Murim Debut (5)
Crash! Bang!! The roof of Baekhwa Inn echoed with the real-time symphony of smashing furniture and chaos below, where a one-eyed killer faced off against a man in a bird mask.
"Can't show my face. Can't let my identity slip. But gotta protect him properly too. What the hell do they expect?"
The one-eyed killer from Salmak, Jang Dal, who was in charge of assassinating Namgung Soso this time, widened his single remaining eye and glared at the bird-masked man venting his complaints right in front of him. A loyal hound and a great bird who only obeyed the orders of the Sima family head, Sima Bu. Among them, the one named after the bird.
"Iron Peng Jang Sambung… What the hell are you doing here?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than an iron orb sliced through the darkness, grazing Jang Dal's cheek.
"Drop the 'Peng' and the nickname. Makes me sound even dumber when you tack it on."
Jang Dal wiped the blood trickling down his cheek and racked his brain furiously. But he just couldn't make sense of it. Why was one of Sima Bu's most trusted lieutenants—practically his Yan Liang and Wen Chou—interfering with the hit on Namgung Soso?
...No matter how I think about it, the logic doesn't add up.
Jang Sambung shrugged casually at Jang Dal, who was rolling his one eye in confusion, and spoke lightly.
"Sorry for getting in your way unintentionally, first off."
"Doesn't sound sorry at all. Why the hell are you interfering?"
Jang Sambung lifted one foot and tapped the inn roof lightly with his toe—right now, a massive brawl was raging below, filling the air with noise.
"Some nosy bastard starts this crap, and if the princess I'm supposed to protect ends up dead by the real assassin who sneaks in through the roof, it'd be a total buzzkill."
Though Salmak was known as a top assassin group, not every member was a pro killer. Just like Haomen gathered pickpockets, courtesans, and errand boys, Salmak was a ragtag bunch of rootless swordsmen. They typically used such types as decoys to wear down targets or tie up anyone who might interfere with the kill.
In this case, while Jang Dal slipped into the inn through the roof to take out Namgung Soso, they'd thrown in a horde of these swordsmen to distract some nameless bum who, for some reason, hadn't fallen under the curse.
'Wait... nameless bum?'
Every time he recalled that bum's face, his empty right eye socket throbbed. That face sparked memories of someone. And Jang Sambung, the Sima family assassin who grumbled complaints but still looked out for the bum.
...Come to think of it, I heard the second son of the Sima family has a limp.
A chill raced up his spine. The fog in his mind cleared.
Now it made sense. What Iron Peng was protecting wasn't Namgung Soso at all.
With his face drained pale blue, Jang Dal looked down at the chaotic brawl unfolding in the inn.
"...No way? Sima Mancheon?"
"Thanks to our reckless young master second son, we've all had a rough night."
His mouth went bone-dry. His heart pounded like a drum. It felt like he'd been strolling carefree down the road and accidentally stepped on a viper's tail.
Shandong Wang Clan, Xiliang Dong Clan, Xuchang Cao Clan, Sima Clan. Families that had once vied for supremacy over ten thousand men or actually claimed it—shadowy titans too infamous to show their faces easily.
The Four Pillars of the Evil Factions: Mok Tak, Jo Ui. A name no one deeply embedded in the evil paths could ignore.
"The Sima family's second son... why... protecting Nangong's little lord...?"
"Beats me. If he ran off to see his childhood sweetheart, he should've just gone to see her. No idea why he's playing lifesaver and charming girls instead. Anyway—"
A vicious killing intent overwhelmed Jang Dal, contrasting sharply with the man's glib tone. A chilling glint flashed through the slits of the bird mask.
"Time for you to back off tonight."
The iron orb loaded in his hand gleamed blue under the moonlight, ready to fly at any moment.
"I don't care if you kill Nangong's Sword Dragon. Just not tonight."
Crash! Bang!! The noise below shook the inn like it was about to collapse. The vibrations traveled up.
Images of his young master furiously causing havoc flashed in Jang Sambung's mind.
'...Man, he's got a weird soft spot for useless stuff.'
He sighed thinking about the scolding from Sima Bu later, but for some reason, a faint smile tugged at his lips beneath the mask.
Crash! Bang!! Soso's long eyelashes trembled at the live sounds of destruction filling the inn, and her eyes fluttered open from where she lay on the bed.
"Why... am I here? ...Where's the Sima young master?"
She drove out the illness with her inner energy filling her body. Forced her body to cool. Regaining some composure, Soso noticed something mixed in with the crash of breaking objects throughout the inn.
Crack!
It was the sound of human bones shattering.
"Gaaah! My arm!!"
"Get in! Stab him!"
Screams echoed nonstop. But no one approached Soso.
No footsteps climbed the stairs.
...They're definitely after me.
It was bizarre. She staggered to her feet. Slowly stepped out of the room toward the noise.
It looked like a master drummer pounding away.
Dog-Beating Stick Technique - Fierce Dog Blocks the Way - When a vicious dog bars the path, improvise.
Stick Hits Two Dogs - One stick whacks two mutts.
The staff in one hand and the broken spear shaft snatched from an enemy in the other tore into the human drums without mercy.
"Gaaaah!!"
He shattered bones. Made pain sing.
"Throw hidden weapons!"
Dozens of swordsmen, unable to subdue one man, kept their distance and hurled darts. But even the shower of blades couldn't halt the man's performance.
Flick Dog to Sky - Flick the mutt skyward with your staff.
Spear and staff whipped about, batting away the incoming darts. Neither men nor weapons advanced past the man guarding the stairs.
They couldn't target Namgung Soso.
Soso stared blankly at the man's back, blocking killing intent meant for her with his very body.
...It doesn't make sense.
She wondered if he was saving the Nangong clan's little lord for some favor, but that didn't hold water. Rewards required survival. Dead, he got nothing.
The dart barrage halted, and so did the forms. Swordsmen charged at the opening toward Mancheon.
And Mancheon charged right back at the swordsmen.
No regard for his life.
Dog-Beating Stick Technique - Stick to the Head - Smack the skull to scold.
Dog-Beating Stick Technique - Press Dog's Shoulder and Back - Crush the mutt's shoulders and spine with your staff.
No time to think. Attack—attack—attack relentlessly, driving the foes back.
Stamp them down, shatter bones, topple each enemy before him.
One man's aura overwhelms dozens of grown men.
Soso leaned against the second-floor railing, unable to look away from Mancheon.
She couldn't tear her eyes off him. His battered body, shaking right leg, back heaving with every breath. That silhouette was too rough for a gentleman, too upright for a bum.
Unknowingly, Soso gripped the railing tight. Her gray eyes held only Mancheon.
That back was the hero from the fairy tales her mother told her as a child.
...The back of a gallant knight-errant.
Over half of the fifty swordsmen had fallen to a single man. And to some no-name nobody they'd never heard of. It was absurd.
"What the hell are you?! Why are you getting in our way?!"
Faced with this unacceptable reality, the swordsmen gnashed their teeth and spat the classic line of a third-rate villain. Mancheon responded by hurling the half-broken spear shaft he'd just snapped over someone's head too hard.
"If you ask nicely, it's only polite to answer! I am—!"
Leaping with lightness skill, he swung his staff to deflect darts aimed at Soso, who had just stepped out of her room.
"Jesus-approved guardian of Murim! Genius who fools even the heavens!"
"Stairs are clear! Rush in! Up!"
The assassins seized the brief opening. But they were screwed. Totally screwed.
'Who the hell do you think I am?'
The moment he landed, he slammed his left foot into the floor and unleashed a foot technique.
The floorboards splintered, freezing the bodies of those not permitted to move.
"Wh-what the?! Sorcery?!"
At my current level against multiples, all I could do was spread my energy wide to halt them—and right now, that was plenty.
I gripped the staff with both hands. Poured power into my waist.
Spun my body in a massive circle, sweeping them away.
Squeezed every ounce of strength and bellowed.
"Sima Mancheon!"
Sweep Dog's Butt - Swipe horizontally across the mutt's rear.
Crack! Craaaack!!
One, two, three... They piled up and were swept away by the staff technique's tempest.
The first floor of the inn was faster to find intact spots than broken ones. The path to the stairs was once more blocked by a single man.
And at that ridiculous sight, the swordsmen stood dumbfounded, souls fled.
"I am legend—!!"
The jackals cowered at the mountain tiger's roar.