A Strategy

"We all surrender; please don't kill us."

Around the battlefield, the remaining criminals dropped their weapons. The assassins who stood behind old Li had heard stories of a bloodthirsty killer known as Black Moon, one who traveled alone and didn't hesitate to slaughter entire villages just for fun.

But now, the Black Moon standing before them was very different from the one they'd heard about in those stories.

Old Li recognized Jun's attire, his sword movements, and knew that he could do nothing but offer his own life if it meant his boys could live one more day.

This shouldn't have happened, but now that he still had honor, he would be the last to die.

That is why Li, the White Crane of his village of assassins, which was under the command of Yuu village, knelt down, took a stone knife, and, looking at Jun, asked, "Will you assist me?"

Jun looked at his blood-soaked sword and nodded, walking over to stand beside old Li, waiting for him to stab his heart. "This ritual is sacred; your honor will remain intact, and as an assassin who has trained his whole life, you will die as one."

"Follow this man; he will show you a better path than I ever could." After saying this, Li raised his knife and, with a single thrust, pierced his own heart.

"Master..."

Many men dressed in white fell to their knees, weeping. Jun watched all this, but he didn't care. He raised his sword, and with a clean cut, Li's head fell to the ground.

"Good. As your first order, kill all the bandits on the battlefield. I don't want anyone left alive."

"Won't you spare them?"

"They are not my concern. They are all criminals who have committed heinous acts, so they must be buried here on this battlefield," Jun said as he wiped the blood off his hands.

The soldiers under Jun's command stepped back, raised their shields, and formed an enclosed space to ensure the criminals had no chance of escaping.

The White Crane assassins hesitated, but their eyes soon turned to their master, who had been invincible in their eyes, and then shifted to Jun.

A Black Moon...

The most feared assassins in the world, capable of easily taking down a battalion of a thousand soldiers.

Jun was that kind of assassin, one who could eliminate all evil in the world.

At that moment, everyone made a decision, just as old Li had done.

"Orders heard, master."

"What?"

"Damn traitors."

"You will die."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"Ahhhhhhh!!!"

Jun had never imagined that the White Crane assassins would follow his orders to kill the remaining criminals who were useless to him.

"Sir, wouldn't they be of use?"

"Their hearts are corrupted; expecting them to follow orders is asking too much of them," Jun said as he turned his gaze away from the White Crane assassins and focused on the women in the distance.

"What's next?"

"Clean up the battlefield. Take armor or swords—anything useful for future battles we must carry with us." Jun swung his sword, cleaning off the blood in the process, and his eyes turned toward Yuu Ren, who had a strange look on her face.

From a distance, Jun smiled, and with just the movement of his lips, he whispered, "I am not your enemy; someone else wants to kill you."

"Huh?" Yuu Ren had thought that Jun Asura was here to kill her, and she hadn't had any other thoughts about him until now.

This was a trap, and the battle was nothing but bait to lure her out. "We must return to the village to prepare."

"Yes, princess."

But before they could move, a white figure appeared by their side, and with a beautiful spin, the edge of a sword venomously sought the heads of Yuu Ren and her companion.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A head flew during that exchange of attacks, and Kyou Kai, followed by a dozen women wielding swords like her, appeared on the battlefield.