Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 241

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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 241

Episode 241. Zahhar (4)

‘Get it together…!’

Smack-!

Strawberry Latte struck her own face hard with both hands.

Sharp pain spread across her cheeks, and her consciousness, which had been drifting for a moment, snapped back into clarity.

‘There must be a clear reason why Gaon sent such a note.’

That wasn’t just a simple status report.

Gaon wanted the other party to move at the appropriate timing according to his tempo. Like wanting chess pieces to be in their proper positions at the right time on a grand board.

Then, now that the Bilopongi dwarves’ relocation to Wintershield was confirmed, what she needed to do was clear.

She had to lay the groundwork in advance.

Before the dwarves suddenly came rushing in all at once.

“Professor Biyolf.”

Having finished her assessment up to that point, Strawberry Latte spoke up.

“Hm?”

Peek-.

Then Professor Biyolf appeared from among the documents piled on the research lab desk.

“What is it, Taragon?”

In fact, now that the process of persuading the dwarves was complete, arranging space for them to settle in Wintershield wasn’t that complicated.

The person currently wielding the greatest influence at Wintershield Magic Academy was undoubtedly Chancellor Biyolf.

His background as a dwarf hybrid from Bilopongi would be a more powerful card than any authority in a situation like this.

‘But…’

Right at that moment.

A single thought flashed through Strawberry Latte’s mind.

‘…Don’t tell me Gaon thought this far ahead and deliberately dismissed Tordham to put Biyolf in the chancellor position?’

At any other time, she would have dismissed it as mere coincidence.

However.

Considering that the subject was Gaon, this entire flow felt like it was unfolding within his grand scheme.

‘Ugh.’

Shiver-.

Feeling a chill, Strawberry Latte unconsciously shuddered.

Goosebumps ran up her spine.

‘Really, the more I think about it, the scarier it gets. That guy… is he a monster?’

* * *

I continued persuading the dwarves by briefly explaining the future direction.

They could collaborate with Wintershield’s mages to produce magical artifacts.

Not only that, but they could install Bilopongi’s defense systems on Wintershield’s walls and pursue mutual benefits with them.

Upon hearing my explanation, the Dwarf Village Chief frowned slightly and showed a troubled expression.

“But Lord Gaon. We still don’t have the technology to build such defense systems…”

“There’s no need to worry.”

I firmly cut off his concern.

“I’ll gradually pass on the secrets of the lost technology.”

“…!”

Of course, Bilopongi’s secrets weren’t in my possession yet. The defense system blueprints were buried deep in the soil in the heart of the Unexplored Territories.

‘I need to go there with the Relic Exploration Team as soon as this scenario ends.’

It was a promise I made with the Koshat Siblings. I also agreed to accompany the Sword Masters of Jeungmu to search for rare metals.

‘…There really is a mountain of work to do.’

Anyway.

I organized my complicated thoughts and continued speaking.

“Wintershield will surely welcome the continent’s greatest blacksmiths with open arms.”

“…”

“You don’t need to worry about racial harmony either. Wintershield Magic Academy promotes racial diversity. You can tell just by looking at how the chancellor is a dwarf hybrid.”

Nod nod-.

The dwarves began nodding their heads one by one. Relief and anticipation began to appear on their faces.

Of course, worry was still the dominant emotion, but the gloomy atmosphere had softened considerably.

Whew-.

The Dwarf Village Chief let out a sigh and looked straight at me, carefully opening his mouth.

“To be honest, I’m not completely mentally prepared yet.”

Sincerity was evident in his voice.

“Leaving a homeland that has continued for hundreds of years, and starting a new life in a completely different environment – it’s not an easy decision to make realistically.”

The chief paused and looked around at the other dwarves. They too were nodding as if they agreed with the chief’s opinion.

“However.”

Finally, the chief concluded with a resolute expression.

“I won’t doubt that the path Lord Gaon has presented is our only hope.”

“…”

“We will gradually prepare our plans and shoulder the destiny that the great ones left for our race.”

Hearing the Dwarf Village Chief’s declaration, I smiled faintly.

Yes.

That alone was enough.

* * *

Whoooosh-.

The gradually setting sunset painted the rock walls of Bilopongi Gorge red.

The evening light seeping through the rough rocky terrain gently embraced the homeland that dwarves had cultivated over long years.

The forge fires blooming throughout Tunnel Village twinkled like constellations, proving that life had taken root even in this barren land.

“What an interesting village.”

The Tyrant Dragon, who had been admiring the scenery beside me, spoke up.

“It’s fascinating how they accept outsiders like the Mute Sisters, and even cherish hybrids like Biyolf. Even though it’s been over a hundred years since he left his hometown.”

The Tyrant Dragon continued while looking down at the gorge below.

“There used to be quite a few villages like this in the past, but they’ve become hard to find these days.”

“…”

“I don’t know if people’s hearts became callous because monsters are rampaging, or if humanity was driven to such extremes because their hearts became callous.”

Adelia, who had been quietly listening to the Tyrant Dragon’s monologue, carefully asked a question.

“Lord Tyrant Dragon.”

“What.”

“May I ask what kind of relationship you have with the black mage who came with Dorico Shiro?”

“…”

It was a sharp question.

Since the Tyrant Dragon had suddenly become emotional after clashing with Zahhar, she must have judged that there was some bad blood between them.

As expected, Adelia was naive, but her intuition was remarkably sharp.

After a moment of silence, the Tyrant Dragon slowly opened his mouth while looking into the distance.

“There was a village that warmly welcomed even me, who wandered aimlessly and was treated like a monster. Just like this place, Bilopongi.”

Deep longing was embedded in his voice.

“The people of that village were truly special. Even knowing I was a hybrid human-dragon, they weren’t afraid or disgusted. Instead, they thanked me for protecting their village and treated me like real family.”

“…”

“There, I felt true belonging for the first time. The desire to protect someone. The sense of security that comes from being acknowledged by others.”

Tyrant Dragon’s eyes grew distant. His expression seemed to long for an irreversible past.

“But then….”

As the sunset light painted his face red, he moved his lips for a long while before finally muttering in a strained voice, like someone forcibly dragging up a past they wanted to forget.

“Zahhar, that bastard attacked our village and destroyed everything.”

“….”

“He burned down all the buildings and massacred the people. Young and old, men and women—he didn’t spare a single person.”

With those words, Tyrant Dragon fell silent. He kept his mouth shut about why such a thing had happened or what the deeper circumstances were.

“That’s….”

Adelia showed signs of curiosity, but couldn’t bring herself to ask for details. She instinctively realized that would be rude.

“Gaon.”

Swoosh—.

Tyrant Dragon slowly turned his head to look at me and spoke.

“You witnessed my worst memory in the Ancient Dragon’s Lair, so you must know.”

His hands were trembling slightly. Even when he clenched his fists tight and opened them repeatedly, the trembling wouldn’t stop.

“To be honest, I’m still afraid of Zahhar.”

Startled—.

Adelia’s eyes widened at Tyrant Dragon’s confession.

Seeing the Sword Master who always appeared bold and confident suddenly say something so vulnerable left her with no choice but to be flustered.

“Compared to the past, I’ve definitely grown stronger. I wasn’t even a Sword Master back then. With my current abilities, I might be able to subdue Zahhar.”

It was true. Tyrant Dragon had now entered the ranks of transcendents. Even looking across the entire continent, those who could subdue him through pure force could be counted on one hand.

Even so, Zahhar was by no means an easy opponent.

The reason wasn’t simply due to differences in force or power.

They say if you tie a young elephant to a post with a thin rope, even when it becomes an adult with enough strength to break that rope, it won’t even dare to try.

Once the perception of impossibility is imprinted, it acts as shackles more powerful than physical limitations.

Zahhar was like such mental chains to Tyrant Dragon.

And Tyrant Dragon himself knew this fact all too well. After all, hadn’t he failed to completely overcome the past memories shown in the Ancient Dragon’s Lair?

“Can I….”

Tyrant Dragon looked directly at me and asked cautiously.

“Can I overcome that bastard in this battle?”

His voice was a complex mix of anxiety and self-doubt. It was a side too human and fragile for a Sword Master to show.

Pfft—.

Looking at such a Tyrant Dragon, I let out a snort as if finding it absurd.

“You spouted all those insulting words right to Zahhar’s face, and now you’re saying this? Earlier you were going on about his mother and whatnot.”

“That was….”

“Don’t forget. All progress stems from the past.”

Tyrant Dragon tried to respond, but I cut off his words and continued slowly.

“True growth occurs in the process of facing mistakes, acknowledging limitations, and rising above them.”

“….”

Those were the words the Ancient Dragon had said four days ago.

“If you overcome Zahhar, it’s proof that you’ve grown. If you can’t overcome him, it means you haven’t grown at all compared to before you became a Heretic.”

I gave him one final reminder.

“Get it together, Tyrant Dragon.”

“….”

“There’s nothing more foolish than asking me whether you can beat Zahhar. You know yourself best. Don’t seek answers from others and try to conform to their standards.”

Thud—.

With those words, silence once again lingered in the ravine.

Even Tyrant Dragon, who would normally have gotten annoyed, couldn’t say anything this time and just stared blankly at the setting sun.

Night deepened just like that.

* * *

Returning to my room, I decided to carry out the final preparation I had been putting off before tomorrow’s decisive battle.

Jaque’s trial.

The reward given to its challenger was the “Growth Essence,” a special item that evolved the player’s existing traits or skills by one level.

However….

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〔@̴̛̬̪̭̖̼̤̹̦̻̖̟̜͖̃͗̿̌̚͜͠*̵̡͍̘̯̞̮̜̹̥̬͔͉͍̊͗͆̈͗̽͐͑͋̕ͅ&̵̡̨̝̫͓͍͙̯̖͉̼̭͚́̈̋̃̈́͘͝(̸͉͎͛̾̅̾͐̓̔̊̈́̋̄̕͝#̴̬̐́́̊̂̑&̶̜̗̲̞̼̽͑̈́̆̇̆͗̑̃̎̆̒*̵̢͎̯̦̯͉̼̟͉͉͆̔̔͝!̴͓͔̙͊̏̃̋̔̏͒̀͒̌̊^̵̝͖̩́̅͛̔̐̓̇̈́̇̆̋̚̕̚͝*̶̧̫̽̅́$̵͚̬̮̼͉̌̿̃͌͠ͅ!̸͚͉̠̹̺̽̽͛͗̂̈́$̷̧͍͓̍͗͐(̶̢͕͎̘͍͍̯̼̰̲͚̏̈̕̚͘̚͜*̷̢̲̻͓̦͈̤̾́̋͒͋̊ͅ〕

…

〔Perfect clear.〕

〔Additional reward will be given.〕

…Thanks to receiving a perfect clear judgment for completing the trial using the Soul of the Sword Master, I was given an unexpected additional reward.

‘I got one more essence.’

The plan I had originally thought of was simple.

Use the essence to strengthen my dragon heart and create more favorable conditions for increasing mana in the future.

But with an unexpected surplus, I gained another option.

Woom, wooooom—!

Looking at the two crystals pulsing gently in my hand, I closed my eyes.

The target for enhancement was already decided. The ability that would play the most important role in tomorrow’s battle.

As the night deepened.

I took out the two “Growth Essences” for my final preparation.

And then….

Crack, crackle—!

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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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