The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1029:
“Over there!”
Rabawin raised his hand and pointed at the land where the light had vanished.
“I can hardly believe it myself, but that port is Balder!”
He bit down hard as he stared at the port swallowed by darkness.
“Balder Port…”
Raon climbed onto the deck railing and narrowed his eyes.
‘Has it already collapsed?’
Balder Port was darker than a moonless night sky. If Rabawin hadn’t told him, Raon would’ve passed by without noticing it existed.
‘No presence.’
He spread his Aura Sense, but not the faintest trace stirred within Balder Port. It felt as if every human who had been there was dead.
‘But the sea’s Mana is flowing.’
Unlike the vanished presence of people, thick Mana carrying the scent of the sea flowed through the port. If he confirmed that energy, he might be able to identify the attacker for sure.
“Follow.”
Raon jerked his chin at the Light Wind Palace swordsmen, kicked off the railing of the Azure Wind Pirate Ship, and leaped into the sea.
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
Starting with Burren right behind him, the Light Wind Palace swordsmen followed Raon off the ship.
Boom!
Raon surged forward, stomping through the Supreme Harmony Steps as if he meant to smash the sea itself, and entered Balder Port where light and life had vanished.
Whoooosh.
The moment his foot touched the pitch-black port, a bleak chill crawled up his spine.
‘This is Balder Port?’
Rabawin had said Balder had over three hundred residents—a fairly large port. But there wasn’t just no one here; there wasn’t even a lingering sense of the life that had once been here.
Sluuush…
Water was running beneath his feet. No—water was flowing through the entire town. It looked as if a massive tidal wave had poured in and swept away everything that existed in this port.
‘Is everyone really dead?’
The faint hope he’d clung to sank like a deflated balloon. They’d departed the moment they heard the news, yet it seemed they were still too late.
– “There’s nothing.”
Wrath shook his head as well, unable to sense any human presence.
– “It feels like we’ve stepped into the cold sea itself.”
His brow furrowed, irritation rising.
‘It’s like looking at a dead city.’
The docks built for mooring ships had been completely shattered, homes and buildings had collapsed until only traces remained, and not even a small light was left to illuminate the surroundings. A port city with only darkness remaining looked like a kingdom that had fallen centuries ago.
“Hah…”
“I-Is this really Balder Port?”
“It’s all just… gone.”
The Light Wind Palace swordsmen who arrived late panted as they stared at the collapsed port and the blue waterways draining into the sea.
“Everyone’s really dead…?”
Burren let out a hollow breath as he stared into the darkness, as if it was unbelievable.
“It’s not just people. There’s nothing left.”
Martha frowned, saying she couldn’t even spot a dog or a bug—nothing alive at all.
“Mm…”
Runaan ran her palm through the waterways flowing toward the sea, her brows drawing together.
“It’s seawater. Very cold.”
She dipped her head, saying it was more than twice as cold as the sea outside.
“Mm…”
Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched the water flowing out to sea.
‘Like Runaan said, it’s cold seawater, but…’
It held the sea’s Mana just as deeply as that chill.
Thick Mana tinged with the scent of the sea flowed through this entire port. Since it was a port city pressed close to the sea, one could call it natural—but this density far exceeded any normal range.
‘Wrath. This energy…’
Raon flicked the seawater from his fingertips and called to Wrath.
‘It’s similar to the Mana that wolf had, isn’t it?’
The sea’s Mana draining from this town was extremely close to the aura of that blue wolf he’d met the first time he entered the sea.
– “It is.”
Wrath nodded as he looked at the dark sea.
– “Not just similar. It’s almost identical.”
He wrinkled the bridge of his nose, saying there were slight differences, but the flow, scent, and color were the same.
‘Was that wolf really the one that attacked this port?’
He’d tried not to assume the blue wolf was guilty, but after seeing the state of this port, it was hard not to suspect it.
‘Still, I don’t know what it did.’
He couldn’t tell what kind of trick had been used to kill everyone without leaving a trace.
‘It didn’t kill them. Did it drag them into the sea?’
Just in case, he spread his Aura Sense toward the sea, but all he felt were marine creatures and monsters.
“I-I’m scared…”
Dorian’s chin trembled as if he was afraid of stepping into a city where everyone had vanished.
“There’s nothing to be scared of! That wolf ran because it was scared of us!”
Krein shook his head, saying there was no need to be afraid, but he too seemed unsettled—unable to properly plant his feet, he only took quick, shuffling steps.
“Everything got washed away into the sea. There’s nothing to see.”
Burren sighed, saying it was hard even to find traces.
“It’s a port city, so I guess… even the building debris is all rotted out.”
Martha clicked her tongue as she brushed rust from her hand.
“It’s true that salt and humidity corrode exterior walls faster near the sea, but…”
Raon stepped beside Martha and examined the building wreckage she’d been looking at.
“It doesn’t corrode this quickly all the way inside the house. This happened recently.”
Buildings near the sea did weather faster from salt, wind, and humidity. But it was rare for decay to run deep into the interior, not just the outer materials.
‘Don’t tell me…’
Raon entered the building to the right and checked the walls and floor.
‘Same here.’
Not just where Martha had looked—other buildings and foundations were also rotted through, as if eaten away by salt.
‘So it didn’t simply raise waves and sweep this port away.’
Whether it was magic or sorcery, it was clear some special power had been used.
‘I should check for other traces… hm?’
Raon was about to scan elsewhere when—
Ruuuumble!
A colossal Mana rose from beneath the sea like wildfire, pressing down on his shoulders.
“What—!”
He spun around. A wave towering as if it could touch the sky surged upward, and within it, the blue wolf’s face emerged.
‘What…?’
Raon’s fingertips trembled as he met the blue wolf’s eyes.
‘It changed in that short time?’
The blue wolf was larger than before and held even stronger Mana. But the change went beyond that.
‘It’s more sinister.’
If the blue wolf he’d seen before stood somewhere between spirit and monster, the wolf now was closer to a monster. With the stench of blood riding the air, it looked like it was growing stronger by eating people.
“Puppy…”
Runaan pressed her lips together as she looked at the blue wolf.
“It looks like it wants to cry…”
Even while sensing the chilling aura reaching them, she pitied it.
“I-I can’t read its mind, but…”
Dorian clasped his trembling hands.
“It does feel like it’s sad.”
He raked at his hair as if he couldn’t trust his own senses.
“What kind of nonsense is that! It’s staring at us like it wants to kill us!”
Krein shook his head violently, saying he couldn’t even look into the wolf’s eyes.
“Whatever the case…”
Raon drew Heavenly Drive and stepped out toward the sea.
“We can’t leave it like this.”
The moment he leaped into the sea, stepping through the Supreme Harmony Steps, the wolf vanished—turning into seawater and foam, just like their first encounter.
– “It ran again?”
Wrath blinked, as if he couldn’t understand why it kept retreating.
– “What the hell is that puppy thinking!”
‘I don’t know either.’
Raon frowned as he watched the foam and water trails, now tinged darker than before.
‘Did it decide it can’t beat me? Or…’
Did it have something to say to me?
—
Whoooosh.
Raon sat astride the bow of the Azure Wind Pirate Ship, breaking through blue waves, and let out a heavy sigh.
‘I thought I could wrap this up quickly…’
But there’s no answer.
For ten days after Balder Port fell, they roamed the surrounding coast, but the wolf never appeared again, and there were no more attacked ports or villages.
‘This doesn’t mean it’s solved.’
Rabawin and the Light Wind Palace swordsmen said the blue wolf seemed to have fled out of fear. If that were true, the moment he disappeared, it would surely reappear—meaning the problem remained exactly as it was.
– “Right.”
Wrath nodded calmly.
– “The moment you vanish, that sneaky bastard will start hunting again.”
He twisted his lips, seeming to believe the wolf had only run because it still couldn’t beat him.
‘Let’s organize what we know.’
Raon leaned back against the railing and looked up at the clear sky.
– “What is there to organize? The villages attacked by the blue wolf leave nothing behind, and that wolf grows stronger the more people it eats.”
Wrath waved a hand as if it were simple.
– “The fact it appeared more sinister is proof!”
‘It might not be.’
Raon shook his head evenly.
‘We didn’t actually see it attacking.’
In ruined Balder Port, the blue wolf’s presence had been there, and it appeared behind them as if it had been waiting, so even Raon had suspected it at first.
But Runaan and Dorian—two of the sharpest senses in the Light Wind Palace—had spoken of it, and the wolf had vanished without fighting. Raon felt it was still too early to be certain.
– “So you’ll let it go again?”
Wrath clicked his tongue like Raon was an idiot.
‘No. I won’t kill it on sight, but next time, I’ll face it properly.’
Raon said he wouldn’t let it slip away next time, then shook his head.
‘But it has to appear first for me to do anything… hm?’
Within the Aura Sense he’d spread to find the wolf, he caught the presence of many people.
‘To the west?’
He focused his sight to the west. Four massive sailships were approaching. A skull-emblazoned flag flapped atop their sails—pirates.
“Pirates! Pirates approaching from the west!”
Not long after Raon sensed them, a lookout perched on the mast lowered his spyglass and shouted.
“So it really is pirates…”
Raon exhaled briefly.
“They’re called the Kusar Pirate Crew. Among the pirates around here, they’re the strongest—and the most brutal.”
Rabawin nodded as he watched the four pirate ships drawing near.
“They probably meant to raid the port ahead, then ran into us instead.”
He scowled, saying the crew had been continually encroaching since Aris disappeared. From what he described, they were villains no one would miss.
“Then we should repay them.”
Raon nodded with a cold smile.
“Prepare for battle—”
“You don’t need to. Those heated-up friends are right there.”
Raon tilted his chin after splitting apart the magic cannon fire the Kusar Pirate Crew had launched with Heavenly Drive.
“Go. Bring the captain back alive.”
He pointed Heavenly Drive at the four pirate ships, ordering the Light Wind Palace to wipe them out.
“We obey!”
Starting with Vice Palace Lord Burren, the Light Wind Palace swordsmen kicked off the deck and plunged into the sea. They stepped on the waves as if they were solid ground, then vaulted onto the pirate ships.
‘Not bad for building results and experience for the first time in a while.’
Pirates were martial artists specialized in sea combat, and there were several at the master level. It seemed like decent experience for the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.
But Raon had overlooked one crucial thing.
KABOOOOOM!
Martha, whose irritation had been building through ten days at sea, split one pirate ship clean in half. Trevin carved the second into dozens of pieces as if he were practicing swordplay, and Runaan froze the entire third ship in place.
“W-What is this…?”
The captain on the last remaining ship gaped at the unbelievable sight.
“Retreat! Fall back!”
But the swordsmen who hadn’t even drawn their blades yet sprinted like mad to board the last ship, unwilling to lose their prey.
“Huh…”
Rabawin blinked blankly, as if he’d known the Light Wind Palace was strong, but hadn’t expected such overwhelming force.
Ruuuumble!
Feeling the roar and explosions coming from the fourth ship, Raon smacked his lips briefly.
“Now it’s hard to even let the kids gain experience.”
He’d thought pirates would be enough, but the swordsmen had grown so strong it felt meaningless.
– “Kids?”
Wrath pointed at the fourth ship as it began to sink, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
– “How are those kids? They’re just rabid dogs!”
He shook his head, saying they were becoming more and more like mad hounds.
—
“This one.”
Martha tossed a one-eyed middle-aged man in a red uniform at Raon’s feet.
“This is the captain.”
She frowned, saying he was far too weak for a captain.
“Mm. It was too easy…”
Runaan dipped her head, saying it hadn’t been fun.
“That’s why I told you to hold back!”
Burren stomped, saying they’d kept the others from even swinging their swords properly. At least he seemed to understand Raon’s intent.
“Name?”
Raon pressed his foot down on the one-eyed man’s shoulder and jerked his chin.
“P-Pharos.”
The man’s chin trembled, terrified by Martha and Runaan’s overwhelming might.
“What did you come crawling here to scavenge?”
Raon brought Heavenly Drive to Pharos’s throat as he asked.
“W-We didn’t come down here because we wanted to…”
Pharos swallowed dryly and shook his head.
“What does that mean?”
“A-All the ports and villages in our territory were destroyed. We had to put food in our mouths, but we had nowhere to go…”
He clasped his hands, saying every village and port they’d been protecting had collapsed, so they’d come to the territory left behind after the Pirate King vanished.
“Don’t tell me…”
Raon frowned at Pharos.
“Your side was destroyed too? Without a single survivor?”
“Y-Yes. Four ports we were protecting were completely smashed. Not one person was left, and the buildings were all ruined…”
Pharos nodded, saying they couldn’t survive otherwise.
“It’s the same.”
Hearing Pharos, Raon met Rabawin’s eyes. What Pharos had experienced matched what had happened at Balder Port perfectly.
“Did you see the blue wolf too?”
Raon narrowed his eyes at Pharos.
“I-I did. After that ship passed and the port collapsed, it showed up.”
Pharos nodded heavily as if he’d seen it clearly.
“As expected… Wait.”
Raon stared at Pharos, eyes widening.
“After the ship passed? Not that the wolf destroyed the port?”
“Yes? No. The wolf appears after the village collapses. What destroys the port is…”
Pharos trembled all over, as if even saying the name terrified him.
“A g-ghost ship.”
