Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

As the creature trapped beneath Yo-hwa’s web struggled, its piercing shriek echoed through the darkness.

The two pairs of glowing red eyes in the mist flickered toward each other.

—Chit!?

—Chii!

It was as if they were exchanging signals.

Then, without hesitation, they disappeared into the darkness and mist, launching themselves toward me at full speed.

Yo-hwa must have deemed them too troublesome to handle herself, as the cunning creatures focused solely on attacking me.

They were already fast, but with the cover of darkness and mist, they became even harder to detect. Their movements blurred, and in the blink of an eye, they were nearly upon me.

I instinctively tried to retreat, but—

—Thunk.

‘Damn! I’m blocked! How are they this fast?’

I had barely managed to dodge the first attack by following Yo-hwa’s signal, and the second by rolling backward. But now, for even a split second, I had stopped moving—meaning dodging again was nearly impossible.

The obstruction behind me had cut off my last escape route, leaving me completely vulnerable.

There was nowhere to evade, and they were far quicker than I had anticipated. At this rate, I was bound to get bitten somewhere.

—Kishi!

—Chaaak!

Just as Yo-hwa let out a sharp cry, my body was suddenly yanked upward.

—"Kuhuhk!"

My waist lurched skyward as I was swiftly pulled into the trees.

Branches and leaves whipped against my face, hitting me repeatedly as I was dragged through them.

By the time I finished getting smacked by what felt like twenty twigs, the two pairs of red eyes that had been targeting me crossed paths at the spot where I had just been standing.

—Shhhk.

It was a matter of mere inches.

Judging by the feeling around my waist, Yo-hwa had secretly tied her silk around me again.

It had strained her strength a bit, but thanks to her, I had narrowly avoided their attack.

As the creatures sped past the empty spot where I had been, Yo-hwa let out a furious hiss.

—Kishiiiiiiii!

Her enraged cry, piercing through the fog and darkness, sent a chill down my spine.

Yo-hwa had never made such an angry sound before, and even Hyang and Hongdan, who were clinging to me, flinched in surprise.

—Tssrr…

—Kii…

Just as a predator’s growl contains low-frequency waves that paralyze prey with fear, Yo-hwa’s cry carried a similar power.

And at that moment, a commotion erupted from the campsite.

“What was that sound?!”