Chapter 2

Faber in Sachon Family - Chapter 3 (2/187)

Blue-spotted Centipede 3

-Boom!

-Crash and Boom!

"Damn, this is getting out of hand..."

The sound that could shake heaven and earth woke him up in the middle of the night.

It was the fourth night since the guests had left to search.

From a distance, in the direction of the rocky mountains, the sounds of rocks colliding and breaking began to be heard.

"Just telling them to search casually, and they start digging and throwing rocks? No, do these people not know about environmental protection? They should protect the habitat, not destroy it for future collectors!"

Collecting should be like borrowing from nature temporarily, and habitats must be protected at all costs.

No matter how urgent it was for his daughter, it seemed that about thirty people were determined to destroy the entire habitat.

"Or did they have explosives or dynamite?"

After waking up in the body of an orphan in this small village on Hainan Island, I had been living by catching and selling snakes from the abandoned mine in the mountains to make a living. I knew nothing about this era.

I had only assumed it was one of the Song, Yuan, Ming, or Qing dynasties.

That's why I was a bit surprised by the sounds I was hearing.

The sounds of something breaking and exploding were definitely not natural.

The sounds I was hearing could only be made with gunpowder.

'When was gunpowder developed in the Central Plains?'

Thus, I began to think that this era might not be too far in the past compared to my previous life.

If there really were centipedes larger than humans, it would be a different world, of course.

And with that thought, I decided I should visit the habitat when it gets light tomorrow.

I needed to see how much damage had been done.

Habitats need to be protected, and the people of this era might not understand the concept of habitat conservation.

If there's even a small one, I'll collect it...

Centipedes are very attractive creatures.

Even though they said it was big enough to eat me, I had faced a black mamba before, so I wasn't going to be scared off by this.

After about an hour,

-Swish.

A sudden downpour began.

With the rain, the sounds of something breaking and exploding from a distance gradually quieted down.

The rain must have made it impossible to use gunpowder, so it became quiet.

Now, I could finally fall asleep to the sound of the rain.

"Is it over?"

-Crickets chirping.

Soon, the sound of crickets chirping from the jars began, and I went back to bed to sleep.

The night in the quiet mountain village resumed as it had the previous night.

***

-Huff, huff.

The exhausted warriors of the Tang family.

The surviving warriors were sprawled on the rocks, drinking the rainwater, and Tang Tieshan, the Heavenly Poison Scholar, was securing his broken arm with a bamboo splint.

"Is your arm okay?"

The voice belonged to Tang Tieshan's father, the Ten Thousand Poison Immortal.

Tang Tieshan smiled in the rain, answering with a smile of hope, as he had now caught the Blue-spotted Centipede and could save his daughter.

"Yes, it's just broken."

"The Blue-spotted Centipede, classified as low-grade, was this powerful. If the rain hadn't slowed it down, we might have all lost our lives."

The smile faded at his father's words.

His father was right.

Incredible speed and strength.

The ability to accurately sense the positions of the warriors even in the dark.

And a powerful venom that caused the touched areas to melt.

Though classified as low-grade in the Secret Book of Poisons, the Blue-spotted Centipede was a formidable venomous creature.

Despite the warnings, two of the family's warriors had been killed by its speed, and three had been poisoned.

Fortunately, the three poisoned warriors were saved by realgar and his father's poison skills, but if the fight had continued, it might have been a different story.

He had thrown himself to save a warrior who was being ambushed, but even with his protective qi, his arm was broken instantly.

The family's throwing knives and darts had no effect on the centipede's tough exoskeleton, and it was only when the rain slowed it down that his father managed to crush its head and kill it.

"At least we caught it. Now we need to check how potent the inner dan is to save our Hua'en."

Beyond the exhausted warriors,

The Ten Thousand Poison Immortal approached the giant centipede, which was lying on its back on the rock, its legs twitching, with a smile.

***

-Swish.

The rain had not stopped by morning.

Based on my observations over the past few years, this was the rainy season.

Sometimes it rained heavily, and sometimes it rained for days. The rain that started last night seemed like it would last for a while.

The sky was filled with dark clouds, and the rain was heavy.

This would delay my plan to check the habitat.

I had intended to examine the habitat that had been destroyed by people after breakfast, but with this rain, I had to avoid going out.

Living alone, if I caught a cold, I would have to suffer for days, and who would take care of my little pets?

Breeders must take good care of their health.

Breeders are responsible for the creatures they raise.

Two days later in the morning,

-Tap, tap.

An unknown tropical bird was chirping beautifully on the roof of the abandoned mine, and water droplets were falling from the broken eaves.

The sun had finally peeked through the clouds, and the morning was filled with the sounds of birds and insects.

I had been eager to visit the habitat, and now it seemed like a good time.

'New species!'

The adventure to find the Blue-spotted Centipede with blue spots on its body.

It seemed possible today.

I hadn't been idle over the past two days.

I had prepared thoroughly.

First, I had made a small, relatively intact jar into a bag with a rope and attached it to my back. I had also prepared a small rope, a fire poker, and two torches made from branches.

In case I had to enter a cave or something.

The Amazonian giant centipede or Peruvian giant centipede, scientifically known as Scolopendra gigantea, was one of the largest centipedes in the world in my previous life.

These centipedes were known to climb cave ceilings to catch birds and bats, which is why I had prepared the rope and torches.

I wondered if the large centipede here might have similar habits.

"Preparations are complete. Shall I go and check it out?"

I put the jar on my back and headed towards the rocky mountains to the west.

I crossed a few swollen streams due to the rain and arrived at the not-so-high rocky mountain.

Although the rain had washed away many of the traces, I could immediately tell what these people had done to the habitat when I reached the base of the mountain.

A part of the mountain's midsection looked as if it had been hit by a bomb.

Rocks had rolled down from the midsection to the bottom, and mud was still flowing down from the hollowed-out area.

"Wow! They really did a major construction job."

The rocks were still wet, so I climbed carefully to avoid slipping.

I needed to check the extent of the damage to the habitat, even if I found the new species later.

After about thirty minutes, I reached the midsection of the mountain.

I couldn't help but shudder.

When I arrived at the midsection, I pulled out something bright red from a crevice in the rocks...

It looked like a centipede's leg.

A bright red leg, about 40 centimeters long and as thick as a 100-won coin.

'Really?'

Honestly, I had been skeptical about the size.

It's common knowledge that insects and arthropods need high oxygen levels to grow large.

That's why only during the Carboniferous period, when oxygen levels were high, could there be dragonflies the size of eagles, centipedes the size of cats, and mayflies the size of sparrows.

The oxygen levels in this era didn't seem that high.

The fire burned similarly to my previous life.

But seeing the leg, I understood.

If the leg was this size, the creature must be large enough to eat me and still have room.

The size of the leg was overwhelming, and goosebumps ran down my spine.

How big would the body of a creature with legs this size be?

-Gulp.

'Should I go back?'

Even though it was a new species, the size was so intimidating that I considered turning back.

But after a moment's thought, I decided to at least check if there were any smaller ones.

It would be impossible to raise, but I wanted to see one alive and moving.

Today seemed to be the best time to see one alive.

Centipedes have a thin cuticle, so when it rains, their bodies absorb water, making it difficult for them to breathe.

Thus, the best time to find a centipede is right after the rain, when they are relatively docile.

I searched the area around where I found the leg and the excavated ground.

After a while, I found a hole large enough for a person to crawl into, beyond the pile of collapsed earth.

"This must be it..."

I had to think for a while at the entrance of the cave.

Centipedes usually live alone and are territorial, so they fight when they meet.

But not all species are like that.

The Korean giant centipede, for example, rarely fights even when kept together.

So if the owner of the leg I found was from this cave, there might be other centipedes inside.

Or it might be empty.

If it was empty, it wouldn't be a problem.

It would be a bit disappointing, but I had already found a leg.

But if there were other centipedes inside...

That would be a bit, no, very dangerous.

But my hesitation didn't last long.

-Huff.

I soon took out the fire poker and lit it with the torch.

I had died while searching for the ten most venomous snakes in my previous life, and I realized I still had a lot to learn.

'This damn curiosity. No, this dead man's curiosity.'

-Whoosh.

I lit the torch and cautiously crawled into the hole.

I hoped the flame in front of me would keep me safe.

Crawling through the damp tunnel, about five meters in,

The tunnel widened.

It seemed to widen, and a hollow appeared with a musty smell.

I stood up and first checked the ceiling.

I was worried a centipede might jump down.

Honestly, I was still shaken by the leg.

After checking the ceiling, I extended the torch to illuminate the inside of the hollow.

Then, in the middle of the hollow, I saw a pile of something yellow, the size of a handball.

"Wow!"

An exclamation of amazement escaped me.

They were shiny and round.

The yellow objects, the size of a handball, were definitely the eggs of the giant centipede, the Blue-spotted Centipede.