The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 289

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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 289

-Mmm!

Wrath let out an exclamation of delight after finishing the breakfast Merlin had brought.

-The menu is exactly what this True Demon King desires, and the taste is absolutely exquisite.

He enjoyed the shrimp pizza and pineapple pizza—quite heavy fare for breakfast—with the casual ease of morning pastries, then chuckled with satisfaction.

-Try some of that ice cream as well. This True Demon King’s palate feels rather parched.

Wrath gestured toward the ice cream cup and wiggled his fingers eagerly.

“Sigh…”

I exhaled deeply at the sight of the mint chocolate ice cream cup.

‘She prepared all of this…’

What kind of stalker behavior is this?

Merlin hadn’t even mentioned investigating what I typically ate, yet she’d brought shrimp pizza, pineapple pizza, and mint chocolate ice cream for dessert.

I found her far more terrifying than I’d initially thought, but there was one more problem.

‘I don’t have any favorite foods.’

Among all the dishes brought to me, there wasn’t a single one I truly enjoyed.

Shrimp pizza, pineapple pizza, mint chocolate ice cream—none of these were my preferences. They were all foods favored by this gluttonous True Demon King.

‘Tsk.’

With food right in front of me, refusing would only cause Wrath to throw a tantrum, so I had no choice but to eat.

-Ehehehe!

The moment the mint chocolate touched Wrath’s tongue, his eyes crescent into crescents of pure delight.

Was this really a True Demon King?

If a True Demon King could laugh like that while eating ice cream, rebellion would inevitably break out. No matter how I thought about it, this creature was no True Demon King.

“Sigh.”

I shook my head after finishing the mint chocolate. I’d been eating it consistently because of Wrath, but no matter what, it tasted awful. I couldn’t understand why Lunan Slion or Wrath enjoyed it so much.

-That’s because you’ve grown up without hardship, living a comfortable life.

Wrath sighed deeply as he gazed at the empty ice cream cup.

-To the True Demon King who has endured countless tribulations, mint chocolate tastes only sweet.

I barely stopped myself from blurting out something crude. I’d have to ask Merlin to change my meals just to avoid witnessing that spectacle again.

-Ahhhh, how delightful. This truly is paradise.

You can’t be there.

I rose from my seat with an exasperated expression, looking at Wrath.

-Are you going to see the chef?

‘Why would I do that?’

-Then where are you going?

‘If I keep this up, I’m going to get fat.’

I rubbed my belly absently. I’d been eating far better here than I ever did at Zigheart, so if anyone saw me, they’d probably think I’d been on vacation rather than kidnapped.

‘I need to do some exercise after the meal.’

-Training even here? How utterly tedious.

Wrath waved his hand dismissively, muttering about how relentless I was.

‘It’s not training. There’s something I can only do in this place.’

I left the room and walked through the bizarre corridor where doors appeared and vanished at will. After reaching the edge of the Branch, I raised my hand toward the Wall.

Zzzzzing!

A translucent barrier enveloping the Branch materialized with a faint spark.

The vast formation inscribed with the sun, moon, and stars radiated an air of absolute authority, as if declaring that none could ever escape this place.

‘Absurdly intricate.’

Considering the diverse energies emanating from the barrier, it was unmistakably a formation created jointly by Grand Masters and beyond—warriors, mages, dark mages, and shamans alike. Breaking it in my current state was far beyond my reach.

-Did you come to gawk at that? It’s beyond your capabilities right now.

Wrath scoffed, telling me to know my place.

‘I know.’

I knew better than anyone.

I chuckled softly as I examined the barrier.

“You should take your hand off that.”

A cold voice came from behind me.

“Touch it again and I’ll cut that hand off.”

Feeling the sharp killing intent, I turned around. A man wearing a horned serpent helm stood swaying slightly.

Severed Soul Sword stood far behind with his arms crossed, watching me.

“Cutting off an arm? That works for me.”

I offered a faint smile and placed my hand against the wall once more. A powerful spark erupted, making the barrier shimmer into sharper focus.

“Come at me.”

“Ha….”

The man in the serpent helm let out a hollow laugh as if finding the situation absurd.

“Do you even know who I am?”

“A swordsman who inherited the power of a Basilisk, I’d assume.”

A horned serpent-form monster was hardly common. It had to be a Basilisk—that colossal serpent dwelling in deserts, wielding the power of petrification.

“A Basilisk, huh….”

The man in the serpent helm chuckled softly. His laughter held no discernible meaning—whether I was right or wrong remained utterly unclear.

“Whether I’m a Basilisk or not doesn’t matter. You seem far easier to deal with than that fellow anyway.”

I gestured toward Severed Soul Sword behind me.

“So you were deliberately provoking me.”

The man in the serpent helmet let out a hollow laugh and tilted his head to the side.

-You wouldn’t possibly….

‘That’s right.’

I clenched my fists and smiled.

‘I can’t pass up an opportunity to fight Eden’s blood demons.’

Both the man in the serpent helmet and the Severed Soul Sword behind him were warriors stronger than me. This was the perfect chance to extract their martial techniques from those monsters who couldn’t kill me right now because of Merlin.

“I was bored anyway. Let me see the skills of the so-called greatest genius of the Legend Sword Association.”

The man in the serpent helmet drew his sword. The blade was thicker than a standard sword, giving it the feel of a heavy weapon.

“Before you become a fool in a helmet.”

“A fool in a helmet, you say….”

I smiled faintly and grasped the hilt of the Heavenly Sword.

“What is your name?”

“Call me Geummyeonsa.”

The man in the serpent helmet revealed his epithet as Geummyeonsa and lowered his stance.

“Come at me with your full strength.”

“Right. I’ll come at you as the Head of House, ready to sever your neck.”

Geummyeonsa charged forward without even a shout. His movements were swift yet fluid—truly serpentine footwork.

Whoosh!

In an instant, he pivoted left and brought his blade crashing down. Tremendous aura clung to the steel as it fell toward my head.

‘No change in his approach.’

Geummyeonsa unleashed his sword in a direct, linear strike—the kind that maximized his raw power. The pressure was so immense that a sloppy defense would snap my neck clean off.

Roooar!

I activated the Ring of Fire and drew the Heavenly Sword. The draw itself became the counterattack, meeting Geummyeonsa’s blade head-on.

Clang!

Despite my solid defense, my knees trembled slightly and my shoulders sagged under the weight of the blow.

‘As expected—he’s formidable.’

The weight of his sword was in an entirely different league from the 7th Apostle. Just as I’d anticipated, Geummyeonsa’s mastery far exceeded the intermediate Master realm.

A master swordsman who had ascended to the advanced Master realm—yet Eden kept such a warrior’s name hidden from the world. They truly were a congregation of madmen.

Boom!

I blocked Geummyeonsa’s sword strike as he charged from the left, biting my lip against the impact that traveled through my elbow.

‘Perfect opponent.’

Having crushed the intermediate tier, it was only natural to face the advanced tier next.

Geummyeonsa was the strongest opponent I’d faced thus far, yet compared to a true monster, he fell short.

Unless I could match him in combat, escaping this place would be impossible.

Screech!

I ignited a spinning vortex of flame on the Heavenly Sword. Just as I aimed the saw-like rotating inferno at Geummyeonsa’s waist, his blade dropped sharply downward.

Whoooosh.

The crimson aura blazing from his sword hardened like stone, completely blocking the spinning flames.

‘So it really is a Basilisk.’

A Basilisk doesn’t merely petrify its enemies—it can harden its own body to a density that even strong aura struggles to cut. Seeing him wield such dense aura confirmed it beyond doubt.

‘This should be interesting.’

The thought of shattering aura as hard as steel already had my spirits soaring.

“Impressive. But.”

Geummyeonsa’s pupils narrowed vertically like a serpent’s, and his aura amplified more than twofold. He lunged to the right and swung his blade with full force.

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

A pressure as if a mountain were collapsing crushed my entire body. My legs trembled as if paralyzed by the weight transmitted from the aura. He was clearly using a supreme technique.

“Surely this isn’t the end?”

“Of course. I haven’t even started yet.”

I smiled with exhilaration and stepped into the Harmony of Five Treasures. With footsteps that shook the earth, I poured the essence of the Strong Sword into my silver-white blade.

Boom!

Strong sword clashed against strong sword, and the explosive shockwave swept through the surroundings violently.

“Let’s make this more interesting!”

Killing intent began to gleam in Geummyeonsa’s eyes. He charged forward in a frontal assault and unleashed a sword strike. The lightning of aura falling in a straight line twisted slightly, cutting off any space to evade.

‘So he still has room to spare.’

I smirked as I faced the formidable sword strike Geummyeonsa had unleashed. Seeing his aura grow even stronger, it was clear he hadn’t yet gone all out.

‘I’ll draw out even more.’

I gripped the Celestial Sword firmly and rushed forward to meet his blade. The flames of the Ten Thousand Harmony Technique, laden with weight, collided head-on with Geummyeonsa’s sword strike once more.

Claaaaaang!

A devastating shockwave erupted with enough force to crater the earth even within the barrier’s protection, sending both Raon and Geummyeonsa stumbling back five paces.

“Hmm….”

Geummyeonsa narrowed his eyes as he looked down at me.

“What did you just do? Suddenly the sword became heavier.”

“I told you. We haven’t even begun yet.”

I smiled, using a ring of fire to calm the turbulence churning within me.

It was true that Geummyeonsa stood two realms above me, but I possessed the stats and traits granted by Wrath. Even if I was pushed back, I wouldn’t simply be overwhelmed.

“Interesting.”

Geummyeonsa laughed coldly and kicked off the ground. He approached as smoothly as a serpent gliding across the desert, unleashing a barrage of sword strikes. Each swing generated five waves of force that engulfed the space around us.

‘I can’t evade this.’

I clicked my tongue briefly and raised the Hundred Flower Salt Bead Wall. The shield of flames blazing from the Heavenly Sword collided diagonally with the aura Geummyeonsa unleashed.

Boom!

Geummyeonsa had committed fully—the overwhelming impact was so devastating that my lower body nearly buckled. My entire frame trembled from my blocking arm to my shoulder, and a searing heat like molten lava coursed through my chest.

There was a definite difference.

Reaching the pinnacle of the intermediate realm and ascending to the advanced realm were worlds apart. Geummyeonsa had achieved perfect mastery of his sword and wielded a formidable power befitting that understanding.

“Drop your guard for even a moment, and your head rolls. This isn’t over yet!”

Geummyeonsa burst through the shockwave and charged forward. In a heartbeat, he closed the distance and hurled a punch—one carrying enough aura to shatter bone on impact.

Crack!

I twisted my elbow and deflected his fist.

“Impressive.”

I stepped toward him and extended the Heavenly Sword. The silver blade gleamed with the secret formula of the Fanged Aura, baring its savage fangs.

Hmph!

Like a serpent fleeing from its predator, Geummyeonsa twisted his body to slip past the Fanged Aura, then swept his blade upward from below.

Zing!

The sword strike erupted upward faster than it had descended, a crimson bolt of lightning piercing the heavens.

Zing!

My eyes flashed with an icy blue light. In that fleeting instant, my aura transformed. The frigid essence of Glacial flowed into the blade of the Heavenly Sword.

The Frostbite blade carved through the gap in his aura. The azure wave that followed aimed for Geummyeonsa’s throat.

“Twice now.”

Geummyeonsa smirked and stamped his foot, unleashing a torrent of aura that blazed across his entire body and withstood the Frostbite’s chill directly. Though the impact was undeniable—a single drop of blood trickled from his lips.

“A blade of cold that follows the sword itself.”

He smiled with approval and raised his sword. His aura spread like a log rolling forward, sweeping across the space before him.

“Hah.”

I bit my lip and drew the Radiant Sword.

‘This is going to hurt.’

Seeing the magnitude of the aura pouring down, this was no ordinary blade strike to endure. I condensed my strength to its maximum and collided head-on.

Clang!

Steel met steel, and I staggered backward ten paces while Geummyeonsa retreated only six, his footing steady.

‘He was right.’

How exhilarating.

I wiped the blood trickling from my lips and broke into an excited grin. The essence of Geummyeonsa’s blade lay in its paradox—unyielding firmness paired with serpentine fluidity. Harder than steel yet flowing like liquid, it was maddeningly difficult to counter.

‘I’m glad I faced him beforehand.’

Had I encountered Geummyeonsa for the first time while escaping this place, I would have suffered a devastating defeat. Fighting him now, in advance, had been a brilliant decision.

‘Because I have the Ring of Fire.’

By deploying the Ring of Fire from the start, I’d grown familiar with his swordplay. The next time we clashed, I wouldn’t be driven back so easily.

‘And now…’

I needed to see beyond mere technique.

The pinnacle of pinnacles. It was time to witness Geummyeonsa’s true secrets.

“You’re quite resilient, aren’t you!”

Geummyeonsa approached and thrust his sword forward. The blade fell diagonally in a clean arc—a swordsmanship technique I had witnessed before.

Clang!

I deflected Geummyeonsa’s blade roughly with the Radiant Sword, then drew the Celestial Sword back. Amplifying the gathered Thousand Flower Energy, I thrust it forward with full force.

Thousand Flower Energy—Hundred Blossom.

Flame Dragon Formation.

Thanks to absorbing the Soulless Water, the fire dragon’s roar had grown exponentially stronger, erupting directly toward Geummyeonsa’s face.

“This is….”

Geummyeonsa gripped his sword tightly. Unlike moments before, his eyes turned serious as he straightened his wrist and drew his blade downward with precision.

Screeeech!

The aura embedded in his sword spread in a fan pattern, radiating an unwavering brilliance. It resembled an enormous mountain standing against the heavens.

Boom!

The ascending fire dragon collided with the towering mountain suspended from above, and the earth caved inward. A catastrophic explosion erupted, sending pillars of black aura spiraling upward around us.

I activated the Eye of Wrath to perceive the flow of blade against blade within the heart of the explosion.

‘He’s been stacking aura upon aura, layering them continuously.’

Geummyeonsa’s sword strike, operating on an entirely different level than before, derived its power from layering aura surfaces upon surfaces. Even with the Flame Dragon Circle active, the impact threatened to dislocate my shoulder—a display of overwhelming force that left me astounded.

‘Let me draw out a bit more.’

I ignited my mana core to its peak and stepped into the True Stance. I unleashed the heaviest strike from my arsenal—the Great Descent—while wrapping the subtleties of the greatsword around it with maximum intensity.

Crunch, crunch, crunch, crunch!

A sword strike layered with weight upon weight descended as if to shatter Geummyeonsa’s skull.

“Good. Come at me.”

Geummyeonsa rotated his shoulders. The movement was crude, like a stone statue rising, yet the aura contained within it transcended the previous strike by another level entirely. This sword strike too bore his unmistakable absolute technique.

Boom, boom, boom, boom!

A crimson flash erupted, and a terrifying mass of aura surged upward from below.

Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!

The impact rippled across the barrier that filled the ground, and all of Eden’s spectral entities were sent flying.

“You can still do more, can’t you?”

Geummyeonsa gripped his sword with both hands. Spheres of condensed aura sprouted along his blade. The spheres swelled larger and larger, filling the empty space above.

“Don’t worry. As long as you don’t die, Merlin will heal you.”

“Are you talking about yourself?”

Raon laughed coldly and thrust his sword forward. A powerful aura surged along the silver blade, conjuring a crimson sphere.

Ten Thousand Flowers Blooming

Midheaven Strike.

Though smaller than the sphere of fighting spirit that bloomed from Geummyeonsa’s blade, the compressed force it contained ignited a dense lightning in the void.

“Let’s see this through to the end!”

It was the moment when Geummyeonsa and Raon were about to unleash their sword strikes simultaneously.

Whoooosh!

A black flash imbued with the aura of death poured down between the two of them.

Crash!

The fiercely rotating black aura withstood both Raon’s and Geummyeonsa’s ultimate techniques without wavering.

Crack.

As the black light scattered, the figure of the Severed Soul Sword lowering his black blade became visible. He tilted his jaw slightly as if to say that was enough.

“Adding pepper to a finished dish.”

Geummyeonsa clicked his tongue while looking at the Severed Soul Sword.

“I told you he was boring.”

He frowned and lowered his blade.

“Mm.”

I smacked my lips briefly and sheathed my sword as well.

“Let’s look forward to next time. If we keep going beyond this, Merlin’s going to raise hell.”

Geummyeonsa spun his hand and vanished just as he had appeared. Whether he was on par with Merlin or simply making his exit, I couldn’t quite tell.

“….”

The Severed Soul Sword had already sheathed his black blade and was staring at me. His eyes held the same emotionless gaze as yesterday.

“If I defeat that man, may I challenge you?”

“….”

He simply continued to stare, offering neither answer nor any shift in his expression.

“I’ll take that as permission.”

Raon offered a faint smile and waved his hand.

“Until next time.”

I was growing rather fond of this place.

With healing elixirs provided and sparring partners arriving of their own accord, it was hardly an exaggeration to call it paradise, just as Wrath had said.

Raon entered the training hall with a faint smile playing across his lips.

“….”

The Severed Soul Sword watched Raon disappear into the hall, his right shoulder turned slightly, his gaze unwavering until the very end.

*

*

*

“Sigh.”

Merlin exhaled a short breath as she applied medicine to her shoulders and lower back.

“He can’t sit still for even a moment. He’s truly a troublemaker.”

She shook her head with a wry laugh.

“You were the first to pick a fight with Geummyeonsa and suggest a sparring match. Everyone’s surprised, you know?”

“I wanted to see how strong he really was.”

I rolled my neck lightly and closed my eyes. Since deception was pointless anyway, I answered honestly.

“Warriors, I tell you.”

Merlin finished applying the medicine and stepped back slightly to the side. The remedy was effective—the bones and muscles that had suffered severe impact felt refreshed.

“Internal injuries can be treated with spiritual medicine, right?”

She sighed and set down a spiritual medicine box identical to the one she’d brought yesterday.

“Since you said your head felt foggy, I adjusted the proportions. It’ll be much milder than yesterday.”

I opened the box. A slightly gentler chill than yesterday tickled the tip of my nose.

‘She did adjust it.’

She added more Unfallen Water.

From the appearance, she’d lowered the chill and added significantly more Unfallen Water. If I combined yesterday’s amount with today’s, the mental fog would disappear entirely, and I wouldn’t feel groggy at all.

“And.”

Merlin extended her right hand forward. A blue light bloomed above her pale hand, and a helmet materialized into existence.

Two horns and diamond-shaped blade scales, with a sky-blue mane stretching from the back—it was a helmet of unmistakable form.

“A dragon’s helmet….”

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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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