Chapter 50: Chomp. Nom.
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 50: Chomp. Nom.
Her black hair, like a waterfall from an ink wash painting, fluttered in the air.
Those blue eyes staring at me were impossible to forget.
Baek Yeon-yeong.
My master had appeared.
“Gek-gek-gek!”
“That strange cry of yours hasn’t changed, I see.”
What’s more, she seemed to know I was the same lizard from back then.
My body was dozens of times larger now, so how on earth did she know?
But that wasn’t what was important.
The important thing was that Baek Yeon-yeong was holding Anodonto’s tail.
The beast’s tail didn’t even twitch.
It should have been struggling to resist, but it remained as still as if it had been shot with a tranquilizer.
This was my chance.
Gomodo Style.
No.
Green Basilisk Style, Final Secret Technique.
“Gek…”
Master.
He hit me.
I put on the most pitiful expression I could muster and held out my foreleg.
Baek Yeon-yeong smiled faintly.
“You cunning creature. Are you telling this lady to deal with this ankylosaur for you?”
No, no.
I don’t think there’s much to ‘deal with’ here.
“Well, very well. I suppose I cannot say I am entirely without fault for this ankylosaur having come this far.”
Huh?
Wait a minute. I remembered seeing ‘Fear’ among Anodonto’s status effects.
The reason the Utahraptor had fled in a panic.
And the reason this ankylosaur, despite being terrified, was determined to fight me to the death.
It was because something even more frightening was chasing it from behind.
Everything finally clicked into place.
Anodonto was a pitiful victim that had encountered a wild Baekyeonyeong-saurus.
It must have been enjoying a lazy afternoon, basking in the sun, when it ran into Baek Yeon-yeong.
Like meeting a bear during a stroll in the woods.
Thinking of it that way, I felt a little sorry for it.
“I wouldn’t mind an Imugi, but I have no desire to kill a dragon.”
What a relief.
Then again, I guess dinosaurs are a type of dragon in a way.
But why on earth was Baek Yeon-yeong chasing this dinosaur?
If she’d really wanted to catch it, she could have just dragged it along by its tail.
“Still, it did this to my disciple. It must be punished.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Baek Yeon-yeong hurled Anodonto against the cave wall.
CRRRRAAAAAASSSSH!
You just said you didn’t want to kill a dragon!
Did you covet the ‘Dragon Slayer’ title that much?
…I should probably pray for its soul.
Sorry, I couldn’t stop her.
You should have just gone on your way.
All this for picking a fight.
“Kueooong!”
Contrary to my expectations, Anodonto was alive.
The Anodontosaurus staggered to its feet.
…It had more health left than I thought.
“How clumsy of you to fall over like that. Still, thanks to you, I was able to meet my disciple, so you may go now.”
“Kueooong!”
Didn’t I just hear a massive crash?
You weren’t trying to kill it, just help it up?
The Anodontosaurus immediately crept out of the cave.
“Why do you look at me with such eyes? Little lizard, do you wish for this lady to help you up as well?”
No.
I don’t want to die yet.
“Gek!”
I immediately corrected my posture, letting my foreleg dangle limply to show that I was hurt.
“Yes. Let me have a closer look.”
Step, step.
Baek Yeon-yeong drew closer.
She glanced at my injured leg, then stroked it ever so gently.
“Your training is still insufficient. Your Dragon’s Claws are quite plausible, but your Nine Yin White Bone Claw was, by this lady’s standards, abysmal.”
“Gek…”
I let out a displeased ‘gek’.
“And why has your appearance changed so? Your scales are stained black. You look just like that woman on Mount Hua.”
That woman on Mount Hua?
Is there a Gomodo there, too?
Or maybe some other reptile?
Baek Yeon-yeong’s white hand grasped my snout.
“Ge-ek…?”
Creeak.
My mouth was forced open.
Holding my jaws apart, Baek Yeon-yeong examined my teeth for a long time.
“Ho. Your teeth have certainly grown sharper. It is a relief to see you are walking the proper path.”
The proper path?
The Gomodo path is definitely the right one.
At least I didn’t fall to the heretical path of the Dimetrodon.
…But how long is she going to stare into my mouth?
It’s a little embarrassing.
“Open a little wider.”
It looked like Baek Yeon-yeong was about to stick her head inside my mouth.
“Geeeek!”
What are you trying to see!
We’re not that close!
“Hoh. So it was you who took the Gongcheongseokyu.”
Hiccup.
“…Gek gek.”
Wasn’t me.
I never took it.
I let out a few ‘geks’ to feign innocence.
For now, I’d better stay still.
“To covet not only the Cordyceps but the Gongcheongseokyu as well.”
This is an emergency.
You will repay the elixirs you ate with your body!
I had a feeling that’s where this was headed.
Of course, repaying with my body meant I’d be turned into a lizard skewer.
Should I try gently closing my mouth?
“Little lizard. This lady is still inside your mouth. Why are you applying pressure?”
It’s a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.
How could I ever do such a thing?
…It failed.
She didn’t budge an inch.
Swoosh.
Baek Yeon-yeong pulled her head out of my mouth.
Finally, I could close it.
Thump.
Gulp.
Gulp?
Did something just go down my throat?
Did a tooth fall out?
…That wasn’t the important thing right now.
What was important was that Baek Yeon-yeong was staring intently at me with a nearly expressionless face.
What did that look mean?
She looked angry, but also like she was smiling a little.
“To think you would force your way in there, even after I sealed it.”
So she wasn’t smiling.
It’s over.
I’m going to be a lizard skewer.
Or maybe lizard tartare.
Baek Yeon-yeong’s white hand moved.
Her five fingers aimed for my head.
That must be the real Nine Yin White Bone Claw.
“Well done.”
Baek Yeon-yeong gently stroked my head.
“You must be at least that capable to be called this lady’s disciple.”
My tail wagged lightly.
Is it because her internal energy is so strong? She’s really good at petting.
“Hmm, but those ones over there…”
Baek Yeon-yeong glanced at the Tang Clan Four Sisters in the distance.
“Gek gek!”
I turned my head and called out to Tang Soyeong.
The fight’s over, why don’t you come closer?
I know you’re wary since it’s your first time seeing her, but she’s a pretty nice person.
“What a strange combination.”
I think so too.
It’s a long story.
…Not that I can tell it anyway.
“Gek.”
Ah, speaking of Tang Soyeong.
Hanging out with the spiders, I sometimes forget she’s human.
A human from the Sichuan Tang Clan, no less.
Tang Soyeong must be happy to see another human after so long, right?
“Gek gek!”
I kept calling to Tang Soyeong, but she didn’t come over.
What’s with her?
Tang Soyeong is from a prestigious clan.
I don’t know where Baek Yeon-yeong is from, but she possesses immense internal energy.
Forming a connection would likely benefit them both…
I’ll have to bite her leg and drag her over later.
But first, I’ll enjoy this profound internal energy a little longer.
The feeling of her hand gently scratching my head was pleasant.
My eyes closed on their own.
The pain in my leg vanished at some point.
As I savored the sensation, Baek Yeon-yeong’s hand suddenly stopped.
I slowly opened my eyes and looked at her.
Her hand had moved.
It was no longer on my head, but right in front of my mouth.
She stared at me intently.
What is it?
What does this mean?
“Lizard.”
I must be imagining that her face seems a little flushed.
She’s a person who rarely shows any change in expression, so I must be seeing things.
If not that, it must be the lighting.
“Have you forgotten something?”
Baek Yeon-yeong extended a finger and poked my snout.
…Don’t tell me she wants me to bite her?
*
Tang Soyeong was frozen, unable to do a thing.
The Gomodo, a Divine Beast from the legends.
And stopping that Gomodo was another spirit beast.
Ankylo.
A monster said to shatter mountains and make the earth tremble.
Of course, it wasn’t Ankylo but another creature that looked similar, but that didn’t change the fact that it possessed great power.
The Gomodo she served had only just taken that form.
Though it was large, it was still small compared to the descriptions of an adult Gomodo.
In a way, it was still in its youth.
Just when it seemed her Gomodo had defeated the Ankylo-like monster with its wondrous tactics, an unexpected blow came at the last moment.
In that instant, Tang Soyeong almost threw everything away.
Her own unique poison, which she had sworn never to use carelessly.
She reached into her robes to use it.
And then, she saw a movement like a shadow.
She couldn’t even guess when the figure had appeared.
The Demonic Cult Leader.
It was that monstrous woman she had chanced upon after entering the 100,000 Great Mountains.
The woman tossed the monster aside with one hand and then began to approach the Gomodo.
Tang Soyeong was terrified.
She knew better than anyone that a single gesture from that woman could send all their heads flying.
Her body trembled.
Don’t even breathe.
An instinctual fear dominated her body.
And then, she heard an all-too-familiar cry.
“Gek gek!”
The Gomodo was standing alone against the Demonic Cult Leader.
Even for a Gomodo, facing the Demonic Cult Leader was impossible.
She was a monster among monsters, one of the Ten Great Masters of the World.
Nevertheless, the Gomodo showed no intention of backing down.
It had been the same with Dilopho.
It had been the same with the ankylosaur.
Once again, it was trying to shoulder everything by itself.
What is a Divine Beast?
What is a disciple?
Why must I only be protected again?
Tang Soyeong shook off her fear.
Though she was only a Second-Rate martial artist, the unique poison only she could wield was something even the elders of the Tang Clan struggled to block.
Bewitching Poison.
Though it was a poison, for some reason, even masters with profound internal energy couldn’t defend against it.
It was especially effective against female masters.
There was a story that even the legendary Sword Empress, who had undergone Rejuvenation, fell to this poison and ended up spending a night with a man who was, at best, First-Rate.
It was a famous tale about the Bewitching Poison. Some said the Sword Empress had only pretended to be affected, but who in the world would willingly be poisoned?
Tang Soyeong knew just how dangerous the Bewitching Poison was.
The version she could handle was exceptionally potent among its kind.
Using it would endanger even herself.
But it should be enough to let the Gomodo escape.
Tang Soyeong steeled her resolve.
But she would never get the chance to use her Bewitching Poison.
Thud.
The sight was so shocking that the strength drained from her hand.
Munch, munch.
The Gomodo was gently chewing on the Demonic Cult Leader’s hand.
*
Chomp.
Nom.
[【Tang Soyeong】's Faith has increased dramatically.]
…What’s with her now?