The Return of the Transcendent Blacksmith - Chapter 133

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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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Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return — Episode 133
Crack!
A sinister sound rippled through the black night.
Amaterasu drew her Oo-tachi and, in a heartbeat, severed the necks of the orcs attempting to change the guard.
She refrained from using her skills—the Luminous Paladin class naturally glowed when invoking them.
Even so, it took her less than a minute to dispatch more than twenty orcs.
A handful of orcs, sensing death’s approach, had tried to cry out and raise the alarm.
But Amaterasu’s swift strikes allowed them no time to scream.
‘Truly formidable.’
Shin Tae-ho found himself silently admiring Amaterasu.
Having awakened as a warrior class, her movements clearly displayed both precision and raw power.
And the fact that she could wield such force without relying on skills meant her fundamentals were rock-solid.
Though he’d neither heard nor seen it happen, Shin Tae-ho was certain Amaterasu had trained relentlessly with her blade.
‘Could I reach that level now?’
Watching her fight stirred something restless in him, and he clenched and unclenched his fists.
It had been some time since he’d begun studying the Dwarf Combat Hammer Technique under Orum.
Whenever opportunity allowed, he’d sparred with his instructor, even managing to defeat Orum.
But he’d never faced a true warrior class in real combat, and he burned to know how his Hammer Combat Art would measure up.
Still, more pressing matters demanded his focus now.
Shin Tae-ho shook off his reverie and collected himself.
“From here on, speed is everything. We move now.”
“Understood!”
Shin Tae-ho and Amaterasu swept forward rapidly.
Yong-ryong-i, coiled around Shin Tae-ho’s neck, turned his head this way and that, chirping softly.
“Yong!”
“Sentries. Five of them, spread in different directions.”
“Leave them to me.”
Having received their positions from Shin Tae-ho, Amaterasu bolted forward like lightning without hesitation.
Despite the distance between them, the orcs fell without so much as a cry.
Guided by Yong-ryong-i, Shin Tae-ho and Amaterasu pressed deeper into the encampment.
This base they were infiltrating was the largest settlement they’d encountered yet.
Even the materials composing its structures—their faint reddish glow—suggested something far from ordinary.
Yong-ryong-i, who had been quietly emitting a steady stream of sensing pulses like a living radar, suddenly raised his head.
“Yong!”
“There? Is it Kogarum’s energy signature—the same one from before?”
“Yong-yong!”
Yong-ryong-i nodded.
Since Yong-ryong-i surpassed him in energy sensing, Shin Tae-ho trusted his companion’s perception without question.
Following Yong-ryong-i’s lead, they came upon a massive tent.
A structure so vast it could shelter a hundred orcs—Shin Tae-ho and Amaterasu exchanged a nod at the sight.
“The energy emanating from inside isn’t normal, and we didn’t spot any tent this size in the surrounding area.”
“Right. If Yong-ryong-i pointed us here, we can trust it.”
“Ryo-ong!”
Shin Tae-ho and Amaterasu moved soundlessly toward the shadowed edge of the tent.
Once they’d positioned themselves against the wooden support poles, voices from within drifted out faintly.
“Here. This is this month’s Cheonhyul supply.”
“The amount is too small. With something major looming, aren’t you being overly stingy?”
“If not for that Cheonhyul, you’d have starved wretchedly before even laying out your city. Don’t forget we’re doing you a favor.”
“What are you talking about now? In exchange for our help, we’ve been crafting items for you, haven’t we?”
“And we’ve been providing you with orcs to defend yourselves. Where would you be without them?”
A gravelly voice—Kogarum’s—and another, wheezing and strained, called back and forth.
After a brief silence, a new voice cut in.
“Krack. Choose your words carefully. We are the ones lending you orc labor.”
“So you too wish to stake your claim? It’s almost amusing how alike you two are in what you do.”
“What? How dare you lump us in with these orcs!”
“Krrack. Dwarf. Do you wish to die?”
At the wheezing voice’s provocation, both Kogarum’s and what seemed to be the orc’s voices grew sharp with edge.
A cold silence fell, then the conversation resumed.
“Krack. What matters most right now is numbers. No matter how quickly orcs breed and mature, raising warriors takes time.”
“What do you mean? Have our numbers declined?”
“There’s a foreigner helping the southern dwarves. Damn them. They’re strong. Even Gakrak, one of our own, fell to them.”
“Ah. So you were talking about the foreigner.”
The raspy voice chuckled with understanding, letting out a deflating sound.
“It doesn’t matter. Orcs breed again whenever they want, don’t they? If you all fight properly, dealing with trash like that is nothing.”
“Priest. Are you truly asking us of the Blood Orc to meddle in such a trivial skirmish?”
“That’s what you’re for. Or did you get scared because that Gakrak died?”
“You, Priest—!”
Along with an enraged voice came the sound of earth trembling beneath heavy footsteps.
But before those steps could carry him two paces forward.
The noise transformed into a choking gasp as something crashed to the ground.
“Don’t crawl toward me. Do you think a wretch like you can match a Priest just because I’ve deigned to speak with you?”
“Gack… hack…!”
The choking sounds gave way to gasps that seemed to herald death itself.
But as the crushing pressure eased, those death-rattles soon became rough, ragged breathing.
“If you crawl toward me again, it won’t end like this. That goes for you too, dwarf.”
“…I understand.”
Kogarum answered in a voice entirely stripped of its former bravado.
In that moment, a message window materialized before Shin Tae-ho’s eyes as he strained to follow the conversation.
[You have acquired information about an unknown entity.]
[The content of your ongoing Special Trial has been modified.]
[Return to Zetaum and report the information you have discovered.]
Having read the same message, Amaterasu tapped Shin Tae-ho’s shoulder lightly.
It would have been a simple matter to slip away, but Shin Tae-ho hesitated.
‘The Priest. This must certainly be connected to the Apostle we encountered on the final floor of the Elf’s Tower.’
An entity he’d never heard of before, and a sinister one at that—something that had marked Yong-ryong-i for death rather than himself, despite his being the Challenger.
And now this Priest, who was surely linked to that Apostle, appeared in this tower as well.
No matter how he considered it, this seemed far too coincidental to be mere chance.
If he could remain hidden and gather more intelligence, he wanted to learn as much as possible.
But Shin Tae-ho’s deliberation became moot far sooner than he anticipated.
Whooom-whooom-whooom!
“Why is Cheonhyul suddenly—?”
“This is—”
Shin Tae-ho, realizing the raspy voice was now directed toward their hiding place, urgently signaled Amaterasu.
But before they could move.
A thick axe came flying at their concealment, tearing through the tent and burying itself in the earth.
“Damn.”
Shin Tae-ho clicked his tongue and cast his gaze through the torn canvas into the interior.
There stood the Priest with a deep hood pulled low, and a startled Kogarum.
And a Blood Orc, its entire body blazing crimson, its eyes gleaming as it stared toward them.
“You—who are you?!”
Kogarum’s recognition sparked alarm as he gasped out the words.
But Shin Tae-ho and Amaterasu, the moment they grasped they’d been discovered, were already at full sprint, retracing their steps in retreat.
Kogarum and the Blood Orc made a commotion of confusion at the unexpected turn.
Yet the Priest, as though deaf to their voices, reached down and grasped the Cheonhyul that Kogarum had dropped.
Whooom-whooom-whooom—
The Cheonhyul wailed and thrummed in the Priest’s grip, and only then did a chilling, raspy voice seep from beneath the robes.
“Apostle Slayer.”
The Priest’s face, shadowed deep within the hood, twisted grotesquely in the direction where Amaterasu and Shin Tae-ho had vanished.
* * *
“Phew—”
Tsukuyomi, who had been filling his Circuit with energy, opened his eyes with a long exhale.
Deep in enemy territory and pressed for time, he hadn’t filled his Circuit completely.
But at roughly twenty-five percent capacity, he’d accumulated more than enough to draw upon later for an escape.
‘Even if things take a turn and I find myself fighting orcs, this much should suffice.’
Tsukuyomi checked the time.
Having counted continuously in his head, he confirmed it remained just before the scheduled operation time.
Tsukuyomi moved toward Han Ji-hyun, who stood ready in the rear, prepared to cast Magic at any moment.
“Han Ji-hyun. The two of them should be returning soon. Let’s prepare.”
“Yes.”
As Tsukuyomi watched Han Ji-hyun rise, a strange light flickered in his eyes.
‘Very thick energy. Or, since this person is a mage, I suppose I should call it mana.’
Han Ji-hyun wasn’t yet famous enough to have made a name for herself in the world as a Challenger.
But Tsukuyomi, who had already earned renown as a World Ranker, sensed that Han Ji-hyun was stronger than any Mage-class Awakener he had ever encountered.
It was baffling that she hadn’t become a World Ranker.
‘I suppose. Being Mage-class, she’d have faced plenty of constraints in Elf’s Tower.’
For Mages, the most crucial aspect of combat was securing the time needed to cast spells.
But Elf’s Tower, unlike Dwarf’s Tower, was a tower where Challengers had to ascend alone without aid.
There were ways to receive help from the Elves who dwelled within, of course, but the Elves were absurdly arrogant and haughty.
Eldein, the leader of the Pure Elves, was at least somewhat reasonable to deal with.
Though even that meant only that they could communicate—it didn’t mean the Elves would cooperate helpfully.
‘A narcissistic Elf who was unpleasant to confront.’
Tsukuyomi sighed as he recalled those difficult days in Elf’s Tower, then suddenly stiffened.
Detecting an odd sound with his ears, Tsukuyomi quickly led Han Ji-hyun upward to a place that was harder to approach.
Within moments, Tsukuyomi realized the sound was metal clashing against metal, and his eyes sharpened.
“It seems combat has broken out. As planned, I’ll go assist the two of them.”
“Yes. I’ll circle around to the rear and wait for the signal.”
“Much obliged. If a dangerous situation develops, please give the signal as we agreed. I’ll come at once.”
With those words, Tsukuyomi slipped into shadow as if sinking into water.
Emerging from a shadow not far from where the sound originated, Tsukuyomi unfurled his fan and gathered his energy.
‘Orcs shouldn’t pose a danger to the lady. And Shin Tae-ho has the skill to protect himself.’
As Tsukuyomi deduced the situation before engaging, he suddenly sensed something amiss and furrowed his brow slightly.
‘But it’s strange—the sounds of attack and defense never cease. There shouldn’t be a need for such an extended exchange against mere orcs.’
At that moment, Shin Tae-ho and Amaterasu appeared around the bend in the path, fighting as they ran.
Seeing the situation, Tsukuyomi prepared to use his skill, Yeong-yeong, to strike at their rear.
But as he caught sight of the enemy pursuing the two in combat, Tsukuyomi’s face went pale with shock.
“That… that can’t be?!”
Gakrak—the creature who had once trapped him and Amaterasu in a snare, giving them both a hard time.
As befitting a Blood Orc, it was incomparably stronger than an ordinary orc.
Even under unfavorable circumstances at the time, that single Blood Orc had posed enough danger to threaten both him and the lady.
But now, pursuing Shin Tae-ho and Amaterasu, there were over twenty Blood Orcs at a glance.
“No, the lady!!”
Realizing the situation was nothing like his prediction, Tsukuyomi hurled himself forward in desperation.
Continued in next chapter ▶
The Transcendent Blacksmith’s Return
Author
Seal Unleashed
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260227067
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction or transmission in whole or in part is prohibited, and violations may result in civil and criminal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes your precious manuscripts.

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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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