‘Isn’t this hydrogen gas bubbling up from electrolysis?’
That thought suddenly crossed my mind as we made our way upstream.
In comics and novels, you often see scenes where a strong electric current flows through water and hydrogen gas bursts upward.
There are even descriptions like “a whiff of hydrogen gas reached my nose.”
‘Right, something like: with a surge of electricity, hydrogen gas erupted from the surface and its scent wafted to my nose, or something like that?’
Since it was daytime and raining, there was no risk of lighting torches, so I didn’t have to worry about explosions. But with curiosity and a thirst for knowledge—well, that’s just who Spicy Fabre is.
I focused and tried sniffing carefully. Nothing. Not a single scent.
Only the soft patter of raindrops hitting the river filled the air.
Maybe hydrogen gas is a myth—or hydrogen just doesn’t smell? Could be either.
‘This isn’t my area of expertise, so I’m not really sure.’
I let that thought go and turned my gaze to the water’s surface. Only calm, gently flowing water met my eyes.
It looked like nothing was happening, but beneath the surface, it was utter pandemonium—like the underworld had reached up and grabbed hold.
Because Seomi and Byeogi were just ahead, wriggling as they discharged electricity in every direction.
With the intense current they left behind, even the creatures that had somehow survived the onslaught of the Stickyworms—giant carp, small fish, frogs, tadpoles, even dragonfly larvae—
All the aquatic life in the area were thrashing in agony beneath the water, only to rise like a soaked carpet and drift helplessly downstream after the two had passed.
Countless lives were fading away, aimless and meaningless.
‘Ah...’
When the moment of inquiry passed and reality set in, a surge of guilt hit me.
“I’m sorry, guys...”
I apologized, wearing a sorrowful expression, to the fish, amphibians, and insects floating up in death.
Because I was the one violating the unspoken taboo of every true enthusiast—destroying the very habitat of my beloved creatures with my own hands.
‘I’m exterminating friends and wrecking their ecosystem... with my own hands... this is a heavy sin...’
Every collector and wildlife lover knows: protect the habitat.
Never take pregnant females or newborns. Never damage the environment during collection. And no matter how rare the specimen, always release at least half of what you’ve caught.
Because the one you catch might be the last of its kind.
There’s no law about it.
It’s just a rule Fabre himself made.
But it’s a rule he engraved in his heart and followed all the way until death in his past life.
Now, though, it felt like I was breaking all those rules at once—and it was mentally crushing me.
The grass and aquatic plants exposed to the high current surely weren’t safe, and even the microorganisms in the water would be dead.
‘Damn Five Venoms Sect bastards.’
Even if this was for environmental cleanup, I felt like a dictator—a mass murderer.
In a game I used to play in my past life, there was a scene where a planet invaded by aliens was burned down by its leader in desperation.
Back then, I thought that guy was truly evil... but now I understood.
Because now I was that guy.
And it really was a last-resort decision to save the world.
I clenched my teeth and swallowed my anger, vowing to never forgive the Five Venoms Sect, as I continued climbing upstream.
As we ascended for a long while, the rain began to ease and turned into a light drizzle. Up ahead, I started to see guard posts.
The bamboo sentry posts set up by the Martial Alliance along the Daewol Nation’s border came into view from afar.
We had purged the Stickyworms all the way to the border junction with the Lancang River.
“Let’s hurry!”
Just as I was about to push past the border—
“So-ryong!”
“Master! Wait!”
I heard the voices of Hwa-eun and Gun Hye-rin calling from behind.
Gun Hye-rin was still calling me ‘Master.’
When I turned around, I saw Hwa-eun and Gun Hye-rin flying in from a distance, wrapped in the coils of the now-awake Yeondu.
“Guys, hold on a moment.”
I had Seomi and Byeogi stop in place.
—Waeaae. Waeaaang.
—Waeaeae.
The two of them circled me once, and here and there, more fish began surfacing.
A lone Stickyworm that hadn’t yet joined the main swarm upstream floated belly-up and drifted away.
As they landed quickly, Hwa-eun and Gun Hye-rin spoke.
“So-ryong, let’s go up together. Just in case.”
“Right. We don’t know if those Five Venoms Sect bastards are up there.”
Near the border, the Stickyworm spawn were nearly gone.
Still, a few would occasionally rise to the surface like before, so we had to check up to the source of the water—past the border.
Even letting one escape was not an option.
But the upper source lay within the Daewol Nation—Five Venoms Sect territory. It was definitely dangerous.
Last time, we’d only managed to slip through because we could hide underwater during reconnaissance.
But with Seomi and Byeogi with me now, hiding underwater was out of the question.
They’d be dragged away instantly by their own current, just like the fish.
So to avoid being hit by their electricity, I had two options: fly low above the water, or stay high in the air.
Either way, it would raise the odds of being spotted by the Five Venoms Sect.
I hadn’t thought that far in my rush, so I nodded.
“Alright.”
Gun Hye-rin might not have known, but honestly, I didn’t want to bring Hwa-eun. It was too dangerous.
But if I went alone, there’s no way they’d let me.
So I agreed.
Still, with Hwa-eun coming along, we couldn’t just barge in, right?
I had to show those Five Venoms Sect bastards a little display of force so they wouldn’t dare make a move.
They probably already knew what happened downstream.
No way they didn’t hear all the ruckus and troop movement over the past few days.
They were definitely watching us.
Time to show them the ultimate symbol of deterrence—an aircraft carrier forward deployment.
‘You bastards, here comes your aircraft carrier!’
『“Cheongwol, could you carry Geumdo on your back and crawl along the river all the way up to the guard post just before the border? Ask one of the boatmen or someone else to pass word to Senior Yeoncheon.”
—Krrrng. (Understood.)
“And Yo-hwa, can you come to where I’m standing and spread your web to block the front?”
—Kissit. (Got it, big brother.)』
When tensions rise between two nations, forward-deploying an aircraft carrier to the other’s front yard is practically an international standard.
When Israel has tensions with Arab nations, the U.S. parks a carrier in the Red Sea. When India and Pakistan clash, India’s carrier ends up stationed off the Pakistani coast.
Aircraft carrier deployment: the purest expression of deterrence.
Mess with us, and we’ll launch fighters straight from home base?
That’s a real threat.
Granted, Geumdo isn’t exactly a mighty spirit beast.
His venom is nothing more than a sleep-inducing fog.
And on his back were only some lower-ranked Golden-Furred Wasp Kings.
Not exactly a fearsome display.
The Five Venoms Sect might not even know what Geumdo really is.
But forget all that—just the sight of a massive golden turtle stationed at their border?
Wouldn’t those Five Venoms Sect bastards flinch?
Even just one Geumdo is imposing enough. Showing him at the border should be more than enough.
Well, I was planning to have someone like Cheongwol stand atop it too.
—Kishishi. 『Big Brother! Yohwa’s here!』
As I was thinking that, Yohwa arrived before Geumdo.
“Yohwa, aren’t you hungry? Let’s get you another meal. And I need your help with the net.”
—Kissit. 『Alright, Big Brother.』
Earlier, she’d only been given just enough to take the edge off her hunger. So this time I let her feed properly, holding out a finger for her to absorb yang energy from. Clearly starved, she didn’t refuse and clung to my finger right away.
After Yohwa finished eating again, she spread her web at the border just as planned. By the time the web was fully strung across, I heard the heavy rumbling—Geumdo crawling up the river channel.
—Thump. Thump.
—Rumble.
The waterway was nearly blocked by Geumdo’s enormous body.
We’d already swept the area between the downstream net and this new one, but just to be sure, I planned to go back and clean it again after we finished upstream.
“We’ll sweep the stretch between the two nets once more after we return from the upstream side.”
“Alright, So-ryong.”
Then, among the group that followed Geumdo, I brought along Heukhwa, Baekhwa, Hyangi, and Hongdan.
I left out Sister Jeokwol because it was raining.
When we enter deeper into the border, hiding behind Sister Jeokwol would be ideal, but not in this weather.
Even though her human disguise is waterproof, the raindrops striking her body distort the area visually—making her easier to notice.
“Alright—let’s move!”
—Waeae!
—Waeaeae!
At my call, Seomi and Byeogi leapt over Yohwa’s web.
With Seomi and Byeogi leading the way and the rest of us hidden behind Sister Jeokwol, we flew low over the water’s surface and slowly entered the Daewol Nation.
***
“Lord! A report! They’ve crossed the border!”
In a forest clearing, under a massive tree not far from the border—
A black-clad figure dashed in with light-step movement, urgently reporting to his superior.
He had just confirmed that the ones they were waiting for had crossed.
He saw a man and two women flying through the air, wrapped in a large centipede and snake—just as expected.
His superior—the Sect Master of the Five Venoms Sect—spoke.
“Who exactly crossed?”
Kneeling, the warrior replied to the Sect Master’s question.
“That bastard So-ryong, the Tang Clan’s daughter, and a third unfamiliar woman!”
“And the spirit beasts?”
“Only the # Nоvеlight # One-Venom Lord, the Bi-cheon Shin-sa, and the Small Blood-Flame Crystal Centipede were confirmed.”
Hearing this, a smile crept onto the Five Venoms Sect Master’s lips.
It was far fewer than he had expected.
He had assumed they’d bring the Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Armored Scorpion and most of the Ten Great Venoms with them—but instead, it was just the One-Venom Lord, Bi-cheon Shin-sa, and that small centipede.
This was manageable.
The Bi-cheon Centipede was among the physically weaker of the Ten Great Venoms. The Small Blood-Flame Crystal Centipede was tough, yes—but small and slow.
And Bi-cheon Shin-sa couldn’t show his full strength unless paired with the Golden-Crowned Death King.
This was a perfect chance to eliminate that thorn in his side and take the Tang Clan’s daughter hostage.
“This time, I’ll finally capture that Tang girl and make her my wife. I’m bored of the daughter—time to upgrade.”
“They say that Tang girl’s beauty is exceptional, don’t they?”
Just as the Five Venoms Sect Master was grinning, imagining what he’d do with his captive—
The reporting warrior hesitated and added, “But... there’s a house-sized golden turtle waiting right at the border...”
“A golden turtle?”
“Yes, sir.”
Hearing that a golden turtle was stationed at the border, the Five Venoms Sect Master furrowed his brow—he immediately understood the message.
“They didn’t bring everyone at once, since it’s across the border—but that thing is a threat. If anything happens, the rest will charge in immediately. That’s the message.”
“A Millennium Golden Turtle can plunge an entire region into a thousand-year sleep. They’re threatening us.”
He lightly tapped the rock he was sitting on with his fingertip, then stood and issued his command to the warriors.
“All commanders of the combat units, listen up!”
“At your command!”
“They’re coming upstream along the river. Wait at your positions. When I launch the attack, strike all at once! Understood!?”
“At your command!”
“At your command!”
“The women are to be captured alive. I’ll personally sever that bastard So-ryong’s life.”
Though he understood their intention, he had no plans to retreat.
The golden turtle’s weakness was its slow speed.
He figured he’d have enough time to capture them before it even got close.
As all the warriors vanished into the surrounding jungle, the Sect Master stood under the massive tree.
He rose from the rock he’d been perched on and pulled a flute from his robe.
—Fweeeee.
A thin, low sound—like a birdcall—echoed through the jungle.
Moments later, the flapping of giant wings could be heard.
—Whooosh. Whoooosh.
Leaves scattered in all directions.
Grass was uprooted and flung into the air.
A massive creature descended before the Five Venoms Sect Master—a black wasp king.
He climbed onto its back and spoke calmly.
“Alright. Let’s go chew up the other spirit beasts.”
—Vuuung. Vuuuung.
With that, the colossal black wasp took to the skies, carrying the Five Venoms Sect Master up into the clearing stormclouds.
