Chapter 80

Karamir’s meticulously planned first strike, based on his strategic advice, had dealt significant damage to the Ungwi.

Its massive form struggled to rise, but even so, Lin did not relent. Raising her index and middle fingers, she clasped her hands together, sending her blue foxfire soaring into the sky.

The foxfires, glowing blue orbs wrapped in flame, began to fall one by one from above, raining down like shooting stars. The barrage, akin to a meteor shower, pummeled Ungwi relentlessly.

Boom!

Blue flames burst forth like crashing waves, scattering in all directions.

Currently, Lin could control up to seven foxfires at once. However, with each one that disappeared, she could summon another, effectively creating an endless onslaught. The foxfire continued to pour down.

Black smoke rose from the Ungwi, filling the sky, and the creature’s howls echoed through the valley, swallowed by the thunderous explosion.

Lin only ceased her attack when it seemed the mountain and valley might be flattened to plains.@@novelbin@@

She watched the rising smoke. As it gradually cleared, she saw Ungwi lying motionless on the ground. Lin did not immediately approach but instead continued to observe cautiously.

Then, a new transformation began in the Ungwi. As the so-called guardian deity of Baekun Valley, it drew strength from the earth and mountains.

The energy of the land flowed into it. Its singed fur gradually returned to its original color, and its charred wounds began to heal.

This, too, had been part of Karamir’s strategy. It marked the beginning of Phase 2.

Ungwi, now fully healed, rose to its feet. Steam-like breath leaked from its mouth.

In this berserk state, Ungwi’s aggression and agility surged, and its attack patterns shifted.

As it clenched its massive fists and swung them, the ground itself was torn up and hurled skyward, creating a spectacle as if the world had grown a ceiling of earth and stone.

It seemed as though gravity itself were drawing the earth towards Lin.

This was Ungwi’s rock-sealing attack, which could paralyze four characters for three turns. The counter was to position Lin in the back row and keep four others in the front to absorb the attack.

The stones targeted the front, so with a decoy in place, Lin could avoid being sealed.

But now, Lin was alone. She had to bear the full brunt of the attack.

This was where Karamir and Lin’s strategy came into play.

Lin conjured a spell. Her five tails swayed. A doppelgänger, identical to Lin, appeared.

‘If there’s no scarecrow, I’ll just create one. After all, the saying goes that bears are slow-witted. As if that beast can tell the difference between the real one and the decoys.’

Her prediction was spot-on.

Lin created four clones and sent them forward, where, sure enough, the rocks crashed down on the hapless decoys. Stones entombed the clones, then fell to the ground.

That had been the critical move Karamir had warned her about. After this, the attacks would be relatively minor. Now, the only thing left to do was…

‘Beat it to death.’

With all her might.

Fwoosh.

Fox-shaped flames covered Lin’s fists. The flaming fox, yawning lazily, grinned alongside Lin, both of them excited for the playtime ahead.

It was time to dance.

What followed was nothing special.

Lin’s relentless 64-hit combo, masquerading as a "massage," pounded into the Ungwi. It groaned, sounding almost like an old man soaking in a hot bath, before rolling over with a groan, deciding it was time to stop moving.

It died, just like that.

Even though it was a guardian deity, it didn’t have an endless reservoir of spiritual energy to tap into. Ultimately, the Ungwi could no longer recover and was reduced to little more than fertilizer for the earth—if even that.

“Huff…”

Lin stood atop Ungwi’s chest, taking shallow breaths to catch her wind. Though Ungwi wasn’t exactly an easy opponent, she was well-trained with her master, the Celestial Fox, Yuha.

Her spiritual power was more than sufficient, and with Karamir’s flawless strategy, she couldn’t have lost even if she’d wanted to. No mere regional guardian deity could be her match.

Now it was time to claim her victor’s rights. In a battle against yokai, the winner was entitled to everything the loser possessed. Lin placed her hand on Ungwi’s chest and began absorbing its energy.

Ungwi had guarded Baekun Valley since ancient times, deeply connected to the land itself. Its spiritual energy was unmatched by anything she’d absorbed before, both in quality and quantity.

‘It’s… delicious.’

Above all, it was delicious. Exceedingly delicious. Almost to the point where she might drool.

‘Maybe I should go hunt yokai for a while?’

If she could find and defeat notable yokai, she could absorb their energy and convert it into spiritual power. It would certainly accelerate her progress towards becoming a full Gumiho.

She’d mention it to Karamir when she got back.

It was hard to say how much time passed, but after devouring Ungwi’s energy for quite a while, she’d absorbed every last drop. She left nothing behind.

Where there had once been the enormous Ungwi, only bones and a layer of skin remained. As Ungwi faded, so too did the mist, dispersing gradually.

Lin licked her lips, satisfied.

‘Soon…’

She could feel that elusive sixth tail starting to grow. Karamir would be thrilled to hear about it.

Sniff. Lin, out of habit, caught a whiff of her own scent. Having moved around so vigorously, Karamir’s scent had faded significantly.

Time to get back.

With light, quick steps, Lin returned to the fox den. However, the atmosphere she found there was strange.

Like a thief caught red-handed, a fox with a bundle was trying to sneak out of the village and froze when she saw Lin.

“Oh, y-you’re back? So soon? Did you really defeat the Ungwi?”

“Where are you going?”

“Well, the mist’s cleared, so I thought I might… leave the village.”

Foxes who were too scared to even gather herbs without Lin’s help were now fleeing the village on their own.

With Ungwi dead and the mist clearing, they’d seized the chance to escape. How typically fox-like.

Lin didn’t particularly care. Where they went didn’t matter to her. Ignoring the fleeing fox, she scanned the village as she entered.

The fox den was eerily quiet. It seemed as though everyone, like the fox from a moment ago, had vanished. That was fine by her, but Karamir wasn’t there either.

Though often playful, immature, and at times unreliable, he was someone who would never joke about something like this.

“……”

Lin spun around.

“Gotta catch up to the others…!”

One of the Hoyo clan looked back as he fled the fox den, burdened with his belongings. He’d been a little slow, and no one had waited for him.

He should have left before the Gumiho returned, but fate was cruel, and he’d crossed paths with her. Just his luck.

He needed to regroup with the others before she noticed and came after them.

Whoosh!

A bitter wind blew through the valley, sharper than any ordinary breeze. Turning around, the fox saw…

Crack!

Lin had struck like a bolt of lightning, grabbing the fox by the neck and slamming him into the ground.

“Aaagh!”

She’d hit him so hard his body bounced off the ground. Lin’s grip on his neck tightened as if she might crush it.

“Where did you take my Master?”

“W-What are you…?”

Crack.

“Tell me. Where did you take him?”

“T-The elder took him. I don’t know where… there weren’t any traces left behind…”

He wasn’t lying.

If they’d moved as a group, they’d have left a trail, but Lin couldn’t detect any traces. It had to be the work of some spell.

“N-Now that I told you, could you let me go?”

The fox chuckled nervously, tapping Lin’s arm. Without a word, Lin tightened her grip, snapping his neck effortlessly.

“Guh.”

Lin didn’t spare a glance at his lifeless body. She didn’t absorb his energy, either. The thought of his essence mixing with hers was revolting.

Her gaze turned toward a point not far from there. For family, tracking would be difficult, but they shared a closer bond—Master and slave.

No matter how far apart, she could find him.

Lin took off, heading in the direction her instincts guided her.

“Ugh.”

My wrists were bound with vines as I traversed a rough mountain path. Hoyo clan members surrounded me, guarding me closely.

I had been watching Lin’s battle with great interest when the Hoyo clan suddenly ambushed me. At first, I thought they were after my liver, but instead, they dragged me outside the village.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Anywhere, really. The idea is to put some distance between you and the Gumiho.”

“Why? Now that Ungwi is defeated, shouldn’t you be free to live as you please?”

“I don’t know what you plan to do with the Gumiho, but I know it won’t benefit us. Whatever happens, the repercussions will surely affect the Hoyo clan.”

In other words, they couldn’t stop Lin, so they intended to deal with me instead. Since I was the one nurturing Lin’s power, they figured removing me would be a minimal safeguard.

I suppose they were keeping me alive in case Lin came after them—a kind of insurance.

They were also placing strange talismans marked with incomprehensible symbols on the trees as we moved. I couldn’t understand them, but I guessed they were for hiding our tracks.

They even set up a mobile barrier that muffled sound and concealed our trail, fully aware of what Lin would do if she caught up.

‘Pretty thorough.’

At this rate, Lin might not be able to find me. Then what?

“Oh? What’s that?”

One of the foxes pointed at the sky, alarmed. Against the clear sky, silhouetted by the moon, a pink fox with five tails spread like wings floated above us.

Its gaze was devoid of emotion as it looked down at us.

I didn’t know much, but one thing was clear.

You’re all screwed.