The God-Possessed Swordsmanship Genius - Chapter 43

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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-Blessed Genius, Chapter 43

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Allen kept his Baekryeon Bo footwork flowing as he ran.
He ran and ran until he half-suspected his Baekryeon Bo was advancing on its own from all the strain.
At last Allen reached the Sword Grave and shouted toward Lukas and Gangcheol Seongju, who stood in the distance.

“Wait a minute!”

It looked as though the two of them might draw blades and go for each other’s throats any moment, and Allen’s heart raced.
His voice rang through the gorge.
Thankfully, the fighting stopped at once.
Lukas did, and so did Gangcheol Seongju, the Demon Sword still gripped in his hand.
Both of them had turned their attention to him.

“Haa, haa. Whew.”

Once the immediate danger seemed to have passed, Allen slowed his pace and caught his breath.
Gangcheol Seongju, now possessed by the demon, looked at Allen with the expression of someone asking, ‘Who’s this guy?’
The others wore the same look.

Lukas, the one he had counted on, wore a face that asked what he was doing here, and the other squad leaders of the Bigeom Corps didn’t seem especially glad to see him either.
The knights from the imperial side quickly looked away altogether.
But none of that mattered to him.

“I’m dying here. I should’ve practiced Qinggong on the side, not just footwork.”

Having reached the battlefield, Allen spoke to Lukas.

“Captain, are you all right? Did you get hurt anywhere…? Ah, you’ve got a little scratch. Tsk. Still, a bit of salve should fix that right up.”

Since there were so many eyes watching, Allen used honorifics with Lukas. Yet the content of his words was nothing but mischief.
Lukas, his tension dissolving into exasperation, asked:

“Why did you come here?”
“Why do you think? As squad leader of Bigeom Squad Two, I came to help.”
“Then how did you even know what’s going on here?”
“I’ll explain that later.”

Sensing that a full explanation would drag on far too long, Allen turned his head and addressed Gangcheol Seongju.
To be precise, he was speaking to the demon occupying Gangcheol Seongju’s body.

“So it’s you, huh? The fake.”

At Allen’s words, Lukas’s eyes lit up.
He had assumed Allen knew nothing about the situation here, yet somehow Allen had a fairly good grasp of what was going on.

“You insolent human. Who are you calling a fake?”
“The one we were looking for wasn’t something like you.”
“Something like me?”

Irritation flickered across Belbemos’s face.
In the next instant, the old iron sword in his grip moved.

Gangcheol Style, Second Form.
Cheolswae.

Kacha-kacha-kacha-kak.

Gangcheol Seongju’s technique, woven from demonic qi, came crashing down on Allen. Dozens of chains lashed toward him, leaving no room to dodge.
Then—

Chwiiik-!
Thwack!

A single streak of sword qi shot in from behind Allen and cancelled out every incoming chain.

Seongsin Style, third form.
Neoul.

It was a technique Lukas had swung.

“Thanks, hyung.”
“I feel like I’ve just picked up another burden.”
“You’re glad to see me, but you’re pretending you’re not.”
“Don’t get cocky, Squad Leader Two.”

The two of them traded banter with no tension at all, and Belbemos felt something strange stir inside him.
Why was that?

‘This is unpleasant.’

In this moment, Belbemos felt an irritation he could not place.
And it was aimed not at Gangcheol Seongju or Lukas, nor even at the imperial knight, but at an ordinary human who seemed weaker than all of them.
Meanwhile, Allen, who had been exchanging light words with Lukas, turned his gaze to the demon wearing Gangcheol Seongju’s face.

An empty hand.
Allen’s eyes, searching for the Demon Sword, drifted far off toward the demon’s back.
Somehow, the Demon Sword had fallen from Gangcheol Seongju’s hand, the hand of the body that had been taken.

‘So even if the Demon Sword is dropped, the soul doesn’t get separated.’

The fake Demon Sword that Renard’s father was said to have made.
Gangcheol Seongju’s body had been seized by the very fake Demon Sword that Bishuken and the empire had been hunting.

‘This isn’t an ordinary demon.’

Not all demons were the same.
No matter how high-ranking a demon might be, it could not simply take the body of a swordsman of Gangcheol Seongju’s caliber at will.
This was the result of a trap set by the Demon Sword, a moment of carelessness, and the power inherent to demons, all working together.

Sseuuu.

Allen’s Spirit Eye examined Gangcheol Seongju’s body.
Within those crimson-shifted eyes.
He could see two energies clashing against each other inside Gangcheol Seongju’s body.

‘His soul hasn’t been completely taken yet. I’m not too late.’

Allen sent a voice transmission to Lukas.

-“Do you happen to know that guy’s name?”

In the midst of all this uncertainty, he had half-wondered whether the two of them had at least exchanged names.

-“It’s a demon called Belbemos. He’s no ordinary bastard.”
-“…Belbemos?”

At Lukas’s answer, Allen’s eyes went cold.
It was a name he knew.

Ssshhh—.

Rain began to fall inside Allen’s mind.
In that rain, Belbemos stood atop the corpses of countless comrades, the Demon Sword in his grip.
Even after paying such a heavy price, they had failed to catch him. The death squad had fled, and among those who turned their backs and ran was Allen from his previous life.
Third Demon of the Ten Great Demons.
The Demon Sword, Belbemos the Bane.
And now he had appeared here.

‘That bastard…’

Belbemos had originally ranked as the Ninth Demon, but after he took hold of the true Demon Sword, he climbed up to the Third Demon’s seat.
Back then, Allen hadn’t known where Belbemos had come from or where he’d obtained the Demon Sword. Nothing at all.
Unlike now.

‘I thought Belbemos might be involved in this, but… I never expected him to be inside a fake Demon Sword.’

At first, Allen had suspected that the demonic cultist he’d met at Renard’s forge might be Belbemos’s contractor.
But seeing him use something as crude as Masuhwa, Allen concluded otherwise.
The cultist at the forge had been a skilled swordsman, but the demon he had contracted with was not a high-ranking one.

-“He’s probably not fully free yet.”

As he sent the message through Jeoneum, Allen recalled the Belbemos he had seen in his previous life.
That one had been nothing like this. Even setting the Demon Sword aside, he had been the Ninth Demon among the Ten Great Demons.
If the one here were truly one of the Ten Great Demons, the casualties would never have stayed this small.

-“What makes you think so?”
-“That guy just used Gangcheol Seongju’s swordsmanship. It means his demonic power hasn’t fully returned.”

At Allen’s deduction, Lukas was taken aback.
He hadn’t expected someone who had only just arrived to see through what he himself had only just figured out.

-“Right. I think the same. That guy is getting stronger the longer he goes on.”
-“We can’t drag this out too long.”
-“That was the plan, but someone suddenly got in the way.”
-“I don’t mean we should kill him.”

Lukas wore a puzzled expression.
Did Allen have some other way to resolve this situation?
Rather than explaining, Allen chose to act right away.

-“For now, hold that guy off for me. His eyes are terrifying.”
-“That’s because you picked the fight.”
-“Isn’t it the Captain who cleans up the mess a squad leader makes?”
-“Don’t talk about crap over Jeoneum, you disgusting thing.”

As though he wasn’t joking, Lukas stepped forward with a look of pure disgust.

“Demon.”

Lukas leveled his blade and let his aura show.

“From now on, I will cut you down.”

Lukas meant every word.
Allen had said there was a way, but he couldn’t afford to drag things out on the strength of that alone.
If Belbemos fully took over Gangcheol Seongju’s body like this, even he would become a being no one could handle.

“You talk with such a sharp tongue for someone so presumptuous.”

As Lukas unleashed his aura, Belbemos matched it, amplifying his demonic qi in turn.

Kwaaang—

Their energies collided in the center of the ravine. Just drawing near felt like it might crush the body.
In the next instant, Lukas vanished from sight.

Shwiiing!

Lukas unfurled Bora, and his sword aura streaked forward toward Belbemos’s shoulder. Belbemos caught the blow with a rusted blade he had picked up off the ground.
Their exchange began anew.

Gangcheol Seongju’s forms and Lukas’s forms clashed head-on. Demonic qi and mana techniques collided, gouging the cliffs of the ravine.
Each time the eye blinked, their positions had changed. It was nearly impossible to follow the sword’s trajectory with the naked eye.

‘So that’s Brother’s swordsmanship.’

It was the first time Allen had seen Lukas’s skill up close like this.
He wanted nothing more than to keep watching. He wanted to see how his brother, who wielded the same swordsmanship as him, used Seongsin Style.
But unfortunately, the situation didn’t allow for such leisure.

‘I’d love to keep watching, but…’

Allen set aside his regret and turned his head.
There was no way he could step into that fight.
Belbemos, who had taken over Gangcheol Seongju’s body, and Lukas both wielded power on a different plane from his own.
Still, he had no intention of remaining on the sidelines like this forever.

‘Someday, I’ll be standing there too.’

No.
Higher than that.

With that resolve, Allen headed toward the spot where the fake Demon Sword had fallen to the ground.

* * *

Lukas’s sword poured down in a relentless downpour.
Amid the countless sword auras falling from the sky,
Lukas hurled a single streak of sword aura toward Belbemos’s waist.
At the same moment, Gangcheol Seongju’s technique came rushing in.

Seongsin Style, Third Form: Neoul.
Gangcheol Style, Fourth Form: Cheolryu.

Chwaaa-.
Tuhwak!

The waves that surged forth at tremendous speed met Gangcheol Seongju’s technique head-on.
As the two techniques collided, the shattered sword auras burst outward in every direction.
Lukas staggered back, a deep furrow forming across his brow. Belbemos still wore the expression of a man enjoying himself immensely.

‘He’s definitely grown much stronger than before.’

His demonic qi had grown denser than before. Above all, Gangcheol Seongju’s consciousness had not surfaced again.
That meant Gangcheol Seongju’s soul had sunk into a deep slumber.

‘If I drag this out any longer, it’ll be dangerous.’

Chirk.

Belbemos’s blade grazed across Lukas’s shoulder.
In the same instant, the distance between them collapsed, and Lukas seized Belbemos’s arm.
Just as Belbemos’s face twisted into a look that said, ‘What are you doing?’

“Sorry, but I’m not alone.”

Swish!

Three figures emerged from behind Belbemos.
Squad Leader Kasar at their head, along with the other squad leaders of the Bigeom Corps.
The swordsmen who represented the Bigeom Corps had aimed for Belbemos’s back.

Shwaaaak!

Three streams of sword qi came flying in, each tracing a different arc.

Schwack!

Blood spurted from Gangcheol Seongju’s back. The swords of the three squad leaders had found their mark.
Yet the squad leaders’ faces were anything but bright.

‘Too shallow.’

Gangcheol Seongju’s body was, quite literally, as hard as steel.
They had swung their sword-qi-wreathed blades with everything they had, yet not even a fingernail’s width of steel had bitten in.
It was little more than a scratch.
And the trouble didn’t end there.

Giiiing.

The blood that had spattered from his back began to swell.
Sensing the demonic qi within it intensifying, Kasar turned and shouted.

“Watch out—!”

Pwoosh!

The blood laced with demonic qi exploded. The three squad leaders shielded their bodies with their swords and were flung far away.
Lukas, too, had been caught in the blast and driven backward.

Sizzle.

A small burn had appeared on the back of his hand.
Lukas watched Belbemos walk toward him through the black smoke.

‘Is that a demon art?’

For the first time, the opponent was using a demon technique rather than Gangcheol Seongju’s own.
It meant his strength had been restored that much.

‘Could it be that I was too late…?’

Then it happened.
Behind Belbemos, who was closing in on him.
Through the black haze left by the explosion, Allen’s figure came into view, and Lukas’s eyes wavered violently.
Before any thought could form, Lukas let out a furious shout.

“Hey, Allen-!!!”

That damned brat of a younger brother was reaching out toward the Demon Sword lodged in the rock.

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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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