I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel – Chapter 39

Chapter 39 Looming Fear

A small moonbeam illuminated the dark branches above.

I felt dazed. How did I get here, and why did I come?

I remembered nothing.

What I saw around me were countless corpses.

As I silently observed the horrific scene, something pulled my body forcefully.

It felt like a huge hand grabbed my shoulder.

No, it wasn’t just my shoulder.

Eight hands grabbed my body.

I couldn’t do anything.

A sense of helplessness engulfed my body.

Drip.

A cold liquid fell onto my back.

Chills ran all over my body.

The creature’s hand gently grabbed my tail.

I had to escape.

Somehow, I had to escape.

Yes, now that its hand was on my tail, this was my only chance.

If I cut my tail and escape like this….

…The tail wouldn’t cut off.

I was slowly dragged towards the creature.

I looked back.

What I saw was….

“Ki-ang!”

Tus and Pus waved their hands in front of me.

It was a dream.

Was my body weak these days? It seemed I had a nightmare.

I couldn’t remember it well, but it seemed really terrible.

If I could sweat, I would have sweated a bucketful.

I moved my tail slightly, just in case.

No matter how I looked at it, there was no problem.

Come to think of it, this tail had been very useful.

Swinging it was satisfying, and it was a great help in maintaining balance when standing on two legs.

Moreover, thanks to Tail Cutting, it had saved my life several times.

I stroked the long tail.

I had cut this tail so many times.

Nephila Jurassica must have a few pieces too.

…Nephila Jurassica.

I wondered how she was doing.

Seeing my tail and Tus and Pus made me suddenly think of her.

Now that I had some leeway, should I go and see her?

After spending time with Tus and Pus, my resistance to spiders had increased significantly.

Nephila Jurassica, in her own way, was also an attractive spider.

If Tus and Pus were gentle and cute, Nephila was more of a strong type.

Her legs were long, her face a bit scary.

She could be considered the strong older sister type.

She looked like a tiger spider, with blonde hair and red eyes, wearing a flashy leopard print outfit….

Oh.

What was I thinking?

At this rate, the demonic thought might visit me again.

No, had I already been engulfed by it?

Seriously considering the appearance of a spider.

Forget it, forget it.

If fate allowed, I would meet Nephila.

If I met her now, I might earn another strange title.

I shook my head.

Get out of my head!

“Kieeng?”

Tus and Pus tilted their heads.

No, I wasn’t thinking of anything.

It was fortunate that you two were males.

“Ke-eeng….”

…You are males, right?

With Pus subtly presenting his rear and Tus slightly biting my tail, I turned my gaze to where Tang So-yeong was.

For some unknown reason, she was tightly wrapped in spider webs.

Pus glanced at me, waving his legs proudly.

“Kieeng!”

Sure, there must have been a reason.

Probably trying to do something strange in the middle of the night again.

Was she trying to extract my venom?

I had planned to give her some in the morning anyway; why take the hard way?

Those spider webs would be dealt with somehow.

The three of them should resolve it on their own.

…But why wasn’t there any reaction?

She should be crying out, “Help, please untie me,” or something like that.

She wasn’t dead, was she?

I peeked and saw her small chest rising and falling.

She was breathing.

It didn’t seem like she was sleeping… well, she’d wake up on her own.

Tang So-yeong.

What a strange woman.

I picked her up because I was tempted by the name Tang family, but honestly, I regretted bringing her along.

She was noisy, and when she was around, Tus and Pus became more violent.

It wasn’t good for the kids’ emotional development.

But there were some gains.

First, Tang So-yeong thought of me as something more than a lizard.

She regularly talked to me and tried to infer my responses through my actions.

Although not entirely accurate, we could communicate to some extent.

I didn’t know if she mistook me for some divine beast or whatever, but not being scared and being able to communicate was a big advantage.

The reaction of those men who ran away at the sight of me would be considered normal.

They might even attack me with swords.

In that sense, Tang So-yeong’s slight craziness could be seen as a plus.

The best part of her talking to me was the information I could gather.

What I needed most now was information.

I had secured the basic conditions for survival.

Unless I went up to the upper swamp area, my life wasn’t in immediate danger.

Living was manageable, so naturally, I became curious about what this place was.

A martial arts world filled with dinosaurs.

But not only that, other beasts also used something similar to martial arts.

Without information, I could be knocked out by a passing Pachycephalosaurus.

In that regard, Tang So-yeong was certainly helpful.

First, the information that the leader of the cult wandered around here.

If I hadn’t known that and waved happily at a human, I could have ended up as a lizard skewer.

The cult leader.

Just thinking about it made my legs tremble.

I would run away as soon as we met.

I also confirmed the existence of a Dilophosaurus claiming to be a Dae-hyeop.

Knowing there were dinosaurs? I knew that.

The first creature I saw here was an Oviraptor.

But humans taming those dinosaurs was a different story.

How smart could dinosaurs be to follow orders? But Tang So-yeong managed one, even though it escaped.

The important thing was that humans and dinosaurs were working together.

Someone could mistake me for a dinosaur and come to capture me.

…Wait, wasn’t that why Baek Yeonyeong taught me martial arts?

To raise me and then take me along.

Sorry, but I wasn’t a lizard to be bound by anyone, so I’d have to politely decline.

Although if Baek Yeonyeong put a collar on me and dragged me away, there wouldn’t be much I could do, but I’d struggle to show my will.

Enough of these random thoughts.

### Chapter 39

### Morning Hunt

Morning had dawned, and all the creatures in my nest were intact. I could hunt with peace of mind.

With one more mouth to feed, today I needed to catch something big.

***

It was strange.

Suddenly, I had the feeling that someone was watching me.

I hadn’t done anything to make enemies; could there be an assassin after me?

But they only watched me without approaching unnecessarily.

Since Crisis Detection wasn’t responding, it didn’t seem to be dangerous….

It bothered me a little.

Since it wasn’t an immediate threat, I should ignore it.

It might just be another creature like Tus and Pus, scared of me.

【Crocodile King Lizard LV13】

HP: 422/422

MP: 111/111

【Titles】

「Loved by Spiders」

「Master of the Silver Dragon Cave」

「Master of the Lower Swamp」

I reached level 11 after defeating the Caiman, and over the past week, I gained two additional levels. Hunting only the creatures in the swamp slowed down my leveling speed.

It was a bit disappointing, but it was better than taking risks.

I began to search for prey.

I should aim for something strong.

I wanted to catch the flying Piranha, but they were too fast, so I passed on that.

Should I go for a toad or turtle leader?

If it was a real spirit beast, my level would rise quickly.

As I wandered through the swamp, I heard a strange cry.

It was a sound I could never forget, even if I wanted to.

Deinonychus.

It was that creature.

_________________________

【Deinonychus】

The body length is 3 meters, and the weight ranges from 60 to 100 kilograms, making it a small carnivorous dinosaur.

It is a highly intelligent hunter that hunts large dinosaurs in packs.

The second claw on its hind leg is very sharp, and it prefers a hunting method that causes excessive bleeding by piercing the belly of its prey.

__________________________

I moved very slowly, concealing my presence.

Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have confronted it.

Deinonychus were pack hunters.

The risk was too high.

One, I could handle, but more than one, I had no chance.

But now it was different.

No matter how I looked, there was only one.

Whether it came alone to drink water, there was no trace of its companions.

This was a perfect opportunity.

If not now, I might never taste Deinonychus meat.

Sliiide.

I quietly submerged myself in the water.

I swam silently, just like a crocodile.

Sliiide.

As I got closer, the Deinonychus also approached the water.

This was an ideal situation.

It stood on the shore, looking around.

Its face looked somewhat tired.

It must have been very thirsty.

How thirsty would it have to be to abandon its companions and come to drink alone?

It staggered closer.

Plop.

Its snout touched the water’s surface.

Gulp.

Yes.

Now!

Ku-Kwaaaa!

With a massive splash of water, I leapt onto the shore.

My target was the neck of the Deinonychus.

“Kiiieeek!”

It let out a terrified cry at the sudden attack, but it was already too late.

Its neck was already in my jaws.

Crunch!

I had to finish it in one move.

The Caiman’s ultimate skill.

Death Roll.

Ku-kwa-ga-ga-gak!

Snap!

【Deinonychus LV7】

【Status】

「Poisoned」「Dying」

Snap! Snap! Snap!

It didn’t take long for the Deinonychus to be split into pieces.

[Level Up]

Even a Deinonychus couldn’t do much if ambushed.

Wait, there was something strange in its status window earlier.

Yes.

It definitely had a “Poisoned” status.

Did it eat a toad?

Its movements were sluggish; it must have been poisoned.

Even without the poison, the result wouldn’t have changed, so don’t be disappointed.

I had to take it away quickly before its companions came.

Finally, I could taste Deinonychus meat.

……

Again.

That feeling of being watched by someone.

Someone was staring at the back of my head.

What was this tingling sensation on my body?

It didn’t seem like it was killing intent.

Whoever it was, I should see their face.

Leaving the Deinonychus’s corpse behind, I stood up on two legs.

Swoosh!

I swiftly dashed towards the direction of the gaze, cutting through the water.

I saw a thick bush.

For a moment, I also saw red eyes.

Yes.

You were the one watching me.

Swoosh!

The moment I slashed the bush with my claws.

The presence disappeared.

Not even a trace remained.

As if it had never been there in the first place.