Chapter 517

Dragon barbecue is great! The meat has a nice chewy texture!

Wrath was interested and approached Aries.

The King of Essence might forgive that female thief if you offer him dragon barbecue!

He arrogantly pointed his chin at Aries, who ended up as ‘the female thief’.

‘Be quiet please.’

Raon pushed Wrath away as he kept dancing in the air and met Aries’s cold eyes.

Her expression was unexpected, as he’d thought she simply pursued peace and freedom.

“A rampaging mad dragon… Are you trying to hunt a dragon?”

“Yes, it’s a dragon.”

Aries slowly closed her eyes before opening them again.

“Have you ever heard about the mad dragon Kaibar?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“That’s understandable, as it only woke up recently.”

She twisted her lips while pulling out a thread from the bracelet she was wearing.

“Kaibar is a dragon with an abnormal dislike towards humans.”

“He dislikes humans?”

Raon lowered his eyebrows slightly.

‘Is that even possible?’

Dragons as a race kept a neutral position in the continent, and they only acted when a demon king appeared or an anomaly occurred that humans or the other races were unable to deal with.

Raon had often heard that they looked down on humans, but it was his first time hearing about one who disliked humans.

“In fact, it hates humans.”

Aries’s eyes glowed fiercely.

“More than five coastal villages and cities have been annihilated since it woke up from its slumber.”

Raon could hear her wrath against the mad dragon Kaibar in her trembling voice.

“I didn’t know that something like that happened.”

He’d never imagined a dragon’s attack on a faraway coast, as he was too focused on preparing for the conference of the Five Divine Orders and getting stronger alongside the Light Wind division.

“You are right that most dragons call humans inferior creatures and ignore them. However, there are some special ones from time to time. You know, some people are crazy even among humans.”

“…Indeed.”

“That’s Kaibar. Even the records state that it massacred people in a large city around its nest a few hundred years ago.”

Aries furrowed her brow, saying that it was a crazy dragon with tidal waves in its brain.

She is right.

Wrath casually nodded.

Not all dragons act haughty. Like that female thief stated, some of them are insane. And those…

He patted his plump belly while completely removing the frightening atmosphere around him.

Became the King of Essence’s food. He’s looking forward to the grilled lizard!

Wrath started to drool from his mouth, saying that he would be able to eat some dragon meat, which he hadn’t had in a long time.

“So that’s why Sir Kuberad is here.”

Raon ignored Wrath and looked at Kuberad, who was sitting on a chair.

“He’s here to make a weapon to slay the dragon.”

Every single weapon in Kuberad's workshop was large and sturdy. Raon had been wondering why he was making them, and it was because they were planning to hunt a large monster.

“Correct.”

Kuberad nodded quietly.

“Since I’m going to die soon anyway, I decided to go on a stroll before I do.”

“Hah, you are saying that again. You were so enthusiastic about it when you heard lots of people had died.”

Aries shrugged her shoulders, saying that there was no helping that old man.

“Stop saying unnecessary things!”

Kuberad looked embarrassed and shook his hand, telling her to stop saying nonsense.

‘I knew it…’

Raon smiled faintly while looking at Kuberad’s slightly flushed face.

‘He is a nice person.’

Kuberad had forged the Blade of Requiem to pray for the repose of the people that the White Blood Religion had killed, and he had given away such an excellent blade without asking for anything in return.

He should’ve been able to idle around for the rest of his life since he should’ve accumulated enough wealth, but he risked his life to come out to the ocean to stop a dragon from killing people. He was definitely worthy of admiration.

‘And…’

Raon looked at Aries, who was standing on the opposite side of Kuberad.

‘The same goes for Lady Aries.’

Dragons were pretty much a natural disaster for humans. Even though she’d promised to protect the people, moving out to kill a dragon by herself wasn’t an idea that an ordinary person could have.

Seeking freedom wasn’t her only characteristic. Considering the fact that she went out of her way to create a Pirate King to protect people under her wings, she was an extremely thoughtful person despite her appearance.

‘However…’

Raon touched his dry lips while watching the two of them.

‘It should be practically impossible to kill a blue dragon in the ocean.’

The question about the strongest dragon was difficult to answer.

Red dragons were violent and had the highest power output, gold dragons could use lightning and were known for their wisdom, green dragons could poison people just from being nearby, and black dragons could control time.

The answer was bound to change depending on the perspective.

However, if the question was which dragon is the hardest to hunt, then everyone would respond the same way.

The blue dragon in the ocean.

Since their nest was under the ocean, and they were capable of freely manipulating water and ice, blue dragon nests were pretty much impregnable castles for humans.

“Is it really possible to slay a blue dragon?”

“Of course, it won’t be an easy task. Kaibar can control the monsters in the ocean, and even the Seafog tribe is working for them. However…”

Aries raised her hand and clenched her fist. The sound of her bones cracking could be heard.

“I don’t like letting it beat us up like this.”

She said that it was necessary to try it regardless of the outcome with a frightening smile on her face.

“Hmm…”

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Aries’s fist.

‘She’s a bit different.’

He’d thought that her personality was similar to Rimmer’s at first, but there was a slight difference.

If Rimmer could be compared to a barren wind freely roaming around the forest in the winter, Aries was more like an ocean wind that could become a cyclone at any moment.

“Can you help me?”

“Before talking about that…”

Raon postponed his response and looked at Aries.

“You’ve heard about essence, qi, and spirit, haven’t you?”

“I know about them.”

Raon nodded.

‘Both the head of house and the Sword Demon emphasized its importance.’

Raon clearly remembered them because both Glenn and Rector had taught him that the harmony between essence, qi, and spirit was necessary to advance into a higher realm and for martial arts to function properly.

“Essence means the physical body. The important part is how appropriate your body is for martial arts, and your essence…”

Aries rolled her lips into a smile while looking at Raon.

“Is sturdy and flexible at the same time. To be honest, you are even better than a Grandmaster. I’m curious what you will become in the future, as this is before the metamorphosis.”

Her gaze was directed at Raon’s energy center next.

“Qi means mana. It’s the aura in our energy center for us. This part is also strange for you. Your aura’s purity is so high that I could believe that you’ve confined the mana from nature in your energy center. I don’t understand how a greenhorn who is just a Master can possess such mana.”

Aries shook her head, saying that she couldn’t understand.

“I think I was just lucky.”

Raon smiled faintly while feeling the Ring of Fire rotating around his heart.

‘It’s actually thanks to the Ring of Fire.’

The Ring of Fire was a cultivation technique that changed the warrior’s body into its ideal shape.

Instead of focusing on more power and speed, it altered the body according to the martial art they practiced, which was pretty much the same as a slow metamorphosis.

Since his aura was also continuously purified by the Ring of Fire, it had higher purity than anything else in the world. It was the reason why he could defeat warriors at a higher realm than himself.

“Lastly, spirit is the mysterious space, often referred to as the upper energy center, the soul level, or the mental world.”

Aries lightly tapped on the area around her temple and continued.

“You currently have an issue in your upper energy center. You must’ve developed it to the point where you can activate an incomplete Sword Field, but you can’t do it anymore. Right?”

“Indeed.”

Raon nodded honestly.

“That’s because a large hole was made in your spirit. We managed to avoid your spirit being completely ruined thanks to a certain respectable person stopping its growth, though.”

Aries grinned while pointing at herself.

“…Thank you.”

“I didn’t do it to earn your gratitude.”

She shook her hand and continued.

“Remember what I said earlier? The upper energy center is the same as the soul level.”

“Yes, I remember.”

“Since your goal is to recover the realm you’ve achieved in the past instead of developing your spirit, one great achievement should be enough to plug the hole. And that will be…”

She raised her finger. She pointed at the vast ocean that could be seen from the gap in the door.

“Accomplished once you slay a certain mad dragon making a fuss in that ocean.”

“Hmm…”

Raon looked at Wrath without responding.

That female thief is right.

Wrath nodded while looking at Aries’s eyes.

You summoned the King of Essence by tearing a part of your soul level. If you gain an achievement of the same degree, you should be able to quickly recover from it.

‘Then it is indeed a great opportunity for me.’

He’d thought that he would need to spend a lot of time after he returned to the house on the treatment, but he figured that he could recover a lot faster.

Of course, he had to slay the blue dragon for that to happen.

“Can I ask one more question?”

“You talk a lot more than you look.”

Aries chuckled and nodded.

“What’s your question? I’m all ears.”

“You said that the blue dragon can manipulate the monsters. Are there any sea serpents among them?”

“Hey! Pirate King!”

Instead of responding right away, she shouted towards the opened door.

“Yes!”

Rabawin, who was forced to become a self-proclaimed Pirate King, came running into the room.

“Were there any sea serpents among the monsters controlled by the mad dragon?”

“We’ve witnessed three of them total, including a king sea serpent.”

“You heard him.”

Aries smiled, asking if that was good enough as a response.

“But why are you asking about the sea serpent?”

“About that…”

Since Aries was a member of his household, Raon figured she would know the whole story, so told her that he was making Sylvia’s energy center.

“What a filial son you are. I like you.”

“What?”

“Alright, I’ll make sure to keep one for you.”

She patted his shoulder, telling him not to worry about it. Raon once again felt that she had such a cool personality, even more than her appearance.

“So what’s your decision?”

“I don’t think I’ll be that helpful in my current state, but…”

Raon nodded while looking into Aries’s eyes, which looked like a turbulent ocean.

“I’m looking forward to working with you.”

* * *

House Robert

Private Beach

Derus Robert was looking at the calm ocean, his hands clasped behind his back. As he was forgetting the flow of time as he watched the horizon, Cubara appeared without making the slightest sound on the sand.

“The investigation is done.”

Cubara served a dish containing refreshments on the table before standing behind Derus.

Derus turned around extremely slowly. He sat on the chair, crossed his legs, and nodded.

“Tell me.”

“First of all, the Light Wind division’s swordsmen have survived. Some of them were on the verge of death from Orgos’s attack, but they mysteriously became perfectly fine the same day.”

“I already heard about that. What I want to know is how they recovered.”

“They’ve interrogated the healers at the scene, but they really seemed ignorant of the reason. All they did was fall asleep and wake up. The patients that even the royal doctor had given up had recovered by then.”

Cubara reported with an emotionless voice, as if she were reading a book.

“What a strange thing to happen. Is it because it’s related to Zieghart? What about Raon Zieghart?”

Derus narrowed his eyes while shaking his gloved hand.

“He hasn’t been found anywhere on the continent. The Light Wind division, the Heavenly Blade division, and even the other divisions from Zieghart thoroughly searched Owen, Cameloon, and Banneret in order to find him, but all of them returned soon after.”

Cubara raised her gaze, which was as peaceful as the ocean.

“Considering the situation so far and the rumors that have spread…”

“Are you saying that he’s dead?”

“That’s what the Shadows have concluded.”

“What about Zieghart?”

“They are remaining quiet about it.”

“I see.”

Derus closed his eyes while looking at the ocean.

‘That should be the case, indeed.’

Raon Zieghart had become extremely famous throughout the continent for defeating the Holy Sword Alliance master’s disciple and saving the Light Wind division from Orgos.

Since he was already famous before then, rumors about him were bound to spread no matter where he was.

However, Zieghart seemed to have given up on the search before falling quiet, and there was no news about Raon from anywhere. All circumstances were pointing at his death.

Swoosh.

Derus took off his black leather glove. Sticky blood was flowing from the scar engraved on the back of his hand like a burn. His eyes deepened as he moistened his lips with the blood flowing from his wound.

“Was he not the one?”

‘What a shame.’

* * *

Raon watched the turbulent night ocean while leaning his back against the deck.

They were currently headed to the coastal city of Aikar to prepare for the dragon hunt. They seemed to be in a hurry, as the ship was swaying violently from moving at full speed even at night.

‘Something like this is pretty good, too.’

Raon didn’t actually like the ocean that much, as House Robert was located on the coast. However, being in the middle of the ocean and watching the night sea brought serenity to his mind.

What’s good about this?! We are only eating soup and beef jerky!

Wrath frantically shook his head, saying that he could still taste tree roots in his mouth.

‘It can’t be helped because they are in a hurry.’

Even the cooks were forced to labor because they were too busy preparing for war. It wasn’t the time to complain about food.

‘I’ll eat everything you want once we arrive in the city. Don’t worry about it.’

R-really?

‘Yes. I’ve already told you that I’ll postpone the promise of three weeks.’

Since the entire Light Wind division was pretty much saved by Wrath, Raon was planning to keep the promise of three weeks no matter what.

Huh, you actually have a conscience. That’s surprising.

‘Aren’t you considering me as too much of a villain?’

You are the seed of a demon. No, a seed of an angel. You can’t be trusted at all.

‘Is that a compliment or an insult?’

It’s obviously an insult!

Anyway, Wrath smiled happily, feeling better because Raon was keeping his promise.

“Hmm…”

Raon bit his lip slightly while watching the ocean, which was as dark as a shadow.

‘I wonder if we can win.’

Are you talking about the blue dragon?

‘Yes. It’s not an easy opponent.’

It’s pretty much a little eel. You just need to freeze the entire ocean if it wants to hide inside it.

Wrath blinked, asking why he was worrying about it when it was such an easy task.

‘You are the only one who can do that.’

Hmph, did you finally realize how great the King of Essence is? Worship him, foolish human.

He bobbed his sausage-like finger, telling him to bow to him already.

‘That’s why I’m asking…’

Raon swallowed and walked up to Wrath.

‘Can you teach me the abilities you used last time?’

Wrath’s performance was divine, as he had even managed to freeze the martial arts of the transcenders. Raon thought that it would be extremely helpful for the dragon hunt if he could learn those techniques.

Ooh!

Wrath’s sky-blue pupils started to glow cunningly.

Do you want to learn from the King of Essence?

‘Erm…’

But why would the King of Essence even teach you?

He briskly turned his head. He seemed to have noticed that he had the upper hand in the situation.

‘It’s helpful for all of us. I need to complete this task to eat the food that you want.’

Hmph, in that case, there’s an additional condition.

‘Additional condition?’

Indeed. For a whole month, you have to…

He smiled happily and started to tell him the new condition.

[You have slain a person who has transcended human limits and reached heaven.]

[You’ve gained an achievement that should’ve been impossible in your current realm.]

[All stats…]

[A new trait…]

[A new title…]

[The trait…]

A dizzying number of messages started to appear.

Huh?

Wrath’s eyes widened upon reading the first message.

A person who has transcended human limits and reached heaven? Wait, is it talking about that person who was using that sloppy demonic energy?

His jaw dropped at the ridiculous message and he trembled.

The King of Essence was the one who killed that vermin. Why are you the one getting the reward?! Isn’t this way too unreasonable?! How is this even happening?!

“Hmm…”

Raon casually nodded while reading the messages.

‘Forget about what I said earlier. I don’t think I’m going to need your help.’

Aaaaaah!

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