The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 135

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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 135

The expeditionary force that had departed from Habun Castle to sever the Ice Troll Lord’s neck had arrived at the region adjacent to the Sturrin Mountains.

“Ten minutes rest!”

Milend halted on a hill where the Sturrin Mountains were faintly visible and ordered the troops to rest. Since combat could erupt at any moment, from this point forward they would need to move with constant battle readiness.

“Where was the Ice Troll Lord last confirmed?”

“At the Wobbling Rock on the middle slope of the Sturrin Mountains. We should be able to spot them before dawn tomorrow.”

Scout Unit Leader Barti bowed his head as he answered.

“I see….”

Milend narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the Sturrin Mountains, which emanated an eerie atmosphere shrouded in darkness and snow.

‘Ominous.’

Time was pressing, so I had moved forward without hesitation, but the situation felt peculiar in many ways.

Marine monsters ascending from the Northern Sea to the mountain, Ice Troll Shamans and Warriors that had moved to target the Scout Unit from behind, and the Ice Troll Lord that appeared after the Wave. None of it was ordinary.

Milend gripped the sword at his waist as though it might shatter.

‘There’s no helping it now.’

I’d verified it three times over—the appearance of the Ice Troll Lord was certain. Even if this were someone’s trap, I had to eliminate the Lord without question.

“Now let’s depart—hm?”

I was about to issue the order to move out again when I exhaled quietly, but something stopped me.

A small spark shot up from the direction where Habun Castle stood.

“What? That is…?”

“A flare?”

Those who saw the flare widened their eyes in surprise.

“What?”

“A, a second one?”

“That means…?”

The inspectors and knights who saw the second flare swallowed hard. Consecutive flares meant danger—Habun Castle was in peril.

“Do, do we have to turn back?”

“If we do, we should at least kill the Lord first!”

“Are you insane? That’s a distress signal from the castle!”

“We can’t come all this way and leave empty-handed! Besides, even if we run for our lives right now, it’ll take far too long!”

Opinion split among the swordsmen and knights. Those engaged in debate ultimately turned their gaze toward Milend, who held the authority to decide.

“Terian, Raon, and Edquil are at Habun Castle.”

Milend twisted his lips as he observed the flare signal rising from Sagrado.

“Those men wouldn’t have fired a flare signal over something trivial.”

Terian places absolute trust in Raon. The fact that he sent a distress signal despite having Raon at his side meant this was no ordinary matter.

Yet Milend’s decision stemmed from something else entirely.

The image of Raon leaping from the Castle Wall during the Wave, prioritizing his soldiers over his own safety. That heroic scene remained etched deeply in his mind, influencing his judgment even now.

“Everyone, turn around.”

Milend left the Sturrin Mountains behind, his eyes blazing with resolve.

“We return at full speed.”

*

*

*

“Hah.”

I chuckled softly as I gazed at the blue flower bracelet encircling my wrist.

‘How did it come to this?’

Having fought life-and-death battles with Wrath day after day, my resistance to cold and mental attacks had reached master level or beyond. Had I come earlier, I might have struggled, but now that I’d mastered Glacial, the cold and curses meant nothing to me.

‘It’s all thanks to you. I’m grateful.’

I nodded slightly toward Wrath, who poked out slightly from the bracelet.

-Grrrgh, I had no such intention.

Wrath glared at me with narrowed eyes.

‘Still, it’s a fact that their attacks became meaningless because of you.’

-Ugh! Insolent brat!

Thinking I was teasing him, Wrath trembled his arm made of cold energy. He muttered something about divine retribution befalling me one day before retreating into the bracelet.

“What exactly are you?!”

Cheongjugui, who had maintained a low voice throughout, let out a shriek.

“How could a mere boy possess such mental fortitude….”

Even Bingarui’s eyes widened in shock. His fish-like, elongated pupils stretched as if they might tear.

“The Scout Unit’s protection.”

I pointed toward the Scout Unit members firing arrows from atop the Castle Wall, my gaze unwavering.

“You think that makes sense!”

“Whether it makes sense or not, what does it matter? We’re enemies anyway.”

I swung my sword. The crimson blade, infused with the power of Ten Thousand Curses, sliced through the frigid air.

“Come.”

“Krraaaagh!”

“Damn bastard!”

With a flick of my fingers, Bingarui and Cheongjugui’s auras surged exponentially. The murderous intent warping the space shot skyward as if they’d unleashed their full power.

“Lasikma. Viraten! Ju!”

As Cheongjugui thrashed his staff through the air, the blizzard intensified ferociously. Snowballs poured down like rain, obscuring all vision. It was a storm far more potent than before, laden with curses and bitter cold.

Kuoooooh!

Bingarui spread both arms wide. Savage murderous intent coiled around his body like serpents, spawning hundreds of spikes.

“Krraaaaaahhh!”

Bingarui unleashed a roar and stomped the ground. The moment I tried to defend, he vanished. He seemed intent on ambushing me from within the blizzard.

I remained unflustered. Closing my eyes, I opened the ocean of senses. A massive wave surged from behind me.

Bingarui’s ambush erupted from the ground. I opened my eyes and drew my blade following the flow of Light Sword.

Claaaaaang!

A sound that seemed impossible for any human-made weapon rang out, and for the first time, my blade was driven backward.

“Your senses are disgustingly sharp. But this time will be different! This eye storm is my domain!”

His words rang true. The power and speed of his sword strikes had reached an entirely different level. It wasn’t merely that he’d unleashed hidden strength—the blizzard itself seemed to be enhancing him.

“Die!”

Bingarui swung his fists and thrust his legs. The spines and blades adorning his forearms and shins spun, creating waves of fighting spirit.

Kwaaahhh!

I drew upon Mana Circle at full power. My blade, wreathed in crimson flames, descended with devastating force. The immense shockwave born from the collision of fighting spirit and aura swept away all the snow blanketing the ground.

Yet Bingarui, who should have been before my eyes, was nowhere to be seen. He was hiding within the eye storm once more, preparing his next ambush. Like a shark steadying its breath as it stalked its prey.

‘What a futile effort.’

I curved my lips into a cold smile. Through Glacía, I had already pinpointed Bingarui’s location.

Screeeech!

Bingarui approached from the left, driving his fist toward my heart. I twisted my sword and deflected his strike like lightning crashing down.

Boom!

As I moved to pursue the retreating Bingarui, the blizzard intensified once more, and shards of ice—sharp as thorns—cascaded down upon me.

Cheongjugui and Bingarui seemed intent on tearing out my throat through a coordinated assault that leveraged each of their strengths.

“So that’s how you want to play it.”

My eyes blazed crimson as I blocked the torrent of ice shards with my Frost Coat.

“You won’t even see my face anymore. You’ll be buried and die beneath the endless snow!”

Bingarui’s voice echoed from within the blizzard, reverberating from all directions so I couldn’t pinpoint his location.

“Who do you think you’re boasting before?”

My left foot moved with intent—the Taihwa Step that rends space itself. In an instant, I crossed through the blizzard and appeared at its far right edge.

—What are you trying to do?

‘What those bastards are attempting… and…’

I pointed at the flower bracelet and smirked.

‘What you taught me.’

—What?

I ignored Wrath’s questioning and activated Glaccia. Not the ocean of senses, not Glen’s coat. Frost’s concealment. Like an assassin cloaking themselves in darkness, I wrapped my body in the endless cascade of snow and bitter cold. I painted an image of myself becoming one with the snow itself, my presence and aura fading into nothingness.

It wasn’t difficult—I’d spent my entire life as an assassin doing exactly this. Before Bingarui could even sense my location, my presence had already sunk to the level of the falling snow.

“What?! Where did he go! Cheongjugui! I can’t see him!”

Bingarui’s panicked voice rang out from behind me.

“He’s nearby! He’s targeting you, so don’t let your guard down and keep moving!”

Cheongjugui’s voice wavered from beyond the blizzard. He was panicking too.

“Damn it! All that bastard does is ramble and accomplish nothing!”

Bingarui gritted his teeth and tried to hide again. But.

I was already behind him. My blade, burning with heat, fell like lightning.

As the blade wreathed in killing intent touched Bingarui’s neck, he twisted his body at the critical moment. His reaction speed had reached the absolute limit. He was no mere monster to have received Eden’s helm.

Fukaaaaack!

But the blade was faster. Instead of his neck, Bingarui’s upper body split diagonally, and a vicious torrent of blood erupted.

“Grraaaack!”

Bingarui shrieked, his massive jaws gaping wide. Just as I was about to finish him, his fangs shot out like rays of light and tore into my left arm. Even as he was dying, he still aimed for me—truly a creature of utter madness.

“Grrrrgh! I’ll tear your arm clean off!”

“My arm? Which arm?”

“Obviously yours…gack!”

Bingarui’s eyes widened as he looked at my arm he was biting.

“This, this is….”

“What you’re biting isn’t my arm—it’s the ice shield covering it.”

The moment Bingarui tried to tear into my arm, I activated Glacial and created a thick ice shield over it. What he was biting was that shield.

“Keep biting.”

“Hrmph!”

As Bingarui released my arm and tried to retreat, my blade traced a semicircle. The fastest and sharpest strike yet. Bingarui’s body, which had been moving to flee, froze in place.

“Ugh, yes, you really….”

Bingarui couldn’t finish his words before his neck split open. With a dull thud, the fallen shark-like helmet buried itself in his yellow eyes.

“Tsk, his strength is disgustingly immense.”

I grimaced as I looked at my trembling left arm. His jaw had shattered bone even through the shield of cold I’d forged with Glacial. The bite force was terrifying.

“Even with a broken arm, I have to finish this.”

I kicked off the ground, targeting Cheongjugui, who was swinging his staff beyond the blizzard.

“Ahhh!”

The moment I tore through the snowstorm with Glacial, Cheongjugui screamed and staggered backward. The ice shards he’d been pouring down intensified their assault.

“Disappear!”

Whether he was using sorcery or not, his escape speed was beyond that of a master swordsman. But I, wielding Harmony of Heaven and Earth, was faster still.

“Protect me!”

Realizing he was about to be caught, Cheongjugui shrieked and snapped his staff in two.

“Krraaaaaaah!”

A terrifying explosion erupted from the gray smoke, sending the battered forms of Dorian and Edquil flying backward. The Ice Troll Lord burst through the haze and charged directly at me.

“Kraaaaaaah!”

“Kralarara!”

“Kyaaaack!”

The monsters attacking the Castle Wall simultaneously turned and rushed toward me. It was like a sorcery that summoned all the brainwashed creatures at once.

“Not yet! I cannot die here!”

I conjured massive swords and spears of eye-light in the empty air and unleashed them. A declaration of my will to survive by any means.

“Kraaaah!”

The Ice Troll Lord, who had caught up in the blink of an eye, brought down an axe the size of a human torso.

Boom!

I stepped into the Garam Footwork and swept upward to Cheongjugui’s right side. Ten flames bloomed above the silver curve, rotating like a single saw tooth.

Shwaaaack!

A crimson trajectory traced along the horizon of the Snowy Plain, tearing through the ice weapon and shattering Cheongjugui’s mask.

“Ugh… I… I cannot die like this…”

A crimson line was drawn across Cheongjugui’s wrinkled face. He tried to catch the blood flowing from the center of his face, but it was futile.

“Yes, I should have killed you back then….”

With those words left behind, Cheongjugui collapsed forward. The eerie light in his eyes extinguished like a snuffed candle flame.

Whoooosh!

The endless blizzard ceased, and the monsters that had been radiating madness froze in place.

“Krugh….”

Even the Ice Troll Lord, mid-swing with his axe, trembled with confusion, his pupils shaking violently.

“Raon has defeated the enemy commander! Now is the moment! Everyone, attack!”

Terian’s fervent voice rang out from atop the Castle Wall. Soldiers, their spirits ignited, tore through the bewildered monsters with their drawn blades and spears.

Yet I did not attack the Ice Troll Lord standing directly before me. His trembling eyes, like a small sailboat caught in waves—that dizziness resembled my former self from my past life.

“Krrrr.”

The madness faded from the Ice Troll Lord’s eyes. He seemed to have realized where he was and what had transpired. A clever one indeed. That gaze was the same as my former self’s when I had learned the Ring of Fire and broken free from brainwashing.

“Kraaaaaaagh!”

The Ice Troll Lord unleashed a roar and retreated backward. It wasn’t a signal to continue fighting—it was a command to withdraw from this place with his dying monsters.

‘A true king, indeed.’

I narrowed my eyes as I watched the Ice Troll Lord call to his monsters. He was a far more legitimate leader than Cheongjugui, who had used his own kind as mere bait for survival.

‘Still, there’s no helping it.’

Despite my appreciation for him, I couldn’t let him escape.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go.”

I blocked the Ice Troll Lord’s path of retreat.

“Kraarrgh!”

The Ice Troll Lord bared his elongated teeth and howled, as if demanding I step aside.

“If I let you leave, this castle will crumble in the future.”

I could tell from his actions just now. This creature possessed the makings of true royalty—far more so than Derus Robert, who viewed humans as nothing but hunting dogs. That’s precisely why this had to end here.

“Since you couldn’t live as a king, I’ll send you off as one.”

Did he understand those words?

“Grrraaahhh!”

The Ice Troll Lord’s expression hardened. He set down the axe that had never suited him and drew forth his blue aura. The energy that erupted was incomparably vaster than when he had been brainwashed, blazing with terrifying intensity.

A deep, resonant hum filled the air.

The blue aura compressed above the Ice Troll Lord’s fist, coiling into a perfect sphere. As its size diminished, the power contained within amplified to a horrifying degree.

A sharp intake of breath.

I drew forth every last shred of my aura. The sparkling, cascading flames of my energy converged upon the blade’s edge. Like icicles formed throughout the long winter, the spear-point of my aura was honed to a razor’s edge.

“Come then. Nameless King of Trolls.”

“Krraaaaaahhh!”

The Ice Troll Lord shattered the ground beneath him as he leaped, driving his fist downward. The compressed energy detonated, and my entire vision flooded with blue aura.

A piercing ring of steel.

I thrust my blade forward from its drawn position. The flames of my aura gathered upon the edge transformed into a single beam of light, streaking forward.

Ten Thousand Flames, Tenth Form.

Crimson Extreme.

The raging spear of flames tore mercilessly through the tidal wave of aura.

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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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