The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 480
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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 480
Dumtkan bowed his head along with his disciples toward Ariel.
“Thank you. We were able to gain valuable experience because of you.”
The swordsmen of the Trevan Family smiled, saying they had gained insights through their sparring with the Gwangpung Corps swordsmen.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
Ariel placed her hands on her knees and offered a smile similar to theirs.
“But was Raon’s swordsmanship truly profound enough to grant enlightenment?”
“It was nothing short of phantasmagoria. In a single instant, he severed my aura and struck through—I didn’t even have a moment to counterattack.”
Dumtkan clicked his tongue, saying he had never witnessed such brilliant yet razor-sharp sword strikes before.
“I was defeated in a single exchange, yet I feel no shame. I was able to genuinely expand my perspective.”
“Aren’t you disappointed that it ended so quickly?”
“Not at all. Rather, because I was broken in a single strike, I was able to gain enlightenment.”
He gazed out the window, expressing his genuine gratitude to Raon for taking him seriously.
“Well, I fear I’ve taken up too much of your time. Since the night has grown late, I should take my leave.”
Dumtkan bowed respectfully, saying he needed to organize what he had learned from his sparring with Raon, then departed from the reception room.
“Sigh…”
Ariel exhaled deeply and pressed her fingers to her forehead.
“Raon. Raon Zigheart…”
Now, merely hearing the name Raon triggered a headache, and I found myself naturally touching my temples. It seemed like this was becoming an unfortunate habit.
‘Defeated in a single strike and yet expressing gratitude—what pathetic fools.’
Not only the Trevan Family who had just left the Reception Room, but all the warriors from every Family and Kingdom that had been sent to Raon returned muttering about how much they had learned from him.
I struggled to suppress the urge to silence those mouths praising Raon, my chest growing increasingly uncomfortable.
‘I never anticipated this outcome.’
Raon treated those who were kind to him with kindness, and answered those who harbored malice with even greater malice.
Predicting his nature, I had sent genuine warriors—those not affiliated with the Divine Continent Five Regions who had devoted their lives to martial arts.
If he refused the warriors’ sparring requests, I would make him out as a coward. If he accepted and fought halfheartedly, I planned to spread rumors that he was ignorant of a true warrior’s convictions.
Extracting Raon and Zigheart’s martial techniques was merely a bonus.
‘But….’
Everything fell apart.
Raon had politely accepted the warriors’ sparring requests, then shattered them with a single strike in the actual matches.
‘He’s impossible to read.’
Based on Raon’s personality as I had observed it until now, he should have fought the warriors who approached respectfully with moderate skill, like an instructional match, rather than cutting them down in one blow.
I never imagined it would be this difficult to understand a mere twenty-one-year-old boy.
As Ariel struggled to contain her frustration and pressed her right hand with her left, a knock sounded at the door.
“My lord.”
Mekain, who entered after opening the door moments later, bowed his head.
“My apologies. Due to the mist enveloping the Mansion, I was unable to see how Raon and the Gwangpung Corps fought.”
He frowned, saying that while the mist appeared thin, it grew denser whenever he tried to look inside.
“That Black Rose girl pulled off something clever.”
“The Black Market Master’s disciple, you mean?”
“Yes. I heard she was learning Formation, but I didn’t expect her to install a Flowing Immortal Cloud Formation.”
Ariel twisted her lips and shook her head.
‘I should have gone to see it myself if I’d known it would come to this.’
I had trusted my subordinates to handle it well and was preparing for the meeting, but I never expected Deningrose to move personally.
Truly, whenever it involved Raon, things never went smoothly.
“Is Ensia Yonan still inside?”
“Yes. Since I haven’t seen her leave, she must be at the Zigheart Residence. She hasn’t used the Dormitory that was assigned to the Yonan Family at all.”
“I need to establish relations with them, but this has become troublesome.”
Deningrose had summoned her to mock her, but the Yonan Family had sent the invitation to genuinely build connections.
Yet she hadn’t even come to greet them and instead clung to the Zigheart side without letting go.
‘Is it because they both had their lives saved by Raon?’
A lifesaver leaves a deeper impression on people than anything else.
It seemed that after receiving help from Raon, both Deningrose and Ensia had come to follow him with genuine devotion.
“I can’t just leave this alone.”
“My lord.”
As Ariel tapped her fingers on the table, Mekain bowed his head.
“That man. He apparently squeezed 4,000 gold coins out of Guisalchang as well. Since he’s clearly someone who plans and acts strategically, we mustn’t act rashly.”
“I understand.”
I nodded while looking at Mekain.
‘This is no time to be pleased that Guisalchang was squeezed for more than twice as much.’
The gold coins that had passed into Raon’s hands from the Divine Continent Five Regions approached 5,500 pieces.
It was such an astronomical sum that one could establish an entire merchant company, so I couldn’t laugh at someone else’s misfortune.
“Still, there’s no need to worry.”
Ariel smoothed her red lips with her snow-white fingers.
“I’m not the one who will make a move this time.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m thinking of inviting those three to a meeting where the leaders of the Divine Continent Five Regions gather. Then….”
She pressed her blood-stained fingertip against the table, her smile turning glacial.
“The board will move on its own.”
*
*
*
The darkness of early dawn.
Rimer trudged through an empty alley, releasing a sigh heavy enough to shake the earth itself.
“How is it that every single person is a con artist?”
He patted his empty pockets and shook his head in disbelief.
“How does that bastard Raon even manage to win!”
No matter which gambling house he visited, he saw only cheaters and masters of the game, yet Raon walked away with winnings against anyone he faced. His gambling prowess defied comprehension.
He was clearly using some technique, yet no one could detect it.
“Damn it. If you’ve got such a good technique, at least share it!”
Rimer kicked the Wall while keeping his hand in his pocket.
“No. When you think about it, I lost everything because of that bastard anyway!”
Raon won approximately 6,000 gold coins, causing an emergency alert across all the Gambling Houses in Barene.
Normally, the Gambling House would let suckers win a bit and then bleed them dry several times over later, but to recover the money they lost to Raon, they turned every customer who came into the Gambling House into a pauper.
They were all genuine professionals, eating and gambling as if it were their sole purpose in life.
They were all real players, just eating and gambling all day.
“Ah, so they really are just eating and gambling all day… cough!”
As I frowned up at the sky, a tremendous impact slammed into my side.
Crack!
Unable to withstand the sudden blow, I crashed headfirst into the ground.
“Aaaah! This damn hurts….”
Just as Rimer was about to cry out, a woman in a white dress appeared and silenced him with her foot pressed against his mouth.
She was a noblewoman with an air of elegance, her purple hair cascading down to her waist as it swayed gently.
Though I’d never seen her before, there was no mistaking who she was.
“Sh-Sheryl?”
“Shut your mouth.”
“What’s with that look! Are you trying to act like some noble or something… cough!”
“I told you to shut it.”
As Rimer let out a scoff, Sheryl stepped down hard on his collarbone.
“Did you get hit in the head with a sword? You came here representing Zigheart, and all you do is loiter around gambling houses? Have you completely lost your mind?”
“R-Raon went too….”
“He went to provoke those Divine Continent Five Regions bastards! But you’re actually serious!”
Sheryl gritted her teeth and kicked Rimer away.
“Haha….”
Rimer rubbed his beaten back with an awkward laugh.
“You know how it is. Even if I’m just playing around, Raon handles everything for me anyway. He’s reliable in a way I’m not.”
He waved his hand, insisting that everything would work out fine as long as Raon was there.
“Enough. Get the report you’re sending to the Head of House.”
“Oh, that’s….”
“We have to send it today. Hurry!”
“Right.”
Rimer pulled out a crumpled sheet of paper from his pocket with trembling hands.
“Look at the state of this report.”
Sheryl snatched the report from Rimer’s hands and unfolded it.
“Raon has won an enormous sum of money. I recommend recovering it all upon his return and filling the Family’s coffers. Of course, I should receive a 10% reward for providing this information….”
She stopped reading and closed her eyes.
“Tsk!”
Rimer’s shoulders trembled as he watched Sheryl’s expression.
“Do you really want to get struck by lightning and die?”
“No, but he really did win that money! If it were used for the Family, think of all the things we could accomplish….”
“You’re just greedy!”
“Ugh….”
He had no rebuttal and lowered his head.
“Write it again.”
Sheryl burned Rimer’s report in one swift motion and glared at him.
“Or die here.”
“I understand. I’ll rewrite it after I sleep. You should leave before anyone notices.”
Rimer rose to his feet and waved his hands dismissively.
“I can’t go in right now. Raon has entered a state of deep focus.”
Sheryl gripped Rimer’s shoulder and explained what had happened at the Zigheart Residence.
“Muah-ji-gyeong?”
Rimer stared at the Dormitory entrance, his mouth falling open.
“Some people swing a sword their whole lives and barely set foot in that place once, yet that bastard walks in like he owns it!”
Despite the envious words, a smile bloomed at the corners of his mouth.
“So now he’ll be able to use both cold and heat together.”
“Cold and heat?”
“Yeah. Since last year, he’s been struggling to operate both simultaneously. This must be that enlightenment.”
“You could have just given him a hint about that.”
“If I told him everything, it would be hard for him to make it truly his own. I wanted him to realize it himself. Though I never expected it to happen this quickly.”
He chuckled, saying Raon was truly a monster.
“Then I should stay here until Raon wakes up.”
Rimer sat back down on the ground.
“Sheryl? If you have some money, could you make just one hangover stew for breakfast tomorrow…?”
“Hey.”
Sheryl looked at Rimer with furrowed brows. Her gaze carried a different quality than when she was scolding him.
“How much longer are you going to wear clothes that don’t even fit you? Time has passed long enough.”
“Elven time and human time flow differently.”
Rimer shrugged at Sheryl. His demeanor too had shifted from moments before.
“Sigh….”
Sheryl exhaled and shook her head.
“I’ve been debating whether to tell you, but I should.”
“Tell me what?”
“The Holy Sword Association.”
At the mention of the Holy Sword Association, the smile that had been etched on Rimer’s lips crumbled like dry plaster.
“There’s information that those bastards have started moving again.”
“The Holy Sword Association….”
A sinister gleam flashed across Rimer’s eyes, which had been filled with emptiness.
“It’s good to have survived and lived to see this day.”
*
*
*
I slowly lifted my eyelids. It had been evening, yet the sun was now rising slowly.
‘Had I fallen into a state of complete absorption?’
Hazy memories returned. I recalled gaining enlightenment while conversing with Deningrose and Ensia.
‘It was because of the camera.’
After seeing the photograph that Deningrose had dropped, my curiosity about the camera’s principles led me to question Ensia, and suddenly I achieved enlightenment.
‘And it was the enlightenment I had yearned for most.’
The simultaneous operation of Manhwagong and Glacia.
The question that had plagued me for over a year—the coordinated use of cold and heat that I had failed to achieve—was finally answered.
‘The answer wasn’t to switch between the two attributes, but to use a different attribute instead.’
At my current level, operating flame and frost simultaneously was impossible, so I should have utilized a different attribute from the start.
‘The answer was within me all along.’
Wind and holy attribute.
Within my dantian now resided not only the heat of Manhwagong and the cold of Glacia, but also the wind I had obtained from Rimer and the sanctity that bloomed from darkness.
If I channeled cold and heat through the wind and sacred energies, operating two opposing forces simultaneously would be entirely feasible.
‘Let me try….’
I closed my eyes again, attempting to operate Manhwagong and Glacial simultaneously, when a faint sound reached my ears from the surroundings.
Turning my gaze, I saw the entire Gwangpung Corps surrounding the Dormitory with swords gripped firmly in their hands.
I hadn’t realized it until just now, having only recently awakened from my trance, but it seemed they had been watching over me since last night until now.
“You’re finally awake. Sleeping in, are we?”
Burren Zigheart rubbed the back of his neck with the hand that held his sword.
“One night and you’re already faster than before. Did you properly organize everything?”
Martha turned away, her brow furrowed.
“It’s always just Raon who enters.”
Lunan Slion pouted, complaining that he always fell into a trance alone.
“Why are you the only one getting stronger!”
“Where exactly are you gaining enlightenment!”
“Take us with you too!”
“What are we supposed to do if the gap widens even more here!”
The Gwangpung Corps swordsmen also raised their voices in protest, waving their hands defiantly.
I turned to look at the swordsmen and offered a faint smile.
‘Well then.’
Because I understood why the Gwangpung Corps swordsmen were saying such things, my heart warmed even as I breathed in the dawn air.
“Thank you.”
I conveyed my sincere gratitude, brushing aside the swordsmen’s desire to avoid awkward formalities.
“I’m grateful to both of you as well.”
I bowed my head to Ensia and Deningrose, who were waiting on the right side.
“It’s nothing.”
Deningrose shook her head calmly. She gathered her needle case, deciding it was time to dismantle the formation.
Several more photographs had been added to the hem of her dress.
“I haven’t taken any photos until now, so can I take some now?”
Ensia pleaded to take photographs again, explaining that she had refrained from doing so until now out of fear that something might go wrong. Her hands were genuinely trembling—whether her addiction was real or not.
His hands were trembling, and I wondered if it wasn’t a lie about having withdrawal symptoms—they were genuinely shaking.
“…do as you please.”
Raon nodded weakly. There was no point in arguing with Merlin anyway—she wouldn’t listen.
Hey!
While Sia was complying with Ensia’s pose request, Wrath suddenly popped out from the bracelet.
“Huh? Wrath?”
I almost didn’t recognize Wrath because his usually fluffy cotton candy body had turned bright red.
-It’s because of you, you fool!
‘What did I do?’
-My anger has been building because you broke your promise, and that’s why I’ve changed like this!
My anger has swelled because you broke your promise, and that’s why I’ve changed like this!
Wrath grabbed me by the collar, saying he got so angry yesterday when he broke his promise again.
“Oh, that’s right.”
Suddenly falling into a state of oblivion, I couldn’t keep my promise to eat lobster and pig’s feet for dinner. It was a situation where Wrath had every right to be angry.
-You did it on purpose! To spite the True Demon King!
‘Absolutely not. The state of complete absorption isn’t something I can enter at will.’
-No, you’re different! You fell into complete absorption on a toilet seat before! There’s no one like you in this world!
“No, you’re different! Before, you got completely lost in ecstasy in a toilet bowl! There’s no one like you in this world, I’m telling you!”
Wrath clearly knew but had deceived me, and I furrowed my brow. The crimson aura enveloping him grew increasingly vivid.
-Humans truly cannot be trusted!
‘Isn’t that what demons usually say?’
Wrath shouted back what humans would say to demons, then spun around sharply. He seemed genuinely sulking.
‘Instead, let’s make tonight’s dinner more extravagant. Lobster, pig’s feet, salt-grilled shrimp, and clam stew. How about it?’
-I don’t believe you!
‘Should I make a reservation right now?’
-….
The moment I mentioned making a reservation, Wrath’s body, which had been burning crimson, slowly began to fade to purple.
‘And there’s waffle ice cream too—we can have that for dessert.’
-Waffle… ice cream set…?
The cotton candy, now transformed into grape flavor, subtly shifted its gaze.
-Is that true?
*
*
*
I instructed the Gwangpung Corps to rest, then returned alone to the Training Ground. I closed my eyes and steadied my breathing calmly.
‘There’s no need to rush.’
Now that I had gained the insight to manipulate both cold and heat simultaneously, I only needed to unfold it gradually in that manner.
Before operating the Manhwagong and Glaccia, I first drew out the wind energy that had been circulating within my dantian.
The green wind, possessing both warmth and coolness, spread throughout my entire body and wrapped around my mana circuits like wrapping paper.
Whoooooosh!
I activated Manhwagong and Glacsia simultaneously. The cold and heat riding on the wind’s energy surged forward faster and more intensely, flooding the mana circuits in my core.
‘Now the real battle begins.’
When operating Manhwagong and Glacsia at the same time, intersecting mana circuits existed. I filled that battlefield not with wind’s energy, but with holiness blooming from darkness.
Whoooosh!
Just as water and oil don’t mix, the two energies divided by holiness didn’t clash against each other—instead, each followed its own path.
Boom!
I exhaled a single breath and released the cold and heat I’d drawn out through both hands.
From my right hand, Manhwagong’s wall of flames blazed forth. From my left, Glacsia’s tempest surged upward.
Fire and frost.
The goal I’d failed to achieve since last year had finally been realized.
‘But that’s not all.’
Wind naturally possessed the power to make flames burn brighter and frost freeze deeper. Because wind now enveloped my mana circuits, both Manhwagong and Glacsia unleashed far more formidable energy than when operated separately.
The wind that coiled around the mana circuit imbued both Manhwagong and Glacia with a more formidable aura than when operated separately.
“All of Muhak will become stronger… huh?”
When he tried to smile at the joy of embodying enlightenment, the Flame Sword and Frost Sword he had created in his mind suddenly stirred.
The two swords, which had never revealed themselves simultaneously like the sun and moon, created a massive current in Dun’s inner world.
Go!
The heat and cold that had dwelled in the sword spread across the ground, and the very ordinary world began to slowly turn red and blue.
My thoughts are changing too.
Small realizations accumulated one after another, gradually beginning to influence the realm of the imagination.
At this rate, it seemed like I would be able to use the Incomplete Sword Realm Incarnation faster than expected.
‘But….’
This was harder than I expected.
Not only was the aura consumption severe, but operating four attributes simultaneously created intense mental fatigue.
It seemed I would need extensive training before I could adapt to this.
-Now you realize it? How pathetic.
Wrath muttered dismissively and waved his hand.
‘What?’
-You had all the materials in your body from the start, yet you never used them properly.
He scoffed, saying I had discovered something that should have been possible from the beginning far too late.
‘At least I know now, and that’s what matters.’
I shrugged, saying it was fine.
-Hmph….
Wrath clicked his tongue as he looked at me.
‘What in the world is this damned fool….’
Contrary to what he said aloud, he thought it would take at least until next year to achieve this level of understanding.
He had believed success would only come after reaching Grand Master, and that execution would be even harder if understanding came at all. Yet this madman had succeeded immediately.
‘Is he really human?’
His personality, his talent—he began to doubt whether he was truly human.
Perhaps he was something else entirely, neither human nor demon.
“What are you thinking about?”
I tapped Wrath’s head lightly as he sat lost in thought.
-What else would I be thinking about! Obviously, the pig’s feet I couldn’t eat because of you!
‘You saw me make the reservation. Today, I’ll serve you the full course with dessert, just as promised.’
-I’ve never seen this so-called full course you’re always talking about! Does it even exist?!
‘This time it’s real.’
As I waved my hand to reassure Wrath, a knock sounded from the main gate of the Dormitory. It was a presence I had felt before.
-B-but I’m uneasy…
“Come in.”
At my invitation, the door opened quietly, and Mekain, Heekyuk Je’s secretary, entered.
He bowed respectfully and approached the Training Ground.
“What brings you here?”
“My lord has invited you, Raon, to the Five Lords Council.”
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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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