The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 395

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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 395

“Speak.”

I took another step forward. With each stride that pressed down upon the soul, Wigen Arian’s complexion drained of all color.

“Who stands behind you.”

I lifted my chin as I observed his contorted gaze.

“I’m curious what name could be so illustrious that it would allow the Arian Family to be destroyed like this.”
“Ugh—!”

Wigen couldn’t withstand the eerie aura and retreated backward, his hands trembling violently.

“I-It’s the Former Lord!”

He shrieked as though he could not die like this.

“Not some unit like you—the Former Lord of the House!”

Wigen glared at me while claiming that one of the Former Lords of Zigheart was his backer.

“A Former Lord?”

The moment the words “Former Lord” left Wigen’s mouth, I suppressed the overwhelming presence that had dominated the Audience Chamber.

“That’s right!”

Wigen nodded, exhaling roughly. His belly rippled like waves.

“Now you understand, don’t you? That you’ve made a grave mistake!”

Seeing that I had withdrawn my momentum, he seemed to think I was frightened. He laughed, baring his broken teeth.

“You dare strike me? That young wench will never die a peaceful death!”
“What’s this claw-faced bastard babbling about!”

Martha couldn’t restrain herself upon hearing the name Valdemar, charging forward with her fists clenched.

“Eek!”

Wigen hadn’t expected the name Valdemar to carry such weight either, stumbling backward and collapsing onto his rear again.

“Stop.”

I raised my hand to block her, and Martha withdrew with a frown creasing her brow.

“Even you cannot defy status, it seems.”

Wigen rose to his feet, his cheeks quivering, his expression arrogant as though he’d achieved a miraculous comeback.

“Head of House!”
“Are you unharmed!”
“Such barbaric brutes!”

The executives of the Arian Family, realizing their backing had been exposed, rushed over to support the staggering Wigen.

“Fools. Did you truly believe we would sit idle without a plan!”
“Who stands behind you?”
“Um….”

Wigen sensed something amiss and fell silent, his eyes darting about.

“Was it a lie?”

I lowered my hand that had been restraining Martha, threatening him with the gesture to deny him time to think.

“It—it’s Jinmu Hall, where Lord Valdemar resides!”

The moment Wigen’s eyes met Martha’s, he immediately cried out the name of his backer.

“Jinmu Hall….”

I quietly murmured the name of the organization I’d clashed with multiple times before.

‘People truly never change.’

There were so few organizations that I’d assumed it was either the Central Intelligence Agency or Jinmu Hall—and my prediction proved correct.

“Now that you’ve heard the name, do you regret it?”

Wigen tilted his chin to the side with a smug expression. His face was arrogant to an almost absurd degree—far more so than when I’d first arrived at this place.

Grrrrind!

From behind, I could hear Martha grinding her teeth. She was barely restraining the urge to rush forward and pummel Wigen into submission.

“Sigh….”

I exhaled softly and surveyed Wigen and the executives surrounding him.

“Is there anyone willing to confess their crimes and step down?”

At my words, the sneer on Wigen’s and the executives’ faces deepened.

“Stop spouting nonsense!”
“What crime have we committed!”
“Missing a few scout missions isn’t a capital offense!”
“We’ll make sure you’re compensated for this matter, so just stay quiet….”

As the executives shook their heads, dismissing my words, the sound of metal clattering echoed from behind.

I turned around. Wendy Arian, commander of the Yellow Sword Squad, was setting down her sword and removing her combat uniform.

“I have failed to uphold the family’s mission. I will relinquish my position as commander of the Yellow Sword Squad and step down.”

After disarming herself, Wendy knelt and bowed her head in submission. It was confirmed once more that she alone possessed true humanity in this place.

“Wendy….”
“Commander!”
“That damned….”

The executives ground their teeth as they watched Wendy, muttering that she’d ruined everything when it was almost done.

‘As expected. So then….”

As Raon was about to begin the punishment, one of the executives approached Wendy’s side.

“Should I kneel here?”

Bainder. A middle-aged man who led the Rangers—someone I hadn’t seen before—smiled faintly as he removed his armor.

“I am Bainder. As captain of the Scout Unit, I too have neglected my duties.”

He knelt and bowed his head just as Wendy had done.

“Bainder!”
“What are you doing!”
“Get up at once!”

Wigen and the other executives shouted at Bainder, but he didn’t rise.

‘This man….’

I narrowed my eyes as I regarded Bainder.

‘He has good instincts?’

I had deliberately dampened my momentum and created an atmosphere of retreat, yet he was the first to bow. Like someone who had lived as a Ranger, his perception was sharp.

‘But that doesn’t mean I can’t punish him.’

Since he had confessed his own guilt, I would simply administer punishment accordingly.

I approached Wigen and the executives, releasing my aura. With each step, the intensifying heat caused their skin to flush as if it would scorch.

“What are you doing!”
“Back away!”
“Behind us stands Jinmu Hall! Lord Valdemar is here!”
“So?”

The executives threatened by invoking Jinmu Hall and Valdemar’s names, but I trampled those names beneath my heel and advanced.

“You said Valdemar’s Jinmu Hall?”
“Yes! A position incomparable to you….”

I drove my fist straight into Wigen’s greasy, babbling mouth.

*CRACK!*

With a sound like a bursting balloon, Wigen’s yellowed teeth were ripped clean from their roots.

“Gaaaahhhhh!”

Wigen thrashed in agony, unable even to cover his bleeding mouth.

“Hck!”
“Y-you bastard….”
“What are you doing?! The Jinmu Hall stands behind us….”

I smiled as I approached the executives, unleashing a barrage of punches into their trembling faces.

*THUD!*

Even with restrained force, my raw strength was so brutish that teeth flew, cheekbones shattered, and jaws crumpled as they crashed to the ground.

“Kugh!”
“Aaahhh!”
“Uuugh….”

They writhed and wept, perhaps experiencing such pain for the first time in their sheltered lives.

“Hey!”

Martha’s voice rang out from behind.

“Save some for me! You’ll destroy them all if you keep hitting like that! You worthless bastards!”

She rushed forward and began stomping on Wigen and the executives.

“I’m getting my hits in too!”

Crain burst forward as well, lashing out at the executives alongside Martha.

“Do you really think you’ll walk away from this unscathed?!”

Wigen trembled violently, his voice deflating like a punctured balloon.

“Valdemar won’t let you get away with this….”

I knelt down to meet Wigen’s gaze, watching his snout quiver.

“I’d actually appreciate that.”
“Ugh….”

Wigen’s entire body shook under the glacial chill of my stare.

“He’ll end up just like you.”
“Y-you’re insane! You’re saying you can defeat him?”

His pupils trembled with disbelief.

“No. I can’t.”
“Then why….”
“Backing isn’t something only you have.”
“What…?”
“Who did I say gave me full authority?”

I grasped Wigen’s head, my smile turning sinister.

“…The Head of House?”

Wigen’s jaw chattered. Now the words I’d spoken at the beginning came flooding back.

“B-but that authority was only regarding the mission! This is a matter of our family! A clear abuse of power….”
“This is also part of the mission authority he granted me.”

Glen couldn’t possibly be ignorant of this family’s situation. He surely wanted not just the swamp purified, but these pigs cleaned up as well.

“Above all, it’s essential garbage disposal.”

Wigen and his executives had never fought for their lives since birth. Never having faced true crisis, they didn’t read their opponent’s psychology—instead, they foolishly relied only on the blades they’d prepared.

“Ah….”
“The Northern Destruction King….”
“We’re… we’re finished….”

Wigen and his officers collapsed with vacant expressions as their last hope shattered into pieces.

“Damn it….”

Wigen fell with a dazed gaze.

“Don’t you dare lie there!”

Martha rushed forward and kicked his head upward. With a sound like the wall shattering, Wigen shot up toward the ceiling.

-You really are….

Wrath burst forth and narrowed his eyes.

-A wicked one!
‘What?’
-Giving hope only to immediately deliver despair and suffering—that’s something only the original demons would do!

He sidled up beside me and gripped my shoulder tightly.

-It cannot be helped.
‘Hmm?’
-Your talents are meant for the Demon Realm! Conquer it together with the True Demon King….
‘I’m not interested.’

*

*

*

Three stone pillars embedded at the end of the Swamp of Death.

As if the battle between Raon and the Death Knight had never occurred, a man in a black robe descended over the now-peaceful swamp. It was the Phantom Soul Ghost, wearing the mask of an Arch Lich with blazing blue eyes.

“Am I too late?”

The Phantom Soul Ghost clicked his tongue softly as he gazed upon the now-tranquil Swamp of Death.

“So Raon Zigheart truly came and went.”

With so many preparations to make, even two bodies wouldn’t have sufficed. The Death Knight I’d left here was part of the plan as well, but it had disappeared far too quickly.

“No, perhaps this worked out for the better.”

The Phantom Soul Ghost snapped his grey fingers. At that crisp sound, the swamp beneath the stone pillars began to roil like molten lava.

Gooooooo!

The swamp, which had been bubbling as if about to explode, split cleanly in two. From within, a sphere emerged slowly—its crystalline surface gleaming with a clarity that seemed utterly out of place in this filthy land, like a pristine lake.

“Come to me.”

The Phantom Soul Ghost walked forward and extended his hand. The sphere that had risen from the swamp fell naturally into his grasp. He gazed at the ordinary glass orb, which bore no aura whatsoever, and allowed himself a faint smile.

‘That child’s death accelerated the purification.’

I had scattered undead here originally to purify this sphere, and the Death Knight’s demise had hastened that process considerably. It seemed I could leave with it now without needing to waste any more time.

‘No, wait.’

The Phantom Soul Ghost lifted his gaze toward the east, where the Arian Family resided.

‘This is an opportunity as well.’

According to the intelligence I’d received, the Arian Family currently harbored not only Raon Zigheart, but also the Siren’s Avatar and the Lizardman King’s Avatar—both of which that foolish Merlin had failed to capture.
It was a chance to eliminate Raon, who had become nothing but a hindrance to Eden, and to claim the two avatars I had yet to obtain.

“And I can conduct an experiment as well.”

I infused the sphere resting in my palm with dark mana. Black lines carved into the orb. The sphere, once pure as the sky after rain, began to darken with an ominous glow.

Screeeeeee.

As the Phantom Soul Ghost spread his hand, a sphere growing progressively darker rose naturally, resonating with the swamp as if vibrating in harmony with it.

Above the cleansed swamp, Death Knights and Liches composed of gray bone began to materialize.

The Phantom Soul Ghost watched the supreme-tier undead slowly taking form, a dry smile crossing his face.

“Let’s rewrite history.”

*

*

*

I cornered Wigen and the executives in a corner of the Audience Chamber, then summoned Bainder. Despite his unsteady appearance, he bowed respectfully.

“Why did you say you’d withdraw?”
“I’m rather perceptive, sir.”

Bainder scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly.

“I heard that when you first came to the Arian Family, the Head of House granted you full authority. I thought that wouldn’t do, so I immediately gave up.”

He laughed, saying he was confident in reading people since he’d spent his life reading the room.

“If you knew that, why didn’t you tell them?”
“Because when the operation to divert their route fails, someone needs to bear the heavy responsibility.”

Bainder smacked his lips watching the executives getting hit on the back of the head by Crain.

“So you’re admitting you ordered the Rangers to change their direction of movement.”
“Yes. Of course, I was with them.”

This time too, he dragged the other executives into it.

I narrowed my eyes, watching Bainder raise both hands in a gesture of surrender.

‘Something feels off.’

Wrath always spoke of men like Bainder—the typical embodiment of an untrustworthy coward who could wriggle out of any situation, anywhere, anytime.

“I understand my mistake….”
“Shut it!”

Martha could no longer contain herself and rushed forward, planting her foot directly into Bainder’s mouth before he could say another word.

Crack!

Despite her restraint, emotion had bled through—white teeth scattered from Bainder’s mouth in rapid succession.

“Gack!”
“You’ve been running your mouth this whole time, and now you think a simple apology makes everything right?”

She brought her heel down hard against the forehead of Bainder, who had collapsed to his side.

“You parasitic bastard!”

Martha seemed far more incensed with Bainder, who had manipulated even those who had held firm until the end, than with Wigen and the other executives. Her kicks were merciless.

“Just don’t kill him.”

I patted Martha’s shoulder and approached Wendy Arian, who knelt before me.

“Why did you choose to withdraw?”
“Because I am also an executive of the Arian Family.”

Wendy answered with her head bowed.

“After hearing Freica’s account, I realized the truth. If the Death Knight had led the undead into our territory, the Arian Family would have been annihilated.”

Her fists, resting upon her knees, trembled violently.

“I should have ventured into the swamp alone, yet I was paralyzed by fear of the Head of House and the other executives. I find myself utterly contemptible for my cowardice.”
“But you did call upon us, did you not?”
“That was my final act of courage. Had I failed even in that, I would have no place here.”

Wendy wept softly, ashamed of herself, believing she would never be able to draw her blade again.

I didn’t address Wendy with words—instead, I drew her sword. The grip bore the patina of constant use, and the blade was maintained with meticulous care, ready for battle at any moment. It was a stark contrast to Wigen’s weapon.

“You’ve maintained it well.”

Wendy and her blade were the only warriors in this family capable of standing against enemies.

“Hmph!”

Even Martha, the wicked-detecting instrument who had just knocked Bainder unconscious, remained silent—a testament to how different Wendy was from the others in this family.

“Take this.”

I returned the sword to Wendy and draped the uniform across her shoulders. With a faint smile, I retrieved the round orb—the symbol of the Arian Family—that hung on the platform and presented it to her.

“R-Raon?”

Wendy trembled, bewildered, as she received the family’s symbol.

“You’re the only one capable of running this family now.”
“B-but I’m no different from them….”
“If everyone bears guilt, then the most conscientious among them should bear the responsibility.”
“Ugh….”

At my calm words, Wendy bit her lip. She closed her eyes, gripping the family crest tightly in her hand.

“I… I couldn’t possibly….”
“Among all the warriors I’ve met since arriving at this family, the only ones who impressed me were the Yellow Sword Squad under your command. Every single one of them possessed both physical and mental discipline.”

Though they were weaker than the Gwangpung Unit, they were warriors who had honed their bodies and spirits under Wendy’s guidance.

“That said, I’m not handing it over immediately. I’ll need to explain things to the Head of House, so I intend to remain here for a while and assess how you manage this family.”
“I….”
“If Zigheart sends down an administrator, the Arian Family might cease being a vassal house and become a branch instead. The only way to save this family is for you to take action.”

At my gentle coercion, Wendy gripped the worn handle of her sword tightly.

“…I understand.”

Wendy lifted her head. Her resolve was set, and her eyes no longer wavered.

“I’ll give it a try.”
“Once the Family is properly reorganized, I’ll speak to the Head of House about it.”

I understood Glen’s thoughts well enough that I was confident I could persuade him if Wendy simply played her part.

“Understood. I’ll offer my sincere thanks at a later time.”
“I’ll be waiting.”

Wendy bowed respectfully before leaving the Audience Chamber.

I turned with a faint smile.

“Dorian.”
“Yes, sir!”

Dorian shoved the pastry he’d been eating into his pocket and nodded.

“Grab the skull and head on the Platform for me.”
“Ugh….”

He made no effort to hide his discomfort as he pulled out a burlap sack and placed Duran’s head inside.

“The skull is a bit better.”

The moment Dorian climbed onto the Platform with a shallow breath, fierce flames erupted from the skull’s eye sockets.

Whoooosh!

The Death Knight’s skull, which had blazed as if resurrecting itself, cracked from the crown and scattered into gray dust.

I swallowed hard at the sight.

‘That was….’

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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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