The Female Lead Saves the World - Chapter 273

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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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Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 2, Episode 94

“A parasite?”
“That’s… a parasite?”
“Ugh!”
The hunters of the Sama Guild questioned in disbelief at Ju Sa Eun’s words.
Bang Wi Jin, whose stomach was weak, covered his mouth and even retched.
“If the Giant Mantis is infected with parasites, then the boss monster must be that thing in the water tank.”
Sa Ma Young, who had quickly assessed the situation, unleashed a sword strike toward the nearest male Giant Mantis.
Whoosh—!
“Shrieeek—!”
As the formless blade energy split open its abdomen, black ichor erupted with a sickening splatter, and the Giant Mantis let out a prolonged shriek.
Simultaneously, a long, rope-like thing drenched in the black fluid dropped to the ground with a wet thud.
Sa Ma Young narrowed his eyes and examined it carefully.
It writhed.
As he had suspected, it was not the Giant Mantis’s internal organs.
It was the same parasite that filled the water tank.
“Right, there’s no way only one was infected.”
Yet the sight that followed was unexpected even for him.
The parasite that had flowed out of the Giant Mantis’s body began crawling back into its belly.
“Shree, shreek!”
The male continued to bleed black ichor without seeming to notice, yet it remained unaware.
Instead, it cried out more ferociously, its momentum surging.
Naturally, when a host weakens, parasites either seek another host or share its fate.
But this massive black rope-like parasite was different.
It did not merely parasitize and drain nutrients—it was actively manipulating and controlling its host.
An A-rank monster facing an S-rank hunter should instinctively feel fear.
Yet from the four Giant Mantises, not only pure hostility but also a competitive spirit emanated.
All of it was the parasite’s doing.
The true master of this dungeon was not the Giant Mantis, but that black parasite.
Helpless on its own, it had found a powerful host and turned them into puppets—a clever move, though it would end here.
As he briefly weighed which to slaughter first, the female or the male, for maximum efficiency, Yeo Joo’s voice reached his ears.
“Sa Ma Young.”
At the sweet call of his name, he turned his head.
In a world of dull, colorless numbness, he saw a being that shone with light alone.
“Burn it all to ash.”
Only to Yeo Joo did my keen senses speak the truth.
That a towering wall had risen anew between myself and Yeo Joo because of Ju Sa Eun’s affair.
That the distance we had closed had stretched wide once more.
Yet Sa Ma Young paid no heed to this shift.
He merely ignited karma flames, wrapping them around his blade as he answered.
“As you command.”
After all, Yeo Joo was no longer a subject of inquiry for him.

* * *

“Kueeegh….”
Having incinerated the male Giant Mantis and the parasite dwelling within its belly without leaving even ash behind, Sa Ma Young flicked his blade to shake off the monster’s bodily fluids as he assessed the battlefield.
While Bang Wi Jin bound the female’s legs with a barrier, the plan to strike down the remaining two males was proceeding smoothly.
Yet Sa Ma Young’s brow furrowed ever so slightly.
He still needed to draw out the parasite lurking motionless in the water.
“Wi Jin, dismantle the barrier. And Jun Kyung.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Dive into the water tank.”
At Sa Ma Young’s command, Woo Jun Kyung, who had been fighting in coordination with Bang Wi Jin and Bang Ri Ri in the rear, switched positions.
Unlike Woo Jun Kyung, who excelled in close combat, Bang Wi Jin was the type to attack from range using barriers.
Boom!
What had previously confined the female Giant Mantis was merely a prison that restricted her movements.
But now that he had switched roles with Woo Jun Kyung, that would no longer suffice.
Bang Wi Jin pressed both hands to the ground, fixing his gaze upon the male Giant Mantis.

[ Skill ‘Karmic Flame Barrier
(業火結界)
‘ is activated. ]
[ Attack power increases by the amount of karma
(業)
accumulated by the target. ]

Crunch, crunch, crunch!
The earth around the Giant Mantis caved inward as Bang Wi Jin traced the formation of a barrier, and a rope woven from karmic flame burst forth, binding the creature’s limbs.
With its movement sealed and suffering continuous damage from the karmic flame, the male Giant Mantis had become nothing more than prey for Bang Ri Ri.
“Perfect condition.”
Bang Ri Ri, her crimson lips curved in a smile, leaped into Bang Wi Jin’s barrier.
Meanwhile, Woo Jun Kyung, having disengaged from the battle, sprinted toward the Water Tank.
For a decisive strike, the method I had used against the crocodile on the Bridge would not suffice.
Having made my resolve, I plunged into the water without hesitation.
Before the splash had even settled and the ripples stilled, purple veins erupted across my entire body.
It was the symptom that appeared when activating the poison flowing through my blood vessels.
Then, sensing a new organism, the parasites swam rapidly toward me along the currents.
Though fear naturally arose at such a sight, my face—mottled with bulging veins—twisted into a savage grin.
Crunch, crunch!
My white teeth tore into both my arms.
The surging crimson blood was exhilarating.

[ Activating skill ‘Extreme Toxic Blood
(劇毒血)
‘. ]
[ Attack power increases based on the amount of blood sacrificed. ]

“Heh.”
As searing pain surged through my entire body, I let out a low laugh.
The more intense my suffering became, the more violently everything in the water thrashed.
Soon, the parasites that had approached to target me began to disappear one by one.
Sensing the death of their kin, the parasites within the female reacted.
The female Giant Mantis’s previously milky eyes suddenly turned pitch black.
“Kiiiiiii—!”
At the female’s long shriek, her wings spread wide and body raised upright, the males responded.
Their eyes similarly darkened, the males endured having their limbs torn away and wings shredded, retreating desperately as they flew toward the female.
“Kiiii….”
The gathered males lowered their bodies before her as if in reverence.
The female, her sharp mouth grotesquely agape before the males bowing their heads, began devouring them without hesitation.
Crunch, crunch.
The feeding was voracious, ferocious, and swift.
After consuming the heads of two males in an instant, the female’s body transformed.
Crack, crunch.
Her back split open as two new pairs of wings sprouted forth, her front legs sharpened, and her body doubled in size.
“Kyaaaaa—!”
“Ugh!”
“Screeeech!”
The piercing shriek tore at my eardrums with a force incomparable to before.
Ju Sa Eun and Bang Wi Jin, whose bodies were relatively frail compared to the others, had to cover both their ears.
Everyone could instinctively sense it.
The female had evolved—her rank had ascended after devouring the males.
“A+ rank, or perhaps even higher.”
Oh Young In retreated, dodging the saliva dripping from the towering female Giant Mantis as he spoke.
Tension flooded the Grand Cathedral.
Though she had only climbed one tier from A-rank to S-rank, everyone knew the actual difference in power was several times greater than that.
That was when it happened.
The doors burst open!
“Help the heroes!”
“Hyaaaaa!”
As the tightly sealed doors of the Grand Cathedral swung wide, Priests wielding clubs and farming implements came pouring in like a flood.
But no matter how much strength these Priests—who ordinarily recited prayers—pooled together, they could never hope to stand against a Giant Mantis now evolved to S-rank.
“No! It’s dangerous! Don’t interfere!”
I desperately tried to block their path, but I alone could not hold back dozens of Priests.
Swept along by the Priests rushing excitedly toward the female Giant Mantis, I stumbled backward, fighting desperately not to be trampled.
Eventually, I gave up trying to stop them and barely managed to slip free from the chaos.
“Ugh, I thought I was going to be crushed to death…”
The accident occurred then.
Several Priests tangled with each other and fell, pushing me in the process.
“Aaah!”
“Whoa!”
Before I could even brace myself, I plunged into the Water Tank.
Fortunately, the water wasn’t very deep, and after Woo Jun Kyung had eradicated all the parasitic worms he’d released into the water, they had all disappeared when he emerged.
But the commotion was enough to draw the attention of the female Giant Mantis—one weak individual, alone in a vast tank.
“Kiieeek!”
The female’s massive wings fluttered with a whoosh as she launched into the air in an instant, diving straight toward me.
Sa Ma Young rushed after her, running through the air.
The solution was simple.
If he grabbed a couple of Priests right now and threw them in front of the Giant Mantis, she would easily redirect her attention toward the greater source of food.
For Sa Ma Young himself, that was the correct answer.
But.

“I suppose Sa Ma Young has his own way of doing things.”

I despised my own methods.
That left only one choice remaining.
Crack!
The colossal foreleg of the female Giant Mantis pierced through Sa Ma Young’s chest as he stood before me.

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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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