Chapter 49

Reincarnated as a Sword Emperor in the Sword Saint Family (49)

The entire Galápagos Island shook for a moment.

Though it was a very brief moment, the monsters that sensed the scale of that power wet their pants and ran in the opposite direction. The B-rank and lower monster colonies began to stir all at once, making the island noisy with unexpected commotion in the middle of the night.

Even the A-rank and higher monsters moved in different directions to distance themselves from the epicenter of the shock.

Rumble...!

The Dragon Knight Order and the Shadow Knight Order, who had surrounded the fifth shadow and Leonard, were all flung away, leaving only the parties involved in the duel on the sandy beach, which had become a massive crater.

Leonard, unable to maintain his balance, fell to the ground and spat out blood.

“Cough! Cough! Hack!”

He didn’t have the strength to raise his upper body, only managing to turn his body and vomit out dark, dead blood. Fortunately, there were no pieces of internal organs, indicating that his internal injuries weren’t that severe.

The Five Elements True Dragon Ring was also doing its job.

Seemingly sensing the danger to its master’s life, it was absorbing natural energy at a faster rate than usual and circulating it throughout his body.

‘In one quarter of an hour, no, in half an hour (7 minutes), I can recover to a minimal extent.’

There was no time to meditate and regulate his energy.

Somehow, he managed to get up, leaning his upper body against a pile of dirt behind him. Having thrown all three of his swords, his hands were empty.

He wondered if he should draw a sword from his spatial pocket, but then he sensed a presence.

There was no need to ask who it was.

“Damn.”

Before Leonard’s curse could dissipate, a boot suddenly emerged from the dust and kicked his face.

Smack!

His body flew several meters, and he barely managed to get back up using the momentum.

His nose was probably broken, making it hard to breathe.

The warmth around his mouth was due to the blood flowing from his nose, soaking his chin. Leonard, calmly assessing his condition, drew a sword from his spatial pocket.

‘I can’t use sword beams... I’ll die before I can form them with innate true energy.’

The fifth shadow was probably not in good shape either, but at this distance, a few seconds of concentration would be enough to sever his neck.

So Leonard stared intently at the front, his eyes wide open.

His death was walking towards him.

“...My victory, scum.”

The armor was tattered, and the blood flowing from his limbs had dyed him bright red. One eye was crushed and had lost its light, and the skin below his disheveled hair was grotesquely twisted.

From head to toe, there was no part of him that was unscathed.

Leonard’s eyebrows twitched as he examined him.

‘No fatal wounds. Did he have enough energy left to use a protective aura?’

In the clash of the two ultimate techniques, [Hydra’s Shadow] and [Three-Legged Crow], Leonard had emerged as the victor.

The miniature sun had ultimately burst the monster and poured all its remaining power into the fifth shadow. The light beam that shot out at a speed that couldn’t be dodged should have hit him directly, yet he seemed too resilient.

It was an attack that couldn’t be withstood with the bare body.

“Not funny at all.”

The fifth shadow’s lips, distorted by burns, formed an even more bizarre expression.

“Using [Hydra’s Shadow] and losing, and failing in my mission as a shadow, this is the first time. ...I acknowledge it. A trivial victory, a fatal defeat.”

While acknowledging both victory and defeat, a new Aura Blade erupted from his blade.

Leonard had no internal energy left to use sword qi, but the fifth shadow intended to leave him no room for even the slightest resistance. No matter how skilled his swordsmanship, if he couldn’t even clash swords, he would die.

The fifth shadow, confident that Leonard’s life was in his hands, smiled maniacally.

“My mission has failed. But if I can kill just you, I’m sure it will more than make up for everything.”

The emerald-green Aura Blade emitted a chilling light.

“Die. I’ll follow soon, so we’ll meet again in the afterlife.”

Leonard didn’t respond to his words, focusing his eyes on the approaching blade.

He wouldn’t give up until the very end of his life.

Since he had a second chance after dying once, there might be another one after this. If so, there must be some experience or enlightenment to gain in his final step.

‘If I can penetrate just one step, it will be a mutual destruction. If I can take half a step, I can take one arm.’

Calculating his own death as a move, if he could strike just before his breath left him, it would be enough.

Having completed his calculation, Leonard leaped into the gap between the Aura Blades. The fifth shadow adjusted the trajectory of his sword to match.

The emerald-green Aura Blade fell like a guillotine.

“—Sorry, but I can’t allow that.”

Right at that moment.

A voice from a distance sharply pierced the world, which had slowed down due to the accelerated perception of time.

If they had been in perfect condition, both could have reacted.

However, with their bodies battered and their internal energy almost depleted, it was impossible. The shadow knight, who was in slightly better condition than Leonard, barely managed to turn his eyes.

That was the best he could do.

Snap!

The fifth shadow’s left arm, along with his sword, flew off.

The surprise attack, which even a Transcendent couldn’t react to, came from someone who had also transcended the barrier.

Before the shadow knight, who had lost an arm, could react, the attacker reached him. A powerful kick sent his body flying dozens of meters.

Boom!

With several ribs broken and his lungs crushed, the shadow knight was buried in the sand without even a scream.

“This is for my subordinates.”

The Dragon Knight Order’s commander, Fabian, swung his sword, and the shadow knight’s right leg was severed, spraying red blood.

Leonard, with his keen eyesight, could barely see the swift sword.

He quickly understood why the attacker could cut off the fifth shadow’s arm and leg from a distance. A compressed, thin, and long Aura Blade extended from the sword tip.

‘Even if both were in perfect condition, Fabian would have dominated.’

His swordsmanship and understanding of energy were several levels higher.

Leonard, who had been assessing the two, soon collapsed, his knees buckling and his sword slipping from his hand. He had been able to stand only because he was prepared to die, but the appearance of an ally drained his strength.

Fabian, looking at him, said with a heavy expression.

“Sorry. I was too late.”

Whatever had happened, it was true that without him, the Shadow Knight Order could have caused such chaos.

So Leonard offered a sincere response instead of false comfort.

“It’s not too late for me.”

“...Thanks. I appreciate that.”

Fabian’s face became even more solemn, understanding his consideration.

He didn’t know how many bodies of Dragon Knights he had seen while flying here. Although he had a reason to be absent, he knew the responsibility he had to bear.

“Let’s deal with this trash first, then talk. You’ve become much stronger. I have many questions.”

“Please let me rest for a moment first.”

“I can grant that much mercy. Get some sleep.”

Fabian nodded, smiling slightly at Leonard’s request.

At that moment.

While the two were exchanging a few words, the shadow knight, who had lost an arm and a leg, got up. Standing on one leg and clenching his remaining hand, his pitiful appearance was both tragic and ridiculous.

Fabian, looking at the fifth shadow, said.

“A disgrace to a swordsman.”

“...”

“If the great ancestors of Cardenas had made one mistake, it was not thoroughly crushing and eradicating your kind. You ungrateful wretches, who don’t know how to be grateful for their mercy.”

The shadow knight, ignoring the insults, glared at Leonard with burning eyes.

Rumble...!

The emerald-green Aura surged, destroying his body.

He was mobilizing all his prana and innate true energy.

The emerald-green energy momentarily formed parts of his body, replacing his lost limbs, and shaped a single blade-like Aura Blade to replace his sword.

He would die regardless of the outcome of this strike.

It was a literal one-hit kill.

“Pathetic.”

But Fabian paid no heed to his determination.

The two Sword Masters glared at each other and moved forward simultaneously.

Emerald-green and platinum.

The Aura Blades of completely different colors crossed once, and Fabian and the fifth shadow switched positions. A silent and deadly clash of swords.

And.

Thud!

From the left clavicle to the right side, the shadow knight’s upper body was split into two diagonal pieces, rolling to Leonard’s side.

The lower half remained at the point where they had crossed, spewing out gruesome internal organs and blood. The left arm and right leg, temporarily constructed with innate true energy, had long disappeared.

“Lowly power, lowly technique, lowly mindset...”

Fabian, wiping the blood from his sword, said.

“To even reach me, you need a hundred years, remnant of a fallen nation.”

But the fifth shadow’s reaction was strange.

“Guh...Huh, guh, hahaha...!”

Despite having one lung cut off, his body, unable to breathe or speak properly, began to laugh loudly.

The shadow knight, laughing loudly, spread his right hand.

“I...from the...beginning...! I aimed...for this...!”

In his palm was a torn magic scroll, an extra one given to him as the leader of this operation, for [Mass Teleport].

Fabian’s face turned serious upon seeing it.

The danger of spatial magic was already severe, and if a high-level spell like [Mass Teleport] overlapped, the result would be unpredictable no matter who was brought in.

Just as he was about to cut off the shadow’s head with a swift sword—

“[Mass...Tele...port].”

He was half a beat too late.

Or rather, he had cut off the head but couldn’t stop the incantation.

The moment the cleanly severed head muttered the final word, the magic circle on the ground lit up brightly, enveloping the shadow knight’s upper body and Leonard’s body.

Another magic circle added to the one about to activate, turning the phenomenon into an unpredictable anomaly with an unknown destination.

That was the shadow knight’s true intention.

Whoosh!

Fabian, who tried to jump in late, was flung away by the spatial disturbance. If he had used an Aura Blade to cut, he might have stopped it, but the safety of the person inside would be even more endangered.

When the spatial vortex, which lasted only a few seconds, disappeared.

“...Damn.”

Leonard’s figure was gone from the island’s beach.

Fabian, who had tightly closed and then opened his eyes, had a volcanic rage spreading across his face.

Without even looking at the shadow knight’s head that had rolled to his feet, he crushed it and began walking along the beach, his feet covered in blood and brain matter.

There was no time for personal reflection.

He had to return to the main house, request a search order covering the entire continent, and write a report on this incident while dealing with the casualties of the Dragon Knight Order.

“If he landed in the empire, that’s fortunate, but if not...”

Fabian, trailing off, bit his lip hard.

“Until Cardenas finds you. Stay safe, Leonard.”

The Dragon Knight Order had 72 deaths, 138 severely injured, and 1 missing. Most of the dead were mid-level knights, all of whom had died while performing their duties.

The Shadow Knight Order, including Transcendents, had 32 deaths, with few bodies left intact.

The bloodbath on Galápagos Island had come to an end.