Chapter 479: I Tried to Handle It as Quietly as Possible.
Chapter 479: I Tried to Handle It as Quietly as Possible.
The intruders were assassins.
Having dealt with many of their kind before my regression, I was well-acquainted with their unique aura. It was a killing intent devoid of emotion.
Was it because they didn't kill out of resentment or hatred? Or was it because the very first thing an assassin learned was to suppress all emotion? Regardless, their killing intent felt subtly different from that of ordinary martial artists.
If I had noticed them, Hwi certainly had as well. In fact, since his specialty was detecting intruders, he likely sensed them even before I did. Since I had stepped forward, he would be watching the situation from the shadows, concealed near my father’s quarters.
Of course, if Hwi and I had noticed, then Father surely knew of the intruders' presence too. His Heavenly Demon Body Protection Art, which he had mastered to the stage of Great Achievement, would have naturally alerted him to the danger.
Just trust me and go back to sleep, Father. Blood splatters wouldn't really suit those pajamas, would they?
I quietly opened the door and stepped out into the yard. Standing there, staring into the darkness, I made a shushing gesture and whispered.
“Father is sleeping, so let's fight quietly.”
However, the yard remained still, as if no one were there. The only sound was the chirping of insects in the grass. If Father had been awake, he undoubtedly would have said this:
You’re the loudest one here!
The thought brought a small smile to my lips. Then, as if responding to my words, someone hidden in the darkness ahead revealed a faint trace of their presence.
It wasn't a mistake. Once they realized I knew they were there, one of them revealed their position to act as a decoy. The other assassins would be holding their breath, waiting for me to attack him.
This was the terrifying part about assassins. They were trained with the mindset that even if everyone else died, the mission was a success as long as one person survived to finish the job. Thus, while they were many, they functioned as a single entity.
Since they had gone through the trouble of offering bait, it was only polite of me to take a bite.
I lunged toward the assassin who had revealed himself. I moved with great speed, yet there was no sound of rushing wind. My light body technique was smooth and silent, as if I were moving through a world where sound had been erased.
The opponent didn't flee; he emerged from the darkness. He was clad in black from head to toe—a black mask, black clothes, and even black shoes. The saying that an assassin whose concealment is blown is an assassin whose life is over did not apply to this man.
He was a decoy, but he was no mere fodder. His movements were incredibly fast and precise, possessing enough skill to kill most masters in a head-on confrontation. He had mastered his martial arts so thoroughly that it almost felt like a waste for someone of his caliber to be an assassin.
That was likely why he was the one to reveal himself. To give the other assassins an opening, he had to be able to hold his own in a direct fight.
Of course, I didn't give them that chance. To avoid the sound of clashing blades, I decided the match in a single strike.
The moment his sword swung toward my face, my figure vanished. Utilizing the Dark Shadow Step, I appeared behind him.
Thwack!
Even as my sword pierced through his back and protruded from his chest, he desperately suppressed his scream. He was a man whose body was conditioned to remain silent under any circumstance. This alone confirmed it: these were exceptionally well-trained assassins.
They must have spent a fortune to hire this lot.
Because the first assassin died so quickly, the others couldn't find an opening to launch a surprise attack. They were likely waiting for the next opportunity—the moment I let my guard down, thinking only one person had infiltrated. If I were to search the corpse for clues, a lethal barrage of attacks would surely follow.
Naturally, I didn't do what they wanted. I caught the falling corpse and lowered it to the ground silently. Then, looking back into the darkness, I made another shushing gesture.
I wasn't just gesturing at random. The energy I had radiated, spreading out like a spiderweb, had already taken control of the area. My "shush" was directed toward the spot where the vibrations in that web were strongest.
Realizing his position was compromised, the assassin lunged at me immediately. It was a certain-kill strike that completely disregarded defense in favor of taking the opponent down.
Swish.
The incoming blade grazed past my face. My eyes, reflected in the steel, held no emotion.
Flash! Slice!
The Black Demonic Sword drew a straight line of light, cutting through his chest. The opponent instinctively twisted his body to dodge, but two-thirds of his chest, including his heart, had already been severed. I had cut him so quickly and sharply that he died before he could even feel the pain.
Once again, I glided through the air without a sound.
Thud!
My sword pierced through a tree. It went in as smoothly as if it were stabbing tofu, yet it was faster than any fast sword. The body of the assassin hiding behind the tree was impaled, but again, there was no scream.
Instead, the dying man gripped the blade with both hands. How could a dying man hope to hold onto my Black Demonic Sword?
I yanked the sword out and leaped up the tree. The assassin's fingers were severed and scattered into the air. Sword light flashed in the darkness.
Stab! Stab!
There had been three assassins attached to that single tree. Who would expect three people to cling to one tree? It was a clever ploy of deception, but they couldn't escape my web of energy.
By the time the two assassins who had been clinging to the tree like cicadas fell and landed on the first corpse, I had already landed in front of a wall ten paces away. As expected, the Black Demonic Sword sank smoothly into the wall.
Screeeeeech!
With the sword embedded, I slid along the length of the wall. My body moved as if gliding on ice. Simultaneously, the Black Demonic Sword tore a horizontal gash through the wall. The bodies of the assassins who had been leaning against the wall, holding their breath, were sliced in half as they collapsed.
I could sense their shock and confusion. Given their skill in concealment, they must have been renowned assassins who had claimed countless lives. They likely never failed a contract once they set out. But today, they were falling one by one without even getting a proper chance to act.
There’s a traitor among us!
They were probably thinking that, given how accurately their positions were being pinpointed.
I finished them off swiftly. These were people who had come with the intent to kill me, my father, and Hwi. They were people who killed for money. I had no reason to hesitate.
When I reached the roof, hidden weapons came flying at me.
Whiz! Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!
I ran through the barrage. Not a single footstep could be heard as I sprinted across the tiles. In the blink of an eye, I reached the edge of the roof, and the assassins who had thrown the weapons tumbled to the ground.
Despite the height, there was no loud thud. Just before the corpses hit the ground, I used Telekinesis to ensure they landed silently.
As I continued to root them out from their hiding spots, the assassins could no longer hold back. They initiated the attack. Two assassins struck simultaneously—one from a tree and one from the darkness to my left.
This time, I used the Underworld King Step. My target was the assassin rushing from the left. The assassin, who had sent so many to their graves, could not stop this step of death any more than his victims could.
As he collapsed, blood spurting from his throat, the assassin dropping from the tree unleashed his hidden weapons.
Ping! Thud!
The hidden weapon and my dagger crossed in mid-air. The hidden weapon vanished into the distant darkness, while the dagger I threw disappeared into the assassin's black clothes.
An assassin appeared from behind a stone lantern, a hidden weapon in his hand. It wasn't a projectile meant to be thrown like a dagger. It was a cylindrical device designed to launch poisonous needles with great force.
Flash!
I closed the distance with Blink Step.
Slash! Slash!
Before he could trigger the device, his wrist and then his throat were severed in succession.
“I told you we should fight quietly, didn't I?”
If that weapon had fired, there would have been an explosion of sound. Assassins of this caliber rarely used such noisy weapons, which meant they were getting desperate.
Another assassin lunged at me, unfurling a net. It was a Steel Mesh used by assassins. This tightly woven metal net was a special tool that couldn't be easily cut by blades or even sword qi. If it were fixed in place, sword qi might work, but if you were caught under it during combat, you would momentarily panic and struggle.
At that moment, another assassin flew over my head through the darkness.
Splash!
What he sprayed was Bone-Melting Acid. It was a vicious tactic—trap the target in the net and dissolve them. Their coordination was so perfect they moved as one.
With two slashes, the net was rendered into four pieces, and by the time the Bone-Melting Acid poured down, I was no longer there.
Slice!
The moment I slit the throat of the assassin who threw the net, the one who had flown over my head crashed to the ground in the distance. A dagger I had thrown was already embedded in his neck. Of course, I used Telekinesis to make sure he landed quietly as well.
It was then.
Whoosh!
A sword lunged up from the ground, grazing my face. It was a decisive strike from an assassin who had been lying in wait. This assassin had dug a tunnel and waited exactly at this spot.
I could tell from the sheer power of this strike. Out of all the assassins I had faced so far, his skill was the most superior. This attack was the core of today's ambush.
But that was their problem. To me, he was just an assassin who had failed to kill me—and likely one who had killed many others.
My sword was already buried deep into his shoulder and down into his torso. In his final moment, he tried to scream. I couldn't tell if he intended to ruin the silence of this fight or if the pain of being skewered from shoulder to core was simply unbearable.
But my hand was faster. I muffled his mouth with my left hand and withdrew my sword. As the blade came out, he vomited blood and expired. Half of his body was still in the pit in the ground.
I released my qi to scan the surroundings. There were no more assassins living or hiding in the yard. I walked slowly toward the building.
*
An assassin crawled along the ceiling.
He was close to the target's room. The situation outside was dire. Even from beneath the ceiling where he crawled, he could hear the sound of blades cutting through flesh. Though he couldn't see it, he knew instinctively: his comrades were being slaughtered.
He sensed that the success of today's contract rested solely on his shoulders.
Actually, this is better.
He would get to keep all that blood money for himself.
I will be the one to kill him.
He moved inch by inch, incredibly slowly. The true skill of an assassin lay in infiltrating without a trace, enduring for hours without being caught, and deciding the exact moment to eliminate the enemy.
In that regard, he was the most patient of all the assassins who had come today. If he could just get above the target's head, he would succeed. No one could block a poisonous needle fired silently from the ceiling while they slept.
Moreover, it wasn't just any poisonous needle. These needles were as thin as hair—a special hidden weapon that killed the victim before they even realized they'd been pricked. They were so thin that even an autopsy wouldn't be able to determine the cause of death.
He poked a hole in the ceiling to confirm his position. The moment he peered through the hole—
“!”
He gasped in horror. Someone was staring back at him through the hole from below.
In the next instant—
Puchi!
A sharp sword pierced upward, skewering the assassin's throat. The person who killed him was Hwi.
Blood trickled down from the ceiling where the sword had pierced through. Then, a voice came from behind.
“It’s pouring blood in here.”
Geom Mu-geuk entered the room and looked at the blood dripping from the ceiling. Corpses were also scattered in the hallway. All the assassins inside the house, as well as those approaching from the rear, had been eliminated.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. What about you, Uncle?”
“I am fine as well.”
I was certain that even if I hadn't been there, Hwi could have handled today's intrusion on his own. Assassins and bodyguards—in that predatory relationship, Hwi stood at the very top of the food chain.
A martial artist might be able to kill me, but an assassin never will.
Hwi took great pride in that fact. Just then, there was a sign of movement from the room.
“Father is awake. Let’s go in.”
Geom Mu-geuk and Hwi entered the room. Geom Wu-jin had risen from his bed and was pouring cold tea from a kettle on the table.
“I tried to handle it as quietly as possible. I’m sorry.”
At Mu-geuk’s words, Geom Wu-jin turned his head to look at his son.
“I didn't hear anything except your voice.”
Mu-geuk grinned. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.
“That was me holding back as much as I could.”
A faint smile touched his father’s lips. Hwi reported to him.
“The intruders were assassins.”
The faint smile vanished from his father’s face. He disliked the Poison King and the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord; there was no way he would be fond of assassins.
Mu-geuk asked Hwi.
“Did you happen to find out where they came from?”
As the head of the Heavenly Demon’s escort, Hwi was the most knowledgeable person regarding the assassins of the Murim. The more famous they were, the better he knew them. As expected, Hwi knew exactly who they were.
“Judging by their combat style, these men are from the Underworld.”
The Underworld. One of the three great assassin organizations of the Murim, a place synonymous with infamy and terror.
The moment Mu-geuk heard the name "Underworld," one man came to mind. He had many titles: The supreme assassin born with a natural talent for murder. The heartless assassin who killed his own father, the former head of the Underworld, to take his place. The man who would later unify the world of assassins and become the king of all killers. The god of death, rumored to be capable of even claiming the head of King Yama.
But to Geom Mu-geuk, the most significant title was this: The Fourth King of the Twelve Zodiac Kings, the Murder King.
Though he didn't know the full details yet, Mu-geuk instinctively felt that this man was behind the Golden Dragon Clan incident. Where there was money, blades were sure to follow.
The Murder King.
I couldn't afford to relax. None of the Twelve Zodiac Kings were easy opponents, but the Murder King was someone to be especially wary of. He was a man gifted with the supreme talent for killing, someone who would use any means necessary to achieve his goal.
The wind blowing through the window carried the warm scent of the dead assassins' blood. Mu-geuk spoke calmly, his gaze deepening.
“It seems we'll have to see a lot of blood this time.”