The God-Possessed Swordsmanship Genius - Chapter 42

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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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The Sword God’s Chosen Genius, Chapter 42

A cold silence settled over the Tomb of Swords.
In an instant, nearly ten swordsmen collapsed, spilling blood across the ground.
They were Gangcheol Castle’s swordsmen, who had approached believing the Gangcheol Seongju had regained his senses.

‘Did it expect me to break the promise, and so it made a false negotiation in return?’

Lucas let out a small sigh and blamed himself.

“I was far too careless.”

It was his own mistake, for he had assumed lies would work on a demon.

Heh-heh-heh-heh.

Belbemos broke into laughter at the sight of Lucas staring at him.
He seemed genuinely delighted by the situation, having deceived someone so thoroughly.
And then.

“What’s so funny that you’re grinning like that?”

The grinning face abruptly turned stern, and the voice of the Gangcheol Seongju spilled out.
Just as Lucas wondered whether the man’s soul had somehow returned.

“Aren’t you enjoying this too? You humans are no more truthful than we demons are.”

Right after, a different voice came from the same mouth.

“Humans are humans, each in their own way. Now get out of my body already. Do you really dare to lay a hand on my body, you worthless demon, and not even a Kaglos?”
“Your body? It’s mine now. Not just your soul, but everything will change. Your skin, your face, all of it will become a demon’s.”
“Do you think that can be done as you please?”
“You’re a rare, noisy soul. Annoying and tenacious.”

The two of them carried on their conversation through one mouth.
Seeing this, Lucas felt relieved that the Gangcheol Seongju’s soul had not yet been extinguished, and asked,

“Seongju-nim, are you all right?”

The Gangcheol Seongju answered.

“As you can see, I’m anything but all right. I feel absolutely wretched.”
“As you know, the situation is not good.”
“I know that too.”

The Gangcheol Seongju’s hand trembled.
It was as though he were trying to regain control of his own body.
But sensing that it was not going to work, the Gangcheol Seongju frowned and spoke.

“It’s my fault. I should have listened more closely to the Second Young Master’s words. Then I wouldn’t be feeling this wretched.”
“It was I who rushed to test that. The fault is mine.”
“Enough. What good is it to weigh who was right and who was wrong now? It’s far too late.”

The Gangcheol Seongju spoke calmly.

“If there’s really no other way, then kill me.”
“S-Seongju!”
“We can’t do that!”

The loyal Gangcheol knights cried out.
But Lucas spoke as though he had known all along that the Gangcheol Seongju would reach such a decision.

“I alone would not be enough. Not even with the Eighth Order’s commander fighting beside me.”
“I’ll help you.”
“It’s shameless of me to ask, but I’d appreciate it.”
“I never thought I’d be fighting alongside you like this.”

At their exchange, the knights around them wore expressions of pure alarm.
The Gangcheol Seongju, speaking so calmly about his own death.
And Lucas, who asked without hesitation for help in bringing about that death. To them, both of them seemed out of their minds.
And as the two of them kept talking—

“Hahaha, hahahaha!”

Once again, Belbemos’s madness swelled through the ravine.

“What luck. You’ve taken over the body of a truly interesting fellow. And Bishuken, no less—”

Tears of blood streamed from the eyes of the Gangcheol Seongju, whose body Belbemos now occupied.

“Let’s play, little whelp.”

Demonic Qi surged and multiplied in great rolling waves.
Lucas, taking the full force of it at the very front, spoke.

“Squad Leader One.”
“Yes? Yes, sir!”
“Squad One, join Squads Three, Four, and Five and seal off the perimeter. By any means necessary, the demon must not escape this ravine.”
“Understood!”
“The rest of you fight the demon with me. Don’t rush in first. Keep your distance and only create openings. I and the Eighth Order’s commander will handle the main assault. That’s how we keep the losses to a minimum.”
“Yes!”
“Flying Blade Corps, and Gangcheol!”

With the Gangcheol Seongju no longer in control, Lucas seized command of the battlefield.

“From this moment, we begin the extermination of the demon Belbemos.”

* * *

Swish!

Lucas and Glasius pressed Belbemos hard.
Both of them, Masters, let their sword auras whirl like a storm.
They fought as though they had trained together for years, reading each other’s blade paths and linking their attacks and defenses so neither got in the other’s way.

Clang!

Lucas’s blade blocked out Belbemos’s view.
At that very moment, a silver-white glimmer gathered at the tip of Glasius’s sword.

Imperial Golden Knight Sword Art, Fifth Form.
Cheongongseom.

Shwaaack!

The launched sword aura drove straight toward Belbemos’s heart.
A thrust meant to pierce a single point, delivered by the Empire’s Master.
Belbemos’s eyes flashed, and the Demonic Qi of the Demon Sword surged.

Gangcheol Style, third form.
Cheolryubyeok.

Wuuung.

Sword-intent rose like a wall around Belbemos’s Demon Sword.
Glasius was startled by the technique.

‘The Gangcheol Seongju’s technique?’

Thwoosh!

Glasius’s sword-intent slammed into the Cheolryubyeok and was blocked.
Kssh-chang!
The silver-white sword-intent shattered and scattered to either side.
The Cheolryubyeok, overflowing with power, came flying back at Glasius.

Phwaaaah!
Kkagaga-gak.

“Gaaaah…”

Glasius was driven backward as if thrown, staggering on his feet.
His hand gripping the sword trembled, and the demonic qi that had seeped into him churned his insides until he felt sick. The fight was growing harder by the moment.
Yet all the while, Lucas was still holding off Belbemos.

Kwaeaeaek!

Lucas’s blade shot toward Belbemos’s waist.
Jjang!
Their swords clashed, and sword-intent sparked in every direction. The aftershock cracked a nearby boulder clean down the middle.

Jjaeng!

The two blades struck one after another.
Sword-intent and demonic qi collided, throwing off red and blue sparks.
Watching this, Glasius could scarcely trust his own eyes.

‘So this is the Bishuken’s great young master.’

Unlike himself, Lucas seemed fully capable of standing against Belbemos.
Though he didn’t want to accept it in his heart, he could not deny it.
That young swordsman of Bishuken was stronger than he was.

He had heard the rumors.
That the Bishuken’s great young master possessed extraordinary talent, that he had reached Master in his mid-twenties, a genius who would be remembered in history.
Still, he had assumed rumors always grew inflated. How impressive could anyone that young really be?
But Lucas, seen with his own eyes, exceeded the rumors.

Swiiish!
Cheeeong!

As Belbemos’s and Lucas’s swords clashed, the terrain around them transformed.
Boulders split apart and the ravine was carved away. Swift, devastating sword-intent rained down without pause.
Holding off Belbemos alone was already astonishing, yet Lucas’s role did not stop there.

Paat.

The swordsmen of the Imperial Flying Blade Corps had charged in, aiming for Belbemos’s back.

Whoosh—

In that instant, Lucas’s sword let out a howl of wind.

“Get back!”

With the cry, Lucas’s figure vanished like a gust of wind.

Seongsin Style, First Form.
Bora.

Kwaeaeaek!
Chwuuung!

The sword intent Belbemos had swept toward the Bishuken swordsmen collided with Lucas’s form.
Lucas’s technique had not been aimed at Belbemos. It was meant to shield the other Bishuken members.
And the result was this.

Chi-ik.

A thin stream of blood sprayed from Lucas’s side.
Thanks to that, the members were unharmed, but he had allowed Belbemos’s blade to draw blood for the first time.

“Are you all right?”

Belbemos lazily swayed the sword still wet with Lucas’s blood.

“Fighting while looking after such weaklings, you’ll get yourself killed.”
“That’s my problem to deal with.”

Lucas’s actions and his reply were unhesitating.
But Glasius’s feelings, watching that scene, were different.

‘This is madness.’

Fighting a demon like that while protecting one’s subordinates?
It was hardly an efficient way to fight. For the sake of victory, one should not have cared for the lives of one’s men.
Yet Lucas was doing exactly that inefficient thing. Dozens of swordsmen, from Bishuken, Gangcheol Castle, and the Empire alike, had already been saved by his hand.
It was something impossible for someone like Glasius, who had no room to spare.
That was when it happened.

Bu-ruu-ruu.

Belbemos’s hand suddenly began to tremble.
As if pulled by another person’s will, that hand convulsed.
And in the next instant.

“This senile old fool—!”

Belbemos’s voice spilled out, flustered and panicked.

Swiiish!

Then the Demon Sword was flung from his hand.
Tracing a crimson arc through the air, the thrown blade sailed toward the rear.

Thunk.

The Demon Sword buried itself in a boulder far from Gangcheol Seongju.
It was a fleeting gap, created by the lingering will of Gangcheol Seongju while his soul was still shackled by the demon’s spirit.
But.

“…You’ve done something pointless.”

Belbemos still lingered brazenly within Gangcheol Seongju’s body.

“Did you think I’d slip out the moment you let go of the sword? You should have seen by now that’s not how it works.”

Just as he said, Belbemos had already let go of the Demon Sword once before.
It was the moment he had deceived Lucas and cut down the Gangcheol swordsmen.
But no matter how far the blade was pulled away, Belbemos’s soul had remained right where it was.
And then.

“Young Master!”

In that instant, Gangcheol Seongju’s voice broke out, thick with fury.

“Why are you hesitating again? I’ve given you chance after chance, so why, why!”

He spoke as though Lucas were fully capable of taking his head.
Glasius glanced at Lucas, unable to shake the thought that it couldn’t be true.

“Didn’t you say, ‘If it truly can’t be helped’?”

Lucas let out a heavy sigh and rubbed the stiff back of his neck.

“I’m still looking for a way.”

He really was still trying to save Gangcheol Seongju.
Glasius was startled, nearly jolted off his feet.

‘So this wasn’t all of it?’

Even what he had shown just now had put him clearly a step above Glasius.
But the shock lasted only a moment.

“Hahahaha!”

Belbemos’s laughter rolled through the ravine, echoing off the cliffs.
Instead of the Demon Sword, he snatched up whatever blade had fallen to the ground.
As if the Demon Sword, lacking any soul, were nothing but an empty shell.

“Just as this boy says. What are you dithering over? If you don’t kill him, you’ll be the one who dies.”
“Shut your mouth, demon!”

Gangcheol Seongju flared up and shouted.

“Aren’t you ashamed to fight this poorly with my own body?”
“Can’t be helped. I’m still digesting it, slowly.”

Belbemos was pressing down on Gangcheol Seongju’s movements, straining to lull his spirit to sleep.
Because of that, he was weaker now than his own original strength, and weaker even than Gangcheol Seongju.

“Now, decide. Will you kill this one, or will you die in his place?”
“Didn’t I already tell you? That’s my own concern.”
“Don’t pretend to be strong. You know it yourself, don’t you? That there isn’t much time left.”

Lucas’s brow furrowed, as though the words had struck a nerve.
Just as Belbemos said, Lucas could clearly feel it.

‘It’s getting stronger.’

When it first seized Gangcheol Seongju’s body, it wasn’t anywhere near this strong.
But the longer time passed, the stronger Belbemos grew. Gangcheol Seongju’s soul was growing weaker by the day.
Before long, it was wielding his swordsmanship as though it had become Gangcheol Seongju himself.

‘It’s still in the middle of reviving.’

Once that thing fully revived, who knew what kind of monster would be born.
Perhaps this very moment was the last chance he would have to kill the demon standing before him.

‘Losing Gangcheol Seongju here would be a heavy blow…’

The Seongju were the pillars that held up Bishuken. Apart from the family head and the chief steward, they were the strongest and most influential figures in the clan.
Naturally, losing even one of them would be nothing short of fatal to the family.
That was why, for better or worse, he had tried to save him by any means.

“Is there no way?”

Lucas let out a heavy sigh.
No matter how hard he thought, no solution came to mind.

Hwiooo.

Mana rose up from Lucas’s body.
The sword aura gathered on his blade grew sharper still. In an instant, Lucas’s mana drove out Belbemos’s demonic Qi, and his presence filled the entire ravine.

“It’s no use, I’m afraid.”

Lucas made up his mind.

“I’ll have to kill him.”

That was when it happened.

“Wait! Stoooop!”

The voice came from far off, from the other end of the ravine.
Startled by a voice he knew all too well, Lucas turned his head.
Far away.
From so distant that she looked like a speck, his younger sibling was running toward him.

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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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