Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 38: The Assassins

Karon and Shong stood in line, killing time in their own ways. Karon remained stoic and motionless, despite Justin’s constant chatter, while Shong was suffering from a hangover, thanks to the excessive drinking the night before.

“I can’t… I can’t get on the ship like this. I’ll definitely throw up,” Shong mumbled, his words slurred, eyes unfocused from the remnants of alcohol still in his system.

It seemed that his cloak didn’t have the ability to detoxify him.

“Karon, why do people drink? They know they’ll regret it the next day,” Justin asked, clicking his tongue as he glanced at Shong. Karon, as usual, stayed silent.

But this time, it wasn’t because Karon was ignoring him—he had never drunk alcohol before and didn’t know how to respond.

“Oh, right! Karon!” Justin suddenly jumped next to Karon, about to ask him something, when Karon’s eyes darted sharply toward the town.

In an instant, his face hardened. With one swift motion, he unsheathed his black sword and hurled it into the air.

“Ah!”

The blade passed just inches from Justin’s head, aiming toward a lightning-fast arrow that shot toward them from the direction of the town.

Just moments ago, there had been no sense of danger, but now an overwhelming mass of energy was barreling toward them.

As Karon’s black sword was about to intercept the arrow, the arrow subtly curved, sliding past the sword.

Without a moment to process the shock, the arrow closed in on Justin, all in the span of just three seconds.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

A short cry escaped, but it wasn’t from Justin.

The arrow had embedded itself in Shong’s cloak. In a quick reaction, Shong had noticed Karon’s unusual behavior and shielded Justin just in time.

Shong collapsed into Justin’s arms, the arrow still lodged in his cloak.

“Enemy attack! Everyone, raise your shields!” shouted Erect, the leader of the Miguel Mercenaries. His swift command led his group to surround Karon and Shong with their shields.

Justin, still in shock and unaware of what was happening, stood speechless.

“Shong!” Karon called urgently as he checked Shong’s back.

Thankfully, there was no damage to the cloak, and the arrow, now drained of its energy, had fallen harmlessly to the ground. It seemed the cloak had absorbed the arrow’s power.

Shong, grimacing in discomfort, looked at Karon and muttered, “I feel like I’m gonna throw up…”

It was clear there was no injury from the arrow.

“Justin, take care of Shong. If the ship departs, go ahead without me. I’ll catch the afternoon ferry,” Karon instructed, not waiting for a reply before sprinting toward the town.

As he leapt into action, the black sword he had thrown earlier returned to his hand as if drawn by a phantom.

—

Meanwhile, the two men who had fired the arrow from the village rooftop stared in disbelief.

Karon had not only detected the arrow in an instant but had also thrown his sword in an attempt to intercept it.

The fact that the arrow had been imbued with energy, allowing for subtle manipulation, was the only reason it hadn’t been destroyed mid-air.

Furthermore, the arrow should have exploded upon impact with the target, but instead, it bounced off the cloak without causing any damage.

Most concerning was the fact that the man who had thrown the sword had now reclaimed it, and was rapidly closing the distance between them with a dark, ominous energy.

Given the distance between the harbor and the village, this should have been impossible.

“This is…”

“Unbelievable.”

The two spoke in astonishment, watching Karon draw closer. They exchanged glances.

“Should we deal with him here?”

“It would attract too much attention. That sword is no ordinary weapon either.”

“Then, we’ll retreat for now.”

Without wasting any time, the two men leapt off the roof, vanishing from sight in an instant.

But Karon didn’t slow down.

His heightened senses had detected a faint energy emanating from the longbow carried by one of the assassins.

As the two darted through the narrow alleys, they realized that the ominous presence was still chasing them.

“Could it be…?”

“Did he sense the energy of the longbow?”

“That’s impossible.”

“If not, there’s no other explanation.”

“Let’s head to the open field to the south, near the Ash River.”

They changed direction, heading toward the fields on the southern outskirts of the village.

Once they had run far enough into the open fields, they suddenly stopped and turned to face the village, drawing their bows.

The field was full of tall reeds, perfect for hiding.

They waited, poised to shoot the moment their pursuer emerged from the village.

But—

“??”

“Where did he go?”

Despite the hoods covering their faces, it was clear from their frantic movements that they were confused.

The energy that had been relentlessly pursuing them had vanished, and now the reeds that once provided cover were obstructing their view.

“How did such strong energy disappear in an instant…? Could it be?”

“He’s able to control his energy at will.”

“Damn it.”

They couldn’t help but feel nervous. The fact that Karon could manipulate such demonic energy with such ease meant that his skill far surpassed their own.

Ssssshhhhh—

A cold wind swept through the field, making the reeds sway violently.

The rustling of the reeds sounded like waves crashing, expanding in all directions.

With their sight and hearing obstructed, it felt as though they had fallen into their own trap, trying to lure Karon out.

Yet they had no doubt: Karon had intentionally driven them into the field.

“If we try to run?”

“He’ll catch us.”

“Then we put everything into one shot.”

The tall man poured all his energy into his longbow. Blue vapor rose violently, swirling and getting sucked into the arrowhead. The nearly black-blue energy looked ready to explode at any moment.

Just then, a fierce and ominous presence rapidly approached from the village. As it drew nearer, the energy became stronger, unmistakably matching the energy of the one who had been chasing them earlier.

Sweat trickled down his hand.

“He’s coming!”

“Not yet!”

The tall man didn’t release the bowstring in haste. He wanted to confirm his target with his own eyes first, even if it meant taking some damage in the ensuing explosion. Better to be sure.

As the intense energy pushed through the reeds, revealing itself—

“What are you looking at?”

A cold voice came from behind them.

A shiver ran down his spine as the tall man whipped around.

Slick—

Thud!

The black sword flew straight, cutting cleanly through the tall man’s neck before returning to Karon’s hand. The tall man didn’t even have the chance to release his arrow before he died instantly, thrown off by Karon’s sudden appearance.

Karon, with his bloodied black sword pointed downward, advanced on the remaining man. His overwhelming, storm-like energy crushed the smaller man, who stumbled backward in fear, tripping and falling to the ground. Trembling, he looked up at Karon.

“Black cloak….”

“Y-you… You’re with the Blue Raven Clan, aren’t you? You must know what happens if you cross us!” the man stammered, both of them speaking at once.

Karon paused, thinking for a moment. They’re asking me the question I want to ask them. Clearly, they weren’t with the Blue Raven Clan.

Then who?

“Who are you?” Karon asked.

The shorter man, trembling, removed his robe, revealing his face. His black hair was unkempt, and his face was covered with various black wolf tattoos.

“I’m part of the Black Wolf Elite.”

Karon didn’t need to hear it; the tattoos gave it away.

“If our organization finds out we’re dead, you’ll—”

Thrust!

Without a word, Karon impaled the man’s heart with his sword, his face blank and emotionless. The man’s eyes widened in shock.

“If you’re not from the Blue Raven Clan, then I have no more questions.”

“You… damn… bas—”

The smaller man reached toward Karon, but his hand fell limp as he died.

“Oh.”

Karon realized he hadn’t asked why they had attacked him. But it didn’t matter. The reason was irrelevant—what mattered was that they had attacked.

Karon retrieved his black sword and approached the tall man’s corpse. Next to him was the longbow, still radiating a strange energy.

Karon stared at the bow for a moment, deep in thought. Then, an idea struck him. He pulled out the black orb from inside his cloak.

Crouching down, he placed the orb against the longbow.

Ssssssssss—

At first, nothing happened. Then, the blue aura from the bow began to rise, slowly getting absorbed into the black orb. As the orb consumed the energy, it returned to its original state, though now a faint blue hue glimmered in its previously pitch-black surface.

The bow, now devoid of energy, shriveled and darkened, turning black. It had become brittle and lifeless.

This sight had become familiar to Karon.

He held the black orb in his hand, feeling the faint increase in energy within it. But as the orb tried to absorb his own energy, Karon quickly pulled his hand back and tucked it away.

“A cursed thing.”

Karon clicked his tongue at the orb’s insatiable hunger, then searched the bodies of the two men.

From the smaller man’s cloak, he retrieved a telescope and a compass. They seemed useful enough, so Karon pocketed them.

Returning to the village, he realized the ship had already departed. It would be another half-day before the next one.

For the first time in a while, Karon was alone as he wandered through the streets. His horse and belongings had already been sent ahead with the mercenary group, leaving him free to move around.

The village seemed as peaceful as ever, with guards patrolling and merchants going about their business.

But Karon felt the watchful eyes on him.

From the moment he returned to the village, Karon sensed that some of the Black Scorpion mercenaries were keeping tabs on him. They were trying to be discreet, but their presence was clear to someone as sensitive as Karon.

His instincts told him that these mercenaries were somehow connected to the assassins he had just faced.

As he walked along the main road, Karon turned into an alleyway, stepping into the shadows where he disappeared from sight.

Moments later, two mercenaries hurried into the alley, scanning the area.

They looked around, cursing under their breath, before exchanging words.

“Damn it! I think we lost him.”

“Could the Black Wolf Elites really have been taken out?”

“No way. Anyway, we need to follow him on the next boat. We’ve got to finish off those Miguel guys before he joins the mercenary group. Though it might already be too late for that.”

They cursed some more and returned to the main road, continuing their search elsewhere.

As they left, Karon reappeared in the spot they had just been, his expression grim.

“They were planning to assassinate me and take out the Miguel Mercenaries… I might already be too late.”

Then a thought occurred to him.

“Wait. Why do I care what happens to them? They’re not my concern.”

Returning to the main road, Karon slipped out of the Black Scorpion mercenaries’ line of sight and bought a cloak to conceal his face.

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