The Shame of Paradise (6)
The eyes of Hyo-an, the leader of the third squad of the Three Dark Units, gleamed with intensity. ‘Incredible.’
The Three Dark Units were divided into three squads in total.
The first squad had been the unit of fifty led by the Wind Thunder Master, who had been killed by Yeon Hojeong. Every one of them had mastered the martial arts of the Qingcheng, Emei, and Tang families. After years of rigorous training, their skills had reached at least the level of peak experts.
In contrast, the second and third squads consisted of assassins who had been raised from the very beginning of Nakwonso’s establishment.
They were called assassins, but they weren’t individuals who had trained to the extreme in the art of killing people.
Nakwonso was an organization extremely sensitive about information control. While they wouldn’t hesitate to assassinate when necessary, they poured far more effort into espionage and information manipulation.
The second and third squads of the Three Dark Units were likewise composed of these black-eyed operatives. Each squad had fifty members, totaling one hundred black-eyes. When required, they carried out orders as an intelligence organization.
Because of this, they were rarely deployed as actual combat forces. Their true value lay in espionage and information control, not assassination.
‘As expected.’
Hyo-an furrowed his brow.
‘So that’s why they dragged even us along.’
Of course, the supremely arrogant leader of the first squad would never have intended to involve the second and third squads in actual combat.
And that was only natural. The killing techniques the black-eyes had learned did not mesh at all with the first squad’s martial arts. If they fought carelessly, it would only result in needless casualties among their own forces.
The first squad leader and great leader, the Wind Thunder Master, had mobilized the entire Three Dark Units to control any forces that might leak out.
The problem was—
‘We’re getting swept up in this.’
BOOOOM!
Even from this great distance, the explosive roars were so loud they made his ears ache.
An absolutely tremendous clash of power was unfolding. The collision of internal energies sent shockwaves rippling outward, causing the mountains, fields, and trees to tremble violently.
‘Amazing. To think the Wind Thunder Master died in a single strike.’
Though he was a superior Hyo-an dared not even look at directly, neither he nor the second squad leader had particularly liked the Wind Thunder Master in private.
But this was a mission. Personal feelings had to be set aside.
‘What now?’
WHOOOOOOOSH!
The intense shockwaves carried heated winds all the way to their position.
The hot gusts were mixed with the scent of blood.
That blood did not belong to the enemy.
After a moment of hesitation, Hyo-an pulled a small horn whistle from his chest and blew it.
Piiiiii.
It was a faint sound. Even a peak expert who had not been trained to recognize it would be unable to hear it.
A short while later—
Pii. Piiiiii.
From the opposite ridge, the same horn whistle sounded twice in short bursts.
Hyo-an nodded and spoke to those behind him.
“Maintain position. Remain in ambush until the order is given.”
There was no reply.
That was only natural. Most of the black-eyes in the Three Dark Units had had their tongues removed. It was a precaution so they could not reveal internal information even if captured by the enemy.
Even if that weren’t the case, there was no need to create unnecessary noise with formal responses during a field ambush.
Hyo-an’s eyes flashed.
‘Let’s see how long they can hold out.’
The enemy was stronger than expected, and the first squad’s losses were greater than anticipated, but Hyo-an did not believe the first squad would be defeated.
It was obvious. They had nearly forty peak experts, and the rest were all supreme peak experts.
With that kind of force, even four Shaolin abbot-level masters would struggle to win in a direct confrontation. They might be able to survive using hit-and-run tactics, but they would never be able to annihilate the first squad.
‘We just need to wait until then.’
The first squad wouldn’t expend their strength recklessly either. That would be an irrational way to fight.
However—
BOOM! BANG! BANG! BAAAAANG!
The explosions grew increasingly fierce. All kinds of impact sounds and shockwaves erupted without pause.
Horrible screams rang out one after another, and the cliffs and ground shook as if they had gone mad.
“……?!”
Startled, Hyo-an shot to his feet.
As the battle progressed, the first squad’s formation was becoming increasingly disorganized.
Disorganization itself wasn’t the problem. The real issue was the single existence rampaging like a furious beast in the very center of that formation.
Shrrrrk!
The iron chains stretched and twisted at will, felling more than ten peak experts where they stood.
Flames surged upward, and destructive palm techniques battered the supreme peak experts.
From the rear, a peerless spearman wielding a red spear was disrupting the enemy’s rear with exquisite advances and retreats, while a swordsman who seemed to have appeared from nowhere was perfectly coordinating the battle between the chain-and-axe master and the spearman.
‘What… is this?’
Could such a thing even be possible?
Hyo-an was stunned.
There were only four of them. Each was an astonishing expert, but the same could be said of the first squad.
Yet those four had already wiped out two-fifths of the first squad’s forces.
‘Th-this…’
No order had been given. The second and third squads were not supposed to move.
But Hyo-an no longer knew whether they should remain on standby like this.
This kind of chaotic melee was a first for him as well. Moreover, the first squad was clearly in complete disarray. No one was in any state to request support from the second or third squads.
‘They’re completely bewitched!’
The enemy’s skill, their overwhelming aura, and their flawless tactical formation had plunged the minds of the first squad into utter chaos.
‘This cannot continue.’
A look of determination flashed across Hyo-an’s face.
‘I have no choice. This is unacceptable. Even if I’m questioned later, we must move in order to minimize the first squad’s losses.’
He pulled the horn whistle from his chest once more.
Piiiiiiiiiiii.
It was a long, powerful note. At least, it would have sounded that way to the ears of trained assassins.
Hyo-an listened carefully.
‘……?’
What was going on?
Hyo-an frowned. There was no response from the second squad leader.
‘What is he doing?’
There was no way the second squad leader could have missed that sound. They were not the kind of people to be so irresponsible.
After a brief silence, he blew the whistle again.
But once again, there was nothing. No whistle came from the second squad leader.
A groan finally escaped Hyo-an’s lips.
“Second squad leader, what the hell is that bastard doing right now…”
It was then that a voice spoke.
“Are you talking about that one-eyed bastard missing an eye?”
Hyo-an’s body froze solid in an instant.
Sssss. Ssssssss.
From somewhere behind them.
An invisible smoke—white and somehow oppressively heavy—seemed to drift slowly into view.
Cold sweat drenched the back of Hyo-an’s neck.
“What interesting fellows you are.”
The unknown voice dripped with utter languor.
“You learned assassination arts, yet you don’t know how to use them properly. Wasn’t assassination supposed to be your main duty? So why on earth did you bother bringing these half-baked fools here?”
Drip. Drip.
Sweat rolled down Hyo-an’s chin and fell onto the damp fallen leaves.
His body had gone completely rigid. He couldn’t move a single finger.
Someone nameless had approached from behind. Yet until the man drew right up to him—until he actually spoke—Hyo-an had not sensed his presence at all.
This was an unbelievable feat. Although killing techniques were not their primary focus, both Hyo-an and all the black-eyes had mastered first-class assassination arts.
Assassination arts typically emphasized stealth techniques, and masters of stealth were extremely sensitive to the presence of others.
Yet he had noticed nothing.
It meant the opponent’s skill had reached a level that was truly impossible to measure.
Rustle.
It was a chilling sound.
Even though the distance was still considerable, in that brief moment the presence had arrived directly to his right.
He hadn’t seen when or how the man had moved.
It felt as though he had already lost before even fighting. But right now, defeat was not the issue.
Hyo-an was certain. The moment he made even the slightest wrong movement, his neck would fly off.
That thick terror had turned Hyo-an’s body into something like a block of wood.
His intuition was correct. The peerless reaper who had appeared behind him was a terrifying master capable of killing someone of Hyo-an’s level with a single breath.
“Oh? You’ve all had your tongues pulled out.”
“……!”
“What clumsy fools. If you were going to do this, why waste so much money raising people?”
Hyo-an swallowed involuntarily.
Shrrrrk.
The opponent was straightening his previously bent waist.
Now he could feel every single movement the man made. But even so, he still could not move.
Shiver!
It felt as if an enormous yet invisible venomous snake had bared its fangs against the back of his neck.
Goosebumps erupted across his entire body.
“If your tongue hasn’t been cut out like these others, how about you slowly turn around?”
Thump-thump!
His heart was pounding wildly.
He could not refuse the opponent’s words. Hyo-an slowly turned his body.
‘Huk!’
Beneath the faint moonlight filtering through the tree leaves.
A single reaper stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
He was both a reaper and an evil god. The hem of his long robe fluttering in the wind looked like the breath of a malevolent deity, and his two eyes dyed in a deep greenish hue glowed with a grotesque light like the enchanted mirror of a devil that bewitched men.
Hyo-an unconsciously dropped to his knees.
Tremble tremble.
His entire body shook like an aspen tree.
Hwaaaaaaaaah.
A low, spreading wave of energy flowed out like mist and tightly enveloped Hyo-an’s body.
His presence was difficult to describe in words. When he hadn’t been aware of it, he had felt nothing. But the moment their eyes met, it was like facing an enormous imugi as vast as a great mountain.
The reaper asked,
“Who are you people?”
Hyo-an’s mouth opened on its own. It was irresistible.
“W-we are the Three Dark Units!”
“Three Dark Units… I’ve never heard of you.”
The corner of the reaper’s mouth curled upward.
“You’re lower than insects, yet each of you carries a poisoned needle. If a unit of this size had been openly breathing in Sichuan, there’s no way I wouldn’t have known about it.”
“……”
“It seems your information control was truly excellent. Isn’t that right?”
“Y-yes!”
Hyo-an didn’t even realize what he was saying.
The reaper looked at the horn whistle in Hyo-an’s hand.
“Was it this?”
“……?”
Whoosh!
The horn whistle flew into the reaper’s hand of its own accord.
It was a terrifying level of internal energy control. But Hyo-an couldn’t even think of it as internal energy technique.
It was something the reaper was doing. Nothing he did would be strange.
After examining the whistle, the reaper let out a small chuckle.
“Crude.”
“……?!”
“If you’re going to live like this in your next life too, you’d be better off throwing away junk like this. It’s so loud my ears feel numb.”
“……!!”
“I’ve seen your face. You may leave now.”
The reaper flicked his hand.
And that was the end.
“Kuhk!”
It felt as if a giant hand had seized him by the throat.
His breath completely cut off, Hyo-an collapsed sideways. His face turned blue in an instant, and thick black blood poured from his nose and mouth.
‘……Poison.’
His vision gradually grew blurry.
And with those fading eyes, he finally saw it.
The sight of all fifty black-eyes vomiting blood and collapsing.
And the figure of the reaper standing so arrogantly atop that horrifying field of corpses.
‘Just what kind of poison…?!’
Suddenly, a popping sound came from Hyo-an’s eyes. The blood vessels had burst.
The world turned red. For a final sight before death, it was excessively horrifying and excessively unkind.
Blood tears flowed from Hyo-an’s eyes as they slowly closed.
Just before they shut completely, his gaze caught the emblem of a snake and scorpion engraved on the reaper’s left chest.
“Tang… family…”
“That’s right.”
Hyo-an’s eyes closed.
The reaper—Dang Gwan—arrogantly lifted his chin.
“I am the master of the Tang family.”