Chapter 919

There are two main ways a predator hunts its prey.

It can chase its prey down—or make the prey come to it.

The first is simple. The second is difficult.

But for all its difficulty, the second is more likely to succeed. Luring prey right up to you means you’ve made it lower its guard.

Or…

You’ve made the prey mistake itself for the predator.

One thing was certain.

The man struck by my spearhead as it flashed through the air belonged squarely in the latter category.

Puhk!

The gruesome sound of pierced flesh announced a successful hunt, and the air rippled.

Where only ash and dust had been swirling, an old man quivered like a fish skewered on a harpoon. I hadn’t even seen him appear.

“Wha—how…? Cough!”

Drip. Drip.

Blood spilled from his mouth, running down his chin before he could finish speaking.

I looked at his face, twisted with pain like a fiend’s, and answered calmly.

“I saw you. Clear as day.”

“That’s impossible. It can’t be.”

The old man gasped for breath. The assassins—now barely a dozen—rushed in from every direction to save their leader.

Like moths throwing themselves into a flame, knowing they would burn.

But the ending of this short story had already been decided.

From the moment I opened my eyes to the sound of a clear bell.

And from the moment Jeok Cheongang showed weakness to lure in prey that might flee at any moment.

Boom!

The heat of the Flame Divine Palm warped the air.

When the predator known as the Fire King swung his flame-cloaked claws, the moths fell without even a dying cry.

Rustle. Thud.

The last assassin, his upper body charred black, dropped to his knees.

There was no need to check. He was dead.

With his last hope extinguished right before his eyes, the old man’s voice sank into an oddly calm murmur.

“So you showed an opening to lure in your target. You have more of an assassin’s nature than I expected.”

I made a show of frowning.

“That sounds like a compliment, but somehow it feels like an insult. Every assassin I’ve ever met has been trash, except for one.”

“I suppose so.”

The old man gave a tiny, spasmodic nod and continued.

“Mungyeong. Is that bastard still the same?”

“What?”

My brow furrowed before I could stop it.

Mungyeong was the Slaughter Saint’s real name.

Fewer than five people in the entire world knew that.

Maybe even fewer.

Even counting me.

“How do you…”

“You’re asking how I know that name?”

The old man coughed up blood again. “How could I not? He told me himself.”

At that moment, I thought I knew who the old man was.

A few months ago, while I was in Sichuan, the Slaughter Saint had mentioned Salcheonmun in passing. It was one of the few things he’d revealed about his otherwise shrouded past.

“Salcheonmun.”

Once, it had been the most feared assassin sect in the world.

Then the dagger it had forged—the Slaughter Saint—brought about its destruction. Now it was a remnant of the past, forgotten by most.

At the name, the old man nodded and smiled faintly.

“Make sure you tell Mungyeong this.”

A fierce light flashed in the dying man’s eyes. Blood poured from his lips, and his voice was thick with killing intent.

“Tell him we—Salcheonmun—will come for him. No matter the sacrifice, no matter how many years pass. We will come.”

Hmm…

Judging by that, it definitely wasn’t a reunion for Salcheonmun’s twelfth class.

The kind of reasonable, beautiful ending where they meet up, polish off a few bottles of Jiannan Chun, call a designated driver, and ride home in a carriage wasn’t something the assassin world did.

Especially if the Slaughter Saint himself had brought about Salcheonmun’s destruction.

First the Maoshan Sect, and now Salcheonmun.

I’d thought something was off from the moment I first saw him.

The chain of gratitude and grudges went on and on, no matter how far I dug. I let out a small sigh.

“How thoughtful of you to give me advance notice. Don’t worry. I’ll pass on what you said word for word.”

I looked the old man straight in the eye and added, “I’ll tell him Gye Yabu of Salcheonmun said it.”

“……!”

The old man’s eyes, which had seemed ready to close, flew open.

His calm acceptance of death vanished. His voice burst out with a spray of blood, full of undisguised shock.

“How—how do you know that?”

“I told you. I can see.”

“……What?”

Instead of answering, I jerked my chin toward the space above his head.

Floating in the empty air was a translucent roster that no one but me in this world could see.

Lv. 140 Gye Yabu

The difference was simple.

The old man—no, Gye Yabu—possessed concealment techniques bordering on the miraculous. I had the System, which was a miracle in its own right.

And that difference had made Gye Yabu the prey.

“Goodbye.”

With that farewell to end our brief encounter, I twisted the spear shaft in my grip.

Crunch.

White Flame, the weapon I had finally reclaimed, cut through bone and flesh like tofu and reached his heart.

The flames clinging to its transparent blade seeped inside.

Boom.

A small explosion made Gye Yabu stagger.

Dark-red blood poured from his seven apertures.¹ He looked like a candle caught in a typhoon.

Puhk! Splurt!

I pulled out the spear and turned away. As I walked off, leaving his crumpling body behind, the bell I’d been waiting for rang in my ears.

Ding.

System

You have defeated Lv. 140 Gye Yabu!

You have gained a large amount of Fame!

You have gained a large amount of EXP!

If this becomes known, you will be pursued by Salcheonmun.

Salcheonmun will not forget Gye Yabu’s death.

The System notification told me two things.

First, that Gye Yabu hadn’t been lying when he spoke before he died.

Second, I’d grown strong enough that killing a Level 140 enemy wasn’t enough to level me up—and that a warning about becoming Salcheonmun’s target didn’t bother me.

Though it does feel a little ominous.

I could just kill them coming or going.

I didn’t know how skilled Salcheonmun’s human butchers were, but I already had the Lord of Heaven’s undivided attention.

How much hotter could a jalapeño really get if you added a Cheongyang chili?

I’d just have to drink a nice, cold glass of milk first.

Living milk packed with EXP instead of calcium. Enough to put an end to this damnable fight.

“Sorry I’m a little late. Get bored waiting?”

Step.

I stepped into the path of someone crawling away, scrabbling with the only leg he had left intact.

The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord confirmed it was me, then smiled through his twisted face.

“Yeah, you monster.”

Those who failed despaired.

They wept and sank into misery.

But the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord did not.

He neither despaired nor wept. He did not give up.

His revenge wasn’t over yet. Hope remained.

His grand plan had failed, but he was still alive.

Even if a branch breaks, the tree doesn’t die.

As long as its roots remained, the tree would not fall. Someday, it could grow thick branches and fresh leaves again.

Just as everything from the Maoshan Sect, destroyed by Taizu long ago, had passed down to him.

That was why he struggled.

With just one leg, his undying body squirmed as he tried to escape.

Not yet. It’s not over yet.

Golden Ox Palace was dead. Ma Sanbao had disappeared, and the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord didn’t know whether he was alive or dead.

And there was more.

He had lost the means to control the jiangshi, and the Salcheonmun assassins, including Gye Yabu, were dead.

But if that was all he had prepared for today, the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord would never have begun this grand plan.

I need time. Time.

It had been half a century since he infiltrated the imperial court as a eunuch.

The shadow of Dark Heaven that the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord had cast over the Great Nation was deeper and larger than anyone imagined.

There were commanders leading armies of tens of thousands, admirals commanding fleets, and political heavyweights who could wield enormous influence with a few words or a handful of hastily written lines.

The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord had more than satisfied their greed. In return, they had sworn loyalty and willingly climbed aboard the same ship, bringing everything they possessed: strength, influence, authority.

The great rebellion meant to overturn the Great Nation was not confined to the grand banquet hall.

That was why the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord could still smile.

Why he could smile even as he faced a monster greater than himself.

“Sorry I’m a little late. Get bored waiting?”

Step.

The voice was light, as though greeting an old friend. But the footstep blocking his way was heavy and firm.

Jin Taekyung.

The face of one man crossed his mind, then appeared in the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord’s vision.

“Yeah, you monster.”

And at that moment—

Crack!

With a gruesome sound of crushed flesh, his only remaining leg was smashed to pieces.

Now deprived of all four limbs, the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord calmly addressed another opponent through pain he could no longer feel.

“The world would be astonished to learn that the Fire King, famed for his rough ways, cares so deeply for his Disciple…”

CRUNCH!

A thunderous impact drowned out the rest of his words.

Then, as the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord was driven deep into the ground, a voice reached his ears, growling like a beast.

“Shut your mouth. Before I rip out your tongue.”

“My tongue? You’d rip out my tongue?”

The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord gave a short laugh.

“That’s not a bad idea. It would be a new experience for me, too.”

“You bastard!”

“My ears are ringing. Stop shouting and try it. Right now.”

“……!”

“What are you waiting for? I said, rip out my tongue.”

But no answer came, no matter how often he urged him. The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord’s smile deepened.

“Right. You can’t. You won’t. If you rip out my tongue here and now, you’ll never get the answers you want.”

The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord already knew.

In a desperate fight for their lives, they might have killed him. But now that they had won, they could not.

He knew a great deal about Dark Heaven and the Lord of Heaven. One word from the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord could change the course of a Great War that would decide the future of the world.

A war that would put hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of lives at stake.

That was the last hope he clung to.

“Listen, Fire King.”

Rumble. Rumble.

The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord felt faint vibrations through the ground, growing stronger by the moment, and burst into hearty laughter.

“It seems Heaven hasn’t abandoned me after all.”

At that moment—

CRAAASH!

With a roar that shook the earth, thousands of soldiers poured over the shattered outer wall.

The Eastern Heaven Demon Lord laughed aloud.

No—he was about to.

Gooooong.

Until an enormous beam of light shot from somewhere, wrapped around them, and burst.

KABOOM!

Faced with that unbelievable power, the Eastern Heaven Demon Lord’s eyes flew wide.

At the same time, he screamed one person’s name.

“So Gyo…!”