Southern Barbarian Beast Palace.
No—now that we were allies, I should call it Great Moon Beast Palace.
And honestly, this place was way better than I expected.
First of all, there was a completely unexpected perk: at.
An absolute mountain of at dishes was served at every al—enough to fill even in my original form.
Dan Hwa-Yeon had been stunned at the way we ate.
She kept saying she'd never eaten so much at in her life.
But co on, she’s a sect leader—shouldn’t she at least be able to eat freely?
“I spent my money buying herbs and poisonous plants, you see. Ah—don’t look at like that! I saved up for dicinal baths, okay? It wasn’t because I was starving for the sake of training!”
Her eyes welled up a little.
Tang So-Yeong always ate her fill even when she’d been abandoned in the swamp, and yet here was Hwa-Yeon, still doing this as a Sect Master.
I wiped her eyes with my tail and went back to eating.
Dan Hwa-Yeon, who’d been staring in awe at the way we ate, eventually got used to it. Like So-Yeong, she joined in the battlefield feast.
Why a “battlefield feast”?
Because we were all eating in our spirit beast forms.
Sure, eating in human form was quicker and required less food, but we were guests here.
So we might as well enjoy the happiness of stuffing our mouths full of at while we could.
No one said it aloud, but we were all thinking the sa thing.
als at the Beast Palace were abundant and deeply satisfying.
Then ca the training.
Just as the Beast Palace Lord promised, Gigano herself began sparring with us—guiding our training directly.
That was when I felt a weird sense of shock... and betrayal.
Turns out, Gigano doesn’t always snarl and drool and get all worked up when she fights.
She could actually teach techniques.
She even roared in that guttural Kraaaaagh! voice as she corrected weaknesses in the disciples' forms.
Hoya seed a little put off, but she knew Gigano’s skill was legit and didn't complain as she listened in.
From this perspective, Gigano was actually quite... intellectual.
And yet, when she’s around , she bares her teeth and gets visibly excited.
ng Gak said that the calm, instructor mode was her usual self—and that it was my presence specifically that flipped her switch.
Because I’m Gomodo’s descendant, of course.
That made sense.
But the look on ng Gak’s face suggested he ant sothing else entirely...
I should’ve just snatched that antidote he gave his son.
Seriously, just look at that smug grin.
Anyway, Gigano’s training helped a lot.
More than anything, it was huge that she knew how Jinryong fights.
She said she would mimic Jinryong’s movents—and the way she suddenly started fighting was completely different from before.
To be honest, I had trouble keeping up.
It felt like I was experiencing cognitive dissonance.
How the hell could a body that massive move like that?
Maybe this was how people felt watching So-Ryong Deungcheonbo in action.
According to the Beast Palace Lord, Jinryong was like a giant serpent wrapped in clouds, flying through the sky.
A classic Eastern dragon image.
I’ve encountered plenty of so-called “dragonkin,” but never a full-on Eastern dragon.
And of course, Eastern dragons are a tier above Western ones.
Western dragons are just beasts standing in a knight’s path.
Eastern dragons? They’re divine, mystical beings.
Sure, so Western dragons in this world rival gods, but overall, that’s the perception.
And Jinryong lived up to the legend.
He had a Frost Dragon and a Thunderbird under his command. That alone made him a top-tier threat—at least Hyeon-gyeong level.
That’s why this training with Gigano was so valuable.
If I’d seen those movents for the first ti mid-battle, I would’ve been completely caught off guard.
The more intel I have, the more strategies I can build.
Of course, even during sparring, I noticed Gigano’s eyes start to gleam... and then drool start dripping...
I did my best to ignore it.
Whatever else I may be, I am not the kind of lizard that gets seduced by a non-humanoid dinosaur.
And besides—Gigano’s ancient.
If the Serpent Queen is like a fine aged wine, Gigano is more like...
“Crooowng.”
...She might be able to read my thoughts, so I’ll stop there.
als? Excellent.
Training? Invaluable.
But that wasn’t the end.
The Great Moon Beast Palace.
It lived up to its na.
They were giving us so much, I had to wonder what they were keeping for themselves.
And not just food or training—they gave us elite warriors.
The Beast Palace’s combat style paired beasts and humans from a young age to fight in perfect sync.
You’d expect to see warriors riding leopards, bears, or elephants, right?
Nope.
This wasn’t your average martial arts world.
Here, those animals were rare.
Because the Beast Palace rode dinosaurs.
I couldn’t help but sparkle with excitent.
Warriors riding raptors instead of leopards.
Squad leaders on triceratops instead of elephants.
It was a rare, romantic sight—like sothing from a dream.
And it wasn’t just dinosaurs.
There were other spiritual beasts too, especially a few that looked like brass wyverns.
I stared at them.
Then looked at the Beast Palace Lord.
Then at Gigano.
Then back to the wyverns.
Eventually, the great chad of an era, the Beast Palace Lord, relented.
“KRAAAHH!”
“We’re your trainees now! Your trainees!”
The wyverns I tad were brass-colored, so I nad them accordingly:
Red Brass, White Brass, and Blue Brass.
“GAARRRGH!”
“Why us?!”
They were... not happy about it.
To be fair, I don’t usually drag people into things against their will.
“Heh?”
Pretending it was an accident, I dropped a 1:6 scale premium wagon figure the Bicorns had brought.
“GASP!”
“That... that rare model...!”
“It has a detailed canopy?!”
“EYOOOONG!!”
Their expressions shifted from “Please don’t abandon us, Lord!” to ones of barely suppressed desire.
“L-life-size premium carriage...?”
“Sign up now and get two spare wheels free?”
“Wait, it’s cheaper than Dan Hwa-Yeon?!”
They lost it.
“Heheheh...”
Thanks to the Bicorns’ persuasive talent, I successfully recruited the three wyverns into the Gae Gak Sect.
It was huge.
Up until now, I only had Hwangdongi.
Now, I had three taxis.
With Odukmun under my command, the more transport, the better.
als. Training. Recruitnt.
And still... it wasn’t over.
After a week, it was ti to return to the Heavenly Demon Cult.
“Wahahah! Please send my regards!”
The Beast Palace Lord handed over a staggering amount of tribute.
As proof of the alliance, and as a formal apology for her son’s earlier rudeness.
I knew my Master wasn’t one to covet riches, but with war looming, this would be a welco offering.
Resources are vital in war.
If the Martial Alliance tried to choke off our supply lines, we’d need every advantage.
Even just seeing Seolhwa stockpiling jade bee honey told the Cult had its ways.
“Croooroorong...”
Gigano drooled as she saw off.
If that giant beast roared into battle as our backup, it’d be inspiring...
But for now, she was just scary.
A different kind of scary from how others saw her.
At least she wasn’t naked.
I gave thanks to Gigano and ng Gak, then handed Maeng Po a formula to help with the side effects of poison cleansing, and set out.
“Hero... Thank you for everything. There’s so much I want to say, but I’ll save it for when we et again. I’ll miss Baekrang’s white fur, Hoya’s bristly fur, Miji and Wanji’s stringy... uh... things, and the feel of the floating sky orb...”
Dan Hwa-Yeon, the Lord of Odukmun, said her goodbyes.
“Mm... and tell that Tang-sothing fellow I was glad to et him too. Of all the Tang Clan mbers I’ve seen, he’s probably the best.”
“...Aren’t I the first Tang Clan mber you’ve t?”
“Exactly.”
“KYEEEK!”
Tang So-Yeong lashed out with a flying kick.
They’d gotten quite close.
A Hwa-gyeong master and a second-rate nobody becoming friends...
A truly inspiring sight for all Gae Gak Sect followers.
“Gek.”
I wrapped my tail around So-Yeong and Hwa-Yeon’s waists.
“Ack.”
Dan Hwa-Yeon’s fluffy tail puffed up like a question mark.
Her face said: Why am I being taken hostage?
“U-um, Hero? Are you... taking with you? I an, I’m okay, but you’re going the opposite direction.”
“Gekgek.”
I know.
“Wait, am I really going too?”
“You’re not taking her too, are you?”
They weren’t sisters, but they were weirdly in sync.
“Hero, I’ll have you know I’m the Lord of Odukmun...”
Yes, I know.
“Gekgek.”
That’s why your mother-in-law is watching Odukmun in your place.
“W-wait. So you’re making Anansiv the Lord of Odukmun in my stead?! Then what happens ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) to ...?”
Absolutely not.
There’s no way I’m letting my mother-in-law take such a poor, thankless job.
“You didn’t say anything, but sohow I feel deeply hurt. Like I’ve been sliced through the chest...”
“I get that sotis too. You get used to it.”
“Ohh, no wonder you’re so flat—how much have you been cut?!”
Tang So-Yeong’s face grew sharp.
“GEGEGEKEK!”
That’s my line!
She’s getting more and more beast-like by the day.
I’m okay with inhuman allies, but I’d appreciate it if you rembered you're still the only human in the Gae Gak Sect.
As for why I was “kidnapping” Dan Hwa-Yeon—
Simple.
Bringing the Lord of Odukmun was the clearest way to prove I had subjugated Odukmun.
My Master would believe just by saying it, sure.
But it never hurts to have solid proof.
“I could’ve just given you my seal or signature weapon, though...”
“Gek.”
I’ll send you back on a wyvern-taxi later. Just chill.
“Umm, Lady Tang, what did the Hero just say?”
“That your head’s as dull as your fatass, and to shut it before he takes your head as a trophy.”
She won’t buy that, will she?
“HIIIYAAAAH!”
...Why would she?
Anyway, now that Dan Hwa-Yeon had quieted down, I loaded the wyverns with cargo and headed back to the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The results exceeded my expectations.
With this much reinforcent, my Master would surely be pleased.
This is the final war—no room for complacency. Ti to fully prepare.
As we flew back, I started making plans.
Plans for what I would do... after I returned.
Because this ti, I would do all the things I’d been putting off.
As if it were the last.
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