I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 339

I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 339

Why is he suddenly charging at me like he's ready to die?
And it’s not like he brought any subordinates—he came at me alone.
The momentum behind his attack was definitely that of a brave warrior, but the decision-making behind it was far from that of a wise one.
“Graaaagh!”
Well, now he's sprawled out at my feet, so there’s that.
From the things he yelled while charging at me, I figured out he’s the gatekeeper here—and the son of the Beast Palace Lord.
The fact that the Palace Lord’s son personally serves as a gatekeeper left a good impression... but that’s where the goodwill ends.
A guest shows up and he just lunges in without asking questions?
That’s basic etiquette failure.
“The reputation of the Beast Palace has hit rock bottom. Tsk, I suppose it's only natural if the Palace Lord himself sets that kind of example.”
“You... you...”
As expected from Dan Hwa-Yeon.
Thanks to her status as the head of the Five Venom Sect, even these rowdy Beast Palace types are visibly rattled.
“Who are you?”
So that’s why he’s flustered—he doesn’t recognize her.
“Oh? You dare to claim ignorance of who I am? A small rebellion, perhaps, born from your desire to deny reality. I suppose it is difficult to believe that Bang Yudok-Hee is traveling with the envoy of the Heavenly Demon Cult. That the Five Venom Sect Master herself is here. That I, a poison expert at the realm of Flower’s Vision, am standing before you.”
Apparently irritated that he didn’t recognize her, Dan Hwa-Yeon began introducing herself in dramatic fashion.
As she laid it all out, Maeng-Ah’s eyes widened.
“...Bang Yudok-Hee? You're the Bang Yudok-Hee?”
“You’re keeping the act up to the end, huh? Well, I get it. Must be hard to accept that the Five Venom Sect has come under the Heavenly Demon Cult’s banner.”
Seems like he really didn’t know. Anyway.
“The envoy of the Heavenly Demon Cult... and now the Five Venom Sect, too... damn, what kind of nightmare is this...!”
So the Five Venom Sect does carry some serious weight.
The once-raging Maeng-Ah suddenly switched to a more thoughtful posture.
“Ahem.”
Tang So-Yeong cleared her throat, looking like she wanted to speak.
“And who are you, you little girl who hasn’t even come of age yet?”
“Wh-what did you just say?! I’m way past that age, okay?!”
“Coming of age” here refers to the age of marriageable maturity—traditionally sixteen by ancient standards. A national-level judgment, so to speak.
Clearly, he’s just taking a jab at her petite figure.
“Hmph, you thought that would make me angry? Tang So-Yeong, the Jade Venom Flower of the Tang Clan, doesn’t get mad over something like that.”
“W-what?! Jade Venom Flower?!”
“It’s Jade Venom Flower.”
“Jade Venom Flower...! The flower of the Tang Clan... Don’t tell me, even someone from the Tang Clan is here...?!”
So-Yeong’s face scrunched a little in irritation.
Still, it seems the Tang Clan’s reputation carries weight.
Just a minute ago he was screaming about how I was the enemy of all men, a sexual deviant, a lunatic—yet now Maeng-Ah had shifted his attention entirely to So-Yeong and Hwa-Yeon.
“The Tang Clan... and the Five Venom Sect? What in the world is happening...”
Even this mad dog seems to be having trouble believing what he’s seeing.
But he can’t exactly deny it either.
After all, the Jade Venom Flower of the Tang Clan and the Master of the Five Venom Sect are standing side by side.
“Even so, I still cannot open this gate!”
That’s a respectable attitude.
Wanting to stand his ground, no matter who the opponent is.
Though in this case, I’m the opponent, and I even have a personal appointment with the Palace Lord—so picking a fight here really isn’t a good look.
He’s clearly got the wrong idea, but still, he seems like a decent guy in his own way.
He’s doing this even though I could kill him with a flick of my finger.
Still, I don’t want to waste more time than I have to. Let’s try a little intimidation.
Not the violent kind.
That’s not my style—and besides, no matter what, I’m not about to mess with the Palace Lord’s son.
“So-Yeong, what happened to that poison from last time?”
“The poison? Hmm... I’m not really sure, there’s so much of it. You mean the one we secretly used on that guy, Maeng-Po, right?”
The ultimate poison So-Yeong and I created together.
Balding Venom: Reptile Edition.
“M-Maeng-Po? Don’t tell me you...!”
Maeng-Ah gasped in horror.
Well, who wouldn’t?
By now, Maeng-Po’s forehead must be a vast wasteland, and other side effects would’ve kicked in too.
“Do we still have some left?”
“Plenty. Why, you thinking of using it somewhere?”
I didn’t answer.
I just stared at Maeng-Ah.
A silent message: I don’t need violence to ruin you. I have something far worse.
“G-Great Hero! P-please wait just a moment...!”
From "degenerate womanizer" to "Great Hero"—that was fast.
“My younger brother’s... recent condition, could it really be because of... No, no! I’m not here to accuse you...”
He looked absolutely terrified.
You might think he just flipped his attitude like a coin, but honestly, this is the only rational reaction.
What if a gatekeeper dies in battle defending his post?
That’s a warrior’s death. Honorable.
But what if a gatekeeper is defeated by balding poison?
He might have the resolve of a warrior, but his death won’t feel like one.
No wonder he backed off.
“...It’s not that I fear poison, but that it gave me a moment of clarity. You, Great Hero, are the envoy of the Heavenly Demon Cult, and I am but a gatekeeper of the Beast Palace. I have no authority to stop someone coming to meet the Palace Lord.”
Maeng-Ah began speaking fluently, like a man desperate to live.
...Is it really that terrifying?
“Hmph, well, this place is crawling with beasts. I guess it’d be dangerous for a human, especially one without fur—makes you pretty vulnerable.”
So it was all for the safety of the residents. How noble.
“W-would you like me to escort you in...?”
Judging by how much he’s trembling, I think it’s the balding poison that really scared him.
But hey, not my concern.
I cleared my throat and focused.
Now, it was time to meet the Palace Lord.
*
The place we were led to wasn’t the lavishly decorated Beast Palace—it was a vast open space just outside of it.
Kind of like a hunting ground.
Normally, even if the Palace Lord were outside, you’d expect guests to be received indoors, but Maeng-Ah said this is where the Lord usually conducts business.
Sounds like an excuse, but whatever. I’ll take it up with the man himself.
Before us stood a hulking man draped in bear pelts.
Muscular, imposing—exactly the kind of man you'd imagine ruling over the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
“Who are you?”
He greeted us half-lounging on a leopard-skin rug, eyes lazy but sharp.
He’d obviously already been briefed.
That we were envoys from the Heavenly Demon Cult.
That we came with the Tang Clan’s jewel and the Master of the Five Venom Sect.
And yet, he kept up this aloof attitude—as if to say: "Which one of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s people are you, exactly?"
“I’ve come to deliver my Master’s words, on behalf of the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
Without any pause, I dropped the biggest bombshell I had.
Maeng Gak’s eyes widened.
“Your Master? You mean one of the elders? No, that wouldn’t qualify you to represent the Cult. Don’t tell me...”
“I’m the direct disciple of the Cult Leader himself. That’s who I am.”
It’s a well-known fact that the Heavenly Demon Cult’s leader has no disciples.
It’s known to such an extent that even spirit beasts are aware of it.
“Well now! You’re a bigger deal than I expected! I figured maybe a high priestess or a senior elder would show up!”
Maeng Gak burst into a laugh that seemed to shake the jungle around us.
He looked genuinely pleased to hear that the Cult Leader’s disciple had come in person.
“Bwahaha! Forgive the rudeness of my sons!”
Surprisingly, he apologized right away.
“As for Maeng-Po, I ordered him to test you. Maeng-Ah... I never gave him that order, but he probably acted out of loyalty to the palace.”
So it was on purpose.
That much, I already figured.
Since I came as an envoy, everything I do reflects the will of my master.
“So I’m to understand that every bit of rudeness committed by the envoy was on your direct orders? In that case, I think it’s time to ask why.”
I, too, was here to speak on behalf of my Master.
"Find out why they did such a thing."
That was my instruction.
“Oh? I like your spirit. To get to the point—yes, I received an offer of alliance from Kunlun. That part is absolutely true.”
“Kunlun...”
“But personally, I have no desire to ally with Kunlun. That’s why I wanted to test you first.”
“You wanted to test us?”
“I wondered—should I wait for you to be destroyed by Kunlun, or should I join hands with you to stop them together?”
The fact that allying with Kunlun wasn’t even on the table—that was encouraging.
Just as Shimma told me, so long as he’s with that spirit beast Gigano, he would never side with Jinryong.
“To figure that out, I had Maeng-Po provoke you. I wanted to see how you’d respond. How your cult would react. Whether the Heavenly Demon Cult is worth aligning with.”
So he had been considering an alliance from the start.
“And what’s your conclusion, Palace Lord?”
At my question, the Lord bared his teeth in a wide grin.
“Of course you pass. I was disappointed it took so long, but once I heard you brought the entire Five Venom Sect under your control—even I couldn’t help but be surprised. That kind of finesse, and you’re the disciple of the Cult Leader? It gave me a whole new perspective on the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
Seems like my accomplishments made an impression.
The Five Venom Sect is one of the few groups in Namman that could rival the Beast Palace.
So bringing them under the Heavenly Demon Cult’s banner—yeah, that was bound to make waves.
The conversation was going better than I’d hoped.
“I like you. There’s a saying: ‘Great men love beautiful women.’ Someone as impressive as you... well, perhaps this isn’t the right setting to discuss that.”
So much for all my battle preparations.
Still, I knew—deep down—that if someone else had come as the envoy, things wouldn’t have gone nearly this smoothly.
“I’d like to give your delegation time to rest after such a long journey. And I’d prefer to discuss a proper alliance over a calm, honest conversation rather than these postures. They say you can know the teacher by looking at the student. As the Lord of the Grand Southern Beast Palace, I, Maeng Gak, would like to officially form an alliance with the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
An apology and an alliance offer.
As an envoy, I had achieved everything I possibly could.
And for someone like me, who’s not exactly a smooth talker, that’s no small feat.
I’d been completely lost at the beginning, but it had all come together in the end.
He must’ve really approved of the way I stormed in and crushed the Five Venom Sect first.
If the Sect Master hadn’t been here with me, things would’ve dragged on longer for sure.
Just as I was starting to relax—
Thud.
Thud.
Something massive was approaching from the distance.
The surrounding beasts all began to howl.
“I may be satisfied... but my sworn brother, Gigano, still has questions.”
Maeng Gak grinned as he said it.
I smiled slightly too.
To be honest, it was bothering me that this would all end without a fight.
“Bwahaha! The more I see you, the more I like you! You wanted this, didn’t you? I imagine someone of your level rarely meets a proper opponent.”
I’m not the kind of guy who picks fights for fun.
But this was different.
I had a promise to keep with Shimma.
And personally, I’d always wanted to square off with a Giganotosaurus.
“I’ll just observe. How many of you will face Gigano? He’ll match his strength to the number.”
“One.”
“...Your confidence is impressive, but Gigano is a spirit beast nearly at the level of perfection. From what I sense, your strength hasn’t reached that realm yet. I’d recommend bringing backup. I’m not interested in forming an alliance with a corpse.”
I turned and looked at Baekrang.
She gave me an incredulous look, mouthing silently:
Are you really doing this here?
Something like that.
I nodded.
CRACK!
A sheet of ice spread across the ground in an instant.
This was nothing more than a sleight-of-hand.
Just a bit of misdirection, a distraction to draw their ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) eyes.
And in that brief window—
Crack... crack...
—I returned to my true form.
So the Cult Leader’s disciple... was actually a spirit beast?!
Even if someone said that, where was the proof? I could just claim some random spirit beast showed up during the distraction.
“GRAAAAAAAAAWR!”
Gigano charged, knocking down a massive tree in his path.
Looks like he felt the surge of energy from my transformation.
【Giganotosaurus — LV ???】
Just look at that presence. That majestic size makes my heart race.
No, he’s not quite on Tyrannosaurus level, but if I had to pick the second-strongest dinosaur?
It’d be Gigano for sure.
He’s far bigger than I am—even in my spiritual beast form.
Every one of those teeth is larger and sharper than a greatsword.
If I want to bring him down, I’ll have to make full use of speed and neck strength.
But... I didn’t want to do that.
[“Status: Miniaturization” has been deactivated.]
CRACKKKK...
[“Miniaturization LV10” has triggered “Status: Gigantification.”]
Let’s see—
Whether my inner Tyrannosaurus is stronger...
Or this Giganotosaurus.
“GRAAAAGH!”
It’s on!
“GEGEGEGEGEK!”
...Not that one.
“GRRRRRRR...!”

.
!
Chapter 339