WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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Episode 11: Dangerous Visit (3)
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Although she had a fiery temperament, Ha Chae-rin had received harsh training and instruction from the Flying Kill Flame Guest, one of the Four Great Assassins of the Central Plains.
The foundation of an assassination mission was gathering information and making preparations.
That was why she had begun investigating Mok GyeongUn, the target she had to kill, from every angle.
But when she actually looked into him, Mok GyeongUn was little more than a spoiled young master.
She had heard that his martial talent was so poor that he was only third-rate, unacknowledged even by the other brothers and retainers of Yeonmok Sword Manor.
‘Then how did someone like that kill mid-rank Assassin Number Twenty-Nine?’
There were two possibilities she could consider.
The first was that someone else might have been the real culprit.
The person who had leaked this information to them was another young master of Yeonmok Sword Manor, someone who had to contend for the succession.
It was entirely possible.
And the second...
‘He hid his strength for this day?’
She had considered that less likely than the first possibility.
He was only seventeen, and if he had to compete for the succession, there was no reason to conceal his strength.
The Manor Lord of Yeonmok Sword Manor falling ill was a recent development.
That was why she had been so certain.
‘...This is completely outside my expectations.’
For a moment, Ha Chae-rin doubted her own eyes.
Though born a woman, she had reached the Expert realm through her grandfather's full support and instruction.
Even she could not use Ki telekinesis.
Yet the Mok Family's third young master, whom she had considered a foolish seventeen-year-old brat, could do this?
Ha Chae-rin's eyes narrowed as she looked at Mok GyeongUn.
‘But why?’
If he possessed internal energy deep enough to use Ki telekinesis, he should have at least reached the peak of the Master realm.
Yet by her Ki sense, he was no more than third-rate.
Exactly as she had heard.
‘Strange.’
He had displayed Ki telekinesis, yet her Ki sense told her he was third-rate.
Still, the aura he gave off was inexplicably ominous.
Perhaps that was why she could not gauge him at all.
Maybe he had concealed his ki, making it impossible for her to sense.
“M-Mok, Young Master...”
At that moment, Guard Go Chan called to Mok GyeongUn in a voice close to relief.
He had nearly lost his life with his throat cut if Mok GyeongUn had arrived only a little later.
But the danger was not over.
Smack!
“Gasp!”
Ha Chae-rin seized Go Chan by the throat and pulled him toward her.
Go Chan tried to twist free in panic, but the disparity in their internal energy was too great for him to resist.
Holding Go Chan captive, she spoke to Mok GyeongUn.
“If you do not wish to watch your guard die, I would advise you not to move, Young Master Mok.”
‘...’
Go Chan let out a faint sigh at her words.
Ha Chae-rin knew nothing about that bastard.
He had saved Go Chan just now, but Mok GyeongUn was not someone who would dance to another's tune.
Then Mok GyeongUn opened his mouth.
“Who are you?”
Ha Chae-rin gave a faint, dismissive laugh. “There is no reason for me to tell you that, Young Master. More importantly, I would like you to step back.”
She was wary of Mok GyeongUn.
Had he not used Ki telekinesis just before, she would not have been this cautious.
But she had to prepare for the possibility.
It was difficult to judge Mok GyeongUn's exact martial prowess, and under the circumstances, a normal assassination was already out of the question.
‘Should I withdraw?’
As she considered this, she felt the throat beneath her hand tremble slightly.
She noticed Go Chan moving his lips.
She tightened her grip around his throat.
Clench!
“Urk!”
“Uncle Go, you really intend to make an enemy of us. Seeing you go this far and all.”
Even while suffering, Go Chan was dumbfounded.
Who had tried to kill him first? It was absurd for her to babble about making enemies.
“An assassin from the Flying Kill Gate? Oh. So you're an assassin?”
Grit.
At Mok GyeongUn's words, an annoyed expression crossed her face. His concise words had exposed her identity completely.
“Ah... you fucking bastard.”
There was nothing worse for an assassin than failing an assassination and having their affiliation exposed as well.
At this point, she had to kill Mok GyeongUn somehow.
No, even if she withdrew, her purpose was to change methods and kill him.
As long as he was designated as the target of Hundred Days, Hundred Killings, she could neither receive the title of one of the Four Great Assassins nor become the master of the Flying Kill Gate unless she killed him.
‘Should I finish this?’
She still could not be certain of Mok GyeongUn's martial prowess, but she did have a trump card.
It was the Extreme Killing Needle hidden in her wrist bracer.
It had been specially made, so it could only be used once. But if activated within three jang, even most masters would find it difficult to block with Ki Armor.
She had been told to use it when her life was in danger, but this might not be a situation where she could afford to save it.
‘If I let my guard down, I might be the one who suffers.’
Without relaxing her vigilance, she slowly lowered her left hand.
Mok GyeongUn spoke.
“Let him go.”
“What?”
“If you let Guard Go Chan go, I will let you leave this time. It is very rare for me to let someone who seeks my life walk away.”
‘What?’
Go Chan was inwardly astonished.
He never imagined that this devil would say he would let an assassin who came for his life go in order to save him.
Was Go Chan not merely a pawn for him to use?
Go Chan had naturally assumed Mok GyeongUn would abandon him, so this was truly unexpected.
‘Let me go? Ha!’
In contrast, one of Ha Chae-rin's eyebrows rose at Mok GyeongUn's words.
His manner, as if he were granting her mercy, grated on her nerves.
Still, she thought it might actually work in her favor.
He had made a mistake.
Letting an assassin who sought his life go just to save a guard proved that Go Chan was not insignificant to him.
Dragging Go Chan backward by the throat, she said, “Young Master Mok. You must treasure your guard greatly.”
“Not particularly. Call it a whim. I simply do not wish to let someone as useful as Guard Go Chan die so soon.”
“A whim. Heh.”
With a mocking laugh, she told Mok GyeongUn, “Then if you wish to save this man on account of that whim, step back at least another ten paces and kneel. Once I leave the Manor, I will release your guard.”
As she spoke, she used the hidden angle to turn the adjustment screw on her wrist bracer and load the Extreme Killing Needle.
She had already pictured the scene in her mind several times.
The instant Mok GyeongUn stepped back, she intended to shove Go Chan forward as a shield and fire the Extreme Killing Needle from the concealed angle.
“Hurry and step ba...”
‘!?’
It happened at that very moment.
She noticed that Mok GyeongUn's gaze was directed slightly behind her rather than at her.
At the same time...
Flinch!
Feeling a strange sensation at her back, she hastily turned her wrist bracer and fired the Jade-Flame Flying Needles.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
But there was nothing behind her.
‘What was that?’
She had clearly felt something approaching from behind.
It had been an eerie sensation, but what in the world...?
Smack!
“Urk!”
In an instant, she pulled Go Chan by the throat and twisted her body to one side.
At that moment, a Short Sword grazed past her right side.
A strange light appeared in Mok GyeongUn's eyes as Ha Chae-rin evaded it.
‘She's faster than Mok YuCheon.’
And her senses were sharper.
Blue Spirit, who had targeted Ha Chae-rin from behind, spoke.
- An Expert master's senses far surpass those of an Advanced master. My ghostly aura is too strong, so approaching within one jang is not easy.
That appeared to be the case.
Even while reciting it aloud, Mok YuCheon had occasionally glanced toward where Blue Spirit was.
Upon reaching the Expert realm, one could handle ki more smoothly, and they seemed sensitive even to spiritual energy.
Then Ha Chae-rin looked sharply at Mok GyeongUn.
“Young Master Mok. You had an accomplice.”
“...”
She was certain.
That eerie, foreign sensation she had felt behind her.
She did not know what it was, but her senses could not have been wrong when her vigilance was raised so high.
And she realized one thing.
‘It was weak.’
The Short Sword Mok GyeongUn had sent flying just now was a surprise attack, but it carried little force.
If a master at the Expert realm or higher had truly meant to strike her, the sword would have taken her shoulder in that fleeting opening.
Something was strange.
It had been a perfect opportunity, yet he had missed it.
‘Could it be?’
Perhaps the Ki telekinesis he had shown earlier was not Mok GyeongUn's skill.
Perhaps that strange entity, which her Ki sense could not detect, had helped him.
As that thought reached her, the corner of her mouth slowly rose.
If Mok GyeongUn was not a master she needed to fear, she could certainly kill him.
‘Extreme Killing Needle!’
Killing intent rose from her in that instant.
Sensing it, Mok GyeongUn spoke in a cold voice.
“I think that will be your worst move.”
“No. Not at all!”
With those words, Ha Chae-rin shoved Go Chan straight toward Mok GyeongUn.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
When Go Chan came within nearly three jang, she struck his back with her left palm.
Baaang!
Something sounded as though it had burst.
“Cough!”
The Extreme Killing Needle pierced through Go Chan's back and flew straight toward the point between Mok GyeongUn's eyebrows.
Flying at tremendous speed, the needle carried enough power to pierce even the Ki Armor of most masters with deep internal energy.
But then...
Whirr!
The flying Extreme Killing Needle changed course upward and pierced Mok GyeongUn's raised right palm.
Thud!
‘!?’
Ha Chae-rin's eyes widened.
How could the flying Extreme Killing Needle change its path?
It was at that moment.
- You should have left when you were offered the chance to, mortal.
Startled by the woman's voice at her left ear, she threw herself to the right and fired the Jade-Flame Flying Needles.
But there was nothing there.
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!
The voice had clearly sounded right beside her.
Then why could she see nothing?
As she stood bewildered, something dragged her body to the ground with tremendous force.
Smack! Crash!
“Argh!”
Ha Chae-rin's scream of agony burst out as she struck the floor.
Panicking, she circulated her ki and drew up as much Force of ki as possible.
Then she tried to use Reflective Force to cast off the power restraining her body.
But...
“Gasp!”
Something unbelievable happened.
Gurgle, gurgle!
Blood began to well up around her pinned body, staining everything red.
At the same time, the foul stench of blood choked her.
Having never experienced something so strange, she could not understand what was happening.
Creak! Creak!
‘!!!!!!!’
For an instant, she doubted her own eyes.
Dozens of red hands burst from the floor, gripping and pulling at her limbs. Her heart felt as though it would burst.
She was so terrified that she could not even scream.
Writhe, writhe!
Twisting her body was all she could do.
Blue Spirit sneered as she watched Ha Chae-rin suffer in terror.
- Since this is the body I will use, I will leave as few wounds as possible.
She was enjoying herself.
Mok GyeongUn shook his head as he watched Blue Spirit and the terrified Ha Chae-rin.
“I told you it would be your worst move.”
He had clearly warned her.
He had even given her a chance to live when she held Guard Go Chan by the throat and threatened him.
Yet in the end, she had missed that opportunity.
“Cough, cough.”
Mok GyeongUn examined Go Chan, whose complexion was growing bluer and whose body was cooling.
Blood filled his mouth, and blood continued to flow from the hole in his chest.
It seemed to have pierced his heart. There was no hope.
Looking at the dying Go Chan with indifferent eyes, Mok GyeongUn said, “What a shame. I thought we could be together longer.”
He had done his best to save him.
But Go Chan had truly been unlucky.
Mok GyeongUn continued as he looked down at him.
“You worked hard. I will not forget Guard Go Chan's service.”
“Cough... I... don't... want to die...”
Go Chan struggled to mutter something.
It was the intense desire to live of a dying human.
Mok GyeongUn stared at him impassively.
“You have a strong attachment to life.”
“Cough, cough... please...”
As he stared at Go Chan's increasingly clouded eyes, Mok GyeongUn's lips twitched.
“Perhaps there is still room for us to be together longer.”
With those words, he took something from his waist.
Something was written on it in red ink, but Go Chan's vision was growing too blurred to make it out.
Mok GyeongUn pressed the talisman against Go Chan's forehead.
Then he placed his palm over Go Chan's heart and said, “According to the Six-Person Spirit Descent Art, vengeful spirits are born from powerful resentment. But they can also be born under the influence of wayward thoughts and deathly aura overflowing where someone meets their death.”
The moment he finished speaking, a cold, ominous energy flowed from Mok GyeongUn's palm into Go Chan.
Whoooooosh!
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