My heart was filled with scheming thoughts as I sipped on the two-strong liquor, pondering whether to relentlessly pursue the first-ranked assassin or to strike the Sword Disciples Association first.
The assassin before me had just drawn his sword, blood trickling from his mouth.
As I unleashed my internal energy, I infused it with the power of the fighting spirit following the neck technique.
The tip of my sword trembled slightly.
This fellow could not be the one who killed Namgarak in my previous life.
Perhaps it was because my current reputation was not as well-known as that of Namgarak, the leader of the Southern Bright Association, that an assassin of this caliber was sent.
Compared to Namgarak, his internal energy was somewhat lacking.
Then, I saw a sword before me and grabbed it with my left hand.
"Is it a swift sword?" Only then did I notice the expression of the assassin, who had been competing with my internal energy. "……!" He was sweating profusely, so I infused the sword I held with my internal energy.
This should counteract heat with heat.
As I watched the assassin's face contort, I kept an eye on the onlookers.
"Everyone, do not move."
While waiting for the other assassins, I tortured the one in front of me with my internal energy.
If our internal energies were similar, we could retreat at any time, but with such a significant difference in power, retreating recklessly was not an option.
Before he could sever his own arm, I added a threatening remark.
"If you move recklessly, you'll turn to ashes."
His sword had already turned a bright red.
The hand of the assassin holding the sword was being scorched by the heat.
As I tortured him with my internal energy, I turned my head to the left.
I made eye contact with the baggage vendor. "……."
What kind of weapon did the assassin disguised as a baggage vendor possess? To my astonishment, he threw the baggage he was carrying directly at me.
The baggage burst with energy, and the metal pieces inside surged toward me.
Did he mistake this for a contest of strength? Just as I had combined the neck technique and internal energy in my sword-drawing stance, I halted the incoming projectiles with my energy and then immediately drew them in with the Absorbing Technique, twisting their direction.
Squeak! The startled baggage vendor reached out toward the man in front of me.
"No!" Bang bang bang bang! However, the projectiles from the baggage vendor had already struck the man I had captured multiple times.
His face, neck, shoulders, and abdomen… numerous sharp needles were embedded all over his left side.
The internal energy of the assassin wielding the sword dissipated in an instant, engulfed by the energy of my internal flame.
It was unclear whether he died from the projectiles or the internal flame, but his body collapsed to the side.
Thud… I looked at the panicked baggage vendor.
"Why did you kill your comrade?" I asked abruptly while sipping on the two-strong liquor, keeping an eye on the area beyond the baggage vendor.
"Sogunpyeong, how far have you surrounded them?" Among the passersby, Sogunpyeong replied, "We have surrounded them within a radius of about thirty feet. We will try to spread out as much as possible to kill only those trying to escape."
"Can you pick them out?" "I will look for them first."
"Just a moment…" "Yes."
"Ah, kill the baggage vendor first."
Hongshin, who had been mingling among the passersby, launched a projectile.
Squeak! The baggage vendor startled and barely dodged Hongshin's projectile when a golden money dart thrown by the white priest struck the baggage vendor's back.
Thud! "Ugh!" Following that, the leaf-shaped darts thrown by Cheongjin and Baekyu pierced his shoulder and head once more.
After seeing the baggage vendor fall, I called out to Jangsam, who had taken refuge inside the inn.
"Jangsam."
"Yes, Lord."
As soon as Jangsam stepped outside, he stuck close to my side.
I looked at the onlookers and asked Jangsam, "Can you find them? At a glance, there are suspicious individuals; they must have practiced a bit, right?" "Yes."
"Good. Start by picking out the suspicious ones."
Jangsam pointed with his hand at a man.
"That rice cake vendor over there."
"The rice cake vendor seemed out of place."
The rice cake vendor, pointed out by Jangsam, pushed a passerby aside and fled with great force.
I slightly raised my head to keep an eye on the fleeing rice cake vendor.
"Hurry, run faster."
Just when it seemed he was lucky to escape, he was suddenly pierced through the neck by a knife and died instantly.
Thud! I clicked my tongue.
"Oh dear, he didn't last long."
Namgarak, who had killed the rice cake vendor with a single blow, kicked the corpse, sending it flying in front of the inn.
Thud! Another body had been added.
I waved my hand at the onlookers.
"It seems the assassins think very little of me. I clearly said I have more subordinates. Jangsam, let's pick again."
Jangsam was about to point at someone again but hesitated.
The assassins' reactions were swift.
Jangsam said, "The man next to the cart."
In fact, the fellow next to the cart had already been caught.
Surrounding him were Namyeonpung and other brothers from the Southern Bright Association, who had deliberately made it obvious that he could not escape.
Upon hearing Jangsam's words, they drew their swords and began stabbing him without a word.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! This time, Namyeonpung kicked the still-fallen body, sending it flying in front of the inn.
Thud! The corpse rolled and came to a stop.
I made eye contact with Namyeonpung for the first time in a while and smiled.
Namyeonpung, perhaps feeling awkward, scratched his cheek with his finger.
"Jangsam, well done. Is there anyone else?" Now, every time Jangsam scanned the onlookers, people were filled with unnecessary fear.
Jangsam honestly replied, "I really don't know anyone else."
I turned to Namgarak, who was still mingling among the passersby.
"Nam leader, what do you think?" "There might be more."
"Then let's weed them out."
"Let's do that. If we want to catch the assassins, we must learn to be patient."
"That's right. Those who know Jangsam here should come over and then go about their business. One by one, slowly. Our Jangsam knows everyone in this town, right? Probably."
Strangely enough, the onlookers listened to my words well.
One by one, they approached Jangsam, exchanged a few words, then sighed in relief or hurriedly left the area.
The number of innocent onlookers gradually decreased.
Only then did Jangsam seem to relax, waving at those who came to confirm their identities.
"Please go in quickly. Yes. Come in for a drink. Uncle Go, hurry in. Yes, yes, please come in. Next, next, next, yes. Please come in."
What an incredible order and controlled atmosphere this was.
I watched Jangsam's enthusiasm, dedication, and meddling, laughing to myself.
I know better than anyone the advantages of Jangsam.
I understand that if there are no guests, he has no choice but to spend the day watching the street and meddling in various matters.
As the people Jangsam vouched for flowed out like the ebbing tide, the mudflat crabs blinked in surprise.
I was not the only one looking for assassins.
My subordinates were also glaring, trying to weed out the assassins in a much-improved environment.
When only five remained, a terrified man knelt on the ground and said, "It's not me! I don't know martial arts!" I addressed the five remaining.
"You all come over here. I won't kill you carelessly, so don't worry."
Surprisingly, the four men, excluding the kneeling one, sequentially displayed their lightness skills and quickly scattered in all directions.
I pulled out a chopstick and aimed for the back of the first one to flee, throwing it.
Squeak! Thud! I stood up and scanned the surroundings.
There was no need to give any further orders.
One fellow was leaping to the upper floor of a building, with Namyeonpung following closely behind.
The pursuing subordinates quickly scattered, and Namgarak approached the kneeling man.
Namgarak reached out to the kneeling man and said, "Let me see your hand."
After confirming the absence of internal energy, Namgarak said to me, "Lord, this fellow really has no internal energy."
I looked at the kneeling man's face and said to Namgarak, "Send him this way."
Namgarak kicked the man's backside.
"Go."
Jangsam brought a chair and placed it opposite me, saying to the approaching man, "Please sit here."
The man sat down with a face full of fear.
I looked at the man's face and said, "Put everything you have on the table."
"What?" At that moment, the white priest dragged the corpse of the man he had killed and kicked it to the center.
I worried about the white priest and asked, "Priest, did you touch the corpse?" The white priest raised his hand in response.
"Elder brother, I am wearing gloves."
"Well done."
Then, Namyeonpung kicked a corpse off the roof, and Sogunpyeong dragged a corpse with a belt wrapped around its neck to finish the chase.
The only one left was the man in front of me. "……Everyone is dead. Only you remain." "……."
"If you have nothing to say, die."
"I haven't even practiced martial arts, so is it okay to kill someone so carelessly?" "If you cling to the first-ranked assassin and do anything, it's only natural to die. Why are you so angry? Did you think I would spare you?" After a while, the higher-ups gathered and settled in the inn, and the latecomer, Cha Seongtae, began distributing gloves before quietly starting to move the corpses with the other subordinates.
Sogunpyeong sat down and asked me, "Should we kill him?" I nodded and replied, "This fellow doesn't seem to be part of the first-ranked assassin group."
"Really?" "More like a subordinate of a subordinate? The main force probably won't know."
The white priest glared at me with his arms crossed and asked, "Is it the Sword Disciples Association?" "I don't know."
I looked at Jangsam, who was watching.
"Jangsam."
"Yes."
"Just turn your head that way for a moment."
When Jangsam turned his head, I instantly struck the man in front of me with a palm strike.
As the sound of impact mixed with the sound of his neck breaking, Jangsam flinched.
Jangsam let out a long breath and turned his head.
"Hoo……."
I spoke to the gathered higher-ups.
"Let's have a brief meeting here; let's take a break."
"Understood."
"Jangsam, pour some drinks appropriately. You've worked hard."
"Yes, Lord."
The higher-ups waited for my words, and after organizing my thoughts for a moment, I revealed my plan.
"If I stay here, the workers will get tired. From what I've seen over the past couple of days, it seems the target is just me."
It's not a bad thing that the target is me.
"It will be hard to easily find the main force of the first-ranked assassin group. They must be a well-organized group."
"Yes, elder brother."
"The Sword Disciples Association is connected to the merchant guilds, right?" "They are likely linked to several merchant guilds."
"Then call in Priest Geumhae and thoroughly investigate the merchant guilds related to the Sword Disciples Association. We need to shake them down to find out more about the main force of the first-ranked assassin group."
"Do the merchants know?"
"No?
But they might know the method of contact. Merchants fear death more than assassins. Even if not, if we dismantle the Sword Disciples Association, we will have to deal with the merchant guilds that were attached to them somehow.
We can't kill them all, so tell Geumhae to have the Geumsan Merchant Guild get involved and take the profits. The white priest should think of a suitable way to handle it. Probably, Priest Geumhae will end up taking the most financial gain.
The merchants will know better than us how to wage war among themselves. With the profits taken from there, we will appropriately distribute money to those who suffered this time, so tell Geumhae to calculate well. After all, when this matter is over, the biggest beneficiary will be the Geumsan Merchant Guild."
The white priest nodded.
"Understood."
"My method may be wrong. However, I will leave the task of finding the first-ranked assassin group entirely to the priests."
"Yes."
I looked at Namgarak.
"Nam leader, let's strike the Sword Disciples Association."
"What's the plan?" With Namcheollyeon present, it was a question of what strategy we would use to fight.
I fought according to my own thoughts, so Namcheollyeon's participation was of no concern to me.
"Let's launch a surprise attack with a small elite force, burn only the main strongholds of the Sword Disciples Association, and then retreat."
The bewildered Namgarak replied, "Why?" "Why? What meaning is there in burning down their houses? It will be a bit uncomfortable for them to sleep. It will also cause property damage."
"Is that all?" "No. We need to provoke Namcheollyeon as well. Let's think about this as we go. We need to make them fight until they kill each other."
I set a broad strategy to incite the fight between the Sword Disciples Association and Namcheollyeon.
"We need to move with a small elite force. Burn and run, kill a few and run. Make the Sword Disciples Association think it was Namcheollyeon's doing. Make Namcheollyeon believe it was the Sword Disciples Association's doing. So, while moving, we will also steal the clothing from both sides and wear masks after a long time. Do you understand? We will stir up both sides until they go mad."
Perhaps because it was a matter where my subordinates didn't need to die, Namgarak's expression brightened unusually.
"Ah… I like it."
I smiled at Namgarak.
"Nam leader."
"Yes."
"Let's have some fun from now on. No need to be serious against fools."
Namgarak couldn't respond immediately, tilting his head back and laughing for a long time.
"Hahaha…" The martial world I envision can be serious at times, but it can also be lighthearted.
The point is… somehow, we must torment the enemy.
Until they are in agony and faint.
Until they go mad and collapse.
I know better than anyone the joy of further sowing discord among bad relationships.
In any case, deep down in my heart, the organization known as the Sword Disciples Association had already vanished from the martial world.
Along with that, my heart was filled with thoughts of scheming.
"Who the worse bastard is will be revealed once this matter is over."