Chapter 1035 – 1035. The Plum Blossom Swordsman Reincarnated Into The Baek Family
The carriage rumbles along.
Inside, I gazed out at the passing scenery. The landscape, filled with trees, swayed. More accurately, it was the carriage that was swaying. In this world, properly paved roads were only found inside cities; there were no roads paved outside of them. The carriage shook, but I felt no vibrations, only comfort. It was the power of magic.
This carriage was heading to the main family estate.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one heading there.
Inside the carriage were me and Yuria. Yuria, sitting next to me, had her eyes closed, her head resting on my shoulder. She was exhausted, likely from our recent intimacy.
‘Even though Yuria became a Grand Master, I still win in bed.’
Physically, she was fine. It was just that the continuous pleasure had mentally worn her out. Or rather, she was relaxed. I continued to look outside, my hand resting on Yuria’s waist.
This carriage wasn’t alone. Surrounding it were female knights on horseback, acting as escorts. Among them was Floy, an Aura Master and the captain of the knights. Neither monsters nor bandits were a match for her.
And in the carriage behind us was Kyle. Aside from Yuria, there were three Aura Masters. It was a force capable of collapsing and occupying any ordinary city in a single day.
The carriage, which had been speeding along, stopped as evening approached. The knights and maids who had come along skillfully prepared the campsite.
“Master, we have enemies. It seems they are assassins. There are 35 of them. They are approaching slowly from about 2 kilometers away. They are being cautious, so they must all be top-tier assassins. If you order it, I will take care of them.”
To notice assassins approaching from 2 kilometers away. Is this what it means to be a Grand Master? I was impressed as I looked around. Neither I, nor Floy, nor Kyle had noticed the assassins.
Who could have sent the assassins?
‘It’s obvious. It’s Zent. In the original story, he didn’t hesitate to use any means when cornered.’
He must have read the letter I sent to Ention. Whether he intercepted it or secretly examined its contents. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have acted so hastily.
‘Zent must have thought it was over once I arrived at the main family estate.’
The distance to the main estate was now short. We could arrive in about two hours, but we decided to arrive tomorrow morning. It was Yuria’s idea to arrive in the morning. The plan was to start the day with a bang and resolve the succession issue in one go.
‘It’s impossible to hire 35 top-tier assassins overnight. He must have been preparing beforehand. He was probably preparing for Kyle, not me.’
Aura Masters are said to have transcended humanity, but they are still human. Looking back at history books, there were many cases of them being assassinated. Especially when they had just become Aura Masters.
‘Is Zent planning to kill me and Kyle at the same time? Two Aura Masters?’
Yuria’s existence was still unknown, and Floy had not officially returned. If Zent had known that Floy was escorting me, he wouldn’t have sent assassins, no matter how desperate he was. Floy was already known for her extensive experience.
‘Zent, you must be really desperate. Your last-ditch effort is disappointing.’
I summoned the Hwaryeon Flying Blades and held them in my hand.
“Do you intend to take action yourself?”
“I haven’t had a proper real battle since becoming an Aura Master. I need to experience the power of an Aura Master this time.”
“Understood.”
I asked Yuria and headed in the direction of the assassins. I told Floy and the other knights to rest.
‘35 top-tier assassins. Since I know about them first, they can’t use their greatest advantage, surprise.’
Most of them were probably mid-level Aura Experts or higher.
‘This is doable? I’ll show them why an Aura Master is an Aura Master.’
At some point, Yuria disappeared. She had used shadow magic to conceal herself. She was definitely nearby. I focused and spread my senses. I couldn’t feel Yuria’s presence at all. When I used the Heavenly Eye, I could barely see Yuria’s outline. She was about 5 meters away from me.
I crossed my arms and waited for the assassins to arrive. About 15 minutes later, the assassins appeared.
I could see 12 of them. The other 23 were hidden from my sight. They were all wearing masks and carrying weapons, as befitting assassins. True to their profession, they moved without a sound, like ghosts.
“Were you waiting for us?”
One of the assassins spoke. His voice was low and deep. He was at least in his 40s. He was probably the leader of the assassins.
“Without further ado, I’ll ask. Did Zent send you?”
“We do not speak about our clients.”
It was definitely Zent.
Zent was the only one who would do something so foolish when cornered. There was also Princess Eileen, a political rival, but she became more composed when cornered.
“Who are you?”
“Are you asking an assassin for their identity?”
“I don’t want a proper answer. I’m asking what organization you belong to.”
In this world, there were several assassin groups, also known as assassin guilds. They would not reveal their own identities, but they would always reveal the name of their assassin group. Assassination was, after all, a way to make a living. To gain higher value, fame was essential, even if it was infamy.
“Haha. You’re calm. You have the spirit befitting someone who reached the level of Aura Master at a young age. Very well. I’ll tell you. We are the Dark Emperor.”
“…The Dark Emperor?”
“Haha. You’re surprised, as expected. Of course. Even little kids know our name.”
The Dark Emperor.
They were legendary assassins who had annihilated the Helbrit Dukedom, causing a stir in the world. The tragedy of the Helbrit Dukedom was so legendary that their infamy was well-known. The Dark Emperor still occasionally operated, and it was said that no one targeted by them could survive.
The identity of that legendary assassin, the Dark Emperor, was Yuria.
“You’re really the Dark Emperor?”
“That’s right.”
“Wasn’t the Dark Emperor just one person?”
I heard a sound of air escaping from him. He was mocking my words.
“Many people misunderstand. But think about it logically. Is it possible for one assassin to annihilate the Helbrit Dukedom? Of course, it’s impossible alone. But if it’s not just one person, it’s a different story.”
“So you’re saying you annihilated the Helbrit Dukedom?”
“That’s right. Our assassin group is the Dark Emperor. Consider it an honor to die by our hands.”
He was confidently lying.
The idea that the Dark Emperor was not actually one person but a term referring to an assassin group was quite plausible. If I didn’t know the Dark Emperor’s identity, I might have believed it.
“That’s quite scary.”
I raised the Hwaryeon Flying Blades. Mana moved from my core. Mana swirled around the blades. The blue sword energy that had been burning fiercely condensed into a sword aura.
Sword Aura.
Aura Blade.
I had already used it in the [God’s Atlantis] world and the [Ascension to the Light] world, but it felt new when I used it in the [Baekhwan] world. And the actual sensation was slightly different in each world.
“…Do you think you can survive against us? Give up. Then we’ll give you time to write your will.”
“Why is the Dark Emperor’s tongue so long? Are you scared of losing to me?”
“Ha… You’re arrogant just because you became an Aura Master at a young age. I’ll end your life. …Before that, I’ll ask one last thing. How did you know we were coming? Only we and the client know about this. Did the client leak the information?”
“I predicted you would come. Tomorrow is a very important day. If your client is who I think he is… he would try to target me before I arrive at the main family estate.”
“…A prediction. Impressive.”
He was slightly impressed.
And immediately after, five assassins emerged from the darkness and rushed towards me.
‘Acceleration, Instant.’
In the slowed-down world, I moved my mana. Even if I didn’t consciously do it, the Eternal Heaven Qi Gong reacted to my will.
Crackling.
Lightning gathered in my lower body. I used that lightning to jump upwards.
My vision changed. The surroundings opened up. I could see the bewildered assassins below and the tops of the trees. I had soared about 20 meters into the sky. I was slightly taken aback. I had jumped about four times higher than I had expected.
‘When I trained after becoming an Aura Master, it wasn’t this much….’
Maybe it was because it was a real battle, but my condition was exceptionally good today.
I inhaled as I fell. The cold night air entered deep into my body. As if stimulated by it, the lightning within my body writhed.
Crackling, crackling.
Blue currents writhed throughout my body. I gripped the Hwaryeon Flying Blades tightly. The lightning turned into red lightning as it flowed into the Hwaryeon Flying Blades. I held the blades in reverse grip. The tips of the blades pointed towards the ground.
Eternal Heaven Style (影天流) Falling Thunder (落雷).
I fell to the ground, wrapped in red lightning.
Boom!
As I crashed to the ground, red currents swept through the assassins. The assassins, struck by the currents, fell to the ground without resistance.
“That lightning is dangerous! Get away! Get away and fight from a distance!”
The assassins quickly created distance. 20 assassins had revealed themselves. About 10 were still hiding in the darkness.
‘How many did I miss?’
In this tense battle situation, it was difficult to grasp all the opponents at once.
‘I can just reduce them one by one.’
Rumbling!
Wrapped in red lightning, I started running towards the nearest assassin. My body felt exceptionally light. It was as if I had become real lightning, and my body had lost its mass.
I swung my blade at the neck of the assassin in front. The assassin’s head flew off. The assassin’s eyes widened belatedly as he realized he was dead. At the same time, hidden weapons flew from all directions. Daggers, tiny blades smaller than fingernails, and poison-coated throwing stars.
I reacted instinctively.
I unleashed lightning in all directions. The hidden weapons that touched the lightning fell vertically to the ground. I had used magnetism.
I ran across the ground, unleashing killing intent towards the enemies. I swung my blade, lighter than a feather. Each time I swung my blade, an assassin died. Red lightning roared, following the blade.
‘Slow…! Too slow!’
I hadn’t even used Instant, but the world seemed slow. Well, it was a bit faster than when I used Instant. When I used Instant, it looked much slower.
Still, it was much better than Instant. Instant returned to normal as soon as I moved even slightly. But now, I was moving in a slowed-down world. Even as I moved, the world continued to move slowly.
Rumbling!
It was when I had cut down seven assassins. I didn’t know how many seconds had passed in real time, but it felt like less than 10 seconds when something went wrong with my body. My body was hot. My legs, arms, and internal organs were screaming. My head was throbbing.
But I would rather die than miss this moment. I ignored my body’s screams and moved.
Rumbling!
I broke through the poisonous smoke and chased after the fleeing assassins. The slashes tore through the ground and ripped through the trees. The scorched marks were the traces of lightning.
I had cut down 26 assassins.
I reached my limit.
It was a real limit. The slowed-down world returned to its original speed. But for some reason, the world was tinted gray.
‘…My body is a mess. It’s hard to distinguish colors. My internal organs seem to be dead… Is my heart even beating?’
It didn’t seem to be.
I looked at the assassin in front of me. The one who seemed to be the leader of the assassins was looking at me like I was a monster.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve faced an Aura Master. What is this… What is this…!”
It was the Eternal Heaven Style and lightning.
I had simply completely abandoned the shadow aspect of the Eternal Heaven Style. That alone had produced this much power.
‘…Honestly, I don’t know the details either. Wiyu. You were right.’
My strength was leaving me. Yuria appeared next to me.
“You’ve done well. I will take care of the rest. Please rest, Master.”
