Chapter 702: I Didn't Come Here to Kill You

TL: FoodieMonster007

The women were not fighting simply because their suppressed anger had finally erupted. A particular energy was stirring their fundamental nature.

It was the Evil Smile Qi.

This was the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's unique demonic qi, which awakens the innate violence within humanity.

Exposure to the Evil Smile Qi causes one's heart to race with a murderous urge. In fact, someone with weak inner arts, if strongly exposed to it, might even stab the person beside them to death.

However, assassins are masters of emotional control. With the same level of inner arts and skill, they are far less affected than an ordinary martial artist. The way they endured and expressed their anger and violence was also subtly different.

Having been exposed to the Evil Smile Qi, they could not hide from the sharp eyes of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, whose comprehension of evil was deeper than anyone else's.

The Third Bridge recognized the man who had taken off his bamboo hat. Indeed, he was someone who had every right to be so relaxed in front of twenty of them.

"The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon."

She was already aware that he, the bodyguard of the Thousand Flower Palace Chairwoman, was the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. What she had not known, and had not anticipated, was that he would launch a preemptive strike today, the very day the final stage positions were to be decided.

Although she didn't know about the Evil Smile Qi, she was sure of one thing. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had used some kind of special method to identify them from among the other women.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon gestured with a glance toward a chair a short distance away. It was an invitation for her to come and sit.

In a situation where she had to at least listen to what he had to say, the Third Bridge walked over and took a seat.

The other assassins spread out to the left and right, with the Third Bridge at the center. They assumed positions to launch a coordinated attack the moment a fight began. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, however, seemed completely unbothered.

Up close…

She could now clearly see the eyes of the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, who was wearing a silk veil. She had seen a glimpse of him during the main tournament, but this was her first time seeing him from this close.

Before this encounter with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, she had held a certain misconception.

She had imagined the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was either so wicked-looking that it was difficult to meet his gaze, or that he possessed hideous scars or burns. She had thought that must be the reason he wore a mask.

To think he was so handsome.

Just by seeing his eyes and forehead, she could tell. He was an exceptionally handsome man.

Perhaps his nose or mouth is hideous.

Regardless, her first impression made her curious about his true face.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon posed a question to her.

"Do you have the authority to make decisions right now?"

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon was asking if she could only follow her organization's orders, or if she could make certain choices on her own.

"And if I do?"

"Tell your subordinates not to kill themselves."

She had expected him to follow up with something that would shatter their morale, like, 'Because I'll kill you cruelly myself!'

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's next words were entirely unexpected.

"I didn't come here to kill you."

The Third Bridge stared silently at the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. It didn't sound like a lie, which only confused her more. He had found all of them, yet he wasn't going to kill them? The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, of all people?

The Third Bridge replied softly.

"We don't do things like killing ourselves."

As if that was all that needed to be said, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon nodded.

The Third Bridge rose slowly from her chair. He was likely trying to weaken their fighting spirit by confusing them with his claim that he wasn't here to kill.

"……"

She tore a long slit up the side of her palace skirt, exposing her thigh. A throwing knife was secured in a leather strap wrapped around it. Drawing the weapon, the Third Bridge spoke to the other assassins.

"We must kill him. There's no way the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon will let us live."

The assassins all drew their respective weapons at once.

One woman drew a hidden throwing knife like the Third Bridge, while another wrapped a sharp fishing line around her hands, pulling it taut. Another unsheathed a flexible sword that had been disguised as a belt. A small hidden weapon was revealed as a norigae pendant was dismantled, and another woman drew her ornamental hairpin. A gleaming blue hidden weapon even emerged from inside a bracelet.

Twenty beautiful women, each drawing their hidden weapons. It was a spectacle that even a martial artist who had lived a full life would not easily get to see.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, who had also risen from his seat, reached into his robes. The assassins all tensed, uncertain of what he might pull out.

What appeared in the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's hand was his mask.

The mask covered his face, and the silk veil he had been wearing slid down like a single falling blossom.

Now, it was not a silk veil that covered the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's face, but a white mask.

The Third Bridge and the assassins tensed up. This was the first time they had seen the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's legendary white mask in person.

The feeling was different from when he wore the veil. A moment ago, she had thought, Are his eyes really that handsome? But once those same eyes were behind the mask, the entire feeling changed.

Those cold, unfamiliar eyes smiled from within the mask. He smiled as he observed the twenty assassins who had drawn their unique weapons.

Another layer of pressure was added to that.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had drawn a Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron throwing knife.

As far as the Third Bridge knew.

I thought the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon used finger qi bullets and palm techniques?

Because of this, she had planned to fight cautiously, remaining wary of his finger and palm techniques. But he was drawing a throwing knife?

The pressure coming from that throwing knife was completely different in the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's hand than it would be in anyone else's.

Normally, the Third Bridge would have said something like this before a fight.

No matter how strong you are, you can't possibly face all of us.

Faced with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's overwhelming presence, however, the Third Bridge had a different thought.

I should have just grabbed those women by the hair and left with them earlier.

She could sense that her subordinates were feeling the same intimidation. Having superior numbers did not mean they held the advantage.

Fundamentally, assassins were individuals who operated alone or followed a meticulously arranged plan. At this moment, they had no plan, and of course, the twenty of them had never attempted a joint attack before.

Still, there was one thing she could cling to.

"If each person inflicts just one wound, the twentieth person will walk out of here."

In a situation where their morale was crushed, this was more helpful than vaguely claiming they could win. It meant that if they fought to the death, someone might survive. And that someone could be you.

Befitting her role as their leader, the Third Bridge was the first to lunge at the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

SHWIK! SHWIIIIK! SHWIK!

The Third Bridge's throwing knives flew through the air in quick succession. All of them were aimed at the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's vital points.

It was an attack that accounted for many possibilities. She had planned how to react if he blocked or dodged, what her next move would be, and how to respond if her throwing knife was deflected by a counterattack.

She had not, however, anticipated the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's movements to be this fast.

She couldn't even perceive how the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had dodged her attack. In what was truly an instant, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon brushed past her. He moved so quickly that she didn't even have time to raise her protective enhanced qi.

She felt something graze her neck.

SAK.

Damn it! I've been cut!

Just as she despaired, expecting her throat to be slit open and blood to gush out.

She did not fall.

"……"

She touched her neck. A faint smear of blood came away on her hand. It was just enough to wipe off the single bead of blood that had formed.

She quickly used her throwing knife to see the reflection of her neck.

A single line of blood was drawn across her skin. He had not cut deeply but had only grazed it very lightly.

Was it a mistake?

But it was not a mistake.

The First Bridge and the Twentieth Bridge, who had just exchanged a move with the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon, were also standing a short distance away, touching their own necks.

It was an attack that would have killed them if it had been slightly deeper, yet they too were left standing with only a faint blood line drawn on them.

If he had intended to kill us, we would be dead.

Only then could the Third Bridge objectively observe how the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon fought.

She had thought she was hit simply because he was fast.

That wasn't it. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's attacks followed completely unpredictable paths. Even if she could have matched his speed, she would never have been able to block such a peculiar attack.

The hidden weapons thrown by the Nineteenth Bridge were all deflected by the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's throwing knife. As the Sixteenth Bridge and the Thirteenth Bridge faltered while dodging the ricocheting weapons, their necks were slit in succession.

How can he do that?

What was truly astonishing was that the location and depth of the wound were the same, regardless of the opponent's skill level. This was a degree of mastery far more difficult than simply slitting all their throats to kill them.

Leave twenty wounds and we can survive?

How ridiculous that must have sounded to the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon. They couldn't even land a single wound on him.

And not all the assassins yielded to this overwhelming difference in skill.

SAK!

The Nineteenth Bridge, whose neck had already been cut once, lunged to attack again. She launched another surprise attack, even knowing he had spared her.

HWIIIIK.

Of course, it was useless. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon easily dodged the Nineteenth Bridge's surprise attack, then grabbed her by the neck and slammed her into the floor.

"……"

Just as the Nineteenth Bridge, pinned to the floor, was about to charge once more.

"!"

The Nineteenth Bridge saw the eyes in the mask looking down at her.

Goosebumps erupted all over her body. She had never feared death, but this was not a matter of life or death.

Death itself was not frightening, but that gaze was. It was the fear that crossing this man could result in a pain far worse than death. The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's gaze stimulated a primal terror.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon left her and looked at the Third Bridge.

"You said you don't kill yourselves?"

The words also implied that if they continued this, he would kill them all.

The Third Bridge could not say a word.

In the midst of this, the Seventh Bridge was now launching a surprise attack on the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon.

SHWIIIIK!

But when her throwing knife sliced through the air, what she received in return was a blood line on her neck.

When she too, ignoring the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's earlier warning, was about to charge again.

The Third Bridge lunged forward and grabbed her wrist.

The Third Bridge looked at the Seventh Bridge and shook her head. She knew the Seventh Bridge had a fierce personality, but it was clear she would die a dog's death if she wasn't stopped. If they provoked the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's temper, he might just kill them all.

And so, a gust of wind named the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon swept through the Beautiful Bridges.

What the wind left in its wake was a single line of blood.

Silence descended upon the hall.

With disbelieving eyes, they looked at the blood lines drawn on each other's necks.

The Third Bridge could tell.

If the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon had actually intended to kill them, this would not have been a fight. It would have been a massacre.

He's this strong?

She knew a Demon Supreme was formidable, but she had never imagined his skill was at this level.

If this had been the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon from before Geom Mugeuk's regression, he would not have been able to achieve such an overwhelming result. Several women would have died, and this place would have become a sea of blood.

However, the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon's inner arts and martial arts level had both risen since that time. He also had the experience of several desperate, life-or-death battles that had pushed him to the brink. To that, he had added the newly acquired Laughing Fragrance Dagger Technique.

The Extremely Evil Smiling Demon walked slowly back to the chair he had been sitting in and sat down once more.

"Now, everyone sit."

The Third Bridge let out a sigh and sat down. She had her subordinates sit as well.

"Everyone, sit down."

Now, the rest of the assassins also took their respective seats.

Then, as if on cue, the door opened and the masked Faceless Warriors entered.

The Faceless Warriors went around one by one, sealing the mute and paralysis points of the seated women.

Just then, one assassin launched a surprise attack, attempting to take a Faceless Warrior hostage. It was the Seventh Bridge, the same one the Third Bridge had stopped from charging the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon earlier.

The next moment.

PAAK!

The Seventh Bridge was sent flying after being struck in the chest.

The Faceless Warrior had dodged her surprise attack and hit her with his elbow. She collapsed to the floor and coughed up a mouthful of blood, but she wasn't dead.

This Faceless Warrior, who had been assisting the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon alone, was the one with the strongest martial arts among the ten Faceless Warriors who had come this time. That was why the surprise attack had failed.

The Faceless Warrior sealed her paralysis and mute points, then helped her back into a sitting position. With her unconscious and her head slumped forward, no one else made a move.

And so, the mute and paralysis points of all twenty assassins were completely sealed.

Not everyone has been caught yet.

The remaining assassins could help Cha Yiran and complete their original plan.

Just as the Third Bridge was clinging to that final sliver of hope, the sound of an approaching carriage came from outside.

A Faceless Warrior opened the hall's door, revealing the carriage that had arrived. It was a carriage that had been attacked so fiercely it was a miracle it still held its shape, riddled with hidden weapons like a porcupine and broken in many places.

The Third Bridge's gaze trembled as she looked at the carriage.

No way…

The carriage door opened, and the Seventeenth Bridge, the Fifth Bridge, and the Eighth Bridge got out. The Third Bridge was deeply shocked to see that they too had been captured.

How did he find even them?

Meanwhile, as the Seventeenth Bridge entered the hall, her eyes fell upon her comrades. She did not see the Extremely Evil Smiling Demon by the window or the Faceless Warriors standing behind the door.

Seeing her comrades sitting unharmed in their seats, she cheered inwardly. The Third Bridge was there, and she could see the Seventh Bridge too. There were twenty of them in total.

We're saved!

At the same time, a worry for the Faceless Warrior following behind her crossed the Seventeenth Bridge's mind.

You saved me, but…

She would not be able to save him. The number seventeen was not a number that could decide such a major affair.

You're going to die.