Chapter 278

Pyo Wol wiggled his fingers.

Ssssk!

A silver object coiled around his fingers.

The silver object was the snake from the swamp.

After playing on Pyo Wol’s fingers as if they were a playground, the snake raised its head and stared intently at him.

The snake’s red eyes met Pyo Wol’s deep ones.

The two looked into each other’s eyes as if they were communicating.

The snake flicked its tongue repeatedly, and Pyo Wol smiled.

Pyo Wol had lived with countless snakes in the underground cavern. He understood the physiology and mindset of snakes better than anyone. Naturally, he also knew how to handle them.

The snake, too, did not seem to dislike Pyo Wol.

It was because of the feeling of kinship it sensed from Pyo Wol’s body. That was why it had climbed onto his hand without a moment’s hesitation when he had held it out.

Pyo Wol looked at the snake’s ruby-like eyes and said,

“From now on, I will call you Gwia.”

Whether it liked the name Gwia or not, the snake weaved its way through Pyo Wol’s fingers.

Pyo Wol already knew this was an action Gwia took when it was very pleased.

Gwia had lived alone for a long time.

It, too, had been starved of companionship.

Because of that, it had been waiting for someone to reach out first, and Pyo Wol had appeared at just the right time.

Gwia circled Pyo Wol’s fingers for a while before slipping into his sleeve. It then coiled around Pyo Wol’s forearm and began to rest.

Pyo Wol was very fond of his new little friend.

In front of this friend, there was no need to waste his energy, nor was there any reason to be on guard.

Pyo Wol stroked the area where Gwia had settled and started walking.

The night street was silent.

The night was so deep that everyone had fallen asleep.

Creak! Creak!

Just then, a strange sound tore through the curtain of night and echoed.

Pyo Wol stopped walking and looked toward where the sound was coming from.

A moment later, the source of the sound revealed itself.

It was a small doll.

A crudely made wooden doll.

Pyo Wol had seen such a doll before.

“Black Tiger!”

At that moment, as if it had been waiting, the doll opened its mouth.

“Heheh! You look well. You must have been doing fine.”

The doll spoke as if it were a person.

In truth, it was merely relaying Black Tiger’s voice, but the sight of someone’s voice flowing from a doll’s mouth was utterly eerie.

Pyo Wol scanned his surroundings.

Today, the area was even more desolate.

No matter how deep the night and how soundly everyone slept, one would expect to hear at least a snore, but there was nothing of the sort.

It felt as if there wasn’t a single living creature on the street.

It was not a delusion.

He truly could not sense any human presence from the mansions lining the street on his left and right.

Pyo Wol asked the doll,

“Did you kill them all?”

“They were in the way.”

The doll spread its arms wide and chuckled.

Creak!

Every time the doll laughed, its wooden joints rubbed together, emitting a bizarre sound. It made the scene feel even more grotesque.

There were at least thirty houses lining the street where Pyo Wol stood.

If one calculated four people per house, at least one hundred and twenty people had lost their lives at Black Tiger’s hands.

Pyo Wol cast his gaze into the darkness.

“Did you kill all these people just to catch me?”

“It just means you’re that valuable.”

“Does Lee Yul know about this?”

“…”

For a moment, the doll’s mouth clamped shut.

“It seems you acted on your own. Are you confident you can handle the consequences? Defying a client’s orders at will should be a taboo for an Assassin.”

“Hmph! So what? Even he can’t do anything to the Hundred Wraith Union.”

Black Tiger snorted.

Even if Lee Yul and his backing organization became hostile towards him because of this, they wouldn’t be able to escalate the matter, considering the prestige of the Hundred Wraith Union.

The Assassins of the Hundred Wraith Union were scattered all over All Under Heaven, and if they couldn’t be wiped out in one go, the repercussions would be endless.

Unless Lee Yul was prepared to face the entire Hundred Wraith Union, he couldn’t recklessly attack him.

The only one who could punish the Assassins of the Hundred Wraith Union was the Hundred Wraith Union Lord. But it was extremely rare for the Hundred Wraith Union Lord to punish his Assassins.

Although he seemed to be rampaging in a fit of madness, all of Black Tiger’s actions were, in fact, based on cold reason and calculation.

He was certain that he would not receive any punishment or disadvantage for this incident. If not, he would not have acted so unilaterally.

Lee Yul had blamed Black Tiger heavily for killing Bo-gyeong, and this had wounded Black Tiger’s pride.

His desire to kill for Lee Yul had completely vanished. However, canceling a contract once accepted without a valid reason would negatively affect his credibility as an Assassin.

No one would hire an Assassin who had lost their credibility.

Instead, Black Tiger intended to kill Pyo Wol to conclude his deal with Lee Yul. He calculated that if he just killed Pyo Wol, Lee Yul would no longer make an issue of it.

Above all, Black Tiger felt a strong aversion to Pyo Wol.

From the first moment he saw him, a fire had ignited in his heart like a wildfire, provoking him.

Black Tiger hated Pyo Wol so much that just breathing in the same space made him want to vomit.

He wanted to carve dozens of lines into that handsome face.

Creak! Creak!

Dozens of dolls appeared on the roofs of the mansions.

They were identical in form to the doll standing before Pyo Wol.

The dolls had Pyo Wol completely surrounded.

Moving dozens of dolls simultaneously was a demanding task even for Black Tiger.

With so many dolls moving, he was bound to be discovered. So, to keep his secret, he killed everyone on the street.

Thump, thump!

Pyo Wol looked around at the dolls and stomped his foot on the ground several times.

A strong vibration was felt from beneath his feet.

Seeing this, Black Tiger shouted.

“Don’t try anything foolish.”

Boom!

Simultaneously with his shout, the doll that had approached Pyo Wol exploded, showering countless fine needles like a Hidden Weapon.

Pyo Wol swung his Soul Restraining Thread, creating a barrier around his body.

Boom!

At that moment, the doll behind Pyo Wol also exploded, spewing out fine needles.

“Heheh! Do you think you can block it?”

Watching the scene, Black Tiger let out a sinister laugh.

This street was completely dominated by Black Tiger’s dolls.

There was nowhere for Pyo Wol to escape.

No matter how fast he swung the Soul Restraining Thread to protect his entire body, there was a clear limit.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

The dolls exploded one after another, spewing out fine needles.

The night sky was covered in an innumerable number of fine needles.

The sight was reminiscent of the Tang Clan’s legendary Flower Rain Filling the Sky. But while the Flower Rain Filling the Sky was at least as beautiful as scattering flower petals, the fine needles bursting from the exploding dolls were filled with nothing but brutal Killing intent.

The fine needles that filled the sky pierced through everything that existed on the street.

The thick stone walls, the baked clay roof tiles, and the corpses of the people inside the houses.

Nothing could escape the explosion of fine needles.

“Heheh!”

Black Tiger emerged from the darkness.

He was certain that Pyo Wol was dead.

The trap he had laid was that perfect.

It was impossible to survive such a trap. Even for Black Tiger himself.

Black Tiger stared with cold, sunken eyes at the spot where the needles had concentrated. But there was nothing where his gaze was directed.

“What?”

For the first time, a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.

Pak!

At that moment, the ground seemed to heave, and something shot out.

The figure, covered in filth and dirt, was Pyo Wol.

The moment the fine needles exploded, Pyo Wol had swung his Soul Restraining Thread with his hands to protect his body while stomping a powerful foot technique with his legs. He had even added the Thousand-Pound Weight technique to it.

Instantly, the ground caved in, revealing an empty space.

It was a sewer drain for filth.

The reason Pyo Wol had stomped his foot before the needles exploded was to check if there was an empty space below. Fortunately, just as he thought, there was a sewer drain for filth running beneath the street.

Pyo Wol immediately jumped into the drain.

The street was completely covered in fine needles, but the drain he hid in was safe. Although he had to endure being covered in filth and a foul stench, he could bear that much.

Pyo Wol could do even worse things if it meant he could save his life.

“Damn it!”

Black Tiger’s eyes widened at the sight of Pyo Wol, who was completely unharmed, contrary to his expectations.

At that moment, Pyo Wol rushed toward him.

When Pyo Wol infused his Internal Energy, the Dark Dragon Robe momentarily turned black. He was clearly rushing straight ahead, but Pyo Wol’s figure instantly vanished, buried in the darkness.

Black Tiger instinctively swung his sword to block his front.

Clang!

Sparks flew as his body was pushed back.

He had blocked the Ghostly Rain with his sword by a hair’s breadth.

Black Tiger was also a top-tier Assassin in Jianghu.

Although Pyo Wol had used the darkness as a curtain for his Stealth, he had accurately sensed Pyo Wol’s position with his highly developed senses.

Clang, clang, clang!

In an instant, Pyo Wol’s Ghostly Rain and Black Tiger’s sword clashed dozens of times.

The two men sprinted down the street, swinging or thrusting their weapons at each other.

Dozens of sparks bloomed in the darkness.

The procession of sparks, flickering in an instant, continued to the end of the street.

Tat-tat-tat-tak!

This time, the two men ran along the walls.

Running on a wall was an impossible feat for an ordinary person, but for the two Assassins, it was no problem at all.

They knew well how to efficiently cut off their opponent’s breath.

They relentlessly exchanged blows, aiming for each other’s vital points.

Even while moving so fiercely, they did not let out a single rough breath or a single battle cry.

The only sound to be heard was the metallic clash of the Ghostly Rain and the sword.

Clang-gang-gang-gang!

The metallic sound echoing in the silent street was like the sound of a geomungo played by a master musician.

Cold sweat drenched Black Tiger’s back.

Although he didn’t scream, his entire body was covered in no small number of cuts. They were all wounds inflicted by Pyo Wol’s Ghostly Rain.

Among them were some quite deep wounds.

If his evasion had been even slightly slower, his life would have been cut short.

Pyo Wol’s attacks were truly lethal.

‘That bastard!’

Black Tiger’s skeletal face contorted hideously.

He hated to admit it, but Pyo Wol’s Martial Arts were a level above his.

His movements were much more concise, yet more deadly.

The problem was that the skill Pyo Wol was showing now was not his limit.

Unlike himself, who was already out of breath, Pyo Wol showed no change in expression. He might have been feigning composure, but at least to Black Tiger, it didn’t seem like a lie.

He could never defeat Pyo Wol through normal means.

The moment he acknowledged that fact, Black Tiger’s eyes turned even more eerie.

It was strange for an Assassin to seek normal methods.

Black Tiger was prepared to kill Pyo Wol by any means necessary.

‘Now!’

At that moment, something exploded behind Pyo Wol.

Boom!

A doll that Black Tiger had hidden exploded, spewing out fine needles.

Pyo Wol took off the Dark Dragon Robe he was wearing and swung it.

Thud-dud-duk!

The fine needles were caught by the Dark Dragon Robe and fell in a shower.

At that moment, Black Tiger rushed in like an arrow and swung his sword.

Sgeueok!

A long gash appeared on Pyo Wol’s side.

He had managed to twist his waist with superhuman senses and reflexes, so it ended with a flesh wound, but if his reaction had been even a little slower, his internal organs would have been injured.

Pyo Wol suppressed the pain and released his Soul Restraining Thread.

The invisible, formless thread flew, aiming for Black Tiger’s throat. But Black Tiger sensed the danger with his Assassin’s instinct and leaped back.

Simultaneously, an explosion occurred to Pyo Wol’s right.

He had hidden a doll there as well.

Pipit!

The explosion occurred at a moment Pyo Wol had not expected at all.

Pyo Wol swung his Dark Dragon Robe, but he ended up allowing three fine needles to hit him.

Fine needles were embedded in his shoulder, abdomen, and thigh.

Seeing this, a smile crept onto Black Tiger’s lips.

“It’s over.”

The fine needles of the doll that had just exploded were coated with a deadly poison.

It was a deadly poison that could instantly paralyze even someone with Poison Resistance.

Black Tiger chuckled and approached Pyo Wol.

Pyo Wol’s face had turned dark.

It was proof that the deadly poison was working properly.

“Heheh! It’s a thing called Cheonilhae. Once poisoned, you’ll be bedridden for a thousand days without being able to move.”

A human cannot live bedridden for a thousand days.

Nine out of ten would die before a hundred days had passed.

Pyo Wol wouldn’t even live for a hundred days.

Because he was going to take his breath right now.

It was then.

Suddenly, Black Tiger felt a sting on his ankle.

When Black Tiger looked down at his feet, he saw a silver, rope-like object bite his ankle and then flee.

‘A snake?’