Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: The Sword Emperor
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My vision flickered, and the surroundings changed.
A quiet forest.
In that time, I stood on a single trail.
It was exactly the Nameless Sword Gate I had seen in the past.
'It's been a while.'
As I turned around, lost in memories.
"Keruk, keruk!"
A monster's cry.
It was a goblin's.
I followed the sound and, sure enough, goblins were gathered in groups of twos and threes.
'Right, this place has goblins.'
But those guys were just for show.
No, if anything, they were warm-up monsters placed here to loosen up before the real fight.
Suho extended his hand and activated a skill.
[Blood Weapon activates.]
Blood gathered in his grip, forming a blood sword.
"Keruk! Keruk!!"
The goblins sensed the hostility from the created blood sword and stopped what they were doing, charging at Suho.
Suho didn't move from his spot.
Instead, he waited for them to enter range, then bent at the waist and swung his sword once.
[Draw Slash activates.]
Sching!
The sharp sound of air being sliced.
The red afterimage of the blood sword, unable to keep up with the blade's speed, brushed through the air and vanished.
And then.
Pshhh!
[Goblin defeated.]
[Goblin defeated.]
[Goblin defeated.]
[Goblin defeated.]
...
With a single strike, Suho massacred the horde of goblins.
Suho raised his blood sword toward the goblin corpses scattered everywhere.
[Blood Drain activates.]
Whoooosh!
A sound like wind being sucked in.
The raised blood sword glowed faintly, then sucked up every drop of blood from the goblin corpses around like a black hole.
The blood flowing through the blood sword gathered into the blood gem.
He felt the blood gem filling, but it wasn't much help.
The absorbed blood was from ordinary goblins.
It was then.
Clang—
A heavy sound of metal scraping.
Turning toward the noise, a man appeared wearing a tattered cloak and a worn helmet covering his entire face.
At the same time, a notification appeared.
[Boss monster has appeared.]
Right.
That ragged swordsman, no different from a beggar, was the master of the Nameless Sword Gate.
Suho looked at the name card above his head.
- Nameless Swordsman Lv.???
Nameless Swordsman.
That was his name.
That's why he was initially called the Nameless Swordsman.
And it made sense, since the gate was named Nameless Sword.
And one more thing.
His level wasn't displayed.
Why?
Who knows.
Only the system would know.
But because his level wasn't properly shown, some people mocked him.
But soon enough, they realized it was a huge mistake.
Shing!
The Nameless Swordsman drew his sword.
At the same time, a skill activated.
[Nameless Swordsman's Battlefield activates.]
[While Nameless Swordsman's Battlefield is active, the Nameless Swordsman's status matches the challenger's exactly.]
[While Nameless Swordsman's Battlefield is active, all combatants in the area cannot use any weapons other than 'swords.']
[While Nameless Swordsman's Battlefield is active, all combatants in the area cannot use any skills other than 'swordsmanship.']
It began.
Nameless Swordsman's Battlefield.
It was the Nameless Swordsman's exclusive skill, the core reason the Nameless Sword Gate's difficulty was hellish.
'Right, it was all because of that. That absurdly unfair skill alone killed countless people.'
Nameless Swordsman's Battlefield.
The challenger could use nothing but a sword and swordsmanship.
As a penalty, the Nameless Swordsman fought with the challenger's exact physical stats, but unfortunately, that wasn't a penalty for him.
'What penalty? It's just a ruse to toy with the opponent more enjoyably.'
The only way to win in the Nameless Swordsman's Battlefield was one thing.
Superior swordsmanship to the opponent.
That's why, after killing over a hundred players, he became known as the emperor of swordsmanship... the 'Sword Emperor.'
Suho raised his blood sword and said,
"Sword Emperor, long time no see."
At that moment.
Boom—!
With Suho's greeting, the Sword Emperor stomped powerfully and rushed at him like a burst.
At the same time, a blade rushed toward his throat.
Suho twisted his body and raised his blood sword to deflect the blade.
Clang!
Sparks flew between the worn blade and the blood sword.
A heavy force.
A trembling blade.
Who would dare call that a worn sword?
Suho knew.
Even that single worn sword was a gimmick to deceive the opponent.
But amid all those false tricks, there was one undeniable truth.
The Sword Emperor's overwhelming swordsmanship, honed over endless time, superior to any swordsman.
'That's why he earned the title Sword Emperor.'
Clang!
Suho parried the blade and immediately pressed his sword against it, pushing the Sword Emperor back.
It took considerable strength to push, but not impossible.
The Sword Emperor currently had the exact same status as Suho.
The pushed-back Sword Emperor twisted his body skillfully, minimizing the distance.
Incredibly seasoned movements.
Even after so long, Suho couldn't help but admire it unconsciously.
'As expected of the Sword Emperor.'
The Sword Emperor immediately counterattacked.
This time approaching in a different form.
That was the Sword Emperor's true terror.
His swordsmanship wasn't one-dimensional; it had countless options, adapting to the opponent.
That's how he toyed with and slaughtered so many.
In a battlefield that seemed fair at first glance—same conditions, same weapon—but was actually the most unfair, he manipulated it to his advantage and took lives.
That's why this place was designated an S-Rank sealed gate.
For modern people more familiar with bayonets than swords, fists than bayonets, and pens than fists, the Sword Emperor's swordsmanship was the real deal, impossible to match.
But.
Slash!
Suho stepped in half a beat ahead of the approaching Sword Emperor and swung.
The Sword Emperor's body lost balance momentarily, allowing Suho a clean hit.
Crunch—Boom!
Slashed diagonally across the chest, the Sword Emperor leaped back with a massive stomp, creating distance instantly.
He seemed flustered.
And rightly so.
He had dominated and devoured everyone until now, but this was the first opponent to land a solid blow.
Seeing the Sword Emperor's flustered expression, Suho raised his sword and smiled.
"Why? Surprised?"
"......"
The Sword Emperor didn't answer.
Instead, he readjusted his stance.
Suho smirked and muttered,
"Right, you never said a word until the end."
And as Suho finished speaking, the Sword Emperor closed the distance again.
Whoosh!
The sound of air slicing past his ear.
Sharp.
Relentless.
However.
Clang!
"......!"
The Sword Emperor's eyes widened.
This strike, sharper than ever, was blocked as if it were nothing.
Suho grinned, swords locked, and said,
"Seven times. The number of rematches it took to finally beat you."
"......?!"
Did he understand Suho's words?
No one knows.
He never responds to the challenger.
But from the emotional waves emanating from his body, Suho could tell.
He was considerably shaken.
Suho slid the blocked blade upward like grinding it, and the moment their swords parted, he slashed downward instantly.
[Beheading Slash activates.]
Beheading Slash activated.
With the skill notification, a red line trailed behind the downward slash like a tail.
At the same time, the Sword Emperor's left arm split along the red line, creating a gap in the air.
Slash!
He succeeded in severing the left arm.
The severed left arm tilted downward along the cut, pausing in midair just before gravity pulled it.
Without hesitation, Suho spun and back-kicked it far away.
Crash!
The severed left arm was armor.
So it clanged loudly on the ground like an empty tin can.
No, technically, it was an empty tin can.
There was nothing inside the severed left arm.
Sensing danger, he retreated further.
Suho looked at the one-armed Sword Emperor and said,
"Everyone wondered what was inside that armor. But do you know how disappointed I was when I first checked?"
Clank—
Was it a reply?
In response to Suho, the Sword Emperor's armor creaked rustily.
Probably coincidence.
So Suho continued without minding.
"I was really disappointed. Everyone praised you as Nameless Swordsman, Sword Emperor, but the truth was just a lingering spirit of a sword ghost."
Finishing his words, Suho charged at the Sword Emperor first this time.
The Sword Emperor raised his sword into a defensive stance.
And just before Suho closed in, he swung from defense into a counter.
A timed counter anticipating the approach.
But Suho knew this too.
He had nearly died to this counter many times.
So he precisely calculated the swing's trajectory, stopping his charge and stepping back right before.
Swish!
The swung counter sliced empty air.
Once the Sword Emperor's right arm had fully swung, Suho unleashed his held-back attack.
This time targeting the right thigh.
Crunch!
The thick thigh armor split with a heavy sound.
Feeling the perfect cut, Suho kicked the thigh, toppling him.
Again, an empty interior was revealed, and the flustered Sword Emperor hopped back far on one leg.
He didn't stumble.
As if born with one leg, he stood perfectly straight, raising his remaining arm into an aiming stance.
Why?
Simple.
He wasn't a flesh-and-blood body moved by muscles from the start; he was armor animated by a ghost's will.
Suho raised his sword again and said,
"Tsk tsk, everything from one to ten is a gimmick. Still, I'm truly grateful to you. Thanks to you, the foundation of Guardian Sword was born."
That was it.
The reason Suho finally defeated him after seven attempts and eight failures.
And why, despite all the tricks and unfairness, Suho called him Sword Emperor.
Because his swordsmanship was the real deal, and Suho's own skills had leaped forward because of him.
In other words, the Nameless Swordsman...
No, the 'Sword Emperor'...
Was the one who made Suho worthy of being called 'Sword God,' his practical swordsmanship master who elevated him to world-class level.
"Nice seeing you, even if briefly."
Suho closed the distance once more.
The Sword Emperor started evading well on his single leg, but unfortunately, the Guardian Sword footwork Suho created was born from pursuit techniques designed to catch him.
[Beheading Slash activates.]
Suho caught up instantly, slashing from crown to groin in one clean stroke.
And.
[Nameless Swordsman defeated.]
Suho succeeded in killing the monster who had massacred over 200 people, once called the 'Sword Emperor,' once again.