Chapter 65
Chapter 65
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 65
Chapter Title: Chapter 6: Covert Squad (11)
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‘I need to hurry.’
I have to die quickly.
But not too quickly.
Just the right speed.
Whoooosh! Boom!
He dodged the sweeping willow leaf saber aimed at his legs. A chair that had been rolling across the deck shattered into pieces.
Whoosh!
Even in a rush, he couldn’t afford to take a sword hit.
If he got cut by a blade, he’d have to secure one just like it, and there was no time for that.
Swoosh!
Arrows were the same. To replicate one that had lodged in him exactly, he’d need a bow. No, something similar would do somehow. Still, better not get hit for now.
Shiiiik!
If he had to take a hit, it’d be a sword.
Their swordsmanship was now at a level where he could perform it himself if asked.
That’s why he needed to get struck by a sword.
Just like before.
‘But no slashes.’
He evaded thrusts.
Slashed wounds would heal.
He couldn’t show rapid regeneration. That would make all his efforts pointless.
In the midst of swords, sabers, and arrows flying everywhere, he had to selectively take the hits he wanted.
Yesterday, he couldn’t have done this.
Puk!
Finally, a sword plunged into his abdomen.
It hurt.
With the palm of his left hand, he slammed down hard on the flat of the blade.
Clang!
The longsword snapped in two. The vibrating blade tore at his guts from the impact. He gritted his teeth against the pain.
He threw himself at the man retreating with the broken sword in hand.
Kwangchang!
Cheonwi and the man tangled together, rolling across the deck. From his fallen position, he grabbed the man’s body with his left hand and twisted his torso half a turn. His knee hooked around the man’s neck.
Crack!
He pressed down with his knee, crushing the man’s throat. Still in that position, he stood up. Cheonwi, rising with swords stabbed into his back and belly, looked every bit the malevolent ghost.
The black-clad warriors froze in place.
Overwhelmed by his killing intent.
Cheonwi didn’t stop. He charged at them first.
They panicked.
Cheonwi’s rush was like a wounded beast itself. No form or technique visible. He seemed ready to grapple, tangle, and even bite if needed.
Crack!
He finally seized one man’s forearm.
Crash!
He hurled him aside and leaped in. Amid the splintering table and splattering food, Cheonwi mounted the man.
Splat!
He smashed his elbow into the man’s face. It turned into a bloody mess in an instant.
Whing!
A willow leaf saber sliced toward Cheonwi’s nape. He rolled across the deck to evade. As he sprang back up, a sword blade came stabbing down.
He barely dodged while kicking the opponent’s leg. Leaping over the falling man, two arrows halted his body.
Thud!
A club flew in and struck him. His body reeled to one side. As he staggered off-balance, sword and saber lunged at him simultaneously.
He twisted his waist and retreated hastily, but a blast of hot air rushed at his back.
Behind him were braziers bending charcoal and oil vats frying meat. The signature Honghwa Ship fireboat setup. The cooks had long fled, leaving only the acrid smell of burning meat on the iron grates.
Splatter! Shiiik!
With his back blocked, swords, sabers, and clubs rained down on him.
Cornered, Cheonwi knew the moment had arrived.
The most dangerous foe had come all the way below the Honghwa Ship. With superb lightness skill, a leap would bring him right to the deck. Dodging attacks repeatedly, he grabbed the side of a man swinging his blade.
He yanked him straight toward the brazier.
Roarrr!
Flames caught on the man’s clothes. He panicked, flailing his willow leaf saber wildly.
Now, step aside just a bit, and the club would come flying.
From an unavoidable angle.
Thud!
It struck his shoulder.
Kwangchang! Roarrrrr!
Cheonwi’s body toppled the braziers and crashed to the floor. Glowing embers scattered everywhere. Flames erupted. Like a fish tossed into oil, Cheonwi thrashed violently for a moment. In the chaos, oil from a wide iron wok spilled onto his face.
Sizzle!
“Arrrgh!”
He screamed at the top of his lungs.
The pain was excruciating for real. He felt his facial skin warping.
Swords and arrows stabbed down.
He rolled across the floor again. Fire spread to his face.
“Aaaarrrgh!”
Cheonwi staggered to his feet.
Flames blazed across half his face.
It was a gruesome sight. Roaring in agony, he lurched sideways. No matter their training or battles, they’d never seen a scene like this. The foes hesitated and fell back.
“W-water!”
His lips burned, slurring his words. His voice was hoarse and desperate. Cheonwi stumbled toward the deck railing. The enemies couldn’t easily close in. One arm gone, swords in his back and gut, face on fire. He was half over death’s threshold. As a martial artist, his life was already done. The enemies knew it too. Or so they thought.
And then he arrived.
“What are you lot doing.”
The reprimanding voice carried the weight of profound learning.
Step, step.
The sound of his footsteps ascending to the deck rang fiercely in their ears. Cheonwi didn’t turn his head that way. High-level experts could discern much. One slip, and he’d be exposed. He might already suspect something. The voice continued.
“Give him a clean death.”
Cheonwi nearly sighed in relief.
He could tell the man was frowning.
Good.
A man who’d spent as much time with books as blades wouldn’t be accustomed to such惨状, and even if he was, he wouldn’t enjoy it. So he was unlikely to dirty his own hands.
Still, he couldn’t relax.
Wracked with pain, he hurled himself toward the railing. It genuinely hurt.
A club-wielding foe charged.
Perfect.
He had to take this hit.
Smack!
Offering his face to the incoming club wasn’t easy. Sparks exploded in his vision.
Crunch.
He vividly felt his skin mangling and cheekbone caving in.
Rolling across the deck, he let out a sharp groan.
“Keuk…….”
Another foe approached and thrust his sword.
He tried to dodge, but his head spun, and he toppled. After giving his face to the club, it was only natural. The impact had reached his brain.
Puk!
The sword pierced his side.
The opening inevitable.
“Krak!”
He swung his hand to snatch the sword but failed.
That could happen.
Even with hyper senses and regeneration, pain was unavoidable. Recovery was swift, but the head blow wasn’t light. Bleeding heavily too. His once-full strength was waning.
Pshut!
The man withdrew his sword. Clutching the bleeding spot, he memorized the puncture site.
Now it was truly dangerous.
Regeneration would start immediately. He needed to vanish from their sight fast.
That’s when it happened.
“Isn’t he a bit too sturdy?”
A clear, resonant voice came from somewhere. Cheonwi was greatly startled.
He hadn’t even sensed the presence.
It felt like a mutter, yet everyone heard it. A sign of profound inner energy.
The enemies’ leader, Bang Jung-heon, turned and asked.
“What brings the young master here?”
“Curiosity.”
The voice drifted down from the mast.
He looked more boy than youth. Perched on a high horizontal yardarm, gazing below. A hat covered his hair, and his eyes sparkled like starlight.
“Will you intervene?”
Bang Jung-heon’s question was courteous. The light reply came back.
“No, just watching. Hey, he’s running.”
Cheonwi kicked off the deck.
Clear the thick side railing, and it was the river.
Bang Jung-heon moved.
Parararak!
Incredible speed.
Cheonwi was mere steps from the railing even stumbling, but Bang Jung-heon’s lightness skill could catch him in any space.
Thud! Toong!
As Cheonwi vaulted over the railing into the air, Bang Jung-heon was already atop it.
Cheonwi avoided eye contact. Nothing could be read.
Slice!
Bang Jung-heon’s sword tip grazed his nape.
Pshushushushu!
Cheonwi saw blood spurting like a fountain from his left neck. Left carotid severed. The arc of airborne blood looked unreal.
Cheonwi’s body plummeted.
Splash!
The Honghwa Ship stood near three or four stories tall as a building. Red foam churned as the black river swallowed him.
Bang Jung-heon stood on the railing, peering down.
He’d felt the sword catch solidly.
Carotid cut—a fatal wound among fatal wounds. No survival possible. The other injuries matched in lethality.
‘Strange.’
He thought.
The Hebei Peng Clan’s Covert Squad Shanxi Branch Chief was said to be a clever tiger, excelling in martial arts and strategy. The Peach Blossom Young Master beside him, a sly fox with many tails.
The branch chief had been excellent.
Decisive and perceptive.
A talent who could accomplish much if recruited. But the deputy chief—smarter, they said—crawling into death like this didn’t match the intel.
Bang Jung-heon leaped lightly from the railing.
Parararak!
His body dropped vertically.
He didn’t plunge into the river. A small boat hid in the ship’s shadow darkness. Bang Jung-heon landed softly on its gunwale.
“Uh, ugh!”
The ferryman at the bow shot up in terror. His face was already ashen. Lips trembling.
Bang Jung-heon asked.
“What are you doing in this dark spot?”
The ferryman stammered incoherently.
Bang Jung-heon spoke calmly again.
“Calm down and speak. I won’t harm you.”
“W-waiting for s-someone, sir.”
“Who?”
“A one-armed martial artist. J-just now, he seemed to drop right ahead. I-I saw it.”
“If he jumped here, where did he ask you to take him?”
“N-no! Just said to signal and row across the river as fast as possible. Pretend to take him aboard.”
Indeed, mid-deck, a straw-mat-covered lump looked like a human shadow.
“But why linger?”
“He said he’d signal from the water, but he just sank—like he drowned. My eyes are sharp. Saw loads of red stuff. B-blood, right?”
“I see. Pretend you saw nothing.”
Bang Jung-heon turned.
The ferryman’s eyes fixed on the sword in his hand. Trembling, he babbled on.
“Th-that guy hired more than just me. That boat over there took his money too. And the one behind…….”
“I said I understand.”
Bang Jung-heon listened no more.
He kicked off the gunwale and soared. His body ascended the Honghwa Ship like a bird. A few bounds off window ledges and cabin railings brought him back to the deck.
He pondered deeply.
Bang Jung-heon’s expression grew grave.
Not fully, but it made some sense.
The Peng Clan wastrel called the casino’s Peach Blossom Young Master had used the same trick twice.
Sapsun Gorge, and now the Fen Riverbank.
Escape route via waterway.
It had bugged him since spotting the Honghwa Ship. As the saying went, even clever rabbits dig three burrows. For an intel org brainiac, repeating the same ploy twice was suspicious.
At least preparing multiple decoy boats showed some survival planning. Or like at Sapsun, feign waterway escape while actually slipping away by land. Or more twisted: make them think he wouldn’t repeat it, then strike for the water again.