Chapter 54: The Fist King Plays with Fireworks Among the Dead
The Fist King Plays with Fireworks Among the Dead
Chapter 54: The Fist King Plays with Fireworks Among the Dead
The brothers who had killed the Black Path operative and the innkeeper cautiously entered an old shrine.
The operatives were already gathered inside. The youngest quietly closed the door and sat at the far end when someone asked:
"Any trouble on the way?"
The youngest replied calmly:
"No, none."
A man brought out a large map and spread it on the floor. The squad leader spoke:
"Gather around."
Pointing at the map, the leader explained:
"Our short-term objective has changed. We head to the Hill Gorge. Wait there, and when the late-stage disciples return to their factions after the Dragon-Phoenix Tournament, kill them."
"Yes."
"It's a route often used by escort bureaus, so let them pass."
"Yes."
"At least three sects under the Murim Alliance must pass through the Hill Gorge. Similar operations will unfold elsewhere. The Sword King has disappeared from his place of seclusion."
The leader scanned the operatives and continued:
"So killing the late-stage disciples to throw the Murim Alliance into chaos aligns with the operation to draw out the Sword King, who suddenly vanished. Understand why the plan changed? The target is still the Sword King."
"Understood."
"Of course, we won't be the ones facing the Sword King. We don't have the strength for that. Our role is simply to serve as bait. Wherever he is, the Sword King won't ignore the deaths of his orthodox juniors."
The Demonic Path's elite had gathered again to surround and eliminate top-tier orthodox masters.
Their method was simple—kill the renowned, then vanish.
These men were literal bait.
If successful, they would wait quietly—six months, a year—gathering intelligence and preparing for the next hunt. Their goal was the Sword King, so if they died where he wasn't present, their superiors wouldn't care.
The leader was about to speak when he glanced outside the old shrine and raised a finger to his lips.
"......"
A moment later, footsteps passed by the shrine.
It happened in an instant.
The leader gestured toward the youngest, nodding toward the exit. The youngest grabbed a broom by the door and stepped outside. The leader then asked the operative who had arrived with him:
"You didn't bring anything suspicious, did you?"
"No."
Outside, the youngest scanned the left mountain path. Dan Woo-sung had walked past the shrine but hadn't yet noticed him.
The youngest swept the ground, then brushed away a spiderweb hanging from the eaves.
Soon, rustling came from the dense woods before Dan Woo-sung emerged, leaning against a tree and staring at him.
The young man clearing spiderwebs from the old shrine was visible, as was a wagon beside it, seemingly carrying goods.
The youngest returned inside and whispered to the leader:
"He's openly watching us. What should we do?"
"Just one?"
"Yes."
The youngest glanced back, then reported:
"He's coming this way."
The leader sighed.
"Why the hell—? Tomorrow and Three, spread out and check if others are approaching. Scarlet and the rest of you, kill him and—"
Then the youngest interrupted:
"Leader, he's telling everyone to come out. He's not ordinary."
The leader stopped and stood.
"Everyone, move out."
As he walked, the leader smacked the head of the last operative to join.
Thwack!
"You damn bastard. What did you drag here?"
Though the exact details were unclear, he assumed the two had caused trouble.
Outside, a young man stood with his arms crossed, unarmed.
The leader sized up Dan Woo-sung and asked:
"What's the matter?"
Dan Woo-sung scanned the dozen faces and replied:
"Just wondering what you're doing in an old shrine."
The leader answered:
"We're escorts from the Response Escort Bureau and hired guards. Just resting on our way back. We were concerned since it's someone else's shrine—if you're involved, we apologize. We can even compensate you."
Dan Woo-sung jerked his chin toward the downhill path and deliberately spoke informally:
"Money's not the issue. People are dead at the inn down there, so I'm asking around."
The leader frowned.
"Inn people? Strange, but why would we kill them?"
Dan Woo-sung asked:
"Then can you tell me your affiliation? You all look like martial artists."
The leader replied:
"I already said—Response Escort Bureau."
"Never heard of it."
"There are dozens of escort bureaus. You know them all?"
Still arms crossed, Dan Woo-sung asked:
"Why so prickly with your answers?"
Ironically, Dan Woo-sung was the rude one. The leader's veins bulged. He sighed deeply and scratched his head. This man was no ordinary civilian—he was clearly picking a fight. The fact that his subordinates hadn't reported anything only made it worse.
Dan Woo-sung scanned the alleged escorts and asked:
"Anyone here eat noodles today? Raise your hand."
The man who killed the innkeeper wouldn't have left the noodle bowl behind.
Dan Woo-sung studied their expressions and repeated:
"No one?"
The leader glared murderously at the youngest before answering:
"...No."
Dan Woo-sung locked eyes with him—
The leader stumbled back, hiding behind another operative, then tossed a wooden tube to the ground. His body dissolved into black smoke and vanished.
From the emptiness, the leader cursed:
"I said no, you crazy bastard. Kill him!"
In an instant, the operatives surrounded Dan Woo-sung. He assessed them.
Different from last time.
In his past life, his opponents had all been swordsmen. These men used different martial arts. As smoke rose from the tube, the encircling operatives flickered like shadows before dispersing.
It was the first time in a while he'd seen Demon Arts of the Old Demon lineage.
Old Demon Arts encompassed formations, illusions, clones, mind-reading, soul-stealing, and invisibility.
Dan Woo-sung listened for footsteps.
Trained as they were, they synchronized steps from all directions—north, south, east, west—layering defensive formations.
The leader seemed to be distancing himself. Meanwhile, various weapons were drawn.
The sound of swords and sabers was familiar, but circular weapons and chain-based arms were also present. Given the situation, hidden weapons were likely in play.
Someone rolled another wooden tube toward Dan Woo-sung, and soon the area filled with black smoke.
Peering through the haze, Dan Woo-sung muttered:
"Hard to see. Got it—so don't run."
He checked the moonlight.
It was undisturbed—this wasn't a full-scale Demonic Path battlefield illusion, just a localized trick. Poison mixed in wouldn't matter either.
He knew firsthand the efficacy of the Hundred-Year Purification Ginseng.
At lower levels, obscured vision would be a problem, but at his level, it hardly mattered.
Footsteps, rustling clothes, and weapon movements could compensate.
As the smoke thickened—
Dan Woo-sung stomped the ground with his right foot.
Lightning Foot.
BOOOOM!
The earth trembled, dust surging skyward. The black smoke scattered in the shockwave, revealing glimpses of figures as Dan Woo-sung charged.
He unleashed a Lightning Fist forward—
Three men twisted midair with a thud before crashing to the ground, fully visible.
The flying Lightning Fist struck the old shrine, detonating again. Then Dan Woo-sung swung a blade-like arc of lightning energy in a wide semicircle. The dense black smoke split cleanly. Two heads flew, while someone blocked with a weapon before tumbling away.
Dan Woo-sung reached into the air and pulled—a straight sword materialized as if sucked into his grip. His fist then shot toward a face.
The face caved inward like dough as the man flew backward.
Dan Woo-sung jerked his head aside, grabbed an incoming wrist, twisted it, and injected lightning energy.
"GAAAH—!"
A scream erupted as a man became visible. Dragging him by the wrist, Dan Woo-sung stomped his throat.
Snap.
Then he leaped skyward.
A volley of hidden weapons whizzed past—zing!—before embedding into the smoke-shrouded operatives with a thud-thud-thud!
Landing, Dan Woo-sung tracked the projectiles' origin.
"Don't run."
He activated Instant Flash Step, chasing the sound of fleeing footsteps for six or seven paces before kicking a rock on the ground.
The stone split the wind—thwack!—and a man crumpled.
The leader.
Scrambling up, the leader drew a dagger from his waist.
Dan Woo-sung snatched a flying chain, infused it with lightning energy, and yanked—grabbing the man's head just as the leader's dagger flew toward the back of his skull.
Thunk!
The leader fled again.
Somehow, it mirrored the Black Path operative's escape.
Dan Woo-sung yanked the dagger from the dead man's skull and hurled it at the leader's retreating back.
The blade flashed with lightning energy, piercing the leader's chest before embedding deep into a thick tree, quivering—buzzzz—
Dan Woo-sung turned.
The survivors gasped for breath, most injured—slashed by lightning blades or half-paralyzed by Lightning Fists.
The black smoke had dissipated, and they lacked the energy to maintain illusions.
The unwavering moonlight bathed them.
Beneath it, Dan Woo-sung methodically crushed the wounded to death.
Thud! Thud! Thud...
During the cleanup, one young man writhed in pain and gasped:
"I... ate the noodles. I only meant to eat them..."
Dan Woo-sung studied him and asked:
"Got it. Who do you belong to?"
The young man grinned weakly.
"Us? We're from the martial world."
Dan Woo-sung's foot descended on his face.
The final thud brought silence.
Kneeling, Dan Woo-sung listened carefully.
He strained for survivors' breaths or fleeing footsteps.
Rising, he walked among corpses, retrieving a map from the shattered shrine and examining it under the moonlight.
It was blank.
The bodies carried only spare change and signal flares—one each.
Bait on a mission.
He collected all the flares, keeping one, and gazed at the bright moon.
He planned a solo fireworks display.
To cancel their operation, he launched flares in every direction.
One to this sky.
One to that sky.
Behind, ahead—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!—the night bloomed with light.
After firing flares chaotically in all directions, Dan Woo-sung admired the spectacle alongside any watching Demonic Path operatives.
This disarray signaled that all the bait were dead.