The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1118

 Chapter 1118

 

“Huaaah….”

Dorian let out an airy breath as he looked up at the rock mountain, which was more sheer and cliff-like than a gently rolling hill.

“Th-this is Martial Blade Mountain, where the Blade Martial Pavilion is?”

He shivered his jaw, saying he didn’t know how they were supposed to climb this mountain.

“That’s right.”

Raon nodded as he stood beside Dorian.

“This mountain was named Martial Blade Mountain because it rises straight and sharp like a well-forged blade. Even for skilled warriors, it’s not an easy climb.”

Martial Blade Mountain was tall, packed with blunt rocks, and a difficult place even for warriors. The terrain is so harsh that people said merely climbing this place counted as training.

Hah… it’s ridiculously high.

Wrath let out a deep sigh.

There won’t be anything to eat here….

He licked his lips as if nostalgic for the happy times spent eating ice cream at House Arianne.

“Wasn’t the Blade Martial Pavilion near the White Whale?”

Martha tilted her head, saying she’d seen the Martial Blade Pavilion’s symbol on the continent map.

“That’s just a branch. It may be as large as a headquarters, but the real Blade Martial Pavilion is here in Martial Blade Mountain.”

Raon lightly waved his hand.

“Then where exactly is the Blade Martial Pavilion?”

Martha raised her hand over her brow and looked up at the mountain.

“If it’s that tall, it can’t be at the peak, right?”

She frowned, saying she thought it would be somewhere around the mid-slope.

“No, it’s at the peak.”

Raon lifted his finger and pointed toward the summit of Martial Blade Mountain.

“Th-that high up? it looks like it’d even be hard to breathe….”

Dorian panted as he looked at the peak of Martial Blade Mountain, shrouded in clouds.

“That’s possible, high altitudes have less oxygen.”

“Then I’ll use this!”

Dorian, as if he’d been waiting for the moment, took a round bead from his pocket.

“It’s an artifact for high-altitude breathing! A must-have for travelers!”

He bit the artifact into his mouth, telling them not to worry.

“That’s not necessary.”

Evelyn stepped over to Raon and took the artifact out of Dorian’s mouth.

“With a single cast of my magic spell you can breathe comfortably anywhere.”

She told them to leave it to her and gently brushed Raon’s shoulder.

“I don’t intend to use magic or artifacts.”

Raon shook his head and looked at Martial Blade Mountain again.

“The reason the Queen of Swords and the swordsmen of the Blade Martial Pavilion are strong is because they trained at the peak.”

At such high altitudes, even breathing itself was not easy.

Because the swordsmen of the Blade Martial Pavilion trained at the summit of Martial Blade Mountain, their lung capacity was overwhelmingly greater than that of other warriors.

With deep lung capacity and lofty mental strength as their base, they achieved great success in real combat.

“Think of the climb as training. Don’t use your aura.”

Raon told them to treat the climb itself as training, then went up the mountain first.

You’re a Transcender, aren’t you!

Wrath furrowed his brow as if incredulous.

What kind of training are you going to get from just climbing a mountain!

He waved his hand, telling Raon to just hurry up.

‘No, there’ll be something to gain.’

Raon shook his head, saying he didn’t agree.

Wow. You’re crazy in other ways too, but when it comes to training you’re a maniac no one can keep up with.

Wrath shook his head side to side, calling him a hopeless training addict.

“T-Training even here…?”

Dorian clutched his head as if already exhausted.

“Training, you say? Then I’m in!”

Martha actually welcomed it, bumping her fists together and loosening her legs.

“I don’t have to, right? I’m a mage.”

Evelyn said she’d take it easy and floated up into the air.

“Do as you want.”

Raon shrugged at her and kept climbing Martial Blade Mountain.

From the foot to the mid-slope there wasn’t much difference from other mountains, but after that the slope pitched so sharply it felt like scaling a cliff.

‘Not bad.’

Even without aura, and even with the mountain’s height, climbing wasn’t nearly enough to wear me out.

But the steep slope did help me find precise balance and control of my body’s center of gravity.

So in the end you’re managing even a small bit of growth. Seriously…

Wrath let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.

‘Like you said, I’ve reached Transcendence. I’m standing just below the very highest level.’

Raon looked down at his calloused hands.

‘There are hardly any ways left to grow quickly like during an awakening. I have to keep getting stronger little by little, even like this.’

Since I didn’t know when war with Derus would break out, I had to grow stronger little by little, by any means necessary.

“Oh! That tree’s a rare Siban tree!”

While climbing, Dorian’s eyes lit up as he rushed to a tree shaped like fish bones.

“I have to take this! It’s a necessity!”

He inhaled sharply, pulled the tree out by the roots, and stuffed it into his belly pocket.

“Huh? Isn’t that a Murang fruit? That’s also an essential seasoning ingredient that gives sweetness!”

Dorian moved to the right and picked a cluster of yellow, ball-shaped fruits.

“There he goes again.”

Martha sighed, watching Dorian gather supplies from here and there.

‘Already….’

Unlike Martha, Raon’s eyes widened as he looked at Dorian.

‘Has his authority awakened?’

When Dorian put the tree and fruits into his belly pocket, I felt a new breath stir within his soul.

The authority of Gluttony that lay dormant in his soul, the power granted by Gluttony, had awakened.

Huh, looks like it really has!

Wrath nodded, saying he could see Gluttony’s authority blossoming inside Dorian’s soul as well.

Wuuuuum.

Though Dorian himself didn’t realize it, his martial and mental strength was steadily growing through Gluttony’s authority.

‘This is no joke.’

To think one could grow stronger just by doing what they liked, it was far greater than expected.

‘I absolutely have to gain more of this.’

Raon turned to look at Martha and Evelyn, who floated in the air.

‘Evelyn will definitely match with Lust without a problem. But….’

Who would Martha or Burren match with?

I wanted to find a Demon King whose flow matched them too, but no particular authority came to mind.

‘No, even if there isn’t one, I have to find one.’

To lessen the sacrifices even a little, he had to strengthen the swordsmen no matter what.

Raon resolved to raise Burren and Martha to Transcendence no matter what, and looked at Wrath.

W-why are you suddenly looking at the King of  Essence!

Wrath trembled, flustered.

Don’t make that expression, it’s scary!

He shook his head violently.

Whenever you get that look in your eyes, something weird always happens!

*   *   *

Before the sun set, Raon arrived at the Blade Martial Pavilion’s main gate at the summit of Martial Blade Mountain.

The main gate was so small that two people passing side by side would fill it completely, and it was so worn down it looked like it would collapse with just a bit of force.

It was a modest place, hard to believe it belonged to one of the top ten factions on the continent.

But perhaps because of Martial Blade Mountain’s lofty air, the building itself carried a sharpness like that of a blade.

Creak!

As Raon approached the gate, it opened with a loud squeak, and a girl with blue hair, looking in her mid-teens, stepped out.

“This is the Blade Martial Pavilion. What brings you here, honored guests?”

The girl bowed politely and straightened. She was still young, but a strong scent of swordsmanship emanated from her.

“I am the master of the Light Wind Palace of Zieghart. I’ve come seeking an audience with the master of the Blade Martial Pavilion.”

Raon, recognizing that even though she was young she had come as the pavilion’s representative, introduced himself just as politely.

“Ah! You must be Sir Raon!”

The girl’s green eyes widened as if she had just realized who he was.

“Please wait a moment.”

Flustered though she was, she didn’t forget her duty and went back inside the Pavilion.

“She’s pretty gutsy, isn’t she?”

Dorian smacked his lips, saying she seemed more mature than he was.

“Right? She’s better than you.”

Martha nodded in agreement.

“H-hey! That’s not fair! I’ve spent years making my living by the sword too!”

Dorian waved both hands, saying it wasn’t like that.

“From what I’ve seen, you could never do that. If an honored guest showed up, you’d start stuttering right away.”

Martha grinned, as if it was obvious.

“N-no, I wouldn’t!”

“See? You’re already stuttering in fluster right now.”

While the two were bickering lightly, the Pavilion’s gate opened again and familiar faces appeared.

“How did you end up here?”

Brigit, the Pavilion master known by the nickname Queen of Swords, rounded her eyes at the sight of Raon.

“I heard someone was climbing up from below, but I didn’t expect it to be you, Sir Raon.”

Ariel, the Thespian Emperor, wore a faint, welcoming smile.

“Still, I already know why you came. It’s for successor support, isn’t it?”

She nodded gently as though she had already heard the information from Zieghart.

“Successor support?”

Brigit cocked her head, as if she didn’t understand.

“I told you before. Zieghart is holding the successor selection test right now.”

The Thespian Emperor said she had mentioned it before, waving a hand.

“Didn’t you tell that to my sister? I don’t remember hearing it.”

Brigit lightly tapped her forehead, telling her to think carefully.

“Oh, right!”

The Thespian Emperor clapped her hands softly as if she’d just remembered.

“Briana was so interested in Sir Raon that I told her.”

She nodded, clarifying it had been Briana, not Brigit, she’d told.

Ah, that’s right.

Wrath looked at Brigit and whistled.

Weren’t those the twins who share one body?

‘That’s right.’

Raon nodded slightly.

‘Brianna and Brigit’s two souls share that one body. Coincidental though it was, I even helped awaken them.’

He smiled faintly, recalling how he’d awakened Briana and the Thespian Emperor while trying to form an alliance between the Five Divine Orders and Zieghart.

“Is Lady Brianna here right now?”

Raon turned his chin slightly toward Brigit.

“She’s still swinging her sword in her mental world. She hardly comes out, like she’s intent on catching up to you.”

Brigit frowned, calling her sister a ruthless person.

“Lady Brigit, you also seem a bit harsh yourself, don’t you?”

Raon said as he scanned Brigitte’s entire body.

“What? What’s that supposed to mean….”

“You said you didn’t want to do physical training because of your sister, yet you’ve clearly been working hard at it.”

Raon smiled, sensing that Brigit’s physique had become much more solid than before.

“N-no nonsense! I trained because I wanted to, not for my sister!”

Brigit shook her head vigorously, denying it was for Briana.

“Forget the nonsense. What do you mean by coming here for successor support?”

She stamped her foot, demanding an explanation.

“The successor selection test the head of house gave requires gaining supporters….”

Raon told Brigit why he’d come all the way here.

“Hmph. So you came to seek the Blade Martial Pavilion’s support.”

Brigit scoffed and folded her arms.

“My support isn’t something you can get that easily—”

“We’ll give it.”

The Thespian Emperor nodded calmly, as if she’d already decided.

“Ariel!”

Brigit’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Are you serious?”

“For what Sir Raon gave us, offering our support is the least we can do. And….”

The Thespian Emperor smiled faintly as if everything was obvious.

“You’ll end up giving it anyway after stalling a bit, won’t you?”

“Ughh….”

Brigit pressed her lips tight, as if her thoughts had been laid bare.

“Fine, I get it! I’ll give mine too!”

She lowered her eyebrows, saying she had planned to do it from the start.

“Thank you, both of you. However…”

Raon raised his hand toward the Thespian Emperor and Brigit.

“My reason for coming here isn’t only for support.”

“Then what?”

Brigit tilted her head, as if asking what the reason was.

“The same as the Thespian Emperor.”

Raon pointed to the Thespian Emperor with his hand.

“I heard the Blade Martial Pavilion holds a swordsmanship tournament every ten years where aura isn’t allowed, and those who win gain access to the library that stores rare sword manuals….”

He placed his hand on the hilt of Heavenly Drive and grinned.

“As an ally of the Five Divine Orders, I want to participate in that tournament.”

You bastard punk!

Wrath frowned in disbelief.

Why would a so-called Transcender enter a tournament for snot-nosed kids.

*   *   *

Step. Step.

From the end of the dim corridor came footsteps that raised goosebumps.

The source of that sinister sound was Derus Robert, his long silver hair hanging loose. With chilling steps that seemed to press down on the earth, he entered the office.

“Congratulations on your great achievement.”

Cubara, waiting in the office, knelt and bowed to Derus.

“A great achievement, huh….”

Derus sat on the sofa and looked at his own pale hand.

“I wonder if there is such a thing as a great achievement for the Heart Sword.”

He smiled leisurely and floated something transparent above his palm.

“Just as martial learning has no end, it seems this Heart Sword has no end either.”

Derus smiled with eyes as clear as if he had transcended the world itself.

“Still, it seems I’ve reached the level I wanted. I should send my thanks to the Holy Sword Alliance’s master.”

As he spoke the Holy Sword Alliance master’s name and let a chilly killing intent seep out, a gloomy aura welled up as if heaven and earth themselves had embraced malice.

“List the incidents that happened while I was in the training chamber in order of importance, and report them.”

Derus nodded, saying he wanted a report first.

“I regret to say, the first thing I must report is bad news. Three factories for gathering divine power have been destroyed.”

Cubara parted her lips without daring to even look at Derus.

“The work of one man, I suppose.”

Derus tilted his chin as if it were obvious. It meant she should continue speaking.

“In the first attack, they destroyed everything so perfectly and disappeared that we couldn’t even identify the enemy. At the second factory, despite taking precautions, we were annihilated again. So for the third…”

Cubara took a short breath and continued.

“We received help from Sir Raphael. Thanks to him, we were able to identify the attacker.”

She lifted her head, saying the attacker had been confirmed.

“The attackers on the factories were Rector of the Holy Sword Alliance and his subordinates.”

Cubara’s cloudy eyes flared as if certain it was Rector.

“As expected.”

Derus nodded calmly, as if he had already expected it.

“I had intended to use them suitably before the war and then discard them, but if they act like this, there’s no choice.”

With a chilling smile, he drew his long, thin finger across his throat.

“It’s better to kill them.”

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