Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 269

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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 269

Episode 269. Bad Blood (2)

Pshhhh-!

Jeungmu let out a small puff of steam as he looked at Pean.

A brief silence passed.

“Pean.”

“Yes, Meister Jeungmu.”

“Were you always such a heretic who obediently followed Middle Temple’s words?”

A question thrown out calmly.

But it was filled with bewilderment.

‘A natural reaction.’

Pean was famous for his gentle personality.

He always faced people with a smiling expression, never lost his soft tone when conversing, and showed courtesy to everyone.

At first glance, he seemed like the most heretic-like heretic.

But…

‘That doesn’t mean he’s a Sword Master who meekly follows Middle Temple’s will.’

Rather, it was the opposite.

Pean held great resentment toward Middle Temple’s priests.

Just look at his bad blood with House of Haibroon.

Because their ancestors were deceived, didn’t they have to hand over the “Sword Master’s Pact” to the head of House Haibroon for generations?

Of course, I intervened now and broke that shackle, but that doesn’t mean Pean’s own feelings toward Middle Temple have disappeared.

‘It’s not just Pean.’

Other Sword Masters also harbored inner dissatisfaction with the Holy City.

The reason was simple.

Middle Temple proclaimed themselves followers of the Elders.

They called themselves a sacred group representing the gods’ will and exercised tremendous influence across the entire continent.

But.

‘What they actually do to the Sword Masters is…’

Under the plausible pretext of world balance, they only bound Sword Masters with the prohibition called “Sacred Restraints.”

On top of that, whenever something happened, they would call Sword Masters to urge them to solve problems, so naturally heretics would become sick of Middle Temple.

In that sense, it wasn’t unreasonable for Jeungmu to find it strange that Pean had meekly followed the Holy City’s official document.

“Haha.”

Just then, Pean answered with a relaxed laugh.

“Is it that surprising that I ran away without fighting the Intruder?”

Pshhhh-.

Jeungmu fell silent for a moment, puffing out steam.

Then he slowly opened his mouth.

“Pean, I am the second Sword Master of the new generation.”

Clank, clatter-.

Metallic sounds rang from within Jeungmu’s body.

“I’ve walked the path of a heretic alongside you for the longest time. That’s why I know all too well what kind of elf you are.”

After the ancient era ended, after the “Heavenly Laws” were established, all Sword Masters except Pean met their deaths.

It was from then on.

The existing Twelve Sword Masters began classifying the heretics of the ancient era as the old generation and themselves as the new generation.

And Jeungmu was the second to become a Sword Master among the new generation.

In essence, he was the first transcendent to reach the position of heretic after the ancient era ended.

“All Sword Masters always anticipate battles with skilled opponents. And you are no exception to this.”

Jeungmu stopped speaking and looked at Pean. His eyes visible through the monocle held conviction.

“Though you may seem gentle now, the reason your fighting spirit has diminished is… simply because there are no opponents skilled enough with the sword to satisfy you, isn’t it?”

Jeungmu’s words weren’t wrong.

The current Pean displayed extremely calculated, meticulous, and perfectionist combat.

Fighting that considered all variables, made the best moves, and allowed not even an inch of mistake.

But.

That wasn’t all of Pean.

‘…Just look at the case at the “Forge of the Single Flame.”‘

Pean from thousands of years ago was different.

He endlessly pressed his opponents according to wild instinct. There were no calculations. Only intense fighting spirit guided his sword.

His competitive spirit was truly comparable to the Tyrant Dragon.

‘The reason such a person appears to have a gentle disposition is…’

It was merely that he was firmly suppressing such instincts.

Though he wore a gentle smile on the outside, something hot was still boiling deep inside.

“Yes, well.”

Pean shrugged his shoulders and agreed with Jeungmu’s words.

“You’re not wrong.”

“…”

“To be honest, the moment I first faced the Intruder, the desire to cross swords with him surged up to my throat.”

Pean smiled faintly.

“But isn’t that natural? He’s someone who overwhelmed Count of Heukgol with the sword. It’s not easy to encounter such an opponent.”

The Intruder was a monster who defeated Heukgol. The fact that he subdued even Heukgol with the sword meant he was that strong.

A Sword Master like Pean would naturally want to clash with such an enemy.

Sword Masters couldn’t engage in life-or-death battles with each other. Unless one turned traitor, battles where life and death hung in the balance couldn’t be established between heretics.

Even if they held sparring matches, that was merely ‘fake combat’ at best.

Limited fighting unfolded under the premise of not killing each other. Of course, that would have meaning too, but the disappointment would be unavoidable.

“An enemy you can face while risking your life and pouring out all your strength. And if it’s a Sword Master-level powerhouse… honestly speaking, isn’t that a situation we all desire?”

Silence flowed.

Jeungmu didn’t answer. Precisely, there was no need to.

Pshhhhhh-!

The steam leaking from his body was already saying everything.

‘Heretics are fundamentally those mad about swords.’

Combat where lives precariously hang in the balance. Extreme tension where not even a moment’s mistake is tolerated.

Only those who craved such things more than anyone could reach the realm of Sword Master.

Therefore.

‘In the original game, the Intruder’s appearance became a great calamity.’

Not a single Sword Master refused a duel with the Intruder. The heretics challenged the Intruder one by one, and eventually countless sacrifices were made.

‘That’s why I informed everyone.’

I had prepared a primary breakwater to prevent Sword Masters from fighting the Intruder alone. Fortunately, it worked very well on Pean.

“Then… Pean, why did you follow Middle Temple’s command?”

“Don’t misunderstand, Meister Jeungmu.”

Pean answered.

“I didn’t follow Middle Temple’s command. I merely listened to The Protagonist’s words.”

Pean’s gaze fixed on me. Though his face wore a gentle smile, his eyes were infinitely serious.

“And it will be the same during this expedition.”

He continued slowly.

“Whatever happens, I intend to follow The Protagonist’s orders.”

Gulp-.

The sound of someone swallowing dry saliva came from somewhere.

I turned my head to look to the side.

It was Adelia. At the appearance of the long-absent fanatic rival, she wore a considerably tense expression.

“Of course.”

Pean opened his mouth again.

“I also understand. That Meister Jeungmu might have various doubts from his position.”

He shrugged his shoulders and continued speaking.

“Why should I follow the opinion of a newcomer who hasn’t even been recognized as a Sword Master for half a year? You might think that way.”

“….”

“But if you follow The Protagonist’s words during this expedition, you’ll naturally come to understand the reason.”

A moment of silence flowed.

Pshhhh-.

Jeungmu let out a small puff of steam, then slowly nodded his head.

“I don’t think further explanation is necessary.”

“….”

“I already know well enough. What kind of person Gaon is, and how tremendous his abilities are.”

“Ah, that’s right. Of course. You directly witnessed the sparring match with Bloodlust last time.”

Pean said this while wearing a meaningful smile.

That expression seemed to say this:

─But Jeungmu. You don’t know what The Protagonist’s ‘true identity’ is. Only I know that.

I let out a quiet laugh inwardly.

‘Pean.’

Sorry, but you don’t know my true identity either.

That guy was mistaken, thinking I was the only great one remaining in the Lower Realm. Moreover, he seemed to feel secretly proud and take pride in that fact….

In truth, the only people who knew my ‘true identity’ were Strawberry Latte and Muwolcha, who was right here beside me.

“Ha, hahaha…!”

Right at that moment.

Suddenly, hearty laughter echoed through the expedition leader’s office.

When I turned my head, a very well-built, muscular bearded man was laughing awkwardly while reading the room.

It was the leader of the Relic Exploration Team.

“Yes! This is exactly how an expedition should proceed! Ha, haha!”

He slapped his knee with his thick hand and said.

“Now, now, it’s good that the leadership of this expedition has been clearly decided. Then we’ll also think of The Protagonist as our leader and follow him.”

The leader bowed his head toward me.

“Anyway, now it’s about time….”

He spread out the map placed on the table and raised the corners of his mouth.

“Shall we start talking about the actual expedition?”

* * *

“Hey, honestly, do you think this makes sense?”

Thump, thump-.

The one-eyed, lame woman staggered through the Uncharted Wilderness.

Her voice was full of irritation.

On the way back to their hideout in Dawnguard after finishing the first ‘assembly’.

Worshippers of Evil Gods scattered across the entire continent had gathered in one place. And there, a girl who revealed herself as the first apostle of the Outer Gods explained the future plans.

“Everyone should join forces to attack the magic city?”

The One-Eyed Woman let out a scoff.

“Do you think that makes sense? What the fuck. Does that brat want to hold a group suicide assembly or something?”

Of course, the First Apostle had laid out the plan in detail after that.

But.

All those explanations went in one ear and out the other.

Perhaps because the very idea of launching a full offensive against Wintershield was absurd? The One-Eyed Woman couldn’t even think of taking it seriously.

“Right, Clyde?”

She looked back at the man walking beside her and asked.

“Give me an answer.”

“….”

“Honestly, doesn’t that woman seem crazy?”

The One-Eyed Woman continued speaking.

“How are we supposed to conquer Wintershield? The mages there are fucking strong. And what are we going to do after taking that city? What benefit is there for us? No, first of all, it doesn’t make sense that the first apostle of the Outer Gods is such a brat….”

“Quiet.”

The man called Clyde brought his finger to his lips.

Gasp-!

The One-Eyed Woman’s eyes widened as she closed her mouth.

Because Clyde was looking around with such a serious expression.

“What, what is it? Why are you like that?”

Clyde muttered lowly while staying alert of the surroundings.

“I sense someone’s presence.”

“…?”

The One-Eyed Woman made a bewildered expression.

“What are you talking about? My 「Mana Detection」 doesn’t sense any living creatures around here?”

“….”

“Even though it’s the Uncharted Wilderness, this is a safe path we’ve traveled back and forth dozens of times going to and from Dawnguard. There’s no need to worry….”

Crack-!

Before she could finish speaking.

Suddenly, the tip of a rapier pierced through the One-Eyed Woman’s abdomen and protruded out.

“…Urk.”

She couldn’t even scream properly. Blood began to boil up in her throat. Red foam flowed out of her mouth.

“…!”

Just as Clyde was about to take a combat stance with widened eyes.

“Don’t move.”

A woman’s voice was heard.

It was a dry yet dreamy tone.

“If you so much as twitch a finger there, she dies.”

Slowly-.

Behind the One-Eyed Woman’s back, someone’s form began to be revealed.

A dark dress decorated with frills and lace.

It was a woman with tied-up hair and pale skin.

Cough, cough-!

The One-Eyed Woman gasped painfully.

With the rapier stuck in her back, the Woman in Dress pulled something out from her bosom with an indifferent expression.

It was a notebook and pen.

“Now.”

She opened the notebook and spoke calmly.

“Now explain everything slowly, one by one. What did you say earlier? Assembly? Attacking Wintershield? What did the First Apostle do?”

* * *

“So… the Black Mage Hodupayi, who was selected as a continental public enemy this time, summoned 「The Second Apostle」, and with that as the spearhead, they’re going to attack Wintershield?”

“Yes! That’s what I’m telling you!”

“A bit disappointing. Why didn’t you tell me about something this important earlier?”

“No, damn it! This is the fifth time I’m explaining this! Just let me go already! At this rate, my lover is going to die from excessive bleeding!”

“Wait a minute. Let me ask just one more thing. Where was this assembly held?”

“I already explained that!! You even wrote it down in your notes!!”

“Oh, right. It’s written here. Three asterisks.”

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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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