Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 515

Chapter 515
The Five Venoms Lord, partially submerged in the sand, forced himself to a standing position.
He let out a thunderous bellow.
“S-Save Hoja! Uuugh—!”
For a second, I worried that Gun Hye-rin’s attack hadn’t been as effective as it seemed—but the instant his shout died in his throat, he folded over and retched up a flood of viscous, black blood.
Still on his knees, he attempted to get up—only to gag and vomit another wave of it.
“Blergh!”
So much for him not being badly injured. Hye-rin’s single blow had genuinely devastated him.
You only cough up clotted blood like that when your internal organs are shredded.
I wouldn’t call myself a seasoned Murim expert, but I’ve seen my fair share of battles since confronting those Blood Cult fanatics. And I’ve never witnessed internal damage that brutal.
Thick chunks of gore, like the cubes of congealed blood in a soup.
Seriously, it was as if his intestines were coming out in blocks.
For the first time, it occurred to me that we might truly end the Five Venoms Lord right here.

However, at that exact moment, the remaining Five Venoms warriors—who had been holding me at bay—obeyed his command and surged toward the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings.
“By the Lord’s orders!”
“Charge!”
While Golden-Furred Wasp Kings are considered mid-grade spirit beasts, that’s only when they swarm. Alone, they are low-grade. They are particularly susceptible to projectiles and arrows like the ones these fighters employed.
They lack the tough exoskeletons or inner energy defense that more advanced beasts possess.
If they weren’t stopped, Hoja—the creature they had struggled so hard to capture—could break free.
I yelled urgently to Cho and Yeondu.
“Cho! Yeondu! Shield the Wasp Kings!”
Typically, it takes bees roughly five minutes to fully overpower an enemy trapped in a bee ball.
It takes another ten minutes for the intense heat and suffocation to become fatal.
Even for a spirit beast of Hoja’s caliber, that shouldn’t be too different.
Therefore, for at least the next five minutes, we had to prevent anyone from reaching the wasps.
Tsssrrr! “Understood, Dad!”
Shyaa! “Understood, Master So-ryong!”
With those acknowledgements, Cho and Yeondu launched into the air.
While I could focus internal energy into my ears to mute Hoja’s sound-based assaults, those two had remained close to Hwa-eun or Gun Hye-rin for cover.
But now, Hoja was immobilized. His piercing shrieks were no longer a danger.
Yeondu descended like a shooting star, crashing into the ground near the mass of wasps.
—BOOM!
Sand burst outwards, hurling several Five Venoms warriors into the river.
“Gurk! Bluhhh—”
“Khahak!”
—Rattle-rattle.
The shower of sand fell upon the clustered wasps, but they didn’t even budge. They held their position flawlessly.
Then Cho attacked from the opposite flank—spitting venom from above.
—Tssssrrrt!
The venom hit the onrushing foes—over a dozen warriors screamed as their flesh sizzled and melted away.
“GAAAAH!”
“H-HELP! SAVE ME!”
They plunged into the water, clutching their dissolving arms and legs—but the venom’s potency was too great.
It continued to work even submerged.
Some were only partially melted, but already beyond hope. Those who were “fortunate” perished quickly, their mutilated bodies drifting away with the current.
Witnessing such carnage up close—and seeing the two monsters who caused it now staring them down—drove the remaining Five Venoms warriors into a full, frantic retreat.
It was then that the Five Venoms Lord, having seemingly recovered his footing, roared once more:
“What are you doing!?”
His powerful voice shocked them into halting.
After a moment of uncertainty, they started to advance again—until two figures erupted from the sand and plowed into them.
Ksshaa! “Lord So-ryong, we’re here too!”
Sha-kiii! “How dare you bastards!”
It was Baekhwa and Heukhwa, sheathed in internal energy and ripping through the ranks of the Five Venoms warriors.
I had dispatched them earlier to support Hye-rin—but they had held their position.
Probably because intervening too soon might have allowed the Five Venoms Lord to get away.
Now that Hye-rin had driven him into the ground, they had left her side and returned to us.
“What are you all doing!? We must save Hoja—at any cost!”
In a frenzy, the Five Venoms Lord shrieked at his troops again.
But Cho, Yeondu, Baekhwa, and Heukhwa formed an impenetrable barrier—they couldn’t get past.
Then, it occurred.
—Clink.
A faint chime from a bell rang out from where the Five Venoms Lord stood.
At once, his men howled and stormed toward the wasps like men possessed.
“GAAAAHHH!”
“GRAAAAAAHHH!”
Like berserkers embracing death, they threw themselves at the ball of bees.
Some were batted away by Yeondu’s tail, others were melted in mid-charge by Cho’s venom—yet the frantic assault continued.
It was as if all their fear had been erased, replaced by a single-minded desire to die.
I began to feel alarm.
If even a single one got through and broke the wasps’ concentration—Hoja could get free.
But then—
—Ssssshh.
The air above the bee ball wavered—and Big Sis Jeokwol materialized.
She must have raced over the second she felt my anxiety.
“Sis!”
I called out, overcome with relief.
She started to rotate, her butterfly scales fanning out in ever-growing rings.
From that point onward, no one would be foolish enough to approach.
“Any idiot who takes another step will be ground into powder!”
She announced the warning clearly for all to hear.
But, inevitably, the world has no shortage of fools who need to touch the fire to believe it’s hot.
A few ignored her and lunged forward—and were instantly torn apart like paper in a storm.
—SKRREEEEECHHHH!
Ugh, brutal.
There were no cries. Only utter annihilation. The sand was stained crimson in a flash.
Hye-rin and Hwa-eun, having recovered their footing, moved to bolster the defensive line with Cho and Yeondu. I joined them as well.
And the Five Venoms Lord?
He had the look of a man watching his entire world crumble.
“We were so close to victory! And then a swarm of wasps destroys everything!”
He must have been utterly convinced of his impending win—only for the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings to completely reverse our fortunes, leaving him boiling with rage.
But this was merely the opening act.
—THUD. THUD. THUD!
As his enraged cry still hung in the air, the earth started to tremble.
From downstream, Cheong-wol charged in like a madman. Azure fire roared from Hwayang’s back, a clear threat to every enemy present, and behind the girl on his back—Lady Cheong-yu—a veritable army of snakes advanced like a living tide.
Soaring above them were Moji and Soji.
Right then, something whizzed past me from behind, cutting into the Five Venoms forces.
—Fwhip! Fwipfwip!
“Guhk!”
“Gahhkk!”
Five Venoms warriors dropped like cut wheat—pierced by poisoned needles fired from stingrays and snails.
I glanced back to see Yeoncheon and Yeonji-sunbae mounted on Heukjeomi’s back, unleashing a relentless barrage like a multi-cannon artillery emplacement.
Are they alright?
“Of course!”
They responded with utter self-assurance, their needles flying relentlessly.
At that moment, the Five Venoms Lord abandoned all hope and tried to flee.
There was nothing left to win here—only further losses to be taken.
“Damn it. Everyone, retreat!”
Just as he pushed off into the air to escape…
—Fwhip!
One of Yeoncheon sunbae’s needles flew out—unexpectedly in the midst of the chaos—striking him directly in the back as he was activating his lightfoot technique.
“Grrkk!”
“L-Lord!”
He plummeted, landing completely face-down in the dirt.
His remaining warriors scrambled to collect him and disappeared into the thick jungle.
Watching that wretched figure vanish, a single thought crossed my mind:
I hope we never lay eyes on you again.
Consider that your direct passage to the underworld. No return trip.

***
Dozens of warriors from the Five Venoms and Blood Cult now littered the riverbank, dead or unconscious.
The only sound was the persistent humming of bees.
“Ranghu, please be careful not to kill him, alright? If he’s only unconscious, tell me.”
—Bzzzz!
I called for Ranghu and a few other bees stationed overhead to verify that Hoja had been completely pacified.
I never had any intention of killing him.
Yes, he had injured many people and brought us endless trouble—but he had been transformed into a puppet by the Five Venoms’ dark arts. The blame wasn’t his to bear.
The Spicy Fabre Sect of Sacheon Tang holds to the principle of clearly distinguishing between victims and wrongdoers. And victims are entitled to rescue—treated with respect and empathy.
Please.
I hoped desperately that Hoja hadn’t succumbed to his injuries—and that none of the wasps had suffered mortal wounds either.
And then… one of the Wasp Kings fell from the bee ball, crawling feebly on the ground.
“What!? What’s wrong with your back!?”
I sprinted over and gently picked it up, immediately shouting for the healers.
“Moji! Soji!”
The two darted over and alighted on my shoulders.
I cradled the injured Wasp King in my hands—its lower half was completely paralyzed.
“Please, help him!”
—Myumyuuu!
A soft, warm radiance flowed from them, covering the wasp.
Seconds later, it lifted into the air, completely healed, as though it had never been hurt.
—Bzzz.
That’s what makes them medics.
Engaging in combat with hornets always carries the risk of losing bees.
Even if the bees can fight evenly, they remain vulnerable creatures.
In the natural world, it’s common for entire colonies to be lost in such fights.
But I had committed the Wasp Kings because I had Moji and Soji—as long as the injuries weren’t immediately fatal, they could be mended.
Soon, other wasps with fractured legs or damaged wings started to arrive.
Moji and Soji set to work without delay, healing every injured bee they found.
An hour went by.
Ranghu, still sitting on my shoulder and evidently seeking approval, gave a proud flutter of his wings.
—Bzzz!
“Is it over?”
—Bzzzz! (nod)
It appeared Hoja was finally subdued.
“Yohwa! Bind him!”
—Kssit! “Got it, Brother!”
“Not too constricting, understand? Make it like a loose net, not a tight cocoon.”
—Ksshisii. “Understood, Brother.”
Yohwa’s silk was excellent at trapping heat.
Wrapping a creature already overheated from battle too tightly could be lethal.
After instructing her, the Wasp Kings dispersed, flying off in all directions.
I made a mental note to tell them—if they found any more wounded, they should send them to Moji and Soji.
And then—
Silk unfurled in the air above like a fishing net.
Beneath it, finally revealed:
The Ten-Poison Beast, Hoja.
A powerful mandible. A narrow waist. A robust, armored body.
He was magnificent.
I collected some water and trickled it near his mouth.
Hoja twitched and tried to struggle—but then collapsed again, utterly exhausted.
For a heartbeat, I felt a spike of fear.
Had he died?
But then I noticed his abdomen pulsating rapidly.
He was breathing.
I sprinkled a little more water over his head.
He weakly raised his gaze—his compound eyes focusing on my face.
And I smiled.
Because we had just accomplished the rescue of a lifetime:
We had saved the Ten-Poison Beast, Hoja.