Book 12: Chapter 8: Colorless and Odorless

Chapter 283 the heavily armed division of the House of Benevolence and Love, which had been defending the alleys like an iron fortress, began to withdraw like an ebbing tide.

“The enemies are retreating!”

An executive of the underworld organization, the Five Dragons Branch, turned his bald head bright red and raised his voice.

“Everyone, pursue the enemies right now—!”

“Wait!”

There was a hand grabbing his shoulder.

“What is it?!”

It was an executive belonging to the same Five Dragons Branch.

“We drove them out! If we don't pursue them now—” the one-eyed fellow executive shouted, panting with exhaustion.

“Have you already forgotten the enemy's guerrilla warfare that was continuing just now?!”

He raised his hand and pointed straight ahead.

At the end of the alley where they were located, there was a square in the middle reaches where all the winding alleys met.

“I heard that the Eldest Young Master's side had an advance base in that square.”

“So, what does that matter?”

Although the bald executive was annoyed, he exercised patience at the words of his one-eyed fellow executive.

His fellow executive was a veteran of the Northern War, who had lost an eye on the battlefield.

Instead, he knew what military tactics were, even if only superficially.

“Think about it. What if repeating crossbows are deployed all over the rooftops of the buildings surrounding that square?”

“……!”

Purple signal fireworks adorned the air, staining the pale face of the underworld executive purple.

“If we enter that square…!”

“Those heavy armored infantry from earlier will cut off our retreat.”

If that were to happen they would all have their bodies impaled by dozens or hundreds of arrows in a square without a single means of cover.

“…Damn it!”

As the members of the Five Dragons Branch stopped in the alley like that, other underworld gang members who were looking for an opportunity from behind began to rush up in droves.

Since their movements were unusual, there was no doubt that they were all unorthodox martial artists.

“It seems everyone is tired now!”

At the voice filled with blatant mockery, the bald executive of the Five Dragons Branch frowned.

“Ma Family Six Forests…!”

“You went ahead and worked hard to drain the strength of the heavy infantry!”

The executive of the Ma Family Six Forests waved his hand as he brushed past their shoulders.

“So, leave the rear to us, the elites of the Ma Family Six Forests!”

The view of his back as he walked away giggling.

Exchanging meaningful looks, the two executives of the Five Dragons Branch stared at the backs of the unorthodox martial artists of the Ma Family Six Forests.

They just watched.

However even after waiting for a long time like that there was no rain of arrows from crossfire as they had expected, nor did the enemy heavy infantry cutting off the retreat show themselves.

“The credit for seizing the central square is our Ma Family Six Forests'!”

Instead along with the triumphant shout of the Ma Family Six Forests' executive, only the cheers of the Ma Family Six Forests' martial artists were heard.

“…Did the enemies really all retreat?”

The one-eyed executive of the Five Dragons Branch, who had stopped the advance, wore a dubious expression.

“In that case, did the enemies give up the middle reaches? Did they decide to defend from the upper reaches?”

His one remaining eye was filled with confusion, unable to understand.

“No, no. It's still too early to give up the middle reaches—!”

“Tch, damn it!”

The impatient bald executive shouted to his subordinates.

“Guys! We will pass through the square and run straight toward the enemy's catapult positions!”

The enemy's catapults located in the middle reaches were still carrying out wide-ranging attacks across the entire valley and at the point when the enemy's troops had withdrawn, the catapult positions were nothing more than excellent prey.

“Run! Run!”

The two executives ran, even mobilizing internal energy, and the gang members squeezed out every last ounce of their strength to run and pursue them.

“No, damn it…!”

Nevertheless the starting point of the alley near the catapult positions was already swarming with members of other organizations who had arrived first.

“Damn it, these bastards are fucking fast.”

As if they had already finished the occupation the movement of the giant catapults visible through the alleys had stopped.

For that being the case, there were no cheers and an eerie silence was flowing, but the bald executive, who had run to the point of lacking oxygen in his head, had no room to feel that strangeness.

“Hey!”

He tapped the shoulder of the member of another organization at the very rear.

“Which group do you belong to…” the voice of the executive, who was throwing a tantrum even while catching his ragged breath, grew smaller toward the end.

“Gasp—, gasp—.”

The member of the other organization whose shoulder he had tapped was swaying his body and making a strange sound.

“Huh…?”

Looking at the face of the turned-around member of the other organization, the bald executive took a step back without realizing it.

“Uh? Uh?”

“…What is wrong—” the gazes of the subordinates, who were panting as if their breath was going to cut out from chasing the executive running with internal energy, were fixed on the other organization member's face.

“W-What is that?!”

“I-I don't know! How would I know?!”

The face of the other organization member was completely covered in unknown blisters, making it hard to even recognize who it was.

“Gasp—, gasp—.”

As if struggling to breathe, the other organization member scratched his own neck with his fingernails.

The blisters that had swollen white burst with a squelch, pouring out yellow pus and fluid.

“Cough, cough—!”

How violently the other organization member must have scratched his own neck, showing his hands smeared with his own blood and flesh, he staggered toward the members of the Five Dragons Branch.

“I c-can't, can't breathe…!”

“H-Help me—” the bald executive of the Five Dragons Branch reflexively kicked him in the chest.

“S-Shit?!”

Kicked by him, the other organization member rolled backward.

“Gasp, gasp—.”

After rolling his body inside out and twisting as if having a seizure, eventually, his breath stopped.

“Gasp, gasp.”

“Can't breathe? What is this?! Shit!”

His shaking gaze directed toward the inside of the alley, and he realized that the other organization members, who had looked like they were just standing foolishly in the alley, were all dead while standing.

“What on earth is it?!”

“……!”

When looking from afar the figures of those who had looked like they were climbing on top of the catapults to boast of their achievements to their surroundings now looked completely different.

They had all held onto the towering catapults and climbed them desperately.

Just as drowning people swim upward and upward to breathe.

“Are, are they all dead…?”

A subordinate gently approached and asked the bald executive, who was frozen like ice, unable to say anything.

“…Yeah, shit.”

He replied, scratching his bald head roughly.

“Whatever it is, they're all dead—” the eyes of the executive who turned back to look at his subordinate widened to the tearing point.

Even in the darkness of the alley, his vision, backed by internal energy, could confirm that his subordinate's face had flushed bright red.

“You, you…?”

The sight of small blisters starting to creep up on that skin was so clearly visible.

“Why are you looking at me like that…?”

The subordinate who had been asking with a blank expression suddenly coughed.

“Huh? Why is my throat suddenly like this…?”

At that the other surrounding subordinates also began to cough consecutively.

“Uh, my breath…, it's hard to breathe—” the one-eyed executive, who had been inspecting the corpses of the already dead other organization members, turned back to the subordinates at that coughing sound and clicked his teeth.

“Cough, cough—!”

“This is…!”

Had he noticed something?

[Run away immediately!] leaving only that short sound transmission, the one-eyed executive began to run at full speed without even looking back.

“Where are you going alone?!”

There was no response.

“H-Help me….”

A subordinate grabbed the collar of the remaining bald executive.

“B-Breath—, gasp—.”

The characteristic gasping sound.

There was no way he had already forgotten that sound he had heard from the member of the other organization just moments ago.

“Shit!”

Reflexively shaking off that hand, the executive looked around.

Gasp, gasp.

Without exception, the subordinates were gasping and swaying their bodies and without exception, their entire exposed skin was covered in blisters.

“Shit, shit!”

Stepping back from his subordinates, he turned his body just like that and ran at full speed.

* * *

Catapult position, underground evacuation space.

The members of Artillery Squad Number One, who had hidden themselves in the underground evacuation space, were safe.

“…The sound of scratching at the door from above, asking to open it, has stopped.”

At the report of the subordinate who was monitoring the tightly closed door above the ladder, the squad leader nodded heavily.

“I understand.”

The subordinate asked while repeatedly looking at the sealed door.

“…Are all the enemies dead?”

“At least, around here they are certainly all dead.”

“……” each artillery squad dragged out time until the very last moment to lure the enemies to the deepest points.

And then they had retreated to their respective, pre-arranged underground shelters.

“…This door will be safe, right?”

Seeing the subordinate who could not stop questioning as he was swept by anxiety, the squad leader sighed and waved his hand.

“I will guard this place, so you go inside and rest.”

“Yes, yes. Thank you…!”

Holding his axe, the squad leader sat on a supply crate near the ladder with a heavy expression.

His gaze directed toward the tightly sealed door above him.

“……” surely, hell would be unfolding above.

They had achieved a brilliant feat in securing great battle results by drawing the enemies deep inside.

However, far from cheers coming out in the underground evacuation space only silence mixed with anxiety and fear was filled.

If someone coughed due to the dust accumulated underground, everyone was prone to being startled as if having a seizure.

“……” the squad leader firmly gripped the axe, which kept slipping from his hand as it was doused in sweat, and repeated the name of the poison that had unleashed a living hell on the ground.

‘…Faceless and Lifeless.’

* * *

“Faceless and Lifeless?”

The bald executive running at full speed along with the one-eyed executive of the Five Dragons Branch asked back.

[Use sound transmission! We must save our breath!] due to his sound transmission skills being insufficient to execute along with movement techniques, the bald executive failed several times before barely succeeding in conveying the sound transmission.

[What on earth is Faceless and Lifeless?] goosebumps broke out as the blisters swelling on his subordinates' faces and the gasping sounds overlapped with the scene he had witnessed on the battlefield that day.

[It is a poison. A weapon of mass destruction of the Sichuan Tang Family.] at those words, as if unable to believe it, the bald executive shook his head.

[No, what on earth is a poison with no color and no smell—] the one-eyed executive shuddered.

[Just once.] the one-eyed fellow's sound transmission cut off his.

[I saw it used in the military camp of the northern tribes during the Northern War with my own eyes.] what was harbored in the single remaining eye of the fellow executive was definitely the vivid color of fear.

[Since the entire body is covered in blisters, even one's parents cannot recognize the face, hence 'No Face' (Mumyeon). Since one must choke to death like a fish hauled onto land, hence 'No Life' (Mumyeong).] the bald executive's face turned pale blue.

[C-Can we? Can we live?] on the path they ran down.

Every single alley and path was filled with corpses.

[…Just do not inhale too much breath. As long as internal energy flows in the body, we should be able to hold out.] at those words, the bald executive wore an absurd expression.

[Internal energy must flow in the body, yet we are to reduce breathing…?] for internal energy to flow endlessly in the body, stable breathing was essential.

Telling someone to circulate internal energy while reducing breathing was no different from telling them to breathe underwater.

[…That is the only countermeasure I know of.] from where to where had they dispersed the poison?

“Damn it…!”

Although the bald executive scanned left, right, and in all directions with eyes wet with fear while running there was no way for them to identify a colorless, odorless poison.

Was it that his body was itchy as his constantly flowing cold sweat cooled down?

Or was it that blisters were rising due to poisoning?

Was it uncomfortable to breathe because he was saving his breath?

Or was breathing becoming difficult due to symptoms of poisoning?

Only the corpses of underworld gang members whose faces could not be recognized were littered in all directions.

“Shit!”

The wind blowing from the top of the valley felt like it was tightening around his windpipe.

[Over there! It is the square in the middle reaches!] what the one-eyed executive pointed to was the square in the middle reaches of the valley they had passed through.

He leaped into the square first, without even looking back.

[What about the guys of the Ma Family Six Forests…?!] the bald executive who followed him into the square was lost for words.

“……” in that pandemonium which had been the middle of the battlefield just moments ago, only a silence resembling death was filled.

“……” corpses were littered all over the square.

The Ma Family Six Forests, which had rejoiced after occupying the enemy's advance base, were already wiped out.

“N-No. There's no way. These guys were the elites of the Ma Family Six Forests! They were all martial artists…!”

Clasping his head, the bald executive shouted with his physical voice.

“Since we are still alive, how could the martial artists of the Ma Family Six Forests have succumbed to the poison all at once…?!”

The one-eyed executive inspecting the traces on the corpses shook his head.

[These guys were poisoned by Faceless and Lifeless, but they did not die from the poison.] the bald executive asked again.

“What…?”

“What does that mean—” his words could not continue to the end.

Clank.

Clang, clang.

Because the sound of iron chains scraping the ground, heard from over there, shattered the silence of the square.

[…They all died from hidden weapons.] no sooner had the one-eyed fellow's sound transmission ended than figures dressed in pitch-black clothes revealed themselves from all over the square.

Hiss—, hiss—.

There was no way to recognize their faces because every single one of them was wearing a black poison-avoiding mask on their face.

Hiss—, hiss—.

The sound of their breathing heard through the masks, and their figures standing like statues, were chilling to the extreme.

And.

Clank.

Clang, clang.

Dragging the chains connected to two sickles long on the ground, the one who revealed himself at last was.

“The Head Collector of the Tea Horse Road…!”

Although he was wearing a poison-avoiding mask he had not recognized him by his face in the first place.

The poison of the Sichuan Tang Family.

The hidden weapons that had wiped out the unorthodox martial artists of the Ma Family Six Forests.

And two chain sickles.

His name, which even the executive belonging to the Luoyang unorthodox gang had no choice but to recognize, was Tang Baek and he was a Grim Reaper.