The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1297

 Chapter 1297

 

“This Asak has something to say, so come out at once!”

Count Asak crooked a finger at the sage, ordering him to come forward and kneel before him.

“...”

But Sage Doraen, or rather, Dorian, didn't even spare the smug middle-aged noble a glance.

“So your mother can't even get out of bed.”

As always, the only thing that held his attention was the voice of the commoner standing before him.

“Y-Yes, that's right!”

A young man with dirt caked all over his hair bowed his head while kneeling.

“Take this medicine and give it to your mother. If she takes it twice a day, she should start improving soon.”

Dorian pulled a clear vial from his pouch and held it out to the young man.

“Th-Thank you! Thank you so much!”

The young man slammed his forehead into the ground so hard it bled, as though he could die without regrets at that very moment.

“Go on. Hurry home.”

Dorian gave a calm nod, looking every bit like a sage who had seen and understood all things beneath the heavens. During this mission, he had grown tremendously. The fear that once lingered in him was nowhere to be found.

“You dare walk past this Asak?”

Count Asak twisted his lips into a cold sneer, clearly furious at being ignored.

“Remove him!”

He pointed at the approaching young man clutching the medicine to his chest.

“Yes, sir!”

The knights immediately understood his intent and, without a moment's hesitation, swung their sheathed swords at the young man.

“Huh...?”

Just as the young man noticed the scabbards descending toward his head and ducked in panic—

Slaaash!

Martha raised her greatsword and cut straight through the knight's scabbard, and the sword inside it.

Thunk!

The severed scabbard, sword still inside, split neatly in half and embedded itself in the ground.

Reflected in the exposed blade were the stunned faces of the knights and Count Asak.

“What exactly do you think you're doing?”

Frowning, Martha stepped right into the knight's face.

“Uh...”

Overwhelmed by both her strength and the fierce pressure she radiated, the knight swallowed hard and stumbled backward.

“W-What are you all doing?! Why are you just standing there watching?! You are Asak’s knights!”

Count Asak kicked the knights behind him, ordering them to attack together. He kept repeating his own name. At this point, it felt less like noble pride and more like an inferiority complex.

“S-Stop!”

"Do you know whose knights you're facing?!"

Intimidated by Martha's strength, the knights charged forward anyway, drawing courage from the authority of Count Asak glaring at them from behind.

But they never even got close to her.

Shiiing!

Burren had appeared before them without anyone noticing. Wielding his massive spear as naturally as an extension of his own body, he blocked the entire group in place.

“Urgh!”

“H-How can mere mercenaries possess this kind of strength...?”

“I didn't even see him move...”

The knights stared wide-eyed, unable to advance another step.

“You insolent peasants!”

Count Asak finally lost his patience and stepped forward.

“Do you even know who I am?! I am one of this kingdom's—”

“I don’t care if you’re a count or a king.”

Dorian slowly lifted his gaze.

“If you have something to say to me, get in line. To me, you're no different from any of the people already waiting their turn.”

He nodded calmly, his eyes carrying a lofty dignity, as though he were listening to the very will of heaven and earth.

“Uh...”

For a moment, Count Asak seemed completely overwhelmed by Dorian's gaze. His lips trembled, but no words came out.

“Th-That's right!”

“Just because you're a noble doesn't mean you can do whatever you want!”

“We've been waiting for days to see the Sage too!”

The people who had come to seek out Sage Doraen found courage in Dorian's words and began raising their voices.

“How dare these worms...”

Embarrassed that he had been intimidated, even for a moment, Count Asak’s face reddened as he ground his teeth.

“Kill them all! This Asak will take responsibility! Kill every last one of them!”

He stamped his foot furiously, ordering the knights to slaughter the sage and all his followers.

“I knew he'd do this!”

“Let's protect the Sage!”

“That's right! We'll risk our lives for him!”

"Back off, noble!"

Those who had received Dorian's help, along with those waiting for it, stepped forward to form a human wall against Count Asak and his knights.

“C-Count...”

The knights turned around with trembling eyes under the overwhelming pressure created by the sheer size of the crowd.

“Grrr...!”

Even Count Asak bit down on his lip in frustration, clearly caught off guard by how events had unfolded.

“Stand aside.”

Dorian's voice rang out from behind the wall of people.

At his command, the crowd split in two, opening a path.

Step.

With no weapon in hand, Dorian walked forward and stopped directly before Count Asak and his knights, raising his chin slightly.

“Ghk...”

“Haah...!”

Neither the count nor the knights could move. They looked genuinely frightened by his gaze.

“I'll say it again. If you have something to say to me, wait your turn.”

Dorian gave a cold nod, as if warning that he would personally deal with anyone who caused further trouble, then returned to his original spot.

“Uh...”

“Hnmmh...”

Overwhelmed by the atmosphere Dorian had created, Count Asak and his knights slowly dropped to their knees.

Cold sweat poured down their bodies.

“Wooooooah!”

“Sage! Sage! Sage!”

“Even the nobles can't stand against him!”

“Sir Doraen is a living god!”

The people erupted into cheers and praise, astonished by Dorian’s divine presence that had overwhelmed even a noble.

“...”

Dorian listened to the deafening cries without showing the slightest reaction.

But inside, it was a different story entirely.

[Y-Young Master!]

Staring into empty space, Dorian sent an aura message to Raon, who had been directing everything from behind the scenes.

[Is this really okay?! Nobody's going to get hurt, right?!]

[Yeah. You did well.]

Raon smiled faintly as he praised him.

[It was perfect.]

He had been feeding instructions to Dorian, Burren, and Martha every step of the way, but he had worried about the timing and whether their acting might seem unnatural.

Instead, everything had played out far more smoothly and flawlessly than he had expected.

Even if he had handled it personally, he doubted the result could have been any better.

Hoo...

Even Wrath blinked in astonishment.

If The King of Essence didn't know any better, he would have actually believed that wallet Dorian was a real sage. How did he change so much?

Wrath let out an impressed sigh, even remembering Dorian's name correctly despite usually claiming he'd forgotten it.

'Looks like it's my turn now.'

Raon cleared his throat lightly and approached the statue-still Count Asak.

“Are you all right?”

“Y-You are...”

Count Asak looked back at Raon with eyes filled with embarrassment, confusion, and shame. Yet beneath those emotions, there also seemed to be a trace of admiration for Doraen.

“I am merely one of Sir Doraen's attendants.”

Raon lowered his head while carefully reading every emotion he sensed from Count Asak.

“Wh-Who is that man?! There's no way he's some cheap fraud!”

The count furrowed his brow, unable to contain his curiosity about Dorian's true identity.

“Sir Doraen was born of noble blood.”

Raon lowered his head slightly.

“And not the kind that comes from an ordinary kingdom.”

Raon lowered his gaze slightly as he spoke words that could not help but stir the imagination.

“Of noble birth? No wonder!”

Count Asak immediately accepted Raon's explanation, seemingly unwilling to believe that he had been outdone by some nobody.

“We could simply leave this place if trouble arises. However, the common people might suffer because of it, so there are a few things I would like to explain. Sir Doraen...”

Raon smoothly unraveled the carefully crafted story he had prepared for this day.

It was the sort of tale one would only find in a fairy tale, a man born into nobility who cast aside his status, ventured into the world barefoot, learned and experienced countless things, and now traveled from place to place to share his enlightenment with the people.

“Y-You mean that man really...?”

Count Asak's eyes widened in amazement. The idea of someone so noble abandoning the comforts of his station and stepping into the world with nothing but himself seemed almost unbelievable.

“That is why he treats all people equally, whether they are nobles, kings, or slaves.”

Watching Dorian as he resumed hearing out the people's concerns, Raon smiled faintly. 

“Hmm...”

Following Raon's gaze, Count Asak studied Dorian as well, his jaw trembling slightly.

"So, please direct your anger at us if you must, but spare the commoners your wrath."

Like Dorian, Raon bowed his head not out of fear of the nobility, but out of consideration for those without power.

“You... you're not afraid of nobles either?”

Count Asak frowned, unable to comprehend it.

“How could a servant of the Sage ignore his teachings? To my eyes, nobles and slaves are not all that different.”

Raon revealed a pair of calm, tranquil eyes, making it clear that he genuinely believed those words.

“Hmm...”

Count Asak swallowed dryly as he looked into Raon's eyes.

For a moment, Raon seemed even more noble than Dorian himself.

The count repeatedly bit and released his lip, wrestling with countless thoughts.

'Now then...'

Raon narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.

'How will he respond?'

If Count Asak chose to force the issue, we could simply suppress him and raise the Sage's reputation even further. On the other hand, if he lined up like the rest of the people, the outcome would be even better.

After all, the mere sight of a count waiting his turn to consult the Sage would become an astonishing rumor in its own right.

Why are you even wondering?

Wrath snorted as if the answer were obvious.

Of course he'll try to force his way through!

Wrath clicked his tongue and told Raon to think about the way Count Asak had been flaunting his authority.

'Maybe not,'

Raon shook his head calmly.

This is why you're still inexperienced! If a man so obsessed with authority actually stands in line, the King of Essence will give you a gift!

Wrath lowered his brows confidently.

'No.'

Raon narrowed his eyes even further.

'Not necessarily. The stronger his obsession with authority, the more insecure he may be about his standing in the noble hierarchy.'

Count Asak cared more about his own name than his position as a count. It seemed he harbored a desire to make his own name shine brighter than the title he had inherited.

You idiot—

Just as Wrath was about to dismiss him—

“The line.”

Count Asak lifted his head after taking a deep breath.

“Where does the line start?”

He looked at Raon with eyes that were noticeably calmer than before.

“Huh?”

Raon opened his mouth in feigned surprise.

“C-Count?”

“What are you saying...?”

Even the knights hurried closer, stunned.

Huh? Huuuh?!

Naturally, no one was more shocked than Wrath.

"Didn't you say one must stand in line to meet the Sage? Where does the line begin?"

Ignoring his knights completely, Count Asak straightened his back proudly and waited for an answer.

“Ah, it's over this way.”

Suppressing the laughter threatening to rise from within, Raon pointed toward the very end of the line.

“Thank you.”

Count Asak brushed the dust from his clothes and headed toward the last position Raon had indicated.

“C-Count!”

“You can't do this!”

The knights rushed after him and tried to stop him, but Count Asak stood firmly in line without the slightest hesitation.

N-No way...

Wrath's eyes widened in disbelief.

That fool was obviously the sort of man whose obsession with authority had ruined him!

He shouted that people like that were hopeless no matter where they came from.

'Maybe that's true in Devildom.'

Raon grinned and extended his palm toward Wrath.

'But things seem different here. Anyway...'

His smile widened.

'How about that gift you promised?'

Grrraaahhh!

Wrath gnashed his teeth furiously.

Why does the world keep getting in my way?! Why?! Why?!

'Are you sure it's the world that's getting in your way? That mouth of yours seems far more likely...'

Shut up!

 

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