Sword Master With One Strike Kill - Chapter 324
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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 324
Episode 324. Ancient Legacy (10)
* * *
Flinch-!
Pean nearly dropped his sword.
It was a momentary mistake, but in this fierce battle where life and death hung in the balance, that gap was nothing short of fatal.
And.
The Intruder didn’t miss this opportunity and swung his sword fiercely.
Whoooosh, slash-!
An attack that missed by a hair’s breadth.
The blade grazed his cheek as it passed, cutting through his hair.
But he couldn’t afford to worry about that.
Pean’s mind was already filled with other thoughts.
Screeeeeech──!!
The sound of metal scraping nearby. And the aura of death that came rushing with it.
Goosebumps rose all over his body.
‘…The Gravekeeper of Rashutku.’
It was just yesterday.
The unknown monster that had driven Pean to the brink of death.
The Gravekeeper was approaching at a terrifying speed, getting closer and closer.
Clatter-.
Pean, who had barely managed to block the Intruder’s consecutive attacks, quickly retreated backward.
‘Dangerous.’
His breathing became rough, and his mind went blank.
Instinctive fear surged up within him.
Since becoming a Sword Master, the Gravekeeper was the first opponent he had encountered that was completely impossible to deal with.
‘At least with the Intruder, I can clash swords….’
Nothing worked against the Gravekeeper of Rashutku.
That creature was an inevitable existence where the concept of death had taken physical form.
“Pean! Something with a dangerous aura is approaching…!”
Hissssss-!
The sound of Jeungmu releasing steam could be heard from beside him.
Similarly, the Bifurcated Siblings also flinched and trembled.
Everyone felt it.
The overwhelming presence of the Gravekeeper approaching from beyond that darkness.
Grrrrr-!
Even in the midst of this, the Intruder only charged forward like a madman.
The appearance of a beast with only instincts remaining.
Blind movements that still seemed to target only Gaon.
The Intruder was treating Pean and the other Sword Masters as nothing more than bothersome obstacles.
‘Damn it…!’
Screeeech-!
He wanted to step back, but the metallic sound was getting closer and closer.
Caught between a rock and a hard place.
The worst situation with the Intruder closing in from the front and the Gravekeeper from behind.
‘I had completely forgotten.’
10 PM.
He had forgotten the fact that after that time, the corridors of the Imperial Palace became more dangerous than anywhere else.
No.
More precisely, he didn’t even have the leisure to think about such things.
The Intruder alone was overwhelming. It was a situation where he could barely hold on just by surviving.
Fighting so frantically, he didn’t even have the luxury to pay attention to where he was standing.
‘Huh…?’
Right at that moment.
A question that suddenly occurred to him.
‘…But doesn’t Gaon own the Imperial Palace?’
In fact, Gaon had liberated all the people of Rashutku, including the Ghost Prime Minister.
Not only that, but he had even pulled Pean out of the “Realm of the Dead.”
If that was the case….
The Imperial Palace should now be a safe space.
Even if it was night, it should be the same.
The curse of the Imperial Palace was in Gaon’s hands.
‘Then why?’
Why was something like the Gravekeeper of Rashutku still wandering around?
‘Don’t tell me…!’
Pean’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
The moment one possibility flashed through his mind.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“…!”
Gaon’s voice came from behind him.
Gaon’s voice, calmer and more stable than ever.
And the next moment.
Whoooooosh──!
The world turned upside down.
No.
More precisely, the space had changed.
In the blink of an eye.
The Intruder who had been clashing swords disappeared, and the crypt of the Imperial Palace vanished.
Instead, what spread before their eyes was.
“…?”
Walls.
Ceiling.
And floor.
“What… is this….”
Pean was now standing inside some room within the Imperial Palace.
“…Wh, what’s the situation?”
Hissssss-!
It wasn’t just Pean who had been moved to the room.
All the Sword Masters who had been fighting alongside against the Intruder had suddenly been transported into this room.
Balhwan and Jeungmu couldn’t hide their bewilderment at this sudden phenomenon.
Of course, Pean had experienced this phenomenon once before.
‘Forced teleportation.’
Last night.
The exact same sensation as when I was forcibly expelled from the room.
The feeling of space moving regardless of my own will according to the Imperial Palace’s rules.
However, if back then I was thrown out of the room…
Now I was moved into the room by that curse.
“Balhwan, Jeungmu.”
Huu-.
Pean, who had barely managed to grasp the situation, let out a sigh and opened his mouth.
The two Sword Masters, who had been looking around frantically with bewildered expressions, turned to look at him in unison.
“By any chance, did you confirm what expression The Protagonist was making in that final moment?”
“…”
“…”
Silence flowed.
Pean cannot read people’s ‘expressions’. Because his eyes cannot see.
Of course, he could read opponents’ biological reactions with his heightened senses to discern emotions, but…
In the midst of such a life-or-death urgent battle, there was no luxury to spare his heightened senses elsewhere.
Swish-.
It was then that Balhwan, who had been quietly standing, slowly raised his hand.
“I saw it.”
Balhwan had been watching Gaon all along.
His mission was to hold out against the Intruder until Gaon gave a separate signal.
“Gaon was…”
That’s why Balhwan could see it.
The expression Gaon was wearing the moment the bell announcing 10 PM rang.
“…Definitely, he was smiling.”
Upon hearing those words, Pean unconsciously let out a sigh.
“Ah.”
As expected.
This time too, he had been looking several moves ahead of them.
* * *
Huu-.
I exhaled and looked around the Imperial Palace’s crypt.
I had succeeded in sending the three Sword Masters to a safe room.
The reason I could teleport them to another place in the blink of an eye was…
Ding-!
〔Reward: You have acquired ‘Ownership of Rashutku Imperial Palace’.〕
〔Reward: All legacies of the Rashutku Empire are now subordinate to you.〕
Precisely, thanks to the reward I gained from conquering the Imperial Palace.
‘Everything in the Imperial Palace is now subordinate to me.’
Naturally, the curse spread throughout the Imperial Palace was no exception.
Thus, I reversed the principle of the ‘forced expulsion rule’ to move the Sword Masters into a safe room.
And.
The fact that the curse was subordinate to me meant…
Kreeek, kreeeeeeeek──!
The Gravekeeper of Rashutku.
A monster that doesn’t even show a level window, absolutely unkillable within the system.
‘That monster born from the curse is also essentially subordinate to me.’
Last night.
I fled from that monster together with Pean.
Of course, if I had used 【Soul of the Sword Master】, I could have killed it easily enough, but…
‘I deliberately didn’t do that.’
Well, if I successfully cleared the Imperial Palace conquest, ‘everything’ would become mine.
There was no reason to throw away a useful card that could be utilized later just to escape the immediate crisis.
And now.
It was proven that my choice was correct.
Krooooooo-!
The Intruder roared. With the interferers gone, it began charging straight toward me.
Kwang, kwaang-!
Each time it stomped its feet, the distance grew closer and closer.
Sring-!
The Intruder’s greatsword flashed.
But I didn’t even blink an eye.
Wooooong-.
The ownership of the Imperial Palace seeped into my consciousness.
At the same time, I felt an invisible thread connected to the Gravekeeper of Rashutku.
‘Move.’
I gave a command to the Gravekeeper.
Words weren’t necessary. Thought alone was sufficient.
Chaeng-!
Soon after, the Intruder’s greatsword stopped right in front of my nose.
More precisely, it had no choice but to stop.
Brrrrr-.
The Intruder’s forearm trembled as if convulsing.
When I shifted my gaze, I could see chains wrapped tightly around its entire body.
Neck, arms, legs, waist.
The Gravekeeper’s chains were binding its whole body.
‘Take it away.’
Bwoong-!
The Gravekeeper pulled the chains according to my command.
The Intruder, whose body was lifted into the air, began being dragged away.
Kr, krooooooo─!!
The Intruder struggled frantically.
It used all its strength trying to break the chains.
Tss tss tss-.
Of course, it was futile.
The more it struggled, the tighter the chains only bound it.
Kruk, kruuuu─!
Thud, thud-.
I looked down at the Intruder and slowly moved my steps.
Now it was time to end all of this.
“…”
Swish-.
I took out the power extractor from my chest.
A metal sphere engraved with runic characters.
From the transparent crystal embedded in its center, seven different colored lights began to rotate faster and faster.
‘Yeonwoo.’
[Yes.]
Yeonwoo the Feathered Sword immediately responded.
She had been reacting sensitively ever since the Intruder appeared in this place.
Even now, I could feel a subtle trembling from the tip of the blade.
‘Now I am going to…’
I paused mid-sentence and looked at the Intruder bound in chains.
‘Kill that bastard.’
[…]
Yeonwoo the Feathered Sword remained silent for a while.
Meanwhile, the Abyss Intruder thrashed about madly.
Trying desperately to break free from Rashtuku the Gravekeeper’s restraints.
Grrrrrr-!
A beast-like howl.
The Valley Intruder had at least been capable of conversation.
He recognized the Imperial bloodline, observed proper etiquette, and remembered his duties.
‘But…’
The Abyss Intruder was different.
During his time in the Abyss, the Evil Gods’ curse had gnawed away at his sanity.
For thousands of years, rotting away in darkness, even the last fragments of what had once been human had disappeared.
‘The being before my eyes now is just a monster with only destructive instincts remaining. Unlike the Valley Intruder, he won’t recognize you…’
[Do as you wish.]
Yeonwoo said.
[I have already accepted a new master. I won’t cling to past connections.]
“…”
A voice that had reached some measure of resolve.
‘Right.’
I nodded slightly.
Unlike other NPCs, there was no way to utilize an Intruder.
Without reason, negotiation, persuasion, and deals were all impossible.
Therefore, it was advantageous to eliminate him as quickly as possible when the opportunity arose.
Shing-!
I raised the Feathered Sword and took a step toward the Intruder.
The creature struggled while bound in chains.
His burning red eyes were filled only with rage.
“You don’t need to feel too wronged.”
I said quietly.
“Your burden.”
I aimed the sword tip at the Intruder’s chest.
More precisely, toward where his heart was located.
“I will carry it from now on.”
Crack-!
The Feathered Sword pierced through his steel body.
Right through the center of his heart. A perfect strike through the core.
The Intruder’s body convulsed once, violently.
His burning red eyes slowly grew dim, and his struggling movements ceased.
And then…
Thud-!
With a heavy sound, the Intruder collapsed to the floor and moved no more.
Clink-.
The Gravekeeper of Rashtuku withdrew his chains.
Then, as if his task was complete, he quietly stepped back.
Whirr, whirrrrrr-!
The power Extractor warmed up with a gentle heat.
The seven colors of light within the transparent crystal shone even more brilliantly.
“Phew…”
I let out a sigh.
It was over.
Truly, everything had come to an end.
‘Yeonwoo.’
[…]
‘Now let’s have that conversation, step by step.’
Finally.
I had the leisure to continue the unfinished conversation with Yeonwoo the Feathered Sword.
* * *
Ding-!
〔Your bond with Yeonwoo the Feathered Sword deepens significantly.〕
〔Skill: 【Avatar Manifestation】 proficiency has increased dramatically. (41%→65%)〕
〔Skill: 【Avatar Manifestation】 proficiency rises from ‘Intermediate’ to ‘Upper-Intermediate’.〕
…
Ding-!
〔Successfully extracted the power of Divine Artifact: Thousand Changes Weapon.〕
〔The power of Divine Artifact: Thousand Changes Weapon is stored in the ‘Extractor’.〕
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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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