Chapter 134

The Most Effective Way to Fail an Ambush

A salmon was
swimming hard and going up the river.
Because it had to lay eggs and make its young prosper.
But just then,
a salmon that was passing by this place in preparation for the spawning season
had to witness a ridiculous thing.

While it was moving its fins hard and going up the river in preparation for the spawning season, a bunch of arrogant humans were overtaking it. These humans, not knowing the fear of the heavens, were going against the providence of nature and had overtaken its swimming speed in the water.

For a proud salmon, it could not help but get angry.

These humans were swimming through the water with dazzling movements, as if to boast that they could show a movement more outstanding than a fish. Those humans were all holding a long reed in their mouths, wearing black leather clothes that stuck to their bodies, and holding a blackish, hook-shaped weapon in their hands.

The salmon suppressed its desire for species reproduction for a moment and, with an interested gaze at the event of another world that had occurred in its own world, rolled its eyes.

On Bi Ryu-yeon's left shoulder, there was an Uroe-mae sitting with an elegant posture, showing off its blue feathers. It was a creature that never lost its loftiness.

Because of this creature, the messenger eagles of others could not carelessly approach the sky above the boat. It seemed that this creature was also quite a greedy one.

Bi Ryu-yeon, stroking the head of the Uroe-mae sitting on his left shoulder, said.

"Do you like fishing?"

"Huh?"

Na Ye-rin could not read Bi Ryu-yeon's thoughts and could not readily answer the question. He was still a man whose insides could not be known.

"It's a great day for fishing! Don't you think so?"

"Well? Didn't you just say it was going to rain?"

The reaction that came back was cold, but if one were to be discouraged by such things, one had to give up on facing Na Ye-rin.

"You're remembering something quite useless. Well, it might rain. A red rain..."

Flinch!

"What?"

Na Ye-rin, who had felt an unusual energy for a moment, asked back. Something did not feel right. At times like this, something always happened.

"A lot of fish are gathering. I wonder what bait they used? I'm really curious. Pancakes alone would not have been enough."

"What does that mean..., ah!"

Now, Na Ye-rin also seemed to have felt something out of place and stiffened her expression.

Hostility!

A great hostility was secretly approaching them. The Dragon's Eye was throbbing with pain. It was a clear warning.

Pahak!

Puhwak!!

Twenty white pillars of water rose up around the escort boat. Bi Ryu-yeon's attitude in dealing with this unexpected situation was just leisurely.

Pudeudeuk!

As eighteen streams of water rose up, the Uroe-mae that had been sitting on his shoulder was surprised and spread its wings, soaring into the sky. Only a few feathers with a blue tint fell down.

Watching the group of people who had risen from the surface of the water and were attacking with the noon sun as a background, Bi Ryu-yeon unconsciously let out a low cry of admiration.

"Idiots!"

It was a judgment that needed no reconsideration. With what guts did they have the heart to attack the escort boat where they were sitting with their eyes wide open in this bright daylight?

Although they had used the river as a cover, since they had already revealed their forms above the water surface, they could no longer expect any more cover effect. But to be still staying in the air without any cover, as if they were begging, 'I'm here, so please cut my throat quickly!', he could not help but be surprised.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! With such a long airtime, they are literally perfect to be a target."

From Bi Ryu-yeon's point of view, there was still an eternally long time left before they, their attacks, could enter the effective range of attack where they could exert their full power.

With that much time, before those guys could even enter their effective range of attack, he and his disciples, whom he had taught strictly, had the leisure to do dozens of things they wanted to do. Bi Ryu-yeon had full faith in his educational achievements.

To refuse when they were so eagerly asking for their own throats to be cut was not the way of a martial artist. It was the natural way of a martial artist to stab a sword towards the weak point of the attacking group when it was visible. Besides, such a clearly visible weak point...

Even if he did not go to the trouble of exerting his own strength, the heavens would take care of punishing the foolish idiots. The principles of the world were this heartless. If they thought the heavens were so generous as to forgive the foolhardiness of idiots and fools, that was a big miscalculation.

Bi Ryu-yeon thought that if he ever met a person who was running an assassination society, he should advise them that such an ambush was absolutely impossible. An ambush that threw away a life like trash! Of course, he planned to receive a sufficient consultation fee.

Even while he was lost in such long thoughts and contemplation, those guys had not yet reached the target point. And it did not take long for his prediction to come true.

Chuang!

Sixteen streams of sword ki were emitted from the swords of the members of the Vermilion Bird Squad, and as a bonus, the blue and white sword ki unfolded by Moyong Hwi, Cheong-heun, and Na Ye-rin were added and flew towards the masked ambushers. It seemed that Moyong Hwi had the presence of mind to unfold his sword ki even while he was making pancakes. He was indeed worthy of being called the Seven Absolutes Divine Sword.

A clean cut!

The sword ki flew like a ray of light and slaughtered not them, who had made a foolish judgment, but the attackers in black water-repellent suits who had carried out the orders of their commanders and leaders without any refusal.

Slaughter was too tragic and an exaggerated expression, and the expression that they were pierced like meat skewers on a pile of burning firewood would be more appropriate.

Pungdeong, pungdeong!

By the execution (by hand) of the group, who had taken the place of the busy heavens with their heavy workload, the attackers in black water-repellent suits fell onto the blue surface of the Yangtze River like the fallen leaves of an autumn day, without even being able to unfold their dream of an ambush.

The water spray that had been splashed by their artificial and involuntary plunge into the water rose up white into the air and sparkled in the sunlight.

---

Jin Ryeong's Mistake

'See!
That's why failure is a foregone conclusion! ...Oh...oh? Oh no!'
But it seemed that failure was not only on that side.
There was also a mistake on our side.
This was not part of the calculation.

The attackers who had risen through the surface of the water had all fallen like the fallen leaves of autumn, but one of them was attacking the boat with a minor injury. Perhaps he was the leader of this ambush team, as his movements were superior to the others. At his landing point, Jin Ryeong was standing blankly, holding a sword.

"Ack!"

"It's dangerous!"

Namgung Sang shouted urgently. But it was already too late to move. The thick trust between them had rather acted as an obstacle this time. Jin Ryeong had also believed that they would handle the ambusher without any trouble, just like them. But the prediction had been wrong...

'Oh no! I told her to use her hand so firmly!'

Bi Ryu-yeon clicked his tongue. If Jin Ryeong had not hesitated due to her hesitation about killing, that ambusher would never have reached this boat.

If you don't make up for your own mistake...

Puhwak!

Jin Ryeong's vision turned red.

Her sword had cut the opponent's ribs and had reached his heart. Blood gushed out like a fountain.

A piece of blood! A curtain of blood!

Although she was a martial artist, it was a great shock to Jin Ryeong, who was a woman with a weak sensibility. The feeling of the opponent's heart dying coldly was clearly transmitted through the sword. But that was not the end.

In an instant, a cold light flashed in the ambusher's eyes, and at the same time, a sharp dagger that had been drawn at some point flew towards her neck. It was an unexpected attack from a being whose heart had been split in half and had been determined to be a corpse.

Although she had an outstanding martial art in her body, this time, there was no way to defend.

'It's too late!'

In this life-and-death moment, which was shorter than an instant, Na Ye-rin felt a feeling as if a gale were passing by her side. As her ebony-like hair was scattered by the fierce wind, she saw it clearly. A man was blocking the dagger of the black-clothed masked man and was smashing his head.

'A gale? A thunder light? Or a flash that crosses a moment?'

The amazing blow that Bi Ryu-yeon had shown in a moment, it was a wondrous and fantastic movement, like a mirage.

"It's a pain-cutting technique!"

Jang Hong muttered, looking at the corpse of the black-clothed man who was lying sprawled on the deck with his skull smashed. The sight of the white brain matter mixed with blood splattered all around was a sight that made one frown.

"D...don't tell me it's a pain-cutting technique?"

Hyo-ryong, who was surprised by Jang Hong's words, asked back with a horrified face. Jang Hong's face, who was nodding his head as if to affirm this question, was seriously stiff.

"What's wrong? Huk! Th...this corpse... What kind of strange thing is this?"

The branch head, Su Jang-hae, who had just rushed out after hearing the news from his subordinate, said with his eyes wide open. Jang Hong explained the whole story from beginning to end. As his explanation continued, Su Jang-hae's face became even stiffer.

"Th...then these people are!"

Su Jang-hae was terrified and let out a cry of astonishment. Jang Hong nodded his head to confirm.

"In a word, it means that these people are not simple water bandits!"

Jang Hong asserted.

"What does that mean?"

Cheong-heun asked with a bewildered face. Since he had only devoted himself to training in Mount Wudang and the Cheonmu Academy, and his experience in the Jianghu was shallow, he could not readily understand Jang Hong's words.

"The pain-cutting technique, also called the Severing Pain Method, is a unique technique that only assassins who have received very professional murder training learn. In other words, it is a hidden move to deliver a final blow, a technique of mutual destruction."

Jang Hong's words were exactly right.

The reason why one could not counterattack when stabbed by a sword was because the body fell into a state of momentary shock paralysis due to the shock. If the body received too much shock, the nerves would be overloaded, and it would be impossible to move the nerves on the other side. Because of this paralysis symptom, a counterattack was impossible.

So, the technique that was developed was the Severing Pain Method! It is a technique that allows a counterattack without falling into a state of momentary paralysis due to extreme pain and shock, a secret method of giving up flesh and cutting bone, that is the pain-cutting technique. It is often used as a technique of mutual destruction.

This is a technique to paralyze the nerves in an instant and to deliver a final counterattack at the very moment when the opponent's sword is digging into and rummaging through one's body. If you are lucky and miss a vital point, you will live, and if you are stuck in a vital point, you will die.

Of course, a tremendous pain will soon attack the body, but since the opponent is already dead, you can be in pain with a peaceful mind. Or, at least, you can die together. That's why it is also classified as a technique of mutual destruction.

It was a technique that assassins or intelligence agents who performed special missions often learned. It was not a technique that a mere water bandit could learn.

"Then it means they are not water bandits!"

Cheong-heun, who was next to Moyong Hwi, said.

"That's right. As long as they also have a respectable code of conduct, there is no way they would do such a reckless thing."

Jang Hong nodded his head as if he understood.

"Who would have a grudge against us to be targeting us?"

"There are always people everywhere who want to make a growing sapling into firewood and use it as kindling before it grows into a useful timber. There are always people who are displeased with a promising rice cake, aren't there? Especially at this time when the once-in-a-decade Hwasan Pact Assembly's Divine Martial Grand Battle is approaching."

"Don't tell me you mean..."

Cheong-heun looked at Jang Hong with a horrified face.

"The organizations that have the ability to mobilize such an organization in the dark are very limited. They won't be able to escape suspicion. But don't say any more. It's not yet the stage to confirm. In this ambiguous state of tension, we can't carelessly make such a problematic statement!"

'Is this insight really that of a person who has just entered the second year?'

At Jang Hong's thoughtful words, Cheong-heun unconsciously nodded his head. As he faced the amazing insight and discernment of Jang Hong, who he had not paid much attention to, as if he were there and not there, it was Cheong-heun, who was seeing him in a new light.