Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang Novel - Chapter 84

Chapter 84

The Beast Palace Lord and his elders stood motionless, their escape route sealed before them.
It wasn’t merely the blocked path that held them captive—it was the sheer, unimaginable horror of watching the elephants dissolve into the earth.
To see a creature as powerful as an elephant—one that even tigers avoided—cry out in helpless agony before melting like snow under the sun…

It was a sight beyond their experience.
Beyond even their nightmares.

Thus, it was no surprise that the elders and the Beast Palace Lord, clustered near the entrance, could only stare in stunned silence at the swarm of demon ants barring their way.
In that frozen moment, they noticed Ji-ju scaling the cliff face, accompanied by the young hero and the daughter of the Tang Clan, both wearing expressions of deep concern.

A flicker of hope ignited within them at the sight of Ji-ju.
But even if Ji-ju could facilitate an escape, it would mean abandoning all their beasts.
To the members of the Beast Palace, these animals were as close as family—like children or siblings.
Few among them would ever consider leaving behind their lifelong companions.
Furthermore, the young hero and the Tang Clan’s daughter were outsiders who had already risked their safety to deliver a warning. How could they possibly ask for more?
A mass escape would only slow everything down, endangering even their rescuers.

They had been on the verge of steeling their hearts—of accepting their fate and urging the young hero to leave safely.
But then, the young hero spoke.
And his words were utterly unforeseen.

“There is a path to survival for everyone. Would you like to hear it?”

“Everyone… can be saved?”

“Without a doubt.”

Hearing this, the Beast Palace Lord immediately called all the elders back to the main hall.

“…That is his claim. What are your thoughts?”

-Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of fingers drumming against the armrest of a chair resonated in the quiet hall.
The Beast Palace Lord, Meng Hu, was tapping absently—a clear sign of his deep unease.

“The young hero is clearly virtuous… but he is also very young. Can we truly stake our survival on his judgment? Under different circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate, but if this fails, it could mean the total destruction of our palace…”
The Great Elder, Cheong Ung, let his words fade.
The memory of the demon ants under the moonlight remained vivid.
The Beast Palace was teetering on the edge of annihilation.
To place their fate in the hands of a mere youth in such a desperate hour—was that not a reckless gamble?
His youth made it difficult to grant him full trust.
Beyond knowing he was the Tang Clan’s son-in-law, they knew virtually nothing about him.

Then, a voice cut through the silence.
It was Snow Leopard—Meng Hu’s daughter.

“Palace Lord. No—Father. When it comes to ordinary beasts, our knowledge may be enough. But concerning venomous creatures, is it not common knowledge that the Tang Clan’s understanding far surpasses our own?”

“That… is correct.”

“On my return with them, I spoke with Lady Hwa-eun, the daughter of the Tang Clan’s leader. She told me something incredible—that they accepted him as a son-in-law specifically because they recognized his exceptional talent for handling venomous creatures.”

Snow Leopard had been the most distrustful of the young hero initially.
Now, she was his strongest supporter.

“The Tang Clan acknowledged his skill with venomous creatures?”

They had assumed he was just an eccentric youth who carried unusual pets.
But to learn the Tang Clan had welcomed him for his expertise—

Meng Hu looked astonished.

Snow Leopard continued, as if remembering a key detail.
“Yes. Lady Hwa-eun called him an… expert? Or something similar.”

“An expert?”

“Indeed. It signifies someone who possesses supreme skill in a specific area. From what I gathered, he has resolved many perilous situations involving poisonous beings. Even if we doubt that, just observing the creatures he carries proves he possesses knowledge we lack.
So isn’t it worth placing our trust in him this one time?
Right now, no one here knows more about venomous creatures than he does.”

If the Tang Clan had valued him solely for his expertise with venomous creatures, then perhaps… he was worthy of belief.

Then, Snow Leopard added another point.
“And there is more. The young hero had a clear chance to flee. Yet, he chose to risk his life for our sake.
How can we doubt him after such an act?”

She looked around at the assembled elders, her voice firm with conviction.
“Have you all forgotten the principle we instill in the hearts of our disciples?”

“O-a-ban-po… Shang-dap-chin-eun…?”

“Exactly. Even crows return the kindness shown by their parents. How can we question the heart of a young hero who risks his life for us?
He has shown us great kindness—it is time for the Beast Palace to repay that debt in full.”

“But… what if his plan fails…?”

The Great Elder voiced his last remaining fear.

But the Beast Palace Lord, Meng Hu, rose to his feet.

“If he fails, then we will die here beside him.
But if he succeeds, we will not only survive—we will have gained a benefactor, a hero who saved our palace from destruction.
Prepare to follow his instructions!”

“We obey!”

“We will obey!”

The moment the Beast Palace Lord gave the command, the elders rushed out to mobilize the palace warriors, leading them toward the entrance where the young hero was waiting.

***

“So-ryong, are you certain about this?”

My senior sister, Tang Hwa-eun, asked as she watched the sky grow lighter, her face etched with anxiety.

I scratched the back of my neck.
Truthfully, I wasn’t completely sure.
I knew the theory. I remembered the research.
But in my past life, I had never actually put it to the test.

“Um… well…”

Before I could finish, she seized my shoulders and pushed me back against the rocky wall.

“So-ryong. I’m serious. Don’t joke about this. Tell me you’re certain.”

‘A wall slam? Impressive.’

My senior sister’s aura was overpowering.
But her eyes were full of desperate fear.
Seeing her expression, I gave her the answer she needed to hear.

“I-I’m sure. It will be fine. Yo-hwa will keep me safe.”

She was terrified—because the man she was to marry was about to gamble with his life.
Reassuring her was my responsibility.

The moment I spoke, Yo-hwa responded from above, clicking her fangs.
-Ksss!
-Chrrrrr!
-Kukku!

Even O-gong and Seokcheok on her shoulder chirped energetically, as if offering their encouragement.

My senior sister let out a frustrated sigh.
“I always thought having a gifted husband would be wonderful. How wrong I was!
I never imagined it would mean I’d have to stand by and wait like this!”

She was angry at her own inability to assist.

I pulled her into a firm embrace.
In the quiet, she whispered against my chest.

[So-ryong… You must not get hurt. If you do, I will scold you relentlessly…]

If her scolding was the consequence, it would almost be a reward, but I nodded in agreement nonetheless.

And in that moment—

The deep, resonant call of a ceremonial ram’s horn echoed from the entrance.
-Bwoooooooong!

Then came the sound of the approaching demon ants.
-Chrrrrrrrrrr!

The battle against the army ants… was beginning.

***

Two days after the elephants fell, as dawn broke, the sinister sound of the demon ants filled the air.
-Chrrrrrrrr.

Just as the young hero had forecast, the larger-jawed ants at the front led the charge, mandibles clicking.
A quick glance to the side revealed a Beast Palace disciple staring ahead, his face a mask of pure fear.
The young man’s eyes darted around nervously.

‘Is he afraid?’
It was understandable.
They were facing an enemy unlike any other, and the news of the elephants’ demise had spread through the palace.
Everyone had always believed the elephant was the world’s strongest beast.
That belief had now been shattered.

However, such fear threatened to break their formation.
Recognizing this, Meng Hu projected his voice with inner energy and roared:

“Disciples of the Beast Palace, hold your ground like a mountain!”

“Yes, Palace Lord!”

As Meng Hu fortified their resolve, he turned to await the young hero’s signal.
And then he saw him.
A boy—far younger than the fearful disciple—staring forward with unbreakable concentration, his eyes locked on the enemy without a single blink.

A truly remarkable young hero.
Meng Hu did not know the extent of his skills.
But seeing him now, he understood why the Tang Clan had taken him as their son-in-law.
This was the kind of talent worth having.

Then, as if on cue, the sound of the demon ants intensified.
-Ssssshhhh!

The tide of insects surged forward, closing to within thirty feet of the Beast Valley entrance.
They were just about to flood through the narrow pass—

And the young hero shouted.

“Now!”

“Now!”

-Whooosh!

The instant the command was given, Meng Hu roared, his voice amplified by his inner strength.
Then, flames erupted.
The fire, lit at the entrance, rapidly climbed the canyon’s rocky walls.
The inferno blocked the demon ant swarm, cutting them off at the valley’s mouth.

-Whooooosh!
-Screeeeech! Screeeeech!

The demon ants screeched as they burned.
But those behind them did not stop.

The young hero shouted again.

“Send in the water buffalo!”

“Release the buffalo!”

-Thud! Thud! Thud!
-Crunch! Crack!

At his command, a herd of water buffalo stampeded into the canyon entrance.
The massive beasts crushed the burning ants under their hooves, grinding them into paste.
Close behind, the warriors and beasts of the Beast Palace charged forward, cutting down any ants that had survived the initial assault.

“Leave none alive!”
“Uwaaaaaah!”

The fire alone could not stop them completely.
The Beast Palace’s oil supply was limited.
With the rainy season only recently ended, the conditions were poor for sustaining a large blaze.

So the young hero had proposed a simple strategy:
The demon ants relied on hunting parties to lead. By using the fire to split the swarm and eliminating these leaders before the flames died, they could break the swarm’s coordination.

With the water buffalo trampling the ants and the warriors cleaning up the rest, the plan worked perfectly.
The individual ants were not strong.
Crushing their hook-shaped mandibles and beating them with clubs was not difficult.

As they pushed forward, the dying flames revealed the full scope of the threat—
Beyond the hill, an endless sea of red ants stretched to the horizon.

“Palace Lord…!”

The disciples who had reached the fire’s edge stared in terror at the overwhelming tide.

Meng Hu barked an order.
“Fall back to the second position! Carry the wounded and the injured beasts! Throw as many dead ants into the fire as you can!”

“Yes, Palace Lord!”

Meng Hu, the disciples, and the elders quickly gathered the wounded and hurled the dead ants into the flames before retreating.

And then, as everyone fell back—
The young hero advanced.

With his back to the retreating warriors, he walked toward the fire.
Meng Hu, watching intently, saw him smirk fearlessly as he picked up a stone and hurled it into the swarm.

“Over here! This way! Right here!”

He was provoking them.
The demon ants hesitating at the edge of the dying fire immediately turned toward him.
Enraged, they surged forward, chasing the small figure who had thrown the stone.

And then—
A scene beyond belief unfolded before their eyes.

The small young hero—leading a tide of tens of thousands of red ants—ran desperately, barely staying ahead of the crimson wave threatening to consume him.

“Th-This is madness!”
“He’s going to be overrun!”

The Beast Palace warriors cried out in alarm.
Beside them, the young lady of the Tang Clan clenched her fists, her eyes filled with dread.

-Ssssshhhh!

As the young hero reached the first turn of the planned route, the Great Elder wiped ant fluid from his hands and asked,

“Will his strategy actually work?”

“We are about to see.”

Then, just as the young hero completed the first bottleneck—
The ants from the main swarm and the ones he led began to merge.

And in that moment—
He vanished.
Swallowed completely by the ants.

A scream erupted from beside them.
“So-ryong! So-ryong!”

“That foolish boy—!”

Meng Hu nearly leaped forward himself, forgetting the young hero’s strict order not to interfere.

But then—

-WHOOSH!

Something shot upward from the swarm.
A thin rope, yanking a figure up toward a jagged rock at the center of the field.

As the dust cleared—
They saw him.

The young hero, grinning mischievously as he picked ants off his clothes.
He dangled safely from Ji-ju’s web.

And below him—
The ants had begun to spiral.
The ones trapped in the first bottleneck were now caught in a self-sustaining whirlpool.
They ran in endless, accelerating circles, unable to break free.

-Sssssshhhhh!

***

“Ow, ow, ow…!”

-Crunch!

I crushed the head of a medium-sized ant that had bitten me and tossed it away.
-Ksss!

Yo-hwa hissed in clear annoyance.
But I could only sigh.

“You don’t need to tell me—I already know senior sister is going to scold me.”

She had told me not to get hurt.
And yet, when I completed the loop through the bottleneck, I had slipped on ant fluid and been completely overwhelmed.
Fortunately, I had prepared for this.
I had tied Ji-ju’s web around my waist and placed Cho on Yo-hwa’s shoulder before starting.
So the moment I was swallowed, Cho signaled Yo-hwa to pull me out.
Without that, I would have been a meatball.

Thanks to my Iron Turtle Technique, my injuries weren’t severe, but I ached all over.
Lying on the rock, I looked down at the enormous vortex below.
A swirling death spiral of army ants, running in endless circles.
Even as new ants joined, they were swept into the motion and couldn’t escape.

Blind army ants depended entirely on pheromone trails from their scouts to navigate.
But with the scouts gone, the remaining workers could only follow the last scent they had.
And when trapped in a circle like this—

It became an ant mill.
Or, to phrase it in martial terms—
A Demon Ant Death Spiral.

They would run until they died of exhaustion.
That was the true terror of an ant mill.

“Rest in peace, you little monsters.”

With that, I quietly said farewell to the dying horde.