The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 63

Swordmaster Wants to Live in Peace – Episode 63

Elf (3)

“Nox, why are you so down? Is it because Sungwoo went on a business trip?”

“Ah, no, it’s not that……”

Yuwol could see that Nox had become noticeably gloomy after Yuseongwoo left on his business trip.

Nox denied it, but his mood had been somber ever since Yuseongwoo headed to Russia.

Despite suffering various humiliations, Yuseongwoo was the benefactor who saved his life.

For some reason, he seemed to regard Yuseongwoo as a mental pillar in many ways, and he was always so listless on days when Yuseongwoo was not around.

Moreover, he would be away from home for quite a long time, like during the last Towel Tribe incident, so it seemed he would be like this for the time being.

Yuwol, with a hint of playfulness, smiled slightly and said.

“Nox must be lonely. You can’t see Sungwoo for a while either. Ah, did you perhaps want to show Sungwoo the picture you drew at school?”

“Ah, no!”

Nox shook his head at Yuwol’s words.

Then, he hid the paper he was holding behind his back.

The picture he drew during art class today.

The theme was ‘family.’

There were several people drawn in Nox’s picture.

A total of four people were meticulously drawn with colored pencils.

Tiny Nox, Yuseongwoo and Yujiu standing beside him.

And Yuwol.

Having lost so much, Nox pondered a lot about the theme of ‘family.’

What is family?

It couldn’t just be about the people who gave birth to you.

Nox spent a long time contemplating what to draw on the blank canvas.

In the end, he drew the people he could call his family on the canvas.

Yuwol covered her mouth and chuckled.

Nox’s essence may be that of a dragon, but the way he acted was no different from an ordinary child.

“Make sure to show it to Sungwoo when he comes back. I’m sure he’ll like it.”

“Re-Really, do you think so, Sister……?”

Nox stared intently at the picture in his hand.

Could he call them family?

It was too much for him, but if possible, he wanted to call them family.

He had spent too long alone and wanted to regain warmth.

As he stood there blankly thinking, Yujiu, who had approached unnoticed, hugged Nox tightly and said.

“Oppa [older brother] isn’t here today, so shall we eat what Nox wants to eat? I have a day off for once, too.”

“Sister……”

* * *

“……It’s more serious than I thought.”

The elf village was much larger than he had expected.

Compared to the elf village in Russia, the area itself was about five times larger.

However, the entire forest was tainted with corruption.

Except for the Great Sephiroth in the center.

“And this bastard……”

Looking at the Great Sephiroth from a distance, he could see a large snake coiling around its roots and trunk.

Black scales that did not reflect light.

The six eyes were purple, and there was a sharp blade on its tail.

The grotesque snake had its sharp teeth embedded in the roots of the Great Sephiroth.

“……Is it gnawing away?”

At least, that’s how it looked to Yuseongwoo.

The giant snake seemed to be nibbling away at the roots of the Great Sephiroth.

“A snake gnawing at the roots.”

It wasn’t a monster he recognized from his memories.

Judging by its energy, it seemed close to an Ascender [a being of immense power], but it wasn’t a reunion with a familiar face.

‘This confirms that Ascenders are beings selected and appearing from various dimensions.’

Yuseongwoo tightened his grip on his life-bound sword.

Now he had to figure out how to defeat that thing.

It was much larger than the Snow White Serpent he had defeated before, and even the energy it exuded was different.

Moreover, it possessed the characteristics of ‘poison’ and ‘corruption.’

‘A frontal assault wouldn’t be bad, but…’

It was bound to be disgustingly difficult.

It was so massive that he could believe it was the ‘Jörmungandr’ [a sea serpent of Norse mythology] from Norse mythology.

Moreover, it even possessed a faint divine power.

The Great Sephiroth, the Great Mother Tree, was a kind of god that the elves believed in.

It was no wonder that divine power would reside in it since it was sucking its power.

“……Killing it is troublesome.”

This was a difficult task without someone’s help.

Killing the snake itself wasn’t a difficult task.

The problem was what would happen after killing it.

From what he could see, the snake was made up of divine power based on poison and corruption.

If he were to kill it, those things would be released all at once, turning the entire area into a dead land.

It had already become a dead land, but then it would be beyond recovery.

The elves form their villages around the Great Mother Tree, the Great Sephiroth.

But if the area around the Great Sephiroth were to become a dead land…….

‘Unless they transplant the Great Sephiroth, they would have to give up.’

And perhaps even the Great Sephiroth might die.

That’s how much he wanted to avoid the snake’s poison and corruption.

‘……I need to meet the High Elf.’

He needed to confirm whether the High Elf could withstand the poison that would erupt when he killed that thing.

If they had that much power left, things would go a little smoother.

* * *

How long had it been?

‘Are the children doing well…….’

Even the will of the Great Mother was no longer felt well.

It was already at its limit just to withstand the Great Sephiroth from being further 침식 [encroached upon/corrupted].

‘I can’t hand over…… the Great Mother Tree.’

Even now, he could feel the snake sinking its teeth into the roots of the tree and sucking its power.

Taking advantage of the fact that his power was gradually weakening, it was slowly injecting poison.

Shua-nel.

The only High Elf who had lived for nearly a thousand years.

The snake of poison and corruption.

When it began to devour the land of the Great Mother, Shua-nel sacrificed himself to protect the Great Sephiroth.

It was also a choice to protect the children, the other elves.

He connected himself to the Great Sephiroth and protected the children with its power, and had been preventing 침식 [encroachment] until now.

But now even that was becoming too much.

‘How long has it been? How much time is left? How long can I endure?’

The word ‘give up’ came to Shua-nel’s mind.

But he couldn’t do that.

The Great Sephiroth, the Great Mother Tree, was more precious than anything to the elves.

It was something he could never give up.

“Hey.”

‘……Finally, even hallucinations.’

It sounded like he could hear a person’s voice.

There was no way anyone could be here.

But the voice continued to be heard.

“Hey, can you talk?”

‘It feels like the voice is right in front of me…….’

“Could it be that you’ve already gone mad? That would be a problem.”

At the continuous sound of the voice, Shua-nel slowly opened his eyes.

The hazy consciousness became a little clearer, and the eyes that had been opened after a long time took time to recognize the scene in front of them.

It was a muscular man with wounds all over his body.

His top was gone, and his black hair and red eyes were very noticeable.

‘A demon?’

……It didn’t seem like it.

The murderous intent and energy he felt were tremendous, but he didn’t feel tainted by demons.

A faint sense of goodwill in the murderous intent flowed through the Great Sephiroth and into Shua-nel.

“Wh-Who……?”

“I’m Yuseongwoo. I came to get rid of the monster at the request of Epinel, the second branch of the Great Sephiroth.”

“Epinel…… that child’s request?”

“Yes. You’re the High Elf Shua-nel, right? I came here to check a few things directly.”

“Came, here……”

Did he know where this was?

The place where she was was the center of the Great Sephiroth.

Numerous defense barriers and all sorts of traps were set up inside the Great Sephiroth.

In order to reach the deepest part of the Great Sephiroth, one had to break through all those hundreds of layers.

But the man in front of him was not magic, but existed in reality.

That meant he had pierced through everything and arrived.

Shua-nel blinked his large blue eyes and looked at Yuseongwoo.

“You broke through that path……? How……?”

“I broke through it head-on. More importantly, let me ask you a few questions. How much longer can you last?”

“……I don’t know.”

“Specifically, I’m thinking of killing the snake outside. But if I kill it, poison and corruption will erupt. I want to ask if you can withstand that.”

“……My power is being diverted to block the poison coming up from the roots, so I’m almost at my limit. If I do that, I might be able to withstand it at least once……”

“I see. Then pulling out the snake’s teeth should come first.”

Yuseongwoo reached out and tapped Shua-nel’s head, which was connected to the Great Sephiroth and covered in roots.

Then he said.

“You’ve endured well so far. Endure a little longer.”

“……Okay.”

Shua-nel watched Yuseongwoo’s back as he moved away into the distance and closed his eyes again.

He had a feeling that he would open his eyes again soon.

* * *

Yuseongwoo went back the way he came.

He succeeded in avoiding the snake’s eyes, entering the Great Sephiroth, and meeting the High Elf, Shua-nel.

“……I have to deal with it as quickly as possible.”

And the conclusion he came to.

Shua-nel was at his limit.

If he delayed any longer, there was a high possibility that he would not be able to endure it, so he left the Giant Sephiroth and increased his presence.

So that the snake would rush at him as soon as he got out.

And the moment he pulled his body out of the entrance and exit of the Giant Sephiroth, a large maw lunged at him.

Yuseongwoo hurriedly twisted his body to avoid the maw and created distance.

The body of the snake, more massive than a mountain, writhed and glared at Yuseongwoo.

Each movement was a natural disaster.

Just moving a little caused the surrounding large trees to break and the ground to be overturned.

Moreover, there were many things to be 신경 쓰다 [to be concerned about] as small black snakes swarmed from all directions, constantly looking for opportunities.

‘The foothold is unstable…….’

He was planning to end the fight with a big technique, but it was impossible in this state.

“Hmph!”

Yuseongwoo calmly responded, knocking away the incoming 산성액 [acidic liquid] bullets one by one.

And then he was sent flying far away by the tremendous mass of violence that followed.

He crashed into the ground, rolled a few times, straightened his posture, and exhaled a long breath.

“It’s just disgustingly big…….”

If he measured the length from head to tail, it would be in ㎞ units, and even the height of the head alone would be well over 100m.

The Snow White Serpent he had faced in the past was only a bite-sized snack in comparison.

“……Hoo.”

He took a short breath and kicked off the ground with short steps.

In an instant, he reached the snake’s wide-open maw and struck the underside of the snake’s jaw with his life-bound sword.

The snake’s head was lifted greatly from below with a dull thud.

‘It’s tough.’

Even though he put quite a bit of force into it, he couldn’t cut it deeply.

A feeling closer to a blow than a slash was transmitted through his hand.

He landed on the ground and floated his body into the air again.

산성액 [Acidic liquid] and black snakes were already thickly spread on the floor.

Things full of poison and corruption were swarming at him, aiming for his life.

Yuseongwoo gritted his teeth and created distance again, swinging his sword to create space to move.

Then, he stepped forward with 진각 [True Awakening/Enlightenment], pushed away all the black snakes, and tightly gripped his life-bound sword with both hands.

“……This time, I will definitely cut you down.”