The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 696

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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 696

“The Beast Alliance Master has returned alive, and we lack sufficient information about the one wielding the aura of death. Let’s call it a day here.”

Chamber popped the shrunken lollipop back into her mouth and waved her hand dismissively.

“That would be wise. And….”

King Lecross swallowed hard before looking at everyone present.

“According to information that came from Camelrun, the factions following Oma are rising like wildfire. It would be prudent for each of us to consolidate our internal strength for a while.”

He spoke of the broken balance within the Six Emperors Five Demons and advised caution.

“I wasn’t planning to go out anyway….”

Tower Master Larian shook her head while touching the dark circles under her eyes, as dark as charcoal.

“Right! I found out about that! You didn’t come to the last Yukhwanghoe meeting because you were too lazy!”

Chamber glared at Larian and bit her lip.

“It wasn’t laziness—I was conducting experiments….”
“You didn’t even set up the magical network!”
“Hehe….”

Larian scratched the back of her head as if she’d received praise, her golden hair—like melted gold ingots—rippling gently.

“That wasn’t a compliment!”

Chamber gnashed her teeth as if she were about to pounce on Larian right then and there.

“It’s noisy when everyone gathers like this.”

Ogram chuckled softly and waved his hand.

“I sense peace in that chaos.”

Derus Robert’s lips moved with an expression far from peaceful.

“It seems you’ve run out of things to say, given how much useless chatter has increased.”

Glen Zigheart raised his right hand with a darkened gaze.

“Let’s adjourn this meeting here….”
“Wait! There’s one important matter left.”

Chamber cut off Glen Zigheart’s words and thrust her blue spear forward toward his face.

“What are you going to do about Raon’s life-or-death duel?”

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at Raon standing beside Sheryl.

“Hmm….”
“That’s certainly an important matter given the current situation.”
“There’s less than a month left now.”

The other leaders of the Six Emperors stopped speaking and looked toward Glen Zigheart with curiosity.

“That is….”

Glen Zigheart closed his mouth and lowered his gaze. He nodded as if telling Raon to speak directly.

“Of course, I intend to fight.”

I walked toward the center of the Audience Chamber. My steady steps carried an unwavering resolve.

“It wouldn’t be befitting of Zigheart to postpone a promised duel over something like this.”

I smiled as I looked at Derus Robert among the leaders of the Six Emperors.

“Ahem!”

Glen Zigheart seemed pleased with my declaration-like words and curved his lips upward.

“Those kids really don’t know what to fear in this world….”

Chamber let out a short sigh, her expression etched with concern.

“The Demon King is a warrior of the old era, just like us. But if it’s you, you’ll be able to overcome him.”

Ogram raised his massive fist as if to show his trust.

“So that Lepon won’t be disappointed, I too will trust in you, Master of the Gwangpung Corps.”

Derus Robert shook his head, once again invoking his youngest son’s name.

“There’s nothing else I could disappoint you in.”

I smiled faintly as I looked at Derus Robert.

‘It won’t be me who disappoints him—it’ll be you.’

Or perhaps despair him.

If there was anything that would disappoint Lepon, it wouldn’t be my defeat—it would be the ugliness of Derus Robert.
I turned away, silently mocking him.

“….”

Derus Robert understood the meaning behind my words and curled his lips inward. He still seemed to be seething internally.

“Then let’s end this here.”

Glen Zigheart made a light gesture, and the five blue spears floating in the center of the Audience Chamber dissipated like extinguished candles.

I gazed at the space where Derus Robert’s face had been, running my fingertips along my hand.

‘The magma finally erupted.’

Derus Robert had maintained a composed expression until the very end, but his lips were curled deeply inward. It was a sign that he was genuinely enraged.

‘By now, he might have destroyed everything in sight.’

Derus Robert’s rationality was colder than the North Wind itself, but as a human, even he had his limits.

Not only had Ogram been rescued, but he’d also regained consciousness, and my relentless provocations had shattered a considerable portion of his psychological defenses.

‘It’s a shame I couldn’t witness that spectacle.’

As I clicked my tongue in disappointment at missing the sight of Derus Robert’s rampage, I felt a gaze upon my back.
Turning my head, Glen Zigheart regarded me with an indescribable, peculiar light in his eyes.

“Head of House?”
“Raon!”

Just as I was about to ask if he had something to say, Valdemar approached and gripped my shoulder firmly.

“You stormed the White Blood Sect and rescued the Beast Alliance Master! You’re quite the man!”

Valdemar’s eyes gleamed with pride as he nodded emphatically.

“This is the first time I’ve seen the leaders of the Six Emperors praise a single person like this. You truly never cease to amaze me!”

He laughed so heartily that his voice seemed to shake the Audience Chamber itself.

“That’s certainly true.”

Sheryl nodded in agreement.

“The Six Emperors have never praised another person the way they’re praising you today.”
“Hehehehe, I haven’t witnessed it either.”

Roen also remarked that it was an extraordinary occurrence, a subtle smile gracing his lips.

“….”

Denier said nothing, merely observing me and Valdemar.

“I’ve felt this for a while now—you’re the spitting image of my temperament! If only I had a mind as sharp as yours!”

Valdemar raised his thumb with the hand that had been patting my shoulder.

“Eh…?”

I exhaled softly as I observed Valdemar’s blazing gaze.

‘What is he talking about?’

I had expected him to pick a fight, but it seemed Valdemar was offering praise in his own way. I couldn’t understand why he was acting like this now when he used to provoke me every single day.

I turned my gaze away, hoping to distance myself from Valdemar, when my eyes met Denier’s. Unlike the crumpled expression he had shown when mocking Derus Robert, he now wore a calm smile.

‘That man is difficult to read.’

Valdemar was simple enough that I could overlook his behavior, but Denier was truly inscrutable—I could never tell what he was thinking.

“You’ve all worked hard.”

Glen Zigheart gestured to Chad, who had prepared the video conference, and the mages.

“N-No, sir!”

Chad and the mages bowed their heads urgently, as though they had received a divine revelation.

“Chad, compile today’s proceedings and bring them to me. The rest of you are dismissed.”
“Yes, sir!”

The mages and executives bowed respectfully and filed out of the Audience Chamber.

“Raon.”

Glen Zigheart called me by name rather than my title as commander of the Gwangpung Corps, stopping me in my tracks.

“Yes, Head of House.”
“Since you’ve made your decision, I won’t stop you. However….”

He tapped the armrest of the Jade Throne with his fingers, the sound heavy and deliberate.

“I would prefer if you changed the date and location.”

Glen Zigheart advised me to alter the date and location, seemingly concerned that a swordsman wielding the aura of death might interfere in a life-or-death duel.

“Understood.”

I nodded, having considered this matter since the incident first occurred.

“Yes. Go ahead.”

Only then did Glen Zigheart’s rigid gaze seem to soften slightly.
Having worked together to save Ogram, I realized Glen was a different person than he appeared to be.

I bowed respectfully to Glen Zigheart before leaving the Audience Chamber.

“Head of House.”

Sheryl looked up at Glen Zigheart and tapped her lips with a thin smile.

“Your expressions are quite varied today.”
“W-well, that’s….”

Glen Zigheart hastily stiffened his expression, his jaw trembling.

“Hehehehe, of course your grandson received praise from the Six Emperors.”

Roen shook his head with a knowing smile.

“That’s right! Those stingy bastards are making a fuss, so how could I sit idle?”

Glen Zigheart nodded readily.

“Then wouldn’t it be better to convey that to Raon? Why not treat him as your grandson officially this time?”
“Well, that’s a bit….”
“Hehehehe, it seems you still feel some distance. Today’s events have certainly brought you one step closer, so let’s wait a little longer.”
“Yes! That’s it! It’s not the right time yet.”
“When will that time come? At this rate….”
“Uh….”

As Sheryl and Roen, influenced by Rimer, wielded their whips and carrots, cold sweat streamed down Glen Zigheart’s forehead.

*

*

*

The smile that had lingered at the corner of Derus Robert’s lips dissolved like foam touching water.
He could no longer contain himself and brought his fist down hard on the blackwood table before him.

Crash!

With a tremendous impact that seemed to twist the very earth, the table and all the surrounding furniture shattered into gray dust.

“Ugh….”
“Kgh….”

The executives of the Robert Family sitting in their chairs—or rather, those who actually belonged to Shadow—could only swallow dryly without parting their lips.

‘What on earth just happened?’

Derus paid no mind to his anxious subordinates as he raised his fingers like a hawk’s talons.

‘Did the aura of death twist while the White Blood Cult Master was draining blood?’

No, that couldn’t be it.

He had tested it several times already. Blood energy and the aura of death were not opposing forces. There was no reason for the aura of death to waver during the draining process.

‘Then did Glen Zigheart truly save Ogram?’

He knew that Glen’s martial prowess was the strongest among the Six Emperors, but he had never imagined it powerful enough to erase severance itself.
Even the slightest mistake would have left Ogram forever unconscious, yet Glen had performed this feat with such audacity—it was astonishing.

“There is reason why a human earned the epithet of a god.”

Glen’s epithets were Northern Destruction King, Northern Tyrant King, and Thunder God.
While Northern Destruction King and Northern Tyrant King were imposing, the epithet that best described Glen was Thunder God—that he had become the god of lightning in a human body. Through this incident, I understood why he was called a god.

Whoosh!

As Kubara flicked her fingers, the dust that had filled the air was sucked into her hands.

“It seems….”

Derus Robert remained silent for a long moment, then stroked his chin while looking at Kubara.

“Glen Zigheart and Ogram seem to believe there’s a traitor within the Six Emperors.”
“Pardon?”

Kubara’s lips parted slightly, as if asking what he meant.

“What that implies….”
“Ogram being unharmed would be a lie.”

The White Blood Cult Master’s blood drain didn’t merely siphon vitality—it consumed power itself.
Moreover, having been exposed to the aura of death for so long, the likelihood that Ogram retained his strength was slim. It was probably just bravado.
Glen Zigheart and Ogram had clearly noticed the existence of a traitor within the Six Emperors and aligned their stories accordingly.

“Hmm….”

Kubara clenched her wrist tightly as she watched Derus Robert construct his hypothesis.

‘He’s insane.’

Despite his shock at Ogram’s survival, Derus Robert had thoroughly analyzed everything that occurred during the meeting and grasped the situation.
Such coldness and composure seemed beyond anyone else’s reach.

“And the one who conceived this scheme….”

Derus Robert twisted his lips and removed his gloves. The wound on the back of his hand had reopened, blood dripping steadily from it.

“It must be Raon Zigheart.”

Whenever Raon Zigheart interfered with Shadow’s plans, a sharp pain emanated from the wound on the back of his hand, and blood would flow.
Unbelievable as it was, his suspicions appeared correct—the assassin Raon who had inflicted this wound and died, and Raon Zigheart were the same person.

Especially today, Raon Zigheart had appeared concerned for me while simultaneously planting seeds of doubt in the other Six Emperors.
The heads of the Six Emperors were no fools. Though they seemed to let it pass quietly, they would certainly remember my troubled expression.

“Yes. I’ve been played this time. Played thoroughly.”

Derus Robert clenched his fist as he recalled Raon’s twisted smile.

‘But I’ve gained something as well.’

Glen Zigheart. That cold-blooded man showed a clear reaction to Raon’s praise.
My hypothesis that he cherished Raon more than any other grandchild was true.

‘That’s why this life-or-death duel is so important.’

It’s an opportunity to eliminate both troublesome grandsons at once.

Both Raon and Glen had wanted to end things through others’ hands, but that wouldn’t work now. I’ve decided to kill them both with a plan of my own design.

“Contact all of Oma. And to the Nambuk Alliance Master….”

Derus Robert rose with dignified bearing. He brushed off his blue robe and twisted his lips into a smile.

“Tell him I will meet him in person.”

*

*

*

King Roman Recal did not leave the riverbank even after grinding all the gravel to dust.
He merely repeated calm breaths with the sharpened Red Dragon Spear resting on his knee.

An old man with ash-white hair was reflected in his serene eyes that held only the river and sky. It was Helgurum, the Beast Alliance Master of the Nambuk Alliance.

“Roman.”

Roman lowered his gaze at Helgurum’s call.

“As you know, the Beast Alliance has collapsed. There’s more than enough to do now, so ignore this life-or-death duel and….”
“The Six Emperors Five Demons have nothing to do with this. It’s between me and Raon Zigheart. A warrior’s promise.”

A chilling aura like that of a starving beast bloomed across his previously serene eyes.

“Unless there’s a problem between us, I have no intention of stopping the duel for someone else’s affairs.”
“I had a suspicion when you sent Chungbiung, but you haven’t deviated one bit from what I expected.”

The Beast Alliance Master clicked his tongue and shook his head firmly.

“Then why did you send Chungbiung?”
“I wrote that you shouldn’t run away.”

Roman wiped the dust from the Red Dragon Blade and raised his gaze once more.

“Don’t run away?”
“That’s right. Wherever you want, whenever you want. I’m willing to fight even within the Zigheart Main Residence. I told him not to think of fleeing in a life-or-death duel.”

He lifted his chin with confidence.

“Sigh, you’ve already grown strong. You’ve achieved remarkable progress over these three years. At this rate, reaching transcendence wouldn’t be impossible, so I don’t understand why you cling to such a promise.”
“Because I was able to grow strong thanks to that promise.”

Roman spoke as if the life-or-death duel with Raon had made him who he was today, clasping his hands together.

“Tch, do as you wish. But as I’ve said before, if you lose….”

The Beast Alliance Master narrowed his eyes as he looked at Roman.

“All the honor you’ve built will crumble into the gutter. Make sure to crush him and return.”
“The Beast Alliance Master needn’t worry. That’s exactly what will happen.”

As Roman gripped the blade tightly, an eerie aura blazed across his shoulders.

“…You’ve reached the point where you can say such things.”

The Beast Alliance Master nodded and disappeared in the direction of the North-South Alliance Headquarters.

“What those fools say doesn’t matter.”

Roman looked up at the setting sun and curved his lips into a smile.

“What matters is us, doesn’t it? Raon Zigheart.”

*

*

*

As soon as I finished the meeting, I headed to the Training Ground to begin my practice.

“You’re training even on a day like this?”

As I executed the basic sword forms as always, Rimer, who had been lying on the platform, waved his hand.

“There isn’t much time left now.”

I shook my head and thrust my blade into the empty air. A black dot, as if piercing through the setting sun, was etched across the sky.

“No, on a day when things went this well, I should at least buy my master a meal, lend him some money, and thank him properly.”
“Forget that. How about sparring with your master?”

I smiled and snapped my fingers.

“I need practical combat experience right now.”
“I-I haven’t fully recovered from my injuries yet, so that would be difficult….”

Rimer shook his head with an awkward smile.

“Don’t say that. It’s a day my disciple had great fortune, so help me out a bit….”

Just as I was about to approach the ashen-faced Rimer.

Screeeee!

With a sharp cry, a blue-tinged hawk descended rapidly and landed before me.

“This hawk is….”

I had seen it before. It was the blue hawk that had perched on the mast of King Roman’s warship, Ill Fortune.

“This looks like the Demon King’s hawk….”
“That’s right. It’s Chungbiung.”

Rimer nodded, saying it was the Demon King’s familiar.

“Come here.”

As I raised my hand, Chungbiung descended calmly onto the back of it. I untied the white note fastened around its ankle and unfolded it.

“Ha…”

After reading the note, I exhaled slowly.

“What does it say?”

Rimer licked his lips with curiosity.

“He says to fight without running away. He’s letting me choose both the time and place. He even says he’ll fight within Zigheart.”
“Isn’t that guy insane?”

He let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.

“He was never sane to begin with, accepting a life-or-death duel.”

I smiled faintly as I looked at the note again.

“He’s fundamentally different from an ordinary member of Oma.”

With that, I picked up a pen.

“Hey! What are you doing!”

Rimer approached quickly and shook his head.

“Don’t decide right now. Discuss it with the Head of House first…”
“The Head of House said he’d leave it to me.”

Shaking my head, I brought the pen to the back of the note.

“The place will be the Gazel River, where I first met Roman. And the time…”
“The time?”
“Not January 1st of next year, but December 31st of this year.”

Golden sunlight pooled in my eyes.

“I’m not postponing—I’m bringing the confrontation forward to settle this now.”

—————
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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