NOVPUB“An unparalleled genius!”
“Hoooh...”
“A genius so feared that even the Sima and Zhuge Families tremble! That’s me!”
There she goes again, spouting nonsense.
Smack!
“Hiyaaack!”
I gave So-Yeong, who was busy peddling snake oil to Hoya, a light slap on the butt.
“Kiooooong!”
For some reason, Pus suddenly started hopping.
Wait—don’t tell me she wants one too?
I did smack So-Yeong’s butt, but I’m not denying she knows a lot about spirit beasts.
Her personality’s a little off, but maybe that’s exactly why she understands spirit beasts better than anyone else.
She was the first one to speak to me, after all.
And if you’re asking why I smacked her butt—it was because of that shameless way she stuck her chest out.
“Hmph, I’m only tolerating this because you’re our great hero, Ko. If this ruins my marriage prospects, I’ll be demanding proper compensation. Like those shiny scales of yours... heh heh.”
Look at her go.
You think my tail’s just going to sit still after that?
“Gehk gehk.”
Get your head on straight and finish what you were saying.
“So, the point is, Heumwon can’t survive in this environment. I haven’t seen it firsthand, but from what I know, Kunlun and this place have pretty different climates.”
“Sniff. Back when I was running this place, I never saw a single Heumwon.”
Heumwon were venomous insects from Kunlun, not from here.
The fact that Kunlun’s Heumwon had shown up here proved that somehow, Namman and Kunlun were connected.
And didn’t they say Meng Po, envoy of the Beast Palace, received a letter from the Martial Alliance?
A letter probably asking them to cooperate. That would definitely tie back to Jinryong as well.
Bringing Kunlun’s venomous insects here might be part of that scheme.
Of course, if it’s just Heumwon, it’s nothing to worry about.
Tus and Pus could handle them with their combo moves, and surprisingly, even So-Yeong was able to take one down.
She once said someone from the Tang Clan shouldn’t be afraid of venomous insects...
Though when the one she’d sliced in half started twitching, she did squeal and hide behind my foreleg.
They couldn’t pierce Hoya’s thick fur, and they couldn’t even get close to Baekrang, whose cold aura was similar to Tus and Pus’s.
So to low-level opponents, Heumwon might be a threat—but to us, they’re nothing.
Jinryong probably knows that too.
He must know Heumwon alone won’t cut it.
Which means—it’s not just Heumwon.
There’s definitely something else.
He’s got to have a trump card prepared that can actually hinder the Heavenly Demon Cult in a meaningful way.
Maybe the {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} Beast Palace is acting cocky not just because it’s in their nature, but because they’ve got backup they trust.
Not that I’m particularly worried.
Just look at the lineup we’ve got here.
Me. Baekrang. Tus and Pus. Hoya. The Marble.
And Tang-whatshername.
No matter what Jinryong has planned, we’ll tear right through it.
There’s no reason to worry.
“If Kunlun’s involved... it has to be that one, right? I’ve never seen him myself, but I’ve heard the rumors. That dragon who lives on Kunlun Mountain.”
Hoya seemed to know about Jinryong too.
Well, she is cooperating with the Heavenly Demon Cult right now, so she must’ve been briefed on some things.
“There might even be other spirit beasts not native to this region. Ugh, if only they were ones I recognize—it’d make things easier... what a pain.”
Hoya scratched her head.
And there was a reason for her frustration.
Namman Beast Palace was, quite literally, a faction that specialized in taming beasts.
It was similar to the Tang Clan, but arguably even more spirit-beast-friendly.
They put great importance on coexisting with beasts, so spirit beasts raised among them tended to grow far stronger than others.
Makes sense.
Humans who work together, feed the beasts, and take them on walks under the name of training—of course they’d be stronger than wild ones.
So if a spirit beast from Kunlun was dispatched to Namman Beast Palace, then yeah, it would probably grow much stronger.
If they’re cooperating with humans in battle, that could definitely be dangerous.
Imagine a beast master riding a Wyvern into combat.
Just thinking about it sounds like a nightmare.
“Well, let’s think it over as we go. It’s not like we’re planning to go full-out war, right? Just some light provocation at most.”
We’ll see.
Depends how they decide to play it.
“Ah, there it is. See the tree next to that rock? We just turn at that spot and keep going straight.”
“As expected! You’re so reliable, Lady Tiger.”
...Hmm. She does know the way, right?
Because that right there was textbook behavior of someone who sucks at directions.
Like estimating the way based on stuff that’s everywhere instead of specific landmarks.
“Lizard, why’d you stop? Hurry up and follow me!”
Eh, it’s not like I don’t trust her.
She did say this jungle was her home. No way she can’t find her way around her own house.
“Another Heumwon swarm. Just how many did they release?”
The deeper we go, the more venomous insects we run into—so I guess we are on the right path.
But wait, does the Beast Palace normally deal with venomous insects?
Aren’t they all about beasts in the literal sense?
...Then again, if they handle both, maybe it’s not so weird.
*
“How can someone not know the way?”
Baekrang spoke in disbelief, and Hoya looked totally deflated.
This one... had a terrible sense of direction.
I knew it would be like this.
“Kiyooong.”
“Kieeng.”
Tus and Pus scolded Hoya too.
“B-but we still got here, right? You can see it over there, can’t you?”
In the distance, a group had set up a camp.
If we hadn’t gone around in circles five times, we’d have arrived ages ago.
“Ahem. If my memory’s correct, this is the Beast Palace. Or to be more precise, it’s what you’d call a checkpoint.”
“Checkpoint?”
Baekrang questioned Hoya’s words.
“They’ve set up checkpoints so you can’t just walk in. Not just the Beast Palace, but everyone around here does that. It’s kind of a pain, but as long as you have a pass, it’s easy.”
“And you have this so-called pass?”
“Nope.”
“Hmm?”
The dog and the cat tilted their heads at the same time.
“But it’s fine, they issue passes here.”
“Really? That’s easier than I thought.”
“Of course, it’s not like they’re going to give us a pass.”
“Hmm?”
What kind of conversation are they having?
“Think about it—once we get the pass, things will go smoother, right? So we just go BOOM, grab the pass, and we’re set.”
“...You’re not wrong.”
Baekrang—
You too? Seriously?
Hoya getting hyped and the two of them syncing up so well is kind of cute, but you’re supposed to be the last sane member of the Gae Gak Sect.
The other one is me.
“Hey! Halt right there!”
A shout came from the other side.
Despite the distance, we heard it clearly. Maybe they were using sound techniques?
I’m not going to act on impulse like Baekrang or Hoya.
They’re spirit beasts, so they sometimes do things that are totally irrational.
But me? I used to be human.
In other words, I know that suddenly going BOOM here would be the wrong move.
“Lizard. Didn’t you say those guys caused a fuss too?”
Well, yeah.
“Right now you’re not the cult leader’s disciple—you’re just some spirit lizard, right?”
“Gehk.”
Also true.
“We need to get the pass anyway, so wouldn’t it be easier to just bust in and grab it? Not like I’ve got the patience to talk to those idiots.”
I’m Baek Yeon-yeong’s direct disciple and the envoy of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
So I could say, Hand over the pass and step aside.
But that’s boring and academic.
Whereas if I go with Hoya’s idea?
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
It ends fast, it’s simple, no prior knowledge needed, and there’s no risk of losing a debate.
It’s... convincing!
“Kiyong...”
Tus and Pus were giving me looks that seemed oddly pitiful.
Was that how I looked when I stared at Baekrang earlier?
“Ssssssk.”
I took a deep breath.
I hadn’t planned on unnecessary conflict, but my master once said—
A little lesson, nothing too extreme, is fine.
If it’s just a small payback for those who dared act arrogant before the Heavenly Demon Cult, she’d turn a blind eye.
Also, someone’s gotta answer for not putting up a sign, making us lose our way.
Zzzzzzaaaaaang!
A blue beam shot out.
I held back a bit, aiming only at the structures—not people.
Long-distance strike, then immediately switch to human form—no evidence left behind.
I could always say it wasn’t me, the disciple of the cult leader Ko Hui, who fired that death beam—it was some mysterious lizard named G who passed by.
They probably won’t believe it, but... what are they gonna do about it?
Who told them to act that way in front of my master?
KWA-AAAAANG!
The Gae Gak Death Beam, containing the mysteries of storm and thunder, obliterated the target.
“KYAAAAARGH!”
Don’t be dramatic, I made sure it didn’t hit any people.
“Ugh, w-what is this! How dare... how dare you...!”
The one who looked like the gate captain shouted in rage.
What’s wrong, mad?
Sorry, but blame Meng Po.
We were planning to smack down the arrogance of the Namman Beast Palace anyway.
“How dare you lay hands on our Five Venom Sect and expect to walk away unscathed!”
Wait, your what?
“Gehk?”
Five Venom Sect?
I looked at Hoya.
Didn’t you say this was the Beast Palace?
“...I swear this is where the Beast Palace used to be.”
So... this isn’t Namman Beast Palace—it’s the Five Venom Sect?
It just happens to be in Namman, but it’s a different faction?
Then that means we just—
...fired a Gae Gak Death Beam at a neutral sect, unprovoked?
“Oh no! My crops!”
“KYAAARGH! What’re we supposed to eat this winter?!”
You guys were growing crops?
“Gehhhhek...”
Looks like we messed up.
“Lizard... isn’t this your fault?”
Wait.
Does Hoya have some kind of passive skill for shifting blame?
“Gehgehgehgehk!”
You were the one who said this was the place!
You said this was the Beast Palace!
“You cold-blooded monsters...!”
No, no—it’s fine. We can fix this.
Who am I?
I’m the lizard who controls the power of the throat.
I’ll just make the plants grow back and sneak away.
No one will know a thing.
We didn’t even say we were from the Heavenly Demon Cult.
“Ohohoho~!”
Huh?
What’s with that classic villainess laugh?
“Yes. Five Venom Sect—you know exactly what crimes you’ve committed, don’t you?”
Wait, that’s So-Yeong!
“I, Yubin Poison Flower, Tang So-Yeong, shall now deliver your punishment!”
No, no, get a grip!
What’s with that look in your eyes?!
