The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman 1341

 Chapter 1341

 

After docking the Azure Wind at the harbor, Raon followed Knut onto an island overgrown with dense, jungle-like vegetation.

'This...'

This energy feels familiar.

I already sensed something oddly familiar in the energy Knut used to control the sea. Now that I've stepped onto the island, that feeling has only grown stronger. At this point, it can't just be my imagination.

'But...'

I can't quite figure out what it is.

I'm certain I've felt this energy before, yet I can't remember exactly what it is. Maybe it's simply been so long that my memory has faded, or perhaps the energy I once knew has changed over time.

This King of Essence feels the same way!

Wrath climbed onto his shoulder and nodded.

Judging by how it's making the King of Essence's mind itch, it's undoubtedly a power he knows! Yet he simply can't remember it!

He smacked his lips, saying that, like Raon, the energies possessed by the Vikings all felt strangely familiar.

'For an island, there are an awful lot of murals and statues depicting beasts...'

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the stone statues and murals visible here and there among the dense foliage.

'Are wolves the Vikings' guardian animal?'

Many different animals were depicted, but wolves appeared more often than any other. Judging by the countless wolves with sea-colored manes, it seemed that the Vikings' guardian animal was indeed the wolf.

‘I have plenty of questions, but I'll find the answers once we get there.’

Thinking that the Viking chief would answer everything, Raon quickened his pace and followed closely behind Knut.

“Haaa...”

Krein brushed aside the foliage brushing against his forehead and let out a deep sigh.

“What the hell is this?! It turned into training after all! That damned bastard!”

Watching Raon walking ahead in the distance, he ground his teeth so hard it made an audible sound.

“You knew, didn't you?”

Krein frowned and smacked Dorian on the shoulder as he trudged along beside him.

“If you knew, you should've told us beforehand!”

“H-How was I supposed to know everything...?”

Dorian shook his head with his eyes lowered.

“I just felt that Sir Raon was lying. Not through my Mind's Eye, just my gut feeling!”

He lowered his brows, saying he had no idea Raon intended to bring the Light Wind Palace to this island.

"Liar! You said your Mind's Eye improved tremendously after posing as the Sage!"

Krein frowned as if convinced Dorian knew everything.

“I-I'm telling the truth!”

Dorian waved both hands frantically.

“Actually, I used to be able to read a little of Sir Raon's thoughts before, but now I can't read them at all. It's just like...”

His eyes narrowed as thin as the long leaves covering the Viking island.

“The head of house.”

Dorian swallowed dryly, saying that Raon's thoughts were now just as impossible to read as Glenn's.

“T-The head of house?”

Krein's eyes widened.

"T-Then does that mean the palace master has reached a level comparable to the head of house's?"

He stared in shock, his mouth hanging open at Dorian's words.

“No.”

Burren calmly shook his head.

"There is still a great wall between the palace master and the head of house."

He stroked his chin and let out a heated breath.

“It wouldn't be strange to say that the gap has noticeably narrowed.”

“You sound like you know something.”

Martha tilted her chin as she looked into Burren's serious eyes.

“If you know, then spit it out. Quit acting all mysterious.”

She smacked her lips, clearly curious about what Burren knew.

“I don't know anything beyond that.”

Burren lowered his eyes, making it clear he had no intention of saying anything more.

“Hah! He's gone back to being frustrating like the old days.”

Martha snorted in annoyance.

“Don't you think?”

“Raon. He's amazing...”

Runaan clasped her hands together, breathing excitedly as though the only thing she had heard was that Raon might have drawn close to Glenn.

“Sigh, and this one's the exact opposite. Even after reaching Transcendence, she hasn't changed at all.”

Martha pressed a hand to her temple, saying that nothing about Runaan had changed.

They're saying you've reached a level comparable to that Nadine bread geezer’s.

Wrath chuckled slyly and nudged Raon with his elbow.

'They simply don't know what level grandfather has reached. That's why they can say something like that.'

Raon calmly shook his head.

'As Burren said, there's still a great wall between grandfather and me.'

Even though grandfather and I both stand in the Absolute realm, the positions we occupy are worlds apart. Grandfather has already passed through the middle of a mountain shrouded in fog and is climbing toward the summit, while I'm still wandering within the fog. The difference between us is so vast that it needs no further explanation.

‘However...’

Raon smiled faintly as he looked at the warm sunlight filtering through the foliage.

'I'll catch up to him someday.'

No matter how far ahead grandfather is now, I'm confident I can catch up. It isn't arrogance or overconfidence, it's conviction.

Huh?

Wrath's jaw dropped.

You're saying something like that? You really have changed!

He let out an exclamation, saying Raon somehow gave off both arrogance and confidence at the same time.

'Like you said, I figured it'd be better to carry myself in a way that suits my position.'

Just as Wrath and aunt said, I think it's best to speak and act in a manner befitting my standing, and I've been making an effort in my own way to awaken the authority of <Pride>.

“Come on! No matter how strong my nephew gets, he's still no match for my father!”

Before anyone noticed, Aris had fallen back and thrown an arm around Krein's shoulders.

“Of course, it's only a matter of time before he catches up to that old man!”

She grinned, saying she could hardly wait for that day.

“Everyone, focus.”

Raon raised a hand, drawing the attention of the Light Wind swordsmen, who had been chatting among themselves.

"We were invited here as guests, so carry yourselves with dignity."

Raon could already sense several powerful energies belonging to Masters and above just ahead. It seemed they were nearing the center of the island where the Viking tribe lived, so he cautioned everyone.

“Understood!”

In the blink of an eye, Aris was back at his side, nodding.

“I'll leave everything to you from here, Light Wind Palace master.”

She flashed a broad smile, saying she was entrusting everything to him from this point onward.

“Yes. I won't disappoint you.”

Raon gave her a reassuring nod before turning his gaze forward again.

“We're here.”

Knut came to a stop and raised a hand, pointing ahead. Stone buildings with a chilly light lingering around them stood scattered among the dense foliage. They seemed to have been built without any order, yet strangely enough, there was an underlying pattern to their arrangement.

“No walls. No defenses.”

Aris narrowed her eyes sharply.

“Does that mean they're confident they can defeat any enemy that comes?”

She let out a disbelieving laugh as she looked over the Vikings' settlement, which had virtually no defenses against an attack.

“Exactly.”

Knut nodded calmly.

“We Vikings always fight head-on.”

He proudly thumped his chest, declaring that even if enemies attacked, they never took advantage of defensive fortifications and always fought from equal ground.

"You guys are insane."

Aris laughed openly in disbelief.

“You cannot become a Viking warrior without being insane.”

Rather than taking offense, Knut stamped his foot proudly, as though it were something to boast about.

“UOOOOOOO!”

The Vikings who had come with him raised their hands and roared in agreement.

'Warriors...'

Raon slowly nodded as he examined the Vikings one by one.

‘You can definitely feel how tough they are, both physically and mentally.’

The average might of the Vikings before me surpasses that of the knights from most kingdoms. They might not be on the level of the Five Kings, but they're at least comparable to the Five Divine Orders.

'They'll be a tremendous asset in the war.'

Their might exceeded his expectations. If the Vikings fought alongside the Five Kings, they would greatly reduce the casualties.

“My ears are starting to hurt. Can you take us to your chief already?”

Aris sighed as she rubbed her ear.

“Hmm, follow me.”

After quieting the roaring warriors, Knut led them inside.

'Hm?'

Raon turned to the right after suddenly sensing a sharp gaze.

'What's this? That stare isn't directed at us...'

It's aimed at Knut.

As outsiders, it's only natural for us to receive cold looks. But the killing intent coming from the right isn't directed at us, it's aimed at Knut. And it isn't just one or two people. Most of the Vikings on the right are glaring at him with icy eyes.

“Don't mind them. Just follow me.”

Knut snorted as though he was already aware of it and continued walking.

“Here we are.”

He stopped in front of a stone building that was slightly smaller than the others.

“So this is the Viking chief's residence?”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the chief's house.

'It's smaller than I expected.'

Among the tribes of the Beast Union, the chief's residence was always the largest and most extravagant building, but the Vikings didn't seem to care about such things.

'More importantly...'

Is the chief really here?

The energy wave he sensed from inside the chief's residence was astonishingly faint. It didn't even seem to measure up to that of the average Viking he had seen earlier.

“It's Knut.”

After announcing his name, Knut pushed open the thick iron door without knocking and stepped inside.

“Hmm...”

After exchanging a glance with Aris, Raon followed Knut into the chief's house. Inside the stone building hung blue tents and the hides of beasts. At the center sat a middle-aged man with a mountain-like physique.

The man wore an eyepatch over his bruised left eye, and bloodstained bandages wrapped around both his arms and legs. He appeared to have suffered severe injuries not long ago. Judging by the faint scent of mana surrounding him, he had undoubtedly sustained serious internal injuries as well.

“You've arrived.”

The man who appeared to be the chief struggled to his feet. His massive frame made him look like a bear rising onto its hind legs.

“The guests from Zieghart.”

He nodded as if he already knew they would be coming here.

“I am Bjorn, chief of the Vikings.”

Contrary to the Vikings' reputation as a tribe of warriors, Bjorn introduced himself in a calm voice. Although his injuries made it difficult for him to even stand properly, he remained courteous to the very end.

“My name is—”

Just as Raon stepped forward first—

“I know. Raon Zieghart, the Sword Immortal.”

As though he already knew Raon well, Bjorn spoke his name before he could introduce himself.

“How do you know my name, and how did you know we were coming here?”

Narrowing his eyes, Raon asked the question that had been bothering him the most.

'He definitely knew we were coming.'

Thinking about it now, even Knut's initial reaction seems like an act. From the very beginning, this chief has clearly intended to invite us here.

“Our tribe has received the blessing of the Blue Wolf. We are born with strong bodies and minds, and every so often...”

Mana resembling a blue mane flared up over Bjorn's thick fingers.

“...someone is born who can glimpse the future. Like me.”

A faint smile formed on his lips as he said that he could see the future.

“The future?”

Aris shook her head as she looked at Bjorn's injured eye, arm, and leg.

“You're wondering why someone who can see the future ended up covered in injuries.”

Reading the look in Aris's eyes, Bjorn let out a brief chuckle.

“The answer is simple. The Blue Wolf did this to me.”

He nodded, saying those wounds had been inflicted by the very Blue Wolf the Vikings revered.

“The Blue Wolf?”

Just as Raon tilted his head—

“I know why you've come looking for us. You want the Vikings to join the alliance of the Five Kings and wage war against Eden.”

Bjorn lowered his brows slightly, saying he already knew why Raon had come.

“I accept that proposal.”

He nodded without hesitation, declaring that he would join the war.

“Really? Without even hearing the details, why—”

“However, I have one condition.”

Cutting Raon's words short, Bjorn raised a bloodstained finger.

“First, I want you to help us. Right now, the Vikings...”

He bit his lip as he looked out the window at the fading sunlight.

"...have split into two factions and are locked in a bloody civil war."

Bjorn frowned, saying that the Vikings were currently split in two.

“Two factions?”

“That's right. Since ancient times, the Vikings have been divided between the chief and the high priest. But neither side interfered with the other. I held full authority over the tribe, while the high priest was responsible only for matters concerning the rituals. However...”

His clenched fist trembled with frustration.

“The high priest began using the Blue Wolf's backing to encroach upon my authority.”

Grinding his teeth, Bjorn slammed his fist into the floor.

“Stop him!”

He looked at Raon with desperate eyes, pleading for him to stop the high priest.

“I understand the situation. However...”

Raon let out a short sigh.

“For outsiders to interfere in an internal...”

“You needn't worry about that.”

Bjorn shook his head firmly.

“The high priest not only brought in outsiders first, but...”

His teeth ground together audibly, as though what he was about to say was absolutely unforgivable.

“He even summoned a false Blue Wolf and reduced me to this state!”

 

 

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