The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1340

 Chapter 1340

 

The Viking executive who had introduced himself as Knut nodded his chin as if telling them to follow, then turned his back. The towering wall of seawater carrying him and the other Vikings gradually lowered on its own before beginning to move forward.

"What are you waiting for! After them!"

Gesturing vigorously for them to follow the Vikings, Aris waved at Rabawin, who was holding the helm of the Azure Wind.

“If you lose them, you're seriously dead!”

“Huh? Ah, yes!”

Rabawin had been staring blankly at Raon, but Aris's shout jolted him back to his senses. Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he turned the helm of the Azure Wind and steered after the Vikings as they rode the waves ahead.

“Phew....”

After confirming that the Azure Wind was following behind the Vikings, Aris let out a sigh of relief.

“Why were you so aggressive today?”

She lowered her brows slightly, saying that it wasn't like her nephew to act that way.

"Since the Vikings don't interact with the continent, they don't know that a war is about to break out."

Evelyn shrugged, saying she thought Raon had simply been trying to intimidate the Vikings.

“No. They do have contact with the continent.”

Raon shook his head firmly.

“Did you notice the helmet worn by the Viking who introduced himself as Knut?”

He raised a hand and pointed at Knut, who was gliding across the waves as though riding a ship.

“I did! The horns on that helmet are sea bison horns!”

Aris nodded, saying she obviously knew that.

"There are plenty of sea bison in the western sea. Looks like they hunted one to make it?"

“That's right. The horns are from a sea bison. But the iron used to make that helmet didn't come from this region, it came from the north.”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he studied Knut's helmet.

“Iron from the north is infused with frost mana, giving it a distinctive faint blue sheen.”

Having consistently interacted with blacksmiths like Vulcan, he knew the characteristics of iron from every region. The iron used in Knut's helmet unquestionably came from the north.

“If they had truly lived quietly in the depths of the western sea all this time, they couldn't have obtained something like that. Those Vikings...”

Raon lowered his chin with certainty.

“...are definitely still maintaining contact with the outside world.”

That was why he had taken a much harder approach than he had originally planned.

“Ha....”

Aris let out a disbelieving chuckle.

“That's incredible. I didn't notice it at all.”

She shook her head, saying that despite being born in the north herself, she had never known there was such a difference between northern iron and iron from other regions.

“If you'd spent time talking with blacksmiths too, aunt, you would've noticed it right away.”

Raon waved a hand, saying it wasn't anything remarkable.

“No! Knowing something like that is one thing, but applying it to the situation at hand is something else entirely!”

Aris shook her head vigorously, insisting it was genuinely impressive.

“Anyway, thanks to you, everything was resolved quickly. It feels great not having to drag things out!”

She smiled, saying it was nice not having anything for her to do for once, unlike when she usually traveled with her own subordinates.

“Then, may I continue taking the lead from here on as well?”

Raon looked at Aris with calm eyes.

“You're asking after you've already done it?”

Aris let out a small laugh as she met his eyes.

“Thank you for your permission.”

After hearing Aris's half-grumbling approval, Raon bowed politely.

“Of course I trust you. Besides, you've never failed before.”

Aris smiled faintly, as if to show just how much faith she had in him.

“I've been thinking this for a while now, but it feels like my nephew's personality has changed a little.”

She smacked her lips, saying that Raon himself felt different from before.

“You've become a lot more arrogant and cocky!”

Aris narrowed her eyes as she examined him.

“Of course, I like how you are now even better! You finally feel like a true Zieghart!”

She nodded vigorously, repeating that she liked how much more he resembled a Zieghart now.

The King of Essence agrees!

Wrath moved beside Aris and raised his eyebrows.

Compared to the might you possess, you've always been far too humble! Even now!

He crooked a finger, saying Raon ought to be far more arrogant and overbearing.

“Is that so...”

Listening to Aris and Wrath, Raon felt a small resonance arise within his chest. No, within his soul, causing him to frown slightly.

“No, he hasn't changed at all!”

Krein sprang forward, clutching his head.

"That guy's still the same con artist! What kind of vacation is this?!"

He shouted that he'd been tricked again.

“A vacation? My ass!”

“I knew something was off the moment he said he'd rented an island!”

“And what the hell are Vikings supposed to be?!”

"What kind of training is he trying to put us through this time, bringing us all the way out here!"

“You devilish con artist!”

The Light Wind Palaces swordsmen ground their teeth, grumbling that Raon had always been arrogant and overbearing.

'You said I should be even more arrogant and overbearing, didn't you?'

Raon glanced at Wrath and curled his lips into a cold smile.

'I'll show you right now.'

Leaving those words for Wrath to ponder, he turned around.

“We're headed to the western sea, and we're going to an island. That's exactly what I said. So...”

Raon tilted his chin toward the Light Wind swordsmen, whose faces had turned red.

“Does anyone have a complaint?”

“Huh...?”

Krein had been about to start cursing, but Raon's icy gaze made him swallow hard.

"If you have a complaint, I'll entertain it. Either request a spar with me, or get off this ship."

Resting a hand on Heavenly Drive, Raon said he didn't care which they chose.

“Ahahaha....”

Krein scratched his head as he slowly backed away.

"C-complaints? Why would I have those? I love this! Just getting out of Zieghart is satisfying enough for me!"

Unlike before, he frantically waved both hands, forcing a smile purely for the sake of survival.

“I-I don't have any complaints either!”

“I've hated vacations ever since I was born!”

“I'm happy I get to train all the way out here in the western sea! I'm happy to be part of the Light Wind Palace!”

The other swordsmen also hurriedly blurted out whatever came to mind, avoiding Raon's cold eyes.

“Good.”

Only after hearing their answers did Raon smile faintly and turn away again.

“Grrr....”

The moment he turned his back, Krein and the Light Wind swordsmen ground their teeth, their eyes filled with frustration and resentment.

“That's the real bully...”

Martha let out a hollow laugh as she looked at Raon's back.

“I'm not the one who bullies them the most, he is.”

She scrunched up the bridge of her nose, muttering that Raon was the one who should have received the title Rakshasa.

“...Agreed.”

Even while lost in thought, Burren shook his head as though dumbfounded by Raon's behavior.

“As expected of Raon....”

Runaan clasped her hands together tightly, apparently finding even Raon deceiving everyone cool.

'See?'

Raon winked at Wrath.

'I can be arrogant and overbearing too.'

Huh...?

Wrath's jaw dropped, as if he hadn't seen that coming.

You crazy bastard! Why are you showing that arrogant, overbearing side of yourself to your own subordinates?!

He shouted that Raon was truly beyond help.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?!

*   *   *

Watching the Vikings ride the waves across the sea, Raon narrowed his eyes.

'What is that? It doesn't seem to be aura.'

The seawater swirled beneath the feet of the Viking who had introduced himself as Knut, carrying him forward with effortless ease, but it didn't seem to be the power of aura. It was a purer energy. It looked as though the mana of nature itself was moving for the sake of a human.

The King of Essence thinks the same.

Wrath slowly nodded.

Those Vikings don't seem to store mana within their bodies. They seem to manipulate it in its natural state.

He smacked his lips, remarking that the Vikings seemed to manipulate mana in a rather unusual way.

'If that's the case, they could use mana almost endlessly.'

After reaching Transcendence, even I became capable of drawing upon the mana of nature... but I still can't wield it as naturally as though it were part of my own body. I only became capable of that after reaching the Absolute realm.

That's not the case.

Wrath shook his head firmly.

Unlike you, those humans haven't reached such a high realm. Even if they can freely manipulate the mana of nature, their bodies and minds still have limits.

He snorted, saying it was impossible for them to use it the way Raon did.

'That just makes it even more fascinating.'

They haven't reached the Absolute realm like I have... so how can they manipulate the mana of nature so effortlessly? I just can't understand it.

'If I can uncover that secret...'

Raon rubbed his fingertips together as his brows lowered.

'I might be able to increase not only my own might, but the might of the entire Light Wind Palace.'

Just as he clenched his fist, determined not only to secure the Vikings' cooperation but also to uncover the secret behind their power—

Swoooooosh!

The Vikings, who had been riding the waves as though they intended to cross the endless ocean, suddenly brought the waves beneath them to a halt.

Wooooooooong!

As Knut raised both hands, the space that had contained nothing but the blazing sun and the open sea shattered apart, revealing a gigantic island.

Ruuuuumble!

The island was larger than most cities, and its dense forests blanketed the entire landmass, making it resemble a vast jungle.

However, towering gray buildings and spires that rose even higher than the trees were scattered throughout the island, making it clear that people lived there.

“Huh...?”

“Wooooow!”

“So a massive island like this was hidden here all along!”

“No wonder no one could ever find the Vikings....”

“Though it feels more like a city than I expected.”

Aris's subordinates and swordsmen gasped in amazement at the sight of the island where the Vikings lived.

"This is Scandinada, where we Vikings live."

Knut nodded his chin, introducing the island they called home.

“Dock your ship at the harbor.”

He raised a hand and pointed toward a harbor that looked to have been built by weaving together trees and thick vines.

“Harbor...”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked toward the harbor Knut had indicated.

'As I thought, there are ships coming in and out of here.'

The harbor bore plenty of signs of ships having docked there. There was no reason for Vikings, who rode the waves even through raging storms, to use ships themselves, and since no ships were currently moored there, it was obvious that outsiders had been coming and going.

“You've returned!”

The Vikings waiting at the harbor bowed toward Knut. They also wore helmets, but unlike his, theirs had no horns. Just as Raon had first suspected, Knut wasn't an ordinary tribesman but someone like an executive or a noble.

“But who are they...?”

The Vikings on the island turned their eyes toward the Azure Wind.

“They are guests I've brought.”

Knut introduced Raon and Zieghart swordsmen, saying they were guests under his responsibility.

“Ah, they're vice chief Knut's guests!”

“Welcome!”

The Vikings smiled warmly as they greeted them.

“Vice chief? You're a vice chief?”

Raon's eyes widened as he looked at Knut.

'I knew he held a high position, but I never imagined he was a vice chief.'

A dry laugh escaped him. He had never expected Knut to be a vice chief.

“There are several vice chiefs. There is only one chief.”

Knut calmly shook his head as he explained that he was one of the vice chiefs.

“Follow me.”

He beckoned with a finger, as if intending to lead them straight into the Vikings' territory.

“We can go in immediately?”

Raon tilted his head as he looked into Knut's calm eyes.

“Wouldn't a closed-off tribe like this normally require the chief's permission?”

Casting a suspicious glance, he tightened the strength in his fingertips.

“The permission has already been granted.”

Knut calmly nodded his chin, showing that he had already obtained the Chief’s approval.

“What?”

“In truth, it wasn't I who accepted your offer, but the chief. He...”

He gazed steadily at Raon as his brows lowered.

“...ordered me to bring you to him, no matter what.”

Knut spoke gravely, making it clear that it was the chief who had invited Raon.

“Sword Immortal, Raon Zieghart.”

 

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