The Youngest Son of the Nanyang Jin Family - Chapter 97

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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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The Youngest Son of the Jin Family of Nakhyang – Chapter 158

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“Hmm?”
“Gahhhhhhh!”
I watched the man shrieking in agony.
Ants crawled across his naked body.
Flesh was torn away while he still lived, and they burrowed through every opening into his interior.
And that was merely the beginning.
Unable to find existing entrances, the ants began tearing through his flesh to create new ones.
What started as barely a dozen had multiplied exponentially with each passing moment.
“Chu Won and Yeom Ji-hak are outside?”
“Gahhhhh! Y-yes! Please, just kill me! Ahhhhhhh-!”
The ants devoured not just his flesh but his organs as well. The agony from within and without was so overwhelming that words poured from his lips unbidden.
At least death would grant him release from this suffering.
I smiled.
“And I should believe that?”
“It’s the truth! I swear I haven’t lied!”
The man spoke desperately, pleading.
Kill me, he begged. Swing that blade and end this.
His desperate desire was written plainly across his eyes and features.
Though these men were trained to endure even the most extreme torture, the terror of the swarming ants combined with the internal and external agony was more than sufficient to drive both body and mind to their absolute limits.
I nodded and rose from my seat.
I had heard enough.
If Chu Won and Yeom Ji-hak weren’t here, there was only one thing I needed to concern myself with.
“Please, kill me! Do it!”
“If you stay still, you’ll die on your own. Why bother?”
“…!”
I waved my hand dismissively, ignoring his anguished cries.
As I watched the man’s eyes, the ants swarmed across them in a black tide, consuming them and extinguishing the light within.
“Gahhhhhhhhh-!”
It appeared that Yeom Ji-hak and Chu Won had indeed joined forces.
To retrieve Gok Ok, which was presumed to be in this location, they had apparently dispatched their full strength.
Divided into ten separate groups and scattered throughout, they seemed to be desperately searching for Gok Ok even now.
Their objective was not merely to find Gok Ok.
They sought to dismantle the formation.
It was reasonable to assume this infiltration was for that purpose.
If they could only deactivate it, Chu Won and Yeom Ji-hak could make their move, allowing them to achieve their goals far more swiftly.
“In any case, it’s certain that those bastards have come.”
Judging from the fact that the intruders’ purpose was to dismantle the Jin Formation and search for Gok Ok, I determined that the probability of it being here was highest.
Did that mean they had already searched outside?
I stroked my chin while entertaining such thoughts.
Perhaps those bastards had infiltrated the Namman Beast Palace long ago to find Gok Ok, but ultimately failed, and now they had returned to succeed in that endeavor.
Come to think of it, before Gu Gunbaek disappeared in the past, I received a letter from him, and the fierce glint in his eyes from that time still seemed to flicker before my eyes.
That would mean Gu Gunbaek and those bastards might have some connection?
As I pondered for a moment, I had already arrived at the entrance of the cave.
“You’ve returned? How did things go…?”
Jang Chuchyeong greeted me warmly, then checked on the appearance of the person I had dragged along. But no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find him, so he seemed to swallow hard for a moment and deliberately erase it from his mind.
“Good.”
“Yes, that would be the case. More than that, why don’t you go inside and take a look? There are more supplies than expected.”
Jang Chuchyeong pointed inside with a grinning smile.
As I was drawn along and entered through the narrow passage, I could confirm the supplies that the Sin Gak members had brought.
There was quite a bit of water and plenty of food.
Seeing that there were even clothes to change into, it was clear they had come in thoroughly prepared.
And then there was a single sheet of paper.
The moment I unfolded it, a map of this place that those bastards had investigated was revealed.
Whether they had conducted research to dismantle the Jin Formation, I could see several circles marked in certain locations.
Those areas were probably marked as suspicious.
“Rest for a while, then we move.”
“Are you planning to visit all of these places?”
“Yes, and there are also several matters I need to resolve.”
In that instant, Jang Chuchyeong tilted his head in bewilderment.
He seemed not to understand what matters needed to be resolved.
Seeing that, I let out a small sigh.
“How long do you plan to live without even knowing which direction the blade is coming from?”
“But isn’t that because of the Jin Formation or whatever? It doesn’t seem like there’s much we can do about it.”
“The beasts living in this place don’t seem to be affected at all. There must certainly be a way.”
We must survive in a place like hell descended upon this world. Yet we are overwhelmingly outnumbered, and our opponents are so strong that the Shadow Assassins cannot even compare.
To gain the upper hand in this battle, I needed to possess something different from those bastards.
I intended to resolve this by recovering my twisted senses.
Then.
“Krraaaaaaagh!”
A mad, piercing scream echoed out.
It was not the voice of the one who had suffered at the hands of the ants moments before.
Jang Chuchyeong and I exchanged glances and nodded simultaneously, then rushed out of the cave and began surveying the surroundings.
From which direction was it coming?
I had found the direction of the echoing sound, but since I couldn’t confirm whether it was truly from that direction, my frustration was immense.
And yet.
Crrrunch—!
With that strange sound, I saw a distant tree topple over.
Chu Hyeongi and I immediately confirmed our direction and advanced.
We moved forward as silently as possible, suppressing any sign of our presence.
As I recalled the map etched in my mind, I finally understood what lay in that direction.
Undoubtedly, it was the location where we had left a marker to dismantle the formation.
The moment we approached discreetly and took in the sight before us.
“Gasp?!”
“…!”
Both Jang Chuchyeong and I couldn’t help but be astounded.
There was an enormous snake.
A snake of a size that would be unimaginable in the Central Plains.
Not quite as legendary as the Imoogi that failed to become a dragon, but its overwhelming length and rough hide seemed impervious to blades and swords alike.
Clang—
As expected.
The sword of the man attacking it bounced off without even piercing its skin.
In his panic, the moment he tried to retreat, the snake’s jaws opened wide and shot forward like a wasp.
Crunch—!
In an instant, a Sect Member’s body burst apart, spraying blood, and the remains fell from the snake’s maw mixed with gore.
But that wasn’t the end.
The snake freely swung its tail.
Crash, crash, crash—bang!
I couldn’t help but be horrified as boulders and trees alike snapped and flew through the air.
Those struck down became mangled heaps, writhing as they lay there, while the snake naturally crushed them beneath itself and searched for other prey.
“Retreat!”
Finally, those wretches began to fall back.
Just from the resentful gleam in their eyes, I could tell they were frustrated.
There were three locations marked on their map.
This was undoubtedly the strongest creature in this place.
Was this marker a warning?
Thud—!
Then, several more bodies flew and crashed against the wall.
Seeing blood flow from their mouths and noses as they hung limp, I realized they were no longer among the living.
The snake was cunning and formidable.
As if it wouldn’t let a single one escape, it herded the fleeing ones like prey, then opened its body and jaws wide to swallow them whole in one gulp.
The Sect Members at the location vanished in an instant.
“Remarkable.”
“Young Master, let’s go back. We’ll die too!”
Jang Chuchyeong clenched his fists in fear.
Despite swallowing and dispatching over a dozen Sect Member experts in one go while enduring considerable resistance and fierce attacks, not a single significant wound was visible on that creature’s body.
However, I paid no heed to Jang Chuchyeong’s words, focusing only on the snake’s movements.
The Sect Members with twisted senses couldn’t predict where the attacks were coming from at all.
But conversely, watching how that snake moved while accurately perceiving its opponent’s attacks made it abundantly clear that it possessed something fundamentally different from us.
“Hieek?!”
At that moment, the creature that had finished off all its prey turned its head toward us.
Despite making no sound, the fact that it turned naturally meant it had precisely pinpointed our location.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
Jang Chuchyeong and I began running at a frenzied pace.
Though I could clearly sense the snake pursuing us from behind, I knew we couldn’t afford to stop even for a moment, so I didn’t look back.
The distance closed at an alarming rate.
In an instant.
Ching—!
Catching a brief glimpse of movement, I kicked Jang Chuchyeong beside me.
Kwaaang—!
The massive snake’s tail lashed through the space between us.
We managed to evade by the thinnest margin, but there was no time to feel relieved.
Ching—!
In that moment, as the future flashed before me again, I cried out instinctively.
“Jump!”
The moment my voice reached them, Jang Chuchyeong and I desperately kicked off the ground and leaped into the air.
Simultaneously, the snake’s tail that had struck the earth swept across the surroundings in an instant.
Kwaaang—!
Tremendous force and destructive power.
I could feel that even if I had drawn upon all my inner energy to block it, nothing would have remained unscathed—such was its overwhelming strength.
But I couldn’t afford to be on the defensive like this.
Moreover, I didn’t have enough time to prolong this confrontation.
But the snake’s skin couldn’t be cut easily.
I might be fortunate enough to wound it, but that alone wouldn’t allow me to escape from it.
Then there was only one way.
I gripped my sword.
Drawing upon my extreme inner force, I turned my head.
Feeling my eyes meet the snake’s gaze as it raised its head, I swung my blade with a smile on my lips.
Saaak—!
A crescent-shaped sword aura flew forth at a terrifying speed.
Serkik—!
Kieeeek!
As my sword aura, faster than its movements, severed one of its eyes, the creature began thrashing in agony.
Kwadadadang—!
With the massive snake rampaging, the surroundings were instantly reduced to ruins.
“Run!”
We seized the moment and pushed ourselves faster, sprinting with renewed urgency.
The creature writhing in agony fell steadily behind us, and even the sounds that had seemed so close moments before grew distant and muffled.
We didn’t stop, continuing to run until we reached a place where no sound could follow us, only then catching our breath.
“Gasp… gasp… gasp… I almost died.”
“Yes, fortunately. If we’d fought any longer, we wouldn’t have survived.”
I shook my head with a bitter smile.
If that strike at its eyes hadn’t worked, there would have been precious few options left in that situation.
Ultimately, I would have been forced to draw upon my innate true energy to survive.
Without that, there was no way to pierce its skin.
I might not have died in the end, but I would have paid a terrible price for unleashing my innate true energy.
Yet from this ordeal, I’ve learned something crucial.
“Why are you laughing in a situation like this?”
“Because I’ve gained something important.”
“Huh? What could you possibly have gained…?”
Watching Jang Chuchyeong’s bewildered expression, I smiled faintly.
I could understand his confusion.
But I had obtained far more than enough—more than I could have hoped for.
“Do you know what separates humans from beasts?”
“Appearance.”
“Yes, of course that’s true. But that’s not what I’m referring to.”
“Then…?”
“Senses. Beasts are born with senses far superior to those of humans.”
Yes, this was the key.
It wasn’t simply that their superior senses made them immune to formation techniques.
They read the flow of air through their acute senses.
Without needing to see their prey, they can perceive their opponent through the slightest disturbance in the air, the wind itself, and scent alone.
Hunting provides the perfect example.
When hunters pursue animals downwind, those creatures catch the scent and flee—which is why hunters always move against the wind’s direction.
If I wanted to survive in this place, mastering this technique seemed far more urgent than learning to pierce their hides.
“This looks like it’s draining my energy a bit.”
I clicked my tongue and led Jang Chuchyeong forward.
A method had occurred to 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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