The Reincarnated Assassin Is a Genius Swordsman

Chapter 1504 The battlefield, where hope had begun to rise again after overcoming the flames of destruction and the death aura, fell into a silence so sudden it felt like a lie. The cause was a single Angel. Archangel Michael. The mere appearance of the being Derus Robert had called the Archangel of the Martial Soul was enough to fill the battlefield—once full of clashing weapons and tearing screams—with stillness. Kugugugugugu! The moment Archangel Michael touched down on the ground, the pitch-black clouds pressing heavily on the sky split apart as if torn by the claws of some enormous beast. Through that rift, a gloomy ashen radiance poured down like a waterfall, so bleak that merely looking at it felt as though it would drag one's soul in. The one who reigned at the very peak of all martial power in the heavenly realm, the strongest goddess of war and executioner, had descended upon the continent. Gooooooooo! She had no grand wings, no radiant light, no resplendent armor, and yet not a single person here now dared to look down on Michael. Within her clear blue eyes, the ash-gray hue rippled like molten lava, carrying an absolute, ruthless coldness in which no trace of emotional disturbance could be found. Uuuuuuuung! As Archangel Michael raised her massive longsword, seemingly forged from the shards of a shattered star, the very space around her could not withstand the pressure of the blade and began to warp, letting out an eerie sound like a scream. "To you, who expected the honorable judgment of light…." Gripping the ash-gray, flickering longsword with haughty pride, she leveled it at the Continental Alliance that had been pushing back the Angels. "I will render the judgment of a frigid blade." Archangel Michael muttered that this was judgment upon sinners as she swept her longsword downward. Her blade was no mere slash. An ashen shadow fell across the faces of the Alliance's martial artists, as though a colossal guillotine stretching from sky to earth were dropping upon them. Thud. As Archangel Michael's gray longsword came down far enough to touch the ground, the heads of the Continental Alliance's martial artists standing before her dropped off as though it were a lie. Paaaaaak! In an instant, dozens of martial artists died, and blood that seemed to have blackened poured down. At such absolute martial prowess, as if magic had been used, both the Continental Alliance and the Angels were left speechless with shock. -Archangel Michael…. Wrath's lips trembled as he watched Archangel Michael standing there with such lofty bearing. -That lunatic is coming here…? He furrowed his brow, saying he never expected this at all. 'Archangel Michael….' Raon, picking up on Wrath's words, looked again at the gray-clad woman. 'She's definitely different.' Wrath had said before that Michael was different from the other Archangels. Just as he'd said, she felt less like an Angel and more like a human. 'Though of course, not an ordinary human.' The presence Archangel Michael radiated was enough to rival even his own or Derus Robert's. At the sudden appearance of this absolute being, a wave of urgency surged through him, as though his chest would burst. -Michael isn't just about being strong. Wrath frowned as he watched Archangel Michael. -That one is a monster who can ignore an opponent's martial arts and devour it whole. He ground his teeth, saying the Archangel was a being that disregarded human martial arts entirely. 'Ignore martial arts and devour it?' Raon narrowed his eyes, as if to ask what that meant. "How is it?" Derus Robert shrugged as he looked at Raon's twisted expression. "My new gift?" He pointed at Archangel Michael, calling her a gift he had prepared for Raon. "Let's have another fun war." As Derus Robert spoke, the battlefield, which had seemed to have stopped in time, began to move once more. "Aaaaaaargh!" "W-what is this…." "M-magic? No, that was definitely a sword, wasn't it?" "Human? No, an Angel? What in the world is that…." "H-her presence rivals even Lord Raon's or Derus Robert's…." The Continental Alliance's martial artists, seized with terror at the sight of their comrades turned to corpses in an instant, backed away from Michael without even realizing it. "Hyeeoooh!" "I-it's Lady Michael!" "The strongest Archangel has descended!" "There's nothing to fear now!" "She's finally come!" The Angels, on the other hand, cried out in cheers and gasps of admiration at Michael's absolute dignity, kneeling and bowing their waists. They welcomed Michael with the greatest courtesy an Angel could offer. Thump. Having killed countless martial artists with a single strike, Archangel Michael calmly set foot upon the ground. From the tips of her toes touching the earth, a wave of ashen gray spread outward, casting a bleak light across the battlefield. The stench of blood grew thicker, and the corpses that had died only moments before began to rot. The fear and awe it inspired felt less like witnessing an Archangel, and more like watching the arrival of a demon king. Kugugugugugu! As if unsatisfied with her first swing, Archangel Michael gave a small nod and raised her gray sword once more. As she drew the blade back behind her waist, seemingly intent on killing even more people at once this time, the ground trembled as though it would shatter, and the very air split apart and scattered. "It's… it's coming…." "It's coming again!" "That can't be blocked! Run!" "Pull back as far as you can!" The commanders of the Continental Alliance tried to pull their subordinates back, but it was already too late. Above the heads of the humans standing before Archangel Michael, an ashen radiance began to bloom. "Damn it!" Raon spun around at the sight of Michael's hand moving. If her sword struck out now, the forces on the right would all die, and the encirclement itself would collapse. That strike, at least, had to be blocked. Tueong! It was just as Raon was about to move using the Supreme Harmony Steps to block Archangel Michael. "Where do you think you're going?" Derus Robert stepped in front of Raon, a deep smile spreading across his face. "Didn't I say your opponent is me?" As if he would never let Raon go, he thrust forward his Sword of Beloved Death, condensed with death aura. "Play by yourself for a bit." Raon gritted his teeth as he knocked aside Derus Robert's strike with his Divine Sword. "I'll be back soon." He changed direction again, employing the Supreme Harmony Steps to evade Derus Robert. "Sorry, but I happen to be the type who gets lonely easily." As if he had read Raon's movement, Derus Robert used footwork that seemed to leap across empty air, blocking his path once again. Jjeooooong! Raon pressed down with both his Divine Sword and Demonic Sword at once to push Derus Robert back, but the man held his ground, smiling all the while. "Right here…." Derus Robert's eyes flicked backward for a moment, his smile deepening even further. "Watch those bonds you're so proud of die." He lifted his chin, as if he would never step aside. "Derus Robert!" Raon roared and shoved Derus Robert back by force, but Archangel Michael's ashen strike had already surged forward, engulfing the Continental Alliance's martial artists. 'How do I stop that?' Raon's lips trembled as he watched the magnificent, sweeping strike. 'Even sending Sword Control won't make it in time.' Even if he launched the Demonic Sword, countless heads would already fall before the blade could reach. Having been blocked twice by Derus Robert, there was no way to stop it now. 'Damn it! Even so….' It was just as Raon was about to launch the Demonic Sword with Sword Control, hoping to save even a few more of the Alliance's martial artists. "So my opponent has finally arrived!" "It's impossible alone." A woman's voice, overflowing with confidence, and a man's voice, cold as though devoid of any emotion, rang out one after the other. Kugugugugugu! The Blade Queen and the Warlord. The two martial artists once called the strongest of the previous generation stood before Archangel Michael's strike. "If you don't want to become a widower, follow me ready to die, husband!" "Watch how you speak…." Blade Queen Siera burst out laughing as she drew her sword, and Warlord Yuber sighed as he raised his blade. The two transcendents leapt fearlessly toward Archangel Michael's strike, one that seemed to cut down martial prowess itself. "Come, Aura! Crimson Wave!" "Go. Cold Soul." Siera and Yuber, radiating a majestic wave of energy, looked at each other. The two of them unleashed terrifying strikes not at Archangel Michael, but at each other's sword and blade. Kuwaaaaaang! As the sword of Crimson Wave and the Sword of Cold Severity collided, a tremendous shockwave burst forth, raising a wall of martial will that blocked Archangel Michael's strike. Kugugugugugugu! Archangel Michael's strike carried destructive power that seemed to erase human martial arts entirely, but it could not break through the martial arts of the Blade Queen and the Warlord, forged over decades of battle, and slowly faded, losing its light. "……." Archangel Michael narrowed her eyes slightly, as though she had never imagined her own blade could be blocked by a mere two humans. "Ha…?" Raon's jaw trembled as he watched the Blade Queen and the Warlord perfectly block Archangel Michael's strike. 'How did those two…?' The Blade Queen and the Warlord were indeed among the strongest martial artists in the Continent's coalition at present, but they weren't strong enough to block Michael's sword strike, so he was both happy and bewildered. (E/N: not a faithful translation, raw said they were the strongest martial artist) "Master! Leave this to us! We'll be sure to win!" Blade Queen Siera waved her hand cheerfully, as if telling him not to worry. "Honestly, I have no confidence we'll win. But since we too have reached the Absolute realm, we'll try to buy time somehow." Warlord Yuber bowed his head solemnly, as if resolving to do his very best. "Ah…!" Raon's lips trembled as he listened to the Blade Queen and the Warlord. Just as Yuber had said, the two of them had broken through the Transcendence that had held them back for decades and reached the Absolute realm. "I'm sorry for hiding it. But…." "It's so much cooler to make an entrance like this!" The Warlord let out a short sigh, while the Blade Queen stamped her foot cheerfully, clearly pleased to have made the entrance she'd wanted. "Whatever the case…." Raon let out a short laugh as he looked at the Blade Queen and the Warlord. "Thank you." Even if there wasn't much visible change right at the threshold, being so absorbed in preparing for the war that he hadn't even noticed the two of them had surpassed Transcendence—that was a failure as their lord. But unlike this unworthy master, the Blade Queen and the Warlord were subordinates more trustworthy and outstanding than anyone else. After all, even now, they had managed to force back Archangel Michael's renewed strike. "Please wait just a little longer." Raon caught his breath, gripping his Divine Sword and Demonic Sword tightly. "I'll cut off Derus Robert's head right now, and then I'll go." It was just as he resolved to end the fight with Derus Robert as quickly as possible and began stoking his aura. "The Blade Queen and the Warlord, of all people…." Derus Robert drew a faint smile as he looked at the Blade Queen and the Warlord. "You certainly have no shortage of luck with people, Raon." Even though Archangel Michael had been blocked, he wasn't especially flustered, and nodded calmly. "Seems like you must have built up a lot of merit in your past life. Ah, well, I suppose you did kill countless people, after all." Derus Robert snickered, as if mocking Raon's Past Life. "It doesn't matter what you say." Raon frowned as he looked at Derus Robert, who seemed not the least bit surprised. "No need to drag this out—let's end it right here…." It was just as he stepped forward, intending to launch straight into an attack without delay. "Sorry, but there's more than one gift." Derus Robert, wearing a deep smile, turned his gaze toward the Silent Serpent Swordsman, torn apart by the Light Wind Palace's blade. "I built up plenty of merit in my past life too, you know." The instant he finished speaking, a new pulse—one that hadn't existed until now—began to beat from within the fallen Silent Serpent Swordsman's chest. Thump! Thump! Thump!