The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman

“A ghost ship?”

Raon frowned deeply as he looked at Pharos.

“What are you—”

They’d been talking about the blue wolf, and then the word “ghost ship” came out of nowhere. It was jarring.

“Hey!”

Martha scowled as she leveled her sword at Pharos’s head.

“If you’re going to spew bullshit even kids wouldn’t believe, I’ll put a hole through that skull right now.”

Red killing intent rose along her blade, like she meant it.

“We’re pretty pissed off right now, you know?”

Burren exhaled a rough breath and clenched his fist.

“You’d better choose your words carefully. You might not just die—you might die in agony.”

He bit his lip hard, as if remembering Balder Port’s annihilation without a single trace.

“…”

Runaan simply watched the trembling Pharos with calm eyes, unreadable.

“He’s obviously making shit up just to save his own skin!”

Krein twisted his lips and said they should kill Pharos now.

“Can’t trust him. He’s the kind of captain who tried to throw his men forward and run.”

Trevin shook his head, saying there was no reason to spare him.

“I-I’m telling you the truth!”

Pharos shook his head violently, the blade right in front of him.

“I saw the ghost ship with my own eyes!”

His lips trembled as he insisted he’d seen the ghost ship that destroyed his port.

“Fine.”

Raon gestured for Burren and Martha to step back.

“I’ll hear you out, so explain it properly.”

In a situation like this, even the smallest clue mattered. Listening first and deciding after didn’t seem like a bad idea.

“Tch.”

Martha clicked her tongue in disappointment and retreated.

“Understood.”

Burren bowed the moment he heard the order, then stood behind Pharos.

“Th-then if I explain everything, you’ll spare me?”

“If it’s information I can trust.”

Raon nodded, telling him to start.

“O-okay.”

Realizing this was his last chance, Pharos dropped to his knees in front of Raon.

“To be honest, the first time trouble started at the port I run was almost a year ago.”

He let out a low groan, saying issues similar to this had started about a year back.

“Run, my ass. You mean loot.”

Martha scowled, telling him to talk straight.

“B-back then, villages and ports weren’t erased whole like they are now. A small number of people went missing.”

“Missing?”

“Yes. To be honest, it’s pretty common for runaways to show up in the villages we run. I mean, loot.”

Pharos lowered his eyes, saying it was nothing unusual for someone to run from a village or port.

“Of course. You were probably bleeding people dry with ‘taxes’ while giving them nothing.”

Martha curled her lip like it was obvious.

“Y-yes.”

Pharos nodded, admitting it as if he’d decided he couldn’t lie his way out.

“The truth is, the ports and villages we ‘protect’ only have a few routes to escape by land or sea. If ten people run, we can catch nine. But…”

He let out a turbid sigh and shook his head.

“Starting about a year ago, we couldn’t catch the escaped slaves—no, the people. They vanished like a ghost took them.”

Pharos frowned, saying he’d sent men out to find them but couldn’t find a trace anywhere.

“Across all the ports and villages you protected?”

“Yes. Not just one village or port—people started disappearing across the whole area.”

He nodded, saying it was the first time in his life he’d seen anything like it.

“So?”

Raon jerked his chin, asking what he did after that.

“S-so as a last resort, we grabbed the remaining residents and t-tortured them…”

Pharos lowered his voice, stealing glances at Martha.

“Usually, they talk once they’re afraid for their lives—where the runaways went and how. But that time, they kept saying they didn’t know, even when we cut off an arm.”

He groaned deeply, saying that was when he realized it wasn’t normal.

“People were disappearing, income was dropping, and after the torture, even public sentiment turned sour, so for a while, we went out and moved around.”

Pharos smacked his lips, saying they left their territory for a bit and traded.

“In other words, you went pirating.”

Burren sneered, saying he was good at dressing up evil.

“Y-yes.”

Pharos nodded honestly, as if he’d decided there was no point trying to fool them.

“After about a month of piracy, I got bored. I left the fleet on the open sea and started returning with just our ship first, and then…”

His lips turned blue as if the fear still clung to him.

“We ran into a ghost ship.”

—

A night of raging storm.

“Move, now!”

Pharos stamped hard on the deck.

“Yes!”

“O-okay!”

At his shout, the pirates yanked ropes with their whole bodies in the rain, lowering sails that snapped as if they’d tear apart.

“What the hell is this, all of a sudden!”

Pharos frowned as he stared at the wind and rain thrashing like it meant to split the night sky.

Until just moments ago, the sea had been wide open and calm. In decades of piracy, he’d never seen a storm this violent roll in so suddenly.

Worse, white fog had risen so thick he couldn’t see even a step ahead. It was the worst possible condition to steer a ship.

‘Nothing’s been going right lately.’

More than a hundred slaves had run from their ports and villages, and they hadn’t caught a single one.

They’d gone outside to make up the loss with a month of piracy, but even then, nothing had gone their way.

Now, on the day he finally returned, the storm hit. Irritation he couldn’t swallow boiled up.

‘In the end, we need people.’

Whether it was slave trade or farming, what you needed was people.

At this rate, on the next voyage, they’d have to go south and kidnap people.

“The port’s right ahead! Adjust the distance so we don’t crash!”

Gripping the railing as the ship bucked, Pharos raised his voice.

“Light the lamps first—”

“C-captain! Look over there!”

The deck boss approached with a pale face and pointed toward the port shrouded in white fog.

“What am I supposed to—”

Pharos frowned as he stepped forward, then stopped cold.

“What is that…”

In front of the port they were meant to enter, an old sailship wrapped in white fog moved slowly and placidly, as if the storm didn’t exist.

“Is it a wreck?”

Sometimes a ship that had lost its owner drifted in with the current, and since he couldn’t feel any presence from inside, it seemed like a wreck.

“No response even when we signal. It looks like it really is a wreck!”

The deck boss nodded, saying the ship seemed empty.

“Good. If it’s that big, there should be valuables.”

Pharos nodded and pointed at the ship.

“Go over and take everything worth money!”

“Yes!”

At his order, the pirates didn’t hesitate. They jumped into the sea and climbed onto the wreck.

But the moment they got on board, their presence vanished as if they’d died.

Screeeech!

The wreck twisted as if it had sensed them, turning like a living thing as it started drifting toward Pharos’s ship.

“…”

Pharos swallowed dryly and took a step back.

‘Dangerous.’

Watching a sailship approach without a single presence, goosebumps crawled up his spine. An itchy, unpleasant throb in his heart—an instinct that had carried him all the way to captain was screaming at him to run.

“What? Why can’t I feel the men’s presence…”

The deck boss tilted his head, confused.

“S-send them all! All of them, now!”

Pharos grabbed the deck boss by the shoulder, barking for him to send everyone onto that ship.

“U-understood.”

The deck boss nodded and raised his hand.

“Everyone, get on that ship!”

He stepped forward as if he’d do it himself, shouting orders to his men.

“…”

Pharos didn’t miss the moment the pirates started climbing onto the sailship. He ran back and slipped into the sea without a sound.

‘It’s certain.’

That isn’t a normal ship.

If you live as a pirate, you hear all kinds of sea legends. That sailship was the man-eating ghost ship he’d heard about as a child.

No—ghost ship or not, he had to run. His ominous instincts had never been wrong.

‘Ghh…’

Pharos dove deep, not caring what happened above.

The martial art he practiced was a water technique, so he descended until the ship wasn’t visible and breathed slowly.

Splash!

After waiting until he couldn’t hold his breath any longer, Pharos rose to the surface as carefully as he could.

“The ship… it’s gone…”

The pirate ship he’d been on had been erased without leaving behind even a plank, and the pirates aboard it were gone too—no bodies, nothing.

‘Just like I thought.’

Pharos exhaled and shook his head. Losing the biggest ship out of five stung, but as long as he lived, it didn’t matter.

“First, I’ll get back to the port and—huh?”

As he swam toward the port, his eyes widened.

“T-the port…”

Cox Port, his base for over ten years, had collapsed as if decades had passed.

The entrance where ships docked was half destroyed, and the village behind it had crumbled until not a single building remained.

It looked like a massive wave had swept through the entire village.

“What the hell…”

Pharos swallowed dryly and climbed onto the port.

“Is anyone there?”

He shouted, but not a single person appeared. Even the dogs the residents kept were gone.

“W-wait…”

He remembered how the fog rising from the ghost ship had blanketed this port as well.

“Was it really a ghost ship?”

Watching it devour their ship and then annihilate the port in less than an hour, it felt like nothing else but the ghost ship from sea legends.

“Blergh!”

Unable to withstand the tension, Pharos vomited into the water flowing out to sea.

“Ugh…”

As he wiped the drool from his mouth and lifted his head, he met the eyes of a blue wolf floating on the sea.

“W-what is that now!”

When Pharos stumbled back with a scream, the wolf stared at him quietly, then vanished into the sea.

“Ghk!”

Unable to endure the fear, Pharos collapsed on the spot, his eyes rolling back.

—

“I-I never saw the ghost ship after that, but…”

Pharos swallowed dryly, watching Raon’s face.

“Similar things kept happening at the ports I managed.”

His hands trembled as he insisted it was all the ghost ship’s doing.

“Hm.”

Raon rubbed his chin, watching Pharos quake in fear just from speaking.

‘If that’s true…’

Then the one destroying the villages and ports isn’t the blue wolf. It’s someone else.

– “No.”

Wrath shook his head sharply.

– “That puppy bastard could be in on it too.”

‘That’s possible. But…’

Raon smacked his lips as he looked out at the calm sea.

‘One thing’s certain: this is human work.’

Whether the owner of the ghost ship was raising the blue wolf or the wolf was following on its own, the one behind this wasn’t a ghost. It had to be a person.

“Hearing him talk like this, I trust him more.”

Martha frowned as she tapped Pharos on the forehead with a finger.

“This bastard did the same thing today—sent his men ahead and ran into the sea.”

She snorted, saying she’d chased him all the way underwater and dragged him back.

“I saw him jump into the sea without a shred of hesitation too.”

Burren let out a hollow laugh, like it was ridiculous.

“I-I also…”

Dorian raised his hand, rolling his eyes.

“I think it’s real.”

He nodded, saying Pharos hadn’t been lying when he checked.

“Yeah. Not a lie…”

Runaan blinked as if she’d sensed the same.

“I’m telling you it’s true!”

With the others believing him, Pharos seemed to feel he’d survived. He exhaled in relief.

“How big was the wolf when you first saw it?”

Raon crooked a finger at Pharos.

“Um, back then, it wasn’t much different from a normal wolf.”

Pharos scratched his head, saying it had been an ordinary size at first.

“But every time a port collapsed and a village vanished, it got bigger and bigger.”

He shook his head, saying it eventually grew as large as a house.

“And after that?”

Raon tapped the deck, telling him to describe what happened after the first port fell.

“It happened again in the port next to it, before even a few days passed. But I didn’t see the ghost ship anymore. After the fog cleared, the village collapsed and the people disappeared.”

Pharos groaned low, saying he hadn’t seen the ghost ship after that.

“So you decided it wasn’t something you could handle and ran, taking the villagers with you?”

“Th-that’s not it.”

He shook his head with a thin groan.

“If I ran with the villagers, it felt like the ghost ship might follow…”

Pharos continued, watching their faces.

“I-I took only my fleet and left in another direction.”

He sniffed, saying if he fled with people, word might spread that he’d seen the ghost ship—so he ran with just pirates.

“You fucking bastard!”

Grinding her teeth, Martha grabbed Pharos by the hair.

“I-I had no choice! We had to live, at least…”

Pharos bowed his head, insisting that was the only way.

“So when you came back, all the villages and ports you said you’d protect were already destroyed.”

“Y-yes.”

He lowered his gaze, as if ashamed despite himself.

“I thought it went north after destroying our territory, but somehow it came down this way too…”

Pharos looked at Rabawin, saying he’d tried to loot one last time before fleeing.

“If you’re done listening, can I deal with him now?”

Martha ground her teeth, saying she wanted to slit his throat herself.

“W-wait! You said if I gave information you could trust, you’d spare me—”

“We can’t trust someone who throws away his men like trash.”

Raon waved a hand at Martha, telling her to do as she pleased.

“Go. You don’t deserve a clean death.”

“W-wait—”

“Shut up and move.”

Martha said it wasn’t worth letting blood flow on this ship, then dragged Pharos and leaped into the sea.

“Aaaaargh!”

Hearing Pharos’s scream, Raon smacked his lips.

“Now the thread finally untangles.”

And now he understood why they’d been quiet for ten days.

Going by Pharos’s story, the ones moving the ghost ship had definitely known he was circling this area and had chosen to lie low.

To make them move again, the name Sword Emperor Raon Zieghart had to be erased from these waters.

“Looks like…”

Raon curled his lips as he looked at Rabawin and the swordsmen.

“We’ll need a disguise.”

—

“Haaah…”

Martha sat in the corner of a shabby tavern and let out a rough breath.

“Boring.”

After getting information from Pharos, Raon had pretended to return to Zieghart, then came back to the sea and split the Light Wind Palace swordsmen to infiltrate nearby ports.

But the blue wolf and the ghost ship they’d expected to show up quickly never appeared. Even after a full month, nothing happened. They were extremely cautious.

‘Are they just not coming anymore?’

It almost felt like they’d fled to another region out of fear of the name Sword Emperor Raon Zieghart.

‘What a waste of time.’

Training with Raon had let her feel the thrill of growing again, but sitting still in a port where all she could see was the sea made her skin itch.

Thud!

Martha slammed down her empty beer mug and headed back to the lodging.

‘…I can’t take it.’

She tried to train her Aura, stopped, then pulled a gray crystal orb from her subspace pocket and poured Aura into it.

Huuuum!

A soft blue light flashed from the orb, and Raon’s face appeared.

[It’s not reporting time. What is it?]

Raon tilted his head, as if asking what happened.

“How long do I have to stay here? It’s already been a month!”

Martha scowled, saying her whole body felt stiff because she couldn’t move properly.

[You know this. There are missions that take a full year, too.]

Raon wagged a finger, saying it was still far from over.

“Still, this is too boring! Then at least let me stay by your side!”

Martha sighed, saying she couldn’t even train properly here.

[By my side? That’s a problem if you like me that much.]

Raon shook his head, saying she should restrain personal feelings.

“Th-that’s not what I mean! I can’t train without you!”

Martha waved her hands wildly, her face turning red.

[I’m joking. Sorry, but endure it a little longer. They’ll come.]

Raon shook his head, saying the ones driving the ghost ship would definitely show up.

“How do you know?”

[They swallowed more than ten ports and villages in a year. There’s no way they’ll just sit and wait. They’ll move soon.]

He smiled with a gaze full of certainty.

“Ugh…”

Martha scratched her dyed red hair.

“Fine…”

Raon was the man she served as her liege. If he said it that firmly, she had no choice but to accept it.

[When this is over, I’ll train and spar with you as much as you want.]

He held out his hand like he was making a promise.

“You’d better keep that.”

Martha scrunched her nose, then held out her pinky toward the orb.

[What are you doing? It’s a video call—are you really trying to seal it with a pinky promise?]

Raon waved the cloth in his hand, like he’d just been about to wipe the orb.

“Ah…”

Martha bit her lip, her face going even redder.

[Our Rakshasa Division Leader. Still a kid.]

Raon let out a small laugh, like he found her cute.

“Sh-shut up! You—hm?”

Martha shook her head, then turned her gaze toward the window.

[What is it?]

“I heard something weird outside.”

In the middle of their conversation, she heard a sound overhead like glass shattering. It wasn’t just her—people were coming outside.

“I’ll go take a look. Huh? Raon?”

When Martha looked at the orb to say they’d talk later, the call had ended.

“Don’t tell me…”

Swallowing dryly, she stepped out of the lodging. A white current wrapped around the entire city, and out at sea, an old sailship wreathed in faint fog was approaching.

‘A ghost ship…?’

The massive sailship was hazy, as if it didn’t exist in this world, and it gave off no presence or sound at all. Just like Pharos had said, it could only be called a ghost ship.

‘It really came!’

Just like Raon said, they hadn’t been able to wait even a month—they’d bitten the bait.

‘It won’t be a real ghost, so…’

Let’s see that face.

Martha leaned her back against the rear wall of the lodging, turning only her eyes toward the sailship as it reached the port.

Thud-thud-thud!

When the sailship touched the port, a white staircase dropped from the deck.

Whoooosh!

The first figure to emerge from the foggy sailship was a monster in a white robe traced with red lines.

The moment he stepped down the stairs and off the ship, a nauseating stench of blood began to spread.

Thud!

The instant Martha saw the monster in the white robe, she forgot she was supposed to stay hidden and burst forward.

“Yeah. The only ones who’d do something this filthy are you.”

She drew her sword roughly, red killing intent filling her eyes.

“White Blood Cult!”