The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1017

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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 1017

Whoooosh!

The moment my words finished, the once-cordial atmosphere of the Conference Hall plummeted as if we’d stepped into an ice cavern.

“What?”
“Follow or die? That’s too harsh, even for the Zigheart!”
“Watch your tongue! Even the Four Demons wouldn’t resort to threats like this!”
“Has he lost his mind to fame? He’s not thinking straight.”

The swordsmen of Mugeomgak standing behind Akgeomhu bit their lips and unleashed a menacing aura.

“If you were upset, you should have decided long ago. The situation has changed now.”
“Threats? I merely offered you a choice. How is that coercion?”
“How pathetic….”

Martha, Burren, and Lunan let out scornful laughs as if to say they understood the situation perfectly.

Crackle!

As the executives of Gwangpung and Mugeomgak clashed with their auras, blue sparks erupted above the white Round Table, scorching the Conference Hall’s ceiling and walls pitch black.

“Enough.”

Akgeomhu raised her hand, restraining the swordsmen behind her.

“Stand down.”

I tilted my chin slightly, holding back Burren, Martha, and Lunan, who were about to unleash their Grand Master auras.

“….”

Heekyuk Je said nothing, and the warriors of the White Whale behind her remained motionless like puppets.

“Your words are quite harsh, aren’t they?”

Akgeomhu settled back into her seat, her cold eyes gleaming.

“Did you mean what you said just now?”

Unlike when she had been flustered by Tacheon’s words, she now displayed a composed demeanor. Even in anger, she seemed intent on hearing everything before making her decision. It was the mindset of a transcendent being.

“I must mean it. I’m not the type to throw out feelers in a place like this.”

Heekyuk Je traced her fingers along the handle of her teacup, drawing a faint smile. She seemed to have anticipated this situation.

“Yes. I mean it sincerely.”

I nodded, meeting Akgeomhu’s frigid gaze.

“Why?”

Akgeomhu tilted her chin, demanding an explanation for such words.

“I believe the Five Emperors—especially Zigheart—have given the Divine Continent Five Regions many opportunities.”

I placed my hand on the Round Table, observing the subdued eyes of both Heekyuk Je and Akgeomhu.

“What opportunities?”
“Five separate forces are bound together under the name of the Divine Continent Five Regions.”

I continued, my gaze following the Divine Continent Five Regions banner fluttering on the Conference Hall wall.

“Sharing a single banner means that the problems of one faction must be accepted by the other four as if they were their own.”
“That’s right. That’s what it means.”

Akgeomhu acknowledged my words without hesitation. Even if she didn’t know much, she seemed to have nothing to hide.

“Sageomma tried to kill me to erase his own misdeeds, and Guisalchang attacked me first while I was merely trying to protect a friend.”

I clenched my fist—the hand that had been stained with the blood of Sageomma and Guisalchang.

“Ordinarily, Zigheart and I should have held the Divine Continent Five Regions accountable for their actions and demanded answers. However, I chose not to make that matter public….”
“That’s not it.”

Akgeomhu raised her hand toward me.

“Those two have already left the Divine Continent Five Regions. I tried to persuade this bastard to wait a bit longer, but he wouldn’t listen and just left!”

She called Heekyuk Je “this bastard” and furrowed her brow. The relationship between the two seemed to be more than a simple alliance.

“Sageomma left without telling us and died by your hand, and Guisalchang wanted to feel alive after the Black Tower collapsed, so he left the Divine Continent Five Regions. If I had known they would die like that, I should have stopped them by force and gone to the Five Emperors.”

Akgeomhu clicked her tongue, regretting that she hadn’t been able to stop Sageomma and Guisalchang.

‘Now that I think about it….’

I clicked my tongue softly as I watched Akgeomhu furrow her brow.

‘Akgeomhu had wanted to choose the Five Emperors before as well.’

Unlike others, I remembered that Akgeomhu had hated the Four Demons from the start and had only wanted to choose the Five Emperors.

However, even if I had favorable feelings toward her, the time to overcome this incident had already passed.

“No.”

I shook my head slowly, frustratingly so.

“The Divine Continent Five Regions has never officially announced the defection of Sablack and the Machang Society. The Pirate King is the same.”
“What do you mean by that….”

Akgeomhu furrowed her brows as if hearing this for the first time and looked at Heekyuk Je.

“Is that true?”
“….”

Heekyuk Je said nothing and quietly closed his eyes.

“The reason is obvious without hearing it. They don’t want the outside world to know that the Divine Continent Five Regions’ authority and power have diminished.”

I nodded while watching Heekyuk Je with his eyes closed.

“The Divine Continent Five Regions was established as an alliance to avoid being entangled with the Six Emperors Five Demons and to reap benefits from the center of it. But three of them have defected? And during a war at that? For the Five Emperors and the Four Demons, it’s nothing but a perfectly prepared meal.”

Since I could read all of Heekyuk Je’s thoughts, I continued my explanation while observing the bewildered Akgeomhu.

“Honestly, it’s not a bad idea. I would have made a similar choice in your position. However….”

I opened my eyes again and twisted my lips as I looked at Heekyuk Je.

“If you made such a choice, you must also bear the responsibility that comes with it. From the perspective of myself and Zigheart, it’s no different from being attacked by Sageomma and Guisalchang, who belong to the Five Sovereigns.”
“Hmm….”

Akgeomhu bit her lip deeply, as if she finally understood what I was saying.

“B-but!”
“No matter what, we didn’t do anything wrong….”
“We should have said something about this….”

The swordsmen of Mugeomgak trembled with their fists clenched, as if they felt wronged.

“Be quiet.”

Akgeomhu lowered her hand, silencing the Mugeomgak swordsmen from speaking any further.

“….”

After hearing all the facts, Heekyuk Je said nothing and simply stared at his empty teacup.

“There is actually a part I don’t understand.”

I looked directly at Heekyuk Je, who sat across from me.

“After experiencing what happened with Sageomma, why didn’t you make a public announcement when Guisalchang left? You couldn’t possibly not know that if Guisalchang caused trouble following Sageomma’s incident, the damage would fall entirely upon the Five Sovereigns.”

The Heekyuk Je I knew was someone who tested even stone bridges before crossing them. He should have been burned once by Sageomma’s incident, so I couldn’t understand why he repeated the same mistake.

“Tell me.”

Akgeomhu seemed to share the same thought and tilted her chin toward Heekyuk Je.

“That’s right.”

Heekyuk Je poured crimson tea into a teacup with her own hands, her brows furrowing.

“If I were the person I used to be, I would have announced the withdrawal of Guisalchang and the Machang Society immediately after Sageomma fell.”

She let out a thin laugh as if acknowledging that Raon’s words were correct, then set down the teapot.

“Then why didn’t you do it?”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Heekyuk Je.

“Did you want to gain benefits by maintaining the Five Sovereigns to such an extent?”
“….”

Heekyuk Je didn’t answer, only gazing at the teacup with its shallow ripples.

“When I came here, I heard your anecdotes from that person.”

Raon gestured toward Mekain, who stood behind Heekyuk Je.

“After the Oma attack, you released personal funds to prioritize the homes and livelihoods of the residents. If I know you correctly, you did it to mind external eyes and rumors, but there must have been some affection for your people as well.”

I gazed down at the vibrant city visible through the Conference Hall’s windows and let out a scoff.

“But because of this incident, the city you personally cultivated could have become a sea of blood by Zigheart’s hand. We had both the power and the justification, so no one could have questioned it.”

Raon took a slow breath, contemplating the worst possible future.

“Everything you cherished could have been destroyed, so why did you make such a choice?”

I tilted my chin, demanding that she answer now.

“Tell me honestly.”

Akgeomhu slammed her palm down on the Round Table.

“What were you thinking!”

She clenched her teeth, demanding a proper explanation.

“Sigh…”

Heekyuk Je exhaled a long breath as if expelling cigarette smoke.

“Tacheon. Yes. So it comes down to that in the end.”

She gazed at Raon with a weary smile.

“I understand. This time, I’ll be honest with you.”

Heekyuk Je nodded heavily, declaring she would hide nothing.

“You’ve probably sensed it, but I can read the Heavenly Mandate.”

She rose from her seat, pulled back her white robe, and placed the book bound at her thigh onto the Round Table.

“The Heavenly Mandate is an unchangeable future already determined. Using this Sun-Moon Scripture, I can read the future to some degree.”

Heekyuk Je opened the Sun-Moon Scripture and flipped through its pages.

“But since that day, I can no longer see the future clearly.”

She let out a bitter laugh directed at herself.

“That day?”

Akgeomhu furrowed her brow, questioning when that was.

“You.”

Heekyuk Je raised her finger, pointing at Raon.

“Ever since I read the Heavenly Mandate of Raon Zigheart, most futures have become obscured.”

She held up the book to show the image drawn at its end. On the torn page, crimson lines spread in all directions as if blood had been poured across it—the book itself appeared to be screaming.

“This is my Heavenly Mandate?”

Raon furrowed his brow, studying the eerie pattern drawn in the book.

“I actually read the heavens and came to Zigheart. But every future I saw was shattered by you. So I returned here, wanting to understand who you truly are. But this is what I found.”

She gazed once more at the torn pages of the Lunar Scripture and exhaled heavily.

“After that, I couldn’t see what I could perceive or what I could do. Strangely, I could still discern the Soul Stone you sought. But regardless, I didn’t hesitate out of greed for gain….”

Heekyuk Je fixed her gaze upon me and parted her lips.

“I couldn’t make a decision because I don’t know what choice would save the Five Sovereigns.”

She closed her eyes tightly, saying that her mind had grown rigid ever since reading her own fate.

“The very ability to read the heavens has become a shackle for me.”

Heekyuk Je laughed dully, saying she could no longer see the future clearly and thus couldn’t make any choice.

“Tacheon must have also read the heavens that he wouldn’t die and gone to you. But the result was death.”

She nodded, seeming to know how Tacheon had perished.

“Now it’s certain. You possess the power to change the heavens. No—the power to alter destiny itself.”

Heekyuk Je exhaled a heavy breath she’d been holding for some time, as if she could finally escape from the now-murky heavens.

“I see. So that’s why….”

Akgeomhu chewed her lips as understanding finally dawned. It seemed she had entrusted all her duties to Heekyuk Je.
Just as I’d thought earlier, the two of them were clearly closer than mere allies.

‘Destiny again.’

I recalled the title I’d obtained not long ago—【One Who Turns the Wheel of Destiny】—and closed my eyes.

‘Whether I change destiny or create an entirely new one doesn’t matter.’

I just need to do what I can.

I opened my eyes again, thinking only of what I must do, without dwelling on the heavens, the future, or destiny.

“I understand your circumstances, but I cannot read the heavens, nor do I believe in them, so I cannot particularly empathize.”

Raon shook his head coldly.

“The reason I did not question Sageomma’s actions with the Five Sovereigns and waited was because you provided information related to the soul stone. However, now that Guisalchang’s incident has occurred, that bargaining chip has expired. Now you must choose.”

I asked once more whether she would follow the path of the Five Emperors or die here.

“Sigh…”

Heekyuk Je lowered her head, placing a hand on her forehead.

“Meeting you has cleared the confusion that clouded my mind. Now I can decide without hesitation.”

She smiled thinly while meeting Raon’s gaze.

“The Five Sovereigns and I will…”
“Wait.”

Just as Heekyuk Je was about to make her choice, Akgeomhu rose to her feet.

“I still object.”

Akgeomhu furrowed her brows, indicating she would not choose at this moment.

“What? You have always wished to stand with the Five Emperors.”

Heekyuk Je widened her eyes in surprise at this sudden change.

“I understand that this fool made a mistake, and I fully comprehend that Sageomma and Guisalchang caused problems while belonging to our organization.”

Akgeomhu nodded, acknowledging that Raon and the Five Emperors had the right to hold them accountable.

“But that alone is not enough for me to accept. I am an ignorant warrior, after all.”

Akgeomhu grasped the sword she had leaned against the round table.

“I wish to cross blades with you directly and then decide.”

She lifted her chin, saying she would follow me if I defeated her.

“That’s not a difficult task.”

Raon rose from the Round Table with a faint smile.

‘This person is worth fighting.’

Glen had spoken words of warning, so even if I didn’t know about Heekyuk Je, I wanted to clash with Akgeomhu first myself.

“However….”

Raon lowered his chin gracefully while meeting Akgeomhu’s sharp gaze.

“Come at me with your full strength. Hide nothing.”
“If you do that….”

Akgeomhu’s eyes gleamed with a cold, blade-like sharpness, as if she truly had something hidden.

“You’ll die, won’t you?”

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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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