"It's the decay site! Lord of Assassins! Smoke is rising from the third decay site."

"What?!"

At the subordinate's report, Jin Gumyeong rushed out with a startled expression.

It was black smoke, so thick that the pungent smell could be felt even from a distance.

"Th-this!"

What on earth was going on?

Smoke from the decay site? Did a fire break out?

Above all, the scale of the smoke was too large.

This was not good.

The corpse poison that was being produced inside was a problem, but right now, countless ginseng diggers and hunters were active in the Qilian Mountains.

What if they approached after seeing the smoke?

"Damn it, what on earth were the men who were guarding it doing!"

"We can't get in touch with them."

His heart became so anxious that he was about to lose his temper.

If the smoke was so clearly visible even from a distance, it meant that the assassins who were guarding that place had not been able to deal with it in time.

There was no way they had left their post. Then something bad must have happened to them.

Who on earth?

But there was no time to hesitate while pondering.

He had to suppress the fire first.

He had to erase the traces of the decay site before someone approached.

"Where is Muak?"

"I will call him."

"No. You relay the message now! Dispatch one Special Grade and ten assistant assassins to the third decay site. The fire… no, take one thunderbolt bomb and bury the decay site itself."

"I will relay the message. But who for the Special Grade?"

"You foolish man! Don't you know we're racing against time! Isn't it enough to send whoever you see first!"

"Yes!"

As the messenger hastily bowed his head and ran at the shouted words and murderous gaze, Jin Gumyeong's face contorted.

"Such a foolish man…"

A sigh escaped him.

That was the current situation of the Jingagu.

Now that he had poured most of those who could be called elites into the Tang Family, the only one left was Muak.

Not only that, but while strengthening the outer security, not only his five guards but also all the useful assassins were deployed outside.

The formation had become strong and the defense had become strong, but there was no one to assist him.

Only that foolish messenger was left.

But it wouldn't be long.

The deadline for the order given to the High Heavenly Ghosts who had gone to Sichuan was approaching, so a message would come.

Whether it was a failure or a success.

Jin Gumyeong, who could not shake off his troubled mind even while trying to comfort himself, looked at the smoke rising in the distance.

Who on earth?

The pondering he had stopped before continued.

The location of the decay site was something that no one but an insider could know.

Also, weren't there two assassins guarding outside, and three deployed inside?

Hunters or ginseng diggers would never be able to approach.

Even if they approached out of curiosity, they would be dealt with by the assassins guarding the outside.

Then was it really a fire that had occurred due to the mistake of the assassins who were guarding inside?

Just as he was making all possible inferences, a change occurred in the formation.

The messenger had delivered the order.

The commotion would soon…

"Huh?"

The corners of Jin Gumyeong's eyes, who was about to return to his residence with a sigh, twitched.

What was that?

The flow of the fog was strange. Even if the formation had been opened for a moment, there should have been no change in the concentration.

"It's getting thinner?"

Jin Gumyeong's face hardened.

Could it be that those who had received the order and were leaving the formation had made some mistake?

There was no way.

This was someone who had approached inside the formation.

Could it be the ginseng diggers and hunters?

It was at that moment.

Kwaaaang! Wujijik!

With a strong explosion of energy, a part of the fog that had been staying at the bottom of the mountain scattered, and a huge tree tilted to the side.

Starting from that, a noisy sound was heard in his ears.

Although it was faint because it was far away…

"Keuaak!"

It was a scream.

A scream…

"…!"

Jin Gumyeong's eyes widened.

And immediately, a messenger ran over.

"Lord of Assassins! It's an attack! Unidentified men have broken the formation and attacked! The ones who were going to the decay site were ambushed and lost their lives."

"Wh-what?"

His mind went blank.

An attack?

But before the question could fade, an answer came to mind.

The attack that had started as if waiting for the formation to open, and the attacker had accurately found and broken the formation's axis.

"Th-they were aiming for it?"

The flustered Jin Gumyeong muttered with wide-open eyes and then whipped his head towards the third decay site, where smoke was rising in the distance.

Could it be?

That smoke too?

Was it a sign that the enemies had attacked?

Anxiety welled up in the sudden situation where the beginning, development, turn, and conclusion could not be drawn.

Who?

When on earth?

They knew they were located on Chukhyeon Peak?

And how did they know about the decay site?

Who on earth were they?

There was no sign at all…

"Don't tell me!?"

Jin Gumyeong's eyes went wide.

The ginseng diggers and hunters, and the rumor.

"Damn it!"

All sorts of thoughts came to mind, but now was not the time to continue pondering.

It was a planned attack. It was clear that someone had orchestrated the situation so far to attack the Jingagu.

And what did they want?

"Damn it! Relay the order! We must close the formation quickly. We must not allow the enemies to invade!"

"Yes!"

He gave the order urgently, and the messenger moved.

Boom! Kaboom!

But the explosions did not stop.

The same direction.

The formation was not closing.

Seeing the spreading shockwave and the scattering fog, the enemies' attack was not to be taken lightly.

When the assassins' defense was as strong as a tightly clenched jaw, it would never be breached, but it was different once an opening was created.

If they continuously poured attacks into that opening, the gap would soon widen.

"Damn it…"

Jin Gumyeong knew what he had to do.

He had to erase the records.

Because nothing they had done so far should be known to the Central Plains.

Neither the Samyang, nor the Demonic Cult.

Simultaneously with his judgment, Jin Gumyeong, who threw his body towards the library where all the records of the Jingagu were stored, shouted urgently to the messenger.

"Muak! Where is Muak? Messenger, find him and relay the message! We must close the gap quickly! Hurry!"

* * *

To the west of Chukhyeon Peak.

Boom! Kaboom!

At the sound that vibrated the mountain foothills, the corners of Cheonyeong's mouth, who was hiding his body in the shade, rose.

The fog had become thinner than before, and the wall on the summit of Chukhyeon Peak, which had been invisible, could be seen.

They were all doing well.

If the attack intensified and the Mist Formation could no longer play its role, the assassins hidden inside would naturally reveal themselves. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

But Cheonyeong stayed in the damp shade and waited and waited.

Just because the fog had lifted did not mean the defensive line had weakened. The view would become clear, but the men who were guarding would still be there.

If he approached right away, he would be caught in a dense net and would likely be surrounded by the guarding assassins.

For now, they must not know of his approach.

He waited and waited.

And after a long time had passed.

Piiiiing!

A sharp sound was heard.

Cheonyeong, who had been hiding in the shade, pricked up his ears, his eyes sparkling as he observed the fog.

Shiiiiing.

The fog flowed fiercely.

Without any wind.

"Jin Gumyeong, you were in a hurry."

Well, he must have been flustered.

Because it must have been too sudden.

It was his small mistake.

But this mistake would change everything.

Because of him.

As the fiercely flowing fog gradually stabilized, Cheonyeong expanded his energy sense in all directions.

At the spread of his energy, he could feel everything around him. And the presences of those who were hiding began to be revealed one by one.

It was hard to find them when they were hidden, but as a part of the formation had been withdrawn and the assassins had been redeployed, their energy had been revealed for a brief moment.

A smile deepened on Cheonyeong's lips.

The assassins' formation was still there. But the dense net had a hole and had become sparse.

He had to hurry.

More than half of the assassins had left the formation, and if they tried to block the attack of his group, a crisis would soon come.

Before that, he had to go inside and stir up the interior.

If the inside was broken, the formation would naturally collapse.

Shik!

Cheonyeong's figure stepped on a branch and dug into the fog.

The lightness skill he had learned when he was an assassin.

The Shadowless Step, which was said to leave no footprints and only a gentle breeze in the place it passed, was displayed to its extreme.

Cheonyeong, who had passed through the outer fog in an instant, jumped over the wall that had peeked out.

"Huh?"

"Oh?"

The moment the assassins who were guarding near the wall felt a sense of unease from the strong wind.

Pyut!

Following his spread hands, two streaks of white flashes were shot.

Thwack!

The flashes, so fast that not even blood could seep out, pierced the assassins' foreheads and returned to Cheonyeong's hand.

Cheonyeong, who had finally crossed the wall and arrived inside the Jingagu, drew out all his Samyang True Energy.

He had broken through the defense.

"Huh?"

The assassins, who were moving busily to prepare for the invading enemy, found Cheonyeong and made a bewildered face.

Cheonyeong, who grinned, released his internal energy all at once and stomped his foot with all his might.

Kuuuuung!

The ground cracked like a spiderweb centered on the deeply embedded footprint and then exploded violently.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

Ten feet of ground soared up, and the spreading shockwave became a fierce wind and spread in all directions.

The earth's axis shook, and the nearby pavilions swayed as if they would collapse.

The flustered assassins stopped their steps and looked at the thick dust that had risen.

It was strange.

What on earth was going on?

Just as they were looking with that question, the dust was suddenly sucked into one point as if a vacuum had been created.

Whoosh.

The moment they tilted their heads, Cheonyeong's figure was faintly revealed.

He smiled coldly with his hands gathered as if overlapping.

And he spread his hands as if spewing out the internal energy that had been condensed in his hands all at once.

Mountain Burst, Empty Sky Roar!

Sweeeeeeek!

With a fierce sound, flashes spread in all directions.

Thwack!

It pierced through everything, whether it was a building or a person.

"Keuaak!"

In an instant, the assassins who were around collapsed with holes all over their bodies.

Blood soaked all directions.

"I-it's the enemy!"

The assassins who had luckily survived screamed in terror, and attacks began from all over.

But an attack without a formation was meaningless to Cheonyeong.

And when it came to the martial arts of assassins, he was much better than them.

Every time his hand brushed past his inner garment and was swung, assassins pierced by flying needles collapsed, and they fell like autumn leaves at his approaching hands and feet.

Kwa-deuk!

The foot he stomped on crushed bone, and the fist he threw out burst a head.

In the place that had become a mess in an instant, only Cheonyeong stood unharmed, steadily reducing the number of assassins.

There was no mercy.

He was like a tiger that had jumped into a rabbit's den, and like a slaughtering demon who was crazy to kill even one more.

At his attacks, which showed no hesitation or emotion, the terrified assassins unknowingly stepped back, so there was no way it could be a fight.

It was just a one-sided massacre.

Because he knew that the survivors would surely become enemies and threaten him and his group.

Also, because he knew that the more he rampaged and created chaos, the less burden his group would have.

Just as his whole body was getting wet with the blood he was covered in.

Sweeeeeeek!

A chilling sound flew in, aiming for Cheonyeong's back.

Taaang!

Cheonyeong, who had struck it away, frowned and looked at the person who had attacked him.

He had a very angry face.

And Cheonyeong recognized his identity at once.

"…Muak."

As expected, you had to show up at this point.

(End of Chapter)