The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 563
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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 563
Rimer summoned a biting gale that seemed to blow from the Northern Sea itself. Moving with the ferocity of grass leaves swept by a tempest, I drove a crimson lightning bolt toward the Yonghyeon Sword Master’s heart.
Whoooosh!
The Yonghyeon Sword Master tightened his grip on the Demonic Sword Criatus, raising a barrier of demonic energy.
Crash!
The crimson lightning and black demonic energy clashed, unleashing a violent shockwave that swept across the surroundings.
Boom boom boom boom!
The Sword Ghosts of the Gwangpung Corps and Holy Sword Association surrounding Rimer and the Yonghyeon Sword Master were hurled backward against their will, tumbling across the ground.
“…Kangwhan?”
The Yonghyeon Sword Master’s eyes narrowed as he observed the crimson aura coalescing on Rimer’s blade.
“You reached Kangwhan in that brief moment?”
“Why so shocked? You look like someone seeing Kangwhan for the first time.”
Rimer’s lips curled upward as he regarded the Yonghyeon Sword Master’s furrowed brow.
“Your recovery is certainly swift. But it changes nothing.”
The Yonghyeon Sword Master gave a curt nod and twisted his wrist holding the Demonic Sword to the right. The blade of demonic energy curved like a whip, descending toward Rimer’s back—a cunning technique that blocked the front while targeting the rear.
The mage’s blade curved like a whip and drove down toward Rimer’s back. It was a strange move that blocked the front while targeting the rear.
“It’s not you who decides that, it’s me!”
Rimer stepped into the space of the Dragon Manifestation Sword Association and unleashed a blue wind. The river energy that had gathered in his sword technique spread along the flow of the wind, forming a shield that protected his back.
Kyaaaah!
Maggie’s blade fell sharply, but it couldn’t pierce through the thickly surging aura barrier and fizzled out helplessly.
“Tsk.”
The Yonghyeon Sword Master clicked his tongue sharply, clearly surprised that such a sudden strike had been blocked so effortlessly.
“I’m well aware that you’re far more cunning than your appearance suggests.”
Rimer twirled his blade lightly, a sneer playing across his lips.
‘That’s right. I know it better than anyone.’
The Yonghyeon Sword Master bore the pristine countenance of a priest, yet in truth, he was a schemer who harbored thousands of serpents within his heart. One could not afford to lower one’s guard against him—not merely in swordsmanship, but in psychological warfare as well.
‘But that cursed demonic energy makes even lowering my guard impossible.’
While the Yonghyeon Sword Master’s blade strikes were terrifying, the demonic aura itself emanating from the Demon Sword Creatus posed an equally grave threat.
‘Unless one reaches Master rank, drawing near would be nearly impossible.’
The Demon Sword scattered its demonic energy indiscriminately, caring neither for ally nor foe, dominating the very space around it.
Unable to fully suppress the aura while fighting, my movements were severely constrained.
Yet I could not flee or retreat here. Beyond vengeance, I had to cut down the Yonghyeon Sword Master swiftly—for Raon and the Gwangpung Corps waiting behind me.
Boom!
Rimer surged forward with a fierce footwork, charging toward the Yonghyeon Sword Master. Wreathed in wind and lightning, his assault resembled the sight of a divine dragon soaring through the heavens.
“Don’t be so hasty. The battle has only just begun.”
The Yonghyeon Sword Master twisted his lips and ignited a shockwave with the Demon Sword’s flames. As the ripple expanded in concentric circles, the blackened earth buckled and heaved, while the very air shrieked in agony.
“No. This is where it ends!”
Even witnessing the overwhelmingly devastating shockwave of the Yonghyeon Sword Master, Rimer did not slow his advance. He pressed forward with even greater speed, unleashing a torrent of magnificent blade strikes.
“Fool!”
The Yonghyeon Sword Master did not retreat either, driving his blade directly toward Rimer’s throat.
KWUAAAAAAANG!
The grey currents erupting from the collision of the wind-thunder resonance and the demonic resonance engulfed the Rakion Family estate.
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I furrowed my brow as I observed the shockwave created by Rimer and the Yonghyeon Sword Master.
‘Can he endure it?’
Rimer had no resistance to demonic energy, and the fury he felt toward the Yonghyeon Sword Master made it difficult for him to maintain his composure.
Even as his martial prowess approached its original peak, I couldn’t shake the doubt that he would emerge victorious.
CHING!
As I furrowed my brow at the chaotic situation, Cloud surged from the left and unleashed his blade. Swift yet executing sharp transformations—his ten-thousand sword technique had advanced further than before.
I bit my lip as I traced the trajectory of the sword strike descending toward my chest.
‘I cannot collide with it.’
Cloud’s blade was wreathed in a vivid resonance. If I clashed with that sword in my current state, I would certainly sustain internal injuries that would be difficult to recover from.
THUD!
Twisting my ankle diagonally, I stepped into the tai hwa sam bo stance. Like coral moving with the ocean current, I didn’t push back against Cloud’s sword strike but instead used his force to retreat. I felt the tip of his blade graze the edge of my black dragon robe.
“What are you looking at?! Your opponent is me!”
Cloud grinds his teeth as he pursues. His footwork is swift and varied. It seems like he’s intent on pressing forward without giving any opening for a counterattack.
“That’s not wrong.”
Raon furrowed his brow as he lifted the Heavenly Sword.
‘That bastard’s right.’
I couldn’t afford to worry about anyone else.
I’d expended most of my stamina and aura, and now I carried serious injuries on top of it all.
Cloud would be a lethal opponent even in peak condition—I needed every ounce of my concentration just to survive.
Screeeee!
Cloud’s blade flashed forward like lightning. A single sword strike fractured into dozens of rays, like sunlight reflecting off the Lake’s surface, each one targeting vital points across my entire body.
‘Phantom Sword, then True Sword, and after that… Absolute Sword?’
Because Cloud had mastered the Ten Thousand Swords, each individual technique carried the destructive force of a master swordsman’s ultimate move. Blocking was difficult enough, but evading was nearly impossible.
I held my breath and stepped into the torrent of blade light. Resonating all seven rings of fire simultaneously, time seemed to slow to a crawl.
My reflection flickered in the sword strike descending toward my brow. My concentration had reached its absolute limit. I could almost feel my enemy’s breathing.
Screeeee!
I tilted my neck left to evade the strike aimed at my head, and deflected the slash targeting my waist by wrapping thin aura around the Heavenly Sword.
Each time Cloud’s blade grazed past, a chill ran down my spine. Concentration had its limits. This wasn’t something I could sustain for long.
“Without that vaunted Sword Realm Manifestation, you’re nothing but a scarecrow!”
Cloud laughed coldly and pressed forward with raw power. Rather than complex technique, he charged with crude force, wrapping only the essence of martial mastery around his blade.
‘Clever.’
He hadn’t forgotten how all his techniques had been dismantled in our previous clash. Now he simplified his swordplay to its essence, focusing entirely on overwhelming strength. It was a difficult approach to counter.
‘Should I ask Wrath for help?’
If I made a deal with Wrath, I could recover my stamina and aura.
But as I’d grown stronger, the price would be proportionally greater—an amount of rage on an entirely different scale than before.
Even now, I couldn’t fully control the rage. If I accepted more, there was no telling what might happen.
‘Besides, there are still enemies left.’
Since I could fight the Yonghyeon Sword Master, this wasn’t the time to rely on Wrath’s aid—I had to overcome this on my own strength.
Wrath seemed to trust that I would manage, watching silently without comment.
“Let’s see how long you can keep dodging!”
Cloud still wielded his blade strikes with only simple technique, yet because they were simple, swift, and precise, each one was difficult to evade.
‘Even with reduced technique, swordsmanship is still swordsmanship.’
There had to be an opening to exploit.
Cloud, true to his rank as a high-caliber swordmaster, infused even his clean, straightforward thrusts with advanced technique. I needed to grasp that flow.
Roooooar!
I activated not just the ring of fire, but also Wrath’s wrathful eye and Seolhwa’s senses to perceive the very flow of aura that Cloud created.
‘As I thought.’
Cloud wasn’t simply wielding swordsmanship through raw power alone. He was using a technique that reduced ten thousand sword forms to their absolute simplicity, making them appear ordinary.
‘Did he learn this from the Holy Sword Master?’
No, it felt slightly different.
Though it was the same ten thousand forms, the trajectory seemed different from the swordsmanship Cloud had used before. Yet his flow felt strangely familiar.
Whoooosh!
I narrowed my eyes as I watched Cloud’s blade strike down fiercely.
‘The right flank.’
The incoming surge of force came from the left shoulder, but the actual target seemed to be the right flank.
Cloud rotated his blade to strike the right flank exactly as I had predicted, and with my prediction proven correct, I gained room to maneuver.
Screeeeeech!
I deflected Cloud’s blade and drove the Soul Reaper Sword downward through the gap in his guard.
The demonic energy infused in my strike tore through his aura, carving a wound across his thigh.
“You… you bastard!”
Cloud unleashed a barrage of slashes, his eyes wide with shock—as if he’d never imagined himself being wounded.
“Hah…”
I exhaled sharply and retreated, though my gaze remained locked on Cloud’s blade and aura.
‘So this time it’s the center.’
Cloud had abandoned his feints, now targeting my solar plexus with raw power and speed.
‘No. There’s something more.’
I spun the Ring of Fire with such intensity it shrieked, tracking every nuance of his blade’s trajectory.
The straightforward slash suddenly bent sharply to the left—he intended to cleave my heart in one fluid motion.
Without moving my feet, I arched my back, bending my body until my spine was parallel to the ground, then used the recoil to thrust the Heavenly Sword upward.
Screeeech!
This time, the Heavenly Sword’s edge raked across Cloud’s chest, drawing crimson blood that spilled freely.
‘Too shallow.’
The demonic energy burrowing into my core had disrupted my usual fluidity. I clicked my tongue in frustration.
“Ugh…”
Cloud wiped away the flowing blood with his hand, grinding his teeth audibly.
“That’s his swordsmanship—how are you able to—!”
His eyes trembled as if he couldn’t comprehend how his simplified technique had been dismantled.
‘That person?’
I turned over the word “that person” that Cloud had spoken.
‘Not the Rion Lord?’
Judging by the way he said “that person” rather than master or the Rion Lord, it seemed he had learned from someone else.
‘Who could that be….’
“Damn this talent!”
Cloud exploded with the rage he’d been holding back, charging forward.
Kwaaaaaang!
The aura spread outward as the ground crumbled and the air itself twisted.
‘My shoulder!’
The moment I dodged the sword strike that came down as if to tear my shoulder clean off, an aura surged from my left.
‘I can’t evade this.’
I twisted my body and drew the Heavenly Sword in a crescent arc, slashing downward.
I deployed both evasion and deflection simultaneously, but Cloud’s blade still tore roughly through the flesh of my thigh.
‘Damn it!’
Enduring pain that made me want to collapse, I drove the Soul Reaper Sword down in a reverse grip.
Shreeeak!
The blade gleaming with spectral energy tore through Cloud’s aura and gashed his shoulder.
“Die!”
Cloud ignored the pain in his shoulder and screamed, charging forward again.
My legs faltered as the blazing aura-infused blade grazed the base of my neck, and crimson droplets scattered into the air.
“Hah…”
Even as death crept to my doorstep, I remained unshaken.
‘Not yet.’
Cloud’s swordsmanship had grown brutishly crude, yet its fundamental flow remained largely unchanged. Even now, the blueprint to break him was slowly coming into focus.
I cast aside the pain in my waist and thighs, channeling every ounce of my perception into reading Cloud’s blade.
‘Left shoulder, right waist, right ankle, and throat!’
Cloud’s swordplay became increasingly legible. Though his strikes accelerated, evasion grew easier.
I abandoned full-body evasion, instead stepping back only from the precise points he targeted, preserving my stamina and aura.
“What—what is this!”
Cloud retreated a step, his lips trembling.
“How are you even dodging!”
He shrieked, unable to comprehend the situation itself.
“You haven’t progressed a single step since that day.”
I felt the end approaching and curved my lips into a smile.
“Had I been at full strength, this would have ended in one strike.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Cloud, consumed by madness, detonated all his aura at once, unleashing a sword strike of devastating force.
Brilliant crimson energy writhed violently along the blade’s edge, birthing a tempestuous storm of aura that consumed the surroundings. Crude as it was, it was devastatingly effective—erasing the very space to evade.
KUUUUUAAAAAANG!
I tore through the earth beneath my feet, yet I did not retreat even as the crimson wave bore down upon me.
‘At last. The opportunity has come.’
From an outside perspective, it would have been a hopeless situation, but this was the only opportunity I had been waiting for.
‘His energy is now dispersed.’
Kangwhan was an ascending technique that condensed sword force to amplify destructive power.
The range had expanded, but the concentration had weakened, so the current power of Kangwhan was certainly not as formidable as before.
I endured the patience I had been holding back and stepped forward to pluck the fruit.
I drew the remaining aura up to my upper dantian and opened the Sword Realm once more.
In a fleeting instant—Sword Realm Manifestation Divine Demon Harmony Convergence.
The Heavenly Sword and Soul Reaper Sword evaporated, and the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword surged into my grasp. Before the two blades could complete their perfect forms, I stepped forward.
‘I cannot complete the swords now.’
In my worst possible condition, it was impossible to properly use Sword Realm Manifestation again.
In fact, the sun and moon were not rising above my head now, and the two swords were not blazing with flames and frost.
The Divine Sword and Demonic Sword, not even properly completed. But it did not matter. The sharpness of the blades remained unchanged.
Golden lightning erupted from my two hands. The magnitude of my soul’s essence pushed back Cloud’s energy wave and created a void boundary where blade could meet blade.
“That… Sword Realm Manifestation? No, this is…”
Toward Cloud, whose eyes widened in bewilderment, the two crossed blades revealed their brilliant edges. The nobility of the Divine Sword and the eeriness of the Demonic Sword harmonized in a single sword technique.
“I will not lose twice!”
Cloud rushed forward, hastily reconcentrating Kangwhan. Despite his shock, his blade carried unmistakable power.
‘But.’
I had already grasped all of his sword technique.
The single line formed by the Divine Sword and Demonic Sword twisted the flow of Kangwhan, and carved a crimson mark across Cloud’s neck.
“I… I still…”
Cloud couldn’t seem to accept his own death. He clutched at his severed throat, shoulders trembling, before collapsing backward. His eyes, bloodshot and wide, rolled upward to meet mine before his gaze went vacant.
“I’m glad I didn’t kill you back then.”
I dropped the fading Divine Sword and Demonic Sword, my lips curling slightly.
“Thanks to you, I was able to grow once more.”
I spoke those final words to Cloud, who could no longer hear them, then bent down to retrieve the two blades I’d released.
“Cough!”
I coughed up black blood as I reached for the swords. The demonic energy, forced out by my desperate aura extraction, burrowed deeper into my core, shaking my organs.
‘One second of Sword Realm Manifestation…’
The price was steep, but it had allowed me to win. Had I not made that decision, it wouldn’t be me standing here now—it would be Cloud.
I steadied my heaving chest and lifted my gaze.
‘Now I need to make a decision…’
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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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