Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 27

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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 27

Episode 27. Tolong Subjugation (4)

Chomp chomp-.

The donkey was chewing on the mandrake with a stupid expression.

The familiar old man who witnessed this scene turned pale and didn’t know what to do.

“….”

It was truly a ridiculous sight.

But Adelia couldn’t bring herself to burst into laughter.

Because the mandrake’s scream was still tormenting her.

‘This is impossible.’

Tremble tremble-.

Her whole body was shaking.

Just from being exposed to the mandrake’s scream for about 10 minutes.

In that sense, Adelia looking at Gaon was even more shocked by his abilities.

‘He can remain fine even after hearing that crying sound?’

How was something like that possible?

It was something Adelia’s common sense couldn’t understand at all.

The mandrake’s power was beyond imagination.

Even though she had stuffed cotton tightly inside her earplugs, that scream had penetrated through the solid defense.

Hadn’t she almost fainted at the end due to the splitting headache?

‘But The Protagonist….’

Swoosh-.

Adelia turned her gaze to The Protagonist.

His condition was far too fine.

Unlike herself, who couldn’t endure the pain to the end and was sitting pathetically on the ground.

He had even listened to the mandrake’s scream with his bare ears without any protection.

‘Just how high is his mental strength?’

The mandrake’s cry collapses people’s minds.

Ordinary people would go insane or die just from brief exposure to this sound.

But The Protagonist had endured such terrible mental attacks far too easily.

‘That’s not the end of it.’

The actions she had initially thought were just eccentric behavior.

For example, all those things like buying earplugs and other seemingly useless miscellaneous items at the market….

It was revealed that they were actually The Protagonist’s meticulous plans.

‘The Protagonist knew everything.’

That supreme-grade mandrakes grew in Labyrinth Village. That their crying would lure the donkey.

That the donkey would devour the mandrake, and the owner who appeared late would turn pale.

And through this, he could even ensnare a guide with proven skills….

‘…It means he orchestrated this entire situation from the beginning.’

So what if he received revelations from The Great Elders?

No.

Even if that were true, controlling the situation this perfectly still didn’t make sense.

Turning an uncertain future into reality was impossible even with revelations if the seeker lacked capability.

The moment she realized that fact again, Adelia felt a thrill run through her entire body.

‘Is that the insight a seeker of the sword should possess…?’

Who would have thought a Swordmaster’s insight was at this level.

When she learned that the target she had only vaguely admired was actually a much more amazing existence.

The awe Adelia felt had multiplied several times over.

* * *

‘…Why has she been looking at me with those eyes since earlier?’

Gulp-.

I quietly swallowed dry saliva.

Adelia’s gaze looking at me was unbearably burdensome.

Wasn’t this like the eyes of someone looking at a hero they had long admired?

‘At this level, she seems to revere me almost as much as Karayan does….’

At least I saved his life.

I don’t understand why Adelia is acting so blindly devoted.

‘Ah, wait a minute.’

…Come to think of it, I didn’t save Karayan either, did I?

“….”

As I said before, it felt like my way of thinking was becoming increasingly shameless.

Is this Ripley syndrome?

It seems like I’m gradually believing it’s real myself from constantly pretending to be strong.

‘…Well, whatever. This would be more advantageous for survival anyway.’

Rather than being scared for no reason, becoming shameless like this would be better.

I shrugged my shoulders and casually moved past the situation.

Then I turned my gaze forward again.

“….”

Step, step-.

The donkey was leisurely leading the way.

Dano riding on top was continuously watching for my reactions.

‘He’s completely intimidated.’

A few hours ago from now, I made a contract with Dano.

It was a proposal I readily offered knowing he had no money on hand right now.

─You know well how much a supreme-grade mandrake is worth, right?

─… Ah.

─If you don’t have cash to pay immediately, you can repay in other ways.

─R-really…?

Dano took the bait eagerly.

The contract conditions I presented to him were as follows.

First, the mandrake’s price would be paid in installments but interest would accrue during that time.

Second, the payment could be substituted by performing Silk Road transportation or Labyrinth Village guide roles.

Finally third, he couldn’t refuse my requests until the debt was completely settled.

‘If it had been someone else, they could have just played dumb about whether the donkey ate the mandrake or not, but….’

I know.

The prohibition that Dano received in exchange for his abilities.

Once he was in debt, he could never escape from his creditor.

‘Therefore, Dano can never escape from my grasp by his own power.’

I succeeded in somehow holding onto Dano, who had mysteriously disappeared inside the game.

This way, I’ll be able to use him effectively in the latter half too.

What I needed then was precisely Dano’s special ability… that is, his mysterious talent for safely traveling to any destination.

‘Even right now, that ability is being fully demonstrated.’

As proof of this, we hadn’t encountered a single monster throughout our entire descent to the middle layers.

Not even those common dungeon goblins.

We were passing through the various branching paths without a moment’s hesitation.

‘At this pace, it looks like we’ll reach the deepest layer by today.’

I was curious how the party that had wandered Labyrinth Village for three years would react if they saw us.

They’d probably clutch the back of their necks and collapse from high blood pressure, wouldn’t they?

‘Well, that aside…’

As I was thinking about various things, I suddenly remembered a fact I had forgotten.

‘…The Brickwood bastards should probably be making their move around now.’

It had been about half a day since Butler Taylor came to find me.

It was time for those Brickwood bastards, who had taken the bait I threw, to start pressuring Durdamel’s Golden Guild.

So I needed to hurry up and deal with Tolong, then return to Bertas.

Before our dear bald Guild Master, Mr. Durdamel, fell into even greater trouble.

“Let’s pick up the pace a bit more.”

* * *

The secret chamber of the Brickwood Estate.

The characters carved along the walls were emitting a faint light.

Edmon Brickwood swallowed his dry saliva.

He could feel his hands holding up the crystal sphere trembling.

Communication with the Noble House always made him this nervous.

[Edmon Brickwood.]

“…Yes, Your Grace.”

[The Saintess’s oracle has been delivered.]

A calm male voice came from the crystal sphere.

Edmon Brickwood held his breath at this.

The Saintess’s oracle was considered absolutely confidential, as much as it was absolute.

But for them to reveal the contents of such a sacred oracle even to him meant…

‘…There’s something here!’

Edmon Brickwood listened intently to the voice from the crystal sphere.

Soon, the man beyond the crystal sphere delivered shocking news.

[They say a seeker of the sword has slain a dragon.]

“A, a seeker of the sword?”

Edmon’s eyes widened in surprise.

That amazement soon began to slowly transform into elation.

‘As expected.’

His speculation had been correct.

The hypothesis he had laid out to Butler Taylor not long ago had been accurate.

‘A seeker of the sword… So it was true that a Sword Master killed the Celestial Dragon.’

And Durdamel, who had accidentally discovered the corpse, had put forward a vagrant named Gaon as a front.

Knowing nothing, just trying to sell off what looked like a valuable monster corpse.

‘Foolish bastard. Didn’t he learn not to stick his foot into something he can’t handle?’

Excess is as bad as deficiency.

Durdamel, who couldn’t even properly assess his own position, would fall to ruin like this.

Along with the charge of blasphemy.

Then the guild he had built up over his lifetime would be something Brickwood could swallow in one bite.

[Middle Temple will dispatch an investigation team. It will take some time.]

“Then the Celestial Dragon’s corpse…”

[A corpse stripped of its divinity is no different from a common monster. Handle it as you see fit.]

“…!”

With those words, the light of the crystal sphere dimmed.

Edmon Brickwood, who had been standing there dazed for a moment, clenched his fist.

‘Perfect…!’

Everything was flowing according to plan.

He hurriedly left the secret chamber and sought out his butler to give orders.

“Taylor.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Arrest that bastard Durdamel immediately. How dare he try to mock the sacred ones and us by putting forward a puppet.”

“…I will handle it immediately.”

Snap-.

Edmon Brickwood snapped his fingers as something occurred to him.

Soon he added his orders with a vile smile.

“Oh, and bring that vagrant named Gaon before me as well.”

Hehehe-.

A cruel smile appeared on Edmon Brickwood’s lips.

No matter how much of a victim used by Durdamel he might be, he couldn’t escape the price for deceiving the Noble House and himself.

…Above all, crushing dirty vermin to death was one of his longtime hobbies.

* * *

In Labyrinth Village, it was difficult to tell the passage of time.

In the underground tunnels where the sky couldn’t be seen, the distinction between day and night was ambiguous.

Therefore, a clock was essential for adventurers exploring Labyrinth Village.

‘Exactly two days have passed.’

I smiled with satisfaction as I checked my watch.

Two days.

That was how long we had stayed in Labyrinth Village so far.

Thanks to Dano’s guidance, we had been able to descend to the lower layers swiftly and smoothly.

There were no collapsing ceilings, no monsters suddenly jumping out, no traps targeting our ankles.

Should I call it a journey like walking on a well-paved road?

‘I really made the right choice selecting Dano as our guide.’

When playing Roel, there was no proper way to summon Dano.

I could only leave it to chance and hope to meet him by coincidence.

‘What, couldn’t I just pull up mandrakes and wait like now?’

No.

To endure that, you’d need an incredibly high mental power stat.

‘…Even Adelia at level 80 couldn’t endure it and collapsed, after all.’

By the time you had the required stats, the game would already be in its latter half.

By then, Dano would have disappeared without a trace, so I couldn’t receive his help.

But now was different.

Since I was no longer bound by the game’s limitations, I had succeeded in ensnaring Dano in my own way.

“…”

But despite achieving such great success, I couldn’t be purely happy.

One fact kept bothering me.

‘…Why haven’t I been feeling any vibrations since earlier?’

Something was strange.

Originally, as we got closer to the deepest layer where Tolong had made its lair, the vibrations in the tunnels should have become more intense.

But since descending to the lower layers, I hadn’t felt such vibrations even once.

Why had it suddenly become so quiet?

Even when we were just in the Middle Layers, it shook so violently as if an earthquake had struck Labyrinth Village.

I was alone with these doubts when it happened.

“We’ve arrived.”

Thud-.

I stopped walking at Adelia’s words.

A wall revealed itself before us as we descended deep into the Deepest Layer.

…No, that wasn’t a wall.

Instead, it was a massive Stone Gate that emanated an overwhelming presence even under the dim light of torches.

“Wait here.”

Dano nodded at my words.

Perhaps they had no intention of going further from the start, as those two had stopped several steps behind us.

The area near Tolong’s nest seemed to be a dangerous zone even for them.

When Adelia pushed the Stone Gate, a vast clearing revealed itself with the sound of ground and ceiling scraping.

Crrrrrack─!

A magnificent space reminiscent of an ancient temple hidden underground.

Intricate patterns were carved into the towering ceiling, and blue torches burning on each pillar created an atmosphere that was both oppressive and sacred.

And at the very center of this temple….

‘Tolong.’

A mountain-sized Tolong was coiled up.

The primordial being that created Labyrinth Village.

An ancient monster whose breath alone could shake the earth, and whose mere stirring could alter the structure of the Dungeon.

The level 91 boss of Labyrinth Village had finally revealed itself….

“…?”

【Lv. 100】

For a moment, I doubted my own eyes.

‘What the fuck.’

In the game, Tolong’s level was 91.

But the number floating before my eyes now was 100.

A realm that only transcendents who could be counted on one hand in Lost Elder’s world could reach.

…Whatever it was, it meant the situation was taking a seriously bad turn.

“….”

Swoosh-.

I slowly shifted my gaze. Only then could I belatedly discover it.

‘Something’ sitting cross-legged on top of the massive Tolong’s body.

‘Ah.’

Only then did all my doubts clear up.

Why the Dungeon’s vibrations had disappeared from the moment we reached the Lower Layers.

Why Tolong’s level had suddenly inflated to 100.

“….”

That’s right.

That terrifying level wasn’t referring to Tolong.

Tolong was already dead.

…By that very Lv. 100 mysterious figure.

“Adelia….”

Kwaaaaang─!

Before I could finish speaking, a black shadow flashed before my eyes.

With a tremendous collision sound, Adelia’s body was slammed straight into the wall.

The situation unfolded so instantaneously that I couldn’t react at all and just froze in place.

“You.”

A voice that seemed to tear through the air.

I turned my gaze toward the ‘something’ that appeared before me.

Skin covered in dragon scales. A burly physique with bulging muscles.

And even the vertically slit pupils characteristic of reptiles.

Gooooo─.

An indescribable sense of intimidation pressed down on me.

That aura was enough to easily overwhelm even the Celestial Dragon I had faced before.

“…Are you the newly chosen seeker?”

Hiss-.

A smile filled with fighting spirit spread across the Hybrid Human-Dragon’s lips.

At the same time, messages that had been hidden until now began to appear one by one.

Ding-!

〔Part of the hidden message is revealed.〕

…

〔Causality is being twisted.〕

〔The encounter with the Violent Dragon’s Swordmaster is being accelerated.〕

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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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