Chapter 209

“Gah!”

The martial artist, pulled into the air like a fish, shot his eyes open. The Soul Restraining Thread had dug into his neck.

The sharp Soul Restraining Thread snuffed out the martial artist’s life.

When Pyo Wol flicked his hand, the martial artist’s corpse, dangling from the Soul Restraining Thread, fell into the middle of the White Tiger Sword Unit.

As their comrade’s body fell into their midst, the White Tiger Sword Unit’s formation wavered. To make matters worse, a few martial artists broke away to save their colleague, creating a large gap.

Pyo Wol had become perfectly one with the darkness.

The Dark Dragon Robe, which boasted a brilliant color during the day, had now turned into a shade that most resembled the darkness.

The martial artists who had broken from the group to save their comrade climbed up the tree where they presumed Pyo Wol to be. But by the time they arrived, Pyo Wol had already left the spot.

To attempt a group ambush against an assassin.

And in a forest at night, no less.

Their choice was, in a word, the worst possible.

It was a fatal mistake made because they had never faced an assassin like Pyo Wol. Had they investigated Pyo Wol just a little more thoroughly, they would never have made such a blunder.

The night limits a person’s senses.

Vision is blocked by a wall of darkness, and hearing cannot function properly due to the rustling of bushes and the sound of the wind.

The White Tiger Sword Unit hadn’t even prepared torches for their Ambush Attack.

They were in a situation where they couldn’t respond properly.

Pyo Wol, on the other hand, knew how to use the darkness.

The suffocating darkness further expanded his senses.

His eyes could vividly capture even the expressions on people’s faces beyond the veil of night, and his hearing could clearly filter out the sound of their breathing.

Pyo Wol wrinkled his nose.

The scent of the fear emanating from the White Tiger Sword Unit was carried on the wind.

They would never know it, but a person gripped by fear emits a peculiar scent.

Pyo Wol could smell the scent of fear they were emitting.

He could read the intensity of their fear without even needing to see them.

Pyo Wol’s first target was the martial artist who had climbed the tree to save his comrade. Among the martial artists of the White Tiger Sword Unit, he was particularly light-bodied and had excellent senses, serving as a vanguard. But even with his senses, it was impossible to detect Pyo Wol’s approach.

“You bastard! I will never forgive you.”

It was then.

Flutter!

Suddenly, with the sound of a collar fluttering in the wind, a stark white face popped out before his eyes.

“You?”

Puk!

The martial artist couldn’t finish his words.

The Ghostly Rain had lodged in his neck.

After flailing for a moment, the martial artist plummeted to the ground.

Thud!

A heavy sound shook the darkness.

“That bastard!”

“Jeong-myeong has been taken down.”

The bewildered voices of the White Tiger Sword Unit shook the darkness.

Now, the White Tiger Sword Unit’s formation was completely broken.

Ju Cheon-hak tried to control them, but as the bodies of the martial artists continued to fall from the sky, even the order that had been barely maintained completely collapsed.

“You vicious bastard!”

Jang Mu-yeon trembled with rage.

He had been confident that they were sufficiently prepared, but Pyo Wol had cunningly shattered their battle line. And he was hunting the White Tiger Sword Unit one by one.

Faced with the deadly stratagem, the White Tiger Sword Unit was terrified and couldn’t mount any counterattack.

The sight of their comrades being dragged into the darkness without a sound, only to reappear as corpses, presented them with a terrible nightmare.

“Come out!”

“Hyaaa!”

They swung their swords wildly at the empty darkness.

Their usual discipline and cool-headed reason were nowhere to be seen.

“Ugh!”

A pained groan escaped Jang Mu-yeon’s lips.

Now he understood what his maternal uncle, Hwa Yu-cheon, had gone through. Hwa Yu-cheon must have also experienced this terrible horror unfolding right before his eyes.

He felt he could now understand, even if just a little, what Hwa Yu-cheon must have felt, having to helplessly watch his subordinates disappear one by one or turn into corpses before his very eyes.

But he was not Hwa Yu-cheon.

He was young, strong, and possessed a ferocious nature.

Sitting back and being helplessly attacked did not suit his temperament.

He called for Ju Cheon-hak.

“Captain Ju!”

“Yes! Second Young Master.”

Even in the urgent situation, Ju Cheon-hak looked at Jang Mu-yeon.

Jang Mu-yeon held up four fingers.

In an instant, Ju Cheon-hak’s face contorted in pain.

He knew all too well what that meant.

Normally, Ju Cheon-hak would never have accepted Jang Mu-yeon’s order. But now, he had no choice.

While he hesitated, someone else was struck in the Throat Blood Point by a Flying Dagger that flew out of the darkness and died instantly.

Its duty done, the Flying Dagger, as if pulled by someone, dislodged itself from the Throat Blood Point and was sucked back into the darkness, disappearing.

If this continued for just a little longer, the White Tiger Sword Unit would surely be annihilated.

Ju Cheon-hak shouted.

“Dan-mok, Ju-wang, Yeok-cheol, Jang-pyeong, occupy the four directions.”

“Yes! Captain.”

The four men who were called took up positions in the east, west, south, and north.

Jang Mu-yeon and Ju Cheon-hak held their breath and watched their backs.

Their plan was simple.

It was to use the four men as sacrifices.

All four were skilled in defense-oriented swordsmanship.

If they could withstand Pyo Wol’s ambush for even a moment, and if Pyo Wol revealed himself, the plan was to launch a combined attack and settle the score.

The four men who stepped forward also knew they were sacrifices.

They were human, too.

Their faces were filled with fear.

Still, the reason they readily stepped forward was that there was no other way to catch Pyo Wol.

They forced their wavering hearts to be still, thinking that if they could save others by sacrificing their own lives, it would be a meaningful sacrifice.

Just then, the eyes of Seo Dan-mok, who had taken the eastern position, wavered.

A stark white face had suddenly popped out, piercing through the darkness.

The owner of the demonically white face was Pyo Wol. He had used Black Lightning to appear before Seo Dan-mok without a sound or a trace.

Ssk!

A hand as white as his face reached for his throat.

“Hyaaa!”

Seo Dan-mok let out a scream and unleashed a Sword Stance.

Shwaaak!

With a sharp sound of tearing air, his sword slashed toward Pyo Wol’s hand. The blade, honed to a sharp blue, was even coated with Sword Qi.

It was a Sword Stance powerful enough to slice an ordinary lump of iron in two in a single blow. But his sword never reached Pyo Wol’s wrist.

Tang!

Pyo Wol’s left hand had flicked the body of the sword away.

As the hand holding the sword was knocked away, his chest and neck were left wide open.

Not missing the opening, Pyo Wol’s hand grabbed its original target, Seo Dan-mok’s neck.

“Keuk! You bastard!”

Seo Dan-mok dropped his sword and wrapped both arms around Pyo Wol’s body.

He was giving up his own life to take Pyo Wol down with him.

As he embraced Pyo Wol, the White Tiger Sword Unit attacked him all at once. Even as his comrades’ swords flew at him, Seo Dan-mok didn’t bat an eye and hugged Pyo Wol’s body even tighter.

“We’re going together!”

Seo Dan-mok let out a crazed shout.

At that moment, his comrades’ swords pierced his body.

Pukpukpuk!

Though he felt extreme pain, Seo Dan-mok smiled. He believed without a doubt that the swords piercing his body would also run through Pyo Wol.

He thought that if he could sacrifice himself to take Pyo Wol with him, it wouldn’t be so bad. But the next moment, the smile vanished from his face.

Slither!

Pyo Wol’s body seemed to go limp like a snake and slipped right out.

“N-no!”

He gathered his last bit of strength to grab Pyo Wol, but it was useless. Pyo Wol had already escaped his grasp and vanished into the darkness.

“Keoheok!”

In the end, only Seo Dan-mok lost his life in vain to his comrades’ swords.

Having killed their comrade without inflicting any damage on Pyo Wol, the White Tiger Sword Unit’s minds fractured from extreme confusion and fear.

“Aaargh! You demonic bastard!”

“Come out! I said, come out!”

They screamed at the darkness.

“Everyone, get a grip. Don’t fall for the bastard’s intentions.”

Ju Cheon-hak tried to stop them, but it was no use.

The White Tiger Sword Unit was beyond his control.

Pyo Wol easily hunted the White Tiger Sword Unit in such a state.

Ju Cheon-hak chased Pyo Wol as he moved through the darkness, but he was no match. Just when he thought he had reached within arm’s length, Pyo Wol would hide himself in the darkness. Then he would appear in a completely unexpected place and kill a member of the White Tiger Sword Unit.

To Ju Cheon-hak, this situation was like a nightmare.

The sight of the entire White Tiger Sword Unit being toyed with and killed by a single assassin didn’t feel real.

Each and every member of the White Tiger Sword Unit was like a child to him.

He couldn’t bear to watch his children die with a sane mind.

“I’ll kill you.”

He chased Pyo Wol and unleashed the strongest Killing Move he possessed.

Chwaaaak!

As if tearing a folding screen, his sword ripped through the darkness and lunged toward Pyo Wol.

It was a Killing Move unleashed with all his might, without considering the consequences, under the sole conviction of killing Pyo Wol. Naturally, its power was incomparable to the Sword Stances he had shown so far.

Something strange caught the eye of Jang Mu-yeon, who was following behind Ju Cheon-hak.

A faint white line stretched long, buried in the darkness.

The white line was so cleverly hidden that if Ju Cheon-hak hadn’t emitted Sword Qi, Jang Mu-yeon wouldn’t have noticed it.

Jang Mu-yeon shouted urgently.

“No! Captain Ju. Stop…”

Sgeueok!

At that moment, a gruesome slicing sound echoed from Ju Cheon-hak’s neck.

A line of red Fresh Blood flowed from Ju Cheon-hak’s neck.

“Huh?”

Ju Cheon-hak also tilted his head as if something felt strange. At that moment, the line of blood on his neck deepened, and his head dropped from his body, rolling on the ground.

“Captain Ju!”

Jang Mu-yeon screamed in despair.

Only then did Jang Mu-yeon realize.

The white line he had seen was actually a fine Silver Thread.

The detestable Pyo Wol had strung a Silver Thread at a person’s neck height and deliberately lured Ju Cheon-hak that way.

The usual Ju Cheon-hak would not have fallen for such a simple trap, but he had lost his composure in his anger and was not in his right mind. So he failed to notice the Silver Thread, and the result was truly horrific.

Jang Mu-yeon’s eyes, staring at Ju Cheon-hak’s headless corpse, were filled with blood vessels.

It looked as if blood would drip from his bloodshot eyes at any moment.

The entire White Tiger Sword Unit he had ambitiously brought with him had lost their lives.

There were still men left to deal with Soma, but it seemed better not to expect anything from that side either.

The White Tiger Sword Unit was not his own limbs.

They were the cherished subordinates of his father, Jang Pyeong-san.

Losing all of them was the same as losing his father’s trust. If he returned empty-handed, he would lose everything he had left.

Ssk!

At that moment, Pyo Wol revealed himself.

His appearance, as if to say that now that he had dealt with the entire White Tiger Sword Unit, there was no longer any need for ambushes, infuriated Jang Mu-yeon.

“You… bastard!”

A phlegm-choked sound came from Jang Mu-yeon’s throat.

Despite having killed the entire White Tiger Sword Unit, Pyo Wol’s body didn’t have a single scratch on it.

His stark white skin, a contrast to the darkness, had not a single drop of blood spattered on it, making him look even more alien.

Pyo Wol’s breathing was not even ragged. It was because he had killed them in the most efficient way.

Jang Mu-yeon glared fiercely into Pyo Wol’s eyes.

His beast-like eyes were enough to instill fear in many. But unfortunately, the fear was not conveyed to the white-faced man before him.

“I admit it. I was looking down on you. But you should have never shown yourself.”

Jang Mu-yeon raised his sword and aimed it at Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol had the advantage when ambushing, but he thought he would have the upper hand in a direct confrontation.

The formidable abilities Pyo Wol had shown so far were all displayed when the prerequisite of an ambush was met.

He was confident that now that Pyo Wol had clearly revealed himself, such cowardly tricks would not work on him.

Hwoooong!

His sword shone clearly in the darkness.

An exceptionally clear and dense Sword Qi.

He had not yet reached the Sword Gang Realm, but he had surpassed the wall of Sword Qi and was only an enlightenment away.

Seeing this, Pyo Wol opened his mouth for the first time.

“The reason I revealed myself is because you couldn’t make me tense.”