NOVEL NEXT Chapter 65
How is it that every demon and bandit we come across is just packed with harassment and sleaze?
I was puzzled by this question, but then it hit me—it makes perfect sense.
Bandits, who are born as cursed criminals, naturally make nonsense remarks to women, and demons, who are entities of darkness, engaging in evil deeds is just as expected.
It’s just basic logic: primitive beings commit primitive acts.
“Shut your ugly mouths! You disgusting, hideous demons!”
“You filthy mutts!”
Serin and Hayoung yelled with rage. I stepped in front of them and shouted back.
What kind of man would stand behind two women?
“You nasty demon bastards! I’ll kill every single one of you!”
“Hehehe! We don’t need any males!”
Are they only gonna take women?
Wait a second.
Didn’t that idiot just mention something about a new woman? If that’s the case, doesn’t that mean there are women captured by these bastards?
“Hehe! Bring out Guja-ok!”
In an instant,
—Zwoooosh!
One of the bandits, Hadong, stretched out his arm.
“Wait, what?”
But that arm wasn’t reaching for something else—it was coming right at me! It flew towards me like Luffy’s stretchy arm!
“What the hell! This crazy bastard is shooting his arm at me!”
Is this idiot a rubber man?!
Surprised, I swung my sword.
—Swoosh!
My sword sliced through Hadong’s palm and then split his forearm in two.
“What the?”
Did I just chop him in one hit?
“UGH!”
His stretched arm flailed as blood gushed out. Hadong hollered, clutching his arm and rolling on the ground. His screams were the kind that only extremely pained people would make.
“Is this right?”
Are these guys just pushovers?
As that realization hit me, a strange exhilaration surged within. I felt a strong urge to immediately massacre these scum.
I couldn’t hold back my laughter and roared.
“Ha ha ha ha! Is this all you filthy demon scum have? You dare to mess with me with your pathetic skills?!”
I dashed forward and unleashed the Flowing Stream Sword Technique.
The place we were in was a cave. It wasn’t small, but it wasn’t large either. And the Flowing Stream Sword Technique is composed of grand movements.
—Slash!
With my lethal flurry, the very space of the cave was occupied, causing the Hadong bandits to scatter in panic.
“Kyaaa! He’s strong! He’s strong!”
“Let’s run!”
“But I still want to mate with those women!”
These blatant and transparent bastards!
“Ugh. Demons are all the same.”
—Whoosh!
Immediately, talismans flew in. Those fire bombs smashed into the backs and faces of the Hadong bandits.
—Boom!
A splendid explosion.
“Kyahhh!”
“Ugh!”
The Hadong bandits who were hit by the fire bombs fell helplessly.
“Geunhyeop! Don’t let a single one live except for one! I have something bothering me!”
“What was that new thing you mentioned?”
“Yes! There might be a woman kidnapped by Hadong!”
“Right! If there’s one, we need to rescue her!”
I immediately launched myself towards the flailing Hadong bandits.
“Ugh! No! Please! No!”
“Help me! Kyaaa!”
Some of them tried to defend themselves using their shell-like backs, but it looked like their bodies didn’t fit entirely inside there.
“Well, then you should die, you bastard!”
I stabbed my sword into the necks of the Hadong bandits, ending their lives.
“Gah!”
Except for one.
“Ugh! Ugh! No! Please! Help me! Help me!”
“I might just spare you.”
“What?”
“But you have to tell me everything you know.”
With that, I kicked him in the face.
—Thud!
“Gah!”
I proceeded to beat him up mercilessly until he was completely unrecognizable. Soon, Hadong lay there a crumpled mess.
“Phew. Well done, Geunhyeop. Honestly, I was too careless and allowed myself to be approached. How embarrassing.”
Only then did I notice Serin had changed her outfit.
It was not the same gear she wore when she first arrived.
The top was a form-fitting, white martial arts outfit, but what about the bottom? It was like the lower half was missing? It was a fashion statement that exposed her thighs. It felt like a lightweight version of a martial outfit.
Did she bring several changes of clothes?
Seems she changed into this earlier.
This is really pretty, too.
“Everyone was resting, so it’s understandable. It’s alright.”
“It’s not alright. Honestly, I feel like I’m still lacking. I’ve gained some insights.”
“Oh, so you are a master after all!”
To gain insights from such trivial matters is truly admirable.
Just a peak master in every sense. If Mr. Song were here, would he have gained similar insights? I think he could do just that.
Let’s put in the work.
To become a master, one must act thoughtfully. I steeled my resolve.
“By the way, Serin, what’s with that outfit? It’s really beautiful!”
“Oh, this outfit?”
With a smile, Serin twirled around.
“Although it has less defense than the one I normally wore, it provides better mobility. How is it? Is it very pretty?”
“It’s so pretty…! You really look like a celestial fairy!”
“Thank you.”
She is really like a fairy.
“By the way. You handled the appearance of the Hadong well without panicking. Although he ambushed you, you managed to cut off that arm excellently. That deserves praise. I’ll commend you.”
Serin immediately patted my head, praising me.
“Hehehe, ah! What is this! Experience in the field has helped me grow! I was surprised, but I reacted!”
“I think you’ve managed to shed your third-rate reputation.”
“So does that mean I’m second-rate?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
“Wow!”
I’m a second-rate master!
Well, that makes sense!
I’ve worked hard until now. I was just a third-rate loser when I fought Soseongui and Goblin, but during this time, I’ve caused numerous killings, fought against enemies, and faced off against Madunachal and the likes.
Those invaluable experiences have propelled my rapid growth.
“I’m a second-rate master!”
“What a master you are. What are you puffing up for? That Hadong was a weak demon.”
As I celebrated, Hayoung poked my side. Hayoung was dressed in her usual revealing fashion.
“But seriously, his arm was stretching.”
“What does that matter?”
The Rubber-Rubber ability is a top-tier ability in this world.
“No matter what, they’re weak.”
“Hmm… so they were a bit easy to cut down.”
They certainly were easier to take down than I expected.
Maybe my sword power has gotten stronger.
“Well, still, they become quite tricky in the water, so be careful. I’m just warning you.”
“Is it really because they’re water demons that they get stronger in the water?”
“Of course.”
Thanks for the heads-up.
“But Hayoung, didn’t you say we still have to go deeper? How did we get here?”
“Yes. I heard that too. They must have said their habitat is further inside.”
At our questions, Hayoung crossed her arms.
“Well, they probably came from another place after catching a whiff of a woman.”
A whiff of a woman?
“Do these bastards have good noses?”
“In the water. And they inherently have a habit of chasing women.”
What a disgusting demon.
“But since they walked out of the water, they dug their own grave. Outside the water, a Hadong is essentially just a weak Goblin.”
“Seems like it.”
“Then you. Interrogate that guy. Hadong has a habit of kidnapping women and forcing them to bear children. There must be a captured woman, so find out.”
“W-What?! Is that really true?!”
Kidnap women to bear children?!
“Can humans and demons even do that?!”
“Ugh… that’s a truly disgusting tale.”
Serin replied with disgust, shaking her head.
Even I found it repugnant to hear.
“Well, I mean, when you think about it objectively, if you put it that way, it’s like treating human females as egg sacs? Female Hadong injects unfertilized eggs through the oviduct, and then the male Hadong injects sperm…”
“W-What the hell! What are you talking about?! I’m not interested in that!”
It was truly too horrific that my body twisted at the thought…!
“Hayoung, let’s stop with that ghastly tale. But you really are a master since you know so much about demons.”
“Well, it’s because our Mosan Sect’s masters study demons. There’s probably no other expert on demons like me.”
Accepting it as a compliment, Hayoung proudly puffed out her chest. She sure loves to show off. Isn’t that kind of cute?
But an expert on demons?
This could make for an interesting competition with Jaemi Son, no, Mr. Song.
“Anyway, let’s start the interrogation.”
“Right.”
Let’s begin the interrogation then.
“G cough, griiik…”
The Hadong bastard I struck lay thrashing and moaning between the bodies of his fallen comrades. Let’s see. There were four Hadong corpses in our hands. Five came, but now they’ve been wiped out.
“Hey. Hadong.”
“Gah!”
I stomped on his forearm as I spoke.
“Where’s your base?”
“G-grah…”
“Where’s your base?! Speak quickly before I kill you!”
“Geeeek! I’ll tell you! Just go that way!”
He waved his hands and feet desperately, but it was incomprehensible. I suppose I could lead him there if I wanted to. I never expected vocabulary from a demon.
“Alright. How many of you are there?”
“There’s… a lot of us! A whole lot!”
“So how many are there?”
“I don’t know! I don’t know! So manyyy!”
In a fit of irritation, I started beating him, but he couldn’t tell me an exact number. I guess he’s just a dumb demon who can’t count.
“Got it. There’s a lot. Now tell me, how many leaders do you have?”
As Hayoung asked about the leaders, he answered.
“Two! Two! There’s the boss and the vice-leader! Gah!”
Well, at least they could count to two.
“But is that all?”
“Yup. For these demon groups, there’s usually a leader. You know the 108 Demon Army, right? About that level?”
“Hm… Is that so? That sounds strong enough.”
“They’re just bigger in size. What? They might be a bit stronger, I guess. If a Yodan appears, they might show up.”
Yodan is our target.
I’m feeling motivated.
“Next, I’ll ask.”
Serin stepped forward.
“Where are the women you kidnapped?”
“The women! The women are in a cave! Not here! There are others in a different cave!”
Violence really is the answer.
Look! This dumb demon is desperately trying to explain to avoid getting hit.
“Where? That way! One woman is there! With the boss!”
Looks like there’s a woman in the same cave as the boss.
“Then it’s settled. We’ll kill the boss and check if there’s a Yodan and then rescue the woman. That should be it?”
“Yes. That sounds good.”
“Rescuing people is also the responsibility of a master. Let’s hurry up.”
Time to get moving.
“Hey! Lead us to your place!”
“Gah!”
I grabbed the back of the Hadong’s head and made him get up.