The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 403

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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 403

Kuguguugu!

I wielded the Ring of Fire with fervent intensity, watching the cascading torrents of magic and the Flame Prison Sword striking down at my throat.

Perhaps due to the resonance achieved in this extreme situation, time seemed to flow more slowly than usual.

‘I knew it would come to this.’

I felt it the moment I entered the Land of Death with three pillars embedded within it.
The aura of death dwelling in this place was of a different caliber from any ground I’d traversed before, and countless magic circles lay hidden in all directions.

‘Of course it would be.’

The Arch Lich had observed people and commanded the undead since the siege began, so there was no way he would have remained idle without any preparations until now.

It was obvious as fire that he would make extensive preparations to kill the warriors who had charged this far.

‘And especially….’

It seemed he wanted to kill me first.

Only one person had entered deeper, yet the fact that he’d opened the magic circles and revealed even a Superior-rank Death Knight hidden within the aura of death showed his determination to kill me before anything else.

‘But I wasn’t the only one making preparations.’

I knew the Arch Lich was observing me, so I knew the situation would unfold this way.

I curled my lips into a smile as I watched the Death Knight’s Flame Prison Sword and the torrents of magic drawing ever closer.

‘Wrath. Make the deal quickly—’
-I refuse.
‘What? What do you mean?’
-I said I refuse.

The creature who had promised to restore my stamina and aura, and even lend me his cold and fury until we arrived here, suddenly shook his head in refusal.

I swallowed hard as the Soul Reaper Sword drew ever closer.

‘What are you talking about all of a sudden! We already agreed to this deal!’
-Now that I think about it, it seems only you benefit from this arrangement.

Wrath closed his eyes, insisting he was at a loss no matter how he calculated it. His lips curled upward, clearly aware of his advantageous position.

Though he showed no intention of backing down from negotiations, he granted me a strange power—my thoughts remained unchanged, but time itself flowed more slowly around me.

‘Ugh….’

I hadn’t anticipated a situation like this, and my heart clenched painfully.

‘I’ll accept more of your wrath. That should be enough, right?’

Wrath continued forcing his rage into this body to seize control, but it wasn’t entirely detrimental.
Since I’d learned how to wield his wrath from him, there were both advantages and disadvantages.

-….

Wrath didn’t answer, only pouted his lips.

That’s not it?

I’d naturally expected him to demand I take more of his wrath, but he said nothing.

‘No time. If I don’t speak soon, it’s all over. I’ll get nothing….’
-Tsk!
‘Could it be…?’

I smacked my lips and frowned at Wrath.

‘After the war ends, and even after we leave here and return to the family estate, I’ll eat whatever I want.’
-Hmm….
‘I’ll even try that new ice cream flavor Lunan Slion mentioned!’
-Deal!
‘Damn glutton!’

Trying to negotiate in such a critical moment—this bastard makes me want to curse.
Though Wrath didn’t know it yet, his negotiation wouldn’t go as planned.

-Let me handle this properly.

With Wrath’s excited voice, vitality surged into my body, which had been pressed down like wet cotton. Heat and cold rose endlessly into my previously empty dantian.

The cold especially grew to such an enormous size that it pierced through my thick, massive dantian.

I lowered my center of gravity and extended the Soul Reaper Sword forward.

Whoooosh!

Atop the pale yellow energy came the ultimate frost and the Demon King’s wrath. A cyan light blazed across the red blade wrapped in these heterogeneous forces.

Screeeech!

I simultaneously unleashed the enormous energy, cold, and fury I felt in my left hand. The Soul Reaper Sword vibrated as if it would shatter, and a cold that seemed to freeze the world surged forth.

Craaaaaaash!

A silver aurora bloomed through the Soul Reaper Sword as a medium, and both the magic falling from the sky and the Death Knight unleashing hellfire froze simultaneously.

“Ugh….”

I bit my lip, staring at the frozen world.

‘It’s still not easy….’

My insides churned, and my energy drained away. I wanted to collapse right then and there.
It was only possible because I had Wrath’s help; using the silver aurora alone still seemed beyond my current capacity.

Creak, creak.

I heard the Death Knight’s body creaking from within the ice. The fact that it was trying to move even after taking Wrath’s technique meant it was stronger than I’d thought.

Screeeee!

I endured the throbbing pain in my chest and infused the Heavenly Sword in my right hand with the heat of Manhwagong.

Crack!

The heat rising from the blade’s crimson-hot surface shattered the frozen torso of a Phantom Soul Ghost-class Death Knight standing directly before me.

Boom!

The colossal ice pillar crafted from silver-white aurora fractured under the crimson blade’s strike, cascading down in glittering shards.

“What in the world is that….”

Milend, the Lower Castle’s lord, stared at the ice barrier I had created with his mouth agape.

“It’s like magic, yet it isn’t magic. It’s the phenomenon itself….”

Morel’s eyes bulged so wide they nearly popped from his skull at the absurdity of it all.

“Has his swordsmanship changed?”
“Not changed—his skill has simply grown in the meantime.”

The Third Prince and Borini Kitten swallowed hard, their eyes fixed not on the silver-white aurora, but on the crimson blade that had cleaved the Death Knight asunder in a single stroke.

“Now he’s doing everything.”

Trevin, commander of the Cheoljeon Unit, sighed and shook his head in disbelief.

“Is that even human?”
“I’m more terrified of that human than the undead….”
“Better not provoke him.”

The Gale Wind Squad, too, muttered that I was truly an exhausting human as they witnessed the impossible spectacle.

*

*

*

“What… what is this!”

The Arch Lich retreated as he watched Raon block hundreds of spells and the Death Knight’s blade with a single move.

‘This is absurd….’

Was it even possible to suddenly recover aura like that?

He knew the young Zigheart could create barriers of cold, but he’d thought it impossible with his current aura and stamina.

Yet the bastard had unleashed an enormous aura that hadn’t existed in his core just before the blade and magic made contact, creating that impossible pillar of ice.

‘What in the….’

No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t understand the current situation.

But right now, escaping this precarious situation took priority over uncovering that secret. The enemy wasn’t just that young brat, after all.

‘What should I do?’

Resummoning the Death Knight wasn’t difficult, but he couldn’t think of a way to kill all these humans.

As the Arch Lich manipulated the threads of death to resurrect the fallen Death Knight, the young Zigheart gestured backward.

“It’s all over now. Come in.”

At his gesture, the humans waiting behind slowly set foot into the Land of Death.

‘An opportunity!’

The humans didn’t know, but the magic circles he’d set up in this space weren’t one-time use—they were continuous.

No matter how strong that bastard was, he couldn’t use that ice barrier he’d just created repeatedly, so if he triggered the magic circles once they were all inside, he could deal a fatal blow.

The humans stepped into the Land of Death without hesitation and began sweeping away the unfrozen undead.

‘Now!’

The Arch Lich triggered the magic circles again the moment the last person set foot on the ground.

He, who had been accelerating the Death Knight’s resurrection while raining down offensive magic, came to an abrupt halt.

‘What…?’

The magic circles weren’t activating. It wasn’t just a matter of them not working—the magic circles that should have remained stable even after a month were beginning to dissolve entirely.

“What, what is this! Why are the magic circles—!”

The young Zigheart’s voice rang out just as I stopped constructing the Death Knight resurrection spell in my panic.

“Why? The magic circles aren’t activating?”

He twirled the short sword that had created the ice barrier between his fingers, smiling wickedly.

“Could it be that short sword…?”

I’d seen that ominous cursed blade shatter magic and magic circles countless times, but I’d never imagined it could nullify every single magic circle in this place.

“What exactly are you! What kind of creature are you!”
“Who knows.”

Raon gazed at the Arch Lich’s trembling jaw and offered a faint smile. The creature’s azure eyes flickered as if they might extinguish from sheer bewilderment.

‘It worked perfectly.’

Even the Soul Reaper Sword couldn’t simultaneously destroy all those magic circles.

After identifying the focal points of the magic circles through the Ring of Fire, I’d destroyed the formations using the Silver Aurora and magical acupoints—and the strategy had worked flawlessly.

“This is actually stress-relieving!”

Burren crushed Spathoi’s body beneath his feet, laughing wickedly.

“Bring me the heads of these tedious skeleton bastards!”

Martha smashed the skulls of the undead as if venting all her accumulated frustration.

“Finish this quickly! Sleep! Sleep! Sleep!”

Lunan, having reached his limit, his violet eyes blazing with fierce determination, cleaved Duran into four pieces.

“I can see the end!”
“Pathetic creatures!”
“Annihilate them all!”

Not only the Gale Wind Squad, but warriors and mages from the four factions also poured their mana forth, sensing victory was within reach, and began slaughtering the undead.

With such formidable forces gathered, it wasn’t long before every undead monster save the Arch Lich fell.

“Now only one withered skeleton remains.”

Milend stepped beside me and leveled his blade at the Arch Lich.

“A Superior-grade Arch Lich—quite the rarity. This should prove interesting to experiment with.”

Morel compressed a firestorm in his palm, his expression twisted into an unsettling smile.

“An undead of this caliber commanding such forces—it must be eliminated by any means necessary.”

Borini Kitten approached, wreathed in a sharp aura.

“So this creature is the mastermind that lured us here. Arrogant wretch.”

Trevin infused his blade with energy, his gaze fixed upon the Arch Lich.

The formidable auras unleashed by the four seemed to make the Arch Lich’s fingertips tremble.

“So what now? You’re all alone.”
“I am not alone.”

The Arch Lich gnashed its teeth and raised its hand. A tremendous aura surged, and from beneath it emerged the Death Knight and superior undead that had fallen moments before.

“I apologize.”

The Death Knight immediately drew its blade and offered an apology to the Arch Lich.

“There’s no need to apologize.”

I answered in its stead, a faint smile crossing my face.

“Your friend will follow the same path soon enough.”
“Shut your mouth!”

The Death Knight gnashed his teeth and charged forward. Faster than before. He seemed to be moving at full speed with his footwork technique.

‘Fast. But…’

I knew this pattern.

I extended my right foot forward and swept the Celestial Sword upward from below.

Clang!

A vicious blade strike infused with the essence of the Radiant Sword Technique knocked away the Death Knight’s Flame Prison Sword.

“What!”

The Death Knight’s jaw trembled, unable to believe his sword had been pushed back so easily.

“The Death Knight that was here before—it was your clone, wasn’t it?”
“How did you…”
“Your swordsmanship is identical.”

This high-ranking Death Knight used the exact same riding posture, footwork, and swordsmanship as the growing Death Knight I’d seen here before.

Because the stance, physique, and swordsmanship were the same, I could tell it was his clone, and I was able to deflect his blade without difficulty.

“Absurd! You’re saying you grasped my swordsmanship just from facing that one!”

The Death Knight charged again. He seemed conscious of my words and adjusted his footwork and swordsmanship slightly, but the difference wasn’t significant.
Ingrained sword techniques don’t change so easily.

‘Similar.’

I deflected the Death Knight’s Flame Prison Sword with the Celestial Sword, which carried the flow of the Snowstorm Sword Technique, and pressed forward.

When the distance between us narrowed to arm’s length, I unleashed the Silver Dream Technique with the Soul Reaper Sword.

Clang!

From within the fleeting shadow of a short blade passing like a dream, Yogi’s sword emerged and cleaved through the Death Knight’s core.

“Ah….”

The Death Knight dropped the Soul Reaper Sword without even understanding what had happened to it.

“This is….”
“Your first time seeing it?”

I had used many sword techniques while hunting the undead, but I had deliberately never revealed Silver Sword Dream until now.
The Death Knight’s core burst at the sight of this technique it had never encountered, crumbling to dust.

No matter how saturated this land was with deception, it wouldn’t be able to resurrect immediately this time.

Crash!

The Arch Lich, too, had been evading the coordinated sword strikes of Milend and Borini Kitten when it was ensnared by the serpent of flames that Morel unleashed, plummeting to the ground.

“Ugh….”

Though it felt no pain, the impact was still real—the Arch Lich groaned and trembled, its hand shaking.

“These… these wretches!”

I stepped on Tae Hwa Bo and closed in on the Arch Lich just as it broke free from the flame serpent and began channeling dark magic.

‘If I just swing carelessly, it will definitely dodge.’

Even if the Arch Lich was a mage, considering everything it had accomplished so far, I couldn’t afford to underestimate it. With limited time, I had to strike true.

“Tch!”

The Arch Lich looked toward me and raised its hand. A deep violet flash erupted from its gray finger bones.

Screech!

I drew a wave with the Heavenly Sword. The white shadow blooming from the blade gently enveloped the flash the Arch Lich had unleashed.

Rumble!

At the same time, a crimson-tinged sword resonance erupted from the Soul Reaper Sword extending from the left. Blood Howl. The Arch Lich had seen it, but the wail of the dead it couldn’t hear froze its movements in place.

‘One more step here.’

I stepped forward with my left foot, drawing a cross with the White Shadow Blade that had absorbed dark magic and the Soul Reaper Sword infused with Blood Howl.

“Ugh….”

The Arch Lich tried desperately to move as the two blades approached, but the wail of Blood Howl still refused to release its limbs.

Crack!

As the Heavenly Sword and Soul Reaper Sword separated, the Arch Lich’s body split into four pieces.

Boom!

Over the torn remains of the Arch Lich, Milend and Borini Kitten’s auras poured down, and Morel’s inferno erupted.

Whoosh!

The Arch Lich vanished into the earth filled with resentment, leaving not a single bone fragment behind.

Since we hadn’t shattered its soul orb, it would resurrect someday, but it would likely require an enormous amount of time.

“Woohoooo!”
“It’s finally over!”
“We’ve finally done it!”
“Sob! Now I can finally sleep.”

The Gale Wind Squad, who had fought continuously for six days, let out triumphant cheers at the prospect of finally being able to rest.

I narrowed my eyes, gazing at the ground where the Arch Lich had fallen.

‘Something feels off.’

The resentment that the Arch Lich and Death Knight possessed was certainly terrifying enough to make one’s skin crawl, yet the actual battle hadn’t been that difficult.

Even accounting for their carefully laid plans falling apart and our allies’ superior strength, the ease with which we’d defeated them left me feeling oddly unsettled.

“Lord Milend.”

I turned around and approached Milend.

“These creatures weren’t as difficult as I thought….”

I was about to share my thoughts with him.

“As expected, you’re perceptive.”

A chilling voice echoed, and the Land of Death rippled once more. Unlike before, the very aura of death permeating this land itself began to move.

Shhhhwaaaaaack!

Pitch-black hands erupted from the earth, binding the hands and feet of everyone who had entered this land of death.

“Gasp!”
“What, what is this!”
“Black hands?”
“Is that Lich still alive?”

The warriors and mages unleashed sword energy and magic at the black hands, but they refused to dissipate.

“This can’t be….”
“Even strong qi can’t erase it?”

Milend and Borini Kitten trembled as they witnessed the black hands that even their strong qi couldn’t dispel.

“It’s not magic!”
“It won’t even cut….”

The black hands didn’t melt under Morel’s flame magic, nor could they be severed by Trevin’s strong qi, which had reached the peak of Master rank.

“It’s absorbing mana!”
“Everyone, draw up your aura to prevent your energy from being drained!”

Just as the Third Prince and Milend said, the black hands didn’t merely restrain movement—they drained the stamina and mana from those they grasped.

“Damn it!”

I struck down the black hand gripping my wrist with the Soul Reaper Sword. Even after channeling magical vital points, the black hand refused to dissipate.

‘This isn’t magic.’

The hand wasn’t magical in nature. It was a phenomenon that wielded pure aura itself, much like Baekeun’s aurora.

“Ugh….”
“If this continues, all my vitality will drain away and I’ll become a zombie!”
“Move however you can!”
“I want to, but there’s no way!”

As the people panicked and struggled, a faint tremor emanated from the ground where three pillars were embedded.

Boom!

With a massive yet sluggish ripple, as if a swamp were rising anew in the Land of Death, a Strange Being clad in a black robe emerged.

“Ah….”

My fingers trembled as I beheld the Arch Lich’s mask adorning the Strange Being.

“Phantom Soul Ghost?”

It was unmistakably the Phantom Soul Ghost—an executive of Eden who had inherited the power of a high-ranking Arch Lich.

“We meet in person for the first time, Raon Zigheart.”

The Phantom Soul Ghost’s voice rumbled deeply as he slowly rose into the air, looking down upon the humans below.

“I cannot express how grateful I am that you brought them all the way here.”

He extended his right hand downward. From the black sphere cradled in his grasp, light far more formidable than any Arch Lich’s erupted forth.

“It was worthwhile to conduct experiments rather than return immediately.”

I clenched my teeth as I watched the violet sphere of light expand to the size of a sun.

‘I suspected someone was here, but the Phantom Soul Ghost….’

Damn it.

Tacheon had conveyed that he was giving up for a while, and since Merlin hadn’t sought me out separately, I hadn’t considered that Eden might be behind this war.

‘No. That was my mistake. I shouldn’t have simply assumed they wouldn’t come.’

Merlin had mentioned that the executives received various personal assignments.
Since Eden was a gathering of madmen, I should have kept in mind that they could ignore Tacheon’s words and launch an independent attack.

‘But.’

There was still a path to reversal.

I simultaneously pulled up the rage sunken to the depths of my soul and the ring of fire.

Kugugugugugu!

A colossal force was unleashed, twisting bone and flesh, and the black hands that had been clinging to my arms and legs were crushed to pulp.

Boom!

I kicked off the soggy ground and leaped toward the Phantom Soul Ghost.

I nullified its magic with the White Shadow Orb and was about to sever the Phantom Soul Ghost’s neck with the Soul Reaper Sword when it extended its left hand forward.

“You should stop.”

With those words, Yua and Julius appeared from the Phantom Soul Ghost’s left hand.

Both children hung limply with their eyes tightly shut, like shirts dangling from a clothesline.

‘Fake? No, the life force….’

I wanted to believe they were fake, but the aura and presence I felt were real. If they were fake, it wouldn’t matter, but if they were real, I couldn’t cut.

-That’s the Charm Girl, no doubt about it!
‘Damn it!’

Wrath’s words were never wrong. I forcibly halted my body mid-air by operating my aura at full power.

Tch!

The moment my feet touched the ground again, an even larger black hand surged up from below, gripping my leg with crushing force.

“A wise choice.”

The Phantom Soul Ghost’s deep voice carried a mocking laugh.

“These children are ones I personally brought from the Arian Family.”
“I didn’t sense you moving at all.”
“I traveled hidden within the deception itself.”

He said he’d spread the deception across this entire land for that very purpose.

“Don’t feel too wronged. I discovered these two children first, not you. From my perspective, you were the one who stole them from me.”

The Phantom Soul Ghost smiled as he gazed at Yua.

“This child is an even greater vessel than I anticipated. Though she’s fallen into your hands, don’t worry. Soon I’ll have her singing a song that slaughters thousands of humans.”

He let out a chilling laugh, anticipation evident in his tone.

“Then let us bring this to an end.”

A tremendous light rippled once more from the orb the Phantom Soul Ghost extended.

Kugugugugugu!

It was a manifestation of power—deception itself pressing down with such force that even the magical meridians of the White Shadow and Soul Reaper Sword couldn’t fully block it.

Since I’d already received Wrath’s aid, I couldn’t think of any way to stop this.

‘Should I attack again? No, I could use Julius as a shield instead. But if I do nothing, everyone will die….’

My mind was pounding with chaos, yet no solution came to me.

Gooooooo!

Before my thoughts could even settle, the sphere of deception created by the Phantom Soul Ghost finished its preparations to descend.

‘There’s no choice. I wanted to save it, but….’

As I tried to draw forth the holy power I’d hidden until the very end, a crystalline breeze tickled the tip of my nose.

No, it wasn’t just the wind. The sharp, noble scent of lightning accompanied it.

‘Could it be….’

When I lifted my head, he was already behind the Phantom Soul Ghost.

The blade of wind and lightning that the Red-haired Elf had drawn down carved through the Phantom Soul Ghost’s body.

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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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