The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 731

 Chapter 731

 

Thunk.

Raon calmly shook Derus's hand. Without emitting any aura or killing intent, he simply moved his hand up and down, staying true to the gesture of a handshake.

‘Now is not the time to provoke him.’

Derus Robert was the most suspicious and cautious person Raon knew.

The fact that Derus extended his hand first meant that he had already made all necessary preparations.

‘Be patient.’

Raon suppressed the blade of death that seemed ready to pierce through his heart, biting the inside of his lip.

‘Stick to the plan.’

It was impossible to expose his true identity while Derus was fully focused.

On the contrary, he might fall into Derus’ trap and end up giving away information instead.

Now was the time to suppress his anger and thirst for revenge and put on a fake smile, just as Derus had always done with everyone.

Brr.. Th-the atmosphere is chilling. It feels like we've entered an ice fortress.

Wrath muttered that it felt like the weather had gotten colder, shivering his shoulders.

"It’s an honor to shake hands with the Sky Sword Saint."

Raon smiled faintly, subtly brushing his thumb across the back of Derus’ hand.

‘I can’t feel it properly.’

The black leather gloves Derus was wearing were too thick to detect any wounds on the back of his hand.

He was an infuriatingly cautious man.

Raon suppressed the urge to burn Derus’ gloves and ended the handshake.

“Raon, you will undoubtedly rise far higher than I ever could.”

Derus offered an insincere compliment, flashing a bright smile as if it were illuminated by light.

"Oh, right."

He clapped lightly as if suddenly remembering something.

"Did you know that your nickname has changed?"

"Yes."

Raon slightly lowered his gaze and nodded.

"I heard I'm being called the ‘Usurper.’ It's a splendid nickname, but it still feels a bit too grand for me."

As Raon spoke of it being too grand, Lephon, who was standing behind Derus, flinched his shoulders.

“It’s not too grand at all.”

Derus waved his hands in an exaggerated manner.

“Haven’t you already dethroned corrupted kings from their thrones?”

He laughed, saying the nickname suited him perfectly.

"In fact, the nickname ‘Usurper’…"

Derus brought Lephon Robert, who had been standing behind him, to the front.

"My youngest son here came up with it. He's still a big fan of yours."

He laughed, saying it made him jealous.

"Oh, hello."

Lephon, looking embarrassed, lowered his head shyly.

"Oh…."

Raon widened his eyes slightly as he greeted Lephon.

‘Now that I think about it, Chad did say the nickname ‘Usurper’ came up from the south.’

Chad had told him about the new nickname, mentioning it had strangely spread from the south.

It really seemed like the boy in front of him had coined the nickname ‘Usurper.’

‘Lephon Robert….’

In those innocent eyes, an unhidden kindness shone through.

A child he hadn’t seen in his previous life. He had been born after the asssassin Raon had died and was only having his coming-of-age ceremony this year, seemingly not yet tainted by Derus.

‘But I can’t let my guard down.’

Derus was a monster who would even brainwash his own children and feed them Rage Worms.

He couldn’t afford to be careless just because the boy’s eyes were kind.

"I-I'm sorry."

Lephon slumped his shoulders, staring at his toes.

"I didn't mean to…."

He trembled his lips, apologizing as if he had given Raon a bad nickname by mistake.

"No, it’s not that."

Raon shook his head, placing a hand on Lephon’s trembling shoulder.

"It’s not that I dislike the nickname ‘Usurper,’ I just meant that I’m not yet worthy of it."

Since he was still a kid, Raon made sure to explain it clearly so that he wouldn’t be disappointed.

"R-really?"

Lephon looked up with a bright smile as if sunlight had suddenly appeared.

"Yes. I like it. Thank you for giving me a good nickname."

Raon nodded, looking into Lephon’s sparkling eyes.

"I-I should be the one thanking you, Sir Raon!"

Lephon scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, shifting his gaze.

"Um, Sir Raon. I’m sorry, but…."

He pulled out two thick books from his spatial pocket. They were volumes of the book Chronicles of Raon Zieghart, which Raon had seen just a moment ago

"Ugh…."

Raon groaned as he looked at the book bearing his name in the title.

‘How far have those things spread?’

He was beyond impressed by Encia’s distribution network—he was downright dumbfounded.

"Lephon. The others are waiting in the conference hall. It’s better to get the signatures later."

Derus gently patted Lephon’s head, apologizing.

"Hurry up!"

"Why are you young ones so slow! I’ll have finished all my candy by the time you get here!"

Ogram and Chamber raised their voices from the conference hall, urging them to come quickly.

"Oh…."

"I’ll sign them for you after the conference, so don’t worry."

Raon promised the flustered Lephon that he would sign the books after the conference.

"Y-yes!"

Lephon responded as if he were standing in front of a superior, his posture stiff.

“And I really do like the nickname ‘Usurper.’ I’m planning to dethrone a certain foul king from his lofty throne soon….”

Raon smiled, meeting Derus’ eyes instead of Lephon’s.

"When his crown falls to the ground, I think I’ll be able to accept the nickname Lephon gave me without any burden."

"I look forward to it."

Derus twisted his lips as if he knew that the foul king Raon spoke of was none other than himself.

Raon and Derus, wearing different smiles, entered the Beast Union’s conference hall.

* * *

Advance chapters: Tinyurl.com/Albnlfff 

For Indonesian: Tinyurl.com/Aldbnlff

"Then let’s begin the Conference of the Six Kings."

The vice union leader of the Beast Union, who was chairing the conference, bowed his head to those seated in the round conference hall.

"Before we bring up the first agenda, I will tell you about the current situation of the war and its results."

He held up a document, saying he would start by reviewing the situation.

"The war began with a duel to the death between Zieghart’s Light Wind division leader and the Axe King of the South-North Union. When the South-North Union couldn’t accept the Axe King’s defeat, they launched a surprise attack, and the blue dragon Helmet swordsman, the leader of the Shadows, appeared…."

The vice union leader of the Beast Union rolled up his sleeves after summarizing the events.

“While the Six Kings suffered significant losses, the destruction of the South-North Union is a positive outcome. The balance that had tipped toward the Five Demons is now restored.”

“But there’s another problem, isn’t there?”

King Lecross raised his hand, lowering his eyebrows.

"Indeed. The Shadows have now allied with the Five Demons, and the dragons has also become our enemy. It’s true that the Six Kings are still at a disadvantage. However…."

The vice union leader clenched his right hand into a fist as he continued.

"The fact that our enemies are now clear is a positive aspect for us. We won't be caught off guard by the dragons like last time."

He nodded, saying it might be beneficial to have clear distinctions between friend and foe.

"……."

Derus smiled as he sensed the growing heat in the atmosphere of the conference hall.

‘Just as expected.’

They’re all after me.

His transcendental senses, beyond mere intuition, whispered to him.

The monsters in this conference hall are secretly observing him.

'And my hand, at that.'

The heads of the Six Kings were only focused on his hand, with their gazes, sounds, and senses. They were certainly pondering whether there were any wounds on his hand, how he might have hidden them if there were none visible, and how to find them.

The only ones truly concentrating on the conference in this hall were the heads of neutral factions.

'Interesting.'

Derus Robert rolled his eyes, sensing the tension rising like heat waves.

It was no different from a war where everyone was laying down their cards, and it made him smile.

'Especially that one.'

He scrutinized Raon, who couldn't take his eyes off the vice union leader.

'Though his martial power is lacking, his intuition and acting skills surpass even those of the old men of the Six Kings.'

He remembered the teaching that the best opportunity often hides the greatest trap.

The handshake he offered Raon was, of course, a trap. If he tried to target the scar on the back of his hand, it was a sharp trap to extract information and find fault.

'Of course, that guy also got impatient in the end.'

Raon couldn’t hide his gaze toward the hand during the handshake, and even tried a clumsy move to subtly check the back of his hand with his thumb.

'Raon.'

Derus curled his lips briefly, lowering his head.

‘Even if you were reborn, nothing would change.’

In his previous life as an assassin, Raon hadn’t doubted every situation, which led to his head being severed by Derus. Even after reincarnation, it seemed he hadn’t changed much.

It seemed that even after reincarnation, he hadn’t changed much.

‘This battle is one you can never win.’

You’ll never be able to expose my wound.

It was true that Raon had left indelible scars on the back of his hand, but both times, it happened because he had let his guard down.

As long as he didn’t let his guard down around Raon from the start, there was no way the doppelganger’s skin would have been pierced.

'And….'

It was even more impossible to draw out the energy of death.

The energy of death was sealed at the deepest part of his soul.

It was hidden in a place so difficult to find that even Glenn would have a hard time locating it, so the only thing Raon could aim for was the wound on the back of his hand.

'This is a mission that requires absolute retreat….'

Derus flicked his fingers while sneering at Raon's red eyes.

'But I know you won’t retreat.'

Because I taught you that way.

‘In the end, you're destined to disappear after helping me once again in this second life of yours as well.’

Derus Robert clasped his hands together, murmuring that this time he would hold a grand funeral for him.

Rewards he would gain after concluding this matter started to pop up one by one in his mind.

* * *

"What matters to us now is the location of the disappeared dragons and the identity of the blue dragon helmet swordsman."

The vice union leader lifted the second document, slightly nodding his chin.

"Since that day, the Dragon Lord and the dragons have disappeared as if they no longer exist on this continent. Some of them even abandoned their lairs."

He read the report without hesitation, as if he had already completed the investigation on the dragons.

"They probably won’t show up for a while."

Chamber licked her lips, tapping the round table with a candy stick.

“Dragons were born as the strongest species on this continent. After nearly being wiped out by a single human—the very beings they once regarded as insects—do you think they’d be in their right minds? They’re probably hiding somewhere, trembling in fear.”

She giggled, finding it amusing and saying it served them right.

"It’s not just the dragons."

King Lecross raised his hand, signaling that he wanted to speak.

"The Fallen, the master of the Holy Sword Alliance, the leader of the White Blood Religion, and the blue dragon helmet swordsman will also find it difficult to move."

He nodded, stating that even if they survived, they wouldn’t be able to show themselves for a long time.

"Th-that's a relief..."

The Magic Tower’s master, who seemed pleased that there would be no fights for a while, revealed her eyes for the first time.

"During that time, we must reorganize our forces and strengthen our power. So that when we face them again, we can crush them."

Chamber clenched her small fist, emphasizing the need not to miss this opportunity.

"I agree. Our kingdom of Owen is also ready to enhance the capabilities of our knights."

King Lecross, stroking the silent sword resting on the round table, cast a sharp gaze.

"House Robert has already begun training. Everyone is sweating blood, swinging their swords."

Derus Robert nodded, agreeing that they should seize this opportunity.

"All of this is thanks to Sir Glenn, so we are just grateful."

He stood from his chair and bowed to Glenn.

“They called it Heart Sword, right?”

“Yes. I heard that everyone present couldn’t move for a while after witnessing that sword…”

"To think it cut down both the Five Demons and dragons in one stroke, I still can’t believe it."

The leaders of the neutral factions exhaled deeply, recalling the Heart Sword they had only heard about.

"Of course, that old man is indeed amazing. But…."

Ogram averted his gaze from Glenn.

“If it weren’t for Raon, that old man would have been pierced through the heart and become a corpse.”

He bared his teeth, pointing at Raon with a smile.

"In other words, the person who ended this war and bought us time wasn’t Glenn but Raon!"

"Of course, everyone knows that."

Chamber rolled her eyes, wondering why he was stating the obvious.

“It’s worth mentioning again. I truly believe the leader of the Light Wind division changed the course of the war.”

King Lecross gave a thumbs-up, acknowledging the tremendous achievement.

"Aren't you scared...?"

The Magic Tower’s master lowered her head, saying that she probably wouldn’t have been able to stop it if she had been there.

"So, Raon."

Ogram turned his upper body towards Raon, grinning.

“Is there any wish you might have?”

“Huh? A wish?”

Raon widened his eyes as if hearing it for the first time.

"As Lecross said, what you accomplished wasn’t just saving a person, it was changing the balance of this continent."

Ogram nodded solemnly, his eyes serious.

"If you state your wish, I’ll fulfill it as long as it’s within my power."

He motioned with his hand as if to say Raon could ask for anything.

“I feel the same way. I’ll even marry you if you ask.”

Chamber adjusted her witch’s hat, saying his face was good enough for her.

"Hey, that’s too shameless. The age difference is… 100 years… Huff!"

King Lecross shook his head, then closed his mouth when he saw Chamber's reddening eyes.

"If-If there’s anything you want in Owen, just ask, leader of the Light Wind."

He shouted his willingness to grant any wish, avoiding Chamber’s gaze.

"As long as it’s not too troublesome…."

The Magic Tower’s master lifted her head for the first time. Her beautiful blonde hair flowed onto the table.

"I can’t be left out of this. House Robert will grant your wish too."

Even Derus Robert offered to grant Raon’s wish, smiling.

"Raon, speak your mind."

Glenn reached out his hand, urging Raon to step forward.

"Hmm…."

Raon scratched the back of his head and stepped in front of the round table.

"Although it’s a bit embarrassing, but there is something I’d like to ask."

He began to speak calmly, turning to look at Glenn.

“I learned swordsmanship from the head of house, and I was taught the Raging Sea by the Beast King. I’ve also received advice from the Silent Sword Sovereign.”

Though he had never actually received any martial arts advice from the Silent Sword Sovereign, no one could uncover that lie, so he proudly straightened his back.

"I wanted to learn from you too, Sir Derus, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much interaction with house Robert."

Raon slowly lowered his gaze. Fiery red flames flickered in his eyes as he stared directly at Derus.

"I would like to request a sparring match with the Sky Sword Saint, Derus Robert."

Previous Chapter Next Chapter