Chapter 41: Turtle That Wouldn’t Die.

“Honey.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you really going out there?”

As they walked home, Ji-young asked her husband Taehyun.

“Yeah, I’m going out.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Why? Do you want me to stay here?”

At Taehyun’s question, Ji-young smiled slyly.

“No, I’m fine with it.”

“Really?”

Ji-young, the same age as Taehyun, had started as his college friend before becoming his lover and eventually his wife. She used to be known as a feisty girl.

In front of others, she always pretended to be demure, but when she was with Taehyun, she often showed that mischievous smile from her younger days.

“Honey, you’re always out fighting, so you don’t know. If you’d been inside, with your temper, you’d have probably had a stroke and fallen down by now.”

“Was it that bad?”

“That woman, Kim Sunja, is out of her mind. Since she’s never fought directly, she probably thinks this world is just a child’s game.”

“That bad, huh.”

“People who only sit behind desks usually don’t understand the struggles of those in the field.”

“But still, it’s harsh. Doesn’t that woman see the giant turtle?”

Taehyun chuckled at his wife’s words.

Kim Sunja probably had some vague thought like someone would protect her, or things would somehow work out.

***

“Hmph.”

After sending off that thorn-in-the-side Self-Defense Force captain, Kim Sunja felt as if a long-standing pain had been removed.

No one would dare oppose or interfere with her anymore.

She was now the true lord of Sung-A Castle, ruling over these many people.

“Look at her! She tried to swallow this place whole, but when it didn’t work, she ran away. She’s willing to sacrifice others for her greed for power. With someone like her around, how could Sung-A Castle be safe? Now that dangerous person is gone, let’s band together and make things right!”

Her followers nodded in agreement and applauded.

Kim Sunja lifted her nose at their gaze before turning her eyes toward the Self-Defense Force members who were staring with impure looks, resembling their captain.

The Self-Defense Force members were all clearly influenced by their captain, and although Kim Sunja felt uncomfortable, she quickly put on a friendly smile and addressed them.

“Everyone, join Sung-A Castle. Let’s work well together now, shall we?”

The Self-Defense Force members remained silent.

Among them, Minseo’s father, who had been the vice-captain, wiped his face dry and spoke.

“Ah, damn it. This is disgusting, really.”

“…Excuse me? What did you say?”

“I said it’s disgusting. I can’t take it anymore.”

“What, what?”

Startled for a moment, Kim Sunja stepped back as Minseo’s father turned around.

His comrades, who had fought alongside Kim Taehyun on the front lines, were watching him.

They were true comrades—not like in the military, but comrades who had risked their lives side by side in actual battle.

“Did we fight our asses off risking our lives just to see this disgusting mess? Look at that woman. She’s sitting comfortably in the back, sipping instant coffee, barking orders with her foul mouth, while our Taehyun risks his life to make sure not a single one of us dies, running himself ragged for the development! And what about us? Are we the damn UN Peacekeepers fighting for free?”

“Yeah, Minseo’s dad’s got a point!”

“They sit around eating supermarket food, and do we even get a proper meal?”

“It’s bad enough if we get cup noodles, but they actually gave us raw noodles for lunch once. Taehyun held back, and I didn’t step in, but that was only because he kept his cool…”

The Self-Defense Force members began voicing the frustrations they had held in until now.

The women among the Self-Defense Force families who supported Kim Sunja widened their eyes in anger, but the families on the opposite side stood behind the Self-Defense Force members, glaring fiercely at Kim Sunja.

“So what? Are you saying he’s going out there to die? That would make things difficult for everyone.”

Then Minseo’s father stepped forward again.

“If it’s difficult for anyone, it’s you and your lackeys! Hey, honey! Pack your bags! We’re following Taehyun!”

“We’re going too!”

“Let’s see if they can live well on their own! Everyone, pack up!”

Unexpectedly, the Self-Defense Force and their families started to leave en masse.

Kim Sunja watched in shock, mouth agape, as the Self-Defense Force and their families poured out.

She then looked at the people among them who supported her—her kind of hostages.

They were like shackles, keeping the Self-Defense Force from leaving easily.

But they wouldn’t be able to escape Kim Sunja’s grasp easily.

The moment they fell out of her favor, life in this apartment would become a living hell.

As Kim Sunja’s confidence swelled again while watching them, those women gradually grew awkward, glancing between her and their husbands.

Then, one by one, they started turning their backs on Kim Sunja at their husbands’ urging.

“Uh, Juyoung’s mom…? Seojin’s mom!”

Kim Sunja’s cries went unanswered as they no longer looked back.

Click. Thud.

Kim Sunja and the remaining residents of Sung-A Castle stared blankly at the firmly closed door.

***

In the central park, the massive giant turtle still remained in place.

It looked bulky and slow, so one might think it would just sit idly, but quietly, it was busily moving its limbs.

“What’s it doing?”

Yohan watched silently, a frown on his face.

The creature, which had been bleeding tears of blood and struggling, suddenly began laying dark red eggs.

Despite its large size, it produced many small eggs.

“What kind of animal world is this…”

Before he could process the eggs, the turtle began pushing them into its shell.

“So that’s how the little turtle babies are born.”

Unlike Earth’s turtles that bury their eggs in sand to hatch, this monstrous turtle placed its eggs into its shell, raising the little turtles as its guards.

Yohan, watching quietly, saw the back of the shell fully open.

The turtle continuously swept the eggs into that opening.

Yohan’s eyes sparkled.

A way to strike the creature by bypassing its hard shell was right before him.

Without hesitation, Yohan charged at the giant turtle.

Woooong.

With a loud roar, the Heavenly Demon Form manifested.

Celestial Demon Monster Form 2: Heavenly Strike.

Clenching his fist tightly, Yohan struck the turtle’s rear shell.

Boom!

Grrrrrrrr!

Despite the giant turtle’s agonized roar, Yohan scowled.

The creature had quickly closed its shell.

He was only able to strike through the barely open gap because it was a fraction too slow.

Still, it didn’t seem like he had dealt as much damage as he’d hoped.

Rumble rumble.

The creature lifted its enormous body.

Thud! Thud! Thud thud!

Watching it charge forward frighteningly, Yohan clicked his tongue.

The creature, attacked twice already here, seemed to feel threatened and was trying to move away.

“That actually works out.”

Yohan unleashed the Heavenly Demon Form once more.

Celestial Demon Monster Form 3: Geogong.

Unlike the first form, which simply swung a large hand, or the second form’s powerful strike, the third form used the enormous hand of the Heavenly Demon Form to execute other martial arts techniques.

Ten times bigger and ten times more powerful, but consuming only the energy that regular martial arts would consume plus the energy needed to maintain the Heavenly Demon Form—it was a broken technique.

Unfortunately, only one martial art could currently utilize this Heavenly Demon Form, but that was enough.

The massive Asura Blood God Palm erupted through the Heavenly Demon Form.

Boom!

“Wow… crafty bastard.”

Who said turtles were slow animals?

At least this giant monster turtle was fast, and its speed diving into its shell was unmatched.

The sturdy shell trembled from the Asura Blood God Palm, but remained unscathed.

“Let’s see who wins.”

Yohan gathered his inner energy to the fullest.

Asura Blood God Palm, Second Form: Asura Radiant Spirit burst madly through the Heavenly Demon Form, hammering the turtle.

Bang! Bang bang! Boom!

“Still won’t break?”

Bang! Bang bang!

“Still?”

Boooaaang! Bang bang!

Even now, Yohan was spewing the Asura Radiant Spirit with such intensity that his consumed inner energy exceeded what he absorbed.

He gritted his teeth.

Though the white dust cloud obscured the turtle’s figure, its pained screams had stopped, so it seemed the shell hadn’t been damaged.

“Wow, seriously…”

Yohan gathered every bit of inner energy.

“Asura Blood God Palm Fifth Form: Suranodo.”

Even Yohan himself hadn’t imagined the power that would emerge through the Heavenly Demon Form with Suranodo.

Whooooosh.

The air trembled as dark red energy gathered around the Heavenly Demon Form.

Yohan thrust the Heavenly Demon Form forward.

Booooom.

Unlike the usual wave-like Suranodo, the one unleashed through the Heavenly Demon Form was a massive tsunami.

A powerful Suranodo that seemed capable of swallowing an entire village crashed onto the giant turtle.

Booom!

“Ugh…!”

The collision was like a missile exploding.

A mushroom cloud formed, and the tremendous pressure pushed Yohan back. The Suranodo’s power was overwhelming.

‘At this rate, the shell should be destroyed.’

Yohan watched expectantly.

The blackish-red flames and thick dust slowly cleared.

“Damn it…!”

Yohan clicked his tongue in frustration.

The giant turtle that had taken the Suranodo hit clearly showed cracks and broken edges on its shell, but most importantly, it was still alive.

His empty Dantian felt hopeless.

“What kind of defense is this?”

That level of defense was cheating.

The only saving grace was that the Suranodo wasn’t completely ineffective.

‘Maybe three Suranodo hits would be enough… but my Dantian is empty.’

The problem was that his Dantian was empty.

As if to add insult to injury, the giant turtle with its damaged shell stuck its head out and began to vomit something.

“What’s that?”

Watching with curiosity, the slime-like vomit piled up, and the turtle crawled over it, rubbing its body and moving its legs to spread it across its shell.

“Wow.”

That was really cheating.

The creature was repairing its shell with the vomit.

Though cracks and broken edges remained, the vomit seemed to act like glue, seeping into the shell and hardening it.

“Hah…”

Yohan clicked his tongue in despair.

Just then, a voice called out from afar, drawing Yohan’s attention.

“Hey!”

“Hmm?”

There, a mage from the apartment complex Yohan had just saved, along with a woman, were waving fervently at him.