Chapter 4 – First Job

Three Poison Sect members immediately leaped at Leo and his group with daggers in their hands and murderous intent reflected in their eyes. Green Qi moved like a liquid around their weapons, reflecting how dangerous they were.

However, Leo didn't move at all. He saw no point of moving from his position.

"Jack."

He just called out a name while holding a small toy similar to the one in Chiaki's shoulder, and three silent shots pierced through the head of Poison Sect's attackers. 

Their bodies dropped lifelessly one by one in front of him with dark holes in their foreheads. The Qi protecting their body dissipated as the light faded from their eyes.

A moment of silence befell everyone. Not even the Heavenly Demon reacted as he thought that he was hallucinating due to his injury.

'They took out my people before they could even respond?!' Guk-Bo's mind went blank when he saw his subordinates fall without warning. He quickly circulated his Qi and tried to suppress his anger by closing his eyes.

Even if he was calm, it didn't stop him from trying to murder this group in front of him. There were still twenty members of Poison Sect here, all were 3 Stars martial artists. He should focus on his main target instead of these Mercenaries, but he still couldn't help but feel anger welling up inside him.

"I must admit that your strength is stronger than I thought," he said as he tried to suppress his anger, "Ignore them and kill the Heavenly Demon!"

Immediately, all members of the Poison Sect rushed at the old man. Their daggers were aimed at him without any hesitation. The Qi coating their daggers hummed violently as if they were excited to kill.

Still, they made a mistake. Mok-Rang was able to gather his Qi when the three Poison Sect members attacked Leo and his group.

A violent aura manifested itself around him.

Mok-Rang deflected one dagger using his hand while sweeping his leg to knock over the other attacker. He slammed his elbow on the last one's chest before hitting his temple with a palm strike, sending him flying backward to a tree.

Although he looked tired and sick due to his poison injury, his combat prowess was still something to behold. Even with these people supporting him, they wouldn't be able to win against him even if they tried.

It was overwhelming, though. Some Poison Sect members managed to breach his Qi and got close. They swung their daggers toward Mok-Rang at once. The old man's body was pierced from all sides... Or so they thought.

"Water Wheel."

A person in oriental robe similar to them appeared in front of Mok-Rang as if his violent Qi was just a puff of wind and swung his sword. Water droplets appeared out of thin air as he spun his body, making it looked like the air was parting itself for him.

Guk-Bo's eyes widened when he saw his people were cut in half. Blood splattered into the air as severed bodies fell to the ground, unable to survive an instant death blow.

Only he survived. He gritted his teeth as he stared at the new enemies coldly. Everything went wrong when the strange group of people appeared.

"You're dead!"

The bearded man rushed toward Leo with two daggers in hands. He didn't even care about Heavenly Demon again. The chance to kill the old man was gone already. All he had in mind was to kill Leo who made a mess in the plan that was about to succeed.

A green aura erupted from his body as he ran toward Leo while slashing down at him with his dagger. A single cut could easily dismember a normal person into pieces. But when the blade almost reached Leo, it suddenly stopped.

"Coco. Eat him."

From Chiaki's shoulder, the metal toy suddenly jumped in front of Leo and enlarged. The alien-like toy showed its sharp fangs before opening its mouth wide. Purple saliva dripped from its razor-sharp teeth before it devoured Guk-Bo completely with a single gulp.

Guk-Bo didn't even get to scream or let out any sound before he vanished from his sight, leaving only the green aura he let out behind him. 

Even that disappeared into thin air when the toy, Coco, returned to its small form and perked on Chiaki's shoulder again.

Burp~

Silence descended upon the battlefield as Mok-Rang looked at them. The Heavenly Demon had lived for a long time, more than a hundred years to be exact. He had seen everything in this world. But for the first time since he was born, he couldn't help but feel deep awe toward these strangers.

"We have finished our job." Leo's voice resounded in the ears of everyone present, bringing them back to reality. He glanced at Mok-Rang as he grinned devilishly, "I hope you have the money with you."

Mok-Rang's ability to think returned. He saw the swordsman who saved him already standing behind the young man again like an aide. He looked at them and cupped his hands.

"You have my gratitude," he said with a sincere smile. "And of course, I will pay you for your service."

Leo's band was able to beat the Poison Sect that was trying to finish the Demon Sect in less than a minute. Their abilities were genuine.

"We will look forward to the pay. But before that, should we get you treated?" Leo suggested while glancing at his condition. "I don't think you're in a good shape." He joked lightly as if this place wasn't full of corpses.

"Right." Mok-Rang nodded and placed his hand on the building behind him. "But don't worry about me. I will recover quickly after resting."

"Impressive," Leo responded with a slight nod as he was feeling both happy and impressed right now.

They talked about a few more things before Mok-Rang brought them to one of the intact buildings in the Sect. Leo and Jessica followed him while he asked Chiaki and Shui to check the bodies and found anything valuable from them.

Anya and Jack stayed outside to watch over the surroundings, just in case someone else decided to attack them again. The Heavenly Demon didn't know about them yet. Leo was sure of that.

Once inside, Mok-Rang began speaking at once as if he didn't want to waste time anymore.

"Once again, I offer you my gratitude. I am the Heavenly Demon, the leader of the Demon Sect, Mok-Rang," he said as he sat down in front of them.

The hall was surprisingly well-maintained and had several papers and scrolls arranged neatly in rows on the shelves. Leo was looking around for a while and answered Mok-Rang immediately after the old man introduced himself.

"I am Hallowed Insects Mercenary band leader, Leo. And this is my secretary, Jessica."

"It's my pleasure to meet you." Jessica smiled as she bowed slightly, taking the lead immediately. "Shall we talk about the pay immediately? I apologize but we need to fulfill our job and contract first."

"Of course. Let's talk about it." The Heavenly Demon responded.

Leo smiled silently when he saw her handling the conversation like this. As expected from a secretary like her.

'In the game, the negotiation will always end in a flash. It's nice to have a proper conversation for once.'