Chapter 23: Fire and Steel

The best way to catch a fox is to set fire to its den. If you block off the burrows one by one, even the most cunning fox, with all its escape tunnels, will be forced to come out.

So, this gambling Fox Den had to be burned as well.

Crunch.

From atop the roof, I placed my hand on the shingles. It’s always easier if there’s a medium.

Like the Red Rose, this place was magically reinforced. Among those enchantments, a “Protect From Fire” spell had been cast to prevent it from burning.

‘They must’ve put that on recently.’

They saw me start a fire, so they prepared for it. They’re definitely learning. But a half-baked protection is no better than nothing.

Whoosh—

I drew the internal energy from my danjeon and focused it onto the roof. That alone was enough. Heat surged, and flames quickly latched on.

Sammaejinhwa.

It’s a basic technique—gathering and intensifying qi to ignite a fire. With about half a master’s level, you can easily light a piece of wood.

“As expected.”

10000-

The magical wards around the gambling den stirred to block the spreading flames. If I left it at that, the fire I’d set would be extinguished.

I had no intention of using up all my internal energy here. Besides, I had something else—magic.

“Once the fire is set, making it spread is easy. With the magic of fire, burn everything—Fire!”

Class 1 Magic—Fire.

Pouring my thick mana from my magic circle into it, a tiny spark turned massive.

Enough to break through even the magical protections covering the den!

Fwoosh—

Suddenly, fire spread like an inferno, devouring the gambling den.

Wham.

Before the sparks could reach me, I leaped off the den.

“F-fire! Fire!”

“Ugh! Get some water, quick!”

“Kekeke. Hey, grab the money! Let’s bolt!”

“You bastards!”

I didn’t need to see it. The moment the fire spread, the inside of the gambling den became utter chaos.

“This is just the beginning. That leaves four hideouts, right? It’d be nice if I ran into them before then…”

That’s right. There wasn’t just one fox.

Outside the den, I spotted someone sneaking away cautiously, glancing all around with sharp, nimble movements.

‘That’s him.’

I figured I should burn at least half the Fox Den. But it looked like, even if the boss Max wasn’t here, at least one small fry fox was.

‘One of the twelve—no, eleven—executives, perhaps. Let’s follow him.’

Judging by his movement, he wasn’t just some street punk.

I quietly trailed after him.

He didn’t seem to suspect he was being followed. In the end, he headed straight to their lair, just as I’d hoped.

‘Bingo!’

It was a slightly shabby bar. But inside, those guys went in. Using my ki sense, I confirmed there was a passage leading underground.

‘Having more internal energy really is convenient.’

I do have detection magic, but magic can be detected in return. Unless my magic is vastly superior, it’s better not to use it if the opponent is about the same level as me.

‘Let’s go.’

Heavenly Qi Movement. Magic Jump.

I combined the two, moving like lightning. The speed was close to that of sound. With each leap, I could fly dozens of meters—no wonder.

Moving like the wind, I drew my sword.

Slash!

Socheonseong Sword Art unfolded. The door was chopped to pieces in an instant, and I charged inside.

Inside, there were a bartender and disguised members of the organization, their faces filled with shock. But before they could react, I moved first.

Screech! Crash—

With my sword, I instantly slashed through the surrounding tables and kicked them. The wooden shards, imbued with my internal energy, scattered in all directions, striking down the goons.

“Argh!”

Screams and the sound of breaking bones rang out. The men inside were incapacitated at once. That was easy.

But. There could be traps below. The advantage of surprise ends here.

“Armor. Armor. Armor. Multiple.”

Vwoom.

Three transparent barriers formed around my body. It was a shield, thick with mana.

Layering Armor like this has long been one of my specialties. It’s only Class 1 magic, but stacking it like this turns it into more than just a shield.

‘It doesn’t hinder my movements, either.’

It’s quite handy. The more mana, the tougher it becomes. At my current level, it’s almost like wearing full plate armor.

Arrows or throwing weapons are no threat.

With that, I headed inside.

Thunk. As soon as I heard a sound, an arrow flew at me. I could’ve blocked it, but I let it hit.

Ting, ting.

The arrow bounced harmlessly off my Armor magic. Weak arrow.

Continuing down, I found a sizable underground space. There, dozens of members of the Black Serpent organization waited.

‘Bingo.’

I definitely came to the right place. Also, who gave them permission to build a basement like this under my front yard?

“Are you the bastard who started the fire?”

Big build. Bulging arms. Greatsword.

Just as described in the information I’d heard, the man stepped forward and questioned me. That must be Max. If I take care of the boss first, the rest will be easy to handle.

“That’s right.”

“You bastard. What organization are you from? You know we’re a Dark Moon affiliate, right?”

Dark Moon? Ah. I’d heard about them. That assassin guy claimed he was sent from Dark Moon, the top organization in the kingdom, didn’t he?

Anyway. Even the criminal organizations in this area are fantastic.

Come to think of it, there were people like that back in Kangho, too. Plenty of them. One of the Ten Masters of the World was even a King of Killers.

A murder-for-hire syndicate, and a member of the Ten Masters of the World.

That tells you how powerful they were.

There might be people like that in this world, too.

“Of course I know. And I attacked you knowing that.”

Still, this world is different from Kangho. A Count is pretty much the king of a region. The power of my house isn’t about to be shaken by some petty crime syndicate.

Besides.

I’m doing this because I don’t like scum like them operating within my own territory.

The cleaning must be thorough. Cleanly done.

“You little…”

“Shut up.”

Whish. I swung my sword and said,

“In any case, most of you are going to die here.”

I’ll kill the executives, and leave the rest to be sold off as slaves.

Fwoosh!

I dashed in like lightning. Heavenly Qi Movement. Then, a jump. Just mixing those two techniques gave me immense speed.

Clang!

Even with the sudden, blisteringly fast attack, Max barely managed to raise his greatsword to block. Of course, he didn’t block properly, so he staggered from the shock.

His face turned pale with surprise, sweat beading on his forehead.

He’s decent, but that’s all.

Creak!

“Ugh!”

My sword slithered along his greatsword, moving like a snake—dancing.

While he floundered in shock, sword energy streamed from my blade, extending its reach.

Slash!

“Gaaah!”

His wrist was sliced clean off.

‘It worked.’

It’s a feat achievable with about half a master’s level of internal energy. If you pour massive qi into the Socheonseong Sword Art’s secret techniques, you can release sword energy.

‘Not perfect, though.’

It doesn’t have to be perfect sword energy. As long as it can cut down enemies, that’s enough.

“Oh, it’s aura!”

“An Expert!”

“Damn! Don’t run! Gather up! Kill him!”

To their eyes, it all looked the same.

‘They have no eyes to distinguish true prowess.’

All around, the men howled. I’ll give them credit for not running and actually charging in. But—

“The ones who’ll die are you.”

Swoosh—

I’d come fully prepared. While Max, now missing a hand, fell back, I surged forward.

Three in front of me. Two were strong. One was a small fry.

Ssst.

“Keugh.”

I thrust forward, driving my sword into the weakest one’s abdomen.

‘Normally, most people would pull their sword out here.’

If you haven’t mastered martial arts, or you lack strength, that’s what you’d do. But I left the blade in his belly and went for the next attack. Shingirae Sword.

Crunch.

“Aaaagh!”

Pouring qi in, I swung the sword horizontally, still lodged in the enemy’s belly.

Squelch.

One guy rushing me was startled by the sword protruding from his comrade, then his own side was ripped open.

“Argh!”

Blood spattered.

One wrist. Two rendered incapable of fighting. In an instant, the numbers dropped.

Some of those who had charged so bravely before now shrank back. The momentum had completely shifted.

Good. The initiative was now mine.

No matter the world, the most important thing in battle is momentum.

Wham.

Drawing my sword, I used a footwork technique based on mystical movement, darting away. Jumping was a given.

“Huh!”

With incredible speed, I vanished from the enemy’s sight for a moment.

‘That’s how it must have looked.’

Now’s my chance!

Thwack—

Another thrust, this time at their backs!

“Keugh.”

Another one down.

“R-run for it!”

As the fight reached its middle stages, more began to try fleeing.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

But the intruder showed no mercy.

Boom!

With a swing of his sword, the escape route—the only lifeline—collapsed.

The secret passage, built for emergencies, was now useless. The overly cautious Max had rigged it so it could only be opened by manipulating several mechanisms.

Now, there was neither time nor opportunity to operate them.

“Aaagh!”

“Urgh…”

Even Max’s desperate swordsmanship was useless.

He cut down the members with overwhelming skill. Even those who had learned assassin arts like Keldin, those who tried to—

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Teeth chattered.

Vice-boss Reton felt a childhood terror awaken within him for the first time in ages. A fear he had forgotten now seemed to engulf him.

Before he was caught by the organization and tested for magical talent, his life was worse than that of a slave.

If he failed to follow the training imposed by the organization, it was death.

Later, the instructor realized his talent for magic. It was a stroke of luck. From then on, his situation was slightly better than a slave.

If he failed his missions, he’d still die, but at least he was treated better. All he had to do was master magic. The more he used his talent to become stronger, the better he was treated. He trained as if his life depended on it, and by a young age had reached Class 3.

He joined under Max, and it wasn’t bad. No, it was good. Others feared the organization, but for the first time, he felt at peace there. He didn’t have to worry about dying tomorrow.

But now, death—once thought distant—was coming for him again. It was dragging him closer.

Telling him to just die.

Crunch! Crack! Crunch!

“Gaaah!”

One by one, they fell. Even the mighty Max was completely dead. The enemy was a grim reaper. A grim reaper who had come to kill him.

000″

The battle was nearing its end.

Until that moment, Reton hadn’t managed to cast a single spell. Paralyzed by fear.

“

“What’s this? Is this guy an idiot?”

The reaper was approaching.