Heir: Jongchil 13
I turned my head to look toward Wolbi. Unlike me, who'd taken down the squad leader with ridiculous ease, she was still locked in a fierce exchange with the black-clad assassins.
Wolbi wasn't weak. The squad leader had just been a pushover. And yeah, I was strong too.
'He must've climbed that high borrowing the power of artifacts.'
In the Murim, the only thing you could truly rely on was your own skill. If he'd become the Dark Shadow Squad leader through pure, unadulterated ability rather than artifacts, even I wouldn't have dropped him that easily. Those toys had been his downfall.
'Sharp formation from the Dark Shadow Squad. Even the grunts use a proper demonic assassination array.'
The Dark Shadow Squad's formation, the Dark Shadow Illusion Formation, was aggressively combative—uncharacteristic for assassins. It traded stealth for rock-solid stability and devastating power. Looked like something cooked up to openly slaughter a target when plans went sideways.
A dozen or so assassins spread out wide, countering Wolbi's razor-sharp movements with linked strikes. They batted away her demon-qi-laced daggers, steadily compressing her space.
Wolbi looked like a fish trapped in a net. The assassins sensed it too, sneering vilely beneath their masks.
"Heh heh! Wonder what that bitch's corpse-cunt tastes like."
"Hey! Can't we just not kill her? Keep her alive, I go first, then kill her, you go after."
"Focus! She's still moving like a live wire! Don't underestimate this one!"
Wolbi faced the Dark Shadow Squad's filthy banter without a flicker, her poise and breathing flawless.
'Wolbi's skill is canceling out the formation's strength.'
Time to revise my assessment of her combat prowess. At minimum, she was top-tier late Hyeon stage in the current Murim. If Wolbi was that good, Mara was stronger than I'd figured too.
"Damn! Slippery little weasel bitch!"
"You're just slow as turtles. And you call yourselves assassins? You'd have been booted from the church even without me."
"Insolent whore! I'll claim your head myself, Bang Wooseok!"
The assassins' formation began to waver. The ones holding the front against Wolbi's onslaught were wearing down.
Desperation crept into their movements. No more leisurely smirks. This fight was Wolbi's in a walk.
'Not pulling out her real weapon, huh?'
"Stupid bitch! Opening!"
A rear assassin hurled a dagger while tracking Wolbi's motion.
She dodged it effortlessly. But it wasn't just any dagger. Like the squad leader's artifact fetish, this one was rigged too.
Boom!
The dagger exploded, spraying cactus-spine needles everywhere. Suspicious as hell.
'Poisoned, obviously.'
Wolbi swiftly evaded the blast radius, but a few needles pierced her clothes. Her body twitched for the first time.
"Keh heh heh! Vice leader! My Scatter Merit Needles hit!"
"Good work. You're first on her corpse!"
"Still warm too!"
Not lethal poison—too rare for an exploding gadget, especially for demonic cult cannon fodder. Wolbi's expression stayed composed.
"Petty, laughable assassin tricks."
"What matters is you fell for it. Heh heh! Play cool all you want—your inner energy's already leaking away."
"The scatter merit poison trash like you can afford? Predictable. I'm still operating at over seventy percent."
"Cocky bitch! Hope your dead pussy's as hot-mouthed as you! Charge!"
The vice leader drew his blade, signaling the shift. The Dark Shadow Squad's grunts, who'd played defense till now, finally went on the offensive.
Slash!
"Gaaaargh!"
But before their assault could launch, the vice leader's hand severed from his wrist. Clean as a butcher's cut.
"Vice leader! What the—"
The assassin gawking at him couldn't finish. His head tumbled from his neck.
"Eek! W-what!?"
"Magic! That demon bitch is casting spells!"
"Idiot talk! She's human!"
The assassins panicked, milling about. Meanwhile, their bodies slowly disassembled.
Arms detached here, legs there, torsos bisected elsewhere.
Like an invisible maniac in a cloaking mantle executing them one by one. Even death-hardened assassins freaked.
"Don't wanna die! Spare me!"
"Eek! My hand!"
A bloody gale swept them. Wolbi's doing. No magic, obviously.
'Pulled her real weapon.'
They were too flustered to notice, but my inner-energy-enhanced eyes caught it clear: Wolbi wielding White Spider Silk.
Her signature from the original story—threads. Not ordinary ones. Refined from human-faced spider silk via special methods.
Sharp as master-forged swords, tougher than whale tendons, heat-resistant to flames. A monstrous weapon.
'If she'd used White Spider Silk from the start, formation or no, it'd be over. True Murim style.'
Hiding your strength was Murim 101. Braggarts inflating their power didn't last long.
"S-spare m-me...!"
Only the vice leader remained. His underlings? Jigsaw fodder, shredded into dozens of pieces. Easy puzzle, but no interest in solving.
"You're already done. Handless assassin? Can't hack it in the trade."
"Still wanna live! Please! I'll beg! Money—anything! Info! Yeah, I got Third Elder intel... ughhh!"
Suddenly, he wailed madly. Eyes spinning, drool pouring. Rabid dog vibe.
"Third Elder's handiwork..."
Wolbi's voice soured. The howling vice leader shot up, intoning sinisterly.
"Mara. My dear niece."
Third Elder's message.
"You win again. But remember—the last one standing is the true victor..."
Kaboom!
His head exploded, blood and brains splattering. Wolbi shook her head at the mess.
"Treating his hounds so viciously. He's as repulsive as ever."
"Couldn't agree more."
I chimed in lazily.
"Flies swatted. Let's move. Rightmost path."
"Decisive choice. Basis?"
"None. Gotta trust luck this time."
She led; I followed with a nod.
We trekked the passage a good while. Wolbi wasn't wandering mindlessly like me. She scrutinized ceiling, floor, walls with every step.
"As expected—trap mechanisms here."
"Know your mechanisms? Impressive."
"Just a mongrel's smattering. Barely past novice on arrays. Hmm... Seems time stopped 'em. Lucky for us."
"Got it."
Deeper in, we hit a new cavern. No paths this time—just a massive door ahead.
"New room. Different vibe."
Unlike the last, this had furnishings: rickety chairs, desks, wardrobes for clothes. Teacups and odds household goods too.
"Traces of life. This massive underground maze—some sect's old haunt. Those mechanisms? To keep outsiders out."
Wolbi pieced it from scraps.
"Burrowing like moles. How shady were they?"
"Hiding from enemies, maybe. Heard in the old righteous-demonic wars, secret branches like this were vital. Demonic cult's got tons scattered across the Central Plains. Hoo...!"
Wolbi exhaled raggedly. She'd been trembling since. Fox mask hid her face, but she was grimacing for sure.
'Scatter merit poison backlash.'
Effects lingered hours. No proper antidote—her inner energy kept dissipating.
"You look rough. Rest here a bit?"
"Unnecessary worry. Young master heir's still going; his attendant can't slack."
"Third Elder's dogs might bark again. Fight like this?"
"...True. Even that Dark Shadow Squad would trouble me now."
She admitted it cleanly. Low-grade scatter merit poisoning? An hour's rest or light meditation fixes it. But not with me here.
Meditation left Murim folk vulnerable. No guardian, just a stranger met today? No way. Fools who tried died quick.
"Half an hour. Exactly."
"Fine. I'll poke around."
She leaned cautiously in a corner.
I scoped the room. Maybe something fun. Centuries abandoned—little intact.
'Huh? This is pristine.'
A go board. Stone, high-end. Jade pieces beside it. Crafted with care—sellable at market.
"Hey. Found something neat."
Showed Wolbi the board.
"Go board."
"Killing time anyway—fancy a game?"
"Dumbest thing you've said. We're not here to play."
Expected rejection. I smirked, baiting her.
"Scared?"
Simple taunts worked wonders.