The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 373

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – Episode 372

War (4)

Veronica swung her sword freely, savoring the familiar grip of her beloved weapon after so long.

Each swing produced a menacing sound that tore through the air, assaulting the eardrums, while trails of crimson aura lingered.

The sword, too, seemed to rejoice at being in her hand again, humming vibrantly.

However, it wasn’t being used for its intended purpose: cutting.

“You intend to defeat me with such sluggish swordsmanship? Don’t make me laugh!”

The reason was the Tiger King before her, spouting lines like a soon-to-be-defeated extra.

The Tiger King’s true origins dated back to when the Korean Peninsula was known as Gojoseon [the first Korean kingdom].

He was a tiger, one of the two beasts that failed Hwanung’s test and fled the cave.

In an era when gods and humans were not yet separate, these two exceptionally intelligent beasts sought to become human.

Hwanung, the god of Gojoseon, gave them a trial. The bear, leader of the Bear Clan, passed, but the tiger, leader of the Tiger Clan, failed.

Unable to become human, the tiger instead accumulated power through prolonged training, eventually gaining the ability to transform into a human-like form, though his training was far from orthodox.

He adopted the tyrannical method of killing all sorts of creatures, even hunting spiritual beings to seize their inner cores and build his own divinity.

Not only spiritual beings but also his own kind were sacrificed. The Tiger King hunted his fellow tigers to elevate his status, eventually reaching the level of a Great Divinity.

Dangun Wanggeom [the legendary founder of Gojoseon], unable to tolerate his sins, personally intervened and imprisoned him in the Jade Emperor’s Palace.

“Kuhhhhh!”

The Tiger King roared. A powerful cry that echoed across the battlefield and throughout the entire Sword Realm.

The mere roar shook the ground beneath Medea and Veronica. The Tiger King seized the opportunity, tossing Veronica and her sword away.

Then, he immediately charged toward Medea.

“Starting with that annoying sorceress!”

Medea’s support was crucial in allowing Veronica to contend with the Tiger King.

She had been sealing the Tiger King’s movements with her millennia-honed mysteries and magic, inflicting various curses on him and buffing Veronica.

“Eek! Don’t come any closer!”

Medea let out a frail scream, staring at the Tiger King with terrified eyes. The Tiger King smacked his lips at her scream, reaching out with a clumsy hand, but…

“Fell for it, you moron. Thinking like an animal is what makes you one, huh?”

Medea’s terrified expression vanished, and her body melted into a slimy black liquid.

The Tiger King’s hand grasped at empty air, or rather, the viscous liquid.

The liquid clinging to his hand hissed, emitting a strong acidic smell, but the Tiger King shook it off and bared his teeth.

“You, you bastards! Are you mocking me? You little pups! I’ll tear you apart and kill you!”

“Try it if you can!”

Veronica’s sword fell upon the Tiger King’s head as he muttered, clutching at the air.

The Tiger King crossed his arms to block the sword, then used his strength to push her into the air.

Following that, countless slashes erupted from the claws on both hands.

Veronica hid behind Samjeong [her sword]. Her small stature allowed her to completely conceal herself behind the sword.

“Being small is useful in times like these!”

However, she couldn’t completely negate the impact. Propelled higher into the air by the slashes, Veronica gripped the hilt tightly with both hands and took a deep breath.

As aura coursed through her body’s meridians, Samjeong resonated with it, unsparingly unleashing its divinity. It burned the divinity it had received from its master for its former master.

Veronica’s power, resonating with Samjeong, instantly soared to the level of Divinity. It was a shortcut, but at that moment, she had reached Divinity.

This was possible because of the immense bond between her and Samjeong.

However, reaching the level of Great Divinity was still a distant prospect.

“Kuaaaaaaah!”

The Tiger King roared again, reaching out towards Veronica as she fell.

Samjeong and the Tiger King’s claws collided, sending sparks flying in all directions.

A powerful shockwave erupted around them, overturning the earth. The clouds in the sky scattered as if frightened, and fragments of stone popped like popcorn.

And in the long struggle of strength, it was Veronica who was defeated.

It was only natural that a hastily created pseudo-divinity could not surpass the true Great Divinity of the Tiger King.

“Die!”

The Tiger King’s sharp claws aimed for Veronica’s exposed chest.

But once again, the Tiger King missed. The moment his hand was about to touch her, Veronica’s body dissipated like smoke.

With his animalistic senses, he located Veronica and turned around, only to find Medea and Veronica standing there, surrounded by dozens of layers of magic circles.

The Tiger King flared his nostrils, probing what the sorceresses were doing. It was the scent of dangerous magic.

A very ominous and coppery smell, one that made him feel that even his resistant self would be injured if he didn’t stop it.

“Kuhhhhh!”

The Tiger King unleashed a roar imbued with divine power to interrupt the spellcasting, but Medea and Veronica had already blocked their senses with curses.

As Veronica finished chanting, the dozens of layers of magic circles she had created interlocked and rotated, spewing out black liquid.

A black wave formed from a cluster of vile curses. The smell was so dangerous that the Tiger King reached out to push the wave away with a shockwave, but…

Veronica intervened at that moment, negating the impact and grabbing his ankle.

“You’ll be swept away too! Foolish!”

“Really? Are you sure?”

Veronica flashed a sly smile. At the same time, the tide of curses engulfed them both.

However, Veronica protected herself from the black wave by enveloping her entire body in crimson flames. The purifying flames, Samjeong’s special ability, shielded her.

In the end, the Tiger King was the only one swept away by the wave of curses. Veronica retreated to where Medea was, emerging from the wave, and said.

“This won’t kill him, right?”

“Of course not. It would be disappointing if he died from just this…”

And the Tiger King did not shatter their expectations. The black wave of curses that had covered the area surged, and a high pillar of water shot up.

Naturally, it was the Tiger King who emerged from the pillar of water. His entire body was melting away due to the various curses.

A curse that killed divinity. That was the enlightenment Medea had gained upon reaching divinity.

Even a Great Divinity was helpless when covered in curses. As proof, the Tiger King was panting, diverting his divinity to repair his body, which was collapsing from curses and diseases.

The situation was starting to turn in their favor. But they didn’t press the attack. The Tiger King hadn’t yet revealed his trump card.

Yu Seongwu had told them before the battle: don’t unleash your Unique World until you’re sure you can kill him.

If possible, force the enemy to reveal their Unique World first.

“Hoo, hoo…”

The Tiger King, still standing on the black sea that lapped at his knees, was panting heavily, trying to restore his body.

Nevertheless, the collapse of his flesh did not stop. Skin melted away, revealing organs and bones.

One of his eyeballs slid out, falling into the black liquid and melting away.

It was a grotesque scene, but the two had strong stomachs. They had seen such sights dozens, hundreds, thousands of times.

Seeing the Tiger King struggling, they exchanged glances and nodded, moving simultaneously.

Veronica lightly dashed across the black sea, wielding Samjeong, and Medea supported her from behind with magic. It was a strike to end the Tiger King’s life, but…

-Kuhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

With a roar completely different from before, Veronica was sent flying backward along with Samjeong, and Medea’s magic also faded.

Landing on the ground, Veronica broke out in a cold sweat.

Is the ‘real’ thing about to come out?

The Tiger King, still in a battered state, chuckled lowly and muttered.

“Was I too careless because it’s been so long since I hunted…?”

“…”

“I admit it, you are not prey. You are adversaries that this Tiger King must tear apart and kill, I acknowledge that.”

The two could not respond to the Tiger King’s words. The ominous energy emanating from him…

As if everything up until now had been a joke, the powerful divinity that flowed out was staining this land, this space, with his domain.

The surging divinity was a prelude. Soon, the Tiger King’s Unique World would reveal itself.

Medea and Veronica were both tense.

Waves rippled on the black sea where the Tiger King stood. At first, it was a small vibration, but soon it became a giant wave, spreading in all directions.

Along with it, divinity seized the space, overlaying reality with his ideal.

The mind of the progenitor of the Korean Peninsula, the king of the Tiger Clan who had lived for thousands of years, built his unreality upon reality.

Several rugged mountains soared, and the earth absorbed the black sea, devouring it all without a trace.

The Tiger King’s appearance also changed. The melting flesh transformed from a primate to a quadruped, and thick fur covered his entire body.

A swaying tail.

Glossy, flowing fur.

The Tiger King, completely transformed into a beast, glared down at them from atop a soaring cliff with yellow eyes.

Sangun (山君) [Mountain Lord]. In the distant past, a king of tigers that humans could not dare to challenge, who had placed the entire Geumgang Mountain [Diamond Mountain, a famous mountain in Korea] within his domain, had arrived in the present world.

[Unique World]

[Geumgang Sangun Tiger Overlord (金剛山君虎霸王)]

Tigers have always been animals that live in the mountains. A beast no different from a tyrant, with a single individual ruling over a vast territory.

The Tiger King was a spiritual being who had the widest territory and the most females among them.

-Kuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!

The Sangun standing on the cliff roared.

Declaring that he would tear apart and kill the humans below, he leaped off the cliff.

Veronica, reacting just in time, turned and hugged Medea, putting strength into her legs and leaping away as the Tiger King plummeted through the air like a beam of light.

And the spot where they had been standing was crushed by the Tiger King.

The ground split.

The sky collapsed.

The house-sized, no, the small-mountain-sized tiger tore through the sky and overturned the earth.

Barely reacting and dodging, Veronica panted and looked up at the Tiger King.

He didn’t seem that big when he was on the cliff, but it turned out the cliff was damn high.

The Tiger King growled lowly, rolling his yellow eyes and looking down at them.

The mere sound of his growl paralyzed their bodies. The beast’s curse-like growl was like a dragon’s fear.

There were no further words.

He simply, the Sangun, wanted to kill his enemies.

The giant tiger opened its mouth wide. Sharp teeth fell towards them at a rapid pace.