Chapter 45 : Have You Heard of the Dark King?
Thud-thud-thud—
People were running away in the distance with urgent footsteps.
Namgung Il watched them in silence.
Soon, Namgung Il picked up the bead under the tree and returned to his original spot.
"..."
Until then, Jong Seo-eon was just standing there with a blank face.
What on earth had happened just now?
Such a question was clearly revealed on Jong Seo-eon's face.
"Did you see that well?"
Just then, Namgung Il asked in a calm voice.
"Most brats will run away on their own if you just beat up the one who looks like the leader."
"..."
"It's especially more effective on such a disorderly mob."
"Uh... I see."
Jong Seo-eon answered as if he had barely come to his senses.
But one thing he still couldn't understand.
The way Namgung Il had fought just now... it seemed like a method that wouldn't be used in a martial arts family.
'Why do I feel a similar feeling to my master from Young Hero Namgung Il's movements?'
Especially that violence seemed somewhat similar.
No, on the contrary, Namgung Il's fighting style felt even more violent than his master's.
When Namgung Il had slammed the opponent's face on the floor until he fainted, even he, who was on the same side, had gotten goosebumps for a moment.
"What's wrong?"
"Uh... it's nothing."
"You're no fun."
Namgung Il said and put the bead he was holding in his hand into his clothes.
"Let's get out of here quickly. If we get caught by a supervisor, we'll be eliminated."
"Th-that's right! Then we should quickly get Young Hero Gwangcheon out of the pit..."
Swish—
It was then.
Something flying at a fast speed from behind.
Jong Seo-eon's eyes widened when he saw the whip aimed at Namgung Il's head.
"Be careful!"
Jong Seo-eon shouted urgently.
At that moment, Namgung Il quickly swung his sword behind him.
The whip was eventually blocked by the sword strike and was sent flying back to its original place.
"..."
Namgung Il stared at the front with an expressionless face.
A woman standing with a whip at the end of his gaze.
From the looks of it, it seemed that the whip just now had been swung by that woman.
'She doesn't even give me a moment to breathe.'
Moreover, that whip just now was by no means ordinary.
Namgung Il immediately knew that that woman was on a different level from the enemies he had fought before.
"Are you Namgung Il?"
Just then, the woman asked.
At that moment, a sense of puzzlement appeared in Namgung Il's eyes.
Usually, they would tell him to hand over the beads, but for her to suddenly ask for his name first, Namgung Il couldn't help but find it strange.
"If I say no, will you let me go?"
"Don't be silly, I already know that you're Namgung Il."
"..."
"I just asked for the sake of courtesy, I can't just let you go."
Hearing those words, Namgung Il could be sure.
The purpose of the woman who had suddenly appeared was not the beads from the beginning, but him.
At that moment, a strange smile appeared on Namgung Il's lips.
'Yes, I was wondering when they would come out.'
Namgung Il had expected that there would be some kind of interference in the entrance exam.
Because this exam was not just a simple entrance exam.
Namgung Il was always aware of the fact that two hundred thousand gold and his right of succession were at stake in this exam.
"Did Su Majin send you?"
"..."
Although no answer returned to that question, Namgung Il could notice a subtle reaction from the woman.
That means it's the correct answer.
Just then, the woman said with a meaningful smile on her lips.
"You're a quick-witted brat."
"..."
"If you know, then give up obediently. If you just promise to drop out of the exam, there's no need to hurt you."
The request the woman had received from Su Majin was, after all, to make Namgung Il fail the exam.
However.
Namgung Il said in a calm voice, as if those words were ridiculous.
"I don't want to."
"..."
"By the way, is the other brat going to keep hiding?"
When Namgung Il asked, the woman's eyes widened clearly.
But she immediately maintained her composure and said to Namgung Il.
"...What do you mean by that?"
"Are you going to pretend you don't know until the end? Well, I don't mind."
"..."
As Namgung Il had said, a comrade of the woman was hiding in this vicinity.
But to think that Namgung Il would notice the existence of her comrade so quickly.
Staring at the woman whose expression had slightly distorted, Namgung Il said to Jong Seo-eon, who was behind him.
"You go back with the beads first."
"Pardon? What on earth do you mean by that?"
"This is my personal fight. So there's no need for you to get involved in this fight."
Jong Seo-eon, of course, knew nothing about the bet between him and Su Majin.
So he had said that so that he wouldn't get caught up in this fight for no reason, but Jong Seo-eon immediately said firmly.
"I can't leave!"
"..."
"Aren't we already on the same side? So whatever the reason, we must fight together and pass together!"
He's so confident at times like this.
Namgung Il couldn't say anything to those words.
"Captain, is that woman the enemy?"
Just then, a familiar voice was heard from the side.
Gwangcheon, when did this brat get out of the pit?
Just then, Gwangcheon said something in a rather excited voice.
"Th-that leg is...!"
"...?"
Just then, the woman was also able to spot Gwangcheon.
At that moment, her face was filled with astonishment.
Realizing that the brat who had been staring at her legs at the Great Training Ground was Gwangcheon, the woman shouted in anger.
"That perverted monk! Why are you here?"
"Haha, young lady. It's been a while. That leg is still captivating."
"What?"
"Did you perhaps come to see me because you missed me?"
"Ugh... Jang Cheol! I won't be satisfied until I kill that monk!"
In the end, the woman who couldn't stand it anymore shouted into the air.
And a moment later, a man's voice was heard from somewhere.
"Have you forgotten our purpose?"
"We have to fight those two brats anyway! So while I deal with those two brats, you take care of Namgung Il."
"...I understand."
When Jang Cheol answered, the woman walked forward with a cold smile.
"I'll teach you with a whip so that you can't look at me with those eyes again."
"A whip? I'd rather... ahem."
Gwangcheon cleared his throat and looked at Namgung Il.
"Captain, I'll take care of that woman."
"..."
First, do something about that twitching lip.
Although it seemed he had tried to hide it in a hurry, Namgung Il could already see all of Gwangcheon's inner thoughts.
"Alright. But fight with Jong Seo-eon."
"Hmm..."
"Don't be careless. She's by no means a weak enemy."
"...I can't help it."
Gwangcheon said, as if he were somewhat disappointed.
But his expression soon brightened.
Following Gwangcheon, who rushed at the woman first, Jong Seo-eon also belatedly ran forward.
"Bald perverted monk! You're dead by my hands today!"
"Haha! Try it if you can!"
"W-wait! Young Hero Gwangcheon!"
...That side will be fine.
Namgung Il looked at the three people who were moving away for a moment and then turned his head to the front.
"I'll ask you one more time."
"..."
"Give up obediently. Then I won't kill you."
Jang Cheol said to Namgung Il without showing himself.
"Didn't I say I don't want to earlier?"
"..."
After that, no more voice was heard.
At a glance, it was just a quiet forest.
But Namgung Il could feel a presence wandering around him now.
Ping—!
Just then, something flew towards Namgung Il from somewhere.
Swish—
Namgung Il swung his sword.
And so, with a metallic sound, a hidden weapon was stuck in the ground.
If Namgung Il hadn't blocked it with his sword, that hidden weapon would have flown precisely to a vital point.
'This movement... is he an assassin?'
A being who hides his presence in the dark and secretly assassinates his target. That was an assassin.
From the fact that he had thrown a hidden weapon at him just now and that he was using this level of stealth, Namgung Il immediately knew that Jang Cheol was a quite skilled assassin.
"..."
The biggest difference between an assassin and a martial artist was the purpose of learning martial arts itself.
A martial artist learns martial arts with the sole intention of becoming stronger, but an assassin just learns the martial arts that suit him with the sole purpose of killing people.
Because of that, all the martial arts that an assassin learns are specialized in assassination, and the most basic of them was that stealth.
Rustle—
This area was a dense forest with trees.
Because of that, Jang Cheol's stealth ability was also exerting several times the effect in this forest than in a normal terrain.
Grin—
Jang Cheol was smiling as he looked at Namgung Il, who had been standing still in one place from a while ago.
Although the content of the request was to make Namgung Il fail the exam, the client had said that it didn't matter if he killed Namgung Il.
'It's much easier to kill than to subdue without killing.'
For an assassin, killing was on a similar level to eating.
Especially for a first-class assassin like him.
Although he had been a little careless earlier and Namgung Il seemed to have noticed his existence, now that he had seriously killed his presence, Namgung Il would never be able to know his location.
Rustle—
Jang Cheol was slowly pressing Namgung Il, taking his time.
Although it seemed he was blocking the hidden weapons well now, how long could he maintain that concentration?
To aim for the moment when the prey's concentration drops and kill it in one blow. That was a first-class assassin.
Thud—
A hidden weapon tore Namgung Il's clothes.
At the same time, Namgung Il's breathing became quite rough.
Looking at the prey that had been deliciously prepared over time, Jang Cheol had a meaningful smile on his lips.
'...Now!'
At this point, the brat's concentration must have dropped sufficiently.
Jang Cheol thought so and rushed towards Namgung Il from a blind spot, killing his presence as much as possible.
'Die!'
Jang Cheol thrust his sword with the intention of piercing Namgung Il's heart in a single blow.
However.
For a moment, his vision flashed, and on the contrary, it was Jang Cheol whose shoulder was pierced.
'Th-through the armpit...?'
Moreover, that energy on the blade... could it be sword qi?
Although that fact was also surprising, Jang Cheol couldn't understand at all how Namgung Il had noticed his location.
"Keoheok—"
Jang Cheol vomited blood from his mouth.
And Namgung Il, who had turned to Jang Cheol with a cold gaze.
Jang Cheol was still pierced by Namgung Il's sword qi.
"H-how did you know my location..."
"Have you heard of the Dark King?"
"The Dark King... are you perhaps talking about Tang Cheol-go?"
Jang Cheol had, of course, heard that name.
The former head of the Sichuan Tang Clan, and a person who was rumored to have fought on equal terms with that Blood Demon.
Especially since his stealth was such that even the birds on the water's edge would be quiet, for an assassin, the Dark King was an object of admiration.
"That brat told me something in the old days."
"...?"
"As long as the purpose is set, the effect of stealth drops by more than half."
"What does that..."
"You rushed at me as soon as I pretended to be a little tired. Unlike your appearance, you were a very naive brat."
Could it be that it was all an act?
Jang Cheol said to Namgung Il with a face of disbelief.
"E-even so, how did you accurately notice my location!"
"The Dark King, I played hide-and-seek with that brat a lot in the old days."
"...What?"
"I almost lost. Thanks to that, I'm quite good at finding hidden brats."
Crackle—
Just then, a violent reaction began to occur from Namgung Il's sword qi.
Seeing that, Jang Cheol's face turned pale.
Although he didn't know what Namgung Il was trying to do to him now, Jang Cheol instinctively felt a threat to his life.
"W-wait! I get it! I'll give up on the request, so please spare me!"
"Why should I?"
"Why..."
"Tell me ten reasons why I should spare a brat who tried to kill me, in ten seconds."
There was no way he could say it.
Namgung Il said to Jang Cheol, who was speechless with a devastated face, in a cold voice.
"If you're going to kill someone, you should have been prepared to die yourself."
"W-wait...!"
"It's too late."
With those words, Namgung Il drew up the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art.
The energy of the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Art instantly flowed through the blade, and soon spread throughout Jang Cheol's body, beginning to run wild violently from within.
Crackle—!
A violent sound echoed through the forest.
Jang Cheol trembled, pierced by the sword.
"..."
A moment later, Namgung Il pulled out his sword.
And soon, Jang Cheol's figure collapsed on the floor.
A faint smell of something burnt was coming from his body.
'This side is finished for now.'
Now, only that woman was left.
Seeing Gwangcheon's reaction, it seemed there was no need to worry... but still, Namgung Il hurriedly turned his steps to where the other two were.
Phat—
Leaving Jang Cheol, who was lying there with his eyes wide open, behind, Namgung Il's figure disappeared from the spot.
(End of Chapter)