Chapter 145: Nameless (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 145: Nameless (4)
The assassins’ pursuit continued throughout the dawn.
The upper-level cadet who had fired the first poison needle was merely the beginning. Immediately after Jin leaped from the roof, a poisonous mist bloomed, forcing him to wander through the alleys. Every time he paused in the darkness of those narrow paths, blades came flying at him.
Once he managed to break out of the alleys, a hail of arrows rained down from behind.
He parried, dodged, and deflected them all, but when three upper-level cadets lying in ambush in the city’s sewers lunged at him, he truly thought his time was up.
And that wasn't all.
When he finally found an inn after a series of twists and turns, a poisonous mist billowed out the moment he opened the door, as if they had been waiting for him. The dozen or so daggers that flew through the hazy mist were just a bonus.
How on earth had he managed to avoid all those disasters? And without any preparation, at that.
Even Jin found it surprising. Inhaling a mouthful of the poison mist as he opened the inn door had been truly unavoidable, though.
“Whew, pant... those crazy bastards…”
Jin was currently catching his breath, having barely escaped to the forest where he had been reading a few days ago.
Ptui!
He spat out blood-stained saliva and shook his head. If not for the blessed body of a Runcandel, he would be suffering from a high fever by now, spitting up clumps of gore instead of reddish spit.
‘This is too organized. I don’t know which damn bastard is sending these cadets, but I’m going to find them and beat the hell out of them…!’
Grit!
Jin gnashed his teeth, his eyes burning with intense fighting spirit.
In the distance, beyond the dense thicket, he could see the dawn breaking, but he couldn't be sure if they would stop their pursuit just because morning had come.
His face was slick with cold sweat, and the robe he wore was torn and riddled with holes like an old rag.
However, the remarkable fact that there wasn't a single scratch on his body made Jin feel quite proud of himself.
“Whew.”
After scanning his surroundings for about five minutes, Jin leaned against a tree—never dreaming that Yona was hiding right above him.
‘Heehee. You’re the best, youngest.’
Flutter…
Soon, Yona dropped a piece of paper and vanished back into the foliage.
‘What is it this time?’
Jin grabbed the paper irritably.
[- Let’s play again starting this evening.]
For a moment, his fuse blew so hard he almost slashed the innocent tree.
Barely suppressing his boiling rage, Jin let out a hollow laugh.
‘I figured it was one of the Nameless’s top executioners, but it was Sister Yona. Actually, this is for the better. If I endure all of this, I can be even more shameless when I ask for the Ten Thousand Poison Liquor.’
*
Since Yona had personally delivered the message, Jin rested deeply until the evening without worry. After locking his door at the inn and getting some sound sleep, his fatigue was thoroughly washed away.
The small amount of toxin that had entered his body had also vanished completely, having been expelled through his breath while he slept.
Of course, this would have been impossible if the poison mist had been a concentrated lethal toxin used by the actual assassins of the Nameless.
‘Come to think of it, the reason Sister Anne was gifted the Ten Thousand Poison Liquor in my past life was also because she “played well” with Sister Yona. Though her way of playing was a bit different from mine…’
In his previous life, Anne had been incredibly persistent in her approach to Yona.
She had relentlessly tried to win over the lonely and deeply eccentric Yona. Though Yona was wary of Anne at first, she eventually opened up and gave her the Ten Thousand Poison Liquor.
I love you this much, and you won't give me anything in return?
Anne had forced the liquor from Yona by manipulating her guilt. It was a fact known to all the siblings that as soon as Anne obtained the liquor, she distanced herself again, claiming she couldn't handle Yona’s personality.
‘There were many reasons why Sister Yona was always despondent after returning to the family, but the wound Sister Anne inflicted was by no means small. Even I could tell that much back then.’
Of course, Jin had no intention of playing with Yona’s heart to get the liquor in the first place.
Splash, splash!
Before returning to his room, he finished a quick wash with the water he had drawn in a basin. He tied his hair back so his bangs wouldn't cover his forehead.
Then, he roughly mended his torn robe with a needle and thread and checked his equipment, including his sword.
Perhaps it was because he had experienced it once last night.
‘It’ll definitely start the moment I open the inn door. If I open it without thinking, I’ll be turned into a pincushion.’
He felt he could handle the assassins more skillfully today than yesterday. He had already grown somewhat accustomed to the sensation of the entire city targeting him.
‘But I won’t be flustered like I was yesterday. You cadets should be grateful I’m only using my sword.’
If he used magic and spirit energy as well, he honestly felt he could handle opponents at the cadet level without much difficulty. In a sense, Jin had been fighting with a handicap since yesterday.
Creeeak!
Pshhh! Shhh! Thud, thud!
As expected, the moment he opened the door, the traps the cadets had set on the walls triggered, firing a volley of poison needles.
Jin had pressed his body tightly against the wall right next to the door. The assassins waiting in the hallway didn't seem flustered, as if they had expected this much, and held their breath.
‘I have no intention of playing at your pace today.’
Boom!
Jin coated the pommel of Bradamante with aura and smashed the wall next to the door. The thin wooden wall shattered instantly, creating a hole large enough for a person to pass through. Jin shouted:
“I let you all live yesterday, but from now on, if you want to kill me, be prepared to lose a limb!”
He was serious.
He hadn't wanted to kill the cadets, and because he had been pursued relentlessly, he had shown a degree of mercy last night.
But today, Jin had sharpened his resolve. Whether they were cadets or just following orders, they were people trying to kill him.
Slice—!
Jin slipped through the hole in the wall and immediately delivered a shallow stab to the flank of a cadet he spotted. Before the cadet could even scream, Jin twisted the blade in the wound.
“If you don’t get to a healer within five minutes, you’ll die.”
Soon, other cadets surrounded Jin and began throwing all sorts of hidden weapons. He could simply deflect or dodge the projectiles, but the real threat was the “hooks.”
The hideous hooks, which looked like hundreds of raptor claws twisted together, would bite into anything they touched and never let go.
Furthermore, they were incredibly elastic, refusing to be cut even by a blade wreathed in sharp aura.
‘Ever since yesterday, every time I see those things, I feel like I’m being treated like a giant monster.’
At first, he had struggled because of that “hard to cut” property. They were the culprits behind his ruined robe.
But Jin was not one to fall for the same trick twice.
‘I should have just thrust and deflected them. Why did I try so hard to cut them yesterday?’
Most people wouldn't dream of trying to parry a hook flying at the speed of an arrow with a precise thrust.
Clang, ting! As Jin lightly thrust Bradamante like a jab to deflect the hooks, the cadets couldn't help but be awestruck.
Unfortunately, the cadets lacked Jin’s level of swordsmanship and physical ability. As the deflected hooks flew back and latched onto the cadets instead, ear-piercing screams followed.
“Aaaargh!”
“Guh…!”
In an instant, the narrow inn hallway was splattered with blood and flesh. Jin stepped over the fallen cadets and slowly made his way toward the first floor.
‘The ones I just met are lower quality than yesterday’s. They’re probably trying to lure me into becoming arrogant or careless. The ones I’ll meet from the first floor down will definitely be the exceptional ones among the cadets.’
The top-tier cadets, only a step or two away from the Nameless Hall. Just as Jin thought, the assassins stationed on the first floor and in the streets were of that caliber.
‘I must never move along the path they want. If I do, I’m done for. No matter which direction the attack comes from, I shouldn't think about dodging; I have to break through in that direction.’
Instead of being chased, he would make them follow him. Jin intended to stick to that principle while dealing with the cadets today.
‘If I move while smashing everything in sight, they’ll have no choice but to follow. Since I’m being treated like a giant monster, I’ll act the part.’
Slash! Crash!
The moment he reached the first floor, Jin began to wreck the interior of the inn like a madman, sending sword energy flying in all directions. He slashed every pillar he saw and smashed every wall he touched.
Of course, the Nameless cadets continued their attacks during the process, but they were forced to be more passive than yesterday. If they were caught in the sword energy, they might lose their heads, not just a limb.
‘Don’t panic. Once he leaves the enclosed space of the inn, the rooftop teams on the street will attempt to snipe—’
The cadet leader of the inn team gave the signal, but that prediction was proven wrong in less than ten seconds.
The first thing Jin did upon stepping out into the street was to demolish every small, breakable building he could find—for instance, the cadets’ houses or small shops.
“Aaaah!”
“Ugh! My—my house!”
Naturally, the middle and lower-level cadets who weren't part of the assassination team suffered collateral damage.
But what did he care? Even if the Nameless King or other top executioners came to hold him accountable for this massive disturbance, Jin had something to say.
He would tell them that they were the ones who had targeted him in an organized manner first. He would argue that it wasn't just a simple assassination attempt by cadets, but a full-scale operation with dozens of people moving in unison. Wasn't that a bit much, even for Samil?
‘Let’s see which happens first: the cadets becoming more persistent, my aura running out, or the Nameless King being unable to watch any longer and coming to find me. Sister Yona.’
A smile spread across Jin’s face every time a small brick house collapsed.
*
He continued his rampage for a full three hours.
The cadets assigned to the assassination team followed Jin in utter shock.
The routes and traps they had meticulously planned, calculating various variables and choices, had become utterly useless. One side of the city looked half-ruined, as if it had been hit by a magical bombardment or a giant monster’s raid.
Although the damaged area wasn't that large, it was the most shocking incident to occur in Samil in recent memory.
“Huff, huff…!”
Jin was starting to get exhausted. The aura covering Bradamante was incomparably dimmer than when he started, and his body felt heavy, as if iron weights were resting on his shoulders.
Consequently, Jin paused his rampage and ducked into a restaurant to catch his breath.
‘Damn, it seems the Nameless King cherishes Sister Yona even more than I thought…’
In truth, Jin had expected the Nameless King, an elder, or a top-tier executioner to appear by now.
His plan had been to then attempt a negotiation using a reasonable justification and the item Quicantel had given him.
However, even at this point, the only ones pursuing Jin were the cadets sent by Yona.
The Nameless King was someone who respected whatever decision Yona made, and he was someone who "had no choice" but to do so. Even after causing a mess of this magnitude, Yona would likely just write a hundred apology letters and receive no significant punishment.
He’d be lying if he said he wasn't flustered.
‘At this rate, the cadets will soon realize my aura is depleted and charge at me with everything they’ve got. What should I do? Should I use magic or spirit energy? It’s a waste to use what Quicantel gave me already, and it hurts my pride.’
As he pondered, Jin’s gaze suddenly turned sharp.
“You lot hiding over there, come out. Before I crush you along with that pillar. Your presence is clumsy, so you don't seem to be part of the assassination team. If you just leave, I won't hurt you.”
In the next moment, he was faced with completely unexpected faces.
“Huh? What… why are you guys here?”
Emerging from behind the pillar were Dante and Veradin, awkwardly scratching the backs of their heads.