The God-Possessed Swordsmanship Genius - Chapter 41

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

Chapter 41: The Sword Genius Blessed by a God

* * *

Blood pooled across the ground.
Allen gazed at the Demonic Cultivator’s black blood, then caught his breath and spoke, a beat late.

“Why didn’t you just fight as a swordsman?”

A nameless Demonic Cultivator.
No, a swordsman.
Allen spoke to him with due courtesy.

“Then perhaps things might have turned out differently.”

Setting aside the fact that he was a Demonic Cultivator, the man’s swordsmanship had been superb.
He had been so absorbed in the demonic sword, and if Allen hadn’t borrowed the demonic sword’s power in return, it would have been him lying on the ground instead.
Even after being wounded, the man had remained that dangerous.
Becoming a Demonic Cultivator had toughened his vitality, but he was still strong all the same.

The same went for his Beast Transformation.
The fight had only been settled easily because countless members of the strike squad had sacrificed themselves to uncover his weakness. Had the Demonic Cultivator completed the transformation, the battle would have been far harder.
Either way, it had been no easy fight.

“Please…”

Allen looked down at the Demonic Cultivator’s corpse, which had blackened like a monster’s, and spoke with due reverence.

Next time, don’t become a monster like this. Live as a true swordsman.

Once he had slowly caught his breath, Allen turned his head.
No group existed that would remain unshaken by the death of its leader.
He could feel the surroundings stirring at the Demonic Cultivator’s death.
In contrast, the morale of Second Squad had risen.

“The squad leader has won!”
“We won!”
“Clean up the rest of them!”

While Allen had been fighting the Demonic Cultivator, all of Bigeom Second Squad had gathered here.
Second Squad had focused on keeping the other enemies from interfering with Allen’s fight. The momentum had clearly been on Allen’s side, and in the end, it was Allen who had won.
As soon as Allen was victorious, Mary approached.

“Are you injured anywhere?”

Allen nodded and replied.

“I’m fine. More importantly, don’t let a single one of those bastards get away. And if possible, take at least one of them alive.”

Aside from the Demonic Cultivator, the enemies’ level was not particularly high.
With Mary and the rest of Second Squad’s skill, they could easily subdue them.

“Understood. Squad Leader, please rest now.”
“No. I’m heading to the main force right away.”
“Right now, sir? But…”

Allen’s complexion had grown paler than it had been at the start, after he’d unleashed one technique after another. It was a sign that his mana had been drained considerably.
On top of that, his wounds were far from shallow. They weren’t severe, but there was no denying that his body was in no condition to be pushed.

“I’ll go instead. You need to rest, Squad Leader.”
“No.”

Allen had a reason for insisting on moving himself, even in his current condition.

“There’s a reason I have to go. And we don’t have time to dawdle like this.”
“But…”
“Right now, the best way to help me is to clear the path for me, Deputy Squad Leader.”

Allen asked Mary to lead the way out.
Her skill was the best in the Second Squad. He could trust her with the front or the rear.
At Allen’s resolute words, Mary nodded and turned on her heel.

“Understood. Then follow closely behind me.”
“Let’s go, quickly.”

Allen fell in behind Mary.
No, that was what he meant to do.

“Um, excuse me!”

That is, if not for the voice that called out from Lenard.
Allen and Mary both turned to look at Lenard, wondering what was going on. He hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head toward Allen.

“Th-thank you.”

A demonic cultivator lay on the ground, his body split in two.
It was a gesture of gratitude for avenging his father.
Lenard’s fist was clenched, and Allen could see it trembling.
If not for the circumstances, Allen would have liked to talk with him about all sorts of things.
But right now, there was no room for that.

“Lenard.”

At Allen’s call, Lenard started and lifted his head.
Their eyes met, and Allen spoke.

“If you feel like it, look for Allen Bishuken in Bishuken. Tell them I invited you.”
“Allen Bishuken…”
“Yes. Then I’ll see you next time.”

Whoosh.

Having said his piece, Allen slipped away from the spot with Mary.
Watching Allen’s back quickly recede, Lenard murmured to himself.

“…Did I ever tell him my name?”

* * *

Whooooosh.

A bitter gale swept through the Sword Grave.
An ominous wind.
At its center, the Lord of Steel Castle, the demonic sword gripped in his hand, stood as if lost in thought, showing no reaction at all.

“What’s wrong?”

Sensing something ominous, Glasius asked.
The Steel Castle Lord gave no answer.
Sensing that something had gone wrong, Glasius began to step toward the Lord.
Just then.

“Wait.”

From among the Bishuken men on the opposite side, Lucas stopped Glasius.

“You mustn’t go any closer.”

He, too, sensed that something was off.
The only difference was that while Glasius moved forward, Lucas had pulled the Bigeom Corps swordsmen even farther back.
And sure enough.
The strange thing happened right after.

Shing.

“…!!!”

Glasius was startled.
Out of nowhere, the Steel Castle Lord had begun drawing the demon sword.

“My Lord!”
“I said stay still!”

The sharp shout held back Glasius, who had rushed forward in alarm.
At the same moment, whoosh!
The aura Lucas released pushed Glasius and the Empire’s knights backward.
Pressed back by Lucas’s aura for a moment, Glasius trembled violently.

‘He’s stronger than me.’

The realm Lucas revealed through his presence stood a full step above that of the Empire’s Master, Glasius himself.
As the Bigeom Corps commander, he kept Glasius at bay and glared at the Steel Castle Lord.
By now, the Steel Castle Lord had fully drawn the demon sword and held it in his grip.

Gooooh.

An ominous demonic Qi seeped out from the faintly red blade.
A smile curled at the corners of the Steel Castle Lord’s lips as he gazed at the sword with a rapturous expression.
Seeing this, Lucas spoke.

“He’s been bewitched by the demon sword.”
“The Lord, you mean?”

It was First Squad Leader Kasar who asked, startled by Lucas’s words.
He asked as though he could not make sense of the situation.

“How can that be? Didn’t you say it would be fine as long as the demon sword wasn’t drawn?”
“That’s right. That’s what I was told too. That the demon sword’s power and soul were sealed within its scabbard.”
“Then why would…”
“There can only be two explanations. Either the family’s information was wrong, or…”

Lucas drew the sword at his waist as he continued.

Or that isn’t the true demon sword.
“A fake, you mean?”
“The odds are even. But one thing is certain: the Lord has been consumed by that blade.”

Shing.

The Lord of Steel Castle’s gaze, which had been fixed on the sword in a rapturous daze, shifted to Lucas.
With eyes whose whites had turned a bloody red, the Lord of Steel Castle asked,

“So you must be the one in charge here.”

It was not the Lord of Steel Castle’s voice.
It echoed strangely, a sickening warble that rang like a hundred voices speaking all at once.
Lucas nodded and stepped forward.

“So it seems. And who might you be?”
“I am Velbemos.”
“Velbemos? Not Kaglos?”

The name was not the one he knew.
Which meant the demonic sword was a fake.
Lucas sensed that none of this was coincidence.

‘Someone has set a trap.’

Just as Allen had said, the situation was too sudden and too convenient.
A trace of the demonic sword, which they had failed to find for so many years, had surfaced all at once.
The Sword Grave. The Bawi Mercenary Band. The porters. And even the presence of a sword with some unknown power.
It was as if all of this were advertising that the demonic sword was here.

‘We let the real demonic sword slip away… no, that’s not the problem right now.’

Securing the demonic sword mattered, but the enemy in front of him came first.
The most pressing problem.
That was the identity of the demon who had taken possession of the Lord of Steel Castle’s body.
A being capable of seizing the body of the Lord of Steel Castle could hardly be an ordinary demon.

“I am Lucas Bishuken, Captain of the Bigeom Corps of Bishuken. The one who has taken your body is one of the Seven Lords of Bishuken.”

Lucas made the first move toward negotiation.

“He is precious to us. Release him, and I will offer you another body. If you refuse, I’m afraid we can’t simply let you go.”

At Lucas’s words, Glasius startled and sent him a Voice Transmission.

-“Captain Bishuken. Are you serious?”

He feared Lucas might hand over one of the imperial knights to the demon.
Fortunately, Lucas’s words were not sincere.

-“Don’t worry. I have no intention of keeping any promise to a demon.”

It was a ruse meant to deceive the other side.
Lucas reasoned that no matter how formidable the demon was, it would not want to fight such a large number of swordsmen.
And sure enough.

“Which body, exactly?”

At the question that slipped from the Lord of Steel Castle’s lips in Velbemos’s voice, Lucas inwardly judged that the negotiation was working.
Even a demon’s hold on this body was only a borrowed one. As long as the owner’s will remained alive, it was impossible to wield the body’s full strength.
Accepting the negotiation was a reasonable choice for the other side as well.

“I’ll find you a body that suits you. But there is a condition.”
“Speak.”

Velbemos’s answer was surprisingly docile.
A faint wariness flickered in Lucas’s eyes, but the fact that the demon could hold a conversation at all was encouraging.

“Release the Lord of the Steel Castle, then set that demon sword on the ground. From that moment on, I’ll find you a new body to take for yourself.”
“Let this one go, and abandon the sword too? That’s hardly a proposal that works in my favor.”
“If you find it hard to trust our words, then there’s no choice but to make you release the sword by force. Should that happen, the subjugation of the demon Velbemos begins right here and now.”

At Lucas’s words, Velbemos fell silent for a moment.
He seemed lost in thought.
Glasius sent a Voice Transmission to Lucas.

-“It seems to be working.”
-“We don’t know yet. Don’t let your guard down.”

After a brief exchange of Voice Transmissions,
the Lord of the Steel Castle, whose body Velbemos had borrowed, spoke with a sigh.

“…Fine.”

It was a more compliant answer than Lucas had expected.
Right after that.
The strength drained from the Lord of the Steel Castle’s hand where it gripped the demon sword.
The blade slowly tilted, and clang.
The demon sword hit the ground.

Shhhk.

At the same moment, the crimson light drained from the Lord of the Steel Castle’s eyes.
The bloodshot whites regained their natural color. The pupils, which had been clouded a moment before, found their focus again.
He staggered violently, and the Lord of the Steel Castle dropped to one knee.

“Gah… Ugh…”

That groan belonged to the Lord of the Steel Castle.

“Damn… this is a rotten feeling.”

It was a human voice, not the echo of a demon.
The first to react to the Lord’s change were the swordsmen of the Steel Castle.

“My Lord!”

Several swordsmen, delighted that their lord had come to his senses, rushed forward.
They could hardly contain their joy at seeing their lord’s safety secured.
In that fleeting moment.

‘Something’s off.’

Lucas, the very man who had taken up these negotiations, felt a strange sense of unease.

‘…It’s too easy.’

It was much like the feeling he’d had when he thought he’d found the demon sword in the Sword Grave.
Everything was falling into place a little too neatly.
Was it really going to go this smoothly? That thought wouldn’t leave his head.
And sure enough.

“Are you unharmed?!”
“That damned sword of his…!”
“Be careful not to touch the sword!”

Just as a crowd of swordsmen rushed toward the Lord of Steel Castle,

Back…

The Lord of Steel Castle forced the word out.

“Stay… back!!!”

His sudden shout rang through the valley, reverberating off every stone.
Then, in the next instant.

Ssk—.

The Lord of Steel Castle’s expression changed in an instant, and he snatched up the sword he had set down on the ground.

Shwiiing!

A crimson sword aura traced a half-moon through the air.
The three Steel Castle swordsmen who had charged closest to him.
Still running toward their lord, a red line was drawn across each of their throats.

Fwoosh!

Before the severed heads could even fly skyward, the Lord of Steel Castle’s body spun like a whirlwind.
The two swordsmen following behind were split in half at the waist.
Not even a scream escaped them.
They had been running toward their lord, never once imagining that he would cut them down.
It wasn’t carelessness.
Trust.
Velbemos had exploited exactly that trust.

Chaak!

Blood clinging to the demonic sword sprayed across the ground in a single straight line.
In a flash, the Lord of Steel Castle had cut down more than ten swordsmen.
No, Velbemos was looking at Lucas.

“This is how you lie, little one.”

His eyes curved into half-moons.
Velbemos spoke as though this situation delighted him to the point of madness.

“Little one.”

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