The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman

Raon glanced back as he sprinted toward the faint tearing sound.

‘He’s keeping up better than I expected.’

Mark Gorton hadn’t reached Grand Master yet, but he was close behind, chasing like his life depended on it.

‘Sorry, but I don’t have the spare capacity to care about you today.’

Even with his footwork pushed to the limit, Raon still couldn’t sense Merlin—couldn’t sense anyone. Only worst-case thoughts crowded in, leaving him no room to worry about Mark Gorton.

“If you lose me, return to the family.”

As he spoke, Raon poured Garunua’s Wind and the Supreme Harmony Steps into his steps.

Kyaaaaaaa!

His speed spiked. His vision narrowed. The world darkened at the edges. He dodged trees and boulders by Aura Sense alone and ran straight toward the sound.

– “I’ve found it!”

Wrath’s blue eyes flared as he raised his chubby hand.

– “Keep going this way and you’ll run into a lot of filthy bastards!”

He nodded hard, insisting Raon had the right direction.

‘Okay…’

Raon couldn’t sense them yet, but he trusted Wrath and followed where he pointed.

Boom!

He accelerated again and vaulted a ridge like a cliff. At last, Aura Sense began to catch bodies ahead.

‘Why are there so many…’

Even at the edge of his range, he could feel countless movements.

‘Fighting Spirit!’

Eden’s fiends were chasing her.

Different Fighting Spirits drifted in from afar. Just as he’d expected, it was Eden hunting Merlin.

‘And it’s getting worse?’

Is this really just a pursuit?

As the gap closed, the number of signatures swelled until it was impossible to count.

‘No choice. Move.’

Raon forced more speed and climbed the mountain blocking his view. At this pace, it felt like all his concentration was being spent on not crashing into trees and rocks, but he bit down and endured.

Boom!

He reached the summit in a stride that felt like it could split the mountain—and froze.

Goooooo!

Under the setting sun, humans and monsters swarmed like black ants. The sheer scale sent a chill straight down his spine.

‘What is this…’

They weren’t coming only from the west. Eden’s fiends and the monsters they controlled were flooding in from every direction.

‘Are they trying to erase an entire kingdom, not just catch Merlin?’

It was too many. This wasn’t a chase—it was a net.

‘…Net of Heaven and Earth.’

A formation that cast a net over land and sky, turning the area into a prison no one could escape.

Eden was closing from all sides, sealing the entire region. They meant to prevent Merlin from breaking out—and to stop anyone from reaching her.

– “This King hasn’t seen a sight like this in a long time.”

Even Wrath sounded shaken. A siege of this scale was rare.

– “That crazy woman must’ve done something crazy again.”

He shook his head, muttering that she’d probably stolen the Helm of Eden and fled.

‘Right. This isn’t normal.’

Eden wasn’t simply pursuing. They were laying formations and spells on a massive scale.

Merlin hadn’t just found Eden’s location—she’d caused something inside, and now they were hunting her like this.

‘I was going to hide my presence from here, but that’s impossible.’

The spells blanketing the area made stealth meaningless.

‘Merlin is…’

Raon drew a short breath and stared down at the wide field below.

‘Is she in that forest?’

Eden’s forces were shifting to encircle the forest at the center.

‘The aura of a Transcendant…’

When he focused Aura Sense on that forest, a sharp presence scraped at his skin.

The monster inside was the one who’d driven Merlin into this crisis.

‘Not The Fallen One. Have I met him before? It feels familiar.’

The distance was too great to be sure, but it felt like one of the Transcendants he’d encountered before.

‘But that isn’t the only problem.’

Among the Eden executives maintaining the Net of Heaven and Earth were several Grand Masters, and a small number of Masters.

Individually, they weren’t a threat. But while sustaining a formation like this, they could still turn their blades on him.

‘But…’

Raon scanned the forest again and bit his lip hard.

‘Why can’t I sense Merlin at all?’

He could feel Eden’s fiends and monsters tightening the siege on the far side of the forest, but Merlin’s presence was nowhere.

‘Don’t tell me she’s already…’

– “No.”

Wrath jumped in front of him, cutting off the image of blood that tried to bloom in his mind.

– “She’s still alive.”

He stressed “still,” then narrowed his eyes.

– “But if you don’t move now, your imagination may become reality.”

Wrath was right. Raon had to go—immediately.

Wooooo!

He drew Heavenly Drive and the Soul Requiem Sword and drove both into the ground.

Whaaaaaaa!

A golden sun and a silver moon rose into the darkening sky, replacing the dying light.

‘No time.’

Normally, he’d pick off the commander sustaining the siege first. Now, he couldn’t afford to search.

He would break through by force.

Screech!

Raon gripped the flame-forged Heavenly Drive and the frost-blooded Soul Requiem Sword and dropped into the field.

Kugugugugugu!

Eden’s fiends and the monsters surrounding the forest turned in unison, reacting to the overwhelming pressure of his Sword Field Creation.

“Fire Sword and Ice Sword?”

“It’s—it’s Sword Emperor Raon Zieghart!” (T/N: Let’s go save your Waifuuuuu! Sorry, I’m a Ra-Lin shipper lol)

“St-stop him!”

“Stop him no matter what!”

Eden’s executives recognized the two swords and barked orders.

“Get out of the way.”

Raon swung Heavenly Drive toward the wave rushing to block him.

Huuuuuuuh!

Magnificent flames poured from the blade and swallowed the yellow earth. Fiends and monsters in his path melted away.

‘Good.’

He needed them stunned—needed a gap to slip into the forest.

Raon exhaled once and kicked off the scorched ground. He surged along the burning lane he’d carved—

A massive shadow fell over his head.

Huuuuuuuh!

He looked up. Ogres. Trolls. Giants barreling down to crush him.

‘They recovered fast.’

The one commanding this siege was sharper than he’d expected.

“Buying time won’t matter.”

Raon’s killing intent flared. He drew a full moon with the blue light of the Soul Requiem Sword.

Paaaaaaang!

Cold, beautiful frost bloomed from the blade and shredded the giants into fine ice fragments.

Hoo.

White breath spilled from Raon’s lips as he ran again—straight for the forest.

‘My body is heavy.’

Not exhaustion. Pressure.

It felt like gravity itself had multiplied.

‘They shifted the formation onto me.’

They were concentrating the Net of Heaven and Earth on him, not Merlin—who was likely too drained to keep moving.

‘Sneaky bastards…’

If he had time, he could read the flow and counter it properly. He didn’t.

Chiaaaaaaang!

Raon bit down and activated Ten Thousand Flames and Glacier. Fangs of Insanity and the Blizzard Sword Art tore forward, cutting apart the fiends and monsters trying to seal his advance.

Kuwaaaaaaa!

Flame and frost erupted in succession. Eden’s fiends that rushed in vanished into ash and ice dust.

“Wh-what is this…”

“That power…”

“The Sword Emperor’s reputation was real…”

Even the Eden executives hesitated, trembling.

But the commander didn’t panic. More monsters. More fiends. Constantly thrown into Raon’s path.

‘Block me or not, I’m going through.’

Raon gritted his teeth and pushed forward. His body grew heavier with every step, but he cleaved a path through flesh and steel with Heavenly Drive and the Soul Requiem Sword.

‘Almost there… huh?’

A chill prickled the back of his neck.

An Astral Ring.

Wow!

Raon angled Heavenly Drive and knocked it aside—but that was only the start.

Kugugugugugu!

The ground buckled under him. Fire rained from above. Ice blades fell like hail. Spears and arrows screamed in from all sides.

Crack!

Most of it shattered against his Aura barrier. Still, he had to cut away the heavier spells, curses, and Astral Rings launched by Grand Masters.

‘They changed the Net of Heaven and Earth.’

Raon sliced apart a wind spell snapping at his back.

‘I didn’t break through the siege. I trapped myself inside it.’

They were pouring fiends into the lane he’d opened, stabbing at him from behind while the pressure crushed down from above.

That commander was brilliant.

‘It isn’t lethal. But it means…’

Merlin must be in bad shape.

If they were shifting the formation to suppress him instead of her, then the outcome might already be decided.

‘Do I find the one controlling this first?’

If this kept up, even saving Merlin might not guarantee escape.

He slowed for a heartbeat, trying to pinpoint the commander—but only expendable fodder surfaced to block him. The real one stayed hidden.

‘They’re worse than a cult.’

Even after watching him erase dozens with a single strike, they kept charging without fear.

So Raon cut them down and kept moving.

‘It’s fast… but not fast enough.’

The distance and constant interference stole seconds from him.

Seconds he couldn’t spare.

‘Still. Forward.’

He couldn’t burn everything here. A Transcendant was inside that forest, and The Fallen One could appear at any moment.

He had to save strength and reach Merlin.

Kyaaaaaaa!

Raon broke through ahead with Heavenly Drive and defended behind with the Soul Requiem Sword, forcing his way toward the forest.

‘The pressure keeps getting stronger.’

The Net of Heaven and Earth was woven from the Fighting Spirit of countless fiends. Even as a Transcendant, he couldn’t ignore its weight completely.

He could feel his body sink, his senses dull, his speed gradually bleeding away.

“Get out of my way!”

Raon roared and swept Heavenly Drive, burning the monsters that surged at him.

‘I’ve cut down hundreds, and there are still more…’

The moment he opened a path, it refilled. He had to defend the rear while advancing, and his pace kept slowing.

“Damn bastards!”

Raon shouted, about to draw out the power he’d been saving for the Transcendant—

Rumble!

Lightning crashed down from the mountain and split apart the Eden fiends and sorcerers attacking from behind.

“Haa… Haa…!”

Mark Gorton.

Blood and sweat smeared his face as he nodded hard.

“Go! I’ll guard your back!”

“Get out of here! You’ll die!”

Raon snapped at him and thrust a hand out.

“There’s someone stronger than you here!”

The commander—bull-helmeted, standing east of the forest—was clearly a Grand Master. If Mark Gorton stayed, he would die.

“A Guardian protects his lord! If I don’t stand here, I don’t deserve that name!”

Mark Gorton charged forward, eyes holding not even a sliver of fear.

“My life became yours the moment you grabbed my hand at the cliff’s edge.”

He told Raon to go—leave the rear to him.

“…”

Raon stared into those unwavering eyes, chewed his lip, and turned away.

“You have to live. No matter what.”

He threw the words over his shoulder and faced forward.

“I won’t hold back anymore.”

Raon raised Heavenly Drive. Flames surged along the blade, reaching skyward and then falling, shaping into a colossal sword.

Kuwaaaaaaaang!

A Sky-Piercing Sword technique crashed down, erasing the fiends and monsters blocking the forest’s entrance and the ground around it.

Raon sprinted down the burning path.

Trusting Mark Gorton behind him, he moved only forward and plunged into the forest.

‘Merlin is—huh?’

Voices?

Horses snorting. Metal clanging.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Raon clenched his jaw and accelerated.

Armored horses. Spear-wielders mounted on them.

‘Demon Spear Society!’ (T/N: Hmm, I couldnt really remember if this was the correct name but from what I remember this group was one of the Five Divine Orders)

The ones inside the forest weren’t Eden—they were the Demon Spear Society. The Transcendant driving Merlin into this trap had to be the Demon Slayer Spear.

“Raon Zieghart?”

“How did you get here!”

The spear-wielders stared at him, eyes blown wide.

Kwaaaaaaang!

Raon didn’t answer. He swept the Soul Requiem Sword.

A frost-laced wind passed—and the Demon Spear Society martial artists turned into ice statues and shattered.

“It’s—it’s a monster!”

“Retreat!”

Unlike Eden’s fiends and brainwashed monsters, they knew fear.

Raon forced them back and ran deeper into the forest.

Huuuuuu.

Deeper in, Merlin’s scent and presence finally reached him—just as Wrath had said.

‘She’s still alive!’

Raon cut through blood-soaked brush and reached the forest’s end.

A circle of Demon Spear Society martial artists was forming a Spear Formation.

Swoosh!

He tore open their wall with Heavenly Drive’s flames and stepped into the formation.

“St—”

Before he could finish, Merlin—soaked in blood—was pierced by a black spear. (T/N: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Phew!