Book 20 Chapter 18

Bloodwing

-The appearance of the Thirteenth Blood

"I still have most of the power of the Zhongyang Marked Bureau's South Changji Bureau in there, but… this should be enough, my lord?"

Yoon asked as a final check.

"Don't worry, I've got some helpers this time, and if it weren't for those two little bastards, I'd be lying down and eating their asses."

The fact that he might choke on his rice cakes while lying down was not on his mind right now.

"You mean 'they', where the hell are they now……."

All he could see was darkness, and all he could feel was the stirring of his men in the shadows.

"Do you want to know?"

Ishigan's lips curled into a smile.

"They're always there, calling for blood. Right here, right now!"

Ishigan flashed his arm upward, and a single, blood-red shadow appeared behind him. Without warning, without any foreshadowing, it appeared out of nowhere, like a sunburst from the ground. It was red.

"Thirteen and one?

And just as Yoon Yi-jeong was wondering, a shadow split left and right. Six each, exactly thirteen. In the blink of an eye, thirteen men fluttered their blood-red robes and formed a line behind Yi Xian's back. They looked like ominous wings that called for blood.

"Allow me to introduce you to my newest ally in this endeavor, the Thirteen Bloods, my blood red wings!"

A cruel smile spread across Ishigan's lips as he imagined the 'bloodshed' his wings would unleash.

'They're the ones! I've heard the rumors. Bloodthirsty maniacs, harbingers of bloodshed, homicidal maniacs who say they're loyal to the Organization for one reason only: so they can kill, kill, kill! Did I mention that wherever they appear, there's no shortage of blood…….'

Even though Yoon is leading a unit in her organization, she can't help but feel nervous.

'Dragging all of them with you. I'm afraid you're not in your usual mood today!

Then Yi Shi Jian ordered the Thirteen Bloods who were lined up behind him.

"Only three of you will stay and protect me. The rest of you will split in half and take the keys from one side, and the other side will take out Zhang Wuyang, the Lord of Zhongyang Feiqing, and the others. According to our intelligence, the child resides in a mausoleum in the deepest part of the country. I don't need to tell you where he lives."

"Fuck!"

The hem of their blood-red robes fluttered, and soon their forms disappeared behind Ishiguro's back.

"When we get a signal that Zhang Wuyang is dead, we will charge. Until then, we wait."

"How do you want to dispose of it?"

When Yoon asks how to treat it, Lee wraps his hands around the wound.

"Do I even need to ask that?"

The piercing wound still burned like a fire, tormenting him.

"Kill them all!"

A cruel smile formed at the corners of his mouth.

"Hmm, did I have too much to drink the night before……."

The old man let out a weak groan at the sudden request and rose from his seat. The free and unlimited supply of alcohol and appetizers had caused him to drink more than usual.

"So where's the back room……. I can't be bothered… I can't burn it to the ground……."

It wasn't that I couldn't, it was that I wouldn't.

"Come to think of it, there was once a guy who couldn't be bothered to go to Sophie's, so he tried to evaporate his pee by triggering Samadhi evolution in his body."

Everyone expected him to fail, but he defied the odds and succeeded. And then he died.

"He died of uremia(尿毒), probably."

Apparently, the insoluble urea in the water couldn't be flushed out and built up in his kidneys, where it rotted away, and he pissed himself to death. No one has attempted the job since.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Nosabu yawned and stumbled toward the back storeroom, but there were those who watched him from the shadows.

"What shall we do, Large?"

The fifth of the thirteen bloods, the Five Bloods, asked the One Blood.

"Why do you ask? Just kill him."

Murder, murder, murder!

It was their only organ and their specialty.

"Yeah, but we have to go through the motions."

"Why do you bother asking, since when do we have a process for killing people?"

"Bye, then."

"End it quietly."

"Don't worry, Large."

"Boy, you must be hungry for blood already."

The old man will soon pass away, Ilblood was sure of that, but he would soon have to overturn that conviction.

"Huh?

Suddenly, Sunblood's eyes widened.

As he sneaked up behind the old man, he suddenly fell to the ground in a heap. The old man didn't seem to notice and continued to trudge forward.

"Chilje, what is that?"

A puzzled Ilblood asked.

"Oh, I think it's dead, Large."

"Dead? Dead because something happened? Are you saying that old man did something to you, Samze, did you see it?"

"I didn't see anything, Large."

Sambaeng shook his head in bewilderment.

"Guo Guo (九弟), what about you?"

"I didn't see anything either, so did you see something?"

Gu Blood asked.

"No, I didn't see it either. What's the matter, did he have some sort of ailment that caused him to suddenly collapse?"

"You mean like a heart attack or something? That can't be right, you were still alive and well the last time you went on a killing spree, you beat up dozens of people and you were fine, weren't you the one who swore he was going to kill for the rest of his life? He's not going to go that easily."

Chilblood shook his head.

"Is that the old man?"

Sunblood muttered to himself as he watched the old man's back as he walked away as if nothing had happened.

"You can't be serious."

Seven Bloods denied.

"Exactly, and if you were up to something, how could we not have noticed?"

It also denied blood transfusion.

"Of course……."

One blood agreed with the active negation of seven and nine bloods.

"According to your information, you said you lured both Qin Family and Yu Family out of the country, so who is that old man?"

"Since it's not listed in the factor information, I'm guessing you're just a regular old guy, Large?"

"I don't know… I don't know. This time, Sam-je, Chi-je, Guo-je, you'll have to work together."

One Blood instructed.

"Do we really need three thirteen-bloods against a crooked old man like that? The three of us can wipe out a small sect of a hundred men in a day and a half."

He said in a tone that suggested he was unhappy with the three bloods.

"It's non-refundable. Stop nagging and get ready. Whether he kills alone or in threes, it's the same murder. Eliminate the old man, find Zhang Wuyang, and prioritize him along with Zhang Wuqing. Of course, we need to kill the rest of them as well. We're busy today. We can't delay here any longer."

"What do you do with the little ones in the Blue Dragon Silver Market?"

"That's up to Now (二弟) and his other brothers to take care of. So you have nothing to worry about, Third Brother."

"Hmph, first mass murder in a while, my blood is already hot. I'll be right back with Chilje and Guje."

Three Bloods smiled ferociously and sent a telegram.

"I'll hold out until then. Farewell, Samze."

The old man had just opened the back door and entered.

"Oh no, I've walked into a stinker, and it's going to be pretty ugly when I die in there."

I said with a tongue-in-cheek pity party.

"That's right, if you fall into a shithole, I'm not going to pick up your corpse, brother."

"He's right, let's just stab it out there and be done with it."

"That would be great. One, two, three, and we'll stab at the same time."

"Good."

Before we could agree on anything, the three of them took up positions behind and to the left and right of the rear guard. Of course, they didn't make a sound.

"Is everyone ready? One… two……."

"Three!"

As promised, the three stabbed simultaneously.

Suuk-!

The sharp blade sliced through the wood without a sound.

"Success!

Watching from a tree a short distance away, Ilblood smiled inwardly at his conversion.

"Was it the rain?

Apparently, Oze's sign was somewhere else. I'd have to check it out later.

'Of course not, how could there be any movement that a master of my caliber could not detect? No, he certainly didn't move his body, I'm sure of it, and he's not the kind of mind that kills people in legends…….'

The idea of a mind killing spree was something I'd only dreamed about in stories.

"Huh?

But something was wrong.

"But why is it so quiet?

No screams echoed from the back room, and the three younger brothers who had been stabbed remained motionless, as if frozen in place.

"Three, four, five, six, seven, eight, what are you doing, are you doing it because you like the smell of manure, come back quickly."

Then came the faint voice of the Three Kings.

"Big, big, what, something's wrong……."

But Samblood's voice trailed off as if it had vanished into thin air.

"Hey, Samje! Samje!"

I tried my best to call out, but there was no answer, not only from the three bloods, but also from the seven and nine bloods. For a master of his caliber, that distance was no obstacle to sending a telegram. The same was true for his younger brothers, but the sudden cessation of their calls meant that something had happened to them.

Yay!

It was then that the door to the back stall, which had been firmly shut with an unpleasant friction, opened. Even though he couldn't see it, his body tensed involuntarily.

"Ahhhhh."

An elderly man, still sleepy-eyed, walked out of it, stretching heavily.

"Oh, my God, how is that possible? I avoided the door and didn't see anything?

Despite the fact that three of my siblings had stabbed him at the same time earlier, the old man in white hadn't taken a single hit.

'I'm going back to bed now…….'

With one loud yawn, the old man headed for his quarters without looking back.

Yay!

Behind the old man's retreating back, the back door slammed shut behind him with an unpleasant sound. At the same time, the three men who had stiffened with their swords outstretched fell to the floor like a bundle of dried straw.

"Ah, brothers!"

With a cry of urgent alarm, he flew toward his brothers, whom he had sworn by blood to kill for the rest of his life. He hurriedly checked his pulses, but all three of his brothers' pulses were eerily silent. The slightest trace of warmth, not yet cooled, crawled up my fingertips, mingling with the chill of death. The cause of death was the same for all four. But no wounds were found on any of them.

"Ughhhhh!!!"

His blood rushed with emotion. His eyes rolled back in his head as his four brothers died in front of him.

"My old man!"

Losing all sense of reason, he rushed toward Nosabu, unafraid of the puppy dog. All that was on his mind was revenge. The old man's steps were slow, as he was still in the throes of sleep, so it didn't take him long to catch up. A single leap would be enough to bring his sword down. There was no human he couldn't kill with his strongest secret herbivore blade. The old man's back was completely defenseless.

"Take it!

Bloodshed!

One-Blood unleashed the strongest of the herbivores he had cultivated to facilitate his prolific killing with all his might. And then it happened.

"Huh? What, what?

It happened when a single blood opened all its flesh toward the old man's empty back. It felt like the gates of hell had opened. Something leapt out of the depths of the abyss and lunged for him. It was terrifying, fleshy, and cruel. All the people he had ever killed were rushing to kill him, so many in number that it was as if a great army was advancing. Leading the charge were his parents and brothers, the very people he had killed. His body was frozen, as if paralyzed, and he could only watch helplessly as they mowed him down. Every time their swords sliced through him, the pain was as intense as if he had received a fatal blow.

It did not matter whether it was an illusion or not; it was terrible pain and horror itself. And finally, the one he feared most rushed at him. He could not overcome his fear and let go of his mind. The last thing he saw, trembling with fear, was himself. He could not withstand the blow to his soul, and he died. And Nosabu put down the foot he had just lifted.

What felt like an eternity was just a split second.

"Huh? What happened?"

Nosabu paused, glanced around, and said something to himself.

"What, is it trivial?"

With his usual caution about not sweating the small stuff, the old man opened the door as if nothing was wrong, went inside, fluffed his pillow, pulled the covers over his head, and went back to sleep.

"Mmmmmmmm, they'll figure it out."

A good night's sleep was far more important than those little things.

"From what I understand, that's where the boys are staying, in that annex on the west end of the property."

Yi Blood pointed his finger at a two-story building. It was the job of the five of them to secure the safety of the children and find the key while the four older brothers, led by Yi Blood, took care of Zhang Wuyang and Zhang Wu. Of course, the mission also included mass murder.

"Sixth brother, first of all, go and see if there are any night watchmen."

But there was no response.

"Yukze, why are you not answering?"

Yi Bing said again in a slightly nervous tone.

"There's a heteromorph over there, and a hexomorph over here."

Falblood replied.

"What? Why isn't it there? A moment ago it was clearly……."

There was none. He turned his head, and there were only his other brothers, but no flesh and blood.

"That's odd. Weren't you clearly following me a moment ago?"

"Yes, I definitely saw the siblings together."

Tenth Blood replied.

"Maybe he went to see Sophie?"

Falblood weighed in, but the response was muted.

"Or maybe he's found some other tasty prey, like…… especially a father-daughter……."

His favorite pastime was assaulting and brutalizing women and children.

Yi Bing was furious.

"I'm not doing it because I don't want to kill anyone, do you think I'm not doing it because I don't want to kill anyone? You're trying to have your own fun while leaving your brothers alone. I'll give you an honor sword when I get back."

"Sounds like a good idea. The flesh is often too reckless when it comes to enjoying our hobbies. We need to get some discipline."

The so-called bloodsucker was a perverted killer of perverts who was obsessed with picking on and killing only young girls.

"Chet, you can't do it. Tenth, you go."

Again, no answer.

"Twelve, why are you also…… huh?"

Nothing, nothing, nothing. This time, the words that had just been spoken in front of me were gone.

"Where did this guy go?"

It happened in the brief moment I turned my head away.

"What's going on? Are these guys… are they trying to screw me over?

Mixing up the construction was something they did all the time, and given the loyalty between them, it was not unheard of. In times like this, it was necessary to show resolve as a thirteen-blooded Yi Yin rather than panic.

"This one, that one, sideways slashes. I can't do it! Priest, you go. I'll take care of the boys later."

"I get it, Lee. I'm on the same page."

It wasn't as if they had any qualms about it, and they didn't show it, so they dismissed the bloodletting as a mere joke. Fooling around in the middle of an operation was commonplace among them, and no one could accuse them of not having a sense of urgency when they did so. Their mission was mostly one of annihilation, and for the most part, they were perfectly capable of accomplishing that mission-with a little fun in between.

At Yi Bing's command, Shi Bing flew silently through the darkness toward the annex. The whole point of this operation was to secure the key before the marriage and genocide began. Once the key was in their hands, the rest would be a blood feast, as they hoped, and the thirteen swords would be able to quench their thirst for blood for a while.

But after a while,

"What? Why haven't we heard from the priest yet?"

He hadn't heard from his scout, who had gone to scout out the annex. He should have returned by now to report on the situation, but only then did he realize that something was amiss. One creepy theory reared its ugly head: this might not be a joke.

"Palze, watch out! Palje……?"

His head jerked back at a terribly ominous premonition. It was gone, gone again.

'Far, far away…….'

Now all that was left was Yi Bing himself.

He approached the annex cautiously, his senses on high alert. He was ready to swing his sword at the slightest sign of movement.

Poof!

Just then, something crashed down from the tree to his right. Startled, Yi Bing yelped and drew his sword.

"What, what?

His eyes widened as he cautiously approached it. His heart, numbed by hundreds of murders, pulsed hard and fast.

"Sixth……."

The first to disappear was the corpse of a sixth brother, a gruesome figure whose neck had been torn off by more than a quarter. His sixth brother would no longer have the pleasure of robbing and then killing his father's daughter.

"What the……!

But his thinking didn't last long.

Poof!

This time it was the tree on the right. Still wary, Li Bing approached the base of the tree.

"십제……."

This time, the neck was completely ripped off.

'It looks like a gaping wound from a giant beast.

It was a wound that could never have been inflicted with an armored weapon.

"But what kind of beast could be this big, and how could it move as silently as a mouse without showing any signs of life?

Instead of looking at the possibilities, he dismissed them as improbable and impossible.

That's why he didn't notice the two golden sun-like tiger eyes shimmering in the darkness at the top of the tree.

Wild animals living in a predatory world have a more developed sixth sense than humans, because unlike humans who have learned to ignore their senses by acquiring horses, wild animals are still very sensitive to detecting flesh. Therefore, a good wildlife hunter must be able to kill his prey without alerting them to his presence, and Bai Muhu was one of the best. It would be hard to find a better wildlife hunter than her in all of heaven and earth.

It was disrespectful to compare her to humans in the first place, having survived for more than two hundred years amidst the harshness of nature and the laws that governed it.

Even the thirteen bloods, who were nicknamed the bloodsuckers, were as helpless as rabbits in the face of Mother Nature's immense power.

'Ears, are you a ghost…….'

As far as he was concerned, this was a mysterious occurrence that could not have happened without a ghostly orchestration.

Flash!

Then two suns flashed overhead behind his back. A chill ran down his spine, and he turned away, suppressing a shudder.

And there it was.

And he saw 'it'.

"Why aren't we getting any signals?"

Ishiguro's voice was thick with anxiety as he paced the room, his fingers tapping his opposite forearm. Gone was the smugness of a moment ago.

The ten people who entered the manor, as if they were about to be swallowed up by it, were silent. There were no screams, no fights, no shouts of alarm; they were merely silent, as if they were sinking into a swamp of silence.

"That's weird, because there should be some kind of signal by now. What failed is……."

At Yoon Yi Jung's words, Eleven Blood objected.

"That can't be right, we Thirteen Bloods have never failed in any of our missions."

"That's right. The eleven are right. We are invincible."

"But you never know, I'm just being cautious."

Yoon Yi-jeong said, suppressing her displeasure.

"Hang, who dares to say that ten of our thirteen bloods can be wiped out without a sound or rumor? If any man thinks so, he is a madman."

The youngest of the thirteen said sarcastically.

'Look at that cocky bastard, look at the way he talks, I hope something bad happens to him, so I can see his face crumple up nicely.'

Yoon was suddenly overcome with a desire to see that expression.

"What do you suggest, my lord? I don't think it would be fruitful to wait any longer, and the thirteen bloods that are supposed to be calling for a blood wind seem to be nothing more than a gentle breeze tonight. You know, the kind of breeze you don't know if it's blowing or not."

Ishiguro almost burst into tears at that point.

"I'll check it out myself. You follow me."

Finally, Ishigaki made a decision.