The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1042

 Chapter 1042

 

“Did you just say the former master of the Holy Sword Alliance?”

Raon swallowed dryly as he looked at Rector, who had brought up the name of the former alliance master.

“You know it too, don’t you.”

Rector emptied his glass with a calm gaze.

“The only warrior capable of handling the heads of the Four Demons one-on-one are the Destructive King of the North and the former master of the Holy Sword Alliance.”

He slowly turned his gaze, as if to say Raon knew that better than anyone.

“Of course, if the Sword Sovereign in seclusion or the War King were to appear, things would be different, but it's been a long time since both of them disappeared.”

Rector shook his head, as if telling him not to get his hopes up.

“What were Derus and the White Blood Religion’s leader like, since you saw them yourself?”

Raon clasped his hands together and asked him to describe their martial strength first.

“The bloody energy of the White Blood Religion’s leader was terrifyingly vast and stable. It felt as though he had made all of the Beast King’s power his own and risen to a level even higher.”

Rector let out a heavy sigh, saying that even if he fought with all his might, he didn’t think he could defeat the White Blood Religion’s leader.

“And Derus Robert…”

He pressed his fingers to his forehead, frowning between his brows.

“I couldn’t read him at all. He may not be at Sir Glenn’s level, but it seemed clear he had reached a state that could surpass Transcendence.”

Rector, saying Derus was on an entirely different dimension, poured himself another drink with trembling hands.

“I can’t speak for the Heavenly Demon since he didn’t attend the meeting, but even if he’s not above Derus, he certainly wouldn’t be beneath him.”

He shook his head, saying that not a single one among the Heavenly Demon, Derus, and the White Blood Religion’s leader was an easy opponent.

“I see….”

Raon bit his lip as he looked down at the empty plate.

‘In terms of numbers, the Five Kings are far superior, but the highest-level Transcenders who can change the tide of war are on the side of the Four Demons.’

Even if they started a war with the White Blood Religion and Glenn took on the Heavenly Demon, Derus Robert would still be left. With the level of martial power he possesses, enough to completely overpower King Lecross, there was absolutely no way the remaining people could stop him.

‘Sir Ogram and Lady Chamber still haven’t fully recovered from their injuries.’

If the Beast King and the Archmage of Eternal Flame were in perfect condition, they might at least be able to buy some time, but right now, neither of them could exert their full strength. They wouldn’t even be able to endure a single sword strike from Derus.

‘If we attack the White Blood Religion and Derus and the Heavenly Demon abandon their support and instead launch a counterattack…’

Three of the Five Kings would be wiped out.

Even if Glenn used teleportation to block the Heavenly Demon, Derus would move to destroy Owen and the Magic Tower, and then kill Ogram, who would be alone.

‘The Derus I know would definitely move like that.’

Derus Robert wasn’t the type to support his allies. It was obvious he’d throw them as bait while pursuing his own goal.

‘Especially the Beast King, he’ll try to kill him no matter what.’

Because the moment the White Blood Religion’s leader dies, her curse will vanish, and the Beast King will regain her full strength. That’s something Derus would never want, so he’d surely aim for Ogram first.

‘Then if we put the Beast King next to grandfather… no. If Derus and the Heavenly Demon attack together, it could become even more dangerous.’

Since Derus can use the power of the celestials to teleport, devising a strategy was difficult and complicated.

‘On top of that, if the archangels also make a move….’

It would be no different from a calamity.

Derus Robert did not actively move the archangels, including Uriel, as if he was waiting for the right time, but if even one of them were to appear, the problem would become much bigger.

‘To think that attacking could actually result in a loss.’

The thought that everything they had prepared until now could end up amounting to nothing made his jaw clench.

“…It’s just as grandfather said.”

Raon let out a deep sigh that seemed to sink into the ground.

“There’s no one else but him.”

He ran through every possibility in his head, but aside from the former master of the Holy Sword Alliance, there didn’t seem to be anyone who could stop Derus.

“That’s right. I saw Derus and the White Blood Religion’s leader with my own eyes, and the only thought I could come to was that I had to seek out the Dark Night Sword God.”

Rector nodded, saying that he wanted to stop Derus by doing that.

“When you said earlier that you found him…”

Raon narrowed his eyes slightly as he looked at Rector.

“You meant you met the Dark Night Sword God, right?”

“Yes.”

Rector raised his glass as he answered.

“At first, I thought he was near the Holy Sword Alliance’s holy land, but he had already left a long time ago. Thanks to spending a lot of time searching, I was able to find Darkan.”

He said he had finally found Darkan through the personal connections he had built during his travels, and downed the drink in one gulp.

"However, persuasion did not work."

Rector’s lips twisted as he gripped his glass tightly.

“He said my sword was boring, so he didn’t want to hear anything I had to say.”

He snorted, saying that words did not get through to him at all.

Still obsessed with the sword, huh.

Wrath clicked his tongue, saying he could clearly picture the state the Dark Night Sword God was in.

Well, he did gouge out his own eyes to climb to a higher place, after all

He clicked his tongue, saying the man’s obsession was terrifying.

“Boring, huh…”

Raon lightly tapped the table with his finger and shook his head.

‘Should I go myself?’

His greatest goal is a duel with Glenn, but he also showed strong interest in me. If I go in person… maybe I’ll be able to talk to him.

“Where is the Dark Night Sword God now?”

“He’s in the Kingdom of Oscot. Since it’s near the holy land, I was able to find him quickly.”

Rector sighed as he mentioned the name of Oscot.

“Oscot?”

Raon’s eyes widened. He was bewildered that the name of a kingdom so ill-suited to the Dark Night Sword God Darkan had come up.

“Why would he be there….”

“Even if I told you what he’s doing, you wouldn’t believe it.”

Rector shook his head, saying it wasn’t something he could explain.

“Then I’ll go check it out myself.”

Raon clenched his right fist. Rather than doing nothing and hoping for luck, he figured it would be better to act and try to create change.

“It could be dangerous. Darkan isn’t in his right mind right now.”

“If you’re not willing to take a risk, the opportunity will never come. And…”

Raon smiled faintly as he took Rector’s hand.

“If I end up in danger… you’ll protect me, won’t you, grandfather?”

“Hmm….”

Rector looked at his hand with trembling eyes and bit down on his lips.

“O-of course! Even if I have to die right there, I’ll protect you!”

He nodded confidently, as if to say not to worry.

Wow….

Wrath let out a sigh, as if dumbfounded.

This damn brat’s even charming his own grandfather now…

He shook his head, saying Raon was becoming more and more of a ghost.

“Then, are you going to leave right away?”

“No. I’ll need a bit of time.”

Raon drew a cold smile as he looked out the now-dark window.

“I need to take care of the kids first.”

*   *   *

Whoooosh!

The sound of sword wind tearing through the dawn air rang out. Even though the sun had yet to rise, the swordsmen of the fifth training ground were sharpening their focus as they honed their swordsmanship.

“Five-minute break!”

Martha, in charge of the dawn training, raised her hand and called for a short break.

“I’ll continue a bit longer.”

“I’ll skip the break too!”

The swordsmen declined their rest and continued swinging their swords or practicing their footwork.

“Why are you all working so hard?”

Martha slung her sword over her shoulder and frowned.

“Even when Raon was training you, it wasn’t this much, was it?”

She shook her head, saying she couldn’t understand.

“Rakshasa woman, are you stupid…?”

Runaan looked up at Martha with blank eyes.

“Why else. It’s because of you.”

Burren clicked his tongue as he gripped his sword with both hands.

“This time, the ones we have to fight are the White Blood Religion! They’re the enemies of the squad leader!”

“We have to grow stronger, even if it means saving time wherever we can!”

Yua and Yulius nodded together, saying it was only natural to train with all they had.

“I-I'm scared… but we have to do what we can….”

Dorian’s hands were already trembling as if the war had begun, but he didn’t stop training.

“For Lady Martha, I’d do anything! This time, I’ll be the one to cut off an apostle’s head—!”

Just as Krein was sticking out his tongue trying to flatter Martha—

“Sounds good. You’d do anything, huh?”

Raon walked into the training ground with a grin.

“Pa-Palace master?”

“You must be tired… did you come straight here?”

“Did things go well on your end?”

The Light Wind swordsmen ran over smiling brightly, happy to see Raon again after a while.

“Thanks to an adorable informant, I found the White Blood Religion’s headquarters.”

Raon briefly explained to the Light Wind Palace swordsmen what had happened so far.

“I figured the upcoming war would clearly take place in the ocean, so I thought a new type of training would be necessary…”

He grinned again, glancing at Krein, who was trembling with unease.

“And since you said you could do anything, that’s a relief.”

Raon said thank you and patted Krein on the shoulder.

“Ugh!”

“W-what the…”

“K.R.E.I.N.”

“That damn mouth of his!”

The Light Wind swordsmen ground their teeth and glared at Krein, sensing something ominous in his words.

“B-but you guys said the same thing too….”

Krein sniffled as he glanced nervously at his comrades.

“There’s no need to worry too much. I’m not making you do something hard, it’s just training in the ocean. In a way, it might even feel like a vacation.”

Raon wagged his finger at the angry Light Wind Palace swordsmen.

“T-the ocean?”

“A vacation, he says…”

“Is that for real?”

The Light Wind Palace swordsmen widened their eyes, finding it hard to believe.

“As I said, the war with the White Blood Religion will take place at ocean. So we need to get used to the ocean.”

He gave a faint smile as he added that it wasn’t anything difficult or harsh, just swinging swords underwater.

“Then that’s fine!”

Krein raised his hand high, as if he had regained his energy.

“The ocean around there is clean and warm. I bet it won’t be a bad place to train!”

He let out a sigh of relief, as though all his worries had vanished.

“Well, it has been a while since we fought in the ocean. I suppose we do need to adapt.”

Burren also nodded, saying it didn’t sound like a bad idea.

“Yeah. When we’re on missions, we can’t even train properly because of all the eyes on us.”

Trevin agreed, gripping his sword more tightly.

“Rakshasa woman…”

Runaan narrowed his eyes, as if worried about Martha despite the brightening atmosphere.

“You okay?”

“Of course I’m okay. We’ve been training stiffly all this time, loosening up a bit might actually help.”

Martha nodded, saying that since it was Raon’s training, there was surely meaning behind it.

“Then it’s unanimous.”

Raon looked at the smiling Light Wind swordsmen, his eyes turning cold as ice.

“Let’s go. Right now.”

*   *   *

Whoooooosh!

A frigid wind, as if tearing through flesh and piercing bone, swept through, and waves surged like an icebreaker cleaving the frozen sea, this was the northern sea.

On the surface of this sea, known as the northern sea, the most fearsome of all seas, the Light Wind swordsmen stood wearing nothing but swimwear.

“W-what is this…?”

Krein, his lips pale blue, trembled as he stared at the violently churning ocean.

“You said it was a vacation! This is hell!”

He chattered, saying he felt like he was going to freeze to death.

“We got tricked again…”

Burren rubbed his goosebump-covered arms and shook his head at the cold.

“I told you we shouldn’t trust that madman!”

Forgetting entirely that he was supposed to call him palace master, he shouted at Raon, calling him a madman.

“I like it, though.”

Runaan, instead of her usual blankness, was full of energy as she warmed up. Since she used cold aura, it seemed she could handle this level of cold.

“No wonder… I heard the devil’s laughter coming from the palace master’s heart…”

Dorian trembled, saying he had predicted this situation from the moment he saw it with his mind’s eye.

“D-dammit! I’m never trusting that guy again!”

“It’s already freezing up here on the surface, if we go in, we’ll turn into ice right away!”

“Just a little farther from here is Habun Castle! This is basically the northern sea!”

The swordsmen looked like they were about to cry, terrified just by the sight of the ocean.

Splaasshh!

While everyone else was shivering from the cold, Martha leapt without hesitation into the ice-strewn sea.

“We don’t have time! Get in already!”

Though she too couldn’t fully withstand the northern chill, her lips trembling, she still gestured for them to come in.

“Okay!”

Runaan dove in even more smoothly than Martha.

“Perfect!”

She gave a thumbs-up to the others, saying it felt better inside.

“Kraaaah!”

Burren screamed as he jumped in. He too couldn’t endure it easily, gasping for breath, his eyes trembling violently.

“Screw it! Whatever happens!”

“I’m going in too!”

“Aaaaaaagh!”

The Light Wind swordsmen, unable to hold back as their comrades jumped in one after another, all plunged into the ocean together.

Hoooh!

Wrath whistled in surprise.

Back in the day, they wouldn’t have moved unless you shoved them in yourself, but they’ve all changed.

‘Because now, they’re family.’

Raon smiled faintly as he looked at the swordsmen drawing their swords despite trembling from the cold.

‘They want to become stronger to help Martha.’

Right now, even the cold energy of Glacier that he had infused was seeping into this sea. It had to be much colder than the usual northern sea, and yet the swordsmen were enduring it, for Martha. Raon found them admirable.

“All right, then. Everyone dive in and train your swordsmanship underwater.”

Raon clapped his hands and said it was time to begin.

“D-dive?”

“Wait—here?!”

“H-he’s crazy…”

The swordsmen’s eyes trembled as if about to pop out, they hadn’t expected diving to be part of it.

“Yes. If you come out before you complete a full sword form down there…”

Raon raised the scabbard of Heavenly Drive.

“You’d better look forward to it.”

He gave a wicked grin, as if to say he’d smash their heads.

“It starts now. Three, two, one.”

As soon as Raon finished counting, all the swordsmen who still had their heads above water dove in.

“W-wait a moment. I need to mentally prepare—gahk!”

Raon smacked Krein’s head, who had been pinching his nose in preparation.

“D-damn, that hurt like hell!”

Krein cried out and clutched his head as he dove into the ocean.

“Hmm….”

As Raon smacked his lips and brushed the scabbard with his hand, the surface rippled, and Dorian popped up.

“Haah! Haah! Wait a—”

“Again.”

Raon curled the corner of his mouth and tapped Dorian’s head with the scabbard.

“Aaaaaargh!”

Dorian screamed and dove back into the ocean.

“This isn’t training, it’s torture—kehk!”

“Wait! Water got in my no—ghak!”

Even when the swordsmen surfaced with excuses, Raon showed no mercy and kept smacking their heads.

Haa….

Wrath let out a breath, dumbfounded.

This is just whack-a-mole, isn’t it? Like hitting moles popping up from holes!

He trembled his lips, saying it was only fun for Raon and nothing but torture for the swordsmen.

‘No.’

Raon calmly shook his head.

‘It’s a three-in-one training, increasing lung capacity, honing swordsmanship, and strengthening resistance to the ocean and the cold.’

Wipe that smug grin off your face before you say crap like that!

Wrath gnashed his teeth, saying even the celestials wouldn’t do this kind of torture.

‘Hmm…’

Raon raised his hand and lowered the corner of his mouth, then turned his gaze to the sea right in front of him.

Huuuuh.

Unlike the others, Martha hadn’t come up even once. She was holding her breath and swinging her sword the entire time.

‘……’

Raon clenched his fist as he felt the burning determination radiating from Martha’s eyes.

‘No matter what it takes…’

I have to persuade the former master of the Holy Sword Alliance.

*   *   *

“He’s here in Oscot?”

Raon let out a hollow breath as he looked over the extravagant scenery of the Oscot Kingdom, as if money had been splashed all over it.

‘It doesn’t suit him at all.’

It was surprising that the Dark Night Sword God Darkan, who seemed like someone who would do nothing but swing his sword in a quiet place, was staying in Oscot Kingdom, a place overflowing with pleasure.

Why? What kind of place is this?

Wrath tilted his chin, asking for an explanation.

‘This place isn’t like an ordinary kingdom. The king is a gambler, and the royal capital is filled with casinos, alcohol, and drugs.’

It wasn’t quite a total lawless zone, but Oscot was a place ruled not by humanity and conscience, but by money and violence.

‘The Dark Night Sword God Darkan didn’t care for money or gambling or entertainment, he was only interested in the sword. So I can’t understand why he’s here.’

If Darkan had made up his mind, he could have easily devoured a kingdom like this, but the fact that someone so obsessed with the sword was spending his time in a place like this was baffling.

“Yes. He’s here.”

Rector, as if telling him to follow, took the lead and headed up into the royal capital, where red and blue lights flickered.

‘What could he be doing?’

Raon smacked his lips briefly as he followed behind Rector, wondering whether Darkan had fallen into drink, into gambling, or into women.

However, they didn’t head toward the center of the capital, which was full of casinos and bars, but began drifting toward the outskirts instead.

The brilliant lights and the thick scent of money that had been wafting through the air disappeared, and the stench and filth began to squelch underfoot.

“Grandfather?”

Raon widened his eyes as he called out to Rector, who was entering a narrow, dim alley.

“Is the Dark Night Sword God really here?”

“He’s right there.”

Rector said they had arrived, lifting his hand. At the tip of his finger was a man kneeling in front of a worn-down casino.

"Please spare a coin…."

The man, both eyes covered with a black blindfold, weakly raised a trembling hand with a voice drained of all strength.

“What the hell?!”

“Why don’t you get lost!”

Young thugs who looked like they had just stepped out of the casino stomped on the blindfolded beggar and spat phlegm on his head.

“This place is going downhill too.”

They tossed a silver coin at the beggar’s feet and walked off cackling among themselves.

“Th-thank you.”

Despite the blindfold, the beggar picked up the silver coin on the ground in one smooth motion, as if he could see it.

‘Haa…’

Raon swallowed dryly as he looked at the beggar, who had the exact same face as the one he had seen at the Holy Sword Alliance’s holy land.

‘That crazy bastard!’

Why the hell is he acting like a beggar here?

 

 

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