novelraw Chapter 145 : Spy (1)
Chapter 145 : Spy (1)
Chapter 145: Spy (1)
‘…They actually knew we were coming?’
Gongsun Beon thought to himself as he looked at the two who were both exuding an ominous and extraordinary aura.
No, that was impossible.
He had performed the sorcery so subtly that even the picky bastards of the Black Market wouldn’t have noticed it.
How could those kinds of people possibly detect his power...?
“Hoo, finally, I can get rid of this filthy sorcery.”
Slash!
Nameless and Sewoon simultaneously swung their hands, filled with qi, like blades through the air behind them.
Though it was nothing but empty space—
“Ugh!”
Gongsun Beon groaned, frowning.
To his astonishment, both of them had severed the tracking spell—originally connected in the form of transparent threads—through sheer force of their qi.
The backlash from a forcibly broken spell always returned to the sorcerer who cast it, bringing pain.
That meant they were fully aware of the sorcery placed upon them.
For a brief moment, Gongsun Beon wavered, but soon steadied his mind and shouted,
“Prepare for battle!”
At his command, dozens of sorcerers from the Heaven-Piercing Sect moved in perfect unison.
Since retrieving the goods perfectly was essential, they had fortunately brought far more men than usual.
The numerical advantage was clearly on their side.
“Wanna bet, Brother?”
“Sure. Whoever takes down more wins.”
“If I win, you’ll add some bonus to the Twin Daggers, yeah?”
“Well… I’ll think about it.”
Who the hell were these people?
Even in such an unfavorable situation, they were joking around.
Gongsun Beon was speechless at their relaxed demeanor.
Judging by their ability to sever his spell through brute force, he admitted they were skilled—but…
Did they truly not fear the Heaven-Piercing Sect, the greatest sorcery faction among the Five Evils supporting the Demonic Alliance?
Clang!
Then, the two enemies drew their weapons.
One wielded a pair of shining Twin Daggers.
And the arrogant rich one—
“Thread? Wait, you bastard…!”
Shrrrk!
At some point, Sewoon had put on a pair of unfamiliar gauntlets.
And from their ends, black threads shimmered brilliantly under the light.
Crack!
As Sewoon released the power of his Ink Blood, his face instantly reverted to its true appearance.
The sorcerers of the Heaven-Piercing Sect recognized his real identity at once and gasped.
“The Blood Thread Divine Smith (血絲神冶)!”
“Tang Sewoon!!”
After it became known that Tang Sewoon had become Lord Heukya’s master and had forged divine relics, his old alias of the Four Absolutes String Gentleman (四絕絃君) was replaced with a new one.
The greatest Divine Craftsman under heaven who scattered threads soaked in blood—
The Blood Thread Divine Smith.
While everyone was stunned by the unexpected appearance of the Tang Clan’s head—
“Don’t be afraid! He’s just a dying man!”
To boost his subordinates’ morale, Gongsun Beon shouted loudly.
Through the information obtained from Jeok Seongja at the assembly, they had learned that Sewoon’s body was deteriorating due to his frequent use of Innate True Qi.
“What’s he talking about?”
“Leave him. If they’re letting their guard down, why stop them?”
“Ha! Well said, Brother.”
Of course, it was a complete misunderstanding, but Sewoon had no need to correct them.
Flash!
The moment their conversation ended, the two charged forward like lightning.
Not even the sound of their steps could be heard, yet their figures moved with blinding speed.
In response, the Heaven-Piercing Sect’s sorcerers hastily formed hand seals or pulled out talismans, each unleashing their unique arts.
“Arise, and slaughter your master’s enemies! Fire Moon Ghost!”
“By decree, act swiftly! Let tendrils of darkness bind their feet!”
“Tear them apart, Wind Shackles!”
A sorcerer’s battle was vastly different from that of an ordinary martial artist.
Depending on the nature and type of power they used, sorcerers were divided into three distinct types.
The first: Shikshinsa—those who commanded spiritual familiars known as Shikshin (式神).
The second: Cursing Sorcerers—those who inflicted calamity and pain upon their foes.
The third: Enhancers—those who empowered their bodies through talismans and artifacts to engage in close combat.
Boom! Thud!
A fiery giant resembling a walking flame swung its massive fist at Nameless.
Whoosh!
Nameless narrowly dodged the flaming, hammer-like strike and muttered,
“One Point Kill.”
Slaaash!
Boom!
Nameless’ Twin Daggers crossed in an “X” shape, sinking into the Fire Moon Ghost’s chest like the fangs of a wolf.
For a moment, a massive hole gaped open in the creature’s chest—
“……!”
—but as if mocking Nameless, the wound instantly sealed itself, restoring the Fire Moon Ghost to its original form.
Slash!
Kwaang–!
With another fiery punch, Nameless was blasted far backward.
“Die!!”
“I’ll cut your throat!”
Four or five Enhancers followed, rushing toward Nameless in unison.
Yet Sewoon could not step in to help.
“Kill that one first!”
“Throw every ounce of your sorcery at him!!”
The full barrage of spells was focused entirely on Sewoon.
Though Sewoon was a specialist in multi-combat engagements, it looked difficult for him to fully unleash his strength.
And that was understandable—
Spells to blur vision, bind his feet, scorch his blood, and cloud his mind…
It was as though the gates of the Hall of Ten Thousand Demons had opened, unleashing every kind of grotesque curse upon him like a summer downpour.
Perhaps because of that—
Shrrrk.
Snap!
The Heavenly Threads (天羅) that Sewoon had shot forth, flying like the dense webs of a human-faced spider, became entangled with the Heaven-Piercing Sect’s Wind Shackles, losing their force and dropping to the ground.
‘Got him!!’
Gongsun Beon cheered inwardly.
He had succeeded in cornering both enemies completely.
‘As expected, the rumors of the jianghu can’t be trusted!’
That this bastard was some so-called rising genius closest to joining the Ten Great Experts? What nonsense.
Now he would give him a truly miserable end.
Just as he was convinced of that—
Boom!
“Gaaahhh!!”
With an earth-shattering explosion and a series of dreadful screams, the tide of battle shifted in an instant.
Fwoosh!
“Gaaaah!!”
“It’s—it’s burning!! Aaargh!!”
The explosion had come from none other than the Fire Moon Ghost.
Without any warning, the creature swelled grotesquely and detonated in the midst of the Enhancers.
The sudden inferno consumed their bodies, wrapping them in raging flames.
They writhed on the ground, trying to smother the fire, but flames born of sorcery would not extinguish so easily.
“Ah… ahhh.”
“Ugh!”
Another sorcerer tried to cast a water spell, but it was too late—the Enhancers had already been charred black like coal.
“Now that’s seven!”
Nameless shouted cheerfully.
Having once taken countless lives of sorcerers through assassination contracts for the Gate of Assassins, Nameless knew better than anyone how to deal with a Shikshin.
His One Point Kill had not failed.
He had embedded a volatile explosive qi within the Fire Moon Ghost’s body, and detonated it precisely when the enemy forces had clustered together.
“Graaaah!”
“My legs! My legs!!”
Cries of agony rang out from the back lines—from the sorcerers who had been casting curses.
Their ankles were severed cleanly, bones and flesh exposed, as they foamed at the mouth and writhed on the ground.
Shrrrk!
At that moment, the Heavenly Threads connected to Sewoon’s limp hands had already been perfectly retracted.
Gongsun Beon’s eyes trembled violently as if struck by an earthquake.
‘The threads I thought were cut when the qi vanished—they suddenly tightened like a hunter’s snare!’
Like the jaws of hell swallowing sinners whole, the fallen threads had suddenly coiled and sliced through the sorcerers’ ankles.
Then, Sewoon unleashed dozens more Heavenly Threads.
Still stained red with unwashed blood, they fanned out like crimson lightning, sweeping across the air where the panicking sorcerers stood.
Shrrrk!
Slice!
This time, it wasn’t their legs—their necks were severed cleanly.
Thud, thud!
Bodies with eyes wide open in terror fell to the ground.
Sewoon’s lips moved.
“Eight.”
“…You really are competitive.”
Wh—what was this?
Gongsun Beon couldn’t hide his shock.
And understandably so—
In just a few exchanges, nearly half of his forces had been wiped out.
“Wh-what is this…?”
“The Blood Thread Divine Smith…!”
Perhaps it was because they had been so confident of victory, but despite still holding the numerical advantage, the morale of the Heaven-Piercing Sect had plummeted.
Seeing this, Gongsun Beon bit his lip.
‘Damn it, I didn’t want to leave any trace of myself…!’
There was no choice now.
Even if it risked drawing attention from the Black Market’s investigation—
He would have to summon his strongest Shikshin.
Ssshhh!
As Gongsun Beon gathered every ounce of his immense sorcery power, he began forming hand seals.
“Born from burning demonic flames, thou who devourest the life and death of men—”
Crackle!
From the ground, fountains of blood gushed upward, swirling as an eerie red formation took shape.
And from within that formation, something monstrous and blood-hued began to emerge.
Gongsun Beon was a Shikshinsa.
But unlike those who controlled low-tier spirits like the Fire Moon Ghost, his power was on an entirely different level.
Were it not for the overwhelming strength of the current Heaven-Piercing Sect Leader, Gongsun Beon himself would have held that title.
And finally—
Just as his alias Nine-Fox Illusionist (九狐幻士) implied, a fox spirit with nine tails appeared upon the battlefield.
Kieeehh!!
“Ugh!”
“Urgh!”
It merely let out a light roar, yet the sorcerers of the Heaven-Piercing Sect clutched their chests in agony at the Ghostly Cry (鬼聲) it emitted.
Then, staring coldly at Sewoon and Nameless, Gongsun Beon spoke.
“Beg all you want—it will do you no good. Before the might of the Nine-Tailed Fox, you shall suffer forever.”
He said it with utter confidence.
Now that he had unleashed his strongest Shikshin, victory was certain.
However—
Even before a Nine-Tailed Fox radiating an aura rivaling the Four Fiends (四凶), Sewoon showed not a trace of fear.
He smirked.
“…!!”
No—his expression was one of sheer ridicule.
Sewoon’s voice dripped with mockery.
“Are you not ashamed?”
“…What?”
He taunted the enemy.
“You’re commanding some lowly fox spirit and trying to pass it off as a Celestial Fox (天狐)—how utterly pathetic.”
“…!!”
Gongsun Beon’s eyes widened, disbelief flickering in them at Sewoon’s words.