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The Great War of Humans and Demons (8)

Assassination.

The act of killing someone in secret.

Even if one made a commotion, if there were no witnesses left alive, it would still be considered assassination.

Not only the Supreme Sword, but also the martial artists who received salaries from the corrupt Yongmu Sect and aided in the massacre of civilians would bear equally heavy guilt.

‘I’ll just kill the Supreme Sword and leave.’

However, Isaac’s choice was limited to the assassination of the Supreme Sword alone. He had annihilated millions of demon soldiers, but they were merely monstrous forces invading humanity.

It was different from an assassination request to kill humans of the same species with culture and intelligence similar to Earth.

If the Supreme Sword hadn’t been a monster wearing a human disguise, he might have refused Wang Mu-un’s request.

‘Assassinating an evil person won’t become a heart demon.’

Naturally, for a perfect assassination, he had to swiftly and silently take the Supreme Sword’s life and leave the scene.

And Isaac happened to possess a combat skill called ‘Shadow Stealth’ specialized for assassination.

Isaac didn’t want to take the lives of other humans, even if he had to get his hands dirty.

Swish.

On a dark night when even moonlight was obscured by clouds.

Isaac melted into the shadows and crossed over the wall of the Yongmu Sect.

The shadow slid as if gliding behind a pavilion backlit by lanterns, so stealthy that it could pass right under the nose of a guard on duty without being noticed.

It was the effect of simultaneously using the combat skills ‘Shadow Stealth’ and ‘King of Shadows’.

He spread his shadow domain, remaining completely invisible even in spaces where shadows didn’t naturally fall.

[Qingfeng Pavilion]

The stealthy shadow soon seeped into the grand hall.

The interior was even more lavish than the exterior. Exquisite traditional artworks were lined up on furniture made primarily of ebony, a premium wood.

Slither.

In the luxurious hall likely built on the bones and flesh of commoners, the writhing shadow crept into the shaded ceiling.

Passing through the quiet living room and long corridor, the shadow concealing Isaac silently entered a palace-like bedchamber where dark figures lay in ambush.

The dark figures were on high alert, their eyes gleaming sharply, ready to draw their weapons at any moment. They seemed to be guard warriors secretly protecting the bedchamber.

‘As delicately as possible.’

The shadow that had paused momentarily on the ceiling slid down the back of a pillar where no light shone and seeped into the lower part of the bed.

Woong!

Suddenly, a formidable energy wave flowed from the shadow, but just as the fierce energy was about to spread, it was artificially controlled.

The dark figures clinging to the ceiling didn’t seem to sense anything unusual.

“Hmm?”

At that moment, the seven-foot giant sleeping soundly in the bedchamber opened his eyes. He reflexively tried to raise his upper body, but before that, a black shadow shot out, piercing through his back and simultaneously striking the Shinhoe acupoint near his head and the Jungchung acupoint near his heart.

The shadow blade tore through the unconscious giant’s insides, completely severing his life.

Swish!

The seven-foot giant shuddered for a moment before going limp, his strength drained.

From the outside, it might have looked like he was briefly talking in his sleep.

The writhing shadow slipped across the floor and out of the hall, as stealthily as it had entered.

Thud.

Soon after, the dark figures, seemingly detecting a problem with the giant, came down and felt his pulse with their fingers, then became greatly alarmed.

A while later, the sect’s elders and senior members brought a doctor to examine him, but after carefully checking the pulse on his wrist and neck, the doctor soon shook his head.

It was the futile end of Supreme Sword Hwang Gyu, who had boasted he would rule the world.

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The next day.

Isaac flew south indifferently upon hearing the news that Yangpyeong Province was in an uproar over the death of the Supreme Sword.

His only goal was the Purple Spirit Root, and last night’s assassination was merely payment for information.

The rest was up to the people of Yangpyeong Province.

‘It probably won’t change much.’

Being human, Isaac did care to some extent. It would be a lie to say he didn’t have even a grain of desire to help the people who had suffered under the extremely wicked Supreme Sword.

However, this wasn’t Earth, but a foreign land called the Silver Sky Forest.

If the Yongmu Sect was destroyed, the Hwarang Sect would take over, and if the Hwarang Sect was destroyed, another rising power would seize control and oppress the common people.

To begin with, the concept of democracy didn’t exist in the Silver Sky Forest. The structure of a rigid class society based on status and talent wasn’t a problem Isaac could solve alone in a short time.

The best he could do was to pray that another incarnation of evil like the Supreme Sword, who had taken countless civilian lives, would not appear.

Whoosh!

Swish.

Below the Nexus Jet flying through the southern sky of Yangpyeong Province, a lush area of vegetation suddenly spread out.

Reducing speed and reverse-summoning the lever, Isaac descended to the ground riding his bow energy.

“Is this the Ghost Forest?”

At the entrance of the Ghost Forest, where coniferous trees stood densely packed, there was a village that seemed no larger than 1/100th of Yangpyeong Province.

‘The Milky Way Trading Company and the Jiyeong Pavilion said that the appearance of evil spirits in the Ghost Forest was related to legendary medicinal herbs.’

From ancient times, it was said that the miraculous medicinal herbs of the Silver Sky Forest protected themselves or absorbed nutrients in strange ways.

The Ghost Forest was the closest of the three locations suspected to be the habitat of the Purple Spirit Root to Yangpyeong Province.

Isaac decided to hire a guide to help him search throughout the Ghost Forest, hoping to find the Purple Spirit Root on his first attempt.

But for some reason, the villagers were gathered in the square, holding weapons.

Murmur, murmur.

‘What’s going on?’

Upon inquiry, it turned out that this village of Mokpung-ri specialized in timber distribution and hunting. The forest was famous for the appearance of evil spirits, so the Yongmu Gate and Hwarang Gate, which ruled the nearby large city of Yangpyeong Province, had been taking turns sending armed forces.

Thanks to this, Mokpung-ri had been trading high-quality timber and game with the merchants of Yangpyeong Province. However, for unknown reasons, armed forces had not been dispatched for half a year, leaving the people of Mokpung-ri anxiously waiting for the warriors to come.

But half a year was too long a time. The starving people of Mokpung-ri had no choice but to enter the forest to cut trees and resume hunting activities. Unfortunately, the breadwinners responsible for their livelihoods began to disappear frequently.

“They say the rich get richer. We begged and begged for them to send warriors, but look at this! It’s been over 3 months without any news. How can we just sit still?”

The village chief personally went to Yangpyeong Province and knelt before the heads of the foreign affairs departments of the Yongmu Gate and Hwarang Gate, pleading for the dispatch of armed forces. But there had been no word for 3 months since then.

So, with no other choice, the villagers had gathered weapons and were about to search for the missing people deep in the forest.

This was the gist of the lengthy speech given by the man who called himself the village chief, after abruptly summoning Isaac, who clearly looked like a warrior, to the village hall.

“Mister… Please help us… Waaah!”

As a bonus, they even brought a young girl to appeal to his emotions. It was a strategic plan to ask for help for their village free of charge.

However, Isaac wasn’t interested in volunteer work. Whether rich or homeless, what mattered was attitude.

He didn’t particularly like those who demanded help by claiming they were pitiful.

“What’s the commission fee?”

“Oh my! Warrior, sir, this child and I are so hungry our stomachs are sticking to our backs. What could we possibly have to offer?”

“Then this conversation ends here.”

“W-wait, wait a moment! Please wait! Reputation. Yes, reputation! Although we don’t have much, we’ve been trading with the large merchant groups of Yangpyeong Province for a long time. If you help us, we’ll spread word of your great deeds throughout Yangpyeong Province!”

“I’ll be going now.”

Isaac left the hall without looking back. He heard mutterings behind him like ‘Such a stickler for a nobody…’, which his highly developed sixth sense picked up, but he decided to let it slide.

After all, the village chief had no idea he was dealing with a supreme master with extremely developed senses.

“I’m looking for a guide. I’ll pay one silver tael per day.”

Isaac approached the villagers gathered in the square and spoke. At this, everyone raised their hands, volunteering to be guides. One silver tael was equivalent to three months of their salary.

The lofty resolve of the Mokpung-ri vigilante group setting out to find their missing families paled in comparison to the ridiculous daily wage of one silver tael.

“I’ll take you.”

“Hurrah!”

Isaac pointed to a young man with a sturdy build and kind face among them. The young man was already prepared to search the forest, so Isaac immediately took him and entered the edge of the forest.

“Mister!”

Just as they were about to enter the dense forest. The little girl who had been crying in the village hall earlier came running, wobbling.

The child sniffled and opened both hands. There were five dried jujubes.

“Here! The commission fee! Huff huff.”

“…Keep it. You eat it.”

“No! Please save my dad. Sniff. Uuu.”

“Alright, you eat it then.”

“Really?! You’ll save my dad?!”

Isaac nodded, asked for the names of the child and her father, and disappeared into the forest.

In any case, while searching for the Purple Spirit Root, he was bound to encounter evil spirits, and naturally, he would be able to find traces of the missing people.Isaac searched various parts of the forest, guided by the young man.

The youth led him to areas where evil spirits were said to appear, and they waited in each area from 10 PM to 2 AM the next morning, but the rumored evil spirits did not show up.

“Are you sure you’re guiding me correctly?”

“O-of course! How could I possibly provide false information to you, sir?”

This guy seems to be trying to make more money.

Isaac vowed never to be fooled by seemingly innocent appearances again.

Mokpung-ri was a starving village. And even for those not struggling with poverty, one silver tael was an amount that would make any commoner’s eyes light up.

Enough to make even an innocent country youth use his wits.

“Tomorrow, you must guide me to where the evil spirits appear without fail. If you guide me properly, I’ll give you an additional five silver taels.”

“Gasp. Leave it to me!”

This bastard really was stalling for time.

Should this be called despicable or pitiful? It was ambiguous to judge in many ways.

“H-hey, there’s someone here!”

Late afternoon the next day.

The young man did lead Isaac to a unique location. It was a deep and vast valley formed beyond a steep hill path.

“Oh my! Why is Mr. Jang coming out from there?”

“Pungneung-ah?! Whew, I’ve come back from the brink of death. I guess it wasn’t my fate to die yet.”

A middle-aged man who had been leaning against a tree trunk limped over.

Shockingly, the middle-aged man named Jang Oh-seok was a survivor who had been captured by evil spirits and dramatically escaped. He brought news that dozens of villagers were being held captive in a cave across the valley.

Moreover, the survivors were being taken away somewhere by masked figures about once a week.

The middle-aged man was boasting about his narrow escape from the cave when he belatedly realized that Isaac was an outsider.

“And who might you be?”

“I’m a warrior who came to exterminate the evil spirits.”

“Oh my! It seems they’ve finally sent someone from Yangpyeong Province. But… Did you come alone?”

“One is enough. Lead the way. You need to guide me to the evil spirits’ lair.”

“Huh? But I hurt my leg… Haha. Well, since a master has come, I’ll try my best to walk, even if it’s difficult.”

Isaac and the young guide took the lead, while the injured middle-aged man occasionally gave directions from behind to ensure they were going the right way.

Zing.

For a moment, the eyes of the middle-aged man following behind turned dark red. It was so brief that when Isaac suddenly looked back, all he could see was the man’s awkward smile.

Screech.

An ominous bird cry was heard from somewhere in the valley.

As night deepened, the time was approaching 11 PM.