Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: The Predecessor's Will
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Lee Shin had only gestured.
She was the one who'd shrewdly taken it as a signal and thrown the smoke bomb.
*'No way!'*
Only then did Arin realize why Lee Shin had used a hand signal instead of speaking.
This was his plan from the very beginning!
She didn't know what grudge he held to suddenly do this, but...
one thing was certain: she had already fallen into a trap he had set.
"Wh-what?"
Realizing the full story, she froze on the spot.
The mental shock from such an unimaginable betrayal was simply too great.
Lee Shin seized the opportunity to shout.
"Look! She's been struck speechless, her guilt exposed!"
"..."
"How...! How dare they!"
And with that, the Count was completely fooled!
The recent assassination attempt by Cedric had made him particularly sensitive.
Without even questioning the truth, he thought, *'So, there are still remnants left!'*
He roared in fury.
"Kill them immediately!"
"...Understood!"
Lee Shin drew his weapon with a bright smile. But before he could act, a scream rang out.
"...Aaargh!"
"...!"
It was a scream from among the escort knights.
"Ugh...!? Someone stabbed me!"
"Who is it!"
"Show yourself!"
"..."
The culprit was Gillaim, who stood right beside them, but no one noticed.
The surroundings were too hazy, and they never would have imagined that a knight they considered a comrade would stab them.
Above all, Gillaim's subsequent acting was superb.
"Who is it! Show yourself!"
"How dare you attack a comrade...!"
"When I catch you, I'll kill you with my own hands!"
Despite being the one who did the stabbing, he shamelessly searched for another culprit, feigning anger!
An outsider would have been forgiven for mistaking his act for genuine rage over his comrade's injury.
"I will avenge my fallen comrade!"
"I'm not dead, though?"
"I will avenge my comrade who was... almost killed!"
...Minor slip-ups aside, Gillaim was doing a fine job. Lee Shin picked up on Gillaim's line and shouted.
"Be careful! I believe they are targeting you, my lord Count!"
"...What bullshit is this!"
"I'm going to fucking kill you, you bastard!"
Arin and her party, having belatedly come to their senses, shouted at Lee Shin, but it only backfired.
Lee Shin hid himself in the fog and maliciously twisted their words.
"Did you hear that! They called you a dog, my lord, and said they're going to kill you!"
"...These bastards!!"
"That's not what we...!"
"...Aaargh?! Who attacked me again...!"
"It's dangerous! Where are you, my lord? I will protect you!"
Lee Shin shouted, looking around.
Fortunately, the Count answered.
"...I'm over here!"
The effect of high intimacy!
His voice was extremely quiet, perhaps wary of the unknown enemy, but it reached Lee Shin's highly focused ears clearly.
He was nearby.
*'...'*
Diagonally to the right.
Lee Shin, with his innate sense, turned in the right direction even within the fog.
*Grip.*
In one hand, he held a dagger.
In the other, a piece of cloth.
"You! Quickly..."
"!"
And the moment he spotted the Count.
*Shove!*
Lee Shin rushed forward like lightning, clamped a hand over the Count's mouth, and stuffed the cloth into his open mouth.
Then, before the Count could say anything, he drove his knee into his abdomen with all his might.
*Crack!*
"Mmph? ...Guhh!?!?!"
The Count, about to form a question mark in his mind from the immense pain, instead let out a scream!
But since his mouth was already completely gagged, nothing more than a mumble escaped into the surroundings.
*'...Good.'*
It was just as he had calculated.
Confirming that the sound wasn't carrying, a smile played on Lee Shin's lips.
He then began to stab wildly at the perfectly subdued Count.
...
Thanks to the effect of the Silent Blade, no sound was heard. But the damage was steadily accumulating.
[A critical hit has landed!]
[A critical hit has landed!]
[A critical hit has landed!]
[A critical hit...]
[Critical hit stack effect...]
[Due to the effect of Avatar of Malice...]
[...The target's health has dropped below 50%!]
"Mmph! Mmph mmph!!!"
Count Narik's eyes widened as he began to thrash about.
But he was already firmly restrained by Lee Shin, so his desperate struggles were largely ineffective.
"My... my lord Count?!"
"Mmmph!"
"Ugh, my lord! Where on earth are you...!"
"Mmph!"
*Drip.*
Tears welled up in the Count's eyes.
He was filled with extreme terror at the sight of Lee Shin, who was shouting as if genuinely worried about his whereabouts while steadily brandishing a dagger.
*'...This madman!'*
[The Count is stricken with Fear.]
[Due to the effect of your high Infamy stat, the target's Fear is maximized!]
"My lord!!"
"..."
Even more chilling was the fact that he could feel the pain, but hear nothing.
It was probably the effect of a skill.
He had never seen this skill before, but Lee Shin had probably saved it specifically for a moment like this, deliberately not using it while hunting.
The Count screamed inwardly.
*'You deceived me!'*
And at that moment, he realized something else.
The enemy's skill that silenced the sound of a blade.
Due to the kingdom's strict control of information, few knew of it now, but a man of the Count's station would know.
Who it was that first created such a horrifying and sinister skill, solely for assassination.
[Count Narik's health has dropped below 10%!]
On the verge of death, the Count screamed as if in a final struggle.
"Mmph! Y-you mst be...!"
"My lord!"
"...th prdcssr Salseong's sccssr!"
"I'm coming to save you... right!?"
[Count Narik has realized your identity!]
[You have discovered a hidden achievement of the previous Salseong.]
[Ongoing quest information is being updated...]
"....!!!!"
Lee Shin's eyes widened.
The pronunciation was heavily muffled, but Lee Shin, who was watching the man's lips, had understood him clearly.
He didn't even have to think twice; the Count's expression, filled with a mixture of fear and resentment, made it certain.
*'Don't tell me you're!'*
*'The successor of the previous Salseong!'*
He didn't know how the Count figured it out, but one thing was certain.
He had to kill the Count quickly before he could say anything else foolish!
Lee Shin's hands, stabbing the Count, moved even faster.
[A critical hit has landed!]
[A critical hit has landed!]
[A critical hit...]
[...]
"Ughhh...!"
[...The Count has died!]
*'Done!'*
Seeing the light fade from the Count's eyes, Lee Shin clenched his fist.
As a high-ranking noble, his health was higher than expected, but his other stats were low, making him an easy kill.
[You have succeeded in assassinating the Count!]
[This is a great achievement! You have acquired a large amount of experience.]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[The Killing Intent stat has increased by 8.]
[You have acquired 3 items.]
[You have acquired a Gold Pouch.]
[Due to the effect of the skill, <Righteous Murder>...]
[...]
[Quest, Assassination of Count Narik, has been completed!]
[Gillaim's loyalty has greatly...]
[...]
*'Later.'*
He dismissed the stream of messages.
*Clap, clap!*
Lee Shin sent a signal to Gillaim with a clap, while also sending a whisper to Jeong Yu-ra.
*'Run!'*
-!!!!
Just as the effects of the smoke bomb began to wear off, Lee Shin and his party vanished from the scene like the wind.
* * *
Lee Shin's prior memorization of the route was key to their swift escape.
Without any markers, Lee Shin navigated the complex forest path without hesitation.
-Where are we going...
*'Follow me!'*
How much time had passed?
By the time beads of sweat had formed on their foreheads.
*Stop.*
"...Hoo."
After running for a while, Lee Shin stopped.
Jeong Yu-ra asked, panting for breath.
"Huff... huff... Why are we stopping?"
"I think we're out of sight now."
They had already come far enough to be completely out of sight.
*'...I can still hear some shouting.'*
The shouts were faint and sporadic.
But they weren't clear enough to make out the words.
Lee Shin asked Gillaim, who was right beside him.
"Can you hear them?"
"Yes."
"What are they saying?"
"Umm..."
Closing his eyes, Gillaim quietly began to speak.
-How dare you...! It was you!!
-No, we're telling you, it really wasn't us!?
-It's obvious the culprits are the people from before! You xx bastards!
-Don't lie! Then what is this!
-What is that... whoa!?!
-Isn't this the equipment that adventurer was using! You killed him together and now you have the gall to shamelessly pin the blame on us!
Gillaim turned his head.
"Equipment...?"
"Mine. I left a few pieces behind on purpose."
"Indeed...! You truly are amazing!"
[Gillaim's loyalty has...]
"They can hear you. Keep your voice down."
"...Ah! Yes."
"Keep going."
"Yes."
Chastened by Lee Shin, Gillaim fell silent for a moment before continuing.
-Sob...!
-It really wasn't us...!
-Shut up! The evidence is clear, how dare you be so shameless!
-You bastards will soon face the judgment of the territory's law!
"...is what they're saying."
"..."
"Good."
Unlike Jeong Yu-ra, who looked on the verge of tears, Lee Shin was composed.
In truth, this wasn't the first time he had done something like this, so there was no reason to feel guilty now.
Besides, in this case, the other party was more at fault for trusting a stranger so easily.
"...Does that even make sense!?"
Of course, to an ordinary person like Jeong Yu-ra, it sounded ridiculous, but Lee Shin was unapologetic.
"In any case, I'm glad we got away. What's the plan now?"
"First, we get out of the territory."
First, they would leave the forest, then quietly exit the territory.
And then he had to find Arthur and Cedric...
*'...This guy is the problem.'*
Lee Shin glanced at Gillaim.
His disposition seemed to have changed a lot, but he was still reluctant to let him meet Cedric, who worshipped an evil god.
*'It would be best to separate from him.'*
And even if that wasn't the reason, he had to part ways with him anyway.
He couldn't actually proceed with a rebellion quest, after all.
Having organized his thoughts, Lee Shin finally checked the accumulated messages.
*'Status window.'*
Lee Shin
•Level: 164
...
•Killing Intent: 300
•Fame: 10,700
His level had already reached 164.
Even though he had died once to Jeras, he had managed it by raking in an enormous amount of experience from subjugating the orc settlement and assassinating the Count.
*'What were the rankers' levels again?'*
When he checked a few days ago, he'd heard that the top 100 rankers were just entering the late 200s.
For someone who started the game late, the gap hadn't widened as much as he'd thought.
Lee Shin's rapid growth was one reason, but the blessing's effect was also significant.
Of course, the buff's range had decreased significantly by now...
[The blessing of Proias, the Goddess of Balance, is upon you.]
[Experience Boost: 17%]
[Drop Rate Boost: -17%]
*'It's practically nonexistent now.'*
Still, if he kept at it, it seemed he could eventually catch up.
Closing the status window, Lee Shin checked the other messages.
[You have discovered a hidden achievement of the previous Salseong!]
[Ongoing quest information is being updated.]
[Information Unlock Condition, <Assassinate a Noble of Count Rank or Higher (1/1)> has been completed. Information about the forgotten Salseong is now revealed.]
*'...?'*
*What's this?*
It seemed related to the class quest he had received along with a skill on the pirate island back then, but he wasn't sure.
Lee Shin checked the following text.
[The previous Salseong was the assassin who had killed the most nobles in the continent's history. From petty nobles to those of great power, none could escape his sight.]
[No fewer than a four-digit number of nobles perished at his hands.]
*'He killed a lot.'*
Over a thousand nobles alone.
It was a grand record that even Lee Shin from his Avala Online 1 days had never achieved.
Truly the Salseong.
The title of 'history's greatest serial killer' would not have been an exaggeration.
Hearing just this much, he sounded like a textbook character, true to his name.
...But what followed was an unexpected twist for Lee Shin.
[However, there was a clear motive for these acts. He worried for the kingdom's future more than anyone. He targeted only corrupt nobles.]
"...!"
At that moment, a memory flashed through Lee Shin's mind.
The memory of obtaining the skill 'Righteous Murder' on the pirate island.
Back then, Lee Shin had thought:
*Why did he create a skill like this?*
*Why was he so obsessed with justice, in a way that didn't suit the name Salseong?*
At the time, he had no information and couldn't figure it out.
*'Could it be?'*
But now, he thought he understood.
Could it be that he truly believed he was carrying out an act of justice?
Considering he only killed corrupt nobles, it wasn't exactly untrue.
The problem was, if there were so many corrupt nobles in the kingdom that by killing them one after another, he came to be called the Salseong...
*'That makes sense.'*
Considering the current state of the kingdom, where it was hard to find a decent noble, it wasn't such an outlandish idea.
In fact, he was doing something similar with Gillaim right now.
It was just a matter of degree.
*'...'*
As Lee Shin's speculations spiraled, the final paragraph of the message appeared.
[...But despite his vigorous killing, he was ultimately unable to achieve his goal. Inherit his will and bring down the iron hammer of malice upon the corrupt nobles!]
*Ting.*
[You have discovered a hidden secret related to the previous Salseong.]
[The conditions have been met. A class quest has been generated!]
Class Quest - Slay the Corrupt Nobles
Inherit the will of the previous Salseong and bring down the iron hammer of malice upon the corrupt nobles.
•Corrupt Nobles: 1/100
•Quest Reward: Salseong's Secret Skill
"...!!"