The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1043
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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 1043
“That beggar….”
I fixed my gaze on the beggar wearing an eye patch while grabbing Lectar’s sleeve.
“You’re the Dark Night Sword God, Darkan, right?”
Even now it was hard to believe, but Darkan—the Previous Holy Sword Master and bearer of the title Dark Night Sword God—was crawling on the ground, masquerading as a beggar.
“That’s right.”
Lectar nodded slowly and let out a sigh.
“I told you that you wouldn’t believe it in that state.”
“Indeed. If I had heard from Zigheart that Darkan had become a beggar, I would have worried about Grandfather’s condition first.”
Lectar had only told me where Darkan was, not what he was doing. Now I finally understood why he made that choice.
‘A transcendent. And one of the highest-tier transcendents mastering the heart sword at that, reduced to a beggar—who would believe such a thing?’
Even if I trusted Lectar, I would never have believed that claim.
-The True Demon King has lived through long ages and seen many madmen….
Wrath scanned Darkan from head to toe and let out a hollow laugh.
-But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone this insane. His brain seems to be structured entirely differently.
He said my brain was different and stared at me intently.
‘Why are you looking at me?’
-Because you’re just as much of a lunatic as that madman.
Wrath said we were on equal footing and nodded his chin.
‘Come on! No matter what, I’m not anywhere near that guy!’
I shook my head, refusing to acknowledge the comparison.
-The nature differs, but the level of madness is identical!
Wrath snorted, confident in his assessment.
‘That’s not it!’
I cried out not to compare me with Darkan, then turned my gaze back toward the Gambling House.
“Ugh….”
Darkan shuffled forward toward the Gambling House entrance, seemingly unaware of his own arrival.
“Please, just some spare change….”
He grabbed at the ankles of people entering or leaving the Gambling House, begging them for money.
“Ugh, disgusting!”
“Get lost!”
The people kicked Darkan aside as if brushing away refuse and entered the Gambling House.
-Watching him like that reminds me of that fool.
Wrath’s lips curved into a subtle smile as he recalled Rimer groveling in the Gambling House.
‘That man was driven out after gambling away his fortune. But this one….’
I shook my head as I observed Darkan’s appearance.
‘He’s performing a clumsy act of destitution.’
While Rimer had lost his money and clothes gambling before being cast out, Darkan lived as a pauper with no interest in gambling whatsoever.
‘But….’
He’s injured.
I furrowed my brow, watching Darkan massage the spots where people had struck him.
‘Could it be… he’s lost his power?’
Darkan was a monster positioned at the very apex among transcendents. His body should have been impervious to the fists and kicks of ordinary humans, yet it was covered in bruises and wounds.
-That’s not it.
Wrath shook his head as if telling me to look carefully.
-That bastard has concealed his aura beneath his soul and controlled his body to appear as an ordinary human. In truth, he’s grown even stronger than when we last saw him.
He gestured with his hand, telling me to observe with my newly acquired eyes.
‘I see…’
I smacked my lips briefly and activated the Cerulean Insight.
Whoooosh.
As a biting frost seeped into my pupils, I began to perceive Darkan’s massive soul and the terrifying aura writhing beneath it.
‘You’re right…’
Darkan had deliberately controlled his aura and body to appear as an ordinary person. He was performing a pathetic act of a beggar while concealing power and a soul far greater than before.
‘He already knows I’m here.’
Though Darkan wasn’t even looking in my direction, he must have sensed that both Lectar and I were watching.
Since I was already discovered, there was no need to lower my voice or conceal my presence.
“Why is Darkan acting like that?”
I exhaled softly, glancing at Lectar.
“It’s obvious.”
Lectar furrowed his brow as if the answer was already determined.
“To raise the realm of the Dark Sword, of course.”
“That must be it.”
I nodded calmly. Even by my own reasoning, there was no other explanation for why the Dark Sword Demon God would be doing such things.
‘To grow stronger, he gouged out his own eyes and reduced himself to beggary….’
I believed I had made greater efforts than anyone else to become stronger, but it seemed I would struggle to match Darkan’s dedication.
“Let’s go. He already knows we’ve arrived.”
I brushed the dust from my shoulders and approached Darkan, who was leaning his back against the wall of the Gambling House.
“It’s been a while.”
Whether formal or casual speech, he didn’t care about such distinctions, so I nodded at him like I had yesterday.
“Huh….”
Darkan exhaled a murky breath as if performing the act of a beggar and lifted his head.
“Who are you?”
He breathed out dully, as if he didn’t recognize me.
“Drop the act, will you?”
I bent my knees and gazed at the black blindfold covering Darkan’s eyes.
“Tsk.”
Darkan clicked his tongue sharply, annoyed.
“What do you want?”
Only after he wove a subtle yet flexible aura barrier that enveloped only me and Lectar did he speak in his true voice. It was an eerily refined manipulation of aura.
“Our deal should already be finished, shouldn’t it?”
Darkan wrinkled the bridge of his nose as if he didn’t understand why I had come. As expected, he had already seen through my disguise.
“I have a favor to ask.”
I clasped my hands together while observing the wrinkles etched across Darkan’s forehead.
“No.”
Darkan shook his head without even hearing what I had to say.
“It may be a favor, but it’s a matter that would benefit you as well.”
I gently bit my lip, urging him to listen before making his decision.
“Benefit me?”
Darkan looked down at me with a scornful laugh.
“Didn’t I tell you that I value you not for your current strength, but for your future potential?”
He shook his head firmly, indicating he had no interest in what I was now.
“Unless you’re bringing Glen Zigheart before me this very moment, there’s nothing you can help me with. Now leave.”
Darkan snorted dismissively, as if I were interrupting his training.
“Interrupting my training? What meaning could such beggar’s work possibly have?”
“Because I’ve never tried it before.”
Darkan dragged his fingers across the floor with a hollow laugh.
“I was born standing above the heavens. My family was excellent, my talent overflowed—I’ve always reigned above others.”
He lowered his chin, speaking of the brilliant and noble life he had walked.
“That’s why I’m trying to experience the lowest depths of life. A path I’ve never walked. Doing things that don’t suit me is….”
Darkan adjusted the eye patch over his hollow eye socket and curled his lips upward.
“It greatly aids the growth of my soul and swordsmanship.”
He clenched his dirt-stained fists, saying that was why he had become a beggar.
“My mind is tingling with anticipation right now. If I focus a bit more on this life, I believe I can attain a new enlightenment, so do not disturb me.”
Darkan waved his hand dismissively, telling me to leave.
“Hmm….”
I furrowed my brow as I watched Darkan return to begging.
‘He doesn’t seem like he’ll listen to reason.’
Normally he would heed my words, but now Darkan stood on the precipice of enlightenment, utterly indifferent to everything else.
“Darkan.”
Lectar nodded toward Darkan.
“When do you think this enlightenment will arrive?”
“As you know, a swordmaster cannot dictate when enlightenment comes. It’s near, but I cannot grasp it—which makes it all the more uncertain.”
Darkan scratched his temple in frustration.
“Then at least listen to what we have to say….”
“It’s fine, Grandfather.”
I caught Lectar’s arm as he moved toward Darkan.
‘He’s in no state to listen right now.’
Darkan had always valued my swordsmanship talent highly. If he was acting like this, it was best not to disturb him.
“Let’s go.”
I withdrew, still holding Lectar’s arm.
“A wise decision. We can speak after he attains his enlightenment.”
The moment they slipped away, Darkan released the aura that had been flowing like natural mana.
“….”
I said nothing and leaned my back against the alley wall where I had first observed Darkan.
“Are you truly certain? If we withdraw like this….”
Lectar’s eyes narrowed with concern about the impending war with the White Blood Cult.
“Of course I have no intention of leaving it at this.”
I curled my lips as I watched Darkan’s pathetic begging.
“A method should present itself soon.”
*
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“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue, watching Darkan kneeling and begging in the Royal Capital Back Alley.
-Haaaaaawn!
Wrath yawned so wide his mouth nearly split open.
-How much longer do you intend to stay here? The food isn’t bad for a kingdom of indulgence, but this is tedious!
He grabbed my shoulder, suggesting I gamble instead.
‘How long have we been here?’
-A week, you fool! You’ve done nothing but stare at that beggar for seven days!
Wrath twisted his body like a rose vine, complaining that he was dying of boredom.
‘I see.’
I clicked my tongue softly as I watched Darkan begging from the passersby.
‘He’s been like that all week long….’
Darkan moved from place to place constantly, begging from people.
He seemed genuinely committed to his role—kicked by gamblers, struck with goods by merchants, trampled by other beggars—yet he never once revealed his true identity.
However, despite all this effort, Darkan’s success rate at begging was extraordinarily low.
‘Now I understand the problem.’
I watched Darkan, who spent the entire day getting beaten rather than successfully begging, and my lips curled into a knowing smile.
‘He’s nothing but a warrior wearing a beggar’s disguise.’
My instincts from my days as an assassin, when I had disguised myself as countless beggars, spoke clearly. This was a fake beggar, nothing more.
‘I can make my move now.’
-Huh?
Wrath blinked, as if questioning what I meant.
-That guy said not to come! He said requests won’t work right now.
He shook his head, as if to say that nothing would get through to Darkan in his current state.
‘I’m not asking him for anything.’
I smiled faintly at Wrath.
‘I’m going to teach him what a real beggar looks like.’
I pulled out rags from my spatial pouch that even beggars wouldn’t wear, changed into them, and smeared soot and ash across my face and body.
After making myself look like I hadn’t eaten in ten days, I approached Darkan.
“Hmm….”
Darkan furrowed his brow as he looked at me.
“I have no interest in pleas, so I clearly told you to disappear, didn’t I?”
His irritation was evident as his eyes grew cold and sharp, a stark contrast to before. A chilling killing intent pierced through my chest like an icy blade, making my spine shudder.
“A plea? What nonsense are you spouting?”
I shook my head, repeating the words I had spoken to Wrath.
“I came to teach you what a beggar truly is.”
I said I would show him directly, then knelt down and hunched forward like a hunchback.
“I… I haven’t eaten in a week…”
I approached a young woman walking alongside a refined-looking man, hunched my shoulders, and raised trembling fingers.
“Please, just one copper coin, I beg you.”
It hadn’t been long since I’d eaten a hearty lunch with Wrath, yet I gasped for breath as if I truly hadn’t eaten in a week.
“How pitiful…”
The young woman gripped the arm of the man walking beside her tightly.
“Tsk, consider yourself lucky.”
The refined man clicked his tongue and tossed a gold coin to me.
“Th-thank you! Thank you so much!”
I bowed deeply and carefully caught the fallen coin.
After that, I targeted elderly men and young women, obtaining five silver coins and two gold coins.
“H-how…?”
Darkan stared at me in disbelief, watching as I obtained in less than an hour the money he couldn’t earn even after begging for a week.
“You….”
I turned to look at Darkan and exhaled sharply.
“Do you know why begging almost never succeeds?”
I dangled the gold and silver coins I’d just obtained between my fingers.
“What do you mean…?”
“You said you’d become a beggar, but you haven’t actually thought about what a beggar is.”
I clicked my tongue and examined Darkan’s posture.
“If you sit with your knees pressed together and your shoulders straight like that, you’re not a beggar—you’re a warrior. Who would pity you?”
I shook my head, mocking Darkan for sitting there so confidently.
“That’s not how you become a true beggar.”
I struck the ground with my fist, telling him to come to his senses.
“Huh? Uh….”
Darkan swallowed hard, unable to comprehend the situation.
“Look at this.”
I raised the hand that had just obtained the gold coin.
“What do you think?”
“It looks dirty.”
Even though Darkan couldn’t see, he muttered that it was filthy, as if he could feel the soot and grime coating his own hands.
“Then what about this?”
I separated my clasped hands slightly and trembled my fingers like someone seized by chills.
“That looks a bit pitiful….”
Darkan let out a low groan, as if feeling the tremor in my fingers.
“That’s right. Begging isn’t about taking what belongs to others—it’s about extracting it from them. In other words, you must appear pitiful no matter what you do! Remember the angle and tremor of my hand right now.”
I continued to shake my hand, telling him to feel it properly.
-What… what is this?
Wrath also blinked, unable to comprehend the current situation.
“Try it. Just as I showed you.”
I stepped back behind Darkan, telling him to attempt it himself.
“Hmm….”
Darkan rolled his eyes and, just as I had instructed moments before, slightly spread his knees, narrowed his shoulders, and raised his trembling hands.
“And begging isn’t something you do to just anyone. Usually, elderly people or young women have the highest success rate—especially women accompanied by men.”
I nodded, noting that one must choose their target carefully when begging.
“Now try it yourself.”
“I see… yes!”
Darkan nodded and was about to move when he turned back to face me.
“Your tongue work is far too natural—I nearly fell for it completely.”
He unclenched his hands and shook his head.
“I’m not doing this to actually become a beggar and earn money. It’s for enlightenment….”
“How pathetic. Dark Night Sword God Darkan.”
I let out a cold voice and bared my teeth.
“Don’t mock the beggar!”
After clapping my hands together, I unleashed a fierce shout so powerful that both Darkan’s and my own clothes fluttered.
“You said you became a beggar to walk a path you hadn’t walked before, didn’t you? Do you truly believe that skimming through that life superficially will grant you enlightenment? That’s not the path of spiritual seeking—it’s merely wasting time!”
I stamped my foot, shouting that if he was going to do it, he should do it properly, or quit right now.
“A beggar’s life is fiercer than any swordmaster’s! If I don’t beg, another will steal my evening meal! If I stand idle, even a broken rice bowl gets kicked away! If you truly wish to attain enlightenment, you must become a beggar in your very soul!”
I slapped Darkan across the cheek, shouting for him to come to his senses.
-Y-you madman!
Wrath’s mouth fell agape.
-B-back away now! That lunatic’s about to draw his sword… Huh?
Contrary to his concern, Darkan showed no anger, remaining perfectly still.
“Haa…”
Darkan stood dazed for a long moment before dropping to his knees before me.
“You’re right.”
He touched his struck cheek and looked up at me.
“I always felt something was lacking, and you’ve put it into words. I was still thinking of myself as the Black Night Sword God.”
Darkan clenched his fists until blood dripped, saying he had never truly lived a life of renunciation.
-W-what? Is this right?
Wrath’s jaw trembled as he seemed bewildered by the situation unfolding differently than expected.
“Grant me your teachings!”
Darkan bowed his head deeply to me, pleading.
“Very well.”
I nodded, placing my hand upon Darkan’s head.
“Let me show you what a true beggar really is. Start from the beginning again.”
With a deep smile, I explained the begging posture I had taught him at first.
“First, the angle of your arms and hands are crucial. The trembling comes after that.”
Darkan, sensing my sincerity, hunched his body like a true beggar and formed the angle of supplication between his hands.
-The True Demon King completely misunderstood it….
Wrath shook his head with a tremor as he watched me teaching Darkan the posture of a true beggar.
-In this world. No, across all dimensions, there is no one more insane than you!
Who teaches a transcendent being how to beg?!
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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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