Light Novel: Volume 21 Episode 25
Manhwa: N/A
Though they shared the same goal and operated in the same space, the three assassins had no intention of cooperating.
Thunder Eye, Bloody Rain, and Death Shadow were all too proud that they pierced the heavens.
Because of this, they never cooperated or moved together, no matter how challenging or difficult the assignment was.
The same was true now.
All of them were targeting Pyo-wol, but not one of them considered working with each other.
Among them, Thunder Eye was the furthest ahead.
His Traceless Assimilation was the pinnacle of stealth techniques.
It was because of this that he was able to reach the ceiling of Pyo-wol’s quarters before Bloody Rain and Death Shadow.
From atop a large beam, he looked down into the room.
The room was filled with a heavy fleshy scent.
Thunder Eye knew exactly what that meant.
‘He just had sex.’
He then saw a woman lying on the bed, her shoulders exposed.
It seemed it hadn’t been long since the act, as the woman was still breathing heavily.
‘Hong Ye-seol!’
Thunder Eye immediately recognized the woman’s identity.
It was impossible for him not to know.
This was the woman who had been the leader of the Hundred Wraith Union just three days ago.
Before that, she was a member of the Ten Blood Assassins, just like them.
Even if the members of the Ten Blood Assassins rarely interacted, they at least knew each other’s faces and names.
What’s more, Hong Ye-seol had ascended to the position of leader of the Hundred Wraith Union, albeit briefly.
She was someone they couldn’t help but pay attention to.
It was then.
Hong Ye-seol, who was catching her breath, suddenly lifted her head and looked straight at the ceiling. Her gaze was fixed on Thunder Eye.
Thunder Eye furrowed his brow.
From the bed where she was lying, it should be impossible to see where he was hiding.
‘A coincidence…’
But, it couldn’t be.
In a world as harsh as theirs, coincidences didn’t exist.
She must have known he was there.
Then, Thunder Eye felt a chilling sensation.
It was strange that the man who was supposed to be with Hong Ye-seol was nowhere to be seen.
At that moment, Hong Ye-seol, who had been looking towards Thunder Eye, flashed a broad smile.
It was an all-knowing smile that made Thunder Eye feel a chill as if he was doused with cold water.
“You?”
Just as Thunder Eye was about to open his mouth and speak,
“Ugh!”
A faint groan came from somewhere.
The sound was so faint that only someone with extremely heightened senses could hear it.
The moment he heard the sound, Thunder Eye instantly recognized the owner of the moan.
‘Death Shadow.’
There was only one reason that could cause an assassin as accomplished as Death Shadow to let out a groan.
He had been overpowered by someone.
‘Damn it!’
Only then did Thunder Eye realize the true nature of the crisis.
And why Hong Ye-seol was smiling so broadly at him.
‘The Reaper has moved.’
Thunder Eye hastily picked himself up and stepped back.
The ambush had failed.
He didn’t know how he was detected, but it was clear the Reaper had noticed their intrusion and taken action.
It was then.
“Ugh!”
Another groan was heard.
Thunder Eye recognized the owner of the groan again.
It was Bloody Rain, another assassin with skills as formidable as his.
Like other assassins, Bloody Rain had been trained in the art of silence.
Even in the most dire situations, Bloody Rain had been trained to maintain absolute silence during an assassination.
The fact that he had groaned meant the situation was extremely critical.
‘Death Shadow and now Bloody Rain too?’
He would never have believed it if he hadn’t heard their groans himself.
Now was not the time to hesitate.
Thunder Eye hurriedly went out of the building.
He left the building without a sound and retraced his route of entry in reverse.
Fortunately, the Black Assassination Squad hadn’t noticed his movements.
Once outside the Sol Family Courtyard, Thunder Eye employed his qinggong with all his might.
‘Once I get out of here, I’ll need to reorganize. Then, I’ll come back with a full-proof plan.’
Thunder Eye ran at a fast pace, chastising himself for his haste and impatience.
Despite him moving at such a fast pace, his clothes didn’t even make a fluttering sound.
Normally, being this far away should have brought him a certain amount of relief, but at this moment, his heart was pounding like crazy.
It wasn’t just because he was running using qinggong with all his might.
His body was sensing danger before his mind did.
Thunder Eye didn’t make the mistake of ignoring the warnings of his instincts.
He then swerved to the left.
Whoosh!
At that moment, a nearly invisible thread embedded itself in the ground where Thunder Eye was about to step.
It was the Soul-Reaping Thread.
Thunder Eye turned his head to look in the direction from which the thread had come.
There, he saw a figure racing at his speed.
It was Pyo-wol, a man with a white, pale face that stood out even in the thick darkness.
‘Reaper!’
Thunder Eye clenched his teeth.
His suspicion had turned into reality.
In that short period of time, Pyo-wol had not only subdued Death Shadow and Bloody Rain but had also managed to track him down.
It was a move that defied common sense.
A chill ran down his spine.
The intense sense of danger made his lips dry.
Then, his gaze locked with Pyo-wol’s.
The subtle red gleam in Pyo-wol’s pitch-black eyes seemed as if it could see right through him.
Thunder Eye gave up on trying to escape.
He had accepted the fact that he could not shake off Pyo-wol’s pursuit with his qinggong skills. But he had no intention of being easily defeated either.
Swoosh!
Thunder Eye charged at Pyo-wol with terrifying speed.
The Thunder King Blade in his hand aimed straight for Pyo-wol’s throat.
At that moment, Pyo-wol also drew a dagger from his waist.
It was the dagger Tang Sochu had made for him.
The dagger was about half a meter longer than the phantom dagger and had wavy patterns rippling across the surface.
Pyo-wol held the dagger in a reverse grip and clashed with the Thunder King Blade.
Clang!
Sparks flew in all directions with the sharp sound of metal colliding.
Crash!
Pyo-wol and Thunder Eye clashed repeatedly.
Neither of them rested for a moment.
They raced through the bushes, climbed tall trees, and ran along streams.
Even though they were running through the pitch-dark forest without a single light, they never stumbled or lost their balance.
The darkness was no hindrance to them.
‘Was the Reaper always this strong?’
Thunder Eye’s face contorted.
Blood was dripping from his hand holding the Thunder King Blade.
The repeated impacts from clashing with Pyo-wol’s dagger had eventually torn through the protective gear in his hands.
This had never happened to him before.
Hiss!
Due to the intense and rapid movement he made in such a short time, steam rose from his body.
He couldn’t remember the last time he had exerted himself this much and moved so fiercely.
A common trait among assassins like Thunder Eye was their lack of endurance.
Assassins pursue the principle of one-strike, certain-kill.
They don’t mind waiting days or even weeks to seize the chance of taking their victim’s life in one strike.
If they failed to kill their target in a single strike, it was the fate of the assassin to be killed in turn. Because of this, there was a tendency to put everything on the line in the first strike.
Thunder Eye was no different.
Most of his targets lost their lives in a single strike.
There was no need to waste energy on a second or third strike. As a result, Thunder Eye also had limited endurance.
Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, but when faced with an opponent as powerful as Pyo-wol, it proved to be a serious disadvantage.
Pyo-wol was faster and stronger than him.
Even with such vigorous movement, his breathing remained steady.
Like an adult amused by a child’s antics, Pyo-wol looked down at Thunder Eye.
In the face of his gaze, Thunder Eye felt diminished.
He couldn’t help but admit it.
That Pyo-wol was indeed worthy of being the leader of the Hundred Wraith Union.
But that didn’t mean he would easily surrender. His pride wouldn’t allow it.
“Haah!”
For the first time, he shouted a battle cry and attacked Pyo-wol.
Swish, swish, swish!
The Thunder King Blade ripped through the darkness, attacking Pyo-wol.
He increased his speed with all his might.
The blade moved through the air at a speed several times faster than before, but even then, never touched Pyo-wol’s body.
Because Pyo-wol had increased his speed his well.
Thunder Eye’s expression twisted.
It was clear that Pyo-wol was toying with him.
It was as if he was trying to show the difference between them.
Thunder Eye felt humiliated.
‘How dare he!’
His eyes blazed with murderous intent.
Never before had anyone looked at him with such a gaze, though he had often done so to others.
He was not someone who should be subjected to such a view.
Thunder Eye concentrated more energy into the Thunder King Blade.
Whoosh!
A fierce wind whipped through Thunder Eye.
It was evidence that the speed at which he moved increased.
To the average person, his speed was too fast to be seen with the naked eye. However, Pyo-wol could clearly see the trajectory of Thunder Eye’s movements.
Unbeknownst to Thunder Eye, Pyo-wol had been aware of his presence from the moment he set foot in Sol Family Courtyard.
He could deceive the Black Assassination Squad, but not Pyo-wol’s senses.
From beginning to end, Thunder Eye, Bloody Rain, and Death Shadow were merely playing in Pyo-wol’s palm.
They thought they were testing Pyo-wol’s worthiness as the leader of the Hundred Wraith Union, but in reality, it was Pyo-wol who was testing them.
Bloody Rain and Death Shadow were subdued without even noticing Pyo-wol’s approach. Only Thunder Eye, with better instincts, managed to escape, but that was it.
In the past, it would have taken Pyo-wol a significant amount of time to subdue the three of them, given their capabilities. However, the Pyo-wol of now is different from before.
Since emerging in Jianghu, he has continuously fought with strong opponents.
Surviving countless life-threatening situations, his martial arts skills had continuously improved, and he had now established a realm of his own.
He has reached a level that no other assassin in Jianghu has ever achieved.
Just like how a person can see the entire landscape from the top of a mountain, the moves Thunder Eye used were neither novel nor unfamiliar to Pyo-wol, who had reached the pinnacle as an assassin.
Swoosh!
Pyo-wol bent his waist and dove into Thunder Eye’s embrace.
Thunder Eye’s Thunder King Blade aimed for his neck, but Pyo-wol deflected it easily with his dagger.
Clang!
The blade was repelled with a metallic sound.
Pyo-wol then delivered a powerful blow to the wide-open chest of Thunder Eye.
Boom!
With a loud explosion, Thunder Eye was sent flying backward.
Pyo-wol sped up and caught up to him.
Even mid-flight, Thunder Eye didn’t lose focus and swung the Thunder King Blade in retaliation.
But his counterattack was easily subdued.
Pyo-wol grabbed his wrist and twisted it in the opposite direction.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bones echoed as Thunder Eye’s wrist snapped. Yet, Thunder Eye did not scream.
Pyo-wol laughed upon seeing this, recognizing the basic resilience of an assassin. But he had no intention of showing mercy.
Bang!
Once again, a powerful blow struck Thunder Eye.
Thunder Eye couldn’t bear it any longer and vomited blood.
His chin and chest were stained red.
Even after vomiting blood, his discomfort didn’t ease.
His limbs trembled so much that he couldn’t stand.
He lifted his pale face and looked up at Pyo-wol.
Pyo-wol, sheathing his dagger, walked towards him.
His unchanging expression as he approached seemed inhuman.
Just then—
“Tsk!”
Someone clicked their tongue from behind Pyo-wol, revealing their presence.
It was an old man with a face full of age spots. It was none other than Elder Assassin.
Arriving late, the Elder Assassin had rushed in with the Black Assassination Squad.
Bloody Rain and Death Shadow were unconscious, captured by the Black Assassination Squad.
The Elder Assassin spoke to Thunder Eye.
“So, in the end, you didn’t believe my words and did what you did. How do you feel now, having faced the Supreme Leader?”
Thunder Eye couldn’t bring himself to speak and just clenched his jaw slightly.
Pyo-wol just looked down at him not saying a word.
Thunder Eye didn’t feel ashamed anymore.
He had physically experienced the difference between himself and Pyo-wol.
Kneeling on one knee, Thunder Eye spoke,
“Your subordinate, Thunder Eye, greets the supreme leader of the union.”
He recognized Pyo-wol as the supreme leader of the Hundred Wraith Union.
LUNACAVE
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