The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 256

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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 256

I watched the 4th Apostle through the torrent of overwhelming demonic energy and frigid air. His left upper body had been torn away as brutally as if a beast had devoured it.

Splurt!

From the wounds across his chest and shoulder—carved as if by a saw—a sickening gray blood cascaded forth.

“Ugh….”

The 4th Apostle collapsed without even a scream, his eyes rolling back. His breathing gradually ceased.

“Exhale….”

I released the breath I had been holding. Though the duration was brief, the sudden burst of power left my body languid.

‘It’s been so long that even I grew tense.’

In my past life, assassination was as routine as eating, yet now it felt strangely unfamiliar.

But I didn’t dislike it. It meant I had grown closer to being a swordmaster than an assassin.

I gazed down at the Soul Reaper Sword stained with gray blood and smiled faintly.

‘Come to think of it, this is my first time.’

It seemed this was the first time I had assassinated an enemy by my own will, not by Derus Robert’s command. There was the Green Warrior, but that had failed, so I decided to count it as an exception.

-You….

Wrath climbed onto the bracelet and glared at me.

-When did you learn assassination techniques?

Back when I tried to sever the helmeted man’s neck and only managed to cut his shoulder, it was so clumsy I didn’t even laugh. But this assassination was different.
Like a seasoned assassin, I had pierced his heart before he could react, then detonated the coiled power within me. It was the perfect assassination method for taking down a Master with superior defensive capabilities.

—That was no method for a beginner.

For Raon, who had only attempted assassination twice before, such a bold attack made no sense. He must have learned assassination techniques from someone.

‘Of course it was self-taught.’

Raon shrugged while gripping the Soul Reaper Sword.

‘There’s a saying that all paths lead to the same destination. As my swordsmanship improves, assassination naturally follows.’

I couldn’t tell Wrath about my past life, so I brushed it off vaguely.

—I feel it every day, but you truly are a madman.
‘Is that a compliment?’
—Of course it’s an insult! And….
‘And?’
—Hmph. Never mind.

Wrath waved his hand with a cold smile. He seemed to know something, his expression carrying a subtle smirk, but I could read what he was thinking.

“You….”

I turned my head at the bewildered voice coming from right ahead. Morel stood trembling, his hand pressed against his bleeding neck.

“When… how did you….”

His confusion made his question incoherent.

“You seemed to be in considerable danger, so I intervened. I hope my interference wasn’t unwelcome?”
“Hah, of course not.”

Morel exhaled a weary sigh tinged with the scent of blood.

“I owe you my life. Thank you.”

He bowed without the slightest hesitation. It seemed less like gratitude for saving only himself, and more like thanks for rescuing all of Valcar present in this place.

“Thank you?”

Raon tilted his jaw to the side.

“Huh?”
“Is that gratitude?”
“G-Gratitude… No! We agreed to drop the formal speech after Porban City!”
“Ah, right.”

Raon chuckled softly and nodded.

“You really haven’t changed, even after all this time.”
“Apply this.”

Raon laughed and tossed the wound salve. Morel was the type to acknowledge what needed acknowledging and accept it, so he didn’t have the terrible image of a spoiled princess.

Whoooosh!

The moment Morel caught the wound salve, the aura storm created by Yeogi and the cold energy dissipated, revealing the figure of the 4th Apostle collapsed on the ground for all to see.

“Aaaahhhhh!”
“A-Apostle, sir!”
“What is this!”
“This can’t be real!”

As the 4th Apostle lay motionless on the ground, the White Blood Cult members let out piercing screams.

“R-Raon, sir?”
“Raon Zigheart!”
“Why is he here….”
“Wait, did that person just defeat the Apostle?”

Meanwhile, the mages and knights of the Valkar Kingdom stared at Raon standing before the Apostle with their mouths agape.

“Gasp….”

Princess Jeina in particular was so shocked she opened her eyes wider than when facing the Archbishop. Everyone wore expressions of complete bewilderment.

“Raon? Raon Zigheart?”
“That’s the one who defeated the 7th Apostle….”
“When exactly did he arrive?”

The White Blood Cult recognized Raon’s identity and ignited a crimson fury in their eyes. They gnashed their teeth in rage over the fact that he had felled the 4th Apostle, following the 7th Apostle.

“Did… did you finish him?”

Dorian, who had arrived late in the cavern, cried out upon seeing the fallen 4th Apostle.

‘That fool, as always…’
-That idiot!
[Heh heh. This is…]

After felling an enemy, Raon, Wrath, and Roengrin simultaneously glared at Dorian for uttering the one thing he absolutely should not have said.

“You’ve defeated them, sir! As expected of the Deputy Sect Master!”

Dorian grinned foolishly while shouting yet another thing he should never have said.

“Kill them! Slaughter them all! Don’t let a single one escape!”

The Archbishop screamed, scattering spears of blood essence with his staff. The White Blood Cultists scattered throughout the cavern surged forward like a tidal wave.

“It will be meaningless.”

Raon gripped the Soul Reaper Sword tighter, casting a faint gaze not at the White Blood Cult, but at the fallen 4th Apostle.

‘Everything you do.’

*

*

*

Contrary to Dorian’s curse, the 4th Apostle was not dead—he remained motionless, holding his breath.

‘I nearly died.’

If my judgment had been even slightly delayed, I truly would have perished.

I survived by a hair’s breadth, having shifted my heart using blood essence the moment the crimson blade pierced my skin.

My left shoulder and upper body were torn away, and I sustained wounds so fatal I was on the brink of death—but it didn’t matter. As long as I killed that bastard, everything would be resolved.

Grrrrgh.

The 4th Apostle bit down on his tongue to endure the pain. He circulated his blood energy so slowly that it dispersed like the lingering aura of a corpse—imperceptibly to anyone watching.

‘I’ll repay him in kind.’

Just as I had been ambushed from behind, I would burst Raon’s heart from behind him. I suppressed the tension building in my grip on the long blade and waited for the moment.

“Kill him!”

The Archbishop cried out for vengeance, scattering blood energy as he commanded the attack.

I felt the blood energy surge and the cultists rushing toward Raon.

Thud!

I heard Raon’s footsteps. He was turning his body to advance toward the Archbishop.

‘Now!’

I detonated the blood energy I had gathered and rose to my feet. I drew the long blade back to pierce Raon’s heart in one swift motion. But then….

“What?”

Why is he looking at me?

Raon Zigheart—whose gaze should have been fixed on the Archbishop—was staring directly at me.

“Is your death act already over?”

Along with those quiet words came a chilling smile that made my skin crawl.

‘This bastard… he knew all along… Ugh!’

Before I could thrust the blade I had drawn back, the dagger Raon held sliced across my throat. A cold sensation flooded through me as all strength drained from my body.

“Why….”

The 4th Apostle grasped at the crimson line etched across his neck with his remaining hand, his jaw trembling.

“Why do you know that…?”

I watched the 4th Apostle stumble backward and let out a quiet laugh.

“Beasts are always most vulnerable when you’re hunting them.”
“Ugh…”

The 4th Apostle channeled his remaining blood essence into regeneration. Yet despite pouring all his power into healing, the torn flesh and sword marks across his neck refused to mend.

“What… what is this? Why won’t it regenerate…?”

With his White Soul’s aura, he should have been able to heal even wounds inflicted by pure force. But strangely, the wounds created by that dagger simply wouldn’t close. The blade had severed the blood essence strand by strand.

“Regeneration not working well, is it?”
“W-what is that blade…?”
“This weapon exists only to kill you. Blood essence means nothing to it.”
“W-wait… gahhh!”

I reversed my grip on the Soul Reaper Sword. Using Wrath’s eye to locate the apostle’s heart, which had shifted to the right, I brought the blade down with full force.

Splooooosh!

The demonic energy gathered at the Soul Reaper Sword’s tip ignited within the 4th Apostle’s heart, and gray blood mixed with the essence flooding his heart erupted like a fountain.

“Huh…”

The light faded from the 4th Apostle’s eyes. The White Soul’s aura he had accumulated in his heart was completely drained—even the White Blood Cult Master herself couldn’t save him now.

“Wow, he was actually alive…”

Dorian scratched his head with a dazed expression.

“Don’t say things like ‘is he done for?’ That’s just asking for a curse.”

I glanced at Dorian and smiled faintly.

“Y-Your Apostolic Majesty!”
“Save the Apostle!”
“S-Stop it!”
“Aaaahhhhh!”

The White Blood Cult members realized their Apostle was truly dying and threw themselves forward with all their blood energy unleashed.

Shink!

I sheathed the Soul Reaper Sword. After purifying the turbid demonic energy and Glacia’s aura with a ring of fire, I drew the blade once more.

Skreeeee!

The melody of blood resonance bloomed across the crimson blade, engulfing the cavern.

“Gack!”
“Kugh….”
“Urgh….”

The White Blood Cult members coughed up blood from their seven orifices and collapsed to the ground. Only one Archbishop remained standing.

Meanwhile, it had no effect on anyone else in this place. Blood Resonance was a swordsmanship technique that was lethal only to White Blood Cult members.

“Th-That sword….”

The Archbishop’s hand trembled as he gripped his staff and opened his mouth. The narrow gap between his lips was caked with blood.

“A martial technique crafted solely for your kind.”

I spun the Soul Reaper Sword and advanced toward the Archbishop.

“D-Don’t come closer!”

The Archbishop retreated while raising his staff. Countless pale blades of blood energy poured down from it.

‘Falling without aim.’

The blood energy blades weren’t targeting a specific point—they covered an entire space like rain, making them easy to evade or deflect.

Whoooosh!

After reading the direction of Raon’s blood energy, I stomped the ground.

“Fool!”

The Archbishop curled his lips upward and changed the direction of his blood energy. The blades of blood energy that had been spreading in a fan shape converged like sharp awls, targeting vital points across my entire body.

‘He can change the direction.’

Seeing him alter the trajectory of the blood energy storm that covered space itself in an instant, he seemed stronger than the Archbishop I had met in Porban City.

But.

‘So what.’

I laughed coldly and raised the Thousand Flame Technique. The blade of the Soul Reaper Sword glowed red as if heated by fire, and clusters of flame flowers surged upward.

Thousand Flame Technique—Hundred Flowers.
Flame Spirit.

The petals of flame flowers blooming from the sword’s tip scattered on the wind and collided with the blood energy.

Boom!

The fragments of the Thousand Flame Technique infused with demonic energy melted every single one of the Archbishop’s blood energy attacks without exception.

Whoosh!

All that remained in the cavern were fragments of the Flame Spirit radiating brilliant light.

“Is it over?”

I walked through the descending Flame Spirit and stood before the Archbishop.

“Ah….”

The Archbishop trembled in his jaw and took a step backward.

“Now it’s finally over….”
“Die!”

The Archbishop didn’t retreat. Instead, he lunged forward, pouring all the remaining blood energy from his staff into a thrust aimed at my heart.

“As expected.”

I narrowed my eyes and nodded coldly.

‘This is what the White Blood Cult truly is.’

The White Blood Cult doesn’t confess sins, doesn’t beg, and doesn’t seek forgiveness. They’re typical madmen who believe only they are just, only they are right.

So they’ll keep drinking human blood and tearing flesh.

I stepped into Garam’s footwork, diving into the Archbishop’s embrace and piercing his heart with the Soul Reaper Sword. A pale stream of blood, murkier than an Apostle’s, stained the ground.

“Kugh….”

The Archbishop’s eyes rolled with indignation rather than resentment before he collapsed.

[The Soul Reaper Sword has absorbed a vast amount of blood energy.]
[The Soul Reaper Sword is purifying the blood energy.]

A powerful tremor emanated from the Soul Reaper Sword.

‘I’ve never obtained this much blood energy before.’

Having absorbed the blood energy of both an Apostle and the Archbishop, I couldn’t predict how much my stats would increase.

‘I’m curious how much I’ll grow. Aren’t you?’
-Shut your mouth! That’s all mine! Grrr….

Wrath was already biting his lips in worry.

I wiped the blood from the Soul Reaper Sword and looked up. The cavern was shrouded in deep silence.

“I, I’ve lost my mind….”
“To kill an Apostle and an Archbishop so easily….”
“Raon Zigheart. Is he that genius called the Legend Sword Association?”
“No, that’s not genius level. That’s a monster.”
“I heard he wasn’t even twenty years old….”

The warriors of Valkar Kingdom, the Minor Factions, and Shadow all stood with wide eyes, their shock laid bare.

It was only natural—Raon alone had brought down the White Blood Sect, the strongest force in the cavern.

“R, Raon sir!”

Jatis approached with a broad smile.

“Thank you for saving us!”

He bowed deeply with an unforced smile, speaking only of gratitude for the situation itself, not considering faction against faction.

“I receive your help so often, I truly have nothing to say.”

Jatis scratched the back of his head, looking embarrassed.

“No.”

I shook my head. Jatis had grown noticeably since I’d seen him in Porban City. With that honest character of his, he would surely rise far.

“Well then….”

As I stamped my foot with force that echoed through the cavern, the warriors of Valkar Kingdom, the Minor Factions, and Shadow all flinched and stepped back.

“Let me be clear. Zigheart has no intention of yielding Roengrin’s legacy. If anyone has objections, we can settle it here.”
“Hmm….”
“Ugh….”

Naturally, no one opened their mouth. Who would dare resist a monster who had cut down a White Blood Sect Apostle in a single stroke? Even Morel, the only one here who could have matched him, owed me a debt of life, so everyone remained silent.

“Y, you’re saying Zigheart will take all of that?”

After a brief silence, a middle-aged man with gray hair stepped forward from the Minor Factions. An Expert of the highest rank. He appeared to be the representative of the Minor Factions.

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Raon nodded without the slightest hesitation.

“Isn’t that a bit too much? Even for Valcar….”
“Sigh.”

Morel cut off the Ogre Warrior’s words with a heavy sigh.

“Salamander owes Raon Zigheart a debt of life. Let us withdraw from here.”

He stepped forward and returned the healing salve.

“You’re not planning to settle this with just those words, are you?”
“What do you take me for? I don’t live as sordidly as your unit commander.”
“Your words give me confidence.”

As Raon nodded, Morel’s expression darkened before he turned away.

“We’re leaving.”
“Wait, just a moment!”

Princess Jeina shot to her feet in protest.

“After coming all this way, we can’t just leave like this….”
“Princess. Now is not the time….”
“Ah, Princess Jeina.”

Raon stopped Morel’s words and approached Princess Jeina, smiling faintly as he mouthed the words “contract” at her.

“Eek!”

Only then did Princess Jeina’s face go deathly pale as she remembered signing the special contract.

“It’s been a while.”
“A while….”
“A while?”
“Oh, yes, it has been a while.”

Princess Jeina nodded, her lips trembling slightly.

“So is there a problem with my proposal?”
“N-no, there isn’t….”

She sniffled without even lifting her head. Shame and indignation seemed to crash over her simultaneously.

“Well, this makes it the second time I’ve saved you, Your Highness. Shouldn’t I receive some reward for that?”
“Ugh….”
“Isn’t that right? I’ve saved the golden princess of Valcar twice now, so surely you should give me a gift or a token of some kind….”
“Valcar is not a place without honor. We repay life with life, and blood with blood, so you need not worry.”

At Morel’s words and gaze, the princess trembled from head to toe. She reached into her bosom and withdrew a golden token. The name Jeina was inscribed upon it.

“Here….”

Princess Jeina extended the token with trembling hands, as if afflicted by palsy.

“Your Highness is truly magnanimous.”

I accepted her token without hesitation, tucking it away immediately.

‘Securing leverage was the right move.’

This would work on the King of Valcar as well, not just the princess.

It was common knowledge that the King of Valcar cherished Princess Jeina dearly. A smile bloomed naturally as this fine treasure fell into my hands.

“Take this as well.”

As I nodded in satisfaction, a crimson token flew toward me from Morel. It was hexagonal with a serpent drawn in its center.

“This is….”
“Mine. Use it if you have need of anything.”
“Thank you.”
“No objections?”
“Why would I refuse a treasure?”
“Indeed.”

Morel chuckled softly and turned his body around.

“We’re heading back. I need to support the Princess.”
“Yes!”

At his call, the female knights supported Princess Jeina. He stopped as he exited the cavern and turned back.

“Raon Zigheart. I won’t forget this debt.”

He thanked me once more and headed upward. Jatis nodded with a faint smile. Princess Jeina’s teeth grinding was audible, while Inild pretended not to notice.

“W-we should be going too!”
“Thank you for saving us!”
“We’re truly grateful! We’ll repay this debt no matter what!”

The warriors of the Minor Factions trembled as they bowed, their lips quivering the moment Valcar departed.

“You’re grateful?”
“Of course!”
“You’ll repay this debt?”
“Absolutely!”
“Ah, that’s wonderful then. Dorian!”
“Yes?”

Dorian, who had been standing at the entrance watching Valcar leave, snapped his head around.

“These people are leaving. Write down their names and affiliations.”
“Ah, yes!”

Dorian nodded and set down the desk he’d been holding in front of the entrance, then pulled out paper and a pen.

“Um, why would you need our names….”
“You just said you’d repay this debt, didn’t you? It’s best to make things clear.”

I smiled faintly at the warriors of the Minor Factions. Beneath the smile lay a thin but frigid aura.

Gulp.

The warriors of the Minor Factions swallowed hard as they beheld my smile.

‘Is, is this…?’
‘That’s right. They want money or gifts. Just like with Valcar earlier…’
‘This is insane…’
‘And they call themselves the Legend Sword Association! A Sword Cooperation!’
‘But, but if we don’t bring anything, they look ready to kill us?’
‘That’s why I shouldn’t have stepped forward! If I’d just said thank you, this would’ve been over!’

The martial artists understood Raon’s intention and broke into cold sweat.

“Let’s go.”
“Ugh….”
“Kgh!”

When Raon gestured with his chin to hurry, the martial artists from the Minor Factions clenched their teeth and walked toward Dorian.

“Yes! First person! Your name!”

Dorian had already pulled out a chair made of white jade and was sitting before a white jade desk. It was surreal to see a gleaming white desk and chair in a cavern filled with corpses.

“I’m Likil from the Boramae Guild….”
“Yes. Likil. From the Boramae Guild….”

He swiftly recorded the name and affiliation as if accustomed to this.

Raon turned his head to look at the last remaining force. The Shadow of Derus Robert. I met the gaze of assassins with the same eyes as my former self.

‘Should I call this nostalgia?

Seeing the light in their eyes, old memories surfaced. Those hellish days when I abandoned my humanity for mission success and became a hunting dog.

Thinking of that time, I didn’t want to kill them. They were all kidnapped like my former self, sold here, and brainwashed—nothing more.

‘Should I let them go?’

The Shadow’s method of operation is simple. If there’s even a 0.1% chance of success, they charge forward regardless of the cost to their lives. If the possibility is zero, they retreat. They judged the feasibility of their missions through the senses embedded in their bodies and minds.

“What will you do?”

Raon resonated with the Ring of Fire and unleashed the Vortex of Destruction. A formidable aura at Master rank surged endlessly. Stone debris fell from the ceiling, and the ground began to crumble and collapse.

“Huh!”
“Ugh!”
“Kgh….”

The Shadow members trembled at that overwhelming aura. Their sunken eyes quivered as if they might burst from their sockets.

Crash!

The Shadow members realized their chances of defeating me were zero and retreated. They leaped over the Minor Factions’ warriors lined up before Dorian in a single bound and escaped through the corridor.

“Huh?”
“You’re just… letting them go?”
“But they’re assassins!”

The Minor Factions’ warriors stood with their mouths agape, apparently not expecting me to release the assassins.

“I’m not a murderer. I can’t kill those who don’t come at me.”

I smiled faintly and waved my hand.

“Then shouldn’t they write their names like we did!”
“Would assassins reveal their names? We should be grateful they don’t commit suicide instead.”
“Kgh….”
“And don’t use fake names or affiliations. I have a good memory.”

As I muttered that I remembered all their faces, the people who had just put down their pens rushed back to Dorian.

“W-wait, I made a mistake!”
“Me too! My real name is actually….”

I chuckled and turned away.

-Wicked! Truly wicked! Are you perhaps a Demon King from another dimension!

Wrath stood with his mouth wide open, his expression caught between admiration and shock.

[Hehehehe, as expected of you, High Priest. I didn’t even need my preparations.]

Roengrin also let out an admiring laugh.

“It’s nothing special. I was just…hm?”

I stopped mid-sentence and looked at the Soul Reaper Sword in my hand. The blade, which had been quiet while absorbing vital energy, suddenly trembled with intense force.

Whiiiing!

The Soul Reaper Sword cried out and pulled me forward. Following its guidance, I found the corpse of the 4th Apostle.

“But I already absorbed all the vital energy from him.”

Whiing!

The Soul Reaper Sword shook, indicating that wasn’t what it meant, and pointed toward the 4th Apostle’s hand.

“That is….”

In that direction lay the long sword the 4th Apostle had wielded.

Whiiiing!

I swallowed hard as I gazed at the long sword.

“Are you saying that sword’s power could become yours as well?”

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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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