The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 71

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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 71

“W-what are you talking about!”

Burren Zigheart’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Exactly as I said.”

I stepped forward and met the gaze of every trainee.

“The mission isn’t over yet.”
“That’s what I’m asking! We’ve slain every monster and cleaned up after ourselves—why would you say the mission isn’t finished!”
“What was our mission?”
“Huh? Well, that was….”

Burren Zigheart furrowed his brow before speaking again.

“Monster subjugation and village protection.”
“Right. Our mission wasn’t just monster subjugation—it was also the protection of the village.”
“But that’s done! Once we’ve killed all the monsters, that’s it!”
“No.”

I shook my head and looked back toward Sebu Village, the path we’d just traveled.

“We were being watched until just moments ago. The surveillance only lifted an hour ago.”
“What?”
“W-what do you mean!”
“Is that truly the case, sir?”

The startled trainees shot to their feet.

“It must have been an instructor.”

Burren Zigheart twisted his mouth reluctantly. He seemed unable to accept that they’d been under surveillance.

“An instructor must have come to observe us….”
“If it were an instructor’s presence, I would recognize it immediately. That aura wasn’t just watching us—it was observing the entire village. And besides….”

I pointed back along the path I had traveled.

“The moment we moved half a day’s distance from the village, the presence vanished. And it headed toward the village.”
“Then there’s another enemy?”

Burren’s jaw dropped. His eyes trembled as he looked toward the village.

“You’re serious?”

Martha, who had remained silent until now, furrowed her brow and stood.

“Certain.”
“When did you first sense that gaze?”
“From the moment we reached the hill where the village came into view.”
“Wait! Then handing command over to Burren was….”
“Right. I concealed my presence to get a clearer read on that gaze.”
“Hah….”

Martha swallowed dryly.

‘What in the world is this guy….’

The moment I heard Raon’s words, the hair on my scalp stood on end.

He had sensed a gaze and presence that even I hadn’t detected, handed command to Burren, then hidden himself among the trainees to analyze that gaze. My senses and composure shattered at the revelation of his perception and insight.

“So… that’s why you gave me command?”
“I thought if you took command, you’d handle the trainees even better than I could.”
“I… I….”
“You showed me the true bearing of a proper leader, beyond my expectations. Because of that, they saw you as their leader and never sensed my presence. It was exactly as you said—a display worthy of Zigheart. If we make it back, I’ll recommend you for the position of vice-leader.”
“That’s not it.”

Burren kept his head lowered, his lips trembling.

‘Damn it!’

Shame prevented me from lifting my face.

‘I thought I was doing well….’

I had thought Raon was at a loss for words thanks to my flawless command, but that was far from the truth. He had been hiding in the back to counter a watcher no one else had noticed.

While I was consumed by something as trivial as chief command authority, Raon was gazing toward something far more distant and lofty.

Crunch.

What was amusing was that hearing Raon’s praise didn’t leave me feeling bad at all.

It was a strange mixture of embarrassment and pride.

“You wouldn’t know this, but orcs, goblins, and kobolds are monsters incapable of cooperation. Whatever method those watchers used, it must have been something.”

Raon didn’t speak of Eden, sharing only what could be directly observed and felt.

“Our first mission is to protect the village. As long as we cannot discern what that watcher is thinking, our mission remains unfinished.”

I gathered my belongings and stood up.

“From now on, we return to Sebu Village. Not like before, announcing ourselves to everyone—we move quietly so no one suspects a thing.”

I swept my gaze across everyone as I continued.

“It would be nice to have camouflage tools, but we didn’t bring any, so at least our gait should—”
“Um, I have some.”

Dorian, who had been half-dazed, raised his hand.

“What do you have?”
“Cloaks to hide our gear and bands we can drape vegetation on for our clothes.”
“A couple won’t be enough. It’ll only make us stand out more—”
“I have plenty.”

Dorian pulled out cloaks and bands from his pack in a cascade. I couldn’t fathom what kind of person carries all this around.

“How am I supposed to….”
“I brought them just in case.”
“Just in case? You’re carrying forty camouflage tools around?”
“Thorough preparation is essential.”
“Well, well done regardless.”
“Yes, sir!”

Dorian was the only one to receive my praise, and a faint smile crossed his face. Of course, it darkened just as quickly when he remembered we might have to fight again once we returned to the village.

“We have enough supplies. Begin your camouflage as you learned in the Training Ground. Gather back here in ten minutes. And….”

I wrapped the first concealment screen around myself and looked up.

“Crain.”
“Huh? Y-yes!”
“Run to the Zigheart Branch right now and relay exactly what I told you.”
“M-me?”
“You’re the fastest.”

Dorian was faster, but there might be something I needed him for.

“Ah, understood!”

Perhaps it was the joy of receiving recognition. Crain nodded eagerly and bolted off in the opposite direction from the village.

I watched Crain disappear into the distance, then turned back to the others.

“From this moment on, you will obey my orders without question. There is no refusal.”

*

*

*

“They have all withdrawn, sir.”

A man wearing a mask with eye markings carved into it knelt down.

“Are you certain?”

The Green Helmet Warrior tilted his head.

“Yes. I watched them return, intoxicated by victory for half a day. I checked the other side as well just to be safe, but there were no particular issues.”
“Then we can begin.”

The young man chuckled softly and lifted a plain helmet without any markings, placing it upon his head.

“Revert.”

At his incantation-like words, green molten metal flowed from within the orc helmet.

Whoooosh!

The molten metal clung to the man’s body like a living creature, taking on the form of armor.

Screeeech!

Massive muscles swelled across his arms and chest, his fingers hardened like flint, and his legs thickened like tree roots.

This was no ordinary knight’s armor.
It was a grotesque suit of armor fashioned after an Orc—specifically, an Orc Warrior who stood at the vanguard of the Orc assault forces.

Flash!

Inside the orc warrior’s helmet, crimson eyes blazed with murderous intent.

“Kraaaagh!”

A grotesque roar erupted from the man’s throat—not a sound a human would make, but one befitting a monster.

“Uooooh!”

In response to the roar, orcs came pouring out from behind him.

Goooo!

The man pointed toward Sebu Village with a hand wreathed in crimson energy.

“Craaaash!”
“Gyaaaah!”

The orcs shrieked and leaped down the slope. Their movements were incomparably fiercer than when they’d faced the trainees.

“Grrr.”

The man clad in orc warrior armor watched the monsters surge forward like a tidal wave, a sinister smile playing across his lips.

*

*

*

Raon and the trainees arrived at the hilltop overlooking Sebu Village.

“Nothing’s happened yet?”

Burren Zigheart frowned as he gazed at the village. Only smoke rose from it, painting a picture of tranquility.

“Wait. And lower your voice, lower your body too.”
“Mm….”

At my instruction, Burren Zigheart clamped his mouth shut and bent his waist.

“From now on, be careful not to even breathe loudly. The moment we’re discovered, we could be annihilated.”
“Uh….”
“Hup!”

The trainees covered their mouths with their hands, their eyes trembling.

“Annihilated? That’s….”
“What difference does it make what comes? We’re Zigheart, after all….”

Meanwhile, several Branch Family members who doubted my words muttered under their breath. They were intoxicated by their first victory, their confidence at its peak.

“Stay quiet. You can complain once we know for certain—there’s no rush.”

Only after Burren Zigheart stepped forward did the Branch Family members close their mouths and settle down.

“Fill your bellies with dried meat beforehand, and wear winter clothes. We cannot light a fire even if the night grows cold.”

The trainees followed my instructions exactly, though not without small complaints.

As the sun set toward Sebu Mountain, darkness descended upon us.

Beneath the pitch-black mountain, hundreds of crimson eyes flickered to life. Along with that ruby-like glow, green monsters poured forth in a torrent.

“Ugh!”
“Oh, orcs! Monsters!”
“Is, is this really happening?”

The trainees swallowed hard as they beheld the savage gleam in the orcs’ eyes.

“Hmm….”

Burren Zigheart bit his parched lips. He had thoroughly searched Sebu Mountain and its surroundings, finding no monsters whatsoever. The appearance of such a number of them so rapidly made no sense.

‘He was right after all.’

Just as I had predicted, monsters—fiercer and stronger than those we had subjugated—came pouring down in a deluge.

Clang, clang, clang!

The sound of the alarm bell rung by a villager standing watch on the wooden palisade echoed across the darkness. Lights ignited throughout the village that had seemed shrouded in shadow, and the murmur of voices reached us even from this distance.

“Damn it!”

Burren Zigheart gritted his teeth and rose to his feet. He drew his sword and exhaled a heavy breath.

“Let’s go. This time, we’ll end this for certain—”
“Sit.”

I fixed him with a cold gaze and gestured with my chin.

“What?”
“I told you. There was a gaze watching over us. It wasn’t some monster—it was human. We haven’t identified who they are yet.”
“B-but Sebu Village’s forces can’t hold back that many orcs!”
“Even so, we wait. One wrong move and we’re annihilated.”

This was a judgment untainted by emotion. We couldn’t move unless we properly understood the enemy’s numbers and military strength.

“You said it yourself! Our mission is to protect the village! Then we need to move now!”
“The instructor said that retreat and withdrawal are also valid choices in a mission. Now is not the time to act.”
“I… I can’t hold back.”

Burren Zigheart’s hand trembled as he gripped his sword.

“Letting them die like that isn’t what a Zigheart swordsman should do!”

The charge of the orcs reflected sharply in his green eyes.

“That’s right.”
“We are Zigheart. We can’t turn away from the crisis of the weak….”
“What if they’re Eden?”

Raon’s cold voice cut through the trainees burning with fierce resolve.

“E-Eden? Oma’s Eden?”
“Those lunatics?”
“Eden’s famous for controlling monsters. If it weren’t them, there’s no way monsters like that would suddenly appear.”
“Ah….”
“O-Oma….”

At the mention of Oma’s Eden, the trainees’ eyes grew clouded as if eroded. They all knew how powerful and terrifying Eden was as a force.

“I understand Eden’s strength. But they haven’t attacked us. That means they fear the name of Zigheart.”

Burren Zigheart clenched his fist until blood threatened to spill.

“I can’t turn my back on such enemies and flee. Drawing my sword for these people here—that’s what I believe a Zigheart swordsman should be.”
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t help at all. If we can fight after assessing the situation….”
“Then it’ll be too late. Half the village will be dead by then.”

He gazed at Raon with wavering eyes.

“I acknowledged you. After witnessing your efforts, I admitted in my heart that you were more worthy of the Zigheart name than I am! But not like this! If you try to stop me, I’ll fight my way to that village.”

Burren Zigheart drew his sword without hesitation. The polished blade caught the moonlight, illuminating his resolute face.

“You don’t all have to follow. Only those who share my conviction should come!”

He sprinted down the hillside, wreathed in a deep emerald aura and unwavering resolve.

“Let’s go too. Let’s show the Oma what Zigheart’s blade can do!”

The Branch Family members all rose to their feet. They chased after Burren Zigheart without even drawing their swords.

Tsk.

As Raon clicked his tongue sharply, someone rose beside him.

“I’m going too.”

Lunan Slion leaped down the hillside, his blade wrapped in a piercing chill.

“We will accompany you!”

The Vassal Family trainees drew their swords and fell in beside her.

“U-us too!”
“Yeah. We’re Zigheart trainees too!”

The commoner trainees, moved by the conviction of Burren Zigheart and Lunan Slion, drew their blades and rushed toward the village fires.

“….”

Raon turned away without a word. Only Dorian and the trainees who had followed him since his days as a temporary trainee remained as the rest descended toward the village.

More than half had departed, yet Raon remained unperturbed.

‘I expected as much.’

I knew the trainees were that type of people. Their descent was part of the plan.

In particular, I had even sent Lunan Slion an aura message telling him to go down and help Burren Zigheart.

But there was one person whose decision was most unexpected.

“Why didn’t you go?”

I turned to look at Martha, who was leaning her back against a tree.

“I told you. In this mission, no matter what anyone says, I will follow your orders.”

Sincerity resonated from her words, her dark eyes gleaming with conviction. It seemed she had formed her own resolve.

“I see.”

I let out a short laugh.

“So what will you do? Just observe from here?”
“No. We’re going too.”

I shook my head and stood up. The orcs had already arrived at the wooden palisade of the village.

The terror of the people and the frenzy of the orcs seemed to bloom like a crimson mist.

“Of course, we won’t go as openly as those fools. We’ll suppress our presence and keep our bodies loose, ready to move at any moment.”

After giving my orders, I fixed my gaze not on Sebu Village, but on the middle slopes of Sebu Mountain. Within it, an intense and thick killing intent rippled.

‘It’s there.’

I could have stopped the trainees, but there was one reason I didn’t.

Because I knew who was there.

A monster that had borrowed the strength and fighting spirit of an orc warrior loomed over the village from the middle of the mountain.

It would not be an easy opponent in a direct confrontation, but assassination was a different matter.

‘If I can just draw their attention, I’ll have more than enough to capture them.’

Raon’s eyes gleamed crimson like the moon hanging in the sky as he rotated his wrists.

‘Tonight will be a long one.’

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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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