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| CHAPTER 317 |
Kuwoong!
A strong vibration spread throughout the ship, reaching every corner.
"It's started."
Pyo-wol knew what this vibration, felt through the soles of her feet, meant.
"What's going on?"
"A fight."
The doors of the cabin opened all at once, and the crew in their uniforms poured out.
Without exception, their eyes shone brightly.
In a situation like this, one would normally expect chaos, but they moved calmly and confidently. Just by watching their actions, one could tell how well-trained and elite they were.
The unmanned individuals who came out of the cabin ran straight towards a place where a strong vibration could be felt. They rushed forward in a steady and orderly manner without any excitement, as if they had expected something like this to happen.
Such elite level of training is not easily achieved. It requires going through countless training sessions and crossing numerous obstacles.
Pyowol watched the unmanned individuals passing under him, hanging on the ceiling of the corridor. Many of them passed by under the ceiling where Pyowol was hiding, but no one noticed his existence. Pyowol not only hid his breathing and movement, but also completely erased his presence.
People with good perception can often sense the presence of things that are not visible. The perception of someone who has mastered martial arts is incredibly sensitive and it is not an easy task to deceive them. However, Pyowol, who had erased his presence completely, was only recognized by people as part of the environment.
Pyowol moved like a spider hanging upside down on the ceiling. His exceptional sense of balance and strength, as well as the martial arts he had honed over time, allowed him to perform such feats.
Pyowol's destination was the captain's quarters located at the deepest part of the cabin. Now, there was no one visible in the corridor. Everyone had gone down to the lower deck cabins.
There was no reason for Pyowol to crawl along the ceiling anymore, but he didn't come down to the floor.
Pyowol looked forward while stuck to the ceiling.
There seemed to be nothing there.
Even the guards at the entrance were not visible.
Perhaps because it was a ship floating in the middle of the sea, he did not think there would be intruders.
He could have gone straight into the captain's room by opening the door. But Pyowol didn't do that.
He sensed that although he couldn't see it, someone was definitely hiding.
Four people were hiding, to be exact.
The people on the ship probably did not even realize that they were hiding. Their hiding skills were at a quite high level.
Their stealth skills were at such a high level that they would never be noticed unless they were a warrior who had grown into an assassin like Pyowol.
When it came to this level of stealth, he was by no means inferior to the Assassins of the Hundred Wraiths.
Pyowol pulled out a strand of Su-hon-sa while still stuck to the ceiling.
He pushed Su-hon-sa towards the cabin where the assassins were hiding.
Su-hon-sa wriggled like a snake and reached out.
Six feet, five feet, and four feet.
For a moment, he felt a reaction from over there.
He didn't sense a clear movement, but it was clear that he felt something strange.
Then it meant that the range they could detect was about four feet.
"Four feet...."
Not bad.
With this level of perception, Pyowol was able to compete with the assassins of Hundred Wraiths he had faced before.
It was never an easy task to cultivate proper assassins.
To produce one assassin, at least a hundred sacrifices were necessary.
Just by looking at the Hyeolyeongdan, which cultivated poisons, it was evident.
To cultivate poisons and some assassins, they had sacrificed many times the number of people. It would be a mistake to assume that just because assassins were made through such a grueling process, they would be effective in actual combat.
Assassins were trained through numerous trials.
A lot of support was needed for one to become a proper assassin.
In addition to information and equipment, numerous human resources were required.
That was why hiring a proper assassin required a significant amount of money. With many people moving simultaneously, tremendous costs were incurred.
That was also why Baek Gwi-ryeon always maintained a hundred assassins at most. If they expanded beyond that, they would have trouble bearing the expenses.
Even for Baek Gwi-ryeon, cultivating proper assassins was challenging, let alone other places.
It would require more than double the funds and time than Baek Gwi-ryeon.
In reality, it was an impossible task.
There were also assassins like Hyeolyeong, but they were exceptions.
Such beings could not be planned and cultivated.
The assassins hiding here were undoubtedly inferior to Hyeolyeong. But it was impossible to cultivate them anywhere else, except for Baek Gwi-ryeon.
Therefore, it could not be said that they belonged to Baek Gwi-ryeon either.
Then, did the person inside raise the hired killers to escort us?"
It was an absurd guess, but Pyo-wol strangely felt that it might be true.
Quarrr!
The vibration from below grew stronger.
It meant that Yul Ah-yeon was fighting fiercely.
Pyo-wol didn't know how long she could hold on.
It was not that Pyo-wol didn't trust Yul Ah-yeon, but he felt the hired hands on board gave off a strong sense of expertise in warfare.
They had to deal with them while Yul Ah-yeon was still holding out.
Swoosh!
Pyo-wol suddenly descended from the ceiling, revealing himself.
Screech!
As he did, a hidden compartment around the door suddenly opened, and four men jumped out.
They were the hired killers guarding the captain's quarters.
Without hesitation, they attacked Pyo-wol.
In turn, Pyo-wol's sword flew towards them at the shortest distance.
The sword aimed at the vital points that would cause instant death, such as the neck, heart, and head.
Screech!
The sword and knives were embedded in Pyo-wol's body.
In an instant, the killers opened their eyes wide.
"We must have succeeded in the attack, but I felt nothing in my hands," because the new type of Tawol's divine armor, which had been pierced by their weapons, disappeared like an illusion.
"What's going on?"
"What's happening?"
They were so surprised that they broke their silence and shouted out their guards.
Shrick!
At that moment, a shadow descended from the sky and wrapped its arms around their necks, pulling them up into the air.
"Kerok!"
"Gagging!"
The assassins groaned in agony.
Their bodies were suddenly lifted up into the air.
The assassins struggled to break free from the grip around their necks, but the thread warrior's grip only tightened around their throats.
Just as they were about to lose consciousness, the assassins looked up at the ceiling, where they saw Tawol hanging.
"How is this possible?"
It was a scene that was beyond their understanding.
They couldn't understand how it was possible, who they thought they had successfully attacked, could suddenly disappear and then appear hanging from the ceiling above them.
They didn't have time to solve this mystery, though.
Crack!
It's because Pyo Wol squeezed Su Hon Sa with even stronger force.
In the end, Su Hon Sa had their throats deeply cut off, not strangled to death.
Gushing!
Blood flowed from their throats and dripped onto the ground.
Only then did Pyo Wol collect Su Hon Sa.
As he sat down on the floor, Pyo Wol murmured, "Impressive."
The technique he had just displayed was inspired by Lee Hyeong-hwan. It involved using afterimages to deceive the opponent's eyes, but Pyo Wol's technique was much more sophisticated than Lee Hyeong-hwan's. It was called Mayeong Hwanwi (Demon Shadow Replacement), a technique designed solely to deceive the opponent's eyes for a moment.
Over the past four months, Pyo Wol had devoted himself to perfecting this technique on Cheonjungsan.
This was the first time he had used it in actual combat, and he couldn't guarantee success, but fortunately, it worked well even against the same assassins.
If he could deceive the eyes of an assassin, it would be much easier to deceive other enemies.
Pyo Wol opened the door to the captain's cabin and went inside.
Shuak!
At that moment, a sharp sword struck towards his neck.
The sword pierced through his neck and destroyed the wall behind him, but Pyo Wol was not affected.
Once again, he had used Demon Shadow Replacement.
Using the technique consecutively consumed a lot of his energy, but it allowed him to save his life.
The one who had ambushed Pyo Wol was the captain himself.
The captain, with a white cloth wrapped around his face, was not surprised by his futile attack with his sword.
His pupils followed Pyo Wol's true body behind him.
Tatak!
He charged at Pyowol, pounding the ground.
Like a black island of the captain, the sword dug into Pyowol's neck.
Kang!
Just before it hit his neck, Pyowol struck the captain's sword with a ghostly sword. The captain's sword, which seemed to be bounced back, changed its trajectory in the middle and aimed for Pyowol's vital spot again.
Kakakakang!
The captain's sword and Pyowol's ghost sword collided more than ten times in an instant.
Deflect the attack and follow up with a counterattack.
Their movements were as smooth as flowing water.
It was as if they knew in advance what kind of attack the other would make and responded accordingly.
Even while looking at the unfamiliar intruder, the captain did not say any clichéd words like "Who are you?" or "Reveal your identity."
He focused solely on attacking Pyowol.
Shwiack!
He attacked Pyowol and pushed him against the wall.
It was to block any place where he could escape into the corner.
It was the best way to deal with an intruder who had invaded his space. It was an impossible countermeasure if it wasn't deeply ingrained in his body.
During the attack, the captain never opened his mouth.
His lips, revealed between the white cloth, were tightly closed, and his eyes followed Pyowol's movements.
In the meantime, Pyowol unfolded his body replacement once again.
The captain's sword once again cut through the air in vain.
He fell for it again, even though he had already experienced it.
That's how powerful the body replacement was.
It is about taking away the opponent's breath to create an opportunity for counterattack.
Pyo-wol thought that this was enough to prove the power of Ma Young-hwan. Now it was time not for validation, but for domination over the opponent.
Suddenly, Pyo-wol had one more ghost sword in his hand.
With two ghost swords reversed in his hands, Pyo-wol's counterattack began.
Clang! Between the two men, the sound of metal striking metal continued without pause.
They fought fiercely, with no time to breathe. They moved through the spacious captain's quarters, lunging at each other's throats. Yet the furniture, such as the desk and chairs, remained unscathed.
It was a different sight from when ordinary people clashed, and all the objects in the area were destroyed.
The captain was of the same breed as Pyo-wol, a being with the nature of a killer ingrained deep in his bones.
As the clash continued, Pyo-wol's gaze became deeply focused.
He had become familiar with the opponent's gaze, movements, and breath.
At first, it was just a simple guess, but as the battle raged on, he became more certain.
The captain was someone Pyo-wol knew.
He did not know why the captain had draped a white cloth over his entire body, but it did not matter.
Pyo-wol unleashed the darkness.
In an instant, the world he saw changed.
His mental power raised his physical reaction speed to the highest level, even expanding his field of vision.
Swish!
Pyo-wol brushed past the captain and kept going.
In an instant, a deep cut appeared on the captain's cheek, and the white cloth that had been covering his face was torn off.
The captain stood still, looking at the cloth falling to the ground. The once-white cloth was covered in thick, red bloodstains.
If the cut had been a little deeper, it could have reached the bone.
The captain's face, revealed through the torn white cloth, was truly pathetic.
As if it had been gnawed at by ants, the flesh was torn and ripped. It was a terrible sight that would be too frightening to see in a dream.
The captain's face turned toward Pyo-wol.
"Long time no see, Pyo-wol!"
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