Emotionless Swordsmanship Genius

Chapter 57: The Crisis Returns (1)

“They’re signaling from over there.”

A Blue Raven member, carrying an identical pendant to Montecorato’s, reported to the leader as they moved toward the grand duke’s estate. They had bypassed all the checkpoints, slipped through the main gates, and infiltrated the residential areas.

The group split up as planned, scattering in different directions to search for the Chakran girl. Just then, the pendant given to Montecorato reacted.

“Lead the way!”

“Yes!”

The Blue Raven sped forward, urging his horse ahead.

Many people resided within the grand duke’s estate, but mercy was not in the intruders’ minds. They cut down anyone they encountered, including imperial soldiers, as they charged straight toward their target.

The plan was swift and brutal—to snatch the target and escape before the imperial forces could gather.

Moments later, they spotted a group moving hurriedly from the annex to the main building.

‘Things are going smoothly.’

The leader smirked.

Among the group, he saw Grand Duke Decius and the Chakran girl. Behind them was Montecorato, seemingly fulfilling his role.

“Hmph. Well, that’s a skill in itself. Attack! Kill everyone except the Chakran girl!” he commanded, and the Blue Ravens raised their weapons and charged.

Meanwhile, Decius, recognizing the Blue Ravens’ sudden presence, grasped the seriousness of the situation. Dark, powerful energies were converging from all sides, with the strongest among them blocking their path.

‘How did they get here?’

He glanced at Susanna. How had this small child known in advance?

But now wasn’t the time for such thoughts. What mattered was who these intruders were, what they wanted, and how to defeat them.

“Who are you?!”

His voice thundered like a storm.

Decius unleashed a fierce, murderous aura as he shouted, his voice echoing like a lion’s roar, making the very air tremble.

For a moment, everyone froze. Even the Blue Raven members were no exception.

The intensity of Decius’s aura was overwhelming.

“I asked, who are you?!”

The commanding voice reverberated again.

This time, the Blue Ravens flinched, involuntarily stepping back. The grand duchess and Susanna, standing behind him, covered their ears, unable to bear the intense noise.

Clap, clap, clap.

“Impressive, just as the rumors said!”

At that moment, someone clapped and stepped forward.

Effortlessly brushing aside Decius’s intimidating aura, the Blue Raven leader approached. Decius swallowed hard—strangely, there was no energy emanating from him, which only heightened Decius’s concern.

This was not an opponent to underestimate.

Instinctively, he shielded his wife and daughter behind him, assessing the situation.

‘Damn it! Why now?’

Decius sighed inwardly. His skill in swordsmanship would only be effective if he were alone.

But now, both his wife and daughter are here with him.

The leader took another step forward, a slight smile appearing on his face.

“No point in thinking it over. Hand over the Chakran girl, and I’ll grant you all a painless death.”

The cold smile only made Decius draw Susanna closer behind him, realizing now who they were.

“You’re after the Chakran girl… You must be the Blue Ravens.”

Decius gritted his teeth, and the leader gave a slight sigh.

“Hah. Realizing that now? After tailing us all this time? Disappointing.”

“Why are you targeting the Chakran people?”

“You don’t need to know that. And you clearly have no intention of handing her over.”

The leader smirked, turning halfway to look back at his group.

“Pity. Guess we’ll end it here. We don’t have much time.”

With a wave of his hand, he signaled to his massive subordinate.

“Take care of them.”

Boom, boom!

“Graah!”

Big Stone roared like a beast as he pulled the massive hammer from his back and began striding toward Decius.

Meanwhile, the leader unsheathed his own sword.

Sss—

A chilling aura spread around him, revealing the bluish blade. Energy began gathering at the sword’s tip.

Once a small sphere of energy had formed, he raised his sword high.

Shaaak!

The blue aura shot skyward, visible over the grand duke’s estate.

Soon after, Blue Raven members, scattered around the grounds in search of the Chakran girl, noticed the signal and converged on the annex.

* * *

“Is this really the place?”

Shong, who had headed east with Flora, examined the empty underground prison.

They had arrived at the location she had provided, but there was no sign of anyone. Shong decided to check inside personally.

Every door in the building was wide open, and not a single person was to be seen inside.

“They were definitely here. It looks like they were evacuated in a hurry. Look! There are traces showing recent activity,” Flora pointed to one of the cells.

Sure enough, leftover food scraps and bloodstains were still visible, the blood not yet dry.

It seemed that the captives had resisted while being removed, leading to violence.

‘What’s going on here?’

A vague sense of dread settled over Shong, and he began to worry about the two who had headed to the grand duke’s estate.

“Let’s move to the rendezvous point. We need to inform Karon.”

“Got it.”

Before the four split up, they had established a rendezvous point, in case something went wrong. Shong and Flora quickly headed north after exiting the building.

* * *

“Enemy sighted!”

As Karon rapidly approached, the second checkpoint became a flurry of activity. The fact that Karon had broken through the first checkpoint meant that all their planted men there were dead.

Archers stationed on the barricade aimed their arrows at Karon and his horse.

Karon, now close to the checkpoint, pushed his feet against the saddle and leaped forward.

The arrows struck the ground and the horse, but Karon swiftly reached the checkpoint.

Surveying the area, Karon channeled energy into his black sword. As expected, these were impostors too.

“Stop him!”

The impostors shouted in panic.

Without missing a beat, Karon charged at them.

Though their energy was noticeably stronger than the guards at the first checkpoint, it wasn’t enough to concern him.

Clang! Clang!

“Urgh!”

Karon’s black blade cut through the air with precision, decapitating three men before sending his sword flying onto the barricade.

In one smooth motion, he mounted one of the guards’ horses and rode forward.

Shwick!

Thud.

The black sword returned to Karon’s hand, its task completed. The bodies of the impostors tumbled off the barricade behind him.

“Hyaah!”

Without slowing down, Karon spurred the horse toward the grand duke’s estate.

Before long, the estate’s towering walls and outer gates came into view.

The grand duke’s residence was so heavily fortified that it was clear how important Decius was. But this also showed just how capable the Blue Ravens were, having infiltrated such a place.

“Blue Ravens!” Karon muttered.

To his surprise, the gates were completely unmanned. The Blue Ravens who had been stationed there had already moved to the main residence after receiving their leader’s signal.

Not knowing this, Karon found it odd but swiftly entered.

He could feel intense energy gathering in the center of the estate.

‘Impressive.’

Karon swallowed involuntarily as he felt the overwhelming presence for the first time. His hairs stood on end, and cold sweat trickled down his back. The air was thick with a foul, metallic smell, every sense screaming danger.

As he leaped over the estate’s inner walls, the sound of fierce combat greeted him.

Clang! Clang!

“Ugh!”

“Push into the annex!”

“Don’t let them through!”

A fierce battle was raging within the grand duke’s residence.

Judging by their armor, one side consisted of the estate’s defense forces, while the other side was the Blue Ravens in black robes. The defenders were falling like straw men.

‘It’s them!’

Karon dismounted and charged toward the fray.

The situation was dire. The defense forces were on the verge of being surrounded. More than half of them had already turned into cold corpses, while the number of Blue Ravens kept increasing.

Shing!

Karon launched a surprise attack on the Blue Ravens attacking the defense forces.

“Ugh!”

He drove his black sword into the back of one of the members and immediately slit another’s throat.

Tearing the cloak from one of the fallen Blue Ravens, Karon wrapped it around himself.

It was only then that two other Blue Ravens noticed him and hurriedly moved to attack, but Karon had already disappeared.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rockhill, the assault captain of the Blue Ravens, had planted his greatsword atop a fallen defender’s body. Standing near the annex’s entrance, he surveyed the battlefield with a bored expression and yawned.

“Why’s the boss taking so long?”

His job was to clear the way for the leader to escape once the task was done.

As he grumbled, his eyes caught sight of a figure, a man in a black cloak, attacking his comrades like a ghost.

“Huh?”

At first glance, the figure could be mistaken for a Blue Raven, but Rockhill’s keen eyes spotted the dark, red-tinted aura emanating from the man’s black sword.

It was a weapon he had never seen before.

The mysterious attacker swiftly cut down two Blue Ravens and moved on to ambush more from behind as they fought the defenders. He was efficient and methodical, using the chaos to remain unnoticed.

‘Even we aren’t that ruthless.’

Rockhill smirked in astonishment at the attacker’s cold precision. If this continued, one side of their formation would collapse.

Though these Blue Ravens were without the Devil’s Orb, they weren’t weak enough to be taken down so easily. This only proved how skilled the intruder was.

No hesitation, no embellishment.

It was as if the man had no emotions.

“I can’t let this go on.”

Rockhill hefted his massive greatsword onto his shoulder and moved forward with surprising agility.

As Karon prepared to strike another Blue Raven from behind, a massive sword came crashing down between them, splitting the ground and sending stones flying in all directions.

Thud!

With a fierce gust of wind, the greatsword struck the ground, forcing Karon to deflect the debris with his black sword and retreat.

“Looks like you’re not one of us after all,” Rockhill remarked, slinging his greatsword back over his shoulder as he studied Karon with a confident expression.

Karon met his gaze with an unreadable expression.

Thick eyebrows, a scarred face, lean but powerful muscles—everything about this man’s demeanor and aura indicated he was no ordinary opponent.

‘Is he similar to that man? No, maybe even stronger.’

Karon was reminded of the elite Black Wolf soldier he had once fought during a landslide. The aura emanating from this greatsword-wielding Blue Raven was similar, though it felt even more dangerous.

One thing stood out: the weighty energy radiating from Rockhill’s greatsword.

“You don’t seem like the chatty type, but I have to ask you one thing. That sword—is it yours?”

Though it was a simple question about ownership, the meaning behind it was much deeper.

Rockhill wasn’t just asking if Karon wielded the sword well—he was also acknowledging that he knew the true nature of Karon’s black blade.

Karon’s decision didn’t take long.

Two or three steps.

Enough to close the gap and swing his sword at Rockhill.

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