A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 264

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Side Story 10
Witnessing this display, Hong Seol couldn’t help but click her tongue inwardly.
‘He wields that heavy broadsword as effortlessly as kneading dumpling dough.’
Meanwhile, Hong Seol possessed no particular weapon.
Yet Hong Seol’s spirit remained unbroken. Rather, she shrugged her shoulders and provoked her opponent.
“Wow… drawing a blade against an unarmed opponent? How cowardly.”
Provocation was itself a form of combat.
Hong Seol had learned this lesson thoroughly from someone in her past life.
“Hmph, the Orthodox Sects have no such notions of honor!”
At the mention of the Orthodox Sects, something suddenly occurred to Hong Seol, and she made a proposal.
“You seem to be the leader here. Let’s exchange names before we fight. I am Myo Hong Seol of the Nam Goong Family Estate.”
“I know. I am Heuk…”
A chill ran through Jang Mu Hyuk’s entire body as he was about to carelessly reveal his affiliation and name.
‘Right, the Manor Master absolutely forbade me from revealing my true identity.’
“Why would I give my name to one about to die!”
With that, he swung his gleaming broadsword toward Hong Seol’s pale neck.
But Hong Seol was already prepared.
“Hmph, how dare you!”
Hong Seol nimbly leaped upward, evading the vicious blade.
Then she delivered a powerful kick to Jang Mu Hyuk’s exposed ribs as he followed through with his sword swing.
Thud!
“Huh?”
Hong Seol landed lightly on the ground and tilted her head in confusion.
Despite the impact sound, Jang Mu Hyuk stood unharmed.
“I blocked it!”
“As expected of your durability, brother!”
Amidst the resounding cheers, Jang Mu Hyuk stood with smug confidence, his belly thrust forward.
The toughness that came from his massive frame and the monstrous strength with which he wielded his broadsword as swiftly as twisting taffy.
These were Jang Mu Hyuk’s greatest strengths.
“More resilient than expected. In that case…”
Hong Seol remained undaunted and assumed her next stance.
It was her distinctive posture—one foot forward with an open palm extended ahead.
“…I’ll have to shatter you from the inside.”
“Th-the Heavenly Thunder Divine Palm!”
The palm technique of the Nam Goong Family Estate, Hong Seol’s specialty.
The henchmen who recognized the stance gasped in alarm.
But Jang Mu Hyuk was different.
“No matter how exquisite her palm technique, as long as her palms don’t make contact, what’s the problem!”
With those words, Jang Mu Hyuk gripped his broadsword and charged forward.
Hong Seol did not retreat.
‘Come on!’
I spotted it—a small opening on Jang Mu Hyuk’s left shoulder, the side where he wasn’t gripping his great sword.
‘There!’
The moment I reached out my hand.
Whoooosh!
With a sound like tearing earth, dust erupted in a cloud. Jang Mu Hyuk had deliberately scraped his great sword across the ground.
I flinched, squinting against the dust.
But Jang Mu Hyuk’s trick didn’t end there.
He spun his great sword like a staff, shielding his entire body.
He’d created a kind of sword barrier.
Though my frame was small, it wasn’t small enough to pierce through such a defense.
“That’s it!”
“We’ve won!”
The beasts watching added their own comments.
But I didn’t stop.
Flip!
With a somersault, my form vanished from sight in an instant.
“What, what is this!”
“A ghost!”
“Ahhh!”
The heavy clang of a blade revealed my location.
Crash!
Jang Mu Hyuk’s prized great sword clattered to the ground.
Jang Mu Hyuk staggered back several steps, clutching his left shoulder.
Thud!
Then he finally dropped to his knees. As his hand fell limply, all eyes turned toward him.
Between the shredded fabric of his robe, sparse black and crimson marks were visible.
But more striking than that were the claw marks shaped like a cat’s paw.
“What, what on earth is that?”
The onlookers’ words caught in their throats.
Behind the kneeling Jang Mu Hyuk, a cat walked out with dignified bearing.
The cat performed another somersault or two before transforming back into a beautiful young girl.
I smiled brightly.
“If the opening is small, then I simply transform into a shape small enough to slip through it.”
It was a clever choice that leveraged my nature as a beast-human.
Jang Mu Hyuk asked hoarsely, barely managing to speak.
“…What is the name of this technique?”
My lips curved upward.
“Meow Meow Divine Transformation.”
“Meow Meow Divine Transformation?”
The moment Jang Mu Hyuk uttered the name of a martial technique he’d never heard before.
A deafening boom erupted.
Something exploded, and suddenly the sky darkened.
Seeing that victory was impossible, one of the beasts unleashed a cloud of smoke.
Simultaneously, Jang Mu Hyuk and all the beasts vanished from sight.
From within the thick haze, Jang Mu Hyuk’s voice rang out.
“Ahahaha! I never intended to dance with you for this long, but your martial prowess is exceptional, so our little game extended! We’ve achieved our purpose, so we shall take our leave now.”
His words were honeyed, but the truth was simple—they’d accomplished their goal and were fleeing.
“Wait, could it be—!”
Something suddenly clicked in Hong Seol’s mind at those words, and she spun around sharply.
The brown puppy had vanished without a trace.
Hong Seol clenched her teeth.
“You were after Gyeon Young Hoo from the very beginning!”
“Indeed! And there’s one more thing. I’ve come to deliver a message from the Master.”
“The Master?”
“The Master says that if you wish to obtain the antidote to the Comatose Essence Toxin, come directly to the Black Cloud Pavilion.”
With those words, a heavy silence fell over the forest.
* * *
Darkness had descended. It was now the second night we’d spent in the forest.
Hong Seol and the young wolf Nam Goong Baek sat in silence across from a campfire.
Hugging my knees, I’d been staring at the crackling flames for a long while before speaking softly.
“No matter how much I think about it, something feels wrong.”
Nam Goong Baek blinked. I continued.
“It’s the Black Cloud Pavilion. Why would they even create the Comatose Essence Toxin in the first place?”
Nam Goong Baek tilted his head in confusion.
He too found the suspicious points to be more than one or two.
“Becoming a beast doesn’t cause any significant disadvantage.”
After all, the transformation would wear off in four days anyway.
“And it doesn’t seem like they’re trying to profit from selling antidotes either, does it?”
Hong Seol’s reasoning was sound.
If they intended to profit from selling antidotes, word should have already reached the families afflicted by the Comatose Essence Toxin by now.
But just looking at the mole we met at the tavern, couldn’t we tell?
He had no knowledge whatsoever of any antidote.
“And those beasts from earlier—they weren’t fighting with their full strength. They seemed to have the intention of teaching us a lesson, but that was all.”
Jang Mu Hyuk and the other beasts harbored no killing intent. I knew this better than anyone, having exchanged blows with them directly.
“So the fact that they came all this way just to tell us the location of the antidote… doesn’t that suggest the Black Cloud Pavilion Master wants something from us?”
Something he wants.
Nam Goong Baek felt his spirits sink as he lay down on his belly.
He’d definitely heard it.
The final words Jang Mu Hyuk had spoken as he evaded.
That was not a statement revealing the location of the antidote.
It was a transmission directed at Nam Goong Baek.
– One final day of opportunity is granted to you. The Black Cloud Pavilion Master has instructed me to convey this.
‘Opportunity? What chance could someone I’ve never met possibly be offering me?’
“Whimper.”
Perhaps from overthinking, a sound had escaped my lips without my awareness.
Hong Seol, who had been lost in contemplation, suddenly spoke as if a realization had struck her.
“By the way, it’s just the two of us, isn’t it?”
‘Just… the two of us?’
At those words, Nam Goong Baek’s heart began to race wildly.
He stole a furtive glance at Hong Seol, who sat with her knees drawn up beside the campfire.
Unlike himself, tense and anxious, Hong Seol appeared no different from her usual self.
From Wuhan to Nam Man.
In my past life, I had traveled to countless places with Hong Seol, but spending a night alone together was a first.
‘If only I had retained human form.’
Nam Goong Baek grew dejected and buried his face between his front paws.
Of all times to be covered in fur like this!
“Awoooo!”
The anguish stretched from my throat and emerged as a prolonged cry.
Whether the sound seemed like an endearing drowsy whimper, Hong Seol laughed brightly.
“Baek Elder Brother, are you getting sleepy?”
Though I was not sleepy at all, Nam Goong Baek nodded.
I was pleased that Hong Seol was showing concern for me.
But the next words from Hong Seol’s lips nearly stopped my heart.
“Then shall we sleep together tonight?”
Nam Goong Baek’s face flushed so intensely it seemed ready to burst.
I had never been so grateful that my face was entirely covered in white fur.
Yet in his bewilderment, Nam Goong Baek had frozen, and Hong Seol seemed to interpret this as rejection.
One could tell from the way her bright expression clouded over.
“Ah… you don’t want to?”
Shake, shake.
Nam Goong Baek shook his head vigorously, and Hong Seol’s face brightened once more.
A face I could never tire of seeing, no matter how many lifetimes I lived.
In that moment, Nam Goong Baek made a resolution.
I would make this child smile for all eternity, no matter what it took.
The conviction was so intense I felt I had been born for this very purpose.
“Come here, then.”
Hong Seol lay down on a makeshift bedding of wild grass and patted the space beside her.
Nam Goong Baek, who had been hesitant, carefully stepped forward, then began to turn in circles.
It was the instinctive behavior of arranging a place to rest his body.
A satisfied sigh escaped Nam Goong Baek’s lips.
Curled into a ball beside Hong Seol’s face, he was genuinely content.
Indeed, he was truly happy.
The delicate fragrance of dried grass lingered at the tip of his nose, while stars seemed ready to pour down from the night sky.
And above all else, Hong Seol was right there beside me.
Yet there was one problem.
‘…I simply cannot fall asleep!’
Nestled in Hong Seol’s embrace, Nam Goong Baek’s eyes grew increasingly wide and alert.
Despite having nearly stayed awake the entire previous night, he felt oddly energized.
‘If anything, I’m more invigorated than usual.’
His eyes and senses were completely consumed by Hong Seol.
With each breath, a fragrance—sometimes like the soft scent of an infant’s skin, sometimes like blooming flowers—filled his small lungs completely.
‘This is unbearable….’
For a young man in his prime, it was truly a cruel torment.
The moment he opened his eyes, delicate eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and peachy-soft cheeks were within arm’s reach.
And the collarbone subtly exposed between the folds of her garment—
Any man could not help but let his gaze trace the smooth curve of her neck.
It was the moment Nam Goong Baek deliberately turned his head away, fidgeting.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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