I Became an Evolving Lizard in a Martial Arts Novel

Chapter 120

I felt an emptiness inside.

Something I took for granted was now gone, leaving a void so vast it was almost unbearable.

It was as if there was a large hole drilled right through my head.

When was the last time I felt such a sense of loss?

"Kreekk..."

I let out a sorrowful lizard cry.

Smooth... very smooth.

"Kreeeekk..."

Glossy and shiny.

It was time to let go of the name Komodo.

I was no longer Komodo, but Moomodo—*the Bald Death*.

Of course, a lizard doesn't have hair to begin with.

What I lost was my precious black scales.

The ones on the top of my head, to be exact, all plucked out.

"Kek..."

Perhaps this is the price for learning the Dragon Claw Hand technique from Shaolin. Now I had become a head-butting lizard.

The Snake Queen, meanwhile, seemed delighted, admiring the scales she’d pulled from my head.

"Ufufu. These will be very useful."

It was strange. She had pulled out so many scales, and yet not a single drop of blood fell.

If there had been blood, I would have rolled on the ground, trying to earn her sympathy.

...But then again, sympathy from the vicious Snake Queen who took my scales and was laughing about it? It was never going to work.

"Keeek-kek!"

I let out an angry *keek* sound.

If she needed scales, she could have plucked them from somewhere else!

The ones on my tail would have grown back anyway; she could have just cut those.

Granted, the tail scales are a bit weaker than others and are structured thinner at the end since they need to be detachable, but still... Only taking the scales from my head felt unjust.

She could've pulled a few from my chest, at least.

"I’ll treasure this gift from my partner for a lifetime."

There was no wind in the temple, yet my head felt cold and exposed.

"Kek..."

With a triangular look of discontent, I turned my back to the Snake Queen.

I went to a corner of the nest, curled up, and covered the top of my head with my tail.

“Shhh-shhh.”

I heard a soft, slithering sound.

Shixix was crawling toward me, making her usual soft hissing sounds.

Normally, she would chirp fiercely to scold the Snake Queen for tormenting me. But today, she had remained silent.

"Shix..."

Creeping closer, I noticed a familiar black scale wedged between Shixix’s own scales.

One of the small scales from my head.

"...Shix."

I see.

She had taken a bribe from the Snake Queen to keep quiet.

“Kekek.”

How could you do this, Shixix?

Shixix seemed to know she’d done something wrong, glancing nervously at me.

But I didn’t have the energy to scold her.

She crept up to me, climbed my leg, and nestled around my neck.

“Peep?”

She chirped in confusion, curious about something.

Though I couldn’t see her from my neck, I could feel her plump body stretching out.

Like how cobras do.

“Hiek!”@@@@

Shixix let out a horrified shriek.

At last, she had seen the truth of my dreadful state.

Yes, Shixix.

The Komodo you once knew is gone.

Call me *the Head-Butting Lizard* now.

After a long moment of stunned silence, Shixix crawled to the top of my head.

"Hieeek..."

She let out a distressed noise, unable to believe what she saw.

Now you realize your mistake, don’t you?

This is the price you pay for being blinded by greed for a dragon scale, failing to stop the Snake Queen.

The cool, fierce Komodo you admired no longer exists.

Just Moomo, the bald lizard.

The feather, if anything, was nearly as long as my own body.

“This is a feather from a Golden Roc.”

The Golden Roc.

I’d heard of it before.

“I’ve never seen one myself. Among divine beasts, it’s spoken of only in legends.”

The Golden Roc’s other name is Garuda.

In certain traditions, it’s even worshiped as a god.

“We can’t even be certain it exists. This feather might not even be from a Golden Roc.”

Whether it was or not didn’t seem to matter.

Having a feather of this size meant it came from something immensely powerful.

But no matter how powerful the Golden Roc was, what could we possibly do with a single feather?

“I’m going to forge it into a weapon.”

Her answer was unexpected.

Forging a weapon from that enormous feather?

If the main ingredient was the Golden Roc’s feather, the secondary material was my scales.

...Is that really okay?

Am I really worthy to be part of this?

Sure, I’m a divine beast, but am I on par with a legendary bird?

"Kek-kek."

I don’t know.

The Snake Queen must have had a reason for choosing my scales.

Surely, she didn’t pluck my head just for the sake of it.

But a weapon?

Maybe it’s symbolic.

It’s unlikely she’ll wield it herself.

“The weapon I’m making is a sword. A colossal sword, one that I can wield.”

“Keek?”

What was she talking about?

Was she saying she’d personally wield this sword?

“Oh, did I forget to mention?”

The Snake Queen picked up the massive feather from the ground.

“I was once a swordsman.”

A swordsman?

Did she really wield a sword with that body?

Firing destructive beams from her mouth, poisoning and petrifying with her eyes, and swinging a sword on top of all that?

It didn’t make sense.

Besides, the feather was too large to be wielded as a sword.

The Snake Queen picked it up effortlessly, but swinging it was an entirely different matter

.

Unless she planned to reduce its size during the forging process, which would make more sense.

“Hm... The size is a bit lacking, but this will have to do.”

What was that supposed to mean?

Did she intend to wield something even larger?

No human form could manage a weapon of that size.

While her power was overwhelming, the structure was impractical.

Even if she could swing it, the efficiency would be poor.

Unless it’s her true form, wielding that size....

...Wait a minute.

Could it be?

The Snake Queen lifted the feather slightly, then gripped its end with her tail.

“Well, it’ll do as a dagger.”

Then I realized what she meant by *swordsman*.

She wasn’t a *swordsman* in the human sense but a *sword-snake*.

Our Snake Queen would unleash destructive beams from her mouth, spread poison and petrification from her eyes, crush enemies with her body, and wield a sword with her tail.

...

I’m lucky she’s on my side. If she were my enemy, I’d have flipped belly-up in submission right away.

“Kekek.”

“What’s with that cute sound?”

I opened my eyes as wide as possible.

“Why are you suddenly giving me those innocent eyes?”

Quietly, she pulled out a few remaining dragon scales.

“Hiek...”

The sound that came out wasn’t from Shixix but from me, Komodo-Rania, the Snake Queen’s mighty sword.

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!

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