I Will Become a Phoenix More Noble Than the Emperor - Chapter 33

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

33.

 

 

 

 

Then the demon who had actually been drooling snorted derisively.

 

“Anyone listening would think you’ve been a mid-level demon for hundreds of years! Just a few years ago, you were a low-level demon who couldn’t even perform proper Human Transformation!”

 

The other demon’s face turned bright red.

 

“I’ll definitely become a high-level demon faster than you and flatten your nose.”

 

As the humiliated demon disappeared while fuming, the Warehouse Manager Demon shouted loudly at his back.

 

“Hah, go ahead! Do you think I’ll just sit still all this time!”

 

The manager, who had been equally furious, soon turned to look at the cart and saw the last offering. As if wanting to swallow it whole right then and there, he drooled profusely but turned his head away with tremendous self-control and went outside the warehouse to lock it securely.

 

“I’d better not look at it. That’s not mine. If I steal and eat that, that arrogant bastard will definitely report it. Hmph, that can’t happen.”

 

Then he turned and disappeared, seemingly intending to get away from the cart that truly reeked of decay.

 

“….”

 

The vast warehouse became quiet without a single breath after they disappeared. All that remained in the cave-like warehouse was a cart easily 10 meters wide and various corpses piled high inside it.

 

Seon-o, who had been hiding among those very corpses, finally exhaled the breath he had been holding.

 

“Haah….”

 

Holding his breath had been agonizing, but breathing out and inhaling was equally torturous, so Seon-o squeezed his eyes shut.

 

A few hours ago, Seon-o had succeeded in infiltrating this fortress hidden beneath the Hydrangea Fields. The infiltration wasn’t difficult.

 

‘Getting out is the hard part, they don’t care about people coming in.’

 

It was only natural. Cheongpa River was a place rife with rumors of unknown demons living there, and all the Superhumans who had boldly headed here had gone missing.

 

It was the demons of this place who captured all those intruders and offered them as sacrifices to the Golden Salamander.

 

So they had no reason to be wary of intruders. Rather, they would welcome having one more prey like that. Just like Seon-o right now.

 

Therefore, Seon-o, who had penetrated the lax security and infiltrated the fortress, approached the warehouse full of the ‘Golden Salamander’s’ prey as he had seen in the original work.

 

And while the demons were distracted, he succeeded in sneaking into the warehouse and hiding his body on the Giant Cart.

 

‘The Golden Salamander was said to prefer offerings that were dead but not decayed.’

 

For the bizarre tastes of this demon-like creature, his Subordinates would check if the offerings’ breath had stopped, then cast Anti-Decay Magic on them. Only after passing through this process could they be placed on the Giant Cart and offered to him.

 

The carts entering the warehouse had already completed all inspections, so Seon-o became the first offering to be placed on the cart alive without being inspected.

 

And today, Seon-o absolutely had to be eaten by him.

 

Steeling himself for this terrifying plan, Seon-o held his breath.

 

What filled the cart was half beasts, but half were humans.

 

These were the offerings that the Golden Salamander’s Subordinates had gathered over a month of roaming the area. If this was the amount for one month, then accumulated over a year and then ten years, there would be an enormous number of victims.

 

If he couldn’t succeed with this plan today, this sacrifice would continue.

 

Seon-o, hidden in the field of corpses, looked at the corpse in front of him whose eyes couldn’t close and clenched his fists, trying not to look away from those eyes.

 

What was before his eyes wasn’t just a corpse.

 

It had been a human breathing and alive until recently, a Young Man with dreams, someone’s family. When he thought that there might be family members desperately waiting for this Young Man without knowing whether he was alive or dead, Seon-o’s heart ached.

 

Or if they learned that this person had gone to a place from which he could never return….

 

‘I know that feeling better than anyone….’

 

Only after confirming this devastating scene did Seon-o realize what this world was and what competition he had thrown himself into.

 

A world where Demons constantly poured forth. People who had to lose family, friends, and lovers to them every day.

 

In this endless disaster, the only hope was….

 

‘The Phoenix.’

 

So to the people of this place, the Phoenix would truly be salvation.

 

What he was trying to become was this world’s salvation.

 

The weight of the Phoenix position, which he had postponed and postponed because it was too heavy, pressed down on Seon-o’s heart.

 

“….”

 

Looking into the Young Man’s eyes, Seon-o finally made an unbreakable resolution.

 

It was a heavy and solid determination that he would definitely become the Phoenix and save not only his family but these people as well.

 

As Seon-o was repeating that firm resolve, an unbelievable voice came from somewhere.

 

“As expected, it seems I’m not the one giving off the rotten smell?”

 

…Huh?

 

Frozen by those unexpected words, Seon-o wondered for a moment whether he had heard an auditory hallucination.

 

It was a somewhat familiar voice. It was also a voice he had heard just a few days ago.

 

“….”

 

No way. That can’t be.

 

Seon-o let out a bewildered chuckle, then immediately hardened his face with a frightening expression.

 

…That can’t be.

 

“What are you doing there when you barely have enough time to pass the second gateway, Master Kang?”

 

The second voice made Seon-o realize he hadn’t been hearing things.

 

Flustered, Seon-o forgot to play dead and bolted upright.

 

Then he saw Gong-un standing outside the storage room’s prison bars with his arms crossed, looking at him.

 

‘It’s Wi Gong-un.’

 

Right. Wi Gong-un.

 

Wi Gong-un?

 

Seon-o’s mouth fell open on its own.

 

What is this?

 

Am I dreaming right now?

 

As Seon-o stood there dumbfounded, Gong-un interpreted that expression as emotion or desperation and raised the corners of his mouth. Gong-un uncrossed his arms and smoothly held up something.

 

It was the storage room key that Gong-un had just stolen from the manager demon.

 

“Shall I rescue you, or not?”

 

It was an annoying voice, as if he was certain the choice was his to make.

 

Seon-o’s vacant eyes gradually filled with bewilderment.

 

‘What’s with this guy?’

 

As expected, Gong-un interpreted even that bewilderment as fear in his own way and bowed his head with a smile.

 

Ha. He was acting all high and mighty by himself. And this is all he amounts to.

 

Gong-un didn’t know what shady business Seon-o had been up to that led to this situation, but one thing was certain.

 

He had won.

 

Swallowing the thrilling sense of victory, Gong-un raised his head again and gazed intently at Seon-o.

 

“Apologize.”

 

At that serious demand, Seon-o’s brow furrowed.

 

“…What?”

“For calling me underhanded.”

 

As he brought up that day’s humiliation, Gong-un’s eyes sharpened as if the frustration from that time had risen along with it.

 

“Apologize and give up the competition.”

 

At those words, Seon-o’s eyebrows shot up as he tried to make sense of this incomprehensible situation.

 

“If you do that, I’ll set you free. And I’ll safely escort you to Myeonggyeong so you won’t get caught by such pathetic demons again.”

 

It was a benevolent voice, as if bestowing mercy. Seon-o looked at the underhanded man who was smiling faintly, intoxicated by his sense of victory. So right now….

 

‘He chased me all the way here to get an apology…?’

 

This guy is really crazy….

 

But… how on earth did Gong-un find him?

 

By chance? That couldn’t be.

 

Seon-o carefully got up from the cart and approached the iron cage. He walked up to Gong-un, stood right in front of his nose, and looked straight at him.

 

Gong-un looked at Seon-o leisurely with eyes waiting for an apology and declaration of giving up the competition.

 

Soon Seon-o’s lips moved and finally the words he was hoping for….

 

“I didn’t say underhanded. I said devious.”

 

A rigid voice sharply corrected Gong-un’s words.

 

At those words, Gong-un’s eyes, which had been pleased at the thought of bestowing a victor’s mercy, hardened.

 

Soon realizing that Seon-o had not even the slightest intention of apologizing to him, veins bulged on Gong-un’s forehead.

 

“…That’s the same thing.”

 

Strictly speaking, the word “devious” did feel a bit lower in quality. It felt more base and petty.

 

Gong-un had also recognized this and deliberately changed it to “underhanded” when speaking, but Seon-o had seen through this.

 

“So you came all the way here to argue about that? Ha…. How did you know I came here?”

 

Then Wi Gong-un clamped his mouth shut and stared at Seon-o with shameless eyes.

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