Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 46: Variables (1)

Karon, running through the sloped forest toward the rendezvous point, stiffened his face and glanced to his right.

Two presences, which had been following the path, were now rapidly cutting through the forest, approaching him.

‘How?’

Karon’s eyes narrowed. He had changed direction into the forest after sensing a strong presence while descending the path, but it seemed they had noticed him.

This confirmed that they were indeed tracking him.

‘Is it Shong?’

Karon looked back at the pursuing Shong. However, the demonic energy emanating from Shong’s cloak was faint, barely detectable.

‘Then, is it the black blade? The black orb?’

Karon absorbed all the energy from the black blade into his body, hiding it thoroughly. However, the black orb remained a problem.

Quickly coming up with a plan, Karon slowed his pace and spoke to Shong, who was following behind him.

“Go on ahead. Someone’s chasing us.”

“What? How do they know we’re here?”

“I’ll find out.”

“Be careful!”

Without stopping, Shong waved his hand as he moved away, knowing full well that Karon’s decision was unshakable.

As Karon slowly trailed behind, he assessed the terrain, looking for a suitable spot.

* * *

“The strong presence disappeared?!”

“What? How is that possible?”

At 11’s words, 6, who had been leading with his short-cropped hair, stopped and shouted. Things he had never experienced were happening one after another.

He felt an even stronger urge to meet the opponent.

11 held the pendant in her hand, closed her eyes, and focused. After a moment, she opened her eyes and spoke.

“But I can sense two faint presences. They’re moving quickly to the west.”

“We need to speed up.”

With her words, 6 began slashing through the forest with speed that made the dense woods seem irrelevant.

11 followed closely behind, guiding the direction and noting that the gap was closing.

“One of them has stopped ahead! The other is still moving!”

As they passed through a denser section of the sloped forest, where the trees were thick and closely packed, 6 leaped over a small ravine and swiftly swung his sword to the side.

Clang!

With a metallic sound and a spark, something ricocheted off. It was none other than Karon’s black blade, perfectly blended into the darkness.

If not for his sharp senses, 6’s head could have easily been taken off.

“I’ll handle this! You keep chasing!”

11 nodded and darted past him as he stopped.

At that moment, Karon suddenly emerged from the bushes and launched himself at her, spinning midair to strike with his heel.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Thud!

But 6, who had swiftly approached, extended his leg and struck Karon’s foot.

As a result, both of them were forced to land separately, and 11 disappeared into the forest.

Fast.

Karon realized that his opponent was just as quick as he was.

“Your opponent is me.”

6 blocked Karon’s path and slowly raised his sword. Karon, expressionless, stared intently at 6.

“You’re younger than I thought. I expected someone older. You’re not even that big.”

6 couldn’t hide his disappointment. His opponent appeared far weaker than he had anticipated.

Though Karon’s physique was decent, he had no visible muscle mass and looked thin. Most notably, there was no palpable energy coming from him.

Suddenly, an odd thought crossed his mind. Not only was there no energy, but even Karon’s presence was faint.

His eyes were unfocused and his expression emotionless, as if he were a ghost standing in the shadows.

It made sense now—he must have been trained as an assassin. Everything fit together perfectly.

This also explained why Karon’s comrades had been killed in Millus Village. It must have been a surprise attack.

“Was it you who killed the elite squad of the Black Wolf in Millus Village? Where do you belong?”

Karon still said nothing, simply staring at his opponent. It seemed his enemy had misunderstood, thinking Karon had been sent by someone.

“Hmph, looks like you succeeded by sheer luck in your ambush…”

As 6 stepped toward Karon and spoke, he swiftly jerked his head to the right.

Swish!

Slicing through the air, the black blade grazed his left cheek.

Thunk!

Karon, having retrieved the black blade, crouched low and charged. At the same time, the demonic energy he had stored deep within his chest began to transfer into the black blade.

His hair stood on end, and his mouth felt dry.

Every instinct in his body screamed that this opponent was on a different level than anyone he had fought before.

He would need to give it his all from the very beginning.

“This bastard with his cheap tricks!”

6 yelled, furious as he looked at the blood on his hand from the cut on his left cheek.

At the same time, a bluish mist rose from the sword he was holding. In an instant, the surroundings turned icy cold.

An overwhelming killing intent pressed down on Karon.

The ordinary-looking man had transformed into a savage beast.

Crash!

The black blade and 6’s sword clashed for the first time. But it wasn’t the sound of metal striking metal.

A dull thud echoed as a crimson mist and a blue mist intertwined, each struggling to consume the other.

‘As expected, this isn’t an ordinary sword.’

Seeing that Karon wasn’t being pushed back, 6’s eyes naturally shifted toward the black blade.

Judging by the energy it emitted, it seemed to have absorbed a demonic orb, and it was clearly a difficult type and grade to control.

Typically, completely red orbs were almost impossible to tame.

The longer the deadlock continued, the more the black blade flared, expressing its full power.

Even 6 was somewhat taken aback by the intensity of the energy, which was so strong that he wasn’t sure he could handle it himself.

‘With an item possessing this much energy, the user should have already succumbed to madness. Could he be going mad? No, he’s far too calm for that.’

Soon, both of them withdrew their swords simultaneously and began exchanging blows.

Whenever one pushed forward, the situation quickly reversed.

‘It seems he’s learned more than just how to ambush.’

His opponent’s swordsmanship was more skilled than expected.

It was raw and rough at times, yet there was also a weight to it, as if he had learned the basics properly. Occasionally, he even mixed in clever, unexpected strikes.

But something felt off.

It was as if everything was a mere imitation.

In truth, no matter how fast Karon was at learning, he lacked the training and experience to wield swordsmanship so naturally.

6, who had both experience and skill, could clearly see through Karon’s condition.

Crash!

Their swords collided once more. This time, 6 intentionally clashed swords to trap Karon in place.

Overwhelmed by his opponent’s strength and energy, Karon’s feet dragged across the ground as he was pushed back.

“As I thought! You’re just a novice!”

In contrast, 6, now feeling more relaxed, kicked Karon squarely in the stomach.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Karon, who had been knocked back some distance, quickly regained his stance.

This pain was nothing compared to what he had endured before.

“You’ve got some endurance for your size. Let me ask you one thing. That longbow that my comrades in Millus Village had—did you absorb its energy? How did you do it?”

Karon raised his sword in response, without saying a word.

In fact, the black orb that had absorbed the longbow’s energy was hidden in a tree behind Karon.

He had realized that his enemies were tracking the orb’s energy, so he had set it up as bait.

The ambush had failed spectacularly, but it was a clever ploy nonetheless.

“Can’t you speak? Or are you deaf? Or perhaps, have you been overtaken by that sword?”

For a brief moment, Karon’s eyes flickered at 6’s words. He seemed well-versed in the nature of demonic weapons.

6’s sword, too, was no ordinary blade, as a blue mist emanated from it, making it appear dangerous.

A hint of curiosity sparked within Karon.

“None of the above.”

“Oh! So you can talk. Then how are you able to control that sword, filled with demonic energy?”

6 alternated his gaze between Karon and the black blade, his eyes full of curiosity.

Karon’s brow furrowed slightly, irritated by 6’s gaze.

“It’s none of your business.”

“Hmm… I see. Well, then. No other choice. Let’s cut off your arm and then we’ll talk. There’s much I want to ask.”

Realizing that words were no longer effective, 6 unleashed a murderous aura even stronger than before.

Though his face was smiling, his sword had grown even more menacing.

The previously mist-like energy had condensed and sharpened.

For the first time, Karon considered the possibility that he might die.

He had never seen anyone, besides himself, handle demonic energy so freely.

Unlike Karon, who could only imitate, 6 had formidable swordsmanship backed by experience.

Given more time, Karon might have had a chance, but for now, it was clear 6 had the upper hand.

Yet Karon didn’t run away. He knew that the more dangerous and difficult the situation, the faster he would grow.

That’s why, this time, Karon charged first, swinging his sword.

Crash!

Their swords clashed once more.

The impact was so powerful that a fierce wind gusted out in all directions.

Karon’s hands, gripping his sword, trembled, as if he could lose his weapon at any moment.

“Reckless! But I’ll give you credit for your determination.”

The stalemate slowly began to shift, with 6 gaining the upper hand. He intended to overpower Karon and cut off his arm.

But Karon, too, wasn’t easily giving in.

At that moment—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

With a deafening roar, an explosion rocked the forest, sending intense heat waves and tremors through the trees. It seemed to be the explosion Shong had mentioned.

6’s strength behind his sword weakened, likely distracted by the unexpected power of the explosion, causing him to momentarily focus on the direction of the blast.

Rustle!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

In that instant, movements could be heard from various places as the animals in the forest began to flee past them.

From small creatures like rabbits, foxes, and deer, to large animals like bears, everything was rushing away, paying no mind to the two combatants.

Both of them sensed that something was wrong, but neither could afford to withdraw their swords first.

The moment one of them pulled back, the opponent’s blade would slash through their body.

Rumble…

As the wave of animals passed, the ground began to shake.

In that moment, both Karon and 6 instinctively realized what was happening.

A landslide was coming.

“Haha. Things are getting interesting, aren’t they? Hey, kid. How about a temporary truce? Seems like a landslide is about to bury this place.”

Karon didn’t bother responding, instead pouring even more energy into his black blade.

“Stubbornness won’t help you here!”

Rumble! Rumble!

The ground’s shaking reached its peak.

The trees swayed, leaves fell, and it became difficult to maintain balance.

A chilling sound of something tearing apart filled the air, growing louder and louder.

“Damn it! You crazy bastard!”

Crack!

The landslide was right on top of them, swallowing trees as it rushed down the slope.

6 had no choice but to withdraw his sword and evade as fast as he could.

In that moment, Karon’s black blade sliced across 6’s chest.

Slash!

“Ugh!”

As the earth, like a tidal wave, swallowed him, Karon never took his eyes off 6.

Then he quickly reached toward the tree where the black orb was hidden.

Amazingly, the black orb, which had been hidden in the tree, began to tremble.

But at that very moment, the landslide engulfed Karon.

Boom! Rumble!

The sloped forest where they had fought was quickly buried under a torrent of earth, and 6, barely escaping, sprinted down the mountain at full speed.

His chest was stained red with blood, showing he hadn’t completely avoided Karon’s attack.

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