The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 214

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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 214

Sheryl bit her lip thin and shook her head.

“Still, I can’t allow it.”

“What’s the reason?”

I furrowed my brow. Her eyes had wavered, and I thought she might relent, but it seemed she’d changed her mind at the last moment.

“Because it’s dangerous.”

Sheryl shook her head as if it were obvious.

“As I said before, I’m responsible for this operation. I can’t take someone who’s just beginning to spread their wings into the jaws of death.”

Her voice carried an unmistakable firmness, the resolve of someone who had made her decision.

“I have something I must do. Until then, I won’t die.”

“Does anyone choose when they die? Death is impartial to all. It gives no warning.”

Sheryl’s words were more than a simple refusal—they carried the weight of experiences she had lived through.

‘Still, I can’t back down.’

That person came to find me every year until I turned five, offering their help.

It wasn’t just a casual visit either. Each time he came, he brought new healing techniques to invigorate my body and even provided high-grade elixirs.

Having received such consideration and care from someone outside my family for the first time, I had sworn that one day I would repay this kindness.

‘That day is now.’

I clenched my fists tightly. I refused to become a beast that repaid kindness with ingratitude and vengeance. Even if I couldn’t provide substantial help, even if I could only buy a brief moment of time, I wanted to assist him.

“Hmm….”

Sheryl exhaled a low sigh, as if she had read the determination burning in my eyes.

“Defending this place is also an important task.”

“You’re right. But aren’t Eckon and the other swordsmen here?”

“What if Eden’s spirits arrive in great numbers….”

“Eden’s targets are the boy Julius and Rey. There’s nothing here that they seek, so the likelihood of powerful beings arriving is low. Eckon and the swordsmen should be more than capable of holding the line.”

“Sigh….”

Sheryl furrowed her brow and released a deep sigh.

“Look at this place.”

She pointed to Letran, more than half of which had been reduced to ashes.

“Eden follows orders without hesitation, wielding their blades indiscriminately. They spare no one—not civilians, not even children. In some ways, they’re more ruthless and single-minded than the White Blood Cult.”

“I’m aware.”

“The White Blood Cult has greater numbers of warriors, but Eden’s elite tier runs deeper. Those four Masters ahead aren’t the full extent of their strength.”

“I know that as well.”

“And yet you still intend to go?”

“Yes.”

I nodded without the slightest hesitation.

“I’ve already shattered the prejudice that an Expert cannot defeat a Master.”

“That’s….”

Sheryl had no rebuttal to that point and fell silent.

“If you believe I’ll be a hindrance or cannot keep pace, you’re welcome to leave me behind midway.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. If you speak those words in earnest, I will turn back.”

This was my final conviction. If I truly became a burden rather than an asset, it was right to withdraw.

Yet my instincts whispered that going forward was the correct path. This was my chance to repay the debt of life, to face the strong in mortal combat.

I gripped the hilt of the Heavenly Sword tightly and met Sheryl’s searching gaze without flinching.

‘How unfortunate.’

If I had reached Master rank, she would have taken me without hesitation, but falling short by one step meant I had to accept her choice—and that bitter truth stung.

“Tsk, fine. I’ll give you five minutes to prepare.”

Sheryl clicked her tongue as if resigned to the situation.

“Lord Sheryl!”

“Please, take us with you….”

“Impossible.”

She shook her head firmly, her gaze sweeping across Burren Zigheart and Martha.

“At your current level, you wouldn’t even buy me time.”

Sheryl’s voice was coldly decisive—a stark contrast to how she spoke with me, each word cutting clean and sharp.

“Ah….”

“Ugh!”

Burren Zigheart and Martha bit their lips without protest. They knew they lacked the strength to argue, unlike me.

“If you resent it, grow stronger. You’ll be fighting Oma your entire lives, after all.”

She turned away after speaking those final words.

‘She’s not as cold as I thought.’

I watched Sheryl’s retreating figure for a moment before approaching Dorian.

“Are you really sure about this? Wouldn’t it be better to leave it to the Lord?”

“It’s fine. Just give me some hemostatic powder, healing medicine, and bandages.”

Since I didn’t know what might happen, I gathered the medicines first.

“These are expensive, so you absolutely must return them.”

Dorian handed over the items with trembling hands.

“Raon, when you come back, let’s go to the Ice Cream Shop again.”

Lunan Slion, who had been quiet until now, approached and blinked his eyes—their way of wishing me a safe journey.

“I will.”

I offered a faint smile to Dorian, Lunan Slion, and also to Burren Zigheart and Martha, who were watching from over there.

“Wait, Swordmaster!”

Just as I was about to approach Sheryl after finishing my preparations, Roji came running from the Temple.

“There’s something….”

“Please, speak.”

“Many warriors rushed out saying they would help the Saint. If you happen to see them….”

Her voice trembled with the embarrassment of making such a request in these circumstances, mingled with the desperate hope that those people might still be alive.

“If they’re alive, I will bring them back.”

Raon nodded, understanding that her feelings mirrored his own in this moment.

“If you’re ready, we depart.”

Sheryl pushed off the ground without a backward glance. In an instant, she vaulted over the buildings and reached the Castle Wall.

“Hah….”

Raon steadied his breathing and drew up his mana. He stepped onto the Heavenly Steps, pursuing Sheryl’s trail with clenched teeth.

‘I won’t fall behind. Not this time.’

*

*

*

An Old Man in tattered garments fled through the dense forest, carrying a child no older than ten on his back. Blood dripped steadily from wounds visible between the worn fabric of his clothes.

“Mmm….”

The Old Man moved at a speed that even a thoroughbred could not match, yet anxiety gripped him as he repeatedly glanced over his shoulder.

“Saint.”

The child cradled in his arms lifted his head, his voice bearing a gravity far beyond his years.

“I’ve heard they want me. If you would leave me behind and escape safely yourself, Saint….”

“Tsk!”

Pedrick, the Saint in rags, let out a sharp rebuke as he looked at the child.

“Julius! What nonsense are you spouting!”

“Saint….”

“They want you for one reason—to dress you in a Monster’s armor. Do you wish to become a demon who has abandoned even his humanity!”

Pedrick shook his head, forbidding such talk.

“But if you continue carrying me, they will eventually capture us both.”

Julius’s brow furrowed with concern for Pedrick.

“Don’t worry. Even at my age, my feet are still quick. A bit further and we’ll reach the territory of an old friend of mine—they won’t be able to follow us there.”

Pedrick offered a warm smile to keep the child from being frightened.

“Besides, even if I left you behind, they would still pursue me.”

“Are they trying to outfit you with armor as well, Saint?”

“No. It’s because of the flower I possess.”

“A flower?”

Julius tilted his head, clearly confused.

“Used well, it can save many lives. Used poorly, it can harm far more.”

“Then they intend to use it poorly.”

“Sigh… you understand well.”

Pedrick exhaled heavily and nodded.

“They’re pursuing not just you, but me as well. Don’t worry—try to get some rest. It’s time you slept.”

“It would be disrespectful to sleep while you suffer, Saint.”

Julius responded with firm resolve and unwavering conviction.

“Well…”

“What else do you mean to say?”

“There were men following us. I’m worried whether they’ll be safe.”

“They’re only after us, so they should be fine.”

Pedrick gently patted Julius on the head before leaping over the rocky hill in one bound.

‘I must save this child at least….’

An old man like myself could perish without consequence, but I could not allow such a virtuous child to become a specter of Eden.

“Looking at you reminds me of someone.”

“Someone you remember?”

“Yes. A peculiar child who neither cried nor laughed, despite still being at their mother’s breast.”

“I do cry and laugh.”

“Is that so.”

Pedrick smiled faintly and glanced up at the sky for a moment.

“That child suffered from a constitution worse than anyone else in the world from birth. Not only pain, but even moving their body properly was difficult. I judged that child could never become a warrior. However….”

Pedrick smiled as he gazed into Julius’s crimson eyes.

“That child shattered my diagnosis and became a truly magnificent warrior, earning great renown. They overcame themselves.”

“Is that… truly so?”

“Yes. Isn’t it remarkable?”

“Defeating oneself sounds rather impressive.”

Julius nodded, his eyes brightening slightly.

“Then come with me to see that fellow. It will surely be good stimulation….”

“Would you take me along as well?”

As Pedrick smiled, a chilling voice flowed from ahead. Moonlight pouring through the twisted thicket illuminated the source of that voice.

A man clad entirely in crimson armor shaped like a lion’s mane, his head crowned with a wolf helmet whose sharp teeth gleamed menacingly.

“The Red Wolf Demon….”

Pedrick swallowed hard. The strange being before him was an executive of Eden who inherited the power of the Lycanthrope clan leader—a warrior who had ascended to Master rank.

Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo!

The problem was that he was not alone.

“So you’ve come here after all.”

A man wrapped entirely in black armor with wings descended gracefully. From the demonic helmet crowned with two horns, eerie blue eyes flashed.

“The Black Wing Demon.”

The owner of those winged armor was an executive of Eden who inherited the power of the Gargoyle Lord—a formidable warrior who had reached Master rank, and with his flight ability, he was even more troublesome than the Red Wolf Demon.

“Ah, I’m here too.”

“Even the Evil Goat Demon.”

I glanced to my right at the cheerful voice that seemed so out of place in this situation. A man with the lower body of a goat and the upper body clad in knight’s armor, wearing a helmet shaped like a goat with horns pointing downward, waved his hand cheerfully.

“Damn it….”

Pedrick clenched his lips tightly. He had already sustained internal injuries fighting the Red Wolf Demon and Black Wing Demon, and if the Evil Goat Demon—the strongest among them—joined the fray, there was no way to survive.

“Ah, please don’t worry. My duty today is merely to block this passage, so I have no intention of interfering as long as you don’t come this way.”

Whether it was truth or lies, the Evil Goat Demon crossed his arms and leaned his back against a tree.

“I’ve grown tired of chasing anyway.”

“Old man’s flesh is tough, but a saint’s would be different, wouldn’t it?”

Crimson waves of aura surged over the Red Wolf Demon’s claws and the Black Wing Demon’s dagger.

“Julius. Stay behind me.”

“Y-yes, Saint….”

“There’s no need to worry. I will keep my promise to you.”

Pedrick steadied his breathing and spread both hands wide. He channeled aura into his outstretched palms and shifted his stance.

“I will not surrender anything to the likes of you!”

*

*

*

I watched Sheryl dash ahead and furrowed my brow.

‘She’s trying to shake me off.’

Sheryl was gradually increasing her speed, clearly intending to lose me through her footwork technique. The gap that had been merely ten meters at first was now approaching twenty.

Boom!

I activated Tae Hwa Step. For a moment, the distance between us narrowed, but ultimately I couldn’t catch up and we began drifting apart again.

‘I can’t keep using Tae Hwa Step.’

The technique consumed aura at an alarming rate. If I continued using it in a situation where a clash with a Master was inevitable, I’d be exhausted before the fight even began.

‘Then what should I do….’

I looked up at Sheryl again. Rather than stepping on the ground, it was as if the earth itself came to her, stretching out endlessly beneath her feet.

‘It’s slightly different from the Unit Leader’s approach.’

If Rimer felt like he was riding the wind and flying, then Sheryl had the sensation of being shot like an arrow, explosively unleashing the full power of her lower body.

I resonated with the Ring of Fire and carefully examined her lower body. The secret formula of the Swift Blade technique that she had explained to me was embedded in the legs that pushed off the ground.

‘Now I understand.’

I grasped why Sheryl made such a dramatic difference even with basic footwork. She had converted all the subtleties of martial arts contained within her footwork into the secret formula of the Swift Blade, elevating only her speed.

‘I cannot do that right now. I cannot reduce resistance and advance like the Unit Master does. However….’

It seemed I could harmonize the two appropriately.

Crack-crack-crack!

I pushed off the ground with the secret formula Sheryl had taught me and the subtlety of Frost Chain, cutting through the air while wielding the aura of Ten Thousand Fires like Rimer’s wind.

Boom!

Despite pushing off the ground with less force than before, I advanced faster and farther. Sheryl’s back, which had only been growing distant, gradually drew closer.

“Hmm….”

Sheryl turned around for the first time. Her eyes widened nearly twice their size as she frowned.

‘Done!’

It was still crude and would be difficult to use in actual combat, but my speed was not inferior to Sheryl’s.

“I’ve caught up.”

I smiled as I drew level with Sheryl, our shoulders aligned.

“I was planning to shake you off.”

Sheryl clicked her tongue with disappointment, though her eyes still gleamed with surprise.

“Did I not tell you? That I would not be a hindrance.”

“Did you blend my movements with Rimer’s equally?”

“Precisely.”

“Truly, you’re no fun to teach.”

She shook her head as if weary.

“But you’ve only just reached the starting line. Don’t grow arrogant. If you fail to meet my expectations, I’ll drop you immediately.”

“I understand.”

I nodded. As she said, the real battle hadn’t even begun yet.

Ching!

As I advanced across the field following Sheryl, the sound of metal clashing rang out. One side was clearly being pushed back, the sound dull and heavy.

“This way.”

“Yes.”

Sheryl had already changed direction, moving toward the source of the sound. I pursued her, employing the newly developed movement technique.

Kyakkyakkyakang!

At the edge of the blackened field stood an Eden Strange Being wearing a hyena-shaped helmet. Its long-handled axe and armor were drenched in blood—evidence of a massacre.

“The Yellow Hyena Demon.”

The Yellow Hyena Demon was an Eden Strange Being possessing the power of a Monster Warrior with a human body grafted onto a hyena’s head.

“Kihihihi!”

The Yellow Hyena Demon bore not a single wound, while the surviving swordsmen were covered in cuts and blood. It seemed the creature had been toying with them rather than finishing them off.

“That thing.”

Sheryl stopped without offering aid and pointed toward the Yellow Hyena Demon.

“It’s at the highest level of Expert rank, same as you. Kill it within ten strikes.”

“Ten strikes….”

“If you can’t, turn back. If you can’t manage that much, there’s no point in fighting at all.”

She didn’t blink once, making it clear she had no intention of backing down. This seemed to be the final test.

“Not ten exchanges—I’ll end this in five. In return, don’t tell me to turn back again.”

Raon approached the Yellow Hyena Demon without waiting for Sheryl’s response.

“Ten exchanges? Five exchanges?”

The Yellow Hyena Demon turned around. He’d heard the entire conversation, and his eyes flashed with murderous intent. Sheryl must have anticipated even this.

“So you think I’m a fool for staying behind?”

The Yellow Hyena Demon swung his axe and bared his teeth in a grin.

“Fine! I’ll sever both your necks within ten exchanges!”

The creature crouched like a beast and kicked off the ground.

His posture was strange, but his speed was abnormally fast. In an instant, he surged from the left, bringing his axe down with the intent to crush bone and flesh. A murderous aura blazed like wildfire.

Whoosh!

Raon activated the Ring of Fire and watched as the axe approached his collarbone.

‘There’s weight behind it.’

The aura dwelling in the Yellow Hyena Demon’s axe was heavy. Yet it wasn’t concentrated throughout the entire blade, but rather focused solely on the tip of the axe head.

‘Then I’ll simply twist it free.’

The flames of the Ten Thousand Harmony Force dwelling in the Heavenly Sword split through the heaviness extending from the axe. Targeting the narrow gap created, I drew my second blade strike downward.

Clang!

A late strike that seized the initiative. Though the Heavenly Sword moved belatedly, it was the Yellow Hyena Demon’s axe that bounced back.

“Guh!”

True to his rank as a top-tier Expert, the Yellow Hyena Demon swiftly recovered his axe and unleashed a second slash. Multiple auras embedded themselves within the formidable energy wave pouring forth in a straight line, adding both power and speed.

‘Shall I try that.’

I recalled the slash the Yellow Hyena Demon had just used. Envisioning the method of concentrating heaviness in a single point, I condensed my aura at the tip of the Heavenly Sword.

Boom!

Stepping into the True Stance to amplify my power, I extended the Heavenly Sword now infused with the new aura. The thickly compressed blade of the Heavenly Sword collided head-on with the Yellow Hyena Demon’s axe.

Crack!

Despite the difference in weapon weight, it was the Yellow Hyena Demon’s axe that was pushed back—no, shattered. The axe blade that had emanated such sinister killing intent fractured like thin glass, reflecting the Yellow Hyena Demon’s eyes wide with shock.

“Ah, it’s not over yet!”

The Yellow Hyena Demon, true to his experience in countless fierce battles, lunged toward my heart with his left hand even as shock gripped him. From the hand-blade he’d formed, an aura as formidable as an axe radiated outward.

“Amateurish.”

I stepped into the Heavenly Harmony Three Steps. Like clouds drifting across the sky, I let the Yellow Hyena Demon’s hand-blade slip past me, then unleashed a torrent of swift sword strikes channeled through the Heavenly Sword, cascading from my shoulder.

Whoooosh!

The silver blade fell like lightning, and the Yellow Hyena Demon’s movements froze like a puppet with its strings cut.

“I… I…”

The Yellow Hyena Demon’s hands flailed, but he could not catch his severed neck.

Thud!

I left the Yellow Hyena Demon’s headless corpse behind and approached Sheryl.

“Four matches.”

I wiped the thin blood from the Heavenly Sword and stood before her.

“From now on, telling me to go back is forbidden.”

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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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