Surviving as a Rival in a Martial Arts Novel

Chapter 4 – The Assassin Appears and Kills Everyone (02)

Crack!

With a solid impact sound, the sensation of bones breaking was transmitted through my hand. With each strike, I channeled my internal energy into my abdomen, causing my internal organs to be damaged.

Anyway, these guys are wicked assassins who have casually killed a few people, and considering the identity of the Black Veil organization, they are worthless scum who can neither be saved nor pitied. I had no qualms about getting rid of them.

Chaeng!

Did it seem like I was trying to save the undercover agent trapped in the spider’s web? Without saying anything like “surrender if you want to save this undercover agent,” they silently drew their knives and aimed at the undercover agent’s neck, but I simply ignored them and crushed the jaws of the assassins rushing towards me.

“When it comes to hostage situations, it’s over once it’s twisted. It’s better to act like a crazy person trying to break in and kill at times like this.”

In reality, as I was relentlessly beating the assassins, they were thrusting their knives into my body, threatening me as if it was not a joke, but I paid no attention and just killed the assassins. They couldn’t threaten me anymore.

I didn’t want to kill the undercover agent based on mere speculation, because then they wouldn’t obtain the information they wanted.

Crack!

So, without a moment’s rest, I kicked the throats of the rushing assassins, breaking their bones and smashing the heads of the ones who fell with my knees, creating a massacre.

If I were living in modern society, I might have some hesitation, but in this martial arts world like here, there was no weak side that would show mercy or help the enemy, so I had no hesitation even when killing or causing serious injuries.

“Or maybe it’s just that my soul itself has never betrayed anyone, so I didn’t know. Maybe I have the same personality as a martial artist.”

Pause.

Therefore, the reason my hand, like flowing water, stops before advancing towards the next opponent is not due to conscience but because of my well-practiced Poisonless Martial Arts and Pure Heart Glass Art (淸深喩離功). I intentionally swung the fist awkwardly, causing the familiar movements to be out of sync, to avoid revealing my mastery.

“Hut!”

Deliberately attempting to step on the legal principles incorrectly, my foot and fist moved awkwardly forward, making my movements clumsy. I almost fell victim to the attacks of assassins who were far less skilled than me.

‘I must not be exposed.’

My master and siblings could be in danger.

Unconsciously, I tried to accurately apply the martial arts my master taught me by stepping on the legal principles. However, I deliberately ignored the martial arts, swinging my fist as if a drunkard would randomly throw punches. Despite that, I managed to break both arms and inflict injuries on one assassin, causing him to collapse to the ground.

“Ha…”

Unlike the previous Yeoncheong, who had lost both master and siblings, and had nothing to lose, I couldn’t use Pure Heart Glass Art because I had to protect them.

‘Ironically… should I call it rebellious in this context?’

With each punch, I instinctively felt like I would blurt out the secrets of Pure Heart Glass Art. Eventually, I gave up on the fist and, like an animal scratching, extended my fingers. I used my internal energy as a support and swiftly moved like a beast.

Following the footsteps and combat techniques of humans would inadvertently lead to the use of Pure Heart Glass Art. Therefore, deliberately imitating the footsteps and attacks of beasts, I began tearing them apart.

Swish, swish.

As it was a harbor with cargo scattered around, I jumped and crashed against a cargo-made wall before they could surround me. I clawed the face of the one in front, causing blood to splash and flesh to protrude.

Although a one-to-thirty battle unfolded, I, alone, hunted them like a beast without even panting. The assassins, though not in disarray, couldn’t become my opponents.

‘It seems easier than the description in the novel.’

The martial arts of the Black Assassins were not as strong as depicted. Even Yeoncheong, whose combat senses had blurred due to daily drinking and neglecting training, defeated them. I, who had trained daily with my siblings, had no trouble dealing with such individuals.

I was just hunting assassins one-sidedly.

Swoosh.

‘I have no thoughts. Because there are no thoughts at all.’

As I moved my body, I swung my arms deliberately, emptying my mind and filling it with distractions. Breathing alone was enough to use the clear mind glass, so I swung my arms with a mind intentionally emptied of thoughts.

There was no need to consciously analyze the enemies in my mind. Detecting their vitality and subtle blood scent instinctively was sufficient to deal with such creatures by swinging arms and legs.

Thunk!

After knocking down one blocking the path, I realized that the life approaching me had disappeared. The assassins, sacrificing a few lives to grab my ankles, while the rest were pulling a net, were attempting to jump into the river.

‘Are they fleeing into the water?’

Not spies, but wait. Come to think of it, their role is similar to that of spies.

Splash. Splash.

Despite the surprisingly small sound of them jumping, the assassin, who looked like the leader pulling the net, stared at me and jumped into the water without hesitation.

Splash!

Even if he minimized his own splashing sounds, the leader could not reduce the noise of the agents caught in the net. A considerable splash occurred, and water splashed. The leader didn’t look back and fled, but the assassins who had entered the water in advance were waiting for me below the surface, spewing vitality, ready for me to follow.

‘This kind of thing never happened in novels.’

Against unbeatable foes, fleeing is the only option. It was a natural choice for assassins on this not-so-deserted island, but as someone accustomed to novel plots, I didn’t expect them to launch a determined assault. I didn’t know how to strategically retreat.

‘Darn!’

At this point, to avoid missing my original purpose and turning the novel into a mess, I decided to use the Clear Mind Technique with the intention of leaving no witnesses.

‘Aquatic flight… Well, it was possible in the pond, but here, it might be difficult?’

I successfully ran while stepping on the serene pond’s water lilies, but running on the flowing water surface was impossible. Fortunately, there were objects in this river that I could step on, so without worrying about falling into the water, I resolved to tidy up the remaining ones.

Plop!

Without using the technique of renewal and simply running thoughtlessly, I would end up floundering in the water. Therefore, unavoidably resorting to martial arts, I leaped into the strong current while identifying each assassin’s head awaiting my entry, having suffocated them underwater.

“You made a mistake by not diving deeply to intercept me.”

Identified!

I first kicked off the body of an assassin waiting nearby in the harbor, stepping on his head. He was the one observing the situation beneath the surface about 30cm below, and as I leaped into the water, he, in his eagerness to swing his weapon, ended up precisely stepping on his own head. Blood spurted from his nose, forming a footprint-shaped mark.

Stamped!

Upon hearing the sound of water as my other foot propelled through the surface, they all, submerged in the water, gazed at me, attempting to locate my position. While accurately determining where I was beneath the surface, I aligned myself in mid-air, kicking their heads with the back of my heel.

Whoosh!

They might think being trampled by an adult male in the water would only cause a slight sinking, but it was different when accompanied by vibrations from the bricks there.

Turning their heads to evade my attack is futile. If I slightly exhale my internal energy through my foot, they won’t escape the shockwave, spewing blood as they become corpses.

Plop! Stamped! Plop!

The first two were challenging, but the rest had already grasped their positions and the technique to handle them, making it no difficult task.

Stamped!

Like stepping on stepping stones sinking beneath the surface, I trampled the heads of assassins while airborne, and as I flew towards the assassins who appeared to be leaders, crossing the submerged stone bridge, my pursuit was a spectacular sight, witnessed by no one as if it were a regrettable masterpiece.

As I propelled my body into the air, not missing the moment when I leaped towards him, he withdrew his arm from the water and aimed his memorization at me.

“Is he the leader indeed?”

However, I was not foolish. The moment I saw the memorization, I pulled up the entirety of my internal energy to turn my body in mid-air. Using the Thousand-Pound Dart, I swiftly began to descend.

If the principle of the Thousand-Pound Dart were merely to increase weight, the falling speed would be the same, and I would have to take the hit. However, in reality, the principle of the Thousand-Pound Dart involved using internal energy to pull one’s body toward the ground. Therefore, I narrowly avoided getting hit by the memorization and, with the help of the Thousand-Pound Dart, descended perilously close to his head.

Roaaar!!

The pillar of water soared into the sky, and the leader, who was waiting for the second attack in the water, was dragged down to the riverbed with his waist folded in half.

Rumble…!

Gasping for breath as his precisely struck abdominal cavity expelled the air, the leader, just before sinking to the riverbed, seemed to contemplate taking me as a comrade as he tried to retrieve something from his own embrace.

“Poison? Or…”

Hmm.

However, in his confusion, he frantically searched behind him while feeling his chest, finding nothing. Finally, as he attempted to swing a dagger, I seized the opportunity for a counterattack by using Cheon-Geun-Chu more forcefully, driving it into the riverbed.

Splash!

Feeling the sensation of my foot making contact with the spine as if it were solid gold, I leaped up.

This time, using a technique that lightened my body instead of Cheon-Geun-Chu.

Rumble…

As the leader’s blood-mixed last air bubble burst, he took a cylindrical breath.

* * *

“Huha!!”

Come to think of it, I couldn’t swim.

I don’t know what it’s like to drown, but considering that my body stiffens the moment it enters the water, it seems I can’t swim either.

“Kkeueeuung…”

Originally, I had to return to the harbor, but due to the current pushing me, I desperately swam, making it to the riverbank only after leaving the city of Sachon a bit. There, I could finally catch my breath.

“Haa… Haaa…”

Alone, one could simply use the life jacket to return, but it was precarious to move with someone who had taken in a lot of water on their back at a level where they could barely run, let alone propel forcefully through water.

Solid.

The net, made of sharp silver threads, had torn the thick clothing into pieces, revealing the white skin underneath with silver traces embedded here and there.

Furthermore, due to the threats, there were still bleeding wounds from the dagger in various places, indicating significant bleeding. Additionally, having immersed the body in cold water for a long time, her lips were tinged blue, possibly approaching hypothermia.

‘Even though she’s unconscious, she’s gripping her hand tightly… What is she hiding?’

As her hands, trembling from either the blood loss or the chill after coming out of the river, opened, a slender object inside fell out.

“Huh?”

Attached to a round iron ball was a fuse.

Although it was small enough to fit in the palm, the shape of the fuse and the faint scent resembling gunpowder made it clear what this object was.

“A bomb.”

Here, it was commonly referred to as a wall-buster.

Most likely, judging from the lack of traces of her being kidnapped despite her disappearance here, she must have stolen a bomb from the leader during the kidnapping and planned to detonate it together.

“Sigh…”

In the end, it seemed like fate dictated her death here… If I leave her here, she’ll meet her end just like in the original work.

But the result is the same, she’ll leave traces of her death here. Jang Lang-Hyun wouldn’t execute a plan using her sister’s traces as bait while risking the protagonist’s life.

“If I saved her once, does that mean I have to see it through to the end.”

Sighing, I lifted her up.

Wearing clothes soaked in river water, she felt unrealistically light.

“I might get in trouble with the enemy.”