Academy’s Genius Swordmaster

Chapter 199

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 199: To the North (5)

Ronan pulled at the hilt of his sword. The light flowing through the sword suddenly intensified for a moment, and right in front of him, a Werewolf appeared in the empty space. Having practiced manipulating the Aura, he could now distinguish between simply emitting light and pulling his opponent towards him,

“Kueh?!”

The Werewolf’s eyes widened as the gap suddenly narrowed. It was a creature with fur tied up like a beard on its chin. Ronan thought that perhaps he could end the fight with just this one creature. Although it had been murmuring about needing blood, it would be advantageous to end things peacefully, given the circumstances atop the Carabel.

“You’re a prime specimen.”

For a moment, Ronan’s hand holding the sword blurred. Swish! Dozens of red lines were drawn crudely in the air above the creature’s body.

It was the moment when the blurry sword reappeared. With a soft explosion, pieces of flesh and piles of organs rained down on the ground. The Werewolves, who had been charging with a fierce momentum as if they could swallow the world, all stopped in their tracks.

“Krraagh!”

“Kraaaghh!”

As expected, fiery reactions followed. Ronan swung his sword, flicking off the entrails embedded in the blade. He pointed the tip of his sword at the pack of thieves and issued a warning.

“Keep coming, if you wanna be turned into minced meat.”

“Uwaaah…!”

It was a demonstration of dominance to urge them to run away. It was evident to anyone but the most foolhardy that if one strike like that wasn’t enough to deter the enemy, nothing would be. At the unexpected calamity, Marya, who was standing nearby, retched. Nowhere among the scattered pieces of flesh under the carriage could one find the original form of the Werewolves.

“Kraaghhh”

But sadly, they are just ordinary rogues. Even fiercer and more ferocious warriors were on their way. Ronan sighed as he looked at the Werewolves who chose the sad ending. Just as he was about to charge, a shot from a crossbow was fired from inside their carriage.

“Kruhk?”

Swoosh! The crossbow bolt flew straight through the forehead of the Werewolf charging at the front. It didn’t even have time to realize its own death. As the magic engraved on the arrowhead activated, a fiery explosion occurred. Boom! With a resounding roar, the charred corpse soared into the air.

“Oh, shit.”

Before the dismembered body hit the ground, another crossbow bolt was fired, hitting the outskirts of the group of assailants charging. Thud! Thud! Thud! Pillars of fire erupted one after another, enclosing the thieves in a ring of flames. In the blink of an eye, the thieves found themselves trapped in a fiery fence, prompting Ronan to whistle in admiration.

“Impressive.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Are there more of them?”

“There are seven to the south from the central bonfire and five to the east. Oh, one just died, so four.”

Ronan chuckled at Adeshan’s explanation. Her analytical skills were always impressive no matter when he saw them. In that regard, Shullifen would need to step up his game. She spoke again.

“But since other mercenaries have already joined the fight, we don’t have to worry. Given their skills, they should be able to handle it adequately.”

“If you say so, Sunbae.”

Ronan nodded. With skills like hers, it was no wonder she became a General at such a young age. He looked at Marya, who was still dazed, and said,

“Marya, we’ll handle this here, so go to Duon.”

“What? With so many of them?”

Marya furrowed her brows. Even if the two of them were skilled fighters, the numbers were too overwhelming. Having diligently attended Baren’s lessons, she knew well that the humanoid races could become extremely dangerous enemies if they harbored malice. The innate physical abilities and combat instincts from birth were factors that even the most trained warriors couldn’t ignore. Amidst her hesitation, Adeshan’s voice came from inside the carriage.

“It’s okay. You can go.”

“Even if you say so, Unnie…”

Adeshan’s tone was full of confidence. Meanwhile, she gathered the fleeing assailants in one place. Marya nodded reluctantly. With a clang, she enhanced her stride with mana and leaped in the direction where Duon was. Ronan, watching her leap like she was flying through the sky, shook his head as if in disbelief.

“Maybe she’s actually a beastman, something like a Wereogre.”

“Hahaha, where would you find such a pretty beastman?”

“Sunbae is prettier.”

“Uh…?”

Adeshan’s hand, loading the crossbow, paused. It seemed like something very shocking had just been said. After swallowing once, she raised her gaze to where Ronan was and said,

“Um, what did you just say…”

But Ronan didn’t hear Adshan’s reply. Bang! Suddenly, the roof caved in, and the carriage lurched as if it were about to topple over. Caught off guard by the unexpected shock, she stumbled and fell backward, landing on her buttocks.

“Eek!”

“I’ll be back.”

It was the recoil from Ronan’s leap. Descending amidst the bewildered beastmen, who were unable to escape Adeshan’s fiery barrier due to fear of being hit by the crossbow bolts.

“As expected, disobedient bastards need to be tied up and disciplined.”

“Kyararak! Humans!”

Ronan approached them slowly. A few brave warriors charged at him, but as they passed him, they turned into headless corpses collapsing to the ground. Squelch! The splattering blood painted the snowy landscape. Even with the keen vision of the beastmen, they couldn’t perceive Ronan’s sword clearly. Only then did fear begin to spread across the faces of the beastmen.

“Krrrggh… strong.”

“Wouldn’t it have been better to end this peacefully?”

Once an opportunity passes, it won’t come back. Ronan’s intention was to teach them that fact. Suddenly, the appearance of a Werewolf that was different from other individuals caught my eye.

“…Why does it look like that?”

Ronan furrowed his brow. The bright flames revealed the grotesque form more clearly. Its face was twisted, and its right arm was deformedly developed. With a split tongue hanging down to its neck, drooling incessantly, it looked completely different from a Werewolf, more like a completely different monster.

‘Is it diseased or something?’

Observing the group quietly, he noticed a few more of those creatures. Each of the ugly beastmen emanated an indescribable sense of discomfort. Come to think of it, there were creatures like that in his past life too, but back then, everything was bothersome, so he didn’t bother to ask any questions and just slaughtered them.

‘I should ask about it.’

He wondered why they became like that. But curiosity couldn’t overcome his desire to finish the job quickly and go to sleep. He decided to leave one alive to interrogate later.

Gripping the sword hilt, Ronan’s sword became stained with the color of blood. With the crossbow bolts still holding the beastmen’s feet, there was no need to use Aura. Ronan leaped forward and swung his sword horizontally. Squelch! The crimson whirlwind of the sword struck the beastmen.

***

[Translator – Peptobismol]

“Phew… Thank goodness there were plenty of us. Otherwise, we would’ve been in big trouble…”

“At the end of the day, luck wasn’t entirely against us… Hey, bring that thing over here!”

It was about fifteen minutes after the situation had completely settled. Duon’s carefully selected mercenaries had completely annihilated the Werewolf bandits. Fortunately, there were no fatalities, but there were quite a few injuries. The Werewolves, becoming more frenzied with each injury, were by no means easy opponents.

However, as no one suffered fatal injuries, it seemed that the journey could continue without much difficulty. The horses, carriages, and supplies were all intact. Merchants who checked the damage scurried around. Somewhere, the smell of something delicious wafted in the air.

“What’s that smell? Is someone grilling meat?”

“It smells like blood… Ah, they’re over there.”

They finally spotted Duon to the west of the campsite. Marya and her two friends, who had come with her as escorts, stood beside him. A bearded merchant was about to speak up to report, but the sight beyond the four caught his attention.

“What…!”

Hell seemed to have unfolded before them. The torn bodies of the beastmen covered the ground like a quilt. The blood maintained its shape as it spread across the flat ground, leaving charred marks scattered throughout the snowy landscape.

“Th-this is… unbelievable…”

“It’s beyond belief.”

The Carabel father and daughter, who arrived about two minutes earlier than the merchants, were speechless as they beheld the scene. It looked as if a storm of fire and blades had swept through.

“Did you two… do all this?”

“Well, yes. It was easy with Sunbae gathering them for me.”

“Ronan did everything. I just shot crossbow bolts from afar.”

Although the two tried to attribute the credit to each other, it wasn’t really important. It was absurd to think that just two of them had taken down what looked like forty Werewolves. Marya, who had been alternating her gaze between them, chuckled in disbelief.

“Monsters.”

Moreover, they didn’t just kill them all; they even captured one alive. One large Werewolf knelt before Ronan, bound, with Adeshan’s whip serving as a rope. It snarled at Ronan as if it were about to kill him.

“Grrr… Human, release me at once!”

“Sure, sure. You’re quite smart for a brute.”

Ronan nodded in satisfaction. He had chosen him after a somewhat meticulous selection process. Among his companions, he was the only one wearing armor. Ronan kicked him lightly and asked,

“This armor looks pretty good. Where did you get it? Doesn’t seem like beastman craftsmanship.”

“Graah! Don’t touch my body!”

The Werewolf roared. Ronan swiftly dodged its attempt to bite his leg, then flicked its nose with the hilt of his sword. Crunch! With a sound of breaking bones, the Werewolf’s head drooped. Ronan grabbed one of its ears and growled softly.

“Don’t you understand the situation, you bastard? Answer properly or I’ll kill you.”

“Krragghh”

“Being pridefull when all you do is kill people and rob them. If you answer me properly, I will spare your life.”

Two thick streams of nosebleeds dripped down its snout. Ronan grabbed its ear and continued,

“Okay, if you don’t want to talk about the armor, how about something else? How did those stupid looking bastards end up looking like that?”

“Grrr… Grrrgh…”

Ronan extended his finger and pointed to the corpse of a Werewolf they had just faced, one with a deformed right arm. As his gaze fell upon the Werewolf’s face, it twisted savagely once again.

“Kahak! Is that what you call a question? Since you humans came, our tribe has been acting strangely!”

“What nonsense is this?”

“After you humans came, everyone dies early! Even newborns look weird! Grrr, I’ll kill you all! You’ll all die!”

The Werewolf began to thrash wildly, unlike before. Despite the whip stitched with metal pieces and blood flowing, it didn’t flinch. It locked eyes with the four of them and shouted,

“Remember, humans. We’ll tear your families, your friends, everything apart. Graaah! The Night of Fangs is near!!”

“What?”

At the mention of “the Night of Fangs,” Ronan’s eyes widened. The Werewolf, crawling back up, rushed at Duon with its mouth wide open. It was faster than anticipated. It was just the moment Ronan was desperately trying to activate Aura.

“Gruk.”

“Huhuoooagh!”

The Werewolf, in the midst of rushing forward, suddenly stopped in its tracks. Its sharp fangs were just inches away from Duon’s throat. Ronan, noticing the Werewolf’s irises clouded with an ash-like color, raised an eyebrow. Adeshan, standing right beside him, let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew… Thank goodness.”

“Sunbae?”

Adeshan’s eyes emitted a faint light. It was a form of mental suppression using shadow mana. Perhaps she had reached that level now. Ronan muttered a sigh of admiration under his breath and swung his sword. With a swift motion, the Werewolf’s head fell to the ground.

“Now, can you control people too?”

Ronan asked, somewhat incredulously. Adeshan shook her head. It seemed even she wasn’t sure what she had done.

“Well, I didn’t expect it to work either. Maybe it’s because the Werewolf’s condition was unstable. Anyway, just now…”

“He mentioned the Night of Fangs. I heard it too.”

Ronan nodded. Adeshan’s face stiffened. The Night of Fangs. It was the rebellion of the Northern beastmen, orchestrated by Zaifa, which had robbed the happiness of the young girl. Adeshan, calming her rapid breath, spoke up.

“What could ‘it’s near’ mean? Could it be…?”

“I’m not sure. We’ll have to report this.”

Ronan stopped the Werewolf’s head from rolling with his foot. He couldn’t understand why the Night of Fangs, an event that had ended ten years ago, was being mentioned again.

But the Werewolf’s words didn’t seem like a simple threat. The oddly-shaped creatures and the claim that the tribe had been strange since the arrival of humans bothered him. Something unsettling seemed to be happening in the North.

“…Anyway, let’s go back for now. You’ve worked hard.”

“Yeah. You too. But Ronan, earlier, in the carriage…”

Adeshan trailed off. It seemed like she had heard something very pleasing, but he wasn’t sure. Did he perhaps say something about her being pretty? Adeshan, who couldn’t spit out that one sentence, lowered her head.

“Uh, it’s nothing.”

“What is it? So lame.”

Ronan chuckled lightly. They turned around and headed back to the camp. Between the clearing clouds, the moon and stars shone brightly in the night sky. The gentle moonlight enveloped the plateau covered in blood and corpses.

The cleanup didn’t take long. As expected, the Carabel arrived in Rundalian around noon the next day. It was a small town mostly inhabited by beastmen, with a rare iron mine.

[TL/N: guys its Ramadan so no more horni (fr this time)… also chapters will be a little slow bcz I’m spending more time with family and friends :3]

[Translator – Peptobismol]