Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 31

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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 31

Episode 31. Cutting Out the Rotten Flesh (1)

Haa, ha-.

A dark and damp underground prison.

Along with the clanking sound of chains, someone’s agonized breathing echoed through the air.

“Kugh….”

Hakun Durdamel was bound in chains, kneeling on the ground.

His condition was utterly miserable.

His swollen cheeks and lips were crusted with dried blood, and traces of torture were evident all over his body.

“Oh my. It seems my subordinates handled you too roughly.”

Tsk-.

Edmon Brickwood clicked his tongue.

Putting on a seemingly pitying expression, he spoke while matching Durdamel’s eye level.

“Listen, Durdamel. Do you know what you’ve done?”

“….”

“You crossed a line that should never be crossed. Even so, how could you bring back the corpse of a divine beast?”

Swoosh-.

Durdamel, who had been hanging his head low, slowly raised his gaze.

Only labored breathing escaped his lips. Seeing this, Edmon grinned and continued speaking.

“From the looks of it, you don’t even understand what I’m saying.”

“….”

“Fine. I’ll kindly explain to you step by step what’s going to happen.”

Edmon brought his face closer.

“By tomorrow, Middle Temple’s investigation team will arrive. They’ll brand you as the criminal who killed Elder’s divine beast.”

“….”

“The trial is as good as over. You’ll be executed for blasphemy, and the merchant guild you’ve built your entire life will lose its master overnight.”

“….”

“Then that masterless merchant guild will fall into my hands.”

Unable to contain his escaping laughter, Edmon Brickwood chuckled greedily.

“Why did you have such excessive greed? Didn’t you learn not to covet food you can’t even eat….”

“Khack, ptui.”

Splat-.

Thick, bloody spit hit Edmon’s face with perfect accuracy.

For a moment, the underground prison was enveloped in silence.

Edmon, who had been standing dumbfounded at the incomprehensible situation, twisted his expression viciously.

“You bastard worse than a dog…!”

Edmon’s foot mercilessly trampled Durdamel’s body.

Thud! Thwack-!

The sound of breaking bones rang out with each strike to his chest and ribs.

However, Durdamel didn’t let out a single scream, only clenching his teeth tightly.

“…Haa, ha.”

Eventually exhausted, Edmon stopped his kicking.

Unable to support his fat body and staggering, he growled with an irritated voice.

“Stay put and wait for your death! As soon as I capture that amateur called Gaon, I’ll execute you both together!”

Ptui-!

Edmon spat and left the underground prison.

Not long after, the iron bars closed shut with a thud.

“….”

How much time had passed like that?

A smile appeared on the lips of Durdamel, left alone in the darkness.

He burst into low laughter as if he couldn’t contain himself.

“Keheheh….”

Stupid bastards.

How could it not be laughable?

A greedy pig rampaging around without knowing his own fate.

Flames of revenge began to flicker in Durdamel’s eyes.

‘…Just wait and see. The ones to be executed won’t be me, but you bastards.’

* * *

“Did you rest well?”

“…Yes.”

Adelia got up.

Thanks to the mandrake’s effects, her physical condition seemed completely recovered.

At least outwardly, not a single injury was visible.

“Huh?”

Pause-.

Then, Adelia, who had been looking around with a bewildered expression, froze.

The corpses of adventurers scattered around.

Having discovered them, she slowly turned to look at me.

“Th, this is….”

“There was a bit of commotion. It’s nothing serious, so don’t worry about it.”

“….”

Adelia made a complicated expression.

She moved her lips several times as if wanting to say something.

It seemed she felt guilty thinking she had left me with troublesome matters while she was unconscious.

I ignored this and gave orders in an indifferent voice.

“Enough, go and extract that Heart of the Toryong.”

“….”

After hesitating for a moment, Adelia soon nodded.

“Yes. Understood.”

The extraction was completed in an instant.

Adelia, having removed the Heart of the Toryong, placed it at my feet.

Wow, this is much bigger and more grotesque than I thought.

‘I didn’t expect it to be this much when I saw it on the monitor.’

…But well, thinking about ‘that place’ I’ll go to later, this is nothing.

Swoosh-.

Suppressing my nausea, I rummaged through the heart with both hands.

Then I pulled out a round pill-like object that was inside.

‘This is the Heart of the Toryong.’

It was an item that increased the user’s physical ability stats.

Although it becomes useless in the late game when character specs hit the ceiling….

In situations like mine where basic stats are miserable, there was no better growth method.

Clack-.

I put the Heart of the Toryong in the box.

Thanks to Adelia eating the mandrake, one box remained.

I could consume the item right now, but I had a better plan.

‘There’s a way to amplify the Heart of the Toryong’s effects several times over.’

When I return to Bertas, the Free City, I’ll need to visit ‘that place’ first.

While I’m at it, I’ll also acquire the ability to prepare for that insane Sword Master.

‘…Of course, there are some things I need to resolve before that.’

Having finished my thoughts up to that point, I smiled with satisfaction.

‘Things are going quite smoothly.’

Well then, let’s start moving. I’ve finished all my business in Labyrinth Village.

After escaping the Deepest Layer, I searched the surroundings to find Dano’s whereabouts.

Before long, I spotted Dano crouched behind a rock, trembling violently.

“Stop hiding and come out. It’s all over.”

“Hii, hiik…!”

When I tapped his back, Dano flinched as if having a seizure.

Pfft-.

An incredulous chuckle escaped me without realizing it.

At first I thought he had cowered at the entrance to the Deepest Layer because he was afraid of Tolong, but now I see he was hiding from the Sword Master of the Raging Dragon.

Moreover, seeing him hide behind a rock, he must have even detected the approaching adventurer party.

‘I’ve felt this since playing the game, but…’

His ability to sense and avoid danger was unmatched by anyone.

Well.

That was his skill, after all.

As compensation obtained through the taboo, his survival instinct was absolute.

The reason he could precisely predict the moment Silkroad’s barrier would collapse and dodge monster attacks one step ahead was all due to this.

‘To think I can use such a guy until the ending with just one mandrake root. Even thinking about it again, it’s a really well-made contract.’

As I watched Dano quietly, I was newly impressed by his special ability.

Whatever else might be said, he was talent I needed to keep hold of until the latter part of the game somehow.

‘Anyway.’

After finishing our simple preparations, we headed straight for Bertas, the Free City.

Clatter, clatter-.

Inside the swaying carriage, Adelia wore a gloomy expression.

From the way she kept glancing at me, it seemed she had something she wanted to say.

“Do you have something you want to say?”

“…Ah.”

Adelia hung her head low.

Her usual confident demeanor had completely disappeared.

After chewing her lips for a moment, she muttered in a voice that seemed to crawl into itself.

“I’m sorry.”

“About what?”

“That… that is…”

Adelia trailed off. Since it was obvious what she was thinking, I cut off her words and interjected.

“There’s no need to blame yourself. As I said before, the opponent was a Sword Master.”

“…”

“Rather, the fact that you reacted to his move at all is remarkable in itself.”

Adelia still couldn’t lift her head.

“Here, take this.”

Swish-.

I pulled out an item from my chest for her.

Adelia’s eyes widened in bewilderment for a moment.

“This is…?”

“A scale of the Tyrant Dragon.”

An item regarded as the highest honor for those who walk the path of the sword.

Adelia’s eyes sparkled as she received it with both hands.

“Why are you giving this… to me…?”

“That Tyrant Dragon bastard handed it over before leaving.”

“…”

“He said he saw potential in you. He was even jealous, saying he had taken on a very good disciple.”

I praised Adelia while adding a bit of MSG.

Then I could see the corners of her mouth gradually twitching upward.

‘Really, what a transparent kid.’

Should I be happy about this innocence, or worried about her inability to manage her expressions?

Without realizing it, I keep treating Adelia with a father’s heart.

“Um… Lord Gaon?”

That’s when it happened.

Adelia, who had been staring blankly at the Tyrant Dragon’s scale, asked a question.

“If I may ask, what kind of relationship do you and Lord Tyrant Dragon have?”

“…”

“I’m sorry. I lost consciousness and collapsed right after the attack, so I still haven’t grasped what happened at all.”

Hmm.

Sorry, but actually I don’t really know what happened either.

Looking back at what the Tyrant Dragon was babbling about, it seems he received some revelation and mistook me for a Sword Master before attacking…

Well. This is just speculation too, and not a single fact has been clearly revealed yet.

“It would be quite complicated to explain.”

“…”

“Well, we’ve known each other for a long time though.”

It’s not a lie.

I’ve actually been watching that guy for 12 years.

…Of course, this was the first time meeting him directly, but anyway.

“In that sense, don’t doubt yourself anymore. Even the Tyrant Dragon acknowledged your talent.”

“Ah…”

Adelia looked at me with a moved expression.

“Yes. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

I smiled gently.

As I’ve said many times, Adelia was the person with the highest potential in Roel.

In the future, she becomes a transcendent who reaches Lv. 100.

She even proudly ascends to a position among the Twelve Sword Masters.

‘I need to thoroughly make her my ally from now on.’

I planned to make Adelia my loyal subordinate.

By providing motivation like this and consistently feeding her good elixirs like mandrake.

‘If it were another character, even treating them with such devoted care might risk getting stabbed in the back, but…’

I don’t need to worry about that at all with Adelia.

At least in Roel, there was no one as innocent and kind as her.

* * *

Kuuung-!

Tolong’s head fell onto the guild floor.

With a heavy roar, the entire building shook as if an earthquake had struck.

Only then did everyone who confirmed Tolong’s head lose their words.

The adventurers who had looked down on us just a few days ago now stood with dumbfounded expressions.

Amidst all that commotion, Adelia brushed off the contaminants on her hands with an expressionless face.

“Th-that’s…!”

“Shit, is that Tolong? Did they really kill Tolong?”

“…Crazy. They actually reached the Deepest Layer.”

Murmur murmur-.

Soon after, whispers filled the entire guild.

The adventurers’ gazes fixed on Adelia before turning back to me.

The staff member who had rushed over frantically examined Tolong’s head from all angles, then muttered in a trembling voice.

“Co, confirmation complete.”

“….”

“He, here’s the advance payment… We’ll contact the client regarding the remaining balance and settle it for you.”

Nod-.

I nodded as I received the heavy money pouch the staff member handed me.

This wasn’t a mission I had undertaken for money in the first place.

More importantly, there was another matter I needed to handle immediately.

* * *

“Yo, Young Master!”

When I returned to the inn, Madame Durdamel came running toward me, wailing.

Her expression seemed somehow familiar.

The same desperation as when I received the Widow’s Quest inside the game.

That expression when facing the crisis of losing a loved one.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sob, sob… The, the Eastern Merchant Guild… my, my husband….”

Nod-.

I nodded with a coldly sunken expression.

Right. I had expected all of this. From the very moment that butler bastard showed himself before me.

“Guide me to the Brickwood Family.”

…Now, it was time to cut out the rotten flesh of Bertas, the Free City.

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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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