I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 333

I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 333

"...What should I do? Should I step forward?"
Tang Hwa-Yeon glanced at me cautiously.
"...I thought you couldn't speak, but it seems you tricked me with even that."
Her expression seemed tangled with a mess of emotions.
Anger at betrayal, and sorrow, too.
Normally, I would’ve blasted her with a Gae Gak Death Beam without a second thought, but for now, I had to yield.
"Gaegek."
I nodded, and Tang Hwa-Yeon stepped forward with a determined expression.
"Hydraya. Why have you betrayed me?"
No longer the slave of the Gae Gak Sect — she now stood there as the Master of Odukmun once more.
"Betrayal, you say... Kuhuhut, how amusing. You really think it's betrayal?"
The largest head of the Hydra responded to her words.
"Of course it's betrayal. You waited until I was away, then turned the elders against me, didn’t you? You, and those bastards alike. You're all nothing but despicable rats."
"Hold on, Odukmun Master. You're seriously misunderstanding one thing."
"Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding?"
"I didn't recruit the elders — the moment you left, they flocked to me. Begging me to drive you out and take the Master’s seat."
Most of the elders must have been loyal to the previous Master.
Even if Tang Hwa-Yeon had tried to clean house after becoming Master, she couldn’t have purged them all.
They must have been secretly siphoning off resources behind her back — only to betray her at this critical moment.
"So. Are you trying to say that since it wasn't your intention, I should show you mercy?"
Her voice was icy, but within it, I could feel a shred of hope.
That her only true friend had simply been swayed by the elders' cunning. That maybe, just maybe, it was just a mistake, not true malice.
"Kuhahat! How foolish and naive you are. I don’t even know where to begin explaining your stupidity!"
"What did you say?"
"To put it simply... I was ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) never on your side from the start."
Silence fell.
A thick, venomous aura burst from Tang Hwa-Yeon's body.
"I stayed by your side only to further my own goals! Kuhahahah! And you, you pitiful fool, actually thought I cared for you!"
"...How dare you."
The Hydra had never been on Tang Hwa-Yeon’s side.
Given its ties to Jinryong, it was obvious in hindsight.
Its goal was to devour the entire Odukmun and bring it under its own command, just like now.
Tang Hwa-Yeon must have genuinely believed it to be her only true friend.
She must have wanted to believe it had simply made a mistake out of greed — but no, it had been lying to her from the very first moment they met.
Even Tang Hwa-Yeon couldn't hide how much the shock shook her.
Her shoulders trembled slightly.
The proud mask of the Poison Empress she had worn so long was starting to slip.
Step.
I stepped forward, leaving the others behind.
"...What’s that lizard? I was curious about this. Why didn’t you fight back when invaders entered? Don’t tell me... you offered your body to that lizard! Kuhahahah!"
A blatant provocation.
But Tang Hwa-Yeon didn't answer.
"...Uh, bro. I think that one might actually be true."
Because it was true.
One of the smaller heads chimed in before being bitten by another pinkish head.
Of course, it wasn’t "offering her body" in the way the Hydra meant — she had simply volunteered as a loyal worker of the Gae Gak Sect.
Still, I couldn’t let this slide.
If I let it fester, our side’s morale would plummet before the real fight even began.
"Sssss."
I inhaled deeply.
From this distance, only voices could barely reach each other.
No matter what I did from here, it wouldn’t hit.
That's why the Hydra dared to provoke us from there.
Even Tang Hwa-Yeon’s poison wouldn’t be able to close that distance easily.
Pssssss...
A black cloud started to gather.
Ssssshh...
The gentle breeze steadily grew stronger.
"W-what is this...!"
The Hydra noticed something was wrong — but it was already too late.
First, I needed to establish dominance.
I exhaled the breath I had taken in.
CRAAAAAAAASH!
A blue beam shot toward the fortress gates.
KABABABABABANG!
CRRRRRUMBLE!
The beam mixed with storms and thunder, amplifying its destructive force.
CRACKLE!
Countless vines sprouted and engulfed the path left behind by the beam.
BOOOOOOM!
The thick, solid gates the Hydra trusted so much shattered like paper.
"GUAAAAARGH!"
And that wasn’t all.
The raging storm and thunder swept across the enemy camp, while the sprouted vines created countless grasping tendrils.
"Th-this is a disaster..."
"A dragon...! A dragon has appeared!"
In an instant, the enemy camp was thrown into complete chaos.
"You fools! Don't panic! It’s obvious that attack used up almost all its strength! If you lose your nerve now, you're playing right into their hands! This is exactly the time to charge!"
The Hydra roared.
It must have been convinced that I couldn't fire another Gae Gak Death Beam so quickly.
"Aww... What should I do? Should I freeze that snake’s heads? Or just back up our side?"
Baekrang stretched as if she had been waiting for this.
"Kiyong!"
"Kiyeeeng!"
Tus and Pus wriggled excitedly, as if waiting for my signal.
"Hey... you... what the hell..."
Hoya stuttered, shocked at the technique I had just used.
"My son-in-law... you’re far stronger than I thought. ...Such a precious seedling, I can't let slip away."
Even the mother-in-law was amazed... wait, why is she groping my arm?
"Gaegek."
Well, to be fair, I had never really shown them my true power before.
"Heeek...! I swear my loyalty to you!"
"Brother-in-law! Please, take my younger sister as a concubine...!"
The original Gae Gak Sect followers reacted as if this were the most natural thing in the world, while the newly joined ones kept shouting "Sugoi Lizard!" over and over.
"Huuuh..."
Even Tang Hwa-Yeon was trembling.
It wasn’t like they were seeing something new — but still, the reactions were great.
"Gaegek."
Was this... what they call social skills?
"Where else could you see a sight like this? Still, they’re not complete pushovers. Look at them trying to push forward."
Baekrang said, wagging her tail.
Enough chit-chat about my skills.
Time to act.
"Gaegegegek!"
I let out a huge, thunderous Gaegek.
"Kioooong!"
"Kiaaaang!"
Tus and Pus roared back in response.
"What are you all doing? The Divine Beast gave the signal to charge!"
As Baekrang shouted, the momentum of our group, led by Tang Hwa-Yeon, blazed to life.
"Saaaaak!"
"Chiriririk!"
"Gaegeget!"
A swarm of venomous creatures charged in an instant.
Baekrang would be moving across the battlefield, supporting them.
"So many spirit beasts! If I could make all those Neidan mine...!"
Some strong fighters from the Hydra’s side appeared as well.
"Kirararak!"
The ones who looked human were probably elders of Odukmun, and a few spirit beasts strong enough to lead a whole gate appeared too.
"A giant scorpion. It’d be perfect to cook and serve to my son-in-law."
"Kirararak!"
The mother-in-law licked her lips as she stared at the largest of the spirit beasts.
That one was almost at the level of Flower's Vision. If Anansi handled it, it would be reassuring.
Everyone had roughly found their opponents.
The one I would face was the giant snake coiled alone atop the fortress wall.
【Hydra LV150】
【Hydra】
A gigantic serpent with five heads.
Each head possesses a different ability, and even if one is severed, it regenerates almost instantly.
A lower-class dragon species.
A grotesque snake with five heads.
Personally, I would have liked to yield this one to Tang Hwa-Yeon, but it would be too much for her to defeat alone.
And, to be honest, I had my own reasons for wanting to take on this thing.
There was once a lizard that had fallen into a dark cave.
To survive, it hunted bugs and stayed awake night after night, desperately clinging to life, until it met a human.
Someone with a face more beautiful than anyone else in the world, and a strength and heart unmatched by any other.
She had captured the young lizard with one white hand — and never let go.
Baek Yeon-Yeong, my Master.
Maybe I liked her so much simply because she was the first human I had ever met.
No.
Just as her white hand had seized my body, it had captured my heart too.
I had once barely managed to defeat a white snake.
The massive snake, presumed to be that snake’s mother, had evolved at the last moment into a five-headed Odu-Sa.
I had been so overcome with fear, my whole body trembling, doing everything I could to escape.
The gap between that creature and my pathetic self back then was so great, it wasn’t even worth measuring.
Black hair fluttered slightly, and blue eyes looked me over calmly.
A hand swung with incomprehensible words.
Guwm Baekgoljo — pierce the enemy's head with the five fingers.
It all started then.
That was when I set her as my goal.
That was when I first decided I wanted to reach her.
Now, I am strong.
But the gap between my Master and me hasn’t closed.
If anything, now that I’m stronger, I can see even more clearly just how far apart we are.
Maybe... my Master has already transcended even the realm of Hyeon-gyeong.
Which is why I'm curious.
Could I now, just a little, be like my Master back then?
I wanted to measure the distance between us.
"You... you bastard, when did you get this close...?!"
I gathered all my strength into my five fingers.
Just like Master had done — I swung at the Hydra’s head, aiming to end it in one strike.
BOOOOOOM!
One of the heads exploded.
Only one — not all five.
"Keugh... kkh... it’s useless anyway!"
The severed head immediately regenerated.
The corners of the Hydra’s mouth curled up into a smirk.
Another head was already spraying venom.
It must have thought that with regeneration and deadly poison, it could bring me down.
And indeed, that regeneration was absurdly fast, almost unbelievable.
Unless I hit all five heads at once like Master did, it would be difficult to take it down.
"Kehkeh... so you’re finally realizing the situation! Now fight me prope—"
BOOOOOM!
I swung again without waiting for it to finish.
PABABABAK!
The head regenerated immediately again.
Two of the other heads bit into my shoulder.
"Kkh... your attacks are meaningless against my regeneration!"
Looking straight into the Hydra's sneering face, I smirked back.
So basically, it’s saying it’ll keep regenerating as much as I like, right?
I don’t feel even a little bit sorry — it’ll just have to become my perfect training dummy.

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Chapter 333