Chapter 176 : The Bastards Who Do This Kind of Thing

A heavy silence settled over the compound.The sight of more than a dozen martial artists and a building collapsing with a single swing of a blade shattered the will of the Unorthodox Faction.

Jin Seong-un calmly scanned his surroundings before speaking.

“I’ll take care of the children.”

Seo Yu-gyeom and Seomun Ak both nodded.

In any case, ensuring not a single child was harmed took precedence over slaughtering the unorthodox thugs, so it was only right for Jin Seong-un to take on that role.

More than that, for thugs of this caliber, Seo Yu-gyeom and Seomun Ak were more than enough.

“No, I alone am sufficient. I am…”

“We’re doing it together.”

I'm a peak-level master, after all.

It was clear that’s what he was about to say, so Seomun Ak cut him off before he could finish.

Whether Seo Yu-gyeom’s face betrayed a flicker of discontent or not, Seomun Ak immediately surged into the enemy ranks, his fists wrapped in Martial Fist Qi.

“You bastards, are you even human?!”

Seomun Ak’s roar shook the air. Like a fierce tiger, he leapt into the midst of the Unorthodox martial artists and swung his fists.

Kwaaaang—!

The body of the thug struck by his fist burst apart.

Seomun Ak’s fists bore a rare trace of fury. Whether it was for the children, or out of irritation at Seo Yu-gyeom, it was hard to say.

After watching Seomun Ak rampage for a moment, Seo Yu-gyeom also drew his Heaven-Slaying Dagger.

A light frost settled atop the dagger.

Seo Yu-gyeom made no effort to conceal his killing intent. Despite the height of summer, a chill spread through the compound.

Even the unorthodox thugs flinched, realizing that the three who had suddenly appeared were no ordinary foes.

Seo Yu-gyeom lowered his stance slightly, then took a step forward.

From the thugs’ perspective, his foot hadn’t even touched the ground when his form vanished.

Sshk—!

A cold slicing sound followed.

Three heads shot into the sky.

Not a single drop of blood was spilled. The severed ends were lightly frozen.

As the two of them unilaterally slaughtered the unorthodox thugs, Jin Seong-un approached the children.

The moment he neared, the children stared at him with anxious faces and began to back away.

Seeing this, Jin Seong-un stopped in his tracks.

‘What should I do?’

The children were afraid of him. The unease in their eyes quickly spread throughout their bodies.

As Jin Seong-un stepped forward, the children stepped back twice as much.

“…We’re not bad people. We came to take you back to your parents.”

At that, the children began to tremble even more violently.

Jin Seong-un understood.

In just a few days, the children’s perception of their parents had completely changed.

Their appearance told all he needed to know about the horrors they had endured here.

To the children, their parents were nothing more or less than the ones who had sold them into this place with their own hands.

And precisely because they were their parents, the resentment, sorrow, and fear were that much greater.

“General Manager Lee, I need your help.”

In the end, Jin Seong-un asked Lee Seowon for assistance.

There was no way he could handle a dozen uncooperative children on his own.

Lee Seowon, who had yet to shake off the lingering shock of Jin Seong-un’s single swing, startled to his senses.

Though a straight saber was in his hand, it didn’t seem like he had any real intention of using it.

He nodded and began running toward Jin Seong-un, but—

Thud—!

A terrible pain exploded from his solar plexus, and Lee Seowon’s body was sent flying backward.

The thug who had kicked his chest stalked toward him, then began to run.

His sword was raised high. Perhaps he had realized Lee Seowon was the weakest of the four, as there was a surety in each step.

Lee Seowon froze on the spot.

He had never before faced a martial artist charging to kill him with sword in hand.

Even when Ha Jooyeon came at him with a kitchen knife, it was terrifying—but this was a longsword-wielding martial artist. There was no comparison.

The distance between them closed quickly.

Lee Seowon’s eyes widened slightly.

For a moment, he could clearly visualize the trajectory and speed of the approaching sword, and exactly how he should swing his own saber to parry it.

It was the moment his insight bloomed.

His grip on the straight saber tightened.

And at that moment—

Jin Seong-un, Seo Yu-gyeom, and Seomun Ak all paused what they were doing and turned their attention to Lee Seowon’s single swing.

Lee Seowon’s saber cut through the air, heading straight toward the thug’s sword—

Changg—!

The impact caused a thin spray of blood to burst from his palm, and his straight saber flew out of his hand.

It was no different from the flimsy swings he had practiced in the inn’s backyard.

The thug, briefly tense, let out a snort and swung his sword once more.

Just before his blade could slice Lee Seowon’s throat—

Sshk—!

The Heaven-Slaying Dagger severed the man’s neck, Jin Seong-un’s straight saber sliced off the arm holding the sword, and Seomun Ak’s fist smashed into his solar plexus nearly simultaneously.

Slaaam—!

The man met a gruesome end.

The three looked at one another, momentarily dumbfounded, before quietly returning to their previous tasks.

Lee Seowon remained standing, blankly staring at his torn-up hand.

After that, no one dared charge at Lee Seowon again. It was only natural.

…

…

…

The situation was quickly resolved.

From the start, the difference in power had been overwhelming. These weren’t true Unorthodox masters, but more like roaming bandits who had committed every vile act imaginable across the land.

Those who resisted were killed on the spot, and seven who surrendered immediately were spared and forced to kneel.

The children, mentally worn and visibly uneasy, were taken inside a building for their safety.

While Seomun Ak stayed with the children to protect them, Jin Seong-un, Seo Yu-gyeom, and Lee Seowon stood guard, glaring at the remaining martial artists.

Jin Seong-un spoke in his characteristically dry tone.

“Who exactly is coming?”

The first thug to die had clearly said something along those lines while looking at them—that they were not the usual people.

Until coming here, Jin Seong-un had naturally assumed these thugs had been holding a Black Market to sell the children to rich men or perverse lunatics.

Thus, the plan had been to let the market start, gather all the perpetrators in one place, and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

There wasn’t going to be a Black Market.

It seemed someone was coming to take all the children instead.

The seven remaining Unorthodox thugs kept their mouths tightly shut.

They were afraid of something.

Just as Lee Seowon was about to blurt out a threat, Seo Yu-gyeom moved first.

Sshraack—!

One man’s chest was split open, and he died instantly.

Forcing martial artists to speak out of fear was the domain of assassins, not merchants.

Seo Yu-gyeom spoke in a cold tone.

“Now I can ask six more times.”

In other words, he would kill one every time they failed to answer.

He didn’t say in what order they would die, so unless someone spoke up at the next question, all six had to be ready to die.

Seo Yu-gyeom asked again.

“Speak.”

There was no need to ask them one by one.

As the six martial artists briefly hesitated, exchanging looks, Seo Yu-gyeom beheaded another one.

At once, the remaining five spilled everything they knew.

“W-we were just following orders!”

“They said someone would come to collect the children in ten days, so until then…”

As their frantic words poured out, the three men silently listened. Once everything the five knew had been said, Lee Seowon organized it concisely.

“The good news is, none of the children have been handed over yet. They train the purchased children to assess their physique and insight, and only pass on the exceptional ones. They profit from the difference, and as for the rest…”

Lee Seowon stared at them.

The five remaining Unorthodox thugs had learned that any hesitation meant death.

So they answered without pause.

“The girls go to brothels, the boys to mines…”

Before the words were even finished, Jin Seong-un swung his saber and killed all five on the spot.

They were not worthy of drawing breath.

“Ugh…”

Lee Seowon grimaced slightly.

Thanks to getting somewhat used to it, at least he didn’t feel like vomiting this time.

Seo Yu-gyeom continued.

“I know who does this kind of thing.”

According to the testimony of the dead thugs, the ones who came wore jet-black robes and wide bamboo hats pulled low over their faces.

They only ever met at night, and only took children whose physique and insight had been verified.

There was only one kind of people in the world who did this kind of thing.

“Assassins.”

An assassin must be a heartless killer.

Even if they saw the young child of their target, they must not hesitate.

If needed, they would poison the target’s elderly parents to keep him confined at home. Sometimes, they would even commit arson.

If the target was stronger than expected, they had to commit suicide on the spot without hesitation.

Assassins were beings who must never let emotion interfere—not even in killing themselves.

Training adults for such work was inefficient.

Once the ego was fully formed, no amount of training could completely eliminate human instincts like the will to live, desires, compassion, anger, and hesitation.

Seo Yu-gyeom scratched his head and muttered,

“Don’t tell me it’s Deathshroud?”

That would be bad.

It wasn’t just about not wanting to clash with Deathshroud over past events.

Deathshroud was a group you must never make into an enemy. They used any means necessary.

If you eliminated their Third-Rate to First-Rate assassins, the Special-Class assassins would come next.

They were masters of killing.

Of course, with Jin Seong-un present and with Seo Yu-gyeom’s current level, they wouldn’t fall easily to a few Special-Class assassins.

Which made it all the more dangerous.

Because it meant they might encounter the King of Assassins.

A member of the Twenty-Seven Stars of the World and the master of Deathshroud.

In the art of killing alone, he was said to surpass any master of the current era.

‘Though no one knows whether the King is a man or woman, elder or child.’

Even Seo Yu-gyeom, once a Special-Class assassin in Deathshroud, knew nothing about the King.

As Seo Yu-gyeom sighed heavily in frustration, Jin Seong-un asked,

“You interfered with Deathshroud once before, didn’t you?”

Back then, Bang Man-ho, the temporary head of the Red Cliff Escort Agency, had hired assassins from Deathshroud to kill his nephew and legitimate heir, Bang Cheon-woo.

Jin Seong-un and Seo Yu-gyeom had subdued the two assassins, tied them to a tree, and taken Bang Cheon-woo with them.

Seo Yu-gyeom shook his head.

“That was a different situation. We killed the client, Bang Man-ho, before they could even react. So Deathshroud didn’t bother pursuing it.”

“I see.”

“But if this turns out to be Deathshroud too, it’s a completely different story. This isn’t about interfering with a single contract.”

The process of raising assassins was one of the most vital tasks in any assassin organization.

Disrupting that was tantamount to declaring war on the organization itself.

Whether it was Deathshroud or another group, they would never let this go.

Seo Yu-gyeom, deep in thought, looked from Jin Seong-un to Lee Seowon, then turned to the latter and asked,

“Got any ideas?”

Just as Jin Seong-un felt a bit left out, and Lee Seowon fell into contemplation—

“Aaaaah!”

A child’s scream rang out from the hall where Seomun Ak was.

It was sharp enough to pierce the ears.

Startled, Seo Yu-gyeom, Jin Seong-un, and Lee Seowon immediately rushed into the building.