“Show them, Uncle.”
Had Hwi been agitated, Geom Mugeuk would have stopped him, but he was as calm as ever.
This was not an impulsive or emotional battle.
It was a stern warning from a loyal man who had lived his entire life as an escort, directed at an assassin.
It was the inevitable clash born from two opposing destinies.
“Show them that the only place for assassins is hell, Uncle.”
The moment Geom Mugeuk finished speaking, Hwi shot forward without hesitation.
Hwi, surging toward the enemy.
It was a new side of him, who had always only shown his back while blocking an opponent's attacks.
The King of Assassins did not shy away either, countering with a swing of his dagger.
His eyes grew even more transparent, and within that transparency lay an unknowable emotion.
It was impossible to tell what emotion it was, but at least one thing was certain.
He was acknowledging his opponent.
Clang!
The clear metallic sound of a sword and dagger clashing announced the start of the fight.
Both men were martial artists who did not reveal themselves to the world.
They were men who moved in secret to achieve their goals.
This was a battle between two such men.
Hwi's swordsmanship was a peerless martial art passed down through the heads of the Heavenly Demon's escorts.
The Demon Spirit Guardian Sword Technique.
The Demon Spirit Guardian Sword Technique was based on the Fast Sword Technique.
Escort Martial Artists, by nature, had to have quick reactions.
The first move they received was always a surprise attack.
On the other hand, the martial art the King of Assassins had mastered was the signature martial art of the Death Spirit Emperor, who had been the king of assassins three hundred years ago.
The Assassination Strike Technique.
He had mastered a martial art known as a legend in the world of assassins.
Hwi fiercely pushed the King of Assassins back.
Geom Mugeuk had only ever seen his usual calm demeanor and never knew he had such a ferocious side until today.
The Hwi of today was like a reckless fighter who knew no retreat.
Sparks flew as sword and dagger met in mid-air.
The Assassination Strike Technique was also a martial art based on speed.
Because of this, the clash between the two men was too fast to be seen.
A single moment of carelessness in their exchange would lead to death.
Swish.
The arc of Hwi's sword drew a half-moon, attempting to slice the King of Assassins in two.
Clang!
The King of Assassins blocked the attack and thrust his dagger out repeatedly.
The three strikes he unleashed in an instant were aimed precisely at his opponent's vital points.
After blocking the attack with his sword, Hwi's body shot into the air, and from above, he repeatedly stabbed down at the King of Assassins.
The King of Assassins slid backward to dodge the attack.
He, too, demonstrated incredible footwork that suited the martial art he wielded.
The King of Assassins, relentlessly aiming for his life.
Hwi, trying to cut the King of Assassins' torso in half.
The sword and dagger, filled with their masters' killing intent, met and produced the sound of instruments playing a fast tune.
Clang! Clang-clang! Clangclangclangclang!
Sparks flew with each impact.
Their exchange was so fast that sparks erupted from all sides, like firecrackers going off.
A grand feast of swiftly executed defensive sword techniques and assassination arts.
Grazing past each other, leaping over one another, advancing and retreating, clashing and separating—their bodies moved as swiftly as their sword and dagger.
Blood splattered as the blades grazed each other's skin.
Hwi displayed a martial art so brilliant and magnificent that it made one wonder how he could have lived so quietly with such skills.
Faced with Hwi's fierce momentum, the King of Assassins was being pushed back.
It felt as though Hwi's martial arts, from a man who had never attacked first in his life, were saying this:
We simply chose not to kill.
A look of bewilderment crossed the King of Assassins' face.
He must have known his opponent was strong, but he probably hadn't expected him to be this strong.
Watching this, Myeong Shin was reminded anew that his survival against the King of Assassins earlier was entirely thanks to Hwi.
Because Hwi was just that strong.
The King of Assassins, sensing this, had not acted rashly.
But the King of Assassins was no ordinary man either.
He was managing to block all of Hwi's incredible attacks.
Their skills were truly evenly matched.
While wishing and being certain that Hwi would win, Geom Mugeuk was tense inside.
'Uncle!'
If the enemy hadn't been the King of Assassins, he wouldn't have been so nervous.
Shouldn't he leave it to Hwi until the end since it was his fight?
Absolutely not.
If Hwi was in the slightest danger, he would intervene immediately.
Even if Hwi resented him for it later, he would jump in without a moment's hesitation.
Hwi and the King of Assassins.
From the beginning, their lives were not something to be compared.
Not even a thousand Kings of Assassins, no, not even all the assassins in the Central Plains, would he trade for Hwi.
Suddenly, he remembered his father's words.
'If you're going to put Hwi at the forefront, you take responsibility.'
In this moment, he was truly putting Hwi at the forefront.
'I will take responsibility, Father.'
It was at that moment.
Whoosh!
Someone attacked Geom Mugeuk from behind.
Clang!
Turning and swinging his sword to block the surprise attack, Geom Mugeuk made a shushing gesture at his opponent.
"Just a moment! This is an important moment."
Geom Mugeuk turned his head back to where Hwi and the King of Assassins were fighting.
Indeed, it was a critical moment in their fight.
Something erupted from the King of Assassins' hand.
Fwip-fwip-fwip!
From a small, finger-sized cylinder hidden in his left hand, steel needles were launched.
Clang-clang-clang!
Knocking away the flying hidden weapons with his sword, Hwi leaped into the air.
Hwi had anticipated that this surprise attack would be linked to the next, so he launched an attack first as he flew up.
He replaced defense with offense.
Fwip-fwip-fwip-fwip!
Despite the unexpected counterattack, the King of Assassins did not panic and dodged the attack.
Hwi was prepared for the King of Assassins' surprise attack.
He had been fighting with the thought that it was rather strange for an assassin to engage in such a direct confrontation.
Only after Hwi had safely weathered the surprise attack did Geom Mugeuk look at the assassin behind him.
Geom Mugeuk's sword was already embedded in his heart.
Just because Geom Mugeuk had shushed him, it was unlikely that the assassin would have just stood still.
Just as he was about to attack again, Geom Mugeuk had stabbed him in the heart and killed him without looking back.
Geom Mugeuk turned his head and looked down the street.
People were peeking their heads out from all over, watching the fight.
Many of them were likely assassins just waiting for an opportunity.
Geom Mugeuk spoke to Myeong Shin.
"Now, let us go too!"
He meant that they should get rid of all the assassins.
Since there was no telling how they might interfere in the two men's fight, it was better to deal with them as quickly as possible.
Of course, even in the midst of this, Geom Mugeuk's attention was on Hwi's fight.
Though it seemed he was only looking one way, he was paying attention to both, a display of divine might that only a true master who had reached a certain level could achieve.
"Very well."
Myeong Shin couldn't believe it.
The fact that he was on the same side as the Young Cult Master of the Demon Sect, facing the King of Assassins.
It was a life he couldn't have imagined just a few days ago.
'Yes, I must carry out the contract I assigned myself.'
The two men strode down the street.
There was a man pretending to be a spectator who was undoubtedly an assassin.
But that was a foolish choice that greatly underestimated Myeong Shin's memory.
Swish-swish-swish-swish!
He dodged the consecutive daggers that Myeong Shin threw.
Thud!
But he could not dodge the sword of Geom Mugeuk that followed.
"Pick them all out!"
Myeong Shin nodded his head.
It was a nod that signified his break from the Underworld Ledger, and furthermore, from all assassin organizations.
At that moment, something poured down from the second-floor of a building.
Clatter-clatter-clatter-clatter.
What rained down onto the street were star-shaped hidden weapons.
Where they fell on the ground, sharp blades protruded.
They weren't weapons meant to kill by hitting the target, but weapons with the purpose of slowing movement by being spread on the ground.
Stepping on those sharp points would result in immediate poisoning.
But these hidden weapons were not of that kind.
"Be careful where you step!"
At Geom Mugeuk's warning, Myeong Shin shouted.
"Be careful now!"
The moment Myeong Shin's shout ended, the hidden weapons on the ground launched as if they were exploding.
Pak-pak-pak-pak-pak-pak-pak-pak!
The blades that shot out upon explosion flew in all directions.
It was an attack that exploited the fact that people who see such hidden weapons would be careful not to step on them, never expecting them to launch like this.
Geom Mugeuk, having been warned, was not one to be unable to dodge.
"Don't tell me you made these too?"
"I'm afraid so."
"This skill, use it for me later too!"
"If we survive this."
Then Geom Mugeuk leaped into the air and said.
"We will definitely survive!"
Geom Mugeuk flew to the second floor.
It was the very place where the hidden weapons had just been scattered.
Crash.
Smashing through the window, Geom Mugeuk flew straight into the room.
Whoosh!
The dagger of an assassin waiting by the window grazed past Geom Mugeuk's face.
It was an incredibly close call for the assassin, but in that split second of crashing through the window, Geom Mugeuk had already sensed his presence.
The moment he killed him, a hidden weapon shot out from under the bed, aiming for Geom Mugeuk's ankle.
This too was a surprise attack that would not be easy to dodge.
Thump! Thump!
Geom Mugeuk was already standing on the bed, plunging his sword into it.
The attacks designed in this room were not limited to that.
The wardrobe burst open, and an assassin's attack followed.
Swish-swish-swish-swish-swish-swish!
In his hand was a very small crossbow.
It was a crossbow that could fire continuously, and its power was truly formidable.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Holes were riddled in the wall where Geom Mugeuk had been standing.
But at the same time, the assassin fell backward.
A dagger was already embedded in his forehead.
It was the dagger Myeong Shin had given him as a gift.
When he looked out the window again, two assassins were attacking Myeong Shin.
A surprise attack aimed at the interval when Geom Mugeuk had briefly flown up to the second floor.
They were not ordinary assassins.
They were top-tier assassins hidden among the first-class assassins.
They were the Black Shadow Twin Killers, who had been disguised as the owner and clerk of the drapery shop.
They attacked Myeong Shin from both sides, thrusting their swords.
Whether they were the owner or the clerk, their disguises were meaningless since their opponent was Myeong Shin.
They needed to eliminate Myeong Shin as quickly as possible for their disguises to be effective.
A bloody battle with two top-tier assassins.
Though Myeong Shin's arm was injured, he was showing that he hadn't won his position as the second-in-command of the Underworld Ledger by a coin toss.
The figures of Hwi and the King of Assassins, who had been fighting on the roof, were no longer visible.
The sounds of battle came from beyond the building.
Geom Mugeuk's figure cut through the air.
The place he was heading for was neither where Hwi was fighting nor where Myeong Shin was fighting.
He had spotted someone aiming at Myeong Shin from the window of another building.
He was Yeok-hwa, a top-tier assassin from Killing Heaven Organization.
As Geom Mugeuk charged towards him, the hidden weapon that had been aimed at Myeong Shin was fired at Geom Mugeuk instead.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-clang!
The hidden weapon, flying with a sharp, whistling sound, was a signature weapon used by the assassination organization, Killing Heaven Organization.
Numbing Smoke Rings.
The ultimate hidden weapon with the highest kill rate.
The flying weapon possessed a terrifying power that could tear through the flesh and bones of a martial artist with a mere graze.
But the true nature of this weapon did not lie there.
Slice!
The moment Geom Mugeuk cut the flying hidden weapon with his sword.
Poof!
Numbing smoke burst out from the severed weapon.
It wasn't a poison, but a drug that momentarily paralyzed the muscles.
Geom Mugeuk, who had been flying, fell downwards.
Instead, Yeok-hwa leaped out of the window.
This brief moment of the opponent's paralysis was the moment he had been aiming for.
Swoosh!
Just as Yeok-hwa, with the momentum of his fall, was about to cleave the head of the petrified Geom Mugeuk in two.
Whoosh! Slice!
Geom Mugeuk's Black Demon Sword was drawn in an instant and beheaded him.
Yeok-hwa died with his eyes wide open, an expression of disbelief on his face.
It had never failed to work before.
But the numbing smoke had no effect on Geom Mugeuk.
Since Yeok-hwa had never experienced such a case, he, a top-tier assassin, was defeated in a single move.
Geom Mugeuk turned around and threw his daggers.
Swish-swish-swish!
The three daggers flew towards one of the Black Shadow Twin Killers.
Although the opponent turned and deflected the daggers, it was enough to break the stalemate of the fight.
Stab!
Not missing the opportunity, Myeong Shin consecutively stabbed the opponent's arm and thigh, and with one of them injured, the evenly matched fight tilted.
"So, make a lot of gifts for me in the future! See how they come back when you need them?"
A joke at a time like this?
Myeong Shin wanted to retort, but he didn't have the leisure.
Leaving him to fight the remaining Black Shadow Twin Killer after finishing one off, Geom Mugeuk's figure landed on the roof of the opposite building.
Hwi and the King of Assassins were fighting in the open space behind.
Their sword and dagger were clashing so fiercely that they were invisible.
Geom Mugeuk was not looking at their weapons, but at their eyes.
'He can win.'
Hwi's skills were solid.
Like a great fortress wall that would not collapse in any wind.
The King of Assassins probably felt it even more keenly.
The King of Assassins threw a handful of hidden weapons at once to create distance.
At that very moment!
The King of Assassins' dagger shone with a white light.
'Danger!'
He could tell that he was about to use a major technique.
Just as Geom Mugeuk was about to step in, he saw Hwi's face.
His expression was calm, not at all tense.
A silver glow emanated from the tip of the King of Assassins' dagger.
The next moment!
Swoooooosh!
Dozens of silver energy forces poured down on Hwi.
Flying Sword Light Rain.
One of the ultimate techniques of the Assassination Strike Technique.
Against the silver energy forces that poured down like rain, or rather like light, Hwi's sword began to embroider the air.
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-chak!
Geom Mugeuk saw it.
The sword lines being rapidly drawn in front of Hwi.
Would it look like this if you watched a spider build its web in fast motion? The sword lines were created in an instant.
The ultimate technique of the Demon Spirit Guardian Sword Technique, containing the will to block any attack without fail.
Guardian Sword Wall.
Geom Mugeuk was seeing it for the first time.
The sword wall created by Hwi.
Boom! KABOOM! Boom-boom-boom! BOOM-BOOM!
The energy forces and the sword wall collided.
The silver glows shattered into pieces and scattered as a halo of light.
The King of Assassins' attack had been blocked.
The King of Assassins was genuinely surprised, never having expected the Flying Sword Light Rain to be blocked.
"The escort of the Demon Cult Master."
And he was genuinely impressed.
"You're better than the rumors."
Hwi stood silently, his sword lowered.
It was at that moment.
Flick-flick-flick-flick-flick-flick-flick-flick!
A dozen assassins landed on either side of the King of Assassins.
Just by their movements, it was clear they were highly skilled.
As if his only purpose was to kill his opponent, the King of Assassins charged towards Hwi with the other assassins.
It had been such an evenly matched fight with just the King of Assassins alone.
But Hwi was not scared, nor did he flee.
An escort martial artist must be even calmer at times like these.
Hwi imagined the Cult Master was behind him.
He imagined the Young Cult Master was behind him.
In this way, he could draw out twice, three times his usual strength.
"Assassins to hell!"
He repeated the words Geom Mugeuk had said at the beginning of the fight.
The words coming from Hwi's mouth carried a different weight.
Hwi firmly re-gripped his sword and charged forward.
He did not retreat.
Behind him were the Cult Master, the Young Cult Master, and his pride as the head of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect's escort.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk's voice came from behind.
"Do not be lonely, Uncle! We are on your side here!"
The next moment.
S-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s-s.
The assassins charging towards Hwi were horrified.
To the left and right of Hwi, who was charging back at them, something had spread out wide.
What made their eyes bulge was—!
They were terrifying-looking evil spirits.
Geom Mugeuk had unleashed the Great Annihilation Form of the Nine Calamities Demon Art.
Excluding only the evil spirit at Hwi's position, the rest of the evil spirits split and spread out like wings on either side of Hwi.
RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE-RUMBLE!
The evil spirits charged forward with Hwi.