Chapter 204
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 204
Chapter Title: The Dead (4)
Sst! Thud! Sst! Thud!
Jaja peered into Vanguard's body.
Borrowing Four Thousand Four's words, the Heavenly Annihilation Division's elite assassins carried the White Corpse Demonic Robe implanted within them. And she knew without a doubt that it was true.
But she couldn't sense it.
Not all assassins were as sensitive as Four Thousand Four.
Almost all—no, every single one of the assassins—couldn't detect the existence of the White Corpse Demonic Robe.
Sst!
She circulated her qi.
There was no sign of anything like the White Corpse Demonic Robe.
Four Thousand Four claimed its life force had saved his life, but she felt absolutely nothing.
She swung her qi dozens of times.
If only she could sense even the tiniest speck of something.
A life hung in the balance depending on whether she could detect it or not—she had to feel it.
She had told Four Thousand Four she could heal one of them.
It was a lie. If she couldn't even sense the White Corpse Demonic Robe, how could she possibly heal anyone?
She'd said it just to ease his mind, even a little.
Out of Vanguard, Hanbi, and Fox, only the one Four Thousand Four healed would survive.
Sst! Thud!
'No! I can't feel it.'
Jaja withdrew her hands with a grim expression.
To save Vanguard, Hanbi, and Fox, the best option was to attack Mian Sosal alongside them. By some miracle, they might even complete the mission. Even if they didn't succeed, at least their lives would be preserved.
But such actions wouldn't help in the long run.
New missions would be assigned to the three of them, and they wouldn't be able to refuse.
There were only two ways for them to escape the Heavenly Annihilation Division.
Abandon their bonds... or die.
Since they couldn't abandon their bonds, only one path remained. They had to die. Death would grant them freedom.
And that death had to be utterly convincing, beyond any doubt.
Ten people had to see it, ten people had to hear it, all convinced they were truly dead.
In truth, a perfect death didn't even require verification.
You didn't need to check the heart or pulse—the overwhelming sense of death would wash over you.
That kind of death had to occur.
Four Thousand Four pondered. How could he kill them?
He had to be the one to do it. If he left it to Mian Sosal, the assassin would kill them for real, delivering a death too absolute to revive.
A death with a chance of revival.
It was difficult. How should he do it?
Four Thousand Four racked his brain, but no clear solution emerged.
"Found it?"
Zhuge Soso approached with a radiant smile.
She simply smiled, but her smile always seemed to carry its own light, shining brightly.
Four Thousand Four shook his head.
He'd thought and thought, but there was no way. He couldn't intervene in the fight, nor did he have faith he could revive them after Mian Sosal killed them.
"Time's up. We need to go now if we want to watch the battle."
Sst!
Four Thousand Four rose to his feet.
He'd keep thinking until the very end on the way.
"And if... you can't think of a way?"
"......"
Four Thousand Four couldn't answer.
"Will you attack Mian Sosal, or just watch them die?"
"......"
"Hohoho! People are so amusing. The Heavenly Annihilation Division has a firm grip on your funniest weakness."
It was about the bonds.
Green Snake and Blind Snake had once been his bonds. Times when their lives were leveraged to demand action.
When they died, the bonds vanished.
Did they really? No. Four Thousand Four's bonds still existed. They were Vanguard, Hanbi, and Fox. Those bonds had formed because he'd let himself grow attached to them.
Then couldn't he just sever those attachments?
Four Thousand Four had always been alone since childhood. He'd learned to kill people far sooner than he'd learned to meet them. Following his master's teaching that successors to the secret arts must have no friends, he'd avoided everyone.
Then companions entered his life.
Even if it was only temporary, even if it was just for a shared goal... traveling with people who cared for him, even a little, was a novel experience.
For someone who'd always been alone, a group had formed.
How could he not grow attached? How could he not value their lives?
"Just one thing. The moment you intervene in the fight, the fact that Four Thousand Four is alive is no longer a secret. The entire martial world will sense your presence again."
"That would be the case."
"Then our agreement breaks too. A revealed Four Thousand Four... can't be used."
"The request to erase the bonds...?"
"Don't worry about the bonds. The Heavenly Annihilation Division upholds that agreement faithfully. If you die fighting for them, at least the survivors live in peace."
"I see."
"So the best outcome is for them to die."
"Can you find a way?"
Four Thousand Four asked for help.
Zhuge Soso looked at him in surprise.
"You want me to find a way to kill them without actually killing them?"
"Please."
"I'll think about it. We can talk on the way. If we're late, even the best idea won't matter."
It was an awkward trio.
Zhuge Soso, Four Thousand Four, Jaja... each lost in their own thoughts as they descended the mountain path.
"There is one method, though."
Zhuge Soso said suddenly.
Four Thousand Four and Jaja turned to her simultaneously.
"I can point you to the path, but you have to find it yourself. If you don't, there's nothing I can do."
Shing!
As she spoke, Zhuge Soso drew her sword.
"Jaja, care to spar with me? I'd love to see the skills of Martial Camp's top rank."
Jaja glanced at Four Thousand Four, as if asking what this was about, if she should fight. But he said nothing.
Four Thousand Four's eyes had already changed.
He couldn't pinpoint it exactly, but they seemed to flicker with a bright gleam.
"What the hell is this?"
Jaja grumbled as she drew her sword.
She was ready to fight anyone. The title of Martial Camp's top wasn't given lightly—it was earned through blood and sweat.
Zhuge Soso was an heir to one of the Five Great Clans of the martial world.
Her martial arts couldn't possibly be weak.
The reason the world overlooked her skills was ironically her own fault. Her beauty and talents overshadowed her prowess.
Sst! Shh!
The two women assumed their stances.
The morning sun was rising.
Soon, Vanguard's group would clash with Mian Sosal. Or, leveraging an assassin's advantages, they might have already ambushed at dawn.
Time was critically short. Yet Zhuge Soso was starting a spar of unknown duration.
"I intend to kill you."
Zhuge Soso said, her face hardening coldly.
Ah! She really means it!
Killing intent flowed from the tip of Zhuge Soso's sword. It permeated her aura. Her expression and demeanor screamed death.
This was no joke. No mere spar. She truly meant to kill Jaja.
Jaja twisted her lips slightly.
"If you want to kill me, just do it. Why bother saying it?"
"Because you should know before you die."
Shieeeek!
Zhuge Soso struck the moment her words ended.
Fast!
First impression.
Gone!
Second impression.
It started with speed and flowed into illusion.
Her sword extended in all directions like the Thousand-Handed Buddha. And all those blades poured toward Jaja, like a meteor shower from the sky.
Jaja hadn't known she hid such a technique.
"Tch!"
Jaja gritted her teeth and swung her sword.
Shht! Shh-shht!
Her blade rang out like arrows in flight. The tip struck at the five directions.
The supreme defensive sword art against illusions: Five Directions Sword.
Clang! Ka-ka-kang!
The first clash echoed, followed by over a dozen more in quick succession.
"Urk!"
Jaja groaned and staggered back.
Blood trickled from her mouth. Her clothes were torn in places, fluttering raggedly.
In the first exchange, Jaja had taken the loss.
"Hoho! A hidden master, huh? Now that you've received it, time to return the favor?"
Jaja raised her sword.
Even as Jaja brimmed with killing intent right before her, Zhuge Soso turned to look at Four Thousand Four.
"Need more? If I go harder, this big sis might die."
It was a complete dismissal of Jaja. And she spoke as if Four Thousand Four had ordered this fight.
Four Thousand Four didn't respond. He stared piercingly at them, as if oblivious to Zhuge Soso's words. No—his eyes urged them to fight harder.
"What the...? Feels like I'm the only idiot here. What are you two up to?!"
Jaja scowled deeply.
Just moments ago, Zhuge Soso's assault had been ferocious. It felt like she'd unleashed her true martial arts. Not a spar, but a real fight.
To think she'd drawn her sword thinking it was just a spar and gotten hurt—it was infuriating.
But reconsidering... why would she attack her like this?
Something was hidden in this bout. Zhuge Soso and Four Thousand Four knew it, but she didn't. Even after shedding blood, she felt like a fool.
"Whew! This won't do."
Zhuge Soso raised her sword again.
"Hm!"
Jaja let out a groan.
A sword qi utterly different from before poured from Zhuge Soso's blade.
"This sword art is called Heavenly Rain Thirty-Six Hands. It's not from my clan—it's an old technique from the Killing Gate, now lost. Famous from the Secret Death Valley."
"Ah! Secret Death Valley!"
"You know it?"
Jaja nodded.
Secret Death Valley had been wiped out by the Heavenly Annihilation Division.
The Division believed there could be only one tiger per mountain, only one Killing Gate in the Central Plains—so they'd purged all others.
It happened long before Jaja joined, ancient history.
"This art happened to come my way, and it seemed a shame to let it rot, so I practiced it. If you know Secret Death Valley, you know how their arts work, right?"
"Hohoho! Sounds like you went easy on me last time?"
"Exactly. I held back the initial strike."
"Then don't hold back this time. Show me everything."
"I will."
Shieeeek!
Zhuge Soso launched forward again.
Jaja watched her leap, focusing on her footwork. The hands were too flashy to track.
'If I have no choice but to take it!'
She gripped her sword with both hands in the immovable Heavenly Pillar stance, frozen in place.
She'd meet the sword with her body. Let herself be killed. Give her what she wanted.
In exchange, she'd unleash just one strike. Aiming for the throat. Not a slash, but a thrust. Only that instant.
Shhaaaak!
The Thousand-Handed Buddha unfurled its swords. With a thousand arms, a thousand blades...
Her sequence unfolded thirty-six strikes, from one to thirty-six in a flash. Creating the illusion of a thousand swords raining down.
'Hup!'
Jaja half-closed her eyes, staring solely at one point: Zhuge Soso's throat.