Death Heart Palm
A pure, ringing sword cry seemed to issue from the Blue Silver Sword.
The form of the Great Continuum Sword Art’s Transforming Heavy Slash crashed straight into the opponent’s blade.
Kuuuung!!
It was heavy. The sword itself was not especially weighty, yet the energy within it transmitted a profound, crushing force. That shock drove straight into the black-masked man’s body and shook him to his core.
A sword that carried deep, heavy internal energy.
“Namgung… Family…?”
“That’s right. And you’re an assassin of Shadowkill.”
“……!”
The black-masked man twisted, but the lingering sword energy and the arrows from the short bow had left his body too heavy to move any further.
The sounds of fighting continued from the courtyard beyond.
“Mister, these people didn’t come to steal the cargo. They came to kill us.”
“Th-that’s really true? How do you know that…?”
“Stay careful and follow me!”
“Ah! W-wait a moment, young master!”
Uncheon sprinted toward the far side; Namsik scrambled after him in a fluster.
The escorts… are this strong?
Ak Dogon, leader of the Bloodkill Squad, scowled as he watched the escorts fight his men to a standstill. Who did they think they were? They were the Bloodkill Squad of Shadowkill. It would not be easy, but they had never expected to be pressed this hard. Yet the escorts held their formation and continued to meet every attack.
The Gold Domain Fist Master…
Ak Dogon fixed his gaze on Jang Hang, a man a full head taller than ordinary people. To break the formation he would first have to cut down the one issuing orders at its center. Until now the Bloodkill Squad had refrained from using their Shadowkill Arts in order to conceal their identity. But if they meant to drop this man and shatter the line, they would have to pour out everything. The escorts would recognize them for what they were, yet there was no more room for hesitation.
Ak Dogon bellowed the order at once.
“All of you—unleash your full power!!”
“Yes, sir!!”
The Bloodkill Squad members began to circulate the Shadowkill Arts through their entire bodies.
This sinister energy… heretical arts?
Jang Hang felt the sudden change in the flow of internal energy and, in the same instant, understood that their true goal had never been the cargo.
This is the Shadowkill Art.
In the entire martial world, only one group of assassins employed that technique.
Jang Hang’s voice rolled out like thunder.
“So Shadowkill has come to kill us?”
“Gold Domain Fist Master, now that you know our identity we have no choice—every one of you must die!”
Once their identity was known, total annihilation was the only option. Ak Dogon raised his power to its peak and roared at his men.
“Kill them all!!!”
Taaaaat!!
The Bloodkill Squad members poured out chilling murderous intent and charged the escorts. The force of their attacks was utterly different from before. Blades empowered by the Shadowkill Arts flew faster and sharper, aiming to carve open the escorts’ chests.
Chaeaeaeang!! Chang! Chang!!
Sparks leapt wherever swords met. A rushing wind howled through empty air.
Jang Hang drove power into his right foot and stamped the ground with crushing force.
Kuuung!!!
The earth shook under the impact; the vibration hurled the charging Bloodkill Squad members into the air all at once. In the instant their vision wavered, Jang Hang’s fist energy filled the space before them.
Dozens of fist energies plummeted straight toward the Bloodkill Squad members.
Dududududu—!!!
“Uuurgh!!”
The assassins hastily raised their internal energy and blocked the fist energies. But Jang Hang was a man forged in real combat. Once he seized the advantage he never stopped pressing until the enemy fell.
Buuuuung—
His massive frame spun, gathering power, then crushed down upon the reeling assassins’ chests.
Peoooong—!!!!
With a thunderous detonation two men lifted into the air and died.
That bastard!!
While his subordinates fell like leaves in an autumn gale, Bloodkill Squad Leader Ak Dogon unfurled the Murderous Light Shadow Step and flashed behind Jang Hang.
Danger.
Uncheon saw the black-masked figure appear at Jang Hang’s back. Jang Hang had not yet noticed; even a shouted warning would already be too late.
I can’t block it in time.
If he could perfectly execute the Heavenly Wind Divine Art—the fastest footwork of the Namgung Family—perhaps, but Uncheon’s internal energy was still insufficient. Yet he could not simply stand and watch.
There was only one way: force the man to change direction.
Nothing is more precious than one’s own life!
Uncheon switched targets and charged the black-masked man, drawing every scrap of internal energy his dantian could give. Sword energy poured from the Blue Silver Sword and closed in, threatening.
This energy…!
Ak Dogon felt the blue sword light approaching from behind and furrowed his thick brows.
No—why is a Namgung here?!
He recognized the blue-shadowed body energy at once: the Namgung Family’s Heavenly Wind Divine Art. If he completed the attack he could kill Jang Hang, but he himself would be left fully exposed.
At the same moment Jang Hang, startled by the presence behind him, spun around. He saw the black-masked man rushing him—and Uncheon rushing that man. Experience told him the situation in a heartbeat.
Young Master Uncheon…!
Taaaaat!!!
“Keuk!!”
In the end Ak Dogon could close no further and was forced to veer aside. Yet even as he stepped clear he began flinging murderous blades. A storm of razor-sharp flying swords poured down on Jang Hang like a cloudburst.
A torrential rain of killing blades.
Jang Hang raised protective aura to bat the attack aside.
Pabababababat!!
Uuurgh.
He could not stop every blade perfectly, yet he managed to keep the vital points clear. His life was not in danger, but he could no longer fight at full strength.
Ak Dogon looked at him with unexpected respect.
“Impressive. The Gold Domain Fist Master’s renown was no exaggeration.”
“Why is Shadowkill trying to kill us?”
“Does an assassin need a reason? We receive a contract and we carry it out. Nothing more.”
Jang Hang gritted his teeth and stared at the blades still embedded in his flesh. The bleeding had stopped, yet the pain was hard to bear.
“Gold Domain Fist Master—it is time for you to disappear.”
“Hold on. I think you’ve forgotten I’m still here.”
Ak Dogon turned his gaze to Uncheon. In the heat of battle he had not truly looked; now, face to face, the youth seemed almost a child.
I… was forced back by a brat like that?
A hollow laugh nearly escaped him.
“So you’ve come from the Namgung Family.”
“I may look young, but I’m no brat.”
Uncheon stepped slowly to Jang Hang’s side.
“Shall I try guessing why you ambushed us?”
Ak Dogon’s eyes turned cold.
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You just said it yourself. I offered to guess why Shadowkill attacked an escort convoy.”
“Ridiculous. How would a green boy like you know anything?”
“I may not look it, but I am a member of the Great Namgung Family. Did you really think no one would notice the strange things happening behind Wolyeong Gwangheun?”
Ak Dogon could scarcely believe the words. While they had followed Wolyeong Gwangheun, not a soul had detected them. Even the Beggars’ Guild had remained ignorant—how had the Namgung Family learned of it?
“……I’ll have to take you alive and drag you back.”
“I don’t think things will go the way you hope.”
“If you knew who I was, you wouldn’t speak so lightly.”
“Someone rather famous within Shadowkill, then?”
Uncheon deliberately left room for the man to think—and in that moment learned exactly who the black-masked figure was.
Bloodkill Squad Leader Ak Dogon…
Unfortunately, all Uncheon knew of Shadowkill was that its master was the Assassin Handsome Lord Oh Ganghwang.
Ak Dogon glared at Uncheon and raised his internal energy; sinister force began to gather in both of his hands. Jang Hang watched the man pour out his full power and felt a chill.
A… dangerous opponent.
In all his years escorting cargo he had met many bandits, yet never one this strong. He should have stepped forward himself, but in his present state he could barely draw internal energy properly. He had no choice but to leave the fight to Uncheon, who still lacked real experience in the martial world.
Jang Hang spoke carefully.
“Young Master Uncheon, be careful. He has discarded his sword for palm techniques—avoid close range.”
“Understood.”
Anyone of squad-leader rank in Shadowkill would be formidable. Uncheon had already drawn every scrap of internal energy he could muster.
“I don’t know who you are, but you look like a novice. Consider meeting me your misfortune.”
Ak Dogon dropped into a low stance—the preparatory posture for palm arts. The opponent might be of the Namgung Family, yet he was still an inexperienced youth.
I’ll end this in a single exchange.
Taat!!
Ak Dogon’s body shot forward. Using the full speed of the Murderous Light Shadow Step he closed into Uncheon’s striking range in a blink. Assassins attack only after perfectly reading an opponent’s weakness.
Heavy-sword styles are weak against speed, feints, and sudden change!
Ak Dogon knew with certainty that the Namgung Family’s arts were of the heavy-sword school.
Fast.
Uncheon tracked the rapidly moving figure with his eyes. The Namgung Family’s martial arts were known throughout the Central Plains; for centuries every master had studied them and sought their counters. That was only natural. Yet the Namgung Family remained the greatest sword lineage of all. If they had been unaware of their own weaknesses it would have been a problem—but the Namgung Family knew themselves better than anyone. And when a man knows the weakness others seek to exploit, that weakness can become a strength—if he turns it against them.
I’ve heard about our family’s sword until my ears are callused, ever since the Heavenly Viewing Pavilion.
What mattered was how perfectly one could answer when an enemy drove at that known weakness.
The Blue Silver Sword moved in a blur, stirring the air.
The Blue Silver Sword shot toward Ak Dogon the moment he entered a single jang of range.
Ak Dogon was startled to see the Blue Silver Sword drop from above his head. The blade he had thought of as heavy was faster than expected. Yet—
Definitely a first-timer in the martial world!
Real combat was nothing like sparring. Every movement had to attack and defend at once. Ak Dogon refused to evade; instead he took the strike that ignored defense and seized the opening for a counter.
Kuuuung!!!
Gritting through the pain, he hardened his body for a fleeting instant and reduced the falling sword’s force to the minimum.
Damn—he didn’t retreat!
Uncheon realized his mistake the moment he saw the man absorb the blow with his body rather than dodge.
Shuuuuuk—!!!
At the same instant they clashed, Ak Dogon thrust out his exclusive heretical art—the Death Heart Palm.
Kuuuung—!!!
The heretical ultimate art that drives sinister energy straight into the heart and stops it cold in a single strike.
Jang Hang cried out as Uncheon toppled backward.
“Death Heart Palm…!!”
He had finally recognized the man behind the black mask.
“You’re the Murderous Light Poison Snake, Ak Dogon! You dare kill a scion of the Namgung Family… has Shadowkill lost all fear?”
“Kwahahaha!! If I kill every last one of you and burn the bodies, who will ever know who did it?”
Ak Dogon was certain the motionless youth on the ground was dead. He launched himself at Jang Hang without pause.
Jang Hang’s face hardened. Had his body been whole he might have managed, but wounded as he was he could not face the Death Heart Palm.
“Keuk…!!”
He spared one glance at the fallen Uncheon and forced his body to move. A youth of barely eighteen. An age that had barely begun to taste life.
“No choice, then. I’ll do my best… to…?”
“Ow, ow… my heart…”
It was impossible. The youth Ak Dogon had been certain was slain by the Death Heart Palm was rising behind him.
“This robe was made by my mother…”
Uncheon brushed at the torn blue outer garment and grumbled toward Ak Dogon.
“I almost died, you know.”
Ak Dogon stared with eyes wide in shock.
“H-how? You took the Death Heart Palm dead-on—you should be dead!”
“I’m not dead. Dead men don’t get back up.”
In truth, when the Death Heart Palm struck him Uncheon had thought his heart had burst. The technique drove sinister energy into the heart and locked it completely still. He had been certain the organ would simply go cold and stop—until a fragrant aroma rose from the depths of his dantian and flowed along his meridians.
What… is this scent…?
Before he could think further the fragrance transformed into internal energy, spread toward his heart, and drank the sinister force of the Death Heart Palm completely before vanishing.
Ak Dogon was thrown into confusion.
Impossible. He took a perfect Death Heart Palm.
The technique was by no means weak. He was certain that even his superior, a Shadowkill army commander, could not survive a full-power Death Heart Palm.
These disgusting bastards…!!
Yet he could not withdraw. Now that their identity was exposed, the matter had to end here.
“Luck comes only once. This time I’ll kill you so thoroughly you stay dead!”
He had already gauged Uncheon’s level. However the youth had blocked the Death Heart Palm, his weak internal energy proved his swordsmanship had yet to enter the Peak realm. Skill was not everything in a fight, but common sense said the gap between ranks was nearly impossible to bridge.
“If you can block the Death Heart Bloodflow Palm as well, then try!!”
The final form of the Death Heart Palm. Certain of victory, Ak Dogon unleashed the Death Heart Bloodflow Palm to crush Uncheon’s internal energy. As his body moved, blood-red force crashed toward Uncheon from every direction.
Even if experience and circumstance can close a gap in skill, a gap in internal energy can only be overcome by internal energy itself!
That was the source of his confidence.
Uuuuuung—
Wha—my body…?
At first the oppressive sinister energy left Uncheon unable to move freely. Then, once more, a faint fragrance rose through his entire body and began to unravel the pressure around him. A power he had never felt before. His body lightened; he could move at will.
It was Ak Dogon who found himself under pressure instead.
Haaah—why is this…?
He could not understand how the situation had reversed. He had to escape the youth’s energy at once.
He’s going to pull back.
Uncheon knew it. The perfect opening. If he let this chance slip, another would never come. The thought and the action were one; he thrust the Blue Silver Sword.
Swaaaaaaah—
Like a bursting dam, a torrent of sword energy shot toward the man’s throat.
“Aaaagh!!”
Ak Dogon tried to dodge, but the Blue Silver Sword was faster. With a scream of agony his right hand was severed cleanly and dropped to the ground. Yet the Blue Silver Sword was already carving the air again; there was no time to think. Clenching against the pain, Ak Dogon fled the Jinryuhyang annex without even looking back. At the same moment the remaining Bloodkill Squad members vanished from the grounds.
The defeat of the Murderous Light Poison Snake, Ak Dogon. Thoroughly beaten by a youth of barely eighteen, one hand cut away. Even for a son of the Namgung Family, winning against a master on his first journey into the Central Plains was no small feat.
I’ll take the arm with me.
Uncheon’s expression was heavy as he looked at the severed arm lying on the ground.
Ssshk.
Jang Hang approached and laid a hand on Uncheon’s shoulder. He himself had lived through such moments long ago; he understood exactly what the youth felt.
“What you did was not injure a man—it saved every one of us.”
Namsik came forward as well.
“The chief escort is right. You saved our lives.”
Uncheon offered a faint smile and nodded to both men.
“Young master, go inside and rest. We will finish things here.”
“Thank you. Then I’ll head in first.”
Jang Hang watched Uncheon enter the room.
They say like father, like son… young as he is, he is truly a scion of the Namgung Family.
The power of a great martial house that had stood as one of the pillars of the Central Plains martial world for centuries showed itself even in a youth.
“Hmm. But… why did Shadowkill try to kill us in the first place?”