Ark Escape (4)
“Argh! What the hell is this?”
Wang Yi Sam, who’d been full of bluster moments ago, was about to get completely drenched in the pouring liquid.
That was when Seo Baek grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back.
Wang Yi Sam fell flat on his ass in an undignified heap. But he’d avoided the ignominy of being soaked in blood.
A tremendous volume of blood gushed out onto the floor.
Sploooosh. Splatter. Splatter.
Every time the viscous blood hit the ground, it made a sickening sound like a slap to the face.
“Don’t let the blood touch you.”
Song Hyeon drove his sword into the wall, gripped the hilt to steady himself, and lifted his feet off the floor. The blood flowed right beneath him.
Seo Baek stabbed his own blade into the wall and climbed onto the flat. He kept a firm hold on Wang Yi Sam’s collar, ensuring the blood didn’t reach him.
The assassins did the same.
They jammed their swords or weapons into the wall and hung suspended in the air. Having been forewarned about the incoming hidden weapons, they had no trouble dodging them.
Splatter. Splatter. Gush. Gush.
The blood kept pouring endlessly.
“What’s with the sudden flood… no, blood flood?”
Wang Yi Sam stared at the blood flowing beneath his feet.
Seo Baek answered the question.
“The room above is the revenants’ cafeteria.”
“Cafeteria? If it was full of blood, what the hell do they eat up there?”
“The canal thieves cut off the heads in that room and soak them in blood.”
“Soak them in blood?”
“Yes. That’s how revenants eat.”
Only then did Wang Yi Sam grasp what he meant. His jaw dropped in horror.
The assassins’ eyes chilled over in shock as well.
Seo Baek had already told them about revenants replenishing their strength by soaking severed heads in blood.
But hearing it was one thing—witnessing it firsthand was on another level.
Judging by the sheer volume pouring down, that room must have been filled to the brim with blood. A literal blood bath. The image of revenants’ severed heads bobbing in that crimson pool sent chills down their spines.
“While investigating the ark, I suspected the upper room because it was off-limits and its purpose unknown.”
“……”
“Now that we’ve dumped their blood supply, the revenants won’t be able to replenish their strength for a while.”
Whoosh. With that, Song Hyeon yanked his sword from the wall and leaped up the stairs. The steps hadn’t been submerged, so they were safe.
Seo Baek followed suit, collar still in hand, landing on the stairs. The assassins kicked off the wall using the rebound, weapons in tow, and soared to the steps.
These were assassins who killed as casually as eating and bathed in blood for a living.
But even they had no desire to dip so much as a toe in this blood right now. Imagining those severed revenant heads floating in it made even the thought repulsive.
“With their cafeteria gone, we resume the escape.”
But Dohwa Gwang raised a question to Song Hyeon.
“Why go out of your way to find and destroy the revenants’ cafeteria?”
“It was just convenient on the escape route, so we removed it.”
“The revenants are already done eating. Wouldn’t it be better to get off this ark as fast as possible?”
“So you’re saying we should leave the cafeteria intact?”
“Eliminating future threats is smart, but right now it’s like curing one boil only to get seven more. What if the revenants realize we dumped their blood and chase us to the ends of hell?”
The assassins’ eyes turned icy, finding logic in Dohwa Gwang’s words.
Even Wang Yi Sam thought it sounded plausible. Why provoke the revenants needlessly when escaping the ark was the goal?
Everyone awaited Song Hyeon’s response.
Unexpectedly, Song Hyeon nodded, conceding the point.
“You’re right.”
“Damn, says the guy who just flipped their dinner table.”
“I did it precisely to provoke the revenants.”
“What?”
“Among revenants, there are Commanders. They can control the minds of other revenants.”
“……”
“Unless we eliminate the Commander, even if we escape the ark, the revenants will pursue us.”
“……!”
Dohwa Gwang shut his mouth, stunned by Song Hyeon’s words. The other assassins exchanged grim glances.
Destroy the cafeteria, and they’d chase to hell’s end.
Song Hyeon had turned Dohwa Gwang’s offhand remark into cold reality. How could they not be shocked?
“The Commander is hiding among the other revenants. But once it realizes we destroyed the cafeteria, it’ll lose its temper.”
“……”
“Whether it flies into a rage or burns for revenge, it’ll show some tell. That’s when we strike.”
The assassins grinned at that.
For killers who traded in lives, eliminating loose ends was paramount. If their identity leaked or a witness saw the deed, they silenced the witness. Survival demanded it.
Slay and erase. The assassins’ creed.
Song Hyeon’s scheme to root out the Commander aligned perfectly with their mindset.
Then Wang Yi Sam slapped his knee.
“What if the Commander’s the canal lord?”
“Exactly. It ordered the canal thieves’ attack, so the lord must be the Commander.”
“Right on! So if we take out the lord, the revenants won’t move in sync anymore?”
“That’s the idea.”
Song Hyeon nodded, and Wang Yi Sam, pleased with his insight, flashed Seo Baek a grin.
“Up.”
Song Hyeon’s next order came. Seo Baek took point, ascending the stairs with his blade angled upward.
Unlike before, the edge faced front and above, ready to sever ankles if a canal thief descended.
His nerves braced for a revenant ambush, but Seo Baek’s mind wandered elsewhere.
To Wang Yi Sam’s recent words.
The canal lord as Commander? That reasoning’s as simplistic as ever—classic senior brother Wang.
The canal lord could be the Commander, sure.
But assuming the canal thieves’ boss led all revenants was dead wrong.
The Commander was more likely hiding among the canal thieves themselves.
Song hyung knows that.
Yet he’d agreed without rebuttal.
Another layer to his scheme, no doubt. A trap to lure out the Commander, snaring it while off-guard.
Two flights up, they reached the deck.
Seo Baek emerged warily. No canal thieves guarded it—good.
“All clear.”
If the ark’s belly was hell, the deck was indifferently serene. Eerily quiet, almost suspicious.
Still, after the blood-scented confines, the open air cleared their heads.
The group soon joined him.
“We’re alive!”
Wang Yi Sam whooped.
Song Hyeon reined him in.
“Still on the ark. No letting your guard down until we’re off.”
“Tch, I know.”
Wang Yi Sam grumbled but swallowed hard at a sound. Wails rose from below.
Kieeeek……
“Already chasing us?”
“Seems so.”
Dohwa Gwang chimed in.
“Damn underworld scum. Can’t even buy us time while dying?”
The words carried weight beyond complaint.
Dozens of skilled assassins wiped out in seconds?
The blood-fed revenants were that formidable.
The distance to the canal’s edge wasn’t far. A full-power leap could clear it.
“Shall we jump?”
Seo Baek glanced at Song Hyeon for approval.
Song Hyeon shook his head.
“Without removing the Commander, it’s too risky.”
Seo Baek understood instantly.
Thick darkness cloaked the canal’s far bank, writhing like a living thing. Revenant hordes lurked within.
And the Commander rode the ark.
It would wait for their leap, then command the horde to swarm on landing.
Seo Baek feared no dozens or hundreds. With Shika Heart Method, he’d carve through and break the encirclement.
But the Central Plains had swarmed with revenants for ages.
If thousands or tens of thousands waited outside? They’d pour endlessly, outlasting even Shika Heart Method’s limit.
Blindly jumping without intel on their numbers was suicide.
What now?
As Seo Baek pondered, a dock appeared ahead, where the ark pressed on.
The canal from Yang Province to Luoyang had a midpoint: Sukju in eastern Anhui Province. The dock ahead confirmed it—they’d reached Sukju.
Neighboring Henan, central in the realm, Sukju’s dock linking it to the canal was massive, city-sized.
A thought flashed in Seo Baek’s mind.
What must a grand dock have?
His eyes met Song Hyeon’s.
Song Hyeon nodded, same idea.
“We get off when the ark passes the dock.”
“Of course.”
They spoke in unison.
“The mast.”
Dohwa Gwang, overhearing, nodded.
“Furl the sails to slow the ark!”
Sound logic.
The ark seemed sluggish, but its vast size deceived; it cut the water swiftly.
Central Plains sloped shallow from northwest to southeast, so southbound needed no effort—just drift.
Northbound meant bucking the current, requiring oars.
But the ark was too colossal for oars.
Hence sails for northbound: harnessing southeast winds from sea to continent, pushing upstream.
The very southeast wind Zhuge Liang summoned in Romance of the Three Kingdoms to torch Cao Cao’s fleet at Red Cliffs!
Now, sails fully billowed, maximizing speed.
They might pass the dock entirely.
Thus Dohwa Gwang interpreted: slow it down.
But Seo Baek contradicted.
“No. Faster the ark, the better.”
“What? We’ll miss the dock entirely! Pass it, and our chance to disembark vanishes forever!”
Dohwa Gwang shouted, baffled.
“Doesn’t matter.”
Seo Baek replied in his usual impassive tone.
“We’re not furling the sails. We’re cutting the mast.”