Escape from the Barge (2)
Wang Yi Sam gaped in shock, his mouth hanging wide open.
“That’s impossible...”
Anyone else might have scoffed and brushed off Seo Baek’s words with a laugh.
But Wang Yi Sam couldn’t.
Seo Baek had never spouted nonsense about revenants before.
Whether Wang Yi Sam was shocked or not, Seo Baek and Song Hyeon continued their conversation impassively.
“The scholars are no longer a concern.”
“The canal house is entirely infected by now, and who knows how many in the black dao group are too.”
“Once dinner ends, a slaughter will break out.”
“Of course.”
“The black dao group boarded targeting me.”
“Maybe one or two aren’t.”
“Doubt it. Still, I’ll warn them.”
Seo Baek turned toward the assassins.
“I’ll say this once. Listen well.”
“What?”
One assassin growled back, his body fidgeting during the brief exchange.
“The canal house is crawling with revenants. The leader and his underlings—all of them.”
“What?”
The assassins’ smug expressions twisted slightly at Seo Baek’s words.
Seo Baek explained his deductions combined with Song Hyeon’s intelligence.
“Every last member of the canal house has turned revenant. Whether it happened before the barge departed or after infection on board, it doesn’t change the current situation.”
“They gathered in one place, severed their own necks, and absorbed the blood. That’s why none of the underlings are visible tonight.”
“Revenants turn red all over after absorbing blood, and their power surges.”
“Those who were murim warriors in life can temporarily boost their inner energy, so stay cautious.”
Seo Baek’s words were shocking.
The corridor fell into dead silence, quiet enough to hear a pin drop.
But one assassin snorted in disbelief.
“Ha! Revenants absorb blood to boost inner energy? If that’s true, I’ll become one myself. Free Absorption Star Skill, right?”
The others chimed in, bursting into laughter.
“Oh ho, so revenants come with Absorption Star Skill? We’d be the strongest in the jianghu overnight!”
“Wahaha!”
The assassins jeered, but Seo Baek paid them no mind.
It was entirely expected.
The terror of revenants was something you couldn’t grasp without facing it yourself.
Especially for black dao thugs who’d lived without fear of anything.
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon exchanged a glance.
They won’t listen. Not surprised.
Leave them. Let’s find the escape route.
No whispers or transmission of inner energy—just a silent exchange through their eyes.
Then one assassin sensed movement behind him, whipped around, and startled.
Canal house underlings were swarming from the corridor corner, ring sabers drawn.
The assassin smirked.
“Guests have arrived—sharpen your knives!”
Meaning: Interlopers showed up. Take them out.
“Damn, what a hassle.”
“Yeah. Who’s steering the barge now anyway?”
“Who cares? We’re all getting off soon enough. Heh heh!”
No prior agreement, but their thoughts aligned.
Might as well slaughter the canal house lot and grab the kid!
Black dao and unorthodox martial arts differed greatly from the orthodox sects.
Even orthodox styles had ruthless vital-point strikes, but they emphasized physical health, mental cultivation, and avoided needless killing.
Black dao and unorthodox arts, however, were pure killing techniques. Assassins’ styles existed solely to end lives!
The assassins drew their bizarre weapons with leisurely grins.
Weapons that chilled the blood just to look at—grotesque blades.
The underlings’ weapons? Plain ring sabers, nothing special.
The assassins sneered.
“This meal’s gonna be bland.”
“Doesn’t matter. When you’re hungry, even cold food tastes good!”
“Kahaha! True enough!”
The assassins charged, weapons raised.
One underling hoisted his ring saber overhead and brought it straight down.
Fierce momentum, but a simple linear chop.
The lead assassin parried with his grotesque blade.
“Heh heh... That’s your move?”
The instant their blades clashed—a deafening clang, sparks flying.
Kaang!
The assassin’s smirk vanished.
“...?”
His grip went numb; he nearly dropped the weapon.
His arm muscles screamed like cramped mice, legs buckled and shook.
Immense power.
Suddenly, it hit him.
The underling’s face was flushed blood-red.
Revenants turn red all over after absorbing blood, and their power surges.
Seo Baek’s recent words.
“Absorb blood to boost inner energy? Ridiculous...”
The assassin desperately denied the reality before him.
And that hesitation cost him his life.
The underling swung down again. The assassin blocked—but the saber sliced through the grotesque blade like paper, embedding in his shoulder.
Kang. Kwa-jik.
The saber, laden with vast inner force, carved through shoulder into chest diagonally, exiting the flank.
No scream. The assassin’s torso split in two, tumbling to the floor.
The other assassins’ faces changed instantly.
“...!”
Splitting a weapon and a body in one stroke?
Monstrous power!
As if that strike were the signal, the remaining underlings roared and charged, swinging wildly.
Kee-ee-eek.
The assassins recovered and defended, but they struggled even on defense—no chance for counterattacks.
Kang-kang-kang-kang-kang.
The underlings’ technique was laughably simple.
Just hoist the saber high and chop straight down.
The first move a novice learns from his master.
Yet they couldn’t block it. Each clash nearly wrenched weapons free—the sabers carried overwhelming inner force.
And the chopping speed accelerated...
But the assassins weren’t helpless.
Despite the power and speed, the linear attacks left openings. Some assassins pierced through for counters.
One swung a saw-toothed blade, ripping open an underling’s gut. Intestines spilled.
Chwaak. Hwudu-duduk.
Classic black dao cruelty—to demoralize foes with needless brutality.
But the assassin overlooked one thing.
Revenants were already dead!
The underling dragged its trailing guts forward.
“What kind of monster...!”
The assassin swung again, to no avail. The underling barreled on, thrusting its saber into his gut.
Puuk. Keu-eok...
No matter stab or slash, the underlings pressed relentlessly.
Unable to withstand the saber’s immense force, assassins fell one by one.
Aaaak...
A quick-witted one grasped the gravity and yelled.
“Swords don’t work on them! Run!”
But the narrow corridor was packed—no escape.
Their mass rush targeting Seo Baek was their doom.
“Move! Get out of the way!”
“Damn it, where? You move!”
“Fight them yourself! Hurry up and—aaak...”
With black dao advantages nullified, it became a one-sided massacre. From Seo Baek’s side, rear assassins dropped first to indiscriminate chops.
To make matters worse, fleeing assassins shoved each other and tumbled in a heap. Underlings pounced, hacking down.
Screams and butchery mingled in an asura field.
Seo Baek said to Song Hyeon,
“We need to buy time until the blood-empowered revenants’ effects wear off.”
“Fall back for now.”
Seo Baek sheathed his hell blade and turned.
No pity needed.
He’d already warned them plenty. This was self-inflicted doom.
Wang Yi Sam followed without interfering.
A veteran knew when to fight and when to flee. Now was the latter. That discernment was his survival secret.
An assassin who’d just tried seizing Seo Baek called out as they retreated.
“Take me with you!”
Someone tripped him from behind. He tumbled noisily.
Ootangtang.
“Hey! A perfect prone roll!”
The fall cleared space. A figure slipped from the crowd.
A man with heavy pinkish makeup.
Dohwa Gwang.
He elbowed a nearby assassin’s flank too.
“Keurk! Why hit an ally, you bastard...!”
“Hilarious. When did we ever meet to be allies?”
Dohwa Gwang kicked the staggering assassin toward the underlings.
The assassin sprawled into their midst, chopped like fish on a board.
Peu-peuk. Aaaak!
Not just Dohwa Gwang—shrewd assassins broke free, tailing Seo Baek’s group.
Why fight unknown monsters? Let others tire them out.
Better yet, if assassins died to revenants, fewer rivals for capturing Seo Baek at Yongjeong Inn!
With assassins trailing, Song Hyeon fell back to rear guard.
“Revenants will handle them for now, but who knows their schemes. I’ll cover the rear—you take point.”
“Understood.”
Seo Baek surged three steps ahead.
Shika Heart Method.
Pat.
The pitch-black corridor lit up like daylight in his vision.
“Hey, junior—what about me?”
“Stick tight behind me.”
“Easy enough.”
He yielded point to the shorter, slighter Seo Baek without pride wounded.
Pride? Survive first.
Seo Baek dragged his sword tip along the floor, advancing swiftly. The group followed.
Behind, Dohwa Gwang and a few assassins pursued.
At the corner, an underling lunged.
Kee-ee-eek!
It raised its saber high, but Seo Baek didn’t block.
Instead, he twisted the low-dragging blade, severing the ankle.
Seok-duk.
No scream, no halting pain. Revenant.
But that was the point.
The underling stepped forward—landing on the severed stump, not the sole.
It stumbled, sprawling.
Ootangtang.
One down.