Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 232
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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 232
Episode 232. Spring of the Ancient Dragon (5)
The movements of the two swordsmen recreated in the vision continued violently.
Clang, clang clang clang—!
The sound of metal echoed.
No.
To be precise, it only felt that way.
In reality, there was no sound reaching their ears. It was merely a vision reflecting the past.
However, the intense vision even created auditory hallucinations.
“….”
Swish—.
Arwen slowly moved his steps.
The investigators also followed him, moving to observe the battle between the mysterious assailant and Heukgol from different angles.
Heukgol’s sword sliced through the air, and the mysterious assailant twisted his body to evade.
Whooom—!
At that moment, the vision’s blade swept past one investigator’s neck.
“…!”
Flinch—.
The investigator reflexively shrank back, but nothing happened.
The incorporeal vision had merely swept past him.
‘The enemy’s appearance is….’
Arwen frowned and concentrated.
As Bloodlust had testified, the mysterious assailant was wearing a tattered robe.
‘…I’ve never seen anything like this in any records.’
The hem of clothing fluttering with violent movements. Through it, the mysterious assailant’s form was revealed.
A body completely covered in iron and armor.
It wasn’t simply wearing armor. It was an organism made of steel itself.
Black metal fragments clung to the body like skin, and sharp spikes protruded from each joint.
Claaang—!
The mysterious assailant swung his weapon toward Heukgol.
In the creature’s hands were great swords, each with irregularly twisted blades densely packed with saw-like sharp protrusions.
Clang—!
Heukgol blocked the attack with his blood-red zweihander.
It was a perfect angle.
Precise defense that deflected the opponent’s force while keeping his own center unshaken.
‘…Truly artistic. As expected of a Sword Master.’
Heukgol’s swordsmanship didn’t follow any specific style or school. There were only the best choices for survival at each moment.
Though he couldn’t pass through the Anvil of Forged Blades due to his swordsmanship that changed constantly without fixed forms, even that felt like individuality to Arwen.
However….
‘…The opponent is too overwhelming.’
The mysterious assailant’s sword was faster.
Heavier.
And more relentless.
Whooooom—!
The mysterious assailant’s great swords in both hands swung simultaneously.
Clang! Clang—!
Heukgol desperately blocked, but his feet were pushed back. The stone floor was carved, creating deep grooves.
Continuous strikes without pause. The mysterious assailant’s attacks didn’t stop. Heukgol blocked the slashes by a hair’s breadth, but his movements were gradually slowing.
No.
To be precise, the opponent was getting faster and faster.
‘Could it be.’
Arwen’s brow furrowed.
‘Is it learning?’
The mysterious assailant was analyzing his opponent moment by moment during the battle with Heukgol.
How he reacted to which attacks. Which angles he preferred. What choices he made when momentarily losing balance.
Reading everything and gradually tightening the noose more precisely.
Swish—.
And finally.
The mysterious assailant’s movements changed.
Whooooooom—!
Speed and power on a completely different dimension from the attacks shown so far.
Craaaaaash──!
The black iron armor split. The bone-decorated shoulder guard shattered to pieces.
The black helmet cracked in two and fell away.
“…!”
Arwen swallowed his breath.
Even in the vision, that brutality was vividly conveyed.
Thud—.
Heukgol fell to his knees.
He barely supported his upper body with both hands gripping his blood-red zweihander, but the battle was already over.
Just as the mysterious assailant was about to deliver the final blow to Heukgol.
[…?]
Pause—.
The mysterious assailant stopped moving.
The creature turned its head sharply to stare somewhere, then launched its body and began to flee from that spot.
Clatter clatter clatter—!
Right after the mysterious assailant’s vision disappeared.
Bloodlust arrived at the scene with her coral-colored hair flowing.
Breathing heavily.
Wooong, woooong─.
With Bloodlust’s appearance, the vision began to gradually fade.
The blue light dimmed, the forms scattered like mist….
Soon, everything disappeared.
“….”
“….”
“….”
A moment of silence flowed.
Arwen stared blankly into space.
The afterimage of the battle that had unfolded just moments before still lingered before his eyes.
‘To think there’s an existence that can overwhelm a Sword Master like that….’
A chill ran down his spine.
Heukgol was certainly strong. A Death Knight who had lived for hundreds of years, and a transcendent being recognized as a Sword Master by the Great Ones.
Yet such a Heukgol was trampled so one-sidedly.
Questions followed one after another.
What purpose did the opponent have in attacking the Sword Master? Will the perpetrator appear again? If so, who will be the next target? Was this crime premeditated?
“….”
The more he thought about it, the deeper Arwen’s thoughts fell into a labyrinth.
However….
‘…There’s only one thing I can do right now.’
Ssssh, whooo-.
Arwen slowly exhaled.
Having calmed his chaotic emotions and regained his composure, he commanded the investigators in a resolute voice.
“Record everything. The assailant’s appearance. Combat style. Weapons used. Everything without exception.”
“Yes.”
The investigators nodded in unison.
‘The entire battle was recorded in the Memoirs of Aiter.’
Now they had to analyze this.
No matter how long it took, they needed to examine every movement of the assailant, find patterns, and identify weaknesses.
Just by defeating a Sword Master, the assailant had become a major threat to Middle Temple.
Therefore, they had to prepare to face this enemy. So that if the assailant appeared again, they could definitely subdue them this time.
The problem was that it wouldn’t be easy. If they were skilled enough to overwhelm Heukgol, they would be a formidable opponent for other Sword Masters as well.
‘In that case….’
They needed power that could overwhelm an ordinary Sword Master.
And right now.
Only one skilled warrior came to Arwen’s mind.
‘The Protagonist.’
Who had defeated Camillo von Taribas.
Not content with executing the corrupted Jark von Haibrunn.
Had subjugated Puppet Master Batu.
And showed overwhelming prowess in his duel against Bloodlust—the Thirteenth Sword Master.
Yes.
In the end, they had no choice but to seek his help again this time.
“Whoo.”
Arwen let out a small sigh.
Incidents that Middle Temple couldn’t resolve on its own kept occurring. And each time, they found themselves having to rely on Gaon repeatedly.
‘At this rate, Middle Temple’s prestige….’
But now wasn’t the time to worry about pride.
More important than anything else was the safety of the Holy City and this continent.
* * *
“There’s one thing I’m curious about.”
Thud, thud-.
Following behind the Dragon Knight, Tyrant Dragon cautiously spoke up.
“Are you the only Dragon Knight here? As far as I know, dozens are usually stationed at each lair?”
“You are correct.”
The Dragon Knight answered respectfully while continuing to walk.
“This lair also has dozens of Dragon Knights. However, they normally remain in dormant state, awakening only when intruders appear to carry out their duties.”
“I see.”
“Since honored ones who carry the dragon bloodline have come, I judged that I alone would be sufficient to guide you. I thought it would be discourteous to have many others come forward and cause a commotion.”
Nod nod-.
Hearing this, Tyrant Dragon bobbed his head.
His expression was inwardly satisfied.
‘Well then.’
It was understandable, receiving such respectful treatment as dragon-kin from an ancient dragon’s servant.
Tyrant Dragon had spent his entire life tormented by the derogatory term “half-breed.”
Treated as an imperfect blemish by pure-blooded dragons, and as a grotesque monster by other races.
But now, he was being recognized as legitimate dragon-kin by a Dragon Knight left by an ancient dragon.
This moment surely held its own meaning for Tyrant Dragon.
Even if….
‘…it might be false courtesy.’
Just then.
Tyrant Dragon beside him muttered with satisfaction.
“Quite a formal Dragon Knight. I’m rather pleased.”
“….”
“I wish my Dragon Knights had been like that.”
Incidentally, Tyrant Dragon, who carried dragon blood, could also create Dragon Knights.
However.
Because human blood was mixed in, the Dragon Knights he created had many flaws.
Though their loyalty was high, their intelligence was terrible, so they couldn’t properly carry out orders. Eventually, Tyrant Dragon had no choice but to dispose of them all.
‘Later, a minor scenario related to this also appears.’
It wasn’t a serious scenario, just a brief comedic episode that every game had.
Anyway.
‘Having a dragon body, I too can summon Dragon Knights after going through a few more processes.’
But that was something to think about later.
Right now, following that Dragon Knight was the priority.
Thud, thud-.
How much further had we walked? We arrived inside a massive cave.
The ceiling was dizzyingly high, and the walls extending in all directions were vast.
And.
Woong, woooong-!
The moment we entered the cave, a strange energy was felt from behind.
Something invisible blocked the space. The entrance had been completely sealed with a barrier.
Clank-!
At the same time, the Dragon Knight lowered his helmet’s visor and drew his sword.
It was clearly a combat stance.
“What the…?”
The moment Tyrant Dragon showed a flustered expression.
Rumble rumble rumble-!
The ground began to shake violently.
Giant tooth-like objects sprouted up from various spots on the floor.
The white bone fragments floated into the air, then began to take shape in an instant.
Clank, clank-.
Armor was assembled, helmets were fitted, and swords were grasped in hands.
Knights identical in appearance to the Dragon Knight who had guided us here began to reveal themselves one by one.
【Lv. 70】
【Lv. 70】
【Lv. 70】
【Lv. 70】
【Lv. 70】
…
Level windows appeared before my eyes.
Their number was easily dozens.
New fangs kept sprouting from the ground every moment, and their numbers continued to grow.
“What the hell… is this supposed to be?”
Tyrant Dragon said with a furrowed brow.
“Didn’t you say Dragon Knights only appear when there are intruders?”
“That’s what I said.”
The Dragon Knight answered.
However, his tone had changed.
The respectful manner from just moments ago had completely disappeared.
Instead, cold and sharp hostility filled that space.
“You are exactly those intruders.”
“…What?”
“On the surface you wear the guise of the Dragon Clan, but your blood is mixed with the filthy aura of mongrels.”
The Dragon Knight Guide slowly raised his sword.
“Did you think you could deceive us? Disgusting mongrels.”
Flinch-.
Tyrant Dragon made an expression of betrayal.
“Wait a minute. Then all that respectful treatment until now…”
“Was naturally all lies. To bring you here and kill you.”
“…”
That’s right.
The respectful attitude the Dragon Knight had shown until now was all deception.
He had lured us to Gulmang where other Dragon Knights were waiting to kill us.
And.
“Graaah, graaaaaaah!”
Tyrant Dragon, having learned the truth behind all this, exploded.
“You bastards! I knew something felt off from the moment I first saw you!”
…You said they were good earlier, you idiot.
* * *
Ding-!
〔Vilopozy: The first gateway of the ‘Hidden Dungeon’ begins.〕
〔Survive the Ancient Dragons’ Dragon Knights.〕
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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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