Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 319

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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 319

Episode 319. Ancient Legacy (5)

* * *

“Huu…”

Pean let out a quiet sigh.

Vision.

It was the most important sense in combat.

To capture enemy movements.

To grasp the terrain.

To read the flow of battle, there was no organ more efficient than the eyes.

‘Of course, those who have reached the level of Sword Masters are a bit different.’

Sixth sense, instinct, and intuition honed for at least hundreds of years.

These would fill the void left by vision.

‘But…’

…That didn’t mean the value of vision disappeared.

In that sense.

The battle with the Tentacle Woman was quite tricky.

The moment one was exposed to her gaze, the body would harden like stone.

‘One had to completely give up the sense of vision.’

Because of this, Jeungmu was relying on the reflective surface of his shield, and the Bifurcated Siblings were taking turns enduring petrification with each other’s bodies.

Each was overcoming the difficulty in their own way, but they couldn’t exert their full power.

‘However.’

Pean was different.

Since vision itself didn’t exist for him in the first place.

The petrifying gaze was an ability with no meaning to him.

While his teammates struggled with one sense sealed, this was why he could swing his sword as usual.

“Hup!”

Swish-!

Seorineul cut through the air.

Kieeeeeek-!

The tentacle’s shriek filled the ruins.

Pean listened to that sound and drew the outline of the entire battlefield.

Gooooooo-.

Countless pieces of information flooded in.

The flow of air. Minute vibrations transmitted through the ground beneath his feet.

Even the enemy’s breathing.

Rather, because he didn’t rely on vision, he could feel much more.

‘There’s still room to spare.’

If he were alone, he would have needed to be more careful, but fortunately he was now with reliable teammates.

Thanks to this, Pean could observe the surrounding situation without being completely absorbed in combat.

Swoosh-.

Two figures caught in Pean’s senses.

Gaon and the Golem Knight.

They were still standing in place.

Without doing anything, just watching the situation.

‘…Why?’

It was puzzling.

The Golem Knight surely wanted to fight. Gaon had also come here to stop him.

Yet why weren’t the two taking any action?

Kuuuuuuuuung──!

“…!”

Right at that moment.

Goosebumps rose all over Pean’s body.

‘This is…’

Killing intent.

Tremendous killing intent emanating from Gaon was rushing toward the Golem Knight.

‘Ah.’

Only then did he realize.

Those two, who had far transcended others’ levels, were already fighting in the realm of the mind.

An intangible clash of overwhelming the opponent with momentum before crossing swords.

And…

“Kh, kheuk!”

Stagger-.

The Golem Knight stumbled and stepped backward.

The eyes floating above the black sphere widened, then began to shake as if filled with terror.

‘…Good heavens.’

The match was already decided.

No.

It was even questionable whether this could be called a match in the first place.

“Ha, haa! Haa…!”

Complete defeat.

The Golem Knight had been completely overwhelmed by just Gaon’s killing intent.

It was the moment when a Sword Master of the previous generation who had lived for thousands of years crumbled from just one mental battle.

Hwaaaaaak──!

However, the Golem Knight did not meekly accept his defeat.

Once again.

All the light in the world was sucked toward the Golem Knight.

He was trying to manifest his ability again.

“…!”

Pean’s senses sharpened acutely.

The same energy he had felt before. The exact same wave as when the Tentacle Woman was summoned.

Gooooo-!

All the surrounding light bent toward the sphere.

And within that brilliant radiance, a new form began to reveal its outline.

Swirrrr-.

At first it was nothing more than a faint silhouette.

But the moment the light receded and the entity became clear.

“…!”

Pean unconsciously held his breath.

Elf.

It was a very old Elderly Elf.

Silver hair that seemed to bear the full weight of years hung long below her shoulders.

Wrinkled face. Bent waist. Drooping ears.

His once robust frame was now gauntly withered.

However….

Sring-!

Only the long sword gripped in his hand still held a sharp gleam.

The killing intent dwelling in those cloudy eyes remained just as keen.

“No way.”

Pean’s lips trembled.

Something seemed caught in his throat, preventing words from coming out.

“…Master?”

A cracked voice barely leaked out.

The Golem Knight’s second summon.

She was an elf Sword Master who had represented the previous generation, and Pean’s former teacher.

* * *

She was the first to recognize Pean’s talent.

Before Pean had even reached a hundred years old.

By elf standards, practically childhood. A time when he had barely begun wielding a sword.

When everyone else shook their heads saying his talent was merely average, only her judgment was different.

─This child has potential.

The master’s single statement changed Pean’s life.

For hundreds of years afterward.

Learning swordsmanship by her side, gaining enlightenment.

Finally.

Pean was able to step into the realm of Sword Master.

‘And on the day of the first summons.’

Pean entered secluded training, while his master answered the Elders’ call.

“….”

That was the last time.

When he finished training and emerged into the world, the previous generation’s Sword Masters had been annihilated.

And certainly.

According to Gaon’s explanation, the Golem Knight could store and summon those it had killed.

‘Then.’

The one who had killed his master was none other than….

“Peaaaaan!!”

“…!”

Startled-.

Jeungmu’s shout pierced his eardrums.

Pean snapped to attention and hastily ducked his body.

Whoosh-!

A tentacle pierced through where his head had been.

Even the wind that grazed past was sharp enough to cut skin.

‘Damn it…!’

Crack-.

Pean gritted his teeth.

Tentacles extending from the crown of the head.

The base near the roots was thin like hair, but grew thicker toward the bottom, forming a shape reminiscent of a dragon.

Each one possessed power rivaling high-level monsters.

‘Dangerous.’

The flow of air had changed.

He could feel the oppressive atmosphere weighing down the entire battlefield grow even heavier.

The reason was clear. The presence of the newly summoned master was completely disrupting the balance of the battle.

‘An overwhelming aura.’

The sense of helplessness he felt whenever he watched his master’s sword in childhood.

That massive wall that seemed impossible to reach.

‘I mistakenly thought I felt that way only because I was young….’

It wasn’t so.

The master he faced again was still strong.

Despite thousands of years having passed.

And despite himself having reached the proper realm of Sword Master.

Even fighting with full power, he couldn’t guarantee victory.

‘If that person joins the battle too….’

The tide of battle would tilt uncontrollably.

The moment that thought reached him, one option flashed through Pean’s mind.

‘Transcendent Realm.’

The trump card he hadn’t yet revealed.

Should he use it? Right here, right now?

It was when a moment’s contemplation flashed through his mind.

Tick──.

A faint sound brushed past his ear.

“…?”

At first he thought it was his imagination.

A situation where tentacles sliced through air and sword clashed against sword.

Amidst the battlefield’s roar, such a small sound couldn’t possibly be heard.

But he definitely heard it.

Like a clock’s second hand ticking once.

A very short, very clear resonance.

‘…Huh?’

And.

Witnessing the miracle that followed, Pean could never understand that phenomenon.

Slice─.

It split.

Without sound. Without warning.

Only an invisible line had been drawn through the air.

‘What on earth….’

Like space sewn with transparent thread, an invisible trajectory crossed the battlefield.

A moment of silence.

It seemed as if nothing had happened.

But.

Swoooosh──!

Just a few seconds later.

Hundreds of tentacles shot up into the air all at once.

Dark red fluid gushed out like a fountain from the severed cross-section.

Kieeeeeeek-!

A scream that shook the ruins burst forth.

The moment hundreds of tentacles covering the sky were cut down in a single strike.

Thud-.

The Tentacle Woman’s body collapsed helplessly.

And her form began to scatter like smoke.

Whoooosh-!

The sight of a sealed soul being extinguished.

At the end of it.

As always, Gaon stood there holding the Feather Sword.

* * *

“Phew.”

Right after cutting down the Tentacle Woman.

I immediately turned my gaze toward the Golem Knight.

He was still there in that spot.

However.

‘…He’s gauging the timing to escape.’

His dark red eyes were shaking uneasily.

It seemed my strike from earlier had given him quite a shock.

‘This would be the first time he’s actually seen my strike.’

Swish-.

With that thought, I turned my gaze to the side.

Next to the Golem Knight remained the second summoned creature.

An elderly elf with silver hair.

She was also Pean’s master, a Sword Master from the previous generation.

〔MP : 1/10〕

‘…【Soul of the Sword Master】 and True Ritardando each have one use remaining.’

The final opportunity.

If I could deal with that old woman with this, today’s objective would be sufficiently achieved.

Ding-!

〔Authority Skill: 【True Ritardando】 has been used.〕

The world stopped once again.

〔MP : 1/10〕

Tick-.

〔MP : 0/10〕

When everything was over.

What I saw before my eyes was silver hair fluttering in the wind.

Slash-.

Soon after, the elderly elf’s form was split in two and scattered like smoke.

“…”

Swish-.

I slowly raised my head.

As expected, the Golem Knight had already disappeared.

* * *

The Golem Knight quickly made his escape.

Whoosh, crash-!

With each step he took, the scenery of the ruins changed rapidly.

‘Damn it.’

This fight hadn’t been intended from the beginning.

He had only headed to Ravenhil to deal with Dorico Shiro.

But somehow, as if bewitched, he had ended up coming down to the Ruins of Rashutku.

And what he encountered in his old hometown was…

‘…A monster.’

The Thirteenth Sword Master, Gaon.

He now properly realized just how absurdly strong that person was.

It wasn’t for nothing that The First Apostle had personally stepped forward to face him.

‘But…’

The Golem Knight’s eyes narrowed.

‘…There are definitely restrictions.’

Despite possessing such skill, Gaon had not killed him.

At first, he thought there was some intention behind it.

But the more he thought about it, the stronger his conviction became.

‘Can’t he swing his sword freely? Or are there restrictions on killing?’

Though he could only speculate for now, there were definitely limits.

‘I’ll remember this.’

For the next battle.

The Golem Knight resolved to thoroughly review his fight with the Thirteenth Sword Master.

Swish-.

Having retraced his path, the Golem Knight stopped in front of the passage leading to Ravenhil.

Right at that moment.

“…?”

Pause-.

Was it his imagination?

In the distance.

He caught sight of a human shadow slipping away between the alleys.

‘That is?’

The corpse he had discovered at the entrance to Ravenhil.

Someone who had worked alongside him as a Sword Master of the Primordial Era…

It was a being that emanated exactly the same aura as that ‘comrade’.

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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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