Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Viper's Den
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As the night deepened, the lights that had been scattered across the island went out, one by one.
*Swoosh.*
A black shadow, hidden in the darkness, dashed toward the center of the island.
It was Bu Eun-seol, now clad in a form-fitting night suit.
‘So this is the Hyeol-eum-sa-gyo.’
After running for some time, Bu Eun-seol arrived at the island's center, his eyes gleaming.
Dozens of buildings stood in rows, and cultists wearing red silk masks patrolled the area.
‘He said he was the vice-leader of the Soul-Reaping Hall.’
Recalling Ma Un’s explanation and the contents of the booklet, Bu Eun-seol quickly scanned the interior of the Hyeol-eum-sa-gyo’s base.
Although he had never once learned the art of stealth, he moved with the covert grace of a seasoned assassin.
Extreme Speed Shadowless Steps.
This peerless movement technique, created by the great thief Go Wol, combined with Bu Eun-seol’s sharp yet cautious nature, resulted in ghost-like movements.
*Halt.*
As he slipped past several buildings, Bu Eun-seol suddenly stopped.
Below the building opposite him, he spotted a middle-aged man standing and talking with someone.
The man’s under-eyes were extremely dark, and his lips were a thin, stark red. He looked like a sinister viper that had taken human form.
‘Seok Jeong.’
That viper-like man was the vice-leader of the Hyeol-eum-sa-gyo’s Soul-Reaping Hall, the Black Viper Saber, Seok Jeong.
‘Indeed…’
Bu Eun-seol narrowed his eyes as he watched Seok Jeong from a distance.
Even in the darkness, he could catch glimpses of a sharp gaze. An aura like the edge of a honed blade emanated from his entire body.
He could tell at a glance that this was a formidable master.
Moreover, this was the main headquarters of the Hyeol-eum-sa-gyo. One wrong move and he could be discovered before he even got close.
‘Looks like I’ll have to play the part of an assassin for real.’
He had already endured an uncountable number of surprise attacks in Hell Island.
Among them were those who attempted to assassinate him with bizarre methods, and there were even trainees from the Geuk-sal-mil-gak, said to be the grandmasters of assassination.
‘First, I need to find the best place for a surprise attack.’
The most important factor to consider when launching a sneak attack is the location.
Attacking from the wrong place could lead to a counterattack, and the target could easily call for reinforcements.
“Then, let’s proceed as planned.”
Just then, their conversation seemed to conclude. The other person left, and Seok Jeong went back inside the building.
*Swoosh.*
Unleashing his ghostly movement technique, Bu Eun-seol silently followed Seok Jeong into the building.
‘This place is…’
Passing through a long corridor, he saw a staircase leading down to a basement.
As he cautiously descended, the pungent smell of medicine stung his nose.
‘Here.’
Deeper inside the basement, a wide stone chamber came into view.
On one side was an armory displaying various weapons, and scattered throughout the chamber were large jars, big enough to hold a whole person.
These were the jars the Hyeol-eum-sa-gyo used to create and ferment the elixirs for their dark arts.
‘The perfect place for an assassination.’
Since this was where the elixirs were stored, no outsiders—not even those from the Soul-Reaping Hall—were allowed inside.
Furthermore, being a sealed underground chamber, the chance of any sound escaping was low.
‘Good.’
Bu Eun-seol slowly reached for one of the assassin’s swords on his back.
An assassination attempt was akin to the most extreme form of real combat. One had to seize the precise distance and opportunity, and a single missed strike could lead to irreversible consequences.
‘I’ll finish him here.’
As it happened, Seok Jeong was inspecting the jars one by one.
There could be no better time for an assassination.
Gripping the assassin’s sword, Bu Eun-seol approached Seok Jeong’s back as he examined a jar. Then, just as he was about to strike—
“...!”
Suddenly, Bu Eun-seol’s pupils dilated, and the world seemed to fall silent as if time had stopped.
The keen senses of his Beast’s Instinct had detected something pouring down from the ceiling.
*Flick.*
With no time to think, he rotated his body sideways to evade.
*Th-th-thunk!*
Dozens of sharp steel arrows pierced the stone floor where Bu Eun-seol had been standing.
“Truly, you assassin types are all the same.”
Seok Jeong smiled as he looked toward the jar where Bu Eun-seol was hiding.
“Why is it that you all, as if by promise, choose this place for your ambush?”
Hearing those words, Bu Eun-seol realized something.
‘The Ninth Trial…’
Seok Jeong had survived eight assassination attempts so far.
He knew the patterns of the assassins who had entered this place.
“Come out. There’s no escape, anyway.”
At Seok Jeong’s words, Bu Eun-seol slowly emerged from his hiding spot.
With the exit already blocked, there was, as he said, no way out.
“This time, it’s a rather young one.”
Seok Jeong said, staring intently at Bu Eun-seol’s eyes, visible through his mask.
“Old or young, your methods are all the same. You always sneak onto the incoming ship, bide your time, and then try to assassinate me when I enter this place.”
Seok Jeong looked at the crouched Bu Eun-seol, touched a hand to his forehead, and smirked.
“So, I had a mechanism installed here to detect assassins. To know when a little rat sneaks in.”
‘Is that so.’
Because it was such an obvious assassination spot, Seok Jeong had always encountered assassins in the same place.
He had installed a device to detect any assassins who hid here.
‘This is a problem with the Gu-sal-dae.’
Bu Eun-seol finally understood the weakness of the Gu-sal-dae.
They carried out missions given by their branch offices without knowing each other’s sects or identities. While this method was suitable for concealing the identity and secrets of a spy, it was an inefficient way to achieve a goal.
With no information shared among them, they were bound to repeat the same mistakes. Just like now.
*Shing.*
Instead of the Black Viper Saber at his waist, Seok Jeong picked up a large saber from the armory.
“Assassins like you kill yourselves when you run out of options.”
A cruel smile formed on his lips as he spoke again.
“The struggles of a desperate assassin. It’s as addictive as opium, you see. Hehehe.”
Seok Jeong intended to deal with Bu Eun-seol himself without alerting anyone to the intrusion.
‘Just what I wanted.’
The assassination had failed, but he had gained an opportunity to fight.
Bu Eun-seol drew one of the two assassin’s swords from his back and walked toward Seok Jeong.
*Whoosh!*
Without preamble, he unleashed his sword, thrusting at Seok Jeong’s neck.
It was an instinctive killing move, an application of a swift sword technique from the Thunderclap Sword of the Fiery Rain.
“Hoh.”
Seok Jeong, recognizing that Bu Eun-seol's swordsmanship was quite stable, showed a look of surprise.
“This isn’t a sword art used by assassins.”
He smiled leisurely and raised the saber he held to a middle stance.
“Try to block this.”
*Sssst.*
As Seok Jeong unleashed his saber art, a murderous aura like black sand enveloped Bu Eun-seol’s entire body.
The Black Viper Saber Art. In a single breath, he had unleashed his signature technique, one that had earned him fame in the martial world for over a decade.
*Clang!*
Sparks flew as the sword and saber clashed.
Before he began to properly cultivate his internal energy, he would have been pushed back, unable to handle the force pouring in.
But now, it was Seok Jeong who was forced two steps back by Bu Eun-seol’s defense.
“For someone so young, your internal energy is quite profound.”
Surprised by the depth of Bu Eun-seol’s internal energy, Seok Jeong unleashed the Black Viper Saber Art with his full power.
*Whiriririk!*
Layer upon layer of saber strikes rained down, completely sealing off every direction Bu Eun-seol could move.
At the same time, he pressed Bu Eun-seol with a relentless barrage of killing moves, leaving no room to breathe.
*Spurt! Spurt!*
Bloodstains began to appear on Bu Eun-seol’s body as he defended against the Black Viper Saber Art.
‘This is strange.’
He was blocking the strikes accurately, yet for some reason, the tip of Seok Jeong’s blade was still grazing his body.
‘Again.’
This time, as the saber came for his head, Bu Eun-seol slowly extended his sword to induce a clash of weapons.
*Whip.*
But Seok Jeong’s saber seemed to vanish mid-motion, only to reappear and slash at his shoulder.
‘I see.’
As the blade grazed his shoulder, Bu Eun-seol’s eyes flashed.
‘He’s changing the form of his technique mid-attack.’
He aims for the head but strikes the shoulder. He feints a thrust to the chest but slashes the waist.
A feint.
Seok Jeong’s Black Viper Saber Art was a deceptive blade art, creating afterimages to confuse the enemy and disguise his true moves.
‘This is the difference in experience.’
No matter how skilled one was with deceptive blade techniques, it was difficult to have the composure to use feints so freely in a life-or-death situation.
It was a method possible only for Seok Jeong, who had survived by cutting down countless enemies.
‘I have to steal that secret.’
As Bu Eun-seol continued to observe Seok Jeong’s saber art, his own sword moves began to slowly change.
He started to alter his previously straightforward thrusts, sometimes stopping them abruptly. At times, he would stab at random places like a madman, causing Seok Jeong’s assault to slow slightly.
‘This technique isn’t all that impressive.’
As he continuously mimicked the Black Viper Saber Art, Bu Eun-seol couldn’t hide his disappointment.
But this was far from the truth.
Using feints haphazardly in a real fight would only expose one’s own openings. That was why, when learning a deceptive sword art, a master would slowly demonstrate practical feints as part of the sword form.
But Bu Eun-seol had mastered the Beast’s Instinct and possessed an innate genius for combat.
Even in the middle of the fight, he was naturally and fluidly grasping the principles of Seok Jeong’s saber art.
‘This brat?’
A chill ran down Seok Jeong’s spine as he realized Bu Eun-seol was gradually mimicking his Black Viper Saber Art.
‘He’s mimicking my saber art in a situation where his head could be lopped off at any moment?’
Seok Jeong tightened his grip on the saber.
‘This one will become a menace!’
*Shwwiik! Chwaak!*
Changing his saber art, he launched a relentless assault without a single pause, constantly pressuring Bu Eun-seol.
“Let’s see you copy this!”
With a thunderous shout, Seok Jeong’s saber art grew even more ferocious.
After about thirty more exchanges, red gashes began to appear on Bu Eun-seol’s body again.
‘So this is what it’s like to fight someone strong…’
The only master of a higher caliber Bu Eun-seol had faced was Go Gun-pyeong of Baekma Temple.
Even that was just a test to withstand five moves, not a real fight.
But Seok Jeong’s saber art was no test; he swung his blade relentlessly with the sole purpose of ending Bu Eun-seol’s life.
*Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!*
It was no longer a saber art, but a storm of killing intent that poured down.
However, Bu Eun-seol used the power of his Beast’s Instinct and his unique combat sense to neutralize each and every strike.
Seok Jeong, seeing Bu Eun-seol endure despite looking like he would collapse at any moment, shouted in frustration.
“You brat! Are you just going to keep running away like a rat?!”
*Bang!*
At the same time, he stomped hard on one of the stone tiles on the floor.
He had reactivated the hidden weapon mechanism in the stone chamber.
*Shu-shu-shuk!*
From the ceiling, thirty-six steel needles rained down on Bu Eun-seol in staggered intervals.
*Sssst.*
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol’s body blurred, and the needles passed right through him.
He had used the Extreme Speed Shadowless Steps to change his position thirty-six times without leaving his spot.
*Paaat!*
But Seok Jeong, seizing the opening, slashed his saber across Bu Eun-seol’s forearm.
*Drip.*
Seok Jeong licked his lips with satisfaction.
“Hehehe! I can almost see the grim reaper standing behind you now!”
*Click! Shu-shu-shuk!*
As Seok Jeong repeatedly activated the needle traps while unleashing his saber art, openings gradually began to appear in Bu Eun-seol’s defense.
Bu Eun-seol swung his sword with all his might, but there was no way to break through the Black Viper Saber Art and inflict a fatal wound on Seok Jeong.
‘Should I use the Peerless Lightning Flash?’
Currently, Bu Eun-seol’s strongest trump card was Cheon Un-gwang’s Peerless Lightning Flash technique.
However, using it consumed an immense amount of strength and internal energy with each use.
Moreover, if he failed to finish the enemy with a single, decisive strike, he could find himself in even greater danger.
‘Let’s try applying the martial arts I’ve learned so far.’
Sojeon’s Heavenly Tyrant Blade’s Culmination, Je Un’s Art of Dual Focus, and Han Dan’s Heavy Sword.
Wasn’t the whole reason he joined the Gu-sal-dae to perfectly master these three martial arts and forge them into one?
*Clang!*
Just then, their sword and saber happened to clash, striking sparks.
Seizing the opening, Seok Jeong didn't miss the chance and slashed Bu Eun-seol’s shoulder once more.
*Spurt!*
As blood sprayed, Bu Eun-seol’s mind cleared. And he realized one thing.
‘This man isn’t trying to kill me!’