The Poison Demon’s Strategy for the Martial Tower Chapter 86

Chapter 86: The Poison Demon and The Antidote (1)

Chief Han rose from the operating table.

"Oh! You can't get up yet."

A doctor from the National Martial Affairs Headquarters in a protective suit grabbed her arm.

Chief Han asked urgently.

"The results?"

"Just a mont. I need to implant a new antidote kit in your arm—"

"Results first!"

Blood trickled down Chief Han's arm.

The doctor frowned, set down the scalpel, and fed the antidote kit into the machine.

Then carefully retrieved a new antidote kit to implant back into the arm.

Miraejegwa.

dicine made by the Republic of Korea's premier pharmaceutical company.

With each unit priced at the value of several Gangnam apartnts, handling it demanded the utmost care.

Because of that price, only a handful of people in the Republic of Korea—Chief Han among them—were using it.

Beep—!

The test results ca in.

The doctor turned to the monitor, then cried out in a voice rising with agitation.

"Wait—what's this?"

"What is it?"

"The readings are normal!"

"……!"

"Yes! The poison energy levels in your body are completely normal. The poison energy that had been suppressed by the antidote kit this whole ti—it's completely gone!"

The doctor pointed at the figures on the monitor, eyes wide.

"The dicine we switched to recently must have worked! I need to report this to my superiors right away."

"Hold on!"

Chief Han grabbed the doctor's arm as he moved toward the door.

"Please hold off on that report for just a mont."

"Why? This is news that will shock the entire world. It ans the antidote we created actually worked."

That couldn't be right.

The dicine had been changed recently, yes—but Chief Han knew her own body well.

There was only one reason she had been cured.

The antidote Kim Tae-yang gave her.

The 37th-floor antidote made by the Naless Hero.

Chief Han spoke to the doctor plainly.

"I understand the hard work you've put in, but this wasn't because of your dicine."

"Pardon?"

"Has anyone else recovered using the sa treatnt?"

The doctor pursed his lips.

"……No."

"So it seems I'm the only one who's fully recovered. Must be because I've been eating well lately."

"What exactly did you eat?"

"……Care and consideration."

"I beg your pardon?"

The doctor stared at her with wide rabbit-eyes, caught off guard.

"Even so…… The report still needs to……"

Chief Han took hold of the doctor's arm and held out her own.

"You need to suture this first."

"Oh, right."

"Ah."

She pointed at the expensive antidote kit in the doctor's hand.

"Can that be returned?"

* * *

Chief Han raised the Blue Dragon Spear in her right hand.

"Light. Definitely."

A feeling completely different from yesterday.

[It is the 37th floor antidote.]

Kim Tae-yang had given her the antidote, and urged her—right there on the spot—to take it while she was still standing there in bewildernt.

Chief Han drank all of it.

Kim Tae-yang had also given her a single elixir pill.

He said it was sothing good for the body—that it would open blocked energy channels and aid in recovery.

Only a single day had passed, but thanks to that, there was not a trace of pain or discomfort in her right arm.

Whoosh—! Bang!

She thrust the Blue Dragon Spear forward.

The spearhead, tearing through the air, let out the pleasant cry of a dragon.

"How long has it been."

Since she had swung a spear without fear, without burden.

She swung the spear to her heart's content.

The weight she had carried in her heart all this ti washed away with her sweat.

【A crouching venomous spider bares its gleaming fangs. 3,000 Happiness】

She went straight to find her father, Minister Han.

His secretary shot to his feet in surprise.

"Ch-Chief Han!"

"The Minister is in, yes?"

"He is, but……"

"What is it?"

"Going in with a spear is……"

"Ah."

She glanced to the side and found the Blue Dragon Spear in her hand. Her outfit was still what she'd been exercising in.

A tank top and training pants.

‘What am I thinking.’

She handed the Blue Dragon Spear to the secretary.

"Hold onto this."

"Pardon?"

"I'll be swinging it again later."

Bang!

"Father!"

"Chief Han."

Minister Han swept his eyes up and down at her sudden entrance, then looked up with a startled expression.

"What's the matter?"

She strode to his desk and slapped both hands down on it.

"It's resolved."

"What is?"

"Zhuge Liang, Washington, Yi Sun-sin."

"What?"

Chief Han patted her right arm and said,

"The 37th floor antidote is complete!"

* * *

I supplied the National Martial Affairs Headquarters with the first batch of 20 vials of antidote.

Not too many, not too few—just enough to leave them wanting more.

Chief Han asked ,

"Tae-yang. With this dicine, breaching the 37th floor is possible, right?"

The expectant light in her eyes.

"My teacher has said that this antidote is dicine to treat climbers who have been poisoned."

"Then?"

"A separate antidote for use during the climb will be prepared for you."

"When?"

She pressed.

Honestly, she likely knew it herself.

Rushing the assault on the 37th floor mattered—but so did treating the climbers already hovering between life and death from the poison.

Yet she couldn't hide what she felt.

The 37th floor, unbroken for well over a year.

She was desperate to announce that it had been solved.

I spoke calmly.

"Of course, it is possible to attempt a push through Poison Valley with the current antidote. However, my teacher said the dicine's efficacy is still limited."

"Explain in detail."

"If one were to drink this antidote like water while fighting, clearing it would be feasible. But the quantity that can be produced is fixed."

"I see……"

I crossed my arms and said,

"This isn't about sending up just a handful of people."

She nodded.

Dozens, hundreds of people needed to be sent up continuously—which ant far more antidote, or a much stronger one, was needed.

Chief Han, sharp as she was, imdiately asked what her role would be.

"What do you need us to do?"

I handed her the mo I had prepared.

"Please gather these dicinal herbs."

"So I recognize…… And so I've never seen before."

"Whatever you can procure will do."

"Understood."

"Will it be as fast as last ti?"

Chief Han thought for a mont before answering.

"Not quite as fast, but we handle things the way our 082 people do."

"Would 3 months be enough?"

"1 month."

"That's fast."

"In return, please relay this to the Naless Hero. That within 2 months, a perfected antidote for breaching the 37th floor must be completed."

"I'll do so."

She left.

The exact price of the antidote was to be negotiated later—but first, they were depositing money as a down paynt on the contract.

She hadn't even said how much.

Ding-dong—!

A deposit notification rang from my Swiss account.

10 billion won had co in.

‘If the down paynt is this much, how much are they planning to pay for the real price.’

A wry laugh escaped .

The value of the antidote was imnse.

The National Martial Affairs Headquarters' determination to secure exclusive rights was unmistakable.

The price at which the National Martial Affairs Headquarters would resell it to other nations would be several tis that.

Complete it within 2 months.

That was precisely the deadline before the Super Climber K tournant ended.

A tournant hosted by the Republic of Korea, with the Iron Instrunt God's Sword at stake.

The mont the world's gaze would be fixed on them—that was when they intended to make the announcent.

That was why she had set the unreasonable deadline of 1 month.

‘These people certainly know how to throw a party.’

I chuckled to myself and pulled a dicine vial from my pocket.

The liquid sloshed inside.

‘Forgive , Chief Han.’

In truth, a perfected antidote capable of pushing through Poison Valley was already complete.

The list on the mo I had given her—

‘These are the dicinal herbs and poisonous plants that serve as ingredients for the Eight Great Extre Poisons.’

Things that needed to be gathered in order to beco a Poison Demon.

Along with the ingredients for making spirit dicines.

There was no longer any need for to do the hard work myself.

The brilliant, passionate elites of the National Martial Affairs Headquarters were no different from my subordinates.

I tucked the vial back into my pocket and started walking.

It was nearly ti to go collect the red centipede armor I had ntioned to the eccentric old man.

* * *

The eccentric old man was a peculiar person.

His skill as a craftsman was certainly enough to be called a master artisan even in the martial world I had co from.

The problem was that he burned with so strange artistic spirit.

When I had visited his forge before and seen the things he made, they were bizarre swords shaped like sothing out of a martial arts film, fantasy story, or ga.

Things like attaching a dragon's head to a large sword, or adding strange branches to the blade.

Impressive to look at—but unnecessary parts that ruined the weapon's balance.

‘If only those parts were gone, they'd be fine.’

So ti ago I had stopped by the eccentric old man's place, and the red centipede shell I had given him as a sample had been transford into quite splendid shoulder guards and leg guards.

"Treated it with heat properly, see. Look how it bends this smoothly."

His skill was undeniable.

Firm, yet without discomfort on the body.

With just one exception—the strange spines he had added to the shoulder guards.

"Please remove the spines."

"But that's the whole point."

"Remove them!"

And I handed over a third of the red centipede shells, asking him to make carapace armor or a breastplate.

The eccentric old man grumbled, but the mont he saw the intact centipede shell, his eyes lit up and he promised to make it.

Since Chief Han was preparing to attempt the 37th floor, I had specially requested a set of armor for her.

A masterwork crafted from red centipede shell.

I went back to see the eccentric old man.

"Good day."

"You've co."

"I'd like to see the order."

"Won't you have a cup of tea first."

"I can't stand the suspense."

The eccentric old man's sudden offer of tea only made more uneasy.

He scratched his cheek and led to the inner part of the forge.

An object covered in white cloth.

The armor I had ordered.

"That must be it."

As I stepped forward to lift the white cloth, the eccentric old man asked, "Ah, have you eaten?"

I nodded and yanked the white cloth off.

"……Aah."

Looking at what he had made—it was a sight to behold.

Well-crafted and sturdy, with no restriction to movent—but.

"Why on earth did you put horns on both sides of the chest?"

"Ha ha ha…… That's what gives it character."

"Character has nothing to do with it—people stake their lives on this!"

I raised my voice. The eccentric old man answered in a shrinking tone.

"Well, the horns are what balances the whole thing……"

"Do you have any idea what climbing is? And what is this."

"What do you an?"

"Why is there so much exposed? Why is the chest cut open, and why is the side left open?"

"Well, it's won's armor……"

"What does that have to do with anything!"

This perverted old man.

Absolutely maddening, truly.

I understood why Chief Han disliked the eccentric old man.

"The degree of exposure in won's armor is proportional to its strength—"

"Old man!"

I let out a shriek.

Rumble—. Without realizing it, my energy sense must have co through—the entire forge shook.

The eccentric old man flinched and dropped his gaze to the floor.

I pointed at sothing else and asked again.

"And why did you make this?"

The lower-body armor.

A triangular armor shaped like undergarnts.

"W-well, isn't it stylish? Had a bit of leftover material, haha."

"How is anyone supposed to fight in that? The entire backside is exposed!"

"……The triangle gives freedom of movent—"

"Oh? You even added feathers?"

Just imagining wearing it conjured an image too revolting to even put into words.

"Take them off right now!"

"But if you take those off, it genuinely won't function—"

"What function!"

I ripped the feathers off, one after another.

Even without the feathers, this lower-body armor was unwearable.

At that, the eccentric old man's face went slack with shock.

"You…… Tore those off with your bare hands?!"

I glared at him and said,

"You have 2 days. Make it again."

"There's no way I can make it in 2 days……"

"If you can't, my dealings with you are finished."

I swept up the red centipede shells on the eccentric old man's workbench and walked out.

The expression of a man whose precious possession had been taken.

The eccentric old man shouted at my retreating back.

"Screw this! I'm done too!"

I turned around.

The eccentric old man had flopped down into a chair and was staring at the floor.

"……"

I set the shells down beside and walked toward him.

"I don't want to. I'm not making anything more."

"Why not?"

"I know exactly what's going on. That armor's for Chief Han, isn't it? The body asurents are a perfect match for Chief Han."

"……She risks her life climbing for the sake of this country. Since when does a person refuse sothing like that?"

He jerked his head up and shot back at :

"You think I don't know that?! What does risking your life for the country get you—does heaven rain down blessings or sothing? Don't make laugh! That damned sky has given nothing and yet it's got its eyes peeled looking for more to take!"

The eccentric old man burst out.

"My daughter is also part of the National Martial Affairs Headquarters! She's a nurse. She's spent her career treating climbers wounded in the line of duty……"

As he continued, his voice began to crack.

"I got into this work because she asked to. She said that the climbers suffer so much—shouldn't we do sothing to help."

I crouched down in front of him and looked at him steadily.

He bit his lip and spoke.

"She's a good girl. A truly good girl. She gave up marriage, gave her youth to treating and nursing climbers—I thought at least heaven would reward her with so blessing……"

"Has sothing happened?"

The eccentric old man's lips trembled as he opened a photo on his phone and held it out to .

In the photo was a woman with an oxygen mask on her face, purple veins standing out all across her skin.

"She got poisoned. While treating climbers on the 37th floor, she herself……"

Tears welled in the eccentric old man's eyes.

"When I go to see her, I can't even get in. They have her in complete isolation because she's contagious. This photo is the only one I've managed to see—the National Martial Affairs Headquarters sent it to ."

His daughter, who had risked her life for the country and for others.

Far from being rewarded with happiness, she stood at death's door—and that fact was driving him to madness.

"I heard there's soone called the Naless Hero. Makes sothing called the Chivalrous Hero's Secret dicine to help with climbing. Part of hoped. That maybe that person…… might create a 37th-floor antidote. That then my daughter…… My good, kind daughter might pull herself up and be well again."

The eccentric old man let tears stream down his face.

"A foolish hope. I know that. That's why I've been making these worthless things, trying to forget. My only daughter suffering in agony, and the only way I might get to see her is after she's dead. And not even that—they'll cremate her, they say. How could I not go mad?"

He began to weep with heaving, breaking sobs.

An old man's tears are all the more heartbreaking.

After crying for a long while, he let out a deep breath and said,

"It's all…… Pointless. Tell Chief Han to stop suffering too. Once she's got her gear, she'll just go and die like my daughter—chasing so reckless courage. I don't want to do this anymore. I'm just…… Exhausted."

He wiped his tears with his sleeve and bowed his head.

I asked him,

"The prayer sculpture in the courtyard—the figures of a father and daughter kneeling beneath the monstrous statue."

"……What about it?"

"Who are they praying to?"

The eccentric old man smiled a self-mocking smile.

"The Red Dragon."

"……"

"I must be out of my mind. With nowhere else to turn, I grabbed onto a dream."

A father who had fallen into despair—with nothing else he could do for his poisoned daughter.

"I will see to it that you et your daughter."

He raised his head and looked at .

An expression that said he had misheard.

"What are you saying right now?"

"I will let you hold her in your arms—healthy. I give you my word."

"How could you possibly—"

"I am the Naless Hero."

"……!"

"And."

I placed an antidote in his calloused hands.

"I am your Red Dragon."