Chapter 30
Chapter 30
Translator: Penny
Chapter 30
Six Fingers (3)
While the Six Fingers wasn't the Kingdom's strongest assassination organization, it was notorious for several reasons:
Obsessive pursuit of targets, long-term planning, and excessive cruelty.
They were less assassins and more like hunters.
Hunters, once they fixate on a target, will stalk it for days or even weeks.
When the opportunity arises, they kill without hesitation, skin the carcass, gut it, and take their prize.
Perhaps the most infamous and publicly scrutinized act they committed was the assassination of the Kuarin Holy Nation's next Pope.
As its name suggests, the Kuarin Holy Nation is a theocratic state ruled not by a king or emperor, but by the Pope.
Their sole deity is Lumen, and the Lumen Faith is so influential that some nations have either adopted it as their state religion or officially recognized it.
The next leader of this theocratic state has been chosen:
His Eminence Hermant.
Within the Lumen Faith, Hermant belongs to the hardline faction and has been at the forefront of persecuting heretics.
Hermant declared that upon ascending to the papacy, he would severely punish demon worshippers and witch followers.
Many Lumen Faith adherents were ecstatic, and his approval ratings showed no signs of waning.
Hermant, the man who had declared his intention to severely punish witch followers, died in the chapel.
The junior priests who first discovered his body were so traumatized by the sight that they all left the church.
Hermant's corpse hung in the center of the chapel, suspended in an inverted cross shape, his abdomen ripped open to reveal his entrails.
Beside him, the words "έξι δάχτυλα (Six Fingers)" were written in the ancient Imperial language.
Though it remains unknown who commissioned them, the next Pope emerged from the moderate faction rather than the hardliners, and the planned persecution of heretics was canceled.
Following this incident, "Six Fingers" instantly gained worldwide notoriety.
"...Have you, have you ever heard of something like that?"
"No idea," Jacob replied curtly.
"Me neither," Baek Woon added.
The opponent scratched his head and pulled two long scythes from his cloak.
Jacob asked, "Why are you doing this to us? We're just looking for a tavern."
"W-well, because your, your foolish plan has been exposed."
"Plan? What plan?"
"D-don't bother with pointless excuses. Hey, Jacob, was it? I hear you work for Count Agron. You must have had a hard time these past few days, sneaking around taverns to gather information."
"...I thought I was being careful. Are you Six Fingers?"
At Jacob's words, the man adjusted his glasses and nodded.
"I... I'm Nokin. One of the Six Fingers."
"I see. And the man beside you?"
The man standing silently with his arms crossed beside Nokin replied with an expressionless face.
"I am Agon."
"Good heavens, I'm just a harmless old man. I can't understand why I've been dragged into this."
"Your name is Baek Woon, isn't it?"
"That's right. I've been staying at Count Agron's mansion. But I haven't done anything to warrant being targeted by assassins, have I?"
Baek Woon stroked his long beard, his wrinkled face furrowing in concern.
"Enough nonsense. Don't underestimate the intelligence network of our Six Fingers, Eastern mage."
"Tsk, tsk, I've never underestimated you. I'm just curious why you targeted me."
"Y-you... you came to Herb Tiger Cave and killed the Summoning Division members!" Nokin, who had been listening quietly, stammered at Baek Woon.
"Hmm, so you know about that incident? Do you also know what happened inside?"
"We heard you were summoning a Vampir. Even if it was just a low-grade one, we can't afford to lose even a single one of them."
"Ha—a low-grade Vampir?" Jacob's eyebrows twitched.
"Yes, low-grade. Anything sealed in a cave like that couldn't possibly be a high-grade Vampir."
Agon drew the spear from his back and pointed it forward.
"Come to think of it, my comrade who ambushed your group mentioned seeing a young woman who seemed to be a Vampir."
"...So we weren't the only ones targeted?"
"N-no way! Hehehe. Our Six Fingers aren't that soft. O-today is the day your comrades all d-die!"
Jacob's gaze shifted to Baek Woon.
"Hmm, they must have gone after Agron too. Prince Lawrence—"
"Lady Elena is with him, so he should be safe."
"Still, let's finish this quickly and head over just in case."
"Agreed, Master Daoist."
Baek Woon tightened his grip on his staff, while Jacob drew the dagger from his waist.
But seeing this, Agon and Nokin couldn't help but let out hollow laughs.
"You think you can stop us with this? The Kingdom's most renowned assassination organization?"
"Heh, let's see who comes out on top."
"There's no need to test anything. We'll kill you all today and take that Vampir woman as a slave. After all, what use would we have for a low-ranking Vampir anyway—"
Swoosh!
"Aaaaargh!"
Blood spurted from Agon's wrists as his hands dangled limply.
"W-what? What was that? I-I didn't even see it?!"
Nokin frantically adjusted his glasses, staring at Agon's screams.
Even in the darkness, it was impossible not to see an approaching silhouette.
How could any human move that fast?
"A human... Where...? Could that thing be a Vampir?"
As Nokin hesitated, a raspy voice cut through his thoughts.
"Tsk, tsk. You shouldn't let your mind wander during a fight."
"W-wait! Aaaaargh!"
Before he could react, Baek Woon's talisman had already been launched, clinging to Nokin's limbs and exerting an immense force to pull them together.
Nokin's left arm and right leg, and his right arm and left leg, twisted grotesquely as they strained to meet.
Crack! Snap!
Bones twisted and shattered, tearing through flesh and bursting out.
"Gah! Gack! S-s-save m— Aaaaargh!"
"So, you thought we'd spare you if you begged for mercy? Those who seek to kill must always be prepared to die themselves."
Unable to withstand the pressure, Nokin's ribs shattered, bone fragments piercing his internal organs. Soon, blood-tinged foam began to bubble from his nose and mouth.
Baek Woon clicked his tongue and turned his gaze away from the dying man.
Preparing a close-combat talisman for when Agron was absent had proven to be an excellent decision.
"Kuh-ahhhck!"
Agon's distant scream pierced the night.
Under the moonlight, blood sprayed wildly, and Jacob's figure moved with such speed that it was almost invisible.
Only the crimson glint of Jacob's rage-filled eyes could be seen, circling relentlessly around Agon.
"How dare you...! How dare you call her a lowly Vampir? A slave?! I'll carve you into strips and scatter your flesh across the streets, you worthless insect!"
"W-wait! I-I made a mistake! Forgive me..."
"Silence! You have insulted my god! Realize that this blasphemy cannot be atoned for, even with death!"
Jacob's chilling murderous intent coiled around his opponent's entire body, penetrating to the very marrow of his bones.
Agon couldn't die even if he wanted to.
His limbs had been severed, and whenever he was about to lose consciousness, the overwhelming aura Jacob exuded would jolt him awake.
"I was going to leave right away... but it seems I'll have to wait until my anger subsides."
Baek Woon shook his head and silently waited for Agon and Nokin to die.
Whoosh!
A massive metal plate flew through the air, landing between the nunchaku that had just slammed into the dirt floor.
Breaker twisted his body instinctively, narrowly avoiding the brutal death hurtling toward him.
It was a hair's breadth.
"Ugh!"
The blunt edge of the metal plate sliced across his forearm, blood spurting from the gash.
He couldn't comprehend how Agron had managed to lift and hurl the plate during his attack.
"When did you even pick up that plate...?" Breaker asked, roughly wiping the blood from his arm.
"I didn't pick it up."
"What? Then how did you throw it?!"
"I kicked it."
"...What?"
You can kick something that heavy?
Breaker glanced back and forth between the metal plate, now lying far behind him, and Agron.
"You fucking noble bastard, who do you think you're lying to...?"
This was utter nonsense.
It had to be a magical weapon or artifact.
"What would I gain from lying to you?"
"You're still spouting this ridiculous bullshit, huh?"
His pride had been wounded.
This was impossible.
Breaker threw down his nunchaku and cracked his knuckles, the joints popping loudly.
Breaker was a man who had never been defeated in a contest of strength, not within the Six Fingers nor in his entire life.
Excluding cases where magic or the power of Spirits was involved, no one in Ananta could match him in pure physical might.
"You fucking Lord Count. So you've got some strength, huh? Well, when it comes to power, I can hold my own against Wolfgang, the Kingdom's strongest strongman."
"Oh—you know Wolfgang?"
"Me, who can go toe-to-toe with Orcs and not lose? And some pampered noble dares to challenge me? Show me that legendary leg strength that supposedly kicked through steel plates!"
Breaker strode toward Agron and seized both his hands.
Their strength clashed fiercely, the knuckles of their tightly clasped fingers emitting a strange cracking sound.
"Heh heh heh. Look, Lord Noble! You've gone pale!" Breaker mocked with a grin.
Agron's expression had indeed stiffened.
"How... is this...?"
"Begging for mercy now won't save you. If you kneel and apologize for your loose tongue, I might grant you a quick death!"
"Did you really defeat an Orc...?" Agron stared at Breaker with trembling pupils.
"Heh heh heh, finally acknowledging my strength? See? Why did you have to spout nonsense about kicking through steel plates and bruise my pride, huh?!"
"No way... such power... could defeat an Orc?"
Breaker gathered every last ounce of strength in his body, channeling it into his fingertips.
"Hyaaaah!"
He squeezed every muscle to its limit, determined to crush Agron to death.
"Gah! Why?! Why won't you move?!"
But Agron remained in the same stance as before.
"It seems Orcs are weaker than I thought."
"W-what?! Uwaaaah!"
The moment Agron twisted his wrist, a pain-filled howl erupted from Breaker's throat.
Crack! Crack!
Bones and muscles screamed in agony as blood vessels burst, instantly covering his body in bruises.
Breaker collapsed to his knees, his upper body arched backward, his spine on the verge of snapping.
"Aaaaargh! Ugh-gah-aah! Stop it!"
"Hmm, your posture is terrible."
Agron gripped Breaker's arm and yanked him upright.
"Huh?"
"Plant your right foot firmly!"
Crack!
Agron's fist slammed into Breaker's right knee.
"Aaaaargh!"
"That's it! Anchor yourself to the ground! Now, put more power into your left bicep and tricep!"
He seized Breaker's forearm, urging him to exert more force.
"Ugh! Stop it! Stop it!!"
"You can do this, Breaker! Fix your posture, and you'll become a warrior as formidable as Wolfgang!"
"I-I don't need this!"
"Nonsense! You have the potential! We'll do it together!"
"Fuck you! Just kill me, you bastard!!"
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny