The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 697

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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 697

“You’re moving the date forward, not postponing it?”

Rimer’s jaw dropped as he stared into Raon’s serene eyes.

“Yes. Usually when something dangerous happens, people postpone schedules, not accelerate them. It’s an uncommon approach.”

Raon nodded, observing Rimer’s bewilderment.

“I intend to hold the life-or-death duel on December 31st, counting on that very expectation.”

As I spoke, I wrote December 31st on the note.

“That’s true….”

Rimer stroked his smooth chin and exhaled thoughtfully.

“The Head of House, Ogram, and Chamber all told you to postpone it.”

He nodded, noting that not a single person had suggested accelerating the schedule.

“And I’ll ensure strict secrecy so that only Zigheart and Nambuk Alliance warriors can attend that place and time.”
“Right. Then the one wielding death aura won’t be able to come either.”

Rimer clapped his hands sharply, as if impressed by the strategy.

“You really do have a sharp mind.”
“No. He’ll come.”

I gazed at the violet sky painted by the setting sun and bit my lip.
King Roman wouldn’t betray us, but there were certainly Derus’s agents embedded within the Nambuk Alliance.
This information would inevitably leak out.

‘He’ll definitely come.’

Derus may have viewed Glen and me as dangerous before, but after today’s Yukhwanghoe gathering, he would have marked us as targets that absolutely had to be eliminated.

‘Because I saved Ogram.’

I had not only pursued the White Blood Cult and rescued Ogram, but now I was becoming a troublesome existence that provoked him, while Glen was a dangerous entity that neutralized death aura. He would stop at nothing to kill us both.

‘The best opportunity for him to kill both me and the Head of House would be…’

This life-and-death duel.

If it were Derus Robert, regardless of whether I won or the Demon King won, he would deploy Shadow to create chaos the moment the duel ended.

Even the victor of the life-and-death duel would not be in perfect condition, so an ambush would mean certain death.

The moment the fair duel collapsed, war would break out between Zigheart and the Nambuk Alliance, and Glen would move directly.

Derus would undoubtedly ambush Glen when the war between Zigheart and the Nambuk Alliance reached its peak.

“You’re going to continue the life-and-death duel even knowing that someone who uses death aura is coming?”

Rimer approached with a furrowed brow.

“That guy is dangerous! That proud Demon King even said he could have lost in a one-on-one match!”

He shook his head firmly, gripping Raon’s shoulder as if it were absolutely unacceptable.

“Then we need to prepare.”

Raon nodded calmly. There was over a ninety percent chance that Derus would come, so I needed to prepare as if he would.

“Prepare? How?”
“First, I need to write a letter to send to the Demon King.”

I tied a note with both the location and requirements written on it to Chungbiung’s leg.

“That’s done. Go back to your master.”

Chungbiung bobbed its head once and soared into the darkened sky.

“I’m planning to borrow the Continent’s strongest sword for a moment.”

I watched as Chungbiung, now a blue flash of light, descended southward, and I tightly gripped the blade of the Heavenly Sword.

“Even if I must offer all my gold tokens.”

*

*

*

Without even eating dinner, I returned to the Audience Chamber and knelt before Glen Zigheart.

“I greet the Head of House.”
“Very well.”

As I was about to lower my head further, Glen waved his hand. He said there was no need to bow twice in a single day and told me to stand.

“What brings you at this hour?”
“I received word from the Demon King just moments ago.”
“From the Demon King?”
“Yes. He sent a spirit creature called Chungbiung.”
“What did the message say?”
“He said he would fight me anytime, anywhere, and told me not to run. So I….”

I told Glen the exact same words I had spoken to Rimer at the Training Ground.

“December 31st, then….”

Glen stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

“That was well thought.”

Sheryl nodded, saying she hadn’t anticipated him moving the date forward.

“Most would never even know the life-or-death battle was happening on that day!”
“Hahaha, it’s certainly not easy to predict when someone will accelerate their schedule.”

Roen also smiled faintly, saying that moving the date up seemed better than postponing it.

“No.”

Glen shook his head calmly, unlike Sheryl and Roen.

“He’s someone who has grasped Ogram’s movements and tendencies. Raon’s scheme certainly has its merits, but there’s a high chance it will be seen through.”

In that brief moment, he furrowed his brow as if predicting the movements of the swordsman wielding the death aura.

“That’s correct.”

Raon nodded, meeting Glen’s gaze.

“That’s why this life-and-death match will become the perfect bait to lure him in.”

I opened my spatial pouch and pulled out every gold and silver token I had received so far.

“I’ll serve as the bait, so please capture him.”

I pushed the gold and silver tokens toward Glen and pressed my forehead to the ground.

‘This is an opportunity.’

If Glen stepped forward, I could target Derus just as Derus was targeting me.
I had to carve at least one piece of evidence that could reveal Derus’s true identity into my memory.

“R-Raon!”
“Young Master Raon?”

Sheryl and Roen seemed startled by the sudden turn of events, their expressions faltering.

“Ahahaha!”

Rimer, who had been leaning against a pillar, burst into laughter while running a hand through his hair.

“So that’s what borrowing the strongest sword meant? You really are our clan’s greatest madman!”

He even clapped his hands, saying I never disappointed.

I bit my lip as I looked at the gleaming gold and silver tokens.

‘These tokens are useless to me now anyway.’

If I won the life-or-death duel, I could elevate Sylvia to the Main Lineage regardless of the gold tokens.
These badges meant nothing to me in my current state.

“Raon Zigheart. I am no mercenary.”

Glen Zigheart’s crimson eyes grew as cold as ice.

“Tch….”

I trembled as I met that chilling gaze.

‘Is it not going to work?’

Our relationship had grown closer recently, and I thought he would be swayed by his anger at what Ogram had done to him, but it seemed I had miscalculated greatly.

“My apologies. But I’m not trying to buy the Head of House….”
“However.”

With a single flick of Glen’s finger, the gold tokens that had been placed outside vanished back into his spatial pouch.

“One cannot simply leave trash that has touched a family member and interfered in an alliance duel untouched.”

He nodded with an aloof expression.

“Tell me your plan.”

I clenched my fist as I lifted my head, my other hand still braced against the ground.

“What I wish to ask of you is….”

*

*

*

The next day.

Raon arrived at the 5th Training Ground in the early dawn.
After finishing basic swordplay, just as I was about to focus earnestly on cultivation, the training ground door opened and Burren, Martha, and Lunan entered.

“Of course he’s here. That traitor!”

Martha’s brow furrowed deeply as she glared at me.

“Traitor?”

I blinked, repeating the word in my mind.

“You abandoned us and stormed the White Blood Cult alone. That makes you a traitor.”

Burren sighed and shook his head slowly.

“Ah….”

I let out a low groan, watching Martha’s pouting lips.

‘I suppose Martha has every right to feel this way.’

The White Blood Cult was her sworn enemy. With the White Blood Cult Master herself involved, Martha couldn’t help but regret not participating in this matter.

But I don’t regret leaving her behind. If she had come along, things could have been truly dangerous.

“I’m sorry. But….”
“Don’t apologize! I already understand!”

Martha shook her head, looking at me. Her dark eyes, similar yet different from the White Blood Cult Master’s, blazed with unwavering resolve.

“I couldn’t go because I’m weak.”

She bit her lip deeply.

“I have nothing to say to you. Traitor.”
“You’re already calling me that….”
“I’ll become stronger. Stronger than anyone. I’ll destroy everything and bring my mother back.”
“….”

I suppressed my anger and let out a hollow sigh as I watched Martha speak of growth.

‘She’s changed.’

The reckless filly who would charge forward without hesitation whenever her temper flared was gone. Martha had become a swordmaster of Zigheart, concealing her emotions as she gazed into the distance.

“Still, there’s one thing I want to ask. The White Blood Cult Master. No, is Mother’s body alright?”

Martha lowered her head as if afraid to hear anything about the White Blood Cult Master.

“Yes. She seemed fine for now.”

I nodded, recalling the White Blood Cult Master with her disheveled hair who had clung to me until the very end.

“Hng….”

Martha collapsed weakly. She let out a long groan, caught between the conflicting values of her mother’s safety and the White Blood Cult Master remaining unscathed.

“And….”

I raised my finger, summoning the aura of Gyeok Hae Mu.

“A way to save your mother has emerged.”
“What…?”

Martha sprang to her feet from where she sat.

“W-what do you mean by that?”
“There exists a martial art called Gyeok Hae Mu….”

Ogram explained that Gyeok Hae Mu was not merely a martial art that pierced through aura, but a transcendent technique capable of striking the very soul itself.
I conveyed to Martha the possibility that if I reached the pinnacle of Gyeok Hae Mu, I could attack only the White Blood Cult Master’s soul while leaving her mother’s body intact.

“I told you before. I would help you find your mother.”

I nodded as I looked into Martha’s trembling eyes.

“I will keep that promise.”
“….”

Martha turned around hurriedly.

“Thank you. I… ”

She trembled, unable to say anything beyond her gratitude, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Through Sylvia and the members of the Annex Building, I understood what family truly meant, so I silently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Haaa…”

After composing herself for a long while, Martha turned around. With reddened eyes, she lowered her head and immediately began swinging her sword.

“Martha?”
“I can’t just sit idle. While you’re deploying your Heavenly Sword, I need to build up the strength to buy us time. Next time, I’m definitely coming with you.”

She began her sword training with that resolve.

“…I’m going too.”

Lunan, with an unusually solemn gaze, stood beside Martha and drew her sword.
Because of what happened with Sylvia, she seemed to empathize with Martha’s pain.

“I’ve felt it since our trainee days—you’re someone who draws people in.”

Burren looked at me with a faint smile.

“It’s what they commonly call the makings of a hero.”
“You hated me back then.”

I tilted my head at Burren.

“True, I did hate you. But then I saw your shoes and changed my mind.”
“My shoes?”
“Win the life-or-death duel. You have too much left to do.”

Without answering, Burren went to stand beside Lunan and drew his sword.

I watched the backs of the three squad leaders as they honed their swordsmanship.

‘It has changed, yet it remains unchanged.’

Watching those three people, whom I thought would each walk their own path, now wielding their swords together stirred something peculiar in my chest.

Raon offered a gentle smile and took his place beside Burren, Martha, and Lunan, raising the Heavenly Sword.

Behind the four of us, our blades and spirits aligned, the sun rose to warm the cold dawn air.

*

*

*

King Roman opened his eyes slowly. The ferocity that had always swirled in his gaze no longer existed.
What reflected instead was the setting sun—nothing but the noble twilight that painted the river waters in gold.

“Now I can see it.”

For a year, I had watched countless sunsets from this riverbank.

It was always the same sky, yet today felt different.

The deep and straight expanse of twilight divided heaven and earth as if it contained the entirety of my life.

The violet-tinted firmament, the azure river, and the dusk that gathered between them shattered the stone that had weighed upon my Upper Dantian for years, leaving not a single fragment behind.

Kuuuung!

Crimson-tinged river water surged into the newly opened realm of my Upper Dantian.

Enlightenment. The ascending realm, filled through ages of anguish and contemplation, painted a weighty vision in my mind.

Roman closed his eyelids. When he opened them again after a long moment, the sky had darkened.

Yet the light of twilight that summoned the night never left his eyes.

Kuguguguguuu!

Roman rose to his feet, gripping the Crimson Dragon Staff. Within the dragon’s eyes embedded in the shaft, crimson energy blazed to life.

He raised the staff high with both hands and brought it crashing down toward the river.

Kuwaaaaaa!

A terrifying force erupted outward, and the endless flow of the river split cleanly in two. It wasn’t merely stopping the water—it was a bizarre power that reversed its current entirely.

Kuung!

Roman drove the Crimson Dragon Staff into the ground with a satisfied smile playing across his lips.

“Raon Zigheart.”

His twilight-hued eyes searched for me within the river’s depths.

“You can follow me, can’t you?”

*

*

*

The starlight that had poured down in torrents faded, and across the black sky, a crimson flush like a burn scar emerged.

“Haah…”

I stood upon the lake’s surface, exhaling a shallow breath as I opened my eyes.

‘It wasn’t quite enough.’

Despite a month of rigorous cultivation—tempering both body and spirit—I had failed to grasp the perfect form of my swordsmanship, the Sword Realm, or my aura.
The shortfall wasn’t a matter of time, but rather that the cultivation itself was far too complex.

‘I was too greedy.’

Rather than creating a new Sword Realm using only my existing martial knowledge, I had attempted to incorporate the insights of Glen Zigheart, Wrath, and Ogram as well—naturally, this demanded far more time and presented far greater difficulty.

‘Still, I have no regrets.’

The life-and-death duel with King Roman was merely a milestone, not the final destination. To bring down Derus Robert, I had to set my sights on a far greater goal.

Shing!

I drew the Heavenly Sword and swung it lightly downward toward the lake.
The most basic sword technique—a simple downward slash. Yet its aftermath was anything but simple.

Boom!

The lake split apart as if touched by divine grace, its waters flowing gently toward the bottom.

Splash!

The divided waters slowly drew back together, and as if they had never been severed, the lake returned to its calm, pristine surface.

‘Still insufficient….’

But I had no choice but to move forward.

The life-and-death duel was today. Now I could only gain enlightenment through combat with King Roman.

Whoosh.

I shook the Heavenly Sword dry of any droplets and sheathed it.

A crimson sun rose above the darkened Bekmang Mountain.

The golden light of dawn, erasing the night and opening the new day, settled in my crimson eyes.

“Wrath. If you don’t wake up….”

I tapped the ice-flower bracelet with eyes that held the light of dawn.

“I’m taking all the delicious food for myself.”

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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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