Academy’s Genius Swordmaster

Chapter 212

[Translator – Peptobismol]

Chapter 212: King of the North (6)

Like a shooting star, the stabbing thrust pierced through Barka’s chest. It was much faster than what he had seen in Jaeger’s room. Barka gasped in pain as if flames were igniting inside his body.

“Ugh…!”

“Die already.”

Ronan twisted the blade vertically and then thrust it upwards. The crimson blade sliced through bones and organs, swiftly rising upwards. If it continued like this, Barka’s head would have been split in half from the bottom. Using his superhuman strength, Barka launched himself to the side.

“Kra-agh!”

Chwack! The twisted trajectory of the blade tore through his right side. Barka, reacting to this speed, was indeed Zaifa’s brother. Ronan, holding the blade vertically, clicked his tongue.

“Persistent.”

“Do you think I’ll go down like this?”

Blood flowed from the burst side, though Barka avoided instant death, it was a significant wound.

At that moment, the shimmering mana above Barka’s shoulder intensified. Up until now, it hadn’t been noticed, but its scale was almost comparable to the bishops. Swinging his arm forcefully, Barka pushed Ronan away and let out a furious roar.

“Kraaaaaaah!!”

In an instant, Barka’s physique almost doubled. Ronan recognized it as one of the abilities Ahaiyute had used on the final battlefield.

‘Is that the power he received?’

Even the wounds on Barka’s chest and side were quickly healing. His robe tore apart, revealing a torso covered in scars. Barka, now more muscular than Zaifa, swung his claws.

“Die!”

This attack was much stronger and sharper than before. Regardless, it didn’t matter much to Ronan. He faced it head-on without dodging. The sleek blade deflected past Barka’s left arm like a flicker. Swoosh! With a clean cut, the severed forearm fell onto the deck. Ronan, splattered with warm blood, casually muttered.

“Still got some fight left in you?”

“Ugh! H-how…!”

Astonished, Barka looked at his severed left arm. An impossible scenario was unfolding. Was this guy really human?

Something had to be done, but there was no time to strategize. Swish! Ronan’s immediate counterattack sliced across Barka’s neck horizontally.

“Kugh…!”

Barka’s eyes widened as if they would pop out. Luckily, he managed to lean back, avoiding decapitation, but about half of his neck bone was cut. The spurting blood painted the sea red.

‘If this continues, I will die.’

His consciousness was fading. Only then did Barka realize he couldn’t defeat Ronan in a physical fight. He decided on something and, with his remaining right arm, smashed the deck. Quaaang! The ship split in half, shattered to pieces. The erupting maelstrom obscured the sky.

“What the hell!?”

“Gurgle…!”

Barka sank into the sea. Ronan, losing balance at the moment, was about to fall. Just as he was about to fall, a white dolphin emerged and supported his back. Thanks to it, he was able to ride on the dolphin’s back without falling into the water. From behind, Adeshan’s voice echoed.

“Ronan! Are you okay?!”

Adeshan was approaching on another dolphin. She had controlled the dolphin’s mind, sending Ronan ahead first and following behind belatedly.

She too looked like a soaked rat, her complexion noticeably paler. After wiping his face once, Ronan spoke up.

“I’m fine. But that madman suddenly smashed the ship…”

He couldn’t understand why someone would jump into the sea with fatal injuries. Due to the debris covering the surface, the guy’s whereabouts were unknown. Suddenly, Adeshan exclaimed in shock.

“O-Over there!”

“HUh?”

As Ronan turned his head to where she was pointing, he saw something squirming under the iceberg about 20 meters away.

It didn’t take long for him to realize it was Barka. Desperately struggling, he held a white scroll in his hand. Whoosh! A dimension door appeared in front of him, and Ronan’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“Hah, that bastard.”

Only then did Ronan realize that the guy fell into the water intentionally. Reactively gripping the hilt of his sword, Ronan focused his mind. Lamancha’s blade glowed with the color of sunset.

“Come here.”

Pwaash..! A light cluster pulling the opponent shot towards the sea floor. But there was no change in Barka’s movements. In his place, a plump salmon appeared before Ronan’s eyes.

“Damn it, is this why he jumped into the water?”

The salmon that was fluttering in the air returned to the water. Ronan twisted his lips. Perhaps due to refraction from the water, aiming wasn’t accurate. Ronan was about to activate his Aura again. Adeshan, who was beside him, urgently shouted.

“That won’t work, Ronan, let’s go!”

“What?”

It was the moment Ronan turned his head. The dolphins carrying him and Adeshan submerged into the water. Due to the sudden entry, he ended up swallowing some water.

“Blurgh…!”

His face felt as if it would be torn apart. Thanks to him grabbing onto the fins sticking, he could prevent himself from being thrown off. Adeshan’s voice echoed in his mind.

[Come over here and grab me, quickly!]

Ronan nodded his head. There seemed to be a plan. Ronan, who had transferred to Adeshan’s dolphin, hugged her from behind. The white dolphin’s body shot out like a bullet. The messenger of the sea, specialized in swimming, rapidly closed the distance between Barka and the two.

Barka’s body had already disappeared into the dimensional portal, leaving only his legs behind. Adeshan, channeling mana into her arms, swung her whip. Swish! The steel serpent, fully extended, coiled around Barka’s left ankle.

“Uwah!”

Barka, taken aback, thrashed his leg. Ronan, realizing Adeshan’s plan, grabbed the handle of the whip together. Due to the significant difference in their physique, the two were pulled towards where Barka was.

[Harder!]

Adeshan shouted again. Letting go of the fins, the two moved through the water at a speed faster than the dolphin. Barka’s figure disappeared into the dimensional portal.

Shwoop! The dimensional portal, narrowly swallowing Ronan and Adeshan, closed its mouth. Along with the sensation of being squeezed, Ronan’s vision turned pitch black.

****

“Gah!”

His vision brightened. Judging by the fact that he could breathe, he didn’t seem to be underwater. Ronan, regaining his senses, quickly jumped to his feet. The ground was made of ice, almost causing him to slip.

“Ugh…”

As he opened his mouth, the seawater he had been holding in poured out. Neither Barka nor Adeshan was in sight. Hastily looking around, he noticed Adeshan sprawled on the ground.

“Damn it, Sunbae.”

It seemed he lost consciousness while jumping through space. She lay there, her face turned white, not breathing. Ronan immediately started performing CPR.

“Hmph!”

Their lips touched multiple times, but there was no room for strange thoughts. Amid giving breaths and compressing her chest about fifteen times, Adeshan suddenly opened her eyes, as she straightened her upper body like a spring.

[Translator – Peptobismol]

“Cough! Hack… Haaa…!”

“Damn it… Thank goodness.”

Ronan let out a sigh of relief. Adeshan, lying next to him, began to cough up seawater. Fortunately, it seemed that her life was not in danger. Without even turning her head, she asked.

“Ro-Ronan… Ugh, where’s Barka?”

It was a remarkable determination to ask such a question as soon as she came back to life. She still had the handle of the whip in her right hand, without letting go even while unconscious. Ronan replied,

“I don’t see him right now, but he must be nearby. Wait, what’s that…?”

“Huh?”

Ronan’s eyes widened. His gaze lingered on the other end of the whip that Adeshan was holding. So when Adeshan turned her head, she gasped. A severed ankle was entangled in the whip.

“H-He cut off his ankle…!”

“What a ruthless bastard.”

Ronan chuckled as if he couldn’t believe it. The cut was messy, indicating that it was forcibly torn off. It seemed that it had been cut off while traveling through space and ended up in a different location from where they were. Adeshan, who was fidgeting, tilted her head.

“Anyway, where are we…?”

“Yes. It seems like we’ve come farther than expected.”

Ice surrounded them. The irregularly shaped ice floes resembled the scales of a giant fish. The cold here was unlike anything they had experienced before, penetrating to the bone.

Unidentifiable sounds echoed under the dark sky. The eerie echoes, which certainly didn’t sound like the voices of the living, hinted at their current location. Ronan, helping Adeshan to her feet, whispered softly.

“…The Sea of Ghosts.”

“Did the teleportation fail? Why are we in a place like this…?”

“I don’t think so. What about the Blood Needle?”

“Oh, hold on a moment.”

Adeshan rummaged through her belongings and pulled out the Blood Needle. Fortunately, it hadn’t been lost in the sea. Her eyes widened as she checked the needle.

“Ro-Ronan. It’s moving right now. And it’s very close.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I don’t even need to look at the blood needle.”

“Well, how far could a one-legged bastard like him have gone…?”

The absence of bloodstains probably meant that the wounds had frozen over. Ronan closed his eyes and focused. Indeed, he could sense Barka’s presence not far away from them.

Having hastily prepared, the two of them set off. The wind was strong, making it difficult to keep their eyes open. Adeshan, glancing back at Ronan, whispered softly.

“That thing earlier… Thank you.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

Although Ronan asked, Adeshan didn’t answer. Memories when she drank the seawater and came back from the verge of death remained vivid in her mind. Adeshan, touching her lips, lowered her head.

“…It’s nothing. Oh, look over there!”

Having discovered something, Adeshan pointed ahead. A large sailing ship lay on the ice sea. The massive vessel, about 100 meters long from bow to stern, looked like the carcass of a whale lying on the beach.

The torn flags made it impossible to determine its affiliation. Judging by the numerous gunports, it seemed to have been a warship. The needle of the Blood Needle was precisely pointing at the ship.

The two of them soon reached the front of the ship. Up close, its power felt much greater. As they searched the ship, Adeshan nodded.

“It’s certain. He’s inside.”

“Alright. Let’s finish this quickly.”

The Blood Needle was also pointing directly at the front. Suddenly, Ronan drew his sword. He had no intention of falling for Barka’s tricks again.

“Haah!”

Ronan swung his sword with all his might. Clang! The rushing blade struck the vertical deck. Before long, smoke cleared, revealing the decrepit interior of the ship.

“Incredible…”

“Indeed. I didn’t expect it to be this powerful.”

Adeshan exclaimed with wide eyes. Ronan, too, chuckled at the unexpected effectiveness of his technique. Since feeling a burning sensation in his heart earlier, the overall power of his skills seemed to have increased.

Is this the power he originally possessed? The two of them advanced along the transformed ship’s interior. The unique smell of decayed wood permeated the air.

“…It looks like a ship that was stranded a long time ago.”

“Where did he find something like this?”

The tilted deck was empty. On either side, there were empty spaces and cannons stuck into the floor.

“Hmm?”

Ronan, who had noticed something, stopped in his tracks. He saw the ice exposed beneath the torn-up floor, and there, a floor hatch caught his eye.

“This…”

The floor hatch was wide open. Below it, a staircase barely wide enough for s Weretiger to pass through continued beneath the icy sea.

Unlike the ship that seemed to have been buried for thousands of years, the floor hatch didn’t seem very old. It appeared that the ship was a decoy, and this was the real entrance to the hideout.

Barka’s presence was coming from directly below. As they exchanged glances, the two headed down the stairs. With each step, their footsteps echoed. Ronan, holding his shining sword like a torch, spoke up.

“I hope this isn’t another trap.”

“Yeah. It feels different from last time.”

Adeshan replied confidently. Indeed, it didn’t seem like a trap to Ronan either.

As they descended, the stairs soon ended. A vast corridor stretched out before them.

Unlike the damn ice face, the corridor was paved with neatly laid stones. Similarly, the walls were neatly finished, with luminescent stones embedded at regular intervals. Ronan muttered curses as he looked around.

“This bastard really has his house well decorated.”

“…The disgusting smell.”

Adeshan frowned. Various odors, from rotting flesh to toxic plants to various animal smells, permeated the stagnant air. Could it be remnants of dark magic and necromancy?

The further they walked, the more intense the smell became. The two people following Barka’s presence arrived at a certain room. Ronan raised an eyebrow at the unexpected ordinary space.

“Is this… a study?”

The room wasn’t particularly large compared to a Weartiger’s physique. It contained everyday furniture such as a desk, chair, and bed. There seemed to be no hiding place for Barka.

“He’s not here, right?”

“No. We have to go a little further.”

Adeshan nodded her head in response to Ronan’s question. The Blood Beedle was also pointing at the opposite wall. Suddenly, Ronan’s gaze fell on the stack of papers on the desk. He frowned.

“…What’s this?”

It was concerning enough to warrant further inspection. Despite the faded edges, the handwriting was particularly distinctive.

The lively handwriting, as if dancing, was undoubtedly that of someone he knew. Ronan picked up a piece of paper, furrowing his brows.

“This is… Zaifa’s handwriting.”

[TL/N: this mass release was commissioned by a member on our discord server, don’t forget to thank them in the comments :3 also go join the discord if u wanna commission chapters like this too]

[Translator – Peptobismol]