135 – Martial Realm Nymph #5
“Are you the Haildo of the Squirrel Beast?”
A man in a black China suit stood before me. He was about a head shorter than me, but his presence was formidable, like soldiers raising their spears.
Awakened. He seemed to be around B Rank.
What caught my attention was the mantis on his shoulder.
—Samat, Smaaat…!
It was palm-sized and entirely red, looking fierce like a barbaric warrior, emanating a sharp aura. What was even more astonishing was that the mantis’s left claw was made of special steel.
“Is that a real mantis?”
“Yes, it is a real mantis! This one is the ‘Lava War Mantis’…! A rare creature discovered in a B Rank crack in the jungle! Only I, Lao, can tame it in the Beast Palace…!”
‘Lava War Mantis’. The name itself was striking.
“I attached a special magic stone claw leg to this mantis, which had lost one leg in a crack…! And I’ve become friends with it over a long time…!”
Lao said he had cared for the ‘Lava War Mantis’ for a month, feeding it honey and dew through a syringe. They became so close that he even named it ‘Samarang’.
In no time, Inoi was impressed.
“The ‘Lava War Mantis’ is a very nymph-friendly mantis…! Despite its terrifying appearance, it lives by eating honey and dew…!”
I see. Anyway, I thought it was a touching story. This Lao fellow loves animals enough to heal injured ones.
“Hey, what’s that cat you’re holding?”
I asked. Lao was cradling a cat that had beautiful silver fur.
“This one is the Steel Mountain Cat Myao Myao! I saved it from dying of thirst in a crack filled with thorny bushes! It took over three months to tame it…!”
I thought that was a wonderful thing. There was someone who saves injured animals and takes responsibility for raising them. I was surprised to learn that Lao had become a popular star on SNS.
“Anyway, Haildo! Let’s have a competition! The outstanding tamer between you and me will make the loser acknowledge the winner as their elder brother! Go, Meiling of ‘Iron Fist’!”
Pop-.
A panda appeared in front of Lao. It was about my size, exuding a powerful presence.
—Meiiyii-.
Swish, swish-. The panda threw quick punches in the air, resembling a circus performer who had taken boxing lessons.
It seemed like an extraordinary panda.
With a name like ‘Iron Fist,’ it must specialize in fighting, right?
“Kkungkkungi!”
I decided to send Kkungkkungi into the fray. Kkungkkungi was an all-rounder. It could handle any opponent reasonably well, so it would perform excellently in the exploratory stage!
—Kkungkkungi…!
—Meiiyii-.
The Squirrel Beast and the panda faced each other. In this tense situation, I shouted first.
“Go! Gale Kkungkkungcham!”
Pop-! The Squirrel Kkungkkungi bit its tail and leaped into the air, spinning.
Spin, spin, spin-. Thanks to the centrifugal force and the friction from biting its own tail, Kkungkkungi’s tail became a weapon that surpassed even the swords of any swordsman.
—Grrrr…!
Finally, Kkungkkungi swung its tail toward the panda with a thunderous cry.
Whoosh, bang-!
—Guuuu…!
The panda Meiling let out a loud noise as it toppled forward like a giant tree. Kkungkkungi’s attack struck a vital point, incapacitating it!
“This can’t be, Meiling…!”
The victory was simpler than expected! However, I couldn’t let my guard down. The strange cat and the strange mantis were still left.
“Go, Myao Myao!”
Pop-! Lao threw the silver-furred cat he had been cradling toward me with all his might.
A Squirrel Beast and a Steel Mountain Cat.
The two animals now stood in a tense standoff.
“Myao Myao! Steel Mountain!”
—Myaoow…!
The Steel Mountain Cat Myao Myao lunged at Squirrel Kkungkkungi, puffing up its silver fur.
With confidence, Lao shouted, “The Steel Mountain Cat raised in the Steel Mountain can fell giant trees! In close combat and speed, it won’t lose to a squirrel! Rather, it’s tougher than steel and even stronger!”
Myao Myao seemed to have enhanced its speed characteristic of cats, fortified with a mysterious power like steel.
Steel. Steel…!
“Kkungkkungi, breathe fire!”
—Grrrr…!
Kwahahahah-. Kkungkkungi spewed fire from its mouth.
Solid steel is weak against hot flames!
Whoosh-!
—Myaoow…!?
The Steel Mountain Cat Myao Myao charged towards Kkungkkungi but was hit directly by the flames spewed from its mouth and stumbled, finally unable to endure and fell over with a thud.
—Myaoow….
“Myao Myao too…! A Squirrel that breathes fire…! I’ve never heard of such a thing!”
Now only the Lava War Mantis Samarang remained. I called Kkungkkungi back, who might be tired from consecutive battles, and took out the honey ant emperor Ahn Ahn from my pocket.
“Go, Ahn Ahn…!”
—Ssssh…
“With Meiling and Myao Myao down…! But… I have the master of the Ant-Lifting Technique, Samarang! Go, Samarang…! Show your skill…?”
Shouting confidently, I began to look around as Lao started to glance about. Soon, I felt something tingling on my back, as if a mantis were stuck to it. Just to be sure, I placed my hand on my back, and indeed, a red mantis had attached itself to my palm.
—Samat, Smaaat…!
The red mantis Samarang stood on my palm, wiggling its front legs left and right, resembling Kkungkkungi greeting me.
“What is this?”
“I… A shy ‘Lava War Mantis’ follows me so well from our first meeting…! The master of military strategy wins without fighting! This is also written in the famous Chinese military text ‘Iliyaus’…!”
Thud-. It seemed that Lao lost strength in his knees, collapsing to the ground.
“My… my perfect defeat….”
Lao acknowledged his defeat more cleanly than expected. I thought the duel had gone better than expected and offered him my hand.
“You have some fascinating animals, don’t you? That was a good match.”
“Haildo, you….”
At that moment when Lao was about to take my hand.
“The thinking that should transition into a touching scene costs two dahs…! Interrupting the meal of that Illinois is an unforgivable movement…! This Illinois will beat this guy mercilessly…! Let’s do it…!”
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—. Illinois pounded Lao relentlessly.
“This is the fist of the great American continent…! You should know that the origin of kung fu was in Nymphs…!”
“AAaaah~!”
Finally, Lao fell from the hotel’s second-floor railing, crashing onto a table in the first floor with a thud.
Crash. Bang! The table and dishes broke and fell apart.
“Hey, Illinois…! You can’t just smash everything like that…!”
I was worried that we, as outsiders, were causing trouble, but strangely, people were admiring Illinois’s actions.
“Hao!”
“Such a powerful punch!”
“What martial arts sect is this from…!?”
I found myself utterly confused about what was happening. With a population over a billion, China certainly had all sorts of characters.
# # #
—Kkungkkungi…!
“…So cute…!”
I introduced Kkungkkungi, Ahn Ahn, and Bang Bang to Lao. Given that he loved animals, he was completely captivated.
“Golden! I’ve never seen such noble ants before…! This spider is so gentle and kind…! A singing spider…!”
“Ahn Ahn is a bit too noble. She is the Emperor Ant. And Bang Bang dances too.”
—Ssssh…!
—Hiooow…!
“Indeed…! To have tamed such extraordinary animals…! Brother, you are truly amazing…! It’s hard to find someone like you even in the Beast Palace…!”
The vast continent was ruled by the logic of strength. After admitting defeat, Lao respected me by calling me brother, and for some reason, my nose felt tingly, but I pretended as if nothing was wrong.
“Animals aren’t tamed. They are led. If I open my heart first and wait, they will come to me.”
“Indeed…! A marvelous lesson…!”
Snap, snap-. Lao asked if he could take pictures of the animals to post on his SNS account. I gladly permitted it, and I also took nice pictures of the Steel Mountain Cat Myao Myao and Samarang.
“Muhuhuh, this black bean noodles are also very delicious…! This Illinois appoints you as a nymph-friendly person…! Think proudly about it…!”
Lao said he was great at cooking. He wanted to give dishes he made himself rather than ready-made feeds to the animals, so he learned various things and improved his skills. It seemed that Illinois liked the black bean noodles Lao made.
“Master! I’m glad it suits your taste!”
After starting to call me brother, Lao called Illinois ‘Master’ and showed him due respect. After being hit by Illinois’s fist, it seems he gained a clearer mind, breaking through to a state of ‘enlightenment’.
I didn’t quite understand, though.
“So, brother, is it true that you’re participating in the martial arts contest for that reason? This year’s winner reportedly receives that ‘Gongcheongseokyu’! Obtaining that could mean reaching S Rank by breaking through your vital energy…!”
‘Gongcheongseokyu’. I didn’t know what it was, but Lao kindly explained further.
“It’s the legendary ditch water.”
“Ah…! It’s exactly what Inoi is looking for…! With legendary ditch water, you can cultivate storm clouds even without storm flowers…!”
Thud-. Inoi raised their hands, thrilled. I too felt good. It was worth coming to China!
Soon, Lao looked around cautiously and whispered a few words.
“And this is just a rumor, but if a ‘male’ wins the martial arts contest, there might be an even more special reward. The story is that you could marry the poisonous Xiao Xiao….”
That was surprising news. Lao merely referred to it as a rumor, but it didn’t seem entirely far-fetched.
Was it an idea to marry the next promising talent who wins the martial arts contest to the S Rank So Sohee for the benefit of China? Since I had told Aunt Dang Young Young to rescue Sohee, such conversations were not very pleasant.
If So Sohee gets married, it means she would be forever tied to this land.
“Would it be that if I win, it all becomes meaningless?”
I was a foreigner. From China’s perspective, they likely wouldn’t want to marry their one and only S Rank Awakened to a Korean.
If I won… wouldn’t So Sohee naturally become free?
“Though I would like to say that you will undoubtedly win, it might not be easy. There are other strong contenders like the Poisonous Tang So-hae and Red-eyed Swordsman Liu Hua.”
I was told both were Awakened at A Rank. Indeed, they wouldn’t be easy opponents.
Just then.
Bzzzzzz-.
Feeling something tickling my ears, I turned my head and saw swarms of fist-sized honeybees flying around in the hotel room.
Did a window open or something?
As I began to look around, Lao panicked greatly.
“T-These honeybees are Tang So-hae’s poison honeybees…!? That coward…! Gaaaah…!”
Lao fainted from being stung by the honeybees.
Was he going into shock from the bee venom?
I intended to perform first aid in various ways, but soon someone entered the room and chuckled.
“Who says they’re poison honeybees? Anyway, you don’t have to be too tense. It’s sleeping venom. You’ll wake up in an hour. Rather, it’s a detoxifying toxin that clears your body’s fatigue, so you should thank me.”
“And you are….”
She was a woman with slightly purplish hair tied up with a hairpin. She wore a black qipao embroidered with a golden centipede pattern, which looked somewhat familiar.
It resembled Aunt Dang Young Young’s clothes.
“Are you Tang So-hae?”
“It’s an honor that a celebrity recognizes me. Did you know your duel with Lao is creating a big buzz on the Martial Realm SNS? That’s why I’m here.”
So, she came to find Lao at the hotel after seeing it on SNS.
“Haildo, let’s make a deal. That’s why I came here.”
“A deal? What kind of deal?”
“You came here for So Sohee, didn’t you? So, you’re planning to participate in the martial arts contest. Okay, I’ll help you win. I want you to take So Sohee back to Korea. It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”
