The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1050

 Chapter 1050

 

“Right now?”

Even Karoon, renowned across the continent, widened his eyes in surprise at the declaration that the war had already begun.

“You’re saying we’re departing immediately without any preparation?”

He let out a hollow breath as if finding it absurd.

“Isn’t this too rushed?”

Serena, the leader of the Void Sword Division, let out a deep sigh and raised her hand.

“Just as the Central Martial Palace master said, we are not prepared to fight in the ocean.”

She shook her head, saying that although they had undergone various training, they had never practiced wielding a sword underwater.

“I think the same.”

Lattein, leader of the Warring Sword Division, nodded in agreement with Serena.

“If we move too hastily, it could ruin everything!”

He pressed his lips tightly, saying that time was needed to fight in the ocean.

“Preparation? What preparation!”

Balder stomped heavily, as if telling them to stop talking nonsense.

“Whether ocean or land, a fight is a fight! The fact that there’s no need to wait is great, so why all the fuss!”

He waved his fist, big as a pot lid, saying that he and the True Martial Palace could move right away.

“You muscle-headed fool! It’s completely different!”

Aris furrowed her brow and smacked the back of Balder’s head.

“No matter how skilled you are, if it’s your first time fighting in the water, you’re bound to flounder!”

She shook her head, saying that if you don't adapt to the water, you won’t be able to show your true skills.

“T-Then what should we do…?”

Balder lowered his voice, rubbing the back of his head where he’d been hit.

“That’s why I have to go! My crew and I are perfectly adapted to the ocean!”

Aris pounded her chest with her palm, declaring that she and the sailors of the Azure Wind would participate in the war.

“……”

Denier, as if he had already known this war would happen, gazed at Glenn with a calm look in his eyes.

“I don’t mind fighting the White Blood Religion, but why is he telling us now?”

“Exactly. If I had heard we were going to war with the White Blood Religion, I would’ve trained with my life on the line.”

“The same goes for the ocean. If we’d known in advance, we would’ve trained for underwater combat too.”

“Even just a month, or no, even a week ago, if we had done ocean adaptation training…”

The swordsmen lined up in the training ground let out sighs, sounding resentful that such an important matter had been revealed too late.

“I was the one who gave that order.”

As Glenn stepped to the center of the platform, the murmuring voices from all around the training ground fell silent in an instant.

“There is a spy inside Zieghart. If word had spread that we’d found the location of the White Blood Religion’s headquarters, they would’ve either already fled or laid a trap to catch us instead.”

He lowered his chin heavily, explaining that because they could have been counterattacked by the White Blood Religion, he had no choice but to inform them on the day of the war.

“As for the battle at the ocean, you don’t need to worry.”

Raon straightened his back and stood beside Glenn.

“Once the magic prepared by the archmages activates, you’ll be able to strike the White Blood Religion’s headquarters as if you were on land.”

He nodded as he told them to trust in the magic spell that Chamber and Larian had been preparing for over two months.

“And as for the battle at the ocean, our Light Wind Palace will take responsibility, so I ask that you focus on the fight before your eyes.”

Raon said that the Light Wind Palace had undergone grueling training in order to fight in the ocean.

Goooooooo!

The Light Wind swordsmen, as if to add weight to his words, gave off a fearsome wave of energy, more than enough to overwhelm all the swordsmen in the training ground.

“Ugh!”

“The energy of these youngsters is just….”

The, the Light Wind Palace was at this level?”

The swordsmen gulped dryly, as if stunned by the might of the Light Wind swordsmen.

“Hm!”

Glenn curled his lips slightly, seemingly satisfied with the spirit of Raon and the Light Wind Palace.

“So then…”

Raon was about to continue, looking at Glenn, when—

Wuuuuuuuuuuuung!

The dimensional gate opened in the sky began to tremble violently, and Chamber, wearing a red witch’s hat, and Evelyn, clad in a purple robe, appeared.

“What the! Even though we opened the gate, why aren’t they coming!”

Chamber wrinkled her nose bridge, complaining about the delay.

“Aww! I’m sure grandfather has his reasons! Let’s just wait!”

Even in the very heart of Zieghart, surrounded by countless swordsmen, Evelyn called Glenn grandfather out loud.

“G-Grandfather? Did she just say grandfather?”

“What does she mean by that?”

“No way, could it be…?”

The swordsmen, who had been steeling their resolve for the war against the White Blood Religion, looked at Evelyn and Glenn with blank expressions.

“Ugh….”

Raon couldn’t bear the embarrassment and raised his hand to smack his forehead.

That madwoman is on a completely different level.

Wrath let out a sigh as if exhausted.

Even you, or that sword maniac, can’t keep up with her madness.

He shook his head, saying Evelyn’s madness was beyond classification.

“Q-Qui– Quiet!”

Even Glenn seemed unable to fully hide his embarrassment, his voice slightly stammering.

“From this moment, I will announce the armed groups that will be dispatched for the war against the White Blood Religion.”

As he raised his hand, the murmuring in the training ground died down all at once, and tension bloomed across everyone’s faces.

“The vanguard, of course, is the Light Wind Palace, which made the greatest contribution to this operation.”

“Light Wind Palace. We receive the head of house’s command!”

At Raon’s shout, the swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace all knelt down on one knee.

“Aris Zieghart. You’re joining as well. Your subordinates should be waiting just outside the dimensional gate.”

Glenn’s gaze turned to Aris, who stood at the far left.

“I’ll kill every last one of them and come back!”

Aris clenched her long fingers into a fist, as if telling them to look forward to it.

“The second palace, Central Martial Palace, will remain to protect the house. The third palace, Wise Martial Palace, will stay on standby here. The fourth palace, True Martial Palace, will depart together with the Light Wind Palace.”

Glenn issued instructions, glancing in order at Karoon, Denier, and Balder, as if the decision had already been made.

“…I receive your command.”

Karoon accepted the order, biting his lip, knowing that someone had to remain to protect the house.

“Kuahahaha! An excellent choice! I’ll rip out the throats of those bloody demons with these hands!”

Balder pounded both fists together in front of his chest, as if telling them to rest easy.

“I receive the head of house’s command.”

Denier bent his waist calmly, without the slightest hesitation, as if simply obeying.

“Hm…”

Raon narrowed his eyes slightly as he watched Denier’s indifferent reaction.

‘Even in this situation, he says nothing?’

Unlike Karoon, who had been given the mission to protect the house, Denier was assigned a standby mission that meant he couldn’t even leave this training ground.

If he were truly a spy from the Four Demons, he’d be in the worst possible position, and yet he didn’t object or complain, simply followed the orders with complete composure.

‘Could it really not be him?’

Seeing that expression, Raon felt the thought that he might have wrongly suspected Denier.

‘No. Don’t let the suspicion go. You never know when or what could happen.’

To steady his heart again, Raon placed his hand on the hilt of Heavenly Drive. As the most familiar sensation traveled through his fingertips, his chest grew lighter.

“The Heavenly Blade Division will remain on standby here. The Void Sword Division and Warring Sword Division will support the Light Wind Palace from behind. The Stringed…”

Glenn looked over the armed groups lined up in the training ground and assigned each of them their roles one by one.

“…Lastly, I too will remain here on standby.”

He lowered his gaze, saying he would stay behind in Zieghart.

The swordsmen nodded, understanding why Glenn had no choice but to stay in the house.

“Then, I leave it to you.”

Glenn stepped back and jerked his chin toward Chamber.

“Gramps. There's no need for such words!”

Chamber let out a snort of laughter and raised her hand. A dimensional gate descended before the swordsmen who were to depart.

“Just think of it like stepping out your front door, and cross comfortably.”

She gave a slight tilt of her chin, saying that the moment they crossed the gate, they’d arrive at their destination.

“We will be here…”

Glenn looked at the swordsmen standing in front of the dimensional gate and raised his jaw, veins visible.

“Waiting for you.”

He didn’t tell them not to lose, nor did he tell them to go and win, he simply said he would wait. Those words engraved themselves in their hearts more deeply than any encouragement or advice.

“Yes!”

“We’ll definitely come back!”

“Please wait for us!”

It wasn’t just Raon,every one of the swordsmen looked at Glenn with eyes full of emotion.

“Depart!”

With Raon’s fierce shout, the Zieghart swordsmen stepped into the blue dimensional gate with noticeably lighter steps.

“We’ll return.”

Raon bowed his head to the smiling Glenn, and then stepped into the dimensional gate last.

Wuuuuuuuuung!

It seemed Chamber had improved the teleportation magic again, no sooner had he blinked inside the blue dimension, a new landscape spread out before him.

Paaaah!

The sound of crashing blue waves rang out. A familiar shore. It was the coast where he had dived night after night to find the White Blood Religion’s headquarters.

Before they could even take a proper breath, they had arrived at their destination.

“Huh…”

“T-This fast?”

“Is it a different kind of magic from a dimensional gate? Incredible…”

The swordsmen also seemed to feel the same, glancing around and letting out empty breaths.

“Prepare for battle.”

After giving the order to the swordsmen, Raon walked toward the front of the beach.

Wuuuuuuuuuuung!

On the sandy shore, hundreds of mages were carefully drawing three distinct magic circles.

“Y-You came…?”

Larian, who had been checking the central magic circle herself, raised a trembling hand toward him. Judging by her lifeless eyes, she seemed to be in full shut-in mage mode.

“Is it alright to use magic here?”

Raon frowned as he looked out at the ocean, where rough waves were surging.

“H-Here, we…”

“Don’t worry. We stitched in a concealment barrier, thread by thread, to hide both presence and mana.”

Before Larian could speak, Evelyn walked up from behind and answered for him.

“Right?”

With a soft smile, she wrapped her arms around Larian from behind. It seemed the two had grown close while researching magic together over the past two months.

“Huh? Ughhh!”

Larian nodded with a face that looked like she was dying It seemed he had seen it wrong, the closeness appeared to be entirely one-sided on Evelyn’s part.

“It’s fine for now, but once we activate the magic spell, they’ll notice instantly.”

Chamber smacked her lips, saying that the White Blood Religion’s leader and the bloody demons weren’t fools.

“That’s why we only have one shot. We absolutely cannot make a mistake.”

She let out a murky breath, saying they had to simultaneously activate all three spells in the moment when the White Blood Religion’s leader let down her guard.

“So the three of you will each be in charge of one spell.”

Raon nodded as he looked at the three magic circles, each with its center left empty.

“That’s right. You need to be at least Transcender to draw magic spell over the White Blood Religion leader’s head, hidden somewhere in the ocean, where you can’t even see.”

Evelyn smiled and said that she, Chamber, and Larian had no choice but to serve as the cores of the magic circles.

“By the way, where is King Lecross?”

Today, the ones to face the White Blood Religion’s leader would be the Silent Sword Sovereign and the Magic Tower master.

Since Chamber had to withdraw after summoning the White Blood Religion to manage the teleportation spell, it was unsettling that neither Lecross nor the knights of Owen were visible.

“He had some things to prepare, so he’ll be a little late.”

Chamber waved her hand as if telling him not to worry.

“Now we just need to confirm the White Blood Religion’s headquarters location one last time. You can do it, right?”

She looked at him, saying they needed a final confirmation before casting the spell.

“Understood.”

Raon nodded and dipped his hand into the ocean. As he spread a very faint amount of mana, Haerang burst out from the surface.

“Kyaong!”

Though it had only been a week, Haerang wagged its tail wildly like it was meeting him after a year, rubbing its head against his hand.

“Is that the spirit you saved?”

Chamber stroked Haerang’s back affectionately.

“A-A spirit! Ocean spirits are really rare!”

Larian’s researcher instincts seemed to be stirred as her reddened eyes scanned Haerang’s entire body.

“That white city we saw, is it still in the same place?”

“Kyaong!”

Haerang answered as if saying yes, bumping its head against Raon’s forehead. Along with a refreshing sensation like entering the ocean, the scene of the White Blood Religion’s headquarters still sunken at the same spot they had seen a week ago rose clearly in Raon’s mind.

“Yes. It’s still exactly at the coordinates I told you.”

Raon nodded, saying that the location of the White Blood Religion hadn’t changed.

“Good. Nothing in our way, then.”

Chamber clapped her hands, as if saying it was time to begin.

“Prepare!”

At her shout, the expressions in the eyes of the mages standing at the magic circles changed. A desperate spirit filled with the resolve to succeed no matter what, even the Zieghart swordsmen swallowed dryly in response.

Wuuuuuuuuung!

Chamber created a blue window in front of the ocean, and in it, the view of the distant ocean was being shown in real time.

It appeared to be directly above the part of the ocean where the White Blood Religion’s headquarters was submerged.

“Evelyn!”

Chamber jerked her chin toward Evelyn, who had been staring only at Raon and holding her breath.

“You’re first. Don’t mess it up.”

“I know.”

Evelyn waved her hand, as if to say not to worry, and stood at the center of the first magic circle.

“Watch closely.”

Winking with one eye as if telling Raon to keep his eyes only on her, she brought her hands together.

Kugugugugugugu!

Evelyn’s mana surged out as if running wild, seeping into the circular magic circle, and soon stirred up a massive, violet wave.

“It succeeded!”

As Evelyn spoke, they looked at the screen Chamber had created, there, above the blue ocean, a jar as large as a city was falling.

“Larian!”

Chamber stretched her hand toward Larian, as if telling her to start immediately.

“I know already!”

Larian threw off the robe that had been covering her entire body and clasped her hands together to form the spell. Her personality had shifted, no longer the shut-in mage, but the master of the Magic Tower.

“Let’s go, you lot!”

With her fierce shout, the mages from the Magic Tower who were forming the second circle closed their eyes and began chanting the spell.

Wuuuuuuuuuuuuung!

As Larian poured mana over the spell formed by the mages, a massive hexagram-shaped magic circle spread out next to the ocean where the jar had fallen.

Its size too was vast, more than enough to engulf an entire city.

“Now we just wait.”

Chamber brought her hands together after confirming the success of Evelyn and Larian’s spells.

“Let’s hope the octopus takes the bait.”

She bit down deeply on her lip and drew a chilling smile.

*   *   *

“Mana? No… magic?”

The Tenth Apostle raised his head as he sensed the enormous mana wave rising above the headquarters.

“Who… could this be…?”

He couldn't grasp the sudden situation, and his pupils trembled.

“The magic isn’t directed at us. Something huge is falling on the right side.”

The Twelfth Apostle furrowed his brow with his eyes lowered.

“No, that’s not all. There’s also some sort of magic descending from above our heads.”

He twisted the corner of his lips, saying it looked like an ambush.

“You were right.”

The White Blood Religion’s leader lowered her long smoking pipe and exhaled a stream of white smoke.

“Looks like this place’s location has been exposed, just as you thought.”

Murmuring that he was reliable, she turned to the Tenth Apostle.

“Hmph…”

The Twelfth Apostle lowered his brows, clearly displeased, and stared at the Tenth Apostle and the White Blood Religion’s leader.

“My apologies. I should have checked more thoroughly….”

Though praised, the Tenth Apostle bowed his head as if feeling deeply apologetic.

“I’ll begin making preparations immediately.”

“It’s fine. I’ve already prepared.”

The White Blood Religion leader looked at the magic circle drawing nearer and let out a faint smile.

“I’ve strengthened the mana resistance of the fog surrounding the headquarters, and the defensive barrier over the headquarters itself is fully maintained. Even if multiple 9-circle spells rain down one after another, there won’t be any issue. On top of that…”

She flipped over the smoking pipe and tapped out the ash.

“Magic attacks or aura don’t work on the Kraken supporting us. There’s no need to worry about anything.”

She said she had strengthened all the defensive sorceries the moment she sensed external mana and she put the pipe back in her mouth.

“Still, there’s no reason to remain in a place that’s been exposed. Inform the First Apostle. Move the Kraken and return to the deep ocean.”

She let out a mocking laugh, saying everything the Five Kings had prepared would be rendered useless.

“Understood.”

Just as the Tenth and Twelfth Apostles nodded and turned to go to the 1st Apostle—

Kuuuuuuung!

A sound like something huge had fallen next to the White Religion’s leader headquarters was heard, and the entire ocean shook violently.

“A jar…?”

The White Blood Religion’s leader widened her eyes as she looked at the jar, nearly the size of the headquarters itself.

‘Why a jar?’

She had thought it was a weapon capable of physical attack, but couldn’t understand why they would simply drop a jar that was only large in size, and a hollow breath escaped her lips.

‘Wait…’

She urgently raised her gaze and looked up at the magic circle slowly descending.

‘That’s not an offensive spell.’

If it were, it would’ve already been blocked and erased by the fog, but that magic circle, as if it meant no harm, passed softly through the fog and wrapped around the headquarters and the Kraken beneath it.

“What is this…”

The White Blood Religion’s leader swallowed dryly as she stared at the magic spell woven as tightly as if it had been knitted. She didn’t know what kind of magic it was, but an eerie sense of dread crept down her spine.

“Move the Kraken! Immediately!”

Putting everything else aside, she shouted for the Kraken to retreat.

“Yes! I’ll inform the First Apostle right awa…”

“No! I’ll do it myself!”

Just as the White Blood Religion’s leader turned to run toward the control chamber where the First Apostle was—

Kuwaaaaaang!

Though the order hadn’t yet been delivered, the Kraken rose of its own accord and began moving toward the jar that had fallen to the right.

“What the hell! Who gave the Kraken an order?!”

The White Blood Religion’s leader ground her teeth and stomped her foot, but of course, no one knew.

Kugugugugugugu!

The Kraken, regardless of whether the headquarters was tilting or collapsing, began twisting its eyes and pushing its long, massive legs into the jar.

“The jar…?”

“Why suddenly into the jar!”

The Tenth and Twelfth Apostles were aghast at the Kraken’s unexpected behavior, their jaws trembling.

“Aaaaagh!”

“T-The buildings are collapsing!”

“Help!”

The lower-ranked bloody demons were crushed to death, either pinned by buildings or stomped in the chaos, like in a violent earthquake.

“R-Religious leader!”

The First Apostle burst out of the control room, gasping for breath.

“The Kraken has gone out of control! Even after injecting your blood, it’s moving on its own!”

He trembled, saying the Kraken wouldn’t obey.

“Ha…”

The White Blood Religion’s leader lowered her shaking gaze and stared at the magic circle wrapped around both the headquarters and the Kraken.

‘Don’t tell me… it was magic that amplified instinct?’

As a cephalopod, an octopus possesses an instinct to crawl into round objects.

The Kraken that supported the headquarters was an ancient monster, with instincts many times stronger than modern-day Krakens. That instinct had allowed her to conveniently exploit its camouflage, but she had never imagined it would be used against her like this.

“Deactivate the sorceries deployed around the headquarters and open the dimensional gate!”

Because they had strengthened the fog's defensive power to protect the headquarters from the magic just before, they couldn't open a dimension gate right away.

Kugugugugu!

While the White Blood Religion’s leader was giving orders to the Apostles, the Kraken had already stuffed all eight of its legs into the jar.

“I’ll kill the Kraken myself!”

Just as she grit her teeth and tried to leave for the ocean—

Fwoooooosh!

Countless spell formulas sprouted on the jar that the kraken had entered, creating a blue light.

“Damn it!”

The White Blood Religion’s leader bit her lip until it bled as she stared at the jar glowing with Chamber’s signature blue mana.

“We’ve been had…”

*   *   *

Kuwaaaaaaaaaaang!

With a colossal flash of blue light, a massive jar and the white city on top of it crashed down onto the beach. The impact shook the heavens and earth as it fell with overwhelming weight.

“Link it!”

At Larian's shout, the mages who had been operating the first and second magic circles chanted a new spell and touched the ground.

Chiiiiiiiiiiing!

From the small magic circles the mages had drawn, chains of all kinds of colors burst forth and coiled around the headquarters of the White Blood Religion.

Kyaaaaaaaaaaang!

The jar containing the Kraken shattered, and the White Blood Religion’s headquarters began to be dragged toward the beach, bound by hundreds of chains.

“Combine it!”

When Evelyn formed a spell with four fingers, a purple radiance fell and connected the chains the mages had summoned, creating five bridges connecting the beach and the White Blood Religion’s headquarters.

Ttaaaaak!

With a snap of her fingers, Evelyn turned to look at Raon. As if their mission was complete, her red lips curled upward.

“White Blood Religion — summoning complete!”

 

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