Book 6 Chapter 15

Jinryeong's Mistake

"See!

Failure was a sure thing with that kind of action! …Huh? What the!"

However, failure wasn't

just on their side, it seemed.

There were mistakes on our side as well.

This was completely unexpected.

The attackers who had burst through the surface all fell like autumn leaves, one after another, but only one was charging onto the ship with a minor injury. He seemed to be the leader of this stealth attack group, as his movements showed a clear difference in skill compared to the others. Jinryeong stood blankly where he landed, sword in hand.

"Ah!"

"Dangerous!"

Namgung Sang shouted urgently. But it was already too late to move. Their strong trust in each other had ironically become an obstacle this time. Jinryeong, like them, had believed he would handle the stealth attacker with ease. But their expectations had been betrayed…

"Damn it! I told him to strike decisively!"

Bilyeon clicked his tongue. If Jinryeong hadn't hesitated due to his 고민 (gomin - worries\/deliberation) about killing, that stealth attacker would never have reached the ship.

If I made a mistake, I must correct it myself…

"Puh-whack!"

Jinryeong's vision turned red.

His sword had sliced through the opponent's ribs and reached his heart. Blood sprayed out like a fountain.

Blood fragments! Blood curtain!

Even as a warrior, it was a great shock to Jinryeong, a woman with a delicate sensibility. The feeling of the opponent's heart chillingly dying was clearly transmitted through the sword. But that wasn't the end.

The moment a fierce light flashed in the attacker's eyes, a sharp dagger, already drawn, flew towards her neck. It was an unexpected attack from someone they had already deemed dead, his heart split in two.

Even with her exceptional martial arts skills, there was no way to defend herself this time.

'Too late!'

In this desperate moment, shorter than an instant, Nayelin felt a gust of wind sweep past her. Amidst her jet-black hair scattering in the strong breeze, she clearly saw it. A man was blocking the black-clothed masked man's dagger and crushing his head.

'Gale? Lightning? Or a flash that cuts through an instant?'

Bilyeon's astonishing single strike, shown in an instant, was a miraculous and fantastical movement like a mirage.

"It's 'Pain Severing'!"

Seeing the black-clothed man's body sprawled ungracefully on the deck with his skull crushed, Jang Hong muttered. The sight of blood mixed with white brain matter splattering everywhere was enough to make one frown.

"N-no way, 'Pain Severing'?"

Hyoryong, startled by Jang Hong's words, asked back with a look of shock. Jang Hong, nodding as if to confirm, his face severely stiffened.

"What is going on? Hah! This… this corpse… What kind of monstrous event is this?"

At that moment, Ji Guju Su Janghae, who had rushed out after hearing the report from his subordinates, said with wide, astonished eyes. Jang Hong explained the whole situation in detail. As his explanation continued, Su Janghae's face grew even more rigid.

"T-then these people!"

Su Janghae exclaimed in horror, spitting out a gasp of shock. Jang Hong nodded to confirm.

"To put it bluntly, these are not mere pirates!"

Jang Hong declared.

"What do you mean by that?"

Cheong Heun asked with a bewildered expression. Having only focused on his training at Musan and Cheonmu Academy, he, with his limited experience in the martial world, couldn't readily understand Jang Hong's words.

"'Pain Severing,' also known as 'Jae-tong Beop' (Pain Cutting Method), is a unique technique mastered only by assassins who have undergone specialized killing training. In other words, it is a secret technique for delivering the final blow, a suicidal attack (Donggwi Eojin: dying together)."

Jang Hong's words were true.

The reason they couldn't counterattack when stabbed was that their bodies entered a state of momentary paralysis due to shock. When the body receives too much shock, the nerves become overloaded, making it impossible to move other nerves. This paralysis makes counterattacks impossible.

That's why the 'Jae-tong Beop' was developed! It is a technique that allows for a counterattack without falling into a state of momentary paralysis caused by extreme pain and shock. It's a secret technique of sacrificing flesh to shave bone, that is 'Pain Severing.' It is often used as a suicidal attack.

This is a technique to momentarily paralyze the nerves and deliver a final counterattack precisely at the moment the opponent's sword is piercing and digging into one's body. If you're lucky and miss a vital spot, you live; if you hit a vital spot, you die.

Of course, immense pain will immediately overwhelm the body, but since the opponent is already dead, you can suffer in peace. Or, at the very least, you can die together. That's why it's also classified as a suicidal attack.

It was a technique frequently learned by assassins performing special missions or intelligence agents. It was not a technique that a mere pirate would learn.

"So you're saying they're not pirates!"

Cheong Heun, standing next to Mo Yong Hwi, said.

"That's right. They have their own established code of conduct, so they wouldn't engage in such reckless acts."

Jang Hong nodded as if in understanding.

"Who harbors what grudge to target us?"

"There are always those who want to turn a budding sprout into firewood before it grows into a useful talent, and use it as kindling. There are always those who dislike promising buds, especially at this time when the Hua Mountain Treaty Branch's Shinmu Grand Tournament, held once every ten years, is approaching."

"Are you saying…?"

Cheong Heun stared at Jang Hong with a look of shock.

"The organizations that possess the ability to secretly mobilize such a force are very limited. Suspicion cannot be avoided. But don't say any more. It's not at the stage of confirmation yet. In this ambiguous state of tension, such problematic remarks cannot be carelessly made!"

'Can this kind of insight truly belong to someone who has just entered this grade?'

Cheong Heun unconsciously nodded at Jang Hong's thoughtful words. Seeing Jang Hong's astonishing insight and perception, whom he had barely paid attention to, Cheong Heun saw him anew.