The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1261

 Chapter 1261

 

Kuuuuung!

Burren charged forward, driving Barren Wind through his entire body. He lunged with the savage momentum of a tiger pouncing on its prey, only to be violently repelled, flung backward in the very same stance.

“Ghk…!”

He rolled hard across the ground before barely managing to stop, then lifted his head.

“Barren Wind didn’t work at all….”

Raon had clearly been holding back, so Burren thought he could at least block a single strike. Instead, his attack had been completely dismantled from the outset. The absurd gap in skill drew a hollow, disbelieving laugh from his lips.

“Graaah!”

“Attack all at once!”

“Yeah! If we wait, we won’t even touch him!”

“Let’s go!”

Muttering that they were sick of getting beaten senseless, the Light Wind Palace swordsmen rushed Raon all at once.

Kwaaaang!

But every one of them was blasted away even faster than they had charged, tumbling across the ground just like Burren.

“Ha! I missed this feeling!”

Martha bared her teeth in a grin. Blood stained her white smile from a wound in her mouth, yet she shook the hand gripping her sword as though she were genuinely delighted.

“You’re unbelievable….”

Burren let out a dry laugh as he watched her excitement boil over.

"Am I wrong? Sparring with that damn monster is worth more than actual combat!"

Biting her lip, Martha admitted that facing Raon like this was even more terrifying, more skin-crawling, than the battle they had just fought.

“Hraaaaaah!”

Still grinning, she charged straight at Raon and brought her sword down. Titan’s Aura blazed along the blade. The heavy yet razor-sharp downward slash carried with it all the training she had endured alongside her mother, making the strike all the more imposing.

Kreeeeang!

Raon flicked out the scabbard of Heavenly Drive with effortless precision. He shattered her attack, then followed through, smashing the hilt into her shoulder.

Wham!

Unable to absorb the impact in midair, Martha was slammed straight into the ground.

“Guhhh!”

She clutched her shoulder, groaning as though the pain had knocked the breath right out of her.

“Hah! See? Pain’s what makes you feel alive!”

She pushed herself up, lifting her chin defiantly. Her eyes were webbed with red veins, blood streaming down her body, yet she was smiling. The sight was unsettling, almost grotesque.

“Hhk!”

“Ugh….”

Krein and Dorian stared at her in shock, their jaws trembling.

“That’s why they call her Rakshasa Woman.”

Burren shook his head at the sight of her.

“Rakshasa Woman or whatever, I don't care! I'll keep going un— Urgh!”

Just as Martha was about to charge, saying that it was only starting now, Raon struck the back of her neck, and she collapsed to the ground.

“Wh—why….”

Forcing her heavy eyelids open, she bit her lip, demanding to know why he wouldn’t fight her properly.

“Your injuries will only get worse. That’s enough.”

Raon told her they would continue tomorrow, and knocked her fully unconscious.

“And now….”

The moment she went down, he shifted to the right and stopped in front of Krein and Dorian.

“Eek!”

“He’s here!”

They screamed and slashed at Raon’s upper and lower body at the same time. Years of fighting side by side showed, from the start, their coordination was flawless.

Shraaak!

Naturally, Raon’s scabbard smashed their combined attack apart and cracked both of them on the head in perfect symmetry.

“Aaaagh!”

“Gnnnh….”

They rolled across the ground, clutching their heads.

“Why are you just standing there watching? Whether it works or not, keep moving.”

Telling them not to stay still and to keep moving endlessly, Raon flicked both Dorian’s and Krein’s heads once more.

“Hraah!”

Seizing the opening, Burren sprinted toward Raon’s back. This time, he poured Barren Wind not into his body, but entirely into his sword, and brought it down.

Kyaaaang!

As if he had eyes on the back of his head, Raon raised Heavenly Drive’s scabbard at precisely the right angle and blocked the strike.

“When you’re at a disadvantage, a surprise attack can be the right choice.”

His eyes turned cold as he spun the scabbard.

“But unless it’s flawless, an ambush wastes more than it gains. In that case, fighting directly is more efficient.”

Saying that half-baked attempts served no purpose, Raon drove the scabbard straight into Burren’s chest.

Wham!

Burren was slammed into the ground in almost the same posture as Martha, coughing out a rough groan.

“Khkh….”

Watching Raon advance toward the other swordsmen without a hint of fatigue, Burren let out a breathless laugh.

‘I was never a match for him before but now it was different.’

Even before entering seclusion, Raon had possessed the might to defeat every swordsman of the Light Wind Palace with ease.

But now, he was clearly on another level. It wasn’t just composure, he fought like a sword god high in the heavens, seeing and feeling everything, striking only at his opponents’ weaknesses.

It was like watching the head of house himself.

‘Always…’

Burren tightened his weakening grip and raised his head.

‘You never let us settle into complacency.’

No matter how extraordinary Raon’s talent might be, growing at his current realm should be far more difficult than becoming stronger at a lower realm.

Yet Raon always shattered that wall and returned, having changed once again. When faced with someone like that, there was no room left for excuses. I had no choice but to push myself to the limit.

‘I hope father becomes the head of house, but…’

Burren chuckled softly as he looked into Raon’s shining eyes.

‘If it ends up being you, I think I could congratulate you from the bottom of my heart.’

The Raon he saw today was in no way lacking to be the head of house Zieghart.

No, if Glenn were not the current head, it would not have been strange for Raon to sit on the throne right now. He felt he could truly applaud if Raon took that seat.

“Guhhh!”

Even with his strength spent, Burren forced himself up and charged again, only to be struck in the abdomen and collapse, unable to rise.

“Not bad.”

Sensing that Burren had fought with everything he had, Raon nodded in satisfaction.

‘They didn’t neglect their training even without me.’

The Light Wind swordsmen hadn’t become lazy during the two months he was in seclusion with Glenn, rather, they showed progress that suggested they had trained even harder. He felt moved and proud, which was why he had decided to help them spar with his full effort.

“Acting head of house….”

As he surveyed them with a pleased nod, a quiet voice reached him from behind.

“Hoo….”

It was Runaan. She approached him while exhaling a breath laced with cold air.

“Please.”

Though her sword field had collapsed the moment she tried to activate it, and the shock must have been immense, she rose again and gripped her sword. Honestly, she should not even have had the strength to hold it, but seeing her standing like that, it seemed she was sincerely reflecting on herself and wanting to change.

“Come at me.”

Raon nodded calmly, as if inviting her to try.

“……”

Without a shout or battle cry, Runaan glided across the ground and thrust the Snow Flower Sword forward. The snow-white shining sword strike lunged as if it would pierce straight through Raon’s neck.

“Good.”

Raon nodded and traced a half-circle with Heavenly Drive’s scabbard.

Chiaaang!

He deflected her thrust and was about to counter—

Tuuung!

Runaan used the power in Raon’s scabbard to propel herself backward, deliberately opening distance. She then raised her sword before her face, adopting a solemn stance like a knight’s salute.

“Sword Field Creation, Eternity.”

Without wasting the distance she had created, she activated her sword field.

Wooooong!

This time, Runaan’s sword field did not shatter. Frost spread in all directions, and ten snowy mountains rose behind her back.

“I took your advice to heart.”

Raising her sword, Runaan narrowed her eyes.

"I will come at you with everything I have…."

When she pointed her sword at him, the frost that had buried the massive mountains surged upward like clouds and came flying in.

“A fine sword field.”

Raon calmly nodded as frost-petals, like an avalanche of snow, poured toward him.

“It’s magnificent, there’s no other word for it.”

This wasn’t empty praise. Runaan’s sword field wasn’t just powerful, its range was overwhelmingly vast. It felt as though her will to protect Zieghart had been poured directly into it.

Sssshhh—!

Despite his words, Raon’s eyes turned cold as he raised the scabbard of Heavenly Drive. A red World Tree rose above the scabbard, and from it, heat-laden petals descended, creating a storm of fire.

Kuwaaaaah!

The blazing inferno incinerated every frost petal rushing in, then burned away even the phenomena Runaan had created through her sword field. The gap in strength, and in level, was unmistakable.

“However, if you want to achieve your goal, you will have to work as if dying far more than you do now.”

Raon shook his head, saying that while he could feel Runaan’s will to protect Zieghart, the distance to her goal was still far too great.

“I… I understand.”

Runaan bowed her head to the very end, then collapsed where she stood, losing consciousness. Having her sword field shattered twice, she could not help but receive a greater shock than anyone else present.

Clap!

Once Runaan fell, Raon secured the scabbard of Heavenly Drive at his waist and clapped his hands.

“You all did well. What you showed today exceeded my expectations.”

He nodded, adding that he’d been worried they might be broken by this, but instead, he was satisfied.

“Hoo….”

“Th-thank goodness.”

“Then no more training today, right?”

The Light Wind swordsmen smiled, their spirits lifted by Raon’s acknowledgment.

“If you train like this for a full week, you’ll be in good shape.”

Raon said that they would do training like this all week long, curling up the corners of his mouth.

In an instant, the smiles drained from the Light Wind Palace swordsmen’s faces.

“Wh—what?!”

“A whole week?”

“That’s insane. Doing this for a whole week is worse than doing focus enhancement training three times!”

They muttered their protests, but not one of them had the nerve to say it to Raon’s face.

“Go to the infirmary, get treated, and gather here again at the same time tomorrow.”

Raon waved his hand, his expression showing that their opinions didn't matter in the slightest, and returned to the lord’s manor.

"I… I thought wrong…."

Burren gasped for breath as he lifted his head, then shook it violently while looking at the unconscious Martha and Runaan.

“If that guy ever becomes head of house, we’re all dead.”

*   *   *

One week later, at the head of house’s training ground.

The Light Wind Palace swordsmen stood before the platform with their hands clasped behind their backs. Above their shoulders, deep-red fighting spirit flared and roared.

They almost looked like Eden’s executives, but unlike them, the energy they gave off was pure, stripped of malice, driven solely by the will to fight.

Step.

The moment Raon stepped to the edge of the platform, the fierce fighting spirit the Light Wind Palace swordsmen had been radiating settled instantly, as if pressed down by his presence alone.

“You endured the week well.”

Raon slowly swept his gaze across their faces, now calm, focused, and tightly controlled.

“Now you finally look the way you should.”

He nodded in approval, stating that they needed at least this level of spirit to fight against Eden.

“Eden claimed that the situation was ‘out of their hands’ and, using that excuse, let the Evil Goat Demon and the Bear Alteration Demon act unchecked. Because of that irresponsible decision, the village of Birdnew was wiped out, house Zieghart nearly suffered a catastrophe as well.”

Raon spoke Eden’s name as though grinding it into the dirt, his gaze turning icy.

“Even without the Heavenly Demon’s direct involvement, Eden is still Eden.

I will make those rats hiding in the shadows answer for the deaths of Birdnew’s people.”

The moment he finished speaking, Raon stepped down through the air and landed on the ground.

Gooooo—!

The Light Wind Palace swordsmen responded instinctively. Taking in the fighting spirit pouring from Raon, their own energy surged higher, burning deeper and redder than before.

Sssshhh—!

As Raon walked through their ranks, his black dragon robe billowing, Burren, Martha, Runaan, and the others fell in behind him without hesitation.

“Let’s go.”

Leading the Light Wind Palace as if it were a single blade, cold, massive, and unified, Raon’s eyes flashed with red lightning, just like Glenn’s.

“To collect the blood price…
for one hundred and thirty-three lives.”

 

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