Chapter 76: Chapter 70: Assasination
Bum looked at Woong and said in a deadpan tone, "You done?"
Woong said, "I am, but I wonder what Ryeong would do when he hears of this."
Bum said, "But why would he kno... You wouldn’t?!"
Woong shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He said, "Who knows?"
Bum sighed and looked at Woo. He said, "Tell me."
Woo wiped tears from her eyes and finally stopped laughing. She said, "Even after battling with us continuously for these two weeks, Ryeong hasn’t been able to adapt to Sasin. So right now, he isn’t able to utilize his full strength. So, even though it looks as if he is just playing around, he isn’t."
She was right. Wielding Sasin still felt a little awkward to Zeke. But it wasn’t something that a few more battles like this couldn’t fix. Woo had been mostly correct except for one thing. Technically, he was playing around with the leader. He could have finished this battle much sooner, but he wanted to make full use of it. His opponent, although weaker in strength, was a strong swordsman.
And since technically, he was also a swordsman, the battle would benefit him greatly. While the battle was going on, the leader felt that something was off. As soon as he realized this, he could instinctively tell that Zeke was holding back. He jumped back, creating some distance between them, and said, "Am I a joke to you?"
Zeke was about to rush towards him but paused when he heard these words. He thought, ’Looks like he finally realized that I’m not using my full strength.’
Zeke replied, "You’re not. This battle would have ended much sooner if you were."
The leader was surprised by Zeke’s words but felt as if he was taunting him. He said, "Use your full strength. Otherwise, this battle is meaningless and an insult to not just me, but also all of the people present here."
Zeke paused. It seemed that the leader was smart. If he had said that it was an insult to just him, then it would have been fine. But because he had included the audience, which the members of Divine Hell were a part of, and the Vice Head as well, he effectively forced Zeke to stop holding back. Zeke said, "Don’t blame me later, you asked for it."
Before the leader could even comprehend what Zeke meant by that, Zeke had punched his nose. Then he continued to punch him until his face was completely destroyed. The leader faced this barrage of attacks, unable to react until eventually, he passed out. There was pin-drop silence in the colosseum except for Zeke’s heavy breathing.
The silence was broken when someone in the audience started cheering, "Little Demon King!"
Soon, the whole crowd was cheering, "LITTLE DEMON KING! LITTLE DEMON KING! LITTLE DEMON KING!"
The Vice Head smiled. He said, "All the squad members of the Demon Sword Squad are unable to continue this match. The Little Demons are the winners. Ryeong, you now have the opportunity to create your own Lower Squad. Have you chosen a name for your squad?"
Zeke took a deep breath. He said, "I have."
He looked at the trio and they came and stood behind him. He said, "We are... the Demon Lotus Squad."
The crowd started chanting their squad name. It had been a long time since they had witnessed such a scene. Medics soon arrived and carried the injured on stretchers. Zeke and the trio left as well. When they had reached their rooms, Zeke said, "I’m giving you three days. Do whatever you want, I don’t care. But we will leave for our first mission after that."
The trio nodded and entered their rooms. Three days later, the Demon Lotus squad was ready for their first mission. Zeke had already chosen the mission and briefed them on the details. A group of mountain bandits affiliated with the Cult hadn’t been paying taxes. Their mission was to eliminate them so that no one else had similar ideas.
Besides, Zeke also had another goal in mind. Two actually. First was to awaken Sasin. Second was to take another step forward in OFSO. A major step.
After checking that they had everything that they needed, they left the Cult’s headquarters. While they were leaving, in the Treasury, the old man was drinking.
He suddenly said, "You’re really not sending someone after them for surveillance?"
After a few minutes he said, "In the end it’s your choice but that Ryeong, he is cunning. And proud. If he gets even a whiff of your schemes, he will retaliate."
Then he chuckled and said, "That he is. Just be careful."
He took a swig and said, "He is still the same as he was all those years ago."
A week passed and the Demon Lotus squad had reached their destination. They took shelter in the village at the base of the mountain. But they had noticed that something was off about it. The villagers’ eyes looked... empty. As if they had lost everything.
Inside their hut, Zeke said, "What have you observed until now?"
Woong said, "It seems that the mountain bandits have been harassing the villagers."
Woo nodded and said, "Not only that, the village seems empty. There are more houses than the number of families, something that shouldn’t be possible unless the bandits have been killing villagers regularly as a form of deterrence."
Bum said, "Also, there are nearly no children in the village. This could only mean one of two things: either they were kidnapped by the bandits and then sold off as slaves, or that we are dealing with a hostage situation."
The trio looked at Zeke to see if they had missed anything but to their relief, Zeke nodded with approval evident on his face.
He said, "At least you have learned to be aware of your surroundings. This is a possible hostage situation. We need to eliminate the bandits quietly and reunite these kids with their families."
Woo asked, "So... an assassination?"
Zeke nodded and said, "We must ensure the safety of all of these kids. At the same time, we must become their saviors."
Zeke saw that the trio was looking at him weirdly. And rightfully so. They were part of the Demonic Faction, not to mention, they had witnessed his ruthlessness firsthand. He was anything but benevolent. So him talking about them appearing as saviors was... strange to say the least. Honestly, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that this mission would become ten times easier if they simply ignored the kids.
After all, their mission was to eliminate the bandits and show the Cult’s prestige. There was no mention of the village at all. There were hundreds, if not thousands of villages just like this in the Cult’s territory.
Zeke looked at them and said, "It’s all a part of my plan. You just need to follow my orders. If you do, this mission will be a literal piece of cake. So, here’s the plan..."
The trio listened carefully, raising any questions they had. They also made some contingency plans because it never hurt to be prepared. Then they got ready. The next day, the trio climbed the mountain and reached the bandit stronghold late at night. The guards were feeling very sleepy but became alert as soon as they saw the unexpected visitors. They stopped the trio and said, "Halt! State your business."
Woo took the lead and said, "We’re envoys from the Divine Demonic Cult. We’re here to meet your leader."
The guard looked at Woo’s body with an obscene gaze and licked his lips. He said, "Our leader’s asleep right now. But if you want, I can help you pass time. Trust me, I’ll keep you awake all night long."
He laughed pervertedly, his intentions evident on his face. Woo controlled her killing intent as she asked, "Is this the intent of your leader towards the Cult?"
The guard just ignored the question. Their leader had already told them to deny any visitors from the Cult. But then he noticed something strange. The two boys behind the pretty lass in front of him were looking at him with pity. Before he could ask why they were doing so, he saw something even stranger. His own headless body.
His last thoughts were filled with confusion, ’Why is my head separate from my...’
Woo had beheaded him before he could even realize what was going on. She said, "Let’s go."
While this was happening, Zeke had already infiltrated the stronghold under the darkness of the night. The thing about bandits, especially dumb bandits who thought that they could survive after stealing from the Cult, was that they were all drunkards. So, he easily sneaked into the leader’s tent. He cleanly beheaded the passed out leader and then moved on to the other bandits.
The four of them continued to kill all the bandits, swiftly and silently. Well, it was Woo and Zeke who did most of the killing because Woong and Bum’s methods were anything but silent. But they made themselves useful by locating the children and freeing them.
