Solo Leveling Swordsmen Ranking: Best Blades Guide 2026

Swords have long been a staple weapon in Solo Leveling, from the hands of Hunters who cut down magical beasts to the occasional rival encounter where blades come out to settle fights. The weapon focus doesn’t stop with Hunters either—many of Sung Jinwoo’s shadows lean heavily on swordplay to carry out their master’s commands on the battlefield.

Key takeaways

In Solo Leveling, Cha Hae-In’s sword skills are strong enough to decide dungeon encounters, including finishing blows against major bosses.
Goto Ryuji’s reputation as a top-tier Hunter is tied closely to his katana technique, even if he ultimately falls during the Ant King fight in the Fourth Jeju Island Raid.
Liu Zhigang’s standing comes from elite swordsmanship and combat performance, including standout feats against mutated ant swarms and a major dungeon beast.
Kandiaru can coordinate multiple weapons at once across eight arms, including swords, an axe, a spear, and a mace.
Bellion’s weapon setup lets him pivot instantly between sword slashes and whip-like long-range strikes.
Igris is portrayed as Jinwoo’s top sword specialist, reaching a terrifying level after regaining his true power.

8 Cha Hae-In Can Make Any Sword Deadly

Even among the most formidable female Hunters in Solo Leveling, Cha Hae-In fights with a sword. Her nickname, The Dancer, points to how graceful her blade work looks—while still being lethal in practice. Her reputation is so strong that even top-tier S-rank Hunters lean on her sword technique for the final strike against dungeon bosses.

There’s also a moment where Cha Hae-In clears a pre-awakened Igris using nothing more than a blade taken from a reserved warehouse. The takeaway is that her swordsmanship matters more than the specific quality of the weapon in her hand.

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7 Goto Ryuji’s Swordsmanship Made Him Japan’s Finest

Goto Ryuji’s story ends tragically when the Ant King kills him during the Fourth Jeju Island Raid. However, that outcome doesn’t erase the fact that his combat ability—especially his sword technique—was not on par with weaker survivors. He’s still positioned among Asia’s strongest Hunters, with the text placing him among the top five, behind only Jinwoo and Liu Zhigang.

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Goto Ryuji was also the master of a guild named after a sword, and he lived up to that identity through his execution with a long red katana. He slices through mutated ants with ease, though his performance has a clear limit when he faces the Ant King.

6 Liu Zhigang’s Swordsmanship Earned Him Global Recognition

Before Sung Jinwoo became the most powerful Hunter in Asia, Liu Zhigang carried that distinction. The reason comes down to his swordsmanship and overall fighting skill, which is described as even exceeding Goto Ryuji’s. Liu, hailing from China, is especially known for his prestigious 7-star ranking, an honor reserved for that country’s strongest Hunter.

Even though Liu Zhigang doesn’t appear as often as Jinwoo or other National-Level Hunters such as Thomas Andre, his limited appearances are used to prove he belongs at the top. He demonstrates lethal energy slashes that wipe out swarms of mutated ants in a single strike, and he also takes down a giant dungeon beast by himself. Across these moments, he consistently reinforces why he’s treated as one of the series’ strongest swordsmen.

5 Kandiaru Can Wield Eight Weapons Simultaneously

Beyond the Absolute Being, the Rulers, and the Monarchs, the story also involves another higher-level presence: Kandiaru. He functions as the moderator and the inventor of the system that prepares Jinwoo’s body for Ashborn’s possession.

On the battlefield, Kandiaru is presented as a major threat because each of his eight arms carries a different weapon. His arsenal includes two swords plus an axe, a spear, and even a mace. He uses all of them simultaneously without coordination problems, maintaining the speed and precision needed to make each strike land.

4 Bellion Can Instantly Switch Between Sword and Whip Attacks

Inside the Shadow Army, Bellion is described as Sung Jinwoo’s strongest servant. He’s a master swordsman who wields a large, centipede-like blade that operates as both a sword and a whip. That design gives him the ability to switch immediately between close-range, quick, lethal slashes and longer-distance attacks.

Second only to Igris, Bellion’s swordsmanship is framed as among the best in Solo Leveling. His control over the weapon is so overwhelming that even Beru can’t match him in a direct clash without taking serious injury risk. Going up against a swordsman like Bellion isn’t portrayed as a smart move either—his passion for fighting is treated as fuel that pushes his blade mastery even further.

3 Igris Is Jinwoo’s Ultimate Shadow Sword Master

Igris is presented as one step ahead of Bellion when it comes to sword use. He’s described as unmatched in this role, particularly after reclaiming his true power following Jinwoo’s awakening. Once fully restored, Igris’ swordplay rises to a new tier—so intense that even the Frost Monarch, Sillad, finds it both terrifying and troublesome. Jinwoo also entrusts him with the Demon King’s Longsword, which completes his transformation into an overwhelming force.

Even before becoming one of Jinwoo’s shadow soldiers, Igris outpaces his master with extreme speed. He dashes past defenses and cuts with slashing attacks that could split Jinwoo in two. The text also notes that if Igris hadn’t chosen to fight honorably, Jinwoo likely wouldn’t have stood a chance while Igris kept using his sword.

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2 Ashborn’s Black and White Swords Were Forged for Absolute Power

Before transferring Shadow Monarch powers to Sung Jinwoo and vanishing for good, Ashborn was portrayed as a major symbol of fear and authority in Solo Leveling. The Absolute Being granted him overwhelming physical strength, alongside umbrakinesis—an ability several Monarchs feared greatly.

Ashborn is also described as a skilled swordsman. While he was still a Ruler, he fought with a white sword. Later, after leaving the Rulers and becoming the Shadow Monarch, his weapon changes to a pure black sword. The black blade is treated as a symbol of his control over death, darkness, and shadows.

1 Sung Jinwoo Excels with Both Swords and Daggers

Sung Jinwoo is best known for daggers, but he still uses swords when the situation calls for it. Early on, he relied on a rusty short sword to eliminate monsters in low-level raids before upgrading to Kim Sangshik’s steel blade. After that, he moves into dual daggers, with the story suggesting their status debuffs match his combat rhythm particularly well.

At some point during the Jeju Island raid, Jinwoo also tests Demon King Baran’s Longsword before handing it over to the strongest swordsmen in the shadow army. Regardless of what weapon he picks up, the text claims Jinwoo can turn any sword or dagger into a lethal tool thanks to his unmatched combat ability and intelligence.

Solo Leveling

Cast

Taito Ban — Sung Jin-woo
Genta Nakamura — Yoo Jin-ho