Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 247

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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 247

Episode 247. Battle of Vilopozy (5)

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[How dare you…!]

Crack-.

Zahhar gritted his teeth.

His eyes began to ripple with fury.

Lizard.

This was the most insulting slur for the Dragon Clan.

A humiliating word that equated noble dragons with lowly reptiles.

However, the fact that this slur came from the mouth of none other than a half-breed was what enraged Zahhar.

[How dare you! Not only does a half-wit defile pure bloodlines, but now you mock the entire Dragon Clan!]

Kwaaaaaa-!

An enormous amount of mana began explosively erupting from Zahhar’s entire body.

Suffocating killing intent that even distorted the flow of air.

“Ha.”

However, the Tyrant Dragon watching this merely burst into laughter as if it were ridiculous.

“Now I understand.”

The Tyrant Dragon’s voice, muttering as if to himself, carried a strange pleasure.

“I get why the others kept calling me lizard all this time. This has quite a nice impact, doesn’t it?”

The two dragons glared at each other. One with burning rage. The other with cold mockery.

The situation had completely reversed. Now it was Zahhar who trembled with anger while the Tyrant Dragon was the one acting leisurely.

Snicker-.

A hollow laugh unconsciously escaped from the Tyrant Dragon’s mouth.

The sight of the pure-blooded dragon consumed by rage looked infinitely pathetic.

It was utterly ridiculous. To respond so emotionally to just the word “lizard.”

But…

‘…Come to think of it, I was the same.’

His past self had been no different from Zahhar.

Half-wit.

How much had he suffered because of that single word?

How much had he struggled to shed that label?

Even the mindscape the Tyrant Dragon had built over his lifetime was a projection of such unconscious thoughts.

The Transcendent Realm called the mountain range where the primordial dragon was born was ultimately a product of his desire to be recognized as a pure-blooded dragon.

A few days ago… no, even just a few minutes ago, he had been obsessed with that fact. Looking back now, it was truly a pathetic sight.

‘But then.’

How could everything change in just an instant?

How could he overcome in one moment the complex and trauma that had captivated him his entire life?

The Transcendent Realm was a sword philosophy and combat principle honed over a lifetime.

For it to be completely reconstructed anew through a single change of heart was something that should be impossible by common sense.

‘I…’

In the end.

All of this pointed to one answer.

‘…I already knew that fact.’

That whether pure-blooded or hybrid human-dragon, he was a complete being in himself.

That he could walk his own path without needing to conform to others’ standards.

‘It’s just.’

He had lacked the courage to accept it.

What the Tyrant Dragon needed wasn’t a new truth.

He needed the conviction to acknowledge the answer that was already in his heart.

And.

In this journey, there was someone who had become the Tyrant Dragon’s new ‘conviction.’

─I merely use the traits of the Dragon Clan as a means. They’re just tools to gain power, not my goal itself.

─…

─But you seem to have made that your purpose. Becoming a more perfect dragon. That has become your everything.

The Thirteenth Sword Master.

Gaon.

He was one who had overcome countless trials and adversities.

He never surrendered even in desperate situations, and defeated seemingly impossible enemies one after another.

Most importantly…

In those deep eyes was the conviction that only one who had walked his own path could possess.

Perhaps that’s why?

Gaon’s words carried weight beyond simple comfort.

Belief was born.

There was no longer any reason to be bound by the past or fear others’ gazes.

No reason to lean on the illusion of pure blood or excuse to remain trapped in the shackles of being a half-wit.

“Phew.”

The Tyrant Dragon could face Zahhar as completely himself.

As a Sword Master with unwavering, firm will.

* * *

“Haa, ha…”

Adelia gasped for rough breaths.

Whooom, whooooom-!

Above her head floated nearly twenty spirit swords. The blue-green blades slowly circled through the air like stars visible in broad daylight.

Beyond the horizon lay the corpses of chimeras spread out.

The remains of monsters that had lost their lives and fallen covered the desolate earth, and dark red blood seeped between rock crevices, giving off a fishy smell.

A horrific scene as if the landscape of hell had descended into reality.

What all of this meant was simple.

Adelia had perfectly carried out her mission. And the Battle of Vilopozy had also ended in success.

However.

Gulp-.

No one could let out a cheer of victory.

Not the dwarf archer holding a bow on the cliff.

Not the dwarf warrior in armor holding shield and spear.

And not even the Mute Sisters and the Girl watching this battle from the safest position…

Everyone was looking at the same place.

With bated breath.

And in a daze.

At the scene in the distance where two dragons were engaged in their final battle.

“…”

A wall of flames blocked their view, so they couldn’t see that battle in detail.

But the sounds reached them vividly.

Kwaaaaang-!

Kagagagagagagagak-!

Along with violent noise like something exploding, a dragon’s roar echoed and shook the entire ravine.

The ground trembled. Rocks shattered. A suffocating pressure dominated all directions.

Adelia unconsciously took a step back. Even from this distance, her entire body felt crushed.

Kugugugu-!

At that moment.

The sounds gradually began to subside.

The violent explosions became sporadic, and the vibrations slowly settled down.

The wall of flames also gradually grew thinner.

And finally, when everything became quiet.

“…!”

Adelia swallowed her breath.

The Tyrant Dragon stood there, covered in wounds.

His entire body was drenched in blood, and his armor was damaged in various places.

The hand gripping Pokryeomdo was also trembling violently.

But he was standing.

As the victor.

And at his feet lay Baekryong, on the verge of death with torn wings and peeled scales.

Zahhar.

The Pure-blooded Dragon who had once looked down on the Tyrant Dragon and mocked him as a half-breed was now lying on the ground as the defeated.

* * *

“Wh, what…?”

Hodupayi shot up from his seat. He rubbed his eyes again and again as if he couldn’t believe it, but the scene before him didn’t change.

“What, what? Zahhar lost? Really?”

Dorico Shiro showed a similar reaction.

She stared blankly at the battle scene with her mouth agape.

It was natural.

Just a few minutes ago, Zahhar had held an overwhelming advantage.

The Tyrant Dragon had been desperately busy just dodging attacks, while Zahhar leisurely unleashed breath attacks and pressed his opponent.

‘It was a one-sided fight.’

But after the Tyrant Dragon’s Transcendent Realm was newly formed, the wall of flames grew fiercer and the battle situation became invisible.

When visibility returned, the battle’s outcome had been completely reversed.

‘Of course.’

I wasn’t surprised at all.

I already knew.

That if the Tyrant Dragon awakened a new 「Transcendent Realm」, he would inevitably achieve victory against Zahhar.

Swoosh-.

Leaving the others behind, I slowly walked toward the Tyrant Dragon.

The closer I got, the clearer the Tyrant Dragon’s condition became.

A body so battered it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed immediately.

But he stood firm.

Enduring purely through willpower alone.

[Kheuk, kek…!]

And at his feet.

There was Zahhar, breathing roughly as if his breath might stop at any moment.

“Merely.”

The Tyrant Dragon spoke as I approached. His voice was mixed with various emotions.

“Against an opponent of merely this level….”

It was a self-deprecating tone.

In reality, the Tyrant Dragon was much stronger than Zahhar.

Though hundreds of years ago he had suffered a one-sided defeat and could only watch as the village that was his territory was destroyed.

The current Tyrant Dragon, recognized as a Sword Master, could overwhelm Zahhar with objective power alone.

‘Even before awakening the new Transcendent Realm, he could have achieved victory.’

But the past had bound him.

Zahhar wasn’t simply an enemy to the Tyrant Dragon. He was a wall difficult to overcome not because of force or power differences, but because of terrible memories.

Those shackles were by no means trivial.

The fact that even the Tyrant Dragon, stronger than Zahhar and having newly awakened a Transcendent Realm, had become so battered was proof of that. The mental wounds were deeper than the physical ones.

‘In the end, for powerhouses at the Sword Master level, the most important thing is mental imagery.’

Mindset.

Mental strength.

Those small factors of mental imagery often determined the outcome of battles.

But ultimately, the Tyrant Dragon had overcome all of this and grasped victory.

─If you overcome Zahhar, that will be proof that you’ve grown. If you can’t overcome him, it means you haven’t grown at all compared to before becoming a Heretic.

In other words, it also meant the Tyrant Dragon had completed true growth by rising above the limitations of his past.

“The finishing blow is yours, Tyrant Dragon.”

“….”

Nod-.

At my voice, the Tyrant Dragon, who had been blankly lost in thought, slowly nodded his head.

He, who had been barely standing with Pokryeomdo planted in the ground, slowly approached Zahhar.

One step, two steps.

Though he staggered, his eyes remained infinitely sharp.

[Kuk, kheuhuk…!]

Then, Zahhar burst into laughter as if something was so amusing.

Blood-mixed laughter echoed.

[Do you think you’ve changed from just this one battle?]

Venom still lingered in the creature’s voice.

[Even so, you’re still a half-breed. You can never be reborn as a perfect being. Your filthy bloodline will forever…!]

“Now.”

The Tyrant Dragon cut off his words and raised Pokryeomdo high.

The blade turned red as it caught the sunlight.

“I don’t care about such things.”

Whoosh-.

Pokryeomdo cut through the wind as it struck down.

A clean and precise movement.

It was a final sword strike without any more anguish or hesitation.

Zahhar’s head fell to the ground.

Finally.

The shackles that had tormented the Tyrant Dragon for hundreds of years had been severed.

“Phew.”

Having completed the strike, the Tyrant Dragon collapsed right there.

After staring blankly at the air for a long while, he suddenly began to let out a small chuckle.

“Kuk, kukukuk.”

It was mad laughter as if he himself didn’t know where it was coming from. It seemed like something long suppressed was bursting forth.

“Gaon.”

“….”

“I still don’t really understand what my new Transcendent Realm is.”

Tyrant Dragon muttered.

“Something has definitely changed, that’s for sure… but I can’t even properly grasp what laws apply within this realm.”

It was inevitable.

Though he had already reached the realm called the Transcendent Realm itself, his own complete world had not yet been fully constructed.

It was like a house where the framework was complete, but the interior structure was still under construction.

In that sense, Tyrant Dragon’s Transcendent Realm would be completed gradually. He had only just taken his first step as a true transcendent.

“Well, but that’s not what’s important.”

Tyrant Dragon turned his head to look toward the village.

He could see the dwarves, Adelia, the Mute Sisters, and The Girl slowly approaching in their direction.

Among them, Tyrant Dragon’s gaze was fixed on one spot. On the small girl surrounded by the Mute Sisters.

“At this point…”

A faint but confident smile spread across his lips.

“That child too… would want to take me as her master, wouldn’t she…?”

With those words, Tyrant Dragon’s eyelids slowly closed. The exhaustion that came after the extreme battle led him to the depths of unconsciousness.

Thud-.

Tyrant Dragon collapsed sideways.

“…”

I supported the unconscious him while taking in the scenery of Vilopozy.

The sun setting in the west was painting the entire ravine in magnificent golden light. The sunset that seeped between the rugged cliffs gently caressed each rock with warmth.

Wind blew in, softly scattering the dust of the battlefield. As if purifying the earth stained with bloodstains and scars, bringing quiet and peaceful silence.

The heavy burden that Tyrant Dragon had carried for hundreds of years was carried away by the wind and disappeared.

And.

This harsh land that had long been a refuge for the dwarves was now ready to become a starting point for new adventures.

The long nightmare that had finally ended. The new dream that was just beginning.

The sound of wind crossing the ravine echoed in my ears like a song of blessing.

* * *

Ding-!

〔Hidden Message: The fate of Barbarian the Slayer of Men has been altered.〕

〔Hidden Message: The causality of corruption has been extinguished.〕

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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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