Chapter 107
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 107
Chapter Title: Discarded (2)
There are cleaners. They're called the Sweeper Faction. The cleaners themselves form a single organization.
The one who leads the Sweeper Faction is one of the Ten Elites of the Heavenly Annihilation Division.
Out of the ten decision-makers who attend the Heavenly Annihilation Division's Round Table Council, one is solely in charge of internal cleanups.
The Faction Lord has eight disciples.
In the Heavenly Annihilation Division, they are referred to as the Underworld Guests.
Meeting them is never a good thing. They're the kind of people you never want to see in your lifetime.
That's the extent of the main text's high-level info.
Each of the eight disciples recruits or trains cleaners according to their abilities.
This reveals the personalities of the eight disciples.
One disciple recruited a huge number of cleaners. Roughly three hundred, by some counts. Another only trained his own disciples, raising some incredibly strong ones.
The eight Underworld Guests each command different forces.
Those forces have now grown into massive organizations worthy of being called factions.
They held a meeting.
"The target for disposal is Vanguard."
"Vanguard?"
"Vanguard."
"How did Vanguard... Hmph! If it's Vanguard, I'll handle it."
No one objected to those words.
They usually pick disposal targets on a whim, for fun. In the Heavenly Annihilation Division, disposal targets don't come up often. So they mark them as a joke.
It's as good as having the disposal handler already assigned.
This time, it was the Second Brother's turn.
Trash has two choices.
Sit quietly and take the blade, or throw everything away and resist desperately.
Most choose the latter.
People who seem ready to die for the organization... when death actually stares them down, they abandon it instead. Their own lives are more precious than anything.
That's why cleaning is tough.
No one ever goes quietly. You always have to crush them with force before they accept death. Why don't they realize from the start there's no choice?
Fortunately, these ones are wise.
Getting blackout drunk together is basically begging for a quick end.
Since they've made the smart choice, they'll get their reward.
"The opponent is Vanguard. The legendary leader who's never failed a single mission. Give him a fitting reward. Death in one stroke. Anyone who takes two swings won't be forgiven by me."
The cleaners nodded silently.
Cleaners are mute. They can't speak. Their tongues are cut halfway, so even if they try, it's just unintelligible mumbling.
To become one of the Second Brother's cleaners, your tongue gets severed.
In return, they get to indulge in brutal handiwork constantly. They study the martial arts trained by the branch members in detail, even master countermeasures, so nine times out of ten, it's an instant kill.
Or rather, the treatment from the Second Brother is the real draw.
The exact perks for his cleaners aren't public knowledge. But even top experts volunteer to have their tongues cut to join, so it must be exceptional.
The Second Brother said,
"Go!"
Screeech!
A blade came swinging down.
The saber targeted Jaja's nape precisely. The intent was to send her head flying in one go.
Jaja felt the saber aura.
She was drunk, but the aura was unmistakable.
She unconsciously furrowed her brow.
'Idiots! Real assassins kill without the target even knowing. What amateurs.'
Her grip tightened.
A martial artist sensing a threat—it's natural for peripheral nerves to tense, for alertness to spike.
But she didn't resist.
She clenched her teeth and accepted death. However,
Shwick! Thunk! Plop!
Something was off behind her. Strange noises.
"Huh?!"
Vanguard, sitting across from her, jumped up in shock, grabbing the liquor table with both hands.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Vanguard whipped his head to the right and bellowed.
All he saw was a waiter. The waiter trembled in terror at the sudden commotion.
Jaja turned around.
Behind her lay a fallen man.
He'd held a saber. She'd expected that. His solar plexus bulged prominently. She'd figured he was an expert. The saber aura pouring from his blade was no joke.
He was dead.
Here's where the mystery begins. Who killed this man? How could such an expert be slain in an instant? Without her or Vanguard noticing.
The cause of death... comically, a chopstick through the temple.
The chopstick had pierced his left temple. Driven in so deep, nearly half its length was buried.
Silence fell instantly.
Not just Jaja, but Vanguard, Hanbi, Fox... everyone sobered up in a flash.
'An incredible expert! Who?!'
They scanned the surroundings.
Bodies still, just heads and eyes sweeping every corner of the tavern.
But no suspicious figures.
The Great Tiger of Guangdong had dropped in a blink.
The one who'd swung at Jaja was the Great Tiger of Guangdong. Famous in that region for his saber skills.
And he'd died without sensing the ambush.
Did Vanguard set a trap? Had they decided to resist instead of honoring the summons?
No. Just looking at Vanguard and Jaja made that clear.
Even they didn't know where the ambush came from. Or who launched it.
'What the hell?!'
The Second Brother scowled.
The cleaners tensed up.
They'd seen cleaners botch jobs before. Rare, but it happened. And those corpses got displayed in the training ground's center for half a month as a warning to all.
The Great Tiger of Guangdong would be displayed too.
But that wasn't the issue. Corpses could be displayed or not—who cared. The problem was dying. One slip, one moment's lapse, and death loomed.
Snap!
The Second Brother beckoned one of the cleaners.
The cleaner nodded knowingly and began moving cautiously.
Everyone watched him.
Would the hidden one strike again? Even knowing all eyes were on him?
If so, his position would be exposed.
He might kill one more cleaner, but he'd be done for too.
Swoosh!
The signaled cleaner shot forward.
"Damn it!"
Hanbi grumbled.
He'd half-expected something like this. With cleaners getting ambushed... they'd use bait to trace the chopstick's origin.
But why him?!
The cleaner charged at him, ferocious intent to split his head in two. Precise, masterful technique.
This one was a top expert too.
All these attacks on them were brutally sharp and refined. Clearly, the Second Brother only recruited the best for his cleaners.
Hanbi scowled deeply.
Saber aura flooded from behind, a savage gale ready to shred flesh.
Not a sneak attack. A blatant assault. Yet,
Shwick! Thunk! Thud!
The familiar sounds of failure and death rang out.
"What the hell! Who is this guy?!"
Hanbi roared, leaping to his feet.
It's not easy to steel yourself for death. He'd been set for a perfect end, only to be interrupted.
No, worse than that. Interfering with death like this threatened the organization. A cleaner's death meant survivors paid with their lives.
Vanguard glanced at Jaja.
'See it?'
His eyes twisted in frustration.
Jaja shook her head. She hadn't seen. The chopstick flew fast, but still... nothing.
Vanguard looked at Fox. 'You?'
Fox shook his head.
"I didn't see it either."
"What technique is this? Anything come to mind, spit it out."
They were fully sober now. The drunken haze gone from their eyes.
"Flying Flowers Plucking Leaves?"
"No. Much faster than that."
"Speed-wise, Lightning Quick Thrust?"
"Even faster."
They fell silent here.
The fastest hidden weapon technique they knew was Lightning Quick Thrust. It made lightning look slow. By the time you saw it thrown, you were already hit.
But this was far quicker.
"Hmph."
Vanguard grunted.
Then a heavy voice echoed from the ceiling.
"Vanguard, you're one troublesome guy. Not even dying is easy for you."
A cleaner spoke up.
"When you return to headquarters, put in a good word. As you saw... we planned to carry out our orders."
"Then who's protecting you?"
"We can't even guess the bastard's goal or why he's shielding us. Frustrating, isn't it?"
"Heh heh heh!"
The cleaner chuckled.
He knew the situation. That Vanguard and the others were ready to die. And that Vanguard knew nothing about the backer.
That's why he'd spoken.
"Vanguard, you really don't know this technique?"
"No clue."
"No idea what they teach in the Martial Camp."
"What?! Who the hell are you...?"
Hanbi shot to his feet. But Vanguard grabbed his shoulder, forcing him back down.
The cleaner ignored Hanbi and continued.
"You don't see it thrown, don't see it slice the air, don't even see it hit."
"Shadowless Dagger!"
Vanguard shouted the moment the cleaner finished.
"Shadowless Dagger... so that legendary art really exists!"
"Heh heh! Didn't you just witness it?"
"Ugh!"
Vanguard groaned and slumped down.
The cleaner said,
"Shadowless Dagger is protecting Vanguard. Heh heh! Vanguard, what the hell are you? How do you know Shadowless Dagger?"
"I don't know. What I am."
Vanguard muttered.
"What's Shadowless Dagger?"
Hanbi whispered to Jaja.
Jaja shook her head. She didn't know either.
Those two were top-tier from the Martial Camp, but Shadowless Dagger was a total stranger to them.
"You? Know it?"
Hanbi asked Fox.
Fox vigorously shook his head.
Few knew of the Shadowless Dagger art. Almost no one.
They just stared blankly at the corpse.
Chopstick buried in the temple...
Deep enough to pierce the brain fatally, but not through to the other side.
They'd glossed over it earlier, but the internal energy control was flawless.
Jaja shuddered first. Such exquisite energy control, such blinding hidden weapon speed.