I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 336

I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 336

The war ended just like that.
Even without me, our side was progressing with overwhelming superiority, and when news spread that I had subdued the enemy leader, the opposition all threw down their weapons and surrendered.
In truth, it seems they had already lost their fighting spirit when I swallowed Hydra’s storm and fried the spiritual beasts with thunder.
Lately, maybe because I’ve been fighting only spirit beasts at the Hyeon-gyeong level, things feel like they’re ending more easily than I expect.
It’s still satisfying that we suffered no casualties on our side.
"From the very beginning, really...."
I also got to hear the full story.
Hydra had indeed approached Odukmun under Jinryong’s orders.
For the sake of the Grand Plan, he had been hiding his strength in Namman, the land closest to the Mountains of Ten Thousand Beasts.
However, this rebellion was something he confessed to having carried out on his own, without any orders from Jinryong.
It didn’t seem like a lie.
If Hydra had just been a little more patient, he could have probably even swayed the Odukmun Lord to his side.
Given how precious every troop was for an assault on the Heavenly Demon Cult, would Jinryong really have risked weakening their forces through internal strife?
It was not a decision Jinryong, who saw the Grand Plan, would have made.
Still, it was fortunate.
If I hadn’t gotten lost and come here, the Heavenly Demon Cult would have had to fight not just Odukmun’s lord, but Hydra and the other spirit beasts as well.
Thanks to arriving early, I was able to eliminate Hydra and bring the Odukmun Lord over to my side.
Not only did I remove a threat, but I actually gained an ally — it was a huge win.
"...I trusted him...."
Dan Hwa-Yeon sniffled as she looked at what remained of Hydra.
Honestly, I had wanted to spare him.
He was a valuable asset.
At worst, I could have kept him alive as a training dummy for the disciples.
Sure, it wouldn’t be very humane, but most of my followers aren’t human, so it wouldn’t really be a problem.
But I couldn’t leave him be.
Because he had swallowed Jinryong’s elixir.
I had seen it firsthand at Heukunbang.
What happens to those who consume that elixir.
Even if I didn’t lay a finger on him, he would self-destruct — and cause catastrophic damage to everything around him in the process.
So I had no choice but to end it this way.
"S-Saaaak...."
The once-mighty Hydra had shrunk down to a baby snake, even smaller than Shik-Shik.
Destroying the elixir inside him with the Black Death Demon Art had caused this side effect.
I recovered about ninety percent of his neidan, and what remained in his body was less than ten percent of his original strength.
He used up even that last ten percent trying to regrow his permanently destroyed heads, so now he was no different from an ordinary snake.
Well, except that he still had five heads.
"Heeheehee... stay still, would you."
"Hmph, so this is the famed five-colored snake... Fine, today you die!"
Jeoksa and Cheongsa flicked their tongues at the shrunken Hydra.
I hadn’t managed to turn him into a training dummy, but at least I recovered his neidan — that was a solid gain.
Dan Hwa-Yeon also didn’t seem to really want to end his life either, so she appeared satisfied with just this outcome.
Though Hydra’s case was closed, there was still something else to handle.
"L-Lord of the Sect!"
"P-Please, just this once... forgive us...!"
The elders, bound tightly in spiderwebs, knelt before us.
Their punishment needed to be decided.
How could traitors ever be trusted again?
But the decision wasn’t mine to make.
I had only intervened to recover Hydra’s neidan.
So I waited.
To see what decision Dan Hwa-Yeon would make.
"Your crimes are wicked and vile."
"B-But it was Hydra who...."
"Shut that filthy mouth."
Fury burned fiercely.
"You didn’t just betray me. You betrayed Odukmun itself, the very sect I fought to rebuild. You turned your backs on the Grand Cause for your own shabby greed. And now you dare to beg for mercy?"
The elders lowered their eyes under her overwhelming pressure.
"Do # Nоvеlight # you know why, after I executed the previous sect lord and took this seat, I didn’t immediately purge you? It’s because I believed you would still work for the sake of Odukmun, even if our ideologies differed. I believed that if I proved my worth, you would eventually come around. But you betrayed not just my trust — you betrayed Odukmun’s future."
Her tone was icy cold.
But we all knew.
That this was the mask she always wore.
And yet, what of it?
After wearing that mask all her life, it suited her perfectly.
"Simply cutting off your heads won’t be enough to wash away your sins."
"M-My Lord, p-please...!"
"I have decided. All of you will ascend the Valley of Five Torments."
"M-My Lord! Please, kill us instead!"
The elders' eyes, which had been pleading for mercy, suddenly changed.
What in the world was this Valley of Five Torments that made them prefer death?
"Fine. I’ll let you ascend it until you die."
"My Lord! P-Please, anything but the Tu-Ae-Su!"
"Guards, take them away! I can’t stand the sight of them any longer!"
But no one moved.
After all, none of her actual subordinates were here.
Realizing this a bit too late, Dan Hwa-Yeon’s ears turned slightly red.
She glanced at me with teary, pleading eyes...
What? Why are you looking at me like that?
"Geck."
With no choice, I gave a hand signal to Pus and Tus.
"Keeng."
They clearly found it bothersome too, but those kind-hearted spiders pretended to be her subordinates and moved.
"Kioooong!"
"Kiieeeng!"
Thus, the spiders led by Tus and Pus dragged the elders outside.
"H-Hmph!"
As soon as the elders were out of sight, Dan Hwa-Yeon’s expression changed.
Back to the one I knew well.
"Ugh... it’s finally over...."
Exhausted, Dan Hwa-Yeon thanked Gae Gak Sect and opened a drawer to hand me the promised elixirs and neidan.
She even tried to give me the entire drawer, but I politely declined and only accepted enough for my followers' snacks.
Since I wasn’t planning to annihilate Odukmun but rather make it a subordinate organization, it made sense for Dan Hwa-Yeon to keep the stock.
When I conveyed that message through So-Yeong, a tear trickled down Dan Hwa-Yeon’s cheek.
"G-Great hero, you’re even so kind...."
And she reached out toward my forearm.
"Kiieeek!"
But So-Yeong, making a sharp noise, blocked her.
Seriously, that sounded more like something Tus or Pus would do.
Anyway, something else was bugging me.
Earlier, the elders had looked terrified. What kind of place was this Valley of Five Torments?
"Oh, the Valley of Five Torments is a nearby mountain filled with chilling energy. It’s basically a place of five different hardships."
A valley filled with chilling energy.
Five hardships!
What kind of suffering could make them tremble like that?
"Once someone enters the Valley, they say they can never return to how they were before."
"Geck."
Now I was intrigued.
Places like that usually hid some special opportunities too.
And honestly, a few blasts of the Gae Gak Death Beam would probably wipe out any hardship.
"So sometimes it’s jokingly called the 'Valley of Burnt Testicles' (Ogo-gok)."
...What?
"Geeeek...."
I instinctively covered my lower body with my tail.
To think such a terrifying place existed!
It felt like I needed to destroy it immediately.
"Some say that those whose minds break experience 'Amgeottarak' — they fall into a fragrant land and indulge in endless pleasure... but honestly, that’s probably just nonsense. Those who experience Amgeottarak supposedly never want to leave even after their sentence ends... but that’s likely just complete mental collapse."
"Gehk... Gegehek...."
My body shivered uncontrollably.
Is this what a unicorn feels like when it sees a bicorn?
I was experiencing an indescribable terror.
"Lizard. Why are you trembling like that?"
"Gegehek...."
Ogo-gok, Tu-Ae-Su, and Amgeottarak...
If Odukmun had fought me with all their strength, could I really have won?
Even if I had, the scars would have been beyond recovery.
And I would have wasted away in despair.
Unable to even croak properly...
"Gegehek...."
"Tch, you're fine."
"Gegehek!"
Sure, that's what you say — but I wasn't asking to actually verify it, Baekrang.
While I battled the horror of Ogo-gok alone, So-Yeong and Dan Hwa-Yeon efficiently finished cleaning up everything else.
"This is... rations. I don't think we can give you too much. There are just too many mouths to feed, and it'll be easier to forage locally anyway."
Dan Hwa-Yeon packed a massive bundle of jerky.
She sure had a big heart to match her big pockets.
Still, wasn’t this a bit too much?
This would feed seven people for a month.
"And this is an emergency medicine kit... this one’s for motion sickness... and this is an insect repellent...."
She was like a parent sending a kid off on their first trip, packing everything she could think of.
I appreciated the thought, but really, it wasn’t necessary.
"And this is for contraception... Ah, wait, where did it go?"
Dan Hwa-Yeon blinked at her now empty hand.
Wait — what were you trying to hand me?
"Ah, and finally, here’s a map! You said you’re heading to the Beast Palace, right? Just follow this and—"
Ziiiing.
Fwoosh!
"Kyaaah! W-What was that?!"
Dan Hwa-Yeon gasped as the map was incinerated by a mini Gae Gak Death Beam.
"Without a map, how will you find your way? Oh wait, there’s that tiger... maybe it’s fine?"
"Gehek."
I shook my head.
Trusting Hoya’s navigation was a bigger gamble than relying on my instincts.
"Then how will you...?"
Dan Hwa-Yeon tilted her head.
I stared at her.
"...You’re not seriously thinking...?"
Yeah. Who else but you?
"I-I’ll just send someone else as a guide!"
Hey, guys.
"Gegegek."
Before our new guide ran away, tie her up first.
"Kyaaa! L-Let's talk! The spiderweb is sticky! Kyak! My legs are frozen! I’ll do it! I’ll be the guide!"
And so, thanks to Dan Hwa-Yeon’s voluntary "recruitment," we gained a new guide.

Chapter 336