The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 402
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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 402
Burren’s jaw trembled as he watched the knights and mages clearing a path with effortless precision.
“What… what is this…?”
What in the world was happening?
Just when I was fighting with death at my doorstep, drawing upon every ounce of strength I possessed, knights, swordsmen, and mages suddenly appeared and began slaughtering the undead.
The Third Prince from Owen Kingdom, Borini Kitten, Morel from Valcar, the Iron Formation, and even Trevin Zigheart. My heart pounded like thunder at the sight of these unexpected reinforcements.
‘And those…’
I saw the cavalry unit that had appeared first, crushing the wall of the undead legion. The emblem of a barrier etched into their armor told me who they were. They were Milend, the lord of Lower Castle, and his knights.
“Then it must be…”
Burren swallowed hard and turned his gaze toward Raon. There was no need to ask who had summoned them. All of these people had deep connections with Raon.
There’s no need to ask who called them. All of those people had significant connections with Raon.
“She’s really unbearable.”
At this point, I couldn’t even begin to keep up with him.
Now I couldn’t even bring myself to try to keep up.
“You called them, didn’t you?”
“You called me, didn’t you?”
Martha spoke first as Burren Zigheart tried to approach Raon.
“Okay.”
Raon nodded, spitting out saliva mixed with blood from his mouth.
When exactly?
Martha turned her head at the sound of the knights’ battle cries.
“From the moment the swamp’s waves began to recede.”
She explained that once the swamp’s waves started crashing down, she sensed something unmanageable was about to happen, so she used Dorian’s artifact to request reinforcements.
“Damn, you really don’t miss a thing.”
Martha let out a hollow laugh and shook her head.
“Anyway, thank you.”
“Huh?”
“I survived because of you.”
“Huh?”
Raon’s eyes widened in surprise at hearing words of gratitude.
“I know how to be grateful too!”
To be honest, I hadn’t properly expressed it until now. Or rather, even when I did, I hadn’t meant it sincerely.
But when Raon and Dorian were kidnapped and I moved to rescue them, I realized that I had gained people precious to me since my stepfather’s death.
From that point on, I resolved to speak the words that needed to be said with absolute sincerity.
“Anyway, thank youuu! Ow!”
Martha bit her tongue as she opened her mouth nervously.
“It’s okayyy.”
Raon nodded with a faint smile.
“There’s no need for such words between comrades.”
“Hey, don’t copy me!”
“Blrblrblrgh.”
Lunan Slion approached Martha’s side, twisting his mouth to mimic her speech.
“You!”
Martha swung her fist, and Lunan Slion bounced back with a light hop, retreating to the side.
“It looked fun.”
Lunan Slion shrugged his shoulders with a blank expression.
“These damned fools….”
Martha furrowed her brow and turned her head sharply. Her earlobes were flushed a deep red.
Tap.
Lunan Slion watched Raon, Burren Zigheart, and Martha, tapping his thigh with his finger.
‘They’ve all brightened up.’
Just moments ago, we had been on the brink of death, yet none of them blamed or cursed anyone. Instead, they smiled at the sight of each other, safe and whole.
It was so different from our trainee days, when we were consumed by inner darkness and always wore gloomy expressions.
Now we had truly become a family, each serving as the other’s pillar of support.
‘That’s good.’
Having known both the beauty and ugliness of family, watching the Gale Wind Squad become a true family, my lips curved upward in a genuine smile without my realizing it.
Now I felt I could smile a real smile without thinking of that person.
Lunan Slion dashed forward and stood beside Martha, tapping her shoulder.
“Let’s go get ice cream together later.”
“No way!”
“Then let’s go play dress-up.”
“Just get lost!”
Martha reached out her hand, and Lunan Slion smoothly arched his back to dodge.
“You two, stop that already.”
“Right. You’re not kids anymore.”
“You’re getting more childish by the day.”
“Though I have to admit, that’s part of the charm….”
Burren stopped the two of them, and the Gale Wind Squad joined in with laughter. Despite nearly dying moments ago, the atmosphere remained warm and familiar.
Clap!
I clapped my hands to gather the Gale Wind Squad’s attention.
“You’ve rested enough?”
I smiled while gesturing toward the four forces that were systematically erasing the undead.
“Then let’s move out.”
*
*
*
In the Land of Death where three pillars stood embedded.
The Arch Lich’s hand trembled as he gripped his staff, watching the orb that reflected the battlefield.
“Where in the world did those humans come from….”
He had severed all communication networks surrounding the castle just to be safe, yet he couldn’t fathom where these bastards had been summoned from.
“Damn it….”
It wouldn’t be long before he painted the young ones of Zigheart in blood and tore down the cursed wall of the Arian Family, but this interference made his insides churn with nausea.
‘It’s him.’
Damn Zigheart!
From the movements of these humans, it seemed they had come as reinforcements at the request of the young Zigheart, not the Arian Family. His teeth ground at Zigheart’s persistence—interfering a thousand years ago and again a thousand years later.
“Now is not the time for frustration.”
The Death Knight with azure eyes shook his head. He rolled the longsword at his waist in his grip and looked up at the sky.
“At this pace, they’ll reach here before noon. We need to finish our preparations before then.”
“Indeed.”
The Arch Lich nodded slowly. As he spread both hands, the malevolent aura emanating from the Land of Death grew denser, and black magic circles began to form across the dark ground.
“We must eliminate that one first.”
The Death Knight raised a finger, pointing to Raon reflected in the orb.
“He is the strongest among them, but he is greatly exhausted and appears to have sustained internal injuries. If we kill him, we can turn the battle in our favor.”
“That bastard is the reason we’re in this state. He won’t be unaware of it.”
The Arch Lich flicked his finger while wielding the dark aura, and moderately powerful undead began to surge up from the far end of the ground.
“I shall make my own preparations.”
The Death Knight kept his back against the pillar, his green eyes capturing the movements of the warriors reflected in the orb.
His fingers twitched in rhythm with the swordsmen’s martial flow.
While the Death Knight and the Arch Lich prepared their defenses, the Phantom Soul Ghost rose silently from behind them.
“This was unexpected, even for me.”
The Phantom Soul Ghost gazed at Raon’s face reflected in the orb and licked his lips.
‘I thought he was a lone wolf, but he actually knows how to use people. He’s far more dangerous than I anticipated.’
‘Should I discard him since the Demon Lord’s experiment is complete?’
He stared coldly at the undead before clapping his hands.
‘No. This is actually an opportunity.’
Everyone coming to this place now is a powerful figure renowned across the Continent. If I kill them all, I can move one step closer to my plan.
“Very well. I shall assist until the very end.”
The Phantom Soul Ghost withdrew an orb from his robe’s sleeve.
Goooooooh!
A chilling aura flowed from the darkened orb, and an immense wave of malevolent energy began to pour not only into the Death Knight and Arch Lich, but into the very ground beneath their feet.
Gyaaaaaaah.
The deathly aura emanating from the Phantom Soul Ghost was not in the form of a dark magic circle created by the Arch Lich, but rather spread outward like something alive and writhing.
Kugugugu!
The Phantom Soul Ghost dispersed such a colossal wave of death energy that the three pillars embedded in the ground trembled, then retrieved the orb.
The Arch Lich and Death Knight were too busy plotting how to kill Raon and the swordsmen to notice he was behind them.
“Something’s just a bit short… Ah!”
The Phantom Soul Ghost scratched his chin and lifted his head. His lips twisted upward, and his mask trembled slightly.
‘That would be just perfect.’
With a dull laugh, his form vanished into the darkness.
*
*
*
Raon approached the cavalry unit of Lower Castle, who stood at the vanguard crushing the undead horde.
“Lord of the Castle.”
Milend, the lord of Lower Castle, turned to face this way and let out a scornful laugh.
“You certainly arrive quickly.”
Despite his words, his face was filled with genuine warmth.
-That old geezer’s back after all this time.
Wrath waved his round hand happily as well.
“Why do you always find yourself in such difficult battles?”
Milend sighed as he gazed upon the still-teeming horde of undead.
“Even when you were with us, you did slightly insane things.”
“Slightly? You were completely mad. Who throws themselves off a castle wall to save people who’ve fallen? Who does that?”
“But you stood before that wall until morning and saved everyone, didn’t you?”
“Yes. Not a single soul died beneath the castle wall.”
The swordsmen of the Night Fox Knights and the Sulgyek Swordsmen nodded with wry smiles.
“Thank you! We survived because of you, Raon!”
A young swordsman from the Sulgyek Swordsmen raised his hand. He bowed gratefully, saying that he had been a soldier back then but awakened his mana after that incident.
“The feats you’ve accomplished still remain in Lower Castle.”
Milend, who had been looking straight ahead, approached and tapped my shoulder.
“Right now, we’re simply repaying that debt, so don’t worry about it. Just conserve your strength for what’s ahead.”
After saying that, he urged his horse forward even faster.
“At least buy us a meal!”
“Let’s meet after this is all over!”
“We’ll be looking forward to it!”
The knights and swordsmen waved their hands and charged forward, breaking through the wall of Spatoi and Skeleton Warriors.
I bowed to Milend and approached the Owen Kingdom’s knights.
“Thank you for coming.”
“Now that the faction has returned, it’s only natural. Don’t give it another thought.”
The Third Prince smiled with a hawk perched on his shoulder. It seemed to be the same hawk that had let out that sharp cry earlier.
“Hmm, it’s been a while since I’ve seen Martha as well.”
He turned his gaze backward and winked at Martha. Seeing his pupils soften with a gentle glow, it seemed he was still utterly captivated.
“Ugh! How sickening!”
Martha frowned in annoyance at the Third Prince’s eye contact and abruptly turned her head away.
“Ack….”
Screech!
The Third Prince recoiled as if struck. The hawk perched on his shoulder gently stroked his cheek with its beak, as if offering comfort.
“As I mentioned, this is something that must be done.”
Borini Kitten approached the deflated Third Prince.
“I’m actually grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in such a battle!”
He spoke of it as a valuable experience, calling it an honor instead. Truly, he was a man who embodied the ideals of knighthood.
“Thank you.”
I exchanged a respectful greeting with Borini Kitten before approaching the mages of Morel and Salamander.
“I’m amazed you came all this way. Thank you.”
“It really was far.”
“It really was far?”
“W-well, it was far. Huh? Wait, I don’t need to use formal speech anymore!”
Morel nodded before suddenly letting out a yelp.
“I’m joking.”
I smiled as I watched Morel’s face flush red.
“Phew, anyway. How on earth did you win over our Princess’s heart? She came to me begging to hurry and leave.”
Morel clicked his tongue, saying he’d never seen Princess Jeina bow so deeply before.
“Surely you and the Princess aren’t…”
“Absolutely not.”
I shook my head firmly.
“As you said, there’s no way I could have that kind of relationship with that arrogant Princess.”
“Then what is it?”
“I made a light promise. In any case, thank you for coming. I’ll appreciate your help until the very end.”
“As a mage who deals with truth, I dislike these dark magic corpses degrading my magical level. Whether you ask or not, I’ll clean them up properly.”
Morel extended his hand, complaining that those filthy things diminished his magical prowess. A colossal serpent erupted forth, sweeping away all the Skeleton Mages ahead in one fell swoop.
A massive serpent burst forth and swept away all the skeleton mages that had been in front.
“My lord.”
Raon approached the Cheoljeon Unit one last time and cracked a joke.
“This is as fast as I could manage.”
“This came as quickly as possible.”
The Iron Formation’s commander Trevin frowned. Since the first test, the Cheoljeon Unit and Gale Wind Squad had been continuously sparring, so they had become quite close.
“Those bastards said they’d be bored without you, so I came.”
“Those guys just came because they said they’d be bored without you.”
Trevin glanced back and shook his head.
“What are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you whip us to prepare quickly?”
“You’re not being honest. The one who rushed out in his underwear to rescue Raon.”
“You’re being dishonest. You’re the one who ran out in your underwear saying you had to go rescue Raon.”
The Cheoljeon Unit inspectors tilted their heads in confusion, as if to say, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Why don’t you shut up?”
As Trevin turned around and frowned, the inspectors clamped their mouths shut.
Thank you.
I smiled faintly and bowed to Trevin.
“I will repay this debt without fail.”
“There’s no need.”
Trevin shook his head.
“If you’re grateful, then rise to the Gwangpung Corps. It would be embarrassing if our rival from the Cheoljeon Unit remained in a lower unit.”
He said that would be enough and rushed forward.
“Indeed.”
“Rise quickly.”
“We’ll be waiting.”
The Cheoljeon Unit swordsmen smiled and followed in Trevin’s wake.
“Hah…”
I let out a hollow laugh as I watched Trevin and the Cheoljeon Unit depart.
‘Is he really from the Main Lineage?’
He was so different from every Main Lineage member I’d encountered thus far that it felt almost surreal.
He would surely draw criticism from the other Main Lineage members, yet he spoke to me with such composure—it only deepened my gratitude.
“Hey, Unit Commander. We should go and finish them off too!”
“Right. We can’t leave everything to our guests.”
“Let’s finish this quickly and get some rest.”
Burren, Martha, and Lunan gripped their blades and channeled their aura. Behind them, the eyes of the Gwangpung Corps members gleamed with fighting spirit.
“You’re right.”
I nodded and adjusted my grip on the Heavenly Sword.
“Follow me.”
I charged forward toward the backs of Lower Castle, Owen, Valcar, and the Cheoljeon Unit, who were clearing the path ahead.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The concentrated flame magic conjured by Morel’s and Salamander’s mages shattered the undead legion’s rigid formation, and the cavalry of Lower Castle led by Milend became a single spear, accelerating the collapse of their ranks.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The Third Prince and Borini Kitten spread the knights’ front lines wide like hawk wings, eliminating every scattering undead without exception, while Trevin Zigheart and the Cheoljeon Unit operated the Black Iron Sword Formation, methodically crushing only the mid-tier and higher undead that the three forces had missed.
I led the Gwangpung Unit forward and charged at the tumbling chimera zombies.
Growwwwl!
Five chimera zombies began to swell their bodies to trigger corpse explosions when I stepped on the Heavenly Step.
Folding the earth beneath me like a runner, I pierced through the zombies’ space in an instant and drew the Frost Ribbon.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The head of a chimera zombie that had swollen just before detonation flew away, and the bodies of those about to burst froze solid from the Frost Ribbon’s frigid aura.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The Gwangpung Unit following behind mercilessly shattered the frozen chimera zombie corpses.
“I told you to stay behind.”
Milend commanded the cavalry and swordsmen while wearing a faint smile.
“How slow.”
Morel exhaled a long sigh and summoned serpents of flame to incinerate the undead clustered on the right flank.
“Since we’re tired, surely this pace is tolerable, is it not?”
Borini Kitten smiled gently as he cleaved through a banshee’s body.
“Y-yes, quite right….”
The Third Prince’s eyes wavered as he stole glances at Martha, who was shattering undead with her great sword.
“I’ll still do my part.”
Trevin Zigheart, the commander of the Iron Formation, nodded, acknowledging that once he committed to action, he was someone you could trust.
“From now on, the Mad Dog Squad will take the lead again.”
I smiled at the gathered forces and stepped forward.
“Let’s go!”
“We’re not mad dogs!”
“Hah!”
Burren, Martha, and Lunan led their squad members forward, tearing through the approaching undead without mercy.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The five forces, despite never having coordinated before, meshed together like gears, sweeping across the battlefield with unstoppable momentum.
Because no one overextended their strength, we all conserved our power and reached the position where the pillar at the end of the Land of Death came into view.
It seemed they intended to make their final stand here—the area was packed with monsters of Spathoi and Ghoul Lord caliber, even Duran-class creatures, mixed with Death Knights and Liches of lower and middle grades.
“Hah…”
I steadied my breathing and lifted my gaze upward.
‘There it is.’
Before the pillar at the end of the Land of Death stood an Arch Lich, its eyes burning with blue flames.
The aura it radiated was so sinister my fingertips trembled—exactly as anticipated, an Arch Lich that had ascended to the highest grade.
But that creature had prepared more than just those forces and morale.
I sent aura messages simultaneously to the four of them.
[I’ll advance first. Even if I come under attack, there’s no need for you to defend me.]
Based on everything I’d sensed so far, they were definitely targeting the Gwangpung Unit—specifically me, the vice-commander.
‘He must have prepared extensively to kill me.’
If I charged in all at once, the traps the Arch Lich had laid would trigger, causing countless casualties. From this point forward, it was right to proceed according to the original plan.
[It seems you have something in mind.]
[You look exhausted, but I’m sure you’ll manage, Raon.]
[Do as you wish.]
[Another strange strategy is coming.]
Milend, Borini Kitten, Morel, and Trevin ceased their questions and gradually slowed their pace.
[Thank you.]
I gave them a slight nod before stepping onto the blackened ground.
‘Can this even be called ground?’
The triangular expanse was not soil or sand, but rather a dense concentration of death’s aura—a noxious miasma so potent that even Expert-level swordsmen would struggle to endure it. The stench was suffocating enough to make one’s eyes water.
As I swallowed hard and ventured deeper into the Land of Death, the heavens and earth trembled, and a violent surge of dark energy roiled forth.
Screeeech!
Countless black magic circles erupted across the sky and earth, and from the darkened ground, a Death Knight with blazing blue eyes burst forth, brandishing a flame-wreathed sword.
It was a Death Knight of the Phantom Soul grade, concealing its aura within the darkness of the earth.
Though the situation seemed inescapable, my eyes remained as cold and composed as ice.
‘Wrath. We have a deal.’
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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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