Chapter 43 Gomodo
*Snap.*
The spider web snapped powerlessly.
Nephila Jurassica no longer moved.
The spider was dead.
Yes.
It was just a single spider that died.
I didn’t feel anything.
Not at all….
*Crunch.*
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 could have survived.
The Dilophosaurus’s attack ceased.
It was panting heavily.
It must have been extremely exhausted, having continued its attack with only minimal rest.
“Groooowl….”
‘Tail Cutting.’
I placed the severed tail next to Nephila Jurassica.
The severed tail granted overwhelming speed.
Since evolving, I hadn’t used Tail Cutting frequently.
Increased speed was a tremendous advantage. However, the tail did not regenerate immediately once cut.
While the tail grew back, it became difficult to maintain balance. Additionally, one effective means of attack was lost. Therefore, I did not use it unless in special situations.
The drawbacks outweighed the benefits.
When I was smaller, it might have been different, but as a Crocodile King Lizard, I needed the tail’s help to stand on two legs.
Without a tail now, it was like running with a damaged inner ear.
*Whizz!*
My legs felt like they were being torn apart.
Unable to maintain balance, I almost fell several times.
But what did it matter?
Nephila, who shielded me, must have felt much more pain.
I rapidly approached the beast.
Crossing my hands, I aimed for its neck.
*Clang!*
Dragon Claw met Dragon Claw.
Like a duel between swordsmen, each strike aimed to sever the other’s neck.
*Clang!*
The beast was undoubtedly weakened.
The reason it hadn’t used a grand technique like Mancheonhwau when we first met was likely due to the significant cost.
All the feathers around its crest had fallen out.
Its feathers served not only as weapons but also as protective armor for its neck.
Its legs were also almost destroyed.
Mancheonhwau involved leaping into the air and unleashing a rain of poison and darts.
To adjust the angle of the darts, the beast had landed and leaped back into the air several times.
Given its injured legs, those leaps couldn’t have left them intact.
One of its arms was also damaged.
Although my injuries were severe, I had the upper hand compared to it.
I could win.
Its biggest weakness was its right leg.
The wound was so severe that it was a miracle it was still standing.
I persistently targeted its leg with my sharp claws.
*Clang!*
*Clang!*
Despite its injuries, it surprisingly defended well.
*Sparks flew!*
The battle was so fierce that sparks flew.
The beast was frantically protecting its weakened leg.
Which meant, other areas were left vulnerable.
*Thud!*
I struck its head hard.
Though it wasn’t the leg, it was a solid hit.
I had poured all my weight into the attack.
“Screeee!”
Dark red blood spurted from its mouth.
This was my chance.
I had to finish it now.
*Ssssss!*
An enormous amount of poison was released.
It was much stronger than the poison mist I had seen before.
Such a feat was impossible with its remaining strength.
The poison was incredibly potent, unlike anything I’d ever seen.
Even Mancheonhwau didn’t carry such internal energy.
The poison was so powerful that calling it a poison dragon would not be an exaggeration.
Where did such power suddenly come from?
Had it been hiding its strength?
No, that was highly unlikely.
It wouldn’t have hidden its strength in such an extreme situation.
Just like it hadn’t used Mancheonhwau immediately, this technique must also come with a cost.
This overwhelming power.
It far surpassed the power I felt from the fully-prepared Dilopho.
There was only one possibility.
Innate True Qi.
The beast was burning its life force.
It had decided that if it didn’t sacrifice its future, it might die immediately.
*Hissss.*
The poison dripping from its body melted the ground.
If my claws touched it, they would melt away.
So what?
*Crunch.*
I clenched my teeth hard.
Ready to die along with the beast.
*Thump.*
My heart beat rapidly.
[Holy energy envelops your body.]
I felt a warm energy.
[Holy energy fills you.]
The powers I had accumulated gathered in one place.
[Inspiration is consumed.]
The inspiration I gained from Gourmet was used up.
[Divinity is consumed.]
Even the faint divinity was consumed.
The undigested power of elixirs and cores explosively gathered in my dantian.
[Holy energy surpasses the limits of your body.]
The power emanating from my body surpassed its limits.
My heart pounded wildly.
My body began to transform.
A strong body capable of withstanding the beast’s poison?
No.
A regenerative power that healed all the injuries I had suffered?
No.
Overwhelming strength to crush the beast.
*Whizz!*
New armor began to cover my entire body.
It was a dark teal, almost black.
This was not armor for defense.
It was a sharp blade created to kill the enemy.
This evolution felt entirely different from any before.
There was no such thing as recovering strength.
All the power I had accumulated was transforming my body.
Into the optimal form to kill the enemy before me.
“Kraaaah!”
“Grrowl….”
The beast quickly retreated.
Even while using innate true qi, it retreated, which must have been an instinctive action.
*Crunch.*
My scales continued to change.
Heavier and sharper.
[「Dragon Scale LV5」acquired.]
To the extent that they could be called dragon scales.
It became difficult to move.
I was allowed only one attack.
The power I had now was temporary.
Just as the beast used innate true qi, I gathered the power of the elixirs within me.
One strike.
I had to end that poison dragon with a single blow.
And it was the same for the Dilophosaurus.
It knew well that dragging this out any longer wouldn’t be beneficial while using innate true qi.
If time passed in this state, it would be a meaningless death.
It was time to settle this.
“Kraaaah!”
The poison dragon charged at high speed.
The ground melted wherever it moved.
The reduction in innate true qi was visible.
The poison became increasingly potent.
It reached a level that even dragon scales couldn’t withstand.
The Dilopho was burning its innate true qi, producing immense poison.
Just once.
This was my only remaining chance.
Remember.
The strongest being I’ve ever seen.
‘Lizard.’
I hadn’t properly learned anything.
I had never learned martial arts.
The martial arts I knew were from a few wuxia novels I read out of boredom.
What the mysteries of fast, slow, and middle were.
What straight lines and curves meant.
I knew nothing.
Born as a lizard, what could I read or study?
‘Little lizard.’
The strongest person I knew was the same.
She couldn’t read or study anything.
‘The white bones roll all around.’
White bones were always around me.
‘The kid next door died for offending a prestigious family.’
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 lamentations.’
She was like me.
Baek Yeonyeong reached a state despite not being able to study.
How did my master do it?
Right.
Like this.
[「Strength That Moves Mountains and Overpowers the World」 temporarily acquired.]
Strength That Moves Mountains and Overpowers the World (力拔山氣蓋世).
*Boom!*
Strength pulls mountains and energy covers the world.
*Crunch!*
Overwhelming internal energy crushed the enemy.
The poison dragon’s speed gradually slowed.
I focused strength in each of my fingers.
*Crunch!*
All my power concentrated in one place.
Dragon Claw.
A form that lived up to the expression of a dragon’s claw was completed.
Still not enough.
Of course, I had never read the Nine Yin Manual.
How could I have read what my master hadn’t?
What I saw were the murals in the cave.
And the forms my master displayed.
Though I called her my master, I didn’t know much about Baek Yeonyeong.
I only learned a few martial arts from her for a very short time.
I didn’t know what she was thinking or her intentions in teaching me.
But there was one thing I understood.
The Nine Yin Manual that Baek Yeonyeong spoke of was her world.
The corpses that died of hunger, the corpses that died of thirst, the corpses that died for offending a prestigious family.
Lamentations must have never ceased in the streets.
That was her grief and motivation.
*Crunch.*
My Nine Yin Manual was right now.
The arm swung to protect what was precious.
This was my Nine Yin Manual.
*Boom!*
It was the Nine Yin White Bone Claws.
*Crack!*
The five fingers mercilessly crushed the poison dragon’s head.
*
It was over.
Everything was over.
Spider.
I’m sorry.
But your enemy….
“Geokji.”
I heard someone’s voice from where Nephila Jurassica lay.
It was familiar.
I quickly turned to check the source of the voice.
“Susamri, Cheonjeong.”
It was Tang So-yeong.
Tang So-yeong, with Tus and Pus on her shoulders, was inserting a needle into Nephila Jurassica.
“Jungwan, Cheonchu, Singuol.”
“Gekekekekek!”
Tang So-yeong didn’t look at me.
“Godaehyeooop!”
She only shouted loudly, her eyes and hands fixed on Nephila Jurassica.
“The core! Bring the core!”