The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 892

 Chapter 892

 

“Hmm….”

Raon was about to strike down the Crimson Slash once more when his hand, gripping Heavenly Drive, came to a sudden halt.

‘The energy of death is coming back.’

The purple sea, split apart by the Crimson Slash, writhed violently as it began devouring the fire of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.

‘The energy of death deeper inside is much stronger.’

The energy of death in the outer waves could still be cut with astral energy, but the core of the purple sea in the center emanated such dense and sticky energy of death that even the astral sphere wouldn’t be enough to pierce through it.

‘Then I’ll just hit it harder.’

Raon gracefully swung Heavenly Drive back over his shoulder, then thrust it forward toward the purple sea.

Whooosh!

A massive flame dragon surged from the blade, letting out a thunderous roar that shook the sky and the land.

Kwaaaaaah!

The Flame Dragon Art shot forward as if it would devour the entire purple sea, burning away half of the energy of death engulfing the land.

But before long, new energy of death surged up from the ground, filling the void left behind.

‘The problem isn’t just that new energy of death keeps appearing.’

It’s getting stronger.

Every time he burned away the energy of death with fire, an even stronger wave of energy of death would rise to take its place. At this rate, there was no way to completely erase the purple sea.

‘Then I need to eliminate the source.’

If he unleashed an all-out sword strike using the power of Transcendence, he might be able to push back the sea, but in the process, he could also be ambushed. For now, it was better to assess the situation first.

Fwoooosh!

Using the remaining flames on Heavenly Drive, Raon raised a massive wall of fire to block the surging wave of energy of death.

“What exactly has been happening here?”

Once he confirmed that the purple waves couldn’t get past his Firewall, he approached Trevin.

“…That kind of energy of death wasn’t here when I first arrived.”

Trevin let out a long sigh, staring at the shimmering, sickly purple ground.

“And the monsters weren’t like this either. They weren’t rotting, decayed monsters—just normal monsters.”

He shook his head as he looked at the corpses of the decayed monsters.

“Then where did this purple energy of death come from?”

Raon asked, his brow furrowed as he watched the purple waves trying to breach the Firewall.

“It emerged from underground right after we killed all the monsters on the plains.”

Trevin wiped the blood trickling from his lips, his expression grim.

‘He’s suffered internal injuries.’

Raon frowned as he noticed the black blood flowing from Trevin’s mouth.

‘It must be from holding back that energy of death all on his own.’

Trevin must have pushed his aura to its limits to protect the Warring Steel Division swordsmen and the nomads from the energy of death. Emitting aura through one’s entire body was an incredibly taxing feat, yet he had endured until now. His willpower was truly admirable.

"But that alone doesn’t tell us the cause. We need to figure out how this all started..."

“E-excuse me, but I can explain.”

As Raon narrowed his eyes at the purple sea, an old man with snow-white hair approached, leaning heavily on a worn staff.

“And you are…?”

“I am Chapran, the village chief.”

The elder introduced himself as the chief of Bodry village and struggled to bow.

“I am the leader of the Light Wind Division of Zieghart.”

Raon used Garunua’s wind to blow away the energy of death drifting toward him before nodding at the village chief.

“Ah! I’ve long heard of your esteemed reputation, Light Wind Division leader. They call you the Dragon Slayer, the Usurper...”

“Let’s set that aside for now. Please tell us how this all began.”

Raon lowered his hand, asking the old man, whose eyes were wide with awe, to explain everything that had happened.

“Of course… I apologize.”

The village chief took a deep breath, his frail hands trembling as he gripped his staff.

“In truth, there were no monsters in this plains before. It’s barren land, just dried grasses. There was nothing here that would attract them.”

He explained that although it was a harsh, desolate area, it had been peaceful.

“But one day, monsters started emerging from beyond that river. At first, it was just small monsters like goblins and kobolds, so we managed to fend them off. But then stronger ones, orcs and gnolls, started showing up, and we couldn’t hold out any longer.”

He explained that they had planned to hire mercenaries to protect the village, but before they could do so, they encountered the Warring Steel Division and asked for their help instead.

"We eliminated all the monsters that had attacked the village and even crossed the river to investigate. But there was nothing there."

Trevin furrowed his brow deeply.

“We thought we had eliminated every monster in the area, so we were preparing to return to the family when…”

"Don't tell me..."

“Yeah. More monsters suddenly appeared from beyond the river. Dozens of trolls, monsters that were nowhere to be found when we scouted the area, came rushing out at once.”

Trevin clenched his jaw, as if the situation still made no sense to him.

“As we kept slaughtering wave after wave of monsters, building a defensive wall around the village, the river suddenly turned purple.”

Trevin gestured toward the river at the far edge of the plain, clenching his trembling fist.

“And that’s when you requested reinforcements.”

“Yes. I realized it was no ordinary incident and asked the family for help. But the moment I did, an overwhelming surge of energy of death erupted from that purple wave.”

He shook his head, explaining that the river on the plains had swelled to its current size almost instantly.

“Right before you arrived, sword-wielding zombies started appearing. I have no idea what’s going on anymore.”

Trevin sighed heavily, frustrated despite having witnessed everything firsthand.

“Chief, was there anything unusual about the village or the river before the monsters first appeared?”

Raon turned to the village chief.

“Oh… now that you mention it….”

The chief tapped his staff against the ground as if recalling something.

“The morning before the goblins first attacked, I saw a strange rock beneath the river.”

“A rock?”

“Yes. A rock with thorn-like protrusions on its surface was dimly visible beneath the river water. Sometimes rocks pushed by the current appear, but the rock I saw was quite large, so I thought it was unusual….”

He lowered his white eyebrows, explaining that he had forgotten about it because the monster attacks came one after another.

“That must be it.”

Martha crossed her arms and nodded.

“If we just smash that rock, I’m sure this whole damn sea of energy of death will go away.”

She grinned as if the answer was obvious.

“So this isn’t a natural phenomenon, it means someone is behind it.”

Burren narrowed his eyes, scanning the surroundings.

“It could be the Black Tower or Eden.”

He flicked his fingers, suggesting that either faction could be behind it.

“Then we should prepare to fight right away!”

Krein exclaimed, gripping his sword tighter, declaring there was no need to wait.

“No….”

Runaan shook her head calmly.

“We can’t just charge in recklessly…”

She gazed at the surging purple sea with a displeased expression.

“L-Lady Runaan! So you’re scared just like me! I completely understand!”

Dorian sniffled, saying he knew that feeling all too well.

“That’s not it.”

Raon looked at Runaan and nodded slightly.

“The more monsters we kill and the more we push back the energy of death, the stronger the backlash. She’s saying we need to be careful.”

The village chief had said that after they killed the goblins and kobolds, orcs and gnolls appeared. Then, after the Warring Steel Division wiped them out, even stronger monsters emerged, along with the surge of the river of energy of death.

Based on everything so far, it was clear that the more monsters they killed and the more energy of death they erased, the stronger the response became.

‘Wrath, just to be sure, do you sense any trace of celestial energy in that purple sea?’

If Derus Robert had combined celestial and necromantic abilities, it was possible that celestial energy was at play. Raon asked Wrath just in case.

Celestial energy? What celestial energy! If there was even a trace of it, he would’ve told you already!

 

Wrath shook his head as if urging him to hurry up and deal with the problem.

All the King of Essence can sense from that sea is a stench so foul it’s unbearable. But he’ll say this, it’s strong enough to be a threat to even you, so don’t take it lightly.

He snorted, warning Raon not to underestimate it.

" Th-Then… does that mean we have no choice but to leave it as it is?"

Trevin bit his lip, as if blaming himself for making a mistake.

"Damn it! I should’ve just stayed out of this!"

He punched the ground in frustration, believing his good intentions had only led to disaster.

"No."

Raon placed a hand on Trevin’s shoulder and shook his head.

"You did the right thing."

"What? What are you talking about…?"

Trevin widened his eyes in confusion.

"Whether you stepped in or not, this situation would have happened anyway. Instead, you discovered it early and sent a request for reinforcements in time. That was a wise decision."

"But…."

" Even if it triggers a greater backlash, we have to deal with it. We can’t just hold the line forever."

Raon clicked his tongue as he watched the wave of energy of death slowly push against the fire of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.

"Are you saying…?"

"Yes. We fight."

He raised Heavenly Drive and nodded.

"Before the backlash comes, we’ll use all our strength and speed to shatter that rock. And if that doesn't work, we’ll just evaporate the entire river."

"Ah…."

Trevin blinked, stunned by Raon’s calm yet confident words.

"We’ll begin at dawn, so rest while you can."

Raon told him to recover his strength and tossed Trevin internal and external injury medicine.

“Are you sure about this? We don’t know what might burst out of that rock…”

Trevin, holding the medicine in trembling fingers, couldn’t hide his concern.

"Before coming here, I sparred with the head of house..."

Raon smiled faintly and swung Heavenly Drive. The white blade glowed red-hot, forming an even larger wall of flames.

"And he told me that the only ones who could defeat me now are the Transcenders of the old era—The Five Kings, The Five Demons, and the heads of the Divine Five Orders."

His red eyes gleamed, flickering with lightning-like energy as he effortlessly pushed back the waves of energy of death.

"Trust your new superior."

*   *   *

As the purple sea devoured the vast plains and mountains, the sun rose over the mountains, pouring golden light into the world.

Boom.

Bathed in that brilliant light, Raon stood before the sea of energy of death. He planted his left foot on the ground, simultaneously raising Heavenly Drive in his right hand and the Wooden Ring Sword in his left.

Kwoooong!

Red and blue flashes erupted from the two swords falling simultaneously. The fusion of Flame Dragon Art and Heavenly Heavy Cannon. One force surged forward, while the other pulled, creating a massive explosion.

Boooooom!

Like a miracle descending from the heavens, the center of the purple sea was ripped open, revealing a path leading straight to the river—the source of the disaster.

"Charge!"

"Charge!"

At Raon’s command, the Light Wind and the Warring Steel Division swordsmen formed their respective formations and advanced into the purple sea.

Krooooooar!

From within the split waves of energy of death, decayed monsters and zombies lunged forward as if they had been waiting for this moment, attacking the swordsmen.

"Cut them all down!"

"This is our one chance! Stay focused!"

"I’ve got your back…!"

Martha, Burren, and Runaan led the charge in the front, while the Warring Steel Division provided support from behind. Strangely enough, their coordination was seamless—proof of the many battles they had fought together.

Boom!

Without Raon even needing to step in, the monsters rising from the sea of energy of death were swiftly beheaded by the Light Wind and the Warring Steel Division swordsmen.

However, the battle was far from easy. Just being inside this space filled with energy of death was rapidly draining everyone’s stamina, mana, and willpower.

It was no different from battling in a sea of poison. They had to break the rock and escape as quickly as possible.

Rumble!

Thanks to Raon’s initial attack and the excellent teamwork between the Light Wind and Warring Steel Divisions, they reached the river much sooner than expected.

“Th-the river water is completely black?”

Burren grimaced in disgust.

“Can we even step into that?”

Martha frowned, saying it looked like just touching it would make their skin rot.

“This is… awful…”

Runaan covered her nose and mouth, saying it was difficult to breathe.

Just as they had said, the energy of death rising from the river was so potent that even master-level warriors struggled to approach.

‘There it is.’

Through the Evil Eyes of Wrath, Raon spotted something beneath the river’s surface. He nodded slightly.

‘That must be the rock.’

As the village chief had described, a rock with thorn-like protrusions stood tall beneath the river water.

‘However, those aren’t thorns.’

Upon closer inspection, the protrusions weren’t natural, they were markings from a sorcerous ritual. As expected, this rock was the true cause of everything.

He didn’t even need to analyze the sorcery to confirm it. The energy of death radiating from that rock was far denser and more toxic than even the purple sea that had engulfed the plains.

“Wait behind me.”

After instructing everyone to retreat, Raon increased the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation outputs to the maximum, enveloping his entire body in golden flames as he stepped into the river.

Sizzle!

The energy of death-infested waters evaporated as he descended, stopping before the rock.

‘Just standing in front of it is giving me a headache.’

The energy of death was so intense that simply facing the rock caused a dull, agonizing pressure in his mind.

‘I’ll destroy it in one strike.’

To completely shatter the rock, he unleashed the Azure Sky Sword’s Azure Sky’s Grand Elegance.

Kuwaaaaah!

As the grand, sky-colored flames descended upon the rock, the sorcery marks on the rock shone bright white, triggering a massive explosion.

Booooom!

The Azure Sky’s Grand Elegance and the energy of death exploding from the rock collided, and an enormous shockwave swept across the vicinity. The wave of energy of death was pushed back, and the ground itself tore open, exploding skyward.

Tch.

Having anticipated this, Raon raised the Firewall to block the shockwave. Then, he looked towards where the rock had been.

Whoooosh!

A white-haired old man descended onto the purple ground, which had been flattened as if the river had never existed there in the first place. The immense energy of death emanating from his feet seemed to distort the surroundings.

"You…."

Raon’s lips trembled slightly as he recognized the fierce gaze of white-haired old man.

"DemonBlade?"

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Derek, one of the heads of the Five Divine Orders, chuckled sinisterly as he gazed at his energy of death-coated arm.

"Raon Zieghart."

 

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