The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 565

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 565

Kyaaaaaang!

The ring of fire, which had been forming in a semicircle, crumbled like dry autumn leaves the moment it touched the fifth ring.

“Sigh…”

I exhaled a breath laden with frustration as I gazed upon the shattered remnants of the fractured ring.

‘This is indeed not easy.’

To expand the rings of fire, I had to create new rings while avoiding the existing ones as they rotated.

When there was only one or two rings, creating new ones was simple if I had sufficient mana, but as the rings multiplied, the difficulty of forming new ones escalated dramatically.

I currently had seven rings of fire, and their rotation had accelerated, leaving barely any opening to create a new ring.

‘Difficult or not, I must persist.’

There was no other way.

The only method to overcome this dire situation was to create the eighth ring of fire and shatter the wall. Even if all the mana I had filled with elixir was completely drained, I had to complete the ring.

I drew forth pure mana and condensed it around my heart. With the delicate precision of extracting silk from a cocoon, I manipulated the mana to form a new ring of fire.

Kyaaaaaang!

Yet the new ring shattered into fragments before even completing a semicircle, colliding with the second ring.

‘Again.’

There was no time to despair over failure. I immediately drew forth mana and continued my attempt.

Kyaaaang!

This time, the seventh ring pierced through the moment I began forming it, crushing the mana entirely.

‘Again.’

‘Again.’

‘Again.’

I continued my relentless assault, yet the very trajectory of the rotating rings of fire seemed to defy all logic, offering no discernible path forward.
At this point, engaging in a life-or-death struggle with a Grand Master seemed preferable.

“Ha….”

I lifted my gaze, observing the rotating rings within the Mental World with a hollow laugh.

“They’re quite territorial.”

The seven rings of fire stood like an impregnable fortress, refusing to yield. They rotated with terrifying speed and dazzling complexity, as if declaring that no new ring was needed, obliterating every strand of mana I sent their way.

‘Keep destroying them. Let’s see who prevails.’

The Mental World operates on a different temporal axis than reality. Since forming the rings of fire here was akin to a stroke of fortune, I had to see this through to completion.

‘Then again… wait?’

I halted as I drew forth mana to form the rings of fire.

‘They’re still here?’

Countless versions of myself remained embedded within the Mental World, each wielding a sword and demonstrating swordsmanship.
Typically, once an insight is gained, the manifestation that granted it vanishes—yet these persisted, which was extraordinary.

I scattered the mana I had been concentrating and observed my own figure wielding the sword anew.

My younger self had focused on fundamental swordsmanship, my boyish self had devoted himself to forging my own blade, and my youthful self had indulged in the swordsmanship of ascension.

Each version displayed different swordplay, yet they shared a singular commonality.

In every era, I had poured everything I possessed into my swordsmanship.

It was a reflection of my unwavering dedication to training from childhood until now.

Never giving up—that was something I had more confidence in than anyone else.

‘Then I don’t have time to be standing here like this.’

I formed a faint smile and stopped just as I was about to create another ring of fire.

‘Wait a moment….’

Had I truly never infused anything into my swordsmanship until now?

I lifted my gaze once more. It seemed impossible that despite wielding my blade with such dedication from childhood through my youth and into adulthood, I had never poured anything into it.

‘The sword….’

The moment I saw my younger self gripping the Heavenly Sword and unfurling the clumsy Sword Ghost technique, a forgotten conversation with Balkan surfaced in my mind.

[What is your goal?]
[I wish to become a swordsman who cannot be broken by anyone, under any circumstance.]

I had revealed my will not merely to seek vengeance against Derus, but to become an unbreakable swordsman in order to achieve all the goals I had set for myself.

Because that will lived and breathed in my heart, I could wield my blade with all my strength at any moment. A will-intent is the power of one’s soul’s dignity dwelling within the will one has established—I possessed the will to achieve will-intent from the very beginning.
Will-intent is the power of one’s soul’s dignity dwelling within the will one has established. I possessed the will to achieve it from the very beginning.

[It is good to learn complex and varied swordsmanship. But all those techniques must have meaning in their execution.]
[It is not difficult. The answer lies entirely within you.]

The moment the conversation between the Sword Ghost and Glen echoed once more, the Mental World came to a standstill.

The boy I once was, the young man I had become, and even the me from yesterday—all of them drove the swords they held back into the ground.
With a small nod as if they had conveyed all they needed to, they scattered into smoke and dissipated.

Screeeeeech!

The seven rings of fire slowly came to a halt. The rings opened a path, blazing with magnificent flames as if awaiting a new flow.

As if entranced, I lifted my fingers. I moved the golden-gleaming mana and carved a new line within the stilled rings of fire.

A circle more beautiful than anything else took shape, and the Mental World began to resonate.

I closed my eyes as I felt the eight rings burning intensely within me, sinking deeper into a state of profound oblivion as the world darkened around me.

*

*

*

“Block it at all costs!”
“Pull him down no matter what it takes!”

The Gwangpung Corps naturally responded first to Rimer and the Yonghyeon Sword Master’s cries.
The squad leaders who understood my situation and Mark Goeten threw themselves forward before their minds could even catch up.

“Gwangpung Corps, keep up as fast as you can!”

Burren Zigheart barked orders at the bewildered Gwangpung Corps while grinding his teeth at me hovering in the air.

“He said it wouldn’t be detected, and now he’s broadcasting that he’s fallen into a state of oblivion! You absolute madman!”

Despite his curses, his expression was desperate as he moved with urgent footwork.

“I knew this would happen.”

Martha shook her head with a hollow laugh.

“That scatterbrained fool was bound to cause trouble!”

Instead, she let out a refreshing laugh and took position to the north, raising her sword.
Burren Zigheart, following after her, blocked the south.

“Eyes closed, mouth shut—Raon’s got style.”

Lunan Slion nodded blankly and took his stance to the east.

“Heh.”

Mark Goeten also wore a faint smile as he positioned himself to the west of me.

“What’s so funny about this situation!”
“The fact that our lord has fallen into such a state of oblivion here means he trusts us that much, doesn’t it? I find that nothing but joyful.”
“….”

The three unit leaders offered no response to his words. They simply gazed at the approaching enemies with eyes sunken deep in concentration.

“What… what in the world is this!”
“Why is that man floating in mid-air!”
“Could it be… he’s fallen into a state of oblivion right now? What kind of human audacity is this!”
“He said he devoured a dragon, and now he’s become one himself. Is he ascending to heaven?”

The Gwangpung Corps had arrived before the Sword Ghosts, but the absurdity of the situation itself caused them to exhale in bewilderment.

“Formation!”

At Burren’s cry, the Gwangpung Corps encircled Raon and formed the Great Gwangpung Formation. The swordsmen unleashed an aura more formidable than ever, as if they had never complained a moment in their lives.

“Charge straight through!”
“Break through!”
“Kill them all!”

The Sword Ghosts of the Holy Sword Association, arriving belatedly, unleashed vicious sword strikes, but the barrier of aura raised by the Gwangpung Corps showed not the slightest tremor.

“What are you doing! Push forward! At least land a blow!”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master cried out in frustration.

“Raon Zigheart cannot do anything right now!”
“Ignore the Gwangpung Corps! Unleash your sword energy at Raon!”
“Avenge Lord Cloud!”

Emboldened by the Yonghyeon Sword Master’s words, the Sword Ghosts of the Holy Sword Association charged forward, their auras wrapped in savage power, but the momentum of the Gwangpung Corps exceeded theirs.
The swordsmen disregarded their own lives to protect Raon, focusing entirely on defense.

“Hold your ground!”
“Do not let them break through.”
“If this cursed man awakens, victory is ours! Defend with your lives!”

Hearing the cries of Burren, Lunan, and Martha, the Gwangpung Corps’ defense grew increasingly impenetrable.
The Sword Ghosts of the Holy Sword Association unleashed a barrage of linear, destructive assaults, only to be met with fierce counterattacks that sent them crashing onto the pulverized battlefield, their blood staining the earth.

Roooaarrr!

As the aura of the Gwangpung Corps converged at the center and the Gwangpung Formation wove itself even more tightly, eight rings materialized above my head.
Each ring rotated with searing flames as if alive, then seeped into the region near my heart.

“What… what is that…?”
“Flames?”

Both the Gwangpung Corps and the Sword Ghosts held their breath at this bizarre spectacle.

But my transformation was far from over. This time, three flowers bloomed above my head.

The flower on the left burned with vibrant crimson splendor, while the one on the right shimmered with serene azure grace. The flower at the center was modest in size, yet it radiated the most brilliant golden light.

The delicate petals, trembling as if cradling morning dew, released an ethereal fragrance alongside their mystical luminescence.

“Impossible!”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master ground his teeth and struck at the empty air.

‘That madman! He’s broken through the Grand Master’s threshold!’

These three flowers were manifestations of aura representing the three energy centers, and their blooming meant that the lower, middle, and upper dantians were all connected.

I thought he was merely breaking through the barrier, but that was a grave miscalculation. In this brief span of time, that lunatic had shattered the Grand Master’s threshold and was advancing beyond it.

The Yonghyeon Sword Master unleashed the Demonic Blade Creatus to cleave through the Gwangpung Formation.
As the blade became a pillar of black flame descending upon us, a frigid wind swept in to block its path.

Craaaaaash!

Rimer’s radiant sword pushed back the Yonghyeon Sword Master’s demonic blade, igniting a colossal thunderbolt in the void. The exploding lightning incinerated all the scattered demonic energy.

“Your opponent is me. Where do you think you’re going?”
“Get out of my way!”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master furrowed his brow and swung the Demonic Blade Criatus with terrifying force. Until now, he had been holding back his power—the velocity and impact of his sword strikes surged dramatically in an instant.

Kyaaaaaang!

Rimer extended his luminous blade of wind and thunder to block the Demonic Blade’s trajectory, but his wrists trembled as though they might shatter.

‘Damn it….’

Had he been holding back all along?

I had already expended over thirty percent of my aura protecting Raon and the Gwangpung Corps from the demonic energy of the Demonic Blade Criatus, leaving me with no strength left to endure further. Internal injuries had ruptured as well, and my chest ached as though it might tear apart.

‘I must hold on, even if it kills me.’

Thanks to the lightning and wind enveloping the Sword Realm, the influence of the demonic energy had diminished greatly. Even if I died here, I could not release the Sword Realm.

“Disappear!”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master abruptly twisted the Demonic Blade, revealing his impatience. The demonic energy surged like ocean waves, pouring toward the Gwangpung Corps.

“It’s you who should disappear!”

Rimer pressed down heavily upon the battlefield, summoning a wind and thunder dragon’s ascent. The luminous blade became a pillar as the erupting tempest collided with the wave of demonic energy.

Kwaaaaaang!

The demonic energy and lightning devoured each other, erupting in sparks that filled the heavens and earth.

“You will never pass!”

Rimer wiped the black blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and bared his white teeth.

“Protect? You, of all people?”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master held the Demonic Blade Criatus vertically before him, curling his lips into a sneer.

“What could you possibly protect when you’ve devoured your own subordinates to survive!”

He released the Demonic Blade with an expression devoid of restraint. The Demonic Blade Criatus, freed from its master’s hand, danced through the void as though alive, spewing dozens of demonic strikes toward Rimer. Each one carried the devastating power of an instant death.

“Huff….”

Rimer aimed his Wind Thunder Sword at the Demonic Sword Creatus hovering in mid-air. Wind and lightning spread in a fan pattern, tearing apart every tendril of demonic energy that approached.

Uuuuuung!

The Demonic Sword Creatus let out a dissatisfied cry and was sucked back into the Yonghyeon Sword Master’s hand.

“Cough….”

Rimer trembled as he spat out black blood.

‘Damn it….’

The internal injuries I’d been suppressing grew worse. Seeing fragments of organs in the blood, I knew I couldn’t last much longer.

I wanted to cultivate even a little to recover, but the Yonghyeon Sword Master’s eerie gaze made such luxury impossible.

Kwakwakwakwang!

I trembled as I cut through the surging waves of the Demonic Sword. My mind was growing hazy. I was truly at my limit now.

“Didn’t you say you’d kill me?”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master sneered with bloodshot eyes.

“Is your revenge merely to abandon killing me and simply block my path?”

He forced his lips upward with a pallid expression. It was clear he too was frustrated by this stalemate.

“Because your vessel was so pathetic, your subordinates were annihilated. And….”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master licked his parched lips as he watched my eyes redden.

“They die precisely because they serve beneath you!”

Without any preparatory motion, he thrust the Demonic Sword forward. The demonic energy surged like lightning toward Raon at the center of the Gwangpung Formation.

“Ugh….”

Rimer bit his lip as he stepped forward, unleashing a sword strike that merged wind and lightning toward Magi’s right side.

Kuwaaaaang!

Magi exploded, and Rimer crashed into the ground. His sword strike shattered into fragments, but his quick judgment meant the Gwangpung Corps suffered minimal casualties. Instead, only the Sword Ghosts of the Holy Sword Association around them fell.

“Interfering to the very end….”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master bit his lip as he observed Rimer’s composed gaze, unmoved by provocation.

“That’s right.”

Rimer rose with difficulty and nodded.

“Their deaths are because of me. I fell for your pathetic provocation and killed them all.”

He lifted his sword with trembling hands, his eyes growing bitter.

“That’s why this time, I won’t fall for it. Before I die, you won’t lay a finger on those children.”

Rimer raised his sword, crackling with lightning, and pointed it at the Yonghyeon Sword Master. His hands no longer trembled.

“Kh….”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master’s refined expression twisted into something demonic.

“Fine. If you wish to die that way, I’ll split your belly open first!”

He surged forward violently, scattering demonic energy. The sharply-formed demonic energy became a storm of blades that crashed down upon Rimer.

Rimer planted his feet firmly into the battlefield and raised his radiant sword. The light concentrated at the sword’s core erupted, tearing through the sky and suppressing the blade storm.

Kuwaaaaaaaang!

The collision of demonic energy and lightning force unleashed successive explosions that seemed to crush space itself.

Yet while the demonic energy of the Demonic Sword Creatus grew ever stronger, Rimer’s lightning force paled in color, its flow beginning to stutter and break.
The range of the Sword Realm contracted as well, leaving him with little space left to control. The end was drawing near.

As Rimer bit his lips in despair, the three flowers blooming above Raon’s head transformed into brilliant light and were drawn into his nostrils.

“Damn it!”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master felt the urgency of time slipping away and raised the Demonic Blade Creatus toward the heavens.

Kuguguguguguuu!

The blade of the demonic sword soared as if to pierce the sky itself, spreading an ominously sinister aura.

The Yonghyeon Sword Master unleashed a catastrophic wave with demonic energy compressed to its absolute limit, as if pouring out all the power the demonic blade possessed in a single strike.

“Try to block it if you can!”

With a voice tinged with mockery, the demonic sword fell. The catastrophic wave, burning with demonic energy like a black sun, surged forward with tremendous force, pushing into the Sword Realm.

“Ah….”

Rimer bit his lips as he watched the incoming catastrophic wave.

‘I can kill him.’

The Yonghyeon Sword Master was intoxicated with excitement, abandoning all defense and pouring his entire focus into the attack.
Now I could slit his throat and end my revenge. I could settle the grudges of my fallen subordinates with my own hands.

But the blade that has already fallen cannot be stopped. If I succeed in my revenge, both Raon and the Gwangpung Corps will die.

‘There’s no choice to make here….’

As I tried to move to save the Gwangpung Corps, the faces of the fallen appeared before me.
Even as the Yonghyeon Sword Master tore my heart out, those foolish ones who worried for me—their eyes burned into my mind.

They gazed at me with eyes soaked in blood, as if demanding revenge.

I closed my eyes. If I choose the Gwangpung Corps here and now, I will never have another chance to take revenge on the Yonghyeon Sword Master.
Even if he dies, it won’t be by my hand. My lifelong desire would never be fulfilled—I felt it in my very soul.

I opened my eyes slowly. The faces of my dead subordinates still hovered there.

I smiled and nodded to them.

‘There’s no way you’d make such a face.’

I will save your juniors no matter what it takes.

Thud.

Having made his decision, Rimer advanced toward Gwahyeolgwi with unrelenting strides, raising his broad sword high.

“I told you. Come through me first!”

The lightning that had been scorching the blade dissipated entirely, replaced by a dense wind that surged upward. The undulating waves of wind rising from below formed an unyielding wall.

Sound vanished, and a windless zone materialized.

Not the song of wind and thunder, but the eye of a typhoon.

A transformation of the Sword Realm that returned to its source, focusing on one thing alone.

Above all else, the noble wall of wind intercepted the demonic blade.

Kuwaaaaang!

The blackly burning Gwahyeolgwi failed to reach its target and dissolved futilely. The wall of wind, having fulfilled its purpose, crumbled into obscurity.

It could be called a victory for the one who endured, yet Rimer’s sword no longer remained in his grasp.

Kyaang!

He clutched his torn right shoulder and spat blood.

“You….”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master’s eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected this could be blocked.

“Haha.”

Rimer forced a laugh and shook his head.

“I told you. You can’t get past me….”
“It’s over now!”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master ignored Rimer and charged at the Gwangpung Corps. Just as he was about to pierce Crain with his demonic blade, Rimer stepped in front of him once more.

Crash!

Rimer blocked the demonic blade Creatus with his body and grinned wickedly.

“Are your ears broken? I said kill me first?”
“Fine! If that’s your wish, then die!”

It was the moment the Yonghyeon Sword Master tried to detonate the blade piercing through Rimer.

Boom!

A massive inferno erupted from the center of the Gwangpung Corps. Flames as fierce as primordial fire blazed outward, scorching away the demonic energy.

Whoosh.

A golden shadow emerged from the storm of flames and grasped the demonic blade that had pierced through Rimer’s abdomen and protruded from his back.

Roar!

The fiercely burning flames tore away the cursed sword’s blade and stopped Rimer’s wound from bleeding.

“Hah….”

Rimer fell backward, and the golden shadow caught his back.

“You’re… a bit late.”
“My apologies. I overslept slightly.”

Raon extinguished the flames and revealed himself, offering a faint smile.

“Leave it to me now.”
“You really are….”

Rimer realized he had just received the same words from Raon that he had once spoken to Gwahyeolgwi, and he let out a hollow laugh before closing his eyes.

“I’m counting on you.”

I carefully entrusted Rimer to Dorian.

“You… you bastard….”

The Yonghyeon Sword Master sensed the sudden shift in my momentum and retreated a step.

“It doesn’t matter that you’ve reached Grand Master! In the end, I am….”

I did not answer his words and drew the Heavenly Sword.

A thousand flames connected, reaching toward the heavens.

Manhwagong Heavenly Flame.
Weightless Fragrance.

Within my eyes, now tinted with golden light, the god of flames descended.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————