The Swordmaster Wants To Live Peacefully [EN]: Chapter 338

Swordmaster Wants to Live Peacefully – 337

Three Swords (5)

Yuseongwoo felt a kinship with the elf.

Both had lost everything and been forced to let go of many loved ones, whether by choice or circumstance.

Despite wielding great power, they found most things were beyond their ability to protect.

Understanding the elf’s heart, Yuseongwoo could anticipate her decision.

She drew the man’s greatsword, which stood embedded in the grave like a tombstone.

A simple greatsword, unremarkable in its design.

Despite the years, it remained intact, save for the rust that had accumulated.

-…It must be time to pass it on.

Just as her father had done.

Just as her father’s friend had done.

The time had come for her to entrust it to another and depart.

Ordinary elves wouldn’t think this way.

But she had been raised by humans and learned from them, leading her to this conclusion.

“…Not a good conclusion.”

However, it was the only conclusion she could reach in her emotionally driven state.

The conclusion she arrived at, fueled by the desire to protect loved ones and prevent further loss, was clearly a misstep.

Carrying the man’s greatsword on her back, she returned to the village.

Reaching the village where her family resided, she handed over the Three Swords to the most promising child and embarked on a journey with the greatsword on her back.

Many wept at her departure.

They pleaded with her to stay, but the elf’s mind was made up.

With the Three Swords entrusted to another, Yuseongwoo could no longer foresee her fate.

Time flowed.

The new owner of the Three Swords was a talented young swordsman.

He possessed the potential to become a Swordmaster, making him an interesting subject to observe.

“Oh dear.”

But before he could achieve that title, he was trampled to death while hunting a dragon.

Thus, the Three Swords were passed on once more.

A family dedicated to hunting dragons.

The Three Swords circulated among them, bearing the surname ‘Vienna’.

Hunting dragons was an exceedingly dangerous endeavor.

Moreover, with established dragon-slaying methods still in their infancy, casualties were frequent.

Consequently, the Three Swords passed through many hands, from the most promising to the next.

It remained within the family.

Just as the first head of the family, the original owner of the Three Swords, had passed it on to the most promising successor.

When the Three Swords were passed on for the sixth time, an elf visited the family.

The first head of the family, returning after decades, embraced the children and offered direct instruction to the swordsman who had newly become the owner of the Three Swords before departing again.

Without any promise of when they would meet again.

Time flowed.

Around the time the owner of the Three Swords had changed more than ten times, they were now able to hunt dragons somewhat stably, even while taking some risks.

The monsters were stagnant, but humans were evolving creatures.

When they weren’t hunting dragons, they earned money through mercenary work, and they also developed various weapon techniques based on the greatsword technique taught by the first head of the family.

Time passes.

Yuseongwoo watched their long years and reviewed the memories of the Three Swords.

What exactly did he want to show so much? What exactly did he want to leave behind so much?

And soon, the end comes.

The once prosperous family declines.

The Vienna family, renowned as dragon hunters, had built a formidable reputation, but their numbers dwindled due to the perilous nature of their profession.

The dragon population itself had also decreased significantly, and few sought to hunt them anymore.

The decline of the Vienna family was inevitable.

As the family weakened, the first casualty was the greatsword technique.

The technique, created by Vienna’s adoptive father, demanded deep martial arts knowledge, making mastery unattainable for those with ordinary talent.

The greatsword technique, once perfected by two or three individuals each generation, was lost as no one could master it.

Only a diluted version of the technique remained.

And, as time passes, fame also fades.

No matter how many dragons were subjugated decades ago, it is nothing more than a shell if no one remembers it.

People only remember what is good for them. To stand above the other person, they do not hesitate to use honor as a flaw.

With just a slight displeasure from another family, the honor of the Vienna family began to plummet.

The bad relationship between dragons and humans was because of the Vienna family.

The ancestor of the Vienna family was a traitor to the dragon race who had a relationship with humans.

Such absurd rumors began to circulate, and the already weakened Vienna family lost even more ground.

In the meantime, the family’s ancestor, who they didn’t even know was alive, returns.

The elf, the only one who had drawn out the complete power of the Three Swords, visited the family after a long time to check on its condition.

The elf, who had not visited for several generations, was not recognized by the current head of the family.

He only remembered that she was the first head of the family from stories he had heard from his grandfather.

-I have no excuse…….

-It’s okay. I knew this would happen.

The elf reacted calmly even after seeing the declining family.

She seemed to have known that the family would decline like this.

The elf stayed in the family for quite a long time this time. She stayed in the family and gave swordsmanship lessons, giving a little help.

But that was the end.

As if to say that you have to change this situation, she only gave a little help and left again.

“She must be exhausted.”

And eventually.

The Vienna family was ruined.

By a dragon who harbored a grudge from a long dragon hunt.

Weakened as they were, they could not withstand the attack of a dragon that was not even fully grown, and were wiped out.

In the middle of the family’s mansion, which had become a sea of fire, only the Three Swords were stuck in the ground.

As the dragon’s rage swept through the Vienna family. The place became a barren land.

The dragon’s magic remained strong, turning it into a land that ordinary people could not enter.

The Three Swords were stuck there alone for a long time.

For decades, until someone appeared who would pull it out of this land and wield it.

Time passed.

Until the dragon’s magic was neutralized and vegetation grew, covering the area.

It seemed that more time had passed than the time Yuseongwoo had lived.

“If I get lost in my memories like this, I’ll be hundreds of years older…….”

Is this okay?

Yuseongwoo looked at the Three Swords.

The Three Swords in his memory had been quietly in that place for over a hundred years.

It didn’t call anyone, and it didn’t turn into a demonic sword by turning black.

Just quietly, nobly.

As if knowing that someone would come someday.

And, before long, someone walks through the forest.

A familiar figure.

There is only one race that the grass and trees make way for whenever they walk through the bushes.

The first head of the Vienna family, Vienna, walked towards the Three Swords.

Taking off her hood, her eyes, which stopped in front of the Three Swords, were filled with sadness.

A sense of self-loathing for condoning this ending, even though she knew it would happen, and a sense of guilt for ultimately failing to keep her promise all come together.

This is the destiny of a long-lived species that has a relationship with a short-lived species.

She knelt in front of the Three Swords and began to sob.

-In the end, everyone, in the end, left me behind…….

She realized that she had aged too.

There was a time when she laughed and chatted in the man’s arms, but now there is no father or anyone else to do that with.

After becoming dependent on others from a position of reliance, the result was that she only suppressed her emotions.

She cried in front of the Three Swords for a long time. She poured out all the tears she had held back for hundreds of years and fell asleep.

When the elf fell asleep, the surrounding vegetation became a bed and blanket, and the animals in the forest, which had gathered before she knew it, surrounded the elf and fell asleep.

Yuseongwoo muttered as he watched the scene.

“What a fuss…….”

The elf woke up at dawn when the stars were out. After quenching her thirst at a nearby stream, she returned to where the Three Swords were, pulled out the Three Swords, and began to swing them.

As if trying to shake off all her 잡념 [japnyum – distracting thoughts], she unfolded her greatsword technique several times and moved her body until she exhausted all her strength.

Again and again.

If she fainted from exhaustion while wielding the sword, she would lie down for a while and then get up again and wield the sword.

After repeating such a mess dozens of times, she seemed satisfied, stuck the Three Swords into the ground, and lay down on the floor.

She said, panting.

-…Instead of me, you remember. Because you are not human.

Humans are too easily broken and weakened.

Their lifespan is also short, so nothing lasts long. Someday they will be forgotten and repeat the mistakes of the past.

But unlike such humans, the Three Swords do not break.

Even if all humans forget, even if she turns to dust and disappears, only the Three Swords will remain and remember.

She hugged the Three Swords in her arms and fell asleep.

Judging by the faint smile on her face, is she meeting her family in her dreams?

Even though he was just watching the memories again, Yuseongwoo felt pity for her.

“…You and I. We’re the same.”

The elf, who had been sleeping for a long time, opened her eyes and carried the Three Swords on her back.

She now had a companion on her journey, which she had always taken alone.

The Three Swords and the elf traveled all over the continent. The elf told the Three Swords everything about herself.

Starting with the greatsword technique, to how she had lived.

Her life story while she left the Three Swords to the family.

What she saw and what she defeated. She told the Three Swords in detail about her experiences.

Like that, again for decades.

Yuseongwoo, who watched their journey from the side, was not just watching.

He learned the elf’s greatsword technique, which had reached its peak, and also learned another way to use the Three Swords that he didn’t know.

“I didn’t know that was possible.”

He thought he knew everything about the Three Swords, but that was a mistake.

The Three Swords had not yet told him everything about itself.

The elf’s reckless journey continued. No matter how strong an enemy she met, she cut them down with the Three Swords and moved forward.

She traveled all over the continent, defeating all kinds of monsters and villains, and accumulated military achievements.

And.

-I found you. The oldest dragon slayer. How long have I been wandering to kill you?

-Did you miss me that much?

What they faced was a product of old grudges.

Dragons who had a grudge against the elf, who had been killing dragons for hundreds of years, came in droves.

Yuseongwoo muttered as he watched the scene.

“Oh, this is going to be the death of her.”

But unlike his thoughts, the elf suffered fatal wounds and slaughtered all the dragons who came to kill her.

It was a fierce battle.

She gave up her arms and legs and cut off their heads, and eventually won.

But as a result, the elf was no longer able to fight.

Having lost one arm and one leg, which are important to a swordsman, her body was aging and her life would eventually come to an end.

That wasn’t now, though.

-…It seems like it’s time to find your new owner.

The elf leaves the backcountry for the city.

Towards the village she first arrived at.

And.

-Hey boss, how about this sword? Doesn’t it look like it’ll suit me well?