Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 312

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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 312

Episode 312. Imperial Palace Strategy (9)

* * *

Tsunami Condenser.

This enhancement gained through the strengthening of the Dragon Heart dramatically compresses the density of magical power.

It means that even when consuming the same 1 MP, I can draw out several times more powerful force than others.

‘Currently, that multiplier is about 4 times.’

And.

As the Dragon Heart grows, this multiplier will continue to increase in the future.

‘However….’

Just because the efficiency is 4 times greater doesn’t mean the duration of 【Soul of the Sword Master】 increases as well.

0.01 seconds doesn’t get inflated to 0.04 seconds.

‘…The duration remains the same.’

Instead.

During those 0.01 seconds, I can accomplish 4 times more than before.

The skill efficiency becomes much better.

‘The MP I consumed this time was 17.’

Considering that cutting through the Outsider’s shell in one strike was only 1 MP, I invested magical power equivalent to 17 times that amount.

On top of that, with the Tsunami Condenser’s 4 times efficiency multiplied….

‘…The actual output is beyond imagination.’

That’s not all.

I consumed 40 sword energy to activate 【Avatar Manifestation】 in succession.

Thanks to my proficiency soaring to 40% during this second Jinmyeong Geopbang process, the distance I could move in an “untargetable” state was incomparable to before.

From the Imperial Palace Main Building, crossing the drainage channel, penetrating the Underground Shrine, and arriving at the promised meeting place.

This was the secret to being able to cut down Mukyeonjiju in one strike while instantly traversing that enormous distance.

‘This is really absurd.’

Ah, of course.

Time-wise, it was a bit close.

After all, didn’t I barely manage to fit the essence into the slot just before it disappeared?

‘Well, since it was successful in the end….’

Whether I accomplished it with a 0.01 second difference or with a minute to spare.

Success was success.

“Phew.”

Having finished thinking that far, I let out a quiet sigh.

Couldn’t this be considered a sufficiently satisfying result?

Smirk—.

Just as I was thinking that and about to slightly raise the corners of my mouth.

Suddenly, I felt something strange.

“…?”

Pause—.

I raised my head and looked around at my companions.

For some reason, everyone’s atmosphere was peculiar.

‘…What’s this?’

Adelia was standing with her lips tightly bitten, and the Bifurcated Siblings were each gripping the handles of Heukya and Baekya while flashing sharp gazes.

Even Jeungmu’s face was deeply colored with bewilderment.

‘This is….’

My brow furrowed.

I was quick to catch on.

That’s why I could immediately understand the current situation.

“….”

If I had arrived even a little later.

A fight would have definitely broken out in this place.

* * *

“….”

Clench—.

Adelia bit the inside of her lips.

She knew well.

The fact that her state of mind had begun to waver greatly in recent months.

At first, it was an obsession with growth.

I must become stronger. I must rise faster. I must become a swordsman who won’t be ashamed to stand beside my master.

The obsession naturally led to fixation on Gaon, and at some point, that fixation began to transform into fear of possibly losing her master.

Swoosh—.

Adelia’s gaze turned forward.

‘…Sword Masters of the Divided Soul.’

The target of revenge.

The culprit who massacred the Goldhart Family.

The fundamental reason she wanted to become stronger was standing before her eyes.

‘Although we’re cooperating now for The Protagonist’s will….’

It was disgusting.

The fact that she had to breathe in the same space as that bastard and entrust their backs to each other.

This had been constantly gnawing at Adelia’s inner self for the past few days.

Was that why?

The moment she became convinced that Gaon wouldn’t arrive in time. And when Balhwan coldly pressed her.

The anger she had been suppressing all this time began to surge up.

Crackle—.

Adelia’s hand gripped the handle of the Meteor Sword.

Thump, thump—.

Her heart pounded frantically. Her vision turned red.

The screams of the Goldhart Family Members flickered in her ears.

“….”

If at that moment.

Gaon hadn’t arrived….

Adelia would have definitely drawn her sword against Balhwan.

‘…Thank goodness.’

Sigh—.

A sigh escaped without her realizing it.

Right.

It was definitely a moment to feel relieved.

Since The Protagonist, whom she had been so worried about, had returned alive.

‘Really… it’s fortunate, but….’

However.

For some reason, the emotions that had been boiling up in her chest weren’t easily extinguished.

Thump, thump—.

My heart was still beating frantically, and my fingertips were still trembling slightly.

‘I…’

Adelia had failed to trust Lord Gaon once again.

Even though she had clearly resolved to believe in him.

Even though she had sworn to follow her master’s lead without wavering like Pean.

At the crucial moment, she had been consumed by doubt.

The anxiety that Gaon wouldn’t arrive in time. The fear that this time might truly be the end.

It was the wave of emotions that crashed down in an instant and swept Adelia away.

‘…What if I had really attacked Balhwan?’

Gaon’s plan would have been shattered to pieces.

She would have certainly died at Balhwan’s hands.

Then the strategy would have come to nothing.

Her teammates’ safety couldn’t have been guaranteed either.

“…”

Clench—.

Realizing this fact, Adelia bit her lip.

She couldn’t bring herself to look directly into Gaon’s eyes.

What rushed in before relief was guilt.

And.

What followed closely behind was self-loathing.

* * *

“I’m glad you’re safe, Gaon.”

Whoosh—.

It was Jeungmu who broke the suffocating silence.

He tried to pat my shoulder as a gesture of appreciation… but suddenly stopped mid-motion and carefully withdrew his hand.

In that gesture, I glimpsed a moment’s hesitation, as if even touching the body of such a great being might be sacrilege.

“Ahem!”

Jeungmu cleared his throat awkwardly and continued while glancing at my condition.

“But… can you continue the strategy in that state? No matter how I look at it, you don’t seem to be in good shape.”

As Jeungmu said, my current appearance was a mess.

My clothes were torn in various places, and dirt and bloodstains were mixed together, clinging to my entire body.

Swish—.

I absentmindedly wiped away the blood flowing down my ear and thought.

‘…While the Soul of the Sword Master is active, I’m essentially invincible.’

However, when the skill deactivated at the end, the rushing wind pressure and roar seemed to have slightly torn the inside of my ear.

Indeed, the surrounding sounds were coming through muffled.

‘Well, still…’

It wasn’t serious enough to interfere with the next part of the strategy.

In that sense.

What we really needed to worry about wasn’t my physical condition.

“Adelia, and Balhwan.”

Flinch—.

As soon as the two names flowed from my lips, their shoulders stiffened slightly.

A somewhat guilty expression.

I looked at them alternately and continued calmly.

“I know there’s an irreparable emotional rift between you two.”

“…”

“And I also know that it’s not appropriate for me, as a third party, to say anything about it.”

I paused briefly.

Silence flowed.

Both Adelia and Balhwan kept their mouths tightly shut, waiting for my next words.

“However.”

I drove the point home with a firm tone.

“At least for this strategy, that personal history must not interfere.”

“…”

“…”

Nod—.

Both of them nodded almost simultaneously.

Since they had promised this when joining the imperial palace exploration, neither seemed inclined to object.

After confirming their response, I organized my thoughts internally.

‘Someday, the conflict between these two must properly explode.’

It was an inevitable scenario.

To Adelia, Balhwan was the culprit who massacred her family, and to Balhwan, Adelia was a troublesome burden burning with revenge.

The resentment built up between them was not something that could be resolved with a few words.

That’s why I had no intention of stopping that collision.

However…

‘…The timing is the issue.’

Not now.

Adelia needed to accept more of the truth about the Elders and Rashutku.

Only then would the conflict with Balhwan not end as a simple revenge story, but have meaning within a larger picture.

‘For that to happen.’

First, we needed to safely complete this imperial palace strategy.

* * *

Crrrrreak—!

With a heavy metallic sound, the iron bars opened completely.

The seal that had been closed for thousands of years was finally released.

The party began stepping inside the iron cage one by one.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Their expressions were uniformly tense.

It was natural.

Through last night’s meeting, the party already knew what was waiting inside.

The Ruins of Rashutku and Rashutku’s Nightmare that I had cleared in the past.

Those were all parallel worlds.

The Mukyon Citadel and the corrupted spirits all existed only in the parallel world, which is why they remained separate from the real imperial palace.

In that sense.

The final boss of this imperial palace was also an existence we had already encountered.

Rummmmmble——!

Soon after.

A massive underground chamber revealed itself.

The first thing that caught the eye was an old jade throne.

The emperor’s seat, cracked and corroded by thousands of years but still maintaining its dignity.

And the moment we saw what was upon it.

“That is….”

…A groan filled with shock escaped from someone’s lips.

[….]

A massive man sat there.

A body as large as a mountain, covered entirely in menacing muscles.

However, that form was not that of the living.

Dark blue veins spread like spider webs across skin that had turned ashen gray, and the flesh revealed through gaps in his armor was rotting and festering in places.

Most horrifying of all was his face.

Two eyes revealed through the gaps in his helmet.

Those eyes that had once commanded the entire empire had long since lost their light.

Only blood-red radiance flickered ominously within the blackened, burned-out eye sockets.

And….

What he held in his hand was a familiar greatsword.

─The source of the curse slumbers within that iron cage.

That’s right.

The words the Ghost Prime Minister had spoken a few days ago.

What was sealed beyond the iron bars was the source of the curse that had consumed the imperial palace.

And the ‘source of the curse’ the Ghost Prime Minister had mentioned was….

─His Majesty made a decision. To prevent the souls of the empire’s people from being dragged to the Heavenly Realm, he cast a curse upon the entire imperial palace.

…None other than Emperor Tarosk himself.

[How dare you.]

Kuuuuung-!

He who had been sitting on the jade throne began to move.

The massive frame that hadn’t moved for thousands of years slowly raised its upper body, and the blood-red radiance burning in the eye sockets of his helmet grew even deeper.

[How dare a mere dog of the Ancients….]

As that enormous frame fully revealed itself, an oppressive force that seemed to crush the entire underground chamber swept through.

[…dare to defile the space of me and my people.]

Swish-.

I silently looked up at him.

Madness tainted by curse. Resentment condensed over thousands of years. And the sorrow buried beneath it all.

─You have the qualifications to go to that place.

It was bitter.

Emperor Tarosk I had met in the Parallel World wasn’t like this.

The empire driven to its end by the Evil Deities.

The city that became ruins with no one to save it.

The people who died without ever being saved.

─Even if it is ruins that could not avoid destruction, with those eyes, with that heart, you will surely discover something.

[I…!]

Even after experiencing all that tragedy, he was still someone who spoke of hope.

[Who abandoned this land and fled…!!]

Kuuuuung-.

Emperor Tarosk raised his greatsword. A dark red aura wrapped around the blade.

As if the resentment condensed over thousands of years had taken physical form, the very energy was suffocating.

[Do you think I’ll let things flow according to the will of those rotten Ancients!!]

A roar.

It was both rage and a scream of anguish.

The sorrow of a ruler who couldn’t protect his people. A curse toward the gods who fled to the Heavenly Realm. And the madness of one who had endured alone for thousands of years.

It was also a wail where all of that was tangled together.

“….”

I still stood there silently.

Simply facing Emperor Tarosk’s rage head-on.

─The past cannot be changed.

Once again, the words Emperor Tarosk had spoken in the Parallel World came to mind.

─However, if you are those who achieved salvation even within an illusion… you might be able to lead the future that has yet to come down a different path.

The request he had made while handing over the opener.

─I beg of you.

It was earnest.

The emperor’s voice was truly earnest beyond measure.

─Just as you resolved to remain in this land….

Kwaaaaaaaaa-!

Tarosk swung his greatsword.

A dark red slash cut through the air, and the entire underground chamber shook.

“Kugh!”

Before that overwhelming pressure, several members of the party unconsciously stepped back.

But….

Step-.

I did not retreat.

I, at least, could not bring myself to retreat.

─Please, protect this world to the very end.

“That request….”

I gripped the Feather Sword.

Sring-!

The pale blade held a quiet radiance in the darkness.

“…I will surely keep it.”

* * *

Ttiring-!

[Middle Finger] : Let’s go with the plan, sis.

[Middle Finger] : Just go and die for now.

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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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