Chapter 107: For Someone So Ugly

TL: FoodieMonster007

The moment I opened the gambling den door and stepped out, sunlight streamed in. Hidden weapons flew from within that light.

SHWIK! SHWIK! SHWIK! SHWIK!

I lightly parried the weapons with the Black Demon Sword. Thanks to the Divine Eye Technique, the sun did not dazzle my eyes even when I looked directly at it.

On the roof across the street, the heads of the assassins who threw the weapons successively smashed.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had extended his palm toward them.

He unleashed his unique martial art, the Extremely Savage Demonic Palm.

His extended palm folded, and he pointed his index finger.

A finger qi bullet shot from his finger like a beam of light.

PEW! THUD!

Another assassin, about to fly over the roof and rush us, fell with a hole pierced through his chest.

It was his other unique martial art, the Blood Calamity Finger.

He had risen to the position of a Demon Supreme with that palm and that finger.

I believe the alias 'extreme evil' was also influenced by these two martial arts. The sight of an enemy's head or torso bursting open was far more shocking than being stabbed by a sword.

This was the first time I had properly seen his martial arts since we left the Cult. I know better than anyone how terrifying these two techniques are. When he began to run wild, hell would unfold from his fingertips.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's finger slowly turned toward me. Tension flowed from his fingertip, as if he would unleash the Blood Calamity Finger at any moment. Dodging the Blood Calamity Finger at such a close range is not easy.

The next moment!

PEW! THUD!

The Blood Calamity Finger grazed my face and pierced the forehead of a masked man rushing in from behind.

I did not move an inch.

"Just now, not moving was more difficult than dodging."

"Is that so?"

"You have to suppress the reflex to dodge, which is actually more difficult than dodging itself. Especially for a master like the Second Young Lord. As I thought, you were the one who killed the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme."

"……"

This time, my Black Demon Sword cut through the air. A single streak of sword qi grazed the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's face, then sliced through the torso of a masked man charging from behind him.

"I didn't kill the Soul-Stealing Demon Supreme. How long are you going to keep asking?"

"I won't ask anymore. Because now I'm certain."

Another assassin rushed in, giving me no time to deny it again. My sword qi and the Blood Calamity Finger pierced another assassin's body.

"There are many enemies."

"Let's go."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and I walked together. Inwardly, I felt a bit of excitement. Was the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon the only one suppressing the desire for a good fight?

With the Four Strides of the Wind God, the Heavenly Demon Defense Art, and the Soaring Sky Sword Art at the Eleventh Star, I too was forcefully holding back the urge to unleash my skills.

If the opponents were assassins trying to kill me, I could unleash my martial arts without hesitation.

As we walked down the alley, four masked men jumped over the wall and attacked us simultaneously.

I cut down the one who tried to stab me, moving three times faster than him, and looked back. I was not interested in watching the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon or Green Mask fight. I only watched Lee Ahn.

She was just slower than me but dealt with the enemy in the same way. Her bloody training left no room for potential mistakes.

She dodged the incoming sword so it grazed her shoulder, then cut him down in a single upward slash.

CRUNCH!

Sliced to the jawbone, the assassin collapsed.

She was not flustered or nervous.

You're doing well, Lee Ahn.

We came out of the alley and onto the main road where the carriage was parked.

People went about their business, as if they knew nothing about the ambush.

A yawning shopkeeper, a clerk arranging goods, an old woman sweeping the street, a child running past her, an old man sitting by the roadside. Across from him, a middle-aged peddler called for customers while a couple argued. A woman even shouted from a second-floor window at a man standing below with his head bowed.

An ordinary moment of daily life unfolded like a painting.

The moment we naturally became a part of that painting, an unknown sense of crisis surged within me. The Heavenly Demon Defense Art activated.

"Watch out!"

The attack began the very moment I shouted.

All the people we had seen were assassins.

SHWIK! SHWIIK!

The man and woman who had been arguing rushed at me, brandishing throwing knives. In a perfect joint attack, the man aimed for my left and the woman for my right. I could see the thick, deadly poison coating the ghastly blue blades.

The Black Demon Sword quickly and accurately cut its target.

As I sliced from the man's shoulder to his chest, the woman's throwing knife grazed my ear.

Her swift movement marked her as one of the Black Death's most skilled assassins, but I could see even the trembling of her eyelashes.

As she sensed the Black Demon Sword flying toward her from an unseen spot, her eyelashes trembled faster. The moment she thought to react, SLICE!

I cut through her waist and turned. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was dealing with the peddler.

The peddler had thrown poison powder at him.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon waved his hand, and the poison powder returned to the peddler. Covered in the poison, the peddler screamed and rolled on the ground.

At the same time, the woman throwing hidden weapons from the second floor was pierced and killed by the Blood Calamity Finger. The man below who had unleashed sword qi was blown to pieces by the Extremely Savage Demonic Palm.

I was not just watching. While deflecting the woman's hidden weapons, I simultaneously neutralized the man's sword qi with my own. It was as if the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon and I had performed a perfect joint attack.

Among the assassins, the child ran at Lee Ahn.

Cut him down, Lee Ahn! That's not a child!

He only had the appearance of a child. In reality, he was an old man.

Fortunately, Lee Ahn was not as soft-hearted as I thought.

She twisted her body to dodge the child's attack and calmly cut him down. At that moment, the old man who had been sitting by the roadside rushed in, thrusting a poisoned throwing knife at her face. A mere scratch could kill.

Even in that life-or-death moment, I just watched. I hoped she would fend it off herself and did not unleash my sword qi.

PUK!

The old man's throwing knife stopped right before Lee Ahn's eyes as she bent her torso backward. In contrast, Lee Ahn's sword was embedded in the old man's heart. She had defeated him by a hair's breadth, thanks to her flexible waist.

I was more surprised than she was, but not helping her was the right decision. This single experience would make her grow more than years of training.

While she dealt with the two, Green Mask finished off the shopkeeper and the clerk. If the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had not killed the sweeping old woman with the Blood Calamity Finger, Green Mask would have died.

One could probably find the reason for Green Mask's loyalty to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon in that scene.

All of this happened in the time it takes to breathe once.

We survived only because my skill and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's were so outstanding. Their ambush, a perfect joint attack where no one interfered with another, was truly terrifying.

Her face flushed, Lee Ahn sighed.

"Ah, I killed a child and an old man."

It was a half-joking remark, but I still eased her mind.

"That 'child' was older than you, and how many do you think that old man killed to reach that age?"

"I feel better in an instant."

After she calmed down, I entered a nearby shop.

The original merchant was collapsed in a corner, his blood dao sealed. They had plotted this entire murderous scheme while we were in the gambling den.

The assassins did not kill the merchants to avoid the smell of blood. Otherwise, they would have all been killed to eliminate witnesses.

The very moment I unsealed the merchant's blood dao and acupoints and turned around.

"……"

An attack came from behind.

"……"

I turned like lightning and cut the neck of the man whose blood dao I had just unsealed. Stunned by my incredibly fast reaction, the man collapsed. He was another assassin, prepared in case the killing outside failed.

This ambush was truly unexpected and dangerous. Anyone but me would have fallen for it.

The real merchant was collapsed in a small room further inside, his speech and vital acupoints sealed. I freed him and left the shop.

I went to the nearby houses one by one and unsealed the blood dao of the captured owners.

Since I already knew an assassin might be mixed in, another disguised one lost his life to my sword without even swinging his own.

When I freed the person in the last shop and came outside, another assassin's body was exploding from the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's Extremely Savage Demonic Palm.

It was an assassin who had been hiding in a box in front of a building the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was passing.

Even when the area was cleared and success was slim, they attacked unconditionally at the designated time.

They were thoroughly trained, revealing themselves to attack even knowing they would die. They were raised not as humans, but as killing tools devoid of fear.

"I'll go get the carriage."

Green Mask walked across the street to get the carriage.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon said to me, "To put a bounty of one million taels on us, the one behind this must be no ordinary person."

"Yes, in our Cult, he's probably on par with a Demon Supreme. Right now he's using an outside blade to avoid leaving a trail, but if the main body is revealed, masters we can't handle might emerge."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's eyes shone with fighting spirit. When it came to belligerence, he, the second brother, was second to none among the Eight Demon Supremes. The stronger the enemy, the more fired up he became.

As we were talking.

SWOOOSH! SLICE!

A single streak of sword qi sliced through the carriage's passenger compartment.

Lee Ahn had unleashed the sword qi. She had sensed an assassin hiding behind the carriage, aiming for Green Mask as he sat in the driver's seat.

Inside the diagonally sliced compartment, the assassin lay in two pieces.

Green Mask got out of the carriage. Failing to detect an assassin who had perfectly concealed his presence was a clear mistake.

Green Mask bowed his head deeply to Lee Ahn. Lee Ahn also bowed her head to him.

Well done, Lee Ahn. Making someone like Green Mask owe you his life is a good thing.

Seeing Lee Ahn's excited face become even more flushed, I said playfully, "You're probably the first person to ever destroy the Smiling Demon's carriage."

At my words, Lee Ahn was startled and hurriedly bowed her head to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

"I'm sorry!"

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon played along.

"That carriage is very expensive."

Lee Ahn quickly replied, "I'll compensate you for it."

"……"

"I'll buy the same kind of carriage with my monthly salary."

"That would probably take several years' worth of your monthly salary, wouldn't it?"

After pondering for a moment, Lee Ahn said desperately, "Please give me a discount!"

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon burst into laughter. I had made him laugh several times, but this was the loudest he had ever laughed.

"For someone so ugly, you have a talent for being funny."

Even though he blatantly called her ugly, Lee Ahn did not look offended.

"If you give me a bigger discount, I'll be even funnier!"

Then Green Mask came over and said in a low voice, "I'll add my monthly salary to that as well."

This time, I laughed. I could not help but laugh because I knew Green Mask was not the type to say such things.

After relaxing, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon gave an order to Green Mask.

"Mobilize every handler network you can and find out where the Black Death Leader is hiding."

"……"

Then I said to Green Mask, "Please use the communication network of the All-Knowing Hall. Given the gravity of the situation, I'm sure Strategist Sama will understand."

The All-Knowing Hall had sent the information about the Black Death before. The Strategist Sama I knew would have already given permission for us to use the information.

"I understand."

"And take Lee Ahn with you."

"I will."

Separate from the life debt, I wanted to use this opportunity to give her some proper, varied experience.

"You have to pay for the carriage you broke, right?"

"Yes, I'll be back, Young Master."

Lee Ahn followed Green Mask and left.

I calculated the damages the merchants suffered today, gave them some money, and returned.

"Is this a show of goodwill for appearance's sake?"

"It is goodwill, but who am I showing it to? To you, the Smiling Demon? To someone it would never work on?"

"To those merchants. Or perhaps to yourself."

I nodded as if acknowledging it and said calmly, "Perhaps, but what does it matter if it's for show or not? The important thing for those people is whether they get compensated."

"You're so persistent in pretending to be good."

"Even living while pretending to be good like this, my sword is still covered in blood today."

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon did not answer.

I slowly walked over and untied the horses from the broken carriage.

"The weather is nice. Shall we ride horses to the next town?"

"Very well."

I mounted a horse first, and the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon mounted his. We started moving slowly, each leading one of the remaining horses.

When we did not start running after a while, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon asked me, "Aren't you being too leisurely?"

I looked up at the vast, clear sky and said, "What reason do we have to hurry? The ones in a rush are always the ones who failed."