Chapter 35

His vision flickered, and the surroundings changed.

A quiet forest.

A small path running through it.

It was the same as the Nameless Sword Gate he had seen in the past.

‘It’s been a while.’

While lost in these nostalgic thoughts, he heard it.

“Grrk, grrk!”

The sound of monsters.

It was goblins.

He followed the direction of the noise, and sure enough, goblins were gathering in groups.

‘Right, there are goblins here.’

But those creatures were merely a distraction.

No, to be precise, they were warm-up monsters meant to loosen up before the real battle.

Suho stretched out his hand and activated a skill.

 

 

Blood gathered in his hand, forming a blood sword.

“Grrk! Grrrk!!”

Sensing hostility from the blood sword, the goblins stopped what they were doing and charged toward Suho.

Suho didn’t move.

He waited until they were within his range, then bent his waist slightly and swung his sword just once.

 

 

Swish!

The sharp sound of air being sliced.

Soon, the crimson afterimage of the blood sword, which couldn’t keep up with the sword’s speed, flashed in the air before disappearing.

And then—

Pubbububut!

 

 

With a single strike, Suho had annihilated the group of goblins.

Raising his blood sword toward the corpses scattered around, Suho activated another skill.

 

 

Sssaaa!

A sound like air being sucked in.

The raised blood sword began to glow faintly as it absorbed every last drop of the goblins’ blood, like a black hole.

The absorbed blood gathered in the blood orb within the sword.

Though Suho could feel the blood orb filling up, it wasn’t much help.

After all, the blood belonged to mere goblins.

Just then—

Clang—

The sound of heavy metal scraping against the ground.

Suho turned his head toward the sound and saw a man appear, wearing a worn-out cloak and an old helmet that covered his entire face.

At the same time, a notification appeared.

 

 

Right.

The man, looking no better than a beggar, was the master of the Nameless Sword Gate.

Suho looked at the name card above his head.

 

 

The Nameless Swordsman.

That was his name.

At first, people called him the Nameless Swordsman.

Of course, the Gate’s name was also the Nameless Sword.

And one more thing—

His level wasn’t displayed.

Why?

Nobody knew.

Only the system knew why.

Because his level wasn’t displayed, some people underestimated him.

But it didn’t take long for them to realize their mistake.

Shing!

The Nameless Swordsman drew his sword.

At the same time, a skill was activated.

 

 

It had begun.

The Nameless Swordsman’s Battlefield.

It was the Nameless Swordsman’s signature skill and the core reason why the Nameless Sword Gate’s difficulty was considered extreme.

‘Right, everything was because of that. That absurdly unfair skill killed countless people.’

The Nameless Swordsman’s Battlefield.

Challengers couldn’t use anything except swords and swordsmanship.

As a penalty for this, the Nameless Swordsman fought with the same physical abilities as the challenger. But unfortunately, for Suho, that wasn’t a disadvantage.

‘Penalty? More like a trick to make his opponents feel even more humiliated.’

The only way to win in the Nameless Swordsman’s Battlefield was with superior swordsmanship.

That’s why, after killing over a hundred players, people started calling the Nameless Swordsman the Emperor of Swords… or simply, the Sword Emperor.

Suho raised his blood sword and spoke.

“It’s been a while, Sword Emperor.”

At that moment—

Boom!

At the same time as Suho’s greeting, the Sword Emperor rushed toward him with a thunderous stomp, like an explosion.

Simultaneously, a blade shot straight for his throat.

Suho twisted his body and raised his blood sword, deflecting the incoming blade.

Clang!

Sparks flew between the old sword and the blood sword.

A heavy force.

A trembling blade.

Who would dare think that worn sword was old?

Suho knew.

Even that worn-out sword was just a gimmick to mock his opponents.

But amidst all the deceit, there was one undeniable truth.

That was the Sword Emperor’s overwhelming skill, honed through years of training, surpassing any other swordsman.

‘That’s why he earned the title of Sword Emperor.’

Clang!

Suho deflected the blade and immediately pushed forward, locking swords and shoving the Sword Emperor back.

It required a lot of strength to push him back, but it wasn’t impossible.

After all, the current Sword Emperor had the same stats as Suho.

The Sword Emperor, however, skillfully maneuvered his body, minimizing the distance he was forced to retreat.

Such a skilled movement.

Even though it had been a while since Suho had seen him fight, he couldn’t help but admire it.

‘As expected of the Sword Emperor.’

Then came the Sword Emperor’s counterattack, this time approaching with a different technique.

This was the true terror of the Sword Emperor.

His swordsmanship wasn’t linear; he had countless techniques at his disposal, tailored to each opponent.

That’s how the Sword Emperor had mocked and slaughtered so many.

On the surface, it seemed fair—both wielding the same weapon under the same conditions—but in truth, it was the most unfair battlefield. He toyed with his enemies, drawing them in, and ultimately, took their lives.

That’s why this place was designated an S-rank sealed Gate.

For modern people more familiar with guns, bayonets, or even pens rather than swords, the Sword Emperor’s swordsmanship was something they could never hope to replicate.

But—

Slash!

Suho stepped in half a beat ahead of the Sword Emperor’s approach and swung his sword.

The Sword Emperor’s body momentarily lost its balance, leaving him exposed, allowing Suho to land a clean hit.

Thud—

Bang!

The Sword Emperor, slashed diagonally across the chest, leaped back, putting distance between them in an instant.

He seemed startled.

And of course, he would be.

For the first time, after devouring countless challengers, he had met someone who landed a solid strike.

Seeing the Sword Emperor’s flustered expression, Suho raised his sword and smiled.

“What’s the matter? Surprised?”

“……”

The Sword Emperor didn’t respond.

Instead, he adjusted his stance.

Seeing this, Suho chuckled and muttered.

“Right, even when you die, you won’t say a word.”

And as soon as Suho finished speaking, the Sword Emperor closed the distance once again.

Whoosh!

The sound of the air being sliced echoed near Suho’s ear.

Sharp.

Aggressive.

But—

Clang!

“……!”

The Sword Emperor’s eyes widened in shock.

What he had thought was his sharpest strike had been blocked effortlessly, as if it were a lie.

Suho, still holding their blades together, grinned.

“Seven times. That’s how many times I’ve challenged you to defeat you.”

“……?!”

Did the Sword Emperor understand what Suho was saying?

No one would ever know.

The Sword Emperor never responded to a challenger’s words.

But from the emotional waves emanating from him, Suho could tell.

He was shaken.

Suho slid his sword up along the blade he was parrying, and the moment their swords separated, he swiftly swung his blade downward.

 

 

Decapitation was triggered.

Along with the notification sound, a red line trailed behind Suho’s sword like a tail as it slashed downward.

At the same time, the Sword Emperor’s left arm was severed, a gap forming where his arm used to be.

Slash!

Suho had successfully cut off the Sword Emperor’s left arm.

The severed arm hung in the air for a moment, its cut surface tilting downward before gravity pulled it toward the ground.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Suho spun his body and delivered a roundhouse kick, sending the arm flying far away.

Thud!

The severed left arm was just armor.

So, when it hit the ground, it clattered noisily like an empty tin can.

Actually, to be precise, it was an empty tin can.

There was nothing inside the severed arm.

Sensing danger, the creature retreated once again.

Suho, looking at the now one-armed figure, spoke.

“A lot of people wondered what was inside that armor. Do you know how disappointed I was the first time I looked inside?”

Clank—

Was that a response?

The armor creaked with an old, worn-out sound at Suho’s words.

It was probably just a coincidence.

Suho didn’t care and continued.

“I was really disappointed. Everyone called you the Nameless Swordsman, or the Sword Emperor, praising your skill, but in reality, you were nothing more than the spirit of a sword ghost.”

After finishing his words, this time Suho was the one who charged at the Sword Emperor.

The Sword Emperor raised his sword, immediately adopting a defensive stance.

Just before Suho could close the distance, the Sword Emperor swung his sword in a counterattack.

It was a counter aimed at the perfect moment as Suho closed in.

But Suho knew this move too well.

He had nearly died to this counter many times.

So, he precisely calculated the trajectory of the swing and stopped his advance just before the sword came down, stepping back a pace.

Whoosh!

The counterattack cut through empty air.

After the Sword Emperor’s arm had fully extended, Suho finally used the attack he had been saving.

This time, he aimed at the Sword Emperor’s right thigh.

Crack!

The thick armor protecting the thigh made a heavy cracking sound as it split apart.

Feeling the satisfaction of a clean hit, Suho then kicked the Sword Emperor’s thigh, bringing him down.

Once again, the hollow inside was revealed, and the flustered Sword Emperor retreated on his remaining leg.

He didn’t stagger.

It was as if he had been born with only one leg, standing upright and raising his one remaining arm to take aim.

Why?

It was simple.

The Sword Emperor’s body was not a body moved by muscles. It was an empty suit of armor, animated solely by the will of a vengeful spirit.

Suho raised his sword again and spoke.

“Tsk, tsk. From start to finish, everything about you is just a gimmick. Still, I owe you a lot. Thanks to you, the foundation of the Suho Sword was born.”

That’s right.

The reason Suho had finally been able to defeat the Sword Emperor after countless attempts, through trial and error—

Despite all the tricks and unfairness, there was one reason Suho still called him the Sword Emperor.

The Sword Emperor’s swordsmanship was genuine, and because of him, Suho’s swordsmanship had improved dramatically.

In other words, the Nameless Swordsman…

No, the ‘Sword Emperor’ was the very one who had allowed Suho to become known as the ‘Sword God’ and rise to global prominence. He was Suho’s true swordsmanship mentor.

“It was nice to meet you again, even if just for a moment.”

Suho once again closed the distance.

The Sword Emperor, moving on his lone leg, began evasive maneuvers, but unfortunately for him, the Suho Sword’s footwork had been developed specifically to pursue and catch him.

 

 

In an instant, Suho caught up to him, his blade slicing from the top of the Sword Emperor’s head down to his groin in one clean motion.

And then—

 

 

Suho had successfully killed the one who had massacred over 200 people, the one who was once called the “Sword Emperor,” once again.