AR Chapter 107

The moment we opened the door of the gambling house and stepped out, sunlight shone down, and hidden weapons flew towards us through the sunlight.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

I lightly deflected the incoming hidden weapons with my Dark Demonic Sword. Thanks to my New Eye Technique, my eyes weren’t dazzled even when looking directly at the sun.

The heads of the assassins on the opposite roof who had thrown the hidden weapons were consecutively shattered.

Extremely Evil Laughing Demon’s palm was extended towards them.

He had unleashed his unique martial art, the Demonic Extreme Berserk Palm^[1].

The moment his outstretched palm closed and his index finger pointed at something.

A gust of wind extended from his finger like light.

Ping! Thud!

Another assassin who was about to swoop down on us from beyond the roof had a hole punched through his chest and fell.

It was his other unique martial art, the Blood Calamity Finger^[2].

It was with that palm and that finger that he had risen to the position of Demon Supreme.

I think his alias “Extremely Evil” was also influenced by these two martial arts. The sight of enemies’ heads or bodies bursting and being punctured was much more shocking than being stabbed by a sword.

This was the first time I had properly seen his martial arts since we were expelled together. I know better than anyone how terrifying these two martial arts are. When he starts to go berserk, hell unfolds from his fingertips.

Extremely Evil Laughing Demon’s finger slowly pointed towards me. A tension flowed from the tip of his finger as if he was about to unleash the Blood Calamity Finger. It’s not easy to dodge the Blood Calamity Finger at such a close range.

The next moment!

Ping! Thud!

The Blood Calamity Finger that grazed my face pierced the forehead of a masked person who was rushing in from behind.

I didn’t move an inch.

“Just now, it was harder not to move than to dodge.”

“Is that so?”

“You have to suppress the reflex to dodge, which is actually harder than actually dodging. Especially for a master like you, Young Master. Indeed, it must have been you who killed the Soul-Seizing Demon Supreme.”

Flash.

This time, my Dark Demonic Sword sliced through the air. A streak of sword energy that flew from my sword grazed Extremely Evil Laughing Demon’s face, then sliced through the body of a masked person rushing in from behind him.

“I didn’t kill the Soul-Seizing Demon Supreme. How long are you going to keep asking?”

“I won’t ask anymore. It’s certain now.”

There was no time to reply as another assassin rushed in. My sword energy and his Blood Calamity Finger pierced through another assassin’s body.

“There are many enemies.”

“Let’s go.”

Extremely Evil Laughing Demon and I walked together. At this moment, I was feeling a bit of internal excitement. Did only Extremely Evil Laughing Demon have to suppress the desire for a good fight?

The Wind God’s Four Strides, the Heavenly Demonic Defense Art, and the Soaring Heaven Sword Arts at the Eleven Stars level. I too was forcibly suppressing the desire to unleash my skills externally.

If the opponents are assassins trying to kill me, I should be able to display my martial arts without any reservations.

As we were walking down an alley, four masked individuals jumped over the wall and simultaneously attacked the four of us.

I cut down the one trying to stab me with a movement three times faster than his, then turned around. I wasn’t interested in watching Extremely Evil Laughing Demon or Blue Face fight. I only watched Lee Ahn’s fight.

She dealt with the enemy in the same way as me, only slower. Her grueling training didn’t leave room for potential mistakes.

She dodged the incoming sword by barely letting it graze past her shoulder, then cut upwards in one stroke.

Slash!

The assassin collapsed with his face sliced up to the jawbone.

She didn’t panic or get nervous.

You’re doing well, Lee Ahn.

We came out of the alley onto the main street where the carriage was parked.

People were going about their business as if completely unaware of the ambush that had just happened in the alley.

A shop owner yawning, a clerk arranging goods in front of him, an old woman sweeping the street with a broom, a child running past her, an old man sitting by the roadside, across from him a middle-aged peddler holding up his wares and calling for customers, a couple seemingly arguing, a woman shouting abuse from a second-floor window at a man hanging his head below.

A moment of ordinary daily life unfolded like a painting.

Just as we were naturally becoming part of that painting.

An inexplicable sense of discomfort and crisis surged in my heart, and my Heavenly Demonic Defense Art activated.

“Be careful!”

The moment I gave the warning, the attack began.

All those people we had seen were assassins.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

The couple who had been arguing rushed at me, brandishing daggers. Using perfect coordinated techniques, the man aimed for my left side, while the woman targeted my right. My eyes could even see the thick, deadly poison smeared on the blue blades of their daggers.

The Dark Demonic Sword swiftly and accurately cut its targets.

As I sliced from the man’s shoulder to his chest, the woman’s dagger grazed past my ear.

Judging by this quick movement, she must have been one of the most skilled assassins among the Dark Assassin, but to my eyes, even the trembling of her eyelashes was visible.

Her eyelashes trembled even faster as she sensed my invisible sword flying towards her. Just as she was about to react, Slash!

After cutting through her waist and turning around, I saw Extremely Evil Laughing Demon dealing with the peddler.

What the peddler, who had been carrying a stall, sprayed at him was poison powder.

As Extremely Evil Laughing Demon waved his hand, the poison powder returned to the peddler who had thrown it. Covered in poison, the peddler screamed and rolled on the ground.

Simultaneously, the woman throwing hidden weapons from the second floor was pierced by the Blood Calamity Finger and died, while the man below who had launched sword energy was shattered to pieces by the Demonic Extreme Berserk Palm.

I wasn’t just spectating this situation either. While deflecting the hidden weapons the woman had thrown in all directions, I also neutralized the sword energy the man had launched with my own sword energy. Extremely Evil Laughing Demon and I had effectively performed a perfect coordinated technique.

Among the assassins, the child rushed at Lee Ahn.

‘Cut him down, Lee Ahn! That’s not a child!’

Only his appearance was that of a child; in reality, he was an aged adult.

Fortunately, Lee Ahn wasn’t as soft-hearted as I had thought.

The moment she twisted her body to avoid the child’s attack and calmly cut him down, the old man who had been sitting by the roadside had already rushed in and was stabbing a dagger towards her face. It was a dagger coated with poison that could kill even with just a graze.

Even in this critical moment, I only watched. Hoping that Lee Ahn would block it herself, I didn’t launch any sword energy.

Thud!

The old man’s dagger was stopped right in front of Lee Ahn’s eyes as she leaned her waist back. Meanwhile, Lee Ahn’s sword was embedded in the old man’s heart. She had taken down the old man by an extremely narrow margin. It was thanks to her flexible waist, despite being overweight.

I was more surprised than her, but not helping turned out to be the right decision. This one experience would make her grow more than years of training.

While she was dealing with those two, Blue Face had taken care of the shop owner and the clerk. In the process, if Extremely Evil Laughing Demon hadn’t killed the old woman sweeping with his Blood Calamity Finger, Blue Face would have been killed by her.

One can find the reason why Blue Face has devoted a lifetime of loyalty to Extremely Evil Laughing Demon in that scene.

All of this happened simultaneously in the time it takes to exhale once.

It was only because of my and Extremely Evil Laughing Demon’s exceptional skills that we got through it safely. Their ambush, designed as a perfect coordinated attack that didn’t interfere with each other’s movements, was truly terrifying.

Lee Ahn, with a flushed face, said as if sighing,

“Ah, I killed a child and an old person.”

Though it was mixed with humor, I still comforted her heart.

“That was a child older than you, and that old man, how many people do you think he killed before reaching that age?”

“My heart feels completely at ease with just one sentence.”

After comforting her heart, I entered a nearby shop.

The original merchant who had been doing business there was lying in a corner with his acupoints sealed. While we were in the gambling house, they had prepared this entire assassination plan.

And the reason the assassins didn’t kill the merchants was to avoid the smell of blood. Otherwise, they would have all been slaughtered.

As I was turning around after unsealing the merchant’s acupoints and meridians, at that very moment.

Swoosh.

An attack came from behind.

Slash!

I turned around like lightning and cut the throat of the man whose acupoints I had just unsealed. The man collapsed, shocked by my incredibly fast reaction. He was another assassin prepared in case the outside assassination failed.

This ambush was truly unexpected and dangerous. If it hadn’t been me, anyone would have fallen for it.

The real merchant was lying in an inner room with his acupoints and meridians sealed. I unsealed him and left the shop.

I went around to each of the surrounding houses, unsealing the acupoints of the original owners who had been captured there.

Since I already knew there might be assassins mixed among them, the other assassins disguised as them lost their lives to my sword without even getting a chance to swing theirs.

When I came out after unsealing the person in the last store, another assassin’s body was exploding from Extremely Evil Laughing Demon’s Demonic Extreme Berserk Palm.

It was an assassin who had been hiding in a box in front of a building Extremely Evil Laughing Demon was passing by.

Even in a situation where the outside had been cleared and the chance of a successful assassination was slim, they were the kind who would attack unconditionally when the set time came.

Thoroughly trained, they revealed themselves and attacked even knowing they would die. They were not humans, but killing tools raised with fear removed.

“I’ll bring the carriage.”

Blue Face walked across the street to get the carriage.

Extremely Evil Laughing Demon said to me,

“For assassins to put up a bounty of one million taels, this mastermind must be no ordinary person.”

“Yes, they must be someone of Demon Supreme level status in our cult. Right now, they’re using external blades to avoid leaving traces, but when the main body is revealed, experts we can’t handle might pop up.”

Extremely Evil Laughing Demon’s eyes shone with fighting spirit. Among the Eight Demon Supremes, he was second to none when it came to bellicosity. He’s a man who burns even more fiercely the stronger his enemies are.

It was right at that moment as we were talking.

Swoosh! Slash!

A streak of sword energy cut through the passenger compartment of the carriage.

The one who launched the sword energy was Lee Ahn. She had sensed an assassin hiding behind the carriage targeting Blue Face as he sat on the driver’s seat, and launched her sword energy.

Inside the diagonally sliced passenger compartment, an assassin lay cut in half.

Blue Face got off the carriage. Even for an assassin who had perfectly concealed his presence, it was a clear mistake not to have detected him.

Blue Face bowed his head to Lee Ahn. Lee Ahn also bowed her head to him.

Well done, Lee Ahn. It’s good that you’ve made someone like Blue Face owe you a life debt.

Seeing Lee Ahn’s excited face flush even more, I playfully said,

“You might be the first to destroy Laughing Demon’s carriage.”

At my words, Lee Ahn startled and hurriedly bowed her head to Extremely Evil Laughing Demon.

“I’m sorry!”

Extremely Evil Laughing Demon played along with my joke.

“That carriage was very expensive.”

Lee Ahn quickly replied,

“I’ll compensate for it.”

“How?”

“I’ll buy the same carriage with my monthly salary.”

“It would take quite a few years’ worth of salary, wouldn’t it?”

Then, after pondering for a moment, Lee Ahn said in a desperate voice,

“Please give me a discount!”

Suddenly, Extremely Evil Laughing Demon burst into laughter. I’ve made him laugh several times, but this was the loudest.

“You’re ugly, but you have a talent for being funny.”

Although he blatantly called her ugly, Lee Ahn didn’t seem offended at all.

“If you give me a bigger discount, I’ll make you laugh even more!”

Then Blue Face came over and said quietly,

“I’ll add my salary to that too.”

This time, I laughed. Knowing that Blue Face wasn’t the type of person to say such things, I couldn’t help but laugh.

After relieving the tension like that, Extremely Evil Laughing Demon gave an order to Blue Face.

“Use all available secret networks to find out where the leader of the Dark Assassin is hiding.”

“Yes!”

Then I said to Blue Face,

“Use the Heavenly Communication Pavilion’s communication network. Given the nature of this matter, I’m sure Chief Strategist Sima will understand.”

It was the Heavenly Communication Pavilion that had sent the information about the Dark Assassin earlier. If I know Chief Strategist Sima, he would have already given permission for us to use the information.

“Understood.”

“And take Lee Ahn with you.”

“Alright.”

Apart from the life debt, I wanted to give her proper experiences through this opportunity.

“Don’t you have to pay for destroying the carriage?”

“Yes, I’ll be going then, Young Master.”

Lee Ahn left that place following Blue Face.

I calculated the damages the merchants had suffered today, gave them some money, and came back.

“Is this for show?”

“It is kindness, but who am I showing it to? To you, Laughing Demon? To someone it absolutely won’t work on?”

“To those merchants. Or to yourself.”

I nodded as if acknowledging it and calmly said,

“Maybe. But whether it’s for show or not, what does it matter? What’s important to those people is whether they receive compensation or not.”

“You’re really persistent in pretending to be kind.”

“Even if I pretend to be this kind, my sword was still covered in blood today.”

Extremely Evil Laughing Demon didn’t reply.

I slowly walked over and untied the horses that were attached to the broken carriage.

“The weather is nice, shall we ride horses to the next village?”

“Alright.”

I mounted a horse first, and Extremely Evil Laughing Demon also got on a horse. We started moving slowly, each leading one of the remaining horses.

After going for quite a while without galloping, Extremely Evil Laughing Demon asked me,

“Aren’t we being too leisurely?”

I looked up at the vast sky and said,

“What’s there for us to be in a hurry about? It’s always the failing side that’s in a rush.”