EP.22
The Heavenly Demon Cult’s base, Shiman Mountain.
The leader has returned.
The elders reported to Baek Yeon-Young.
The content was nothing out of the ordinary.
Was there an intruder? What events occurred among the believers? What is the state of affairs?
It seemed no one, except for Baek Yeon-Young’s close aides, was aware that she had gone out.
She maintained her usual expressionless demeanor while quietly listening to their stories.
It was nothing but dull chatter.
At some point, she found herself gazing at the patterns on the ceiling.
Extravagant designs that looked as if numerous dragons were embroidered upon it.
That part is crooked.
Baek Yeon-Young noticed the misaligned section and found it bothersome, yet something about the appearance reminded her of the lizard she had seen earlier, which made her feel good.
“Thus concludes the report.”
The elders finished their reports.
“Alright.”
After the elders exited, personal reports from the Dharma Protectors followed.
Aside from the Left Dharma Protector casting cautious glances, there was nothing particularly unusual.
For some reason, the Dharma Protectors quickly took their leave as well.
This was favorable for her.
Now, it was just Baek Yeon-Young’s personal time.
She stifled a yawn and stretched her body.
“Yawn…”
As she stretched, she caught sight of her own eyes, so similar to hers.
“…Surprised, huh? If you have something to say, you should have done so earlier. Why are you still here?”
Baek Seolhwa, the goddess of the Heavenly Demon Cult, was staring intently at Baek Yeon-Young.
“How could I possibly speak ill of the leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult?”
Baek Yeon-Young had never mentioned anything about speaking ill.
The goddess had come intending to say something unpleasant.
She instinctively realized this.
Baek Yeon-Young pondered deeply.
What unpleasant words could there possibly be?
Has she perhaps been found out for stealing ginseng? Or was it for secretly taking the ice lotus root?
She had committed so many offenses that now she couldn’t even gather her thoughts.
“Is that so? Then you may take your leave. I want to rest now.”
“When the leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult issues such an order, the girl has no choice but to comply.”
The goddess bowed elegantly.
And then, without breaking her posture, she merely raised her head.
Her gaze was ablaze.
“What the goddess wishes to ask of the leader is not to be conveyed, but Seolhwa has something to say to Yeon-Young. Will you listen?”
“I don’t want to hear it.”
“Will you listen?”
“Even if you say you don’t want to, you will.”
The flames of anger surged stronger.
“Leader. Seolhwa says that if you don’t hear her out now, she will be twice as angry.”
“Is that so?”
“May Seolhwa speak to Yeon-Young?”
In any case, she couldn’t just send her away unheeded.
Baek Yeon-Young nodded her head.
“I permit it.”
Swoosh.
Baek Seolhwa took a deep breath.
Her already large chest expanded magnificently.
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
Go!
It wasn’t a voice that could come from a typical goddess.
Not excluding the Dharma Protectors and the leader, Baek Seolhwa’s conduct was truly fitting of a goddess, always gentle and kind.
However, her current demeanor resembled that of a general on the battlefield—an infuriated beast.
“I told you to let me know if you were going somewhere, didn’t I?”
Is she making a fuss over something so trivial?
“I certainly said so.”
Baek Yeon-Young replied nonchalantly.
“It doesn’t matter if you tell the Left or Right Dharma Protectors. You’re trying to hide it from me because you’re worried about their opinions.”
“How poorly do you conduct yourself that you would need to hide such things? They both are quite commendable.”
“You, you….”
The legendary martial art known as the Lion’s Roar, said to be unparalleled in its moment of execution, was being recreated by Baek Seolhwa at this very moment.
Boom!
Baek Seolhwa’s barrage of words rang out powerfully.
A hundred and one reasons why the leader should not have left her post, all the wrongs she had committed, and most importantly, just how difficult it was to gather honey from the honeycomb.
“Haah… Hah….”
Even for Baek Yeon-Young, who had long surpassed the pinnacle of refinement, Baek Seolhwa’s verbal onslaught was rather bothersome.
“…Is it over?”
What’s all this fuss about having stolen a mere jar of honey?
Honey.
Baek Yeon-Young smiled faintly at the thought of a small lizard indiscriminately gulping down honey from the wall’s crevice. It was just a momentary sight, but she couldn’t retrieve it again.
How could she disturb such a dedicated eater?
“Are you laughing? …Alright, fine. Enough.”
Baek Seolhwa shook her head.
“Leader.”
Just like that, her tone changed again.
What sort of mischief was she planning this time?
Baek Yeon-Young lifted her gaze to look at the goddess.
“I have something I didn’t report during the meeting.”
“Speak.”
“There’s been unusual activity detected toward Shiman Mountain.”
“Unusual activity, you say.”
“It seems there are reports of spirit beings in that area, and they’re trying to infiltrate secretly.”
Why is she mentioning this now?
If she were to question it, she would probably get a Lion’s Roar along with “The leader has been absent, so there wasn’t time to speak personally,” thrown at her.
“So, an infiltration means it’s not a full-scale war.”
“For now, anyway. They wouldn’t raid without justification like the Five Great Sects or Nine Heavens Alliance. They wouldn’t put their names on the line. However, they aren’t ignoring us either.”
In short, a hunting party was being formed with Shiman Mountain as their target.
The instigator was unknown. The supposedly dignified sects were pretending to be uninterested but had secretly dispatched small forces, and soon they would invade Shiman Mountain.
To be precise, their actual goal was the spirit beings located in the plains.
Baek Yeon-Young nodded in understanding.
“Let them come.”
“Pardon?”
“One must face trials to grow.”
Baek Yeon-Young stared at the tips of her fingers.
There were no marks, but she remembered the sensation of being bitten by someone.
“Of course, they’re to be given a chance.”
With those significant words, Baek Yeon-Young stood up.
*
This time, the Grimah Legion came rushing in.
Their grotesque appearance was truly nauseating.
Let’s be thankful that they still retained a semblance of humanity.
Only five of them recognized me as an enemy, while the others crawled off in different directions.
Even with just five, they still outnumbered me.
In the past, I would have run away.
But I was different now.
I activated my sprint.
My specialty, after all, was speed.
Let’s utilize it to the fullest.
Enhancing my already swift pace with breathing techniques, I unleashed a speed they dared not chase.
Whoosh!
Then followed the Dragon’s Claw technique.
The Dragon’s Claw is a martial art where one uses claw-like hands to snatch the enemy.
My claws made contact with the body of the Grimah.
And at that moment.
Snap.
Its body was severed in half.
To confirm the kill, I crossed my hands and struck once more.
Snap, snap.
The Grimah’s body trembled helplessly.
…How cool is that.
Is this really me?
To have killed that hideous monster in a single blow.
It was clear that I was on the brink of realizing Baek Yeon-Young’s level.
In truth, there was a reason for this.
Along with my overwhelming speed and the use of the Dragon’s Claw martial art, another contributing factor existed.
That was my title.
【Title】
「Beloved by Spiders」
You cannot be ambushed by creatures of the spider family.
When facing insects, your strength and speed receive enhancements.
When facing insects, strength and speed receive enhancements.
Though Grimah could be classified as arthropods, it seemed to still apply.
Thank you, Nephila Jirashika.
You were generously giving.
Having dispatched one, the other four Grimah appeared to be taken aback.
“Chiiiiiik!”
They are likely communicating among themselves.
A small lizard, how could it possess such strength?
Perhaps the nuance was much more than that.
They hesitated.
Normally, they would have attacked immediately, but it seemed they were wary of my strength.
Instead, they approached me slowly.
The four Grimah formed a protective stance together.
Whether it was intentional or not, it had now become a more complicated situation for me.
Even if I managed to take down two using both hands, the remaining ones would have a high chance of attacking me.
There’s a method to use in times like this.
I spread my long tail.
Flick.
A technique I learned from a master of the Four Officials.
Flick, flick.
Your little dog is weak.
“Geggegek!”
One of the Grimah charged at me in a rage.
“Chieeek!”
What a simple-minded creature.
With my right hand, I grabbed the body of the Grimah.
Green Basilisk Dragon’s Claw, Third Style.
Swoosh!
It was a clean split!
Literally severed in half and dead.
Now, only three remained.
The protective stance had long since been dispelled.
It was time for me to complete my own Dragon’s Claw Fourth and Fifth Styles.
“Geggegek!”
With the valiant roar of a green dragon, I charged at them.
*
【Green Basilisk LV8】
HP: 80/80
MP: 30/30
【Title】
「Beloved by Spiders」
While hunting the oncoming enemies, I steadily increased my strength. In my spare time, I climbed onto the mural to practice meditation and reflected on the martial arts I had yet to learn.
There were no techniques that particularly drew me in, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea to keep an eye on them.
There was no guarantee that only I would use martial arts.
It was possible for non-humanoid creatures to use martial arts as well.
Why, even the Titanoboa’s child had strange attacks despite being a snake.
Its parent didn’t do such things.
As I diligently examined the martial arts, there was still something I couldn’t understand.
The marks beside the mural.
Should I call it a sword mark?
There were indistinguishable traces left behind.
Judging by intuition, they seemed related to martial arts.
Though I would love to meditate here until I discovered what those were, it was, unfortunately, impossible.
For now, while hunting Grimah and spider attendants, I learned a few things.
Silver Dragon Cave.
This cave was artificially created, and it housed numerous beasts and insects within.
The leader among them was the Titanoboa that Baek Yeon-Young had dealt with.
When that leader died, the only thing those beasts would do was establish who the owner of the Silver Dragon Cave was.
It turned into a violent brawl.
Even the insects that had maintained neutrality were fighting indiscriminately.
It was quite rewarding to sneakily take them down one by one.
This Silver Dragon Cave, driven mad by fighting.
And I, a frail little lizard.
However, not everyone was aggressive.
I noticed a centipede passing beneath me.
“Chiiik.”
It seemed to have made a noise on purpose, perhaps recognizing me and greeting me.
“Gekgek.”
Hello there, centipede.
“Chiiik.”
“Gekgek.”
Did you have a good haul today?
It poked my thin belly.
The centipede tilted its head from afar, then approached to drop a small cricket it had been holding on the ground.
“Geggegek!”
So kind!
What should I say about this centipede? It was rather nice.
It hadn’t attacked me since we first met.
Though it might have been intimidated by the Grimah’s bodily fluids, as long as it didn’t attack, I was happy.
No matter how many Grimah I hunted, I couldn’t bring myself to consume them.
My humanity’s bottom line was not eating Grimah.
That’s how this relationship blossomed when I offered what I couldn’t eat to that centipede.
Crickets are truly a delicacy, a delicacy indeed.
“Gekgek!”
Thank you, centipede.
Just as I expressed my gratitude and took a bite of the cricket.
Boom!
“Saahhh!”
The centipede vanished.
A giant millipede that had emerged from the ground swallowed my kind neighbor whole.
“Geggegegek!”
Centipede!
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