Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 192

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 192

Episode 192. The End of the Auction (1)

Ding, ding, ding-!

Notification sounds rang out endlessly.

It was the sound of Strawberry Latte continuously spamming emoticons.

Various faces expressing grievance and disappointment poured down, filling my private message window completely.

And then….

Stop-.

…suddenly the spamming ceased.

‘Huh?’

What’s this?

When I glanced toward Strawberry Latte, I could see him hesitating.

The guy was making a somewhat flustered expression.

I could belatedly realize what had happened. That guy had hit the 24-hour transmission limit.

‘Sheesh….’

I inwardly sighed and shook my head.

There’s really no stopping him.

It’s already this noisy with just emoticons, so how much more chaotic would it be if chatting was unlocked too?

Just imagining it made my head throb.

‘…There’s no real problem with communication even now, so couldn’t it just stay like this?’

It was when I was lost in such idle thoughts.

“G-Gaon?”

Just then, Professor Biyolf broke the silence with a trembling voice.

“Are you alright? Any injuries….”

He muttered while carefully examining various parts of my body.

His eyes showed concern that there might be some invisible injury.

But soon after confirming that there wasn’t a single wound on my body, Biyolf made an even more incredulous expression.

“You’re completely unharmed…?”

Yeah.

Of course I would be.

No battle even took place to begin with.

“H-how is this possible… to face someone with such ‘power’ and still be so pristine….”

Biyolf’s voice contained genuine shock.

He seemed to firmly believe that I had repelled an apostle.

‘What?’

Did Strawberry Latte’s acting work? Does this kind of thing really fool people?

‘If that’s the case….’

Swoosh-.

I began putting on my usual dignified act.

Since I was the one who asked Strawberry Latte to create a dramatic scene in the first place, it was time to finish it off.

“Dealing with an apostle is nothing special to me.”

“…!”

“…!”

I could see the shocked expressions of my companions.

Good.

They bought it completely.

‘It’s a bit cringeworthy, but….’

I showed no sign of it and naturally changed the subject.

“So, what happened with the auction house?”

“Ah, that is….”

Professor Biyolf trailed off. Deep guilt was written across his face.

“There were no casualties, but….”

Biyolf hung his head low, unable to continue easily.

I quietly watched him.

Of course, I already knew what had happened.

Although I couldn’t witness the scene directly while dealing with Puppet Master Batu, I could sufficiently infer the situation from other circumstances.

〔Hidden Message: The First Apostle intervenes in the scenario.〕

〔Hidden Message: The Second Apostle 「#̷̢̑@̷̜̯̋̔&̷̼̐̔͆^̷̮̹̼̊̆!̶̝̓̂̈%̷̸̵̡̛̣̭͙̳̓̂̌̎̔̌̂#̵̍̌̕」 intervenes in the scenario.〕

The System Message about two apostles moving simultaneously. And decisively, I had witnessed the Necromancer disappearing while holding the Celestial Dragon’s brain core.

‘It was something that couldn’t be prevented anyway.’

Stopping an apostle would require several Sword Masters. It was beyond Biyolf’s power to handle.

Yet he was placing all the responsibility on himself. The old mage’s shoulders were weighed down by heavy self-blame.

After hesitating for a long while, he finally confessed with a troubled voice.

“…The brain core was stolen by the Worshippers of Evil Deities.”

The expressions of my companions all hardened at once.

Though I already knew this fact, confirming it as reality made its weight settle deep in my chest.

That was understandable.

The Celestial Dragon’s brain core was a resource with infinite potential uses.

Having such a thing stolen by Worshippers of Evil Gods wasn’t something that could be dismissed as a simple ‘loss.’

At least, that would be true if one didn’t know about apostles.

“I apologize, Gaon.”

Biyolf bowed deeply to me in apology.

“I should have stopped them even at the cost of my life….”

I gave no response.

I simply looked down at Biyolf silently.

How much time passed like that? I looked at Strawberry Latte and spoke in an indifferent voice.

“Taragon.”

“Yes.”

“Didn’t you tell Professor Biyolf about my plan separately?”

“I explained it briefly. That letting the Worshippers of Evil Gods take the brain core was part of Gaon’s plan.”

“…?”

“…?”

Pause-.

The next moment, everyone except Biyolf, who had his head bowed, made puzzled expressions.

Their reaction seemed to ask what that was supposed to mean.

That was understandable.

The brain core put up at Dunkart Auction House. It was something that could have been sold sufficiently in the Free City of Bertas, but was brought all the way here specifically to get a higher price.

‘…Well, at least in others’ eyes, this situation would look like that.’

But having Worshippers of Evil Gods steal that brain core was part of the plan from the beginning?

No matter how you thought about it, the logic didn’t add up.

Indeed, how could actions meant to make money and the result of having something stolen be part of the same plan?

However….

“There’s no need for self-blame, Biyolf.”

“…?”

“Rather, thanks to you not intervening, my plan became much smoother.”

I was truly sincere.

And upon hearing my words, Biyolf moved his lips for a long while before asking back with a bewildered expression.

“G-Gaon… I don’t understand, so…”

Deep wrinkles formed on Biyolf’s brow.

“What exactly is this ‘plan’? What benefit could possibly be gained by deliberately handing over the brain core to the worshippers of evil gods…?”

It was a perfectly reasonable question.

The other companions must have all been thinking the same thing. Earnest gazes hoping for an explanation were all focused on me at once.

But I didn’t give them the answer they wanted.

I couldn’t explain everything right now in the first place, and even if I did explain, it wasn’t content they would be able to understand.

Instead, I naturally changed the subject.

“Let’s return to the city for now.”

It was a calm but firm voice. It clearly contained the meaning that I wouldn’t accept any more questions.

We couldn’t stay in the uncharted wilderness forever.

Returning to Dawnguard was the urgent priority. There were still many matters piled up waiting in the city.

Not only did we need to deal with the puppets that Puppet Master Batu had scattered, but we also had to thoroughly clean up the hideout where he had been hiding.

And above all, I needed to have a serious conversation with Ruined Guild Master Karayan about the circumstances of this incident.

‘But more important than that…’

It was organizing this confusion that had turned my mind upside down.

─The ancient ones didn’t choose you as the ‘first’ for nothing!

The lingering impression left by the conversation with the apostle was deeper than expected. The already complex plan had become even more tangled.

The bizarre System Messages that had appeared a few hours ago, right after defeating the puppets, continued to circle in my mind.

The Ritardan Sword and hypersenses unleashed in an extreme state had torn open the forbidden realm, and the fragments of information that flowed out from there were still writhing in a corner of my consciousness.

〔Error: Cannot access with current …#̶̺͍̾̓@̴̻̕͜?̴̗̭͑&̶̙͖͒%̵̯͑ ….]

〔Error: God Slayer’s ̵̢̨̦͍̟̤͇̞̟̼̟̰̬̝͚̐̒̔͋͂̕@̵̟̝͚͔͋̌&̵̗͓͖̤̺̫̲͈̲̮͙̐̍̉̌͊̚͜͠!̶̸̟͔͎̫̖͙̌́͛̂̀͑͗͗́̽̿̆̎̏̾͘͝ͅ!̵̢̘͖̠̻̦̗͇̟̙̘̆̋̈̅̂̎̈́̌̀̌͠*̶̨̡̱̻͇͔̣̻̻̻̦͙̓͗̏́̋̉͒̍̕͘%̶̼̗͇̠̙̳̖̲̱̱̦̹̙̊͑͆̀̈́̃̾͆̒͜͝

<p≯̱͖͉̲̉̃̑̀͐̅͑̀̅͒͂͘͘͘ͅ!̵̨͇͓͚̻̯̰̠̱̗̜̪̻̈́͆̅͝͝$̴̢̭̭̹̠̝̳̮̺̭̯̮̺̯͍̉͑̽̈̉̌̓̐͑!̶̡̛̣̞͉͉̞͉͔͍͍̜̇͒̌̈́̒̈́̀̇̊̈́͐̓̑manifested as….〕

〔Error: Viol■!̴̛͍̑͊͐̂#̶̨̰̮̣̝̔̔̐͒̍̌̀̎$̸̛̣̓̉͒͘■ #̸̛̪͉͕͍̣̝̗̃͊̓̎̅͘ation of■law@̴̷̢͖̟̤̲̼͔̥͓̖̤͕̙̆̋̓̈́̐̂̋̇̎͂̕͝ detected■…〕

Characters distorted and difficult to read, covered in noise.

However, even among them, there were words that could be clearly decoded.

If I combined that with the content of today’s conversation with the necromancer…

The action I needed to take now was clear.

“…”

Croak, croak-.

The sound of frogs croaking in the distance spread through the humid air.

I began to silently move my steps with that sound as background.

Thump, thump-.

While my companions followed behind me, my next destination was already clearly drawn in my mind.

‘I’ll need to go to Middletemple as soon as this matter is completely settled.’

Perhaps in the Holy City, I would be able to find answers.

The clue to all this confusion.

And the solution to the direction I should move forward.

* * *

Since it was an incident involving worshippers of evil gods, Middletemple’s support was needed. Dawnguard’s power alone would have difficulty completely resolving this situation.

Within just a few hours of the news being delivered, Middle Temple investigators wearing gray robes arrived in Dawnguard.

And…

I was watching this scene from a distance together with the VIPs of the Ruin Guild.

Murmur murmur-.

Whispering sounds from the surroundings.

In the midst of this, I could hear a merchant muttering to himself.

“I-it was real… that the Ruin Guild had formed a partnership with Middletemple…”

A guild master muttered with a trembling voice. His eyes clearly showed an expression of disbelief.

The emergency meeting held at the Ruin Guild headquarters a few days ago.

At that time, most people had been skeptical about the cooperation plan with Middletemple that Karayan had announced.

The Ruin Guild and Middletemple fundamentally pursued different values.

One was a commercial group that prioritized profit and practicality above all, while the other was a religious group that worshipped sanctity and justice.

But now, that seemingly impossible thing had become reality and was vividly unfolding before everyone’s eyes.

The Ruin Guild joining hands with Middletemple meant more than simple cooperation. It meant that the status of the entire city of Dawnguard could change completely.

“Gaon.”

Just then.

Someone carefully approached me and offered a silent bow.

It was Sikan Bauer, the investigation team leader of Middletemple.

His face showed a tension different from usual.

“…Yesterday, there was a new oracle from The Saintess.”

* * *

Rumble rumble rumble-.

Deep underground in the Holy City.

In the center of a temple where thousands of candles burned.

The Saintess, her eyes covered with a pure white veil, knelt in prayer.

Her lips didn’t move at all, but her posture facing the void was filled with deep reverence. As if she were conversing with something invisible.

Whooooo-.

A gentle wind swept through the underground shrine. A sacred energy from an unknown source softly swayed The Saintess’s hair.

Rustle-.

The Saintess’s veil flowed down by itself.

What was revealed were two empty eye sockets. In their place, golden light began to swirl instead of eyeballs.

The Saintess’s lips slowly opened.

At first it was nothing more than a small murmur, but gradually that voice began to carry resonance. Like an echo transmitted from a distant place.

“Guide the Thirteenth Sword Master to the Holy City.”

“The Third Entity has begun to set foot on this land. Those footsteps are the prelude to destruction, the prologue to the coming disaster…”

“Only his sword is the answer that can save all of this.”

When the oracle ended, the underground shrine became quiet again.

The Saintess weakly lowered her head, and her eyes, from which the golden light had disappeared, were covered by the veil once more.

* * *

Ding-!

〔Hidden Message: Muwolcha has started the 197th cycle.〕

〔Hidden Message: ‘3’ cycles remaining until world entry〕

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————