Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 217
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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 217
Episode 217. Villopoze, the Dungeon Town (4)
* * *
“How did you know…?”
The warmth disappeared from the Village Chief’s voice.
His voice, lowered by a tone, was filled with wariness.
At the same time, I could see the teacup in his hand trembling slightly. Even for this seasoned leader who had guided the village for many years, this matter seemed to be an exception.
Fortunately, he didn’t deny the existence of the Sisterhood of the Forsaken itself. Instead of making excuses or pretending ignorance, he chose to acknowledge it honestly.
“…”
Swoosh-.
I silently pulled out a document from my chest and slid it across the table.
Project Seraphim.
It was a secret document containing Middle Temple’s shameful secrets in their entirety.
The moment he witnessed the cover covered with all sorts of sacred texts and warning messages, the Dwarf Village Chief’s expression hardened.
“This is…”
“Read it.”
“…No. That’s alright.”
The Village Chief hastily declined the offer. He held out both hands forward and backed away as if touching that document would cause great trouble.
“I already know the contents of the experiment.”
His voice became even quieter.
“What I want to know isn’t this…”
The Village Chief paused briefly and glanced around.
“How did you find out that the Sisterhood of the Forsaken is hiding in Vilopozy? Don’t tell me this fact has spread to the outside as well?”
His eyes held deep concern. As the Village Chief who had protected the village for hundreds of years, the safety of the residents would be his most important concern.
I shook my head and answered simply and clearly.
“Only we know this fact.”
“Then… how on earth…?”
“We received a revelation from the Great Ones.”
“…!”
The Village Chief’s eyes widened.
At the mention of a direct revelation from the Elders, he seemed to lose his words and froze with his mouth agape. The hand holding the teacup had completely stopped.
It was a natural reaction. The dwarves also held reverence for the Great Beings.
‘Among them, they especially worship “The Owner of the Flame and the Blacksmith.”‘
One of the Elders I had the most exchanges with since possessing this world.
Judging from our conversation in the Sanctuary of Flames, he also viewed me favorably.
Perhaps I could make good use of this fact while in Vilopozy.
Of course, what’s important right now isn’t that…
“Hmm.”
Clatter-.
The Village Chief set his teacup down on the table. As the cup settled on the saucer, the scraping collision sound broke the silence in the room.
The wrinkles between his brows were deepening further. The fingertips stroking his beard trembled slightly.
Probably countless calculations were running through his head right now.
The aftermath of being caught hiding the Sisterhood of the Forsaken. Yet the dilemma that he couldn’t make enemies of the Heretics who had received revelations from the Elders either.
I watched his contemplation and waited. There was no need to rush. The choice was his anyway.
Only after a long while did the Village Chief open his mouth with a deep sigh.
“Haah…”
He nodded as if resigned.
“Alright. I’ll tell you.”
The Village Chief’s voice now carried gravity instead of wariness. Beneath that, I could even sense relief about revealing a secret he had kept hidden for so long.
“The Sisterhood of the Forsaken came to us over a hundred years ago.”
He continued speaking while taking a sip of tea.
“Though they’re woefully inadequate and imperfect compared to the true Saintess… the holy power that the Sisterhood of the Forsaken possesses has been of great help to our Vilopozy.”
The Village Chief’s eyes grew fervent. It seemed like his passion as a blacksmith was reviving before being a village leader.
“As you Heretics surely know, we dwarves worship ‘The Owner of the Flame and the Blacksmith.’ Creating great divine artifacts following him is the lifelong wish of our entire race.”
“…”
“In the past, we approached it by imbuing weapons with magical power. But after the Sisterhood of the Forsaken came, we began putting more earnest effort into creating divine artifacts.”
“You utilized holy power.”
“That’s right.”
The Village Chief nodded.
“Right now they’re nothing but crude imitations, but future generations will produce better results. Surely someday we’ll be able to create true divine artifacts completed by mortal hands.”
His eyes sparkled with hope.
“We safely protect the Sisterhood of the Forsaken from the Outer Citadel with Vilopozy’s defensive facilities. And the Sisterhood of the Forsaken provides holy power in return.”
“…”
“You could say it’s a perfect symbiotic relationship where we share what each other desperately needs.”
Having finished speaking up to that point, the Dwarf Village Chief stared at us intently again. His gaze held cautious wariness.
“In that sense…”
He gathered courage and asked the most important question.
“I’m curious about what reason you’re seeking the Sisterhood of the Forsaken for. Are you perhaps here to execute them, since they’re the result of blasphemy?”
Suddenly the air in the room became heavy.
The Tyrant Dragon and Adelia’s gazes focused on me. They too seemed curious about what answer I would give.
I fell into thought for a moment, then slowly opened my mouth.
“Whatever the method, blasphemy is an act that cannot be tolerated. Absolutely not.”
“…!”
“Everything related to it deserves to be disposed of.”
The Dwarf Village Chief’s face instantly lost its color.
The lips visible through his thick beard began to tremble.
“B-but…!”
The Dwarf Village Chief stood up abruptly, trying to protest.
However, I raised my hand to stop him.
“I haven’t finished speaking yet.”
“…”
Swoosh-.
I turned my gaze to the weapons hanging on the wall.
Countless works imbued with the dwarves’ devotion were glowing softly.
“Suppose someone defiled a sacred flame.”
“…Pardon?”
The Village Chief showed a puzzled expression at the sudden analogy, but I continued speaking regardless.
“The blacksmith crafted a weapon without knowing the flame had been defiled. Naturally, the result became contaminated.”
“…”
“Then who should we blame?”
I spoke each word clearly and distinctly.
“The one who defiled the flame? The blacksmith who unknowingly made the weapon? Or should we blame the weapon itself that was born from the defiled flame?”
“Th-that would naturally be the one who defiled the flame…”
“Right.”
I nodded and tapped the Project Seraphim document.
“Those who committed blasphemy are those who forced the experiment, not the products of the experiment.”
“…Ah.”
The wrinkles that had been etched on the Village Chief’s brow slowly began to smooth out. As a blacksmith, he was starting to understand the meaning behind that analogy.
“If judgment must be passed, it should be on those who carried out such horrific experiments, not the Sisterhood of the Forsaken.”
The Village Chief slumped heavily into his chair. As the tension released, all the strength seemed to drain from his body.
However, after a moment.
A worried expression once again crossed his face.
“B-but….”
The Village Chief cautiously opened his mouth.
“Taking such a stance means you’re ultimately declaring complete hostility against the Middle Temple Traditionalists, doesn’t it?”
It was indeed an insight befitting a Village Chief who had lived for hundreds of years.
He had already seen through the complex political structure of the Middle Temple.
Perhaps he had learned more detailed inside information after the Sisterhood of the Forsaken came to Vilopozy.
“Even as a Sword Master, you cannot be completely free from the Middle Temple’s political dynamics. If the fact that you defended the Sisterhood of the Forsaken hiding in Vilopozy were to become known….”
He let his words trail off.
On the surface, it seemed like he was worried about me facing retaliation from the Middle Temple Traditionalists, but in reality, there was a deeper intention hidden beneath.
This was a question doubting my true intentions.
‘Really? Even with the risk of such political retaliation, you didn’t come to eliminate the Sisterhood of the Forsaken? Then why?’
I could read such suspicion in the Village Chief’s eyes.
No matter how much of a Sword Master I was, there would be no reason to antagonize the Middle Temple, so why would I take such risks just to overlook the Sisterhood of the Forsaken? It was a skeptical perspective.
He must think the Traditionalist Faction was the force leading the Middle Temple.
At least that had been.
The common knowledge until now.
“I already told you earlier.”
I cut off the Dwarf Village Chief’s words with a cold voice.
“Whatever the method, blasphemy is an act that cannot be tolerated, and everything related to it must be properly disposed of.”
“Wh-what do you mean…?”
“The Traditionalist Faction has been annihilated. By my own hand, no less.”
“…!”
The Dwarf Village Chief’s face instantly stiffened.
With eyes wide in disbelief, he hurriedly looked around. As if suspecting this might not be a joke.
But Mangnyeom was still sipping her tea with a blank expression, the Tyrant Dragon stood silently with his arms crossed, and Adelia was simply looking at me with a serious face.
None of them denied my words.
Rather, they were quietly agreeing as if confirming an obvious fact.
“Really… is it really true?”
The Village Chief asked again with a trembling voice.
“I-I’m sorry. I know this is rude and presumptuous to say, but….”
He continued with difficulty.
“I’ve lived for hundreds of years and have prided myself on knowing all information about the Twelve Sword Masters.”
The Village Chief’s gaze lingered on Mangnyeom before moving to the Tyrant Dragon.
“Even if Mangnyeom is the most recent to become a Sword Master, the Tyrant Dragon has been walking the path of enlightenment since before I was even born.”
His voice grew increasingly shaky.
“Yet now even the Tyrant Dragon is following you. Not as an equal colleague, but as if moving with you at the center.”
Twitch-.
Hearing those words, the Tyrant Dragon frowned as if displeased, but the Village Chief failed to notice this.
He muttered in deep confusion.
“But among the Twelve Sword Masters I know, there is no one like you.”
He looked me over carefully as he continued.
“Dark blue hair with golden eyes… and a human-form Sword Master who faintly emanates the aura of the Dragon Clan….”
The Village Chief’s voice grew quieter.
“Most importantly, if there were someone with the political standing and power to single-handedly annihilate the entire Middle Temple Traditionalist Faction, there’s no way I wouldn’t know of such a person’s existence.”
“….”
“No matter how much Vilopozy is in the Outer Citadel, if it were an incident of that magnitude, I should have heard rumors at least….”
He finally asked the core question with a trembling voice.
“Who… who exactly are you?”
* * *
Near Vilopozy.
A cave on a high cliff.
The smell of chemical compounds mixed in the humid air stung the nose.
Magic circles glowing faintly in the darkness flickered along the cave walls, and mechanical sounds coming from somewhere created ominous echoes throughout the cave.
“No, what the hell is….”
The Black Mage standing in front of a large reinforced glass wall frowned as if dumbfounded.
Beyond the transparent glass stretched a massive laboratory.
Giant cultivation tanks that seemed to reach the ceiling were lined up in rows, and fluorescent green liquid bubbled and boiled within them.
“Urgh.”
The Black Mage quickly turned his head away.
Though he had conducted countless forbidden experiments, this time he could barely bring himself to look properly.
Experimental subjects connected to oxygen respirators and various tubes were floating around in the cultivation fluid, and their appearance was so horrific it was beyond description.
“Damn it, what is this?”
The Black Mage cursed.
“What did I do wrong? I didn’t make any particular mistakes, did I?”
Hurriedly-.
He rushed to the experiment table and began frantically searching through the scattered record sheets.
The rustling sound of papers echoed throughout the cave.
“The experiment results turned out like this? What kind of mutant trait did I touch to make 15 eyes grow?”
* * *
Ding-!
〔Muwolcha has started their 200th playthrough.〕
〔The third player is entering the world.〕
〔Function: … is now unlocked.〕
…
[Strawberry Latte]: WA!
[Strawberry Latte]: Finally chat works!
[Strawberry Latte]: Celebration dance begins!
[Strawberry Latte]: ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
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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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