Chapter 58
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Severed Thread (3)
The Golden-Eyed Black Eagle soared into the sky once more.
Dark clouds thickened. The pursuit grew ever more precise. The Zhuge Clan warriors' determination burned fiercer than ever.
All of it spelled disaster for Four Thousand Four.
Yet he smiled. For some inexplicable reason... a laugh bubbled up from within.
He wasn't underestimating the Zhuge Clan warriors. Far from it—he could never afford to. Their pursuit wasn't a joke either. With an inescapable net tightening around him, where was there room to laugh so casually?
Still, the laughter came.
Pfft!
He laughed for real. It felt like the first genuine laugh since escaping the Nineteen Hells. There hadn't been a single reason to smile before... and now, amid layers of peril, laughter spilled out. He must be losing his mind.
That's right. He wasn't in his right mind.
Four Thousand Four was thinking of the woman. That woman... so breathtakingly beautiful... It might sound like the ravings of a madman, but getting to know her little by little filled him with joy.
She was wise. She'd seen through the fact that he hadn't fallen into the trap at first glance. Had she joined the chase and caught up first, he never could have hidden in the ditch.
She'd even noticed something was wrong with the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle.
Figuring that out was no easy feat. The eagle bore no visible wounds. There were no signs anyone had tampered with it. Countless witnesses could attest that it had been circling the skies the whole time.
No one else knew anything had happened to the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle.
Yet she had pieced it together in an instant, just from the bird returning to the pine grove.
How incredibly perceptive she was.
The woman was tenacious too. She didn't seem the type to give up easily.
He sent the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle aloft again.
Truth be told, he'd hoped she'd back off. With the eagle in the sky once more, there'd be no escape routes left. Even if a path opened up somehow, it'd demand ten times the effort and struggle compared to before. And even then, it'd barely crack open.
But if she had truly retreated, he would've felt a twinge of regret.
Not because he looked down on her... but because her presence nearby, even like this, felt comforting. It eased his heart for no reason at all. She was the enemy, harboring no fondness for him whatsoever... yet he harbored no resentment toward her, no hatred.
"Karakararak!"
He let out a low eagle cry.
He could tell from the eagle's screech when it was under attack, deciphering the sounds of battle. He even understood the predatory trill it made before hunting.
If he listened quietly, a wealth of sounds reached him.
Among them, one signaled camaraderie, not enmity. It was a fellow predator, not a foe. Any aggressive call toward a beast like the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle would draw it charging in. The creature never shied from a fight.
So instead, he called for harmony.
In response, the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle retreated quietly, every bit the absolute ruler. It forgot its mission to pursue for a moment and withdrew.
The eagle wasn't all that clever itself. The Zhuge Clan would snort at the notion if they heard.
"Karakararak!"
Hearing the call, the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle returned to the pine grove. In that instant,
Shweeeek! Shweeeek! Shwek!
Sharp whooshes erupted from all directions. The sounds of feet pounding the earth rose in a frenzy.
Now even the Zhuge Clan warriors were attuned to the eagle's cries.
Sounds they'd ignored completely before he mimicked the eagle were now heeded more closely than any other.
They paid no mind to the cries bursting from the sky. Only those rising from the ground captured their ears. They threw everything into attacking the source.
Swish! Swoosh!
Four Thousand Four fled with all his might.
He ran on two feet, but kept his waist bent low. He took care not to expose his upper body... making sure the ridges of the fields concealed his torso. He moved just one step ahead of the approaching Zhuge Clan warriors.
Even the beastmen in the Nineteen Hells, who lived with ears wide open, hadn't detected his movements. In the vast open plains, amid the cacophony of noises, picking out his footfalls was nigh impossible. No matter how skilled the warriors.
Iron rule number one: Move so quietly that even your own ears can't detect it, and no one else will hear.
That rule held true now.
Karakararak! Karak!
The Golden-Eyed Black Eagle cried out. The killer cried out.
There were calls sent and calls answered.
The murderer undoubtedly existed. Right here. Didn't the eagle reveal the killer's position every time it took flight?
Yet the Zhuge Clan warriors couldn't catch him.
She had deliberately fallen back. Deep down, she yearned to join the chase, but she chose to observe from afar. Thus, she watched the unfolding situation with a broad perspective.
She knew the murderer was there. His martial prowess seemed weaker than the Zhuge Clan warriors'. He never confronted or counterattacked head-on. He only dodged collisions. All they had to do was catch up and seize him.
But the Zhuge Clan warriors couldn't manage even that simple task.
It was an endless game of hide-and-seek. Dodge and pursue, dodge and pursue again. The Golden-Eyed Black Eagle pinpointed the location, the warriors rushed in—and found nothing but empty space.
The Zhuge Clan warriors had grown overly reliant on the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle.
The eagle overhead had revealed the quarry's position. Where he was, where he'd hidden... No need to search—they had precise reports from above.
They'd grown accustomed to that.
No legwork required. They were used to waiting for intel then moving in, not to chasing by ear and eye alone.
In essence, the Zhuge Clan warriors were pursuing in a way they rarely did.
Of course, the Zhuge Clan trained for such scenarios. They could pursue without the eagle. But with it present, they'd unconsciously leaned on it.
Piiiek!
Zhuge Soso blew her whistle, calling back the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle.
The eagle wasn't fulfilling its role anyway. It should have steadily tracked from above, but it merely glimpsed the target before fleeing back like it was being chased.
This was just interference now.
She withdrew the eagle and entrusted the murderer entirely to the Zhuge Clan pursuit team's skills.
Snap! Thud! Thud!
The faint sound of a twig breaking echoed. Then silence.
Night had fallen as day waned. Cicadas screeched deafeningly. Beyond that, no sounds stirred.
Thud! Thud!
Another twig snapped.
The Zhuge Clan warriors didn't grasp its meaning. They figured some rat or cat had stepped wrong.
It was that minor a noise.
They deployed the Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Technique, gathering even the tiniest sounds. Their senses sharpened to catch a hair brushing cloth.
Naturally, they caught the twig snaps too.
But they dismissed them. Just small critters treading dry branches, nothing more.
Night deepened.
No Zhuge Clan warrior stirred. Nor did the assassin.
'He's slipped away.'
Zhuge Soso stared hollowly at the night sky.
The heavens remained overcast. Thick clouds blanketed the sky, just as yesterday.
Had Zhuge Myeong caught the Fox of Bireung Mountain?
No word from that side either—it seemed they hadn't.
This operation was a total failure. The Golden-Eyed Black Eagle had turned useless, and the warriors were deaf and blind.
She nodded.
This blunder... Yes, letting the murderer escape was undoubtedly a mistake. The price of underestimating the enemy.
She hadn't known the assassin possessed such skill.
She should have realized it when he survived Poisoner's grasp. No, when he slew the merchant traveler, she should have raised full alarm, looked back once more.
'Next time we meet, I won't let him go. Never.'
She gritted her teeth.
She pictured the assassin who'd slapped her cheek. Oddly, though... she couldn't recall his face. She felt she'd recognize him instantly if they crossed paths on the road.
She stroked the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle's head.
"Ah!"
"What! He's dead?"
"No, just unconscious."
"When the hell did he get attacked?!"
"Hm!"
The Zhuge Clan warriors shuddered.
It wasn't until morning that they found their comrades sprawled on the ground. They hadn't even noticed them collapsing—sometime in the night, they'd been struck and knocked out.
They'd been right beside them.
With Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing Technique active, attuned to every sound from earth, air, and sky... every whisper in the world.
When, how had they been attacked?
"Acupoint strike?"
The warrior examining closely shook his head.
There were two ways to render someone unconscious. One was acupoint strikes, favored by martial artists. A precise finger technique to the pressure points could fell even the world's greatest.
The other was brute force.
Choking the throat, smothering the mouth, smashing the nape.
The assassin had used the latter. Choked them out.
Yet the bizarre part: they hadn't even screamed as their throats were crushed. Side by side, and they hadn't noticed. Despite the technique.
That realization made the Zhuge Clan warriors tremble violently.
Had the fiend wanted them dead, he probably could have. His lightness skill looked poor when fleeing—he seemed catchable—but that too must have been a feint.
The bastard was a true master.
The dry twig snaps... those were the sounds of Zhuge Clan warriors being felled.
The assassin hadn't acted to show off his prowess. He'd downed only those blocking his path to escape. Precisely the ones in his way.
Line up the fallen, and his escape route was plain as day.
"We'll pursue."
Zhuge Soso shook her head.
"No... We know nothing about him. We can't chase now, and even if we did, we wouldn't catch him."
"With the Golden-Eyed Black Eagle—"
"It's been unreliable for ages. Sigh! Withdraw for now."
Zhuge Soso turned away without regret.
He watched her go.
Was it the morning light? Her face seemed even more radiant, glowing in the sun.
In truth, she'd gone without sleep and looked weary from the failed chase. Anger simmered within her, mingled with despair and defeat. She must be exhausted.
Yet she looked beautiful.
It was the first time he'd felt a woman was truly beautiful. He'd seen many, but none had stolen his heart at first sight... He'd never believed in love at first glance.
But there was such a thing.
He'd thought it nonsense. What kind of person falls that hard on sight?
This was exactly it. The moment her palm met his cheek, his mind reeled. She was so stunning, so exquisite, his breath caught. He'd nearly failed to block.
She was leaving.
But this wasn't farewell. Given her temperament, she'd hound him to his dying breath. Each failure forging her stronger.
It'd be grueling. Perilous.
'Pfft!'
Four Thousand Four chuckled despite himself.
The Heavenly Annihilation Division gripped his lifeline. Loyalty to the death. What place had a woman for such a man? So he'd forget. It had been nice until now, but he'd erase even that feeling. Once this moment passed, wipe her from his mind entirely. Never think of her again.
He'd meet the woman as enemies.
Vanguard and woman, Heavenly Annihilation Division and woman, himself and woman... Enemies through and through.
'Stop thinking. Just stop.'
Even as he told himself that, Four Thousand Four watched her depart.
He needed to rise coldly and go his way, yet he watched her retreating figure. Couldn't bring himself to stand.