Tamed Monster - Chapter 167

Kuinan wiped the blood that kept seeping from between his lips. Then wiped it again.

[I simply hate this woman. She made you weak. If it turns out you truly completed the mission, I’ll personally restore you as leader. But this woman—her neck should be snapped right now.]

In the middle of this life-and-death standoff, Kuinan did not forget to curse Hector for disappearing and leaving him in this mess.

Then, simply, he refused.

“Absolutely not.”

He said it in the human tongue. The red-haired monster did not understand—but Sylvia did.

The creature holding her had just proposed killing her, and Kuinan had rejected it without hesitation. No—this wasn’t a guess. It was certain. Moments ago he had looked cornered, his face rigid. Now a crooked, almost vile smile spread across it.

[If you don’t return what’s mine alive, there will be consequences. That much I promise you.]

The red-haired monster did not dismiss the warning lightly.

[What do you mean by that?]

The grip that had been poised to crush Sylvia’s throat loosened.

She collapsed into coughing fits, air tearing painfully back into her lungs. Even in that moment, Kuinan’s gaze flicked to the bruised marks on her neck, before he forced himself to look away.

There was much he wanted to say to her.

But first, this had to be resolved.

[Wasn’t that the goal from the beginning? Learning how to manufacture the poison.]

And killing the Emperor along with it. Or at least dragging him down.

The only reason Kuinan had not finished the Emperor was because the man alone knew the formula for the poison. Without extracting it from his mouth, there was no way to uncover it. That was why Kuinan had suppressed his killing intent until now.

[…So?]

[It wasn’t just barrels of prepared poison stacked inside the treasury. The source material—the living core of it—was there.]

He had seen something extraordinary in the deepest chamber of the treasury.

The red-haired monster felt a flicker of interest.

At the same time, an unease crept over him.

So what? Even if Kuinan had learned the formula, why would that spell danger for them?

[…Ah.]

The realization struck.

His face twisted viciously.

[Are you threatening us?]

Just as the Emperor had persecuted them, was Kuinan now planning to manufacture the poison himself and turn it on his own kind?

A true monster would never dare such a betrayal.

When Kuinan nodded calmly, sincerity plain in his exhausted face, the red-haired monster roared.

“Traitor!”

Others joined in, their snarls tearing through the air from every direction. Only one among them trembled in fear.

Kuinan’s woman.

[We’ll kill this b***h and then kill you. That way there won’t be any consequences left to worry about.]

The half-deranged monster spat the threat. In contrast, Kuinan’s reply was almost gentle.

[Come closer. Just you. Let’s talk.]

He crooked one blood-stained finger inward.

The red-haired monster tilted his head slightly. Certain there was a trick, he did not move at first.

[Don’t be so dense. This is important. I won’t do anything—just come here.]

The gesture excluded the others.

Curiosity won.

Reluctantly, the red-haired monster stepped forward, closing the distance by five paces.

As Kuinan met Sylvia’s gaze—she had not stopped looking at him—he spoke in a low whisper.

[There are still two entities who rule the Blavat Swamp besides me. Especially Hector—he won’t sit quietly if you rise as leader. Don’t you want to know how to eliminate him in one stroke?]

More than half of the monsters who followed the red-haired one were equally loyal to Hector.

If those two clashed, they would side with Hector.

From the beginning, there had been a vast gap in raw power between them. No matter how clever the red-haired monster might be, brute hierarchy still ruled their world.