The Melee (6)
“Damn it!”
Chaeaeaeaeaeeng!
Yeo Guk’s response was astonishing as he deflected the hidden weapons that had been fired at terrifying speed with his sword.
The Kunlun Sect was the farthest from the Central Plains among the Nine Great Sects. Though it was considered one of the sacred grounds of Daoist martial arts, its style differed from the Wudang Sect, which was regarded as the orthodox tradition of the Central Plains.
If Wudang’s swordsmanship was soft and fluid, Kunlun’s was heavy and imposing. The Kunlun Sword Art, honed in harsh and frigid terrain, never hesitated to crush even the fiercest attacks head-on.
After knocking away the hidden weapons, Yeo Guk stepped forward with the Cloud Dragon Step and swung his sword once more.
Chwaaaak!
One assassin’s head flew off the extending blade, while another’s abdomen was torn open by the pulling sword wind.
It was a brutal technique unbefitting of Daoist swordsmanship. In that desperate moment, his body instinctively unleashed a killing sword art etched into his very bones.
Jeoreong!
He precisely deflected the barbed sword and repelled the attacker with the lofty Cloud Crane Palm.
The assassin who was sent flying was instantly shredded into dozens of pieces.
Yeo Guk was startled. It was not his own attack that had done it. The assassins he had repelled had been killed by their own comrades. Anticipating Yeo Guk’s follow-up strike, they had immediately eliminated anything that could become an obstacle.
“These vicious bastards!”
Chaeeng! Chaechaecheng!
He killed several assassins through reflexive defense, but that was the end of it. Having gauged his skill, over a dozen assassins kept their distance and rained hidden weapons upon him.
Yeo Guk tried to counterattack several times while deflecting the projectiles with the Supreme Void Sword, but each time the assassins retreated like ghosts. They were reading his killing intent with uncanny precision.
These bastards.
Yeo Guk’s eyes trembled faintly.
They really are different.
The Myeolsa Army was a special unit that produced results beyond its members’ individual abilities when deployed in real combat. The reason was simple: they did not discriminate in their methods when fighting.
And these assassins were the same—only worse. The Myeolsa Army would stake their lives for a mission, but they would never harm their comrades. They had never even considered such a thing.
But these assassins were different. To preserve their fighting strength, they tore their own comrades apart with what looked like iron nets without the slightest hesitation.
Demonic humans!
That was it. They were demonic humans.
One did not need to practice demonic arts to be called a demonic human. Those who treated human lives and their comrades’ lives as worthless deserved to be called demonic humans as well.
The problem was that their attacks were excessively threatening.
Their attacks are one thing, but……
Peolreok!
A hidden weapon flying from the front pierced his sleeve and fell to the ground. The area around the torn sleeve was slightly damp.
Poison. They had coated their hidden weapons with poison.
It was not something to be dismissed as a petty trick. These men would do anything to kill. If necessary, they could hide in filthy water for days waiting for an opportunity.
Poison, hidden weapons, nets, barbed swords…… They certainly fight like assassins.
Pisuk!
Yeo Guk’s face hardened.
A hidden weapon that had flown in at some point grazed his shoulder.
Chiik!
He immediately circulated his inner energy to draw out the poison. If he had been even a moment slower, he might have lost the use of one arm for a while.
Never mind the rest, but when did they get so close?!
If Muk Bi had not reacted first, they would have been allowed within three jang. If the assassins had entered that range, either he or Ok Cheong would have surely died.
Damn it!
Just then—
Peobeobeobeobeok!
Yeo Guk’s eyes shook.
Seven invisible arrows had blown away the heads of the seven assassins he had been facing.
Yeo Guk turned his head.
Muk Bi, who had already nocked an arrow on her Crimson Lotus Bow, was crossing the air at a terrifying speed.
Peoeok!
One assassin struck by Muk Bi’s foot was sent flying far away, rolling across the ground with three of his comrades.
Muk Bi released her bowstring.
Peoeoeoeok!
A single arrow pierced straight through the upper bodies of the four assassins rolling on the ground.
The penetrating power was truly fearsome. It was not even an iron arrow, yet a single short arrow had skewered four trained assassins like meat on a spit.
Archers were most effective when they maintained distance or sniped from hiding. That was precisely why they were feared.
But Muk Bi was different.
In the current Central Plains, it was difficult to find anyone who handled a bow better than Muk Bi. Moreover, she possessed movement techniques and explosive footwork that rivaled even divine archery skills.
Whether in close combat or at range, she displayed equal power. It was proof that her real combat experience was also exceptional.
And that was not all.
Chwareureureureureuk!
A massive iron net fell toward Muk Bi’s head. The assassins had judged her to be the most threatening enemy present.
Yeo Guk shouted.
“Department Head! Watch out……!”
In that instant, Muk Bi’s eyes blazed with fire.
Peopeopeopeong!
Four arrows struck the four corners of the net, slowing its descent with explosions.
It was rapid fire beyond imagination—faster than even a master of swift swordsmanship drawing his blade.
Immediately after, Muk Bi executed the Dragon Flight Step.
Peoeoeong!
She unleashed a powerful palm strike into the center of the net. The falling net spun rapidly and was sent soaring high into the sky.
The assassins’ net was not a simple capture tool. It was covered in fine, razor-sharp spikes; once caught, even the greatest expert would be left bleeding profusely.
Muk Bi had seen through the net’s danger early and sent it flying away entirely.
But there was a problem.
Tuk.
Moving too quickly, the strap of the quiver tied to her waist snapped and fell to the ground. She could still use intangible projectiles, but her hands were already searching the empty space where the quiver had been.
At that moment, one assassin fired a poisoned needle at her.
It was a life-or-death instant.
Muk Bi drew something long and slender dangling from her waist and pulled the bowstring.
Kwaaang!
The thick projectile she fired in a straight line shattered the poisoned needle and blew away the assassin’s upper body before embedding itself in the ground.
Paaak!
Muk Bi quickly descended to the ground and pulled out the object stuck in the earth.
It was a short spear. The very same short spear she had used to ravage the Black Dragon Department’s special forces when she had summoned the Myeolsa Army to escape the Black Dragon Department in the past.
It was an astonishing application. Even though the Crimson Lotus Bow’s string was made of a divine material, the idea of nocking a short spear onto it and firing was not something just anyone could conceive of—let alone in that perilous moment.
“Department Head! Behind you!”
Muk Bi’s eyes flashed.
The short spear in her hand traced a half-moon.
Chwaaaak!
A large amount of blood gushed from an assassin’s neck. Muk Bi made no effort to avoid the blood.
“……!!”
The battle momentarily entered a lull.
No matter how emotionless the assassins were, they could not easily launch an attack in the face of Muk Bi’s overwhelming martial prowess.
Yeo Guk swallowed unconsciously.
Holding a crimson bow in one hand and a short spear in the other, Muk Bi surveying her surroundings exuded an utterly dominating presence.
Her face and most of her upper body stained with enemy blood, yet her black-and-white eyes radiating a chilling aura—the dignity of this female general was more than enough to dominate the battlefield.
Invincible against ten thousand men……
Bow, spear, and even bare-handed strikes.
She had become a truly invincible general who could do anything. The woman who had once wandered, unsure of what path to walk, was now becoming the empress of the battlefield, revered by both allies and enemies alike.
Muk Bi shouted.
“Ok Cheong!”
Jeoreoreoreoreong!
Ok Cheong, who had been perfectly defending against the assassins’ attacks with the Taiji Wisdom Sword, used the Imperial Cloud Step to approach Muk Bi’s side.
“Go to the young master! Yeo Guk and I will handle things here!”
“Understood.”
Paaak!
Ok Cheong dashed toward the now completely devastated building.
He knew Muk Bi was not worried about Yeon Hojeong. In a sense, Yeon Hojeong was more fearsome than the three of them combined.
The problem was Sama Hyeon. Though he was the great disciple of the Shadow God and undoubtedly skilled, if he were to die, the situation would become far too dire.
Once Ok Cheong disappeared, Muk Bi took a deep breath.
Kwang!
The assassins were startled by her powerful stomp and turned to look at her.
Muk Bi raised her bow and short spear to chest level, crossing them, and spoke in a chilling voice.
“We should finish what we started too. Come at me.”
* * *
Assassins poured down like rain as the ceiling collapsed.
In the split second between instants, Sama Hyeon could read every single one of the assassins’ gazes.
These bastards……?!
Sama Hyeon’s face hardened.
Amindan!!
Among the countless assassin organizations created by the current Shadow God, there were three most fearsome groups. One of them was the Amindan.
The reason the Amindan was terrifying lay not in their skill, but in the nature of the organization itself.
The Amindan was an organization created to assassinate assassins. It was a group formed not to eliminate ordinary martial artists or political figures, but to remove other assassins.
An assassin group that killed assassins. It went without saying that each member’s skill was at the highest level.
Paaang!
Sama Hyeon quickly retreated and shouted.
“Fall back to the rear for now……!”
Just then—
The Mad Dragon Axe, which had drawn a large arc from below, unleashed a tremendous storm.
Kwareureureung!!
With a deafening roar, the bodies of over a dozen assassins who had rushed in were torn apart like rags and sent flying.
Sama Hyeon’s eyes widened.
What?!
It was already unbelievable that such a heavy axe could move so quickly, but even more astonishing were its power and the result.
He had killed ten Amindan assassins with a single strike? And it had been a surprise attack at that?
Peoeoeoeong!
A small explosion and pale smoke rose from the building’s entrance.
It was poisonous smoke. The assassins had blocked the escape route.
Yeon Hojeong clicked his tongue.
“You people haven’t changed your ways since my time.”
He stomped down powerfully.
Kwaang!
In that instant, the entire building wall shook as a terrifying aura erupted.
Keuheoeoeong!
From somewhere in the distance came the roar of a ferocious beast.
It was the manifestation of the White Tiger Art and White Tiger Qi.
“Hey, great disciple.”
Sama Hyeon looked at Yeon Hojeong with trembling eyes.
Yeon Hojeong raised the Mad Dragon Axe with both hands.
“I’ll make a path. You watch the rear.”
“W-What……?”
“Hup!”
Kwaaaang!
Yeon Hojeong smashed through the building wall with the Tiger King’s Fierce Strike and charged out, avoiding the assassins.
Sama Hyeon’s face twisted. Of all times, he had to watch the rear while the Amindan assassins were watching?
……Damn it!
Piiiiiing!
After deflecting a hidden weapon aimed at Yeon Hojeong with his palm force, Sama Hyeon hurriedly followed behind him.