Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Truth
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The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace's rear ambush ended on an awkward, inconclusive note.
They had dispatched their main force—Vice Palace Lord Meng Sa along with most of his poisons and dozens of elite troops.
Thanks to Elder Meteor Sword's tremendous exploits and the desperate last stand of the remaining disciples, the Starpoint Sect managed to limit the damage to a bare minimum.
Of course, even that much saw half the camp reduced to rubble, with several disciples and dozens of laborers poisoned and hovering between life and death.
But considering the forces dispatched for the raid, it was an absurdly minor loss.
For the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace, who had gambled by splitting their strength despite the risks, it was a bitterly frustrating outcome.
However, since their strategy was fundamentally guerrilla warfare, this incident didn't cause the tide of battle to shift dramatically.
The war between the two factions was still burning fiercely.
'Now that I think about it, that first attack from the palace was also exquisitely aimed at empty areas. They really were fighting reluctantly, after all.'
After returning from his brief encounter with the possessor, Baek Hyun watched the laborers rebuilding the camp as these thoughts crossed his mind.
Thanks to Harmful Bird's consideration, the camp had taken heavy damage, but the all-important human casualties were not severe.
With most of the laborers unharmed, it was only a matter of time before the camp could be rebuilt.
Elder Mok Yeon had offered a single word of praise—"Well done"—before immediately entering a prolonged session of meditative recovery once the situation stabilized.
He had defended the camp all day with that monstrous swordsmanship, so his internal energy reserves must have been utterly depleted.
Every sword art had its strengths and weaknesses, after all.
It demanded insane difficulty and massive energy expenditure, but Elder Mok Yeon's Full Moon Shower Sword was a technique brimming with elements worth studying.
Not only was it a rare wide-area sword art for the Starpoint Sect's martial traditions, but the way it projected power all the way to distant ranges...
If he could incorporate the various subtleties of the Full Moon Shower Sword into his Shoot the Sun Sword Art, Baek Hyun was certain he could take another major step forward.
As Baek Hyun mentally replayed the elder's beautiful sword path, organizing his new inspirations and insights...
-Whoooong
A single crumpled note rode the wind and fluttered down right in front of Baek Hyun's eyes.
The contents, written in neat, precise strokes that immediately gave off an air of meticulousness, read as follows.
A secret note written in script only possessors could decipher.
Boosting his upper dantian's output to scan the surroundings, he sensed the silhouette of a winged tiger watching him from the camp's perimeter.
'She can control it with this level of precision, huh.'
Well, that explained how she'd adjusted her attacks earlier to avoid hurting anyone.
Having confirmed he'd read the note, Palace Bird melted away like a shadow, and Baek Hyun naturally slipped away from the camp to follow her trail.
By the time the camp's presence had completely faded...
"Took you long enough. No one spotted you, right?"
'Harmful Bird' revealed herself, perched casually on a massive tree branch.
Facing her as an ally rather than an enemy made her appearance finally register properly, where it hadn't before.
Bathed in moonlight, her skin was a deep, smooth tawny hue, as if infused with the night's sultry heat. Her body, forged endlessly under the sun, featured taut lines of muscle flowing gracefully, yet even in its immature state, her pronounced feminine curves stood out all the more strikingly atop that firmness, making it hard to look away.
Broad shoulders tapered to a slender waist, her chiseled abs harboring a beastly vitality like a predator's breath. Her leg muscles were coiled tight like a tigress ready to pounce, and her hair—darker than jet black—cascaded to her waist, rippling softly like a wild tail in the breeze.
Her eyes were pure, unadulterated black, sharp and intimidating like a deep-jungle beast, exuding the chilling charisma unique to apex predators—an aura that sent chills down the spine while instinctively drawing one in.
In a word...
"Now I see—you're really pretty, caddy."
"...This is my actual body, you know?"
"I know. Same here."
'!!'
She was incredibly attractive.
Of course, the buffs from entering the wuxia world and cultivating martial arts played a part, but without a solid foundation, achieving that level of allure would have been impossible.
To think such a beauty was a grizzled veteran of an old wuxia game...
"First off— are you really a girl? Like, forced gender swap from possessing a female avatar or something..."
"...What're you on about? I've been a girl since birth. You came in your real body too, so you know that."
"Hmm. Still thought gender might've flipped... You're a real girl, got it. Yes, ma'am."
Baek Hyun flashed an awkward smile and shrugged sheepishly. Harmful Bird hopped down from the tree and leaned in close to his face before speaking.
"What's your deal? Girls used to play this game plenty back in the day. Weird that I'm one?"
"No... Can't argue that."
Dominating the World hadn't been exclusively for male players, after all.
Martial growth through combat and techniques was the core content, but there were attractive NPCs for dating sim elements, stellar storylines, and even territory customization within faction lands.
With all those excellent sub-contents, women had flocked to the game during its heyday.
But a female gamer who'd sunk thousands of hours into high-rank PvP...
That, he truly hadn't seen coming.
"I stuck with it 'cause I love raising and caring for monstrous beings. I'm big into nurturing games."
"...Don't most girls just stick to sub-contents and skip PvP altogether?"
"Guess I'm not most girls, then. And how long you gonna keep the formal talk? We're both possessed—ain't like we're casual one-offs. Drop it, talk normal."
"Yeah... alright?"
Baek Hyun had been thrown off by the unfamiliarity of dealing with a female gamer.
But despite having just met, her quick-and-easy friendliness let him shed the formalities and treat her casually.
With the ice properly broken, they dove into the conversations they'd cut short before.
It started with personal details.
"Real name, not nickname?"
"Meng Yan. Palace start locks you into the lord's bloodline, so surname Meng. Pre-possession, Yoon Ga-hyun. Call me whatever."
"Meng Yan it is. Pre-possession Lee Hyun, now Baek Hyun. Both got 'Hyun,' so either works."
With introductions done, they got into the real talk.
"This is my first partner, 'Har.' One of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, so ridiculously strong and savage—but still young, so tons of cuteness and aegyo."
-Grrr...
Meng Yan continued as she stroked Palace Bird, who was grooming leisurely right beside her.
As Meng Yan vigorously rubbed its forehead and chin with both hands, Har purred contentedly, eyes half-closed.
The infamous pride of a top-10 ferocious beast, reduced to purring blissfully under a mere human's touch—an utterly absurd sight.
The glossy dark fur yielding under her hands looked downright enviable.
"...Mind if I pet it?"
"Your hand's liable to get chomped off. Super prickly with anyone but me."
It was a staggering feat, impossible without profound affection, ironclad trust, and top-tier beast-tamer talent and guts.
Proof of just how genuine Meng Yan was with Har.
"How's its specs? Hold up to your main summons?"
"Beyond satisfying. Har's bottom-tier among the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, but an all-rounder with stellar stats across the board."
"Taming her was pure luck. Till I snag 'that one,' she'll be my ace."
Baek Hyun nodded, recalling the beast's overwhelming combat prowess from earlier.
It had ended one-sidedly, but its raw power was legitimately threatening.
If the goal had been to hunt Palace Bird instead of subduing Meng Yan, even he'd have faced serious risks.
That thing would serve as Meng Yan's hands and feet just fine until she claimed the summon that had been pre-possession Harmful Bird's trademark—the 'that one.'
"So, why 'Harmful Bird' for the nickname?"
"You know Poké—uh, that monster game? Had this insane bird missile. Headband maxed, special attack 39,420 first strike... Never mind, too niche."
"Anyway, that mon was nicknamed Harmful Bird. My fave, so I went with it here."
"...You were seriously into this game."
With a solid grasp on each other and some rapport built, they moved on to swapping critical intel.
Meng Yan had spent the last two years holed up in the boonies of the southern wilds, so most of the exchange consisted of Baek Hyun briefing her one-way.
He laid it all out: the shadowy masterminds Falunsha and their org chart.
And the other possessors besides them.
Having absorbed it all, Meng Yan's expression hardened gravely as she sank into thought.
"I figured other possessors meant the story'd sort itself out somehow... but this is worse than I thought. Falunsha's that powerful?"
"Yeah. Crown prince-tier brass are still quiet, but army-grade execs are deep in intrigue right now."
"And I peg Southern Barbarian Beast Palace as the faction harboring an army-grade Falunsha exec."
The suspicious points weren't just one or two.
Provoking Starpoint Sect without cause, then doggedly dodging real fights.
If not a Falunsha ploy, the palace's actions were utterly baffling.
"Meng Yan, you're the palace lord's daughter—you must know."
What's the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace after?
Why start this pointless squabble?
Baek Hyun's question gave Meng Yan pause. Then, with a deep sigh, she continued.
"Looks like... you're right on the money. I knew things felt off, but without solid proof, I couldn't stop the Starpoint fight."
"But if this Falunsha exists and they're pulling strings... it all fits."
Meng Yan's eyes gleamed sharply.
"Hyun, you probably guessed already, but our goal isn't wiping out Starpoint Sect."
The reckless provocations with zero justification weren't to throw down with Starpoint...
They were to lure out Starpoint's main forces from headquarters as much as possible.
'!!'
At those words, Baek Hyun felt the puzzle pieces in his head snap perfectly into place.
Yes—that made sense. If the fight's whole point was to divert Starpoint's attention...!
Raiding the sub-base to draw out HQ disciples.
Avoiding decisive battles on home turf while dragging out the clock.
It all clicked.
They'd been gunning for an assault on Starpoint headquarters from the very start!
'But even so, that doesn't fully explain their motives...'
What reason did the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace have to scheme this hard just to target Starpoint HQ?
Falunsha had ample motive to crush Starpoint, sure—but for the palace to stake their entire fate on it without pretext? Absurd.
Unless there was something at Starpoint HQ they absolutely had to secure, no matter what...
...Something critically important?
In that instant, a location Baek Hyun had seen with his own eyes days ago flashed through his mind.
There was one thing.
Starpoint Sect HQ housed something ridiculously 'important'!!
"Wait—don't tell me the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace is after...!!"
"Looks like you've got it. Right on the nose. What we're targeting is..."
The Subduing Demon Hall.
More precisely, a certain monstrous being inside it.