The Regressed Magic Swordsman Devours the North - Chapter 23

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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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Episode 23. Geumseong Tournament (8)
As if what had just unfolded was no accident, Sion continued unleashing Sword Aura.
Whoosh—whoosh!
Silvia met his onslaught with her own Blade Storm, the clash proving both were at least Intermediate Knights.
Screech! Screech!
Crimson Aura colliding with deep blue Aura—the resonance of equal force rippled through the empty air.
Boom! Boom!
Heat and cold swirled together in dizzying confusion, warped air currents spawning vast clouds of steam.
Whoosh—
Mist engulfed the stage, and the shockwave that followed tore at the spectators’ clothing without mercy.
A moment of silence fell. Then a roar that shook the earth erupted.
Roaaaaaar!
“Who called Sion a failure?”
“How could a half-wit possibly exchange Sword Aura with a monstrous genius like Knight Silvia!”
“I don’t know. I don’t understand it, but it’s incredible!”
The spectators erupted in astonishment and praise, all speaking at once.
Camera flashes popped noisily from one corner.
Journalists’ hands scribbled frantically across their notepads.
Watching from the sidelines, Roman gripped his handkerchief with trembling hands.
The years when the young master had been called a “failure” and pointed at in scorn flashed before him like a carousel of memories.
His eyes reddening, he struggled to contain the joy threatening to burst forth, desperate to burn this transformed image of his master into his memory.
Lui Daiken, seated in the participants’ section, shuddered.
Watching the finals while wrapped head to toe in bandages, he finally understood that his defeat had been no accident—that Sion had not even shown his full strength when they’d fought.
‘Was he only at that level?’
He felt ashamed of himself, once called a genius. The years of which he’d been so proud, believing he’d worked harder than anyone, now filled him with regret.
How could he call himself a genius when he couldn’t even draw out the true abilities of Sion Carsen, whom he’d so dismissively ignored?
Of course, it was a misunderstanding.
There was no way for Lui to know the truth.
And yet, he did not despair. He simply hardened his resolve to train far more fiercely than ever before.
At the edge of the Arena, another storm of emotion swirled.
Midgal Rau—director of the Inspection Bureau, retainer to the Carsen Family for countless years, known as the “Iron-Blooded Knight.”
He watched the two warriors quietly, their images overlapping with memories of their childhood selves.
‘When did they grow so tall?’
He suppressed the surge of emotion rising in his chest, fearing it would burst forth if he didn’t.
And then he thought of another: his lord and liege, Sion’s father, Silvia’s adoptive father—the giant.
David Carsen, Grand Master and King of the Northern Territory.
“My lord. Behold.”
The children have grown.
***
Standing at the heart of the tempest on the Arena floor, my mind was more turbulent than ever.
Engaging in combat while maintaining Mana Detection, I was processing the torrent of information with all my strength.
Deep within my heart, the divinity of Lumen Kronos, coiled in the depths, pulsed.
Thump—thump.
Beyond the steam-wrought mist, I read Silvia clearly as she repositioned her blade.
The direction her muscles contracted, the precise pressure her toes applied to the ground in preparation for her next leap, how much freezing Mana from her Core flowed into her sword—I collected and analyzed every detail of Silvia’s combat data. Without the divinity’s aid, it would have been impossible, but the divinity cooperated as if it were my own body.
The divinity assisted without hesitation, analyzing every fragment of Silvia’s combat pattern.
Crunch. My foot dug into the ground. I rebounded and leaped, moving through the suspended moment of flight.
My movements felt increasingly fluid. I released flames from the soles of my feet to add velocity, then maintained that speed with economical, precise motion.
I drove straight toward her. She anticipated it, drawing her blade sharply against my approach.
Screech!
Of course, I’d anticipated her counterattack as well—the information told me what was coming. I twisted my body and slipped past her guard by a hair’s breadth, then moved behind her.
I swung without hesitation. A strike from her blind spot, aimed at a vital point. Against a Beginner Knight, it would have ended there. But.
Clang!
Silvia responded instantly.
Truly, a knight with excellent instincts.
I pressed on regardless, my speed never faltering. Acceleration, then more acceleration.
———Clang-clang-clang-clang!
The exchange of blows that swept across the Arena was relentless. Silvia’s sword grazed my hair, and mine barely missed her throat.
Where the blue Aura passed, ice crystallized; where the red Aura passed, everything blazed.
Even without direct contact from the blades, flesh was cut. Blood wept from torn skin, and my body creaked under the impact.
The more fierce the battle grew, the more my entire body screamed.
Clang!
Then, when my blade and Silvia’s collided head-on, frost and heat warred fiercely between the two edges.
Crunch-crunch-crunch-crunch—
Silvia surpassed me in combat skill and physical fortitude, yet my Aura held the advantage.
Sizzle—
As heat pressed down on frost, bearing down on her, Silvia’s composure cracked. Her eyes betrayed a single thought: where did such power come from?
Judging defeat inevitable at this rate, she twisted her wrist sharply and torqued her blade.
Clang!
A storm of Mana erupted between us, and in that maelstrom Silvia drew her Aura to its absolute limit. A final gambit.
The tip of her blade shuddered, then split into twelve rays of light.
The Maier School Advanced Swordsmanship Style.
December’s Snow Wind Flower.
Where her blade traced its arc, a blue Aura rippled—and twelve blossoms of snow unfurled.
Then a fierce windstorm rose, and icy petals cascaded like a waterfall.
Try to block it if you can!
That was the technique.
Of course, I did not simply endure. How much effort had I poured into this duel?
Not merely the exertion since my regression, but all the struggle from before it as well—I had woven it all into a single blade.
I traced the empty air with my sword. Burning Aura stacked upon itself, forming a tempest.
Wind rushed forth.
And a blazing wave crashed down.
The Carsen Family Advanced Swordsmanship Style, Revised.
Fire Wind Flame Wave.
———Boom!
Two slashes of opposite nature collided. Ice petals melted and vanished; flames ebbed and faded.
With them came mist.
Far thicker and vaster than before.
Whoooosh—
Yet neither Silvia nor I slowed our movement. This moment was our only chance to seize victory.
Red Aura and blue Aura flashed through the haze. Each time they clashed, it was like fireworks bursting. Truly, a dazzling display of blade-light.
Boom! Bang! Crash-boom!
I granted no room to breathe.
When Silvia vaulted skyward, I followed and struck. When she opened distance, I clung to her like a shadow, pressing into every gap. Her composure shattered.
Her expression said it all.
‘Relentless.’
Of course. She did not know me as I was before regression—a Asura warrior who had walked through countless battlefields.
I pressed on without pause, again and again. In the murk where vision was clouded, my Mana Detection blazed bright, and I clawed deeper still.
Clang!
Silvia answered with inborn talent and reflexes, yet her desperation grew.
She had never fought like this before; the shock unmade her. At last, cornered by her own psychology, she pushed her Aura to its absolute limit once more.
She swung her blade and unleashed a bitter cold, and the moisture in the mist began to freeze.
Crackle-crack!
I did not miss the opening her massive technique had left unguarded.
I drew in my Aura.
I erased my presence.
I poured Mana into both legs.
Like a beast holding its breath before padding soundlessly close to tear at the throat, I vaulted forward in absolute silence at blinding speed.
The instant the mist parted. I reached her face. My blade kissed her throat. The cool touch of steel passed into her.
“……!”
The duel was over.
I smiled gently.
And gave back the words she had spoken to me.
“Does that prove something?”
Silvia’s pupils trembled wildly. Then, slowly, they steadied.
I thought she would rage bitterly at losing to me. Yet her expression was far more composed than I expected.
Silvia’s voice rang out soft and clear.
“You’ve certainly…… changed. Or have you come back?”
She smiled. I smiled too. Then, without either of us needing to say it, we walked toward the center of the Training Grounds.
And then.
They stepped back, putting distance between them.
“I’ve lost.”
“I’ve learned from you.”
Midgal Rau raised his right hand high and shouted in a loud voice.
“The champion of this Geumseong Tournament is Sion Carsen!”
A moment of silence. The sight was so shocking that everyone had lost for words. But soon after.
Roooaaaar!
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!
Thunderous cheers poured down.
The names echoing through the Arena were Sion Carsen and Silvia Mayer—neither called more often than the other.
It was a kind of reverence for the young warriors, victor and vanquished alike, who had shown such magnificent combat. This was the Northern Territory that the Carsen Family had built.
‘Yes. This is enough for now.’
I was quite satisfied. What mattered now was the people who had watched the Geumseong Tournament itself.
I wanted them to feel my change. And I wanted them to realize that I was the harbinger of some greater transformation.
I approached Silvia and extended my hand.
“That was sharp swordsmanship. Too close for comfort.”
At that, Silvia clasped my hand and answered.
“Are you mocking me?”
“No. I mean it.”
I truly did. If I hadn’t analyzed Silvia and continued my training right up until that moment, I would have lost.
“Sion, something’s changed about you.”
“I’m at the age to become an adult.”
Silvia laughed softly, not forgetting to tell me to stop talking nonsense.
“Sion. I thought you’d lost your way, consumed by inferiority to your eldest brother.”
“…What? Ah, haha.”
At the mention of my eldest brother, my head went fuzzy. Come to think of it, where might he be looking toward now?
The firstborn of the Carsen Family, called a genius with the talent to inherit his father’s legacy. Shien Carsen.
At twenty-eight, he was a genius who had reached the height of Knight Expert, and was the very future of the Carsen Family itself.
A figure revered by all the territory’s people, one who received the respect of every knight in the Northern Territory.
Now, a hero who had gone to support the Beast Wave that erupted on the Western Continent.
Certainly, before my regression, I had harbored severe inferiority toward him. Of course, I felt none of that now.
Compared to the opponent that lies ahead, both he and I fall far short. Rather, I must make him even stronger.
“Why are you speaking of such hurtful things so carelessly?”
“Because I’m relieved it’s not true.”
“Tch. You’re not even listening to me, are you?”
We exchanged words without formality, like we had in childhood. As close friends.
“I won’t lose next time.”
“That won’t be easy.”
As if truly returned to those younger years.
We laughed face to face after a long time.
Then.
Midgal Rau approached and spoke.
“Congratulations. Both you and Silvia have grown so splendidly. The Lord will be delighted.”
“Thank you, Director.”
I smiled bitterly at his words. Since this was a retainer who had served my father since childhood, his words were trustworthy, but I couldn’t quite imagine my father being pleased.
“Thank you. I truly hope that’s the case.”
A simple awards ceremony followed.
As the champion, I received thirty billion Jenni in prize money.
Qualification to join the Platinum Knights.
The right to request a favor from the Lord.
And so forth.
Thus the Northern Territory’s summer festival.
The August Geumseong Tournament drew to a close.
‘I’ve finally achieved my initial goal.’
But the road ahead was still long.
I had merely taken the first step.
The Returning Sword Sage Devours the Northern Territory
Author
: Bangsim
Production Date
: June 16, 2026
Publisher
: Acesmedia Co., Ltd.
Editor
: Acesmedia Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work has been published by Acesmedia Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder.
No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the explicit permission of the publisher and author.
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UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260615032

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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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