The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 226

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Part 2, Chapter 18

Dozens of pairs of sharp eyes were glaring at them.

“White-eyed demon beasts.”

“What? Demon beasts?”

At Saeon’s explanation, Gayul tried to turn around with curious eyes, but his palm immediately swept over Gayul’s eyes to cover them.

“What, Father? I want to see the demon beasts too!”

“They won’t attack first if you don’t make eye contact with them. Everyone look straight ahead and advance.”

“Hiiing.”

Gayul’s lips jutted out in a pout.

“Father, is it okay to just leave those demon beasts alone?”

Soya asked, grabbing onto Saeon’s sleeve.

“The Vermillion Bird Family will handle dealing with the demon beasts. Evacuating the people of the Northern Lands is the Cheongryong Family’s responsibility.”

“I want to do demon beast subjugation too.”

Gayul grumbled, still unable to give up his lingering attachment to the demon beasts.

“Instead, we’ve been assigned a much cooler mission.”

“A much cooler mission?”

Saeon, who had quickly diverted Gayul’s attention, grinned and explained in a deliberately serious voice.

“Our purpose is to find the fastest route with a small number of people and identify the location of evil. It’s the most important role.”

“…!”

“So there’s no need to cause unnecessary friction with the demon beasts.”

“Yes, y-yes…!”

Gayul nodded his head vigorously with sparkling eyes.

“Yes, Father!”

Soya also nodded with a very dignified expression and answered.

‘I’ll definitely help Father find the location of evil. And….’

And Soya had one more purpose for following her father on this search party.

‘They said Hyeon Rabaek’s bloodline is alive in the Northern Lands. I need to meet that child and awaken Lord Yeomwang.’

The power of destruction that she couldn’t comprehend five years ago.

In truth, Soya still didn’t know what the heart of destruction was.

It wasn’t that she didn’t know the dictionary meaning.

Not simply the desire to defeat enemies, but the desire to destroy and eliminate someone.

The heart that humans also call ‘killing’ in their language.

That strong heart that wanted to annihilate someone’s life was too difficult for Soya.

Moreover, perhaps the bloodline of Hyeon Rabaek that Heuksa saw might be the same person as the successor of the black water suspected of colluding with evil.

There didn’t seem to be many survivors of the remaining Xuanwu Clan.

If that were the case, awakening Hyeonmu, the last divine beast, would become a much more difficult task.

Hyeon Rabaek’s bloodline, who had colluded with evil, wouldn’t readily cooperate in awakening Hyeonmu.

In the worst case, she would have to fight evil while simultaneously awakening Hyeonmu.

However, she couldn’t just sit idle because it was difficult.

I am the Dragon Emperor’s Bride, born with the power to awaken divine beasts, the owner of the oracle.

This time, no matter what, I’ll awaken Hyeonmu and completely annihilate evil.

With such determination, Soya had firmly brought along the Hyeonmu iron tablet.

“Let’s take a short break here.”

At Saeon’s words, the attendants began setting up temporary barracks and preparing meals.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

Soya asked, looking around with the desire to help.

“Then Young Lady, could you go get drinking water with Su Ri?”

Sanho asked, grabbing the scruff of the blue wolf with water bottles dangling from its sides and pushing it toward Soya.

“Yes, Sanho! I’ll go with Su Ri!”

Soya answered with a bright smile.

“Su Ri, you must serve the Young Lady well without letting a single drop of water touch her hands.”

“Yes, big sister! Young Lady, please get on.”

Su Ri lowered his body so Soya could climb on.

“Thank you, Su Ri.”

Su Ri carried Soya and leisurely headed toward the bushes.

“Birds, find a place with water.”

The birds that had followed Soya fluttered and took flight, then scattered in all directions.

After a while, the birds returned and guided Soya and Su Ri to where water was flowing.

“Young Lady, please rest here. I’ll go fetch the water.”

“No, Su Ri. I’ll also….”

“Oh my, if even a drop of water gets on the Young Lady’s hands, big sister will scold me. You saw earlier, didn’t you? That terrifying face she made when she spoke.”

“Terrifying…?”

But Sanho was definitely smiling kindly?

Leaving Soya with an expression of incomprehension, Su Ri headed toward the stream.

He was filling the water containers and about to return when.

“Young Lady, now let’s slowly go back….”

Splash—!

With a fierce spray of water, black demon beasts that looked like giant freshwater eels burst out from the stream.

“Aaah!”

Su Ri was startled and fell backward.

The demon beasts’ bodies were as thick as wooden pillars, and their mouths were densely packed with sharp teeth.

Kiiiiiiik—!

The demon beasts opened their mouths wide toward Su Ri and flicked their tongues.

“Su Ri, be careful!”

Whoosh—!

With the sound of cutting through the wind, Soya’s arrow pierced through the demon beast’s neck.

Kii, kiiiik—

The demon beast made a pained sound, staggered, and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Seeing this, the other demon beasts changed targets and fiercely charged toward Soya.

However, Soya lightly kicked off the ground, leaped up, summoned the Baekho Sword, and swung it toward the demon beasts.

Slash, slash.

Each time she swung her sword, the demon beasts’ elongated bodies were cut away.

After defeating the last remaining demon beast and landing gracefully, Soya was catching her breath when.

“Ah, Young Lady, behind you…!”

Grrrrowl…!

A wild beast-shaped demon beast that had been hiding in the bushes charged toward Soya.

Just as Soya was about to twist her body and swing her sword.

Suddenly the demon beast let out a shriek, staggered, and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Soya looked at the arrow embedded in the demon beast’s body with a puzzled expression.

‘This is from the Vermillion Bird Family…?’

Soya’s eyes widened as she spotted the red feathers attached to the arrow.

She quickly turned her head toward the direction the arrow had come from.

On the hill across from them stood a tall man wrapped in black cloth, facing their direction.

Despite the considerable distance, he was skilled enough to shoot an arrow and hit a vital spot in one shot.

‘Is he someone from the Vermillion Bird Family?’

He was a stranger Soya had never seen before.

Unlike the White Tiger Family, who were moving with a small number of people to find the fastest route, the Vermillion Bird Family, tasked with demon beast subjugation, would have had to mobilize as many retainers as possible.

So it was natural that there would be people she didn’t know.

The man gazed quietly toward where Soya was, then silently turned around.

Soya felt a strange sensation.

* * *

The White Tiger Family’s search party continued moving north.

Their first destination was the Black Marsh where the Dark Earth Underground Palace once stood.

They planned to investigate that place first, which was officially known as the last location where Evil had resided.

While advancing north, they occasionally encountered demon beasts along the way.

“Those creatures that have been hiding from the Imperial Army ever since Hyeonra Baek’s death are really running wild now.”

An attendant from the Blue Wolf Family who had participated in the last war said while looking down at the freshly killed demon beast’s corpse.

“They must have something to rely on. Something like the Evil that created them will soon be resurrected…”

Saeon, who had been replying indifferently, suddenly stopped speaking and looked somewhere.

“Family Head?”

The attendants turned their heads with puzzled faces to follow his gaze.

There was a small village there.

“It’s a village.”

“How about we rest there for today?”

Saeon kept his gaze on the village and seemed lost in thought for a moment, then nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

Shortly after, the White Tiger Family’s search party arrived at the village entrance.

“Distinguished guests have come all the way to the north. I am the village chief of this village. On behalf of the village, I joyfully welcome the distinguished guests from the Western Region.”

The village people who recognized Saeon and the White Tiger Family members continued their warm reception.

“This must be the young lady from the rumors! The one who is said to be the master of the divine oracle…!”

Excitement filled the village chief’s eyes when he spotted Soya.

“How long has this village been here?”

Saeon stepped forward slightly and blocked the village chief’s gaze toward Soya as he asked.

“After the war ended five years ago, we relocated here with the help of the Imperial Army. It’s all thanks to the grace of His Imperial Majesty in the Central Region and the three great families.”

“The village composition is unusual.”

Saeon said while looking around at the village people.

Originally, the people of the Northern Lands were known to live in tribes formed by the same bloodline, but here various species of beastfolk were mixed together.

“Since this is a village newly established by those who were scattered and separated from their tribes due to the war, naturally various beastfolk came to be mixed together. That’s why I’m also called a village chief rather than a tribal chief.”

“I see.”

Saeon nodded quietly.

However, his eyes were quite sharp as he toured the village under the village chief’s guidance.

The village was extremely clean.

‘Rather than being scattered and newly relocated, it seems like they weren’t attacked by Evil from the beginning.’

No, not just Evil, but there wasn’t a single trace of demon beast attacks either.

Although the Imperial Palace had been sending the Imperial Army to protect civilians from demon beasts’ harm, could a village really be this clean?

It was when the village chief had provided them with a place to stay and briefly stepped away.

“Something’s strange, Father.”

Soya tugged firmly at Saeon’s sleeve while looking around.

“Cotton Ball…?”

“This village doesn’t have any scent at all.”

“Scent?”

“The scent of evil magic.”

Soya looked up at Saeon with a serious expression.

“I’ve been smelling it continuously since coming to the Northern Lands, but I can’t smell it at all here.”

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