I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel-Chapter 260

First, verifying the facts came before anything else.

Even if she was a priestess of the Heavenly Demon Cult, it wouldn’t be right for someone of her status to act on a lizard’s words alone.

Of course, that lizard wasn’t just any lizard, and we did share a certain bond. But given her high position, she had to exercise extreme caution.

That was why, even though she believed me, she took it upon herself to confirm the truth.

What was the Black Cloud Stronghold hiding?

Who exactly was the "great one" they mentioned?

More precisely, she was probing whether the "great one" the stronghold’s leader spoke of was the same entity my master had once fought in a life-or-death battle.

If that turned out to be the case, then there was no reason to let the Black Cloud Stronghold continue to exist.

Not only were they of no use to my master, but they were actively aiding and healing the enemy.

And now, fact-checking was almost complete.

Instead of continuing to talk, the stronghold leader had reached for the sword at his waist.

Seems he wasn’t just some guy who happened to sit in that position. He had some degree of awareness.

Though, to be fair, Seolhwa had made it pretty obvious.

There had been ways to go about this more subtly.

A slower, more natural approach—one that wouldn’t arouse suspicion.

But Seolhwa hadn’t bothered with that.

Because she didn’t need to.

This was what you’d call the "Why do you even need to know?" tactic.

It didn’t matter if a fight broke out. It didn’t matter if things smoothed over quietly.

“Huk... W-When did you—?!”

The Black Cloud Stronghold leader, utterly dumbfounded, reached out to touch my tail.

Chomp.

I snapped my mouth slightly open in a show of warning.

What’s with the sticky fingers?

Did he just dare to touch my tail?

At the same time, I prepared to draw power from my core.

I was waiting to see how Seolhwa would act before deciding my own course.

“Oh my, little lizard. When did you move over there?”

Seolhwa, unfazed, reached out and picked me up.

That meant stand by.

Honestly, if we wanted, we could wipe out the Black Cloud Stronghold at any time.

Even without borrowing the strength of the Heavenly Demon Cult, just the people here were enough.

Seolhwa alone was a master of the Flower’s Vision realm. I was around that level myself.

No matter how strong the stronghold leader was, facing the two of us at once was impossible.

And if Docheol joined in? That made three masters of the Flower’s Vision realm.

...Sure, one of them was a tiny lizard only technically at the peak, but rounding up, I counted.

The Black Cloud Stronghold leader was clearly rattled.

“H-How did a lizard... move without me noticing...?”

That’s just standard lizard behavior.

It wasn’t that I was that strong. Lizard-kind was just built that way.

If we don’t make our gegegegek noises, good luck finding us.

As much as I wanted to strike now, there were still things to be done.

For now, it was best to avoid unnecessary conflict.

“Oh my, Stronghold Leader? Why are you sweating so much? Are you feeling unwell?”

Seolhwa’s casual remark snapped the leader back to his senses.

“Hup...! It’s nothing.”

“Really? Hm... Then how about showing me that?”

“...That?”

“Oh, you know. You just mentioned it. The fermented egg of the Firebird.”

Seolhwa smoothly changed the topic.

The leader, looking unsure, let out a sigh of relief.

Right, best to keep things on a positive note. He must’ve convinced himself that he’d imagined things for a moment.

Or maybe he was just pretending to think that.

“Ah, of course. Please wait a moment.”

“Wait? Why not take me with you? I’d like to see for myself.”

The stronghold leader hesitated.

He was debating whether bringing Seolhwa along was the right move or if he should leave her here.

How considerate. Let me help you decide.

Snap.

“Hurk!”

I pretended to bite.

And just like that, he made up his mind.

“...Please, follow me.”

Good. That’s more like it.

Guided by the stronghold leader, we entered another storage chamber.

Unlike the damp, gloomy place I had been locked in, this one was adorned with intricate patterns.

...Wow. So, they stored rare elixirs in here while tossing me into a hole?

“This is the Firebird’s fermented egg. It’s brimming with fire and yang energy—perfect for you, my lady.”

The stronghold leader carefully presented an elixir inside a red wooden box.

It was clearly in a different league from the scraps he had shown earlier.

I could sense a power on par with the Thousand-Year Fo-ti I had eaten before.

Made me realize all over again just how absurdly generous the Snake Queen had been, stuffing me full of those rare treasures.

“This is excellent. I like it. Hm, but since I’ve come all this way, I can’t just settle for one.”

“Ah, are you looking to purchase more?”

“Well, let’s see the rest of the inventory.”

“As you wish!”

At the stronghold leader’s command, his subordinates brought out large wooden boxes.

One by one, the boxes were opened, revealing dazzling arrays of elixirs.

“These are all top-tier. I’m sure you’ve set some aside for the great one, but even these are impressive.”

At Seolhwa’s pointed emphasis on the great one, the leader flinched.

“Well, since you’ve shown me such good products, it’s only fair I pay a suitable price.”

She smiled.

A smile the Ice Palace Lord shouldn’t have been able to pull off.

The leader gawked for a moment.

“Gero-long.”

I, too, was momentarily stunned.

Seolhwa’s smile was that destructive.

But she wasn’t done yet.

“I’ll take everything from here to here. All of it.”

Delivering a line straight out of a drama, Baek Seolhwa declared her intent.

“Hurk!”

The stronghold leader’s jaw nearly hit the floor.

Guess he was a merchant first and foremost—his eyes went wild at Seolhwa’s shocking offer.

“A-All of these elixirs?!”

“Yes.”

“But... If I sell them all, the stronghold’s operations will suffer...”

“Oh, stop beating around the bush. You just want me to pay extra, don’t you?”

Had Seolhwa ever looked cooler?

Look at that radiant, money-worry-free aura.

“H-Hurk! Then, how will you pay?”

“Put it on the Ice Palace’s tab. Carrying that much gold is too much trouble. Or should I write you a promissory note?”

Of course, it wasn’t her money.

...Can she really just do that to the Ice Palace Lord?

“Ah, then I will leave the debt with the Ice Palace as usual.”

The stronghold leader, scribbling furiously on a piece of paper, suddenly shouted.

“You lot! What are you standing around for? Move the goods!”

His eyes gleamed like a man about to strike gold.

From ginseng shaped like a human to strength-enhancing crimson fruits and the gall of a five-colored lion.

Priceless elixirs were being stacked like bricks.

I exchanged glances with Seolhwa.

It was time to execute the plan.

Waaaaah.

I opened my mouth wide.

The plan’s name: The Lizard Hides the Elixirs.

Like a pink, round-bodied vacuum creature, I sucked in the elixirs at once.

“W-WHAT?!”

Crunch, crunch.

The subordinates panicked.

The neatly stacked elixirs had disappeared in an instant.

“It’s the lizard! That lizard is—”

“Stop.”

The stronghold leader silenced his subordinate.

“It is but a lowly beast, acting on instinct. How could we blame it?”

Wait... something’s off.

His eyes looked... intoxicated?

“Look at its adorable belly. It must’ve been starving to crave elixirs so badly.”

Oh. He was drunk.

On money.

“My lady, for such a beautiful reptile, I will throw in a little extra.”

“Oh my, how generous.”

Seolhwa chuckled.

She was robbing this man, yet he was still delighted.

This was getting fun.

“...A transaction? What transaction?”

“Pardon?”

“I recall you saying you were selling elixirs to her, not to me.”

“...Wait.”

“If that’s the case, shouldn’t you be asking the great one for compensation?”

The stronghold leader’s face cycled from red to blue to yellow.

At this point, he was too angry to even notice the centipede and mantis sneaking in through the cracks.

*

“You damn wench!”

BANG!

The desk shook under his fist.

“You filthy bitch, even eating you alive wouldn’t be enough!”

The Ice Palace Lord had outplayed him.

This mess... he might have to pay for it with his head.

“That sharp-tongued hag seemed quiet for once, and now this?!”

CRASH!

At the same time, doubts crept in.

No matter what, the Ice Palace Lord had been an excellent client.

They had been trading for years.

So why stab him in the back now?

Something didn’t add up.

Betrayal itself wasn’t surprising.

Martial artists were that kind of breed.

But why?

What reason did she have to do this?

Why waste such precious elixirs feeding them to a lizard?

If she wanted them, she should have taken them for herself.

Yet, she didn’t.

Instead, she led the lizard to swallow them.

It made no sense.

What kind of grudge could she have to pull something like this?

And then there was that lizard.

How the hell did it devour that many elixirs at once and remain completely fine?

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Aside from making strange gestures in the air, as if pressing invisible buttons, it looked perfectly normal.

Nothing about this made sense.

Just as he was fuming—

“Guuuuh...!”

A carrier pigeon landed on the window.

Tied to its leg was a scroll, stamped with a blue crest.

The stronghold leader’s eyes widened.

That symbol meant the letter had come from the Northern Sea.

He tore it open, his mouth twisting as he read.

At first, his brows furrowed.

Then, his expression warped into a grotesque grin.

“So it wasn’t the Ice Palace Lord!”

The letter wasn’t directly related to his current situation, but it did confirm one thing.

The real Ice Palace Lord was still in the Northern Sea.

Which meant the woman here right now was...

A fake.

That changed everything.

It meant his mistake could be buried.

On top of that, if this fake was a Flower’s Vision-level master as he suspected, capturing them could turn this disaster into an opportunity for commendation.

Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to take down someone of equal strength.

But they were alone.

The Black Cloud Stronghold had numbers.

Even if he didn’t handle it himself, there were plenty of skilled fighters in the stronghold.

If they coordinated an ambush, there would be no issue.

Screeeech.

The stronghold leader, Changmu, pulled open his drawer.

Inside were several white, pearl-like pills.

Not elixirs meant to be offered to True Dragon.

These were elixirs bestowed by True Dragon.

Dragon Pills.

The moment they were consumed, they drastically increased internal energy.

An elite martial artist could even momentarily rival a peak-level master.

For someone like Changmu, who had just entered the Flower’s Vision realm, taking one would boost him to mid-stage.

The effects were temporary, and the side effects were severe.

But for the sake of capturing the fraud who dared impersonate the Ice Palace Lord, Changmu was willing to do whatever it took.

“Khhuh... Khuhuhuhu...”

A twisted grin stretched across his face as he summoned his subordinates.

He distributed pieces of the Dragon Pill among them, making sure they were armed and ready.

Whoever this fake Ice Palace Lord was, they wouldn’t stand a chance.

Unless they brought at least three Flower’s Vision masters, no single person could survive against the Black Cloud Stronghold.

“Khhuh, Khahahaha!”

On that dark night, Changmu laughed maniacally.

Blissfully unaware of what fate awaited those who had made an enemy of this particular lizard.