The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1037

 Chapter 1037

 

Raon stood at the bow of the fishing boat, gazing at the harbor that was gradually drawing nearer.

The harbor, and the city behind it, looked as though a massive wave had swept through and destroyed everything.

“There are more people than I expected.”

Raon narrowed his eyes, scanning the people visible among the shattered remains of the city.

“It’s a harbor that’s lost its owner now.”

Rabawin, disguised as a fisherman, raised his voice as if pushing back the waves.

“The apostle of the White Blood Religion who destroyed this harbor is dead, and the infamous Kusar Pirate  Squad who extorted taxes are gone too, so people have moved in to establish themselves. Other harbors and villages are probably in a similar situation.”

He flashed a breezy smile, saying it was thanks to Raon and the Light Wind Palace that those people had been able to come here.

“Then it’s actually a good thing.”

Raon clicked his tongue as he watched people clearing rubble and leveling the ground.

“Because it means we can move around openly without drawing suspicion.”

He had planned to suppress his presence and move slowly from this harbor onward, but with so many people around, it seemed like they wouldn’t attract attention even if they acted overtly.

“The wind’s nice, and the scenery is great too.”

Evelyn approached beside him, brushing up her hair, now dyed black.

“Should we get some land in advance too? To build a villa or something later.”

She smiled softly, suggesting they come visit every summer once the villa was built.

“Not a bad idea.”

Roenn, disguised as a middle-aged adventurer, swept his gaze across the entire harbor and let out a hearty chuckle.

“If you two do build a villa, I’ll come manage it for you.”

His appearance and voice had changed so completely that even Raon would have trouble recognizing him. No wonder he was called the Assassin King.

“We don’t have the luxury for that.”

Raon firmly shook his head.

“Not just in the long run. We don’t even know what might happen tomorrow.”

Now that they had a lead on the headquarters of the White Blood Religion, a full-scale war with them was inevitable.

With no telling who might die or how, lighthearted talk of villas didn’t register in his mind.

“You shouldn’t think like that!”

Evelyn waved a finger in front of his eyes.

“Especially in times like this, you have to keep your heart light. Envision a happy future.”

She smiled softly, saying that even when she was in Eden, she always focused on good thoughts and imagined the future.

“I always imagined you by my side. And look—now you really are.”

Evelyn linked arms with him, curling up the corners of her red lips.

“Huhuhu!”

Roenn burst into hearty laughter, looking delighted at Evelyn’s words.

“Lady Evelyn is absolutely right. You need to dream of a happy future in order to focus on the present!”

He clapped his hands, saying it’s always good to have hope.

"I think the same. Good things are just good things, after all."

Rabawin nodded in agreement, saying things would work out fine, so they should keep thinking positively.

“I knew we were on the same wavelength!”

Evelyn, delighted by Roenn and Rabawin’s words, squeezed Raon’s arm even more tightly.

“Ugh…”

Raon gave a hollow sigh and gently pushed Evelyn off.

‘When did those three get so close?’

Although Evelyn, Roenn, and Rabawin had known of each other’s existence, they had barely exchanged words before.

They had only spent a single day together, yet the three had grown as close as if they’d known each other for years. If anything, it felt like he was the one out of place.

Sh-she definitely used some kind of magic spell to make people like her.

Wrath shook his head, calling her an unbelievable madwoman.

‘That’s not it.’

Raon furrowed his brow as he looked at Evelyn, who was smiling.

‘That girl’s popular even in the annex building.’

Sylvia, Edgar, Sia, and even Helen and the other maids all liked talking to her and spending time with her. Her ability to bond with others was absurd to the point of disbelief.

‘Well, she even managed to completely win over grandfather.’

Even Glenn had said he wanted to see Evelyn again, so it seemed her ability to bond worked on everyone.

‘She definitely misinterpreted Sella’s advice.’

Evelyn had clearly taken her mother Sella’s advice to have initiative as a command to just charge ahead and ram into things first.

“We’re here.”

Rabawin raised his hand as he brought the fishing boat to a halt in front of the harbor, which was split open like a cliff after a landslide.

“This is the route I mentioned before, the one that goes up to the northern sea. If you head in the direction I’m pointing, you should be able to reach it.”

He nodded, saying that only by heading out into the waters in front of this harbor would they be able to see the place from his memory.

“Then I’ll be circling the area while I wait for the three of you.”

Leaving behind the words that he’d be waiting for good news, Rabawin steered the boat away.

“Let’s go up.”

Raon jerked his chin toward Roen and Evelyn, then climbed up toward the harbor. More people than expected were working on repairs, but because it was such a large harbor, it still seemed short on hands.

“This place is already ours. Try somewhere else.”

People around the harbor and in the city center’s prime locations waved their hands, telling them to go elsewhere. They were likely trying to claim good spots by arriving early.

“Greedy bunch.”

Raon replied lightly, then turned toward the outskirts where there were fewer people.

Once they’d slipped into a secluded area out of sight, he gestured to Roenn and Evelyn.

“During the day, we’ll pretend to be settling here. At night, we’ll conduct our search.”

Since they didn’t know where the White Blood Religion’s eyes might be, it seemed better to create a cover identity and move under that.

“Understood.”

Roenn gave a slight nod, as if saying he would simply follow.

“Then let’s build that villa we talked about earlier!”

Evelyn smiled brightly, saying if they were doing it anyway, they should do it right and build a proper villa.

“Do whatever you want…”

Raon, seeing her expression, realized there was no stopping her and nodded.

“Got it! Leave it to me!”

As soon as she got his approval, Evelyn began lifting and throwing pieces of building rubble with her bare hands.

“You’d be good at both supporting from the shadows and out front, Lady Evelyn.”

Roenn chuckled, sounding impressed.

“Of course! There’s nothing I haven’t done before.”

Evelyn chuckled back, pleased by Roenn’s words.

“Haa…”

Raon let out a sigh as he looked out at the lapping ocean.

‘She’s starting to get carried away again.’

Didn’t the King of Essence tell you not to bring her!

Wrath sniffled, as if upset Raon hadn’t listened to him.

She’s scary!

‘She’s scary to me too!’

But I can’t say it out loud!

*   *   *

A white room where eight crimson curtains fell in twisting waves.

From the ceiling, which had never seen a single ray of sunlight, a white smoke slowly flowed down.

“The ninth apostle is dead?”

A breathtakingly beautiful woman, lying on a crimson platform, lowered her pipe and narrowed her eyes like black pearls. She was the leader of the White Blood Religion, the firm pillar of the Four Demons, and the master of tens of thousands of bloody demons.

“Yes. His corpse was found at Sicot Harbor.”

The Tenth Apostle knelt before the platform and bowed his head.

“It couldn’t be…”

The White Blood Religion’s leader tapped the platform lightly with her pipe, recalling the name from previous reports.

“Raon Zieghart, was it?”

Even saying that name made her furrow her graceful brow in irritation.

“He was indeed involved. However…”

The Tenth Apostle lifted his gaze, meeting the clear, jet-black eyes of the White Blood Religion’s leader.

“It wasn’t Raon Zieghart who killed the Ninth Apostle, it was Martha Zieghart, the leader of the Rakshasa Squad.”

He furrowed his brow, stating that the Ninth Apostle had already been defeated by Martha before Raon had arrived.

“Martha Zieghart? That young girl has grown strong enough to defeat the Ninth Apostle?”

The White Blood Religion’s leader exhaled sharply through her nose, as if she remembered Martha.

“It seems she had some kind of realization during the fight.”

The Tenth Apostle hadn’t seen it himself, but reported that Martha seemed to have grown while fighting the Ninth Apostle.

“What happened to the Blood Spirit Ship and Blood Wolf?”

“The Blood Spirit Ship was cut into four pieces and sank. As for the Blood Wolf…”

He bit his lip, as if even speaking of it was shameful.

“The Ninth Apostle offered his own bloody energy to drive it into a rampage, but… it seems to have been annihilated by Raon Zieghart.”

“The Blood Wolf was annihilated? That spirit possessing upper Transcendence-level power?”

The White Blood Religion’s leader’s hand trembled as she held her smoking pipe.

“I had a bad feeling ever since that damned name came up…”

As her voice sank, the crimson curtains hanging in the room began to tremble wildly, as if bleeding.

“Hmm…”

The Tenth Apostle trembled all over under the eerie energy wave radiating from the White Blood Religion’s leader.

‘Her bloody energy has grown stronger again.’

Ever since she drank Ogram’s blood, the White Blood Religion’s leader had been unleashing a completely different level of energy wave, as if she had shattered her limits.

Now, it was impossible to gauge how far she had grown.

“He cut down the Black Tower’s master, split the soul of the Fallen with his Heart Sword… and now even defeated that spirit? Even if he were the reincarnation of the Martial God, it would be hard to believe.”

The White Blood Religion’s leader clicked her tongue, saying that every time she heard something about Raon, it was just too much to believe.

“Truly a damned bastard.”

She exhaled a red smoke that looked as if it had been soaked in blood, as if she were genuinely enraged.

“Hoo…”

As if venting her anger with that smoke, she looked at the Tenth Apostle with eyes that had turned glassy.

“Strengthen the protective sorcery spells and barriers around the headquarters for the time being. Change the surrounding terrain as well. And forbid entry and exit from the outside.”

She flicked her chin as she tapped the ashes from her pipe.

“You suspect they’ll come looking for the headquarters?”

“The Ninth Apostle and the other bloody demons likely didn’t say anything about this place. But they might have checked the devices on the ship, so it’s best to be cautious.”

Given the current situation, the White Blood Religion’s leader ordered thorough preparation, lowering her hand as she did.

“Understood.”

The Tenth Apostle, seemingly thinking the same, rose without hesitation and left the white room.

Fwooo…

The White Blood Religion’s leader bit down on the tip of her pipe with her red lips and gazed at the back of her hand, white as if it had never seen sunlight.

Noticing a strand of skin rising like a fish scale, she lowered her brows slightly.

“It’s starting early.”

*   *   *

A dim night beneath a falling crescent moon.

Raon, Evelyn, and Roenn stood on a beach with no trace of human presence, wearing diving suits engraved with blue spells.

“I’ve cast spells on those diving suits to suppress presence and sound. They’re my special creation, so it won’t be easily detected.”

Evelyn smiled confidently, saying even Transcenders would find it difficult to sense.

T-Tch… whatever else may be lacking, she truly is exceptional in that regard…

Wrath shook his head, saying that even as the Monarch of Wrath, he had no choice but to acknowledge that.

“Additionally, I made it so that it also eliminates underwater breathing and the ripples generated when swimming.”

Evelyn raised her fist, saying they would never be discovered by their movements.

“However, the invisibility spell is a bit heavy, so if I added it here, mana might leak.”

She wagged her finger, saying it would be better to move without invisibility.

“For something imbued with that many spells, it’s surprisingly light and easy to move in.”

Roenn chuckled, saying that even while using his own aura, there was no interference at all.

“It was a short time, but you worked hard.”

Raon ran his hand down the diving suit Evelyn had made, expressing his thanks.

“Oh, come on. Between us, there's no need for that.”

Evelyn hit his back with her palm lightly, as if to say such words were unnecessary.

“W-Well then, let’s go.”

After telling Roenn and Evelyn to follow him, Raon entered the ocean first.

Do you know where to go?

‘Yeah. I can see it clearly.’

The moment he entered the ocean, the place engraved in his memory by the ocean spirit appeared before him.

He figured he just needed to head north and dive deeper.

[Follow me.]

Raon sent an aura message to Roenn and Evelyn, then began swimming slowly along the memory left by the ocean spirit.

‘We could probably sell these diving suits.’

The diving suit Evelyn made was definitely effective. Breathing was comfortable, and a single kick propelled him smoothly forward.

[This is nice. Feels like I’m on a honeymoon with Raon.]

Evelyn laughed as she reached out to touch the fish swimming by.

[Huhuhu.]

Roenn let out a grandfatherly laugh, seemingly amused by Evelyn’s constant forward charge.

[Please… be quiet.]

Raon covered Evelyn’s mouth and returned to focusing on the search.

‘This place too... I’ve seen it before.’

The ocean spirit hadn’t just shown the path to the White Blood Religion’s headquarters, it had imprinted images of rocks, seaweed, and other underwater landmarks into his mind.

As long as he followed that memory, he could continue without getting confused.

[We’re getting close. We need to be careful now.]

According to the ocean spirit’s memory, it wouldn’t be long before they reached the vicinity of the White Blood Religion’s headquarters. There might be sorcery spells around, so from this point on, they had to completely suppress their presence and move slowly.

‘From here on… hmm?’

Why isn’t it here?

According to the ocean spirit’s memory, there should’ve been a rock shaped like a turtle shell, but nothing appeared in his vision.

Until now, the ocean spirit’s memory had been accurate, so for the first time, a sense of confusion welled up in his head.

‘Did I come the wrong way? No… this is definitely the right direction.’

He looked around just in case, but everything else was unrecognizable not part of the ocean spirit’s memory at all.

‘This makes it hard to get my bearings…’

All he could see now was the sand spread out on the ocean floor. In this state, he had no way of finding the right direction.

[Please look for a turtle shell-shaped rock around here.]

After explaining the rock from his memory to Evelyn and Roenn, Raon headed north.

‘After the turtle rock, there should be a huge pink coral, but I don’t see that either.’

Having lost his direction at the turtle rock, he couldn't find the next location.

‘Don’t tell me we were discovered?’

The thought occurred to him that the White Blood Religion had noticed they had begun their search and were making a move.

‘No, that would be unlikely.’

If they knew they were being tracked, they wouldn't have acted in such a noticeable way.

They were clearly still only at the stage of harboring a vague suspicion, likely because of the ship’s submersible capability.

[From here on, move with more caution.]

After warning Roenn and Evelyn that the White Blood Religion might be active nearby, then activated the Mind’s Eye of the Azure Flower.

Fwooooom!

Even with eyes that could see everything, there was no sign of bloody energy or any artificial energy.

‘Wrath.’

Raon clicked his tongue and called out to Wrath.

‘Do you sense anything?’

It is certain that a small change occurred in this vicinity not too long ago. But it was not due to sorcery or magic.

Wrath confirmed that a change had occurred, but said he couldn’t determine exactly what, shaking his head.

‘If even you can’t find it, that means it’s not nearby…’

Raon sighed inwardly and began moving north again.

‘I’ll have to search the area again.’

Letting his body drift with the ocean currents, he continued to look around, but nothing turned up. Only gray sand and seawater surrounded him.

Paaaang!

In the end, Raon found nothing and returned to the harbor before sunrise.

“Phew, let’s call it a day.”

He shook the seawater from his hair and looked back at Evelyn and Roenn.

“It’s almost dawn. Nothing we can do.”

Evelyn nodded calmly.

“Don’t be too disappointed. You need to approach things like this with patience.”

Roenn lowered his chin, as if to say not to be hasty.

“If the terrain you remember has changed, that means the White Blood Religion must be nearby.”

He clasped his hands together, saying that the White Blood Religion was definitely hiding there, so they had to stay composed.

“I think the same. From the point we lost our way, there weren’t any ocean monsters or fish in sight.”

“Now that you mention it…”

Raon widened his eyes in response to Evelyn’s words. Just as she said, not a single fish or monster had appeared in that area.

“That’s right. Something is definitely there.”

Evelyn shrugged her shoulders, saying that even if she didn’t know what it was, it was surely the work of the White Blood Religion.

“Yeah. Let’s narrow the search area little by little.”

Raon smiled softly at Roen and Evelyn, who encouraged him with their calmness.

“Then shall we start building our villa now?”

Evelyn sidled up to him, suggesting they build their house of love.

“Phew.”

Raon looked at Evelyn, who was giggling, and let out a heavy sigh.

‘This might be even more exhausting.’

*   *   *

Paaang.

As Raon rose to the surface, he furrowed his brow.

‘Still no sign of it.’

Ever since the first search, he had come out to the ocean every night for ten days, but not once had he found a trace of the White Blood Religion.

‘The memory is gradually disappearing…’

Since it wasn’t his own, the memory the ocean spirit had engraved in his mind was beginning to blur.

He had to find the location of the White Blood Religion’s headquarters before the scenes were erased completely.

“You okay?”

Evelyn looked at him with worried eyes.

“Shall we take a break?”

Roenn furrowed his brow, suggesting they rest.

“No. There’s still time before dawn. Let’s search a bit more.”

Raon waved his hand, suggesting they go back into the ocean—when it happened.

Pooong!

A small splash of water rose between him and Evelyn, and a young wolf dropped down. It was the ocean spirit he had saved.

“You…”

Raon widened his eyes at the sight of the ocean spirit appearing again.

“Kyareung.”

The ocean spirit squinted its eyes in joy and rubbed its cheek against his hand.

“Is this the spirit you mentioned? It’s way too cute!”

Evelyn stroked the spirit’s head, saying it was cuter than she expected.

“Kyareung.”

The ocean spirit looked at him and scratched at the ocean with its small forepaw. It seemed to be saying they should go down together.

“Don’t tell me…”

Raon swallowed dryly as he looked into the spirit’s transparent eyes.

“You’re saying you’ll guide us there yourself?”

“Kyareung!”

The ocean spirit nodded firmly, as if to say that’s right.

“But… it must be scary for you.”

The ocean spirit had been captured by the White Blood Religion’s leader and had sorcery directly implanted into it. Just getting close to that area must be terrifying for it.

Even in the memories it had shown, a trembling gaze could be felt, and now it was offering to guide them, he couldn’t help but worry.

“Are you really going to be okay?”

Raon gently held the spirit’s front paw and bit his lip.

“Kyao!”

The ocean spirit let out a small cry as if to say it was fine, and although its paw trembled slightly as if it hadn’t completely overcome its fear, it seemed to trust him.

“Then I’ll count on you. No matter what happens, I’ll protect you.”

Raon gently stroked the ocean spirit’s fur-like mane and nodded.

“Kyeng!”

With a smile that seemed to say it trusted him, the ocean spirit dove into the ocean.

“Let’s go.”

Raon nodded to Evelyn and Roenn, signaling them to follow.

“This time, we’ll be able to find the path.”

With a beckoning gesture, Raon entered the water.

Fwooooosh…

Following the ocean spirit, which gave off a soft glow that seemed to melt the cold seawater, they descended into the dim seafloor.

Raon, watching the ocean spirit’s back as it trembled in fear of the White Blood Religion, etched the image into his mind and clenched his fist.

‘This time… for sure.’

 

Advance Chapters