Kingdom: The Black Moon Assassin

More than three months had passed, and food, as was evident, was dwindling, now being delivered at half the amount it initially had been.

This didn't bother Jun much; he had found a source of clean water. It was like a flooded sinkhole, semi-open, discovered in his search for water.

Only then, after a long time, was he able to bathe, washing away all the grime from his body. It felt like shedding extra weight.

He felt better; at least bathing with cold water from time to time eased his physical exhaustion.

But problems soon arose, so severe that Jun didn't know how to react.

The small Dang, who had survived in the middle section and joined Liu's group, referred to as "small" because he was the youngest, though he was likely around ten years old, had reached his goal thanks to relentless tenacity. However, now he lay dead on the ground, his body mangled and covered in black bruises, his face mutilated beyond recognition.

The sight of the young boy immediately sparked the fury of Liu and the others.

"Who the hell did this!?" roared Lau, his voice filled with rage.

"I won't let this go unavenged! Bastards!" shouted one of the children, hatred burning in his eyes as his friend now lay dead.

Incredulity overtook everyone. It was hard to accept what their eyes were seeing.

There was only one reason for Dang's death: he was the weakest link in the group, and his habit of rationing his food had sealed his fate.

There were still remnants of food in his hands, a sign that he had been attacked before he could eat.

Lau, frowning, asked the children, "Did anyone see who did this?"

But everyone, as if no one knew what had happened, shook their heads in silence.

"Damn it! We need to know who did this so we can take revenge." Lau followed the recommendation of Dang's friend.

Though he wanted revenge, the lack of a known culprit filled him with frustration.

It was then that Zhang spoke, his voice calm yet laden with determination.

"It doesn't matter who did it."

"What are you talking about?" Liu asked, perplexed.

"It doesn't matter who killed Dang. What matters is that someone who was following us has died."

"That is..."

"Even though Dang is dead, if we don't do anything, everyone will start losing respect for us." The smart boy named Zhang murmured these words again.

"Yes, but to take revenge, we need to know our opponent."

"But it will be too late if we wait a day or two to find the culprit; we'll waste valuable time, and that will make other groups look down on us."

"No one would dare attack us."

"We need to get revenge now in the same way..."

Zhang didn't mention who the target of their revenge would be, but Lau already knew. A weak and defenseless child, like the smallest of the other groups, would be their target.

That night, Lin's group moved in secret, driven by the pressure of its members, and the weakest child in Liang's group was killed.

Thus began the bloody war.

Jun practiced his speed and footwork while holding his stick. After his training, he approached a fence where he ripped off the cleanest part of some moss for dinner. Though the taste was still disgusting, it was better than starving.

The war among the children had also reached June. It was brutal; hard to believe that it was carried out by youngsters no older than ten.

At first, hesitating to take a life was common, but after seeing the bloodshed, those feelings disappeared.

Food was scarce, and it was impossible to share it equally. Faced with such a situation, the children chose to reduce the mouths to feed, one by one.

Jun stopped going for food because he didn't want to burn his luck; he might be strong, but he couldn't face everyone directly.

Peaceful coexistence had been impossible from the start. Each night, a new corpse appeared.

One day it was the death of Lin's group, another of Liang's, and there were also multiple victims from Cheng's group.

Distrust grew, and the children began to leave their groups, trying to survive on their own. The three largest groups split into smaller ones, and violence increased with the scarcity of food.

The underground cave, already infernal, turned into a true hell. No one could feel safe; no one could guarantee their survival.

Hungry and desperate, the children became as fierce as rabies beasts. Yet Jun kept his distance from them, surviving on moss. But that peace ended abruptly when someone came for his head.

Crack!

A faint crack reached Jun's ears, a sound so subtle that no one would have noticed except him. At least four people were approaching his hideout, a place so deep that no one could stumble upon it by accident. They were there with a purpose, and it was not a good one.

"Are you sure this is the place?" whispered a voice that seemed anxious.

"Yeah, I'm sure; don't bother me," replied another voice, with evident fear in every movement.

"Why is it so dark here? I can't see anything."

The voices resonated in the darkness. One of them lit a torch, revealing their faces, and it was Liang along with three others.

After losing an eye at Jun's hands, Liang had been waiting for the opportunity to take revenge. The scarcity of food had fueled his thirst for blood, and now he was ready to face his fear.

But when they illuminated the place, Jun was not there.

"Why isn't he here?" exclaimed one child who had followed Jun, bewildered.

"No… I'm sure he was here."

"Damn it! Where is he?"

Panic gripped the children. Then a bloodcurdling scream echoed in the darkness. One of the children had been struck in the foot with a stone.

Crack!

Another scream resonated as a stick hit the side of a child's ribs. Then a black shadow moved swiftly, positioning itself behind the last child.

"Bastard!" yelled the child, throwing a punch, but the shadow disappeared in an instant.

"Argh!" The child was left breathless; the black shadow, Jun, had wrapped his arms around his neck, cutting off the blood flow to his brain. The child struggled, but his life extinguished quickly.

"Bastard! Let Wang go!" Liang shouted, panic in his eyes.

But Jun did not release the boy until he fell dead to the ground. He hadn't hesitated to become a killer, knowing that's what the creators of this place wanted.

If he wanted to survive and be the best to avoid dying from the world's adversities, he needed to be fierce enough for others to respect him.

The child's body collapsed. Liang backed away, trembling with fear.

"Hey, damn devil! How dare you kill Wang…?" He shouted, though he himself had killed several. But the fear Jun had instilled in him was strong. The terror in his single eye betrayed him.

Jun approached him slowly; the torch illuminated his face slightly, which remained calm, a band covering his eyes to avoid injury from the torch's light.

"Sorry! I'll become your slave, I promise."

"At first, you'll be obedient, but over time, your fear will fade, and you'll try to do the same again." Jun wasn't foolish enough to be swayed by this vengeful child's words.

"No… I'll never go back on my word; please forgive me." Liang pleaded, but before he could finish, Jun disappeared from his sight.

A searing pain overtook him as Jun's fist struck his chin, and his vision blurred as Jun's arms tightened around his neck.

"Don't kill me." Liang begged, but Jun did not release him.

"The reason I'm going to kill you is that I'm being watched; I fear I might disappoint the people who gave me the chance to learn about Chi, that strange sword technique, and the opportunity to belong to something much greater after these trials are over," Jun thought, his expression calm. His hand would not tremble against those who wanted to kill him.