Chapter 126

Its raised head alone was about three meters high, and behind it, a body more than ten meters long crawled sinuously on the ground. Between its sharp venomous fangs, a venom that made one's eyes sting just by looking at it dripped continuously. Blood Cult members near the venom instantly died, vomiting black blood. Meanwhile, the mind-controlling insects were still alive and wriggling, showing just how potent the venom of the Demon Soul Insects was.

Cheong-ra hurriedly took out the Poison-Resisting Bead given by Dang Ran-yeong from his bosom, his hands trembling terribly with fear. Even with the bead in his mouth, the poisonous aura choked his breath. No, it might have been fear, not the poisonous aura, that was choking him.

For Cheong-ra, who feared even small insects, this giant centipede was the return of a terrible nightmare. Among his countless nightmares, there had never been one like this.

As Yeon Jeok-san shook the bell more strongly, the giant centipede twisted its body and crawled forward. Cheong-ra's face instantly turned pale. A groan involuntarily escaped his lips. If not for the Poison-Resisting Bead in his mouth, he might have screamed.

'It's nothing. It's nothing. It's nothing...'

He tried to tell himself he could handle it like the tiger from before, but at this point, Cheong-ra's reason was already paralyzed. Not only was the centipede here, but Yeon Jeok-san as well. Moreover, even with the Poison-Resisting Bead, the centipede's venom was threatening.

The centipede looked like a spirit beast at first glance, but the aura it emitted was not that of a spirit beast at all, but full of evil poisonous energy. Just like that tiger from before, its insides were surely rotting. Inside that giant centipede's body, hundreds of maggots...

The moment he imagined that far, the tip of Cheong-ra's sword wavered. Seeing Cheong-ra unable to hold back his nausea and vomiting, Yeon Jeok-san's face was filled with joy. No, more than that, his face turned red and his breathing became slightly rough, clearly showing signs of sexual excitement.

"Are you that afraid of insects... How pitiful."

Yeon Jeok-san asked, his eyes sparkling, as Cheong-ra staggered.

"But Cheong-ra, do you know that there are insects inside your body too?"

Hearing those words, Cheong-ra could no longer bear it. Finally, unable to overcome his fear and disgust, he turned his back and fled. As if that was a signal, the giant centipede began to chase after Cheong-ra.

Cheong-ra ran away, using his lightness skill with all his might. He wanted to get as far away as possible from that disgusting and terrifying thing. The fear deeply ingrained in his body since childhood dominated his entire being. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it would burst, and his whole body was trembling like an aspen tree. He had to escape from that insect and get out of this place, running as far away as possible...

Cheong-ra, who had been fleeing with his reason lost, suddenly came to his senses because of people's screams. The servants carrying food ingredients saw the giant centipede crawling towards them and scattered in panic.

"Aaaah! Monster!"

"Everyone run away! A monster centipede has appeared!"

Cheong-ra barely managed to stop his steps. If he went any further, he would reach the banquet hall full of people. Although there were martial artists like Go Yeoryeong the Phoenix Sword among the Phoenix-Qilin-Iris-Orchid Contest participants, they were few. Most were commoners who didn't know martial arts, and they would die vomiting blood like the Blood Cult members earlier just by being near the centipede monster. Even the martial artists wouldn't be able to hold out for long unless they had a Poison-Resisting Bead.

'Damn it!'

Finally, Cheong-ra turned around with all his might to face the centipede crawling towards him. Cold sweat poured down his entire body like rain, and the tip of his sword was still shaking. However, even in the midst of terrible fear, his eyes were bright with determination to face something worse than death. Cheong-ra gritted his teeth, keeping his lips tightly closed so the Poison-Resisting Bead wouldn't fall out.

"That expression, so pitiful and lovely!"

Yeon Jeok-san's shout, following the centipede, was heard distantly. Unable to make proper judgments, Cheong-ra moved solely based on his years of training.

He first aimed for the centipede's legs. His sharp slash cut through the legs. However, despite their thin and long appearance, they were tougher than expected and didn't receive much damage. Perhaps it was because his sword energy was weaker than usual due to his unsound state of mind.

Although he cut off three or four legs, it had almost no effect on the centipede's movement. Cheong-ra avoided the giant centipede rushing at him with its venomous fangs bared, and this time struck its hard, reddish outer shell. Clang! A sound that was hard to believe came from the collision of carapace and metal.

"Kuk!"

Stimulated by the continuous attacks, the centipede circled around Cheong-ra once. Noticing its intention to constrict its body, Cheong-ra avoided it with a pale face. The moment he leapt into the air, the centipede's tail, which had sprung up at a terrifying speed, struck Cheong-ra's back.

Thud! Cheong-ra, who had plummeted to the ground, barely managed to roll and regain his posture. He had almost spit out the Poison-Resisting Bead. If not for his protective inner energy, his internal organs would have burst and he would have died. No, he might have already suffered internal injuries.

However, he couldn't properly feel the pain of internal injuries. Cheong-ra was so desperate now that he could barely feel pain. Evidence of this was his constant attacks on the outer shell that his sword could barely penetrate. His heart was beating so fast it wouldn't have been strange if it burst. Although he was holding out at the thought that innocent people might die, he wasn't in his right mind.

The centipede bared its venomous fangs and swiftly moved its head. It was a movement trying to snatch its prey with arrow-like speed. After deflecting the venomous fangs trying to bite his body several times, he became somewhat accustomed to the spirit beast's movements. Because it lacked the intelligence of a human, its movements were simple and became familiar to the eye. Perhaps he could win... Just as fear was faintly beginning to recede in Cheong-ra's heart,

"Cheong-ra, you seem to have forgotten that I'm here."

At that moment, a strong impact hit his leg, and Cheong-ra's body staggered. Yeon Jeok-san's palm strike had hit the back of his knee. As he stumbled to his knees, the centipede didn't miss the opportunity and pounced on Cheong-ra's body. The wriggling body and numerous legs touched his body. At that moment, Cheong-ra completely lost his reason.

His entire body's inner energy boiled and exploded with tremendous force.

What formed on the sword he swung with all his might was something unclear that surpassed sword energy or sword threads. In an instant, the centipede's body was cut apart, and its rotting bodily fluids spilled onto the ground.

"Uuk...!"

Cheong-ra, whose blood and energy had twisted from exerting power beyond his limits due to fear, vomited blood and crawled on the ground to avoid the filthy bodily fluids. The skin touched by the centipede's fluids burned. Blood gushed between his fingers as he covered his mouth to prevent spitting out the Poison-Resisting Bead.

At that moment, with a faint clang... his sword broke into three pieces. Cheong-ra's eyes widened as he saw his sword break, then immediately collapsed in despair.

"How did you manage to cut through such thick armor!"

Yeon Jeok-san exclaimed in admiration. His face full of ecstatic and joyful light, he approached Cheong-ra, who was vomiting blood, with quick steps. Then he smiled broadly.

"But it's unfortunate. Centipedes are quite tenacious, so you should have cut off its head, but you cut near the tail, so it's still alive. Of course, it will die soon, but for now... it can still be used sufficiently."

The bell sound rang again. Seeing the centipede, which had lost a third of its body, slowly crawling towards him, all color drained from Cheong-ra's face. He tried to crawl away with his infinitely heavy body, but Yeon Jeok-san stepped on his shoulder to stop him.

"...Uuk!"

Cheong-ra, now without even a weapon, grasped Yeon Jeok-san's leg. He desperately tried to push him away, then struck with his fist and scratched wildly. It was a struggle to escape somehow, but due to his weakened body from internal injuries, Yeon Jeok-san didn't budge at all.

The terrifyingly dreadful nightmare approached to his feet.

In Cheong-ra's greatly dilated pupils, the head of the giant insect grew larger and larger. Finally, as the centipede's venomous fangs approached close enough to bite his neck, Yeon Jeok-san took out another bell and shook it. Unlike before, it was a bell that made a clear, ringing sound. The centipede stopped in place, dripping venom on the ground.

"Cheong-ra."

Yeon Jeok-san bent down and stroked Cheong-ra's cheek with a very soft and affectionate voice. He even wiped off the centipede's bodily fluids, which only made a sizzling sound due to the Poison-Resisting Bead's energy, with his own sleeve. Seeing Cheong-ra shudder at this action and glare at him with reddened eyes, the area between Yeon Jeok-san's legs swelled.

He rang the bell again, faintly and clearly. The centipede then approached Cheong-ra very slowly. His already pale face now turned ashen. The constantly moving antennae brushed against Cheong-ra's cheek. Yeon Jeok-san's eyes shone bizarrely.

"Tell me you're sorry."

Cheong-ra could not understand this sudden and nonsensical demand at all.