The God-Possessed Swordsmanship Genius - Chapter 36

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Sword Genius Blessed by Spirit, Chapter 36

Was it because the distance had closed?
Allen could make out a faint crimson aura seeping from the man’s body.
It was so faint that he wouldn’t have noticed it unless he were looking for it, but there was no mistaking it. Demonic Qi.

‘Is this also thanks to my Spirit Eye?’

It seemed the Spirit Eye could perceive more than just Mana. Demonic Qi, a force of a different nature altogether, had been caught by it as well.

A Ma-in had come to Lenard’s forge.
Could this really be a coincidence?
Judging by their conversation, this Ma-in was not visiting the forge for the first time.
Allen had been about to leave the forge, but he changed his mind.

“Could I take a look at the armor too?”
“Eh?”
“It’s over here, right? Let’s see, what size…”

Allen began examining the other equipment scattered along one side of the forge.
Allen, who had been acting as if he were about to walk out at any moment, didn’t leave. Lenard frowned and came over, lowering his voice.

‘Why aren’t you leaving?’
‘Let me browse a little longer.’
‘I’m telling you, what you’re looking for isn’t here! Go on, get out!’
‘I’m a customer, you know.’
‘I’m not selling to you!’

Allen picked up the items one after another, keeping an eye on the Ma-in’s movements.
The Ma-in slowly surveyed the forge.
He looked at the sword he’d already seen, then looked at it again.
Then he rummaged through various corners of the forge, as if searching for something else.
Just like an ordinary customer would.
But.

‘He’s aware of me.’

The Ma-in appeared to be simply browsing, but he was keenly aware of Allen.

‘He’s noticed that I’m no ordinary customer, too.’

Allen picked up a shield and spoke.

“Hey, excuse me a moment.”

At Allen’s call, Lenard frowned and turned his head.

“How much is this one here?”
“Oh, well, I’m not planning to sell that…”

-“Just act like you’re attending to an ordinary customer. Come closer.”

At Allen’s telepathic message, Lenard’s expression turned puzzled.
Lenard’s gaze flicked briefly toward the Ma-in in the black robe, his look asking what sort of scheme this was.
Lenard asked,

-“Is it because of that customer over there?”

As expected, Lenard was no ordinary blacksmith.
Being able to use Jeoneum means knowing how to handle Mana.
The sword hanging at his waist was no decoration.

-“That’s right.”
-“From where I’m standing, you’re the strange one here.”

Even as he said it, Lenard edged a little closer to Allen.
Going by circumstances alone, Allen, carrying a Griffin and searching for a better blade, looked far more suspicious. But Lenard’s instincts reached a different verdict.
The more dangerous one was over there.
Sure enough.

“So this really was the place.”

Ma-in, who had been slowly surveying the smithy, finally spoke.

“I had my suspicions, but still.”

Allen and Lenard turned to Ma-in at the same time.
Whether by chance or design, he was standing so as to block the entrance of the smithy.
Ma-in pressed a hand against the wall.

Sseuuu.

A thin barrier spread across the inside of the smithy.
It was a precaution against any sound leaking out beyond the walls.
Sensing that something was wrong, Lenard asked.

“What do you mean, this is the place? What’s going on?”
“That fellow over there.”

Ma-in pointed at Allen.

“A swordsman from Bishuken, aren’t you?”

At that, Lenard whipped his head around to look at Allen.
He had assumed that anyone carrying a Griffin couldn’t be an ordinary swordsman, but Lenard still knew nothing of Allen’s identity or affiliation.

“That sword is a Griffin. I remember seeing it in a catalogue. A famed blade that passed from the Empire to Bishuken.”

The corner of Ma-in’s mouth curled upward.

“If you’ve caught wind of it all the way to Bishuken, then the Demonic Sword really was here.”

At Ma-in’s words, Allen’s eyes lit up.
So the man wasn’t just poking around here at random. He might not have been certain, but he had some sense that a Demonic Sword was hidden in this place.
And the fact that his hunch had turned into certainty was, by a cruel twist of fate, because of Allen himself.

‘So that’s why he suddenly went berserk. Was it because of me?’

If that was the case, the timing couldn’t have been worse.
Had they never crossed paths like this, it might have been let go.

“What’s going on? The people from Bishuken should have been searching for a fake Demonic Sword. Did the information leak?”

‘A fake Demonic Sword?’

Allen’s eyes gleamed.
He had thought his luck was bad, but in the next moment he’d stumbled onto information he never expected.
A fake Demonic Sword, no less.
Allen let out a soft laugh and began to probe Ma-in.

“We have pretty good intelligence. If you were going to fake something, you should have prepared it better.”
“Stop bluffing.”

Ma-in scoffed.

“There’s only you from Bishuken in this area. You weren’t certain either. You just had a little suspicion, didn’t you?”
“Wow, you’re sharp.”

Allen pretended to be impressed, but from Ma-in’s words, he was certain.

‘The fake Demonic Sword is over there.’

The Sword Grave.
In that place, the operational zone of the Bigeom Corps and Gangcheolseong, the fake Demonic Sword had been waiting.
Now there was only one thing that mattered.
Why they had prepared that fake Demonic Sword.

‘To divert attention? Was that really necessary? Even without a fake, they wouldn’t have found the real one.’

There was only one conclusion to be drawn.

‘It’s a trap.’

They wouldn’t have made a fake Demonic Sword just to buy a little time.
Above all, they had been muddying the information for a long time to establish the existence of that fake Demonic Sword. They wouldn’t have gone to such lengths just to misdirect attention.

‘This wasn’t prepared in a day or two. For quite some time now, they’ve been aiming at Bishuken and the Empire…’

“You!”

It was then that Lenard’s voice burst out.
Allen halted his deepening thoughts and turned his head.
Lenard was glaring at Ma-in, his eyes brimming with rage.

“Could it be that you… gave Father the fake Demonic Sword…?”

So furious was he that his lips and cheeks trembled.
Though his sentence had not even finished, Ma-in spoke as though he had caught exactly what Lenard was trying to say.

“I did wonder if something was off. Even if he asked for a fake of high quality, I never expected it would be made this well.”

Veins stood out on Lenard’s eyes. He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his palms.
Ma-in said, with an air of certainty.

“So that blacksmith really did know the real one. What a shame. If I’d realized sooner, I would have kept him alive a little longer.”
“You…!!”

Just as Lenard was about to lunge at him.

Clamp.

A hand reached out from behind and seized the scruff of his neck.
It was Allen’s hand.

“Let go of me!”
“What do you plan to do by charging in blindly? You have to size up your opponent before you jump in.”
“I’ll kill him! I’m going to kill him!”
“You’ll be the one who dies first at this rate. Are you two going to die together at that man’s hands?”
“I don’t care! As long as I can kill that bastard!”
“Just calm down, I’m telling you. Only once you settle your rage can you exact your revenge.”
“…Ugh.”

Was it Allen’s last words that did it?
Lenard’s killing intent gradually subsided. The reminder that he had to quell his fury in order to pursue revenge seemed to be the decisive blow.

‘I never expected Lenard’s father to have forged the fake Demonic Sword.’

It was truly a twist of fate.
Of all the smiths who could have held the real Demonic Sword, it was that one who had been commissioned to forge the counterfeit.
And because of that very blade, Lenard’s father had been murdered by a Ma-in, and the existence of the true Demonic Sword had come to light.

‘So that’s why he grew so touchy when he learned I was searching for the Demonic Sword. Because his father lost his life over something tied to it.’

Should I count that as luck?
Thanks to it, I could feel Lenard’s wariness toward me easing.
In its place, though, his entire being was now filled with fury aimed at the Ma-in standing before him.

“Where is the Demonic Sword?”

The Ma-in pressed Lenard for an answer.

“Hand that over, and I’ll spare your life. Though the beast of Bishuken beside you will have to die.”
“Why do you need the Demonic Sword?”

Apparently annoyed at being interrupted, the Ma-in frowned and glared at Allen.

“That’s none of your concern.”
“I doubt you intend to wield it yourself. Is it for the demon you serve? Loyalty that deep doesn’t sound like mere blood-pact devotion. Could you be a contractor?”

At Allen’s words, the Ma-in flinched.
Lenard, too, was startled by the word demon.
As though his true nature had been struck, the Ma-in narrowed his eyes.

“Who are you? How could you possibly know something like that…”
“You didn’t deny it, so I guess I’m right.”

Allen’s nerves tightened inwardly.

‘In the worst case… he might be a Ma-in who has contracted with Belbemos.’

A Ma-in bound to a Tenth-Rank demon.
Allen knew all too well just how terrifying the power of such beings could be.
Still bewildered, the Ma-in stared at Allen and muttered under his breath.

“Doesn’t matter. You’ll die here anyway.”

He no longer seemed interested in who Allen really was.

Crunch.

The Ma-in took one step at a time toward Allen.
A sword slid out of its sheath without a sound.
At the very moment Allen focused on the tip of that blade.

‘Here it comes.’

Swish!

The blade whistled past right before Allen’s eyes.
Slipping back by the width of a sheet of paper to dodge the blade, Allen swung his sword like the wind.

Clang!
Kaga-gagak!

“……!”

For the first time, their blades met, and Allen’s body was driven backward. Sparks flew from where the steel touched.
The force behind the Demon’s blade was no ordinary thing.
Demonic Qi clung to the blade, and a mature Sword Qi surged along its edge.
If the sword in his hand had not been Griffin, he would have thought it might snap clean in two.

‘What kind of strength is this……!’

Allen was not the only one caught off guard.
That a boy who looked so young could block his blade had stirred something in the Demon as well.

“You’re a strange one, aren’t you. Really irritating.”

Kwaga-gagak.
Paeaek!

A blade wreathed in dark crimson Sword Qi came at him like a net.
The scattered Sword Qi gouged the forge’s wall. Spears and swords hanging there rattled loose and came pouring down onto the floor.

Chaaang!

Allen dropped low, weaving between the weapons scattered across the floor.
The Demon’s sword grazed over his head and split the brazier standing just behind him.

Pwuh-eok!

The brazier split open, and charcoal and dying embers spilled in every direction. Red sparks scattered like fireflies.
In that instant, the Demon’s blade came flying through the red glow.

Jeng!

“……!”

Allen barely caught the blow with Griffin, and was driven backward. His back slammed into the wall with a dull thud.

“You move well.”

The Demon’s sword came at him in a frenzy.

Kwa-dud-dud-dud.

The Demon’s blade buried itself in the wall, cracking the stone deeply.
The remaining weapons on the wall could not endure the tremors and rattled noisily against the stone.
Pulling his sword free, the Demon sent a burst of Sword Qi at Allen, who had dodged to the side.

Chaaaang!

Shards of the clashing Sword Qi scraped across the forge’s ceiling, throwing off sparks.
There was not a moment to catch his breath when—

Sswaeeaeaek!

Lenard, who had been watching for an opening, snatched a sword from the wall and lunged in.

“Your opponent is me!”

Pak.

A thread of sword qi grazed the Ma-in’s waist.
Just one finger short.
And in the same instant, the Ma-in’s hand shot toward Lenard’s throat.
That was when Allen’s sword cut in.

Seongsin Style, First Form.
Bora.

Clang!

The hand that had been reaching out was pulled back.
The Ma-in turned his attention back to Allen. Clearly, Allen posed far more of a threat than Lenard did.

“Your opponent is me, huh…”

Lenard, who had been about to force his way into their fight once more, faltered.
It was Allen’s next move that stopped him.

Seongsin Style, Second Form.
Sonagi.

Swwwooosh!

The scattered sword qi swept over the Ma-in’s body. A fierce gust tore through the equipment strewn across the ground, sending it flying in every direction.
Lenard, who had been charging at the Ma-in, faltered.
In that moment, Allen grabbed Lenard by the collar once again and dragged him back.

“What do you think you’re doing?”
“What’s wrong with you? Get a grip!”

There was an edge to Allen’s voice.
Lenard flinched at the sudden change in his tone and bearing.

“Look at your opponent’s level before you rush in. I get that you want to avenge your father somehow, but right now you’re doing the opposite. You’re getting in the way of that revenge.”
“You’re saying I’m in the way?”
“Well, are you any help?”

In the brief moment of that exchange, the Ma-in shattered all of Allen’s sword qi and stepped forward.

“…Against a monster like that.”
“I wondered why a brat like you had such a fine sword. Now I see there’s a reason. Who are you? I’ve never heard of anyone like you in Bishuken.”

The Ma-in’s demonic qi grew thicker and thicker.
Allen leveled his sword at him once more. They had only exchanged a few blows, yet his wrist, gripping the blade, was already throbbing.

‘This one’s no ordinary man.’

He was nothing like the mongrel Ma-in he had met in the dungeon.
This one looked like a swordsman who had reached a state of full maturity even before becoming a Ma-in. Not only were his basic physical abilities outstanding, but his swordsmanship displayed techniques of the highest order.

‘Peak Expert? It feels like a swordsman standing on the verge of becoming a Master has turned into a Ma-in.’

A Ma-in of a caliber that was rarely seen even in his previous life.
At his current level, he would lose every single time if he fought this opponent ten times over.

‘How could I possibly beat that guy…’

Right now, there’s only one way.
Allen sent a whisper to Lenard.

-“That sword at your waist. It’s a Demonic Sword, isn’t it?”

Lenard flinched at the whisper.
His hand drifted to his waist on its own, as if to shield the blade.
Seeing that reaction, Allen spoke with growing certainty.

-“To beat that thing, you’re going to need it.”

It was the only way to win this fight.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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