Chapter 317

Kuuuung!

A powerful tremor traveled through the hull, spreading to every corner of the ship.

‘It’s begun.’

Pyo Wol knew what this tremor, transmitted through the soles of his feet, meant.

“What’s going on?”

“A fight.”

The cabin doors burst open all at once, and martial artists in sailors’ attire poured out.

Without exception, their eyes shone with a sharp glint.

Normally, in a situation like this, people would be in a state of confusion, but they moved with perfect discipline. Their actions alone showed how well-trained and elite they were.

The martial artists who came out of the cabins immediately ran toward the source of the strong vibrations.

They rushed forward in a group, yet they were orderly and showed no signs of excitement.

They reacted with a cold composure, as if they had always known a day like this would come.

Elites of this level are never easily made.

They are forged only by wading through countless Asura Fields and crossing the line of death time and time again.

Pyo Wol watched the martial artists pass beneath him, clinging to the ceiling of the corridor.

Numerous martial artists passed under the ceiling where Pyo Wol was in Stealth, but not a single one noticed his presence.

Pyo Wol had not only hidden his breath and presence but had erased his very existence.

A person with good intuition can often sense even what is unseen.

Moreover, the senses of a person who has learned Martial Arts are sensitive beyond imagination. It was by no means an easy task to completely deceive their senses. But Pyo Wol, who had completely erased even his existence, was perceived by people as merely a part of the environment.

Pyo Wol moved like a spider, hanging upside down from the ceiling.

His superhuman sense of balance, grip strength, and the Killing Method he had perfected through arduous training made such a feat possible.

Pyo Wol was heading for the captain’s quarters, located in the deepest part of the cabins.

Now, there was no one to be seen in the corridor. Everyone had gone down to the cabins on the lower floor.

There was no longer any reason for Pyo Wol to crawl along the ceiling. Yet, Pyo Wol did not come down to the floor.

Pyo Wol stared ahead, still clinging to the ceiling.

At first glance, there was nothing.

Not even the martial artists guarding the entrance were visible.

Perhaps it was because they didn’t think there would be an intruder on a ship floating in the middle of the sea.

He could enter the captain’s cabin just by opening the door. But Pyo Wol did not do so.

It was because his senses had detected someone hiding, even though they were not visible to the eye.

And there were as many as four of them in Stealth.

It was highly likely that even the people on this ship were unaware that they were hiding. That’s how remarkable a state their Stealth Skill had reached.

Their Stealth Skill had reached such a high level that no one but a Martial Artist who had achieved complete mastery as an Assassin, like Pyo Wol, could ever notice them.

A Stealth Skill of this level was in no way inferior to that of the assassins from the Hundred Wraith Union.

Pyo Wol, still attached to the ceiling, drew out a strand of Soul Restraining Thread.

He pushed the Soul Restraining Thread toward the cabin where the assassins were hiding.

Like a snake, the Soul Restraining Thread writhed and stretched forward.

Six Zhang, five Zhang… and four Zhang.

Suddenly, he felt a flinching reaction from that direction.

He hadn’t detected any definite movement, but it was clear he had felt something out of place.

That meant a radius of about four Zhang was what their senses could detect.

‘Four Zhang…’

Not bad.

Senses of this level were comparable to the assassins of the Hundred Wraith Union that Pyo Wol had faced.

‘Were assassins who reached this level so common?’

Properly training an assassin was by no means an easy task.

To create a single assassin, at least a hundred sacrifices were needed.

One could see that just by looking at the Bloody Shadows Guild that had raised Pyo Wol.

To train Pyo Wol and a few other assassins, they had sacrificed several times that number of people. And it would be a mistake to think that just because an assassin was created through such an arduous process, they would immediately be effective in a real fight.

An assassin is perfected through countless acts of killing.

For one person to properly carry out an assassination, a lot of support was needed.

Besides information and equipment, a great deal of human support was required.

That’s why commissioning a proper assassin required such a large fee. A huge amount of money was consumed because so many people moved at once.

Perhaps that was why the Hundred Wraith Union always maintained its number of assassins at one hundred. If they expanded their scale beyond that, they would find it difficult to handle the costs.

If even the Hundred Wraith Union was like that, it was even more difficult for others to raise proper assassins.

It would require more than double the funds and time of the Hundred Wraith Union.

It was practically an impossible task.

Assassins like Pyo Wol existed, but they were literally exceptions.

A being like Pyo Wol was not something that could be planned and raised.

The assassins hiding here were certainly far inferior to Pyo Wol. But they had reached a level that was impossible to cultivate anywhere other than the Hundred Wraith Union.

However, they couldn’t be considered to be affiliated with the Hundred Wraith Union either.

There was no reason for assassins of the Hundred Wraith Union to be protecting a captain on a ship floating in the middle of the sea.

‘Then did the person inside raise these assassins to be his personal guards?’

It was close to an absurd conjecture, but Pyo Wol strangely had that feeling.

Kwa-rururu!

The vibrations from the lower floor felt even stronger.

It meant that Yul Ayeon was fighting that much more fiercely.

He didn’t know how long she could hold out.

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Yul Ayeon, but the martial artists on this ship exuded the air of war experts.

He had to deal with these people while Yul Ayeon was still holding on.

Swish!

Pyo Wol suddenly descended from the ceiling.

It was the moment he revealed himself.

Shwaaak!

Suddenly, secret compartments hidden around the door opened, and four men shot out.

They were the assassins guarding the captain’s quarters.

Without asking any questions, they attacked Pyo Wol.

Swords held in a reverse grip flew at him via the shortest path.

The swords were aimed at vital points that would cause instant death, such as the neck, heart, and head.

Shwaaak!

The swords and sabers pierced Pyo Wol’s body.

In that instant, the assassins’ eyes widened.

They had clearly succeeded in their attack, but they felt nothing in their hands.

At that moment, Pyo Wol’s form, which had been pierced by their weapons, vanished like a Mirage.

“What?”

“What the?”

They were so surprised that they broke the unwritten rule of assassins and let out cries of alarm.

Shreerik!

At that moment, the Soul Restraining Thread descended from the air and wrapped around their necks. Then it pulled them up into the air.

“Keok!”

“Kkeueueu!”

Agonized groans escaped the assassins’ lips.

Their bodies were instantly hoisted into the air.

The assassins struggled, trying to cut the thread that was strangling their necks. But the Soul Restraining Thread did not break and instead dug into their necks.

Just before dying, the assassins raised their heads and looked at the ceiling. Pyo Wol was hanging there.

‘How?’

It was a sight that was completely incomprehensible by their common sense.

It was already incomprehensible that the Pyo Wol they had successfully attacked had vanished without a trace, but for him to be hanging from the ceiling above their heads…

They couldn’t understand how it was possible. But they were not given time to solve the mystery.

Geugeugeuk!

Because Pyo Wol tightened the Soul Restraining Thread with even greater force.

In the end, the Soul Restraining Thread dug deep into their necks and cut off their breath. He hadn’t killed them by strangulation, but by slitting their throats.

Drip, drip!

The blood flowing from their necks dripped onto the floor.

Only then did Pyo Wol withdraw the Soul Restraining Thread.

Pyo Wol landed on the floor and muttered.

‘It’s useful.’

The technique he had just used was inspired by the Body-Shifting Illusion.

It used an Afterimage to deceive the opponent’s eyes, just like the Body-Shifting Illusion. The only difference was that the technique Pyo Wol used was several times more elaborate than the Body-Shifting Illusion.

Its name was Devil Shadow Illusion Guard.

It was a technique created solely to deceive the opponent’s eyes for a single moment.

It was also the technique that Pyo Wol had poured the most effort into perfecting during the past four months on Mount Tianjung.

But this was the first time he was using it in a real battle. So he couldn’t be sure of its success, but fortunately, it worked well even against fellow assassins.

If he could deceive the eyes of an assassin, deceiving other martial artists would be much easier.

Pyo Wol opened the door to the captain’s cabin and stepped inside.

Shwaak!

At that moment, a sharp Sword Qi shot toward his neck.

The Sword Qi pierced through his neck and shattered the wall behind him. But Pyo Wol was completely unharmed.

He had used the Devil Shadow Illusion Guard again.

Using the Devil Shadow Illusion Guard in succession had consumed a great deal of his Internal Power, but thanks to it, he was able to save his life.

The one who had launched the Ambush Attack on Pyo Wol was none other than the captain.

The captain, his face wrapped tightly in white cloth, was not surprised that his sword had cut through empty air.

His eyes followed Pyo Wol’s True Body behind him.

Tak!

He kicked off the floor and rushed at Pyo Wol.

The captain’s sword plunged toward Pyo Wol’s neck like a flash of lightning.

Kaang!

Just before it reached his neck, Pyo Wol parried the captain’s sword with his Ghostly Rain. The captain’s sword, which seemed to bounce back, changed its trajectory mid-air and once again aimed for Pyo Wol’s vitals.

Kakakakang!

The captain’s sword and Pyo Wol’s Ghostly Rain clashed a dozen times in an instant.

An attack is parried, and a counterattack follows.

The movements of the two men were as natural as flowing water.

They reacted as if they knew in advance what attack the other would unleash.

Even upon seeing an unfamiliar intruder, the captain did not utter any cliché phrases like ‘Who are you?’ or ‘Reveal your identity.’

He was solely focused on attacking Pyo Wol.

Shwaaak!

He attacked Pyo Wol, pushing him against the wall.

It was to corner him and cut off his Escape route.

It was the optimal way to deal with an assassin who had trespassed into his space. It was a response that would be impossible if it wasn’t deeply ingrained in his body.

While attacking, the captain never once opened his mouth.

His lips, revealed between the white cloth, were tightly shut, and his two eyes tracked Pyo Wol’s movements.

In the meantime, Pyo Wol used the Devil Shadow Illusion Guard once more.

The captain’s sword once again cut through empty air in vain.

He had been deceived again, even though he had already experienced it once.

That’s how formidable the power of the Devil Shadow Illusion Guard was.

It stole the opponent’s breath, allowing one to prepare for a counterattack.

Pyo Wol thought he had sufficiently verified the power of the Devil Shadow Illusion Guard. Now was not the time for verification, but to subdue the opponent.

Before he knew it, another Ghostly Rain was in Pyo Wol’s hand.

Pyo Wol’s counterattack began, holding two Ghostly Rains in a reverse grip.

Kagagagagang!

The sound of clashing metal continuously erupted between the two men.

It was the clash of the sword and the Ghostly Rains.

The offense and defense continued without a moment’s breath.

The two men crisscrossed the spacious captain’s cabin, aiming for each other’s lives. Yet, the furniture like the desk and chairs remained intact.

It was a distinctly different scene from when ordinary martial artists clashed, where all the surrounding objects would be destroyed.

The captain was of the same kind as Pyo Wol.

He was a being whose assassin’s nature was ingrained to the very marrow of his bones.

As the clashes continued, Pyo Wol’s gaze grew deeper.

It was because the opponent’s gaze, actions, and even his breathing were all familiar.

At first, it was just a simple guess, but as the fierce battle continued, he became certain.

The captain was someone Pyo Wol knew.

Even if he didn’t know for what reason he had wrapped his entire body in white cloth like that.

Pyo Wol unleashed Heuk Am.

In that instant, the world he saw changed.

The Lightning power had pushed his body’s reaction speed to its peak, and it had also opened up his vision.

Seogeok!

Pyo Wol brushed past the captain.

In that moment, a deep line of blood appeared on the captain’s cheek, and the white cloth that had been wrapped around his face was cut away.

The captain stood still, watching the cloth fall to the floor. The once pure white cloth was now stained with a great deal of Fresh Blood.

If the cut had been just a little deeper, it would have sliced through to the bone.

The captain’s face, revealed between the cut white cloth, was truly gruesome.

His flesh was gouged and torn away as if eaten by ants. It was a horrifying sight, one that would be terrifying to see even in a dream.

The captain’s face turned toward Pyo Wol.

“It’s been a long time, Pyo Wol!”