Reaper of the Drifting Moon novel - Chapter 568

Chapter 568

Lee Moo-ik was known by the nickname “Six-Armed Asura.”

True to his nickname, which suggested he had six arms like an Asura, he was a master of hand-to-hand combat.

His ability to fight as if he had six arms was widely recognized in the southern sea martial arts world.

From a young age, Lee Moo-ik rose to prominence in the Martial Sword Alliance, eventually becoming a close associate of Dokgo Hwang.

Lee Moo-ik muttered as he looked at Dokgo Hwang’s residence.

“I hope his wounds aren’t too severe.”

Dokgo Hwang had been brutally defeated by Jang Mugak.

He thought the gap between him and Jang Mugak wouldn’t be too big, but it didn’t take long for him to realize that it was a grave miscalculation.

Jang Mugak’s true martial prowess were on a different level.

Lee Moo-ik did not witness their fight. But after the battle, seeing Dokgo Hwang’s wounds and mental state, he discerned that their combat had been one-sided.

Dokgo Hwang was literally in a state of shock.

Such a mental breakdown could not have occurred simply because of a certain disparity in their abilities.

The shock must have been enormous, for Dokgo Hwang went straight into his dwelling and did not come out.

“Sigh!” Lee Moo-ik exhaled a sigh.

Watching the leader he served withdraw into seclusion due to a brutal defeat was disheartening.

“You have to overcome this, my lord! If you overcome this defeat, you will be able to soar even higher.”

A true Hero always rises after a trial.

Lee Moo-ik hoped that Dokgo Hwang would do the same.

Although the shock of defeat was great, if he overcame it, Dokgo Hwang would become stronger.

Sincerely hoping for this, Lee Moo-ik left the Golden Heavenly Hall.

“Sigh!”

Leaving the Golden Heavenly Hall, he walked the streets.

Despite the late hour, there were quite a few people on the street.

Most of them were martial artists affiliated with the Golden Heavenly Hall.

They were all busy with their tasks. Some were waiting to board boats, while others were moving orderly under the direction of a commander.

A truce of three days didn’t mean they were resting.

The truce was the best time to prepare for a larger war.

The Golden Heavenly Hall, following a set plan, was mobilizing its martial artists, or redeploying its forces to prepare for a major war.

The same was true for the Silver Lotus Hall.

Under the guidance of Namgung Seol, they were moving martial artists or rearranging troops to prepare for the great war in three days.

Lee Moo-ik paused to watch the martial artists moving about.

‘I’m tired of this.’

It had been quite a while since he came to the Poyang Lake.

He had killed countless martial artists with his own hands during that time.

Recently, along with Dokgo Hwang, he raided the Sol Family Pavilion and killed the assassins.

He had no idea how many people’s blood was on his hands.

He followed Dokgo Hwang into Kangho, with dreams of a noble cause. But what he wanted wasn’t this indiscriminate slaughter and massive war.

He wanted a Kangho of romantic chivalry and etiquette.

That’s the Kangho Lee Moo-ik had hoped for.

But such a Kangho didn’t exist.

He now realized that his desires were but empty dreams. Hence, he yearned to return to the Southern Sea.

To live in peace, staring out at the endless expanse of the open sea.

But he knew how vain that dream was.

Only if Dokgo Hwang, his lord, decided to return to the Southern Sea, could this dream come true. And the Dokgo Hwang he knew would never return to the Southern Sea without any gains.

“Hoo…”

He sighed, looking at the vast Poyang Lake, then moved his feet.

He didn’t have a specific destination in mind.

He simply followed where his feet led him.

Soon he found himself in a deserted back alley.

“Hmm!”

Lee Moo-ik frowned slightly and looked around.

The street seemed oddly eerie.

Just as Lee Moo-ik decided to turn around,

Step! Step!

A woman from the opposite end was walking towards him.

She was dressed in red.

It was dark and she was far away, so he couldn’t see her face, but he could tell that she was

quite beautiful just by looking at the curvaceous body that her clothes revealed.

‘Oh!’

All the worries of a moment ago vanished as Lee Moo-ik stared at the woman.

As she approached, her face became clear.

Lee Moo-ik’s breath quickened unconsciously.

Her face was as beautiful as her figure.

Lee Moo-ik couldn’t take his eyes off her face. Sensing the heat in his eyes, she raised her head and looked at him.

The woman smiled slightly at Lee Moo-ik.

He was completely entranced.

Finally, the woman reached him.

She slightly bowed her head to Lee Moo-ik and then walked past him.

For some reason, he felt that if he let her go now, he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

Lee Moo-ik grabbed her hand.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

She looked startled, her eyes wide.

Even that look was charming.

Lee Moo-ik released her hand and tried to explain.

“I’m not a bad person. I just…”

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through his lower abdomen.

Surprised, he looked down to find a dagger embedded in his gut. It was the woman who was holding it.

“What, what?”

Lee Moo-ik was startled.

At that moment, her expression completely changed.

Her shy and innocent look vanished, replaced by a cold gaze.

Lee Moo-ik then realized that she was not a prostitute.

“Could it be… an assassin?”

He attempted to strike her with the palm of his hand. But she stepped back, deftly avoiding his attack.

Lee Moo-ik followed her, shouting,

“Identify yourself, Assassin!”

He was about to perform his signature martial arts technique, the Furious Wind Palm. However, his energy suddenly cut off.

‘What?’

A bewildered expression crossed Lee Moo-ik’s face.

He had been practicing martial arts for a long time, but this had never happened before.

The cause was the dagger lodged in his gut.

“Poison, you sneaky bitch.”

Only then did he realize what had happened. Lee Moo-ik roared in anger, but his voice was

devoid of strength.

The lethal poison on the dagger was melting his innards.

Thud!

Lee Moo-ik’s legs gave out, and he fell to his knees.

With great effort, he managed to lift his head to look at the woman.

“What grudge do you have against me for doing this?”

“You didn’t attack us because you had a grudge, did you?”

The woman, with serene composure, responded as she approached Lee Moo-ik.

She came boldly, knowing that he was now incapable of retaliating.

Lee Moo-ik pondered her words for a moment.

“Sol… Family Pavilion. You must be one of the assassins there.”

“That’s right! My name is Hong Ye-seol. The assassins you and Dokgo Hwang attacked and killed were actually my subordinates.

“So that’s why…”

Lee Moo-ik wore a face filled with despair.

Hong Ye-seol looked at the desperate Lee Moo-ik with an icy smile.

Although Lee Moo-ik had no idea, she had invested a great deal of time and effort preparing for today’s ambush.

After choosing Lee Moo-ik as her target, she researched him extensively.

She examined Lee Moo-ik’s weaknesses, character traits, and the type of woman he was

attracted to.

Among these, what caught Hong Ye-seol’s attention was Lee Moo-ik’s taste in women.

A person’s taste doesn’t change easily.

It was the same with the woman he liked.

He may not have been aware of it himself, but the type of woman he was attracted to was consistent.

A voluptuous figure, an innocent face and, strangely enough, red clothes.

Hong Ye-seol had perfectly understood Lee Moo-ik’s preferences, dressed accordingly and planned a chance meeting. It was a perfect ambush.

“Sneaky… bitch!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“Cough!”

“Don’t feel too lonely. A few more will join you soon.”

“That…”

“You all chose the wrong person to mess with. He’s far from someone you could handle.”

“Cough!”

In an instant, Lee Moo-ik coughed up blood and collapsed. He never moved again.

Hong Ye-seol casually turned away.

Her face was devoid of any guilt or sympathy.

Having accomplished her mission, she was happy that she could now return to Pyo Wol’s side.

That day’s death toll was not limited to Lee Moo-ik alone.

A martial artist named Do Ham-gyeong also lost his life.

He too was a crucial martial artist serving under Dokgo Hwang.

Their deaths plunged Dokgo Hwang, already struggling with the aftermath of his defeat, into further despair.

The truth behind the deaths of Lee Moo-ik and Do Ham-gyeong was initially unknown.

Although they were significant figures within the Martial Sword Alliance, they weren’t well-known to the public.

Moreover, the Golden Heavenly Hall was on high alert due to a major impending battle.

For this reason, most people did not pay attention to their deaths, and the Golden Heavenly Hall also tried its best not to attach any significance to their deaths. However, the truth of their deaths was revealed through the mouths of the Martial Sword Alliance martial artists.

Martial Sword Alliance had raided the assassins base, and the vengeful assassins retaliated in return.

Martial Sword Alliance’s leadership tried to suppress this fact, but they couldn’t keep everyone quiet.

Eventually, the incident became widely known, and people were reminded of how relentless and terrifying the assassins were.

One man who rose to prominence in the wake of this was Pyo Wol.

He was the man standing at the pinnacle of the assassins. When people talked about the Assassins, they naturally talked about Pyo Wol.

At first, only the martial artists mentioned Pyo Wol, but later, even ordinary people began to talk about him.

“If he wants, he could easily take the life of the leader of the Golden Heavenly Hall or the Silver Lotus Hall.”

“No matter how thoroughly they defend, it’s useless. There’s no one the Reaper cannot kill if he decides to.”

“If you’ve been harmed by the Golden Heavenly Hall or the Silver Lotus Hall, hire Pyo Wol. He will take revenge for you.”

“Pyo Wol is the one who brought the head of the Wolf King, King Gujin. He was hired by the Je-won merchant group to take revenge.”

“The reward was just a single copper coin.”

Such rumors spread rapidly.

Of course, this was not a welcome rumor for the Golden Heavenly Hall or the Silver Lotus Hall.

The appearance of an assassin superior to the Golden Heavenly Hall’s leader, Jang Mugak, or the Silver Lotus Hall’s leader, Lee Geom-han was disconcerting. Both organizations naturally tried to suppress the rumor. But, they couldn’t possibly stop everyone’s mouths.

Thus, the rumors about Pyo Wol grew and grew, one feeding into the next.

In the end, both forces had to abandon efforts to suppress the rumors. Then, an incident occurred that forced them to take their focus off Pyo Wol.

The three-day truce ended, and the Golden Heavenly Hall and the Silver Lotus Hall clashed in the middle of Poyang Lake.

The Golden Heavenly Hall mobilized about twenty ships, and the Silver Lotus Hall gathered a similar number of ships.

Meeting in the middle of Poyang Lake, they attacked each other without a second thought.

Crack!

Ship after ship crashed into each other with the sound of splintering wood.

More than a dozen ships rammed into each other in the middle of Poyang Lake, tangling together to form a small island.

“Die!”

“Go over.”

“Haah!”

Warriors from both sides leaped over the railings and onto the decks of the opposing ships.

The most damage was inflicted at this time.

Those who rashly attacked without knowing the abilities of their opponents were killed.

But this was only for a brief moment.

Soon, the martial artists chose opponents of their own level to fight.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

“Ergh!”

Clashing weapons and screams erupted everywhere.

Those killed or injured were thrown into Poyang Lake.

The surface of the lake turned red with their spilled blood.

The conflict between the two powers continued for almost half a day.

During that time, the combined number of casualties on both sides nearly reached a thousand.

It was the highest death toll since the Great War of Kangho.

The number of people who died in a single day was almost unbelievable.

So much blood was spilled that it took more than a day for the lake’s waters to return to their original clarity.

With this incident as a starting point, the Golden Heavenly Hall and the Silver Lotus Hall began to engage in fierce battles, refusing to retreat even an inch.