Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Assassin's Oath
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It seemed the Night Assassins had detected through their spirit sorcerers that Yong-un was the true culprit behind the Jang-an-dong incident.
Two special-grade assassins and two spirit sorcerers.
Twelve first-grade assassins and around forty second-grade ones.
Worthy adversaries as they were, the Night Assassins had devised a flawless strategy to eliminate him. In the end, however, it all concluded with massive losses for them.
"These guys are no small nuisance."
Using soul possession, he'd extracted from the arrow the locations of all the Night Assassins' bases.
True to their assassin nature, though, they excelled at slipping away.
Not a single ant remained in the labyrinthine bases unique to the Night Assassins.
The Night Assassins wouldn't know Yong-un could extract memories via soul possession.
Even so, as if prepared for the worst, they'd already vacated and vanished.
They might have tidied up everything related to the arrow and the water assassin the moment the operation began—their handling was that swift.
"Escaped again, in the end."
He unleashed demonic energy to lay the Night Assassins' labyrinth to waste.
Standing amid the dust and debris, Yong-un ground his teeth at being back to square one with no leads.
Though the Night Assassins had suffered huge losses, it was ultimately Yong-un's defeat.
He had zero information on them, while they knew of his existence and even his home base.
"I need intel."
One master wasn't enough.
Given how deeply rooted the Night Assassins were in Korea, their information network far outstripped Yong-un's—it was a fact.
Still, with such severe damage, they'd be tied up recovering, devising even more perfect strategies, and mobilizing larger forces. They wouldn't move for a while.
That alone meant it wasn't a total loss for Yong-un.
At the very least, he'd bought time.
"I'll prepare countermeasures in the meantime."
Brainstorming plans, he escaped the razed labyrinth.
In the House of Gwisalhonmyeol.
Yong-un stood beside the rising Myung-su.
"Awake?"
At Yong-un's voice, Myung-su hurriedly propped himself up.
"Ugh..."
"Don't push yourself. Your wound hasn't fully healed."
His side, where the dagger had been embedded, was wrapped tightly in bandages.
And beside Myung-su's head lay three daggers.
"Two were yours. The last one came from your side."
Myung-su's face twisted as he stared at the daggers.
"A sword never suited you from the start."
Myung-su looked up at Yong-un in surprise at his quiet words.
"But why..."
"It was your choice."
He yanked open the closed curtains.
Bright sunlight flooded the room, lighting up Myung-su's startled eyes.
Yong-un smiled warmly at him.
"I told you before. I saw the assassin's talent in you."
His gaze shifted from Myung-su to the window outside.
"Assassins don't use swords. For those who must kill swiftly and vanish, a big, heavy weapon like a sword is a shackle that hinders their own movements."
Myung-su had no words for Yong-un's explanation.
'Shackle.'
It was spot on.
The sword was Myung-su's shackle.
A vow to himself never to return to his assassin days.
The mark of that vow.
Myung-su's head slowly drooped.
"You must have noticed. The One Kill I taught Sword Tiger differs slightly from what I taught you."
He hadn't realized at first, but the moment he gripped the water assassin's dagger, Myung-su understood instantly.
The One Kill Yong-un taught him was optimized not for swords, but for short blades like daggers—a dagger art, maximizing effect.
Grip.
Myung-su clenched his fists, head still bowed.
"But..."
Words he wanted—no, needed—to say flooded his mind.
Why an ex-assassin like him had abandoned that path.
How he'd ended up working with Minister Baek Myung-hee.
Why he couldn't fight with a dagger even if he wanted to.
Yet for some reason...
Myung-su couldn't continue.
"You've come to value something?"
At Yong-un's words, Myung-su's tightly shut eyes flew wide open.
"Do you think Cheon-il and I would abandon you after hearing your story?"
Myung-su lifted his head, meeting Yong-un's eyes.
How had he never noticed before?
The profound depth in Yong-un's eyes, once seeming so young.
It wasn't just because he viewed him as a master.
There was an inexplicable warmth, as if he knew and understood all Myung-su's pain.
"Yes... I was afraid."
That warmth crumbled the walls Myung-su had built.
Not as Special Investigator Myung-su, but as the special-grade assassin he once was.
As the walls fell, old emotions began tormenting him.
"The truth is..."
A hand rested on Myung-su's shoulder as he clutched his head, battling those feelings.
Startled mid-sentence, Myung-su looked up at Yong-un.
"You were a special-grade assassin for the Night Assassins, right?"
"H-how..."
"Don't you remember? Who do you think pulled you out of the Bupyeong Station demon gate?"
"Ah..."
The Bupyeong Station demon gate.
Back when no one knew demons' ranks or powers, Myung-su had entered to save everyone.
Thanks to him, they could measure demon ranks and strengths inside.
The technique that let him hide from demons' eyes...
It was the assassin skill Myung-su so desperately wanted to erase, that tormented him.
"Didn't know at first, but handling the Night Assassins clued me in. All your assassin traits come from them."
"Yet you treated me no differently?"
"Does knowing or not even matter?"
"Pardon?"
Yong-un flashed a bright smile at Myung-su's wide-eyed surprise.
"What matters is who you are now."
In Myung-su's trembling eyes, Yong-un's figure loomed immense.
"You're mine. You're Gwisalhonmyeol's assassin. You're... not an assassin to kill, but to protect. Like with Cheon-il earlier."
Yong-un's massive presence warmly enveloped Myung-su's trembling form.
He hadn't embraced him directly, but Myung-su felt it.
He'd met a benefactor who wouldn't begrudge supporting his life.
"Ditch the sword. Take up the dagger."
The order to wield the daggers he loathed came down.
Yet why?
Hearing Yong-un's command, Myung-su felt no unease.
He wanted to wield it.
Not to kill!
To save lives!
His fists clenched tight, just like before.
But at Myung-su's reaction, Yong-un smiled and turned.
"Gwisalhonmyeol's prime ghost soul is you, Myung-su."
With that, Yong-un grasped the doorknob to leave.
The moment he opened it...
Myung-su, lying on the bed, dropped to his knees with a thud and cried out.
"I pay respects to the Supreme One! I will protect you! With all I have, I shall fulfill your commands without fail, Supreme One!"
Yong-un left a deep smile at Myung-su's forehead-to-floor bow and stepped out.
"A fine sight."
Leaving those small words of encouragement behind.
The guild tournament had begun.
Time to showcase their honed skills and leap into Korea's top guilds.
All guilds had awaited this day, so the World Cup stadium brimmed with unprecedented fervor as the event kicked off.
"Go, Unwoo Guild!"
Sword Tiger shouted from the stadium's far end, scanning the whole field.
Yong-un chuckled at the contradiction in Sword Tiger's actions.
"Shouldn't you be cheering for Garosu Guild?"
"They'll handle themselves. I'd love for Unwoo Guild to beat Garosu Guild."
Having grown close to Unwoo Guild lately, Sword Tiger's heart leaned their way.
Yong-un smirked back, surveying the pre-ceremony stadium before asking Sword Tiger,
"I need information."
"Pardon?"
Sword Tiger tilted his head at the odd words interrupting his cheering.
"What's the best info network in Korea?"
"...From what I know, the Night Assassins top it."
As expected.
Yong-un nodded slightly at Sword Tiger's darkening expression and pressed,
"Next?"
"Mercenary Road."
Mercenary Road?
Yong-un's brow twitched at the unfamiliar name.
"You wouldn't have heard. Mercenary Road matches licensed hunters with commissions—like a company. Only guild operators really know it."
"Mercenaries... You mean ronin who take jobs and get paid for handling them?"
"Ronin? Not sure on that, but similar to assassins. Except they exclude intentional murder commissions."
Here, they called ronin mercenaries.
Like how murim called groups like Night Assassins "Shadow Gates."
Groups like Mercenary Road were "Ronin Associations."
The conceptual difference was much the same in murim or here.
Both Shadow Gates and Ronin Associations took commissions.
But the stark divide was shadows versus light.
'Shadows for Night Assassins, light for Mercenary Road, huh.'
With Shadow Gate and Ronin Association as examples, Yong-un grasped it instantly.
He nodded with a smile; Sword Tiger eyed him curiously.
"But why Mercenary Road..."
"Clashed with Night Assassins this morning."
"What!? They showed themselves?"
"They found my home base."
Sword Tiger's face grew grave.
"H-how'd it go?"
"Called in Gwisalhonmyeol and handled it together."
"Myung-su and that Cheon-il kid took care of it? Whew, Night Assassins underestimated you."
"They did. Special-grades two, spirit sorcerers two, first- and seconds totaling under sixty. Safe to say."
Sword Tiger's expression darkened further.
One special-grade was shocking enough; two plus sorcerers.
More astonishing: Myung-su and Cheon-il matching them.
"Gwisalhonmyeol okay?"
"Myung-su took a minor hit, but fine."
"Those Night Assassin bastards..."
"Enough. They cut tail and fled—no finding them now. That's why I asked. Good intel means their info edge turns to our weapon and shield."
"So, hit Mercenary Road for intel?"
Sword Tiger's straightforward thought.
"No. I'm swallowing Mercenary Road whole."
And Yong-un, ever transcending Sword Tiger's norms.
"Pardon...!?"
Sword Tiger's light heart for the matches grew heavy in an instant.
Tang! Tatatatatang!
In the House of Gwisalhonmyeol, training was in full swing as usual.
Cheon-il and Myung-su, who'd matched evenly daily via demonization, differed today.
Cheon-il's sword-hard, razor-sharp red claws from demonization couldn't even approach Myung-su, flailing futilely.
"Don't forget. I can use One Kill too, like you."
Myung-su even had leisure to instruct—such composure.
The sole change?
Myung-su wielded two daggers, not a sword.
"Bro... what? You seem like someone else."
Truth was, Cheon-il was stronger than Myung-su.
Demonization transformed the body demonically, boosting physicals and mana far beyond Myung-su—a cheat skill.
Thus, Cheon-il always held back in spars.
But dagger-wielding Myung-su repelled Cheon-il's full power without yielding.
"You could only use One Kill thrice before. Now dozens, unscathed. Bro, what? What'd Supreme Bro do?"
Yong-un aiding Myung-su's power was ages ago.
Nothing new for today's Myung-su.
Just the order to switch weapons.
"If he gave nothing, it'd be a lie. He gave me something immense."
Chance to change. Confidence in the path forward.
These outweighed any gift for Myung-su.
"Alright, one more before gate diving?"
At Myung-su's smile, Cheon-il beamed, summoning his unruly steel-gray demonic energy.
"Yeah! No holding back now."
Cheon-il pushed off the ground.
But then, a visitor halted their training at the House of Gwisalhonmyeol.
"Huh? Sword Tiger bro?"
"Yo."
Recognizing him, Cheon-il waved.
Sword Tiger waved back, approaching.
"Train like it's real combat."
Snap!
While Cheon-il halted, Myung-su swiftly closed in, flicking his forehead.
"Ow ow ow!"
Cheon-il rubbed furiously.
"Hahaha! Fine sight."
Sword Tiger roared with laughter at the joyful duo.
Then, eyeing Myung-su, he drew his waist sword.
"Heard you took down a Night Assassins special-grade?"
Myung-su grinned.
"Yes, no trouble. If you're here for..."
"This'll tell you. KraHAHAHA!"
Instead of words, Sword Tiger flicked his blade and charged, stomping hard.
Tang!!!
Sword Tiger's mighty strike met Myung-su's crossed daggers.
Sword Tiger grinned; Myung-su matched with a deep smile.
"Different from before."
At Myung-su's words, Sword Tiger laughed heartily again.
"That's why I'm here! Let's play!"
Dust rose in Gwisalhonmyeol's courtyard training ground.
Just like Ma Hyeon the Demon General and Spirit Demon in the past.