Chapter 355
Chapter 355
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 355
Chapter Title: Blood Wind Over Blood Shadow Sect
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A blood wind swept through the hall emblazoned with a red serpent.
Drip-.
The man gripping a sword dripping with thick globs of blood was Jin Do-ha. Standing atop the corpses of over a hundred assassins, he spoke with his usual impassive expression.
"I never dreamed the Blood Shadow Sect's elite assassins would fail."
"Urgh..."
Before his eyes lay the sect leader of the Blood Shadow Sect, collapsed with both legs severed.
He was known as the king of assassins. More famous by his title of Killer King than his name, yet even he couldn't evade Jin Do-ha's sword.
"I even cleared the path for you. Why did you fail?"
"Didn't we eliminate the target? Isn't that a success?!"
"No. It was only half a success. They found out we sent assassins."
"You're doing all this over something so trivial? We even covered our tracks..."
Slash-.
The Killer King's body split in two. Looking down at the corpse splaying apart to either side, Jin Do-ha clicked his tongue.
"You think that's the only reason?"
His gaze took in the over a hundred assassin corpses. They had no connection whatsoever to this incident.
Yet Jin Do-ha had slaughtered them all the same, and not merely out of anger.
"My murim has no need for assassins."
Having stirred up that one storm of blood, Jin Do-ha strode out without hesitation. The sky was nothing but blue.
Immediately after Jin Do-ha annihilated the Blood Shadow Sect.
Kwachik-.
A man burst up through the floor, gasping raggedly for breath.
"Khek, kehuk."
The man sprawled on the ground, gulping air desperately. Then a masked woman appeared behind him and smacked his head.
Thwack-.
"Quiet down. If that bastard comes back, you're dead and I'm next, got it?"
"N-Normally, wouldn't it be you first, then me?"
The man was none other than the real Blood Shadow Sect leader and true Killer King, Yu Kwang.
Only a scant few knew he was the true sect leader. Just the fake Killer King he'd set up as a body double and one closest confidant.
That had been the case originally.
Until a dead man returned to life.
"Don't forget. I saved you. You would've died here otherwise."
Dark Queen.
To assassins, she was the stuff of legends. Though not of their trade, her stealth techniques and assassination prowess were the envy of every killer.
Had the Dark Queen ever seriously entered the assassin world, the tower's shadowy underworld would have all become hers.
'To even fool that Jin Do-ha...'
She had appeared merely a dozen minutes ago.
Suddenly seizing her acupoints, rendering her immobile without so much as twitching a finger.
Then Ye-ryeong vanished into stealth. Astonishingly, she had hidden even the acupoint-seized Yu Kwang along with her.
Right after, Jin Do-ha stormed the Blood Shadow Sect and butchered everyone present with a few sword strokes.
"Th-Thank you."
Even in this situation where all his subordinates lay dead, Yu Kwang felt no rage or sorrow.
He focused solely on the fact that he had survived. Subordinates could be gathered again in droves as long as he lived.
But that didn't mean Yu Kwang could relax.
More terrifying to him than Jin Do-ha still stood before his eyes.
And sure enough.
"With just words?"
She wanted something in return.
"What do you desire?"
"There's a commission that came in recently, right? Kill the Chief Strategist."
"That-."
Yu Kwang shut his mouth before he could ask how she knew.
He should have played dumb. Should have denied it outright. But in this situation, his usual facade cracked.
No, that wasn't all.
Her eyes smiled, but a faint killing intent emanated from Ye-ryeong. His breath caught, as if pulled into an abyssal depth.
He had lived as an assassin unafraid of death, but Ye-ryeong's aura held something more terrifying than death itself. It shattered Yu Kwang's composure.
"No need to shut up. I already know everything."
"I know nothing."
"Even now, you'll stick to the rules? So you can keep doing assassin work after surviving this?"
Yu Kwang's pupils trembled.
The assassin world had one unspoken rule: any who revealed a client would surely die.
At that moment, Ye-ryeong drew a dagger.
What did she intend? Surely not to slash or stab?
The moment that thought crossed his mind.
"Remember. Who you owe your life to. And I hate assassins."
Both Jin Do-ha and Ye-ryeong—why did they all loathe assassins so much?
The thought and the act were simultaneous.
Slash-.
Ye-ryeong's dagger slit Yu Kwang's throat. In that instant, her face inverted in his vision.
Time flowed slowly.
Was his severed head falling to the floor?
Her voice rang clear in his ears, like a telepathic message.
"If you ever pull assassin shit again, I'll come kill you myself."
Thud-.
The moment he felt his head hit the ground, Yu Kwang's vision righted itself, Ye-ryeong's face sharp and clear before him once more.
"H-Huh?!"
He frantically clutched his throat. His vision had returned to normal, and thankfully, his neck remained intact.
For a brief moment, he had experienced death itself. It was a hallucination induced by Ye-ryeong's aura.
Unafraid of death?
Sure, plenty of assassins claimed that. But how many had truly tasted death?
The primal urge to live overwhelmed Yu Kwang. He slammed his forehead to the ground.
"I-I'll tell you everything!"
"Don't just talk. There must be proof, right?"
A flicker of conflict crossed Yu Kwang's face, but only briefly. He rummaged in his bosom and produced the secret commission ledger.
A confidential record of elite-and-above commissions, listing all those slain by the Blood Shadow Sect and their clients.
"You've killed quite a few, haven't you? You filthy bastards."
"That alone won't be enough. They'll claim it's fabricated and weasel out."
"I know. This isn't sufficient."
Her words implied she had more besides this.
Perhaps, Yu Kwang thought, this incident might finally erase the shadow of Jin Do-ha that had dominated murim for so long.
In any case, he had survived the crisis.
"Now, will you let me live...?"
Puk-.
Before he finished, Ye-ryeong sealed his acupoints. This time, she even hit a sleep point.
Tucking the ledger into her bosom, she dragged Yu Kwang along like luggage.
"We'll see how you behave."
News of the Blood Shadow Sect's annihilation spread like wildfire.
The perpetrator was Jin Do-ha. As the group behind the Chief Strategist's assassination, he had personally passed judgment on them.
The mastermind remained unknown.
They had been wiped out in one place, leaving no traces behind.
The Murim Alliance plunged into chaos over the Chief Strategist's death.
After all, he had been the second most powerful figure in murim, next to the Alliance Leader. His death in the heart of the Alliance meant even the Alliance Leader could die at any moment.
Was that why?
Immediately after the Chief Strategist's funeral, Namgung Hwa-yeong summoned Guard Captain Im Mu-gwang.
"Don't just stand there. Sit. This new tea has a wonderful aroma."
"I'm fine."
Im Mu-gwang remained standing before the table. As Guard Captain, he had never once shared a meal with the Alliance Leader.
"Today it's fine. Who would target my neck so soon? How long has it been since the Chief Strategist passed?"
For a fleeting moment, a glint flashed in Im Mu-gwang's eyes.
'Did she summon me because of the Chief Strategist's death?'
It wasn't odd for the Alliance Leader to concern herself with it. Feeling threatened, it was natural to pay extra mind to her Guard Captain.
After brief hesitation, Im Mu-gwang sat across from Namgung Hwa-yeong.
"This is the first time we've sat face-to-face like this for tea."
"Do you have worries?"
"Not worries, per se. More like concerns. Who knows if the same might happen to me?"
"Absolutely not. Nothing of the sort will occur."
Im Mu-gwang's eyes flashed as he spoke with utter conviction.
It was always a reassuring statement. The man Namgung Hwa-yeong knew was a loyal retainer who would sacrifice his life to save the Alliance Leader.
Namgung Hwa-yeong responded to his loyalty with a gentle smile.
"I have business at the West Gate Clan soon."
The West Gate Clan lay far from the Murim Alliance.
"They might target that opportunity."
"I'll ensure perfect protection."
"Thank you. Give it your full attention."
The ensuing conversation proceeded as usual.
She inquired after certain guards' well-being and discussed rearranging the Alliance's guard deployments.
With that everyday talk concluded, Im Mu-gwang rose again.
"Then, I'll return to my post."
"Thank you."
Once Im Mu-gwang departed, Namgung Hwa-yeong next summoned a guest.
It was Su-hyuk. He glanced at the half-drunk tea Im Mu-gwang had left behind.
"He came and went."
"As you said, I requested his escort for three days from now."
Normally, there'd be no need to request such from the Guard Captain individually. His duty was to follow whenever the Leader went.
But at this juncture, post-Chief Strategist assassination, the Alliance Leader taking extra care with her Guard Captain wasn't strange at all.
His role was crucial now, after all.
"He's really the Guard Captain, right?"
Su-hyuk nodded.
"The spot the Chief Strategist slipped away from that day had a gap in the guards."
"Could've been a mistake."
"Do you believe it was coincidence?"
Namgung Hwa-yeong couldn't respond.
Murim had an old adage: There are no coincidences in murim.
Moreover, hadn't Su-hyuk and Unhyang suspected Im Mu-gwang from the moment they arrived?
But.
'Can I... really trust them?'
Namgung Hwa-yeong wavered.
She knew she had sought their help first.
Yet suspecting the loyal Guard Captain who had served at her side for half her life wasn't easy.
"Don't worry too much. No need to confront the Guard Captain with 'Are you a traitor?!' Three days from now, if nothing happens, we let it slide."
His perceptiveness was uncanny; Su-hyuk spoke as if reading her mind.
Yes, exactly.
Just wait for three days hence. If all passed uneventfully, she could shelve the doubt in her heart.
Namgung Hwa-yeong nodded.
"Yes, let's do that."
"Good decision."
Suddenly, she felt grateful for seeking this man's aid.
Could she have endured this alone? With the Chief Strategist assassinated and the Guard Captain a potential traitor?
Not even certain of the latter, her chest already tightened.
But she didn't know.
That the worries didn't end there.
Unaware, Su-hyuk informed her.
"Once this is over, murim might collapse."
Clang-.
Startled, the teacup slipped from Namgung Hwa-yeong's hand.
To her wide-eyed shock, Su-hyuk replied with his usual face.
"Because I'll kill anyone who gets in the way."