Chapter 165: Jwa Do-gyul (1)
Chapter 165: Jwa Do-gyul (1)
A certain eunuch who lived in the Eastern Depot, Geum Gwang.
The status of Geum Gwang was very high inside the bureau, one of the highest three seats.
The Eastern Depot was originally a group of eunuchs who gathered inside the Imperial Palace, but they had been transformed into an organization holding massive power.
In the process, not only did they solve problems of the world in daylight, but they also hired assassins and killers to take care of the dirty work holding up the Imperial power.
Of course, getting to this position was not easy.
At first, the family had nothing to eat and so Geum Gwang’s father had cut off his son’s testicles and sold the boy as an eunuch. The boy would have lived a life just like any other eunuch, if not for an official suggesting that his qualities made him fit to be an assassin.
What did he say at the time?
Geum Gwang grabbed the sickle he wore around his waist, scratching his head. He was thinking of the person who recommended he become a murderer-for-hire.
“If you become a killer for the Eastern Depot, neither you nor your parents will have to live a life of hunger ever again.”
He remembered exactly what he had said in response.
“I don’t care about hunger or living. But if I become an assassin, I think I’ll kill my parents.”
No matter how much they wanted to live, those parents had cut off their own child’s testicles and sold him to the government.
Geum Gwang was very young at the time, but for that single reason, he hated his parents to death.
After that?
Afterwards, he entered a training institute run by the Eastern Depot.
An institute for assassins.
At that time, he really thought he was going to die.
If there was hell in this world, he believed it would be that institute.
After enduring that hell and becoming an assassin of the bureau, Ko Su, the master who had recommended him, presented him with two heads.
It was the heads of Geum Gwang’s parents.
A few years later, the old man who had beheaded his parents was assassinated by Geum Gwang.
The circumstances surrounding that old man’s death remained a mystery inside the bureau.
Was it revenge for his parents’ deaths?
How could a madman like me do such a thing?
It was just that.
If you asked him for a reason, it was because Geum Gwang was upset he couldn’t kill those pathetic people with his own hands.
He still was upset.
And then what?
After that, Geum Gwang lived as an assassin without much thinking.
He made a fool of a man who had made a fool of him, he saved a man who had saved him, he killed a man just to kill.
The better his skills, the harder the missions became. He almost died many times in the process.
Sometimes, he fell into a trap or met a very strong opponent.
Sometimes, other assassins thought he was a problem and drove him into set-ups.
As he went back and forth between life and death, Geum Gwang realized one thing.
The joy of life, which he thought he had become numb towards, had returned.
Dancing between the gaps of life and death became like a drug.
This excitement brough great pleasure to Geum Gwang. It was more pleasure than embracing a woman, more pleasure than winning big in a gambling den!
He was delighted to feel how close he had come to facing his own death, to see the life drain out of his enemy’s eyes as he himself became the god of death.
He was most delighted when his sickle penetrated the target’s skull.
The stronger the enemy, the more pleasure he derived from sicking the man.
This excitement allowed Geum Gwang to ascend to the ranks of great assassin. After becoming such a mass murder, he was able to work a little freer.
No powerful man had escaped his sickle, and no trap had brought him close to death.
Then a new mission came down to the ropes.
This time, it was a mission from the emperor.
“Kill the Heavenly Demon.”
Oh my.
Geum Gwang had heard that name before.
For the people of Orthodox Murim, that was an object of fear, the so-called nightmare of the martial factions.
But Geum Gwang was not afraid.
He was addicted to walking the line between life and death anyway.
In addition, he knew how vain and exaggerated fame in Murim was.
What if the Heavenly Demon was as strong as rumors said?
It doesn’t matter.
That would only be more exciting.
And the man would die as it was.
No one can defeat me in the dark.
Geum Gwang smiled.
As evidence of this, no one noticed his presence, even though he had entered the camp of the Cult of the Heavenly Demon.
“I’ve got to get to work.”
“I’m glad it’s not too cold.”
Demonic soldiers passed by him.
“Was there wind just now?”
One of them seemed to feel Geum Gwang’s movements, but mistook it for the wind.
No one truly noticed Geum Gwang’s presence.
It was as if he had dissolved himself and assimilated with nature. Even a sliver of darkness was enough to hide himself; even if there was no darkness, he could still hide…
This was the power of the stealth techniques handed down from the Imperial Palace.
That way, Geum Gwang slowly pulled out his sickle with a happy expression. He was starting to be able to see the center of the camp.
He could also see the largest tent.
That was the tent of the Heavenly Demon.
Tomorrow morning, there would be a great commotion.
If the Heavenly Demon’s head is found impaled by a sickle, there will definitely be a commotion.
He smiled viciously.
He snickered, not forgetting to hide his body once again. The light seemed to distort around him and Geum Gwang disappeared. No one seemed to even notice a trace of him.
Geum Gwang, who showed the best techniques of an assassin, entered the Heavenly Demon’s tent.
Kill the Heavenly Demon.
Puchi—
The White Night Spear melted through the air and blood splattered everywhere.
Geum Gwang, who had just entered the tent, had his head blown off.
Looking at the corpse of the man, Woon-seong chuckled coldly, “How pitiful.”
Through Geum Gwang’s eyes, Heo Hon-su, who had been watching the situation, let out a sigh.
“Hah.”
The red energy in his eyes soon disappeared. Since Geum Gwang had died, the Thousand Mile Eye also had to be canceled.
The Inverted Sky Lord, who was watching the scene in interest, asked, “How did it go?”
A spider was being destroyed in his hands.
It was a spider as big as the palm of his hands, with its fangs torn out and legs broken one by one.
Tuk—
Tuk—
Every time one of its legs broke, the spider trembled. A green liquid flowed from its wounds.
It looked a little watery, but it wasn’t poisonous.
In the hands of the Leader of the Inverted Sky, the spider continued to twist in agony.
The Inverted Sky Lord did not care about the spider, waiting for Heo Hon-su’s words.
“He failed.”
“Right? I knew it.”
The Inverted Sky Lord sighed at the man’s words. He then pressed his finger against the spider, which had now lost all of its legs.
Foo-seok—
Green liquid splashed in all directions.
Seeing that, the Inverted Sky Lord chuckled, “This is fun, this is fun.”
He said it was fun, but his face was full of dissatisfaction.
Heo Hon-su knew what that expression meant. “Haha, there is still time. Do not rush.”
At this point, the emperor glanced at Heo Hon-su with dead eyes. Overwhelming weight suddenly crashed down onto the chancellor.
“I’m rushing?”
He looked frightening, but Heo Hon-su had grown used to it. He chuckled lightly and bowed his head. “I think this old man has grown older. I have offended you.”
Seeing the chancellor like that, the emperor shook his head lightly. “No, you are right, I was rushing. The last Heavenly Demon lasted a long time after being poisoned, right? Why would this one be different? I’m sure he’ll survive despite the poisoning too.”
Heo Hon-su nodded. “He will last for a while. But the situation is different, so he will be unable to hold on as long as the previous Cult Leader.”
The emperor smiled brightly. “Is that so?”
Heo Hon-su smiled and nodded. “Of course. We are at war now.”
***
There was a commotion during the Cult of the Heavenly Demon at this time, like Geum Gwang had predicted.
No, to be precise, there was a commotion in Woon-seong’s tent.
“I have committed a grave sin.”
Kung—
Gwan Tae-ryang’s head hit the floor. Blood trickled down his forehead.
“I will increase the security. At the same time, I will place more masters around the barracks…”
Woon-seong waved a hand to stop the man’s words.
It was a sin to allow an assassin into the dwelling of the Leader.
But…
“It was no ordinary assassin. Not only his walking, but even his breathing and energy were completely synchronized with the surrounding objects. His skills did not fall under those of the new Demonic Masters.”
The Demonic Masters were the Top Ten in the Cult of the Heavenly Demon. Last time, something had happened inside the Cult and so there had been two empty slots. There was a great competition and two skilled Demonic Kings had taken those places. In fact, their skills did not fall short even compared to the pre-existing Demonic Masters.
Nevertheless, that assassin had been about the same as a Demonic Master.
Gwan Tae-ryang seemed to wilt.
Woon-seong shook his head, correcting his previous evaluation.
“He seemed a little insane, so probably not Absolution; a little lower than that. If he fought against the mid-level of the Demonic Kings, it would probably be a fair fight.”
That was still the upper echelon.
With that, there was no use increasing the guards.
In other words, it was not Gwan Tae-ryang’s fault.
Woon-seong glanced at Gwan Tae-ryang and commented, “A little stronger than you.”
After losing to Woon-seong, Gwan Tae-ryang had brutally trained himself.
As a result, he had been able to rank amongst the top of the Great Demons before the war. Now, he was confident that he could even place amongst the lower Demonic Kings.
But a little stronger than myself.
It was natural for Gwan Tae-ryang’s expression to grow somber.
Woon-seong turned his head away from Gwan Tae-ryang, looking at one corner of the tent.
“As you said, there was one assassin.”
Where Woon-seong’s gaze reached was a man of all black, Oh Jun-seong.