The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1236

 Chapter 1236

 

Whoooooosh!

Raon brought both arms down in a savage arc, gripping Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword. The blades skimmed the ground, and red and blue slashes surged upward like twin divine dragons.

Shraaaak!

Glenn, staring calmly at the two slashes rushing toward him, swung Heavenly Tremor without a change in expression. His strike, wrapped in red lightning, split Raon’s flames and frost cleanly in half.

Chiaaaaa!

As if he’d expected his attack to be brushed aside, Raon charged in at once, bringing both swords crashing down. This wasn’t a spar anymore, his sword was steeped in killing intent and raw anger, as if he were facing a sworn enemy.

Craaaang!

Glenn twisted his wrist, straightening Heavenly Tremor that had been angled downward and perfectly deflecting Raon’s sudden assault.

Rumble!

The powerful rebound Glenn created shoved Raon back five steps. The impact was so heavy that the tips of Raon’s fingers trembled as he gripped his swords.

“Huff.”

With a single breath, Raon shook off the shock and lunged at Glenn again.

Grrrrr!

From Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword, spread wide like wings, came a chilling resonance, like the growl of a starving beast. Fangs of Insanity and Blizzard Sword Art. The sword techniques that pushed the senses to the extreme exploded wildly from Raon’s hands.

Clang-clang-clang-clang!

Those techniques flowed purely on instinct, so unpredictable that even Raon himself couldn’t foresee their paths. Yet Glenn blocked every single trajectory, as though he were reading the future itself.

Chiiiing!

Once again, Raon was knocked away by Glenn’s blade, retreating six steps this time. The impact was heavier still, his footsteps slammed deep into the floor.

Ssssss!

Unlike before, Glenn offered not even a single word of advice. He simply leveled Heavenly Tremor. Stepping forward with his left foot, he thrust, his blade shooting toward Raon’s heart faster than light.

Kyaaang!

Raon drew a half circle with Wooden Ring Sword. A spiral shield of blazing flames barely diverted Glenn’s thrust.

“Haaah….”

Breathing raggedly, Raon activated the Supreme Harmony Steps, he surged forward, crashing straight into Glenn’s space.

Shraaaak!

As if he’d been waiting for Raon to close in, Glenn cut down without hesitation. Red lightning that had been circling the ceiling of the training ground followed his blade, plunging toward Raon’s head.

Whoooooosh!

Raon released Wooden Ring Sword from his left hand. Still bound to his soul, it rose into the air wrapped in blue frost, acting as a lightning rod that scattered the descending bolt in all directions.

Chiaaang!

Seizing the opening created by Wooden Ring Sword, Raon stepped in again and aimed for Glenn’s neck with Heavenly Drive, golden flames blazing. It was the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s Crimson Slash, fast and overwhelmingly powerful.

“Hmm.”

Glenn let out a short sigh, as if to say this was predictable. He moved Heavenly Tremor to knock aside Raon’s Crimson Slash.

Ssssh—

But the instant he extended his sword, Raon vanished like a mirage, and scorching heat flared behind him.

Supreme Haromony Steps’s Illusory Flash Steps.

The footwork Raon had imbued with illusions and variations returned, far more complete than before.

Shraaaak!

Without giving Glenn a moment to turn, Raon drove Heavenly Drive forward in that fleeting instant.

Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s Single Crimson Point.

A thrust taken to its absolute extreme bored toward Glenn’s back.

Craaaang!

But instead of flesh tearing, the sound was steel slamming into steel. Heavenly Drive bounced upward violently.

“Ha.”

After seeing what had deflected his blade, Raon let out a hollow breath.

"The pommel... seriously?"

With no time to turn, Glenn struck aside Heavenly Drive, not with the blade of his sword, but with the pommel itself. Flawless precision, lightning-fast reflexes, and the experience forged through countless battles came together in an absolute defense.

“I was pretty confident in that one.”

Raon pressed his lips together in disappointment. His pupils trembled slightly, as if he’d taken a shock both mentally and physically.

“It was definitely dangerous.”

Glenn nodded calmly, acknowledging the attempt.

"It wouldn't be strange to call that a new form of the Supreme Harmony Steps."

He gave a faint smile, accepting the Illusory Flash Steps Raon had created.

“You’re acknowledging it already? That’s a bit early.”

Smacking his lips, Raon lifted Heavenly Drive and Wooden Ring Sword again.

"I'm just getting star—ted."

He tried to kick off the ground with a smile, but instead, he pitched forward and collapsed onto the floor.

“Hng….”

Raon’s eyes slipped shut as he let out a thin breath. He wasn't injured or unconscious, he had simply fallen asleep mid-sentence.

Yet even then, he refused to let go of Heavenly Drive and Wodeen Ring Sword.

“Hmm….”

Glenn narrowed his eyes, checking whether Raon was truly asleep.

“Hoo.”

Once he confirmed it, he let out a sigh.

“I can’t relax,” Glenn muttered. “I half-expect him to spring up and stab me the moment I turn my back.”

Shaking his head, Glenn sheathed Heavenly Tremor.

“We should have the same stamina, so how on earth does he do this….”

Since entering this training ground, Raon had attacked him endlessly for a week without sleeping.

If this were outside, where stamina and aura weren’t being suppressed, it might have been possible. But this training ground was different.

Here, stamina, physical ability, aura, even the level of one’s soul, were all being pressed down. He couldn’t understand how Raon was fighting like that without any rest at all.

‘I fought as efficiently as I could, and it still nearly broke me,’ Glenn thought.
‘Incredible.’

Watching Raon sleep, letting out faint, almost childlike breaths, Glenn chuckled under his breath.

‘Is this just the difference youth makes?’

Glenn’s level was higher, so he fought efficiently, conserving stamina without wasting movement.

Raon couldn’t do that yet. Every exchange forced him to spend more than he should, and he’d kept that up for an entire week.

‘But what’s even more incredible…’

Lifting the sleeping Raon, Glenn formed a gentle smile.

“…is how fast he’s growing, faster than I expected.”

He had planned to sharpen his own dulled senses by training alongside his grandson.
Instead, Raon’s growth stood out far more than he had expected.

Raon was improving faster than Glenn was regaining his own edge, and realizing that caught him off guard, even as it quietly pleased him.

‘To grow this strong…’

Glenn let out a soft laugh as he looked at Raon’s peaceful sleeping face.

‘Does this child even have a limit?’

Raon had already achieved tremendous growth through the war with Derus Robert.

I had believed that even reaching Transcendence would be enough to halt Raon’s rapid growth for a while. Instead, he’d come here and was already pushing even further. He was my grandson, but his talent had become genuinely frightening.

‘No… frightening isn’t quite right.’

Spending a full week sparring with Raon, I had felt my chest tighten more than once at his relentless growth and ferocious will to fight. If Raon had been an enemy, sleep itself would have been hard to come by.

‘Now I understand why Karoon and Burren felt that way toward him.’

Glenn shook his head, recalling how the two had once kept Raon in check when they were younger.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how far you’ll have advanced when you leave this place.”

He laid Raon down in the resting room inside the training ground and patted his head.

“Get some real rest.”

Just as Glenn closed the door and turned to leave—

“I-I’ll help you… so you can win….”

Even sunk in a sleep close to unconsciousness, Raon twitched his fingers, as if trying to help Glenn.

“….”

Glenn stopped, then turned back. Looking at his grandson’s face, worn with exhaustion and pain, he bit his lip.

“So that’s why.”

Raon had always been the kind of warrior who devoted everything to training. But this time was different, exceptional even by his standards.

He’d been throwing himself forward with terrifying intensity, as if his own lifespan didn’t matter. And it wasn’t for the sake of his own growth.

“For me.”

Raon must have been fighting with everything he had, desperate to be of help, to see me defeat the Heavenly Demon, no matter the cost.

Regardless of the outcome of that duel, Raon knew I would ascend and leave, and yet he’d still risked his life to help.

“…….”

Glenn closed his eyes and stood there in silence for a long while, letting that realization settle in.

“…Alright.”

At last, he opened his eyes and looked down at his precious grandson, a quiet, confident smile forming on his face.

“I will win.”

*   *   *

“Hmm….”

Martha narrowed her eyes slightly as she looked around outside the fifth training ground.

“Your dad’s been all over the place lately. He’d barely been leaving the lord’s manor before. What’s gotten into him?”

She smacked her lips as she watched Karoon and his subordinates heading outside.

“I asked him about it recently,” Burren said, following her gaze and lifting a hand toward Karoon.
“He said the head of house needs to keep an eye on everything, inside and out.”

He rubbed his chin, recalling Karoon’s words.

“He said it wasn’t right to just sit behind paperwork. That you have to see the people with your own eyes.”

“Wow, seriously? He’s like a completely different person. That’s wild.”

Martha tilted her head, genuinely puzzled by how someone could change that much.

“I kind of get why he changed, but yeah, it’s still surprising,” Burren said with a small smile of agreement.

“That said, you’ve changed a ton too. You were basically a delinquent back then.”

He chuckled, remembering what Martha had been like when she first showed up at the fifth training ground.

“I-I was young back then!”
Martha stomped her foot and shook her head.

“That’s just puberty! Everyone goes through it at that age!”

She frowned like it couldn’t be helped.

"Actually, if we’re talking about change, you can't really talk either, Sir Burren."

Krein sidled up next to Burren and lightly jabbed him with an elbow.

“Your envy of Raon was off the charts. You even subtly pushed us to move ahead and train harder…”

He grinned, remembering their trainee days.

“I-I really didn’t do that! You guys just moved on your own!”

Burren shook his head violently, face flushing red as he remembered the shame of those days.

"I saw Raon’s shoes and—!"

“Shoes?”
Martha tilted her head, clearly confused.

“Raon’s shoes. Ah, never mind. It’s nothing.”

Burren turned away, embarrassed by the realization he’d once had after seeing how worn Raon’s shoes were.

“Honestly, you’re hopeless.”

Martha snorted and looked away.

“And that one hasn’t changed at all.”

She sighed heavily as she looked at Runaan, asleep while leaning against a tree.

“She’s always the same. Must be nice.”

Krein sighed, remarking that Runaan never had a day where she didn’t sleep.

“No, it’s actually gotten harder to deal with Lady Runaan lately.”

Dorian frowned, saying he couldn’t even tell anymore whether Runaan was asleep or awake.

“Same here. Even when I talk to her, she often doesn’t answer, just ignores me.”

Burren nodded in agreement.

“So it wasn’t just me?”
Martha clicked her tongue.

“I thought we’d gotten a bit closer, but she’s gotten all high-and-mighty again.”

After gaining the Demon King’s authority, Runaan had started pouring all her effort into sleeping. She’d always liked sleep before, but now it felt closer to an obsession.

What was even stranger was that despite sleeping endlessly, day and night, she looked like someone suffering from insomnia, dark circles under her eyes, looking constantly exhausted.

“There has to be a reason.”

Runaan had never been someone who chased power that obsessively. She used to be as relaxed and laid-back as Rimmer, so Martha couldn’t help wondering what had changed her.

Thud!

Martha walked up to Runaan and kicked the tree she was leaning against.

“…….”

Runaan opened her eyes, frowning deeply in irritation.

“Hey.”

Martha planted her foot against the tree and leaned in close, grinning.

"Let’s have a go. It’s been a while."

 

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