Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 32

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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 32

Episode 32. Cutting Out the Rotten Flesh (2)

“…?”

Clank, clank-.

That was the exact moment.

Heavy footsteps could be heard from far away.

When I looked to see what it was, five or six armed knights were rushing toward us in a group.

‘Those are….’

I slightly furrowed my brow and examined the level window that appeared before my eyes.

Their levels were roughly in the mid-40s.

Judging by the emblems on their armor, they were definitely Brickwood’s private soldiers.

Witnessing this, Madame Durdamel was startled and began trembling all over.

“Y-Young Master….”

Grip-.

She grabbed my sleeve with a face that had turned completely pale.

I reassured her with a deliberately calm voice as she trembled in fear.

“Don’t worry. Nothing will happen.”

“But….”

“Actually, this works out well. We can get directions from those bastards.”

The knights drew closer. Adelia gripped her sword handle, but I reached out to stop her.

‘It’s not time to draw weapons first yet.’

At the very least, I needed to figure out what kind of people they were first.

‘If they’re reluctantly following unjust orders, there’s no need to resort to force, but….’

…In the opposite case, there was no need to show mercy either.

“Are you Gaon?”

One of the knights stepped forward with an arrogant expression.

“Where the hell have you been hiding all this time? Do you know how long we’ve been searching for you….”

“I came back from killing the earth dragon in Labyrinth Village.”

“…What?”

Stop-.

For a moment, the knights hesitated.

The bastards who had looked bewildered for a moment soon burst into laughter.

“Puhahahaha!”

“What is this idiot saying! He claims he killed the earth dragon?”

“Ridiculous. Isn’t it enough that you’re claiming to have personally killed a monster discovered in the Uncharted Wilderness?”

Mocking laughter filled the area in front of the inn.

It seemed they hadn’t heard that I had killed the earth dragon.

‘Their information is slow.’

If we had caused such a commotion at the Adventurer’s Guild, they should have heard rumors about it.

The fact that they didn’t know meant their work was sloppy.

“Leave him be. We’ll torture him later and he’ll cry and confess everything truthfully.”

“Kuhaha!”

“Let’s just pull out a few fingernails like we did to that idiot Durdamel. Then this bastard will cry and make a fuss too, right?”

“…!”

Thud-.

At that moment, Madame Durdamel collapsed on the spot.

Her strength had left her upon hearing that her husband was being tortured.

“Ah, ahhh.”

“Madame…!”

Adelia, startled, hurriedly began supporting her.

“….”

Watching this, I glared at the guards and spoke.

“You tortured the Guild Master.”

“Torture? What’s the point of talking about it. We completely destroyed the guild building too. We also beat up the employees thoroughly.”

“….”

“How funny it was when that bastard was bleeding profusely and begging us not to hit the employees!”

Giggle giggle-.

The disgusting laughter continued.

Expressions that showed no guilt whatsoever.

This meant they weren’t reluctantly following orders, but were originally the type who enjoyed such evil acts.

“I see.”

I nodded briefly.

There was no longer any value in continuing the conversation.

“Adelia.”

“Yes.”

“Kill them all. They’re not even worth asking for directions.”

Freeze-.

The knights froze.

Some still burst into loud laughter as if they couldn’t grasp the situation, but others hardened their expressions.

It seemed they had roughly gauged Adelia’s skill level by eye.

“…What are you saying? Have you really lost your mind?”

Nevertheless, the knights didn’t retreat even a single step.

The reason was simple.

They had Brickwood as their backing.

Having lived their entire lives trampling on others….

They couldn’t even conceive that we would dare to challenge the real power of Eastern Bertas.

“Knowing who we are, you’re spouting such nonsense….”

Slash.

Spurt─!

“…!”

However, regardless of others, such threats didn’t work on us.

“Wh-what…!”

The always chilling sound of flesh being cut. And soon after, spurting fresh blood.

When their comrade’s head flew off in a single stroke, the other knights’ eyes widened.

“Uh, uhhh…?”

“Damn it! Everyone draw your weapons!”

Shing-!

The panicked knights hastily drew their swords.

But it was already too late.

Slash─!

Adelia’s sword, scattering blue-green light, cut through the air and took the knights’ lives.

Armor, flesh, bones—all were nothing more than paper before her sword.

The knights who had been fumbling around were torn apart one by one before her sword strikes.

“Kuaaaak!”

“Th-this monster bastard…!”

What followed was a one-sided massacre too embarrassing to even call a battle.

From the start, these half-wits who weren’t even level 50 and barely deserved to be called knights couldn’t possibly keep up with Adelia’s speed.

Crack-!

Even as she severed the enemies’ limbs and decapitated their heads, Adelia’s expression remained cold as ice.

Having already defined her opponents as evil, there was no mercy in her hands.

“Urgh, ugh…”

Whoosh-.

At the horrific carnage, Madame Durdamel squeezed her eyes shut and turned away.

I blocked her view and watched the scene with indifferent eyes.

“Stop.”

Halt-.

How much more time had passed? At my command, Adelia’s sword stopped.

I slowly looked around.

On the blood-red stained earth, the knights’ corpses lay scattered in a wretched state.

“Haah… Sh-shit, damn…!”

The Last Remaining Knight was crawling on the ground with his legs severed.

The way he crawled desperately trying to get away from us looked just like a turtle.

“H-how dare.”

The bastard gritted his teeth and screamed.

“How dare…! After pulling this kind of stunt against the Eastern Merchant Guild and Brickwood…! Do you think you’ll get away with this…!”

The bastard howled with bloodshot eyes.

I slowly approached him and opened my mouth.

“Your method was wrong.”

“…?”

“If you wanted to live, instead of threatening us by invoking Brickwood’s name…”

Shing-!

The Feather Sword that emerged from its sheath let out an eerie sound.

“You should have immediately clasped your hands together and begged for your life.”

The guard’s eyes widened.

He tried to say something, but I ignored it.

“If I was going to be intimidated by hearing Brickwood’s name, I wouldn’t have started this in the first place.”

“W-wait a moment…!”

Slash-.

Following my instincts, I swung my sword, and the knight’s head was cleanly severed.

I looked down indifferently at the corpse that was convulsing while spilling blood.

Was it thanks to my high mental strength?

Or was it simply because these bastards were villains worse than trash.

I felt no emotional disturbance whatsoever.

“Phew.”

I sighed and cleared my mind.

The real purge was just beginning.

* * *

“Y-you must have had a hard journey coming all this way. Please, sit over here.”

A luxurious reception room built with black marble.

Edmon Brickwood greeted the investigation team leader from Middletemple with an awkward smile.

Originally, the reception room was the most comfortable place after the bedroom.

But now, this space felt more suffocating than ever.

“O-once again, it is an honor to host the messenger of such noble personages…”

Gulp-.

Edmon Brickwood bowed once more and offered a respectful greeting.

Without realizing it, dry saliva went down his throat. Suddenly, cold sweat that had formed on his forehead trickled down.

The person before his eyes was someone as lofty as the heavens themselves.

Middletemple, the Holy City.

The sacred ground where the Noble Houses that inherited the will of Elder, the ancient god who governs the world’s providence, reside.

The interrogator and investigation team leader from that place, Sikan Bauer, opened his mouth.

“It’s as fine a reception room as I’ve heard.”

Sikan Bauer settled into the sofa. Contrary to the praise that came from his mouth, his gaze as he slowly surveyed the antique furniture was chillingly cold.

“Yes. The s-soundproofing is also excellent. If you wish, I could even arrange some entertaining courtesans…”

“Courtesans?”

At the coldly cut-off words, Edmon Brickwood flinched.

“Watch your words. I didn’t visit this place to indulge in your lowly amusements.”

“…S-sorry.”

I could roughly gauge Sikan Bauer’s personality.

A thorough principlist who had not even a speck of interest in pleasures.

He was the most difficult and troublesome type for him to deal with.

“I heard the mastermind of the incident has been arrested. Time is precious, so what are we waiting for?”

“Ah, th-that is…”

Edmon nervously rubbed his palms.

A few minutes ago, he had received a report that Gaon had been spotted in the city.

However, it coincided with the arrival of Middletemple’s investigation team leader, so he hadn’t had time to confirm the detailed situation.

He had ordered knights to bring the bastard, but he didn’t know the results yet.

“There are still remnants left. The knights will bring the bastard soon.”

“Remnants?”

“Yes.”

Edmon Brickwood hurriedly nodded.

“There’s someone the mastermind put forward as a puppet. I thought it would be better to hear that person’s testimony first before interrogating the mastermind…”

“Hmm.”

Sikan Bauer stroked his chin.

Growing anxious, Edmon called for the butler.

“Hey, when will that bastard arrive? It’s been quite a while since we sent the knights.”

“I’ll check right away. He should be arriving any moment now…”

Clank, creeeeak─!

“…?”

That was the exact moment.

The tightly closed door of the reception room opened with the sound of hinges.

Hearing this, Edmon Brickwood furrowed his brow and lost his temper.

“How dare someone enter without knocking while we’re hosting an honored guest…!”

Pause-.

However, Edmon’s voice soon trailed off.

He had thought a guild employee had opened the door and entered, but standing there was a completely unknown man.

“…?”

A man with dark blue hair, golden eyes, and pale skin.

‘Gaon…?’

His appearance was exactly the same as the vagrant Gaon he had been briefed about.

Edmon stared at the man for a moment.

His features were sharp, but I couldn’t sense any aura from him at all.

Just as Butler Taylor had said, he seemed far too weak to be the one who killed the Celestial Dragon.

‘Did Durdamel really think he could deceive us by putting forward such a scarecrow…?’

Snicker-.

A hollow laugh escaped me without realizing it.

Even so, wasn’t this far too crude?

If he was going to make someone claim they personally killed the Celestial Dragon, he should have at least found someone who looked strong.

‘…Wait a minute.’

At that moment, Edmon hesitated.

He had belatedly sensed something was off.

‘Why is that bastard in such perfect condition?’

He had ordered the knights to arrest the guy.

Violence should have inevitably occurred during that process, yet Gaon’s physical condition was far too pristine.

In fact, he didn’t even have a single bruise, did he?

As if there had been no conflict with the knights whatsoever.

‘…And where the hell did the knights disappear to?’

It made no sense.

The guy who should have been arrested by the knights and brought in with his arms bound behind his back had instead walked into the reception room alone, completely unharmed.

Feeling confused by this, Edmon Brickwood asked in an uneasy voice.

“What happened to the knights? Why did you come alone?”

Gaon answered in a chilling voice.

“They’re all dead.”

“…?”

“And it’s not alone—there are two of us.”

Step-.

As soon as his words ended, someone revealed themselves.

At that very moment…

“…!”

…The investigation team leader, Sikan Bauer, who had been utterly indifferent until now, began to show great agitation.

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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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