Myst, Might, Mayhem

Chapter 40

Despite her fiery temperament, Ha Chae-rin had undergone rigorous training and education under Flying Killing Yama’s Guest, one of the Four Great Assassins of the Central Plains.

The essence of assassination lies in gathering information and preparation.

Therefore, she began investigating her target, Mok Gyeong-un, in various ways.

However, upon investigation, this Mok Gyeong-un was no different from a naive young master.

She had heard that his martial arts were so poor that he was considered third-rate, not even acknowledged by the other brothers or retainers of the Yeon Mok Sword Manor.

‘But how did such a fellow kill the twenty-ninth mid-level assassin?’

There were two possibilities she could surmise here.

One was that the real culprit could be someone else.

The person who leaked this information to them was from the same Yeon Mok Sword Manor, but he was another young master who had to compete for succession.

It was entirely possible.

And secondly,

‘Did he hide his true abilities for this day?’

She considered the latter less likely than the former.

This was because he was only 17 years old, and if he had to compete for succession, there was no reason for him to hide his strength.

The fact that the Yeon Mok Sword Manor Master was suffering from an illness was a recent development.

Thus, she was even more certain.

‘…This is completely unexpected.’

Ha Chae-rin momentarily doubted her eyes.

Although born a woman, she had reached the pinnacle of martial arts through her grandfather’s unwavering support and teachings.

Even she could not perform the Void Seizing technique.

Yet, the 17-year-old naive young master of the Mok clan, whom she had regarded as an ignorant child, was capable of this?

Ha Chae-rin’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Mok Gyeong-un.

‘But why?’

If he possessed profound internal energy to the extent of being capable of Void Seizing, he should have reached at least the peak of the supreme realm.

However, no matter how she sensed his aura, he seemed to be merely third-rate.

It was exactly as she had heard.

‘Strange.’

He demonstrated Void Seizing, yet his aura was third-rate.

But the atmosphere emanating from him was uncannily ominous.

Perhaps that was why she couldn’t gauge him at all.

It was possible that she couldn’t sense it because he had concealed his energy.

“Yo-young Master…”

At that moment, the bodyguard Go Chan called out to Mok Gyeong-un in a voice close to relief.

It was understandable, as he would have lost his life with his throat slit if it had been a bit later.

However, the crisis was not over.

-Pak!

“Heuk!”

Ha Chae-rin grabbed Go Chan’s throat and pulled him towards her.

The startled Go Chan tried to twist his body to break free, but he couldn’t resist due to the significant difference in their internal energy levels.

Holding Go Chan, she spoke to Mok Gyeong-un.

“If you don’t want to see your bodyguard die, I advise you not to move, Young Master Mok.”

‘……..’

At her words, Go Chan let out a faint sigh.

That was because Ha Chae-rin knew nothing about that fellow.

Although he had just saved his life, that fellow was not the type to dance to someone else’s tune in the first place.

Then, Mok Gyeong-un opened his mouth.

“Who are you?”

To this question, Ha Chae-rin laughed and said,

“There’s no reason for me to tell you that, Young Master. Rather, I would like you to take a step back.”

She was keeping Mok Gyeong-un in check.

If it weren’t for the Void Seizing technique he had just displayed, she wouldn’t have been this cautious.

However, she needed to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

It was difficult to gauge Mok Gyeong-un’s exact martial arts level, and at this point, a normal assassination was already out of the question.

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‘Should I retreat?’

As she pondered this, she felt the throat she was holding tremble slightly.

She noticed Go Chan moving his lips.

At this, she tightened her grip on his throat even more.

-Kwak!

“Kek!”

“Old Man Go seems to be intent on harboring animosity towards us. Seeing as you’re even doing this kind of thing.”

At those words, Go Chan found it absurd even in the midst of his suffering.

It was ridiculous to hear her babble about animosity when she was the one who had tried to kill him first.

“An assassin from the Flying Killing Sect? Hoh. So you were an assassin?”

-Eureuk

At Mok Gyeong-un’s words, she made an annoyed expression.

He had nicely summarized and exposed her identity.

“Ah… this damn bastard.”

There was nothing worse than an assassin failing and having their affiliation revealed as well.

Now that things had come to this, she had to kill Mok Gyeong-un in some way.

No, the goal was to kill him even if she had to retreat and change her approach.

Once designated as a Hundred-Day Hundred-Kill target, if she couldn’t kill him, she wouldn’t be able to receive the title of the Four Great Assassins or become the Sect Leader of the Flying Killing Sect.

‘Do I have to finish it?’

Although she still couldn’t be sure of Mok Gyeong-un’s martial arts level, she did have a secret technique as a last resort.

It was the Extreme Killing Needle attached to her wrist.

Since it was specially made, it could only be used once, but if used within a distance of three jang, even skilled martial artists would find it difficult to block with their protective qi.

She was told to use it when her life was in danger, but it might not be a situation to hold back.

‘If I let my guard down, I could be the one to suffer.’

Without lowering her guard, she slowly lowered her left hand.

At this, Mok Gyeong-un spoke.

“Let him go.”

“What?”

“If you release the Guard Go Chan, I’ll let you go this time. It’s very rare for me to let someone who targeted my life go.”

‘What?’

Go Chan was inwardly surprised.

He didn’t expect that devilish fellow to let an assassin who had come to take his life go for his sake.

Wasn’t he just a pawn to be used by that guy?

He thought he would naturally be abandoned, so it was truly unexpected.

‘Just let him go? Ha!’

On the other hand, at Mok Gyeong-un’s words, one of Ha Chae-rin’s eyebrows arched upward.

His attitude, as if bestowing mercy, was annoying.

However, she also thought it was rather fortunate.

The fellow had made a mistake.

The fact that he was willing to let go of an assassin who had targeted his life to save a single bodyguard was proof that he didn’t take Go Chan lightly.

Still holding Go Chan’s throat, she took a step back and said,

“Young Master Mok. It seems you care a great deal for your bodyguard.”

“No. Not particularly. It’s just my whim that I don’t want to let a useful person like Bodyguard Go Chan die right away.”

“Whim. Hmph.”

Scoffing, she said to Mok Gyeong-un,

“Well then, if you want to save this person’s life according to your whim, move back ten steps and kneel down. Then, I’ll release the bodyguard as soon as I leave the estate.”

As she spoke, she used the hidden angle to switch the trigger on her wrist and loaded the Extreme Killing Needle.

She had already visualized the unfolding situation several times in her mind.

The moment Mok Gyeong-un stepped back, she planned to use Go Chan as a shield and push forward, firing the Extreme Killing Needle from her hidden angle.

“Hurry up and step ba-“

‘!?’

It was at that very moment.

She discovered that Mok Gyeong-un’s gaze was not directed at her but slightly behind her.

At the same time,

-Flinch!

Sensing something strange behind her back, she hurriedly switched her wrist and shot the Spectral Needle.

-Poof poof poof pook!

However, there was nothing behind her.

‘What?’

She was sure she had felt something approaching from behind just now.

It was an eerie sensation, but what on earth…!?

-Pak!

“Kek!”

In an instant, she grabbed Go Chan, whose throat she was holding, and twisted her body to one side.

At that moment, a dagger brushed past her right side.

Seeing Ha Chae-rin’s appearance as she dodged, Mok Gyeong-un’s eyes gleamed with interest.

‘Faster than Mok Yu-cheon.’

And more sensitive in perception.

Cheong-ryeong, who had targeted Ha Chae-rin’s back, spoke.

-The senses of a peak-level expert are incomparable to those of a first-class martial artist. My ghostly aura is too strong, so it’s not easy to approach within one jang.

It seems so.

Throughout Mok Yu-cheon’s narration, he kept glancing at Cheong-ryeong’s location from time to time.

Upon reaching the peak realm, it seemed that one becomes more adept at manipulating energy, to the point of being sensitive even to spiritual energy.

Then, Ha Chae-rin spoke to Mok Gyeong-un with sharpened eyes.

“Young Master Mok. You had an accomplice.”

“…”

She was certain.

The eerie and unfamiliar sensation she had felt from behind.

She didn’t know what it was, but her senses couldn’t be wrong when she was already on high alert.

And she realized one thing.

‘It was weak.’

The dagger Mok Gyeong-un had thrown earlier was a surprise attack, but the force behind it was weak.

If a martial artist above the peak level had thrown it with intent, she would have been hit on the shoulder in that fleeting moment.

Something was strange.

It was a perfect opportunity, yet he let it slip.

‘Could it be?’

Perhaps the Void Seizing technique he had demonstrated earlier was not Mok Gyeong-un’s skill.

It could have been the help of this unfamiliar entity that couldn’t be sensed.

As her thoughts reached this point, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

If Mok Gyeong-un was not the kind of expert she should be wary of, she could definitely kill him.

‘Extreme Killing Needle!’

In a split second, killing intent rose from her.

Sensing this, Mok Gyeong-un spoke in a cold voice.

“It seems you’ll become the most wicked person.”

“No. Not at all!”

With those words, Ha Chae-rin pushed Go Chan towards Mok Gyeong-un as she was.

-Papapapapak!

And as she approached within three jang, she struck Go Chan’s back with her left palm.

-Paaaaaang!

A sound of something exploding rang out.

“Kek!”

The Extreme Killing Needle that penetrated Go Chan’s back flew accurately towards Mok Gyeong-un’s forehead.

The power of the Extreme Killing Needle flying at a tremendous speed was at a level that could pierce through the protective qi of decent internal energy experts.

However,

-Whirik!

The flying Extreme Killing Needle twisted its trajectory upwards and penetrated Mok Gyeong-un’s raised right palm.

-Pook!

‘!?’

Ha Chae-rin’s eyes widened.

The flying Extreme Killing Needle changed its trajectory, what on earth was happening?

As she was puzzled, she heard a woman’s voice in her left ear.

-You should have left when he said he’d let you go, foolish one.

Startled by the voice right next to her, she leaped to the right and shot the Spectral Needle.

However, there was nothing there.

-Poof poof poof pook!

She was sure she heard a voice right beside her.

But why couldn’t she see anything?

As she was bewildered, something pulled her body to the ground with immense force.

-Pak! Kwang!

“Ack!”

A final scream burst out from Ha Chae-rin’s mouth as she hit the ground.

The startled Ha Chae-rin circulated her energy and tried to gather as much internal power as possible.

Then, she tried to generate a repulsive force to shake off the power pressing down on her body.

However,

“Heok!”

At that moment, an unbelievable thing occurred.

-Bubble bubble!

The surroundings of Ha Chae-rin, who was pressed against the ground, were filled with rising blood, and everything turned red.

At the same time, a foul stench of blood filled the air, making it hard to breathe.

Faced with this bizarre situation she had never experienced before, she couldn’t understand what was happening.

-Kkadeuk! Kkadeuk!

‘!!!!!!!’

For a moment, she doubted her eyes.

Dozens of red hands emerged from the ground, grabbing and pulling at her arms and legs, making her heart feel like it would burst.

It was so terrifying that she couldn’t even scream.

-Squirm squirm!

All she could do was twist her body.

Looking at Ha Chae-rin like this, Cheong-ryeong sneered.

-Since it’s the body I’ll be using, I’ll try not to leave too many scratches.

She was enjoying this.

Watching Cheong-ryeong, who was delighted, and Ha Chae-rin, who was suffering from fear, Mok Gyeong-un shook his head.

“I told you you’d be the most wicked person.”

He had clearly warned her.

He had even given her a chance to live by holding the bodyguard Go Chan’s throat and threatening him.

However, in the end, she had missed this opportunity.

“Cough cough.”

Mok Gyeong-un examined Go Chan, who was turning bluer and colder, with blood filling his mouth.

Blood continuously flowed from his pierced chest, and it seemed his heart had been penetrated, leaving no hope.

Looking at him, Mok Gyeong-un spoke in a dry voice.

“What a pity. I thought we could have been together a little longer.”

He had done his best to save him.

But he was really unlucky.

Mok Gyeong-un looked down at the dying Go Chan and continued,

“You’ve worked hard. I won’t forget Guard Go Chan’s efforts.”

“Cough… Young… Master… I don’t want to… die…”

Go Chan muttered something with difficulty.

It was the intense desire to live of a dying human being.

Mok Gyeong-un stared at him indifferently and said,

“Your attachment to life is strong.”

“Cough cough… Please…”

As Go Chan’s eyes gradually became hazy, Mok Gyeong-un looked down at him and muttered, his lips twitching.

“There might be room for us to be together a little longer.”

With those words, he took something out from his waist.

Something was written in red ink, but Go Chan’s vision was getting blurry, making it difficult to see clearly.

Mok Gyeong-un placed that talisman on Go Chan’s forehead.

Then, placing his palm on Go Chan’s chest, he said,

“According to the ghost Summoning Technique, vengeful spirits are born not only from strong resentment but also from the overflowing resentment and death energy at the place of death.”

As soon as he finished speaking,

A chilling and ominous energy surged from Mok Gyeong-un’s palm.

-Goooooo!