Escape from the Ark (3)
Dohwa Gwang and the assassins trailing behind widened their eyes at the sight.
Even these killers, masters of murder, were stunned by Seo Baek's technique.
"Oh ho, shoot the horse instead of the rider, eh?"
Even Dohwa Gwang, who mocked with every breath, muttered in admiration.
A living person stops moving when critically wounded.
But a revenant keeps coming even if you sever its head or pierce its torso.
Against such foes, Seo Baek sliced their ankles, forcing them to lose balance and collapse on their own.
It was just like shooting the horse out from under a general.
Chae-do flailed its arms, trying to grab Seo Baek. But he ignored it and pressed forward. As Chae-do struggled to rise, its missing ankle sent it tumbling again.
Then Song Hyeon strode up and drove his sword vertically into its mouth.
Stab. Gurk.
The blade pierced through its mouth and impaled the blood thread worm in its heart meridian.
Chae-do shuddered once from head to toe before its limbs went limp.
A swift, clean kill.
The assassins' eyes widened again at Song Hyeon's lightning-fast strike.
Those two work together seamlessly.
They were fleeing the waterways leader for now, but the assassins planned to seize Seo Baek when the chance arose.
Revenants had emerged from the ark, but the situation was actually favorable. Their rivals had been caught by Chae-do's group.
Yet this kid Seo Baek was no ordinary fighter.
And the man with him, Song Hyeon, was a considerable expert.
One-on-one, even they weren't sure they could handle him.
Dohwa Gwang and the assassins shared the thought.
Those two are no pushovers.
Hold off on the plan for now.
First escape the ark, then look for an opening.
The assassins turned their gaze to Seo Baek's last companion.
Wang Yi Sam, the bushy-bearded middle-aged man.
He lumbered along gripping his heavy broad dao, looking like a barely first-rate warrior at best.
That one's just your average sword-for-hire, right?
But the assassins didn't let their guard down.
How many peak masters roamed the jianghu disguising themselves as ordinary folk, hiding their skills?
They marked Wang Yi Sam as someone to watch.
Better safe than sorry.
For the first time in his life, Wang Yi Sam was being sized up as a potential expert because of his two companions.
Seo Baek advanced down the corridor without pause.
At every fork, Song Hyeon called directions from behind.
"Left."
"Right."
"Straight."
Crisp signals, no excess words.
When a Chae-do lunged from the darkness, he sliced its ankle just like before, toppling it.
Two of them.
He left the fallen one to the rear and focused on leading from the front.
Song Hyeon followed up from behind, thrusting his sword through its throat.
Stab. Kiek...
One strike, one kill. One Sword, One Death.
Sometimes a downed Chae-do would gape its jaws at Seo Baek and spew blood thread worms.
Shrieeeek.
Without turning, Seo Baek angled his greatsword to block. The cluster of worms slammed into the broad blade—twice the size of an adult's palm—and stopped cold.
A perfect demonstration of why he wielded such a massive sword despite his frame.
The long blade extended his reach, while the wide flat served as a shield. Revenants couldn't even close in.
All made possible by the endless inner energy surging from the Shika Heart Method.
Only Seo Baek at the vanguard and Song Hyeon at the rear guided the escape team.
Yet these two carved through the ambushing revenants in the dark, blazing a swift path to freedom.
As Seo Baek's group opened the way, more assassins fell in behind the initial few.
Of the dozens of killers aboard, only a dozen or so had escaped Chae-do unscathed.
Thankfully, the ones caught rolling on the floor had clogged the corridor, buying time.
Had it been an open space, they'd have been surrounded and wiped out already.
The survivors sprinted frantically after Seo Baek's group.
Then an unexpected turn.
Stairs appeared ahead, and Song Hyeon gave an unforeseen command.
"Down."
Seo Baek held his sword at the ready and descended.
Wang Yi Sam, blindly following, halted in confusion.
Down? Into the bowels of the ark?
The trailing assassins voiced their doubts.
"Down? You mean take the stairs below?"
"Yes."
Song Hyeon's reply was as impassive as ever.
"To escape the ark, we need to head up to the deck. What's the point of going down?"
"No one ordered you to follow."
"..."
"We're going below. Suit yourselves."
The assassins fell silent, out of retorts.
Even Wang Yi Sam struggled to trust Song Hyeon's escape route.
But under his icy glare, he had no choice but to follow Seo Baek down the stairs.
Behind them, the dozen assassins erupted in debate.
"No matter how you slice it, that's insane."
"Sure, he's skilled, but we don't have to take orders."
"I'm heading to the deck. Survive first—can't spend reward money as a revenant."
"Couldn't agree more."
The assassins nodded in unison.
Most turned and climbed upward, away from Seo Baek.
A few followed down—only a quarter of those who'd gone up.
Four assassins trailed Seo Baek's group, Dohwa Gwang included.
Wang Yi Sam eyed them.
"You lot not running?"
"We're running right now."
Dohwa Gwang shrugged and pointed upward.
"Figure the kid's safer than those idiots."
"One good eye you've got there."
"Gotta have sharp eyes to eat in the jianghu."
Dohwa Gwang was a ruthless black path fiend, but Wang Yi Sam couldn't argue.
Seo Baek and Song Hyeon. A bizarre duo unlike any other.
From Wang Family Fortress to Jegal Manor, their feats made entrusting one's sole life worthwhile.
Seo Baek descended without hesitation.
Song hyung must have scouted the ark's layout on the way in.
Seo Baek's plan: leave strategy to Song Hyeon, focus on clearing the path.
Song Hyeon kept directing from the rear.
But the deeper they went, the lower into the ark they plunged.
Finally, complaints bubbled from the assassins.
"What if he's a revenant too?"
"A revenant?"
"Luring us into a trap on purpose?"
"Come on, a scheme like that now?"
They said it, but suspicion toward Song Hyeon took root.
They arrived at the ark's lowest level: the cargo hold.
"Damn it, a dead end! What now?"
Unexpectedly, Wang Yi Sam pounded his chest.
"If you've staked your life on us, trust till the end."
"..."
Wang Yi Sam had reason for his bravado.
They'd come to the hold first to find Scholar Seo, then breached the ceiling into his room.
Wang Yi Sam was certain Song Hyeon had spotted an escape route through that hole.
"Just watch. We'll handle it."
And sure enough, Song Hyeon headed to the prior breach, prying the ceiling panel free with his sword.
"Going in."
Seo Baek leaped up through the hole.
The room was pitch black, but with Shika Heart Method active, Seo Baek's eyes scanned every corner swiftly.
"Clear."
At his signal, Wang Yi Sam and the others followed one by one.
Beast-like howls echoed from the hold entrance. Chae-do had caught up.
Kieeeek...
Song Hyeon resealed the floor. The cries muffled, then scattered.
Only then did the assassins grasp Song Hyeon's ingenuity, inwardly impressed.
Not just swordsmanship—his wits are lightning-quick too.
Chae-do would scour the hold but find no trace of the fugitives.
Descending had seemed suicidal at first, but now the tables had turned. They'd vanished like smoke from a dead end.
Who'd imagine they'd breached the ceiling upward? Even a tactical genius would struggle to counter it—let alone revenants!
As the assassins pondered, Seo Baek had other thoughts.
There were better ways to shake the horde. He chose this path for a reason.
Seo Baek's hunch was spot on.
They emerged into the corridor. Song Hyeon directed Seo Baek not to the stairs, but elsewhere.
Seo Baek took point as ordered.
The assassins, who griped about the hold, now followed silently, assuming another clever ploy.
They'd bare their fangs later, but for now, Seo Baek and Song Hyeon had turned even their stalkers into unwitting allies.
A matchless duo!
Screams and beastly roars echoed somewhere.
The upward assassins meeting their end.
The group moved briskly under Seo Baek's lead and Song Hyeon's directions.
At the next stairs, Song Hyeon issued an unprecedented order.
"Halt."
Halt?
Assassins and even Wang Yi Sam exchanged puzzled glances, uncomprehending.
Impatient Dohwa Gwang spoke up.
"Two more flights up and we're at the stern. Why stop now?"
"Something to check."
As the assassins puzzled, Song Hyeon drew his sword.
Shing. The blackened blade emerged.
The four assassins' eyes chilled; hands drifted to weapons, ready to strike first.
But Song Hyeon said flatly,
"No intent to fight now. Sheathe your blades."
"..."
He was right.
Righteous or evil, unite to escape first. Infighting would just thin their numbers—for the revenants' gain.
Then why draw?
As curiosity peaked, Song Hyeon channeled sword qi and stabbed the ceiling. He traced a square with the blade.
Wang Yi Sam recognized the method from the scholar's room and explained to the assassins.
"Making a hole to climb up."
"Hoo..."
The assassins murmured in awe.
They'd already noted his sword qi earlier—impressive even before the explanation.
But Wang Yi Sam swelled with pride at their reaction.
Black path scum, first time seeing sword qi?
"Step back."
Seo Baek and the assassins retreated a few paces.
Seo Baek obeyed naturally; the assassins from wary instinct—traps often triggered on doors and crates.
Wang Yi Sam half-heartedly stepped back once or twice. Seeing their repeated awe at Seo Baek and Song Hyeon fueled his bravado.
"Watch closely. He cuts the hole, then we slip in..."
Song Hyeon yanked his sword free. The ceiling split and collapsed inward.
Instantly, a torrent of liquid cascaded like a waterfall onto Wang Yi Sam.
Shwooooaaah.
Not water, but blood. Crimson and thick.