Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 263

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

One-Strike Kill Swordmaster Episode 263

Episode 263. The Relic Investigation Team and the Assembly (3)

“Hmm, hmm~”

Even while Hodupayi was flustered, Dorico Shiro paid no mind and continued humming her tune.

The people around were looking at her with frightened eyes, but she showed no signs of caring at all.

No.

Rather, she seemed to accept it as natural.

Having lived as one of the Five Nightmares for hundreds of years, had she grown accustomed to others’ fearful gazes?

“Come here! I’ll introduce you to my friends too!”

“Huh?”

Swoosh-.

Dorico Shiro grabbed Hodupayi’s sleeve, and just like that, Hodupayi began being dragged along helplessly.

“Hey, Hodupayi. Don’t you get lonely having no friends?”

“I’m not really…”

“Got it! I’ll introduce you to the other Five Nightmares this time! Though with Camillo and Batu dead, there are only two left… hmm, three nightmares now? Anyway, it’ll be fun!”

“What? No, there’s really no need to…”

Smack-.

Dorico Shiro lightly hit Hodupayi’s back.

“Hey, you brat! Listen to your big sister! You gonna stay holed up in your room forever just fiddling with monster corpses and chimeras? Keep that up and you’ll become a real weirdo like Batu, you know?”

“…Big sister?”

For a moment, Hodupayi frowned at the surge of displeasure, but…

‘Ah, right.’

Soon after realizing one fact, he had no choice but to relax his expression.

‘This person is a hundreds-year-old jiangshi.’

Hodupayi just gave up thinking.

After all, no matter what he said, Dorico Shiro didn’t seem to have any intention of listening.

“Hmm~”

Thump, thump-.

Unaware of Hodupayi’s inner thoughts, Dorico Shiro cheerfully hummed as she walked.

But for some reason, strange situations began to unfold.

“Oh, Hodupayi! Long time no see?”

“Ah, hello.”

“It’s strange seeing you in a place like this. By the way, I heard you were selected for Middle Temple merits this time? What’s a scaredy-cat like you doing?”

“Th-that’s a bit of a misunderstanding…”

Hodupayi began conversing with a stranger.

“What! If it isn’t Hodupayi?”

A moment later, another heretic approached with delight.

“You’re a heretic too? What brings you here?”

“Ah, no… I was just dragged here…”

“Oh, Mr. Hodupayi! Good to see you! We met at the Dungard Black Market last time, right? How did that bomb beetle ignition mechanism you bought work out?”

“Ah, y-yes… thanks to you, I used it well…”

“Hodupayi! What brings you here!”

Murmur murmur-.

More and more people gathering.

Dorico Shiro felt something was strange.

While there were many people who feared Hodupayi, there were also quite a few who spoke to him casually.

‘What’s this?’

Hodupayi had definitely described himself as a loser holed up in his room just fiddling with chimeras.

But…

‘Even though it’s his first assembly, he knows this many people?’

She was starting to feel embarrassed.

She wondered if she had unnecessarily offered to introduce him to new friends.

Dorico Shiro looked back at Hodupayi with a slightly flustered expression and whispered.

“Hey, what are you? You already have more friends than me?”

“These people… aren’t friends, they’re business relationships…”

Hodupayi answered carefully in a voice that others probably couldn’t hear.

To create chimeras, material procurement was important.

Monster corpses, rare mana crystals, various alchemical reagents – he couldn’t hunt and gather all of that himself.

In the end, Hodupayi had to procure materials through dealers.

“For the finest chimeras, I have to personally make the rounds. So naturally, I end up knowing various people.”

Hodupayi finished speaking with a deep sigh.

“Phew, though I never knew this many dealers were heretics…”

Hearing this, Dorico Shiro fell into deep thought.

‘Hmm. Now that I think about it.’

Hodupayi was introverted and timid by nature.

But that didn’t mean his social skills were completely destroyed.

Rather, he was quite easy to communicate with, which was why Dorico Shiro carried him around like a comfort doll.

‘Wait. Then there’s no need to introduce him to the Five Nightmares?’

That thought crossed her mind briefly.

‘No, that’s not right.’

Shake shake-.

Dorico Shiro immediately shook her head.

Rather, it was an opportunity to introduce a pretty decent friend to the Five Nightmares.

With their numbers already reduced, couldn’t they recruit a capable new comrade?

It was while she was wandering around the assembly hall with such thoughts.

“Ah!”

Dorico Shiro’s face brightened considerably.

“Found them!”

Two figures were standing in a corner of the assembly hall.

The Tentacle Woman and the Golem Knight.

They were members of the Five Nightmares.

“Hello, guys!”

Dorico Shiro waved cheerfully as she approached her comrades.

* * *

“This friend is Hodupayi from Ataraxy! He’s the one who makes chimeras!”

“…Nice to meet you.”

Bow-.

Dragged before the Five Nightmares, Hodupayi awkwardly bowed his head.

The Tentacle Woman smiled seductively, and the Golem Knight silently nodded.

In fact, the Five Nightmares and Ataraxy had maintained a cooperative relationship for a long time.

This was evident from the fact that Puppet Master Batu had used potions made by Ataraxy’s potion makers.

After exchanging light greetings, a brief silence fell.

Hodupayi looked around and carefully asked a question.

“Um, excuse me… do you happen to know what the purpose of this assembly is?”

The fact that hundreds of heretics had gathered in one place was itself unprecedented.

There must surely be some big plan.

Just then, the Golem Knight slowly opened his mouth. It was a voice with deep, low resonance.

“The details aren’t known yet, but….”

“….”

“Based on what the First Apostle mentioned, it seems like everyone is joining forces to raid somewhere. Led by the newly manifested Second Apostle ‘Demon Dragon Black Thunder’.”

Gulp-.

Hodupayi unconsciously swallowed his dry saliva.

An operation led by Demon Dragon Black Thunder.

The fact that his massive creation would be deployed in actual combat made him feel both proud and anxious.

Click, click─.

Just then, familiar footsteps echoed through the air.

All around became quiet.

The Worshippers of Foreign Deities attending the gathering turned their heads in unison. Someone was approaching them.

The First Apostle wearing the shell of an innocent girl.

Though she appeared as a child in a black dress, her presence was overwhelming.

“….”

“….”

“….”

Swoosh-.

All members of the Five Nightmares slightly bowed their heads in respect.

Naturally, even the unruly Dorico Shiro was no exception.

After all, it was that Necromancer who had gifted them with 「Immortality」.

‘…Should I greet her too?’

Hodupayi hesitated for a moment.

He wasn’t a Worshipper of Foreign Deities. He had simply been dragged here by Dorico Shiro.

But since he had received full support from headquarters thanks to the First Apostle, it would seem rude not to greet her.

While he was hesitating with such thoughts.

“Huh?”

The First Apostle spotted Hodupayi and tilted her head.

“Why did you come?”

“Pardon?”

“You’re not even a Worshipper of Foreign Deities, so why are you here?”

“…?”

Freeze-.

Hodupayi’s entire body stiffened.

He looked back and forth between Dorico Shiro and the First Apostle with a confused expression.

“She said she would tear me apart if I didn’t attend today’s gathering!”

“I did?”

The First Apostle blinked her eyes.

“I never said that?”

“…?”

“I never said anything to you. Even if I had given an order, I would have told you to spend this meeting time making more chimeras.”

Slowly-.

Upon hearing those words, Hodupayi slowly shifted his gaze.

Toward Dorico Shiro, who was right beside him.

“Hehe.”

She was smiling.

Very brightly.

“Just kidding! I thought it would be boring to come alone, so I lied to bring you along!”

“….”

“….”

Silence flowed.

Hodupayi’s face gradually hardened.

His eyelids trembled, and his fists clenched involuntarily.

Unable to bear it any longer, Hodupayi reached out and firmly grabbed the old talisman attached to Dorico Shiro’s forehead.

“You little!!”

Grab-!

“Ah! No! Don’t touch the forehead talisman! It’ll be terrible if it falls off!”

* * *

Jeungmu held Gaon in very high regard.

No.

Beyond simple high evaluation, he harbored feelings close to reverence.

Even thinking back to the Sword Master assembly a few weeks ago, it was the same.

At that time, Gaon had unilaterally overwhelmed his opponent in a sparring match with Bloodlust without even drawing his sword. The sight of bare hands dominating a Sword Master was nothing short of shocking.

However, Gaon’s true worth wasn’t only in his martial prowess. Rather, what was even more surprising was his conviction.

‘A saint….’

Yes.

Gaon was a saint.

A seeker who had devoted his life to a greater cause.

His figure busily moving to reform Middle Temple, eliminate Worshippers of Evil Gods, and prevent the world’s end appeared noble in Jeungmu’s eyes.

Because Gaon was such a person, one question became even more distinct.

‘The point that no traces of mana can be felt.’

It had been strange since their first meeting.

No matter how thoroughly one concealed their energy, someone with Sword Master level skill would inevitably let subtle mana waves flow out.

Mana was something that couldn’t be completely hidden no matter how much it was suppressed.

Yet even that couldn’t be detected from Gaon.

Jeungmu had concluded that Gaon had a special constitution. The world was vast, and there could rarely exist those born with the ability to completely conceal mana.

But.

Today was different.

The traces of mana were detected much more clearly than before.

‘Something has changed.’

Swoosh-.

Jeungmu’s gaze naturally turned toward Gaon’s chest.

He detected the unique energy of the Dragon Clan from there. Hot and intense waves were resonating from deep within his heart.

Of course, a few weeks ago he had also heard from another Sword Master that Gaon was from the Dragon Clan. And Jeungmu himself had detected subtle Dragon Clan energy.

But now….

‘…He’s emanating energy so powerful it can’t even be compared to that time.’

Hiss-.

Steam erupted from Jeungmu’s body.

Curiosity began to arise.

The martial prowess that overwhelmingly subdued Bloodlust. The tremendous skill that even Pean acknowledged. And even the mysterious trait of his energy changing distinctly in just a few weeks.

‘Moreover….’

Jeungmu recalled the telegram he had received from Middle Temple a few days ago.

It was a warning about the Intruder. A recommendation to immediately flee when encountering the monster that had brutally murdered Heukgol.

But Gaon alone was an exception.

He was supposedly the only being capable of subjugating that monster?

‘This means even Middle Temple regards Gaon as an existence superior to other Sword Masters.’

In essence, Middle Temple had acknowledged Gaon as the strongest among the thirteen Sword Masters.

Swoosh, whooo-.

Jeungmu slowly drew in a breath.

Fundamentally, Sword Masters were those obsessed with the sword. That’s why they could reach the pinnacle and become transcendents.

And.

Those obsessed with the sword instinctively react when they encounter the strong.

They want to cross blades. They want to confirm how sharp, how deep their opponent’s sword is.

Jeungmu was no exception.

‘…I’m curious.’

He was far too curious.

Just how great was the skill that Middle Temple evaluated so highly.

How beautiful would be the sword of one who vows to save the world before the gods.

Whoooosh-!

Pure fighting spirit welled up after a long time.

Rationally, he knew it was rude.

It wasn’t proper etiquette to request a sparring match with Gaon who had just returned from Vilopozy.

But.

His instincts as a swordsman overwhelmed his reason.

Unable to overcome the surging desire in the end, Jeungmu opened his mouth.

“Gaon.”

“…”

“May I request a sparring match with you?”

* * *

‘No way.’

…Why do I have to fight a Sword Master every time I come to Middle Temple?

This is driving me crazy, seriously.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————