Chapter v15c22

### The Extinction Squad Appears

– Divine Might

Inns were a strategic location for beggars. They were an essential part of any successful begging route.

A beggar’s fortunes could rise or fall depending on how they approached an inn.

On a good day, they might score some leftover scraps from the kitchen. On a bad day, they might run into a burly, ill-tempered innkeeper with a quick fist.

But beggars never gave up. It was a common sight. So no one paid much attention to the beggar who shuffled into the Harmony Inn. Except for Du-chil, the innkeeper.

“Hey, you! Are you deaf? Get out of here! Or do you want a taste of my fist?”

Du-chil threatened, brandishing his massive fist. But the beggar, his face impassive, didn’t budge.

“Please, sir! Have mercy on this poor beggar! I haven’t eaten in two days! I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”

The beggar pleaded, his voice raspy. He was trembling, his body frail and weak.

But Du-chil had dealt with countless beggars in his thirty years as an innkeeper. He had seen it all. He wasn’t going to fall for such a simple trick.

“Get out of here before I call the guards!”

He shouted. He might have been in a more charitable mood if the inn was full of customers, but not today. He grabbed a club and swung it at the beggar, who dodged it nimbly.

“Hmm? What’s this?”

Im Deok-seong, the Green Forest King, watched with interest. He had noticed something unusual about the beggar’s movements. They weren’t the movements of a trained martial artist. And the staff he was leaning on wasn’t a weapon it was just a stick wrapped in cloth.

Du-chil, enraged, shouted,

“You dare dodge me? You’re dead!”

And then, the beggar’s eyes flashed.

“Look out!”

He shouted, thrusting his palms towards Du-chil.

A thud echoed through the inn as Du-chil was sent flying backward. But the beggar was also pushed back, as if by the force of his own attack.

“Gah! You… you little…”

Du-chil’s string of curses was cut short.

A black dagger!

It was embedded in the floor, right where Du-chil had been standing a moment ago.

The beggar’s sleeve was torn, revealing a thin red line on his arm. A trickle of blood flowed from the wound.

Du-chil, realizing what had happened, said gratefully,

“Y-You saved my life! You can have all the food you want…”

The beggar had suddenly become his savior. But his offer of gratitude was rather underwhelming.

But the beggar didn’t seem interested in food anymore. His face hardened, his eyes alert. He was a different person.

The inn’s front door slammed shut.

Then, all twelve windows, on both floors, slammed shut simultaneously. But it wasn’t that dark, since it was daytime.

“G-Ghosts!”

Du-chil shrieked.

Ghosts in broad daylight? What was the world coming to?

“Do you think it’s a supernatural phenomenon?”

Mo-gyeong asked, his face wary. Im Deok-seong sighed.

“Of course it’s not.”

He was right.

“You’re causing quite a disturbance.”

A voice boomed from the second floor, its power shaking the inn. A figure appeared on the balcony.

“Damn it, I’ve been caught…”

The beggar groaned. He recognized the voice. He had been running from that voice.

The newcomer was dressed in black from head to toe, his face hidden behind a mask. He was clearly a creature of darkness.

“You’ve done well to evade us for so long. But the game is over. I have to answer to my superiors if I spend too much time playing games.”

His voice was surprisingly refined, suggesting a man of education and culture.

“Do you really think you can take me on alone?”

The beggar scoffed.

“The side effects of the Qi Explosion Pills must be taking their toll, wouldn’t you say?”

The man in black said casually.

“H-How did you know?”

The beggar’s body trembled.

“Don’t underestimate our intelligence network. Besides, it’s not exactly a secret, is it?”

The man in black said calmly.

“Hmph, but I’m not caught yet! Don’t think it’ll be that easy!”

The beggar said, his voice filled with defiance. It was the voice of a man who believed in his cause.

“My, that’s the spirit!”

The middle-aged woman said, clapping her hands. She didn’t seem fazed at all. She was still holding her chopsticks.

How could she be so calm in this situation? The man in black couldn’t help but stare at her.

She smiled at him.

“Don’t mind me. I’m just a passerby enjoying my meal. Please, continue with your business. Hohoho!”

She smiled brightly, her cheerfulness incongruous with the tense atmosphere.

She resumed eating. The two old men continued to drink and eat, as if nothing was happening.

The man in black was momentarily taken aback by their indifference, but he quickly recovered.

“Enjoy it while you can. I don’t intend to spare anyone. No one will leave this inn alive.”

“Aren’t you being a bit overconfident? You’re alone.”

The beggar said, gritting his teeth.

“Alone? I never said I was alone.”

On his signal, dozens of men in black emerged from the shadows, surrounding the inn on both floors. They were all dressed in black, their faces hidden behind masks. They were like embodiments of darkness, their eyes cold and lifeless.

“Damn it, so close… We were almost there!”

The beggar cursed, looking around at the men who surrounded him. They were outnumbered.

The situation was hopeless.

“You won’t be lonely. You’ll have company on your journey to the afterlife!”

The leader of the men in black tossed something at the beggar’s feet.

It rolled across the floor and came to a stop at his feet.

It was a human head. Its eyes were wide with terror and pain.

The beggar’s face contorted in horror.

“Do you recognize him?”

The man in black asked.

Of course he did. It was his subordinate, Gae-ko.

“G-Gae-ko!”

He choked out, his voice filled with grief.

“That idiot! He boasted that he would pay back his debts…”

Tears streamed down his face.

“Would you like to see the other two? An Myeong-hu, Chief Inspector of the Orthodox Alliance’s Shaanxi Branch, the Nine-Foot Iron Eye?”

The man in black said, his voice cold and emotionless.

“Aaaargh! M-Murder!”

Du-chil screamed.

But no one ran.

“Oh my, how cruel!”

The middle-aged woman said, her voice soft and elegant. She covered her mouth with her hand, her brow furrowed slightly. But she didn’t seem particularly surprised. The two old men watched silently, their eyes sharp and observant.

“Boss, this doesn’t look good. Shouldn’t we leave?”

Mo-gyeong whispered to Im Deok-seong. They didn’t want to get involved in a Orthodox Alliance investigation. (Although they were already involved, whether they liked it or not.) It was best to leave before things got worse. He had a bad feeling about this.

“Shut up! How can we run away now?”

“Are you saying we should help him?”

He pointed at An Myeong-hu, the beggar.

“Are you crazy? Why would we help a Orthodox Alliance agent? What loyalty do we owe them?”

“You’re right.”

The Orthodox Alliance was their enemy. Helping one of their agents would be a betrayal of the Green Forest.

“Then what?”

“We can’t just run away with our tails between our legs! It would be a disgrace!”

Im Deok-seong said, crossing his arms.

“F-For that reason?”

“What other reason is there? Is there anything more important than my pride?”

Mo-gyeong was speechless. His brother-in-law was jeopardizing their lives for his pride. He couldn’t believe it.

“It seems your pride is going to get us killed.”

He said sarcastically.

“We’ll see about that. The Heavenly Demon three saints themselves couldn’t escape us. What chance do you think you have? You’re just small fry! You’re so close to your destination, Inspector An. It’s a shame you have to die here!”

The leader of the Extinction Squad said, his voice filled with confidence. He had every right to be confident. They were outnumbered and outmatched.

But…

“Oh my, how scary! Did you hear that? Even the Heavenly Demon three saints couldn’t defeat them.”

The middle-aged woman said, her chopsticks still in her hand, as if they were as important to her as a sword was to a martial artist. She feigned surprise, her voice devoid of fear.

The two old men had heard him too. It was hard to miss. Especially for the old man in blue.

“Pfft… hahaha… I can’t… I can’t take it anymore…”

He burst into laughter, his small body shaking.

“This is too ridiculous!”

He said, wiping tears from his eyes.

“What’s so funny, old man? Do you want to die?”

The man in black said, his earlier politeness gone. The old man waved his hand dismissively.

“You’re going to kill us all anyway. What difference does it make?”

He was right. The Extinction Squad’s motto was “Leave no witnesses.”

“You’re a smart one! Then wait! I’ll kill you soon!”

The man in black said, his voice dripping with malice. But the old man in blue didn’t flinch.

“Can you really? The Heavenly Demon three saints? Hahaha!”

“What’s so funny about that?”

“Of course it’s funny!”

The old man’s voice boomed like thunder, and a powerful aura erupted from his small body. It was an overwhelming presence.

“What… what is this power?!”

Sa Ma-heun, the leader of the Extinction Squad, was stunned. He had never felt such pressure before. It was unimaginable that such power could emanate from such a small, frail old man.

He felt suffocated.

The old man in blue chuckled.

“Hmph, you arrogant fools! You talk big, but you’re nothing but ants! I could crush you all with a single finger!”

He said, holding up his index finger.

“W-Who are you?”

Sa Ma-heun asked, his voice trembling.

“I’m not obligated to tell you. Come at me, all of you! I’ll play with you!”

The old man said, his voice filled with confidence.

“My, my! Such energy! You’re still young at heart, aren’t you?”

The old man in white said. The middle-aged woman nodded.

“Yes, youth is a wonderful thing. But it’s not good to be so angry. It’s unbecoming of a master to lose his temper with children! Just send them away.”

She said soothingly.

“What if they don’t listen?”

The old man in blue asked.

“Then you’ll have to spank them.”

The woman said without hesitation. Sa Ma-heun shuddered.

Even he, the emotionless killing machine, had his limits.

“Kill them all!”

He shouted, his anger exploding.

It was a fatal mistake.