Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 249

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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 249

Episode 249. After the Battle of Vilopozy (2)

* * *

“Uhaaaaak! I’m alive!”

Hodupayi let out a cry of joy.

When Zahhar was killed by Tyrant Dragon, he truly thought everything was over.

The certainty that Gaon would dispose of them all at once had seeped deep into his bones.

But contrary to expectations, Gaon did nothing.

He simply looked at the two with calm eyes and let them go without any particular restraint.

Swish-.

Hodupayi glanced sideways at Dorico Shiro, who was humming beside him. She still had that cheerful expression.

“Um…”

“Hm?”

“Why do you think Gaon let us live?”

Hearing that question, Dorico Shiro laughed and answered.

“Because we’re friends!”

“…That may be true for you, but I’m not Gaon’s friend.”

“Well, it’s not like you did anything particularly deserving of death this time, right?”

“Huh?”

Hodupayi hesitated. Thinking about it carefully, she was right.

Of course, Hodupayi had created the chimeras.

But he had only ‘created’ them. It was Zahhar who led that army to attack Vilopozy.

Rather, Hodupayi was closer to being a victim. He had lost all the chimeras he had painstakingly created over decades.

‘Of course…’

There were still suspicious aspects swirling in his mind.

First of all, the fact that a Sword Master had befriended one of the Five Nightmares was incomprehensible by common sense.

A dog of the Elders and a worshipper of Evil Deities being friends.

Did this make any sense?

Most importantly, from a Sword Master’s perspective, it would have been rational to eliminate the Black Mage and Dorico Shiro.

After all, these two belonged to forces that opposed the Elders’ will. Considering the possibility of meeting them as enemies again in the future, it would have been wise to nip it in the bud here.

‘And yet, the reason he deliberately let us live…’

Was it an action born from overwhelming confidence that he could kill them anytime if necessary?

Or did he really let them go because they hadn’t committed any crimes deserving death, as Dorico Shiro said?

“Ugh.”

Hodupayi, who had been pondering various thoughts, shook his head.

He didn’t know.

Whatever the case, the fact that he had survived was certain. That alone was something to be grateful for.

Having finished that thought, Hodupayi spoke again.

“Anyway… I just got a contact from Ataraxia Headquarters.”

Right after Zahhar’s death, Hodupayi had immediately reported the situation to Ataraxia Headquarters. It was a natural procedure since a high-ranking executive had died during a mission.

Headquarters was shocked. They never dreamed that Zahhar, a pure-blooded dragon, would meet such a death.

Even if the opponents were three Sword Masters, Ataraxia’s forces were not to be underestimated either.

Pure-blooded Dragon Clan member Zahhar. High-ranking Black Mage Hodupayi. Dozens of chimera legions. Plus Dorico Shiro, one of the Five Nightmares.

From headquarters’ perspective, they seemed to have judged there was sufficient chance of victory.

…Of course, they never dreamed that Dorico Shiro and Hodupayi would just slack off completely.

‘But what can I do? I don’t want to die!’

Hodupayi argued that this disaster was because the Sword Masters’ power was much stronger than expected.

It wasn’t exactly a lie either. Gaon’s military might was indeed beyond imagination.

Who would have thought he could break through the chimera legion’s encirclement single-handedly?

‘Even if I had taken action from the beginning, the result would have been the same.’

Fortunately, Ataraxia Headquarters accepted Hodupayi’s report.

They too acknowledged that they had failed to properly calculate the variable called Gaon, the Thirteenth Sword Master.

Thus, an emergency return order was issued. Along with one additional instruction.

“Um, Dorico Shiro?”

“Yeah? What?”

“Ataraxia wants to ask you a favor. Of course, they’ll provide appropriate compensation.”

“A favor? What kind of favor?”

“Actually… our purpose in gathering at Vilopozy this time was to create a vessel to summon the ‘Second Apostle’, right?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“But The Ancient Dragon’s corpse became unusable, and the primordial dragons only had bones left, so we couldn’t assimilate the Brain Core and Dragon Heart either…”

Hodupayi trailed off for a moment and sighed.

“Most importantly, we failed to secure Project Seraphim too.”

There wasn’t a single success in this mission.

Rather, they had even lost an Ataraxia executive in the process, making it a devastating failure.

“But…”

Swish-.

Hodupayi trailed off for a moment and looked down at his feet.

The corpse of a headless dragon came into view. There lay the massive white dragon’s body, miserably sprawled in a pool of dark red blood.

“Though it may be inferior to The Ancient Dragon, isn’t that also decent material?”

“…”

“If we can somehow secure the experimental data from Project Seraphim…”

Whisper whisper-.

Hodupayi conveyed Ataraxia’s instructions to Dorico Shiro.

Of course, Dorico Shiro had no particular obligation to follow those orders.

Even though she had formed a cooperative relationship with Ataraxia, her true affiliation was with the Five Nightmares after all.

However.

“Wow, you guys… are trying to do something very interesting, aren’t you?”

Grin-.

A mischievous smile spread across Dorico Shiro’s lips.

There was no reason to refuse the enormous compensation and interesting project that Ataraxia was proposing.

* * *

Middle Temple’s investigation team had returned.

What they brought back was a record captured in the “Aiter’s Retrospective Eye.”

The scene of Heukgol fighting against the mysterious assailant and falling was completely captured from beginning to end.

The Council that confirmed the footage immediately convened an emergency countermeasure meeting.

Heukgol was a Sword Master chosen by the Elders. The fact that such a person had been unilaterally suppressed by an unidentified enemy was a problem that could never be taken lightly.

The Council decided to quickly dispatch an additional investigation team.

The destination was the place where Heukgol’s Life Vessel was stored.

Namely, the hideout where The Recluse Sword Master resided.

“Phew.”

Sikan Bauer let out a deep breath.

This forest, located deep in the Uncharted Wilderness, maintained its primitive appearance untouched by civilization’s hand.

The path to reach this place had been treacherous. Setting aside the complex terrain, they had to carefully avoid the territories of poisonous plants and monsters.

But the investigators had broken through all those dangers and finally arrived at their destination.

What appeared before their eyes was a single old cabin.

The weight of years was deeply carved into each wooden plank, and the moss covering the roof created a desolate atmosphere.

‘In this place…’

Sikan gazed at the cabin for a moment.

The Sword Master of Solitude.

Information about him was extremely limited even within Middle Temple.

However, one thing was certain.

Like most other Sword Masters, he too had chosen seclusion and was someone who had completely turned his back on the world.

Knock knock-.

Sikan Bauer carefully knocked on the door.

A moment of silence. Soon, faint signs of presence could be felt from inside.

Thud-.

Thoom-.

Heavy footsteps echoed on the floor.

A cold tension crept up Sikan Bauer’s spine.

And then.

Creeeeak-.

The door slowly opened, revealing a figure.

“…”

Someone wrapped entirely in heavy armor appeared.

…He was massive.

Even Sword Masters like Tyrant Dragon or Heukgol weren’t small in stature, but the figure before them was on a completely different level.

Perhaps due to the thick armor, he looked more like an iron colossus than a human being.

Sikan Bauer wasn’t short either. But now he had to crane his neck far up just to look at the opponent’s helmet.

“It is my first time meeting you, Lord Recluse. I am Sikan Bauer, a Paladin of Middle Temple and leader of the Investigation Team.”

Sikan Bauer knelt and respectfully paid his respects.

The investigators who had followed him also knelt in unison. It was the proper courtesy to show before a Sword Master.

“…”

The Sword Master of Solitude said nothing.

He simply looked down at them silently. Not even his eyes were visible through the helmet, making it impossible to read his expression.

Silence flowed.

Only after a long while did Sikan Bauer carefully open his mouth.

“I apologize, but as the matter is urgent, I will get straight to the point. Count of Heukgol has… passed away.”

“…”

“We understand that you, Lord Recluse, are keeping Count of Heukgol’s Life Vessel. We have come here by order of the Council to confirm Count of Heukgol’s safety.”

Sikan Bauer delivered the situation in a calm voice, both respectful and clear.

But The Recluse gave no response whatsoever.

He looked down at Sikan Bauer for a moment, then slowly turned around.

Thud, thud, thud-.

Heavy footsteps headed toward the interior of the cabin. The Recluse disappeared into the darkness just like that.

“…?”

All the investigators wore bewildered expressions at The Recluse’s sudden action.

Disappearing without a word. What kind of situation was this?

It was when the investigators were looking at each other’s faces and reading the atmosphere.

Thud, thud, thud-.

Heavy footsteps could be heard again.

The Recluse had returned. And still, without saying a word, he stared down at the investigators.

“…?”

When Sikan Bauer was making a puzzled expression.

Huu-.

The Recluse let out a short sigh, then gestured indifferently.

Swish swish-.

The meaning was clearly to follow.

“Ah.”

Finally understanding the situation, Sikan and the investigators hurriedly got to their feet.

Then they followed The Recluse’s steps toward the interior of the cabin.

Trudge, trudge-.

The interior was cleaner than expected.

Old furniture was placed here and there, but everything was organized without a speck of dust.

Old swords hung on the walls, and a small bookshelf sat in the corner. Sunlight streaming through the window gently illuminated the interior.

And then.

“Oh, you came.”

“…?”

Pause-.

A familiar voice echoed from the sofa in the living room.

Sikan Bauer’s gaze turned in that direction.

There was.

“H-Heukgol, sir…?”

Heukgol, shrunk to the size of a human forearm, was lying buried in the plush sofa.

“Ah, damn. I’m embarrassed to death. I’m recuperating, so why are you coming all the way here making a fuss.”

* * *

“Listen well, Tyrant Dragon.”

I spoke in a serious voice.

“The second hero has descended here, in Vilopozy.”

Hero.

The moment he heard those words, Tyrant Dragon recalled what he had heard at the meeting a few days ago.

“A hero… those who are relatively free from the shackles of this world, and beings with a mission to save the world following the will of the Elders… was that it?”

“You remember correctly.”

Surprisingly good memory.

Tyrant Dragon looked at my expression, then added with a slightly puzzled tone.

“Wait a minute. Isn’t a new hero’s descent good news for us?”

“It is good news.”

“Then why are you making such a serious expression?”

“That’s because…”

Swish-.

I trailed off and slowly looked around.

Culture tanks lined along the walls. Inside them, grotesquely stitched-together chimeras were floating in fluorescent liquid.

Ones with multiple eyes. Ones with twisted limbs. Even ones whose forms were hard to recognize.

Black Mage Hodupayi’s laboratory. Traces of madness and obsession accumulated over long years filled this place.

Woom, wooooom-!

And at the end, the largest culture tank.

There was ‘something’ clearly different from the other chimeras contained within.

Swish-.

I pointed at it and spoke.

In a voice dripping with dismay.

“That guy… is the second hero…”

“…?”

Fierce Dragon…

We promised not to discriminate based on appearance…?

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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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