Episode 21

Dakham continued speaking.

“Anyway, when you come out of the toxic forest, you have to apply the Kokk herb all over your body. If you don’t, the bugs and parasites will swarm you.”

Sure enough, as we stuck close to Dakham, the insects didn’t dare come near us.

Seeing that, I turned to the squad leader and said, “We should probably learn something like this too.”

“Indeed. If we had come here unprepared, it would have been a real problem. We only ran about an hour’s ride from the patrol path, and yet this happened. I’d heard before that the patrol route was set only up to a certain point because the poison levels got too high deeper in, but I didn’t realize it was because of the toxic forest.”

That was new information to me.

But it made sense.

The deeper we went into the forest, the stronger the coppery, unpleasant stench became.

Even without being as sensitive as Squad Leader Seolpung, I could hear a faint rustling sound, like something skittering away just ahead of us.

Bisa-young swallowed nervously and quietly asked, “W-what’s that sound?”

Seolpung’s face went pale as he answered, “It’s better not to know. Ugh… there’s something like that here?”

“Huh? What else is there?”

“There are centipedes bigger than a person. They’re watching us from the forest over there.”

“Centipedes bigger than people?!”

Only Cheongyeon Sojeo seemed excited by that.

Centipedes bigger than people…

Could it be?

The Flying Monkey with the tail that propels it through the air?

No way, that can’t be.

That’s a legendary poisonous creature, isn’t it?

While I was thinking that, Dakham said with a bright smile, “Ah, they’re big but not that dangerous. They slam their tails on the ground to jump high, but they’re smart enough to recognize humans. Jeka once shared food with one a few times, and it hasn’t attacked since.”

Hmm, slamming its tail on the ground to fly up…

So it really was the Flying Monkey.

But not dangerous?

If a centipede can recognize humans, that already sounds pretty dangerous to me.

I asked him suddenly, “Then what are the most dangerous creatures in the toxic forest?”

He thought for a moment before answering, “Inside the toxic forest, there are horseflies the size of your palm. They move in swarms, and even one sting can kill you instantly. I haven’t seen it myself, but there are also big centipedes that look like human faces, swarms of red-headed centipedes in the swamp, and huge snakes with horns that look like trees. They’re all very scary.”

Could he be talking about the Great Yellow Horned Centipede, the Human-faced Centipede, and the Blood Venom Horned Web? Are those real?

What is this place? It’s terrifying.

Bisa-young, who was making a face similar to mine, muttered, “What kind of place is this… Are there dragons here, by any chance?”

Hearing that, Dakham replied, “Dragons? No, I haven’t heard any stories about dragons here.”

Bisa-young chuckled dryly, “Well, that’s a relief. Thank goodness.”

Fortunately, we were taking a wide detour around the outskirts of the toxic forest, heading toward Dakham’s dwelling.

So it seemed unlikely we’d actually encounter those legendary poisonous creatures.

Very fortunate indeed.

Cheongyeon Sojeo seemed a bit disappointed, though.

Dakham went on, “Also, tams are dangerous. Even the small perles are dangerous. Ah! The black ones are dangerous too. They’re black panthers that have eaten so much poison that their teeth and claws are toxic. They’re as big and fast as tigers, and even spears can’t pierce them.”

Wait, so these black panthers have become poisonous because they’ve consumed so much toxin?

They’re as big as tigers, and spears can’t penetrate them?

Hearing that, I started to get suspicious.

Maybe some of what Dakham was telling us was exaggerated or just tall tales.

At least, that was my thought until Squad Leader Seolpung spoke up.

“…That must be the one.”

“…Huh?”

Following Seolpung’s gaze, I saw something huge slinking closer under the faint moonlight filtering through the leaves.

It was as big as a tiger, but its skin was pitch black like a shadow even in the moonlight, and its eyes glowed with an eerie green light.

It was definitely a black panther.

Dakham looked flustered. “I-it’s not supposed to come outside the toxic forest! J-just wait a moment.”

He pulled a chunk of meat wrapped in leaves from a leather pouch on his back and threw it toward the beast.

He must always carry that in case they encounter poisonous creatures.

But it didn’t help.

The beast sniffed the meat briefly, then lifted its head and started approaching us again, its green eyes glowing.

Apparently, we smelled more delicious than the meat.

Probably because, unlike Dakham, we hadn’t applied the herb to our skin.

Bisa-young crouched down, wary, and said, “This is when I wish Jin was here.”

“Why? To throw him as bait and run?”

“Heh heh, you know me well.”

“Hmph! I’ll repay the favor by teaching you the art of fleeing faster than anyone else.”

Just then, Cheongyeon Sojeo shouted, “It’s coming!”

The black panther lunged at us like a streak of light.

Bang!

Bisa-young and I instinctively flinched at the incredible speed.

But Seolpung was right in front of us.

Crack!

Seolpung sprang forward at nearly the same speed and collided with the beast midair.

Boom! Pop-pop-pop!

Bisa-young muttered with a pale face, “If I’m not mistaken, that black panther just blocked the squad leader’s martial technique.”

“Ah, I can’t tell who’s the beast and who’s the man.”

“That was… like a fight between top masters.”

Cheongyeon Sojeo’s words were spot on.

It was like watching a battle between supreme martial artists.

Seolpung seemed concerned about the beast’s poisonous claws, so he kicked the inside of its paw, using the momentum to whirl his body and unleash a tornado-like flurry of strikes toward its head.

But the panther defended with its front paws.

Both the squad leader, attacking with feral intensity, and the panther, defending with uncanny skill, were astonishing.

They darted and spun through the treetops, continuing their fight.

Overall, Seolpung had the upper hand, but he wasn’t landing any decisive blows.

And if the panther’s claws were truly poisonous, a single strike could turn the tide.

We exchanged glances, waiting for an opening.

When the beast turned its back to us nearby, we all sprang forward at once.

Wham!

Cheongyeon Sojeo’s and my swords, along with Bisa-young’s dao, flashed like beams of light, striking the panther’s back.

Shing!

Tat-tat-tat!

“Ugh?!”

“Hah?!”

“What a remarkable creature!”

The panther spun its long tail like a windmill, blocking our blades and dao, then leapt back a good distance.

It seemed to realize it wasn’t an easy fight.

Its glowing green eyes swept over us once more before it slowly disappeared back into the toxic forest.

After a moment, Seolpung relaxed his stance and said, “It’s really gone.”

Only then did we breathe a sigh of relief and mutter, “So such creatures really do exist.”

“Amazing,” Cheongyeon Sojeo said.

Bisa-young replied, “It’s one thing that they exist, but the fact that they were this close to us is even more shocking.”

I agreed.

After that, we encountered no major threats.

There were plenty of unusual snakes, but none posed serious danger.

Seolpung caught several and showed them to us.

Though only Cheongyeon Sojeo seemed genuinely interested.

As we walked, I tried to extract as much knowledge as possible from Dakham.

Plants good for antidotes, how to make incense to repel the maim, and herbs used to ward off poisonous creatures.

I worried his language skills might make it difficult, but Dakham, having learned from the poison hunters, was surprisingly good at explaining.

He plucked the necessary plants as we went, showing and describing them in detail.

By the time we reached Dakham’s dwelling, dawn was breaking.

Having memorized the route, I told the squad leader, “I think it would take us about three hours to get back on our own.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Even if we take our time hunting poisonous creatures, four hours should be enough.”

Bisa-young’s eyes widened. “You memorized the whole way back? In the middle of the night? All three of you?”

“Hmm? Why?”

“Wasn’t it an easy path?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious if we want to get back?”

He muttered something under his breath, sounding disgusted.

Dakham’s home was a small hut.

He led us inside with a bright smile.

The hut was located on a small island deep within the swampy toxic forest.

He must have built a wall of incense around it to keep the poisonous creatures away.

Opening the door wide, Dakham called out, “Tokno! Tokno! I’ve brought someone to help!”

“Dakham! Dakham’s here!”

“Where have you been, Dakham?”

Inside were the children Dakham called his siblings, and an elderly man with unmistakable signs of illness lying on a bed.

Cute kids, and a stern-looking white-haired old man.

What struck me most was how natural the kids’ pronunciation was, so different from Dakam’s.

Even though they all learned together, it seemed the little ones had made far better progress.

“Dakam!”

“Dakam!”

Four children surrounded him, tears welling up as they clung to him. From the bed, the old man frowned deeply and shouted,

“Where the hell have you been all night, leaving those brats to fend for themselves? And what nonsense is this about someone coming to help?!”

At his outburst, Dakam tried to soothe his siblings and glanced toward us standing just outside the door. Seolpoong, the squad leader, stepped forward and entered on our behalf.

“Good day, sir. We’ve come at Dakam’s request to assist you.”

The old man’s face immediately darkened.

He growled at us,

“Who the hell are you? Don’t tell me you’re from the Biryong Corps’ orthodox faction?”

His hostile tone caught us off guard.

Then, like a volcano erupting, he bellowed,

“Get out of here right now!”

He began grabbing whatever was nearby and hurling it with one hand.

“You worthless pests! What could you possibly want here? Get lost!”

A wooden bowl smashed against the wall beside the door, shattering into pieces.

Flowerpots, pillows, spoons—all flew through the air with terrifying force.

Though he seemed half-paralyzed and unsteady, throwing with only one hand, his fury was undeniable.

Dakam rushed forward to stop him.

“Tokno! What are you doing?! These people came to help us!”

“Shut up, you fool! Didn’t I tell you to stop this nonsense? Do you think I’d accept help from scum like them, even if I were dying?!”

Faced with his fierce rage, we had no choice but to quickly step back outside.

Even after we left, the old man’s furious shouting and Dakam’s pleading could still be heard.

We exchanged stunned looks.

Bisa-young let out a bitter laugh.

“What kind of messed-up situation is this?”

That was exactly how I felt.