Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

The Five Venoms Lord, half-buried in sand, managed to push himself upright.

He roared like thunder.

“S-Save Hoja! Uuugh—!”

At first, I thought maybe Gun Hye-rin hadn’t done much damage—but the moment his cry ended, he doubled over and vomited a mouthful of thick, dark blood.

Still kneeling, he tried to rise—only to cough up more.

“Blergh!”

So much for worrying he wasn’t seriously hurt. That one strike from Hye-rin had done real damage.

You don’t cough up clotted blood like that unless your insides are wrecked.

I can’t claim to be a veteran of Murim, but I’ve had my share of combat since fighting those Blood Cult bastards. And even I’ve never seen internal injuries that severe.

Chunks of congealed blood, like the slabs they throw in ox blood soup.

What the hell, it’s like his insides are falling out in cubes.

For the first time, I thought we might actually finish the Five Venoms Lord here and now.

But right then, the remaining Five Venoms warriors—who had been keeping me in check—rushed toward the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings on his command.

“By the Lord’s orders!”

“Charge!”

Golden-Furred Wasp Kings may be mid-grade spirit beasts—but only in groups. Individually, they’re low-grade. And they’re especially vulnerable to throwing weapons and arrows like the ones those guys used.

They don’t have the hard shells or internal energy reinforcement that higher-grade beasts get.

If left unchecked, Hoja—the one they’d worked so hard to subdue—might actually escape.

I shouted quickly to Cho and Yeondu.

“Cho! Yeondu! Protect the Wasp Kings!”

Normally, it takes about five minutes for bees to subdue an enemy caught in a bee ball.

And it takes ten minutes for the heat and lack of oxygen to kill.

Even for a spirit beast like Hoja, that timing shouldn’t change too much.

So for the next five minutes minimum, we had to stop anyone from touching the wasps.

Tsssrrr! “Understood, Dad!”

Shyaa! “Understood, Master So-ryong!”

With that, Cho and Yeondu soared into the sky.

While I could concentrate internal energy in my ears to block Hoja’s sonic attacks, those two had always stayed near Hwa-eun or Gun Hye-rin for protection.

But now, Hoja was pinned. His sonic screeches were no longer a threat.

Yeondu streaked down like a meteor, smashing into the area near the clustered wasps.

—BOOM!

Sand exploded outward, flinging several Five Venoms warriors into the water.

“Gurk! Bluhhh—”

“Khahak!”

—Rattle-rattle.

The sand rained down on the clustered wasps, but they didn’t so much as flinch. They maintained their formation perfectly.

Then Cho followed from the other side—spraying venom from the sky.

—Tssssrrrt!

The venom struck the charging enemies—more than a dozen warriors began screaming as their skin bubbled and dissolved.

“GAAAAH!”

“H-HELP! SAVE ME!”

They dove into the water, clutching what remained of their melting limbs—but the venom was too strong.

Even in water, it didn’t stop.

Some were only half-dissolved, but still beyond saving. The “lucky” ones died floating with mangled limbs, carried away downstream.

Seeing that devastation firsthand—and realizing that the two monsters responsible were now glaring directly at them—sent the remaining Five Venoms warriors into full retreat.

That’s when the Five Venoms Lord, apparently stabilized, shouted again:

“What are you doing!?”

His thunderous voice startled them into pausing.

They hesitated, then began inching forward again—until something shot from the sand and smashed into them.

Ksshaa! “Lord So-ryong, we’re here too!”

Sha-kiii! “How dare you bastards!”

It was Baekhwa and Heukhwa, enveloped in internal energy and tearing through the Five Venoms warriors.

I had sent them to help Hye-rin earlier—but they’d stayed back.

Likely because if they jumped in too early, the Five Venoms Lord might’ve escaped.

Now that Hye-rin had slammed him down, they’d detached from her side and rejoined us.

“What are you all doing!? We must save Hoja—at all costs!”

Panicking, the Five Venoms Lord screamed at his men again.

But Cho, Yeondu, Baekhwa, and Heukhwa stood like a wall—they couldn’t break through.

Then it happened.

—Clink.

A soft bell chime rang out from the Five Venoms Lord’s direction.

Immediately, his men shrieked and charged the wasps like madmen.

“GAAAAHHH!”

“GRAAAAAAHHH!”

Like berserkers ready to die, they rushed forward, hurling themselves at the bee ball.

Some were swatted aside by Yeondu’s tail, others dissolved in midair from Cho’s venom—but the madness didn’t stop.

It was like they’d been stripped of fear, possessed by the will to die.

I started to panic.

If even one of them breaks through and disrupts the wasp formation—Hoja might escape.

But then—

—Ssssshh.

The air above the bee ball shimmered—and Big Sis Jeokwol appeared.

She must’ve rushed here the moment she sensed my panic.

“Sis!”

I cried out in relief.

She began to spin, her butterfly scales expanding out in widening circles.

From that moment on, no one would dare get close.

“Any fool who steps in now will be shredded to dust!”

She warned them loud and clear.

But, of course, the world is full of idiots who just have to touch the poop to know it’s not chocolate.

A few disregarded her and charged forward—only to get shredded like rats in a blender.

—SKRREEEEECHHHH!

Oof, yikes.

No screams. Just disintegration. The sand was dyed red in an instant.

Hye-rin and Hwa-eun, having stabilized, rejoined the defense line alongside Cho and Yeondu. I stepped in too.

And the Five Venoms Lord?

He looked like a man realizing he’d lost everything.

“So close to winning! And then a bunch of wasps ruin everything!”

He must’ve really believed he had us beat—only for the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings to flip the entire situation, leaving him seething.

But this was only the beginning.

—THUD. THUD. THUD!

As his furious scream echoed, the ground began to shake.

From downstream, Cheong-wol came barreling in like a lunatic. Azure flames blazed from Hwayang’s back, warning every enemy in sight, and behind the girl on his back—Lady Cheong-yu—a flood of snakes surged forward like a tidal wave.

Above them, soaring through the air—Moji and Soji.

Just then, something shot past me from behind, tearing into the Five Venoms forces.

—Fwhip! Fwipfwip!

“Guhk!”

“Gahhkk!”

Five Venoms warriors crumpled like bundles of straw—impaled by poisoned stingers from stingrays and snails.

I turned to see Yeoncheon and Yeonji-sunbae riding on Heukjeomi’s back, unleashing volleys like a triple-barreled machine gun turret.

Are they okay?

“Of course!”

They answered with full confidence, needles flying in all directions.

At that point, the Five Venoms Lord gave up all hope and made his escape.

There was nothing more to be gained—only more to lose.

“Damn it. Everyone, fall back!”

Just as he launched himself into the air to flee...

—Fwhip!

One of Yeoncheon sunbae’s needles shot out—unexpectedly midstream—catching him square in the back just as he was mid-step for lightfoot technique.

“Grrkk!”

“L-Lord!”

He toppled, completely face-first into the ground.

His warriors rushed to grab him and vanished into the jungle.

Watching that pitiful back disappear, I couldn’t help but think:

Let that be the last we ever see of you.

That’s your express ticket to hell. One-way only.

***

Dozens of Five Venoms and Blood Cult warriors now lay dead or unconscious by the riverside.

Only the buzzing of bees filled the silence.

“Ranghu, make sure not to kill him, okay? If he just passed ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) out, let me know.”

—Bzzzz!

I summoned Ranghu and a few bees stationed in the air to check whether Hoja had been fully subdued.

I never intended to kill him.

Sure, he’d hurt a lot of people and caused us countless crises—but he’d been turned into a puppet by the Five Venoms’ sorcery. He wasn’t responsible.

The Spicy Fabre Sect of Sacheon Tang believes in drawing a clear line between victims and perpetrators. And victims deserve to be rescued—with dignity and compassion.

Please.

I prayed Hoja didn’t die from trauma—or that none of the wasps were fatally wounded either.

And then... a Wasp King dropped from the bee ball, crawling weakly along the ground.

“What!? What’s wrong with your back!?”

I dashed over and scooped it up, immediately calling out for medics.

“Moji! Soji!”

The two zipped over and landed on my shoulders.

I held the injured Wasp King in my hands—it couldn’t move its lower body at all.

“Please, help him!”

—Myumyuuu!

A warm light poured from them, enveloping the wasp.

Moments later, it rose into the air, fully restored, as if nothing had ever happened.

—Bzzz.

That’s why they’re medics.

Fighting hornets always risks bee casualties.

Even if the bees can stand toe-to-toe, they’re still just bees.

In real nature, there are many cases where the whole hive dies in the process.

But I’d sent in the Wasp Kings because I had Moji and Soji—as long as no one died instantly, they could be healed.

Soon, others with broken legs or torn wings began arriving too.

Moji and Soji got right to work, treating every wounded bee they found.

An hour passed.

Ranghu, still perched on my shoulder and clearly looking for praise, gave a flutter of his wings.

—Bzzz!

“Is it done?”

—Bzzzz! (nod)

It seemed Hoja was subdued.

“Yohwa! Tie him up!”

—Kssit! “Got it, Brother!”

“Not too tight, okay? Just like a net—not a cocoon.”

—Ksshisii. “Understood, Brother.”

Yohwa’s silk had excellent heat retention.

If you wrapped a creature overheated from battle in something too tight, it could kill them.

After giving her instructions, the Wasp Kings scattered, buzzing off in every direction.

I told myself to remind them—if they saw any more wounded, send them to Moji and Soji.

And then—

Silk spread out like a cast net in the air above.

Beneath it, finally visible:

The Ten-Poison Beast, Hoja.

A sturdy jaw. Slim waist. A solid carapace.

God, he looks amazing.

I fetched some water and poured it near his mouth.

Hoja stirred and began to writhe—but quickly flopped back down, completely drained.

I panicked for a moment.

Was he dead?

But then I saw his abdomen moving, fast.

Breathing.

I poured a bit more water over his head.

He weakly lifted his gaze—compound eyes locking onto my face.

And I smiled.

Because we’d just pulled off the rescue of the century:

We saved the Ten-Poison Beast, Hoja.