Mercenary Black Mamba

A flail attacked him from left and right. Mu Ssang's upper body was thrust back and forth with an afterimage. After the flail, two katanas followed. Billion Water Armor parleyed the blades and the Glock on his left hand was fired.

Two bullets hit the face of the shadowy figure who attacked from the left. The blade of Mu Ssang's hand struck the shadowy figure on the right. The ninja whose face was crushed collapsed and blood gushed out from the other ninja's neck that was shot. The skirmish was concluded in a few moments.

​ When Mu Ssang smelled blood, his asura's soul, or rather, the epidium factor in his genes was awakened. The deuteronion, a compound made from deuterium, flooded his brain and spinal cord.

His startled heart accelerated his blood flow twentyfold. Provided with deuteronion, his muscles and tendons, which conferred unlimited energy and oxygen, squirmed.

"Great!"

Mu Ssang grinned chillingly, revealing his white teeth. The ninjas, relying on the dark, were no different from the voodoo fanatics. He didn't care if they committed murder or human trafficking in Korea, but since they were his enemy here, he didn't need to exercise any mercy.

Shurikens rained down. His kukri made a shield of strokes in front of him and the shurikens bounced off the shield. Three ninjas wearing samurai robes soared into the sky noiselessly.

The tips of their blades appeared out of nowhere and even from the ground to swipe at their ankles. It was Meteorites and Island in the Air, the skills that finished Ryoma, the legendary samurai from the Muromachi period.

Mu Ssang rose mid-air magically. The blades of the ninjas slashed the empty space. Billion Water Armor hit the head of the ninja who attacked. Mu Ssang's legs turned like a windmill in the air.

"Aargh!"

The ninja's head tore apart when Mu Ssang's palm struck it. The three ninjas in the orbit of his feet were smashed like peas in a hand mill. Their swords with thousands of layers in their blades were cut in half.

"Aargh!"

There was a desperate scream. Blood was sprayed in the air and pieces of flesh and bones rained onto the floor.

"Why are there so many?"

Mu Ssang, with his epidium factor activated, was ruthless. Billion Water Armor buried itself into the ground at arm's length. Dirt splashed about like a firework's explosion and the monk hidden in the ground was fished out.

"Advance!"

Their supporting group fired machine guns from behind. Mu Ssang wielded the monk's body to use as a shield.

"Aargh!"

"No!"

The monk's body became rags after receiving dozens of bullets at a close range. The ninjas struck by his body had their backs and necks broken.

Once in Mu Ssang's hand, anything became a lethal weapon. A ninja with a broken back blew the blowpipe that he held. A finger-length dart struck Mu Ssang's calf.

"Die! It's lethal poison!"

The ninja smirked, satisfied.

"No!"

Stepped on by Mu Ssang's boot, the ninja's head burst like a firework. Mu Ssang was immune to all the most lethal poisons in the world: botulin and cantarella. The poisonous dart was not effective on him.

"Sky Net!"

The three robed ninjas fell from the sky. Dimensional Sight discerned the invisible net. The kukri sliced the net. Nothing was felt through the hilt.

"Oh!"

It was a formless, conjured-up net. When Mu Ssang was considering this, the ninja holding the net wound around him. Mu Ssang was cocooned in an instant.

"Hiya!"

"Hah!"

The ninjas, spotting their chance, attacked from all directions. Dimensional Sight was spread from Mu Ssang. The dense energy dispersed the spell-net and made the atmosphere shimmer.

"What is this?"

The ninjas' attack was stalled by the shockwave. Through a thread-thin crack in the force field, the kukri drew a diagonal stroke. Four heads were beheaded at once.

"Advance!"

The attack, momentarily stalled, was resumed. Mu Ssang threw away his empty Glock and sprinted around the battlefield. The CIRA agents providing supporting fire from behind were decimated.

"Idiots!"

Chui Do Shik, watching the battle from behind, was startled. While he was watching the advancing party of the ninjas, their main firepower in the back was eliminated.

No more than 20 seconds had passed. Twenty-five students, three monks, and 13 agents were obliterated like a crumbling dirt wall before a flood. The damage they sustained was as heavy as their attack.

The man defeated Nobuyuki and exuded a certain aura of strong energy, suggesting that he was a hidden master. He regretted not taking action sooner but the regret was late and futile. He needed to save his remaining students first.

The ninjas, who flocked like moths to fire, were now retreating like a receding tide. Mu Ssang didn't chase the running ninjas and jumped to the frontline instead. His own agents were being decimated.

"Die!"

Chui Do Shik aimed with his left prosthetic arm. It was a new weapon loaded with exploding bullets. A strong spring flung forth the bullets one by one. The bullets shot through the air and then exploded. After exploding, the bullets continued on at supersonic speed.

"Huh!"

Mu Ssang gasped. As soon as he was about to evade with a deft motion, the supersonic speed of the bullets caught him off guard. It was too late to evade them now. The kukri drew several strokes. Several explosions were heard.

The kukri, having parleyed the supersonic bullets, vibrated as if it was about to break at any moment. Mu Ssang jumped to the B5 area quickly. He didn't have time to handle this one. Sun Woo-hyun and Zulu were being cornered.

"Bastard!"

Chui Do Shik frowned, seeing that his ultimate weapon proved to be useless. If he let Mu Ssang loose, the advancing ninja group would be eliminated. Chui Do Shik kicked the ground and dashed forward. Mu Ssang and Chui Do Shik both disappeared from the battlefield at once. The surviving ninjas withdrew like a receding tide too.

"Hmm. Asura!"

A moan was heard on the now-quiet battlefield. It was from Jeong Pil-su, who had covered himself with blood and ducked down. The battle began like a lightning and ended in a flash. In a few moments, torn flesh and bloodshed covered the ground. It was beyond anyone's imagination. Hell itself would have been better than this. Jeong Pil-su shuddered in the sea of blood.

******

* * *

"It's messy."

Sun Woo-hyun and Zulu were already covered in blood, facing a small-statured ninja. They were barely evading the fatal blows, but it was clear that they were losing. If it were not for Zulu, a half-zombie shielding most blows, Sun Woo-hyun would have been done long ago.

The friendly agents were not faring well, either. The ninjas had penetrated the blockade despite the headcount ratio of 40 to 5. Now there was melee combat everywhere. Each agent learned Krav Maga as part of basic training, but when they entered melee combat with the ninjas, the result of the battle was preordained now. Dead bodies were already strewn across the ground.

Mu Ssang, floating mid-air, threw shurikens at the small ninja attacking Sun Woo-hyun. Then he struck the ninja thrusting his sword into a friendly agent's neck.

The kukri grazed the ninja's neck. The ninja stopped in motion abruptly like an unwound toy soldier. Blood gushed out like a fountain. The friendly agent, showered by the blood, stared absent-mindedly at Mu Ssang's back swishing by. His empty headspace was not washed-out white.

Mu Ssang teleported across the battlefield. The ninjas killing the friendly agents fell like leaves caught in a violent wind. Billion Water Armor, empowered by Resonance Wave, proved most useful. When it struck a ninja's forehead, the back of their head burst open. When it struck a ninja's stomach, their back burst open. It only took two or three seconds until the five elite ninjas including Sasaki were eliminated.

The small ninja leisurely parleyed the incoming shurikens with their hand. It was a display of considerable speed and strength, considering the momentum the shurikens harbored.

Sun Woo-hyun, spotting his chance, fired his Glock repeatedly. The ninja struck by ten 45-ACP bullets was pushed behind, overcome with momentum. But that was all.

"Hahaha!"

The ninja spat out a bizarre sound and shook their body. A shimmer-like vapor rose from the ninja's body. The crushed bullets dropped to the ground at once.

"What?"

Sun Woo-hyun's face darkened. Zulu stopped in his track. The ninja was quite powerful.

"I will kill you!"

The ninja tore off the mask it was wearing. Long dark hair streamed down her face. The bony face covered with long hair made her look like a ghost.

"Stand guard, Unit 38."

Hwa Ja stopped at once as soon as she registered Chui Do Shik's telepathic message.

"Unit 49? Is she a Korean?"

Sun Woo-hyun frowned. The hoarse voice clearly spoke Korean. After getting beaten up by Dino, now he was getting his ass handed to him by a girl. This infuriated him to no end.

"Huh, Hwa Ja?"

Mu Ssang was startled. The bony face barely had any flesh on it, but the long tails of her eyes, her saddle nose, and her protruding cheekbones looked like Jang Pil-nyeo's. The woman was clearly Hwa Ja. Why was she here after she went missing in Korea?

"Is she not Hwa Ja?" said Mu Ssang in his mind.

She looked like her, but the brain wave scanned by Dimensional Sight was not hers. The energy that felt like rotten blood was only present in zombies. Mu Ssang was caught up in sudden confusion.

His confusion was resolved soon. Dark energy descended upon them. Mu Ssang ducked down low until his body almost touched the ground, then wielded his kukri behind his back. There was a deafening explosion. The surviving agents and ninjas covered their ears and frowned.

The shockwave shook the atmosphere. The noise from the battlefield ceased at once. Chui Do Shik gritted his teeth and withstood the shock that almost disjointed his entire body. If it were not for all the training he went through, he wouldn't have survived it.

"The Japanese elder? Nice to meet you again!"

Mu Ssang giggled and calmed his vibrating kukri. Even though he was wearing a black mask, he still recognized Chui Do Shik. The bad blood formed 10 years ago in Bangtae Mountain continued forth across continents and oceans to a jungle in East Africa.

"Idiot! You must be..."

Chui Do Shik's eyes widened like two dishes. His worst fear was manifested here.

"Unit 37!"

Chui Do Shik roared like a wounded animal. He felt stinging pain where his prosthetic arm and leg touched his body. The painful memories of getting dismembered by the young bastard and running away through a polluted river burned alive in his head.

"You will be beheaded this time. You shouldn't look so glad."

Mu Ssang grinned mischievously. After Mu Ssang faced him in the river, he completely got over his trauma regarding Chui Do Shik. He was not a fearsome being but a monster who simply mastered the ninja skills and had his body enhanced with spells.

"Shut your dirty hole!"

Chui Do Shik ground his teeth.

"Be careful. Your teeth would be as brittle as your old body. Don't pretend to be a hybrid. Stick to one language. Is it Korean or Japanese?"

Mu Ssang gloated.

"My gods have led me here. This time, I will behead you and use your head as a bedpan."

A master was indeed different. Chui Do Shik regained his composure at once. He had inherited the energy of five elders to ramp up his combat power by 20 percent. The 20 percent of difference was akin to the difference between a stream and a river.

A fight between masters was decided by the tiniest of differences. At the river, he was overwhelmed by Mu Ssang's power and energy, but now he was feeling confident. With the aid of Unit 38, he would gain 10 percent more combat power.

"Your gods are all inbred. They didn't lead me here. Your voice sounds better. You won't be able to use it anymore though."

"Let's find out whose neck is sturdier."

Chui Do Shik raised his Muramasa, poised. The tip of his sword was aimed at Mu Ssang's face. Mu Ssang raised his kukri. There was no friendly spirit between the two. There was only bad blood. No more words were needed.

The Muramasa sliced through the air. The kukri parleyed and then there was an explosion of sparks. Their limbs intertwined and blades shone. The two blurry figures struck each other and then jumped back. Dozens of strokes were drawn with each breath.

Blue sparks exploded like a firework. The din of kukri and Muramasa colliding resounded in the air. The thigh-thick trees struck by their limbs were blasted apart. When their feet touched the ground, great holes were made.

"Ugh!"

"Hiya!"

The surviving agents and ninjas were awestruck, forgetting their own battle. The battlefield suffered another round of destruction. Shrubs and grass were unrooted. Great trees were bent and broken. Rocks turned into gravel, then into the sand.

The flying debris and dust blocked the onlookers' gaze from the two. It was not a fight between two humans but a fight between a monster that crawled from hell and an alien that dropped from the sky.

"This old man is quite fierce! The world is full of wonders."

Sun Woo-hyun, who was trying to snipe Chui Do Shik, gave up and lowered his rifle. The movement of the two men was too fast that his eyes couldn't track them. Also, the monster that could withstand Wakil's attack would probably not be harmed by some bullets.