Chapter 49

Crash! Bang!

On the rooftop of the bustling Baihua Inn, where the sound of objects being smashed echoes in real-time, a one-eyed assassin and a man wearing a bird mask face off.

“I can’t show my face. I can’t reveal my identity. But I’m also supposed to properly guard. What am I supposed to do?”

The one-eyed assassin, Jang Dal, tasked with assassinating Namgung Sososo, glared at the bird-masked man who was complaining right in front of him.

Only the loyal hounds and great birds who obey the orders of the Sima Family Head, Sima Bu. Among them, the one who bears the name of the bird.

“Iron Roc, Jang Sambong… Why are you here?”

As soon as the words ended, an iron sphere cut through the darkness, grazing Jang Dal’s cheek.

“Drop the ‘Roc.’ And drop the nickname too. Calling me that just makes me sound even more foolish.”

Jang Dal wiped the blood trickling down his cheek and quickly racked his brain. But he couldn’t understand it at all.

Why would one of Sima Bu’s most trusted subordinates, someone who could be called his Yan Liang and Wen Chou, be interfering with the mission to assassinate Namgung Sososo?

…No matter how much he thought about it, the causality didn’t add up.

Jang Sam shrugged his shoulders at Jang Dal, who was frantically rolling his one remaining eye, and spoke casually.

“First of all, I’m sorry for unintentionally disrupting your mission.”

“That doesn’t sound like the tone of someone who’s sorry. Why are you interfering?”

Jang Sam lifted one foot and tapped the rooftop of the inn, where a chaotic brawl was currently taking place, with the tip of his shoe.

“Just meddling unnecessarily. If the princess I was supposed to protect ends up dead from a real assassin coming through the roof, it would be a real letdown.”

Although the assassination group, known as Salmak, is famous, not all its members are professional assassins. Just like how various professions such as pickpockets, courtesans, and fortune-tellers gather in Haomun, Salmak is also a gathering place for swordsmen who have nowhere else to belong.

Salmak usually uses such people as bait to weaken the target or tie up anyone who might interfere with the mission.

In this case, while Jang Dal was supposed to enter the inn through the roof to kill Namgung Sososo, for some reason, they had deployed a large number of swordsmen to distract an unknown drifter who wasn’t affected by the curse.

‘Wait… an unknown drifter?’

Every time he saw the drifter’s face, the empty socket of his right eye ached, and a certain someone came to mind. The Sima Family assassin, Jang Sambong, who complained endlessly but still looked out for the drifter.

…Come to think of it, he had heard that the second son of the Sima Family was lame.

A chill ran down his spine. It felt like the fog in his mind was clearing. Now he understood.

The Iron Roc wasn’t trying to protect Namgung Sososo.

Jang Dal looked down at the chaotic brawl taking place in the inn with a pale face.

“…Could it be? Sima Mantian?”

“Thanks to our immature second young master, we’re both having a hard time.”

His mouth was dry. His heart was pounding. It felt like he had accidentally stepped on a snake’s tail while walking aimlessly.

The Shandong Wang Family, the Xiliang Dong Family, the Xuchang Cao Family, the Sima Family.

Once, these families had either aspired to or actually reached the pinnacle of power. Their infamy was so great that they couldn’t easily reveal themselves, remaining as shadowy figures.

The Four Pillars of the Evil Faction: Mang, Zhuo, Cao, and Yi. These were names that anyone deeply involved in the Evil Faction could never ignore.

“The second son of the Sima Family… why… would he protect the young master of the Namgung Family…?”

“Exactly. If he ran away to see a lover he made when he was young, he should have gone to see that lover. I don’t know why he’s trying to woo a girl with a life-saving favor. Anyway—”

A gentle voice contrasted with a deadly killing intent that overwhelmed Jang Dal. A cold glint shone through the gaps in the bird mask.

“Let’s call it a day and retreat.”

The iron sphere in his hand, ready to be launched at any moment, glowed blue under the moonlight.

“I don’t care if you kill the Namgung Family’s Sword Dragon. But not today.”

Crash! Bang!

The sound of the inn being smashed echoed loudly. The vibrations reached him. The image of his young master, who was probably causing chaos, came to mind.

‘…People can be so unnecessarily kind.’

Thinking about how he would be scolded by Sima Bu later, he couldn’t help but sigh, but for some reason, a faint smile appeared beneath the mask.

***

Crash! Bang!

The sound of objects being smashed in real-time caused Sososo’s long eyelashes to flutter as she woke up.

“Why am I… here? …Where is Young Master Sima?”

She expelled the illness from her body with the cold energy within her. She forced her body to cool down.

Once she had somewhat regained her senses, Sososo realized that amidst the sound of objects being smashed in the inn, there was something else mixed in.

‘Crack!’

It was the sound of bones breaking.

“Ahhh! My arm!”

“Get in! Get in! Stab him!”

The incessant shouts. But no one came close to Sososo. There were no footsteps coming up the stairs.

…They were clearly targeting her. It was strange.

She staggered to her feet.

Slowly, she moved her feet and stepped out of the room.

She looked towards the source of the sound.

It was like watching a skilled drummer at work.

Double Hands Fighting.

Dog Chasing Stick Technique – Evil Dog Blocks the Road – What to do when a vicious dog blocks your path.

Dog Chasing Stick Technique – Strike Two Dogs with One Stick – Beat two dogs with a single strike.

The staff in one hand and the broken spear snatched from an enemy in the other mercilessly tore through the human-shaped drums.

“Ahhh!!”

Bones were broken. Pain was sung.

“Throw the hidden weapons!”

Dozens of swordsmen, unable to subdue one man, threw hidden weapons from a distance. But the rain of daggers couldn’t stop the man’s performance.

Dog Chasing Stick Technique – Flip the Dog to the Sky – Strike the dog with the staff and send it flying into the sky.

The spear and staff moved swiftly, deflecting the hidden weapons.

Neither people nor hidden weapons could advance towards the stairs the man was guarding.

Namgung Sososo could not be targeted.

Sososo stared blankly at the man’s back, which was blocking the blades and killing intent meant for her.

…She couldn’t understand.

She thought that perhaps he was trying to save her, the young master of the Namgung Family, to gain favor with the family, but that didn’t seem like a plausible reason.

You can only receive a reward if you’re alive. If you’re dead, it’s useless.

The rain of hidden weapons stopped, and so did the basic forms. A gap appeared, and the swordsmen charged towards Mantian.

And Mantian also charged towards the swordsmen. He didn’t spare his life.

Double Hands Fighting.

Dog Chasing Stick Technique – Strike the Head and Scold – Strike the head and reprimand.

Dog Chasing Stick Technique – Press the Dog’s Shoulder and Back – Press the dog’s shoulder and back with the staff.

He didn’t give them time to think. He attacked, attacked, and attacked again, relentlessly driving them back.

He pressed down, broke bones, and knocked down the enemies one by one.

Strength to Uproot Mountains, Spirit to Overwhelm the World – His strength could uproot mountains, and his spirit could overwhelm the world.

The aura emitted by a single man overwhelmed dozens of strong men.

Sososo found herself leaning against the second-floor railing, staring at Mantian. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

His body covered in wounds, his right leg trembling, his back heaving with each breath.

That back was too rough to be a gentleman’s, yet too upright to be a drifter’s.

Sososo unconsciously gripped the railing tightly. Her gray eyes were filled with nothing but Mantian.

That back was like the hero from the fairy tales her mother used to tell her when she was a child.

…It was the back of a chivalrous hero.

***

More than half of the fifty men had been taken down by just one person.

Moreover, they were being taken down by someone with no reputation, no name, and an unknown identity. It was absurd.

“Who are you! Why are you interfering with us?!”

Unable to accept the reality, the swordsmen gritted their teeth and spat out the most cliché lines a third-rate villain could muster. Mantian responded by throwing the half-broken spear he had struck too hard.

“If you ask, it’s only polite to answer! I am—!”

Golden Goose Skill.

Using his lightness skill to fly up, he swung his staff to deflect the hidden weapons aimed at Sososo, who had just stepped out of the room.

“The guardian of the martial world recognized by Jesus! The genius who even deceives heaven!”

“The stairs are clear! Get in! Go up!”

The assassins moved to take advantage of the brief opening. But they were doomed. Completely doomed.

‘Who do you think I am?’

As he landed, he stomped his left foot into the ground and unleashed his footwork.

『Fudo Myo-o’s Step (不動明王步)』 – Suppress (壓)

The floor of the inn cracked, and the bodies of those who were not allowed to move stiffened.

“W-what is this?! S-sorcery?!”

At my current level, when facing multiple opponents, the most I can do is spread my energy wide to stop their movements, but that’s enough for now.

He gripped the staff tightly with both hands. He put his back into it. He spun his body in a full circle, sweeping them away.

He let out a shout, squeezing out every ounce of strength he had.

“I am Sima Mantian (司馬瞞天)!”

Dog Chasing Stick Technique – Strike the Dog’s Buttocks – Sweep the staff horizontally to strike the dog’s buttocks.

Crack! Crack!!

One, two, three… They piled up and were swept away by the storm created by the staff technique.

The first floor of the inn, where finding an intact spot was harder than finding a broken one. The path to the stairs was once again blocked by a single man.

And at that absurd sight, the swordsmen were too stunned to move.

“I am a legend—!!”

The roar of a tiger descending from the mountain made the pack of wild dogs cower.