Thousand-Slaughter Orbs
Have you ever seen a pack of wolves?
If so, you know how terrifying they are when they hunt together.
The assault from the Geum-wol Squad was no different. They moved like a pack of rabid wolves.
Closing in from all directions, their offensive was fierce, sharp, and meticulously organized. It was a textbook maneuver designed to bleed their prey dry.
The alpha leading this pack was undoubtedly No Hwang-mun, standing in the rear with glowing eyes, glaring as if he wanted to tear Jeok-un apart on the spot.
He really is different from his brother.
Though his muscles twitched with the urge to pounce, No Hwang-mun did not rush in recklessly. His rage burned hot, yet he refused to let it consume his judgment.
He was accounting for every variable, observing Jeok-un until the very last moment.
At least he’s not a complete idiot ruled by his emotions.
A squad leader of the Ten Heavens was still a squad leader, after all.
Even while driven mad by the death of his own blood, sending his subordinates first to gather information proved he knew how to fight.
Experts from the unorthodox factions were notoriously treacherous and eccentric; one could never predict when or how a hidden trick might be deployed.
Thus, sending underlings to test an opponent's fighting style, martial arts, and weapons was not cowardice—it was intelligence. It meant he knew how to conduct a real battle.
"Incapacitate the enemy!"
"Sword Formation! Deploy!"
At that moment, the warriors of the Geum-wol Squad, having closed to point-blank range, moved in perfect unison.
No Hwang-mun had brought about fifteen men, and their formidable aura alone revealed they were his elite.
The weakest among them were at the peak of the First-Rate realm, while others spanned the early, mature, and even peak stages of the Master realm.
As if boasting that their seat among the Ten Heavens was not won in a game of chance, their coordinated strikes and linked techniques were remarkably seamless. It was proof of rigorous training.
Well, not that it matters.
Their attacks linked endlessly like interlocking gears? Their transition between offense and defense was fluid and precise?
Flip that logic, and it meant that precisely because it was so intricate, a single minor flaw could shatter the entire mechanism.
Jeok-un waited for the exact moment when the formation shifted between attack and defense.
Thump!
He threw a simple punch.
"Gah-ack!"
A single blow sent one of the warriors flying. It was one of the peak First-Rate martial artists.
He had likely relied blindly on the formation, executing his memorized footwork like a machine. In a real battle, which shifted like a living organism, that was a fatal mistake.
Finding the seam in a combined formation is the hard part. Once you find it, breaking it is child's play.
This was wisdom forged in the fires of battle—from the war against the Black Hegemony Castle to the final showdown with the Demonic Cult.
Jeok-un was a battle-hardened veteran who had survived at least two great wars. He was a perfected killing machine, incomparable to the soft martial artists of this foolish era of peace.
In his past life, Jeok-un had possessed as many enemies as his notorious reputation suggested. Most of them had tried to overwhelm him with sheer numbers. Consequently, he was so familiar with combined battle formations that he could dismantle them in his sleep.
"Get a grip! Scatter!"
Seeing their comrade dispatched so effortlessly had shaken the Geum-wol Squad, but a sharp command from one of their senior officers quickly brought them back to their senses.
He's a master!
We have to go all out...!
Do not underestimate him under any circumstances!
Although the Geum-wol Squad was a relatively new unit compared to the older squads of the Ten Heavens, making them technically the weakest among them, the elites of Sadocheon were still elites.
Recognizing their opponent's strength, they immediately adjusted their strategy and engaged him with deadly seriousness. Their formation tightened, growing sharper and more lethal.
"Kill!"
Utilizing the intricacies of the formation, an enemy flanked Jeok-un's blind spot, leaping high into the air with unleashed intent to kill.
Swish!
A sudden sharp whistle tore through the air as a streak of light flashed across the void.
And then—
Thwack! Splat!
"?!"
A hole suddenly appeared in the forehead of the leading warrior, blood spouting forth like a geyser.
Thud.
The warrior's eyes went dull in an instant, his body losing all strength as he collapsed limply to the ground.
W-what on earth...?
Panic rippled through the ranks, causing the formation to falter.
"Trash like you isn't even worth wasting my fists on."
Clack, clack.
An eerie sound echoed from within Jeok-un's clenched fist.
To understand how such a result had come to pass, one had to rewind to a few moments prior.
Just as the enemies had charged forward, Jeok-un reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and flicked it instantly. That object was none other than—
"Ho. The gambling den uses surprisingly high-quality dice. Thanks."
A tiny die, no larger than a thumbnail, used at the gambling tables.
Silence descended upon the surroundings. Who could have imagined that a mere die could punch a hole clean through the skull of a First-Rate master?
Clack, clack...
Amidst the dead silence, the only sound was the rattling of dice in his hand.
"It's just a crude Flicking Finger Technique! Deflect them and close the distance!"
The moment No Hwang-mun's shout echoed across the clearing, the warriors of the Geum-wol Squad lunged at Jeok-un in unison.
Jeok-un took in their trajectories, directions, and center of gravity with a single glance.
I see it.
The solution was clear. He could shatter the Geum-wol Squad's sword formation, which was slowly tightening around his neck like a dense net.
First, one step back.
The moment Jeok-un stepped backward, the sword formation rippled, reacting to his movement.
As the focal point of the formation shifted back by a single pace—
Swish!
As if he had been waiting for this exact moment, Jeok-un shifted two steps to the left.
Crack!
The ground where he had stood just a split second ago exploded, gouged deep by a barrage of strikes that echoed with deafening force.
"?!"
He could feel their bewilderment.
Having evaded their assault, it was now his turn. The moment he deflected their momentum, Jeok-un flicked a die straight ahead.
It wasn't a straight trajectory, but a slightly angled trajectory.
Thwack!
"...Guh!"
Accompanied by a sickening squelch, the angled die pierced clean through a warrior's temple and burst out the other side.
Another member of the Geum-wol Squad collapsed, dead before he hit the ground.
Ping!
Having passed through its target, the die ricocheted precisely off the terrain just as Jeok-un had calculated.
Bouncing off multiple surfaces at precise angles, the die flew straight back into his waiting palm.
Catch!
Jeok-un retrieved the die effortlessly.
Remarkably, he had calculated the exact ricochet trajectory to return the die to his hand while killing an enemy in the process.
It's been a while since I used this.
Thousand-Slaughter Orbs. The spheres that kill a thousand. Despite the grand title, it was not a formal martial art. It was simply an epithet earned during his time in the Evil Hegemony Alliance, back when he used to grind down enemies with iron marbles no larger than dice.
Jeok-un was a swordsman and a master of single combat, but that did not mean he was weak against groups. On the contrary, most of the battlefields he had survived required him to face overwhelming numbers alone.
The secret behind the Thousand-Slaughter Orbs was simple.
Now then, shall I sweep them away?
Hummmmm!
He channeled the wild, surging power of Tam-rang into the projectile held in his hand.
Swish! Thwack! Squelch!
All he had to do was unleash it relentlessly at his foes.
"Arghhh!"
"B-block it...!"
"How are we supposed to—*gack!*"
Every time a die flew from his fingers, another hole was punched through a member of the Geum-wol Squad.
"Swarm him! Overwhelm him at all costs!"
Someone shouted—likely one of the squad's officers.
In truth, his tactical assessment wasn't wrong. The greatest weakness of hidden projectile techniques was sheer numbers. The moment numbers overwhelmed the projectiles, the technique lost its efficacy.
Swarming him all at once was undoubtedly the correct response.
How thoughtful of them.
To Jeok-un, it was practically like having a feast served directly into his mouth.
If their numbers increased, he simply had to increase his output. If they rushed him all at once, it actually made things easier.
Crunch!
Jeok-un clenched his fist with immense force, crushing the die in his palm into tiny fragments.
In an instant, dozens of miniature shrapnel pieces were formed.
Whipping both arms like lashes, he scattered the fragments in all directions—each piece infused with the destructive energy of Tam-rang.
Pfft-pfft-pfft!
Accompanied by a chilling sound, the warriors of the Geum-wol Squad began collapsing one after another.
The shrapnel, imbued with Tam-rang's power, tore through their protective qi and shredded their internal organs.
With their organs, blood vessels, muscles, and tendons ripped to shreds, there was no chance of survival.
"Gahhhh...!"
"A-argh!"
Jeok-un surged forward to finish off the handful of survivors. But right at that moment—
Clang!
A massive battleaxe suddenly interceded, blocking Jeok-un's path.
"You bastard...!"
"Ho. Finally decided to lift your expensive ass off the sidelines?"
No Hwang-mun had finally stepped onto the battlefield.
"Ugh..."
"Groan..."
Where the Geum-wol Squad had once held overwhelming numerical superiority, only painful groans now filled the air.
The sounds came from four surviving warriors suffering from injuries of varying severity. Every single other member had been reduced to a cold corpse.
Although his unit had been decimated to just five men in the blink of an eye, No Hwang-mun's expression was far from defeated.
It doesn't matter. In fact, this is better.
If anything, he looked brimming with confidence. By sacrificing his subordinates, he had successfully deduced his opponent's primary martial arts and full capabilities.
Dead men could always be replaced with money anyway.
Following the brief exchange of blows, a tense stalemate settled over the area. No Hwang-mun broke the silence.
"I have completely seen through you."
No Hwang-mun began to boast proudly of his deductions, aiming to crush his opponent's fighting spirit.
"From start to finish, you rely on nothing but petty tricks. Carrying twin swords at your waist that you don't even use, just to confuse your enemy while your true specialty is a Flicking Finger Technique... how pathetic."
"..."
Jeok-un remained silent. Seeing this, No Hwang-mun curled his lips into a sinister smirk, convinced he had accurately exposed his enemy's secret.
"You're nothing more than a trickster. Nothing more, nothing less."
No Hwang-mun declared with absolute certainty that Jeok-un's victory over the Geum-wol Squad was merely the result of cheap parlor tricks.
"How many insects like you do you think I've crushed while climbing my way up in this world?"
No Hwang-mun sneered, twisting one side of his mouth.
"I will show you what true, overwhelming power looks like!"
The moment No Hwang-mun finished speaking—
Clap. Clap, clap.
Suddenly, the sound of applause echoed through the air.
"Haha, incredible."
"...?"
It was Jeok-un clapping his hands, wearing a look of genuine admiration.
Yet despite the cheerful smile on his face, his next words were razor-sharp.
"They say dumbasses never realize they're dumbasses. I've never seen someone spout such dumbass nonsense with such dead seriousness."
"...?!"
"Thanks. It's been a while since I had such a good laugh."
Rage flared within No Hwang-mun once more, but he barely managed to suppress it.
It's just another shallow provocation. A desperate attempt to hide the fact that his limits have been exposed.
Right at that moment—
Schwing!
"Be grateful. Consider this your reward on the path to the underworld."
"...!"
For the first time, Jeok-un drew his sword. Just one.
Even if it was just a bit of amusement, if he drew both swords...
Even I wouldn't be able to contain myself.
Hummmmm!
Jeok-un's sword, Il-cheon, resonated with power, and a ferocious, terrifying aura erupted explosively from its blade.