Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Twang-!
Before they could pull themselves together, I let fly another arrow.
The shaft streaked through the air at ferocious speed. But the assassin who spotted it just snorted in derision.
"Military-grade or not, it's still just an arrow. No matter how well you shoot, it can't possibly pack that kind of velocity."
He muttered under his breath as he twisted his neck to dodge it—and that was the moment.
"I know that, you dumb fuck."
Boom-!
The arrow grazed past his head and detonated right there.
"What the—?!"
The shockwave slapped his face. Only then did he whip his head around, grinding his teeth.
"You little shit, pulling cheap tricks like...!"
A small solid-fuel explosive was strapped to the arrowhead. The instant it passed his skull, I'd triggered the detonator.
"...Hold on."
And the second he realized it.
His eyes weren't on me anymore—they flicked to his own arm, the one that had taken the first arrow.
Of course they did. If the second arrow had a bomb...
"Naturally, the first one did too."
Kabloom-!
With those triumphant words, an explosion ripped through his arm from the inside.
The internal mechanisms, unprotected by armor plating, were shredded in an instant.
"Damn it...!"
Losing one arm to his carelessness left a look of dismay cracking the assassin's face.
And in that split-second opening.
"I'll throw your words right back at you, kid."
Tae-woong, who'd been biding his time since moments ago, seized the rare chance.
He clamped his hands on the man's face, his expression hard as iron.
"You ought to be playing with me. Where do you think you're looking?"
"You... fucking bastard...!"
Crunch!
Tae-woong squeezed, and the assassin's head crumpled like a watermelon underfoot.
Grip strength that could crush a protected skull outright. Only possible with a 1st-grade military artificial body, leagues beyond civilian combat models.
"What? He went down in one hit?!"
"That idiot got right up in a Sedao clan's bodyguard's face...!"
With their frontliner down, unrest rippled through the other assassins holding position at range.
"What the hell happened? This isn't what we were told! We were assured only one had any real combat ability—why's that little shit slinging arrows?!"
"You gonna bitch about it now?! Just shoot something!"
At the barked order, two of the remaining three squeezed the triggers on their rifles.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-!
"Tch!"
They were firing small-caliber antipersonnel rounds. Tae-woong raised his arm to block them, then glanced back at me.
"Young master! Are you all right?!"
His artificial body could shrug off that barrage without a scratch, but the problem was me standing right behind him.
My clothes had some protective lining, sure, but blocking that many bullets straight-up? No chance.
With Tae-woong rooted in place to shield me, smug grins spread across the three survivors' faces.
"The bodyguard's pinned!"
"Get the heavy weapons ready, quick!"
"You nuts? The target's just the bodyguard! Use that, and the kid gets caught in the blast too...!"
"Then we all go to hell together?! Just do it, fuck-!"
Only one had an artificial body, it seemed. But even without a central leader mid-fight, their coordination was flawless.
One emptied his mag, the next picked up the slack with suppressing fire. The first reloaded and jumped back in. While they tag-teamed like pros, the last one started assembling the recoilless rifle delivered by drone.
"Shit, this wasn't in the plan...!"
A frantic voice accompanied the rocket launcher's assembly.
Tae-woong's eyes widened at the sight.
"Anti-tank rocket! Young master! If that hits...!"
"Just keep blocking!"
Even a military artificial body wouldn't survive a direct hit from that.
Talk about one damn thing after another. I took position behind Tae-woong and nocked an arrow without hesitation.
"Hoo..."
It was hellish. My hands shook from the explosion's aftershocks, blood dripping from where I gripped the string.
One shot. That was all I had.
Tension coiled around me like a vice, but I just grinned wider.
"I'm not dying here."
I'd survive. Survive to the bitter end and laugh my ass off at the Sedao clans' pathetic flailing.
I'd watch with my own two eyes as the flames of revolution torch this nation and those bastards alike!
Thwip-!
By the time my thoughts wrapped up, the arrow was already airborne.
It flew dead-straight, punching through the face of the assassin assembling the rocket without a waver.
"Gaaah...!"
The alloy arrowhead pulped his brain. He went limp and toppled backward.
Locked rigid in agony, his finger jerked the trigger involuntarily.
"N-No...!"
The rocket launched straight down, vaporizing the two still firing beside him without a trace.
Kabloooom-!
The blast kicked up dust and debris in a swirling storm.
Tae-woong hunched to shield me from the shrapnel, but only for a moment.
Once the chaos cleared, he relaxed his stance and scanned the surroundings.
"There might be more attackers. We should head to my safehouse first..."
"No. There won't be any more."
Even if there were, I'd be fine.
I muttered it, and Tae-woong turned, brow furrowed like he hadn't heard right.
"You didn't catch what those guys were saying, did you?"
"Saying, young master?"
I grabbed my trembling legs and staggered toward the military supply drone downed by the blast.
I pried off its armored panel, dug out the voice module inside, and forced it to play.
Static. Crackle.
-The bodyguard's pinned... Get the heavy weapons ready, quick!
-You're crazy...! The target's just the bodyguard! The kid behind him gets dragged in...!
-Then we all go to hell toge... Huh?! Just do it...!
The assassins' panicked voices.
Tae-woong's eyes narrowed—he hadn't had time to notice amid the fight.
"Kim Hyun-woo's a nasty piece of work, but he's no idiot. And just last week, he squared off against me at the clan estate. His followers saw it too... Word's probably spread through every noble house by now."
"..."
"In a setup like this, if I get 'assassinated' by Hwae? You think the high-and-mighty Sedao clans would buy that?"
"No, they wouldn't."
Tae-woong knew the noble world's ways all too well. He finished his thought and stared grimly at the assassins' corpses.
"So you're saying... they never meant to kill you from the start?"
"Spot on. But take it one step further."
I turned my gaze to a dingy corner of the building.
A small camera perched on a utility pole, watching me.
Kim Hyun-woo was still keeping tabs.
"Those bastards weren't trying to kill me—they were trying to let me live."
Crack!
The instant I locked eyes on it, the camera shorted out and burst.
Swift evidence disposal.
I laid out the script they'd cooked up for Tae-woong, who only just noticed.
"Me, ambushed by Hwae, losing my bodyguard, staggering away half-dead. If Kim Hyun-woo swoops in to rescue that version of me personally? Paints a pretty picture, doesn't it?"
"...!"
Kim Hyun-woo wouldn't kill me. More precisely, he didn't see the value in it.
All he wanted was to plant fear in me. A warning that he could snuff me out anytime—to break me down.
"That's why the real target this time wasn't me."
"It was you... your bodyguard."
Tae-woong's heavy voice fell on the sprawled corpses.
"Tae-woong."
"...Y-Yes, young master. My apologies."
A beat of silence. But at my voice, he snapped to and hurried over, checking me for injuries.
"We need to treat those wounds. I'll call in a medic. And the bodies..."
"You okay?"
"...!"
Tae-woong's words cut off. His mouth worked like he was trying to respond, but nothing came out.
He had every reason.
"Over a decade of loyalty and devotion repaid with death. And for what? Some petty pissing contest between them?"
I muttered it like I was voicing his innermost thoughts, then gave a hollow chuckle and met his eyes.
"Tae-woong. How long are you gonna keep swearing loyalty to a clan like this?"
"...!"
His face twisted in turmoil, words failing him.
I could guess his feelings well enough.
Nothing quite as pathetic as loyalty that goes unrewarded.
He clenched his fists, wrestling his emotions back under control. Looking at that face, I...
It's going according to plan!
...barely stifled the laugh bubbling up.
Why? Simple.
My prime bodyguard candidate—the one who'd become my limb in the future.
He mattered more than even "that guy" I was on my way to recruit right now. Seo Tae-woong was the key.
If I can win him over, this suicidal stunt was worth it.
After joining as the clan's bodyguard, he'd guarded me his whole life.
All because I reminded him of his late son—some bullshit like that.
But deep down, it was that rigid warrior code: once sworn to a clan, loyal to the end.
That's why he protected me with his life, but he was never truly mine.
He'd served me till his dying breath. But that loyalty was aimed at the clan that ordered him to protect me—not me personally.
This ambush, though? It cracked that ironclad devotion.
So my move now was obvious.
Widen that crack. Wedge something new into the gap.
Disillusionment with the Sedao clans.
Rebellion in his heart.
And finally, loyalty to me—not the clan.
Woo-oo-oo-!
As those thoughts solidified, sirens wailed in the distance.
About time.
Tae-woong powered down his artificial body, uncharacteristically gruff.
"I'll secure the bodies first. I'll handle the investigation and cleanup, so young master, please get those wounds—"
"A cut finger's no big deal. More importantly, Tae-woong."
"Yes."
I shook the crusted blood from my hand and fixed him with a look.
"Burn all these assassins' bodies. Leave no trace."
"...Pardon?"
He looked dumbfounded, like he'd misheard.
"Young master, these corpses are some of the only proof we have of the attack."
"I know that full well."
"That's exactly why it's a problem! We barely have enough evidence as it is—destroying it? Then how do we even prove the assault happened...?"
"Prove it and what? The Uigeumbu hauls Kim Hyun-woo off to jail? Yeah, right."
At best, they'd issue some impotent statement condemning Hwae.
I muttered it as I picked up one of the Hwae masks the assassins had worn.
"No matter what we say about this attack, Kim Hyun-woo won't give a shit. The clan elders are all in his corner... We kick up a fuss, and nothing changes."
"Even so..."
"That's why we flip the script."
Carbon fiber—not wood—with that crude 3D-printed knockoff finish. Poking "those guys" with junk like this right off the bat? No upside.
"Today's not a Hwae ambush on our car. It's a traffic accident from autonomous driving failure. The explosion? Battery overheat."
"Young master. You mean..."
"Yeah."
I flashed a sly grin.
"We bury this attack ourselves."