The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman - Chapter 613

—

Risrun entered the Sran tribe’s village silently, frowning.

‘He really knows how to command someone he just met.’

While Raon dashed to the battlefield between the Sran tribe and the assassins, he ordered Risrun to stay in the village. It was said that an explosive device was hidden inside the village, but Risrun found it hard to believe. It wasn’t easy to hide something like that inside a village, though it might be possible outside.

“Hm…”

Thinking back, Raon didn’t seem to like having him around from the beginning. He had given Risrun a look as if questioning why he was following him when they entered the burning forest.

‘What’s his reason? Does he think I might steal some martial arts secrets?’

Considering his experience as an assassin and an informant, it wasn’t impossible. Raon might suspect Risrun of trying to gather information on martial arts techniques.

‘He’s quite narrow-minded for someone of his stature.’

Even though the Black Market and Zieghart were semi-allied, it was amusing to think Raon still harbored such thoughts.

‘Still, just in case…’

If Raon truly sent him to protect the village, Risrun decided to create an escape route. As he was working on that, the golden sun and silver moon rose in the dark sky.

‘What is that…’

As he gaped in astonishment, a tremendous aura stormed beneath the sun and moon.

It was Raon. Standing at the center of the battlefield with his blazing and frosty swords, he single-handedly held back both the shamans of the Sran tribe and the assassins.

He didn’t use any special sword techniques or immense aura. His sword strikes were ordinary, yet the Sran tribe’s shamans stumbled, and the assassins were torn apart like paper.

In the end, he froze dozens of assassins to the ground. Achieving such a feat with just his sword was something Risrun, despite having seen countless battles, had never witnessed before.

After that, no one dared to wield their weapons against Raon. With just a few swings of his sword, he quelled the malice and killing intent on the battlefield. A single monster named Raon Zieghart ended the war.

‘Wait…’

Watching Raon fight, Risrun realized someone with such overwhelming strength wouldn’t care about hiding his martial arts.

‘So he was serious?’

Risrun quickly expanded his senses. He could feel the presence of assassins approaching the village through the faintly burning flames. They stopped at a certain distance and sent a faint wave of aura into the village, which triggered a massive explosion.

**Boom!**

An enormous wall of fire surged, enveloping the entire village. The heat was so intense that it made it hard to breathe. A fiery prison was erected, making escape impossible.

“What’s going on!”

“Why is there suddenly a fire here…”

“Everyone out! We’ll die if we stay here!”

The elders in the village brought the children out of their homes, but the flames were so fierce that they stood helplessly, biting their lips.

**Whoosh!**

Risrun drew his sword. Using his sword energy and wind, he opened the escape route he had prepared earlier.

“This way, come this way!”

The Sran tribe’s elders and children widened their eyes in surprise.

“Thank you! Whoever you are, thank you!”

“Everyone, come this way!”

“Quickly, before the fire spreads further!”

The tribe members hesitated at first but decided to trust the path opened for them and evacuated the burning village.

Risrun swallowed dryly as he watched them leave.

‘It was true?’

Is this even possible?

He could believe someone might have the strength to end a war single-handedly and detect hidden assassins. But finding unlit explosives hidden in the village? That was beyond comprehension. It was like dealing with a god rather than a mere genius or monster.

As Risrun made his way out of the village, he looked back.

He couldn’t find Raon, only the Sran tribe’s warriors and shamans running towards him with expressions of sadness and anger.

But they relaxed when they saw the villagers were safe and approached him.

“Thank you!”

“We’re deeply grateful!”

“How can we ever repay you?”

The Sran tribe’s chief and warriors bowed their heads, expressing their gratitude.

“N-No, it wasn’t me…”

Risrun’s hands trembled as he looked at the genuinely thankful people.

‘Come to think of it…’

This is the first time I’ve received such gratitude.

Having lived as an assassin and an informant, Risrun had never received genuine thanks from anyone.

Receiving heartfelt gratitude from these people filled him with a strange, tingling sensation.

It wasn’t a bad feeling, but he knew he had to make things clear.

“I didn’t do it. Raon sent me to protect the village.”

“Raon…”

“He thought of that much?”

The chief of the Sran tribe sighed and looked towards where Raon had been. The tribe members, too, searched for Raon with surprised expressions.

Risrun followed their gaze and shook his head.

‘He’s truly an unpredictable man.’

—

Raon watched the trembling assassin with the covered face and licked his lips.

‘This one is the leader.’

All the assassins present were skilled, but the one before him was the strongest. He was undoubtedly the head of the assassination group behind today’s events.

“How… how did you get here…”

“You’re called the Phantom Assassination Squad, aren’t you?”

Judiel had mentioned that Jubel belonged to the Phantom Assassination Squad.

“What’s your goal?”

“What are you talking about?”

The squad leader stepped back, swallowing dryly.

“You attacked us head-on instead of assassinating. That’s no different from a moth to a flame.”

Raon narrowed his eyes at the squad leader.

‘There’s definitely another objective.’

Assassins retreat when plans go awry, not charge forward recklessly. Their goal wasn’t the assassination of the Sran tribe; it had to be something else.

“Nonsense!”

At the squad leader’s shout, hidden assassins began approaching silently.

‘These are the real ones.’

These assassins knew how to hide their presence and perfectly conceal their movements. They were at least two levels higher than the ones Raon had previously faced. This confirmed that the assassination of the Sran tribe wasn’t their true objective.

**Whoosh!**

Assassins hidden in the darkness fired their daggers. The trajectory was swift and complex, forming a net-like pattern. It was a technique that combined well-practiced throwing skills with extensive experience.

‘But…’

It’s meaningless.

Raon stepped into the net of daggers. Observing their deadly paths, he raised the Heavenly Sword. The silver blade shimmered as it drew a trajectory through the darkness.

**Crunch!**

The Heavenly Sword extended effortlessly, cutting through the net of daggers like paper.

Seeing the assassins’ eyes widen in shock, Raon drew the Soul Requiem Sword. The red blade hummed as it left the sheath, creating a resonant sound.

**Buzz!**

The sound pierced the assassins’ senses, crushing their nerves.

“Ah!”

“No!”

“Argh!”

The assassins dropped their weapons and fell to their knees, writhing in pain.

Raon activated the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. Flames rose from his dantian, enveloping his hand as he prepared to swing the Heavenly Sword. The squad leader moved, flinging dozens of dagger-shaped aura blades that tore through the air.

“Stay focused! He’s weakened!”

The squad leader blocked the path of the Heavenly Sword, urging his men. The assassins, recovering from the shock, grabbed their daggers and charged. Their movements were swift, their daggers aimed at Raon’s neck and heart.

“You’re not wrong, but…”

Raon smirked, lowering his eyebrows.

“You’re not capable of handling me.”

He widened his field of vision, capturing all the incoming daggers and assassins in his sight. Raising the Heavenly Sword, he set its blade along the horizon of flames.

The black robe fluttered as darkness was torn away. The assassins’ necks were severed, and they fell to the ground. With a single strike, more than ten assassins lost their lives.

“H-How…”

The squad leader’s eyes bulged with disbelief. He couldn’t comprehend how assassins from different directions and distances could be killed with one strike.

“I told you.”

Raon approached the squad leader, shaking his head.

“You can’t handle me.”

“Guh!”

The squad leader stepped back. His body seemed to melt into the darkness, disappearing in an instant.

‘I need to escape!’

It seemed using the Sword’s Manifestation consumed most of his aura, but it had no effect on that monster. Fighting head-on was impossible. He had to escape somehow.

He exerted his full strength in his footwork, but his surroundings didn’t change. It felt like he was stuck in place.

‘What… what’s happening?’

He trembled, turning back to see his legs were missing. Realizing this, unbearable pain surged through him.

“Argh!”

The squad leader grabbed the withered grass, screaming. Looking again, he saw his legs severed below the knees, bleeding profusely.

**Step.**

Raon lowered the Heavenly Sword and approached the squad leader.

“The only way a trapped rat can survive is by cutting off its legs.”

He looked down, meeting the squad leader’s eyes.

“Of course, you won’t survive even if you cut off your legs.”

“Ugh…”

His face turned pale with fear and pain.

“Speak.”

Raon placed a hand on the squad leader’s back, tilting his chin.

“What was your goal?”

“Heh…”

The squad leader laughed weakly, lifting his head.

“You plan to kill me anyway, right?”

“An assassin should know the difference between dying easily and dying painfully.”

“Don’t make me laugh, boy. I decide my own death.”

He sneered defiantly.

“No, your life isn’t yours to end.”

Raon smirked and yanked the squad leader’s jaw, removing a hidden poison capsule from his teeth.

“W-What… how did you…”

“You assassins are so old-fashioned.”

Raon tossed the poison capsule away and shook his head.

“Since you rejected the easy way, I’ll send you on a hard path.”

As he said this, he channeled the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s heat and Glacia’s cold into the squad leader’s body, using a torture technique he had developed.

“Guh…”

Despite his body stiffening and being unable to speak, the squad leader groaned in excruciating pain, his entire body trembling. His eyes filled with blood as the torture continued.

Raon sat on the squad leader’s back and gestured to Wrath.

‘Wanna bet on how long he’ll last? If you guess right, I’ll buy you a set of ice cream pearls.’

-What if I lose?

‘How about you give me all your ability points?’

-That doesn’t sound bad.

Wrath nodded, thinking he had a good chance.

-Assassins are tough. He should last at least an hour.

‘Then I’ll bet he breaks within the hour.’

Raon increased the intensity of the torture.

-You cheater!

Wrath screamed, grabbing Raon by the collar.

-Increasing the intensity is cheating!

‘There were no rules against that.’

-That should be basic common sense!

‘Oh, really? I’ll keep that in mind for next time.’

-You’re the worst!

Wrath shouted in disbelief.

“Hurrk…”

The squad leader’s eyes showed he was ready to confess as soon as the torture stopped.

“You should’ve done this sooner.”

Raon released the torture and lifted the squad leader.

“What’s your name?”

“C-Colin. My name is Colin.”

Colin bowed his head, utterly defeated.

-You really are the Demon of Mockery!

Wrath gritted his teeth in frustration.

A message popped up, indicating Raon’s victory in the bet with Wrath.

-This system only responds quickly in these situations! I swear I’ll break it someday…

[All abilities increased by 3 points.]

Another message followed.

-Why did you get 3 points instead of 1?

‘The system’s decision. It never specified how many points.’

-That should have been implied! Obviously, it should be 1!

‘Oh, my bad. I’ll keep that in mind for next time.’

Raon waved dismissively.

-This is driving me insane!

Wrath shouted at the sky in frustration.

Ignoring Wrath’s tantrum, Raon focused back on Colin.

“So what was your real objective? Don’t give me that nonsense about assassinating the Sran tribe.”

“We were supposed to create a crisis.”

“A crisis?”

“Yes…”

Just as Colin was about to explain, a blue light flickered from his chest, and his heart split open.

**Splurt!**

Blood sprayed, confirming the gruesome reality. Raon looked past Colin’s collapsing body and saw a man with cold, gleaming eyes.

‘Karoon?’

It was Karoon, the Grand Duke of the North, someone Raon hadn’t expected to see here.

‘Why is he here…?’

Karoon was supposed to be on a mission. Raon couldn’t understand why he was here now.

‘Wait a minute!’

If Jubel hadn’t truly escaped from Karoon…

Raon had assumed Karoon sold Jubel to the assassins, but it seemed that Karoon might be behind the Phantom Assassination Squad itself.

‘Yes, that makes sense!’

Neither Jubel nor Judiel had ever truly escaped Karoon’s grasp.

Combining Karoon’s sudden appearance with Colin’s mention of creating a crisis, Raon formulated a theory.

‘If Karoon appears and saves everyone from the burning Sran tribe, he’ll be hailed as a hero by both the Beast Alliance and Zieghart.’

The assassins attacking the tribe weren’t that strong; they were meant to be sacrificial pawns to boost Karoon’s reputation.

‘All of this is because of me.’

Raon had been amassing achievements and becoming a strong contender for succession, prompting Karoon to take drastic measures to secure his position.

‘Killing Colin to silence him is the final proof.’

Karoon had killed Colin to ensure no one could expose his plan.

“Grand Duke Karoon.”

Raon calmed himself and met Karoon’s icy gaze.

“I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I was returning from my mission and saw the fire spreading, so I came to investigate.”

It wasn’t an unreasonable explanation. Karoon was indeed absent on a mission until recently.

“But why did you kill this man?”

“He’s an assassin. Assassins are never to be trusted, not until their last breath.”

Karoon shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Raon watched as Karoon slowly approached, gripping his swords tighter.

‘Is he planning to kill me?’

It’s dangerous…

Karoon’s calm demeanor sent chills down Raon’s spine. It was just the two of them here, and if Karoon decided to attack, Raon stood no chance.

‘Even if I use the Sword’s Manifestation, I can’t win.’

Karoon’s strength surpassed that of the King. Even at full power, Raon would struggle, and after using the Sword’s Manifestation, he was even more vulnerable.

‘Should I run? No, turning my back would be more dangerous.’

Karoon’s swordsmanship was so swift it had beheaded Colin before he even noticed. Any sudden movement could be fatal.

“Raon Zieghart.”

Karoon stopped just within striking distance, his cold eyes piercing.

“What did he tell you?”

“Nothing much.”

Raon smiled calmly, shaking his head.

“I see.”

Karoon’s gaze darkened. It seemed he was ready to end things right here.

Raon tightened his grip on the Heavenly Sword and Soul Requiem Sword, preparing to defend himself when a massive shadow loomed overhead.

**Roar!**

A huge white tiger burst through the forest, roaring fiercely. The man riding it dismounted and stood between Raon and Karoon.

The man’s imposing figure and fierce eyes exuded an aura that seemed to dominate all living beings, causing Raon to tremble unconsciously.

“Hmph…”

Karoon, too, hadn’t expected this arrival and stepped back, frowning.

Raon swallowed dryly and addressed the man who had descended from the white tiger.

“Leader of the Beast Alliance?”