The Assassin Who Kills Assassins

Whether they were called assassin orders or assassin guilds, there was nothing particularly complicated about why organizations of assassins were so difficult to hunt down.

It wasn’t because they were exceptionally strong or because of some special reason. After learning how to kill people, the next thing they learned most thoroughly was how to hide.

Some gathered in dark, secluded places, while plenty of assassin groups didn’t even live together in the first place, making it difficult to root them out entirely.

If our great Martial Alliance Leader ever decided to mobilize all his forces and exterminate these cockroach-like assassin bastards, it would probably be possible. But the chances of that happening were about the same as the Demon Cult attaining enlightenment and declaring itself subordinate to Shaolin.

The Martial Alliance had neither the reason nor the leisure to do that. Its purpose wasn’t to exterminate villains, but to protect the weak.

But I was different. I’d learned martial arts and entered the Kangho in the first place to beat the hell out of bastards like assassins.

Compared to the Martial Alliance, I had plenty of time to spare, and as for a reason, I could always make one up.

The man thrilled at the thought of becoming the evil rakshasa of assassins? That would be yours truly.

I stayed put until the entire evening had passed, expecting an ambush from the Bloodland Assassin Guild, but unfortunately, they never came charging in themselves.

If things were going to be like this, I had no choice. I’d have to go after them myself. Was this the thrill of going to ambush bastards who specialized in ambushes?

But even an ambush ought to begin with a full stomach. After thoroughly finishing dinner with the Dokgo Gate disciples, I felt utterly satisfied as I prepared to set out on my ambush.

‘With my stomach full, even the grand spirit in my chest feels more magnificent.’

At that moment, the doors to the main hall opened to either side, and So Geum-ho appeared holding something black in both hands.

“Sect Master, I brought the black martial garb you asked for. As requested, I left out the long robe.”
“Oh, that’s some incredibly black martial garb.”
“Because it’s black martial garb.”
“…….”

One-Eyed Ghost appeared next and looked at me.

“Why are you changing clothes? You said we’re charging in anyway.”
“You don’t even understand the ways of an assassin.”
“……?”

I casually stripped off the long robe I was wearing and changed into the black martial garb So Geum-ho had brought, clicking my tongue as I did.

“An assassin is supposed to wear black. I don’t know why, but that’s just how it is. Technically, you’re supposed to wrap a hood around your head too, but we’ll skip that part.”
“What kind of bullshit is that?”
“A man who doesn’t even understand the aesthetics of black thinks he can call himself an assassin…… Forget it. What’s the point of discussing art with someone like you?”
“What art is there in assassination?”
“There is for me.”

There were certain combinations in this world that truly shone when put together.

For example, the Namgung Family and blue robes, the Martial Alliance Leader and a white beard, or Guan Yu and the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.

I might not be Guan Yu, and I didn’t have a crescent blade, but fortunately, I had the heart of an assassin and black martial garb.

What did that mean? An assassin who ambushed assassins. Thus was born Dokgo Mu-jin, Yongmyeong’s Number One Assassin.

If there were two fundamentals among the fundamentals of being an assassin, they were the seriousness to keep a straight face even if the Cult Leader fell over, and black martial garb.

Just look at the assassins who’d come after me in my previous life. Even in sweltering weather, they wore nothing but black clothes as dark as their own futures, and when I remembered how desperately they tried not to laugh at my jokes, there was no denying they had all been lunatics.

That was how important the fundamentals were to an assassin. And since I was famously good at respecting the fundamentals, I’d specifically ordered So Geum-ho to prepare a black martial garb for me. To think I’d mocked assassins that much only to end up playing one myself. Life was mysterious indeed.

Of course, it was true that I hated assassins, but if you wanted to beat an enemy to death, you first had to put yourself in their position. That was how you understood the way they thought and discovered their weaknesses.

That was also why, despite hating the Demonic Path, I had declared myself a man of the Demonic Path even after growing stronger.

Of course, my grand plan had been shattered to pieces by the Cult Leader.

But that was then, and this was now. Failure in my previous life didn’t have to lead to ruin in this one, so I pushed aside my useless anxiety and focused only on the reality in front of me.

Dressed neatly in black martial garb darker than the night sky, I wore the Nameless Sword at my waist and slung the Demon Wail Sword over my shoulder.

At this point, I looked less like an assassin and more like some lunatic dressed in black, but it didn’t particularly matter.

Unlike me, One-Eyed Ghost was wearing shabby red martial garb when he spoke.

“Do you normally use two swords? I’ve never seen that sword before.”
“Curious about this?”

When I pointed at the Demon Wail Sword, One-Eyed Ghost nodded.

“It looks far too worn out to use.”
“It was my father’s keepsake.”
“……”

At that moment, I suddenly heard what sounded like a thunderclap and jerked my head around, only to realize it wasn’t thunder at all. It was the doors to the main hall opening.

Gongson Han appeared, breathing heavily, and shouted.

“We’ve got a serious problem!”

Why did this bastard have a serious problem every damn day? I answered calmly.

“What happened?”
“……It looks like the Bloodland Assassin Guild has come. They’ve completely surrounded us.”
“What?”

What kind of ridiculous bullshit was this now?

I’d waited so long without them coming that I’d decided to go find them myself, and now they had finally decided to show up.

Even So Geum-ho, who had been calm until now, had gone pale.

One-Eyed Ghost, however, calmly asked as though he had expected this.

“……How many?”

Gongson Han glanced between One-Eyed Ghost and me before answering in a tone that was neither quite casual nor quite polite.

“……Around ten.”

One-Eyed Ghost fiddled with the saber at his waist and frowned.

“That’s a lot for the Guild to send. With this many of them here, they must’ve come determined to wipe us out. It looks too late to run now. Do you have a plan?”

He probably expected me to say we should kill them all without any plan whatsoever, but I actually had a strategy of my own.

Of course, that strategy did ultimately lead to killing them all.

I asked Gongson Han.

“You evacuated all the men, right?”
“Yes. I sent everyone back to their rooms.”
“Tell them not to come out. And Gongson Han, there’s something I need you to do. It’s part of the plan.”
“A plan? Me?”

I rubbed my palms together and drew everyone’s attention.

“Good. Now listen to my plan…….”

Until yesterday I’d been the Sect Master of the Dokgo Gate, and until moments ago I’d changed professions to assassin. Now it looked like I was about to find new employment as a strategist.

Feeling like some master strategist such as Zhuge Kongming or Sima Qian, I put my head together with the officers and explained the operation with the mindset of an assassin.

At the Sword Hero Gate, now surrounded by assassins, Gongson Han was the first to appear in the moonlit training ground.

With both hands raised over his chest to show that he had no intention of fighting, Gongson Han looked over the vicious faces of the assassins positioned atop the walls.

‘Just look at those damn faces……’

So many of them looked vicious enough to make him realize that One-Eyed Ghost was actually rather respectable-looking by comparison.

Their weapons varied widely, as did their ages, but their clothing was uniform enough to make it obvious that they all belonged to the same organization.

Gongson Han swallowed dryly, then forced himself to speak with the composure befitting a sect’s Chief Steward.

“……Brothers. I’ve brought One-Eyed Ghost. Please bear in mind that we have no intention of fighting.”

He looked somewhat nervous, but it was an appropriate enough response.

When the assassins merely nodded without answering, One-Eyed Ghost leisurely walked out from inside the main hall with his hands raised in the same manner as Gongson Han.

Among the assassins who met his gaze, the tallest was a thin masked man. He spoke.

“……Senior Tracker. It’s been a while.”

Tracker was both the designation and position by which One-Eyed Ghost was known within the Bloodland Assassin Order.

Meanwhile, the masked man and the nine assassins he had brought with him each had their own epithets and held the position of Scout.

Of course, the mission they’d been given today wasn’t reconnaissance. It was to retrieve One-Eyed Ghost.

One-Eyed Ghost slowly walked out, stopped where he was, and spoke in a dry voice.

“Squad Leader Wi. It’s been a while.”
“Enough with the pointless pleasantries. Let’s get to the point. Why haven’t you returned? Why have you been staying here?”
“I was defeated by Sect Master Dokgo and taken prisoner. How was I supposed to return?”

The gaunt Scout called Squad Leader Wi let out a low laugh.

“……You’re so good at running away, yet you couldn’t even get past the guards of a pathetic little sect like this? You expect me to believe that?”

One-Eyed Ghost gave him an equally vicious sneer before glaring at Squad Leader Wi.

“You’ve grown quite arrogant while I’ve been away.”
“The Guild Master is furious. He ordered us to bring you back with all four limbs intact if you cooperate, and to sever a few tendons before bringing you back if you resist…… So? Do you want to have a go at all of us?”

Meanwhile, Gongson Han sat there awkwardly like a borrowed sack of barley, squeezed his eyes shut, and swallowed a curse.

‘Fight or whatever the hell you want, just do it outside. Outside. Why does everyone always have to fight in a perfectly good sect?’

Of course, since the other side consisted of assassins, he didn’t dare say it aloud.

At that moment, One-Eyed Ghost lowered his hands and silently drew the saber at his waist.

Did assassins have some tendency to answer with actions instead of words? Seeing this, Squad Leader Wi let out a chilling laugh.

“……If that’s your decision, Senior, I’ll respect it.”

Squad Leader Wi wiped the smile from his face.

“Attack.”

Puaak!

At that moment, a gale-like blast of sword qi shot out from behind the wall and took off the head of the leftmost Scout.

‘What the……?!’

Startled, Squad Leader Wi whipped his head around and glared at One-Eyed Ghost, but One-Eyed Ghost’s hands hadn’t moved from where they were. Squad Leader Wi shouted.

“It’s an ambush! Everyone, watch…….”

Puaaaak!

This time, the upper bodies of two assassins on the right split apart. Crimson blood erupted as both men fell from the wall.

Three out of ten had already gone down. The instant Squad Leader Wi drew the long straight saber from over his shoulder, he stared down below the wall.

At that moment, a black-clad figure suddenly shot up from below the wall and swung the longsword in his right hand, unleashing a vertical streak of sword qi.

“Assassin Dokgo Mu-jin. Has arrived.”

That’s right. Assassin Dokgo Mu-jin. That was the plan. An assassin who killed assassins. That was yours truly.