Light Novel: Volume 20 Episode 19
Manhwa: N/A
It was noisy outside.
There were no screams, but the sound of things breaking and exploding could be heard without a filter.
Occasionally, the sounds of Eunyo and Nam Shin-woo’s shouts were also heard.
“So this is what a fight against assassins looks like.”
The divine doctor’s eyes sank deeply.
Even at the moment of death, they do not scream. The occasional screams that did come through were merely momentary outbursts of something deeply suppressed.
They were truly formidable adversaries.
Becoming enemies with such beings meant giving up on peaceful sleep until death.
Even him, as a divine doctor, who had lived a life without fear, did not want to be enemies with such people. But he already was.
If those who control the Blood Wraiths were to learn of his involvement, they would surely not leave him be.
“All this because of this fellow.”
The divine doctor looked down at Pyo-wol, who was lying on the ground with silver needles densely inserted all over his body.
He was still unconscious.
His pale body was covered with countless stab wounds.
On top of the stab wounds, the divine doctor had applied his specially made golden sore ointment, profusely. His special ointment was exceptionally effective for external injuries.
Crusts of blood had already formed in the places where it had been applied.
“Hoo.”
The divine doctor sighed.
He had done everything he could.
He had transfused Nam Shin-woo’s blood and executed the Life and Death Returning Soul Technique.
All that remained was Pyo-wol’s will and recovery power.
The stronger Pyo-wol’s will and the stronger his body’s recovery ability, the sooner he would wake up.
He just hoped it wouldn’t be too late.
Boom!
The sounds from outside became increasingly clear.
It was not a good sign.
It meant the enemies were closing in.
Nam Shin-woo, Do Yeonsan, and Eunyo were fighting with all their might against the enemies.
The maze formation helped them hold their own to some extent, but even that was reaching its limits.
More and more people were managing to get past Nam Shin-woo through the maze, and the burden on Eunyo, who was in charge of the final defense, was growing.
She was squeezing out her last bit of strength to hold on, but even that seemed to be reaching its limit, the feeling seeping through the walls to here.
Gwiya also sensed the unease as it raised its head, flicking its tongue restlessly.
It had never been this agitated before.
It was then.
Bang!
With an explosion, someone burst through the wall, tumbling into the room where the two were.
“Keugh!”
The person who smashed against the wall, coughing up blood, was none other than Eunyo.
“Eunyo!”
The divine doctor rushed to her side.
Eunyo shook her head, trying to get up, but her legs failed her, and she slumped back down.
Her face, drained of color, clearly indicated that she was suffering from severe internal injuries.
The divine doctor quickly administered a life-saving elixir to her.
Eunyo, chewing on the elixir, looked at the gaping hole in the wall.
Thud! Thud!
With the sound of footsteps, the Blood Wraiths entered through the breached opening.
The Blood Wraiths stared at Eunyo for a moment before turning to look at Pyo-wol lying on the ground.
A glint of triumph appeared in their eyes.
They had finally secured their target.
Now all they had to do was kill him and their mission would be complete.
Killing Pyo-wol, who was lying defenseless, would be easier than turning a hand.
Swoosh!
They all simultaneously raised their swords to strike Pyo-wol.
“No!”
The divine doctor screamed, but they ignored him and plunged their swords down.
The divine doctor, unable to bear the impending disaster, closed his eyes shut. But the sound he expected never came.
No sound of swords cutting flesh, no screams from Pyo-wol.
The divine doctor cautiously opened his eyes, then he saw the men who were about to stab Pyo-wol tremble convulsively.
They were foaming at the mouth, staggering.
“Gwiya.”
The divine doctor realized at once why.
Gwiya was biting the ankle of the last man standing. Before he knew it, Gwiya had silently bitten the ankles of all the Blood Wraiths who had entered the room.
The tiny creature was so small the Blood Wraiths hadn’t noticed it, and the price of their inattention was death.
All the Blood Wraiths who had invaded the room collapsed at the same time, dead.
They had no chance to circulate their internal energy to expel the poison. Gwiya’s venom was that lethal.
Even though the Blood Wraiths were all dead, it was too soon to relax.
Boom!
An explosion tore away half of the house, exposing Pyo-wol, Eunyo, and the divine doctor to the outside.
It was the Blood Wraiths who were responsible for blasting the house.
“Big sister!”
Nam Shin-woo flew in from somewhere, quickly shielding Pyo-wol and Eunyo.
His entire body was dyed red as if he had bathed in blood.
He had done his best to stop the Blood Wraiths. However, it was impossible for him to stop so many Blood Wraiths by himself.
In the end, Nam Shin-woo was seriously injured in the process.
More Blood Wraiths emerged through the mist.
Despite Eunyo and Nam Shin-woo’s efforts to stop them, about fifty Blood Wraiths remained. They broke through the now ineffective maze formation and revealed themselves.
Inside the maze, Do Yeonsan and the Blood Wraith leader were still engaged in fierce combat.
They couldn’t count on Do Yeonsan’s help.
Eunyo sighed and muttered,
“Looks like this is the end.”
“Big sister!”
“I’ll still try to fight till death.”
Nam Shin-woo’s expression stiffened at Eunyo’s words.
It was a situation where sheer numbers overwhelmed them.
Swoosh!
The Blood Wraiths charged in unison.
Their goal was the same: to reach their target, Pyo-wol.
They paid no attention to Eunyo and Nam Shin-woo.
“No!”
“No–!”
Their cries echoed just as a sharp sound of cutting air resounded.
Swish!
Suddenly, a sharp piercing sound resounded.
At the same time, the necks of the Blood Wraiths who were charging from the front were sliced diagonally.
The surviving Blood Wraiths stopped dead in their tracks.
“Oh my! Who dares to touch my man without my permission?”
A woman clad in red robes appeared like a ghost in front of Pyo-wol. Blood dripped from the dagger in her hand.
It was her skill that had decapitated the Blood Wraiths who were charging.
The woman, seemingly ordinary yet possessing a strangely alluring beauty, twirled her dagger with a cold smile.
The Blood Wraiths flinched at her cold smile.
They instinctively realized she was of their kind.
Eunyo asked the woman cautiously,
“Who… are you?”
For a moment, the woman’s red lips curved up in an arc.
“Me? I’m this guy’s lover.”
“What?”
Eunyo’s eyes widened for a moment, not quite grasping the woman’s words. Then the smile on the woman’s mouth deepened.
“My name is Hong Ye-seol.”
“Hong Ye-seol?”
“The new leader of the Hundred Wraith Union.”
“The Hundred… Wraith Union leader?”
Eunyo’s eyes flickered with shock and recognition.
She might not know the name Hong Ye-seol, but she certainly knew of the Hundred Wraith Union.
Before Pyo-wol emerged, the Hundred Wraith Union was regarded as the number one assassin organization in the world.
The new leader of the Hundred Wraith Union, Hong Ye-seol, turned her gaze towards the Blood Wraiths.
A deep furrow immediately appeared on her brow.
She recognized the scent of her own kind.
‘No, that’s not it. These people reeked.’
A properly raised assassin should be able to mask even the scent of their own body.
This was because some of the targets had a keen sense of smell, and being detected by them could risk their mission or cost them their lives.
Through various experiences, assassins learn to erase not just their scent but any minor distinguishable features.
Assassins who have survived and perfected themselves over such a long period of time have no scent or distinguishable physical characteristics.
But to those in front of her emitted a subtle odor. While the scent was imperceptible to ordinary people, it was detectable by fellow assassins.
Since even ordinary assassins could sense this, it made no sense for Hong Ye-seol to miss it.
‘They’ve been hastily trained, and because they skipped a few steps, they missed out on a few basic learnings and instincts.’
A killing intent glinted in Hong Ye-seol’s eyes.
Having been trained as an assassin from a young age, she took pride in her profession.
Others might dismiss it as a lowly profession, but she believed that there was a path or Dao to be found in it.
The Way of the Assassin.
In a way, it was self-deluding.
It was absurd to think that one could find a path or way in a profession designed to kill others. Yet, such self-deception was necessary to endure as an assassin.
The Blood Wraiths showed no emotions in their eyes. Of course, the more accomplished an assassin becomes, the better they become at hiding their emotions. But that is just hiding them, not the absence of emotions altogether.
The problem was that she couldn’t sense any emotion from the Blood Wraiths at all.
It was as if their emotions had been completely excised.
“Hmm, this is troublesome. I came to see my man after a long time, and yet he got a whole bunch of these abominations gathered here? I’ll make just one suggestion to you. Just back off. If you leave now, I will spare your lives.”
“……”
The Blood Wraiths did not reply.
They advanced with swords drawn as if they hadn’t heard Hong Ye-seol.
Hong Ye-seol sighed softly.
“Hoo! So this is how you want it to be? Then I guess I have no choice but to erase you from this world.”
Snap!
She snapped her fingers.
Swoosh!
At that moment, dark shadows silently emerged behind the Blood Wraiths.
Nam Shin-woo and Eunyo’s eyes widened in shock.
Only then did the Blood Wraiths realize there were other beings behind them.
“……”
The moment the Blood Wraiths hurriedly turned around, the dark shadows attacked them.
Swish!
Swoosh!
In an instant, several Blood Wraiths lost their lives. But their sacrifice allowed the remaining Blood Wraiths to counterattack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Swords clashed, and the sound of metal hitting against metal erupted.
But there were no shouts, no cries of effort, no screams.
It was a silent war.
“Holy shit!”
“Eek!”
Nam Shin-woo and Eunyo gasped in disbelief.
They had never witnessed such a scene before in their lives.
How the people before them move so violently, trying to take each other’s lives and yet not make a single sound? It was beyond their understanding.
“Is this how assassins fight?”
Nam Shin-woo couldn’t close his agape mouth.
The black shadows fighting the Blood Wraiths were none other than Hong Ye-seol’s subordinates.
The Black Assassination Squad.1
They were elite assassins in charge of guarding the leader of the Hundred Wraith Union.
They were trained to solely obey the commands of the Hundred Wraith Union leader and protect them.
Not even the Ten Blood Assassins, known as the best assassins of the Hundred Wraith Union, could afford to underestimate them.
The mobilization of the Black Assassination Squad signified Hong Ye-seol’s ascendancy as the new leader of the Hundred Wraith Union.
Swoosh! Swish!
With a ripping sound, swords sliced through the air.
Each time, a Blood Wraith would collapse, dead.
The Blood Wraiths were undoubtedly assassins who had reached high levels of skill. However, the Black Assassination Squad specialized in capturing such assassins.
The leader of the Hundred Wraith Union stood at the pinnacle of the assassins.
But despite commanding a large number of assassins, the leader still faced the constant threat of being targeted by them.
There were many assassins aiming for the Hundred Wraith Union leader’s life, and the primary mission of the Black Assassination Squad was to protect their leader from these threats.
Given such circumstances, the Black Assassination Squad excelled in detecting and countering assassins.
They were not deceived by the Blood Wraiths’ tricks of vanishing before their eyes. Instead, they followed the residual energy left by the Blood Wraiths and relentlessly hunted them down.
Swoosh!
Like a hunter capturing prey, they efficiently eliminated the Blood Wraiths.
But this didn’t mean they didn’t suffer any casualties. The Blood Wraiths’ abilities were formidable, leading to some losses in the Black Assassination Squad. But neither the killers nor the fallen uttered a word.
The silent war continued for a long time afterward.
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