Chapter 488: Dropping Your Sword for a Hostage

TL: FoodieMonster007

Myeongjin had commissioned himself to avenge his deceased parents. It was the first commission he had ever given himself, and it would be his last.

With a single coin, he had accepted his own commission. Now, if he survived this fight, he would have to accept commissions from others for a single coin as well.

In that moment, Myeongjin savored a sense of relief he had never felt before. He was finally facing the life he had never been able to confront.

Even in this situation, the Death King merely stared at him, revealing no emotion.

Even now, when I'm abandoning you, is that gaze all you have to offer me?

He recalled what Geom Mugeuk had said.

"Do not search for meaning in it."

Until now, he had believed a deep heart he could not comprehend was hidden within that transparent gaze. Geom Mugeuk's words came to mind again.

"Even if there were some meaning, what great meaning could it possibly hold?"

Right. There was nothing in that gaze. He had only desperately tried to find meaning out of fear that if there was truly nothing, his own life would also be nothing. It was not that he had considered the Death King special, but that he, being special, had survived.

Having cleared his mind, Myeongjin did not look back. The Death King was the leader of the organization that had annihilated his family, and he had raised Myeongjin as an assassin while hiding that fact. This alone was reason enough to see things through to the end.

Before that, he had informed Geom Mugeuk.

"There are five assassins mixed in among the guests."

At those words, the guests, already frozen stiff, turned pale. As if a fight was not enough, now there were assassins disguised as guests? They desperately wanted to run outside, but they could not. The owner, whose identity had been revealed, stood by the entrance. Anyone who moved would surely be the first to die.

Some shed tears in terror. Some collapsed to the floor. Others watched the situation unfold, trembling all over.

Geom Mugeuk did not bother to mention their safety. He did not warn against touching them, nor did he bluff that he would not bat an eye if they killed the hostages.

They must have investigated him, so they would know he was the type of person to try and save them. They would actively use the guests as hostages, which had its advantages. It meant they would not kill them carelessly.

Myeongjin pointed out the five precisely.

"The assassins are the third, fourth, and fifth from the left. And the eighth and ninth."

On one side were the Death King and the five revealed assassins. On the other were Geom Mugeuk, Hwi, and Myeongjin. In the tense standoff, their gazes met in midair.

The Death King was not anxious. His expression seemed to say that this situation was just one of many possibilities he had predicted.

"Why did you join hands with them?"

What desire of the Death King had they stimulated to make him join them?

The Death King answered nonchalantly.

"I can't speak about the client. It's the principle of assassins."

They were likely the clients for this killing.

Geom Mugeuk slowly drew the Black Demon Sword. "I have a principle as well. My demonic arts do not destroy tavern tables. However, today I must break that principle."

Just as a huge fight was about to break out, Hwi spoke. "There aren't five assassins, but six. Including that person over there."

The person Hwi pointed to was a guest who had come alone and was sitting in a corner. He was someone even Myeongjin did not know. With his unique bodyguard's senses, Hwi had found the assassin who was hiding his identity.

"As expected! Your eyes can't be fooled, Uncle."

As Geom Mugeuk rejoiced, a voice transmission from Hwi arrived.

"There's still someone I'm uncertain about. Don't let your guard down."

If that was true, it meant they had prepared extensively. They had hidden an assassin among the guests capable of deceiving even Hwi's eyes.

Meanwhile, Myeongjin realized something from the existence of an assassin he did not know about.

You didn't trust me.

Normally, he would have helped the Death King kill Geom Mugeuk. In that situation, an assassin unknown to him should never have existed. Perhaps that person was prepared to kill him as well.

He suddenly recalled what the Death King had said.

"If we weren't friends, you would have been dead long ago."

His relationship with him became even clearer. The slightest possibility that he might have misjudged was now gone.

I didn't survive because we were friends.

Now he understood. The Death King was simply fascinated that a child he picked up out of curiosity had become his second-in-command. He only needed the killings that second-in-command carried out for the Hell Mansion. That was the reason he had been kept alive.

He had only denied it, not wanting to feel miserable. He had only tried to assign meaning, even creating an ice cliff in his mind. An image of himself climbing that cliff and reaching the summit formed in his thoughts.

"We aren't friends anymore, so go on and try to kill me!"

The will to kill the Death King blazed in Myeongjin's eyes.

Geom Mugeuk looked at Hwi. He did not speak, but Hwi understood his intention. It meant to watch Myeongjin's back.

This fight was Geom Mugeuk's own, but it was also Myeongjin's fight, and at the same time, Hwi's fight. While the three of them fought, Geom Mugeuk intended to take care of all the assassins here.

I'll finish them off as quickly as possible and help those two.

Geom Mugeuk shouted.

"Everyone not identified as an assassin, get down on the floor!"

At that, everyone except the assassins dropped to the floor. Simultaneously, Myeongjin rushed toward the Death King.

CLANG CLANG CLANG!

The two men's daggers clashed in midair. They knew each other better than anyone, their martial arts, their skills.

Pushed back by the ferocious assault, the Death King shot out of the tavern. This was a signal to unleash everything they had prepared in this space of death. He was confident that the remaining assassins could kill Geom Mugeuk here.

Geom Mugeuk could tell. The Death King had deliberately led Myeongjin outside.

Hwi looked at Geom Mugeuk, who nodded silently. Normally, he would never leave this spot, but Geom Mugeuk spoke with his eyes.

Trust me and protect him. I'll be right out.

Hwi's hesitation was brief. He had not volunteered to be Geom Mugeuk's bodyguard just to protect his life. He wanted to protect the people Geom Mugeuk sought to protect, and by extension, his beliefs.

SWISH.

Hwi vanished without a sound. At the same time, the assassins inside all stretched their hands toward Geom Mugeuk. Special hidden weapons were concealed within their sleeves.

The Soul Slaying Thunder.

It was an assassination weapon created in the Hell Mansion. The Soul Slaying Thunder was a hidden weapon so powerful that if the user's qi was even slightly insufficient, their arm would be torn off.

KWAKWAKWAKWANG!

The hidden weapons erupted explosively.

Geom Mugeuk flipped a table and infused it with qi, trying to block the attack.

SHUK SHUK SHUK!

From small holes in the bottom of the table, steel needles shot out toward Geom Mugeuk. It was a device designed to anticipate an opponent flipping the table to block an attack.

This hidden move was so powerful, one could say the six assassins' Soul Slaying Thunder was merely a diversion for this surprise attack.

Fortunately, Geom Mugeuk's instinctive evasion was faster than the attack. Had he been a fraction of a second slower, he would have been hit by this blindsiding attack.

PAPAPAPAPAPAK!

Even so, hidden weapons flew and embedded themselves in the table. The Soul Slaying Thunder was no ordinary hidden weapon. Each shot had the power to break steel swords and pierce stone walls. However, they could not break the table infused with Geom Mugeuk's qi.

Geom Mugeuk threw the table aside and flew toward an assassin. The moment the assassin swung his sword down to strike the table away, he found Geom Mugeuk was no longer behind it.

SLICE.

Geom Mugeuk's sword, which had rushed forward as if sliding across the floor, sliced through the assassin's stomach. The assassin collapsed, his torso cut open.

At the sudden stench of blood, screams escaped from the guests lying on the floor.

A barrage of Soul Slaying Thunder attacks poured down on Geom Mugeuk.

PAPAPAPAPAPAK!

The hidden weapons pierced the floor. However, Geom Mugeuk was already crossing the air, rushing toward the second assassin.

It was then that another assassin struck the abacus on the counter.

PEOPEOPEOPEONG!

In that instant, the abacus beads shot forward all at once. They looked ordinary, but when they separated and flew, they were anything but.

The hidden weapon, known to kill any enemy within its range, was the Ghostly Bullet.

Dozens of abacus beads flew at a terrifying speed. The beads of the Ghostly Bullet were not ordinary hidden weapons. Rumor had it they could even pierce the protective enhanced qi of masters.

Geom Mugeuk threw himself. It seemed like an unavoidable attack, but he found a space of life between the lines of death. He avoided the incoming attack by twisting and bending his waist, arms, and body greatly.

His form was bizarre, but not a single shot hit him. The beads of the Ghostly Bullet grazed past his entire body.

PAKAKAKAKAKAK!

The abacus beads pierced through the surrounding walls and flew out. Sunlight streamed inside through the dozens of new holes, creating a feast of light in an instant. At a glance, the sight looked fantastical.

Between the lines of sunlight, hidden weapons flew, their blades flashing.

SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK SHWIK!

The top-tier assassins had no hesitation. Their judgment was swift and their actions were fearless. If their opponent had not been Geom Mugeuk, they would have been congratulating each other on a job well done.

Dodging the flying hidden weapons, Geom Mugeuk vaulted over the counter.

PWAK!

The jaw of the assassin who had launched the Ghostly Bullet shattered as he was sent flying backward.

Just then, another assassin pulled a beaded curtain hanging in the kitchen. The moment the curtain was pulled, Bone Dissolving Acid poured down from above the counter, right on Geom Mugeuk's head.

CHWAAAAAAAK!

CHIIIIIIIIK.

A foul smell rose with the smoke. The earlier abacus attack and this acid attack were a linked ambush. If one tried to eliminate the person who launched the abacus attack, Bone Dissolving Acid would immediately pour down.

However, Geom Mugeuk's figure instantly crossed the space and escaped. The Four Strides of the Wind God was displaying truly incredible divine prowess in this narrow space.

Another assassin rushed in, kicking a table as he charged. The moment he kicked the table, it shattered, and the objects on it flew up. The bowls, liquor bottles, and dishes on the table flew into the air. Among them was a chopstick holder filled with chopsticks.

PEONG!

What exploded in front of Geom Mugeuk was the chopstick holder.

When an opponent broke or flipped a table, who would pay attention to a chopstick holder? This too was made by Myeongjin. This was why the Death King had led Myeongjin outside. Most of what was prepared today had been developed by Myeongjin.

HWUUK.

Hit in the face by the poisonous smoke, Geom Mugeuk collapsed. The man who had attacked while flipping the table also fell, his chest slashed by Geom Mugeuk's sword. Even as he died, he wore a satisfied expression, having completed his mission.

Two assassins cautiously approached to confirm the death of Geom Mugeuk, who lay on the floor. The moment they tried to finish him off for good by thrusting their daggers into his neck from both sides, their blades stopped.

CLINK.

Geom Mugeuk, who had opened his eyes at some point, had caught their wrists in his hands.

Just as they quickly tried to strike with a palm with their other hands, Geom Mugeuk blew out the poisonous smoke he had been holding in his mouth.

HWUUK!

The poison was so potent that the two assassins met their deaths letting out screams of agony.

Then, the last remaining assassin grabbed a hostage who was lying on the floor and pulled her up.

"Aaaargh!"

The assassin, holding the woman hostage, put a dagger to her neck.

"Drop the sword. Or this bitch dies."

"Looks like you didn't do your research on me properly. I'm not the kind of person who drops his sword for a hostage situation."

The moment he finished speaking, Geom Mugeuk rushed toward him.

SHWIIIIK.

He rushed toward the assassin holding the hostage using the Vanishing Step.

The moment the assassin shoved the female hostage forward as a shield and thrust his sword from behind her, the sound of tearing flesh was heard in succession.

SLICE!

STAB!

Unfortunately, both the hostage and the assassin collapsed. Blood flowed from the female hostage's slashed neck, and blood flowed from the assassin's heart.

It seemed as though the assassin had killed the female hostage, but surprisingly, Geom Mugeuk had killed them both.

The dying assassin asked with a shocked face.

"…How did you know?"

A dagger was clutched in the dead female hostage's hand. Surprisingly, she was also an assassin. Shoved forward, she had launched a surprise attack at the critical moment. In fact, her martial arts skill was even greater than the assassin who had taken her hostage.

She was the core of the assassins prepared here today.

It was such an unexpected and fatal attack that even Geom Mugeuk would not have been able to avoid it if he had not known beforehand. However, as if he had known in advance, Geom Mugeuk had cut her down and then the assassin behind her.

Geom Mugeuk left the dying assassin with words he would never understand, even in death.

"Because my Uncle said there was still someone he was uncertain about."