After a brief moment, Il-ho was dragged into a secluded alley.
Inside the alley, I-ho, Sam-ho, and Sa-ho lay unconscious, sprawled on the ground.
In front of them stood three masked warriors. 'I didn't sense anything at all...’ The assassins of Heukrim had been neutralized without even putting up a fight.
Il-ho glared at the woman who had brought him here.
No, the opponent was no longer a woman.
Crack.
As she straightened her bent waist, her height suddenly increased.
Szzzz! When she removed the disguise, a remarkably handsome man's face was revealed.
It was Baek Su-ryong.
Looking at the assassins lying on the ground, Baek Su-ryong spoke to his masked companions. “You all did well. I’ll take care of the rest, so go back to the elder.”
“......” The masked figures were Akyeon-ho, Myung Il-o, and Je-gal So-young.
The three nodded silently and simultaneously used their lightness skill to kick off the wall and disappear. “...... They seem to have developed a taste for being assassins,” Baek Su-ryong said, clicking his tongue lightly as he turned back to Il-ho.
He reached out and loosened Il-ho's blood seal. “Now that I’ve released your blood seal, you can talk. But don’t suddenly scream or anything. Let’s keep it easy between us, okay?”
“......” “You’re quite the silent type for an assassin.” Despite Il-ho's indifferent reaction, Baek Su-ryong chuckled. “Maybe this will loosen your tongue a bit.”
Creak! Baek Su-ryong suddenly pulled Il-ho's shoulder. “Ugh!” Cold sweat beaded on Il-ho's forehead as he knelt.
It was a pain that would make an ordinary person scream, but as an assassin accustomed to suffering, he managed to endure. “Do you think torture will work?” Il-ho finally spoke, glaring directly at Baek Su-ryong. “Kill me. Torturing me will yield you nothing.”
Baek Su-ryong chuckled at his resolute attitude. “If you want to die, why not just bite your own tongue? Why ask me to kill you?”
“......” “You actually want to live, don’t you?” Baek Su-ryong's eyes, staring intently at Il-ho, were as clear as glass.
Slowly, a faint red aura began to gather in his pupils. “I know people like you, assassins. You think you understand death because your job is to kill. But do you really?”
“......” Il-ho remained silent.
Baek Su-ryong smirked and rummaged through Il-ho's clothes, finding numerous hidden weapons.
He took out a throwing star, tossed it into the air, caught it, and played with it like a toy before suddenly throwing it aside.
Thud! The throwing star embedded itself in Sa-ho's forehead, killing him instantly.
Il-ho flinched in shock.
Baek Su-ryong looked down at him with a lazy smile. “Does seeing someone die often make you less afraid of death? No. Each time you look into the terrified eyes of someone dying, your fear of death only grows.”
“......” The opponent's voice pierced through Il-ho's ears, embedding itself in his mind.
He struggled to maintain his expressionless facade as he glared at Baek Su-ryong. “Such threats...”
Baek Su-ryong threw a dagger to the side.
Thud! The dagger lodged itself in Sam-ho's heart.
Sam-ho's trembling body gradually ceased moving.
Drip...
Drip...
Blood dripped from the handle of the dagger embedded in his chest.
Il-ho clenched his teeth unconsciously. “Assassins train to suppress their emotions and become numb to pain. They become desensitized to killing someone. They mistakenly think they’ve overcome the fear of death. But look closely.”
“Stop...!” Baek Su-ryong threw a thin golden needle at Il-ho.
Thud! This time, it didn’t take his life at once.
Il-ho's eyes widened as he writhed in pain, trying to pull the needle from his neck with both hands. “Cough, cough...!” Il-ho was slowly dying.
He trembled at the sight.
Baek Su-ryong, crouched in front of him, whispered in his ear. “A person can become accustomed to pain, but they can never get used to death. For everyone, death is a first.”
“I, I, I...” Baek Su-ryong tapped Il-ho's chest with the sheath of his sword.
Startled, Il-ho screamed and fell backward. “Ugh!”
Baek Su-ryong looked at the pale Il-ho and asked, “I’ll ask again. Do you want to live?”
“I, I want to live! I want to live!” Il-ho nodded without a hint of hesitation.
He had witnessed Sa-ho, Sam-ho, and I-ho die right before his eyes.
It wasn’t the first time he had seen his comrades die after living as an assassin all his life.
But the fear Baek Su-ryong had shown him was on a different level. ‘I want to live.
I don’t want to die.
If I die at this man’s hands...
I won’t even have my soul saved.’
For the first time in his life, he felt such fear and a desperate desire to live.
Tears streamed down Il-ho's face. “Please... spare me. Please...”
Baek Su-ryong removed his sword from Il-ho's shoulder, who was now pleading on the ground.
The bloodlust that had been swirling in his eyes had faded. “If you want to live, you must answer my questions well. Which organization do you belong to?”
“Hu, Heukrim. I belong to Heukrim.” Il-ho shared everything he knew about Heukrim.
How many had come here, how they planned their actions, and who was in charge.
As a mere squad leader, Il-ho didn’t know much, but he did his best to answer in order to survive.
“I saw you signaling with a whistle earlier. How does that work?”
“That’s...” Baek Su-ryong learned about the communication method known only among the assassins of Heukrim. ‘This could come in handy.’ After a while, having spilled all the information he knew, Il-ho finally collapsed from exhaustion.
“... Pathetic.” A man stepped out from the darkness of the alley.
It was Cheong-cheon.
Cheong-cheon looked at the corpses, Il-ho, and Baek Su-ryong with a shocked expression. “Were you originally an assassin?” Given the brutal methods and actions Baek Su-ryong had just displayed, it was not unreasonable for Cheong-cheon to make such a guess.
However, Baek Su-ryong shrugged and replied nonchalantly. “I used to teach assassins.”
“Ha...” Cheong-cheon had many questions he wanted to ask, but in the end, he asked nothing.
Instead, he slung Il-ho over his shoulder as he had requested. “Should I lock this guy up?”
“Please do. Once things are settled, we might need a witness.”
“Understood. I’ll have the corpses taken care of by the guards.” Cheong-cheon replied while surveying the bodies.
He felt no particular emotion regarding Baek Su-ryong committing murder.
All the dead were assassins, scum who made a living by killing people for a price. ‘They aren’t worth pitying.’
Cheong-cheon turned to see Baek Su-ryong, who was putting on the mask he had taken from Il-ho and changing his clothes. “Are you going to continue hunting assassins?”
“Of course. These guys won’t listen to reason.”
“... But it seemed like you persuaded the one you just spoke to.”
After quickly finishing his disguise, Baek Su-ryong turned to Cheong-cheon.
He had transformed into a middle-aged woman. “It takes time. Creating the same atmosphere as before isn’t easy. Besides, that method doesn’t work on everyone.” The middle-aged woman smiled kindly while hiding weapons in her sleeves. “And there’s a quicker and easier way.”
“......”
“Then I’ll see you again.” Baek Su-ryong turned and waved as he left the alley.
Cheong-cheon muttered quietly as he watched his shrinking figure. “Perhaps the most outstanding assassin here is that guy.” Cheong-cheon felt grateful that he hadn’t turned that man into an enemy.
Baek Su-ryong’s figure soon disappeared.
The assassins of Heukrim suddenly fell into chaos.
Whistle! Whoosh! Whistle! Whistles echoed from all directions.
Originally a signal used only among the assassins of Heukrim, it had been used by unknown enemies for some time now.
The unidentified enemies were disrupting the assassins of Heukrim with their whistles.
By the time the assassins realized something was wrong, nearly half of their number had already fallen.
[Stay in your current position!]
[Identify the enemy's location!]
[Don’t panic.
From now on, ignore the whistle signals.]
[Maintain distance.
For now, hide among the crowd.]
The hidden assassins felt cold sweat running down their spines. ‘Who on earth?’ ‘All the teams that got close to the target have fallen.’ ‘This method...
The opponent is also an assassin.’ ‘At least three or more.
Several people had their communication cut off simultaneously.’ ‘Is it the Blood Gang? Or perhaps the Soul Breakers...?’
Assassins are trained to maintain their composure in any situation.
However, no matter how much training they undergo, they could not help but feel fear as their comrades fell one by one to an unknown enemy.
Whoosh~ Even a light breeze made their bodies flinch.
No, unfortunately, this time it was not just a light breeze. “The so-called Heukrim isn’t anything special.”
“!!” When the mocking voice reached their ears, a dagger pierced through the air.
Thud.
The shadow brushed past the assassin and walked away casually. “Soon, the Blood Gang will wipe you out. Enjoy the show from hell.”
The assassin, weakened in the legs, stared at the fading figure of his opponent. ‘The Blood Gang...!’ The assassin of Heukrim pretended to fall and hid within the crowd.
The enemy thought he had finished him, but fortunately, he had narrowly avoided a fatal blow.
The assassin considered it a stroke of luck. ‘I must report this to the Three Great Lords...’
The assassin of Heukrim thought he had discovered the identity of the enemy, but he could not imagine that the assassin who had just stabbed him would soon say the same words to the assassins of the Blood Gang with just a slight change in wording.
Bang! The Three Great Lords stood up abruptly after smashing the table with a single blow.
Flames seemed to blaze in his eyes. “How dare the Blood Gang!” He had just received a report from his subordinate.
The assassins sent to kill Gong Sun-soo had been ambushed, and the ambushers were from the Blood Gang.
“Are they coming at us like this?” He had expected that the Three Great Assassin organizations would compete to take Gong Sun-soo’s head first.
But he never anticipated such a blatant attack.
This was tantamount to declaring war on Heukrim.
As a high-ranking official of Heukrim, who usually looked down on the Blood Gang, he could not tolerate this.
“You started this first. I’ll make you regret it.” Grinding his teeth, the Three Great Lord ordered all the assassins on standby to gather.
Since the Blood Gang had initiated the fight, he would kill them all before taking Gong Sun-soo’s head.
The Three Great Lord spoke with a heavy killing intent. “I’ll be there soon, so tell everyone to prepare.”
“Understood!”
At the same time, a similar situation was unfolding in the Blood Gang. “The Heukrim bastards have gone mad! They’re touching our people!”
In the Blood Gang’s Namchang branch, which usually served as an underground gambling den, the branch leader shouted loudly after receiving the report. “Gather all the remaining men! I’ll kill them all!” The branch leader pulled out a large axe hanging on the wall.
His rugged body was covered in scars and tattoos. “I’ll smash that arrogant face of theirs right now...”
At that moment, a loud crash echoed as the door connecting to the ground level gambling hall burst open, and something rolled in.
The doorman, who should have been guarding outside the gambling hall, lay unconscious, covered in blood.
“An ambush!”
“Enemies!”
The rogues inside the gambling hall drew their weapons in unison.
There were at least fifty of them, and the branch leader shouted confidently toward the stairs. “What do you think this place is! Come on, come on, you bastards!”
Moments later, someone slowly descended from the stairs.
Step.
Step.
Each step was precise and rhythmic.
“Who are you...”
With snow-white hair and beard, and a deep green robe to match, an old man stood with his hands clasped behind his back, surveying the interior of the gambling hall. “Are you the group of human butchers known as the Blood Gang?”
“Crazy... What is that old man doing!” The branch leader raised his axe and shouted.
But cold sweat trickled down his forehead. ‘A master.
An incredible master.’
Seeing the branch leader's expression, the old man clicked his tongue lightly. “Seeing all of you filled with killing intent, I suppose it’s true.”
“Damn it... Attack!”
As dozens of rogues shouted and charged, the sword-wielding Maekryeom slowly drew his blade.