The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1033

 Chapter 1033

 

Wooooooong!

Raon released Glacier’s cold energy, freezing the White Blood Religion’s shattered and sinking ship along with the ocean.

“Martha.”

He descended to the deck and approached Martha, who was pointing her sword at the apostle.

“You alright?”

“Perfectly fine.”

Martha replied, but then coughed up black blood. She nodded, claiming to be fine, but her expression said otherwise.

“How did you manage to take this bastard down?”

Raon supported Martha, whose legs were shaking as if she might collapse, while suppressing the apostle with the heat of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to keep him from moving.

The King of Essence is curious too.

Wrath exhaled a hollow breath as he looked at Martha.

There’s no way the beef girl could beat someone like that with her level of strength.

‘It’s not just about strength. This ship is covered in a bloody spell and sorcery.’

The bloody sorcery spell embedded in the ship must have empowered the apostle and hindered Martha, yet somehow, she managed to win.

“At first, I was being pushed back. No, there wasn’t a single moment when I had the upper hand.”

Martha nodded heavily, saying he was indeed an extremely difficult opponent.

“Even after I realized the advice you gave me before and swung my sword filled with the wrath in my soul… I still lost in the end.”

She let out a low groan as she looked down at her sword, stained with the apostle’s blood.

“It wasn’t me who did it. It was the swordsmanship.”

Martha swallowed dryly and lifted her gaze.

“The swordsmanship?”

“The moment that bastard’s bloody energy reached its peak and was about to pierce my neck… the flow of the Destructive Noble Sword changed. As if it understood my emotions, my soul, it broke through his bloody energy and slashed his chest.”

She drew a deep breath, saying even she didn’t know what exactly she had done.

“Destructive Noble Sword…”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked into Martha’s trembling pupils.

‘The Destructive Noble Sword should be the sword technique that Denier passed down to Marta directly.’

Martha had once shown him the Destructive Noble Sword and said it was something she had learned directly from Denier.

Aside from the fact that it contained the principle of destructive sword, he hadn’t thought it was anything particularly great. But hearing her words today, it seemed to contain something more.

‘He really is a man full of mysteries.’

The more Raon learned about Denier, the more questions arose, so many that it became frustrating.

“I really wanted to kill him… but I held back.”

Martha spat out the blood pooling in her mouth, saying she could’ve killed the apostle, but didn’t.

“Why…?”

Raon looked at Martha, grinding his teeth as if disappointed.

“Because this pig bastard isn’t my real target.”

Martha gave a chilling smile, saying her true goal wasn’t the apostle but the leader of the White Blood Religion.

“He called himself the ninth apostle. Try to get as much information as you can out of him.”

Saying it as a request, she slumped down onto the tilted deck. Seeing the blood still flowing from her mouth, it seemed her internal injuries were severe.

“Looks like you’re finally becoming an adult.”

Raon said she'd worked hard and lightly patted Marta's shoulder.

Exactly! The beef girl has grown so much!

Wrath had still thought of her as a child when they communicated earlier, but now he gave a big nod, saying she’d grown up.

She’s ready to be married off now. Khrrk….

‘What are you, her mom?’

Raon stared at the sniffling Wrath with a dumbfounded look.

"…It's a bit awkward to say this now, but I'm the older sister, you know?"

Martha tapped her forehead with her finger, telling him not to forget she was one year older.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Raon gave a faint smile and nodded.

“Light Wind Palace! Eliminate all remaining bloody demons!”

After giving the order to the swordsmen who had come with him on the Azure Wind to wipe out all the bloody demons left in the harbor and ocean, he approached the ninth apostle.

“Grrhhh…”

The ninth apostle was trying to forcibly seal the wound that had split him from shoulder to waist using the regenerative ability granted by his bloody energy.

Judging from the fact that his blood was white, he was an advanced Grandmaster level or above.

“Judging by the situation, I can more or less guess…”

Raon looked down at the ninth apostle and gestured with his chin.

“But I’d prefer to hear it straight from your own mouth. What have you been doing with this ship until now?”

“Heh heh heh!”

The ninth apostle chuckled as he vomited clotted blood from his mouth.

“Ask that bitch.”

“You must be someone who enjoys pointless trouble.”

Raon drew the violently trembling Blade of Requiem and thrust it into the ninth apostle’s wound.

“Gaaaaaaaah!”

As soon as the blade entered the wound, the ninth apostle let out a throat-ripping scream even a child wouldn’t make.

“Talk.”

“Ughhh…”

Even as his entire body was being torn apart by the ghastly energy of the Blade of Requiem, the man did not open his mouth.

‘This is the problem with the White Blood Religion.’

Raon furrowed his brows as he looked at the groaning apostle.

‘Whether they’re low-ranking or executives, none of them talk.’

Because the White Blood fanatics had been brainwashed within the irrational system of a cult, not a single one of them opened their mouth even under torture.

In a way, they were an even harder group to extract information from than Eden or Derus.

“Th-those bastards did everything using this ship.”

After forcing down some internal injury medicine, Martha finally opened her mouth.

“This ship is engraved with sorcery that absorbs bloody energy and blood. The archbishop I killed manipulated minds to abduct people, and they used the sorcery of the waves and the ship to erase all traces of bloody energy.”

She nodded, saying she had figured everything out during the battle.

“I see.”

Raon nodded and thanked her, then gestured with his hand.

“But there’s still one part that hasn’t been revealed.”

He lifted a finger and pointed toward the blue wolf, which was glaring this way with ferocious eyes.

“What is that wolf?”

“……”

The ninth apostle once again said nothing and kept his mouth shut.

“Talk.”

Raon furrowed his brow and twisted the Blade of Requiem in the Apostle’s abdomen.

“Gaaah! Gwaaaaargh!”

The ninth apostle shrieked in agony, letting out a howl worse than death itself, his limbs trembling violently.

‘There must be a connection.’

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked back and forth between the howling ninth apostle and the wolf, whose malice was growing stronger.

‘There’s no way a wolf like that would appear for no reason.’

There was no chance a creature with such power would randomly emerge from the ocean. It had to be something created through the sorcery of the White Blood Religion.

“Grrrrgh…”

The ninth apostle drooped his head and let out only groans, as if to say he would never talk even if it killed him.

‘At this rate, he’ll die before he opens his mouth.’

Better to try probing from another angle.

Raon pulled the Blade of Requiem out from the ninth apostle’s wound, even as the man foamed at the mouth and refused to answer.

“Hrrrk…”

The ninth apostle let out a ragged breath and slowly lifted his gaze.

“Kusar Pirate Squad.”

Looking at the barely conscious ninth apostle, Raon brought up the name of the Kusar Pirate Squad, which he had wiped out not long ago.

“Did you know traces of you lot were found in their territory?”

He hadn't actually found anything, but he said it anyway, smiling faintly.

“What… what are you talking about…?”

For the first time, the ninth apostle responded with clear surprise, repeating his words back.

“Because of the mistake you made in the Kusar Pirate Squad’s territory, we were able to wait here with certainty.”

Raon nodded toward the ninth apostle, locking eyes with him.

“If it was your first time attacking a harbor, it’s only natural that mistakes would happen.”

“……”

The ninth apostle wrinkled the bridge of his nose, as if doubting Raon’s words, but said nothing.

But that reaction alone gave Raon the certainty that his guess had been right.

‘As expected, it seems the White Blood Religion began abducting people starting from the Kusar Pirate Squad’s territory.’

Since Paros said he had seen the ghost ship only once, Raon had tested the waters, and judging from the ninth apostle’s response, that really did seem to be where it all began.

"Operations like that usually begin in nearby areas. If we search the surrounding ocean carefully, we might just find the White Blood Religion’s headquarters."

Raon smiled with just his mouth as he watched the ninth apostle’s face.

“Nonsense.”

The ninth apostle, as expected of a Grandmaster, did not let his gaze waver, but perhaps due to unease, the rate at which he blinked noticeably increased.

“Was I right? Maybe I should at least thank Paras for that.”

Raon chuckled as he mentioned the now-dead captain of the Kusar Pirate Squad.

“If I study this ship, and make use of the Kusar Pirate Squad’s help, something’s bound to turn up.”

Once again, he probed the ninth apostle, rolling his eyes to observe.

“…Search for a thousand years. See if you even find a single ant.”

The ninth apostle maintained a composed appearance again, but his tone had noticeably slowed.

Whether it was this ship or the Kusar Pirate Squad’s territory, it felt like a path leading to the White Blood Religion could be uncovered.

“On top of that…”

“Kehahaha!”

Just as Raon was about to probe further regarding the blue wolf, the ninth apostle interrupted, bursting into manic laughter.

“They say the Sword Emperor’s tongue is sharper than his sword. Seems that wasn’t a lie after all.”

The ninth apostle nodded heavily, as if realizing his act had been seen through.

“This was a sacrifice meant for the Blood God, but with things as they are now, there’s no other choice….”

He revealed a calm look in his eyes, as if he had resolved himself.

“Killing you here and now would be the better offering to him.”

The ninth apostle halted his regeneration and released the bloody energy remaining in his body.

"It's a futile act."

Raon furrowed his brow and rested his hand on Heavenly Drive.

"Yes. I cannot beat you even in a perfect state. But…."

The ninth apostle looked toward the ocean, no, toward the face of the blue wolf floating upon it, and twisted his lips into a grin.

“If it’s an ocean spirit addicted to bloody energy, even you will be swallowed whole!”

He let out a fierce shout and stabbed his own heart with a hand blazing with bloody energy.

“An ocean spirit addicted to bloody energy?”

“You said you were curious about what that wolf really is, didn’t you?”

The ninth apostle coughed up blood and grinned.

“I’ll tell you. That wolf is a guardian spirit that has protected these seas since ancient times. Since the ship alone couldn’t erase all the traces of bloody energy, we subdued that spirit and taught it to devour the scattered bloody energy and blood.”

He bared his teeth in a grin, saying they used that spirit to erase the traces of bloody energy and blood, and to create waves.

"However, because it was too pure a spirit, the change was much faster than expected. So much blood and blood energy has accumulated that it has become difficult for me to control."

The ninth apostle showed his yellow teeth, saying that the wolf, whose pupils now trembled violently, was on the verge of rampaging.

"You devil-like bastards…."

Raon clenched his molars tightly.

“Let the blood curse fall upon you… and upon Zieghart.”

The moment the ninth apostle finished those words, he burst into white blood.

Puuuoooom!

The flesh and blood he left behind scattered without a trace, all of it falling into the ocean.

Wooooooooong!

The moment the ninth apostle died, the bloody sorcery spell left on the deck rose of its own accord and sucked up all the blood and bloody energy remaining on the deck and in the harbor into the ocean.

Kuwaaaaaaaa!

The ninth apostle’s bloody energy, along with the blood and bloody energy accumulated in the ship, erupted beneath the ocean in a terrifying burst of light.

Fwaaaaaaaaah!

Once the blinding light, intense enough to prevent anyone from opening their eyes, finally subsided and Raon lifted his eyelids, the storm that had engulfed the ocean had vanished, and the world was as calm as if it had fallen asleep.

Goooooooooooo!

From the now-calm ocean, a massive wolf began to rise.

The wolf’s entire body was no longer something that could be called blue, it blazed red, and the ocean itself had turned a deep crimson, as if soaked in blood.

Ooooooooooh!

As the red wolf howled, the entire ocean roared and surged, and an uncountable number of ocean monsters rose up, so many that they blocked the horizon.

There were so many that Raon felt even if he fought them all himself, he wouldn’t be able to kill them all before exhausting himself.

“W-What is that!”

“Why did that wolf get even bigger? It’s seriously as big as the ocean now!”

“I’ve never seen this many monsters before…”

“Are we too late? What the hell happened…?”

The Light Wind swordsmen, who had arrived late, gulped dryly as they stared at the endlessly piling monsters and the massive red wolf standing behind them.

"You arrived just in time."

Raon looked at Burren, Runaan, and Trevin, who stood at the front of the group of swordsmen, and calmly nodded.

“They’ll be your opponents for real combat experience. You can handle it, right?”

He pointed toward the monsters, addressing the swordsmen who had just arrived.

“Not bad.”

Burren nodded calmly.

“Yeah. I’ll do it…”

Runaan placed her hand on her sword, her eyes never leaving the exhausted Martha.

“Looks like I’ll finally get to loosen up a bit.”

Trevin licked his lips, saying it looked like it’d be fun.

“Palace  master. I’ll assist you.”

Mark Goetten stepped up behind Raon as if to say he would follow him.

“No. Guardian, please assist the swordsmen. That one’s mine.”

Raon lifted a finger and pointed at the red wolf, which towered like a god behind the monsters.

Kuoooooooooooooh!

The red wolf furrowed its brow, as if displeased, then raised its head and let out a roar that shook the heavens.

“Ghhhhh…”

“Aaaagh!”

“What is that sound…”

Even the Master-level swordsmen couldn’t withstand the roar, clutching their heads, they groaned in pain.

But it seemed the true effect of that roar wasn’t a mental attack, instead, the ocean itself writhed as if in fury, and massive waves surged upward.

Kugugugugugugu!

The ocean monsters, their pupils now dyed with madness, began charging toward the harbor, riding the waves the wolf had stirred.

‘So even corrupted by bloody energy, the ocean spirit’s power remains?’

Seeing how it commanded the monsters even more naturally than Eden’s demons, he thought, that really must have been an ocean spirit at the beginning.

‘There are too many. Maybe I should help out a little…’

"Go quickly."

Martha waved her hand as she watched Raon hesitate.

“They’re the people you raised and trusted. They can do it. Just like I did.”

She stood up, as if to say not to worry. Even in that condition, she seemed ready to fight.

"To think there'd be a day I learn from you."

Raon let out a faint laugh and nodded.

"Because I'm the older sister."

Martha jutted her chin, as if to remind him again.

"Me too…."

Runaan raised her hand as if asking to be included.

“You’re not.”

“You’re not.”

You’re not.

Raon, Martha, and Wrath all shook their heads at the same time.

“Alright.”

Raon turned to the Light Wind swordsmen and smiled faintly.

“I’m counting on you.”

After saying that, he leapt over the wave of charging monsters and locked eyes with the red wolf, overflowing with malice toward humans.

Grrrrrrrr!

The wolf that had once been a spirit was now growling ferociously, its once-pure ocean energy now completely filled with murderous intent and bloody energy.

‘That’s no longer a spirit.’

Raon frowned at the reek of blood wafting from the wolf.

‘All that’s left is murderous intent, it’s more like a rampaging monster.’

He could feel bloody energy on a different level from even the apostles. The ocean spirit had become something that could only be called a monster now.

KUUUOOOOOOOO!

The red wolf let out a roar that shook the shallow ocean, then rose from the ocean that now seemed to have turned to blood.

Its body appeared as if covered in fur made of steel, it looked impenetrable. Its size was so massive it seemed to blot out the moon hanging in the sky. It felt as if a demon of blood had descended upon the world.

Kyaaaaaaaah!

The red wolf, now recognizing Raon as an enemy, raised a front paw larger than a galleon and slashed through the air. It was a terrifying attack formed from bloody energy, denser even than the energy of an apostle.

Chiiiiiiiiiing!

Raon slashed upward with the Revolving Sky of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, aiming at the wolf’s violently descending claws.

Jjeeeeeeeong!

The sight of a human, smaller than the claw, striking down the red wolf that ruled the ocean with his strength was grand and mystical, like beholding a painting of a hero from myth.

"How cheeky."

Raon lifted his chin as he looked at the red wolf’s startled eyes, pushed backward.

"Sit down. Doggy."

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