The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1123

 Chapter 1123

 

Huuuuh.

Raon opened his eyes in the darkness where starlight was pouring down.

‘As I thought… it’s here.’

The ancestor of Zieghart always prepared arrangements in places related to swords.

The Stone Sword, the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Zieghart’s training ground, the Holy Sword Alliance, the underwater cave engraved with sword marks, he had engraved his past in places related to swords so they could be discovered, and so I thought his traces might remain even here in the Martial Blade Pavilion.

Among them, the place with the highest likelihood was the Sword-Testing Pavilion, so I really wanted to go in, but I didn't know things would turn out this well.

‘So then, where is this…?’

Looking around, he saw sheer cliffs. From the familiar shapes of the peaks, it seemed to be Martial Blade Mountain.

‘But it isn’t Martial Blade Mountain as it is now.’

It was Martial Blade Mountain before the Martial Blade Pavilion was built. A time when nothing existed around it but the bare rocky mountain.

‘What is he trying to show me this time?’

As Raon turned his gaze, searching for Zieghart’s ancestor, a massive flame fell from the sky.

Kuuuuuuung!

From within the golden flames walked Zieghart’s ancestor and the female mage who always accompanied him.

But unlike their usual immaculate appearances, both were in poor condition.

They bore many severe wounds as though they had come through a fierce battle, and they looked mentally exhausted as well.

‘Could there be a monster capable of wounding those two?’

Until now, the ancestor of Zieghart was stronger than anyone I had ever known. The mage who followed him was likewise a power far beyond ordinary Transcendence. Why, then, were they in such a state?

“Huuuh….”

The mage in the purple robe propped her staff on the ground and let out a sigh.

“How long has it been since that dreadful war ended? And already another uproar.”

She shook her head, saying it was far harder than she had imagined.

“……”

Zieghart’s ancestor only looked up at the starlit sky above Martial Blade Mountain, as if calculating something.

“In any case, this is the end of it, right?”

The purple-robed mage pressed her hands together, begging him to say it was over.

“For now.”

Zieghart’s ancestor exhaled slowly, as though something still remained unfinished.

“For now?”

The purple-robed mage narrowed her eyes.

“Then you’re saying it’ll just come back later?”

She stamped her foot in protest at the absurdity. Mana surged from her stomp, shaking Martial Blade Mountain and sending rocks tumbling down.

“They will never give up.”

Zieghart’s ancestor nodded calmly, as though he could see the future itself.

“Then we can’t just sit still!”

The purple-robed mage struck her staff down.

“Let’s erase it all right now! There isn’t much time left!”

She bit her lip, saying they could not allow the same thing to be repeated.

“The children of later generations will never be able to stop it.”

“That’s why we came here, to Martial Blade Mountain, where the densest spiritual energy has seeped into the continent.”

The ancestor of Zieghart drew out a pitch-black, blazing jewel from his pocket. No, it wasn’t a jewel at all, it looked exactly like some kind of scale.

Fwoooosh!

With a snap of his fingers, golden flames surged forth, swallowing the black flame burning on the scale.

Jijijijijijik!

Zieghart’s ancestor drove the scale, seared by the golden heat, deep into the ground beneath his feet.

Though the ground was solid bedrock, the scale pierced into the earth like a blade.

Huuuuhk.

But perhaps because the malice radiating from the scale was so intense, a faint evil energy began to spread through Martial Blade Mountain.

“I’m counting on you.”

Zieghart’s ancestor stepped back with a faint smile.

“You sure order me around a lot.”

The purple-robed mage sighed shortly, then crossed her hands.

As she began her incantation, blue light surged forth, restoring the cracked ground caused by the scale to its original form, and faint flowers began to bloom around them.

The malice that had seeped from the black scale completely faded away.

“Huuuh.”

She collapsed to the ground, her face even paler than before, as if she had overexerted herself.

“Thank you.”

Zieghart’s ancestor supported the purple-robed mage, patting her back.

“Really…”

The purple-robed mage grumbled, but her faint smile showed she didn’t dislike his support.

“Sorry to say this at a time like this, but… there are still a few more places we need to go.”

“Ah, for heaven’s sake!”

As Zieghart’s ancestor and the purple-robed mage exchanged words—

Tuuuk!

A falling petal froze in midair. Time within this memory stopped, and the world began to turn black and white. Even Raon, drawn into the past, could no longer move.

Gooooooo!

In the world where everything had come to a halt, the first head of Zieghart slowly rose and turned his body. His gaze sharpened, as if he knew Raon was there.

Eyes blazing red like fire, eyes that were exactly like Glenn’s. No, it was as if Raon were facing a mirror.

“It is not far now.”

Zieghart’s ancestor looked directly at Raon, not at the purple-robed mage, nodding firmly.

“I believe in you.”

With that clear voice that seemed to resound in his chest, the memory ended, and Raon opened his eyes.

The nameless book he held in his hand had its original letters erased, and new writing emerged.

The sword technique manual had regained its original name.

It was Boundless Time Sword.

“Is this even a sword technique possible in reality?”

Martha’s voice, which Raon had forgotten, snapped him back to reality. The replay of the memory had ended, and it seemed he had returned to the Sword-Testing Pavilion.

You bastard, what have you seen again!

Wrath frowned, saying his soul kept leaving his body.

The King of Essence is not your watchdog!

He shook his head, telling Raon to stop doing strange things. He seemed a little uneasy.

‘Sorry.’

Raon put his hands together in apology to Wrath, then looked down at the floor of the Sword-Testing Pavilion.

‘That scale is not something to be dug up and taken out.’

Raon swallowed dryly and clenched his fist.

‘It is a seal that must be protected no matter what.’

*   *   *

Raon finished reading all the books in the Sword-Testing Pavilion, laying the foundation to one day raise the realm of versatile sword, and then climbed the stairs again.

“Took you longer than I thought.”

Brigit, the Queen of Swords, was waiting at the entrance of the Sword-Testing Pavilion with a faint smile.

“Looks like the martial arts manual you were looking for wasn’t there?”

She tilted her chin, saying, as she had before, that only unusual things were kept in the Sword-Testing Pavilion. She seemed to know every book in it.

“No, I found it.”

Raon shook his head, recalling the ancestor’s memory and the Boundless Time Sword he had left behind.

“It just took a long time because I read all the other books in there while I was at it.”

He smiled, saying that he had read all the martial arts manuals that existed in the Sword-Testing Pavilion.

“W-what…?”

Brigit asked back in disbelief.

“You, you read everything? All the martial arts manuals inside?”

She widened her eyes, as if more surprised than when he had appeared stronger.

“Yes. I read them all, and memorized the necessary parts.”

Raon nodded calmly.

“Is that even possible?”

Brigit gasped, saying if that were true, he had come out impossibly quickly.

“For someone like Sir Raon, it’s entirely possible.”

The Thespian Emperor nodded, saying it was nothing too difficult.

“Seriously, you brain monsters…”

Brigit frowned, saying it was impossible for someone like her, who wasn’t good with her head.

“Queen of Swords, do you happen to know what lies beneath this Martial Blade Pavilion?”

Raon raised his finger, pointing to the ground beneath the Martial Blade Pavilion.

“Beneath? It’s just Martial Blade Mountain, what else would it be?”

Brigit tilted her head as if wondering why he would ask such a question.

“……”

Raon silently looked into Brigit’s eyes.

“I don’t think that’s what he means.”

The Thespian Emperor sensed Raon’s energy wave and narrowed her eyes.

“It feels like you’re asking what purpose this Martial Blade Pavilion exists for.”

She slowly let out the breath she had drawn in.

“You. What did you see in the Sword-Testing Pavilion?”

Brigit tensed her fingertips and stared at him. She might not have known about the scale, but she clearly knew something existed beneath Martial Blade Mountain.

“I don’t know exactly. But I know it must be protected.”

Since he couldn’t explain properly about the ancestor, Raon gave a vague answer.

“You really are a peculiar one. Even more than the Sword-Testing Pavilion itself.”

Brigit furrowed her brows deeply, then lowered her hand.

“You’re right. There is something beneath Martial Blade Mountain that the Pavilion must risk its life to guard. What it is, or what it means, I don’t know, but the duty has been passed down since before this place even bore the name Martial Blade Pavilion.”

She tapped the desk, saying it was unknown how long such a duty had been handed down.

“That’s unexpected. I didn’t think the Queen of Swords would uphold that kind of tradition.”

Raon smiled faintly as he looked at Brigit’s scowling face.

“I didn’t at first. I thought it was just one of those tedious legends every sect has one or two of. But…”

Brigit shot a glance at the Thespian Emperor.

“Ariel told me that something truly grotesque is buried beneath the Martial Blade Pavilion.”

She sighed, admitting she never thought the legend would be real.

“My master also spoke of it, and since it is the will of the ancestors, I try to uphold it in my own way.”

Brigit nodded, saying it wasn’t such a difficult thing to do.

“I see.”

Raon nodded quietly.

“Then, please take this.”

He handed Brigit the Boundless Time Sword that Zieghart’s ancestor had left in the Sword-Testing Pavilion. Since he had already memorized it completely, there was no problem in handing it over.

“What is this… huh?”

Brigit turned the pages one by one with her own hands, then widened her eyes.

“This came out of the Sword-Testing Pavilion?”

Her pupils quivered, she had never seen such a sword manual before.

“Yes. It seems to be a gift left by the one who gave the order to protect Martial Blade Mountain.”

Raon nodded, saying that through the Boundless Time Sword he had realized something was sealed within Martial Blade Mountain.

“Hmm….”

Brigit, flipping through the manual, hastily lifted her head.

“Are you really giving this to me? This isn’t an ordinary sword manual.”

She swallowed dryly, saying it seemed to be of the highest-tier and beyond.

“In exchange, please guard this place well.”

Raon nodded with a smile.

“Haa….”

Brigit shook her head as if she couldn't understand. Yet Raon could feel the favor she held toward him grow rapidly stronger.

“Fine. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll make sure it’s guarded!”

Brigit slammed her fist onto the desk as if to reassure him. The desk, struck again and again by her, was a little pitiful.

“Now then, it’s time for our talk as well.”

The Thespian Emperor approached with a faint smile, standing beside Raon and Brigit.

“The Five Divine Orders… no, now with only White Whale and Martial Blade Pavilion remaining, we will, as allied factions, support Raon Zieghart as a successor candidate of Zieghart.”

She declared her support for Raon, holding out the emblem of the White Whale.

“Here.”

Brigit also handed him the wooden-sword emblem that had been prepared on the desk.

“Thank you.”

Raon received the emblems of White Whale and Martial Blade Pavilion with both hands and bowed his head. Among all the places he had met so far, this was the support of the largest faction, and it weighed in his hands like a lump of lead.

“There’s one more thing I would like to ask of you both. Soon….”

Raon turned his body, facing the Thespian Emperor directly.

“You’re asking us to take part in the coming war, aren’t you?”

The Thespian Emperor nodded, already knowing his intent.

“Of course we must join. Even if the future is unclear.”

She smiled faintly, saying she would naturally participate in the war. Speaking of the future without showing unease, it seemed she had cast off all of her distress.

No, it’s more than that.

Raon hadn’t noticed because he was focused on Brigit and Briana, but the Thespian Emperor was now shrouded in an entirely different energy than before.

She had completely thrown off her distress and fully embodied the enlightenment she had gained. Once Raon recognized her fully, he could clearly feel her strength.

“Don’t worry! I’ll sweep the battlefield clean myself!”

Brigit thumped her chest with her fist, telling him to leave it to her.

“No.”

Raon waved his hand toward Brigit.

“You don’t need to come, Lady Brigit.”

“Huh? Why?”

Brigit widened her eyes, asking what he meant.

“Because, most likely….”

Raon curved his lips faintly, looking down at Martial Blade Mountain beneath the pavilion.

“This place will become a battlefield too.”

*   *   *

Raon looked at the emblems of the Thespian Emperor and Brigit and smacked his lips.

‘Just one or two more places and I should be able to pass the test.’

With the support of Habun Castle, Seipia, House Arianne, and now the White Whale and the Martial Blade Pavilion, if I could secure support from one or two more factions, I would likely pass the second successor test without much difficulty.

‘Where should I go next?’

The Holy Kingdom, where the punk Saintess was, would be best.

If I could gain the support of the Five Kings, then it wouldn’t matter whether I went to Balkar, Owen, or the Beast Union. But since they cannot be involved in this test, I had to look elsewhere.

Of those remaining, the Holy Kingdom seemed the largest in power and might.

As Raon decided on his next destination and tucked the emblems into his pocket—

Tadadak!

A young swallow flew in through the window of his lodging. It was the bird he had sent to inform Rector of his news, but its wings and forehead were crusted with red blood.

“What the—!”

Raon hurriedly opened the window and caught the swallow in his hand.

“Are you all right?”

Pii.

The swallow raised its wings and legs as if to show the blood wasn’t its own.

“Then….”

Raon swallowed dryly and unfolded the letter tied to its leg.

It was Rector’s reply. He praised Raon for making him proud, told him he was still in the Holy Sword Alliance, and that he was spending peaceful days with the others.

But even on the outside of the letter, red blood was splattered. Having lived a lifetime as an assassin, he knew instantly.

This was not the blood of a monster or beast that had fought the swallow.

It was human blood.

“Right now….”

Raon bit his lip as he looked at the young swallow.

“Where is grandfather?”

 

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