The Reincarnated Assassin Is a Genius Swordsman

Chapter 1475 Sliiide. When Raon sheathed Heavenly Drive, the sky and ground of the world created by magic collapsed. He nodded with a short breath as if finally satisfied. -...You were serious. Wrath's lips trembled faintly as he watched the sky and ground being erased into white. -About killing Derus Robert as soon as the war begins. He let out an empty breath, saying he only now realized that what Raon had said wasn't bravado. 'Of course.' Raon nodded as he released his hand from Heavenly Drive. 'As the head of house of Zieghart and the Alliance leader of the Holy Sword Alliance, I don't speak idle words.' Right now, countless lives of Zieghart and the Holy Sword Alliance rested upon his shoulders. His nerves were not so dull as to bluff in such a situation. He had to give his absolute best so that he would have no regrets even if he died. 'But it's really exhausting....' Raon clutched his throbbing head. 'I don't even know how many times I swung the sword.' His breathing was heavy and his vision was blurring because he had continuously unleashed the Heaven-Slaying Sword, pouring in more than his full power—stamina, mental strength, swordsmanship, and aura. He was so exhausted that he wanted to lie down right here and sleep. -This King misspoke. Wrath lowered his chin solemnly. -I take back what I said about you being unable to become a trustworthy king. Unusually, he retracted words he himself had spoken. -You could become a king just as trustworthy as this King. Wrath said that Raon could inspire the same level of trust in his subordinates as he himself could. Coming from the Monarch of Wrath, it was no different from the highest praise. 'What's the occasion?' Raon widened his half-lidded eyes as he looked at Wrath. 'You said it was a virtue of a Monarch to never take back words once spoken.' It had been extremely rare for Wrath to retract something he had said, so Raon tilted his head in curiosity. -That is correct. This King neither speaks lies nor takes back words once uttered. Wrath briefly smacked his lips. -However, this time you showed something admirable enough for this King to retract his own words. He curled his lips, saying that after witnessing Raon's actions, he had no choice but to amend his words. 'Is that so.' Raon smiled faintly as he looked at Wrath, who was smiling as if proud of him. Receiving acknowledgment from a friend who rarely recognized anyone made him feel gratified despite his exhaustion. -Consider it an honor! Wrath snorted and lifted his chin. -You are the only case where this King has acknowledged someone as a splendid king! It was the moment when he nodded, saying he acknowledged him. [You have received the heartfelt acknowledgment of <Wrath>, who never acknowledges anyone.] [All Ability Scores increase by 100 points.] [<Wrath>'s Authority increases dramatically.] Blue messages appeared before the eyes of Raon and Wrath, who had been smiling at each other. 'Oh?' -Eh...? Raon let out a gasp, and Wrath froze with a smile still on his face. -Wh-What! Why is it suddenly giving Ability Scores! Wrath's jaw trembled as he looked at the messages. 'It's written right there.' Raon pointed to the very top of the message. 'It says you acknowledged me.' He shrugged, saying it seemed he received the Ability Scores because Wrath himself had acknowledged him. -I acknowledged that you could become a trustworthy king! When did I ever acknowledge giving you Ability Scores! Wrath screamed, telling him to stop spouting nonsense. -On top of that! He ground his teeth and pointed to the beginning of the first message. -'The heartfelt acknowledgment of this King who never acknowledges' my ass! This is just mocking me! Wrath fumed, insisting the system was clearly making fun of him. -Fine! Just give it all away! There's barely anything left anyway.... It was the moment when he was wildly waving his hands, saying to just give everything away. [<Wrath>'s permission has been granted.] [The rank of the trait <Counter Barrage> increases.] [The rank of the trait <Divine Power Resistance> increases.] [Trait....] This time, messages about trait upgrades appeared. -Aah.... Wrath's jaw dropped as he stared at the messages filling his vision. 'At this rate, it really might be mocking him....' Raon narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin. -Right? That's what I'm saying! That damned system is definitely mocking this King! Wrath quickly nodded in agreement. -I must go and smash its head in! He ground his teeth, swearing he would never let this slide. -Let's go to the Devildom right now! Wrath grabbed Raon's shoulders and shook them, demanding they go to the Devildom immediately. 'Why would I?' Raon twisted his lips as he looked at Wrath. 'To me, it's a benefactor, isn't it?' It might be an enemy to Wrath, but to Raon, it was always a benefactor that provided great support. He would protect it rather than go smash its head—there was absolutely no reason to do that. -Grrrk, th-that's.... Wrath trembled his jaw as if he had nothing to say. 'And someday I will go to the Devildom, but now is not the time.' Raon calmly shook his head. 'After I kill Derus Robert and the Demonic Dragon of Destruction, win the war, and the Continent finds stability, I'll go to the Devildom.' He smiled, saying he would go on a Devildom sightseeing trip after definitively ending the war. -To speak of victory against monsters that are no easy foes even for this King, and yet feel no anxiety.... Wrath looked into Raon's eyes and lightly smacked his lips. -It truly feels like it will turn out that way. He nodded, saying it really did feel like Zieghart would win the war just as Raon said. 'Of course we can only win.' Raon calmly waved his hand. 'It would make even less sense to lose after receiving the support of the great Monarch of Wrath.' He curled his lips while checking the rewards he had earned thanks to Wrath's acknowledgment. -This brat.... Just as Wrath was about to explode with rage, Evelyn descended from the sky. "Sorry. I've run out of restoration magic now." Evelyn lowered her head, saying she had exhausted all her Mana for restoring the fake world created by magic. She seemed quite exhausted as well, her complexion having turned pale. "If I rest just a little, I can again...." "It's fine. You don't need to do it anymore." Raon smiled and waved his hand. "Thanks to you, the Heaven-Slaying Sword has been stabilized." He nodded, saying that thanks to Evelyn, he had been able to raise the completion level of his swordsmanship that had been slightly lacking. "Really? That's a relief!" Evelyn seemed delighted to hear she had been a great help, and leaped into Raon's arms. "Ugh...." Since all the strength had drained from his body, Raon couldn't withstand Evelyn's weight as she lunged at him and toppled backward. "A-Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?" Contrary to her worried expression, Evelyn's hands quickly swept over various parts of Raon's body. -Goodness! Those hand movements! Even Wrath was impressed by the sight and dropped his jaw. "I-I just lost some strength, that's all." Raon swallowed hard and struggled to push away Evelyn, who was clinging to him like a leech. "Oh, that's a relief!" Perhaps due to the satisfaction of having touched Raon's entire body, color began returning to Evelyn's previously pale face. "You should go back and rest too. There's less than a day left until the war." Raon looked up at the sky that had returned to reality and smacked his lips. "I don't think I need to rest." Evelyn stroked her reddened cheeks, saying that just being held tightly by Raon had restored her mental strength. "If I stay close to Raon a little longer, my Mana might explode, you know?" She stepped closer with a flushed smile, saying that if Raon would just hold her, she felt she could blow away the Demonic Dragon of Destruction all by herself. "S-Still, get some rest. I'll be heading back to rest too!" Raon waved his hand at Evelyn, whose eyes were blooming with desire, then hurried back to his quarters. "Whew...." Evelyn seemed to have changed a lot from before. It was good that she had become brighter, but lately she had been looking at him like a predator eyeing its prey, which was a bit overwhelming. -Th-The mad woman's insane intensity seems to be growing thicker by the day. Wrath shook his head back and forth, saying her Fangs of Insanity seemed to grow stronger every time he saw Evelyn. 'Maybe so... huh?' Raon moistened his dry lips as he opened the door to his quarters. He felt warmth from inside the room, which should have been filled with cold air. -Oh? "This is...." Raon's eyes widened as he looked at the table beside his bed. On the table—which should have been completely empty since the quarters were only used for sleeping—sat dishes covered with silver lids. When he lifted the lids, he saw food with steam rising from it as if freshly made. They were unmistakable dishes from the annex building. -Home cooking! It's home cooking! Wrath also recognized it as food from the annex building and let out a cheer. 'Hmm.' Raon gazed at the food laid out on the table. Warm stew, butter-roasted meat, pizza with shrimp and pineapple, and even bead ice cream for dessert. The table was filled with foods that both he and Wrath loved. 'Is that a letter?' Raon lifted the piece of paper that was tucked under a dish. [As expected of my son. I knew you would only take care of everyone else's meals and then go off to train. The children of the annex building worked hard to prepare this, so eat it all without leaving any behind.] A familiar handwriting he had seen since childhood. It was Sylvia's writing. She seemed to have anticipated that he would skip the banquet and go train, and had prepared this for him. -As expected of Mom! Mommmm! Wrath cried out for Mom as if Sylvia were his own mother. What a creepy fellow. -What are you doing! Eat quickly before Mom's lovingly prepared food gets cold! He ground his teeth, telling Raon not to waste time since the food was getting cold. 'Alright.' Raon chuckled and sat down at the table, spooning up the stew. Just like when he had eaten it at the annex building, it was a flavor that melted away all the fatigue in his body and delivered warmth. -Ahhhh! Wrath seemed to feel it too, letting out a gasp of delight like never before. -Next, the meat! Bring the butter-roasted meat! He drooled, urging Raon to fill his stomach with meat right away. 'I got it, so calm down.' Raon smirked and, as Wrath wanted, shoved the entire piece of butter-fragrant meat into his mouth. As the exact same flavor from the annex building hit his tongue, he was reminded of the time he had shared a meal with Glenn before the war. 'We had only just grown close....' He had spent a great deal of time with Glenn, but it was only right before the war that they had truly become grandfather and grandson. Yet that warm time had ended far too quickly. Beyond mere regret, even now his heart ached to a painful degree. 'This time, I must protect them no matter what.' Raon clenched his fist with emotion tinged with sorrow. 'So that no one ever has to grieve again.' Muttering that there would be no second regrets, he ate every last bit of the food that Sylvia and the maids of the annex building had prepared, leaving nothing behind, then fell asleep. * * * Whoooooosh! The eastern sky was dark as ink, and the western sky was white as a Snowfield. Night and day, which should never have been able to touch each other, were joined as if locked in a contest of strength, and the sun and moon that had risen above them were surging toward the center of the sky from opposite directions. The time of Black Darkness, said to come once every thousand years. The day of the Second Continental War, upon which the fate of the world hung, had dawned.