount of poison sprayed out.
It was a poison so potent it couldn't be compared to the poison mist I had seen before.
It was a feat impossible with its remaining stamina.
I had never in my life seen such a potent poisonous aura.
Even Sky-Filling Flower Rain hadn't contained this much internal energy.
A Poison Master.
No, the power I felt was so immense that the title 'Poison Dragon' was no exaggeration.
Where did this power suddenly come from?
Was it hiding its strength?
No, that was highly unlikely.
There was no way it would hide its power in such an extreme situation.
Just as it hadn't used Sky-Filling Flower Rain right away, this technique surely came with a price.
This overwhelming power.
This aura far surpassed the power I'd felt from the Dilophosaurus at its peak.
There was only one thing I could think of.
Innate True Qi.
It was burning its own life force.
It must have decided that it would die right now if it didn't sacrifice its future.
Tsssssss.
The poison dripping from its body melted the ground.
If my claws were to touch that, they would melt away instantly.
So?
Does that even matter?
Grind.
I clenched my teeth hard.
I would die with it if I had to.
Thump.
My heart beat rapidly.
[Spiritual energy envelops your body.]
I felt a searing heat.
[Spiritual energy fills you.]
All the power I had accumulated gathered in one place.
[Inspiration is consumed.]
The inspiration gained through gourmet food.
[Divinity is consumed.]
My faint divinity.
The power of the elixirs and inner cores I hadn't yet digested was building explosively in my dantian.
[Spiritual energy surpasses the body's limits.]
The power erupting from my body had surpassed its limits.
My heart pounded like a drum.
My body began to change.
A stronger body that could withstand its poison?
No.
A regenerative power that could heal all my injuries?
No.
It was overwhelming power to crush it to death.
Fw-fw-fw-fwak!
A new set of armor began to cover my entire body.
It was a dark teal, almost black.
This was not armor for defense.
It was a collection of sharp blades, forged to kill the enemy.
This felt different from all my previous evolutions.
My stamina wasn't recovering.
All the power I had stored up was transforming my body.
Into the optimal form for slaughtering the enemy before me.
"Kraaaaaaak!"
"Krrrrrr..."
The beast retreated at high speed.
For it to retreat while using its Innate True Qi... it must have been pure instinct.
Creeaak.
My scales continued to change.
Heavier, and sharper.
[You have acquired 「Dragon Scales LV5」.]
They were worthy of being called Dragon Scales.
It became so heavy that moving was a struggle.
I was allowed only a single attack.
My current power was temporary.
Just as it had used its Innate True Qi, I had drawn upon the power of the elixirs in my body.
Just one blow.
I had to end this Poison Dragon with a single attack.
And the same was true for the Dilophosaurus.
It knew that dragging this out while burning its Innate True Qi would do it no good.
If time passed, it would lead to a pointless death.
It was time to settle this.
"Kraaaaaak!"
The Poison Dragon charged.
The earth melted wherever it moved.
Its Innate True Qi was visibly diminishing.
The poisonous aura continued to grow stronger.
It grew so strong that even my Dragon Scales couldn't block it.
The Dilophosaurus burned its Innate True Qi, creating a tremendous poisonous aura.
Just one chance.
This was the only chance I had left.
Remember.
The strongest being I have ever seen.
'Little lizard.'
I had never been properly taught.
There was no way I could have learned martial arts.
The only martial arts I knew came from a few wuxia novels I'd read out of boredom.
The profound principles of speed, illusion, and weight.
The meaning of straight lines and curves.
I knew nothing.
Born as a lizard, what could I have read? What could I have studied?
'Little lizard.'
The strongest person I knew was the same.
She couldn't read, couldn't study.
'White bones are scattered everywhere.'
White bones were always around me.
'The kid next door died for messing with one of the Five Great Families.'
Nephila Jurassica died trying to protect me.
'I'm hungry. I'm thirsty.'
I was always hungry and thirsty.
'It was like a diary filled with someone's lament.'
She was like me.
Baek Yeon-yeong reached a new realm despite having never been taught.
How did my master do it?
Right.
Like this.
[You have temporarily acquired 「Uprooting Heavens and Overpowering the World」.]
Uprooting Heavens and Overpowering the World.
Booooom!
Power to uproot mountains, spirit to cover the world.
Crrrrrunch!
Overwhelming internal energy pressed down on the enemy.
The Poison Dragon's speed gradually slowed.
I focused strength into each and every finger.
Crrrack!
All my power concentrated in one place.
Dragon's Claws.
My claws took on a form worthy of their name.
And yet, it wasn't enough.
It was obvious, but I had never read the Nine Yin Manual.
How could I have read something my master couldn't?
What I saw were the murals in the cave.
And the forms my master demonstrated.
I called her master, but I didn't know much about Baek Yeon-yeong.
I had only learned a few of her techniques in a very short time.
I didn't know what she was thinking, or why she taught me.
But I understood one thing.
The Nine Yin Manual she spoke of was her world.
Corpses dead from hunger, corpses dead from thirst, corpses dead for offending a prestigious family.
Laments must have echoed on every street.
That was her resentment, her motivation.
Crrrack.
My Nine Yin Manual is this very moment.
The arm I swing to protect something precious.
This is my Nine Yin Manual.
Kwaaaaaaaang!
And this is my Nine Yin White Bone Claw.
Crack-crack-crack-crack!
My five fingers mercilessly crushed the Poison Dragon's head.
It was over.
Everything was over.
Spider.
I'm sorry.
But at least, your enemy...
"Gokji."
A voice came from where Nephila Jurassica lay.
It was somehow familiar.
I immediately turned my head to find the source of the voice.
"Susamri, Cheonjeong."
It was Tang Soyeong.
With Tus and Pus on her shoulders, Tang Soyeong was inserting acupuncture needles into Nephila Jurassica.
"Jungwan, Cheonchu, Singwol."
"Gegegegegegek!"
Tang Soyeong didn't look at me.
"Hero Goooooo!"
Her eyes and hands remained fixed on Nephila Jurassica as she shouted.
"The inner core! Bring me the inner core!"