The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1357

 Chapter 1357

 

“Someone I know very well….”

Raon blinked at Milland, the castellan of Habun Castle.

‘Come to think of it, I did sense a familiar yet faint energy from inside Habun Castle.’

Before entering Habun Castle, he had sensed a familiar presence within the fortress. At the time, he had thought it was a knight or scout he had known, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

“Could you let me meet that person right now?”

Raon nodded as he asked Milland to tell him the identity of that person.

“I’m afraid that will be difficult.”

“Pardon?”

He parted his lips slightly at Milland’s unexpected answer.

“Your acquaintances have gone out onto the snowfields. They came all the way to Habun Castle, so it wouldn’t make sense for them to leave without experiencing the great outdoors here.”

Milland waved his hand, stating that he could not meet them right now.

“…That’s true.”

Raon narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Since they went out for sightseeing, they will return soon."

“I don’t know. This time, it’s been more than a week since they left.”

Milland shook his head, saying that it was a week ago that his acquaintances left Habun Castle.

"Do people go on sightseeing for that long?"

“I never said they went sightseeing.”

He firmly shook his head as though to make it clear that it wasn’t sightseeing.

“Then….”

“War. Against the monsters.”

Milland shrugged as though there was nothing else it could be.

“Actually, before I could even bring it up, they were the ones who asked to head out first and fight.”

He twisted up the corners of his mouth, saying that they were interesting people.

“They said they wanted to go out first?”

Raon’s eyes widened as the conversation only left him with more questions.

“Yeah. They said they wanted to train without using their greatest strength.”

Milland smacked his lips, saying that was why he had let them go outside.

‘So that’s why I had such a hard time sensing their presence….’

They weren’t in Habun Castle anymore.

Their presence had been so faint that it seemed nonexistent, so I had thought they were weak, but that wasn’t the case. It seemed that all I had sensed was the extremely faint energy they had left behind a week ago.

Wh-What? That’s possible?

Wrath blinked, clearly taken aback.

How in the world have you changed this much?!

‘It’s probably because it’s energy I’ve sensed before. Of course….’

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at his fingertips.

‘I really am changing too.’

After obtaining all Seven Deadly Sins, or rather, after declaring to Glenn that he would become a true Sword God, his might and soul level had been growing with each passing day. Even though the extent of his growth wasn’t great, he had been getting stronger every day, so by now, it was also true that he had undergone a remarkable transformation.

Hmph! Don’t get cocky!

Wrath snorted as though Raon still had a long way to go.

If the King of Essence had his main body, he could even smell the dog next door’s shit from yesterday!

‘…That’s not something I particularly want to smell.’

Raon frowned and pushed Wrath away.

Noooo! He’s saying his senses have gotten that good!

 

Wrath ground his teeth, saying that his sense of perception was weak because he did not have his main body right now.

‘Alright, alright. You just go sniff out some dog shit.’

Raon waved his hand dismissively and answered halfheartedly, annoyed by Wrath.

That’s not what the King of Essence means!

Wrath screamed at the top of his lungs, apparently driven to the brink of anger.

“Then tell me where my acquaintance is staying. I’ll go there first….”

Raon was ignoring Wrath and speaking to Milland again when—

Pwoooooo!

The sound of a scout’s horn came from outside the castle gate. It was a rhythm Raon knew well. It was the horn signaling a return.

“There’s no need for that.”

Milland brushed the dust from his body with a refreshing smile.

“Let’s go out together.”

Saying that the guests seemed to have returned, he opened the door and went outside first.

“Ah….”

Raon slowly nodded toward the northern gate, where the sound of the horn had come from.

“I understand now.”

He gently curled up the corners of his mouth, his eyes revealing a hint of welcome.

“Who my acquaintance is. And why….”

They wanted to train here.

*   *   *

Raon followed Milland toward the northern gate. The gate, covered in monsters’ blood, opened, and familiar faces appeared through the pure-white snowstorm.

A knight in white armor that shone with an almost sacred brilliance, his gentle eyes overflowing with kindness, and a girl whose peerless beauty, with sharp catlike eyes and a prominent nose that brought to mind a noble’s doll, contrasted with the cigarette held between her fingers, walked in.

‘As I thought….’

Raon gave a small chuckle as he looked at the two of them.

‘It was the Holy King and the Saintess.’

The guests at Habun Castle whom Raon knew well were Hopen, the Holy King of Schper, and Olga, the Saintess. The holy knights and priests who had fought alongside them were there as well.

‘I was disappointed that I couldn’t see them in Schper, and now I meet them here.’

In fact, Raon had headed straight to the Holy Kingdom of Schper after visiting the leaders of the Five Kings, but he had been unable to meet the two because they had gone away for secret training. He had wondered where they had gone, but he had never imagined he would meet them here.

So it was them!
Wrath also sensed the presence of the Holy King and Saintess in the office and immediately recognized them. However, since he had exchanged energy with them before, he had apparently been able to sense them first.

"Si, Sir Raon?"

“Huh? What are you doing here?”

Holy King Hopen and Saintess Olga also stared wide-eyed, apparently never expecting Raon to be at Habun Castle.

“I came to pay my respects to the castellan of Habun Castle before the war.”

Raon gave a faint smile as he explained why he had come to Habun Castle.

“Why are the two of you here?”

In turn, he asked why Hopen and Olga had come to Habun Castle, lowering his chin.

“We stopped by Habun Castle for training. Our greatest strength, holy power, is unlikely to work in this war, so we have been traveling around the continent and training to strengthen our might.”

Hopen nodded, saying that he had come all the way to Habun Castle to develop his own might rather than his holy power.

“Habun Castle certainly isn’t easy. The monsters are so strong and ferocious that a moment of carelessness feels like enough to get injured. That makes you even more impressive, Sir Raon! You became a hero here when you were still a trainee, after all!”

He bit his lip as though regretting that he had never seen Raon during his younger days.

“Do you know why this guy came to Habun Castle?”

Olga pointed at Hopen and frowned.

“He wanted to visit because this is where Sword Immortal Raon Zieghart accomplished his first great feat!”

She let out a deep sigh, saying that Hopen had chosen Habun Castle as his final training ground because of Raon.

“A-Ah, no. Why would you bring that up….”

Hopen scratched his head awkwardly, embarrassed to have that brought up in front of Raon.

“I see.”

Raon nodded slowly, thinking less about Hopen’s reason for coming to Habun Castle and more about his reason for wanting to grow stronger.

‘These people are serious.’

Both Holy King Hopen and Saintess Olga had achieved tremendous growth in their might compared to when I had seen them before. Their holy power remained unchanged, so their determination to focus solely on developing their might was genuine.

‘It’s not an easy thing to do.’

From the perspective of the Holy Kingdom of Schper, they could have simply used their formidable holy power to provide support from the rear, yet seeing them develop their might because they wanted to fight on the front lines moved me deeply.

“Thank you.”

Raon bowed to Hopen and Olga, who were giving their all to the war.

“N-No, please don’t do that!”

Despite being a king, Hopen waved both hands vigorously, clearly uncomfortable with Raon’s gesture of respect.

“You’re the king! Just accept it!”

Olga smacked Hopen on the back, telling him not to make a fuss and simply accept it.

“Th-thank you.”

Hopen curled his lips into a smile, saying that receiving Raon’s gesture of respect was the honor of a lifetime.

“Our king became your fan at some point and has even memorized that damn biography of yours by heart.”

Olga snorted, saying that merely watching him was enough to annoy her.

“Isn’t the same true of you? You even seem to know parts that I don’t remember….”

Hopen’s eyes widened as he pointed out that Olga had also read Raon’s biography to pieces.

“Sh-Shut up!”

Olga screamed and immediately smacked Hopen across the mouth. Her face flushed red with embarrassment, and her chin trembled.

“I’ve been watching you two for over a month, but I can’t tell who the king is around here.”

Milland tilted his head, curious about the relationship between Hopen and Olga.

“We’re like an older sister and younger brother. We’ve known each other well since we were young….”

“I've never had a younger brother like you!”

Olga silenced Hopen again with another smack to the mouth and sighed.

“Anyway, we’ve been preparing for the war in our own way.”

She touched her flushed cheek, saying that was all there was to it.

"I see. If it is the two of you, it will be fine."

 

Raon calmly drew Heavenly Drive as he looked at Hopen and Olga, who had changed beyond recognition.

“Y-your sword?”

“What are you doing all of a sudden?”

Hopen and Olga stared wide-eyed at Raon, who had suddenly drawn his sword.

"This guy. He is offering his own kind of encouragement before the war. And that is a spar."

Milland rubbed his still-aching chest, saying that he had gone through the same thing himself.

“I-it's an honor!”

“Oh-ho.”

Hopen swallowed nervously, saying that he had wanted to cross swords with Raon’s sword now that Raon had become the Sword Immortal, while Olga curled her lips into an amused smile.

“Show me everything you have.”

Raon nodded, saying that he would take on everything Hopen and Olga had.

“Gladly!”

“Don’t regret saying that!”

Since Hopen and Olga had just returned from their sortie, they did not even take time to warm up before immediately drawing up their energy.

Rumbleeeee!

Hopen raised his holy sword, blazing with energy as white as snow, toward the sky and unleashed a solemn sword stance.

Crackleeeee!

Meanwhile, Olga infused her small fist with a chilling amount of killing intent and thrust it toward Raon’s vital point. Her punch came hurtling in, colder and sharper than a frosty wind.

Wooooooo!

The attacks of the two warriors, who seemed completely mismatched, formed an eerily smooth harmony, creating pressure that left Raon no way to escape.

“That is a fine offensive.”

Raon calmly nodded and thrust Heavenly Drive toward Hopen and Olga’s combined attack. A red dragon ascended from the tip of Heavenly Drive, burning away the holy sword and the merciless fist.

Kwooooooooo!

* * *

“Gnnngh!”

Olga gritted her teeth and pushed herself up.

“I can’t believe you actually went all out! You bastard!”

Saying that she had nearly been killed by Raon’s sword strike, she cut off the hair that had been singed by the flames.

“Haaaaah….”

Hopen clasped his hands together as though he had just come face-to-face with the true God.

“Sword God! From today onward, I’ll follow the Sword God!”

He closed his eyes, saying that he would have to change the god he prayed to.

“Crazy bastard….”

Olga let out a hollow laugh, utterly dumbfounded.

"You are a king now!"

She kicked Hopen's back, telling him to come to his senses.

“Don't be so hard on him.”

Milland’s chin trembled slightly as he looked at the place where the red dragon had passed.

"Because Raon looks like a god to me, too."

 

The Flame Dragon Art Raon had unleashed had displayed such terrifying power that it not only tore through Hopen and Olga’s energy but even split apart the white sky of Habun Castle before disappearing, leaving Milland’s skin still crawling.

“Well, his swordsmanship itself does seem godlike.”

Olga also swallowed nervously as she recalled Raon’s sword that had burned everything in its path.

“With that guy by our side….”

She curled her lips into a smile as she looked at the claw marks of the fire dragon etched across the sky.

“We'll never lose.”

* * *

After completing his entire journey, Raon returned to Zieghart.

Kuuuugh

Wrath let out a sigh while looking at the gates of Zieghart.

It is finally home!

He smacked his lips, saying that he wanted to eat a home-cooked meal at the annex building right away.

‘I miss home cooking today too.’

Raon nodded, saying that they should go to the annex building and have a meal.

Oh! What's gotten into you?

Wrath’s eyes widened in surprise.

The King of Essence thought you would obviously say you would train first?

‘I have to live normally once in a while too.’

There was more he wanted to say after that, but he did not open his mouth.

How surprising! The sun will rise in the west tomorrow!

Wrath was chuckling and muttering about how strange this was when—

[Many bonds have engraved you into their hearts and souls.] 

[A new trait has been created.]

 

Advance Chapters