Chapter 43
Just who in the world is this guy, and where did he come from?
Just by looking at him, he’s definitely an assassin, right?
Although it was a sudden situation……
Like the ‘genius dad’ who raises geniuses, I racked my brain to figure out his identity.
As a result……
The answer is one of two.
First, he was either dispatched by the Cult of the Evil Path or is an assassin hired by them.
Second, he could be an assassin hired by an unspecified force that dislikes the Dawn Heaven Sect’s recent unstoppable momentum.
In other words, he’s an assassin no matter what.
He’s an assassin who came to kill me.
‘As I live, the day has come when I’m facing an assassin.’
And it’s me, the former Greatest Assassin of All Time?
“Instead of that assassin attire, why didn’t you come in ordinary clothes? Or you could have formally requested a duel or a life-or-death match. Anyway, since you came as an assassin, I can’t let you live.”
What an arrogant bastard.
How dare he try to assassinate the former Greatest Assassin of All Time?
Me, the assassination expert?
“Jin So-cheon. I’ve heard much about your arrogance. And you killed the Demon Slayer Baek Gui-ho with your bare hands, right? Chuckle. But such a miracle won’t happen today.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because I am Noh Ho-yeong.”
“……”
It was you.
It was you……
As soon as I heard his name, I roughly guessed who sent him.
Why?
Because Noh Ho-yeong was a ‘real deal’ who had made a name for himself since my days as an assassin.
The Noh Family Assassin’s Guild!
Noh Ho-yeong is from the Noh Family Assassin’s Guild, and as far as I know, they’re an evil faction family affiliated with the Cult of the Evil Path.
Also, the Noh Family Assassin’s Guild was famous for accepting requests even from the righteous factions despite being part of the evil faction. In other words, they’re money-grubbing bastards who don’t care about right or wrong, just like money demons, money-hungry insects, and misers.
However……
I felt disappointed in Noh Ho-yeong.
“Ho-yeong. Rumors in the martial world tend to be exaggerated, but you’re taking it too far.”
“What?”
“You, you don’t even have the basics of an assassin down. For someone like you to have a reputation as an assassin…… it’s laughable.”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“An assassin reveals his identity to the target? Without a shred of doubt? Are you perhaps insane?”
“You crazy bastard. It’s just you and me here, and I will kill you no matter what. So what does it matter?”
“Oh, you idiot. What if all the Dawn Heaven Sect disciples are hiding in ambush using concealment techniques? Do you think you can handle them all by yourself? Even if you could, the moment you miss even one, your actions will be revealed to the world.”
My words seemed to have struck a nerve, as Noh Ho-yeong looked around with wide eyes.
He must be checking for a possible ambush.
But……
“I’m just kidding. There’s no ambush or anything.”
“This bastard!”
Seeing Noh Ho-yeong fuming with anger, I burst out laughing.
“You, you would have been a failing student if you had received assassin training under me. Tsk tsk.”
◈ ◈ ◈
That’s what I said, but……
Shhhhhhhheeeek━.
As I parried Noh Ho-yeong’s sword strikes, there was no smoke without fire, as his swordsmanship was incredibly sharp.
Shwshwshwshwshw━.
Noh Ho-yeong’s sword path was a typical killing sword, aiming only for vital points.
Sword strikes that target only the vital points of the body that can incapacitate a person with a single touch and the pressure points that cause the most bleeding, despite the size of the wound.
‘He may not be good at psychological warfare…… but his martial arts are impressive.’
I inwardly clicked my tongue at his fierce attacks.
However,
“Ho-yeong. You idiot. Do you think you can kill me with such slow movements? It’s like a turtle trying to race me.”
I kept talking nonsense that had nothing to do with my thoughts.
Of course, while dodging all of his attacks without giving him a single opening.
“Shut up! Are you fighting with your mouth?!”
Then, Noh Ho-yeong, completely enraged, roared and unleashed even fiercer swordsmanship.
‘Fast.’
It was fast.
Noh Ho-yeong’s sword was definitely faster than any I had seen since my reincarnation.
Fortunately, the range of the sword wind generated from his sword wasn’t that wide, so I could dodge it easily, but because it was in the form of a compressed vacuum sword, I couldn’t launch a proper counterattack even with my protective aura activated.
“Jin So-cheon. How long are you going to keep running away?”
At that moment, Noh Ho-yeong said with a smirk.
Actually……
If I wanted to counterattack, I would have done it already.
I wanted to observe the swordsmanship of a master I had met for the first time in a while.
Especially the sword of an assassin like myself. I wanted to analyze it leisurely.
But seeing Noh Ho-yeong’s arrogant attitude, that desire vanished completely.
‘This bastard is acting like he doesn’t know how scary the world is.’
I suddenly felt annoyed.
Crackle……
Because of that, I changed my strategy.
As I drew upon the ‘Thunder’ attribute energy embedded in my dantian, a bolt of lightning flashed from my hand, accompanied by a thunderous roar.
Kwaaaaaaang━!
At the same time, I blocked Noh Ho-yeong’s sword path with my right hand and engaged in a head-on clash.
Suddenly, Noh Ho-yeong’s face contorted in shock.
“……!”
“Surprised, Ho-yeong?”
“……”
“I’ll surprise you even more.”
I seized the momentum and launched a counterattack.
Noh Ho-yeong must be bewildered, as I, who had been running away with Fast Whale Steps, suddenly unleashed a counterattack with both hands filled with internal energy.
Kwagagagagagang━!
Right Fist-Left Palm-Rising Dragon Fist-White Tiger Palmfollowed by Iron Head Technique.
As my ‘Ten Invincible Hand Techniques,’ which occupied all directions—up, down, left, right, and front—were unleashed in succession, Noh Ho-yeong’s offensive momentum was broken.
“You must be wondering how I can not only deflect your vacuum sword infused with sword wind with my bare hands but also counterattack immediately, right?”
Bam━.
At my words, Noh Ho-yeong retreated about three steps using the Bow-Body Flickering Shadow technique.
Then, with a surprised expression, he spoke.
“Jin So-cheon. You’re arrogant for a reason. It seems you’re not just all talk.”
“You’re still acting cocky, Ho-yeong.”
“But you’re going to die here anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because there’s no way you can beat me with such hand-to-hand combat techniques.”
Indeed……
Since I had concentrated my protective aura in both hands for the attack, there were sword wind marks from Noh Ho-yeong’s sword all over my forearms, including my biceps.
Well, it was just a stinging sensation, so I didn’t mind, but if it continued in a prolonged fight, the cuts would increase, and my clothes would be soaked in blood. It was as clear as day.
“You’re worrying about strange things, Ho-yeong. But since I appreciate your concern, how about I change my method?”
“……”
“I might as well use a sword too.”
“Chuckle. Jin So-cheon. Are you joking? Where are you going to find a sword in these remote mountains?”
“There are two ways. I can beat the c*ap out of you and take your sword.”
“……”
“Or I can use a bamboo stalk as a substitute for a sword. As you can see, this is a bamboo forest. Bamboo is everywhere, so I can just cut one and use it.”
Then,
“Khahahaha!”
Noh Ho-yeong burst into laughter.
“You’re truly insane. What? Use bamboo as a sword? Are you saying you’ve achieved some kind of Sword-Body Unity or something? Don’t be ridiculous……”
“I’ll just show you.”
I cut him off.
Seeing is believing, so……
I’ll just show him.
Thud━.
I wrapped my right hand with lightning energy and cut down a bamboo stalk.
The length was just right, the color was beautiful.
It was similar to the Soul-Calming Sword I used in my past life, and I liked it.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve used swordsmanship.’
I felt a strange sensation.
◈ ◈ ◈
Crackle…… Crackle…… Crackle━!
In my past life……
I usually infused my sword with a mixture of ‘Wind’ and ‘Thunder’ attributes and unleashed sword strikes with the power of wind and lightning.
Since my job was an assassin, a one-strike kill was the most important thing. Most of the time, when I mixed the two attributes of wind and thunder, the destructive power and lethality were beyond description, and the opponent couldn’t avoid death.
But unfortunately, I haven’t opened the ‘Wind’ attribute yet in this life.
Therefore, I only infused the ‘Thunder’ attribute into the bamboo sword, and because of that, when my bamboo sword clashed with Noh Ho-yeong’s sword, it wasn’t a metallic sound but the roar of thunder and lightning.
‘……!’
Just then.
Noh Ho-yeong’s expression, as he exchanged blows with me, was close to astonishment.
The information he had on me must have been limited to ‘a martial artist skilled in hand-to-hand combat.’
But not only was I using swordsmanship, but the sword was nothing more than a bamboo stalk, and on top of that, I was deflecting his sword with a mere bamboo stalk. It must be a bewildering experience for him.
And……
That bewilderment was clearly reflected in Noh Ho-yeong’s swordsmanship.
The strengths I saw in Noh Ho-yeong were speed and sharpness.
Of course, that’s the case with most assassins’ swords, but it seemed that the swordsmanship Noh Ho-yeong pursued was particularly focused on the value of a single, deadly strike.
“Ho-yeong. You’re showing openings, openings.”
Holes began to appear in Noh Ho-yeong’s movements, which had been thoroughly blocking any openings.
Crackle, Boom━!
“Ugh!”
My bamboo sword pierced Noh Ho-yeong’s exposed side perfectly.
Along with a low thunderous sound, his clothes were scorched by lightning, and I felt the impact of the strike through my hand holding the bamboo sword.
After a total of about 70 exchanges.
It was the moment my first effective hit landed.
Bam━.
Noh Ho-yeong, struck in the side, stumbled backward again using his movement technique.
Or rather, he tried to.
His ribs must be shattered, so he must be feeling dizzy.
But I didn’t allow him to retreat.
Bam!
Because this was a fight for pride.
I didn’t know what kind of movement technique he had mastered.
But I believed that ‘Fast Whale Steps’ was the best movement technique in the world, so I couldn’t forgive him for escaping my attack range.
“Hah!”
“I can’t stand it when someone runs away.”
I immediately cut off his escape route and swung my bamboo sword, positioning myself behind him.
Boom━!
Noh Ho-yeong’s body, struck in the back by the bamboo sword, lost its balance and staggered. I swung the bamboo sword again in the direction he was tilting and struck his throat this time.
Crackle━!
“Gah!”
Thud…… Thump!
However……
Noh Ho-yeong was still Noh Ho-yeong.
He fell in the opposite direction due to the impact on his throat, but as he was falling, he used his hands to regain his balance, somersaulted backward three or four times, and landed on his feet, steadying himself.
“Ho-yeong. Did you work as a dancer in a Peking opera troupe or something in your younger days? You’re quite nimble. Show me that one more time, and I’ll go easy on you.”
“Y-you……!”
Noh Ho-yeong growled at me.
At this point, I could have flinched, but unfortunately, he wasn’t scary at all, so I spoke calmly.
“Honestly, if I had met you before killing Baek Gui-ho, I might have been the one heading to the underworld. I was a bit weaker back then.”
“……”
“But unfortunately, my stamina has increased a lot since then. It means that unless you’re someone extraordinary, you can’t kill me.”
“The fight isn’t over yet!”
At that moment.
Noh Ho-yeong suddenly charged at me with the ferocity of a tiger.
‘That’s right. Someone from the Noh Family Assassin’s Guild wouldn’t go down so easily.’
Chaeeeeeeng━!
As expected, Noh Ho-yeong had one more trick up his sleeve.
It was……
“You can use Sword Energy too, Ho-yeong.”
The manifestation of Sword Energy, which all martial artists in the world unanimously praise and long for.
It was the manifestation of Sword Energy.
‘I guess I have to go all out.’
“Hoooo……”
I haven’t tried it yet.
I wonder what would happen if I infused the bamboo sword with both the ‘Force’ and ‘Thunder’ attributes?
Would it perhaps create something like a heavy lightning sword?