Doctor’s Rebirth - Chapter 805
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 805
Namgung Un, the only sane one among these three, had been steadily whittling down the assassins alongside his two companions.
In short.
[Scatter!]
At Jin Cheon-hee’s command, everyone bolted without even looking back.
“You cowardly bastards running away again?!”
“If I catch you, I’ll chew out your intestines and swallow them!”
[Ou, nice projection~]
That was it.
No matter how strong-willed a hero might be, if a three-meter-tall demon lord kept pestering them like this from the first floor every time it tried to do something, they’d collapse from rage by the third floor.
‘Just imagining it makes me want to throw the controller away.’
But hadn’t the ancient sages said to play games like this?
It wasn’t for nothing that in Korea’s folk game StarCr—, SCVs would come to someone else’s front yard and pester them.
Tap a drone here and there, mine some minerals out of nowhere.
If it were Korean versus Korean, they’d already be exchanging mutual pestering and giving each other the middle finger, but fortunately, this is the Central Plains.
Since it’s a place without the aesthetics of pestering, the kids had no immunity to it.
The numbers of the already-decimated assassin alliance continued to dwindle like melting snow.
Now the assassins would curse up a storm at the mere sound of Cheonryeong’s squeaking, swinging their blades frantically in the air, begging someone to get rid of that damned bird.
Jin Cheon-hee’s group might emerge, or they might not.
That was the essence of pestering.
Just now, Jin Cheon-hee spoke to the assassins who were slashing at the air with veins bulging in their necks.
“I heard assassins are supposed to have no emotions, but it seems you paid some cheap ones.”
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“That is indeed a virtue of first-rate assassins, brother. But by that standard, even Kang Ho-in should always maintain an unshakeable mind and practice cooperation. And I know the psychology of those guys inside and out~”
Sama Hyeon understood assassins far too well.
He knew exactly which aspects made them sensitive, what emotions they were taught to discard but could never fully abandon until the end.
As a result, he was driving people mad.
He would dig into people’s weak points, and those weaknesses would take root and be dug deeper, again and again.
Sama Hyeon continued.
“It’s not that difficult. Paradoxically, human emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure—burst forth the more they’re suppressed. No matter how much one claims to have eliminated emotions, few ever truly reach that state.”
Suddenly, I recalled the last words Master Gwon Je had spoken.
-It is said that swordsmen must be without heart, and we have always taught them to be without emotion. But now in my age, I wonder if that is truly the answer. When the human essence is the heart itself, doesn’t suppressing it invite the heart demon, trapping oneself?
In the Central Plains, assassins are those who must be most without heart and without emotion.
If that is true, then paradoxically, aren’t assassins the most vulnerable of all?
Sama Hyeon continued.
“Through extreme brainwashing, one can completely hollow them out and use them like puppets. But then they struggle to understand complex orders, which becomes a disadvantage as an assassin.”
Sama Hyeon traces his tongue across his lips.
“That’s why balance is crucial when raising assassins. Thanks to that, creatures like me find the cracks to exploit~”
Sama Hyeon laughs with genuine delight.
Shaking the human heart—that is the supreme talent of a jester.
It was something Sama Hyeon had excelled at since childhood.
“But brother, those with unwavering minds won’t fall for tricks of this caliber~”
Jin Cheon-hee nodded.
“That’s fine. The same applies to assassins and other masters of Gangho. For now, we just need to filter out the weaklings.”
With that said, Jin Cheon-hee burst forward immediately.
The assassins jumped in alarm and raised their throwing blades.
“Prepare the formation!”
“A rain of blades is coming, unfurl the iron umbrellas!”
They prepared for the attack with perfect coordination.
Finding their reaction amusing, Jin Cheon-hee laughed loudly. Then he attacked.
However, it was not a rain of blades.
Eeeeeek~~~! Screech! Eeeeeeeek~~~!
The sound of fingernails scraping across a chalkboard emanated from between the young man’s beautiful lips in all directions.
“Aaaahhhhh! Sound technique, it’s a sound technique!”
“Cover your ears!”
This is why foreign assassins hated playing games against Korean masters.
* * *
“Gasp, pant. This is maddening.”
“Pant… I swear I’ll capture him and grind his bones to dust.”
“Damn… pant…. These bastards… and their ilk.”
They cursed with every profanity they could muster.
In all their years as assassins, they had never experienced such exhaustion.
“Rather… let’s settle this with a life-or-death duel…. These bastards…ahhh….”
Even the assassins who had achieved perfect equanimity were worn out.
Though their minds remained undisturbed, their physical stamina was rapidly depleting.
Thus, the assassin alliance’s numbers dwindled to merely three hundred.
“Still… we should be able to encircle them in the end.”
That was true.
They pursued Jin Cheon-hee’s group all the way to the rocky mountain and finally succeeded in establishing an encirclement.
The exhausted Gyo-noe-ja beside him gulped down water and spoke.
“Though the Heaven’s Net and Earth’s Snare is somewhat modest, they certainly cannot escape.”
“Excellent! Now that you guarantee it, I feel much more assured.”
Salgeomnuju wiped the sweat from his brow.
As three hundred assassins surrounded the rocky mountain and gradually closed in.
“Strangely, there have been no more attacks from Ilgwang.”
“They must be making final preparations to face us.”
“At last, a true confrontation.”
Three hundred assassins against merely three masters.
Moreover, the remaining assassins were all experts who had reached the pinnacle and transcendent levels.
If they could achieve victory against such odds, they would be remembered throughout Gangho history.
However, they numbered three hundred.
Even if they won, they’d only face ridicule as cowardly assassins.
But it didn’t matter.
If I had feared the scorn of Gangho, I wouldn’t have become an assassin in the first place.
‘Hmm, now that I think about it, it’s strange that Ilgwang didn’t bring the dog this time.’
The bird flew through the sky and was useful for spreading poison, but the dog was nowhere to be seen. I thought we’d engage in combat together, but there was nothing like that.
‘Perhaps he sent a carrier pigeon to request reinforcements from Baekrin Medical Guild.’
That would make sense.
After all, the spiritual creatures of Gaebang were used to transport carrier pigeons.
The rocky cave I arrived at.
The place where Jin Cheon-hee and his group had stayed.
Traces of a fire and remnants of paralytic poison were visible. It meant they had been here until just moments ago.
“Stay alert. Those three must be lying in ambush.”
With so many assassins, it was impossible to distinguish individual presences.
If those three were mixed among them, finding them would be even harder.
Even the legendary Salgeomnuju felt his heart nearly burst from tension.
Then a single flag appeared in the middle of it all.
[Zhuge Liang instructed Ma Su not to climb the mountain.]
An absurd inscription.
Yet no one failed to understand this was mockery directed at their assassin alliance.
Beyond that, a tunnel dug deep into the rock became visible.
Salgeomnuju suddenly understood why Hwang-gu was nowhere to be seen.
“This damned bastard dug a tunnel using the dog?!”
A dog hole.
Hwang-gu was so skilled at digging that Jin Cheon-hee had even learned from him and dug tunnels himself.
Thanks to that, he had even found opium.
But such circumstances hardly mattered now.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Salgeomnuju coughed up blood.
“Luzu! Luzu! Please calm yourself!”
“What are you all doing! He’s coughing blood from a heart demon. Emergency medicine, now!”
Watching this spectacle, Kyeong clicked his tongue in disbelief.
“…Ilgwang is not a man of Gangho. He’s not a man of Gangho. And he’s not an official either.”
Kyeong had never heard of anyone in Gangho history escaping through a dog hole.
Normally, one should be engaged in a life-or-death battle right now, shouldn’t they?
Ilgwang was speaking through this flag.
I’ve had enough fun, so should I throw in the game? Yeah. Next match?
Why am I not ready?
It was the method most capable of driving a person insane.
* * *
When Salgeomnuju coughed blood from his seven orifices due to the heart demon’s strike,
at that same moment, I was already walking through an area quite distant from the rocky mountain.
Despite being far away, Salgeomnuju’s voice still reached me here.
“일광 진천희!! 내 반드시 네놈의 골수를 씹어 먹을 것이다—–!!!”
Hearing that voice, I let out a quiet chuckle.
“Ah, he’s accumulated quite a bit of rage. With the heat rushing to his crown, the doctors of the Heukjeon Medical Guild will have their hands full.”
I hadn’t expected to send my opponent away without even crossing blades once.
Seeing this, Namgung Un shook his head.
“You’re truly a frightening person. Was this your plan from the beginning?”
I stroked Hwang-gu, who was covered in dirt.
Pant, pant, pant, pant—
Hwang-gu was delighted from digging up the ground so thoroughly.
Until now, whenever I asked him to dig holes in the yard or someone else’s field, I would rush over and stop him immediately.
“Well, what would I gain from fighting those people to the death? I relieved some stress, Noeji got the attention he’s been wanting lately, and Hwang-gu got to finish things with his digging!”
Clang!
Squeak!
As if they’d been waiting, the spirits each spoke their piece, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
I said,
“The martial disciples of Baekrin Medical Guild will mobilize soon to retrieve those poisoned and trapped by formations. Then we hand them all over to the authorities. That’s all profit.”
“Those who fled will go to the Heukjeon Medical Guild.”
“Elder Hyeolsaeng Nogoe will be delighted. He truly loves treating patients.”
Of course, the problem is that he doesn’t ask about the patient’s wishes or quality of life.
Regardless, Hyeolsaeng Nogoe will do his utmost for the patient’s health, and from a medical standpoint, he is undoubtedly one of the three great healers of Gangho.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“In the end, it’s a win-win situation~”
“Right. That’s how it is. There’s no need for us to kill each other to the bitter end.”
Hwang-gu struck my leg with his blackened front paws, panting heavily.
It meant I should keep petting his head.
Indeed, compared to other animals, dogs never want to be separated from humans, not even for a moment.
Even as a spirit creature, they cannot abandon that instinct.
I continued stroking Hwang-gu’s head.
Namgung Un spoke.
“It sounds like child’s play when you just hear about it, but you’re pulling off such pranks against two thousand assassins.”
“I’ve grown tired of killing and being killed.”
I smile faintly.
Why is that?
Since returning from Saeoe, there have been times when I smile like this—faintly.
I don’t know what I experienced, but my martial arts have deepened, and my thoughts have deepened as well.
Even the schemes I employ have changed somehow.
Just as Namgung Un grows, I too must be growing in the same way.
Sama Hyeon spoke.
“I’ll squeeze some money out of the imperial palace. Brother~”
“Right. To pay the bounties on all those assassins, even the Emperor would probably be left speechless. I’ll be taking all of it~”
I had a clear sense that Baekrin would grow even wealthier.
Heterodox factions meant money. Assassins, especially famous ones, meant even more money.
Moreover, since most of them had fallen victim to paralysis toxin and sleep poison, they wouldn’t suspect a thing until they were transported to the authorities.
Even if they tried to take their own lives, it would be impossible now that their pressure points had been sealed.
Jin Cheon-hee spoke with his blue eyes gleaming.
“If we can extract what information these assassins possess, we could uncover countless hidden shadows lurking throughout Gangho.”
So he had considered that far ahead.
It was terrifyingly calculating.
“You don’t pursue a single task for just one purpose, do you?”
“No. It’s a method my Master frequently employs. This foolish disciple merely follows his example. Of course, I’ve come this far largely thanks to our Hyeon’s considerable help.”
“Hehe~ This humble servant is embarrassed~”
The two of them were spouting absolute nonsense back and forth.
Listening to their exchange, Namgung Un found himself thinking one thing.
‘Can I, as Gaju, truly stand against people like these?’
I try my best not to make them enemies. But one must always account for the possibility.
That is Gangho.
That is the duty of a Gaju who bears responsibility for the family.
Father could not bear that burden and collapsed under it. Then what of me?
Could I manage it?
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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