Was it because he had brought up Tang Sowol?

Carried away by my agitation, I ended up killing the Golden Ghost Wolf King while riding the momentum, even though there was still much to pry from him.

Well. This much was fine. Back when dealing with the Brahma Heavenly Lust Demon, I had already realized that the Demonic Cult had begun laying hands on those they might try to sway.

Above all, the Heavenly Demon had noticed that I, too, had regressed. There was no way he would remain still.

But this—this I truly could not understand.

The moment I thought the battle had ended and relaxed halfway—

At the edge of my slightly dulled senses, I felt a trace of incongruity. And through the still-active Heavenly Eye, I saw that very incongruity settle behind my back.

It was good that I managed to block the sudden ambush, but—

“I do not understand this situation.”

When I turned around, a familiar figure in black stood there.

But he was someone I should never have seen again.

“I distinctly remember you being split in half. Vertically, at that.”

Without a word, the black-clad figure merely adjusted his stance.

Even though I saw him with my own eyes, his presence felt hazy, like an illusion. Even with the Heavenly Eye, which allowed me to see the flow of qi in detail, I sensed nothing more than a faint dissonance.

There was only one person capable of wielding stealth of this level so casually.

“It has been a while, King of Assassins.”

The King of Assassins.

The one who had attempted to kill me alongside the Green Forest King, failed, and ultimately lost his life to my Thunderclap Sword.

That was right. He was someone who had already died by my hand once.

The dead returning to life was absurd—but—

That high-level stealth. His build. The martial arts he had mastered. His gait. Even the rhythm of his breathing.

Everything that composed the black-clad figure before me declared that he was the King of Assassins.

His face was still hidden beneath the mask, yet even a disciple who had lived with him for decades and inherited everything from him could not replicate him this perfectly.

In all likelihood, this was the very same King of Assassins I had fought.

“Zombie arts? Or did you seize another body like the Blood Buddha did?”

“...”

“Still taciturn, I see. Damn you.”

Without replying, the King of Assassins concealed his presence even further. The only fortunate thing was that his level did not seem drastically different from before.

I had defeated him then. Though I was somewhat fatigued now, it should be easier to bring him down this time.

There was only one thing that concerned me.

“If I kill you again here, you will not pop up somewhere else, will you?”

“Hah. Right. You were never one for conversation anyway.”

I let out a deep sigh. In that brief opening, the King of Assassins melted from my sight.

No—he had not truly vanished. He must have leapt elsewhere, leaving behind traces of himself while hiding anew.

I had seen this trick once before. Breaking it was not difficult—especially now, with the Heavenly Eye.

As I focused, my senses gradually expanded. I could not hear footsteps nor feel the disturbance of wind—yet the prickling sense of danger remained.

When I fixed my gaze upon the faint source of that danger, I saw, faintly through the Heavenly Eye, the outline of the King of Assassins rushing in, perfectly assimilated with the surrounding qi.

Unlike before, when I could only guess his general direction, now I could at least discern his outline.

Though the strain on my body from repeatedly using the Thunderclap Sword was not light… it was far easier to respond now than before, when I had to maintain extreme tension at all times.

“Hup!”

Slow but precise, I swung my sword toward his neck.

Perhaps to preserve his stealth, he once again wielded a dagger for the ambush, just as before. That difference in length created a gap.

Even if he committed to a mutual kill, my body would not be properly reached.

Knowing this, he twisted his body in haste to evade the moment he confirmed my blade’s trajectory.

How disappointing.

If he had stuck to blocking, deflecting, and harrying me from stealth as before, it would have been easier.

Even without the Thunderclap Sword, a strike layered with White Sword and Formless Sword would have severed his head along with his aura.

Still, I learned one thing.

“At least you are no zombie. Setting aside judgment, I can faintly sense emotion in your movements. Were you surprised? That I have completely seen through your stealth?”

“...”

“…Ah, right. I did not expect to pry anything from you anyway. Keep your mouth shut. I will ask your corpse instead.”

Though brief, crossing blades told me enough.

With his stealth completely broken, the King of Assassins could no longer so much as graze a hair on me.

I did not know how he had returned to life—but if he was at a similar level as before, I simply needed to bring him down again.

The only lingering concern was Tang Sowol’s side.

Just as with the Green Forest King, he would not have come alone. He must have brought other assassins under him.

Keeping my gaze fixed on the hidden King of Assassins, I expanded my qi-sense slightly to check on Tang Sowol.

The thick poison miasma created by her inner qi made sensing within difficult, but since it was Tang Sowol’s qi, I managed to pierce through it.

As she had boasted, she had already dealt with most of the Golden Ghost Wolf King’s wandering warriors. Those who remained were merely writhing, not yet dead.

However, as expected, assassins from the Valley of Assassins were within the poison fog, aiming for Tang Sowol and Twin-Ghost Killing Sword.

Since they had come prepared, they seemed to have high-quality poison resistance beads in their mouths, minimizing the poison’s effects.

For now, it looked manageable. Tang Sowol, who had absorbed many rare and powerful poisons even after the Poison Demon incident, was not someone who could be handled by mere poison resistance beads.

All the assassins could do was stall with their signature stealth and agility.

If they stalled long enough, the tide of battle might turn—so it was only natural.

After consecutive battles against the wandering warriors, neither Tang Sowol nor Twin-Ghost Killing Sword would have much inner qi or stamina left.

So I would dispose of the King of Assassins quickly and then assist them before it was too late.

The course was set. Now, I only needed to act.

“I am not patient enough to warmly welcome even an unwelcome reunion. I will finish this quickly.”

Without a word, the King of Assassins concealed himself further. I had not expected a response.

After all, I could see exactly where he hid.

I widened my eyes and kicked off the ground.

Kwareung!

With thunder shaking the earth, my body shot forward.

Seeing me once again accurately target him, perhaps he judged further stealth meaningless.

He cast aside the veil-like qi shrouding his body and began charging toward me.

Unlike my thunderous Thunderclap Step, his footwork made not even the sound of wind brushing past—yet the speed was similar. No, perhaps he was slightly faster.

Crouching low, he thrust his characteristic translucent dagger at my heart.

Though his movement lagged half a beat behind mine, my blade was far longer—more than enough to counter.

Kak.

Our qi clashed briefly. Then, like driving chopsticks into tofu, my blade slowly bored through his translucent aura and into the dagger beyond.

Before long, the dagger was cleanly severed.

My white-flaring sword flew toward his neck.

The King of Assassins spun in the same direction as the swing and retreated.

At most, I carved a wound across his cheek and nape.

In the process, part of his mask was cut away, revealing his lower face.

“Huh?”

Something was strange.

The jaw, grotesquely distorted as though clay had been mashed together, was one thing.

The real problem was the skin. Despite the distortion, it was pale and smooth—hardly that of a man.

I knew instinctively. What I had just seen was deeply connected to how the King of Assassins had returned to life.

But I had no leisure to ponder it.

Pabat!

As he spun back to create distance, two throwing daggers shot from his sleeve in an instant.

Tracing separate trajectories, they flew toward my heart and glabella.

Their level was excellent—but having seen and experienced far superior hidden weapon techniques from the Tang Clan, they were not enough to reach me.

Blocking them was easy. But that would mean relinquishing the initiative I had just secured and prolonging this fight.

So I decided to take a risk.

“Hoo.”

Exhaling deeply, I threw myself into the carefully woven trajectories of the daggers.

There was no protective qi. If they struck properly, they would pierce it anyway. Better to concentrate all that inner qi elsewhere.

Evade the dagger aimed at my heart, and the other would embed in my brow. Evade the one aimed at my brow, and the other would bury itself in my throat.

The best choice would be to create distance beyond both daggers’ reach, or knock one aside and dodge the other.

But I chose neither.

Swaeaek!

Twisting my upper body, I evaded the dagger aimed at my heart.

Tssk.

It grazed my chest, leaving heat and torn flesh, but nothing fatal.

The real danger was the other dagger, now much closer as I twisted.

Fixing my gaze upon the one flying toward my glabella, I set my stance.

My legs spread wide. My torso twisted to its limit. My arm drawn back like a drawn bowstring.

And the dagger—now within reach.

With translucent aura wrapped around it, dull and lightless, I extended my neck forward and opened my mouth.

The qi that should have formed protective qi gathered instead in my teeth.

And—

Kadeudeuk!

I bit down precisely, catching the flying dagger between my teeth.

Inside my mouth, the sound of our auras grinding against each other echoed. Naturally, the inside must have been shredded badly.

But that was all.

The dagger that should have pierced my brow was now held in my mouth.

The metallic taste of blood filled my mouth, and my lips curled upward.

This was the end.

My arm, drawn taut, shot forward as I thrust my sword toward the King of Assassins. Though the distance seemed insufficient—

It did not matter.

From the leg that stomped firmly arose a vortex, passing through waist and elbow, the qi refined further until, upon reaching the blade, it appeared calm.

But calm did not mean gone.

The thrust tore through space and struck his abdomen.

Kwaajik!

As though bitten by a massive beast or ripped apart by a vicious whirlpool, his abdomen twisted and exploded into a gaping hole, scattering flesh in all directions.

He collapsed into the pool of blood he had created. He trembled briefly—that was his final struggle.

Even in his second death, he uttered no scream. Shaking my head, I spat out the dagger from my mouth.

“…I will return this.”

I threw the blood-soaked dagger.

It embedded itself in the glabella of the motionless King of Assassins.

With the finishing blow delivered, only one matter remained.

I turned toward where Tang Sowol was.

Though it had thinned considerably… the purple poison fog still lingered.