Chapter 269
Chapter 269
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 269
Chapter Title: The Guest (2)
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“Tch!”
I once again used Flying Heavenly Wind to land on the ground of Stone Tiger Island.
*Swish!*
The moment I landed, three assassins clad in black shot out from the water, thrusting their swords at me.
“Hup!”
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
I unleashed short bursts of Explosive Death Force, knocking them back.
The light impact told me I hadn't inflicted serious wounds, but it would buy me a little time.
Instead of finishing them off, I sent out my Seventh Sense.
It was to find Son Baek, who had disappeared into the water.
“Damn you!”
As soon as I pinpointed his location, I shot out a Battle Lord Arrow and caught his leg.
Just as I was about to pull him up.
*Swoosh.*
Three swords flew silently from behind me.
The one aimed at my back didn't matter, thanks to the Dragon Scale Armor, but the ones targeting my neck and the back of my head were a problem.
‘Killing swords!’
Each blade overflowed with killing intent, reminiscent of the swords of the Jeok brothers.
*Slice.*
I ducked my head forward, and a sharp, narrow sword grazed the back of my hair as it passed.
*Clang.*
At the same time, a sword carrying considerable force struck my Dragon Scale Armor. I used that momentum to roll forward, pulling Son Baek up with me.
“Ugh!”
Just as I felt a powerful recoil of three hundred and fifty catties from the Battle Lord Arrow.
*Splash!*
Son Baek shot out of the water.
“You bastards!”
Leaping into the air, Son Baek, without even catching his breath, hurled his Thousand-Pound Pendulum at them.
*Whooosh!*
He must have been furious, as streams of black internal energy flowed from him.
*KRAAAASH!*
With a massive explosion, the Thousand-Pound Pendulum slammed deep into the ground.
However, the three ninjas who had attacked me had vanished without a trace.
“*Cough, cough,* if you're ghosts, begone! If you're men, show yourselves! *Cough!*”
Landing, Son Baek coughed up water and scanned his surroundings.
*Shake, shake.*
Seeing his state, which made me shake my head, I gathered my War King Ki and spread out my Seventh Sense.
*Shaaaa...*
In an instant, my Seventh Sense enveloped the entire Stone Tiger Island, revealing the enemies' locations.
‘One, two, three... fifteen.’
Their presences were incredibly faint.
Their concealment was so superb that if I hadn't clashed with them directly, I might have mistaken them for migratory birds.
‘These guys are no pushovers.’
The core of assassination lies in how well one can hide their presence, how fast they can move, and how precisely they can strike.
Their assassination techniques met all these conditions.
“Hurry up and show yourselves!”
“They're not ghosts, they're people. Calm down.”
“I-Is that so?”
Son Baek cleared his throat and gripped his chain.
“I'll go in first. Just back me up.”
“No. I'll take the lead and beat them to a pulp. You should stay behind, Hall Master Jin.”
“Can you even sense their presence?”
“...”
As the Hegemon of Eastern Wu, he wouldn't die easily, but the art of assassination is such that a single misstep can get you riddled with holes.
Besides, he was still injured from our previous fight.
There was no need to take unnecessary risks.
“Hup.”
*THUD!*
I stepped toward the one hiding closest.
“...!”
Not expecting to be discovered, the man's eyes widened as he leaped into the air.
I mustn't follow. I could end up taking swords from all directions.
*Fwoosh.*
Therefore, my choice was the Battle Lord Arrow.
*Flash!*
The Battle Lord Arrow shot out like lightning, aiming for his solar plexus, but...
*Thunk!*
For some reason, it lodged in his shoulder instead.
An unsettling result.
However, there was no time to ponder the reason.
“Senior Son!”
The priority was to reduce their numbers as quickly as possible.
“Kuaagh!”
Son Baek's Thousand-Pound Pendulum flew, emitting a black aura.
*Whoosh!*
It wasn't a force that could be parried with a sword. One would need to unleash a world-breaking technique just to stop it.
Just as I expected to see the man turned to pulp.
*Poof!*
A cloud of white smoke burst, and the man vanished.
“What?!”
A sight hard to believe even after seeing it with my own eyes.
How could a human defy the laws of physics?
This isn't the world of Dragon Ball.
Then, only one possibility remained.
‘A formation.’
Something was wrong with our perception.
Now I understood why I couldn't sense any presence on the boat.
The same reason my Battle Lord Arrow missed its mark.
“Senior Son.”
“I understand.”
Though I had only called his name, Son Baek understood my intent perfectly. He gripped the chain with both hands and threw his Thousand-Pound Pendulum at a large rock embedded at the highest point of the island.
*KRAAAASH!*
I felt a huge explosion and the space around us trembled.
*Crack... Craaack...*
“Just as I thought.”
Seeing the rock next to the one he'd aimed for shatter, my suspicion was confirmed.
“Indeed...”
They probably don't truly intend to kill us.
If they did, my master wouldn't have referred to them as 'guests'.
So for them to create this situation...
‘It's a test.’
They're testing me.
I don't know why, though.
“These bastards must have forgotten who they're dealing with...”
Daring to test me, Jin Mujeon. They must have left their guts somewhere, like the rabbit from the Dragon Palace.
“Senior, stay back. I'll handle this.”
“Suddenly?”
As soon as I'd sorted my thoughts, I pushed Son Baek back and stepped forward.
Seeing as they had set up a formation in advance, the test was probably to capture them.
But if I played along, wouldn't I just be falling into their trap?
I decided not to follow the examiner's intentions.
‘The man who can say NO when everyone else says YES.’
That is Jin Mujeon, the martial world's coolest iconoclast.
*Fwoooosh!*
Fading Moon.
I shattered my War King Ki, compressing the resulting force again and again until it formed a thin crescent moon.
And then.
I released the tension connecting me to the Fading Moon, launching it forward.
*FLASH!*
*Sliiiice... CRASH!*
The world seemed to split in two as dozens of rocks in front of me fell to the ground, leaving behind clean, sharp surfaces.
*Crack...*
The surrounding energy fluctuated wildly, and my vision blurred before clearing.
The formation had been broken, and my dulled senses returned.
*Clank.*
Son Baek had already retrieved his Thousand-Pound Pendulum and returned.
“Tell your leader to come out now. Or I'll cripple every last one of you.”
I had no intention of letting this slide just because it was a test.
This is the martial world. If you swing a sword at someone, you'd better be prepared to get cut yourself.
I wouldn't be satisfied until I broke at least one bone on each of them.
Just as I started walking toward my examiners.
*Step, step.*
Footsteps sounded from right behind me.
“As expected of his disciple.”
Judging by his aura and sinister air, he was almost certainly their leader.
As I glared, wondering what he would say, he extended a hand.
“A pleasure to meet you. I am Bukgung Ri, Lord of the Anti-Night Fortress.”
I glanced down at his outstretched hand and spoke.
“Senior Son. I think it's time for revenge.”
“Indeed.”
Son Baek stepped forward confidently.
* * *
The fight between the two ended after an hour, with Son Baek victorious. And only by a margin of three moves.
“Save the Lord!”
His men shouted urgently, but there was nothing they could do.
“You'd better stay still. If you move recklessly and startle this old man, he might lose control of his strength.”
Son Baek twirled his Thousand-Pound Pendulum right above the fallen Bukgung Ri's head.
Anyway.
‘This is a bit unexpected.’
I never thought someone who practiced assassination arts could fight such a close battle against Son Baek, a master of orthodox martial arts.
This meant that if Bukgung Ri had launched a surprise attack, he might have won.
[If you want to eliminate future trouble, I recommend killing him here and now.]
Son Baek knew this as well, which was why he advised killing Bukgung Ri.
‘Hmm...’
He had a point. If I let a man of this caliber live, I'd never know when or where I might get stabbed in the back.
And having seen his skilled subordinates and impressive formation, he was even more of a threat.
[Let's talk to him first.]
[Understood.]
*Smack.*
“Hey, wake up.”
*Smack, smack.*
“Get up.”
“Kuh...”
After being slapped repeatedly, he came to his senses and glared.
“Looks like you still haven't come to your senses.”
“Even your master wouldn't dare treat me like this.”
“He didn't dare, he just chose not to. If you'd pulled this shit on my master, you and your men would have crossed the River Styx long ago.”
“...Do you not know who I am?”
“I do. Lord of the Anti-Night Fortress. You told me yourself.”
He glared again. It seemed he was seething with anger.
“Why? You want to tell me that from now on, I won't be able to sleep soundly at night and will have to worry about every meal I eat?”
“...You know well.”
Even in this state, his spirit was unbroken, as if he was certain I wouldn't kill him.
Well, what can I do?
I'll just have to show him how wrong he is.
“Senior Son, can you take off your greaves?”
“Huh? Why all of a sudden...”
“Just give them to me. I'll use them for a second and give them back.”
As Son Baek took off his greaves, Bukgung Ri stared at them with questioning eyes.
They were a bit wide to grip, but they seemed suitable enough.
*WHACK!*
For giving this bastard's head a proper lesson.
“Kuh! What is this?!”
“What do you think? I'm knocking some sense back into your thick skull.”
*WHACK!*
“You crazy...! Do you think you'll get away with this?”
*WHACK!*
“I-I'll definitely kill...!”
*WHACK!*
“The hundred killing ghosts of the Anti-Night Fortress will... you...”
*WHACK!*
“You baaaastard...”
*WHACK!*
After thirty such lessons, Bukgung Ri finally lost consciousness.
*Thump.*
Looking back, I saw that Son Baek had already subdued all of his subordinates.
It seemed they couldn't stand my... stimulating teaching methods and charged in.
“...”
Meanwhile, as I looked at the fallen Bukgung Ri, I recalled my first conversation with Bukgung Chang.
‘We formed a clan council to pressure those who, like us, inherited the legacy of the Bukgung family but pretend not to.’
‘...Who are they?’
‘The Anti-Night Fortress and the Sea-Severing Gang. They were formerly the Black Killing Squad and the Black Wolf Squad, respectively.’
That was it.
The man lying here, Bukgung Ri, was the lord of the Anti-Night Fortress, the one who inherited the old Bukgung family's legacy and then betrayed them.
I wasn't sure why my master had called him a guest, but I could guess the reason he'd arranged this meeting with Bukgung Ri.
‘He probably wants me to take him in as a vassal, like Bukgung Chang, and make him a cornerstone for rebuilding the Bukgung family.’
That must be why he set up the meeting here, on my turf.
But even so, I had no idea where he learned the audacity to test his potential master.
“Thinking about it again is making me angry.”
*Smack. Splurt.*
I landed a full-swing slap on the bastard's cheek, and blood spurted out.
“Hey, get up.”
“Ugh... uh...”
Drooling, he seemed to regain consciousness, his eyes filled with fury as they met mine.
“Kuh... I will never forget this humiliation.”
“Don't be ridiculous.”
*WHACK!*
“Gack!”
As I slammed the blood-reddened greave onto the ground, he shed tears of blood and spoke.
“Just... kill me.”
“Looks like you haven't had enough yet.”
When I subtly reached for the greave, he showed a flicker of fear.
To think he'd be conditioned after just thirty hits. I guess even a killing ghost like him is still human.
‘Was this the Dog of Flanders effect? Pavlov?’
Anyway, I grabbed the trembling bastard by the collar and lifted him.
“If you wish for death so much, I'll grant it.”
Of course, I wouldn't actually kill him. I couldn't just kick over the table my master had set for me.
I just wanted to give this traitor a proper education.
*Crackle. Sizzle.*
By sending him to the brink of death.
Just as I raised my hand to grab his face.
“Khahaha.”
“Why? Feeling regretful all of a sudden?”
“Regret? Don't make me laugh. I'd rather die a hundred times than serve a tyrant like you as my master.”
“Then just die.”
He then looked up at the moon in the sky and muttered.
“If only I had the Seventh Sense and Flying Heavenly Wind, the coveted arts of our fortress, I wouldn't have been defeated so easily...”
“Seventh Sense? Flying Heavenly Wind?”
“They are the supreme arts left by my ancestor, the Flying Heavenly Fox Spirit. They have nothing to do with the Bukgung family, so you don't need to know.”
“Is this the Seventh Sense you're talking about?”
*Shaaaa...*
His eyes widened like saucers as he saw the waves of energy spreading in all directions.
“H-How could that be...!”
*Smirk.*
“If you become a disciple of the War King Sect, I could teach you. How about it?”
Bukgung Ri squeezed his eyes shut.