The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 77

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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 77

A bitter chill emanated from my blade like wind, and the earth began to freeze over in pristine white.

“Ice? A water attribute?”

Gwahyeolgwi’s yellow eyes widened with shock.

“An absurdly powerful fire attribute aura, and now a water attribute aura? What exactly are you?”

The freezing aura that rivaled the Inferno Sage’s firepower was clearly a novelty to him. Surprise had crept into his gravelly voice for the first time.

“What does it matter to you?”

I twisted my blade and drew it across the air. The chill infused within the steel shot forth like beams of light.

“Hah, even sword energy?”

Gwahyeolgwi let out a hollow laugh and thrust his fist forward. His stone-like knuckles shattered the pristine white sword energy.

Though my full-powered sword energy had been destroyed, my gaze remained unmoved.

‘The power of chill serves purposes beyond mere offense.’

With a sound like a frozen lake forming, pristine white ice sprouted across the back of Gwahyeolgwi’s hand.

“This is….”

Gwahyeolgwi furrowed his brow and glared at his frozen hand. He tried to clench his fist, but it wouldn’t obey.

“You’ve even awakened the attribute itself? Truly, you know no limits.”
“….”

I unleashed another sword strike imbued with the bitter chill, my vigilance undiminished.

‘I cannot afford to drop my guard.’

One moment of carelessness, thinking my attacks were landing, and my head would fly clean off.

I had to maintain my defense even while attacking, constantly shifting my footwork to alter my position.

“This bastard….”

Gwahyeolgwi no longer threw his fists forward as before, instead rotating his body to evade my blade.

Shiiing!

I wielded my sword, channeling the extreme cold of the bitter frost to its limit. The frigid aura blooming from the blade saturated the entire space.

Whoooosh!

The ground froze over, the temperature of the air plummeted, and Gwahyeolgwi’s movements began to slow progressively.

‘It was worth observing.’

I glanced at Lunan Slion, whose lips were bitten tight. Thanks to watching how she scattered frost, I had managed to unfold the aura of cold without difficulty.

“Ugh….”

Gwahyeolgwi moved ceaselessly, dodging both the cold layered across the ground and air, and the blade strikes I extended.

His once fierce and rapid fists grew steadily slower and weaker.

“Arrrgh! You little rat!”

Gwahyeolgwi unleashed a roar and hurled his fist forward.

Whoooosh!

I pivoted on my heel to evade the punch, then drew my blade down again. The frigid sword strike cleaved the empty air in two.

“Kugh!”

Gwahyeolgwi retreated, evading the cold, and let out a groan.

By any measure, I held the advantage.

Yet tension never left Raon’s deep gaze. He swung his blade with even greater momentum than when the fight first began.

‘The moment hasn’t come yet.’

*

*

*

“Huff! Huff!”

After evacuating everyone to safety, Burren Zigheart returned to the village with ten trainees.

The center of the village had become a wasteland, as if struck by magical bombardment. On one side, flames raged; on the other, the ground lay frozen solid in an eerie state.

Boom!

He turned his head toward the thunderous sound from the left. No—his head had already turned before the sound even reached him.

Raon, his blade wreathed in azure light, and Gwahyeolgwi clashed with sword and fist at close range.

‘Sword aura? When did that brat reach Sword Expert level….’

The ability to manifest sword aura meant he had reached the lower tier of Sword Expert. At fifteen years old, reaching Expert tier—even in this chaos, it was staggering.

‘Wait! Raon’s aura!’

Burren’s shock didn’t end with the sword aura. Upon seeing the chill emanating from Raon’s blade, his eyes widened so much they nearly bulged from their sockets.

‘A frost aura!’

A chill aura more serene and piercing than Lunan Slion’s own. The realization that he had been concealing this all along drew an involuntary laugh.

‘A frost aura combined with Expert level. Just how far have you climbed?’

The warriors of the Continent divided strength into several tiers.

Sword, spear, bow, fist—regardless of weapon, all shared universal stages. Upon awakening to aura, one earned the title of Beginner.

Beyond Beginner’s elementary, intermediate, and advanced stages, once one grows accustomed to aura, they reach the User stage—where aura can be infused not only into the body, but into weapons as well.

Users progress through the same elementary, intermediate, and advanced stages, and beyond that lies the Expert tier—those capable of projecting aura contained within their weapons.

This is the stage where one can wield what is commonly called blade energy, and it was precisely where Raon now stood.

Gwahyeolgwi was known to be at the highest echelon of Expert, or perhaps even Master tier.

Watching Raon—merely a lower-tier Expert—push back against Gwahyeolgwi, who stood so far above him, set my chest ablaze with fervent emotion.

“Hah.”

Burren’s body trembled.

‘A monster….’

Raon, who faced him, seemed far more terrifying than Gwahyeolgwi, whose fists shattered the very air around him with each strike.

It was not merely because he wielded two types of aura, or because he had reached Expert tier at such a tender age.

Swordsmanship and footwork.
The sight of him confronting Gwahyeolgwi with nothing but basic swordsmanship and footwork—techniques anyone could learn—sent an icy chill down my spine.

Boom!

Raon’s movements were exquisite. Like a delicate petal caught in a typhoon, he evaded Gwahyeolgwi’s devastating wind pressure by turning it to his advantage.

Transcending talent and aptitude, such feats demanded immeasurable effort. Raon was a monster born of relentless toil.

‘And yet….’

Raon’s strikes were sharp, but they inflicted no grievous wounds upon Gwahyeolgwi. Only his right arm remained encased in pale, crystalline ice.

‘The difference in raw power is evident. Then…wait?’

Burren narrowed his eyes as he observed the duel, and Raon met his gaze while bringing his sword down in a sweeping arc.

‘That is….’

Perhaps it was because we had fought together for over three years—I could immediately discern the intent behind Raon’s gaze.

‘He’s telling me to help.’

He was signaling that he would create an opening, and we should attack together.

“Hmm….”

I glanced to both sides.
Martha and Lunan Slion had also read Raon’s intention, and they were already cycling their aura rapidly, ready to move at any moment.

‘Right. What is Gwahyeolgwi to us? We are Zigheart.’

I clenched my fists and drew the aura surging in my core upward. Feeling the rising emerald wind, I unsheathed my blade.

‘We’re the ones saving this place!’

Burren Zigheart watched the battle between Raon and Gwahyeolgwi with wide eyes.

Uncertain of when and how to strike, he steadied his breathing and continuously channeled his aura.

As I watched the two monsters clash, sweat began to bead on my palms.
Raon’s blade struck true against Gwahyeolgwi’s left hand.

Crack-crack-crack!

With a sound like icicles forming, Gwahyeolgwi’s hand froze solid.

“Now! Pour everything into it!”

Burren Zigheart was already moving before Raon could even speak.

Boom!

He kicked off the ground and charged forward with his blade raised toward Gwahyeolgwi.

The same sound echoed from the right and left. Lunan Slion and Martha were charging as well.

Whoooosh!

From Burren, Lunan, and Martha’s blades, their auras erupted like suns dispelling the night.

“I….”

Gwahyeolgwi trembled, his frozen hands shaking as he gnashed his teeth in apparent panic.

‘We can win this!’

Seeing his flustered expression, certainty crystallized within me. Victory was within reach.

Whoooosh!

The three of us were about to unleash our most devastating strikes toward Gwahyeolgwi’s vital points.

“Ah….”
“Huh?”

Burren, Lunan, and Martha lifted their heads as the air suddenly grew oppressively heavy. All three widened their eyes in unison, as if bound by a silent pact.

Gooooo.

Gwahyeolgwi’s eyes, which had been brimming with panic, now settled into an icy, glacial coldness.

The moment I witnessed that refined gaze—madness tempered by terrible clarity—my heart plummeted.

Crackle crackle crackle!

The atmosphere twisted grotesquely beneath Gwahyeolgwi’s sinister smile.

“I have been waiting. Insects.”

*

*

*

Crunch crunch crunch!

Gwahyeolgwi thrust forward a fist brimming with aura. The shockwave that erupted alongside the punch crumpled the floor beneath them.

Yet Raon endured that shockwave and unleashed his blade. A frigid, azure sword strike infused with cold energy drove deep into Gwahyeolgwi’s shoulder.

“Kgh….”

Gwahyeolgwi’s yellow eyes blazed as he gnashed his teeth.

Yet within his heart, there was neither the slightest wavering nor anger. Only fascination and anticipation filled him.

‘A genius destined to be etched into the history of the Continent.’

Judging by his appearance and complexion, that creature was scarcely past the middle of his teens, yet he wielded sword aura and fire and water attributes with absolute mastery.

A prodigy bearing the makings of one day becoming the strongest on the Continent.

‘However….’

That would only come to pass if the child developed as he should.

Gwahyeolgwi glanced around. Setting aside the monster called Raon, the three children behind him possessed talents far from ordinary.

Zing!

Raon’s sword aura grazed Gwahyeolgwi’s chest, yet his heart remained unmoved.

It was only natural.
Contrary to how it appeared as though he were being pushed back, in truth he had not even drawn upon a tenth of his power.

Whoosh.

Gwahyeolgwi exhaled a wave of hot breath from within his helm.

Laughter welled up unbidden. The prospect of crushing the hopes of these young saplings sent a delicious chill down his spine.

Clang!

Raon unleashed a sharp sword aura at the perfect moment.

“Ugh!”

Though Gwahyeolgwi could have easily evaded, he seemed flustered as he swept his left arm to block the sword energy.

Crack!

A brilliant chill erupted, and his hand began to freeze solid.

“Now! Pour everything you have!”

At my command, Lunan Slion, Burren Zigheart, and Martha—who had been gathering their strength beside me—charged toward Gwahyeolgwi.

Rumble!

Burren’s blade carried the wind itself, Martha unleashed the earth’s essence in its entirety, and Lunan Slion spread icicle-like coldness across his blade.

The three of them drew upon every ounce of aura they possessed and descended with their mightiest sword strikes.

Whoosh!

I charged directly toward Gwahyeolgwi, unleashing a brilliantly azure-burning blade.

“Hahahaha!”

Gwahyeolgwi laughed in that critical moment. The prey had fallen perfectly into the trap.

Boom!

The entire ogre’s helm blazed with brilliant yellow light. The white ice that had confined his hands shattered, and a tremendous aura surged forth.

“I have been waiting for this. Insects.”

The moment these young Zigheart whelps threw caution aside and charged at full strength was precisely when I would plunge them into the abyss of despair.

Rumble!

Materialized yellow light exploded across Gwahyeolgwi’s hands. A tangible aura that perfectly enveloped his massive palms.

Aura.
The aura—proof of a master—blazed from his hand like hellfire itself.

“Ah….”
“No!”
“A-aura!”

An aura that crushed space itself could not be stopped by anything less than aura itself.

Lunan Slion, Martha, and Burren Zigheart’s faces drained from hope into despair.

“It’s over!”

Gwahyeolgwi unleashed a laugh brimming with exhilaration as he drove his fist forward. A boulder-sized aura descended, and darkness flooded the children’s eyes.

‘What about you?’

He cast one final gaze toward the golden-haired child, savoring the moment of despair he would see in those eyes.

But.

“Huh?”

Gwahyeolgwi’s eyes widened. In Raon’s gaze, there was neither despair nor hope.

A calm, unwavering stare. Only the intent to kill filled those eyes.

Roooaarrr!

An overwhelming killing intent—one I had never felt before—engulfed my blade.

“I wasn’t the only one waiting for this.”

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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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