Chapter 701: You All Know Your Places, Right?

TL: FoodieMonster007

The Seventeenth Bridge was terrified. Her captors were the Faceless Warriors, the infamous followers of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. To be taken by them meant enduring a pain far worse than death.

Ordinarily, assassins carried poison pills in their molars for such situations. The assassins of the Beautiful Bridges, however, did not.

This was a direct order from their leader, Cha Yiran.

"If you have the strength to bite down on a poison pill, then clench your teeth and fight to survive until the very end!"

I shouldn't have let my guard down.

No, this was not a matter of carelessness. The outcome would have been identical even if she had been on high alert. An exposed assassin was no different than a common martial artist, and they had been ambushed.

How on earth did they find us?

Could there be a traitor? Betrayal was impossible, even if one wished for it. They did not even know where the others lived. Yet these men had located them, identifying them with unnerving precision.

It was at that moment.

PIIIII, PEW PEW PEW!

The sound of exploding fireworks echoed from nearby. They were fireworks that produced a peculiar sound.

The Seventeenth Bridge and the Fifth Bridge exchanged a look. The fireworks were an emergency signal used by the assassins of the Beautiful Bridges. This meant the Faceless Warriors were also targeting their allies elsewhere.

A Faceless Warrior leaned his head out the window, looking toward the sound of the fireworks.

How can he not even think to glance at us?

A normal man would have at least looked once. Were they truly raised by the Demonic Cult to be devoid of all emotion? Of course, she did not know just how relentlessly the Faceless Warriors could stare once they decided to look.

The carriage began to slow down. The two assassins did not know who was being targeted this time, but they shared a single wish.

Please, let them have heard the signal!

The carriage entered a deserted street on the city's outskirts.

THUD, THUD.

The Faceless Warrior driving the carriage seemed to pound on the back wall, and the carriage suddenly accelerated.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

She could feel something striking the carriage repeatedly.

Just as the Faceless Warrior inside opened the curtain of the opposite window to look out.

SWOOSH!

A hidden weapon shot through the open window and exited out the other side.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

The sound of more hidden weapons embedding themselves in the carriage followed. The carriage swerved sharply and lurched, one wheel lifting as it tilted precariously. The Faceless Warrior moved to the opposite side, raising his qi.

Just as the tilted carriage barely regained its balance.

PWAAANG!

A short, arrow-like hidden weapon pierced through the carriage wall. This was no ordinary projectile. It was powerful enough to penetrate the wood and was aimed directly where the Seventeenth Bridge and the Fifth Bridge were sitting.

The Faceless Warrior struck the incoming hidden weapon with his throwing knife.

"……"

The force of the projectile was so great that his wrist ached as if it might break, but his action successfully changed the weapon's direction. The hidden weapon flew past, piercing the wall in the space just behind the two women's heads. If the Faceless Warrior had not deflected it, they both would have died.

At that same moment.

PWAK!

A hidden weapon tore through the arm of the Faceless Warrior who had exposed himself at the window to protect them. Blood spurted from his arm, but there was no time to treat the wound.

Another hidden weapon flew in.

SWOOOOOSH!

A projectile longer than the last one flew toward where the women were sitting. It was faster and stronger than the previous one.

The Faceless Warrior grabbed the two women, pulling them to the spot where he had been standing.

PWAAANG!

The hidden weapon pierced through the exact spot where they had just been sitting.

An indiscriminate attack was being launched from outside. The Seventeenth Bridge and the Fifth Bridge knew who the attacker was. It was the Eighth Bridge. She was the most skilled with hidden weapons among all the Beautiful Bridges.

Of all people, it had to be her. The Eighth Bridge had a selfish and ruthless personality. She was the type to launch an indiscriminate attack even knowing her own allies were inside the carriage.

CHAENG! CHAENG!

The Faceless Warrior deflected more hidden weapons that pierced the carriage. One of them would have hit the two women, but he blocked it, risking his own safety.

Why is he going this far to save us?

The Seventeenth Bridge was puzzled. When it came to being cruel and merciless, these Faceless Warriors should have been far worse, not better.

Hidden weapons continued to rain down, but the carriage ran smoothly. The Faceless Warrior in the driver's seat drove on, deflecting the incoming projectiles with finger qi bullets to protect himself and the horse. His skill in both driving and firing finger qi bullets was exceptional.

He knocked on the back wall to give a signal, then stopped the carriage next to a grove of trees that offered cover.

The moment the carriage stopped!

The Faceless Warrior threw open the carriage door, pushed the women out, and then threw himself out after them.

PAPAPAPAK!

With the carriage now stationary, the hidden weapons flew in with even greater accuracy.

After getting out, the Faceless Warrior first checked the driver's seat. His colleague who had been driving was gone, having already thrown himself to safety somewhere.

TING! SHWIIK!

A hidden weapon ricocheted off a wall and flew toward the Seventeenth Bridge's face.

"……"

The Faceless Warrior fired a finger qi bullet, deflecting the projectile. He was faithfully upholding Geom Mugeuk's joke about not hitting the face.

Just as he was about to hide the two women behind a tree.

SHWAAAAAAAAA!

Hidden weapons poured down on them like rain.

CHAENGCHAENGCHAENGCHAENGCHAENGCHAENG!

The Faceless Warrior could have dodged alone, but he stood in front of the Seventeenth Bridge and the Fifth Bridge, deflecting the barrage. Blood splattered onto his white mask, but the Faceless Warrior did not evade.

The Seventeenth Bridge and the Fifth Bridge silently watched the back of the man who held his ground to protect them. It was a situation where they truly did not know who to root for.

He can't block it! It's impossible!

What the Eighth Bridge was currently unleashing was no ordinary hidden weapon. It was the Murim Alliance's golden hidden weapon, the Annihilation Rain Explosive, which she used only in the most desperate of times.

Blood spurted from the Faceless Warrior's shoulder and waist. He managed to block, avoiding vital spots even if it meant injuring his limbs.

"……"

With a final, sharp sound, the Faceless Warrior's arm went limp. He let out a ragged breath, too exhausted to block any more hidden weapons. A single throwing knife would have been the end of him.

However, no more hidden weapons came.

When the Faceless Warrior looked up, he saw the Faceless Warrior from the driver's seat looking their way from a distant rooftop. A woman was collapsed beside him. While he had been blocking the attack, his partner had succeeded in subduing her.

A short while later, three assassins sat side by side in the tattered carriage. The Seventeenth Bridge, the Fifth Bridge, and now the Eighth Bridge.

Only then did the Faceless Warrior properly treat his injuries. Though not life-threatening, the wounds were deep gashes. With an indifferent expression, he pressed his acupoints to stop the bleeding, applied a salve, and wrapped them in bandages.

"……"

Seeing the Faceless Warrior's eyes as he winced, the Seventeenth Bridge found it strange. She realized that this man felt pain too. His mask was covered in blood, most of which he had shed to protect her.

The Seventeenth Bridge thought that this time, the Faceless Warrior would not hold back. The Eighth Bridge had nearly killed him with the repeated use of the golden hidden weapons. She expected him to beat the Eighth Bridge half to death, if not kill her outright.

The Faceless Warrior did not even utter a curse. He simply gazed out the window.

What on earth is he thinking?

The Seventeenth Bridge also silently watched the passing scenery through a hole in the broken carriage.

The women arrived at the reception hall. The women gathered today were those who had advanced to the main tournament but had been eliminated before the final seven. Those who recognized each other exchanged greetings and chatted.

"I can't believe we're here again."

"I thought I'd never be able to come back."

This was the same reception hall where they had waited during the main tournament.

"We sat right here, didn't we?"

"Back then, I really thought I'd make it to the finals."

Laughter broke out here and there. The atmosphere was good, filled with a strange camaraderie born from being eliminated together.

Once all the women had entered, a martial artist wearing a bamboo hat followed them in and closed the door. Chief Jo was waiting inside the reception hall.

"I've gathered you all today for the seat arrangements for the final stage."

One side of the hall had been decorated like a stage, with chairs for them placed behind it.

"Please confirm your seats carefully today so there are no mistakes on the day of the event. Now, I will begin assigning the seats."

Chief Jo called out each person's name and assigned them a seat. He seemed more nervous and stiff than usual, but everyone was too busy checking their own seats to notice.

"Now, please come forward and sit in the numbered spot. On the day of the event, the chairs won't be numbered, so you must not get confused."

One by one, he had them take their seats. All the women's seats were assigned, and they sat looking at the stage. The stage was a fake one set up for the assignments, but their regret was real.

A sigh escaped from someone's lips. Everyone knew it was a sigh filled with the regret that the stage could have been hers. They had all sighed the same sigh in their hearts.

Just then, a sharp, clear voice rang out. The words were hard to believe.

"Stupid bitch, why are you sighing? You were eliminated because you're ugly."

Everyone's gaze turned to the woman who had hurled the insult. She was sitting right next to the woman who had sighed. At her words, the woman who had sighed widened her eyes in shock.

"What did you just say?"

"Are you deaf, too? You acted so high and mighty since the preliminaries, serves you right."

SLAP!

The woman who had sighed slapped her cheek without mercy.

"This bitch hit me?"

The two women grabbed each other's hair and started fighting.

It was a situation where someone should have intervened, but another woman watching them shouted.

"Just kill her!"

What was this now? The women's gazes turned to the one who had shouted. It did not seem to be a joke, as she shrieked again for her to be killed. The woman who insulted, the woman who slapped her, and the woman who shouted for her to be killed were all acting abnormally.

Three abnormal people were already a lot, but then another appeared.

"So low-class. No wonder pathetic bitches like you were eliminated. I can't stand to be with you."

At another woman's words, a woman in the back row mercilessly struck her on the head.

"You bitch, you're the most pathetic one here!"

This time, those two women started brawling.

Chief Jo ran over in surprise.

"Stop! Why are you all acting like this!"

He tried to stop them, but the agitated women were seeing red.

The fight spread in an instant. No one was instigating it, nor were they fighting in factions. They just fought with the person next to them or with those they held a grudge against from the tournament. They even fought with people they had never spoken to before.

They hurled insults at their opponents. Shouts and curses erupted from all directions. As if they had been waiting for this moment, everyone screamed viciously, throwing punches, scratching, tearing clothes, and pulling hair.

One woman bit another, while another simply sat down and burst into tears. There was a woman cursing her parents and lamenting her fate, and another screaming that she was the world's number one beauty. They were truly saying all the things they had hidden away.

Chief Jo's jaw dropped at the scene that had unfolded in an instant. He had truly never seen anything like it in his life. No matter how much resentment they held for being eliminated, how could people act like this?

It was hard to believe these were the same elegant women he had seen just moments before. It was as if a sudden madness had swept through them all. Of course, some women were standing perfectly fine, just watching the scene. So it was not a contagious disease.

In any case, he could not just stand by and watch this pandemonium.

"Stop! Stop it!"

As Chief Jo's shout echoed, the noisy space began to quiet down as if by a lie. Even Chief Jo, who had shouted, was surprised. Everyone had suddenly stopped fighting.

Hands gripping collars were released, and hands pulling hair let go. The women looked around, bewildered. They straightened their torn clothes, tidied their disheveled hair, and wiped their bloody noses. They no longer looked like the people who had been fighting like madwomen.

Instead, their expressions all seemed to ask the same questions.

What did I just do? Was that really worth fighting over like that?

Everyone looked embarrassed.

"What is the meaning of this?"

At Chief Jo's scolding, the women who had fought finally bowed their heads.

"I'm sorry."

Some women bowed their heads in apology, while others hid behind people in shame. One woman even apologized to the opponent she had been cursing just moments before.

Just then, the martial artist in the bamboo hat who had been standing by the entrance walked forward. The women were suddenly terrified. They had caused a disturbance before an important event. The Mythical Sect could punish them or spread rumors.

The martial artist in the bamboo hat raised his hand and pointed at the women. He herded the ones he indicated to one side. They were all the women who had excitedly fought just a moment ago. Not only that, but he also pointed out a few from among the women who had been watching.

After separating the women, the martial artist in the bamboo hat said to Chief Jo.

"Take them out."

Even as they were leaving, the women were puzzled. Wasn't it normal to let the women who did not fight go and keep the ones who did to be scolded? Yet all those who had fought were being sent out. A few women who had not fought were among them as well. They could not understand the criteria.

Chief Jo led them outside without a word of complaint.

Now, only twenty women remained. The remaining women looked at each other with serious expressions. And for good reason. The people who remained were ones who should never have been grouped together in a place like this.

They were the assassins of the Beautiful Bridges.

The highest-ranking among them was the Third Bridge. She could not understand this situation. Among so many women, in that pandemonium.

How on earth did he leave only us?

The gazes of the Third Bridge and the other assassins turned to the martial artist in the bamboo hat.

The martial artist in the bamboo hat walked forward. He righted a chair that had been knocked over in the fight and sat down on it. As he slowly took off his bamboo hat, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, wearing a silk veil, was revealed.

"You all know your places, right?"

The low voice of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon echoed through the hall filled with assassins.

"First, have a seat."