The Art of the Backstab

With the world being as chaotic and unpredictable as it is, how could a mere mortal crawling on the dirt ever hope to understand the heavens? The success or failure of what happens even a single minute from now is entirely up to fate. Still, no matter how true that is, there are some things in this world that are blindingly obvious just by looking. Why am I suddenly waxing poetic, you ask? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Because right now...

*Cough, spit.*

Because that crazy old bastard Chi-o, who acted like he had some grand master plan, just got our entire ship blown to smithereens. There wasn't even time to stop him. A split-second mistake can leave a scar that lasts a lifetime. Just like right now.

"This is driving me insane."

The ship was completely wrecked. It was a pitiful sight—its former majestic grandeur reduced to a burning, shattered skeleton. Blood and chunks of flesh were splattered everywhere. I had neither the reason nor the luxury to wonder who they belonged to.

"Are you alright?"

"Thanks to your protection, I am unharmed."

"This is nothing."

Most of those who couldn't even keep their lives were low-stage Core Condensation trash. They were useless for anything other than making up the numbers anyway.

"Are you alright? What is the damage?"

The skin of the woman who introduced herself as Bo-ah was now covered in purple scales. Beside her, the old man named Chi-o held the helm—now nothing but a useless handle—with a grim expression. I made my way toward them, shouting as I moved.

"Looks like we lost about a dozen Core Condensation grunts, and the ship is completely destroyed."

"Losses: one warship. Understood."

Oof. My deepest condolences to the nameless Dokkaebi who were packaged together with the warship as a single statistic, without even having their numbers properly counted, let alone their names.

"What in the world were you thinking, Elder Chi-o?!" Sahan Guryo, a giant of a man with disheveled ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hair, roared, swinging his greatsword wildly as he pressed Chi-o. Naturally, this was a moronic move. If you're going to assign blame, at least pick the right time.

"...It was my blunder. But we don't have time for this right now... Oh, no."

Points of light began to glow in the surroundings once more. Though their intensity was weaker than before, we had lost our reliable shield—the warship. If we fought now, we would undoubtedly lose. Elder Chi-o raised both hands high.

"Everyone, follow me! We must break through the encirclement first! While we clear the path ahead, the Core Condensation cultivators will block the attacks coming from the rear!"

"No, damn it..." Sahan Guryo's face contorted. He, too, seemed to realize there was no other choice.

Flash! The blinding lights flared up once more. I hesitated for a brief moment before reaching out to a heavily wounded Dokkaebi crawling on the ground.

"A-Ah... Thank you, warrior...?"

"I'll remember you. For about a week."

I threw the bastard, whose lower half was completely gone, straight into the path of the incoming attack. At the same time, the massive demonic energy I had injected into his core detonated, using his core as a medium.

Boom! An excellent shield. The warship had done a decent job of defending us earlier, but these guys made for pretty solid meat shields individually too.

Bang! Boom! Looking around, it seemed I wasn't the only one with this brilliant idea. Both Qi Circulation and Core Condensation survivors were tossing hopeless cases into the fray to block the incoming barrage.

"Stop! That's my friend, you crazy bastards! Stop!"

Of course, some hesitated because they actually knew the guys being used as shields. I could understand that. Even I wouldn't be able to use Sowol or Jeongha as meat shields. You can only do this sort of thing with a clear conscience when it's a stranger. Because there's no connection, you can consume and discard them without a second thought.

Bang! Boom!

"Argh!"

"Aaaargh!"

Just ripping out their cores and detonating them like grenades yielded highly effective results. Even if they were only Core Condensation, the culmination of their years of cultivation and effort was being burned away in a single instant. If it wasn't effective, it would be deeply tragic—both for me and for the nameless Dokkaebi who made their noble sacrifices.

Kabaam! "The path is open! Move!" Elder Chi-o, who had thrown himself into the vanguard as if to take responsibility for his failure, screamed at the top of his lungs, his thin neck straining.

And right at that moment, a single point of light swelled with the most massive momentum yet, as if delivering a final blow. It was a direct strike unleashed by the two or three Qi Circulation powerhouses I had been keeping an eye on. Worse, it was a beam fired from a military-grade dharma treasure assigned to protect the vital spirit stone mine.

Whirrrr— "Evade on your own!"

A beam of light capable of turning everything in its path stark white tore through the forest. Kaaaa-boom! When ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the beam finally faded, leaving a trail of scorching red heat on the earth, the aftermath was far from pleasant.

"...Ugh."

"Ngh."

Sahan Guryo and Bo-ah. One had his entire arm blasted off, while the other was charred black like a lump of coal. It seemed only Chi-o and I had escaped unscathed. I barely dodged that, seriously. What would have happened if I'd taken that head-on?

Chi-o stared at me in shock, seeing that I was completely fine, before quickly hoisting Sahan Guryo onto his back. "Let us flee, quickly!"

"Well, of course."

I tucked the coal-like Bo-ah under my arm. On one side, I had Sowol; on the other, a well-done, crispy Bo-ah.

"Where do you think you are running?!"

"Whatever."

I easily shrugged off a standard Qi Circulation attack that didn't have the backing of a dharma treasure. To be precise, the pitch-black obsidian growing from my body completely severed the incoming spell.

"What a bizarre technique. I feel like I've seen that somewhere before..."

Obsidian Spikes. A technique where someone who has mastered earth and metal attribute cultivation methods embeds obsidian crystals into their body, allowing them to sprout crystals that can slice through spells. The pursuers hesitated, staring at their severed spells. Taking advantage of their pause, we bolted and successfully made our escape.

"They aren't pursuing us. Thanks to you, Brother Gang, we managed to survive several crises."

"It was only natural."

I couldn't bring myself to praise him back. Seriously, why is everyone in this world so damn impatient?

"Are you alright, Fellow Daoist Guryo?"

"Give me just one week, and I am confident I will fully recover."

"As for Fellow Daoist Bo-ah... Oh, dear." A look of deep worry washed over Chi-o's face. She wasn't particularly fast to begin with, and since she had been right in the center of the blast, even a Qi Circulation warrior had ended up in this state. Perhaps the attack had been aimed solely at her.

Looking at Bo-ah, who resembled a piece of inorganic coal more than a living being, we exchanged awkward chuckles.

"Haha."

"Heheh."

"Ahem."

A Qi Circulation cultivator who wouldn't be recovering anytime soon. Honestly, just ripping out her core and selling it right now would be a massive harvest. Even without refining it into a pill, swallowing it raw would probably give my cultivation a nice boost. She was bound to be dead weight until the end of this mission anyway, so wouldn't it be better for her to be useful in death?

Everyone's eyes drifted toward Bo-ah's lower abdomen—where her core resided. I clicked my tongue in pity, shaking my head. Her tits were pretty huge, though. Now that she was in this state, she wasn't worth saving. Even if I saved her, I didn't even know if she'd be fuckable. The delusion of a woman offering up her body in gratitude for being saved was a fantasy I'd left behind in middle school.

Guryo blinked his thick eyebrows and wiped his eyes with his forearm in mock grief. "*Sniff.* She looks to be in so much pain. This is my failing. The least I can do is put her out of her misery."

"Ahem. A tragic turn of events indeed. But given our current precarious situation..."

Yep, we're fucked. Instead of chiming in, I realized this entire expedition was doomed. With this kind of shit happening before we even properly started, how could there be any cooperation? I could already see them awkwardly pointing fingers and fracturing the group. To balance the scales... Yeah, Jeongha needs to reach Qi Circulation if I want to keep myself safe.

"Ahem."

"Brother Hayun, what do you think?"

Their eyes pressed me for an answer, and just as I was about to speak—

?

Ah. Well, that changes things.

"I don't think Fellow Daoist Bo-ah wants to die just yet."

"...Fellow Daoist?"

"Hahaha. I am worried that Brother Hayun is being far too stubborn about holding onto Fellow Daoist Bo-ah. Isn't today the first time you two have met?"

"Let's just wait a bit. Just a little bit."

"Hahaha."

"My, my."

They didn't go so far as to openly persuade me to kill her. After all, dropping subtle hints and outright saying "let's murder her" carry vastly different weights, even if they mean the exact same thing. Instead, they just gave me massive attitude.

"So naive. Far too naive. How can you abandon the greater good over such trivial matters?"

"Tsk. What a waste. A downright waste."

I am absolutely going to kill these bastards. Not right now, of course, but later.

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"Should we... try to treat her first?"

"Why are you asking me that?"

A grumpy Guryo pouted. Seeing a grown-ass man do that made a surge of murderous intent well up inside me. Besides, I didn't even know what to do myself. If Ryeo-ah was going to speak, she should explain herself fully. What the hell was I supposed to do with just "save her"?

Just explain it to me, will you?

Wait. If it has the character for "snake" in it, doesn't that mean a snake? Uh... so a snake and a Dokkaebi... did it?

But how can I help it?

Bo-ah's ancestor must have been, well... a man of extreme culture.

Is that a good thing?

"So, I asked you what you are going to do."

Then do something about these guys. "Stop whining like a bunch of toddlers, it's getting annoying."

"....."

"....."

What? Why is the atmosphere suddenly like this? Wondering if something had appeared, I looked around, only to see Ryeo-ah sighing and pinching the bridge of her nose in my mind.

Whoops.

To make a long story short, a fight didn't break out. To be precise, everyone exercised self-control, knowing that starting a brawl in this situation would ruin any chance of survival. Of course, the atmosphere was completely ruined.

"Well, my bad."

"Why, you...!"

Since the mood was already ruined, I gave them a nice, sarcastic apology. In the end, the group fractured. Well, it's not like we could have harmonized peacefully anyway. Consequently, the mission was a failure. It was bound to fail. And I had no intention of trying to save it.

About what?

How could I not worry about this?

"An opportunity to grow." I didn't want to wither away as a nobody and return to the dirt. I needed a stairway to climb higher, and a shadow to keep me safe.

"Huh?"

Wait, she's right. My women are with me, and neither of them has any deep attachment to the Gang family. Besides, this mine is located outside Yagwi City. Since I've already taken everything I can, slipping away isn't a bad idea at all. The only issue is...

What about the family's pursuit?

Ah, damn.

It all sounds great, but there's one catch. Kang Ha-yeon. If I leave like this, it would be a real shame to lose my connection with her.

A nightmare group project where my teammates are complete morons and I'm the only sane one. Whenever I faced a situation like this, there was always one thought that crossed my mind. There was only one way out.

"Let's just beat them all to a pulp and then go bow our heads to Sis."

Since ancient times, it has been said that smashing a teammate's head with a sledgehammer for ruining a group project is entirely justified. I soon met with Sowol and Jeongha to explain the plan.

"If that is what Master wishes, I will follow you anywhere."

"...Are you sure about this?"

Of course. This is absolutely the right move. The one who gets screwed over won't be me, but Sis. Kang So-ye's people are probably starting to poke around the mine by now anyway, so isn't this the perfect time to stir up some trouble and make our move?

Time passed, and in the dead of a quiet night, I made my way to Guryo's temporary quarters, holding a bottle of alcohol I'd extorted from some Core Condensation scrub.

"Let's see."

Apologetic expression? Check. A bottle of booze that looks like a peace offering? Check. Perfect. I'd even memorized my script beforehand.

No one would ever expect a teammate to commit team-kill in a situation like this. Since he was already crippled with a missing arm, if luck was on my side, I could send him straight to the afterlife in a single strike.

"Um, Fellow Daoist Guryo? I wanted to make amends..."

But unfortunately, it seemed I wasn't the only one who had that brilliant idea.

"Ugh... cough..."

"...Cultivator Gang."

"Elder Chi-o."

Guryo was foaming at the mouth with blood. Elder Chi-o stared at me with wide eyes, as if asking what the hell I was doing there. Looking at Elder Chi-o's blood-soaked hands, I let out a dry laugh.

Wow, seriously, people are amazing.

"Wow. We really are something else, aren't we?"

How is it that every single person here is only thinking about stabbing each ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other in the back? What a beautifully run circus this is, seriously.