Unhyeongbo…

Unhyeong, to hide one's form.

But was its mysterious use only in stealth?

A technique that makes the body extremely light and closes a distance of several jang at once with a handful of true qi.

It was a unique secret art of the Jinkagu's special-class assassins for a one-hit kill.

But how did that punk know that martial art?

And he was skilled.

As if he had been training for a long time.

Her head became complicated.

But Cheonyeong did not give Jasu a chance to be lost in thought.

Pa-ak!

The sword dug in.

It came straight for Jasu's brow without wavering, and its speed was so surprising that in her eyes, it seemed as if the sword's edge was blocking her view.

As she tilted her head to the side, the sword passed precariously over her neck.

Even though it didn't touch, the cold feeling of the sharp edge grazing her neck sent shivers down her spine.

"Keuk!"

A stinging sensation followed.

A red scratch was left on her long, white neck by the sharp edge.

Kka-deu-deuk!

Jasu's face contorted as she gritted her teeth.

"Punk!"

Chwa-a-ak!

The sash in her hand, filled with formidable internal energy, became stiff and shot up.

Jjeo-eo-eong!

The sword that had been aiming for Jasu's neck was retrieved and clashed with the sash.

Chwa-a-a-ak!

The wave of energy created at the point of collision, filled with tremendous power, radiated in all directions, and water waves spread out in concentric circles around the boat.

"Sagyo!"

With Jasu's shout, Sagyo's hidden weapons were scattered.

Swae-ae-aek!

A two-on-one fight.

The disadvantaged side was, of course, Cheonyeong.

But, his senses were gradually returning.

The assassin Sagyo. The senses of that time were slowly coming back to life from his fingertips.

Yes, this is the feeling.

"...You're not the only ones who use hidden weapons."

Tung!

Cheonyeong, who had stepped back and created a distance as soon as he landed, scatters the hand he had put in his bosom.

Ting! Ti-ting! Ting!

A clash of hidden weapons.

A smile appears on Cheonyeong's lips.

The feeling of the hidden weapon in his hand is good.

Jasu and Sagyo.

The fight with them was raising Cheonyeong's senses to the level of his past assassin days.

He was getting used to it, becoming more precise.

As they say, there is no better practice than actual combat.

But the amount of hidden weapons that Sagyo had thrown with both hands and the amount of hidden weapons that he had thrown with one hand while holding a sword could not be the same.

"Dammit..."

Cheonyeong frowned as the hidden weapons he couldn't block flew threateningly, and he forcefully released his internal energy to wrap it around his body.

Samyang, Whirlwind!

Pa-ra-ra-rak!

The outer garment, filled with internal energy, became stiff and twisted with his rotating body.

Bba-ga-ga-ga-gak!

Sagyo's flying needles were deflected without being able to penetrate Cheonyeong's clothes.

Just as Jasu was about to continue her attack.

"Keuk!"

Suddenly, Sagyo's painful groan was heard.

"...?!"

Jasu, who had flinched, looks at Sagyo.

Sagyo, who had knelt on the stern and was grimacing, had... a flying needle?

Why?

The amount of flying needles was much more on Sagyo's side...

"What? Surprised?"

In a situation full of bewilderment, Cheonyeong, who had retreated to the bow to avoid the flying needles, smirked.

"You punk... how?"

"How what? Has your head hardened in the meantime?"

"What?"

"Hah, to have to explain something like this in detail. Have you forgotten the basics of hidden weapon techniques now that you've become a special class?"

"What's that?"

Although the punk had thrown a clue as if giving alms, he still couldn't understand.

Hidden weapon technique.

It was a skill more important than anything else to an assassin.

So he knew the basics required for hidden weapon techniques better than anyone.

Stealth, speed, precision, and so on.

But no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't see what connection the basics of hidden weapon techniques had with the current situation.

"Tsk tsk, you're stupid. Looking at your state, I have no choice but to say one more thing."

"...?"

"It's quality, quality."

"Quality?"

"Yes. The quality of the hidden weapon used is first, and the quality of the user's ability is second."

"..."

"The number of hidden weapons that Sagyo threw was much more than the hidden weapons I used. But the quality of his hidden weapons and mine are different."

"Then... are you saying it's a secret treasure?"

A secret treasure is a flying needle made with good iron and good technology.

"A secret treasure is too precious. To kill punks like you."

"What did you say?"

"Of course, it's the quality of the user's ability. Even with the same flying needle, the power of the one in my hand and the one in Sagyo's hand can only be worlds apart."

"Your hidden weapon technique... is much higher?"

"Of course."

"Nonsense!"

Cheonyeong wore an absurd expression at Jasu's shout.

What is this?

The pride of a Jinkagu assassin? Or taking Sagyo's side?

You, who usually treated the assassins below you worse than bugs?

Ah! Could this be... only I can hit my subordinate, is that it?

...How shitty is that?

Without even considering the feelings of the person being hit.

"It was a fluke."

"What?"

"Your hidden weapon technique is much more sublime? Heung! You're putting on a great bluff after succeeding in just one attack."

"..."

"What are you doing, Sagyo! Get up! Were you only this much!"

Jasu scolds Sagyo in anger.

"Yes! Special Class!"

And Sagyo gets up, gritting his teeth.

The place where the flying needle hit must hurt a lot, but he was enduring it.

Even if it was painful, even if it was hard...

"To show off with a shabby hidden weapon technique. I will show you clearly how arrogant your confidence was!"

Cheonyeong sighed at Jasu's words.

This is a disease.

But, since he himself had been an assassin of the Jinkagu, he knew well.

How much pride they had in their skills.

The assassins of the Jinkagu.

Each and every one of their techniques was something they had learned by risking their lives every time.

But.

"Well, fine. Then I'll show you... no, I'll break you. Everything you've learned."

"Nonsense!"

At the same time as Cheonyeong's words ended, Jasu swung her sash and flew at him.

Kka-a-ang! Kkang!

There was no more conversation.

Every attack was an assassination, and the best moves to take the opponent's life followed one after another.

Swae-ae-aek!

Every time Cheonyeong dodged Jasu's attack and created a distance, Sagyo's hidden weapons were shot out.

But the power was significantly weaker.

Although he was enduring it, he couldn't produce the same power as before with an injured body.

"Keuk!"

Although the flying needles that Cheonyeong threw were repeatedly stuck, Sagyo did not fall as before.

He just endured and endured, continuing to attack.

Pathetic.

Well, he himself had been like that once.

Without a care for the pain, he had struggled with all his might not to be thrown away as a consumable on the battlefield.

That... was the life he was given.

The life of an assassin with a dirty fate, who would be discarded the moment he could not take another's life.

Jjeo-eo-eong!

"Keu-euk!"

A clash of several times.

But the one who frowned first was Jasu.

What on earth was this punk?

Her sash, and Sagyo's hidden weapons.

Even while being attacked by both at the same time, he didn't seem to get tired at all. There was no wavering.

Moreover, the power contained in each of the punk's attacks was astonishing.

Every time they clashed, the rebound force that returned to her hands and arms was enough to strain her joints.

That punk... is stronger than her.

Both his internal energy and his martial arts.

And Sagyo's attacks were not getting through at all.

Rather, he had allowed the punk to attack him several times, and she could see him getting more and more tired.

Seeing that he couldn't even keep his balance properly, he was barely holding on with his mental strength.

Although her pride was hurt, the punk's words were right. That punk's hidden weapon technique was far ahead of the second-class assassin raised by the Jinkagu.

Hu-ung!

"...?"

The sash she had aimed and swung cut through the air.

That punk?

The surprised Jasu quickly looks for Cheonyeong's location.

Hwa-ak!

In fact, there was no need to look. Because his foot was flying from the side.

There was no time to block, so she circulated her internal energy to protect the point of impact.

Bbeo-eo-eok!

"Keok!"

But her waist bent and a groan escaped.

Her breath was caught, and her internal organs seemed to have been pushed to one side by Cheonyeong's kick, and her vision momentarily went white.

There is no chance of winning...

If this goes on.

"Sagyo!"

"Yes!"

Swae-ae-aek!

Sagyo scattered more hidden weapons than before to help Jasu escape.

While Cheonyeong was dodging the hidden weapons, Jasu, who had retreated, puts away her sash and grabs flying needles in both hands.

"We'll attack together!"

"Yes!"

Jasu and Sagyo, standing side by side, shoot hidden weapons at Cheonyeong with all their might.

Swae-ae-aek! Kkang!

Swae-ae-aek! Kka-ga-gang!

Cheonyeong, unable to keep up with the doubled amount of hidden weapons, swings his sword and deflects the flying needles.

"Tch!"

Damn, that wench Jasu.

Since she knew she couldn't be a match, she changed her method so quickly.

You were so angry just now, is this all your pride is?

Ping! Pi-ping!

Although he wanted to sneer like that, he was too busy to even breathe.

The hidden weapons that Jasu and Sagyo were throwing came pouring down like rain.

Moreover, even if she was an unlucky wench, Jasu was a special class.

There was no way her hidden weapon technique was at the same level as Sagyo's.

The hidden weapons that he couldn't block completely with his sword were gradually grazing his clothes.

Dangerous. He couldn't even be grazed, let alone hit.

Because their hidden weapons, unlike his own, were filled with poison.

Ping! Pi-pi-ping!

In the end, Cheonyeong used his sword and hidden weapons at the same time.

The hidden weapons, thrown from the bow and stern, clashed in the center of the boat, creating sparks.

From a distance, it would have been a rather beautiful sight.

But that light was the boundary between life and death, a fight of ghouls.

And before long, Cheonyeong had to block the hidden weapons with his sword again.

Damn it...

He had used up all the hidden weapons he had.

"Keuk keuk, punk! It's the end!"

As there were no more hidden weapons being released from Cheonyeong's hand, Jasu shouted with a triumphant expression.

She must have thought she had seized victory.

But Cheonyeong smirked.

"Do you think it's over?"

"What?"

Jasu's mistake.

She did not know that Cheonyeong had learned the same things as them.

No, he was better.

Did he reign as the strongest assassin of the Jinkagu for no reason?

Even the Killing Master, Jin Gumyeong, would have to take a step back in front of him.

And another thing, she did not know what kind of martial art Cheonyeong was learning.

A divine art, the Samyang.

Far from mastering it, he had just passed the first stage, but his martial prowess was not something that could be compared to Jasu's.

"Punk, you're bluffing. Fine, I'll praise you! It was admirable that you pushed me back and endured this far. But, it will be difficult any longer."

"..."

"Isn't it on a river where there is no place to run? You have no chance of winning!"

Cheonyeong's smile deepens at Jasu's poisonous gaze.

"Hoo, since I've enjoyed it enough, let's end it now."

"What did you say? Are you going to try a last-ditch effort?"

"Keuk, you're the one who should be making a last-ditch effort."

"...You arrogant punk. You're a punk who won't come to his senses even after you die."

Cheonyeong shook his head at Jasu's words and controlled his breathing.

I'll show you. From now on...

"Sagyo! Pour it all out!"

"Yes!"

With Jasu's shout, Sagyo grabbed a handful of flying needles.

But Cheonyeong's action was much faster than theirs.

Cheonyeong runs low, as if grazing the floor of the boat's railing, and extends his hand.

Chwa-a-ak!

He feels the resistance of the cold water at his fingertips.

The thing he had practiced the most while learning hidden weapon techniques was to swing his foot softly like a whip.

Because the lighter it is, the faster the speed.

A flying needle is not thrown with strength, but with speed.

Plucking a leaf and making it a flying flower.

When one reaches the pinnacle of hidden weapon techniques, even a leaf or a flower petal can become a peerless hidden weapon.

As Jasu had said, the place they were in was on a river.

Water all around.

There was no need to grab the water. It couldn't be grabbed in the first place.

What was on his hand was enough.

Pa-a-ak!

His arm bends like a whip along with his rotating body.

Swae-ae-aek!

Then, reaching the extreme point, the water on his hand forms a drop, falls off, and is shot.

So-called, Flying Water Droplet Bullet!

Peok! Peo-peok! Peok!

An unexpected attack, and tremendous speed.

Jasu and Sagyo were struck by the water droplets without even being able to throw the hidden weapons in their hands.

"Keuk!"

"Keok!"

Jasu's face contorts in pain.

To throw... water.

Was that punk's level this high?

The third thing Jasu didn't know.

It didn't matter whether Cheonyeong had flying needles to use or not in the first place.

And that moment of their hesitation forced a choice at the crossroads of life and death.

Swi-a-a-ak!

Cheonyeong's sword, which had flown at the same time as he had used the water as a hidden weapon, flew towards Jasu's Adam's apple at a tremendous speed.

Death...

Jasu, with that one word filling her mind, instinctively extends and pulls her arm like a person drowning in water.

Pu-uk!

"Kkeo-eok!"

Cheonyeong's eyes shot open as if they would tear, at the sword that had pierced Sagyo's chest.

(End of Chapter)