The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 973

 Chapter 973

 

Snap!

When Xanthos snapped his fingers, a blue light surged up from the round table, projecting a map of the continent.

Surprisingly, not only were major powers like Zieghart and the Balkar Kingdom displayed, but the names of countless mid and small-sized factions were also on the map.

“We should start with the fall of the Black Tower.”

As Xanthos nodded, the black tower that had risen in Montiro collapsed like a sandcastle.

“The Black Tower had been hiding in Montiro, sending out demonic creatures from the devildom to gradually gnaw away at the territories of Balkar, Owen, and the Beast Union.”

He frowned as he looked at the darkness rippling around the borders of Balkar, Owen, and the Beast Union.

“In truth, it wasn’t us who suffered the most, but the factions that sided with us. Many of them even had to relocate to other regions. But with the fall of the Black Tower, everything changed.”

As Xanthos lowered his finger, a white light began to spread over the charred and blackened territories of Balkar, Owen, and the Beast Union. It seemed to symbolize the complete disappearance of the Black Tower’s influence.

“The endless attacks from the demonized humans and demonic creatures have stopped, and for the first time in ages, people have been able to sleep peacefully. Even if it's only temporary, peace has returned.”

He looked at Raon, emphasizing that this brief peace and happiness were made possible solely because the Black Tower had fallen.

Judging from the way he spoke, it seemed Xanthos was not the king of Balkar but had appeared here as the moderator of the Conference of the Five Kings.

“He’s right!”

Beast King Ogram agreed, slamming his palm on the round table. His physical strength was as monstrous as ever, and the shock made the entire conference hall tremble.

“The demonized humans and demonic creatures from the Black Tower kept pestering us with attacks, making it impossible to sleep properly, but now they’re completely gone.”

He nodded vigorously, saying the people of the Beast Union were finally living in peace again.

"It's the same for us in Owen."

King Lecross looked at the castle engraved with the name Owen on the map, smacking his lips with satisfaction.

“Word must have spread to the Four Demons’ side that I was wounded, but there hasn’t been a single attack. They seem more concerned with hiding their tails.”

He looked warmly at Raon, remarking that the disappearance of the Black Tower had a much greater impact than expected.

“We’ve destroyed many factions under the Four Demons, but this is the first time we’ve seen a result like this. In the end…”

Glenn narrowed his eyes as he looked at the five stars marked on the glowing map.

"To end this war, it means we must destroy the Four Demons’ main body, not just the small fry."

He tapped his finger on the table, saying that this was the only way to bring an end to this drawn-out war.

“Exactly.”

Chamber nodded as she pulled a lollipop out from under her witch hat.

“If we don’t take off the head, they’ll multiply like cockroaches again and throw the continent into chaos. Countless people will suffer.”

She bit into her lollipop roughly, saying they didn’t have much time.

“The problem is… we have no way to find them.”

Lecross placed a hand on his chest and frowned, as if he still felt pain from the injury inflicted by Derus.

“To be honest, we would never have found the Black Tower’s location if it hadn’t been for the Light Wind Palace master. Even if we killed the DemonBlade, it wouldn’t have been easy to extract information from him, and finding the Black Tower, hidden in another dimension within Montiro, would’ve been near impossible.”

He bit his lip slightly, adding that it was only because of Raon that the tower’s location was found so easily.

“There’s no need to go looking for them. All we need is to grow stronger! Once that old hag and I recover our strength, it won’t matter who comes, we won’t lose!”

Ogram clenched his fist, saying that rather than searching for The Four Demons, the Five Kings should focus on recovering and strengthening their own forces.

“Unfortunately, that won’t be enough.”

Chamber bit her lip thinly.

“Unlike us, who have fixed paths, the Four Demons walk a path outside human norms. It’s impossible to grow stronger faster than them. Have you already forgotten how the White Blood Religion’s leader drank your blood and underwent that absurd explosive growth?”

She tapped her own temple three times, telling him to think carefully.

“And another thing…”

Chamber narrowed her eyes at Ogram.

“If you call me an old hag one more time, I’ll rip that filthy mouth off your face.”

She tilted her chin with a deadly smile.

“Ugh…”

Ogram’s fingertips trembled, whether from Chamber’s threat or from recalling what he had suffered at the hands of the White Blood Religion’s leader, it was hard to tell.

“We don’t have much time.”

Glenn placed his clasped hands on the round table, closed his eyes, then opened them again.

“Just as she said, the Four Demons are growing stronger and expanding their power far faster than we are. They have no lines they won’t cross.”

He shook his head, saying that although the Black Tower had fallen, the overall state of the war still wasn’t exactly favorable.

“In the end, that means we have to find the Four Demons no matter what.”

Ogram sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair.

“That’s why we’re using this Conference of the Five Kings to gather people.”

Xanthos gave a faint smile and raised his hand, causing the names of neutral factions across the continent to begin shimmering on the map.

“Just like how the Light Wind Palace master found the Black Tower, the more people we have on our side, the more likely it is we’ll find even the smallest clues. We need to draw neutral factions over to us and gather whatever information we can about the Four Demons.”

He added that the reason for bringing the neutral factions in wasn’t just for the sake of military strength, and placed his clasped hands on the round table again.

“But pulling in those groups that have never stood before the Five Kings won’t be easy.”

Lecross furrowed his brow with visible concern.

“That’s true too. It’s already been quite a while since this full-scale war began, and the fact that they’re still staying neutral means they’re just picking which side looks like the tastier meal, us or the Four Demons.”

Chamber wrinkled her nose in distaste.

“It’s hard to trust them completely, too. If The Four Demons offer a better deal, they could leave us in an instant.”

King Lecross narrowed his brow, calling these people worse than merchants.

“Then we can’t just sit back and watch! We need to teach them a lesson so thoroughly they won’t even think of testing us again!”

Ogram clenched his rock-solid fist and growled that discipline had to be enforced immediately.

“And this sort of thing is something I'm good at. If you just wait...."

Just as he was about to say he would handle it himself.

Wuuuuuung!

A tremor and rumbling came from the direction of the capital, as if an earthquake had struck. The shaking wasn’t severe, but everyone present was a Transcender, none of them failed to notice it.

“What’s going on?”

“Did a fight break out?”

“Don’t tell me… The Four Demons?”

As tension rose in everyone’s eyes, Raon stepped forward.

“It’s not that.”

He raised both hands to calm everyone down.

“That lesson and discipline you just mentioned…”

He smiled and turned his gaze toward the window.

“It’s already begun.”

*   *   *

Ssshhk!

A black-haired man lay collapsed on the ground, which had been gouged deeply as if struck by a meteor.

The red hawk emblem on his martial uniform signified that he was from House Sairan, a powerful household in the central region, but right now, it meant nothing.

“Guh….”

As the black-haired man coughed up blood and tried to rise—

A shadow fell over his head.

Thwack!

It was Martha. She stomped down on his back with her foot and twisted her lips.

“See? That’s what you get for running your mouth.”

She muttered that it was his own fault as she firmly pressed down on him.

“Urgh…”

Unable to endure the pain, the black-haired man rolled his eyes and passed out.

“T-This is going too far!”

A middle-aged red-haired man, also wearing the House Sairan uniform, trembled as he spoke.

"We were just drunk and repeating rumors we heard floating around!"

He shook his head, insisting it wasn’t serious talk.

“Your name?”

Martha tilted her chin at the red-haired man.

“Uh… I’m Rotan Sairan…” …”

The red-haired man hesitated for a moment before stating his name.

“All right. Rotan.”

Martha called him by name as if addressing someone far beneath her.

"Do you think this is the first or second time I've seen bastards like you?"

“Those rumors didn’t come from others, you’re the one spreading them. That tavern was quiet until you started flapping your tongue. All they’d done was praise Raon and the Light Wind Palace.”

She flicked her finger against Rotan’s forehead, telling him not to spout lies so blatant they reeked.

“Ugh…”

Rotan bit his lip, as if he had nothing to say.

“S-sure, we said some rude things, but for a Grandmaster like you to attack us, that’s way too much! He and I are just mere Masters!”

He admitted to running his mouth but shook his head in protest, saying this was over the line.

“This is nothing but violence…”

“And you used verbal violence first.”

Martha smacked the back of Rotan’s head as she snapped, “Don’t give me that crap.”

“Urgh…”

Rotan drooled from the pain, as if this was the first humiliation he had ever suffered since being born into House Sairan.

“You have no idea how soft-hearted our palace master is! If Raon had heard the garbage that came out of your mouth earlier, he’d have buried you alive in the sand and boiled you afterward!”

Despite calling Raon “soft-hearted,” Martha was painting him as a merciless demon.

“Ah, n-no…”

“But you’re not entirely wrong either.”

She gave a thin smile as she glanced at the frightened Rotan.

“There’s no need for a lion to step in just to slaughter a pig. So you…”

Martha shoved Yua, who had been standing behind her, forward.

“…our little bunny will take care of you.”

“U-Uh, sister?”

Yua widened her eyes at Martha, clearly not expecting this to happen.

"Really, me....?"

She looked at Rotan and gulped nervously.

“You’ll be fine! Just do as you practiced.”

Martha smiled gently, assuring her that it’d be no problem if she fought like in training.

"Uhm...."

Yua slowly stepped forward, seeming to trust Martha more than her own skills.

“Are—are you mocking me?!”

Rotan gritted his teeth.

“You said I was going too far, so I swapped in someone easier for you and you’re still whining? Is this that 'easy justice' trend everyone's talking about?”

Martha frowned, clearly annoyed by Rotan's continued complaints.

“So, what now? Want me to step in instead? Think you can handle that?”

“N-No, that’s…”

Rotan bit his lip, torn between the fierce, devilish smile of Martha and the seemingly innocent demeanor of Yua. Ultimately, his gaze settled on Yua.

"Fine! Don't regret this later! My sword has no eyes!"

Rotan raised his sword and shouted that they should begin at once.

“Hoo...”

Yua slowly exhaled as she drew her sword.

“Just remember what it felt like to get beat up by Raon. That memory alone will get you through anything.”

Martha offered no advice beyond that, simply patting Yua on the back.

“Hraaaah!”

Rotan stomped down on the cracked ground and charged at Yua. True to his realm as a Master, he rode the wind and brought his aura-infused sword down in a heavy strike.

‘That sword is…’

Yua narrowed her eyes as she watched the arc of Rotan’s falling strike.

‘Too slow.’

Compared to Raon or the squad leaders of the Light Wind Palace she had sparred with, his sword was clearly slower, allowing her to read his flow clearly.

‘Let's use that flow.’

Yua adjusted her footwork, moving in a flow distinct from Rotan's.

Thwump!

She leaned back, letting his strike pass, then swiftly countered with a thrust half a beat ahead.

Fwhoooosh!

A ripple of red wave blossomed from her sword, striking right in front of Rotan’s chest.

Boom!

What began as a small ripple surged into a massive wave, engulfing Rotan.

Kyaaaaaang!

Caught off guard, Rotan dropped his sword in shock.

“W-Wait! I was just caught off gua—”

“There’s no such thing as being caught off guard in a fight!”

Yua didn't hesitate, closing the distance and striking his head with the flat of her blade.

Thwack!

Though she held back, the dragon bone sword caused blood to spurt from Rotan's crown.

“That’s it!”

Martha gave a thumbs up toward Yua.

“Even the head strike was perfect!”

She grinned, asking how Yua had come up with the idea to bash his skull.

“I've seen young master Raon do it countless times...”

Yua scratched her wrist, saying she’d simply copied what Raon did to the Light Wind swordsmen every day.

“Well, you’d naturally copy it after seeing it so often.”

Martha patted Yua’s head and said she had learned well.

“Hrrrk…”

Rotan groaned, overwhelmed by the pain and the humiliation of being defeated by someone much younger.

“This is just too much...”

Just as he struggled to get up—

From the west, north, and south of the royal capital, violent storms of aura erupted.

“W-What is that…?”

“Oh, that?”

Martha shrugged, noticing the fear in Rotan's eyes.

“They're cleaning up chatterboxes like you. You were actually lucky to get caught by us.”

“Ah…”

Rotan realized then, he hadn't been randomly caught up in something. This was deliberate. And with that, he dropped to his knees on the spot.

“All right, next.”

Martha confirmed that Rotan's spirit was completely broken, then turned her head towards the onlookers.

“No one? Come on, If you’re scared already, that's no fun.”

She lowered the sword that had been resting on her shoulder.

“If no one steps up, I’ll come to you, starting with the bastard who called me rakshasa woman!”

Martha charged into the neutral factions like an unhinged wild horse.

“You’re all dead!”

*   *   *

After the first round of the conference, Raon returned to the lodgings assigned to the Light Wind Palace.

The swordsmen were enjoying refreshments with relaxed faces, clearly having relieved a great deal of stress.

"How did it go?"

Raon approached the squad leaders and asked how things had gone.

“Just like you said. In every tavern, there was at least one guy running their mouth about our accomplishments or our strength.”

Martha nodded, saying she had beaten down every loudmouth she came across.

"Their movements resembled professional agitators. The things they said at the first tavern were repeated word-for-word at the second one."

Burren clicked his tongue, saying their actions clearly had intent behind them.

"But there was no stench...."

Runaan shook her head, saying they didn’t seem like spies of the Four Demons.

“There may be some spies among them, but they wouldn't act so conspicuously.”

Raon looked out the window and shook his head.

“The people who tried to drag our reputation down today probably weren’t spies. They were trying to raise their own worth.”

He had already expected that some of the neutral factions would try to undermine Zieghart or the Five Kings in order to increase their own worth.

Since they hadn’t yet chosen a side, it was only natural they’d want to raise their price as much as possible. That much was understandable.

But instead of proving their worth through strength or skill, they tried to elevate themselves by degrading the Five Kings.

There was no need to treat those lowlifes who used such underhanded tactics as people, which was why he’d unleashed the Mad Dog Palace on them.

From this point forward, every step of the war would be like walking on thin ice. And those who pursued nothing but money and gain without any conviction needed a very clear lesson.

"The main conference is in three days. Until then, I’m counting on you."

Raon nodded to Burren, Martha, Runaan, and Trevin as he expressed his trust.

“Of course.”

“Just leave it to us!”

“It was kind of fun, actually…”

“When it’s your order, of course we follow.”

Burren, Martha, Runaan, and Trevin all nodded firmly, full of confidence.

“Hmm…”

Raon glanced between the four of them and the other Light Wind swordsmen gathered behind them and shook his head.

“Judging by the looks in your eyes, you might’ve relieved a little too much stress?”

“Well, yeah!”

“Been a while since we found people worth beating up. It felt great!”

Martha and Trevin grinned as they replied.

"Then that’s no good."

Raon let out a sigh and shook his head.

“Huh?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Come with me.”

His eyes turned cold as he led them out to the training ground attached to the lodging.

“W-wait… you’re not seriously making us train right now…?”
Burren was so startled he forgot to call him palace master, and even slipped into casual speech as he swallowed hard.

“More neutral factions will arrive over the next three days. If we want to firmly seize control of them, we can’t stay in this kind of mood.”

Raon then drew Heavenly Drive while curling into a chilling smile.

“I’ll make sure the stress you let out today comes crashing back into your heads.”

He beckoned them with a flick of his finger.

“You demonic bastard!”

"So this meant we get beaten up too?"

"We're not going to get stressed, we're going to die!"

“If you don’t come, I’ll come to you.”

Raon lightly rotated his ankle and charged at the panicking Light Wind swordsmen.

“Uwaaaaah!”

That night, or rather, all the way until the night before the conference, screams of dozens echoed throughout the training ground.

*   *   *

Three days later, at noon.

The doors to the grand conference hall opened.

Golden sunlight streamed over the white round table, stirring a mystical current within the hall.

Unlike before, luxurious chairs were now arranged around the huge round table, and the throne that once occupied its place had been moved onto the platform.

The heads of the factions that had sided with the Five Kings, and those of the neutral factions who had yet to choose a side, entered the hall one by one and took their seats at the round table.

Strangely enough, the expressions of the two groups were completely different.

Those who had already decided to side with the Five Kings were seated with bright smiles, casually chatting among themselves. Meanwhile, those who hadn’t yet chosen a side stared only at the floor with frightened eyes, like puppies caught in the rain.

Step.

Once every seat at the round table was filled, a strangely piercing sound of footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.

As people held their breath and rolled their eyes around nervously, Raon entered the conference hall.

Fwoooosh!

Though there was no wind, Raon’s Black Dragon Coat fluttered behind him. Seeing that, everyone instinctively swallowed dryly.

“Everyone has arrived.”

With heavy, grounded steps, Raon walked to the edge of the platform. His eyes shimmered with red lightning as he looked down at those seated at the round table.

Goooooo...

There were countless warriors and mages in the hall, yet the one who dominated the atmosphere was Raon alone.

“I am the master of the Light Wind Palace of Zieghart. Thank you sincerely for coming all the way here to attend this conference.”

Unlike his subordinates who had acted violently, Raon began with a calm voice, expressing his gratitude.

“It’s been a while!”

“You look even better than before!”

“Who would’ve thought the nickname ‘Sword Emperor’ would suit someone this well!”

The ones who had sided with the Five Kings cheered him on, waving their hands.

The reaction from the heads of the neutral faction were completely different.

“Ugh…”

“L-Light Wind Palace master…”

Those who had been beaten by the Light Wind swordsmen shivered, trying to hide their bruised faces and bodies, their lips trembling in fear.

“The heads of the Five Kings will arrive shortly, but before that, I have something to say.”

Raon gave a faint smile and stepped closer to the round table.

“We all know each other well enough, so let’s not make this any more unpleasant than it has to be.”

As he said that, he gently pressed a finger, without using any aura, onto the round table.

Ssssssssh!

A pitch-black hole opened in the table, following the path of his long, slender finger.

“You understand, right?”

When he moved his finger again, the hole slowly closed back up. It was a supernatural phenomenon, far beyond ordinary martial strength.

The factions that had sided with the Five Kings clapped in admiration, but the heads of the neutral factions, who had yet to choose a side, averted their eyes as if the memory of being beaten resurfaced.

“I trust that you’ll behave accordingly. Now, I’ll bring in the heads of the Five Kings.”

Raon smiled thinly and stepped back.

Haa…

Wrath let out an empty breath as he looked around at the people trembling with fear.

What kind of conference of the continent's strongest is this! It’s nothing but a union of thugs!

 

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