Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

While I was still scanning the sky for Hwayang, the pirates who’d rushed toward Cheongwol met with the business end of her iron mace-like tail.

–Thud!

Heaven’s punishment dropped right in the middle of the lead group.

As four or five of them were smashed into pulp, the others screamed like lunatics and bolted toward the opposite shore.

“Gyaaah!”

“S-Save us!”

They probably hadn’t even seen clearly what happened in the dark—and that, more than anything, was what terrified them.

Trees suddenly splintered, and people turned into meat chunks—just like that.

The terror spread like a virus as those up front screamed and ran.

The ones behind them caught the fear and started running in the same direction.

And when they ran into Yohwa and Yeondu in the woods by the opposite shore, the terror hit its peak.

Because now, in the moonlight, they could clearly see what was moving.

A massive blue snake, and a black centipede.

–Shaaaa.

–Chororot!

A few of them were struck by Bini and Yeondu and sent flying—and the more timid ones turned tail and fled toward the center.

The fear was so overwhelming that the Dragon Fangs didn’t even need to lift a finger.

The pirates practically hurled themselves straight into Yohwa’s mist.

She’d been taking it easy up until then, but the moment dozens of people charged in at once, Yohwa’s hands moved faster.

She created a mistless pocket around herself like the eye of a storm, and her clawed legs moved so fast they cut through the air like silk thread.

–Siiiing.

–Siiing.

Every time her spider limbs twitched, pirates ended up dangling upside down from the palm trees overhead.

But too many had come in at once, and even Yohwa had her limits.

Several started slipping through the rear of the mist.

But just as a few passed her position, screams rang out again from the hazier rear mist—voices wailing as they were grabbed by the ankles or wrists.

“Gaaah! It bit me—it’s a silver-banded krait!”

“Agh! A snake! There’s snakes underfoot!”

‘What!? Silver-banded kraits?’

Cho, go down—no, wait! I have to find Hwayang first—dammit...

I almost told Cho to dive down right then and there.

Because the silver-banded krait is a beautiful venomous snake with alternating black and white bands.

It lives in Southeast Asia and southern China, and if I’d ever had the chance to import one, I’d have raised it in a heartbeat.

Its venom may be mild in volume, but it’s incredibly potent.

To me, it’s Taiwan’s number one.

In fact, it’s considered one of the six deadliest snakes native to Taiwan, a true neurotoxin specialist.

What makes it so unique is that its venom contains both alpha and beta bungarotoxins, which block acetylcholine receptors at neuromuscular junctions, causing muscle paralysis.

That’s why, when it bites, you don’t feel sharp pain—just a strange, full-body tension.

Local paralysis kicks in first, and as the toxin spreads, your breathing becomes labored—eventually leading to respiratory arrest and death.

I need to ask Cheongyu to let me keep a few of them later.

Despite the urgency, I mentally bookmarked the thought and continued scanning the area.

Some pirates who had been bitten managed to stumble out of the mist again.

And in that moment—as more screams burst from the mist, the ones who’d hesitated just outside the fog were frozen in indecision.

That’s when the sandbar behind them began to shift—and the very Hwayang I’d been searching for poked his head out.

“Hwayang!”

–Pii!

“Cho, go down! We need to pick up Hwayang!”

Hwayang might have a tough outer shell, but it wasn’t strong enough to block qi blasts.

I had to get him out of there, so I asked Cho to dive down and retrieve him.

“What kind of toad is that white-looking thing...?”

–Fwoooosh!

“Guh! Wh-What is that?!”

“F-Fire!?”

Just as a few pirates spotted Hwayang and made fun of his appearance—a deep blue flame erupted from his back.

–Piiiiiik!

As Hwayang began to puff himself up in warning, flames shot up from the heads of dozens of pirates.

One after another, fires sparked across their scalps.

The flames spread like a line of dominoes—and soon, pirates all over the beach were burning like scattered campfires.

“Gyaaaaaah!”

“S-Save me!”

At some point, the blue flames erupting from the pirates’ heads flared wildly—engulfing them in explosive bursts.

–FWOOOOOOM!

–FWAAACK!

As I watched the beach below drown in screams and the cries of despair, the muffled panic of retreating pirates echoed up faintly.

“H-Hkk...”

***

Thanks to the massive chaos Hwayang had unleashed, fewer than a hundred pirates were left alive.

Even the ones who’d been captured by Yohwa and strung up upside down in the palm trees—those who had been the first to flee into the mist—ended up suddenly bursting into flames.

Some who had been poisoned by Hwayang’s venom had blue flames ignite atop their heads—and when the flames exploded, they spread like a chain reaction, lighting the heads of anyone nearby and blowing them up in turn.

In the end, the central stretch of beach leading to the forest was completely sealed off.

I wasn’t affected by Hwayang’s venom, but the others—like the kids and the Dragon Fangs—weren’t so lucky.

And it wasn’t even just poison gas that had spread—this time, it seemed he’d used something like oil in the traps, which meant it wouldn’t be easy to neutralize.

“Everyone, be careful. Stay back!”

I shouted toward the Dragon Fangs as they approached—and Yeo-dyeon flinched and backed away in surprise.

“Y-Yes, young master!”

“I was wondering how you handled them this time...but honestly, it might’ve been better not to see. What a sight...”

“H-huhh... huuhh...”

Gyu-seong-hyung and the other hyung-nims trembled as they spoke, while Gungbong flapped his arms in panic and backed away further.

“You guys wash yourselves off, too—just in case.”

–Chorut!

–Kiiit!

Even «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» though they were venomous creatures themselves and had high poison resistance, they could still be affected if they weren’t careful.

So I told everyone to go rinse off just in case they’d come in contact with Hwayang’s venom.

Just then—small boats were lowered from the larger ships anchored at the shore.

And people began approaching from those boats.

“So-ryong!”

“So-ryong, young master!”

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Leading the charge were Hwa-eun and the princess.

They used light steps to dash across the terrain.

I rushed forward and spread my arms to stop them.

“You mustn’t come any closer. Highly toxic venom has been dispersed in this area—you have to be careful!”

“P-Poison?”

The nuns from Botaram, who had come running with the princess, quickly covered their faces and stepped back.

The princess, startled, also covered her face and backed away a step.

“It doesn’t spread through the air, so you don’t need to worry too much, but please don’t come any closer.”

“Understood... but what about the pirates—”

The princess began to ask what had become of the pirates—but then the rising sun revealed the carnage on the beach.

Stunned, she went silent, her eyes wide in shock.

All across the sand, pirate corpses flickered with blue flames like alcohol lamps.

The princess stared at me with a dazed expression.

“One of the kids got a little... overexcited.”

I scratched the back of my head—but Hwayang squirmed up on top of it, making it hard to reach.

Then came his cry.

–Pii! 『Food!』

He must’ve used up too much venom—now he was hungry and yelling “rice!” from atop my head.

***

In the end, fewer than eighty pirates survived.

There had been close to a hundred, but somehow another dozen had suddenly burst into flames for reasons unknown.

The first priority now was detoxification.

We decided to shove the remaining pirates into the sea and make them scrub their bodies and clothes thoroughly.

“Commander, I believe we should have them wash immediately. Just in case.”

“I understand, So-ryong. I’ll do as you say. Of course, you’re right. Anything else I should know?”

The commander, who had once looked at me like a precocious child soldier, was now fully in doting uncle mode.

He seemed ready to roll up his sleeves and go all in the moment he heard that I’d wiped out five hundred pirates.

“Yes, sir.”

“Very good, then.”

He gave me a deep nod of respect before immediately turning to the pirates and shouting with a hardened expression.

“You heard him, didn’t you!? All you survivors—get into the seawater and wash yourselves!”

“Aaah! We’re alive!”

“T-Thank you!”

At the commander’s order, the pirates scrambled into the water, eager to survive.

Even though their hands were bound behind their backs and they couldn’t scrub properly, they twisted and splashed around like desperate dolphins trying to live.

Some were even grateful they’d been told to wash, but there was no reason for gratitude.

I hadn’t suggested this because we were taking them alive.

It was because of a promise I’d made with the princess.

From what I’d heard, enough of the pirates had already been selected for execution as an example, and the rest were going to be dealt with here.

Since the princess wasn’t directly participating in this operation, the naval commanders from Bukgeon and Zhejiang had already agreed to divide the heads.

They’d all die soon anyway, but I didn’t feel a shred of pity.

These were men who had raped women, beaten them for amusement, and killed them once they were no longer entertained.

The hatred of the surviving women was no joke.

Even now, I could hear their voices trembling with grief and fury beside me.

“Commander! Please, give us those bastards!”

“Please let us kill them! My father was butchered by those monsters—I’ve lived this far just to avenge him!”

“Let me avenge my sister’s death!”

There had been more than a hundred women held prisoner at the harbor.

Now they were holding crude knives or broken blades they’d picked up somewhere, begging to be given the pirates.

“Quiet!”

The princess stepped forward and said something softly to the women.

They bowed their heads and fell silent.

Watching the pirates being forced to wash, the princess let out a smile, her expression visibly lighter.

“Phew... It feels like a weight of ten years has finally lifted.”

She had every reason to feel relieved.

The source of her deepest worries had been eliminated.

I smiled at her in return.

“You must keep your promise.”

“Of course. And afterward, I’ve decided to hand them over to the women. Just so you’re aware.”

“I understand.”

I figured that was the case—and as if to confirm my suspicion, the princess nodded.

“Yes. We’ll let the women have their revenge, and the commanders will take the heads afterward.”

“Alright then. Let’s get started.”

“Please, go ahead.”

I stepped past the princess and stood before the shivering pirates who had just dragged themselves out of the sea.

At that moment, the sharp-eyed commander jogged up beside me.

“You dogs! Stand up straight!”

At his booming voice, the pirates looked toward where we were standing.

Once he had their attention, the commander spoke again with a calm and fatherly expression.

“Now then, I’d like to ask something.”

He looked over the pirates and asked,

“The reason I’ve come to stand before you is simple: I want to know if anyone among you, while living here in Yizhou, has ever seen a spirit beast or venomous creature. Has anyone here seen one?”

None of the pirates answered. They just looked around nervously.

That’s when the commander added—

“Anyone who gives a useful answer will be spared!”

Not that it was likely, but the moment he said it, the pirates all started yelling over one another.

“I-I know!”

“Commander, I saw it with my own eyes!”

“No! I did!”

Every last one of them stood up and shouted.

Then it happened.

A particularly burly pirate pushed through the others and ran forward, shoving them aside.

“You dogs! Shut up already! I’m Jeok-sam, leader of the Red Camp—one of the Sixteen Pirate Camps of Yizhou! And I know!”

Apparently, one of the commanders had survived.

When he declared himself the leader of the Red Camp, the commander was quick to respond.

“Oh? You’re the one in charge of the Red Camp of the Yizhou Pirate Sixteen Camps?”

“Yes, sir!”

Judging by the commander’s expression, he was probably already thinking how nicely this one would cure after being properly salted and dried.

But the fool, thrilled at the idea of being spared, began spilling every detail of his identity.

“Very well then—answer the question.”

The commander had naturally taken over the interrogation before I could say anything.

Jeok-sam asked back in a cautious voice,

“What kind of spirit beast are you asking about?”

“What kind?”

“W-Well... there’s one we drove out recently, and then...”

“Oooooh?”

At his words, my eyes went wide.

Even in my past life, Taiwan had been the number one island.

And it looked like this time, there wasn’t just one spirit beast.

‘How many different types are there? Is this why they call it Number One!?’