The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1013

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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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Chapter 1013

—Put a leash on a Transcendent?

Wrath’s eyes widened as he stared at me.

—What kind of nonsense is that?

He tilted his head as if asking whose leash I was supposed to be holding.

‘The balance of power among the Five Emperors has shifted now.’

I grasped the Heavenly Sword’s blade for the first time in a while, twisting my lips into a smile.

‘The equilibrium shattered when Tacheon died.’

In the recent war, Tacheon had fallen, and the countless masked and helmeted specters under his command had been decimated alongside him. Eden’s current military strength was less than half of what it once was.

‘And before that, the Black Tower collapsed.’

Unlike Eden, which still had the Heavenly Demon alive, the Black Tower had crumbled completely when its sole master, the Black Tower Master, perished.

‘Moreover….’

I raised a finger and tapped the window where sunlight streamed through.

‘The Holy Sword Association, one of the Four Demons’ pillars, stands with neither them nor against them—they remain neutral.’

Lectar and the Holy Sword Association would not side with the Five Emperors, but neither would they join the Four Demons in war. They would never abandon their position of absolute neutrality.

‘In reality, it’s not the Five Emperors and Four Demons anymore—it’s the Five Emperors and Three Demons.’

Though some of the Five Emperors’ Transcendents bore injuries, they were wounds that could ultimately heal—save for Ogram’s.
Now it was undeniable that the Five Emperors held a decisive advantage over the Four Demons.

—Then what of the Archangel?

Wrath furrowed his brow as he gazed up at the azure sky.

-Each of those beings is practically a supreme transcendent in their own right. I hate to admit it, but some have even reached the level of the True Demon King.
‘Of course I remember.’

I exhaled a heavy sigh.

‘Still, the fact that Derus Robert hasn’t made a move suggests he hasn’t summoned all the Archangels yet.’

Derus Robert was gathering his strength in silence. Considering his perfectionist nature, there was clearly still time remaining.

-Even if the summoning takes time, he will eventually call forth the other Archangels as well.

Wrath clicked his tongue, saying that such desire was evident in Derus Robert’s eyes.

‘I know. That’s why I already have a method in mind.’

I waved my hand dismissively, telling him not to worry.

-What is this method of yours?
‘It’s a secret for now. Though you’ll probably find out soon enough.’
-For some reason, hearing that you have a plan makes my skin crawl. It feels just like when you’re about to demand a reward.

Wrath’s shoulders trembled, saying the feeling wasn’t a good one.

‘You’re perceptive.’

I smacked my lips while looking at Wrath.

-Huh?
‘It’s nothing.’

I waved my hand again and turned my gaze back to the window where warmth was descending.

‘In any case, the factions that have been watching from the sidelines between the Five Emperors will now have to make their choice clear. Most will crawl toward us.’

I narrowed my eyes, gazing at the sky so clear it resembled the sea itself.

—But why would you want to hold the leash?
‘I might lose the opportunity if I’m not prepared. I need to get ready in advance.’

I tied a letter to the leg of the black swallow from the Bi-Yeon Society that I’d kept on hand and sent it flying out the window.

Whoooosh!

The swallow, as if it had already chosen its path, soared high into the sky and departed toward the south.

—Now I understand what you mean.

Wrath nodded calmly while watching the swallow’s tail disappear.

‘But before that….’

I gazed toward where the 5th Training Ground was located and licked my lips with anticipation.

‘First, let me check on the leashes of our own people.’

*

*

*

Clang!

Burren Zigheart and Mark Goeten clashed swords before retreating to opposite sides.

“This is absurd.”

Burren Zigheart let out a hollow laugh while observing the trembling blade.

“You reached Grand Master later than us, yet you’ve already achieved the same level….”

He expressed his amazement and admiration, offering his congratulations.

“It’s all thanks to the teachings of the Head of House.”

Mark Goeten tilted his sword toward the ground and nodded calmly.

“Because you told me it wasn’t too late, I was able to reach this level.”

He spoke of how he hadn’t given up thanks to Raon, gripping his sword hilt tightly.

“Flowers that bloom through hardship are always the most beautiful.”

Burren congratulated him again and offered his applause.

“If you’re done, come out!”

Martha pushed Burren aside and stepped forward before Mark Goeten.

“Old man. You should fight me too. I won’t go easy on you like Burren did.”

She spoke of wanting a proper match, brushing off her hands like a street thug from the back alleys.

“Excellent!”

Mark Goeten nodded as if welcoming her challenge, then met Martha’s incoming sword strike head-on.

Clang!

The collision of two Grand Masters sent a violent surge of aura rippling through the air of the 5th Training Ground.

“My turn next….”

Lunan Slion slowly raised his hand, clearly eager to spar with Mark Goeten as well.

Yawn!

Crain let out a long yawn while watching Mark Goeten and Martha’s match.

“Peaceful. With the Lord away, it’s so comfortable like this.”

He said there was no need to be cautious and leaned his back against a tree.

“You find it comfortable because the Lord isn’t here?”

Dorian’s eyes rolled as if asking what I was talking about.

“If the Head of House is around, it feels awkward to train at full strength.”

Crain looked up at the tree and snorted.

“Because that guy works so hard. It makes me feel like I’m just playing around, you know?”

He shook his head, saying he hated that feeling.

“That’s a good thing.”

Trevin wagged his finger while looking at Mark Goeten, Crain, and Dorian.

“People only improve when they feel their own shortcomings.”

He furrowed his brow instead, saying that training didn’t go well without Raon.

“That’s because you’ve only been under our Head of House for a short time, Trevin!”

Crain waved his hand vigorously.

“It’s not just the awkward atmosphere! He suddenly shows up, challenges us to sparring matches, and just beats us down—that’s common too!”

He exhaled roughly as if spitting out the words, saying that Raon’s training was far more brutal than Burren’s or Martha’s.

“I wish he’d stop with those concentration training sessions of his.”
“Right. Doing only that makes me feel like I’m dying. My body won’t move.”
“I hate sparring with the Head of House. I can’t even land a single hit, just get hit—what’s the fun in that?”
“The training intensity keeps increasing. I don’t feel like I’m getting stronger.”
“Is the Head of House training us just to beat us down?”

The swordsmen who sympathized with Crain’s words approached him and nodded enthusiastically.

“….”

Only Dorian kept his mouth shut, his eyes trembling as if sensing something.

“You all know it too!”

Crain shuffled his feet heavily as he looked at the swordsmen gathering around him.

“I’m telling you, I really don’t know! Monsters don’t understand our feelings!”

He gnashed his teeth, saying that people like Burren, Martha, and Lunan Slion didn’t understand their own suffering.

“It’s true that Raon’s training made us stronger. But now we need to do things differently. Every single day—sparring, concentration drills. It’s boring and no fun at all!”

Crain snorted derisively, calling me the master of repetition.

“Dorian. Why are you keeping your mouth shut? You’ve got plenty of complaints too. Speak up.”

He patted Dorian’s shoulder, urging him to vent the grievances he’d been holding back.

“Uh…”

Dorian lowered the hand covering his mouth and pointed behind Crain.

“W-wait… surely not…”

Crain swallowed hard, sensing dread in Dorian’s trembling finger.

“Behind me?”
“Y-yes…”

Dorian nodded, his voice quavering.

“Ha… haha…”

Crain’s entire body trembled like a freshwater fish skewered on a stick as he turned around.

From behind the tree he’d been leaning against, I emerged with crimson eyes gleaming.

“L-lord! When did you arrive?”

Crain forced a smile, tensing every muscle in his face.

“Just now.”

I nodded calmly as if I hadn’t heard a word and made my way toward the platform.

“What, what? Didn’t you hear?”

Crain watched my back as I climbed onto the platform, smacking his lips.

“I, I think he did?”
“The Master arrived right when we finished speaking.”
“Th, thank goodness….”

The other swordsmen muttered that they’d barely survived and exhaled sighs of relief.

“We dodged death by a hair.”

Crain wiped away cold sweat pouring from his forehead like rain, as if he’d just returned from Hell itself.

“Ugh….”

But Dorian, who knew me best, squeezed his eyes shut as if he could already see Crain’s future.

Tap.

The moment I took my position at the edge of the platform, the swordsmen of Gwangpung Hall, who had been engaged in various activities, gathered before me and assumed their ready stance.

“Have you all maintained yourselves well during my absence?”

I lowered my crimson gaze to meet the eyes of the Gwangpung Hall swordsmen.

“Yes!”

The swordsmen of Gwangpung Hall answered in unison without hesitation, as if they were a single entity.

“Since our leave has ended, we have all participated in training since dawn.”

Burren reported that all the swordsmen had focused on their cultivation without any particular incidents.

“They’ve grown so accustomed to it that now they train on their own without being told.”

Martha laughed brightly, as if impressed.

“Only one person was late….”

Lunan Slion nodded, remarking that even the number of latecomers had decreased.

“That latecomer is you!”

Martha shouted at Lunan Slion as if she found it utterly absurd.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t me?”
“Then why are you talking about it like it’s someone else’s problem!”

She ground her teeth, telling him to get his head on straight.

“Hmm….”

I left Lunan Slion and Martha to their quarrel and turned my attention back to the Gale Wind Hall swordsmen.

“I can certainly see that everyone has been diligent in their training. You’ve all worked hard. However….”

My gaze sharpened as I spoke.

“The results of your training don’t seem to be materializing properly.”

I shook my head, sensing that the swordsmen’s combat prowess hadn’t changed for quite some time.

“Well, that’s….”
“You can’t just become stronger in one go through training!”
“Right. Time is needed….”

Burren Zigheart, Martha, and Lunan Slion sighed, saying they’d long since passed the stage where effort showed immediate results.

“Familiarity is a terrifying thing.”

I tapped the scabbard of the Heavenly Sword habitually.

“Once your body and mind adapt to difficult training, there’s little left to gain afterward.”

Swordsmanship is perfected through repetition, but physical and mental strength cannot develop through familiar effort.

“To be honest, you’re all strong.”

I lowered my hand toward the Gale Wind Hall swordsmen.

“You possess bodies and minds beyond your current realm of strength, exceptional swordsmanship, and diverse combat experience. Against opponents of equal rank, you won’t lose easily.”

I had sharpened their mental fortitude through concentration training, tempered their bodies through direct sparring, and filled their practical experience through duels. It was no exaggeration to call Gale Wind Hall the strongest single military organization.

“However, there is one thing you lack.”

I raised a finger and pointed to the energy center.

“Aura.”

The Gale Wind Hall swordsmen possessed decent auras, but being young, they often fell short in both quantity and quality compared to opponents of equal rank.

“That’s why I’ve devised a new training method. This will be….”

The moment I said “new,” I caught sight of Crain’s shoulders trembling and smiled coldly.

“It will absolutely not be boring.”
“Uh….”

Crain realized I had heard every word he’d said, and his face drained of color.

“First, let’s start with….”

I tapped my finger thoughtfully against my chin.

“Ugh….”

Crain stepped forward as if sensing his fate.

“Martha, you go first.”

But instead of Crain, I extended my hand to Martha.

“Not Crain?”

Martha tilted her head as if puzzled by the sudden request.

“Yes. You first.”

I descended before Martha with a slight smile.

“Keep sitting and look ahead.”
“Understood.”

Martha offered her back to me without hesitation, placing her complete trust in my hands.

A deep hum resonated through the air.

I condensed the searing heat of Manhwa Palace and the frigid cold of Glacsia at my fingertips, then forced the combined aura directly into Martha’s mana circuits.

“Ugh!”

Martha’s eyes trembled as she endured the excruciating pain from the sudden aura assault.

“Your training is to expel my aura using your own.”

I continued forcing aura into Martha’s mana circuits as her shoulders quivered from the agony, a faint smile playing at my lips.

‘I never thought I’d repurpose this technique for training.’

Originally, this method was my own interrogation technique—a way to extract information from enemies through torment.

But after hearing Crain complain that training had become tedious, I decided to adapt it into a new aura cultivation method.

‘For something improvised on the spot, it’s not half bad.’

Unlike torture, Martha could resist with her own aura, meaning the quality and density of her power would grow progressively stronger. It was similar to how muscles became stronger after being broken down and rebuilt.

‘If she endures this training to the end…’

The effects might exceed absorbing an entire supreme-grade elixir.

Few could fully absorb all the benefits of an elixir simply by consuming it.
But if Martha survived my training, she could develop an aura far stronger than what complete absorption of a supreme-grade elixir would grant.

‘Of course….’

I chuckled as I watched Martha’s face flush crimson with embarrassment.

‘It won’t be easy, though.’

This training ranked among the most grueling I’d devised yet—requiring endless application of aura cultivation techniques while enduring excruciating pain. Few possessed the mental fortitude to survive it.

“Grrrrgh….”

Martha ground her teeth audibly against the torment, her glare fixed on Crain. Fury blazed in her eyes—she clearly blamed him for this suffering.

“Next then….”

I raised my hand to select the next participant.

“Me….”
“Burren.”

I ignored Crain as he stepped forward and called Burren instead, channeling aura into him exactly as I had with Martha.

“Aaahhh….”

Burren too bit his lips raw against the unbearable agony, his eyes boring into Crain with resentment.

“Next, Lunan Slion.”
“Wait, please hold on!”

Crain burst forward, shoving past Lunan Slion.

“Please, please! Do me first! I’m begging you!”

He wrung his hands desperately, as if pleading for his life.

“No.”

I shook my head, feeling the cold stares of the others directed at Crain.

“This training exists because of you. You’ll receive it last.”

I assured them I would take proper care of them and injected the chilling aura of Manhwagong and Glacsia into Lunan Slion’s back as he approached.

“Ugh….”

Even Lunan Slion, who typically showed minimal reaction to anything, tensed his usually vacant eyes against the excruciating pain and looked up at Crain.

“Ahhh! Stop!”

Crain cried out for mercy and slammed his head into the ground.

-The True Demon King has encountered countless demons, but….

Wrath clicked his tongue in disbelief.

-Never have I met one like you who tortures people to death! You sun-like bastard!
‘In this world, the sun is a compliment, isn’t it?’

I nodded gratefully and thanked Wrath for the praise.

-It’s not praise, you fool! It’s a curse!

*

*

*

A week later.

The swordsmen of Gale Wind Hall overcame the aura of Manhwagong and Glacsia that I had forced into them and made it their own.

I watched the swordsmen concentrate and cultivate, giving a small nod of approval.

‘They’re adapting faster than I expected.’

I had thought it would take a month, but the swordsmen overcame my aura far more quickly than anticipated.

‘Their progress exceeds my expectations as well.’

The training began as a way to elevate the aura level of the swordsmen, but it also unexpectedly granted them resistance to heat and cold.
It seemed the various trainings conducted thus far were producing complex, compounding effects.

‘Of course….’

I stood at the forefront, circulating my aura alongside Crain, and let out a quiet chuckle as I sensed the murderous intent radiating from the swordsmen behind him.

‘That guy must be having a terrible time.’

The swordsmen seemed convinced this training was created solely because of Crain, hurling silent curses at him with their eyes.

If I were to disappear right now, they would likely unleash their fists in fury.

-No matter how I think about it, your enemies are truly pitiful, boy.

Wrath clasped his hands together, saying he would now offer prayers for their souls.

‘No need to pray for them. They deserve to die, every last one.’

As I shook my head coldly, a pure white bird descended from the sky before me. A crimson mark was inscribed upon its forehead, and it carried an air of mystery like clouds clinging to a high mountain.

“Hmm….”

I received the white paper tied to the bird’s leg and unfolded it.

‘Finally, it has arrived.’

The letter was written in elegant script, stating that I was welcome to visit anytime.

“Stop.”

As I gestured and withdrew my aura, the Gwangpung swordsmen lifted their heads with exhausted eyes.

“Already? We can still go on!”

Martha gasped for breath, her hands gripping her knees.

“Yeah. I’m just starting to get the hang of it….”

Burren Zigheart also smacked his lips regretfully.

“I’ve grown accustomed to the heat….”

Lunan Slion nodded, his flushed face testament to his adaptation to the sweltering atmosphere of Manhwagong.

“New orders will come down soon. Be ready.”

I brushed the dust from my clothes and tidied my disheveled hair.

“Orders? There shouldn’t be any for a while, should there?”

Trevin narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the white paper.

“Not from above—I’m going to propose something to the Head of House myself.”

I wrote a brief note saying I would visit soon and tied it to the leg of a white bird.

“What kind of mission are you proposing…?”

Dorian swallowed nervously, fear evident in his expression.

“The two remaining powers of the Divine Continent Five Regions.”

I smiled coldly as I watched two clouds sinking before the grand sun.

“I need to bring Heekyuk Je and Akgeomhu to their knees.”

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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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