The Return of the Iron-blood Sword Hound
chapter-260

Chapter 260: Sword Tomb(6)

[Death Knight]

Danger Style: A+ ~ ?

Size: ?

Discovery Location: ?

Also known as the ‘Death Knight.’

The result of a knight who once possessed noble strength and spirit, consumed by the abyss.

They draw infinite amounts of nether mana from beyond the gates of death until their bodies are tattered and their souls are worn out.

However, it is unknown what happens when a being fails to repay the debt and pass through another gate behind the Death Gate.

Death Knight.

A knight who ascended to the ranks of the extraordinary but died and transformed into a being of corruption.

The power they possess varies greatly among individuals, making it meaningless to calculate danger Styles.

Depending on the strength and mental resilience of the knight turned Death Knight, as well as the environment and process of their transformation, the outcomes can be vastly different.

Once they appear, they are certainly at least Danger Style A+, but Death Knights with a danger Style higher than that have not been recorded in the past hundred years.

…But Vikir felt it at this very moment.

The Cane Corso before him was undoubtedly a being of Danger Style S, surpassing creatures like ‘Madam Eight-Legs’ or ‘Basilisk.’

[I crossed the threshold of the door of death and created the 9th fang.]

Cane Corso calmly spoke of his death.

A journey taken alone in a remote place that no one in the world knew.

But he never regretted it until the last moment of his life.

As the price for his lonely death, he reached a realm that no human had seen for centuries.

[…It is a realm that can only be reached by experiencing death.]

Vikir swallowed his saliva upon hearing the conditions of the 9th Style.

Sixth Style. A state that can only be reached by transcending all emotions.

Seventh Style. A state that can only be reached by reclaiming discarded emotions.

A stage that can only be attained through attachment to life and harsh combat experience (8th style)

The ninth Style was truly the inexplicable territory that only those who have experienced death can ascend to.

Vikir, who had excluded and excluded emotions to the extent that he had no one he loved throughout his life, ascended to the sixth Style, reached the seventh Style through his reunion with Camus, and reached the eighth Style through the profound battle with Cane Corso le Baskerville.

However, despite reaching the eighth Style, the content of the 9th Style was utterly incomprehensible.

‘Do you mean I have to be reborn and die again to surpass the realm of Swordmaster? What an absurd way to train.’

Even for Vikir, who had just reached the eighth Style, it was a distant state that was hard to believe easily.

But before him was a being who had reached the 9th Style.

Cane Corso, now a Death Knight, spoke, letting the darkness flow from the depths of his eyes.

[For this reason, I said that you can’t ascend to the 9th Style during your lifetime. This realm negates the understanding, empathy, acceptance, belief, common sense, causality, and all logic of ordinary humans. Beings who have not experienced death can never set foot in this place.]

“…”

[It seems, young one, that you carry many attachments in life. Well, it’s understandable. You’re probably at an age where you haven’t properly contemplated the concept of death yet.]

Cane Corso spoke while seated on the iron throne.

[You’re not ready yet,] he declared in a single sentence.

It was a boundary that separated one side and the other, the realm of the living and the realm of the dead.

With a disappointed expression, Vikir asked Cane Corso.

“What do you mean by ‘not ready’?”

[To complete the 8th Style. And to become the Tower Lord of the Sword Tomb.]

Vikir couldn’t comprehend what he was saying.

However, he had one more question.

“…What about the 10th Style? Have you understood the martial principles required to ascend to the 10th Style? Does it truly exist?”

[Of course, it exists. However, even I have yet to realize it.]

Cane Corso opened his mouth with a heavy voice.

[I mentioned that experiencing death is necessary to ascend to the 9th Style, didn’t I?]

“Yes.”

[To ascend to the 10th Style, you must die and then awaken.]

Hearing Cane Corso’s words, Vikir half-opened his mouth in disbelief.

There was a realm that could only be reached through death, and another that could only be reached through death and rebirth.

“It doesn’t say you have to die; it says you have to be dead for a while and then wake up.” What kind of nonsense logic is that…….”

Vikir frowned, seemingly unable to comprehend it.

In response, Cane Corso faintly smiled.

[I, too, haven’t understood the meaning, so I’ve lingered at the 9th Style. How can one awaken after already being dead? Perhaps I may never reach the 10th Style.]

For him, not reaching the tenth Style was synonymous with not reaching eternal rest.

Even though Cane Corso had become a Death Knight by dying, he was still unaware of how to escape the shackles of death and become human again.

So, does it mean he has to spend his entire life, the immensely long time that lies ahead, alone in this place?

Becoming a gravedigger for someone else’s tomb at an age when he should be receiving one for his own?

Only now did Vikir begin to question why this giant tower existed.

And it seemed as if Cane Corso began to peer into Vikir’s thoughts, as he started speaking.

[This ‘Sword Tomb’ is the resting place of the great ancestor of Baskerville.]

His words were astonishing.

The birthplace of the founder of Baskerville, the one who created the Baskerville-style swordsmanship, was the Cradle of blades.

And the place he died became the ‘Sword tomb.’

[His birth was synonymous with the birth of the sword, and his death was synonymous with the death of the sword.]

Vikir nodded quietly.

Perhaps the ‘Twin Fang ambush’ swordsmanship he had mastered was also created by him.

Cane Corso continued.

[This place is both his tomb and the place where those who pursue the essence of the sword eventually come.]

He added at the end.

[If you’re a true Baskerville, you’ll find your way here at the end of your life.]

All Baskervilles are born in the ‘Cradle of the Blade.’

But only the truest and greatest Baskerville can close their eyes in the ‘Sword Tomb.’

[The last moments of all the great Baskerville’s are all the same. They come through the Cradle of ‘Him’ and end up in ‘His’ Tomb. You’ll be the same.]

Children born from the Cradle of the Blade are destined to sleep in the Sword tomb.

But Vikir chuckled.

“I have much to do outside. I won’t return to such a desolate and idle place.”

[Much to do? Hahaha, life isn’t as grand as you think. It’s just one equation that exists between problems and answers.]

Humans raise and experience countless equations throughout their lives. The birth ceremony, coming-of-age ceremony, inauguration ceremony, wedding ceremony, funeral ceremony, and so on… How many tasks are there?

It is a long equation that connects the problem of birth to the answer of death.

[Around your age, those petty ceremonies become forgettable in no time.]

Cane Corso merely stroked his beard.

Eventually,

Thud-

The tower shook once.

The Tomb of the Blade began to sway.

“…What’s going on?”

Vikir was suddenly taken aback by a strong wind that covered his vision.

Koo-gugugugugu…

Beyond the raging storm, Cane Corso’s figure was gradually fading away.

[We’ll meet again someday.]

That was Cane Corso’s last words.

Simultaneously, Vikir noticed tiny white sand grains mixed with the storm.

For some reason, the sands of the salt desert were filling the inside of the tower.

Tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu-tsu…

And soon, as the wind quieted down.

“…!”

Vikir realized that he was again standing in a desolate desert.

The Sword tomb. The giant tower had disappeared without a trace.

It felt like waking up from a long dream.

…But what Vikir experienced was definitely not a dream.

Because somehow, in his hands, there were two sturdy saplings.

Ghostwood. The peculiar plant that was rooted behind the iron throne.

“…It’s not a dream.”

The energy boiling within his body proved that Vikir had advanced in the realm of Swordmaster.

A Swordmaster with 8 fangs. Now, he was confident that he could even stand against Hugo.

“…”

Vikir raised his head.

However, Cane Corso, to whom he wanted to express gratitude, had already disappeared beyond the salt storm along with the Sword tomb.

In the scorching desert sun, not a single mirage could be seen, let alone illusions.

Vikir bowed his head towards the iron throne that he vividly faced just moments ago.

And holding the two Ghostwood roots firmly in his hands, he turned away.

Towards Baskerville, and the Colosseo Academy.