Chapter 172
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 172
Chapter Title: Layers of Killing Intent (2)
Crack!
The Thunder Prison lock, which had kept Vanguard isolated from the world, shattered powerlessly.
Vanguard sat cross-legged in a composed manner.
"Are you going out?"
Four Thousand Four asked first.
"You're... truly a strange one. You're the only guy who could rampage through the Heavenly Annihilation Division like it was your own living room."
"Save the compliments for later."
"I meant suspicious."
"Are you going out?"
"I have to. Got any other options? Let me ask one thing. Why exactly did you need us?"
"I never said I needed you."
"..."
"Did they place a seal on you?"
"You're flipping the order of questions. You should've asked about the seal first. If I'd said I was going out but was sealed, would you change your mind then?"
"If you want to go, I'll go with you. Asking about the seal is just to gauge your mobility."
It meant he'd take him out no matter the condition if he wanted to leave. On the other hand, Vanguard was saying he should've checked the reality of escape first before sounding him out.
Their thinking differed.
Then again, that's why he'd come to the Thunder Prison to rescue someone who was locked up. If he'd followed the convenient order, slipping out of the Heavenly Annihilation Division alone would've been best. He didn't absolutely need Vanguard's power.
"No seal on me."
"Good."
"Good?"
Vanguard asked back.
They'd caught the criminal and thrown him in the Thunder Prison. Yet they hadn't suppressed his martial arts. It defied common sense.
Here, an assassin would suspect something first.
Why not suppress the martial arts? Without suppression, the Thunder Prison lock was like rotten tofu. If so, they should've reinforced the defenses... but why were the defenses so lax?
Suppose Vanguard decided to escape. Could he? In his current state, it didn't seem possible. Why leave him like this?
Four Thousand Four harbored none of these suspicions.
Suspicions any assassin would naturally have—he seemed utterly clueless about them.
Definitely... not an assassin.
Four Thousand Four differed from typical assassins in many ways. He excelled at infiltration and killing beyond anyone else, but he moved on instinct, not as a trained assassin.
Vanguard nodded.
Realizing Four Thousand Four was different from them made his actions understandable.
"Let's go. I can move on my own."
Vanguard stood.
Crack!
Hanbi broke his lock and emerged.
Everyone in the Thunder Prison had heard Vanguard and Four Thousand Four's conversation. But it was a talk only an assassin could comprehend. It sounded like wordplay or nitpicking at first glance... only assassins could grasp the subtle differences hidden in the words.
Hanbi knew why Vanguard had asked that.
From Four Thousand Four's words, he also gleaned what mindset drove him.
In simple terms, assassins have no friends.
Life-or-death splits by circumstance. No one seeks death deliberately, nor likes dying, but in unavoidable situations, you must survive on your own. You can't rely on another assassin just because you've worked together for years.
Four Thousand Four had friends.
Even in dire straits, he sought survival with them.
The difference was small but decisive in actions.
"The main text never accepted traitors. I thought our clause was erased when we betrayed... but seeing it intact means we're still useful... Like Vanguard, I find you suspicious too."
"Heavenly Annihilation Division started this mess, yet I'm the one getting flak."
"Following you would just be baggage..."
"Never thought of you that way."
"Then good."
Hanbi twisted his lips into a smirk.
"Let's go! I'm fine."
"Understood."
Four Thousand Four nodded briefly.
Jaja couldn't abandon the clause. She never could. She was so bound by it that she'd point her sword at Vanguard and Hanbi, who were like family.
"Fox is connected to Azure Flame. He used her forms."
Words Vanguard could relay later, but Jaja said them first.
"I see."
"Fox couldn't handle Crimson Moon either. He tucked tail. He's with her now. Don't even think of going after Fox."
"Understood."
"Vanguard, take care."
"You too."
"Hanbi, next time we meet, one of us dies. That's our fate, I guess."
"I don't believe in fate."
"Last time... if you do that again... you'll... die."
"The only one who can kill me is you... I won't die even if I want to, until you do... Didn't you know?"
"..."
"Never even considered it?"
"Not like you, Hanbi."
"Yeah. Not like me. That's why I won't do it again. Honestly, talk like this... it's embarrassing."
"Go."
"See you."
Hanbi and Jaja turned their backs to each other.
Hanbi toward the exit, Jaja toward the wall.
"W-Wait!"
Vanguard grabbed Four Thousand Four's shoulder.
Two wardens stood at the exit. Eyes wide, scanning sharply in all directions.
"They're dead."
"Wh-what!"
Vanguard startled, looked at the wardens again.
No. They were alive. Vibrantly so. The dead exude malign energy, but these brimmed with vibrant life force.
Four Thousand Four left Vanguard behind and walked toward the wardens.
They seemed about to turn their heads any second. Shout who he was while drawing weapons.
The wardens said nothing. Did nothing.
Four Thousand Four passed them.
"Th-they're really dea..."
Vanguard was too stunned to finish.
What assassin could kill while leaving them looking so alive?
"I just can't understand why we're following this guy."
"Me too? Same here."
"This is Shadowless Fist, right?"
"Stuck a hidden weapon in, no blood. Didn't tear flesh outward—pulled it inward. Fast within fast. That kind of speed is nearly invincible."
"Nearly?"
"Azure Flame tied to Fox, that woman Crimson Moon... and Merciless Killer. They're not human. That's why—feels like they might block even Shadowless Fist."
"Merciless Killer seems way below Crimson Moon or Azure Flame. I don't think he could block Shadowless Fist."
"Hahaha!"
"Why laugh creepy like that?"
"Laughed 'cause you don't know Merciless well. What he showed us wasn't even a tenth of his true martial arts."
"No way...!"
"Let's go. He won't wait for us."
Vanguard and Hanbi hurriedly followed Four Thousand Four, darting their forms forward.
Four Thousand Four retraced his steps.
Through the Nether Master's hideout, past the cave, out to the outer garden—that was the plan.
Other paths existed, of course. But familiar ones might be faster.
Or rather, he chose this route for two more reasons.
First, probe the Nether Master.
Revisit the hideout, view from his perspective the environment he cultivated toward warmth.
Second, the underground passage they'd used was riddled with traps and formations.
When they'd come through, most were disabled. Clear signs someone tampered—likely the Nether Master.
What about leaving?
If they escaped unhindered, Heavenly Annihilation Division let them go deliberately.
Why? Four Thousand Four knew.
The battle between Killing Path and Warmth hadn't ended.
Heavenly Annihilation Division watched. For some reason, they didn't bind him, just observed while granting freedom.
He knew that much. Not why they watched.
Anyway, he'd check by exiting the underground passage.
"Planning to leave this way?"
Vanguard frowned.
"Isn't a known path safer?"
"Known paths are riskier. Basic rule: entry and exit routes differ."
"Is that so?"
"You need to relearn survival."
Four Thousand Four let Vanguard's words flow past.
Bamboo grove entered his sight. Small pond too. Gravel path... neat, modest scenery drew the eye.
Where the Nether Master lived.
Whoosh!
Four Thousand Four unleashed killing intent.
"Hm?"
Vanguard sensed it instantly. Hanbi scanned surroundings. If Four Thousand Four released it, there was reason.
No. Not because of enemies.
He wanted to know how Killing Path affected the warmth the Nether Master cultivated.
True killing intent needs a target to kill.
Four Thousand Four chose the Nether Master. Dead, but he imagined him still dwelling here. Treated as assassination mark.
Whoosh!
His killing intent swept the tidy space.
But... no reaction. Amid brimming life force, no clash. Like sinking into soft cotton.
Not every swordsman feels this. Nor assassins. Only inheritors of assassination secrets sense life force clashing with killing intent.
'Not normal!'
Four Thousand Four furrowed his brow sharply.
If the Nether Master purely cultivated warmth, his killing intent should've clashed fiercely now—like blades meeting.
Sword in cotton?
Not pure life force. Defense masquerading as such. Soft like cotton meant cozy, but to an assassin, another defense form.
The Nether Master transformed 'as-is' life force into defense.
Couldn't take Nether Master's warmth at face value from the secrets. Like Green Master's Killing Path didn't fully unfold, Nether Master's secrets didn't explain warmth properly.
Much he didn't know.
Green Master's Killing Path clung to his body over time, now flowing naturally like breath. But Nether Master's warmth? Familiar yet alien.
Don't be fooled by familiarity. Seemed known, but vast unknowns.
Wanted to confirm here. Couldn't via secrets or asking him—only in his dwelling.
Where his touch lingered, his energy imbued.
'Using martial arts rashly here damages vital energy. Warmth wraps pain, but carries killing intent and it attacks. Defense is attack.'
Pfft!
Four Thousand Four released his killing intent.
Nether Master's secrets weren't to be trifled with. He felt it bone-deep here.
"What? What happened?"
Vanguard asked.
Even Vanguard, former Killing Unit leader, oblivious to the horror. Poured killing intent like him, yet unaware of the subtle assault.
"Nothing."
Four Thousand Four chuckled.