Chapter 274

Even though Hong Ye-seol spat out words laced with killing intent, Pyo Wol didn’t even seem to care. That attitude provoked Hong Ye-seol even more.

If he had offered a single word of apology, she wouldn’t have been this angry. But Pyo Wol, far from apologizing, didn’t even show a hint of remorse.

He wouldn’t look at a stone rolling on the street with such eyes.

Hong Ye-seol’s shoulders trembled with extreme humiliation.

She gathered a great amount of Internal Power in her hands.

She was about to unleash the Great Yin Hand.

“That’s far enough.”

“What?”

“I won’t go easy on you this time.”

“……”

Hong Ye-seol immediately understood what Pyo Wol’s words meant.

Unleashing the Great Yin Hand was not difficult.

All she had to do was swing. But in that moment, she would become a complete enemy to Pyo Wol.

A man like Pyo Wol, once he designated someone as an enemy, would never look back. They would walk parallel lines as enemies until death.

And he said he wouldn’t go easy on her.

There was something she had felt from clashing with Pyo Wol a few times, and that was the inability to gauge the extent of his true power.

His Killing Method, his Martial Arts, his spirit. She couldn’t even begin to guess their limits.

To become a perfect enemy to such a man.

Countless calculations ran through Hong Ye-seol’s mind.

“Damn it!”

Hong Ye-seol stealthily released the Internal Power she had gathered in her hands.

She took another drink and glared at Pyo Wol.

“You’re a real son of a bitch.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“I said, a son of a bitch.”

“Right!”

Pyo Wol replied calmly.

His demeanor infuriated Hong Ye-seol even more. However, like the outstanding Assassin she was, she quickly regained her composure.

With a calm expression, she spewed venom.

“Thanks to you, I went through hell. I won’t forget this favor.”

She said it with her usual elegant expression.

Pyo Wol smirked.

“Over something so trivial…”

“Huu! I’ll let it slide this time. But if you screw me over again, I won’t just stand by. I’ll mobilize all the power of the Hundred Wraith Union to kill you.”

“Do as you please.”

“You’re insufferable.”

Though she said that, she looked much less angry.

“Was Jang Muryang very angry?”

“What do you think you’d be like? His most cherished Vice Unit Leader and a father figure he relied on mentally are dead. Of course, he’s lost his mind.”

“I suppose so.”

“He’s probably desperately searching all over Runan not just for me, but for you as well. Yet here you are, the man responsible, sitting leisurely in a Brothel, patting a Courtesan’s ass… If he found out, he’d probably collapse in disbelief.”

“All the better.”

“What are you really thinking? Leaking my information to the Black Cloud Corps? Was it because you hate me? Or was it just to screw me over?”

“Thanks to that, Lee Yul lost one of the cards he could play.”

“You pushed me into a corner for such a trivial reason?”

“A perfectionist like Lee Yul can’t stand it when even one thing doesn’t go his way. If he has ten cards to play, he’s only satisfied when all ten are played perfectly according to his will. If even one deviates from his intention or control, he starts to suffer from inner turmoil.”

He had noticed it when he first met him at Snow Blade Sword Manor.

Just how much Lee Yul pursued perfection.

His hair, perfectly arranged without a single strand out of place, his wrinkle-free clothes, his restrained expression, and his eyes that perfectly concealed his emotions.

He resembled himself in many ways.

That was why he could be certain. Just how much of a perfectionist he was.

Being a perfectionist himself, Pyo Wol knew very well how to break such people.

Hong Ye-seol, without realizing it, wore a disgusted expression. And for the first time, she felt sorry for Lee Yul, who had made an enemy of such a man.

“How did he end up making an enemy of you?”

“He probably didn’t know I would become an enemy. But he must have been confident he could easily eliminate anyone who did.”

He was a man who had used Snow Blade Sword Manor to shake not only Runan but All Under Heaven.

He had the ability to do so.

In fact, until Pyo Wol appeared in Runan, everything had been going his way. But Pyo Wol’s appearance had created a rupture in his perfect plans and actions.

For now, it was just a slight deviation, but as time passed, the crack would widen, and eventually, it would completely overturn Lee Yul’s plans.

Hong Ye-seol shook her head.

“Hah! You’re better suited to be a strategist than an Assassin. No, maybe your true form is a schemer wearing the mask of an Assassin…”

Who would have imagined?

That behind that beautiful face lay such a brilliant mind.

The Hundred Wraith Union was a blade anyone could use.

Infinitely sharp, but available to anyone who paid the right price.

That was the nature of an Assassin, and the Hundred Wraith Union was a collective of such Assassins. But Pyo Wol was different.

He was an Assassin, but also not an Assassin.

It was too unfair that someone possessing such spirit and martial power was classified as the same kind of Assassin as them.

Hong Ye-seol couldn’t believe that such a person existed in the same era.

‘Perhaps this man will bring about the end of the Hundred Wraith Union…’

She shuddered at the ominous premonition.

She hoped it was just her imagination, but she had a feeling it would unfortunately become reality.

Hong Ye-seol stared intently at Pyo Wol.

The effects of the alcohol had already vanished.

Her mind was clear, as if she had been hit by a cold wind.

A moment later, she opened her mouth.

“I think we need to redefine our relationship.”

“What do you mean?”

“Being the main wife doesn’t suit me, and I hate being a concubine even more. Let’s just be lovers!”

“……”

“Surely you wouldn’t kill your lover just because our affiliations are a little different and we don’t see eye to eye, right?”

Hong Ye-seol extended a white hand, wrapped it around Pyo Wol’s neck, and met his gaze.

A blush had already crept onto her face.

Pyo Wol wrapped his arm around Hong Ye-seol’s ant-thin waist and said.

“Who knows? I might kill you tonight.”

“That doesn’t sound so bad.”

Hong Ye-seol smiled brightly.

＊＊＊

Seol Gwangho looked around.

It was a pitch-black night, without even a moon. Nevertheless, the faces of the Martial Artists following him were clearly visible.

It was his direct subordinate organization, the Shadow Unit.

Originally, the Shadow Unit had not been very large. At most, it was merely Seol Gwangho’s personal guard. The Shadow Unit expanded when the fight between Jin Clan and Snow Blade Sword Manor intensified, and numerous Martial Artists flowed into Snow Blade Sword Manor.

Seol Gwangho selected the young and spirited among the new Martial Artists and had them join. As a result, the Shadow Unit was able to build the most solid fighting force in Snow Blade Sword Manor.

After several fierce battles, the Shadow Unit was reborn as an elite force, and Seol Gwangho’s confidence was at its peak.

The number of Jin Clan’s Martial Artists killed by Seol Gwangho’s hand exceeded twenty.

Not a single one of them had been an easy opponent.

Through the fierce battles, Seol Gwangho had grown stronger.

He had already earned the Alias Hellblood Axe, and many feared him.

Seol Gwangho was quite fond of the Alias Hellblood Axe.

His father, Seol Gang-yeon, had ordered him to refrain from outside activities for the time being.

It seemed the intervention of the Shaolin Temple was a burden.

Word was that the Shaolin Temple had dispatched new warrior monks. Although it would take a few days for them to arrive from Mount Song to Runan, it was a sufficiently burdensome situation for Seol Gang-yeon.

Because of that, Seol Gang-yeon had ordered Seol Gwangho to refrain from activities for the time being and watch the situation.

Seol Gwangho did not understand his father’s order.

No matter how great the Shaolin Temple was, it would be difficult for them to intervene in a fight between two Sects without a proper justification.

There was no evidence anywhere that Bo-gyeong’s death was the work of Snow Blade Sword Manor. It was merely suspicion. If so, the Shaolin Temple would not be able to actively involve themselves for the time being.

They had to settle the score before then.

If the scales tipped decisively in Snow Blade Sword Manor’s favor, even the Shaolin Temple would find it burdensome.

‘Now is the chance. Before Shaolin intervenes, we must deal a heavy blow to Jin Clan and seize victory.’

Some people, seeing Seol Gwangho’s large frame, rashly assumed he was slow-witted. But the Shadow Unit that followed him knew well how wrong that prejudice was.

A man with the build of a bear but the cunning of a fox was Seol Gwangho.

Seol Gwangho thought now was the time to move.

No one would expect Snow Blade Sword Manor to make a move. So they had to move now and inflict a great blow on Jin Clan. That was the reason he was leading the Shadow Unit towards Jin Clan.

Jin Clan had established an iron-clad security network. But even the most solid fortress has a hole for an ant to enter.

A gap existed in the security network Jin Clan had built.

Through numerous fierce battles, Seol Gwangho had found the hole in Jin Clan’s security.

The path they were moving along now was precisely that.

Splash! Splash!

Every time the Shadow Unit took a step, the sound of splashing water echoed.

They were moving along a shallow stream where the water only came up to their ankles.

In the summer, it would be chest-high, but now the water had dried up, barely wetting their ankles.

Following the stream all the way up, they could easily reach the vicinity of Jin Clan.

If it had been an ordinary stream, this place too would have been guarded by an iron-clad security force. But because the filth from Jin Clan was mixed in and discharged here, the stench was severe. So only a minimal force was guarding it.

The stench grew stronger.

It meant that Jin Clan was getting closer.

Seol Gwangho looked back at the Shadow Unit and gave a hand signal. The Shadow Unit nodded, preparing to fight at any moment.

Although the Shadow Unit was strong, they couldn’t bring down Jin Clan with just this number of troops. But if they launched an Ambush Attack, they could surely inflict great damage.

A hit-and-run through a surprise attack.

That was the core of the plan Seol Gwangho had devised.

Seol Gwangho had made such a plan because he had collaborators inside Jin Clan.

He had won over a few of the Martial Artists that Jin Clan had accepted.

They were to eliminate the Martial Artists guarding the stream and wait for them. If they joined forces, it was a fight with a good chance of winning.

‘Without risk, there is no glory.’

Seol Gwangho gripped the great axe he had been carrying on his back and advanced.

It was when they arrived at the place guarded by Jin Clan’s Martial Artists.

Seol Gwangho wrinkled his nose.

He could smell blood.

A smile soon appeared on his lips.

He thought that the people he had won over had done their part.

“Let’s go!”

He shouted to the Shadow Unit.

They had to strike and withdraw as quickly as possible.

It was just as he and the Shadow Unit were about to increase their speed.

Shwiak!

Suddenly, a sharp Sword Qi flew through the darkness.

Kaang!

“Who goes there?”

Seol Gwangho shouted as he swung his great axe to deflect the Sword Qi.

At that moment, a young man emerged from the darkness.

“I thought your movements were strange. So this was your little trick.”

The man muttering in a low voice was none other than Namgung Wol.

Namgung Wol had been out for a night walk when he spotted suspicious movements.

It was the movements of the people Seol Gwangho had won over.

He had followed them here and discovered Seol Gwangho and the Shadow Unit.

The smell of blood that Seol Gwangho had caught a moment ago was the blood of those who had been won over by him.

Namgung Wol had eliminated them.

Seol Gwangho’s eyes widened as he glared at Namgung Wol.

“Namgung Wol! Do you dare interfere with my work?”

“The word ‘dare’ doesn’t really suit you.”

“Grr!”

Thick veins bulged on the back of Seol Gwangho’s hand gripping the great axe.

Namgung Wol was a burdensome opponent even for him. But he couldn’t retreat now without any gains.

Seol Gwangho shouted.

“You alone cannot handle all of us.”

“Who said I was alone?”

At that moment, young Martial Artists began to appear one by one from behind Namgung Wol.

At their head was Oh Ju-gang.

Today, Oh Ju-gang held a sword instead of a liquor bottle.

He had always been drunk with grief over losing Jin Geum-woo, but now his mind was clear. For some reason, he didn’t feel like drinking today.

Instead, his eyes held a chilling killing intent.

“Not a single one of you should think of escaping this place.”

“Look who’s talking. Attack!”

Seol Gwangho shouted, pointing forward with his great axe.

“Waaah!”

“Kill them!”

The Shadow Unit charged forward.

Oh Ju-gang and the young Martial Artists also clashed with them with all their might.

Meanwhile, Namgung Wol drew his sword and approached Seol Gwangho.

On a dark night without a single ray of moonlight, only his sword emitted a brilliant silver light.

Somehow, the feeling was ominous, but Seol Gwangho forced a snort.

“What’s so great about the Thousand Water Society? I’ll show you that this one’s Great Eight Desolations Axe Art is not to be trifled with.”

He swung his great axe at Namgung Wol with all his might.

Namgung Wol swung his sword to meet it and muttered.

“Geum-woo! Are you watching? This is a Soul Requiem Ritual for you.”