The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1290

 Chapter 1290

 

“What… What do you mean we’re dead?”

A swordsman from the Divine Wind Division blinked repeatedly as he helped Krein stay on his feet.

“Don’t tell me an actual war’s about to break out?”

A swordsman from the Heavenly Blade Division swallowed hard, seemingly recalling the war against Eden.

“N-no, it’s not that…”

Krein forced himself upright on trembling legs and shook his head firmly.

“We’re all just going to die!”

He panted heavily, looking as though he shouldn't even have to explain something so obvious.

“What in the world is that supposed to mean?”

Unable to make sense of it either, a swordsman from the Warring Sword Division turned toward Dorian beside Krein.

“Uwaaaaaah….”

But Dorian looked even worse than Krein.

“I-it’s focus enhancement training! It’s over for us!”

Just meeting Raon’s eyes seemed to have driven him insane, and he clutched his head while letting out a strangled scream.

“Ah…”

Burren pressed a hand to his forehead after hearing Dorian’s words.

“I knew I had a bad feeling about this…”

He bit down hard on his lip as he imagined what was about to happen.

“Focus enhancement training from an Absolute…”

Martha swallowed dryly and clenched her fist.

“We’ll literally have to prepare ourselves for death.”

Instead of shrinking back, though, the corners of her lips curled upward in excitement.

“…”

Even after hearing the words focus enhancement training, Runaan still didn’t open her eyes. A single drop of cold sweat merely slid down her forehead.

“If Dorian’s saying it, then it’s definitely true…”

“Nobody understands our palace master better than that guy.”

“He’s really planning to put the entire Zieghart through focus enhancement training? Our palace master’s completely crazy…”

“Well, nobody reaches that position at his age without being at least a little crazy.”

“Haa… I should just consider myself dead already.”

“Not consider it. We are dead.”

The Light Wind Palace swordsmen sighed deeply or shook their heads, already picturing the disaster to come.

“What’s wrong with them?”                                    

“I-I have no idea.”

“Just ignore them. They’ve always been weird.”

“The acting head is the master of the Light Wind Palace, so they’re probably just trying to show off how close they are to him.”

The swordsmen gathered in the training ground dismissed the exaggerated reactions of the Light Wind Palace swordsmen and faced forward again.

No, more accurately, they could no longer glance elsewhere or continue chatting.

Step.

At the quiet sound of Raon’s footsteps, every trace of noise vanished, and everyone’s eyes were drawn toward him instinctively.

Step.

Just as Glenn once had, Raon ascended the platform with nothing but the sound of his footsteps commanding the attention, and souls, of every swordsman present. Tall, lean, yet powerfully built, he looked down upon the crowd with eyes that seemed to overlook all things beneath heaven.

“Ugh!”

“Ghk…”

“I-I can’t breathe…”

Even though Raon wasn’t releasing any overwhelming energy waves, the swordsmen couldn’t bring themselves to meet his eyes. They stared only at the edge of the platform while struggling to breathe.

“I am Raon Zieghart of the Light Wind Palace, currently serving as acting head of house.”

Raon lowered his chin calmly, not like a temporary acting head, but like someone who already sat upon the lord’s throne.

“Thank you all for gathering here.”

With his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly closed and reopened his eyes, exuding quiet composure.

“Are my eyes playing tricks on me?”

The Gambling Monster, Herrian, covered his mouth so his voice wouldn’t carry and let out a disbelieving laugh.

“That brat actually looks like a real head of house.”

His shoulders trembled as he muttered that Raon carried a dignity rivaling even Glenn’s.

“You might be old enough for your eyes to fail you, but they aren't playing tricks on you this time.”

Aris waved her hand with a faint smile.

“Even I can see father in Raon right now.”

She curled her lips upward, saying that Raon looked just as immense as Glenn.

“Ah…”

Evelyn clasped her hands together as if in prayer.

“Raon! Raon! Raon! Raon!”

She stared at him with utterly entranced eyes, as though she were witnessing a god descending before her, drool slipping from her mouth.

“O-Okay, now she’s getting a bit creepy...”

Edgar subtly averted his eyes after seeing the saliva dripping from Evelyn’s lips.

“Stop worrying about her and look at Raon!”

Sylvia smacked Edgar on the back, telling him to focus.

“Wow! My little brother looks amazing!”

Sia stared at the platform with sparkling eyes, determined not to miss a single moment of Raon’s appearance.

Since the entirety of Zieghart had been summoned, the people from the annex building also watched the now-acting head of house with bright smiles on their faces.

“The reason I summoned all of you is simple.”

Raon raised a finger, single-handedly overwhelming the gazes of countless Zieghart swordsmen.

“Growth. I intend to train every swordsman of Zieghart so that, in the coming war, you’ll possess the strength to utterly crush your enemies.”

Declaring that he would strengthen every swordsman in Zieghart, he stomped heavily onto the ground.

The body and aura that had surpassed Transcendence erupted from the tip of his foot, sending a massive tremor through not only the training ground—

but all of Zieghart itself.

“WOOOOOOO!”

“An Absolute is personally going to train us?!”

“Long live the acting head of house!”

“Long live the Sword Emperor!”

“I can’t wait to see what kind of training an Absolute puts us through!”

The swordsmen raised both hands high, shouting Raon’s name in excitement at the thought of being personally trained by him.

“This is great, but it’s going to take time.”

“Of course it will. Look at how many people there are. Even if he trains a hundred people a day, we’ll be waiting forever.”

“At this rate, some of us might not even get trained before the war.”

The swordsmen clicked their tongues briefly, thinking it might be impossible for everyone to participate.

“…No.”

Krein shook his head firmly.

“That man will do it. No matter what.”

He wet his dry lips as he insisted Raon would find a way to train every last one of them.

“T-that’s right.”

Dorian lowered his trembling eyes.

“Even if he has to give up sleep, he’ll make it happen!”

He let out a murky sigh, saying that wasn’t what they should be worried about right now.

“Th-Then what is?”

The other swordsmen blinked in confusion.

“What kind of training he’s going to make us do!”

“Y-yeah! That’s the important part!”

Krein and Dorian shouted at the same time, as if that was the only thing that truly mattered.

“If the word focus comes out of that man’s mouth, we’re all dead.”

Krein shook his head, saying that during focus enhancement training, being alive didn’t feel any different from being dead.

“N-no matter how many times you do it, you never get used to focus enhancement training…”

Dorian sniffled, saying he would rather be thrown straight into war than go through that training again.

“Ugh!”

“I-is it really that bad?”

“A training method terrifying enough to make the Light Wind Palace cry…”

Only now did the swordsmen finally begin to grasp how serious the situation was, their eyes trembling uneasily.

“A-acting head of house! Then what kind of training will we receive?”

Forcing himself through the overwhelming pressure naturally radiating from Raon, Krein raised his voice and asked the question.

“Not long ago, I gained an insight while training alone. Thanks to that experience, I was able to reach an entirely new level.”

Raon smacked his lips, recalling the moment the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier reached the 11th star.

“The training the House of Zieghart will undergo…”

A chilling smile slowly spread across his lips as he announced the name of the new training method.

“…is exhaustion training.”

“Ooooh!”

“You heard that?! It’s not focus enhancement training!”

“Exhaustion training? The name doesn’t sound bad at all!”

The swordsmen gathered in the training ground smiled brightly, relieved that it wasn’t focus enhancement training.

But unlike their laughter, the faces of the Light Wind Palace swordsmen turned ice cold.

“N-no…”

Dorian clamped a hand over his mouth as though he was afraid to even speak, his chin trembling uncontrollably.

“That’s right. We’re not just going to die…”

Krein squeezed his eyes shut, already envisioning the nightmare awaiting them.

“We’re absolutely screwed!”

*   *   *

“We will begin with…”

Raon slowly lowered his gaze toward the Light Wind Palace swordsmen standing at the center of the training ground.

“Krein. No, the Light Wind Palace.”

He called out Krein by name at first, then addressed the entire Light Wind Palace instead.

“The Light Wind Palace has already experienced similar training before, so it would be best to watch their demonstration first.”

Raon nodded his chin toward them, as if telling them to prepare themselves mentally.

“So it really is….”
“It’s an even worse version of focus enhancement training….”

Even Burren and Martha now seemed fully convinced, grinding their teeth hard.

“Huu…”

Runaan finally let out a deep sigh, unable to hold it in any longer.

“Why is my name always the first one to come out of his mouth?! What did I ever do to him?!”

“Aaaaagh!”

Krein grabbed his head in disbelief while Dorian simply screamed like a man losing his sanity.

“Guh… I really hate this…”

Even Trevin, the leader of the Warring Steel Division who had joined the Light Wind Palace later on, twisted his entire face in disgust, as though focus enhancement training was the one thing he truly couldn’t stand.

“Head up.”

Raon gestured with his thumb toward North Grave Mountain rising behind the training ground, signaling them to begin immediately.

“…Understood.”

Burren lowered his pale face with a nod, looking as though he had barely managed to steel himself in the short time he’d been given, before leading the swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace up North Grave Mountain.

“The other armed groups will remain here and observe how the Light Wind Palace undergoes training.”

With a snap of Raon’s fingers, a magical display rose into the air above the training ground, showing the swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace.

“Then let’s begin.”

Raon tilted his chin toward the people behind him as if to say there was no need to waste time.

“Drain every last bit of stamina and mental strength from them.”

“As you command!”

Sheryl, Roenn, the Sword Sovereign, the War King, Aris, and Raon himself.

A gathering of monstrous warriors powerful enough to destroy an entire kingdom charged toward North Grave Mountain all at once.

BOOOOOOM!

*   *   *

Once Raon left, the swordsmen remaining in the training grounds relaxed and turned their attention toward the floating display in the sky.

“Why are the Light Wind Palace swordsmen being so dramatic?”

“Seriously. How hard could training possibly be?”

“They were acting like they were about to die. It was hilarious.”

The swordsmen laughed mockingly, convinced the Light Wind Palace swordsmen were exaggerating Raon’s training.

“I… I don’t think they were lying, though.”

A swordsman from the Divine Wind Division tilted his head as he recalled the twisted expression on Dorian’s face.

“Nah. They’re just making a big deal out of it.”

“Exactly. They’re probably trying to show off how close they are to Sir Raon. He’s the closest person to becoming the head of house right now.”

“Yeah, I think that’s it too. It’s not like anyone here hasn’t gone through brutal training before.”

The other swordsmen clicked their tongues, convinced the Light Wind Palace swordsmen were only trying to flaunt their closeness with Raon.

“Hmm…”

The Divine Wind Division swordsman seemed to realize nobody would listen and silently turned his attention back to the first display.

There, Krein, the one who had been freaking out the most all day, was climbing the mountain with trembling eyes.

[W-We’re dead. We’re seriously dead. Exhaustion training? What kind of insane name is that for training?!]

Grinding his teeth as though he already hated the training just from its name alone, Krein moved while hiding behind trees.

[That damn crazy bastard really is—]

Just as he cursed Raon under his breath, the very person he was insulting appeared right in front of him.

[AAAAAAAH! Why am I first again?!]

Krein screamed, begging Raon to come after him later for once.

“See? Told you he’s a coward!”

“And a priceless opportunity like this goes to that idiot?”

“How pathetic…”

The swordsmen snorted at Krein’s terrified behavior.

[Of course I'm starting with the always Krein. Enough whining. Come at me with everything you’ve got from the very beginning.]

Ignoring Krein’s cries, Raon curled his finger at him.

[You damned psychopath!]

Apparently forgetting that Raon was now the acting head of house, Krein charged forward screaming. Following Raon’s instructions, he unleashed his full strength from the very beginning.

Kugugugugu!

Krein clearly hadn’t spent his time idly either. The sword energy erupting from his blade shook both mountain and earth with violent force.

“Huh?”

“He’s… actually really strong, isn't he?”

“I had no idea he possessed that much power…”

The swordsmen remaining at the training ground blinked in surprise at the might Krein displayed.

BWAAAAK!

But Raon frowned in dissatisfaction and slammed Krein’s shoulder with the sheath of Heavenly Drive.

[Again.]

Raon crooked his finger once more, telling him to come at him with his full strength again.

[YAAAAAAAH!]

Krein charged again with a face twisted like a demon’s, but once more Raon smashed the sheath into his forehead hard enough to burst it open and send him flying backward.

[Ghuuugh…]

Krein staggered back to his feet, blood covering his face as he gasped for air.

[Again. That still wasn’t your full power. Let all your rage and frustration out.]

Raon shook his head, saying it still wasn’t enough.

[Then what the hell do you even mean by full power?! At least explain it!]

Not caring anymore whether he lived or died, Krein gripped his sword until his hands bled and unleashed a ferocious sword technique.

[Not bad. But still lacking. Again.]

Raon dismissed it once more and smashed Krein across the waist, driving his body straight into the hard ground.

[Urgh…!]

Even while coughing up blood, Krein forced himself back to his feet and grabbed his sword again. He already knew Raon wouldn’t show him mercy, so staying down wasn’t an option.

[You damned—]

[This won't do. I’ll have to personally show you what your true full power feels like.]

Raon shook his head slowly, closed the distance, and began manipulating Krein’s mana circuits directly. He did it with a refined, safe technique designed to leave absolutely no lasting side effects.

BOOOOOOM!

Krein felt the aura within his energy center explode so violently it seemed ready to tear his body apart, and he bit down hard on his lip.

[Y-you insane bastard! What the hell did you do to me?!]

Screaming as though his body were being ripped apart, Krein channeled the violently exploding aura from his energy center into his swordsmanship and unleashed it all toward Raon.

[Now that’s at least worth looking at. Still…]

Raon casually deflected Krein’s sword and kicked him straight in the stomach.

[Again.]

Once more, he crooked his finger toward the Krein who had been blasted away.

RUMBLEEEEE!

It was only after Krein had spent every single drop of his stamina, aura, and mental strength, leaving absolutely nothing behind, that he finally collapsed to the ground.

“Ah…”

“Hhk!”

“T-this is…”

The swordsmen left in the training ground finally realized that Krein’s warnings and Dorian’s tears had not been exaggerated in the slightest, cold sweat pouring down their foreheads.

[S-see?]

Krein bared his bloodstained teeth toward the floating display.

[You’re all dead…]

A crooked grin spread across his face as he closed his eyes, relieved that his own turn was finally over while almost seeming delighted at the nightmare everyone else was about to suffer through.

Fwoooosh!

The moment the first image shifted to someone else, the massive training ground fell into dead silence.

Only the sounds of dry swallowing and rapidly pounding heartbeats remained.

Thump!

 

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