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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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Why do all the monsters and bandits we encounter come equipped with lewdness and dirty talk as a standard?
That question crossed my mind, but upon reflection, it was obvious.
It’s perfectly natural for bandits, cursed criminals from birth, to spout nonsense at women, and it’s equally natural for monsters, beings of Yin, to commit wicked deeds.
It’s the simple principle of uncivilized beings doing uncivilized things.
“Disgusting noises! You repulsive and vile monsters!”
“You damn things!”
Serin and Ha-yeong shouted, radiating killing intent. I, too, stood in front of them and yelled.
A man’s gotta have his pride; I can’t hide behind them!
“You filthy monster bastards! I’ll kill every last one of you!”
“Kiki! We don’t need the male!”
Do they mean they’ll only take the women?
Wait a minute.
I think those bastards just mentioned something about new women, which means there are other women captured by them, right?
“Kishishi! Hand over the women!”
Suddenly.
Stretch!
One of the Kappas stretched out its arm.
“What?!”
But that arm wasn’t shooting towards me, was it?! It stretched and flew towards me like Luffy’s Gomu Gomu no Pistol!
“This crazy bastard is shooting his arm!”
Was this guy a rubber man?!
Startled, I thrust out my sword.
Slash!
My sword sliced through the approaching Kappa’s palm, splitting its forearm in two.
“What?”
It got sliced in one hit?
“Kyaaaaagh!”
The extended arm, instead of retracting, sprayed blood. The Kappa grabbed its forearm and rolled on the floor, screaming. It was the distinctive, agonizing scream of someone in extreme pain.
“Did that really just happen?”
Are these guys weaklings?
As soon as I realized that, a strange thrill surged through me, and the urge to slaughter them all boiled over.
Unable to contain myself, I burst into laughter and roared.
“Hahahaha! You trashy monsters! You dared to challenge me with such pathetic skills!”
I immediately rushed forward, unleashing the Daeryu Swordsmanship.
We were in a cave. It wasn’t narrow, but it wasn’t wide either. And the Daeryu Swordsmanship involved large movements.
Swish, slash!
As my deadly barrage exploded, dominating the very space of the cave, the Kappas scattered in terror.
“Kiiiik! Strong! Strong!”
“Run away!”
“But I want to mate with those women!”
Such blatant and transparent bastards!
“Sigh. Monsters are all the same.”
Whoosh!
Talismans flew through the air. Transforming into fireballs mid-flight, they struck the backs of the Kappas’ heads and faces.
Boom!
A brilliant explosion.
“Kiheeek!”
“Kieek!”
The Kappas hit by the fireballs collapsed and thrashed around.
“Geun-hyeop! Kill them all except for one! There’s something I’m worried about!”
“You mean the ‘new’ something they mentioned?”
“Yes! There might be women who have been kidnapped by the Kappas!”
“Right! We have to save them if there are!”
I immediately dashed towards the struggling Kappas.
“Kihik! No! No!”
“Save me! Kiii!”
Some of them tried to defend themselves by pushing their shells forward, but it seemed their bodies couldn’t fully fit inside.
“Then you gotta die, bastard!”
I stabbed my sword into the necks of those Kappas, finishing them off.
“Kehek!”
All but one.
“Kieek! Kieeeeek! Spare me! Spare meeee!”
“I’ll spare you.”
“Kie…?”
“But you have to tell me everything you know.”
I kicked the creature in the face.
Wham!
“Kek!”
I continued to beat it mercilessly, turning it into a pulpy mess. Soon, the Kappa was sprawled out, completely battered.
“Phew. Well done, Geun-hyeop. To be honest, I was careless and allowed them to approach. I’m ashamed.”
Only then did I notice that Serin’s martial arts uniform had changed.
It wasn’t the one she wore when we first arrived.
The top was a white, robe-style martial arts top, but the bottom was…missing? It was a “missing bottom” fashion, revealing her thighs. It felt like a lighter version of her usual uniform.
Did she bring several outfits?
She must have changed into this when she got dressed earlier.
This one was really pretty too.
“It’s understandable since we were all resting. It’s okay.”
“It is not okay. I still seem to be lacking. I’ve gained enlightenment.”
“Oh, as expected of a master!”
I was truly impressed that she could gain enlightenment even from such a minor incident.
Truly a peak master. If Song had been here, would he have gained similar enlightenment? I believed he could.
I must strive harder.
I have to act thoughtfully like this to become a master. I hardened my resolve.
“Anyway. Serin, what’s that outfit? It’s really pretty.”
“Ah, this outfit?”
Serin smiled and twirled around.
“It’s a martial arts uniform that offers less protection than the one I normally wear, but it has better mobility. How is it? Is it pretty?”
“It’s so pretty…! You’re a true celestial maiden!”
“Hee hee, thank you.”
She truly was a maiden.
“By the way, you responded well to the Kappas’ appearance without panicking. Although that creature ambushed you, you skillfully cut off its arm. This deserves praise. I commend you.”
Serin patted my head and praised me.
“Hehehe, ah! Well! That’s because my real-world experience helped me grow! I was surprised, but I was able to react!”
“I think you’ve finally shed your third-rate status.”
“So, does that mean I’m second-rate?!”
“Yes. It seems so.”
“Wow!”
I’m second-rate!
Well!
I have been working hard. I was just a third-rate nobody when I was dealing with Soseonggwi and Gobulins, but I’ve caused several murder incidents, cutting down enemies and even confronting Hayagriva.
Those valuable experiences helped me grow quickly.
“I’m a second-rate master!”
“Master, my foot. What are you getting cocky about? Those Kappas are weak monsters.”
As I was rejoicing, Ha-yeong poked my side with her staff. Ha-yeong was still in her usual revealing outfit.
“But its arm stretched out, didn’t it?”
“So what?”
Gomu Gomu no Mi is the best ability in the world.
“Anyway, they’re weak.”
“Hmm… It did slice pretty easily, though.”
It certainly did slice easily.
Was it because my swordsmanship had gotten stronger?
“Well, they get pretty tricky in the water, so be careful. I’m just saying, don’t let your guard down.”
“As expected of water monsters, they get stronger in water?”
“Of course.”
Thanks for the advice.
“But Ha-yeong, you said earlier that we had to go further in, right? How did they get here?”
“Yes. I heard the same thing. I was told their habitat was deeper inside.”
Ha-yeong crossed her arms at my and Serin’s questions.
“Hmm, I think they must have been somewhere else and then came here after smelling the scent of women.”
The scent of women?
“Do these guys have a good sense of smell?”
“In the water, they do. And they have a habit of chasing women.”
What a disgusting monster.
“But they came onto land on their own, so they dug their own graves. Kappas outside of water are only about as strong as Gobulins with stretchy arms.”
“Is that so.”
“Then, hey. Interrogate that one. Kappas have a habit of kidnapping women and forcing them to bear children. There must be captured women, so find out.”
“W-What?! Is that true?!”
Kidnapping women and making them bear children?!
“Can humans and monsters even do that?!”
“Tsk… That’s truly disgusting.”
Serin grimaced and shook her head.
Even I found the story repulsive.
“Well, technically it’s not that, but to put it simply, they use human women as a sort of egg sac. The female Kappa uses an ovipositor to insert unfertilized eggs into the woman, and then the male Kappa injects its seed…”
“You crazy! What kind of story is that! I’m not interested in such things!”
It was so horrifying that my whole body felt like it was twisting…!
“Ha-yeong, let’s stop with the gruesome details. But you really know a lot about monsters, being a Taoist.”
“Well, Taoists of our Mosan sect study monsters. There’s no other monster expert like me.”
Ha-yeong puffed out her chest proudly, as if taking it as a compliment. She really liked to brag. That was cute.
A monster expert?
This could be an interesting match against Jaemison, no, Song.
“Anyway, start the interrogation.”
“Alright.”
Let’s begin the interrogation.
“Keheuk, keuh…”
The Kappa I beat up was groaning and struggling among the corpses of its companions. Let’s see. We killed a total of four Kappas. Five came together and got wiped out.
“Hey. Kappa.”
“Kek!”
I spoke while stepping on its forearm.
“Where’s your base?”
“Kekek…”
“Where’s your base! Tell me before I kill you!”
“Kieeeeek! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you! It’s over there!”
The creature gestured frantically with its hands and feet, but I couldn’t understand. I could just make it guide us. I didn’t expect eloquence from a monster anyway.
“Good. Then how many of you are there?”
“Our numbers! Many! Very many!”
“So how many?!”
“I don’t know! I don’t know! Manyyyy!”
I was so frustrated that I slapped the Kappa, but it couldn’t tell me the exact number. It seemed to be a dimwitted monster that couldn’t count.
“I get it, there are a lot of you. Then how many leaders do you have?”
Ha-yeong asked about the leader.
“Tw-Two! There’s a boss and a sub-boss! Kehek!”
It seemed it could count to two at least.
“A boss, you say?”
“Yeah. Monster groups usually have a boss. You know the 108 Monster Army, right? Just like that.”
“Hmm… I see. They must be quite strong, right?”
“They’re just bigger. Well, they must be a bit stronger. If the core exists, it might be with them.”
The core was our objective.
This was getting exciting.
“I’ll ask the next question.”
Serin stepped forward.
“Where are the women you kidnapped?”
“Women! The women are in a cave! Not here! A-Another cave!”
Violence was indeed the answer.
See? This dimwitted monster was trying its best to explain to avoid getting hit.
“Where? Over there! There’s one woman! With the boss!”
It seemed the woman was in the same cave as the boss.
“Then it’s decided. Kill the boss, check for the core, and rescue the woman. That’s it, right?”
“Yes. That sounds good.”
“Rescuing people is also a Taoist’s duty. Let’s go.”
It was time to perform a chivalrous deed.
“Hey! Guide us to your home!”
“Keeek!”
I grabbed the Kappa by the back of its head and pulled it up.
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