I confront the farmer, the fisherman, the trader, the woodcutter, a swordsman, a half-naked guy, an ugly one, a sickle-holding one, and a bad-looking bachelor.
I then ask.
“Is it the dream for you assassins to live a normal life?”
This attire to surround a man is too plain.
Still
They might have come to fight so I want to clear something up before we start.
“Who wants to drown in the water? None?”
Someone is about to bring something out but puts it back after hearing my words.
I make eye contact with a Taoist-looking guy and nod.
“It is me. I am the one.”
They then surround me.
Under these circumstances they must have found where I was after I left the Black Rabbit Union. Some probably followed me up the mountain and must have been shocked when they saw the Murim Alliance people there. Oddly enough they didn’t come to fight when I was with the Sword Demon and only came when I was alone.
Anyways it feels like they are waiting for someone.
I also try to make conversation since we’re all waiting together.
“I don’t even know how to react. Useless bastards who can’t take a joke.”
People who don’t have a heart or compassion are all like this.
That is why they are assassins.
Suddenly I point my finger to one close to me and say.
“But you.”
A popping sound filled the air as the wind flew. The man who suddenly has a hole in his forehead begins to fall back.
Thud…
These people don’t know my skills.
Even if they tried to find out I had spent the 50 days of travel doing the same thing repeatedly which further increased my innate skills. It isn’t just an increase but also a more harmonious combination of yin and yang. The quality of qi and my usage of it are now very different.
I look at the corpse with a hole in its head and then say.
“Why did you have to move? Come here quickly.”
As soon as I finish speaking the formation begins to spread from the back as the encirclement fans out to the left and right as an old man with a cane walks in. The old man who looks like a human covered in wrinkles seems over 80 years old.
I look at him.
“Old man you must have had a hard time coming here.”
To which he responds with a hoarse voice.
“Low Down Sect leader if you want to survive prepare a fortune. Take the medicine today and leave. There will be no other negotiations.”
“You old bastard you don’t even know how negotiations are done. You cannot be talked to. If you fight me here wouldn’t your sect be the one that’s disbanded? I don’t know what confidence you have to do this.”
The old man then says.
“Yeop Bu (The Hunter).”
“Yes.”
“Kill him.”
A man called Yeop Bu pulls out an assassin’s dagger and throws it at me. I nod as I avoid his attack and he steps forward while unsheathing the sword at his waist and points it at me.
The initial distance between the man and me is around nine meters.
The sword narrows the distance between us in one step and comes close to my eye. I hold out my sword and kick him away.
Swish!
My blade cuts him diagonally from his left armpit to the right shoulder.
Puak!
My movement speed is so quick that he dies without even being able to scream. I swing my blood-stained sword to the ground and then sheathe it back in.
“Next.”
Like the king on a chessboard the old man begins to push his assassins to fight me.
Is it his intention to make me consume my energy by throwing away his men?
However I can’t think of this as a suitable method. Still I am impressed by the strict working conditions under this old man.
The old man thinks for a moment and opens his mouth.
“Cho Bu (The Woodcutter).”
“Yes.”
“Deal with him carefully.”
The man named Cho Bu has a large frame and looks like he has trained his body. He looks like he can cut down large trees with only a few swings of the large ax he is dragging along the ground.
As soon as I see his form and hardening muscles I realize that he aims to finish this in one blow.
He would give away a part of his body to destroy mine.
Cho Bu narrows the distance and rushes forward with his large ax. It looks like a random swing that can cut down anything. However I still have enough momentum to defend my body using qi.
The problem is while I’m dealing with this one I also want to give the other assassins a surprise.
‘Not a bad plan.’
The counterattack will be a short and quick one.
I take Cho Bu’s left hand with an accurate parry and then engrave the center of his body using the Ice Arts technique.
Tuk…!
I avoid the ax flying at a remarkably slow speed at me due to the ice and then hit Cho Bu’s upper body with the Shadow Moon Martial Arts.
Tak!
A strange groan escapes his mouth.
“Kuak…”
Cho Bu’s body looks utterly stiff.
I look around pull out my dagger and stab him in the neck.
Puak!
This time the sound of a pig being gutted fills the air.
I then tell the old man.
“Old man it looks like you are trying to check my skills by using your subordinates as bait. This type of warfare is useless. Just stop this and let it go.”
The old man then says.
“Lee Zaha uses Ice Arts. His weapons are swords and daggers. There is no use of assassin needles. I will keep that in mind. Something can be cut for sure. Before you all die make sure to kill that man too.”
The people watching me then answer.
“Yes.”
“…”
Are they judging this fight to their disadvantage? Assassins usually are trained in stealth and hidden attacks. The attack order continues as I fail to understand the old man’s intention in sending them against me one after another.
“Nak Pang-gek and Neng Geyom.”
“Yes.”
“Together.”
The scholar draws his blade as the sickle-wielding one also walks forward. I notice the two and say to the old man again.
“Old man just let this go.”
To which he smiles.
“Shut up.”
I then take a good look at the encirclement. I think that the old man perhaps isn’t even the leader as the two attacks me.
I pull out my sword wrap it with Fire Chicken energy and slash at Neng Geyom.
Wheik!
The moving flames strike his body and both their weapons ignoring their movements and the sound of something burning fills the air.
As soon as I see their fear I take the chance to push them back.
Kwaang!
The two move straight back as I hold my sword and fill it with Wood Chicken energy.
The blade of my sword then moves straight toward the assassins in the encirclement.
Swish!
The movement of the sword is different. This time an unusually normal-looking farmer is holding a sword in one hand.
In the meantime the old man swings his cane to deflect the attack.
As my sword is pushed back I use that moment to look at the shabbily-dressed farmer who has better internal qi than the old man.
As I look at the farmer I then say.
“You are in charge of them. You have been watching me like a mouse right from the start.”
As I giggle and smile all of the assassins become silent.
“…”
This is the right type of psychological warfare.
Perhaps the old man will send the farmer out now? Or is it time for everyone to just come and attack me together?
I then ask the farmer.
“You got caught. What to do now?”
The old man who needs to give orders also falls silent from shock.
The farmer opens his mouth with a faint smile.
“This…”
I jump into the air with a push on the ground. As his mouth opens an assassin’s needle is launched at me narrowing the distance faster than I’ve seen so far.
If this is the case then who is the real assassin?
Me!
The farmer steps back as he loses his chance to counter. As I begin to use my sword technique I observe the farmer’s eyes and movements as he evades my sword before aiming for his head with a simple strike.
Clearly the first sword-enhancing technique has an advantage.
The farmer then wraps both of his hands in qi and grabs the blade of my sword by clapping around it.
Tak!
At the same time he says.
“Shoot.”
I use the ice technique around my left hand and grab onto the farmer’s wrist. I then immediately pull his body in and look behind the farmer.
“The Low Down Sect leader hides his… skills.”
It is now time to check the strength of the Shadow Moon Martial Arts. After leaving my sword in the farmer’s hand I charge forward using footwork and run with two spears covered with my ice technique.
The fisherman the merchant the Taoist the half-naked guy the ugly one and the sickle-holding one are all made into my targets and I slowly rush the shocked old man.
However at the edge of the lake instead of hitting him down like the others I simply grabbed his arm and pulled the old man close to beat his body down several times.
Now all the men who might interfere have been hit with the ice technique.
Was this new technique that I’ve learned not so inferior to other techniques or was this just the result of my utilization?
I take my sword back from the farmer and induce ice qi into his body.
Tak! Tak!
I then approach the others who have gone stiff from shock and infuse ice qi to seal their bodies.
Their stiff faces gradually become pale.
Their lips also turn purple.
As I wander around and continue to turn them into frozen statues I make sure to observe their expressions breathing and face.
Suddenly everything around me becomes quiet as I tell them.
“You are the newly brought test subjects. It will be a little painful but you will live so don’t think about complaining.”
As I go to the shore of the lake I pick up a flat stone and throw it into the shallow water.
The flat stone curves on the lake’s surface and bounces around.
As it bounces I note that it has bounced thirty times in the past. Now however it moves until I can no longer see it and continues to move.
“Yah… this is why martial arts has to be learned.”
I put ice qi into the flat stone this time and threw it.
What results is a spectacular sight.
Whatever the cold stone touched grew a thin layer of ice before gradually vanishing.
I suddenly remembered the assassins that I froze so I touched the lake’s surface and splashed it at them.
The lake water flies into the air and then falls down with a thud. The assassins who are hit by the hardened lake water begin to shake.
Although they cannot move their bodies they cannot help but tremble.
Since I didn’t seal off their blood points I could also hear groans and muffled sounds of pain.
So I ask them.
“Is it cold?”
“…”
It suddenly occurs to me that the old man and the farmer are most affected. If they wanted to fight they should have come and faced me themselves instead of using their men like chess pieces.
With my dagger I kill the old man and the farmer.
As I look around at the assassins with my blood-stained dagger I see that their eyes are shocked despite their frozen state.
And then I tell them.
“You will not be killed so easily. Today someone is going to tell me about your base. It is annoying and yet I stay silent. Come camp overnight on the lake with me tonight. I will make a bonfire and if bored I will wait. If you run though I will chase after you. And it is fine as you are slower than me.”
I look at their faces and in order to handle the work neatly I make sure to inject ice qi once more into them.
Tak! Tak! Tak! Tak!
As I look at the merchant’s face I see a tear falling from his eyes. So then I look at him and ask.
“Did you cry? Why is such a big one crying? Phew you poor assassins have to stay silent but no one wants to save you. Amazing. Let’s see if you win or I win.”
After the cold I plan to attack them with hunger.
“I will explain the camp schedule today. You will be hit with the ice again at night and the water will baptize you. Water torture will also happen from time to time. I plan to make a bonfire to eat the goose I catch and find out who is behind you.”
I am busy running through my torture plan.
Now I have to catch a goose and bring the stuff I need to make a bonfire.
It is my first time camping in a while so I can’t hide my excitement.
I then suddenly realize my condition.
“Uh?”
.
.
.
It is only after I wake up that I remember that I was drunk. I shake my head and go off to look for the goose.
“Wow finally sober.”
