Chapter 145: Nine-tailed fox
by fnovelpia
Yeah.
First, let’s figure out where we are.
“Where exactly are we right now?”
“Hamhung. This is Hamhung.”
When I asked Ttaengchili, she took out a high-quality North Korean map—so detailed it could rival the latest 3D holographic maps of the Korean Peninsula and hand-drawn masterpieces like Kim Jeong-ho’s “Daedongyeojido”—and cross-checked it before answering.
Hamhung.
We’ve come a long way.
“How many have we taken out so far? It looks like we’ve cleared everything near the Baekdu mountain range.”
We’ve cleaned up quite a bit.
According to Ttaengchili’s info, I figured we could take things a bit easier from here.
Rest a little.
After all, we’ve covered a lot in just one day.
“Hmm. What’s left here… maybe just that lizard on Mount Baekdu?”
“Hm? So if we take that down, it means only the final boss is left?”
“Exactly.”
Alright.
The final boss is fine.
I don’t mind that.
But this damn succubus is completely abandoning any sense of teamwork.
If she keeps being uncooperative, this’ll get annoying.
“What are you doing? You’re the pride of Korea. Go seduce it already!”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I can help. But seriously, how the hell am I supposed to seduce that thing?”
The succubus pointed at the creature in front of her.
Right.
That creature was none other than a nine-tailed fox—a gumiho.
By now, it should be obvious why even Korea’s pride is hesitating.
The succubus is clearly scared of that enormous fox.
Probably had her pride wounded.
“Come on. You’ve got the looks to make even animals fall for you, right?”
“Ugh, you want me to seduce a fox now?”
“Hurry up and do it already!”
We’re on a tight schedule.
We’ve got to take that thing down and move further north.
It’s just a giant nine-tailed fox, that’s all!
“And it’s even a female fox! Isn’t this a bit too much?”
“Too much or not, are you saying you won’t do it?”
“Ugh… that’s not—hey! Put that scythe down! Are you really going to act like this?”
The succubus clearly had no confidence.
“KUAHHHHHH! You wretches! Do you even know where you are?!”
“Wow, loud voice. You can talk too?”
“Foolish creatures! Do you know who I am?!”
The massive fox howled.
“You should’ve kept quiet. You’ve been attacking people and now you’re mad?”
“Keep quiet? Hah! What I do here is none of your concern. Cheonggu is my land!”
The earth shook violently.
As expected of a gumiho.
Really something.
“Cheonggu? What’s that? Ttaengchili, do you know?”
“Cheonggu refers to Korea in ancient Chinese texts. It can also mean the territory of Gojoseon and so on.”
“So basically, she’s saying this is her land?”
“Pretty much.”
Hmm.
I just learned something totally useless.
“Hard to believe gumihos became real after the Great Cataclysm. So if she’s calling this place
Cheonggu, does that mean she came from a parallel world too?”
“Maybe. According to the ancient Chinese text Shan Hai Jing, a nine-tailed fox lives in a land called Cheonggu.”
“So the origin of the gumiho is Korean?”
“Seems that way.”
“You sure know a lot.”
“I read it on some random wiki site.”
I had admired androids for their knowledge, but hearing she read it on a wiki shattered that illusion.
“Apologize to my imagination for thinking androids were like encyclopedias.”
“Anyway, what you’re saying is that the pride of Korea can’t seduce that fox?”
“Yeah. Seriously impossible. That fox gives off strong ‘you’re not even worthy to touch my claws’ vibes.”
Well yeah, no way a succubus can overpower a gumiho.
“Hm. Not even gonna try?”
“Why don’t you guys try? Aren’t you hunters?”
Now she’s trying to delegate it like it’s the most natural thing.
“I mean, a nine-tailed fox is rare. Plus, it’s a sacred beast of Korea—can we really just kill it?”
“And besides, some North Koreans worship that gumiho. Maybe because of old records.”
If that’s true, we can’t just kill it.
If we did, we could lose public support.
It might be better to simply establish a pecking order.
Worst-case, the succubus might have to brainwash the North Koreans.
Still, that sounds like a pain.
“You dare chatter in front of me? You’ve got guts!”
“Why don’t you eat our livers then?”
“YOU BITCHES!”
“Anyway, we don’t really want to kill a sacred gumiho either, so let’s settle this peacefully. How about you just live quietly from now on?”
Seriously, this is why dealing with beasts is tough.
Wouldn’t it be so much easier if they just submitted when we treat them well?
We already killed the tiger, and that gumiho should’ve noticed it.
“What do you want me to do about annoying pests?”
“Calling humans pests? Weren’t you the one who forced your way in?”
“Hah! Now the pests are getting cocky because they’re a little strong, huh?”
“You won’t be satisfied until we fight, will you?”
Honestly, shouldn’t she be thankful we’re even being polite?
Should we just slice her head off?
“Alright then. Joseon’s pride, get ready to charm the North Korean people.”
“…Why?”
“Didn’t we say some of them worship her?”
—Be careful with that one.
As if I’d actually lose.
“That energy feels unnatural. Swallowing that soul would probably give you a stomachache!”
Jeez, such a picky eater.
Well, if it tastes bad, I guess there’s nothing we can do.
“In that case, we’ll have to beat it up instead of killing it.”
“Fine then, come at me if you dare, you pests!”
Ruuumble!
Blue fireballs flared up from the nine tails.
Immediately, my body sent out a violent warning.
No, it’s not like I can’t handle it.
I have the power of a god, and with my companions here too, I should be able to fight that fox.
But the problem is… there’s just one thing.
That fox is insanely strong.
So strong that even our goddess said she wouldn’t enjoy eating her.
-It’s dangerous. That might be a true incarnation.
Even now, fresh intel is saying it’s dangerous.
We’re supposed to fight this fox, not kill her, and just put her in her place.
That level of control is what’s being asked.
Sigh.
Fuck.
“Ugh, fuck. This is gonna be such a pain in the ass.”
“Should I have left a will for my daughter?”
“She looks fucking strong…”
“Oh hey, I’ve seen this in a roguelike game—just roll to dodge it!”
The succubus was talking nonsense again.
Seriously.
That crazy bitch is making jokes when we’re the ones fighting.
I picked up a discarded sword nearby, snapped it easily in two, and handed it to her.
“Here. Take this broken straight sword and try dodging while killing the fox.”
“Did I wrong you in a past life?”
“You started the jokes, Miss Succubus. Dammit. I didn’t bring the scale-peeling fish guys because I hate moving in groups, but maybe I should have.”
Right now, I’d take help from a cat if I could.
Like I’ve suddenly become a fishmonger or something.
“Didn’t Japan follow us? Should we call them?”
“Would they really not come if we promised to grill it dry?”
“We can’t call anyone now, though.”
KWAANG!
Sigh. Fuck.
One blast left a massive crater.
“Holy shit. It made a damn crater.”
“Eight shots left!”
Hearing the fox threaten us with eight more shots made me want to tear her throat out.
But again, public opinion matters.
Plus, you can’t just casually kill beings like that.
She isn’t a typical monster.
Unlike that black tiger from before, she talks properly, has intelligence, and is pure white.
By the time those fireballs created craters…
I was already texting the Chief Presidential Secretary.
If they told me to kill it, I’d have an excuse.
-There’s a gumiho in North Korea. What do we do?
-Why is there a gumiho in North Korea?!
-Anyway, what should we do? It’s urgent. Kill or spare?
-Spare it, for now!
We’re to spare it—for now.
If the Blue House said to kill it, that’d make things simpler.
But from Korea’s point of view, that thing is probably seen as a huge resource.
Which is fair.
But how the hell are we supposed to beat it up?
Would cutting off the tails work?
No, even if cutting the tails stopped the fire… would that ruin her value as a gumiho?
With one tail gone, she’d be an eight-tailed fox.
With two, a seven-tailed fox.
That’s pointless. So…
“Mr. Orc, can you block that?”
“Why not just ask me to die instead?”
Seems even the orc thinks that’s impossible.
He’s scared stiff.
“Guess we’ve got no choice. Let’s at least dodge those fireballs first.”
RUMBLE! KWAANG!
Another blast swept away the ruins entirely.
“She’s really going all out. Can everyone dodge this?”
“We can dodge, but damn, that fox bitch is strong.”
“Seriously. These fireballs just keep coming.”
Is this what the end of the world feels like?
By the time the third and fourth fireballs made more craters…
“Heh. Burns nicely.”
The orc looked at the flames in the crater with warm eyes.
It felt like enlightenment time was approaching.
Even the returnees started reflecting.
Then suddenly, something felt off.
“Hey, Adult loli’s acting weird.”
That foolish “Pride of korea,” who’d been holding a broken sword and only growing fireballs, asked.
“Ugh, this is so annoying.”
“Lady Adult Loli?”
Something was definitely off with her.
“Why do I have to be in this ridiculous fight? Think about it. That damn horse bastard took my wife. My soulmate of decades got embedded inside me. And now I’ve got these huge tits and I’ve turned into a woman.”
Soulmate?
…Could she be referring to her penis?
Maybe she really became a woman when she became an adult.
She was groping her chest while complaining—it was kind of pitiful.
Well, being an adult is probably better than having nothing down there like before.
Anyway, her becoming an adult was partly my fault, so I kept my mouth shut.
Still, maybe her mental age is younger than expected.
She looked like a child, after all.
Past lives don’t really matter—her body is still small.
No one instantly matures just because they become an adult overnight.
At last, the shrine maiden clenched her fists.
To fight back against the fox’s relentless violence.
And to release her pent-up rage!
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