A Disaster-Level Assassin Has Been Freed

Chapter 53: Black Poison (2)

“N-no… I, I, I don’t know……!”

The assassin, Black Scorpion, stammered out his words.

The hand that had been covering his mouth was gone by now, but he didn’t dare think of attempting suicide again.

Not only was there no chance of success, but he also lacked the confidence to face the hell that would unfold afterward.

What was surprising was that his current fear stemmed solely from instinct.

‘Wh-who on earth is he?’

This was the first time he had felt like this.

He had never felt such pressure even when facing the Black Snakes, the most skilled members within the guild.

It felt as if he was confronting a being beyond any standard.

That was the emotion he had felt when he first exchanged gazes with this young man.

“Hmm…….”

Harang, who was watching Black Scorpion’s reaction, wore a disappointed expression.

Truthfully, he had vaguely guessed it would be like this.

His peers in the village often showed similar reactions when they looked at him.

It seemed he possessed a unique aura that only skilled assassins could perceive.

‘That Daereon fellow, and the Black Spider who was impersonating the attendant secretary…….’

It seemed those two weren’t proper assassins.

Of course, it wasn't a particularly important fact.

Harang, who had been briefly lost in other thoughts like that, gathered his energy.

Wooooong……

“……!”

At that, Black Scorpion’s complexion turned even paler.

There was no mercy.

The black reaper, with eyes dripping killing intent, fixed his gaze squarely on the opponent’s eyes and thought of additional questions to ask.

How many were dispatched on the assassination mission in total?

Where were they currently, and what was their level?

Besides those, various pieces of information necessary to complete the escort request came to mind, but what Harang was most curious about was this.

“Do you, by any chance… know about the existence of the ‘village’?”

* * *

‘Not much of a gain.’

Harang, who came out after finishing the interrogation, wore a disappointed expression.

It couldn't be helped; the fellow knew almost nothing.

He seemed completely ignorant about the village, about Godok, and about the administrators who managed them all.

‘I had hoped, seeing the black tattoo on the back of his neck, but for it to be this futile…….’

Of course, it wasn't yet time to be disappointed.

That fellow wasn't the end.

Hadn't it been said that an assassin of the ‘Black Snake’ rank, a class above Black Scorpion, was targeting the merchant guild?

If he went to him and spoke, he might be able to dig up some significant information.

So…….

“I’ll be back in a moment.”

“……What? Where?”

“To the assassin. To Black Poison.”

“What kind of bullshit is that? Do you think that’s a place you can just go to whenever you feel like… No, before that, do you even know where Black Poison is?”

“Of course, I know, right? I just finished the interrogation, didn't I? Ah, if you’re asking where their base is, I don’t know either. That person didn’t know either. But I did find out where the personnel dispatched for this assassination mission are. They said they were following from a day’s walking distance behind.”

“…….”

“…….”

“G-go and what… Kuhup, go, go… Aish, damn it!”

‘Damn it! Why does my voice keep trembling?’

Sheratiya Viyan screamed inwardly.

Irritation surged.

She believed it was a merchant’s virtue to maintain composure no matter how formidable the opponent was, to hide her own hand.

However, after seeing the fear in the assassin’s eyes, it was difficult for her to treat Harang comfortably.

‘He made the assassin, who endured such terrible tortures, cower in an instant.’

What was even more surprising was the fact that Harang hadn't shown anything particular in the process.

It was an absurd situation.

She had tried to indirectly grasp his level by observing how Harang handled the assassin, but instead, her curiosity had only grown.

That too, with layers of strange fear piled on top.

Given such a situation, she found it impossible to look at the fellow from the same perspective.

‘……No. Don’t think weak thoughts.’

Hoo-eup, Sheratiya took a deep breath.

Hoo-oo, and exhaled.

Then, her chaotic mind calmed down a little.

Once again, with arrogant eyes, with eyes filled with the ambition to swallow the whole world someday, she looked at Harang.

It was much better.

At least, it was much better than cowering like before.

Having thus quickly regained the dignity of the merchant guild’s general manager, she continued speaking straightforwardly.

“So, what exactly do you want to do by going there?”

“I plan to eliminate them all.”

“…….”

“Why that expression? Isn’t the surest way to provide an escort to eliminate the risk factors?”

“Th-ha……”

Sheratiya, who was about to say something, soon shook her head.

Vigorously, very vigorously.

Enough to blow away all the thoughts in her head.

That was better.

When dealing with this somewhat strange fellow… it seemed better to keep her brain switched off.

“……Have a good trip.”

In the end, after much deliberation, this was all she uttered.

It was a commonplace farewell, like one would say to someone going out for a casual stroll, but Harang didn’t mind.

Nodding ordinarily, truly like someone going out for a stroll, he said.

“Then, I’ll be off.”

* * *

What was the basis of assassination?

It was stealth.

The difficulty of the mission varied 하늘과 땅 (heaven and earth / vastly) depending on whether or not one’s identity was discovered by the target and those escorting the target.

That was why assassins loved the night, preferred secluded places, and favored concealment and cover.

To kill someone, it was best to hide one’s body as much as possible.

If so, what if the target was in a wide, open plain?

Furthermore, what if they were constantly moving? Should one meekly give up the mission because there was nowhere to hide?

Not so.

It was the same for Black Poison, who had received the assassination request for Sheratiya Viyan.

They were openly revealing themselves, even mobilizing carriages, and trailing behind the Viyan Merchant Guild.

Precisely by ‘disguising’ themselves as a merchant guild.

The sight of a coachman driving a carriage with a languid expression, a few mercenaries exchanging trivial jokes, a porter moving with sweat pouring down, and a merchant guild leader observing everyone with a stern gaze, was a natural appearance that wouldn't arouse even a speck of suspicion of them being assassins.

On the other hand.

The young man walking steadily towards them was different.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

It couldn't be explained precisely.

One couldn't suspect someone of being an assassin simply because they wore black clothes or had a cold, emotionless expression.

However, all members of Black Poison thought of the young man before them as ‘one of their own kind’.

No, perhaps they thought of him as a ‘predator’.

It was a ‘hunch’ that only those who had spent their entire lives in the business of death could feel, and that hunch was speaking.

Run.

If you don’t run, you’ll die.

“……All units, prepare for battle.”

“Yes.”

“Yes.”

Sreung

Sreureung-

Of course, they couldn't do that.

The fate of an assassin who received a mission had only two outcomes.

Succeed and receive another mission, or fail and accept eternal rest.

It was a guild rule ingrained in their minds more strongly than instinct.

And it was an order given by the ‘Black Snake’, feared more than death.

The eleven scorpions who nodded their heads drew their weapons without exception and charged swiftly towards the black-haired young man.

And, the carnage began.

Woong

Woooooong-!

Grayish-white aura erupted from the scorpions’ weapons.

It wasn't that of an early-stage Expert.

Those who had reached at least the mid-level realm quickly formed a circular formation and pressured their opponent.

No, they tried to.

Harang didn’t wait.

Taat

Lightly pushing off the ground with his foot, he instantly appeared before one of the scorpions.

He didn't even give them a chance to be surprised.

Chwaak-!

With the same motion as drawing his sword from its sheath, he slashed the upper body, then leaped to the right and cut down two more scorpions.

Seogeok, seogeok-!

The remaining scorpions’ response wasn't too bad.

Giving up on forming a perfect encirclement, they quickly pursued Harang.

It was a desperate struggle to somehow induce a many-against-one fight.

Another scorpion was sacrificed for this, but finally, three scorpions succeeded in getting behind the target.

Attacks to both shoulders and the lower body; three sword blades fiercely struck, tracing difficult paths.

And.

Long before they could reach, Harang’s sword shot out horizontally.

──────────!

Seogeok-

Seogeok-

Seogeok-!

A sharp presence as if it would split heaven and earth!

The scorpions didn't feel it.

It was too fast.

Harang’s swift sword, flying as he reversed his form, far transcended their cognitive abilities, and the three realized they had been struck only at the moment their waists were severed, and bid farewell to the world.

It was an undeniable, crushing defeat.

Thus, the remaining personnel were five.

Before they knew it, four scorpions surrounded Harang, and the Black Snake, who appeared to be the leader, was a few steps away, preparing a finishing blow.

Woooooooong-!

Accumulation, the aura he had built up over a lifetime.

Concentration, gathering it all into a single sword.

It didn’t end there.

The aura, shining even more brilliantly through Enhancement and Hardening, was tuned even more perfectly through the process of Sensory Awakening, and finally manifested as a complete Form.

What was completed thus was the culmination of the 6 Aura Concepts.

A completed Aura Sword.

It was an absurd event.

No matter how much he was one ofr the guild’s top talents, he was merely an assassin.

For someone whose specialties were poison, hidden weapons, and surprise attacks rather than direct confrontation, to manifest the secret technique of a Graduate, even if he had sufficient time?

It was an event so surprising that if the continent’s gossips had heard it, their eyeballs would have popped out.

However, what was even more surprising.

The leader of the Black Scorpions, the Black Snake, who had displayed such an incredible level.

Shhweek-!

Puk.

“……Kkeuryuk.”

Was that he lost his life without even swinging his sword once.

“No!”

“How can this be!”

“What is this!”

“……I can’t believe it!”

Those who had surrounded him widened their eyes.

They couldn't believe it.

It was merely a quick throw of an ordinary dagger.

They, who were only of the scorpion rank, had no confidence in blocking it, but they had never dreamed that the Black Snake, who was at the Graduate level, would fall for such an ordinary move.

Of course, it didn't matter what they thought.

However, the kind Harang personally opened his mouth to continue his explanation for everyone.

“It’s because his level is still unstable.”

“What did you say?”

“Between Expert and Graduate. Someone vaguely straddling that line tried to forcibly manifest a completed Aura Sword, so his concentration was greatly dispersed. I aimed well for that gap.”

“No, even so……”

“Besides that, there were about seven other things I considered, and it happened because I aimed well for the timing when all of them aligned… but it seems difficult to explain all of this one by one.”

Shhwaeaek-!

“So let’s stop here.”

Tuk, tuk, tuduk, tuk.

The scorpions couldn't react to Harang’s sword, which was swung in an instant.

Four faces with expressions of not knowing what was happening, tududuk, fell to the ground, and subsequently, the bodies whose necks had been severed also tumbled around on the ground.

Thus, there were no assassins left on the plain.

For Lady Viyan, who was exposed to the threat of assassination, it was a result she would have wished for more than anyone, but for Harang, it was an unsatisfactory result.

Why had he come this far?

It was to obtain information about the village.

As long as he participated in the trade journey as a mercenary, the request was paramount, but his personal curiosity also absolutely had to be resolved.

Nevertheless, since he had killed all those he should have interrogated, the thought that he had made a mistake should have normally crossed his mind, but Harang was strangely calm.

He merely stared blankly at a tree some distance away.

Thus, 10 seconds passed.

30 seconds passed.

1 minute passed.

During that not-so-short time, Harang, who strangely did nothing.

To him, an unidentified strange person who had been behind the tree, crunched, crunched, walked over and said.

“How did you know? That I was hiding?”

At this, Harang said with an expressionless face.

“How could I not know? That someone else is hiding?”