The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 1052:
Kwaaaaaaaah!
Unsatisfied with reducing one of the Kraken’s legs to a mangled mess, Haerang raised a forepaw. The blade-like claws extending from it slammed down onto the Kraken’s torso.
Splaaaaaaat!
Even with its head torn open, the Kraken had no intention of quietly enduring it. It swung up a long leg and smashed it into Haerang’s jaw.
The battle between the blue wolf, seemingly wreathed in waves, and the ancient Kraken bearing a white city on its back was savage enough to decide the true master of this sea.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Haerang bared its fangs once more and bit down on the Kraken’s attacking leg, tearing it clean off.
Grrrrrrrrr!
Seizing that moment, the Kraken lifted all its remaining legs, wrapped them around Haerang, and constricted like a serpent.
It was power enough to crush a mountain, but Haerang was not a true wolf. It was a Spirit imbued with the essence of the sea.
Swoooooosh!
Haerang turned its body into seawater, letting the constricting force pass right through it, then sliced away a third of the Kraken’s legs with its sharp claws.
Groooooooan!
The Kraken’s severed leg crashed to the ground, making the earth itself shudder.
“Huh…”
Raon let out a breath of disbelief as he watched Haerang overpower the ancient Kraken with pure force.
‘Was Haerang always this strong?’
The Haerang before his eyes seemed even stronger than when it had run wild in a frenzy of Blood Energy.
》Didn’t this king tell you? That mutt transcended death, so of course it grew stronger.
Wrath nodded calmly, saying it was the result of overcoming pain and terror so great one would have wished for death instead.
》Of course, even this king didn’t know it was hiding that much power. It must be because you awakened that mutt.
‘I awakened Haerang?’
》Didn’t you give it that childish name, Haerang? Thanks to you, that Spirit found the place where it belongs.
The demon frowned, saying it would not be an exaggeration to claim that Raon had given Haerang new life and new power.
‘Looking at it now, it’s not just strong. The spells carved into the Kraken’s body aren’t affecting Haerang.’
The Kraken’s body had been engraved with spells that blocked aura and magic.
But Haerang used neither aura nor magic, which allowed it to subdue the Kraken even more easily.
Groooooooan!
In that short span, Haerang severed another of the Kraken’s legs, leaving only four, and gouged five deep wounds into its torso.
Kreeeeeeeeek!
As if the enhancement magic amplifying its instincts had also magnified its pain, the Kraken bled green blood from its entire body and screamed loudly enough to shake the sea.
“Grrrrrrrr!”
As if determined to end the life of this Blood Energy-soaked Kraken once and for all, Haerang gnashed its teeth and pounded the sea.
Kiiiiiiii….
The Kraken shrieked and tried to retreat backward, but it could not flee because of the bridge connecting the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters to the shore.
Thwaaaaaak!
Haerang did not miss that opening and drove its elongated claws deep into the Kraken’s skull.
Kyaaaaaaaaaa!
As if it had felt unbearable pain, the Kraken convulsed violently and finally threw off the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters it had been carrying on its back.
It seemed the instinct to survive, heightened by the enhancement magic, had overwhelmed the brainwashing forcing it to protect the White Blood Cult.
Kwaaaaaaaaah!
The White Blood Cult Main Headquarters crashed down between the sea and the shore with a tremendous quake. Sand and seawater exploded upward, scattering brown dust in every direction.
Kreeeeeeeee!
“Kyooooooooh!”
Mocking its title as an ancient monster, the Kraken fled into the sea without a backward glance. Haerang dove in after it, intent on killing it for good.
“…Is that really the same Spirit I saw before?”
Larian let out an incredulous laugh.
“Do me a favor! Let me study it just a little! Just a little bit!”
She clasped her hands together as if pleading. Even in the middle of a war against the White Blood Cult, she was talking about research. A mage really was a mage.
“Spirits of the sea are one of the legends passed down since ancient times.”
Aris smiled deeply as she watched the trail of waves Haerang left behind.
“I traveled the seas for decades without ever seeing one, but our nephew really is amazing.”
She patted her own shoulder as if approving her choice to spare Haerang’s life rather than kill it.
“Thanks to that, the defensive advantage the White Blood Cult had is gone too.”
The White Blood Cult Main Headquarters, which had once stood on the Kraken’s back, had now been dropped to the ground, greatly lowering the height of its walls. Breaking through them would be far easier than before.
However, the defensive spells covering the Headquarters itself were so powerful that even after the crash, the Blood Demons inside did not seem to have suffered much damage.
“Get up! Charge the walls again!”
Sensing the confusion spreading through the White Blood Cult, Balder gave the order to the swordsmen on the four bridges.
“Don’t climb the walls! Smash them down!”
Taking the lead, he brought down his Chain Sword infused with an Astral Ring, splitting open red cracks in the wall and its spells.
“Huh…”
Raon watched Balder tear through the enemy’s momentum and curled his fingertips.
‘So he wasn’t just a fool.’
The walls of the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters were covered in powerful Blood Energy spells.
Entering without breaking those barriers first would force them into a disadvantageous fight, but Balder had recognized that and chosen to destroy the walls and spells before anything else.
‘And he clearly knows exactly when the enemy has weakened.’
Raon had thought him a man who never used his head, but on the battlefield, that very simplicity became a beast’s instinct that tore straight at the enemy’s throat.
“Let’s go too!”
“Break through the walls now and push inside!”
“Open a path with everything you’ve got!”
Burren, who was leading the Light Wind Palace in Raon’s place, Rabawin, who commanded the Azure Wind martial artists, and the leaders of the other forces all seemed to be stirred by Balder’s heavy momentum. Along with their subordinates, they charged at the walls.
Grrrrrrrrr!
The will of Zieghart’s swordsmen to pierce those grotesque walls joined together into a single blade and carved deep wounds into the White Blood Lord’s sturdy spells.
Ooooooooh!
Just as the white walls and the defensive spells protecting the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters were on the verge of collapsing together, a pure white dimension rose from every direction of heaven and earth.
Whoooooosh!
As if a hornet’s nest had been kicked apart, countless Blood Demons in white robes speckled with blood burst forth from the white dimension.
“They’re evil spirits!”
“Block the demons! Protect our god!”
“Do not let them enter the holy ground!”
“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”
The archbishops drove forward the Blood Demons pouring out of the white dimension to block the swordsmen trying to break the walls and spells.
“For the Blood God!”
“For the Blood God!”
The Blood Demons charged at the swordsmen without even wielding weapons. The instant they were cut down by blades, they detonated the Blood Art concentrated in their hearts and launched suicide attacks.
Gugugugugugugu!
On the narrow bridges, Blood Energy exploded one after another, and cursed white blood rained down over the swordsmen.
“Kyaaaah!”
“M-My arm!”
“It won’t block even with aura!”
Since all the swordsmen of the Light Wind Palace were Masters, they somehow managed to endure, but screams erupted from the swordsmen on the other bridges.
“Filthy bastards…”
Martha gnashed her teeth as she watched the Blood Demons swarming like ants.
“Those Blood Demons…”
Raon frowned as he watched the endless tide of Blood Demons.
“They aren’t from inside.”
“That’s right…”
Evelyn nodded and let out a heavy breath.
“It looks like they used teleportation spells to summon Blood Demons from other regions just to defend the walls.”
She bit her lip, saying they had probably brought them here only to use them as suicide attackers.
》They really are a vile breed.
Wrath furrowed his brows deeply, saying that even most demons would not commit such acts.
“So this is the power of numbers too?”
The followers of the White Blood Cult atop the walls were raining down Blood Energy, while the followers coming through the portals threw themselves forward and blocked the way with self-destruction.
The walls, which had seemed ready to fall thanks to Haerang, began to feel distant once again.
“You vermin!”
Balder stomped his foot and raised his Chain Sword high. The flexible blade shook like the tail of a rattlesnake, then shredded the Blood Demons before him into thousands of pieces.
“Runaan! Trevin!”
At Krein’s shout, Runaan and Trevin, who had been supporting the swordsmen from the rear, leaped forward.
Hwaaaaaah!
As Runaan’s sword extended in a graceful, flowing arc, the followers of the White Blood Cult about to hurl themselves into self-destruction, along with the portal spewing them out, froze together.
Chiaaaaaang!
Trevin did not miss the opening Runaan created. He brought down his sword fiercely and split apart both the frozen Blood Demons and the portal at once.
“Looks like I need to use some strength for the first time in a while!”
Not wanting to be outdone, Rabawin grabbed his sword with both hands and swung it like a windmill. A mighty gale rose and hurled the Blood Demons about to explode into the sky and sea.
Just as the swordsmen on each bridge exchanged glances and began rushing the White Blood Cult Headquarters once more, an unprecedentedly thick and heavy stench of blood flowed down from the walls.
Kuwaaaaaang!
Sharpened Blood Energy, keen as a scythe, fell from above and forced back all the Zieghart swordsmen charging toward the walls.
“Smelly trash has arrived.”
A man with a deathly pale complexion, the 1st Apostle, looked down on Zieghart’s forces with cold eyes.
“Not trash. Delicious meals that came to us on their own. Each one smells delightful.”
A handsome man with blue hair lifted the hem of his white robe and twisted his lips into a grin.
“Haa, they all look like such boring old men.”
A beauty with red hair draped over her left eye sighed as she rested her chin on both hands.
“That one over there looks a little better, though.”
She pursed her red lips as she stared at Raon in the distance.
“Stop the useless chatter and focus. We need to finish cleaning up before she arrives.”
A white-haired boy clicked his tongue at the red-haired woman.
“Those…”
Raon frowned as he looked at the newly appeared Blood Demons.
“They’re Apostles.”
Though he only recognized the face of the 1st Apostle, the martial prowess radiating from them was on an entirely different level from the other Blood Demons. They were undoubtedly Apostles.
‘There are more of them than I expected.’
Did they bring in replacements?
It seemed they had filled the vacant spots left by the dead Apostles with new faces, because there were more Apostles than he had anticipated.
》Wouldn’t that match the number that remained?
Wrath remarked that the numbers made sense if one counted the Apostles who had not appeared before.
‘But that can’t be all of them.’
The one opening the white portals had to be an Apostle, and the one summoning the Blood Demons and maintaining the wall’s spells also had to be an Apostle. It was obvious they had accepted new Apostles.
‘The problem is…’
The number of Transcenders.
The 1st Apostle was a Transcendent, as everyone knew, but the blue-haired man standing at the center also gave off martial prowess that felt as if it had gone beyond transcendence.
‘Only Auntie and I can handle those two.’
Only a Transcendent could oppose another Transcendent. Now was the time for him and Aris to step forward.
“Who will you take, Auntie?”
Raon asked Aris as he placed a hand on Heavenly Drive.
“I’ll take the 1st Apostle.”
Aris seemed to realize it was time to move. She brushed the sand off herself and rose to her feet.
“I’ve got history with that bastard.”
She clenched her fist, determined to cut off the 1st Apostle’s head herself.
“Then I’ll take the blue-haired one.”
Raon loosened his wrists as he looked at the blue-haired Apostle smiling in their direction.
“As you know, Auntie, we need to finish this quickly. The fact that the White Blood Lord still hasn’t appeared clearly means she’s plotting something.”
The White Blood Lord he knew was not a woman who would hide in the rear. Even if only to see it with her own eyes, she was the type who would come out herself.
The fact that she had sent the Apostles out without showing her face meant she was definitely scheming inside the Headquarters.
“Besides, too many of ours are exhausted.”
The mages of the Magic Tower had all burned through their mana and were gasping for breath, and Evelyn could no longer move after expending her strength to dispel the White Blood Cult’s white mist.
They had to destroy the walls as fast as possible and drag out the White Blood Lord. Only then would Owen join the war.
‘But no matter what, the casualties are going to be high.’
He had wanted to break through the walls of the White Blood Cult Headquarters before the Apostles appeared.
That had failed, and the Blood Demons kept increasing, so the casualties were bound to rise.
“Martha. Support the Void Sword Division and the Battle Sword Palace…”
“Sorry, but my opponent has shown up too.”
Martha ignored his order and stared at the right-side wall.
“I’m going to kill that bastard myself.”
She snarled like a wounded beast as she glared at the newly appeared 10th Apostle.
“No.”
Raon shook his head after examining the 10th Apostle Martha was glaring at.
“You can’t beat him alone…”
“A good decision.”
Just as Raon was about to tell her to wait, a low voice came from behind them.
“Revenge has to be taken with your own hands.”
Denier Zieghart emerged through a blue portal, leading the Black Tortoise Palace.
“Father?”
Martha’s eyes widened in shock.
“Why is the Black Tortoise Palace Lord here…?”
Raon swallowed dryly as he looked into Denier’s calm eyes.
“After seeing the external Blood Demons being summoned, the Head Of House ordered us to join the battle.”
Denier drew his sword and said that Glenn had ordered him to reduce their allies’ casualties by providing support.
Chiaaaaah!
The swordsmen of the Black Tortoise Palace, who served him as their lord, also raised their blades and released a majestic wave of energy, as if they meant to wipe out the Blood Demons entirely.
“……”
Raon bit the inside of his lip as he watched the steady light in Denier’s eyes.
‘The Head Of House sent him?’
Well, it was not impossible.
Denier had remained calm even while waiting on standby, and that may have earned Glenn’s trust.
‘It can’t be helped.’
Though Denier was suspicious, he had never done anything that directly harmed Zieghart.
To Glenn, he was merely a somewhat lacking son, so sending him here was not especially strange.
“We’ll head to the fifth bridge and draw their attention. Martha, stay behind me.”
Denier told Martha he would open the way for her and charged toward the empty fifth bridge.
“Yes!”
Martha nodded, trusting Denier as if she trusted herself, and followed close behind.
“Don’t die, any of you.”
Aris muttered words that sounded almost like a spell to the swordsmen, then leaped toward the left-side fortress wall where the 1st Apostle stood.
“Raon! Come back safe!”
Evelyn waved her hand, entrusting everything to him. Her trembling fingers showed just how exhausted she was.
“Don’t waste too much energy on someone like that. You still have to fight the White Blood Lord.”
Larian nodded confidently and told him to save his strength for the battle against the White Blood Lord.
“Right.”
Raon gave a short nod to Evelyn and Larian.
‘Those two won’t work.’
Evelyn was already exhausted, and Larian needed to preserve her strength for the battle against the White Blood Lord, so he could not ask either of them to keep watch over Denier.
No, he could not even bring that up to Larian, much less Evelyn.
‘Then that leaves only one person.’
Raon stepped heavily across the beach and leaped onto the second bridge. He moved alongside Balder, who was cleaving through the Blood Demons at the front.
“Nephew!”
Balder grinned the moment he saw him.
“You’re here to help?”
“You remember what I told you before, right? I’ll create every sword technique you asked for…”
Raon pointed toward Denier, who was carving open a path on the fifth bridge.
“Keep a close eye on him.”
===
“…Just keep him pinned down so he can’t come out. You’re nearby anyway, aren’t you?”
Derus Robert curled his lips as he looked at the dragon helmet reflected inside the transparent orb.
Tap.
The man inside the orb gave no answer, and the communication ended at once.
“Always so sparing with words.”
Derus shrugged and set the orb down on the ebony desk.
“How fascinating. How did Zieghart manage to find the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters hidden beneath the sea?”
He let out a hollow laugh as he watched the fierce battle between Zieghart and the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters on the shore.
“No, the truly astonishing part is that they found it and held back until now. That’s exactly his style.”
Derus curled his lips once more, saying it was obvious who had orchestrated this entire affair.
“I will make preparations to move to the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters immediately.”
Just as Kubara bowed to Derus and turned away—
“No.”
Derus lightly waved his hand.
“Just throw in the sturdy ones at random.”
“Huh? What do you mean…”
Kubara’s eyes widened.
“To make sure the fortress walls don’t fall. No, to make sure they fall a little later, send only the ones suitable for it. We’ll need a few Angels as well.”
Derus shook his head, showing no intention of going personally despite the White Blood Cult’s request for aid.
“Then, Master…”
“The Four Kings are gathered at the White Blood Cult Main Headquarters. Zieghart, the Magic Tower, Balkan, and even Owen, who is lying in wait.”
As he raised a hand with a faint smile, holy power surged forth and a white gate opened.
“Only a fool would let this opportunity pass.”
Derus licked his lips like a man staring at a feast and stepped into the dimensional rift.
“Three of the Five Kings will disappear today. Prepare the banquet.”
Without giving Kubara time to respond, Derus vanished into the white dimension.
He did not arrive on the elegant navy carpet, but on a blue-green grassland, a sly smile hanging on his lips.
“The King of the Grasslands, the Lord of Beasts, hiding in such a shabby hut. What a waste.”
Derus frowned as he looked at the rotting hut, which seemed to have been built out of old timber.
“So you found your way here after all.”
The master of the Beast Union, Ogram, the Black Sword King, creaked open the door and stepped out of the hut.
“You didn’t go to aid the White Blood Cult?”
He furrowed his brows as if he found it absurd.
“I prefer looting an empty house over lending aid.”
Derus let out a long, mocking smile.
“So it turned out exactly as that child said.”
Ogram grinned broadly, as if he had expected Derus to come.
“That child?”
“I’d like to snap your neck with my own hands, but today, you have a different opponent.”
As Ogram let out a heavy breath and stepped back, the sound of footsteps came from inside the hut.
“Hmm?”
Derus turned his gaze toward the hut, his eyes narrowing.
‘Since when?’
He had sensed no one else inside that hut, but a sharp sense of foreboding stabbed into his chest.
Hmm~
With a soft hum, a young man in gray martial attire stepped out of the hut where Ogram had been staying.
A black eyepatch covered both of his eyes, yet his movements were smooth, as if he could see everything perfectly.
“Red hair and a black sword…”
Derus’s lips twitched slightly as he looked at the black sword hanging at the swordsman’s waist.
“The Dark Sword Saint? Why are you here…?”
His eyes widened, as if he had never imagined meeting Darkhan in a place like this.
“The Dark Sword Saint…”
Darkhan shook a finger as he turned toward Derus.
“I threw that name away.”
“What…?”
“I’m just a blind swordsman who barely escaped becoming a beggar.”
He stepped right in front of Derus and drew his black sword.
“When I was called Sword God, I was not free. When I abandoned my eyes, I was not at peace. Thanks to that child, I became a true beggar, let go of the past, and a new path opened before me. I suppose I should be grateful.”
Darkhan recalled Raon’s voice as he leveled his black sword at Derus.
Gooooooo!
The once-calm sky above the grassland trembled, and the earth roared as if enraged.
Not just this grassland, but the world itself seemed to regard Derus Robert as an enemy as a chilling killing intent spread across the heavens.
Having lost his eyes and abandoned his status, the swordsman’s will, which pursued perfection, had already reached the pinnacle of this world.
“Not a bad sword, just as that child said.”
Darkhan smiled in satisfaction. He crooked a finger at Derus, who was frowning.
“Perfect as an appetizer before the feast.”
