Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 208

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 208

Episode 208. Accumulating Misunderstandings (2)

* * *

The conference room of Middletemple.

Chairs arranged around a long oval table and soft lighting descending from the high ceiling created a solemn atmosphere.

Gaon sat at the head seat in the center.

Around him, six Sword Masters and high-ranking officials of Middletemple had taken their seats in a semicircle.

“….”

“….”

“….”

Heavy silence flowed.

Everyone’s gaze was focused on Gaon.

They all held their breath, waiting to hear what revelation he would share after his direct meeting with the great ones at The Saint’s Domain.

Before long, Gaon opened his mouth with a calm voice.

“Over the past three months, Middletemple has achieved unprecedented results.”

“….”

“The subjugation of Camillo von Taribas and Puppet Master Batu. We even established a cooperative relationship with Dorico Shiro.”

Nod nod-.

Adelia quietly nodded her head.

Having witnessed every process together, she knew the weight of those achievements better than anyone.

“Furthermore, we brought Wintershield Magic Academy, Shadow Sanctuary, and even Ruin Guild under the Holy City’s sphere of influence.”

“….”

“We expanded Middletemple’s influence, which had been limited to Bertas, the Free City, to all 「four major cities」.”

“….”

“Not only that, we purged the corruption that had taken root within the Holy City and laid the foundation for reform.”

Everyone in the conference room held their breath and listened intently to his words. Each and every one was truly a tremendous achievement.

‘But….’

Arwen von Goldhart thought to himself.

‘…Now that I hear it, these are all achievements that The Protagonist accomplished alone.’

He was grateful that Gaon didn’t monopolize the credit and expressed it as Middletemple’s achievements, but it was also somewhat embarrassing.

“However.”

At that moment, Gaon’s tone subtly changed.

The atmosphere suggested he was about to bring up the main point.

“The Evil Deities have also begun to feel threatened by this situation.”

The air in the conference room became even heavier. A tension completely different from the previous progress report began to circulate.

“More apostles of the Evil Deities will descend in the future.”

“….”

“The signs are already appearing. The Worshippers of Evil Gods who attacked Dungarrd, the Dark City, have already stolen the Celestial Dragon’s brain core to summon the Second Apostle.”

Though it was shocking news, the Middletemple officials who heard it did not waver.

They had already sufficiently grasped the severity of the situation. They had dispatched investigators to the site and received detailed reports about what had happened in Dawnguard.

“The descent of such apostles will accelerate from now on. Moreover, various Worshippers of Evil Gods who had been acting independently will gradually unite under the Evil Deities’ revelations.”

Murmur murmur-.

However.

The atmosphere in the conference room became drastically more serious with Gaon’s following words.

Few had accurately grasped exactly how powerful the apostles were. But rather, that very incomprehensibility evoked even greater fear.

Being entities that crossed over from another world like the Evil Deities, they surely possessed terrifying power beyond imagination.

And if the alliance of Worshippers of Evil Gods joined forces with them?

Excluding the Five Nightmares, most Worshippers of Evil Gods were scattered sporadically.

They brought enough disaster even when acting alone, but if they joined hands, it was difficult to even imagine how much greater damage they would cause.

“Of course….”

Gaon opened his mouth again.

“To protect against this, Elder will send 「Heroes」 to this land.”

“….”

“….”

Heroes.

Everyone wore puzzled expressions at this suddenly introduced new concept.

Arwen tilted his head slightly and carefully asked a question.

“The Protagonist, by heroes you mean…?”

“They refer to those who are relatively free from the constraints of this world, like the apostles. However, they carry the mission to save the world according to Elder’s will.”

“….”

“Adelia, Pean. Didn’t you both just witness a mage who was far beyond the realm of common sense?”

Swoosh-.

Gaon said this while looking back and forth between Pean and Adelia.

Then Adelia let out an exclamation as if she had realized something.

The moment she heard Gaon’s words, there was a person who immediately came to mind.

“Ah!”

Selena Servich and Professor Biyolf were certainly skilled mages.

But it would be difficult to call them unprecedented existences in the history of magic.

There had been mages in the past who were similar to them or sometimes even more outstanding.

‘In contrast….’

There was one mage who had shown completely different dimensional and exceptional talent.

An irregular who leaped from 2nd Circle to 4th Circle overnight.

A pink curly-haired mage who harbored the remnants of The Adversary.

“Could it be Taragon…!”

“That’s right.”

Gaon answered briefly.

“That child was also born bearing the fate of a 「Hero」.”

“….”

Only then did Pean slowly nod his head. Of course, his expression still clearly showed signs of deep contemplation.

“But it is somewhat puzzling.”

Pean tilted his head and opened his mouth.

“In a situation where there are already Sword Masters following Elder’s will, I don’t quite understand the significance of these 「Heroes」….”

“I’ll explain that later.”

“…Yes. I understand.”

Pean obediently backed down at Gaon’s words.

In fact, most of them couldn’t properly grasp the situation. They were encountering the name Taragon for the first time.

Still, seeing Pean and Adelia show understanding, they didn’t raise objections and quietly waited for the next explanation.

“Heroes will continue to appear one after another. Bearing special talents along with the mission to save this world.”

Gaon trailed off for a moment.

“And perhaps….”

Everyone in the conference room focused on his next words.

“Among them, there might be some with quite unusual appearances.”

“…?”

“The great ones hoped that the 「Heroes」 would not be discriminated against for such things.”

* * *

It was pure lies.

After all, there’s no way the Great Ones would issue such revelations, right?

Heroes. Special talents. Destined to save the world. Some even have unique appearances…

All of it was just nicely packaged so the Middle Temple people could understand the existence called ‘Possessed Ones.’

Isn’t that too much of a lie?

But what can I do? If I don’t plant the seeds now, things might get worse later.

“Puhaha!”

Just then, Bloodlust suddenly burst into laughter.

“What? Unique appearance? That’s it? You were being all mysterious and trailing off your words, so I thought you were going to reveal something incredible.”

Bloodlust continued speaking while looking around.

Beside her sat Heukgol and Tyrant Dragon.

“Hey, Gaon. Look around you.”

“…”

“This half-reptile and hideous skull head walk around the Holy City just fine while being called The Protagonist. So what’s the big deal about appearance?”

It is a big deal!

Because the veteran gamers who will appear in the future, the ones I’ve named ‘heroes,’ mostly enjoy bizarre character customization.

Creatures so grotesque they’d make this half-reptile and hideous skull head look like gentle impressions will come pouring in.

‘Among them, the pinnacle will be Muwolcha, who will possess someone a week from now…’

I squeezed my eyes shut as I recalled that overwhelming situation.

“…”

“…”

Crack-.

Tyrant Dragon and Heukgol’s faces contorted simultaneously.

Bloodlust continued speaking without a care.

“But it is interesting, isn’t it? Four handsome and pretty ones like Pean, Mangnyeom, Gaon, and me. Three ugly and hideous ones like Jeungmu, Heukgol, and Tyrant Dragon… Thinking about the others, the ratio is exactly half and half?”

She rested her chin on the table and teased playfully.

“Could there be an appearance quota system for Sword Master selection?”

Bang-!

Tyrant Dragon slammed the table with his fist and shot up from his seat.

“Fine! You mosquito brat! I’ll personally flatten your face and make you one of us!”

“Hey hey hey hey! Why say ‘us’! That means you’re agreeing with Bloodlust!”

Heukgol frantically shouted while trying to restrain Tyrant Dragon.

The meeting room instantly turned into chaos.

The solemn atmosphere of the meeting vanished completely, and a situation where Sword Masters were growling at each other began to unfold.

Unable to watch this farce any longer, I sighed and muttered in a low voice.

“Quiet.”

“…”

“…”

Stop-.

The next moment, as if under a spell, the meeting room instantly fell silent.

Several clerics looked at me with surprised expressions.

They seemed amazed to see the notoriously uncontrollable Sword Disciples quiet down instantly.

“Wow.”

Pean also whispered in my ear with an admiring voice.

“They follow Gaon’s words well? It hasn’t been easy for me to maintain control even after hundreds of years…”

“…”

“Could you teach me the secret to maintaining discipline later?”

What secret.

‘Just beat them down one by one like I did.’

Violence is the medicine for crazy bastards.

“…”

…Of course, if I actually said that, Pean might join the fight and create a complete mess, so I just ignored his question.

‘Anyway.’

In the somewhat calmed atmosphere, I decided to wrap up the meeting.

“It’s difficult to reveal everything I discussed with the Elders here. I’ll deliver the necessary information to each of you individually.”

I slowly stood up and said.

“Then let’s conclude today’s meeting with this…”

“Wait.”

Just then, Jeungmu, who had been silently listening until now, spoke up with a puzzled expression. His voice was full of questions.

“Why are you hiding part of the Great Ones’ revelations? If you’ve taken on the role of representative, isn’t it your duty to fully reveal the Elders’ will?”

A subtle tension began to circulate in the meeting room.

The others seemed to somewhat agree with Jeungmu’s words.

I answered calmly.

“The representative’s role isn’t just to blindly convey the gods’ will.”

“…”

“Think about why the Elders don’t deliver revelations directly but go through me. It’s because we can’t rule out the risk of information falling into the wrong hands and being used by the Evil Gods’ side.”

Firmness entered my voice.

“In that sense, I have no choice but to be cautious.”

“The Protagonist.”

This time Arwen interjected. He raised his question in a respectful voice.

“First, please don’t misunderstand. I’m not bringing this up to oppose The Protagonist’s will. I’m simply asking about the intention behind your earlier words.”

“Speak.”

“Hasn’t Middle Temple already cut out the seeds of corruption? I don’t understand what you’re worried about. Don’t tell me you’re worried that someone among us will do the same thing as ‘That Person’…”

“No.”

I shook my head.

“The situation will only get worse from now on.”

“…”

“The fact that the Evil Gods are feeling threatened by consecutive defeats means they’ll start employing more powerful and direct means. The descent of apostles will accelerate, and the unification of Evil God worshippers will begin in earnest.”

To emphasize my point further, I repeated what I had said.

“In that process, the Evil Gods will definitely try to shake us from within. In a way, Jark von Haibrunn could be considered the first case.”

“…”

“He fell due to personal greed. You could say it was a relatively simple motive. But the future will be different.”

I looked around at all the clerics and asked.

“Can everyone here confidently say they could refuse the Evil Gods’ temptation even in a situation where survival is at stake, or when the lives of people more precious than themselves are in danger?”

“…”

“…”

The expressions of the Middle Temple personnel darkened. They understood the meaning of my words.

And…

Swoosh-.

My gaze turned not only to the clerics but also to the other Sword Masters.

‘Roel is a dark fantasy game.’

As such, its worldview was fundamentally filled only with despair.

In the original work, no hero, no sacrifice could ultimately prevent the apocalypse. Not even the player.

‘Right now is barely the very beginning.’

The real despair hasn’t even started yet.

By the later stages… no, even by the middle stages, unimaginably horrific events will burst forth in succession.

“Think about it.”

Having finished that thought, I looked at everyone in the meeting room in turn and said.

“Sword Disciples who follow the Elders’ will already exist. Sword Masters who have lived for hundreds, thousands of years are protecting this land.”

After pausing briefly, I added weight to my words.

“And yet.”

“….”

“What reason would the Great Ones have for deliberately sending new beings called ‘Heroes’ to this land?”

Drip-.

The answer to the question Pean had asked me earlier.

A cold silence flowed through the meeting room.

All the Sword Masters began staring intently at me.

Among those gazes was mixed a hint of displeasure.

“Gaon.”

Hissss-.

Hot steam erupted from various joints throughout Jeungmu’s body.

His expression wasn’t visible due to his mask-like mechanical face.

Nevertheless.

“What you’re saying is….”

I could clearly tell that Jeungmu was quite displeased with this situation.

“…You think there might be traitors among us Heretics as well?”

* * *

[Siwonchoi] : Ah seriously

[Siwonchoi] : I think I’m going to have a mental breakdown.

[Siwonchoi] : It’s already a headache worrying about Puppet Master Batu’s puppets, and now I have to worry about Evil God spies too ffs

[Siwonchoi] : Does it even make sense that the character who falls is random each playthrough? If it’s going to be like this, I should have just played Mafia 43 instead, you developer bastards… what kind of shitty game is this.

└[Roeljoa] : RoelisnotashittygamedontignorethatRoelisnotashittygamedontignorethat

└[Siwonchoi] : Shut up, idiot. Roel is a shitty game.

└[Roel Joa] : ㅠㅠ

[Muwolcha] : I wonder about that.

[Muwolcha] : I thought that was part of Roel’s unique charm?

[Muwolcha] : Strictly speaking, it’s not like traitors appear randomly either.

[Muwolcha] : It’s not like Puppet Master Batu where they just suddenly backstab you out of nowhere – there are always reasons, right? If you pay attention, you can see warning signs and respond accordingly.

└[Siwonchoi] : Ah! Unnie ㅠㅠㅠㅠ!

└[시원초이] : Well… I mean, it’s not exactly wrong though ㅠㅠ…

└[시원초이] : There has to be a limit though ㅠㅠ… How does it make sense for even the Swordmaster who followed the Elder’s will to turn into a villain 퓨ㅠㅍㅠ….

[Middlefinger] : If you don’t like it, you should prevent it beforehand.

[Middlefinger] : For characters you absolutely can’t let fall in this playthrough, take care of their mental state in advance. Remove all risk factors too.

[Middlefinger] : Don’t just focus on growing your own character. Take care of NPC relationships too.

└[Siwonchoi] : Oh no ㅠㅠㅠ… You’re right too, oppa ㅠㅠㅠ… Actually, this round I was so focused on growth that I did neglect the people around me….

[Kongiabum] : What lol then it’s your fault lol

[Kongiabum] : You should have taken better care of the people around you.

[Kongiabum] : What’s the point of whining about others falling when you only leveled up yourself and went the Sung Jinwoo tech tree?

└[Siwonchoi] : ?

└[Siwonchoi] : Fuck off, old man.

└[Siwonchoi] : Even considering that, the bullshit was too severe, that’s why I’m whining here ffs

[Kongiabum] : How severe was the bullshit?

[Kongiabum] : What, did like 3 Sword Masters turn traitor? lol

[Siwonchoi] : (photo)

[Siwonchoi] : All 12 of them turned traitor?

└[Kongiabum] : ?

└[Muwolcha] : ??

└[StrawberryLatte] : hahahahahahahaha

└[NadiGonDuJjang] : shivering

└[Middlefinger] : Wow this is my first time seeing this too

└[Roeljoa] : I acknowledge this is a shitty game I acknowledge this is a shitty game I acknowledge this is a shitty game

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