Chapter 54
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 54
Chapter Title: Mutual Thoughts (4)
“Golden-Eyed Black Hawk!”
Zhuge Myeong had been lying comfortably, gazing at the night camp, when he jolted upright in shock.
A red flame shot high into the sky before plummeting abruptly.
From his position, he couldn’t clearly make out the flame’s nature. But he knew without a doubt that it was the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk.
A agonized screech tore through the air as it was ripped apart!
Zhuge Myeong’s handsome face twisted in anguish.
No words came out. His throat was choked... He had a mouth, but couldn’t speak. All he could do was stare at the crimson fireball.
“Th-these bastards... What the hell are they?”
It took a long while before the mutter escaped his lips.
The Golden-Eyed Black Hawk was impervious to water and fire.
Not because water and fire couldn’t touch it, but because its preternatural senses allowed it to evade them entirely, never giving them a chance to approach.
For the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk to become a fireball meant it hadn’t sensed the danger from the flames at all.
The Golden-Eyed Black Hawk had failed to detect the threat!
In other words, those bastards had either lulled it into complacency or launched a completely unforeseen ambush—swift enough that it couldn’t dodge.
“Fire Phosphor! It’s Fire Phosphor! Who in the current martial world can even produce Fire Phosphor?!”
Zhuge Myeong bellowed furiously.
“We’ll look into it.”
His subordinates sprang into action.
The fireball that had soared so high now dropped to the ground, shrinking into a tiny flicker before fading away.
Zhuge Myeong snapped back to his senses.
He couldn’t afford to stand around dazed. With the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk gone, they’d have to pursue directly from now on.
The enemy had recognized the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk’s presence.
Which meant they knew Zhuge family warriors were on their tail.
Shaking off the hawk was their declaration of intent to immediately throw off the Zhuge pursuit.
“First Route, Second Route, Third Route! Move out!”
No replies came. The moment the order dropped, squads bolted from the night camp.
The Zhuge family didn’t rely solely on the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk.
It was a living creature, after all—vulnerable to elimination at any moment. They always prepared contingencies for such cases, ensuring no enemy slipped away even amid sudden upheavals like this.
Whoosh! Whoooosh!
Zhuge warriors melted into the night camp unseen before long.
“Someone who knows about the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk? Heh heh heh! Interesting fellow. If he can even prepare Fire Phosphor... Still, they won’t escape. I’m curious what kind of guy he is. Heh heh!”
Zhuge Myeong chuckled.
He knew there was a scout among them.
Guiding paths, securing escape routes, preparing for emergencies... They entrusted all navigation to the scout. Other squads didn’t operate that way, but Vanguard’s group alone divided tasks meticulously, placing full trust in him.
It was trust worth staking lives on.
If the scout’s skills fell short, disaster was inevitable—yet they accepted that risk.
Vanguard was no ordinary man, that much was clear.
This scout, though... He seemed particularly intriguing. Just knowing how to make Fire Phosphor was enough to pique interest. And using it to take down the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk? That showed he could seize the perfect moment too.
This scout would make for a fine opponent.
Zhuge Myeong spoke up.
“Preparations?”
“Ready to move at any time.”
“No issues with One-Two-Three?”
“None. We’ll have their throats in an incense stick’s time.”
“Good! Let’s herd the rabbits now. Heh heh heh! Follow me!”
Whoosh!
Zhuge Myeong shot forward.
One-Two-Three would take shortcuts to block every outward path.
Now, the remaining Fourth Route just needed to drive them.
Zhuge Myeong led the charge, pursued by over thirty Fourth Route warriors.
Zhuge Soso watched the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk.
It glided leisurely through the night sky, wings spread wide in majestic flight.
The killer of the merchant swordsman walked sleeplessly into the deep night.
The Golden-Eyed Black Hawk pursuing the murderer was eerily silent—almost peaceful.
It tended to mirror the movements of its quarry.
If the target hurried, it darted swiftly; in moments like this, when they moved leisurely, it flew calmly.
This wasn’t an innate ability. The Zhuge family had trained it to do so.
Rather than blindly chasing, they’d devised a way to observe the pursuer’s mental state through motion—and mimicking it offered faint insights.
The hawk’s movements were the target’s movements.
Tap, tap!
The killer walked just like that—neither rushed nor hurried, without a trace of being hunted.
Originally, she’d planned to pursue Vanguard alongside Zhuge Myeong, seizing a chance to finally grab Heavenly Commander by the throat.
But the murderer had survived.
How had he escaped the death valley crafted by Poison Path? How had he slipped the heavenly net?
Above all, that man’s face lingered in her mind.
She’d slapped his cheek—right after he’d sprung his trap, yet she’d struck so casually. And she’d even opened an escape route for him herself.
The first failure of her life.
It might not warrant calling it a failure, but she did.
After all, she’d failed to protect the merchant swordsman.
The assassin had stood right before her, and she hadn’t noticed a thing—sending him away unscathed.
What greater failure could there be?
The man who’d dealt her that failure now walked with steady steps.
She trembled as she watched the hawk’s movements, her body shivering uncontrollably without her realizing.
Was that the gait of someone who’d just clawed out of death moments ago?
Far too composed.
For someone freshly escaped from hell to move like that meant either a brainless fool oblivious to danger... or a disciplined killer who perfectly controlled his emotions.
The murderer didn’t seem brainless.
She’d looked into his eyes while slapping him. They weren’t the cold gaze of an emotionless killer.
Those who enjoyed killing, were mad for it, or murdered without purpose shared one trait: no guilt.
His eyes weren’t like that either.
He was utterly ordinary—ordinary enough to mistake him for a mere swordsman-for-hire. She’d accepted everything he said at face value, matching his plain attire...
A masterfully refined killer.
Those clues led her to the murderer.
Leave Vanguard to Zhuge Myeong and pursue the killer. Dig into Heavenly Commander through him. Even if she missed Heavenly Commander, she’d take the murderer’s life.
‘A strange one. Doesn’t seem aware of his surroundings at all. Doesn’t know he’s being pursued? Or daring us to try? Common sense doesn’t apply to him.’
She couldn’t comprehend the murderer—or his baffling actions. Yet the more inscrutable he was, the fiercer her resolve to crush him burned.
She would catch him, no matter what!
The ominous report arrived past midnight.
“What?! The Golden-Eyed Black Hawk!”
One had plummeted as a fireball.
“It took a hit of Fire Phosphor. The only one in the martial world who can make it is the Fox of Bireung Mountain—or so they say. A bandit from Bireung Mountain, but that was just a front. He’s suspected to be a descendant of the Flying Thieves.”
“Tell me more details.”
“We’re not certain he’s a descendant of the Flying Thieves. Even the main family only speculates vaguely, with no solid proof. But since only they could concoct Fire Phosphor, the guess seems right.”
“No, not that... How did the Fox of Bireung Mountain link up with the Heavenly Annihilation Division?”
“The Nineteen Hells.”
“Ah!”
Zhuge Soso nodded.
The Fox of Bireung Mountain was surely a descendant of the Flying Thieves. That’s why he’d caught the Heavenly Annihilation Division’s eye.
They’d watched him for years, then dragged him into the Nineteen Hells when they deemed him controllable. And now, they’d unleashed him.
Guessing the Heavenly Annihilation Division’s involvement also explained how the Fox had joined Vanguard’s group.
She’d marked the murderer as exceptionally strong. Now the Fox of Bireung Mountain appeared too. If he was a Flying Thief heir, he’d be no pushover.
She knew Vanguard had Hanbi and Jaja with him.
Three top-tier warriors the Heavenly Annihilation Division proudly fielded, plus an unknown murderer and the Fox...
‘This is the strongest organization!’
Suddenly, Zhuge Soso felt a towering wall rise before her eyes.
She couldn’t underestimate them. They were an undeniable barrier. She’d need full force to shatter them—or suffer defeat instead.
She hurriedly penned a letter.
Too late to deliver it, probably. Zhuge Myeong was likely already moving. But they couldn’t clash yet. They needed to watch.
She scrawled the missive and said,
“Deliver this. Tonight. Before the night ends—absolutely.”
“Tonight’s too tight on time...”
“Tonight! It has to be tonight, or we’ll lose Vanguard!”
Zhuge Soso regretted her decision for the first time—chasing the murderer and leaving Vanguard.
She should have stayed there. Pursued Vanguard. Known to stay calm when the Golden-Eyed Black Hawk fell as a fireball. Especially against a Flying Thief heir.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Red flares bloomed from the east, west, and north.
Fireworks rocketed upward in brilliant bursts, then vanished without trace.
“One-Two-Three are in position.”
No need to say it. Zhuge Myeong was staring at the night camp too, watching the splendid flares.
A smile crept across Zhuge Myeong’s lips.
Vanguard couldn’t break through them. Forcing it would mean a dog’s death.
No gaps to slip away either.
They’d already linked from east to north, north to west—a long chain.
The Linked Death Formation.
Where no men stood guard, wooden puppets were placed. Brushing the taut silken threads set the puppets in motion. They loosed arrows in preset directions.
Each puppet was merely two handspans tall, but their collective firepower was unmatched.
The Zhuge family called this puppet array the Linked Death Formation.
The only way to breach it was to escape before deployment. Once set, nothing moved. No one escaped.
They couldn’t waste time setting it up. In pursuits, where time was life, dawdling to form arrays let even captured birds fly free.
Thus, the Zhuge family had woven puppets and threads into a net.
Just unfurl it swiftly, tweak positions slightly, and it was done.
Instant deployment upon decision.
So where was Vanguard now? Had they slipped out before the formation? They’d likely moved with purpose since torching the hawk.
Fortunately, they were right ahead.
Installing the formation had outpaced their flight.
p>The hawk fell at midnight; they’d boxed them in by the hour of the ox. Before the hour of the tiger, they’d capture them. Originally, the goal was to track them to Heavenly Commander’s trail, but with the hawk down, priority was seizure—plans be damned.
“Deploy the formation.”
“Yes!”
Fourth Route warriors moved at once.
Now it would link from east to south, south to west.
All four directions sealed tight. Then slowly, they’d tighten the noose.
No space for the enemy to flee.