The Chairman of Pharmaceutical Company is a Poison King - Chapter 23

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

Chapter 23: Giant Panda Bear Hunt (2)

Everyone was busy with interior facilities inside the building, construction of manufacturing plants, employee recruitment, and selling antidotes at drug shops.

Taehong Bio, designated as a military supply company.

With soldiers dispatched to guard the construction site, ordinary people couldn’t even approach.

But the Jirisan Masu Defense Corps earnestly requested.

Couldn’t they supply even just 10 sets of Spore Poison Antelope Deer antidote, saying it was absolutely necessary for combat readiness training.

Originally, he planned to establish mass production facilities before starting production, but with daily phone calls, there was no way to endure it.

Combat readiness training my ass, they probably just desperately wanted to eat gorani meat.

What could he do?

Tae-ju made 100 sets and sent them to the corps.

Even if it’s bothersome, you have to satisfy major customers’ needs.

After making that delivery.

Tae-ju entered the Jirisan Wilderness.

The purpose was Honweonmusangdokryeongong 5-star.

And to hunt Giant Panda Bears to secure bear gallbladders.

He’d been going in and out for several days already, but achieving 5-star seemed distant.

‘Am I being too greedy?’

Even after gaining enlightenment, trying to reach 5-star less than a month after reaching 4-star, and he also had to consider stabilizing his poison essence.

‘I’ll worry about stabilization after reaching 5-star… let’s go fast.’

Whoosh!

Tae-ju’s figure shot forward in an instant.

Pyoholjilfungbo.

This footwork was also a lightness skill that Danggumak used to favor.

Hwanyeongmiribo was optimized for combat, while Pyoholjilfungbo specialized in moving to specific destinations as quickly as possible.

The reason for running fast was to avoid encountering useless magical beasts. Magical beasts that couldn’t withstand hidden weapons or poison energy and collapsed weren’t helpful for training.

Poison arts are completely different from other internal energy cultivation methods.

Learning about more poisons.

Thus promoting the growth of poison essence.

The unique poison properties that various creatures possess must be imprinted on the poison essence.

All poisons in the Jirisan Wilderness become blood, flesh, and internal energy for Tae-ju.

Actually, spiritual medicines are completely useless.

That’s why he’s trying to sell them.

Swoosh!

While running around various parts of the jungle, when a suspicious smell came.

‘Poison sap bark tree.’

Though the world changed due to mana, living beings still protect themselves in similar ways.

This tree secretes poison from its bark to block insects like ants, woodpeckers, and bugs that gnaw at the trunk.

Tae-ju dipped his finger in the sap beaded on the bark and put it in his mouth.

‘…It’s sweet?’

Usually poison isn’t sweet.

Is this more of an attack than protection?

Searching for another poison.

He found one more.

‘Blue-Bellied Shaman Frog.’

A frog with a bright blue belly.

That part contains poison.

A kind of anesthetic, if you get hit, you sleep.

Endlessly without waking, then starve to death.

Collected this too.

Hissss!

He also spotted a fairly large centipede.

‘White-Legged King Centipede.’

Bigger than most snakes.

Each segment of the centipede had eyes.

The poison’s strength?

Indescribable.

Strong enough to kill an Orc in one hit.

Grab!

When he caught it with his hand.

Crunch!

It stuck its poison fangs into the back of Tae-ju’s hand.

‘Ugh!’

It stings.

But he left it like this.

The way of accepting poison must also be different.

This method of direct injection into blood vessels is much more effective than ingesting through the digestive system.

Like receiving an IV injection, as he sucked up the poison, the White-Legged King Centipede writhed then went limp.

‘…Still far to go?’

His danjeon was quiet.

Despite learning countless poisons, there was no sign of the poison essence moving.

‘Can’t help it. If I keep eating without being picky, someday…’

Right at that moment!

A chilling killing intent piercing his spine.

‘Hmm?’

Rustle.

Something was moving.

White fur glimpsed through the tall grass.

What animal has white fur?

‘Could it be a Three-Headed White Tiger?’

But the size is too small for that?

Three-Headed White Tigers exist in this Jirisan Wilderness too.

Divine Beast Three-Headed White Tiger.

The reason it became the symbol of the Samhan Empire is simple.

Because the Emperor caught a Three-Headed White Tiger and used its hide as a throne cushion.

In other words, it’s not worshipped for being strong, but because it’s under His Majesty the Emperor’s noble bottom.

Three-Headed White Tigers are spread throughout the empire.

But this isn’t Three-Headed White Tiger territory.

Then?

Rustle.

A massive body emerged through the bushes.

‘…Hah!’

Giant Panda Bear.

Now he could see the white fur was the crescent-shaped pattern on its chest.

It was the creature he’d been looking for, but.

‘I met it too early.’

Still only 4-star.

Well, doesn’t matter.

He never planned to run away anyway.

That would be humiliating.

Also, the Giant Panda Bear might be an easier magical beast than expected.

Its body was large enough that even carelessly thrown hidden weapons wouldn’t miss, but he worried whether the weapons could pierce through and embed in its hide.

“Kuooooo!”

The panda bear roared and rose up on its hind legs.

Let’s exchange greetings first.

Tseuit!

A single Willow Leaf Flying Dagger with a subtle green glow left Tae-ju’s hand.

Then suddenly it swung its front paw.

Whirit!

Taeng!

The Giant Panda Bear deflected the Willow Leaf Flying Dagger.

‘…Whoa, pretty fast?’

In an instant!

Swaeaeaek!

The creature quickly closed the distance and attempted a body slam.

‘Phantom Foresight.’

Seusit!

Tae-ju’s body disappeared.

Tseuit, tseuit, tseupipit…

Six Willow Leaf Flying Daggers sequentially cut through the air.

Puk puk, pupukpuk!

All six embedded in the creature’s body, but.

“Kraaaang!”

The panda bear rose again, and the embedded daggers fell to the ground one by one.

‘What?’

They didn’t seem to have penetrated even a finger’s width.

The poison needed to penetrate the hide to enter.

With such weak toxicity, the bear’s gallbladder would detoxify all the poison completely.

‘This will be a long battle.’

Tae-ju took out the Blue-Bellied Shaman Frog from his pocket, put it in his mouth, and chewed thoroughly. He also tore off a segment of the fallen White-Legged King Centipede and put it in his mouth.

“Kraaang!”

The panda bear charged.

Seusit!

Tae-ju’s form disappeared.

Even if it meant exhausting all the hidden weapons in his coat, he would catch it.

Tseupipipit! Tseuit!

Willow Leaf Flying Daggers poured forth.

He also mixed in some larger Death-Dealing Flying Daggers.

Swaeaek!

The panda bear’s body slam.

And its terrifying front paw attacks.

Dodging and throwing hidden weapons, targeting openings to strike its back with Blood Mark Poison Palm.

He couldn’t be careless just because of its large size.

If he carelessly got caught by its claws, his skin would be torn to shreds.

Getting injured by a mere panda bear?

How much would Danggumak mock him?

Tae-ju drew Honweonmusangdokryeongong to its peak.

Abundant poison energy flowing through his blood vessels.

Phantom Foresight unfolded magnificently.

Red palm shadows cast by Blood Mark Poison Palm embroidered the air.

Seuuuuung!

He deflected the terrifying pressure-laden front paw by a paper’s width.

Peueok!

One strike to the side.

“Kyaaaak!”

Buuung! Bungbung!

The enraged Giant Panda Bear wildly swung its front paws.

However, that destructive power and speed absolutely could not be ignored.

When he created sufficient distance, the creature would charge with a powerful body slam as if it had been waiting.

Then he would first block with Death-Dealing Flying Daggers, then throw Willow Leaf Flying Daggers at the bear’s face, a relatively weak spot.

Tseuit! Tseupipipit!

If only one would embed in its eyes or mouth.

The panda bear, as if unwilling to be hit easily, covered its face with one front paw while charging.

“Krang!”

It was large and fast.

Beginner rank would be torn apart unable to dodge the front paws, and Regular rank would be sent flying after being struck by its charge.

Expert rank?

They could probably face it.

But they wouldn’t last long.

Tae-ju was also avoiding direct confrontation.

Trusting in Phantom Foresight and Gale Step, he alternated between long and close range hit-and-run tactics.

But strangely.

His body was gradually becoming lighter.

‘Hmm, nice.’

Highly concentrated senses.

In Tae-ju’s consciousness, only the giant panda bear was visible.

He discarded idle thoughts.

How could he move his body most efficiently?

Discarding unnecessary movements, setting optimal movement paths, while simultaneously delivering the best attacks.

When he focused, his body moved.

Could this be enlightenment?

Hadn’t he already achieved enlightenment?

Was there still something remaining?

Tseupipipipit!

Consecutive flashes unfolded.

Pudak! Pudadadat!

Pababaak!

Hidden weapons fired unconsciously!

The barrage of hidden weapons could be this free-flowing.

“Ah…”

Now he understood.

This was physical enlightenment.

What Tae-ju had realized through connecting with Danggumak’s soul was in the realm of consciousness.

But his body was different.

His physical form was entirely Kim Tae-ju.

Body and mind were not separate.

Along with consciousness enlightenment, physical enlightenment must also follow.

The moment he realized this!

Uuuung.

The poison essence stirred.

Poison energy surged like waves within his blood vessels.

‘5-star level.’

Spinning round and round.

Rotating his body like a spinning top, Tae-ju pulled out a hidden weapon from inside his coat and casually threw it at the Giant Panda Bear.

Flutter flutter.

Two butterflies flew through the air.

Up and down, left and right, sometimes diagonally. The metal butterflies flew showing various changes in direction.

Blood Butterfly .

A hidden weapon technique usable upon reaching the 5th level of Honweonmusangdokryeongong.

You need to reach the 5th level to have enough internal energy to control the Blood Butterflies.

“Kuooo!”

The panda bear tried to swat down the Blood Butterflies with its front paws, but…

Lightly dodging, one butterfly landed on the panda bear’s large eyelid.

“Krang?”

The other flew into its ear.

Thunk!

The Blood Butterflies’ antennae pierced the eyeball and inner ear.

Then the poison energy was injected.

The acidic properties of mosquito poison, the Mutated Seven-Spotted Snake poison that accelerates bleeding, and the spore poison that melts internal organs with powerful acidic energy.

Could bear bile really detoxify all of this?

No, even before reaching the bile, the poison had already seeped into the Giant Panda Bear’s brain.

“Kruk, kruhruk…”

The panda bear gradually slowed down.

Bright red blood flowing from its eyes and ears.

Finally, it tried to turn around and flee, but…

“Kreoong…”

It didn’t last long.

The massive body swayed and collapsed sideways with a thud.

He had finally caught it.

Two objectives achieved at once.

The Giant Panda Bear’s bile.

Let’s carefully extract it.

* * *

Imperial Army’s Jirisan Monster Defense Corps.

Military personnel of various ranks gathered in the northern jungle region of Jirisan.

Including Corps Commander Master Oh Jin-hyeong, regional division commanders, field-grade officers, company-grade officers, non-commissioned officers, enlisted soldiers, and so on.

The purpose was to test the spore poison antidote.

They had found one Spore Poison Antelope Deer and captured it to prevent its escape.

The Masters were positioned closest to the gorani.

Expert-level personnel were positioned further back.

And Users, Beginners, Regulars, Qualified individuals, and civilians waited at respective distances in that order.

“Let’s begin.”

At Oh Jin-hyeong’s instruction, Colonel Gu Jun-yeong immediately stepped forward.

He manifested a mana blade and immediately severed the gorani’s neck.

Wooooong!

Slash!

Then the tumors burst.

Pop! Pop!

Spores began spreading in all directions.

Oh Jin-hyeong and the other Masters entered the spore poison dust first.

After some time passed.

“How is it?”

“No problems at all.”

“The spores touching our skin is fine.”

“Really? Then call the others.”

The soldiers made contact with the spore poison in order of their awakening level.

“Expert level and above, no issues!”

“Regular level and above, no issues!”

“Beginner level and above, no issues!”

“User level and above, no issues!”

“Regular enlisted and above, no issues!”

Only then did Oh Jin-hyeong smile with satisfaction.

“The effect is certain.”

“It’s definitely worth the price.”

“Actually quite cheap.”

“The duration is a full 12 hours too.”

“Deploy the cook!”

Then one soldier rushed over eagerly, dragged the gorani to a safe location, and began butchering it.

“A-are we eating here?”

“What are you talking about during an operation? Wrap it up well and put it in the backpack.”

Although spore poison had gotten on their clothes and equipment, the toxicity would mostly disappear after about 1 to 2 hours.

“It seems we could stay in the jungle for about an hour then return.”

“Huh? Return? Are you crazy? The antidote is too precious to waste. Come on! We continue advancing. Search for gorani!”

“…Yes sir!”

Mosquitoes attacked but caused no problems whatsoever.

The occasional charging lesser monsters were handled by company-grade officers.

They caught 5 gorani in total this way.

Everyone was delighted.

Field-grade and lower officers judged that the gorani meat wouldn’t reach them, but colonel-level and above were filled with anticipation.

‘Surely they’ll give me at least one leg.’

‘Even just the ribs would be fine.’

‘I’ll take the leg bones and stew them thoroughly…’

‘I heard the head meat is incredibly delicious too.’

However, Oh Jin-hyeong’s thoughts were completely different.

‘I’ll hide it deep in my residence’s refrigerator and savor it slowly.’

He had no intention of sharing even a single piece of sirloin.

Once antidote supply became active, they would surely hunt and eat secretly on their own anyway.

After finishing the hunt, Oh Jin-hyeong and his subordinates exited the jungle and were about to load the backpacks containing gorani meat into their vehicles.

At that very moment!

“Good work.”

Someone was waiting for them at the entrance to the Northern Entrance of Jirisan Wilderness, hands clasped behind their back.

“…Huh?”

“Hmm?”

“Gasp!”

It was a robust elderly man with pure white hair, an elegantly grown silver beard, and even facial markings indicating awakening that were white.

“S-Secretary Geum.”

“It’s been a while, General Oh. Has it been over a year since we last met?”

It was Palace Secretary Geum Su-ho, who assisted His Imperial Majesty from the closest distance.

Though well over 100 years old, he was said to subdue most Masters with a single slap – a monster among monsters called a Grand Master.

“What brings you all the way here?”

“Well, since you said you’d present gorani meat to His Majesty, I rushed here immediately.”

“….”

How did he know?

“Ho-oh, you’ve caught quite a lot. I can already picture His Majesty’s delight. It’ll be heavy to carry all the way back to the base, so I’ll take it from here.”

Oh Jin-hyeong stared blankly at Geum Su-ho.

“What? Got a problem with that?”

“N-no, sir. No problem at all.”

“Heh heh heh, that’s Lieutenant General Oh for you.”

This was a complete disaster.

“I’ll be sure to convey your loyalty to His Majesty. He’s been having no appetite lately and skipping meals often. The amount of meat is a bit lacking, but this should last about a week.”

Oh Jin-hyeong felt a sharp pain in his chest.

Robbed in broad daylight, but who could he complain to?

“Oh right! You still have some Spore Poison antidotes left, don’t you? Taking everything would be shameless, so just give me 50.”

“…Yes! I’ll g-give them to you.”

Fine, take it all! Take everything.

Geum Su-ho loaded the antidote sets and backpacks full of gorani meat into his car one by one.

“By the way, Jo Hun-seok killing them was fine, but going after Lee Jeong-hak too was excessive. It’ll be troublesome if that bastard dies.”

“What? We didn’t touch him.”

“Then why is he on death’s door?”

“Th-this is the first I’m hearing of it. What happened to him?”

“Tsk, find out yourself. I’m leaving.”

Geum Su-ho got in his car and drove out through the Northern Jirisan Entrance Road.

Everyone left behind wore expressions of hollow despair, like people who had lost their country.

“We should have just eaten it all….”

Regret always comes too late.

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