Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 257

Chapter 257
While my gaze was still fixed on the sky searching for Hwayang, the pirates charging toward Cheongwol were met by the crushing force of her tail, which struck like an iron mace.
–Thump!
A blow like divine retribution landed directly amidst the frontrunners.
As four or five of them were crushed into a gruesome pulp, the rest shrieked insanely and scrambled toward the opposite shore.
“Gyaaah!”
“H-Help us!”
They likely hadn’t even clearly seen what transpired in the darkness—and that uncertainty was the most terrifying part.
Trees shattered without warning, and men were reduced to mere chunks of meat—in an instant.
This raw fear propagated like a plague, with those in front screaming and fleeing in panic.
The ones behind caught the contagion of dread and began to run in the same direction.
When they encountered Yohwa and Yeondu in the woods by the far shore, their terror reached its absolute height.
For now, under the moonlight, they could see clearly what was moving toward them.
A gigantic serpent of blue scales, and a centipede as black as pitch.
–Shhhhaaaa.
–Chororot!
A handful of them were swatted aside by Bini and Yeondu, sent tumbling through the air—the more faint-hearted immediately reversed course and fled back toward the center.
The panic was so total that the Dragon Fangs unit didn’t need to intervene at all.
The pirates essentially threw themselves headlong into the mist Yohwa had conjured.
She had been relatively idle until that point, but the instant dozens of men surged in simultaneously, Yohwa’s movements became a blur.
She formed a clear, mist-free zone around herself, a calm center in the storm, and her spider-like legs slashed through the air with the speed and sharpness of finely drawn threads.
–Swiish.
–Swiish.
With every deft flick of her limbs, another pirate was snatched and strung up by his ankles from the palm trees overhead.
But the influx was too great, and even Yohwa couldn’t catch them all.
A few began to slip past the rear edges of her mist.
Just as some broke through, new screams erupted from the denser fog behind—agonized cries as men were seized by the ankle or wrist.
“Gaaah! Something bit me—a silver-banded krait!”
“Agh! Snakes! The ground is crawling with snakes!”
‘What!? Silver-banded kraits?’
Cho, descend—no, hold on! I need to locate Hwayang first—damn it…
I nearly commanded Cho to dive down immediately.
Because the silver-banded krait is a stunningly beautiful venomous snake, marked with striking bands of black and white.
It inhabits Southeast Asia and southern China, and if I’d ever had an opportunity to acquire one, I would have raised it without a second thought.
Its venom yield might be low, but its potency is extraordinary.
To an enthusiast like me, it’s Taiwan’s premier species.
It is ranked among the six most lethal snakes native to Taiwan, a true master of neurotoxins.
Its uniqueness lies in a venom cocktail containing both alpha and beta bungarotoxins, which obstruct acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junctions, inducing total muscular paralysis.
This is why its bite isn’t initially painful—instead, it brings a peculiar, tightening stiffness throughout the body.
Paralysis begins locally, and as the toxin circulates, breathing becomes increasingly difficult—ultimately resulting in respiratory failure and death.
I must remember to ask Cheongyu if I can keep some of them later.
Despite the pressing situation, I filed the thought away and continued surveying the area.
A few pirates who had been bitten managed to stagger back out of the mist.
And in that moment—as fresh screams tore from the fog, those who had been hesitating at its edge were paralyzed with indecision.
It was then that the sand behind them stirred—and Hwayang, the very one I’d been seeking, emerged.
“Hwayang!”
–Pii!
“Cho, down now! We have to get Hwayang!”
While Hwayang possessed a durable shell, it wasn’t sufficient protection against a concentrated qi attack.
I needed to extract him, so I urged Cho to descend and retrieve him.
“What is that pale, toad-like creature…?”
–Fwoooosh!
“Guh! Wh-What’s that?!”
“F-Fire!?”
Just as a few pirates noticed Hwayang and mocked his appearance—an intense blue flame burst from his back.
–Piiiiiik!
As Hwayang inflated himself in a clear warning, flames erupted from the scalps of dozens of pirates.
One after another, their heads became kindling.
The fire spread in a swift, relentless chain—and soon, pirates across the beach were alight like torches.
“Gyaaaaaah!”
“S-Save me!”
The blue flames blazing from the pirates’ heads then intensified violently—consuming them in sudden, explosive conflagrations.
–FWOOOOOOM!
–FWAAACK!
Watching the beach below succumb to screams and despair, the distant, panicked shouts of the few retreating pirates reached me faintly.
“H-Hkk…”
***

Due to the immense chaos Hwayang had unleashed, less than a hundred pirates remained alive.
Even those captured by Yohwa and hung inverted from the palms—the first to flee into the mist—abruptly combusted into flames.
Some who had been envenomated by Hwayang had blue flames ignite on their heads—and when these flames detonated, they spread in a chain reaction, setting alight and exploding the heads of anyone nearby.
Ultimately, the central part of the beach leading into the forest became an impassable zone.
I was immune to Hwayang’s venom, but the others—like the kids and the Dragon Fangs—were not so fortunate.
And it wasn’t merely poison gas this time; it seemed he had incorporated an oil-like substance into the traps, making it far harder to counteract.
“Everyone, be cautious. Keep your distance!”
I yelled to the approaching Dragon Fangs—causing Yeo-dyeon to startle and jump back.
“Y-Yes, young master!”
“I was curious how you managed it this time… but truthfully, it might have been better to remain ignorant. This is a horrifying spectacle.”
“H-huhh… huuhh…”
Gyu-seong-hyung and the other hyung-nims shuddered as they spoke, while Gungbong flailed his arms in alarm and retreated further.
“You all should wash off as well—as a precaution.”
–Chorut!
–Kiiit!
Even though they were venomous beings themselves with high resistance, carelessness could still lead to harm.
So I instructed everyone to rinse off in case they had contacted any of Hwayang’s venom.
Just then—small boats were deployed from the larger ships anchored offshore.
Figures began approaching from them.
“So-ryong!”
“So-ryong, young master!”
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
At the forefront were Hwa-eun and the princess.
They moved with light steps, darting across the landscape.
I hurried forward and threw my arms out to halt them.
“Stop! You can’t come closer. A powerful venom has been spread here—extreme caution is necessary!”
“P-Poison?”
The nuns from Botaram, accompanying the princess, immediately covered their mouths and noses and retreated.
The princess, alarmed, also covered her face and took a step back.
“It isn’t airborne, so there’s no excessive cause for alarm, but please do not approach any further.”
“Understood… but the pirates—”
The princess started to ask about the pirates’ fate—but then the rising sun illuminated the devastation on the beach.
Struck dumb, she fell silent, her eyes wide with horror.
Littering the sand, pirate corpses smoldered with blue flames, resembling guttering spirit lamps.
The princess gazed at me with a stunned expression.
“One of the kids got a bit… carried away.”
I went to scratch the back of my head—but Hwayang wriggled atop it, getting in the way.
Then his cry came.
–Pii! 『Food!』
He must have expended too much venom—now he was hungry and demanding “rice!” from his perch on my head.
***

Finally, fewer than eighty pirates survived.
There had been nearly a hundred, but another ten or so had inexplicably burst into flames.
The immediate necessity was decontamination.
We resolved to force the surviving pirates into the sea and make them scour their bodies and clothing thoroughly.
“Commander, I think they should wash right away. As a precaution.”
“I understand, So-ryong. I’ll follow your lead. Absolutely, you are correct. Is there anything else?”
The commander, who once viewed me as a mere child soldier, was now in full doting-uncle mode.
He seemed prepared to wholeheartedly commit the moment he heard I had eliminated five hundred pirates.
“Yes, sir.”
“Excellent.”
He gave me a respectful, deep nod before instantly turning to the pirates and barking with a stern face.
“You heard him! All of you survivors—into the seawater and wash yourselves!”
“Aaah! We’re spared!”
“T-Thank you!”
At the commander’s order, the pirates scrambled into the water, desperate to survive.
Though their hands were bound behind their backs, preventing proper scrubbing, they thrashed and splashed like dolphins fighting for life.
Some were even grateful for the command to wash, but their gratitude was misplaced.
My suggestion wasn’t about keeping them alive.
It stemmed from a promise I’d made to the princess.
From what I understood, a sufficient number of pirates had already been chosen for public execution, and the remainder were to be disposed of here.
As the princess wasn’t directly involved in this operation, the naval commanders from Bukgeon and Zhejiang had already settled on dividing the heads.
They were all doomed anyway, and I felt not a trace of pity.
These were men who had raped women, beaten them for sport, and murdered them once bored.
The hatred burning in the surviving women was profound.
Even now, I could hear their voices, quivering with anguish and rage, nearby.
“Commander! Please, hand those monsters over to us!”
“Let us be the ones to kill them! Those beasts slaughtered my father—I have survived solely for revenge!”
“Let me avenge my sister’s death!”
Over a hundred women had been imprisoned at the harbor.
Now they clutched crude knives or broken blades scavenged from somewhere, pleading for the pirates.
“Silence!”
The princess stepped forward and spoke to the women in a hushed tone.
They bowed their heads and quieted.
Watching the pirates being forced to wash, the princess smiled, her expression clearly easing.
“Phew… It feels as if a burden I’ve carried for ten years has finally been lifted.”
She had every right to feel unburdened.
The root of her deepest anxieties was gone.
I smiled back at her.
“You must honor our agreement.”
“Naturally. And afterward, I have decided to turn them over to the women. So you know.”
“I understand.”
I had assumed as much—and the princess nodded, confirming it.
“Yes. The women will have their vengeance, and the commanders will take the heads afterwards.”
“Very well. Let’s begin.”
“Please, proceed.”
I walked past the princess and stood before the trembling pirates who had just hauled themselves from the sea.
At that moment, the sharp-eyed commander trotted up to my side.
“You dogs! Stand straight!”
At his thunderous voice, the pirates focused on where we stood.
Once he had their attention, the commander spoke again, his expression deceptively calm and almost paternal.
“Now then, I have a question.”
He looked over the pirates and asked,
“The reason I stand before you is simple: I wish to know if any of you, during your time living here in Yizhou, have ever seen a spirit beast or a venomous creature. Has anyone here seen one?”
None of the pirates answered. They just glanced around nervously.
That’s when the commander added—
“Anyone who provides useful information will be spared!”
However unlikely that was, the moment he said it, the pirates all began shouting over each other.
“I-I know!”
“Commander, I saw one myself!”
“No! I did!”
Every single one of them stood and yelled.
Then it happened.
A particularly large pirate shoved through the others and rushed forward, pushing them aside.
“You dogs! Be quiet! I am Jeok-sam, leader of the Red Camp—one of the Yizhou Pirate Sixteen Camps! And I know!”
Evidently, one of their captains had survived.
When he announced himself as leader of the Red Camp, the commander responded swiftly.
“Oh? You command the Red Camp of the Yizhou Pirate Sixteen Camps?”
“Yes, sir!”
Judging by the commander’s expression, he was likely already imagining how well this one would preserve after proper salting and drying.
But the fool, delighted by the prospect of mercy, began eagerly divulging his identity.
“Very well then—answer the question.”
The commander had naturally assumed control of the interrogation before I could interject.
Jeok-sam asked cautiously in return,
“What manner of spirit beast are you inquiring about?”
“What manner?”
“W-Well… there is one we expelled not long ago, and then also…”
“Oooooh?”
At his words, my eyes widened.
Even in my past life, Taiwan had been the premier island.
And it appeared this time, there wasn’t merely one spirit beast.
‘How many varieties are there? Is this why it’s called Number One!?’