Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 291

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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 291

Episode 291. Ruins of Rashutku (9)

Haa, ha-.

Naturally, the fight ended in an instant.

The doppelganger let out ragged breaths.

The bastard was kneeling on the ground, having lost his left arm and right leg.

His dark blue hair was soaked with sweat and disheveled, and his mysteriously glowing golden eyes had long since lost focus.

“….”

Hmm.

It felt strange seeing my face make that expression.

The eyes of someone completely broken.

An expression that seemed to have long lost any will to fight.

‘What the hell…?’

Swoosh-.

I slowly lowered the Feather Sword as I prepared for my next move, looking down at the doppelganger.

Honestly, I was a bit flustered.

I knew this would be a fight in my favor. No matter how identical our physical conditions were, there had to be a difference in the skill to handle them.

But I never expected the battle to be this one-sided.

‘…Why is he fighting so poorly?’

It was embarrassing to even call it a battle.

This fight was practically closer to one-sided violence.

The doppelganger bastard’s basic swordsmanship skills were a complete mess.

His body movements were so sloppy it was hard to believe he had MAX sword talent. He missed the timing to put power into his strikes and didn’t even think to cover his openings.

‘He was just floundering around like someone who had never held a sword before.’

His skill usage was even more pathetic.

Even if he couldn’t handle them to my extreme level, I expected he’d know the basics, but he couldn’t even do that.

He carelessly wasted Ultimate Auto-Parrying from the very first exchange, and the timing and angles for summoning Formless Swords were all wrong.

‘I even questioned whether he used Ritardan at all.’

He couldn’t properly handle the speed battle of splitting seconds into dozens of units even once.

‘At this rate, he’s worse than a level 50 mercenary?’

It was embarrassing.

I felt truly ashamed of boasting to the other Sword Masters about gaining enlightenment.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was like a one-sided difference between a child and an adult fighting.

‘Why? He was definitely a tough opponent in the game?’

The doppelganger was quite a troublesome monster.

After all, it possessed the exact same abilities as the player.

Unless you displayed truly perfect control, it was an opponent you couldn’t beat one-on-one. That’s why the standard strategy was to tackle it with multiple party members.

But now?

I wanted to at least do some skill practice, but even that didn’t work out properly and the battle ended anticlimactically.

Cough-!

While I was having such thoughts alone.

The doppelganger coughed up blood.

Soon, he slowly raised his head and looked at me while muttering.

“You….”

A strained voice flowed from between his blood-stained lips.

“How exactly do you live with such a harsh body?”

And.

Pause-.

Hearing the bastard’s following words, I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes for a moment.

“…?”

No.

What the hell is he talking about now?

“It was a body that made it impossible to perform swordsmanship.”

“….”

“The obsession demanding perfect control… that instinct itself was close to a restriction. On top of that, the endless flood of information.”

Tremble tremble tremble-.

The doppelganger muttered with a trembling voice.

With a terrified expression that couldn’t understand this situation at all.

“How did you overcome all of that and display such near-perfect swordsmanship?”

“….”

Damn it.

I seriously have no idea what he’s talking about.

A harsh body?

Well, no.

It was like that when I was level 1.

Back then, even breathing was difficult.

But now it really didn’t matter at all.

Rather, having gained the Dragon Body trait, I now possessed a very healthy body.

‘Perfect control? Flood of information? What’s that about?’

I deliberately didn’t show any signs of confusion and turned my head to look back.

“….”

“….”

“….”

But what was going on here?

Pean, Jeungmu, Balhwan, Adelia, and even Muwolcha.

Everyone was looking at me with complicated expressions.

‘Ah.’

This situation was flowing more strangely than I thought.

I just wanted to show them fighting the doppelganger to give them enlightenment….

‘…Now karma keeps accumulating even when I don’t intend it.’

Right.

Since it’s come to this, let me use this situation to my advantage instead.

Jeungmu still hasn’t gained complete confidence in me. Balhwan’s antipathy probably hasn’t completely faded either.

If so.

There was no better time than this moment to build up my image.

Conveniently, there were words the Valley Intruder had said before entering the Imperial Palace of Rashutku.

“How laughable.”

I maintained a cold expression as I looked down at the doppelganger and continued speaking.

“A worthless creature, the most insignificant among the beings of the Lower Realm.”

I paused briefly to add weight to my words.

And.

With an even colder voice, I spat out the final words.

“Did you dare think you could bear the weight that this vessel carries?”

“….”

“….”

It was embarrassing to put on such an act in front of Muwolcha, who was also a Possessed One.

But what could I do? In the current situation, this was a necessary performance.

“You….”

The doppelganger, who had been staring at me with a troubled expression for a long time, opened its trembling lips.

Whoosh—!

But I swung my sword before it could even finish speaking.

It seemed cleaner to just wrap up the situation here.

Slice—.

A head sliding smoothly along a clean cut.

Soon the doppelganger lost its strength and collapsed.

I looked down at it indifferently and shook the blood off my Feather Sword.

[So this is what it tastes like. Your blood.]

“…?”

Right at that moment, an unexpected voice broke the silence.

It was Yeonwoo the Feathered Sword.

She, who had kept her mouth tightly shut without saying a word since meeting the Intruder, suddenly spoke to me.

[Quite delicious. It was a delicacy that satisfied even my picky palate.]

“….”

[Usually, the more beautiful the appearance, the more delicious the blood and flesh, and you were no exception.]

A tone that was impossible to tell if joking or serious.

[However….]

Yeonwoo paused briefly and added quietly.

[…I don’t particularly want to taste it again.]

It was a short statement.

But complex emotions were mixed within it.

Yeonwoo’s sincerity that I somehow felt.

Those words sounded almost like a declaration that she didn’t want to lose me.

I answered indifferently without showing any reaction.

‘Seeing you make pointless jokes, it seems you’ve regained your spirits.’

[Yes.]

Yeonwoo the Feathered Sword answered calmly.

[I can’t stay shocked forever.]

“….”

Though she answered that way, she didn’t seem to have completely regained her composure.

Yeonwoo, who had been gauging the situation, carefully opened her mouth.

[And about the one we met in the valley yesterday….]

‘Let’s talk about that later.’

Cut—.

I interrupted Yeonwoo’s words.

It was certainly a conversation we’d need to have someday.

About the connection between the Intruder and the Feather Sword.

But now wasn’t the time.

The questions would naturally be resolved as we progressed through “The Ruins of Rashutku.”

More importantly.

‘First, dealing with this situation takes priority.’

Swish—.

I turned my gaze.

Pean, Jeungmu, Balhwan, Adelia. And even Muwolcha.

Everyone was looking at me with complex expressions.

Right now, I needed to talk with them and sort out the situation.

[…Yes.]

Yeonwoo, who had grasped the situation, also quietly stepped back as if she understood.

* * *

Though it was a body separated through Avatar Manifestation, the flesh the doppelganger had stolen didn’t disappear even after time passed.

The corpse lying on the floor.

Jeungmu, who had been quietly looking down at it, broke the silence.

“As expected… Gaon, you weren’t yourself.”

Whoosh—.

A faint steaming sound leaked from his body.

Relief was evident, like exhaling a breath held for a long time.

“That’s right.”

Pean also nodded as if he had expected this.

“There was definitely something lacking.”

“….”

“You’re someone who noticed I had met the Intruder from a great distance and gave me a warning through 【Supersense】….”

Pean continued speaking calmly.

Strong conviction was contained in his voice.

“If you had truly been The Protagonist, you would have naturally sensed the strange phenomenon I encountered in the restroom.”

“….”

“You wouldn’t have even asked me what happened. I was certain from that point.”

The Bifurcated Siblings also nodded at those words.

“I don’t know Gaon well, but he did lack that wild aspect. Should I say that beastlike sharpness I saw when I first met him wasn’t felt.”

“….”

“Just when I was uncertain, that monk testified. Saying it was strange to call himself a monk rather than a hero.”

Swish—.

When Balhwan’s gaze turned toward Muwolcha, she answered with a smile.

“You did well to trust your intuition. I’m honored that my speculation was helpful to the Heretics.”

[Muyu muyu!]

Mukyoo also babbled energetically as if agreeing.

Swish—.

As everyone added their comments one by one.

Soon everyone’s gaze naturally turned to one place.

Adelia.

Their eyes seemed to expect her to add something as well.

Naturally, as the direct disciple who had been watching me most closely, their gazes contained expectations that she must have noticed something.

But.

“…?”

Adelia was just standing there.

With a blank expression.

And she began avoiding eye contact here and there as if somewhat embarrassed.

“Don’t tell me.”

Pean smiled as if he had discovered something interesting.

Soon he asked in a disbelieving tone.

“You didn’t notice, Miss Goldhart?”

“Huh? I, I….”

Adelia’s voice trembled slightly as if about to cry.

I could see her face turning red.

“No… well….”

She trailed off.

Adelia, who had been about to make excuses, finally gave up and hung her head low.

Snicker—.

I let out a small laugh. It was a good opportunity to change the atmosphere.

“How disappointing.”

I threw out a single line in a coldly subdued voice.

“To think my own disciple failed to notice my change.”

“G-Gaon…!”

* * *

We resumed our exploration.

Pean and I wandered around the Imperial Palace with our enhanced senses spread wide.

We went down floor by floor following the stairs, sweeping every corner, and whenever we detected a mirror, we stopped and smashed it.

Going down one floor, then another, we broke all the mirrors throughout the Imperial Palace.

And finally, when we arrived at the first floor.

“It’s locked.”

Pean stood in front of the door and muttered.

It was the door leading outside the Imperial Palace. I tried turning the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

‘…Just as I expected.’

I slowly looked around the surroundings.

The corridors leading to other annexes were the same.

All passages were firmly sealed with massive gates.

Rashutku’s curse had trapped us inside this Imperial Palace.

‘It won’t open until we fulfill the dungeon clear conditions.’

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong──!

Just then, nine bell tolls echoed throughout the entire Imperial Palace.

It meant it had become 9 PM.

“…We should head back.”

Pean said.

I nodded and turned around.

It was time to climb the stairs again and head to the upper floor.

* * *

We prepared for the second night.

“Divide into groups of five and stay in your respective rooms.”

As I calmly gave instructions, the Expedition Members began moving quietly.

The Sword Masters each scattered and moved to different rooms, and the members also divided according to the designated numbers and locked their doors.

Thus, the Imperial Palace was once again enveloped in silence.

Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong, dong──!

Soon, the bell tolls announcing 10 PM rang out.

From now on, it was time for the Imperial Palace’s curse to activate in earnest.

Swish-.

I turned my gaze to the side. I could see someone earnestly preparing something in the corner of the same room.

It was Muwolcha.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo…”

She was repeating deep breaths.

The second night.

Now it was her turn to wander alone through the dark Imperial Palace.

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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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