The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman

– “You’re going to put a leash on a Transcendant?”

Wrath’s eyes widened as he looked at Raon.

– “What kind of bullshit is that?”

He tilted his head, as if wondering whose leash Raon was going to grab.

‘The situation of the Five Kings and Four Demons has changed now.’

Raon twisted his lips as he gripped the hilt of Heavenly Drive for the first time in a while.

‘The balance has been broken since The Fallen One died.’

The Fallen One had died in the last war, and the helmeted and masked demons he led had also been wiped out in large numbers. It was no exaggeration to say Eden’s remaining strength was less than half of what it used to be.

‘Before that, the Black Tower collapsed.’

Unlike Eden, where the Heavenly Demon was still alive, the Black Tower had completely collapsed with the death of its sole leader, the Black Tower Lord.

‘And…’

Raon raised a finger and tapped the window where sunlight shimmered.

‘The Holy Sword Alliance, one of the pillars of the Four Demons, isn’t on their side, but neutral.’

Rektor and the Holy Sword Alliance would not side with the Five Kings, but they would not participate in the war with the Four Demons either. They would never deviate from their absolute neutrality.

‘In reality, it’s not the Five Kings and Four Demons, but more like the Five Kings and Three Demons.’

Some of the Transcenders of the Five Kings were injured, but aside from Ogram, they were ultimately recoverable wounds.

It was no exaggeration to say the Five Kings now held a clear advantage over the Four Demons.

– “Then what about the Archangels?”

Wrath frowned as he looked up at the blue sky.

– “Each of those bastards is as good as a top-tier Transcendant. I hate to admit it, but there are some who have reached my level.”

‘Of course, I remember.’

Raon let out a heavy sigh.

‘However, seeing that Derus isn’t moving, he probably hasn’t summoned all the Archangels yet.’

Derus was holding his breath and gathering his strength. Considering his perfectionist personality, it was clear he still had time.

– “Even if it takes time to summon them, that bastard will eventually call out the other Archangels.”

Wrath clicked his tongue, saying Derus’s eyes held that kind of desire.

‘I know. That’s why I have a plan.’

Raon waved his hand, telling him not to worry.

– “What’s the plan?”

‘It’s a secret for now. You’ll probably find out soon enough.’

“- I don’t know why, but hearing you say you have a plan suddenly gives me the creeps.”

Wrath shuddered, saying it felt like the moment before getting ripped off for compensation.

‘You’re quick on the uptake.’

Raon licked his lips as he looked at Wrath.

– “Huh?”

‘It’s nothing.’

He waved him off and looked back at the window where warmth had settled.

‘Anyway, the forces that have been watching the Five Kings and Four Demons will now have to decide which path to take. Most of them will crawl to us.’

He narrowed his eyes at the sky, so clear it looked like the sea.

– “But why are you going to put a leash on them?”

‘Because we might miss an opportunity. We need to prepare in advance.’

Raon tied a letter to the leg of a black swallow from the Flying Swallow Guild, which he had received in advance, and sent it out the window.

Whoosh!

The swallow soared high into the sky as if it had already decided its path, then flew south.

– “Now I understand what you mean.”

Wrath nodded calmly as he watched the swallow’s tail vanish.

‘But before that…’

Raon licked his lips as he looked toward the Fifth Training Ground.

‘Should I check on my kids’ leashes first?’

===

Clang!

Burren and Mark Gorton clashed swords and retreated to opposite sides.

“This is absurd.”

Burren chuckled as he looked at his thinly trembling sword.

“You became a Grand Master later than us, but you’re already at the same level….”

He expressed his admiration with surprise and offered his congratulations.

“It’s thanks to the teachings of the Palace Lord.”

Mark Gorton lowered his sword to the ground and nodded calmly.

“He told me it wasn’t too late yet, so I was able to reach this level.”

He said he hadn’t given up thanks to Raon, and tightened his grip on his sword.

“The flowers that bloom in hardship are the most beautiful.”

Burren congratulated him again and applauded.

“If you’re done, get out of the way!”

Martha shoved Burren aside and stepped in front of Mark Gorton.

“Uncle. You have to fight me too. I won’t go easy on you like Burren.”

She demanded a proper fight and shook her hands like a street thug.

“Alright!”

Mark Gorton nodded, as if telling her to come at him, and blocked her Sword Strike head-on.

Clang!

The clash of two Grand Masters sent a powerful Aura wave surging through the Fifth Training Ground.

“Next, I….”

Runaan slowly raised her hand, as if she wanted to spar with Mark Gorton too.

“Yawn!”

Krein yawned widely as he watched Mark Gorton and Martha spar.

“It’s peaceful. Because the Palace Lord isn’t here. It can’t get any more comfortable than this.”

He leaned against a tree, saying there was no need to be on guard.

“You’re comfortable because the Palace Lord isn’t here?”

Dorian rolled his eyes, as if asking what he meant.

“When the Palace Lord is here, I have to be careful even when I’m training with all my might.”

Krein snorted as he looked up into the branches.

“That person works so hard. It makes me feel like I’m slacking off.”

He shook his head, saying he hated that feeling.

“That’s a good thing.”

Trevin lifted a finger as he looked at Mark Gorton, Krein, and Dorian.

“People improve when they feel they are lacking.”

He frowned, saying he couldn’t train properly because Raon wasn’t there.

“That’s because you haven’t been under our Palace Lord for very long!”

Krein waved his hand vigorously.

“He doesn’t just give us the stink eye! He suddenly comes up and asks for a spar, then beats us up!”

He said Raon’s training was far more brutal than Burren’s or Martha’s, and he gagged as if he might throw up.

“I wish he would stop with that concentration training.”

“Yeah. I feel like I’m going to die if I do that. My body won’t move.”

“I hate sparring with the Palace Lord. I can’t even hit him once, and I just get hit. What’s the fun in that?”

“The intensity keeps getting stronger. I don’t even feel like I’m improving.”

“Isn’t the Palace Lord training us just to beat us up?”

The swordsmen who agreed with Krein gathered around him and nodded wildly.

“…….”

Dorian, however, closed his eyes tightly, as if he had sensed something.

“So you all know too!”

Krein stomped as he looked at the swordsmen gathered around him.

“I really don’t understand! Monsters don’t understand our feelings!”

He gnashed his teeth, saying people like Burren, Martha, and Runaan didn’t understand their pain.

“Raon’s training has made us stronger, that’s true. But we need something different now. It’s always sparring, always concentration training. It’s boring and not fun!”

Krein snorted, calling Raon the master of repetition.

“Dorian. Why are you keeping your mouth shut? You have complaints too. Say something.”

He patted Dorian’s shoulder, telling him to vent.

“Ugh.”

Dorian lowered the hand covering his mouth and pointed behind Krein.

“N-no way….”

Krein swallowed hard, fear crawling up his spine as he followed Dorian’s trembling finger.

“Is he behind me?”

“Uh-huh….”

Dorian nodded, on the verge of tears.

“Ahaha….”

Krein trembled like a fish on a skewer and slowly turned around.

Raon stood behind the tree Krein had been leaning against, red eyes gleaming.

“P-Palace Lord! When did you arrive?”

Krein contorted every muscle in his face and forced a smile.

“Just now.”

Raon nodded calmly, as if he hadn’t heard anything, and headed toward the platform.

“What, what? Didn’t he hear us?”

Krein licked his lips as he watched Raon climb onto the platform.

“I-I think so?”

“The Palace Lord arrived just as we finished talking.”

“T-thank goodness….”

The other swordsmen muttered that they’d barely survived and let out relieved sighs.

“I almost died.”

Krein wiped cold sweat from his forehead as if he’d just crawled out of hell.

“Ugh….”

Dorian, who knew Raon best, shut his eyes as if he could already see Krein’s future.

Thud.

As Raon stood at the edge of the platform, the Light Wind Palace swordsmen—who had been scattered doing different things—gathered in front of him and snapped to attention.

“Did you all take care of your personal training while I was gone?”

Raon lowered his red gaze and met their eyes.

“Yes!”

The Light Wind Palace swordsmen answered in perfect unison, without wavering.

“Everyone has been participating in training since dawn, even during breaks.”

Burren reported that everyone had been focused on training without any issues.

“Everyone’s used to it, so they train on their own even if I don’t tell them to.”

Martha smiled brightly, proud of them.

“There’s only one person who’s late….”

Runaan nodded, saying there were fewer latecomers.

“That late person is you!”

Martha shouted at Runaan as if she couldn’t believe it.

“I didn’t say it wasn’t me?”

“Then why are you talking like it’s someone else’s problem!”

She gnashed her teeth, telling her to get it together.

“Hmm….”

Raon left Martha and Runaan, who had started bickering, and looked at the Light Wind Palace swordsmen again.

“It’s clear you’ve been training diligently. Good job. However….”

He praised them, then narrowed his eyes sharply.

“The results of your training don’t seem to be coming out properly.”

He shook his head, sensing their level hadn’t changed much despite all that effort.

“Well, that’s….”

“You can’t get stronger right away just by training!”

“Yeah. It takes time….”

Burren, Martha, and Runaan sighed, saying they’d passed the stage where effort showed immediate results.

“Familiarity is a scary thing.”

Raon tapped Heavenly Drive’s scabbard out of habit.

“When your body and mind adapt to difficult training, there’s not much more you can gain from repeating the same thing.”

Swordsmanship was honed through repetition, but physical and mental strength stopped growing once they became accustomed to the burden.

“To be honest, you are strong.”

Raon lowered his hand toward them.

“You have physical strength, mental strength, and swordsmanship beyond your current level. You’ve also accumulated a lot of practical experience, so you won’t lose to opponents of the same level.”

He had strengthened their mental fortitude through concentration training, trained their bodies through harsh labor, and built their combat sense through constant sparring. It was no exaggeration to say the Light Wind Palace was the strongest single military unit.

“However, there is something lacking in you.”

Raon raised a finger and pointed to his dantian.

“Aura.”

They had decent Aura, but because they were still young, they often fell behind opponents of the same level in both quantity and quality.

“So I’ve come up with a new training method. This….”

Raon smiled coldly as Krein started trembling the moment he heard the word “new.”

“Will definitely not be boring.”

“Uh….”

Krein realized Raon had heard everything he’d said, and his face went pale.

“First….”

Raon swirled a finger, as if choosing.

“Ugh….”

Krein stepped forward as if he’d sensed his fate.

“Let’s start with Martha.”

Raon reached out to Martha first, not Krein.

“Not Krein?”

Martha tilted her head, confused.

“Yeah. You first.”

Raon smiled and stepped in close.

“Sit down and look forward.”

“Okay.”

Martha trusted him completely and turned her back to him.

Whoosh.

Raon focused the heat of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the cold of Glacier onto his fingertips, then drove it into Martha’s Mana Circuit.

“Ugh!”

Martha’s body jolted from the sudden pain, her trembling eyes snapping wide.

“The training this time is to push back the Aura I inject with your own Aura.”

Raon continued forcing Aura into her trembling Mana Circuit and smiled faintly.

‘I never thought I’d use this as training.’

Originally, it was a torture method he used to extract information from enemies.

But after hearing Krein complain that training was boring, he decided to twist it into a new method of Aura training.

‘Not bad for something made on the spot.’

Unlike torture, Martha could resist with her own Aura. The quality and density of her Aura would be forced to grow stronger, like muscles that hardened after being torn apart.

‘If she endures this to the end…’

It might surpass even absorbing a top-tier Elixir.

No one could absorb every last effect of an Elixir.

But if she endured this, she would gain Aura stronger than if she’d absorbed a top-tier Elixir perfectly.

‘Of course…’

Raon chuckled as he looked at Martha, her face flushed crimson.

‘It won’t be easy.’

This training required her to keep circulating her Aura cultivation technique while enduring constant, intense pain. It was the harshest training so far. Most people wouldn’t be able to withstand it with sheer will alone.

“Ugh….”

Martha clenched her teeth so hard it made a sound, then glared at Krein. It looked like she believed she was suffering because of his mouth, and she poured fury into her eyes.

“Then next….”

Raon raised his hand to pick the next person.

“I….”

“Burren.”

Raon ignored Krein stepping forward and called Burren, driving Aura into him the same way.

“Ugh….”

Burren also bit his lip, enduring the unbearable pain, and glared at Krein.

“Next, Runaan.”

“W-wait a minute!”

Krein shoved Runaan aside and lunged forward.

“P-Please! Do me first! I’m begging you!”

He wrung his hands like a fly, pleading for his life.

“That won’t do.”

Raon shook his head, feeling the cold gazes turning toward Krein.

“This training was created thanks to you. So you’ll be the last one to receive it.”

He said he’d take good care of him, then pressed the heat of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the cold of Glacier into Runaan’s back.

“Hiss….”

Even Runaan, who rarely reacted, put strength into her blank eyes from the pain and slowly looked up at Krein.

“Wah! Stop!”

Krein screamed and slammed his forehead into the ground.

– “I’ve met many demons, but…”

Wrath clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t believe it.

– “You’re the first bastard I’ve seen who dries people up like that, you sun-like bastard!”

‘The sun is a compliment in this world, right?’

Raon nodded, accepting it.

– “It’s not a compliment, it’s an insult!”

===

One week later.

The Light Wind Palace swordsmen overcame the Aura of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Glacier that Raon had driven into them and made it their own.

Raon nodded slightly as he watched them concentrate and cultivate.

‘They’re adapting faster than I thought.’

He’d expected it to take a month, but they overcame his Aura far sooner than expected.

‘And the results are beyond what I expected.’

He started this to raise their Aura level, but they had also gained resistance to heat and cold.

It seemed all the training they’d done so far had combined into a stronger effect than he’d anticipated.

‘Of course…’

Raon chuckled as he felt the murderous intent rolling off Krein, who was cultivating at the very front, and the swordsmen behind him glaring as if they wanted to kill him.

‘He must be having a really hard time.’

They seemed convinced this training existed solely because of Krein, and they were cursing him with their eyes. It felt like if Raon vanished for even a moment, they might beat him to death on the spot.

– “No matter how I think about it, I feel sorry for your enemies.”

Wrath clasped his hands together, saying he’d pray for their souls from now on.

‘There’s no need. They’re all bastards who deserve to die.’

Raon shook his head coldly as a pure white bird descended from the sky and landed in front of him. A red dot was engraved on its forehead, and it carried a mysterious aura like clouds draped over a high mountain.

“Hmm….”

Raon took the white paper tied to the bird’s leg and unfolded it.

‘It’s finally here.’

The letter, written in elegant handwriting, stated that he was welcome to visit at any time.

“Stop.”

Raon gestured for them to withdraw their Aura, and the Light Wind Palace swordsmen raised their heads with weary eyes.

“Is it already over? I can still do it!”

Martha gasped for breath, bracing her hands on her knees.

“Yeah. I’m starting to get a feel for it now….”

Burren smacked his lips, sounding disappointed as well.

“I’ve gotten used to the fire too….”

Runaan nodded, her face slightly flushed, as if she had adapted to the heat of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.

“A new mission is coming. Be prepared.”

Raon dusted off his clothes and tidied his disheveled hair.

“A mission? There shouldn’t be any missions for a while.”

Trevin narrowed his eyes at the white paper.

“It’s not coming from above. I’m going to suggest it to the Lord.”

Raon wrote that he would arrive soon, then tied the letter to the white bird’s leg.

“What kind of mission are you suggesting…?”

Dorian swallowed hard, as if terrified.

“The two remaining of the Five Divine Order.”

Raon smiled coldly as he watched two thin streaks of cloud sink beneath the majestic sun.

“I need to bring the Thespian Emperor Ariel and the Evil Sword Marquis to their knees.”