The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 398

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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 398

I swung the Soul Reaper Sword in a wide arc, exhaling a measured breath.

From beyond my field of vision, I sensed the undead chanting their death hymn turning in unison.

As thousands upon thousands of undead legions stepped forward simultaneously, the earth trembled with tremendous force.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The thunderous footsteps brimming with morale and the resulting vibrations tore through the mist.
The zombies and skeletons that had melted away in the Flame Dragon technique moments before were not even vanguards—an incalculable horde of undead emerged from the fog.

Though they were merely zombies and skeletons, their sheer numbers made my jaw drop involuntarily.

‘There’s no end to them.’

The Gwangpung Unit, Yellow Sword Squad, and Rangers had shaken off their tension and fear, but now they were about to succumb to dread once more.

As I pondered what to do, Burren’s voice reached me from behind.

“Hey, Vice Commander.”

Burren lifted the corners of his trembling lips into a faint smile.

“How many times do I have to say it! It’s Gwangpung, not Mad Dog!”

He shook his head, telling me to stop getting it wrong.

“That bastard’s doing it on purpose.”

Martha stepped forward and furrowed her brow.

“Because of that damn bastard, I got stuck being called a demon woman!”
“That’s not it—Martha, it’s because of your personality.”
“Shut up!”

Martha waved her arm dismissively at Lunan’s objection. Her hand no longer trembled.

“Raon.”

Lunan stepped back from Martha and turned his gaze toward Raon.

“Once we finish here, let’s head to that bead ice cream shop. They’ve got a new flavor.”

She blinked her vacant eyes as if she had never felt nervous from the start.

-A new flavor?
“Ice cream, of all things, right now….”
“I’m telling you, the vice-captain and squad leaders just don’t get tense.”
“But doesn’t the Mad Dog Squad look pretty cool? I think they look cooler than the Gale Wind Squad.”
“Mad dogs are cool? You’d probably think a rakshasa woman looks cool too.”
“That’s just scary.”

The Gwangpung Order members smiled and chatted among themselves. Despite witnessing an enormous legion of undead, their expressions showed no signs of pressure.

“There’s no need to be afraid!”

Wendy Arian raised her fist toward the Yellow Sword Unit and the Rangers.

“No one knows these creatures better than we do! Make sure they can’t even touch this land!”

At her cry, a brilliant light ignited in the eyes of the Yellow Sword Unit and the Rangers.

“That’s right!”
“They’re just zombies and skeletons anyway!”
“We’ve fought these bastards our whole lives!”
“Let’s do this!”

As everyone united their resolve, a formidable military spirit arose that refused to yield to the morale the undead radiated.

-There was no need to worry after all.

Wrath poked his cheeks repeatedly and grinned.

‘That’s true. I underestimated them far too much.’

Raon smiled and infused his voice with aura.

“All units, prepare for battle!”
“Prepare for battle!”

The eyes of the Gwangpung Order blazed with fierce golden light, while the Yellow Sword Squad’s fingertips crackled with concentrated energy.
The Rangers lifted their bows, their hawk-like eyes gleaming with readiness.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The zombies and skeletons advanced without siege weapons to breach the castle or ladders to scale the walls. They intended to overwhelm through sheer numbers.

‘On a conventional battlefield, it would be foolish. But….’

It was an effective enough method for them.

‘The castle wall is weak, and corpses are abundant.’

With the Swamp of Death gone, the Arian Family Castle’s walls stood taller than before.
Whoever summoned the undead intended to stack the corpses of zombies and skeletons to create stairs for scaling this wall.

The undead possessed formidable spiritual pressure—their mere touch caused cracks to spider across the aged and weakened castle wall.

To win this battle, the undead legion had to be destroyed before they reached the castle wall.

Raon watched the shambling zombies and skeletons approach and raised his hand.

Whoosh!

The Rangers nocked arrows to their bowstrings, and the sound of swordsmen drawing their aura filled the air.

The moment the zombies and skeletons entered the Rangers’ firing range, I extended my hand forward.

“Fire!”
“Fire!”

Wendy Arian echoed the command and drew her sword.

Twang!

In a single instant, over a hundred bowstrings released, and silver-white arrows filled the sky like rain.

Patter-patter-patter-pang!

The iron projectiles traced parabolic arcs as they swept through zombies and skeletons. Many undead fell in a single volley, but a considerable number survived.

The Rangers nocked fresh arrows and released them. Once again, the sky filled with projectiles that pierced through the malice of zombies and skeletons.

Arrows imbued with formidable power rained down like a downpour, yet with such overwhelming numbers approaching, many undead broke through the arrow barrage and drew closer.

I raised the Celestial Sword as I observed the Gwangpung Unit and the Yellow Sword Squad.

“Conserve your aura as much as possible and unleash sword winds. If you aim for their heads, even a gentle breeze can kill them.”

I drew the Celestial Sword, stained crimson, as if brushing with a brush. Petals bloomed from the heated blade, carried by the wind and cascading down upon the horde of undead approaching the Castle Wall.

Whoooooosh!

The fragments of flame that flowed like cherry blossoms became a barrier of fire, erasing the undead.

Roooooar!

The morale atop the Castle Wall surged once more at the sight of such divine swordsmanship.

“Make it so they cannot even approach!”

Burren Zigheart stomped his foot and brought down the Gale Wind Sword. Even with aura reduced to a minimum, the wind that extended forth carried an eerie sharpness.

Shhhhwack!

The undead approaching from the right collapsed with their bodies severed in half.

“You bone bastards! I’ll crush every last one of you!”

Martha gritted her teeth and brought her sword down. She endured her frustration and wielded only the sword techniques that consumed the least aura, yet her strength was such that five undead were pulverized with each strike.

“The enemy of ice cream.”

Lunan Slion thrust his sword in a sliding motion. Frost spread across the blade, freezing the feet of the undead at the vanguard.

Crack-crack-crack!

The undead whose advance had stalled now blocked the path forward, and the zombies began baring their teeth at one another, jostling and clawing.

“Let’s move out!”

The Gwangpung Unit, still clinging to the Castle Wall, unleashed their sword winds downward.
Despite the battle stretching on, not a single bead of sweat dripped from their foreheads.
I nodded with satisfaction, feeling the fruits of the elixirs I’d administered and the hellish training I’d put them through.

“Anyone whose aura is depleted should fall back and recover your stamina.”

I unleashed sword winds against the endless tide of undead pouring forward, a faint smile crossing my lips.

“This war won’t end in a single day.”

*

*

*

Freica released the bowstring.

Twang!

The arrow traced an arc through the air, piercing clean through the skulls of a zombie and skeleton. They toppled to the ground with their heads caved in.

“Haah…”

My breathing came ragged and heavy. I’d lost count of how many arrows I’d released. All I’d done was draw from my quiver, and when it emptied, I’d refill it and continue.

“Ugh…”

As I tried to nock another arrow, my middle finger throbbed with a tearing pain.
Though I’d continued my archery training, I’d never fired arrows in such rapid succession for such an extended period. It was only natural that my fingers would suffer.

I bit my lip hard and shifted my finger position before releasing another arrow.
All the hours spent gripping the bow paid off—the arrow flew true, piercing the skeleton’s skull with perfect accuracy.

I steadied my trembling knees, exhausted, and glanced to the side. Even as another day passed and the sun began to set once more, the endless tide of zombies and skeletons pressed forward without cessation.

Whether squad leaders or members, everyone had grown so weary that the pace of their arrows slowed, and the swordsmen’s blades wavered from fatigue.

Yet not a single swordsman or Ranger lowered their weapon. Despite their exhaustion, they continued to carve arcs of blade energy and draw their bowstrings without pause.

There was only one reason they persisted, even by sheer force of will.

‘Raon Zigheart.’

Freica lifted her gaze to the man standing at the very front of the Castle Wall, observing his back.

‘Because he continues to stand.’

Raon stood foremost, cutting down far more undead than anyone else.

To be honest, the number of undead Raon alone had felled likely exceeded the combined total of all the Rangers, the Gwangpung Order, and the Yellow Sword Squad.

‘With him giving so much, I cannot afford to surrender. And….’

I watched Wendy Arian wielding her blade beside Raon.

‘Her as well.’

To be truthful, I had always thought Wendy’s will was remarkable, though I had not held her martial prowess in particularly high regard.
Even as a Master, her lack of real combat experience meant I harbored no great expectations.

Yet Wendy cut down countless undead with a ferocity that matched Raon’s own, elevating the morale of the Castle Wall itself.
She alone among the Arian Family had proven herself a true swordsman, upholding the family’s honor.

‘Somehow, I feel we might actually win.’

Witnessing the unwavering resolve in Raon and Wendy’s backs, it seemed that even the undead legion’s relentless assault could be withstood—as if this family itself had been transformed.

Freica nocked an arrow on her bowstring, her fingers slick with blood, and released it.

Twang!

The arrow sang through the darkness, splitting the air and shattering an undead’s skull.

*

*

*

I narrowed my eyes as I gazed upon the descending sun.

‘There truly is no end to this.’

Even the sun had its appointed time to rise, yet the undead’s advance seemed endless.

‘Or perhaps… this is only the beginning.’
-Indeed. We are far from finished.

Beyond the wall of zombies and skeletons, more formidable creatures wreathed in malevolent auras drew ever closer.

‘They must be higher-ranked variants of ghouls and skeletons.’

They devoured the lesser undead as they advanced with terrifying speed.

I gazed down from the Castle Wall.

‘A hill of corpses…’

The skeletons and zombies, unable to breach the Castle Wall, had fallen and formed a macabre mound of bodies before the fortress.

But from this point forward, we would not be able to hold them back so easily. We would have to prepare ourselves for casualties.

“Dorian.”
“Yes…?”

At my gesture, Dorian approached. His round face had grown gaunt from exhaustion.

“Did you send it?”
“Yes. But as I mentioned before, there’s no guarantee it will arrive. There’s a possibility something could go wrong along the way.”

Dorian shook his head, uncertain of what would happen.

“It’s fine. I’ll take care of a few of them.”

Raon nodded and adjusted the ring on his finger.

‘If all else fails, I’ll have to use this.’

I’d received the ring from Chamber, but learned how to use it from Rimer. This situation—no, it was the Gwangpung Unit’s final trump card.

I exhaled softly and approached Wendy Arian.

“Commander of the Yellow Sword Squad.”
“Yes!”

Despite her exhaustion, Wendy wore a smile. Her expression was far more vibrant than when she handled paperwork.

“If there are any executives imprisoned who can participate in combat, bring them here.”
“Pardon? But why would we….”
“Use what you can. Even filthy things become useful sometimes.”

Several executives, including Bainder, would be valuable in combat, so it made more sense to deploy them rather than leave them locked away like insects.

I turned to survey the Gwangpung Unit, the Rangers, and the Yellow Sword Squad.

“Everyone rest for two hours and return. This will likely be your last reprieve.”
“What about you, Raon?”

Lunan Slion immediately lifted his head.

“I can recover while fighting. I’ll be fine.”

Among everyone here, only I could recover even slightly while engaged in battle.

“But how can we leave you alone, Commander!”
“That’s right! You’re already pushing yourself too hard.”
“We should take turns resting….”

Without answering, I brought down the Glacial Sword, infused with Glacial’s chill.

Whoooosh!

The floor gleamed silver as the zombies and skeletons that had been creeping through the gaps froze solid.

Crack!

I snapped my fingers, and the frozen undead shattered into fragments, the ice shards transforming the other undead into porcupines.

“Who’s worrying about whom?”

I waved my hand dismissively, as if swatting away flies.

“That’s an order. We don’t have time, so go rest and come back quickly.”

*

*

*

When the sun had completely set and night fell, the Rangers and swordsmen returned. Some executives, including Bainder, had come with them, having accepted the proposal.

Yet despite having recovered their stamina and aura, their expressions were grim. In fact, their faces were even paler than when they had descended the Castle Wall.

I nodded as I observed their reactions.

‘There’s no helping it.’

They had come to understand that the real battle was only beginning.

While the numbers of zombies and skeletons had dwindled, higher-tier ghouls and skeleton warriors approached with terrifying momentum.

Shrieeeek!

Grotesque phantom forms flew through the darkened sky, while on both flanks, Duran rode upon a black steed clad in obsidian armor and rampaged, and the dragon-fang soldiers known as Spathoi rose from the darkness.

Finally, the chimera undead—formed from the amalgamation of corpses—revealed itself.

I clenched my teeth as I beheld the true undead legion, brimming with the essence of death.

‘This won’t be easy.’

Swordsmen and Rangers clashed atop the Castle Wall while residents below did everything in their power to support them, yet there was no guarantee the wall would hold.

‘Still, I have to try.’

I slowly raised my hand.

“All units, prepare for battle!”
“Prepare for battle!”

The Rangers, Gwangpung Unit, and Yellow Sword Squad took their positions at the edge of the Castle Wall once more. Despite trembling hands from the deathly aura emanating from the undead, they raised their bows and blades.

The undead did not charge mindlessly like zombies and skeletons. They advanced in perfect formation, moving with deliberate slowness.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Even their footsteps sounded far heavier than before. The anxious heartbeats of those around me seemed to echo loudly.

Thud!

Just as I lowered my hand to signal the archers to fire, the undead legion’s advance came to an abrupt halt.

The center of the undead horde, packed together like ants, split open as a Death Knight emerged, its hollow eye sockets burning with an eerie green light.

“Humans of Zigheart and Arian.”

The Death Knight’s jaw opened, releasing a grotesque voice that sounded as though it had risen from the Deep Sea.

“I propose a one-on-one duel.”

Behind the Death Knight, a boulder-sized Spatoi, Duran, and two additional Death Knights stepped forward.

“What?”

I widened my eyes.

‘Undead proposing a one-on-one duel?’

Before engaging in full-scale warfare, it was common for elite warriors to conduct individual duels to boost the morale of their forces.

What these undead were saying now sounded exactly like that duel.

“That… that thing right now…?”
“Is it asking us to have a one-on-one duel?”
“What, an undead?”
“This is insane…”

The Gwangpung Order trembled, astonished not merely that the undead could speak, but that it was proposing a one-on-one duel like humans would.

“Yes, a long time ago…”

Wendy Arian stepped closer to my side.

“I’ve heard of something like this happening before.”
“If it was long ago… could it be…?”
“Yes. There are records that during the war where the first Heads of House from Zigheart and Arian fought together, the undead also requested one-on-one duels.”

She swallowed hard, noting that the undead approaching now resembled those monsters from back then.

“I see.”

I smiled faintly. As I’d initially suspected, it appeared that the Arch Lich—the one dealt with by my Zigheart ancestor—was the one who had summoned these undead.

‘So they mean to overturn history.’

They seemed intent on taking revenge against the descendants a thousand years hence.

“How did those one-on-one duels turn out in the records?”
“Five warriors from Zigheart and Arian went out and achieved five victories.”
“As expected.”

The man who founded Zigheart would have fought in a way that made victory inevitable.

“Who should go?”
“Obviously Raon has to go.”
“He’s last anyway. No need to discuss it.”
“Then with Mark and the Yellow Sword Squad commander, that leaves only two spots?”
“Then I’ll go!”
“No. I will.”

The swordsmen on the platform began arguing about who would go next. Naturally, Lunan, Martha, and Burren fought amongst themselves over who would step forward.

Raon leaped down from the castle wall before they could finish speaking.

“Raon?”
“We haven’t decided yet!”
“You madman! What will happen if you go alone!”

Lunan, Burren, and Martha called out to him, but he didn’t look back and advanced toward the undead legion.

“Are you the vanguard?”

The Death Knight with emerald eyes who had challenged him twisted his jaw.

“No.”

Raon smiled coldly and shook his head. He drew upon the aura of Manhwagong and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“I am both the vanguard and the commander.”

He stepped into the true stance and drew the Celestial Sword. As the blade emerged, a wave of blazing flames erupted along the horizon.

Manhwagong’s Hundred Flowers.
Flame Sea Without Blemish.

Not only the higher-ranked undead that came out for the one-on-one duel, but the undead maintaining the rear lines also had crimson lines drawn across their necks.

Roooaaarrr!

A colossal wave of flames erupted through the crimson lines, sweeping away all the undead in its path.

“Don’t speak of duels with your fetid undead mouths.”

Raon lowered the Celestial Sword wreathed in flames, a cold smile playing across his lips.

Grrrrgh….
Kiiieeeee….

Even the malevolent undead hadn’t anticipated the destruction of the duel, and the formation behind them began to crumble.

—Whoa!

Wrath burst forth with a sharp gasp.

—What kind of character is this…?

He stared with his mouth agape, questioning whether this creature was truly human.

‘They started this first.’

I resented how they had attempted to sweep me away with waves from the swamp, yet now pretended to hold the moral high ground.

“Uh, uh…”
“Is… is that even allowed?”
“A character so vile that even Monsters recoil…”
“Truly the master of the Gwangpung Unit. Or rather, the Mad Dog Squad.”
“Raon is so cool!”

The Gwangpung Unit trembled with their jaws, exhausted rather than cheering.

Despite employing underhanded tactics in a one-on-one duel, morale upon the Castle Wall had reached its highest point yet.

Just as I turned to leave, satisfied, a tremendous aura surged from the edge of the Land of Death.

Roooaaarrr!

A roar brimming with malice—a cry saturated with dark energy like the Beast Alliance’s supreme martial technique, the Howl of the Dark Dragon, hurtled toward the Arian Family. It was the lion’s roar unleashed by the highest-tier undead.

I activated Glacial and drew the Soul Reaper Sword.

Screech!

A pale yellow spectral blade rose from the scabbard, its edge shrieking with resentment.

Roooaaar!

Blood Retaliation extended outward, grasping and dragging down the malice of the lion’s roar.

Boom!

The moment I silenced the lion’s roar, I brought my hand crashing down from where it pierced the heavens.

Piercing shriek!

With an intense sonic boom, silver arrows and sword winds poured down upon the battlefield. The undead legion, stripped of its command structure, crumbled before it could even mount a defense.

I watched the barrage of arrows sweep through the undead army, my eyes gleaming with cold brilliance.

“Forgive me, but history has a way of repeating itself.”

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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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