I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 331

I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 331

How could she make such a cute sound?
She didn’t surpass Pus and Tus, but she definitely overtook So-Yeong.
“L-Lord of the Gate?”
“Nuaeng. A sound like a child chirping. Keep ing.”
Hoo.
That came out as pure admiration.
Her eyeballs shook as if an earthquake had hit, but other than that, she pretended to stay calm.
Such quick adaptability.
She must not have taken her position as Gate Lord by playing cards.
Of course, it was a little funny to us who just saw her trembling moments ago, but it's clearly not something to underestimate.
But suddenly, a rebellion?
What the hell is going on?
Why would a rebellion break out just as we arrived?
No—did they start the rebellion because we arrived?
“We’ve received word that while the Gate Lord was away, a rebel force formed around Hwidoora! We tried to suppress it, but even elders joined the rebellion, and in the end, they seized the main sect...!”
“The elders? Tsk. I expected this much. What’s the damage? How many were killed?”
Dan Hwa-Yeon seems like a better leader than I expected.
She’s prioritizing the safety of her disciples before anything else.
And that tone—as if she’d foreseen this in advance.
“Fortunately, there are s that no one has died!”
Don’t tell me she really foresaw this and made preparations?
“Most of the people have sided with the rebels...”
“What?”
Ah.
So the entire main sect was just one giant rebellion.
“Ahem, no. That, too, was within expectations to some degree. I knew Hwidoora would bare her fangs. In fact, this works out nicely.”
Dan Hwa-Yeon’s hips trembled violently.
As I watched that closely, Baekrang pinched one of my scales.
“What do you mean, ‘works out nicely’...?”
“Because I’m here. Unlike the evil forces in the main sect, I’m well aware of the loyalty of the disciples of the Gall-Dok Gate.”
“D-Don’t tell me...!”
“Yes. I’ve separated the jade from the stone. Those blinded by immediate desire and who betrayed me will be punished, while those who didn’t will be rewarded. That’s the way of the O-Dok Gate.”
Separating jade from stone!
So she deliberately exposed a weak point to lure out the rebels.
“Indeed, the Gate Lord’s foresight is...! Dok-se, Dokdok-se, Dokdokdok-se!”
“That’s enough. You don’t need to go that far.”
Her subordinate’s shining eyes were halted at Triple Dok-se.
“Then should we begin preparing for an immediate assault? Let’s show these traitors the true horror of the Gall-Dok Gate!”
“Well, that wouldn’t be a bad idea... but I have another plan.”
“Another plan?”
“Yes. It’s not that urgent, so let’s continue after we finish welcoming our guests. Until then, do not enter.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Honestly, when I saw her true side earlier, it was kind of a letdown—but seeing this version is something else.
Charisma that seizes her subordinates instantly.
She really does seem like someone fit to be the Lord of the O-Dok Gate.
“Dokdokdokdok-se! Dokdokdokdokdok-se!”
Well, she couldn’t stop the Fifth Dok-se, but that’s not really her fault.
That’s just the overwhelming respect they have for her.
Actually... no, she did invent that chant, so maybe it’s partly her fault?
Creak.
The door closed, and footsteps quickly faded into the distance.
“Heheheh.”
Once the sounds fully disappeared, Dan Hwa-Yeon whipped around to look at me.
Her expression was confused—unsure whether the version she’d shown us or the one in front of her subordinates was the real her.
She was truly like poison.
And the most dangerous kind of poison is the one that hides how dangerous it is.
“Mueeeng...”
Huh?
Like she was vomiting up all the emotions she’d been holding back, the Lord of the O-Dok Gate let out a miserable moan.
“H-How... how could Hwidoora... betray me...?”
Yeah, there it is.
This is the real her.
“W-We ate meals together... I even introduced her to my favorite poison bath...”
Normally, So-Yeong would be giggling and mocking someone for being betrayed, but even she was looking at Dan Hwa-Yeon with pity.
“I believed her... I really thought she was my friend...!”
Dan Hwa-Yeon’s red eyes welled up with tears.
How the hell was she holding all that back?
“Ughhh... We spent all day together from morning to night... After hugging the second head goodnight, I’d brush her teeth in the morning... I even personally fed her spicy meat marinated in venom... We went on walks on the third head’s back, and I plucked white scales from her fifth head... That’s all...”
Huh?
That’s... a lot of minor details.
Still, none of it sounds like betrayal-worthy material.
What could she possibly gain from turning on her?
More than a sudden betrayal, maybe she approached Dan Hwa-Yeon with that intent from the start?
I thought about saying that, but I didn’t.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
She’s like this even now—telling her that their relationship was a sham from the beginning would break her.
“Ughh... What do I do now... My scales... Touching them was my only...”
“Gerong?”
“Hehehe... Scales...”
Krah!
I fell victim to a vile scheme.
Guguguk.
I couldn’t move.
It was a literal Taesan Pressure Point!
“Gyerururung.”
A tremendous weight was pressing down on my back.
“Hey! Get off me, now! You friendless mountain hermit!”
“F-Friendless mountain hermit?”
“Should I call you an isolated, supportless loser instead?”
“I... Isolated, supportless...”
So-Yeong’s verbal assault broke through the Taesan Pressure Point.
“Gehk!”
Tsk, what a useless move.
“Sob... What do I do now...? My only true friend... turned out to be a traitor...”
Seriously.
“If someone would just be my friend... I might feel a little better...”
Exactly.
“Iiik...”
Dan Hwa-Yeon whimpered like So-Yeong, her voice dripping with resentment.
“Gekgek.”
My followers and I prepared to leave.
“W-What. W-Where are you going all of a sudden? Don’t tell me... you think I’m useless now because of the rebellion...? N-No! Hero! I’ll do that Gerurung-whatever a ton for you! Just please... Don’t abandon me!”
“Gerong.”
Tempting offer, really—but no, I’m not abandoning you.
“Jeez, what are you lying around for?”
“H-Huh?”
“You said there’s a rebellion, right?”
“Right...?”
“You think the Hero came here by accident? I was already planning to crush that bastard. This actually works out for us.”
Dan Hwa-Yeon stared straight at me.
Her red eyes spun wildly before she suddenly leapt toward me.
“Heeeroooo! Take me! Let’s start as friends! No, forget ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) that—let’s just start with something bigger...!”
Dan Hwa-Yeon, having lost her mind, was quickly restrained by the Anansi mother-daughter duo.
“L-Let me gooo! The dignity of the Gate Lord is crumblingggg!”
***
A five-headed serpent with iridescent scales—Hydra.
Though it was born in the western lands like the Ice Dragon, it was raised in Namman.
Labeled a monster simply for having five heads, Hydra settled in Namman and began cultivating power.
But of course, things didn’t go all that smoothly.
The reason it didn’t settle in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Beasts was simple—there, dwelled a Serpent Queen far stronger than it.
Back when it was still ignorant of the world, it had once tried to invade her domain, only to be utterly defeated by her destructive beam. It fled in disgrace, barely escaping with its life.
Since that day, Hydra hadn’t dared even glance toward the Mountains of Ten Thousand Beasts.
Hydra was not a weak spiritual beast.
But it wasn’t quite strong either—an awkward in-between, neither here nor there.
Even in Namman, it was pushed aside by massive tigers and flood dragons, unable to secure a proper territory for itself.
And then, a fated opportunity came knocking.
The True Dragon—called the Heavenly Dragon by some.
One of his subordinates stumbled upon Hydra, and with his full support, Hydra began to grow at an astonishing rate.
The reason the True Dragon selected such a middling spiritual beast was simple.
Just as a descendant of Gomodo had appeared in the Mountains of Ten Thousand Beasts, there was a similar presence in Namman.
Gigano.
Word had reached the True Dragon’s ears that a legendary spiritual beast, said to once rival his own father, had spent his final years in Namman—and that his descendant now ruled there.
Recruiting him would be the best option, but it didn’t seem feasible.
So, the next best thing was to suppress him—and it was during this search that they discovered a five-headed serpent dwelling in Namman.
Extreme poison to damage Gigano’s hulking body.
Regeneration to survive Gigano’s overwhelming strength.
Hydra could be seen as the True Dragon’s living weapon, designed specifically for a decisive battle against Gigano.
While thriving under the True Dragon’s guidance, Hydra began to harbor its own ambitions.
Someday, once its mission for the True Dragon was complete, it would attack the Serpent Queen who had once disgraced it.
It waited, biding its time.
Eventually, new orders came.
Was it finally time to strike down Gigano?
But no—the command Hydra received was laughably dull.
Approach the O-Dok Gate and earn the favor of its Gate Lord.
Tedious. Boring.
And yet, Hydra carried out the order.
After all, it was thanks to the True Dragon that it had risen to its current level.
But how long was this farce supposed to continue?
How long would it have to play this dull role?
‘Come on, brother. Isn’t this going too far?’
‘Endure it.’
‘Sister, can’t you say something? She keeps making me guess what snacks she ate three days ago! And now she’s just yanking out my scales like it’s nothing!’
‘Mmm... She’s made me do weird things too. Asked me to join her in the poison bath, like she doesn’t know how big I am...’
What the hell was wrong with that woman? Why did she think they were friends?
Hydra considered it a blessing that she hadn’t discovered it could talk.
Had that been revealed, all five heads would’ve lost their voices from screaming.
But then, just when the monotony seemed endless, the perfect chance arrived.
The Gate Lord of the O-Dok Gate left her post.
Hydra didn’t know exactly what the True Dragon had in mind, but the fact that he’d told it to curry favor with the Gate Lord meant he wanted something she could do.
So then—what if it wasn’t her?
What if Hydra became the Gate Lord instead?
Or even if not directly, what if it installed a puppet Gate Lord it could manipulate at will?
Everything would fall into place.
It would complete the True Dragon’s mission, then ride that momentum to eliminate Gigano and finally set off on its own path to revenge.
That was why, the moment the Gate Lord left, Hydra set its plan into motion.
It would demonstrate overwhelming power and subjugate the O-Dok Gate by force.
“I’ve been waiting for a day like this!”
Of course, before it could even do anything, the elders themselves handed the O-Dok Gate over.
“Uh... Hey, is it supposed to be this easy?”
“It does feel a little off... but hey, a win’s a win, right?”
After a brief conference among its five heads, they decided to accept the situation.
Just like them, it seemed others had grievances with the Gate Lord too.
“Kirrururuk!”
Even the massive scorpions and other spiritual beasts joined in.
With a force like this, there was nothing to fear.
What could the O-Dok Gate’s former Lord possibly do now?
She’d be flattened by the intruder—and all they had to do was keep the intruder from advancing any further.
There was no place left for the Gate Lord to return to.
That was the rebels’ conclusion.

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Chapter 331