Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

As soon as Seol tore the elder apart, she rushed over to Paeng Gyu-seong.

He had suffered a deep wound to his side—the first priority was treating him.

“Brother, are you alright!?”

“Grr... F-focus on Geom-bong and Yang Seong-hu  first...”

Despite having the worst injury, he was more concerned about the others.

A true tank through and through.

I immediately called out to Tang Hwa-eun and Seol.

“Hwa-eun! Seol! Take care of Geom-bong and Yang Seong-hu!”

“Got it! So-ryong!”

“Understood, So-ryong.”

At my request, Tang Hwa-eun rushed to Geom-bong while Seol began checking Yang Seong-hu’s injuries.

Fortunately, they had only lost consciousness from the Blood Cult elder’s strikes. The real problem was Gyu-seong.

“Hwa-eun and Seol are taking care of them. Let’s focus on you.”

Reassuring him, I examined his wound.

“You’ve applied pressure to stop the bleeding.”

“Yeah... I held my meridian points to slow it down.”

Even though his side had been pierced, it seemed like his internal organs were unharmed.

Since he was already keeping pressure on his meridian points to minimize blood loss, I quickly took out Golden Wound Medicine and smeared it over the wound, tearing his robe to bind the injury.

But just because he had slowed the bleeding didn’t mean it had stopped completely.

The wound was too large, and blood continued to seep through.

—Rip!

As I tore the fabric, I immediately realized a problem.

His robe was covered in layers of black grime.

After weeks of working undercover, without a chance to wash or change clothes, his robe was anything but clean.

I was suddenly reminded of how little people in Zhongyuan bathed.

Sichuan was hot, so they washed more often, but in places like Huangshan, where the Namgung Clan lived, it was rare.

And Gyu-seong lived even further north, where bathing was probably even less common.

‘This... this could lead to an infection...’

I hesitated.

I considered tearing my own robe instead, but after running for two days straight, it was soaked in sweat and just as filthy.

I needed a different solution.

At that moment, I heard a sound.

—Ki-sii?

Yo-hwa crawled closer, watching me work.

An idea struck me.

“Yo-hwa! Wrap Brother’s abdomen with silk!”

—Ki-sii-sii!

Spider silk—one of the best natural fibers, completely biocompatible with the human body.

Not only was it flexible, but it would also act as compression, helping to control the bleeding.

In my past life, the most expensive surgical implants had used spider silk.

“Wait, you’re using spider silk!?”

Gyu-seong looked bewildered, but as Yo-hwa wrapped his side with layer after layer of fine silk, the bleeding stopped almost instantly.

“It’s working!”

With its elasticity, the silk acted like a high-quality compression bandage.

Even Gyu-seong admitted it wasn’t bad.

“This actually makes it easier to move.”

“Then let’s get moving.”

“Yes, we need to go.”

With his treatment done, we had to leave quickly.

Cho was still holding back the warriors in brown leather, but we couldn’t afford to waste more time.

If we lingered, more enemies might arrive.

Strangely, though, despite some of them dodging past Cho’s attacks, they weren’t charging toward us.

Instead, they seemed to be stalling for time.

Even though their elder had died, they showed no signs of panic or disorder.

“Yang Seong-hu, help me. We need to support Gyu-seong.”

“Understood. Are you alright?”

Now conscious again, Yang Seong-hu helped me lift Gyu-seong.

At the same time, I mentally sent a command to Cho.

‘Cho, keep them from getting close, but don’t fully engage. Just hold them off and follow us. And don’t land.’

Cho’s acknowledgment came through our bond, and he continued blocking their path.

Just as we were gaining distance, a strange sound reached us.

—Uuung. Uuuung.

A deep, resonating hum.

It rumbled in our chests, similar to the bass of a drum.

It was familiar.

It sounded just like the buzzing of the hornets we had harvested earlier.

As the sound grew louder, the leader of the warriors in brown suddenly shouted—

“It’s Thunderous Roar (轟)! The Toad Squad (蟾蜍隊) has stalled them long enough. Fall back!”

‘Thunderous Roar?’

If that name referred to the sound, and Toad Squad literally meant a group of “toads,” then...

A realization hit me.

The warriors in brown immediately started retreating.

That could only mean one thing—whatever was coming wasn’t good.

I turned to my group and shouted—

“Let’s go!”

We sprinted toward the river.

Then, Tang Hwa-eun’s urgent voice rang out.

“So-ryong! Look up!”

“The sky?”

I followed the direction she pointed.

Far in the sky, I saw a black and yellow dot.

And it was getting bigger.

—Uuuung! UUUUUUUNG!

A deep buzzing, now deafening.

Pain stabbed into my ears, and my chest shook with vibrations.

“Arghhh!”

“Urgh...!”

Paeng Gyu-seong clutched his wounded side, blood seeping through the silk as he collapsed.

I barely managed to swallow my nausea when Tang Hwa-eun sent a desperate voice transmission.

[So-ryong! That—that’s one of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures! It’s a Dread Buzzing Tiger Wasp (怪鳴虎子)! Use your internal energy to shield your ears, or your meridians will be disrupted, and you won’t be able to move!]

‘One of the Ten Great Venomous Creatures!? A Tiger Wasp!?’

That explained why she was using voice transmission instead of speaking aloud.

I immediately channeled my internal energy to protect my hearing.

The moment I did, the noise faded, and the nausea disappeared.

Then—

A strong gust of wind blasted us from above.

Shielding my face, I looked up.

Suspended in the air was a massive hornet—one that resembled an Asian Giant Hornet, but far, far bigger.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me...’

I glanced around.

Paeng Gyu-seong, Yang Seong-hu, Geom-bong, and even Seol were all clutching their ears, collapsed on the ground.

The only ones still conscious were me, Tang Hwa-eun, and Yo-hwa.

The giant hornet hovered for a moment before descending toward the dead Blood Cult elder.

It was a skyborne tyrant, the king of all venomous insects.

A Giant Tiger Wasp.

***

As the giant hornet, the size of a car, landed, a woman leaped down from its back.

She wore a long, flowing black dress—almost like a gothic ensemble—exuding a strange and unsettling aura.

“...”

Her lips moved as if speaking to us.

I released the internal energy shielding my ears, allowing her voice to reach me.

“Ah... well, well, he’s already dead. I suppose that’s to be expected from someone practicing such garbage martial arts. A technique that leaves one vulnerable to mere bleeding poison? How pathetic.”

She scoffed at the fallen Blood Cult elder, despite having been on his side just moments ago.

“Why did we even ally with them? I even gave them an antidote, yet he still died? How disappointing.”

She clicked her tongue and turned away from the corpse.

At that moment, Cho, who had been hovering at a distance, flew toward us urgently.

Seeing him, the woman smiled.

Then, in an almost unholy display, she dipped her fingers into the elder’s spilled blood and licked it off.

Instantly, she recognized the poison within.

“This is Asian Giant Hornet venom? So both poisons cause hemorrhaging, but... to think they’d be weak to all bleeding toxins.”

She scoffed again.

“Well, I suppose that makes sense. Disgusting creatures that suckle on the blood of others... Perhaps we should reconsider our alliance with the Blood Cult.”

She seemed to be talking more to herself than to us.

Tang Hwa-eun and I remained frozen, watching her warily—not because of her erratic behavior, but because of the massive hornet, which was clearly guarding her.

[So-ryong, be careful. She’s not as strong as Grandfather, but she’s at least as strong as Father.]

Tang Hwa-eun’s voice trembled slightly in my mind.

—Tssssrrr...

Sensing danger, Cho slithered forward, letting out a low, menacing sound—like a dog growling.

That’s when the woman, having finished her monologue, ground her foot into the dead Blood Cult elder’s face, then smiled at us.

“It’s fascinating... a Monarch Venom Lord choosing to follow a human.”

“A Monarch Venom Lord?”

“Oh, right. In Zhongyuan, you call them Supreme Venomous Centipedes.”

She was referring to Cho, who had stepped in front of us protectively.

It seemed like she was about to continue the conversation.

But suddenly, her smile vanished.

She snapped her fingers toward the hornet and commanded—

“Capture them.”

Instantly, the hornet lunged at Cho.

It zipped between Tang Hwa-eun and me, colliding with Cho and sending them hurtling through the air.

“Cho!”

—BZZZZZZZ!

—TSSSSRRRR!

The hornet’s wings roared as they clashed, but unlike before, it didn’t carry the debilitating vibrations.

It seemed the buzzing paralysis effect didn’t work while fighting.

Cho let out an angry hiss, and the battle between the two venomous titans began in the air.

I bit my lip.

Cho was strong—there was no doubt about that.

But a hornet was a natural predator of centipedes.

Cho had only molted four times—he was still young.

And that wasp had a thicker exoskeleton, razor-sharp mandibles, and venom.

I immediately turned to Yo-hwa, who was patiently waiting beside Tang Hwa-eun.

“Yo-hwa! Help Cho!”

—Ki-siiit!

Yo-hwa unfurled her body, revealing herself from the shadows.

She fired a web straight at the two combatants.

—Whoosh!

The hornet’s wing got caught!

Yo-hwa yanked the web, dragging the hornet downward.

Freed from its grip, Cho twisted midair and slammed into it.

The woman’s eyes widened in shock.

“An Azure-faced Spider King!?”

Her voice trembled as she stared at Yo-hwa in disbelief.

“Y-you... you tamed an Azure-faced Spider King too!?”

She turned to me, her face now filled with suspicion.

But before I could answer, her fingers twitched.

With a swift motion, she pulled something toward her using an unseen force.

It was the spear Yang Seong-hu had dropped.

“Don’t worry... you don’t have to answer.”

She suddenly thrust the spear down—not at me, but at Yang Seong-hu.

—THUNK!

A piercing scream rang out.

But...

It wasn’t Yang Seong-hu who was struck.

“G-Geombong!?”

I froze.

Geom-bong had thrown himself over Yang Seong-hu, and the spear had stabbed into his back instead.

His blood gushed onto the ground.

“Why... why did you!?”

Yang Seong-hu opened his eyes in shock.

Geom-bong simply gave him a tired, exasperated look.

“You... idiot...”

Then, his eyes slowly closed.

“G-GEOMBONG! YOU WITCH! AAAAAARGH!”

Yang Seong-hu snapped, lunging at the woman in blind rage.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“So noisy. Be silent, little fly.”

—SMACK!

She struck him on the neck, knocking him unconscious instantly.

As if losing interest, she tossed the spear aside and said—

“Well, whatever. Your identity doesn’t matter. What matters is that you... own a Monarch Venom Lord, an Azure-faced Spider King, and...”

She glanced at Yo-hwa and hesitated.

Then, suddenly, she grinned.

“I like you. Be mine.”

‘...What?’

I stared at her, completely bewildered.

She had just killed one of my comrades, and now she was saying this!?

I turned to Tang Hwa-eun, who looked furious.

Her voice seethed with rage as she snapped—

“How dare you say that to my fiancé!?”

It seemed she could tolerate danger, but not this.

The woman tilted her head.

“Fiancé?”

The moment she said it, she vanished from sight.

She reappeared right next to Tang Hwa-eun, her claws extending toward her chest.

“I doubt you’ll be a fiancé for much longer.”

Tang Hwa-eun dodged backward, but the woman’s hand shot forward, aiming to pierce her chest.

—CRACK!

Suddenly, two streaks of blue light shot out from beneath Tang Hwa-eun’s skirt—

—slamming into the woman’s torso.

“Gah!”

—Kkuku!

—Kkuuuu!

Seol and Bini had hidden under Tang Hwa-eun’s skirt, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

The woman skidded back, ice forming on her arms and chest.

She stared at the frost, her expression now filled with shock.

“A... Four Venom Lords?”

Her hands trembled.

“Taming a Monarch Venom Lord... a Four Venom Lords... AND an Azure-faced Spider King!?”

It was then that I finally realized who she was.

She had arrived riding a venomous hornet.

The warriors who retreated had called themselves the Toad Squad.

She had mocked the Blood Cult elder, despite being an ally.

And... she had called Cho and Seol ‘Venom Lords.’

There was only one possibility.

She was a descendant of the Five Venom Clan.

I glanced at Tang Hwa-eun and murmured—

“The adopted daughter of the Beast Palace... the sole heir of the Tang Clan... and me, So-ryong.”