The God of Massacre (1)

The meeting place with Seong Wangbo was a small tavern in a village on the outskirts of Wuhuan. It was a new location, not one of our usual spots. Naturally, it was Seong Wangbo’s choice.

About a hundred steps away from the rendezvous, I realized Seong Wangbo had betrayed me.

A gust of wind kicked up a cloud of dust, carrying with it the faint scent of blood. Not actual blood, but a subtle shift in the air that signaled danger. This place was destined to become a battlefield, and my instincts about such matters had never been wrong.

I wasn’t surprised or felt betrayed. I had already considered the possibility that this could be a trap.

Merchants were selling their wares from the buildings, and a few passersby were going about their business. It was an ordinary scene, yet even the Heavenly Demon seemed to sense something was off.

“Is it a trap?”

“Seems like it.”

“That guy’s quite the schemer.”

“He’s just trying to survive.”

Caught between me and the Dark Alliance, Seong Wangbo was once again trying to find a way to live.

If I survived this, he might claim that choosing an unfamiliar meeting place was his way of warning me. If I still found him useful, I could pretend to believe him. If not, I could simply eliminate him.

As I resumed my slow walk, three figures—a man and two women—blocked my path.

The man in the center held a bamboo flute, the man on the right a guqin, and the woman on the left a pipa. Their presence was formidable.

Sound-based martial arts?

It had been a long time since I faced such a technique, and never before had I encountered three people using it in unison. Attacking with a musical ensemble was more complex than any swordplay I’d seen.

The woman smiled and asked, “Care to listen to a tune?”

“Sure.”

They weren’t going to let me leave without a fight, so I gathered my inner strength, ready for their attack.

The first note from the pipa vibrated through the air, resonating deep within me. I knew then that this was no ordinary sound-based martial art. These were true masters, wielding immense inner power.

Even the Heavenly Demon sounded a bit surprised.

“Are there really sound masters of this caliber in the martial world?”

“I’ve never seen or even heard of them.”

“Incredible. That such people remain unknown.”

Just as remarkable was the Dark Alliance’s ability to keep such talents hidden from the world. Managing people, especially ones of this caliber, required more than just money; it was a testament to the Dark Alliance’s leadership.

Well, it’s been a while since I enjoyed a good performance.

I began to walk toward them slowly.

As I moved, their performance began.

The guqin’s unique timbre, the pipa’s gentle resonance, and the flute’s pure notes blended beautifully. If not for the attack embedded in the music, it would have been a magnificent performance.

Each pluck of a string and each note from the flute sent a blade-like shock through my body.

With every step I took, the impact grew stronger. But for now, my protective energy was enough to withstand it.

As I approached, the music grew louder, faster, and more intense. It was no longer just powerful; it was deadly.

The hands dancing over the guqin moved so fast they were a blur.

The next moment, a wave of energy surged from the guqin’s melody.

I leapt to avoid the attack.

The ground where I had stood was deeply scarred. The attack was sharp enough to tear through my protective energy.

The pipa and flute intensified their assault.

The flute’s low notes tried to disrupt my inner strength, while the pipa’s melody shook my mind.

The guqin’s attack became even more ferocious.

Endless waves of energy flew at me. I’d never encountered such a relentless barrage from sound-based martial arts before.

I dodged the incoming attacks as if dancing to their rhythm.

Gradually, I closed the distance, and the performance reached its peak.

My movements were almost instinctual. Even attacks that seemed impossible to evade, I managed to slip past.

As the performance slowly wound down, I stood before them.

They looked at me, drenched in sweat, with dazed expressions. There was no fear or resentment in their eyes.

“Thank you for listening to our performance until the end.”

They knew. I could have ended their lives sooner, but I chose to listen to their performance until the end. They seemed content with that.

“It was a good performance.”

With a swift motion, I cut them down with a single stroke. They fell, blood spraying as they collapsed.

I resumed my slow walk.

The Heavenly Demon spoke, unable to hide his irritation.

“Did you let me win on purpose during our duel?”

He seemed quite surprised by how I had evaded the guqin’s energy.

“Couldn’t dodge it, could you?”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous! Of course, I would’ve… no, I would’ve killed them before getting close.”

“Ha ha ha.”

“I could’ve dodged it! I killed you with one strike!”

“Sure, I didn’t let you win.”

The first opponents were formidable.

As if to signal the beginning, another figure blocked my path.

He was a middle-aged man, neatly groomed, who removed the cotton from his ears and shook his head at the fallen bodies.

“They said I wouldn’t need to step in.”

His voice was calm. Despite having watched the fight from hiding, his composure suggested confidence in his abilities.

“They were impressive.”

“Were they? As you can see, I couldn’t hear properly.”

“Who are you?”

“Six hundred thousand nyang.”

“Six hundred thousand nyang?”

“Does it matter who I am? What’s important is how much I earn. I make six hundred thousand nyang a year. They were worth three hundred thousand.”

It was clear that this man valued everything in terms of money. Whether he was always like this or the Dark Alliance had shaped him this way, I couldn’t tell.

“Perhaps they were each worth three hundred thousand? If so, they were better compensated.”

His face twitched at my words. It seemed I had hit the mark.

“You’re quite rude for a first meeting.”

“Aren’t you here to kill me on our first meeting?”

I calmly pointed my sword at him.

“Let’s see who’s worth their price.”

The man drew his sword with a rough motion.

“I really don’t like you.”

He lunged at me.

From the first move, he unleashed a tremendous wave of energy. Whether six hundred thousand nyang was a fair price for him, I couldn’t say, but he was indeed a rare master.

He instinctively knew that a half-hearted attack would lead to his death before he could even mount a proper offense.

The fierce energy flew toward me. It was too wide to simply sidestep, so I quickly twisted my body and moved three steps to the side.

The ground where I had stood shattered.

Simultaneously, the man charged at me. After launching his energy attack, he immediately closed in. It was a tactic I often used against opponents.

The sword flew toward my neck.

Our weapons clashed with a resounding crash in mid-air. We locked eyes over the crossed blades.

“You blocked my sword! Impressive.”

He had every right to be proud of his skills. Even now, he showed no openings.

The problem was that his mental fortitude didn’t match his skills, and I had seen through it. His pride made him susceptible to provocation.

“Isn’t it too easy to earn money?”

I tilted my head slightly, and his face contorted. In that moment, the tightly held gap in his defense opened like a wounded beast’s mouth.

With a swift motion, I severed his fingers, blood spraying.

Despite his injury, he launched a counterattack.

His attacks, driven by desperation, were swift and powerful.

Blood droplets from his severed fingers flew into the air.

One of the droplets burst as a sword passed through it.

The Suramyeongwang Sword pierced his right chest. He twisted his body quickly, so the wound wasn’t deep.

He swung his sword and retreated, but I shadowed him closely. And this shadow was faster than the original.

Despite his efforts to recover, a decisive strike landed on his shoulder.

His arm fell to the ground, still clutching the sword.

In his moment of despair, someone leaped at me from a nearby building. A man with a pack on his back.

After swiftly stabbing the man in the chest, my sword slashed through the air.

The energy from my sword cut through the air. Normally, it would have struck the man as he landed, but something felt off. And sure enough…

Boom!

The man exploded in mid-air. Well, to be precise, it was his bundle that blew up. Inside it was a powerful explosive.

The blast sent me skidding backward. The man with the bundle was blown to pieces, scattering everywhere, while the man who had lost an arm earlier was flung in the opposite direction. He was still alive, twitching on the ground.

I walked over to him slowly.

Dark red blood was pouring from his mouth.

“Sixty thousand nyang, huh? I suppose even he deserves that much for his courage, don’t you think?”

The dying man looked up at me, struggling to speak.

”…How much are you worth?”

With those words, he breathed his last. Even in his final moments, he measured the world in terms of money.

For him, it was a moment of melancholy; for the dark figure, a moment of rising anger.

Just then, men with bundles appeared on the rooftops all around. There were dozens of them.

I glanced at the dead man and quickly spoke.

“I take back what I said earlier. There are far too many of you to be worth sixty thousand each.”

The men leaped toward me in unison, a suicide squad unafraid of death.

With a swift motion, I shot into the air, soaring vertically like a firework.

Some of them saw my movement, but most were too slow to follow where I had gone.

They belatedly launched themselves into the air, but their speed was no match for mine.

I continued to channel my inner energy, ascending higher and higher.

In an instant, I was high above, and I slashed my sword twice in quick succession toward the ground below.

Whoosh!

Sword energy rained down like a storm. I unleashed the technique twice in a row, and the splitting sword energy was followed by another wave.

The scattered sword energy hit the men precisely.

The first explosion triggered a chain reaction among them.

Boom! Bang! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of massive explosions erupted. Riding the force of the blasts from below, I soared even higher.

I had never flown this high before. Perhaps it was because I had reached a place no human could normally ascend to, but I felt a refreshing sense of liberation.

[This feels great.]

[Truly exhilarating.]

The Heavenly Demon echoed my sentiment. It seemed he, too, felt a similar sense of freedom. Perhaps even more so.

[These guys are really something. Even when I fought you, there wasn’t a suicide squad like this.]

[Crush them!]

I could hover in the air for a while longer, but it would drain too much of my energy.

I let myself fall, diving through the air at a terrifying speed.

The Heavenly Demon shouted in excitement.

[Wow! This is amazing! Faster! Faster!]

[You old fool, you’ll get us killed!]

[Let’s go! You cowardly old man!]

[What else are you going to call me? A righteous prude, a womanizer, a coward?]

[That’s up to you. Haha! This is thrilling!]

We plummeted at an incredible speed. The ground was approaching fast.

[Time to slow down!]

[I’m not a coward.]

[What? You crazy fool! Slow down!]

[No! I’m not a coward! I’ve lived long enough, so let’s—]

[No! Please! Not like this!]

At the last moment, I spun in the air a few times and landed lightly on the ground.

To an observer, it might have seemed like a simple move, but it was a testament to the pinnacle of my martial arts. I could confidently say no one else could descend so gracefully from such a height. Even the Heavenly Demon was left breathless.

[Now, do you see who the real coward is?]

[Oh, you madman! Anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re the Heavenly Demon.]

[Hahaha.]

Smoke and the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air, and the surroundings were devastated, almost completely laid to waste.

Then, through the thick smoke, something began to emerge.