Chapter 601

The fiery axe curved as if it were riding the wind and only left a small scratch on Siran’s forehead before it hit the river.

“Kuh!”

Siran hurriedly used his footwork to gain distance from Raon as soon as the axe scratched his head.

“Hmm…”

Raon furrowed his brow, watching the axe sink under the river.

‘I reacted too late.’

If the axe had been directed at him, he would’ve easily deflected it and cut off Siran’s head, but the axe was trying to split Siran’s head from the beginning.

His reaction was delayed because of the unexpected situation, giving Siran the time to escape. The fact that he’d moved according to the thrower’s intentions irritated him.

Raon looked in the direction the axe had come from. He could see a huge black ship cutting the vast and deep Peren River in half as it advanced.

It was the Misfortune, the South-North Union’s warship that he could never forget.

Rumble!

A huge presence raged throughout the river from above the Misfortune as it approached while grinding the debris of the marine marketplace into small pieces.

Whaam!

Along with a tremendous sound, loud enough to destroy the deck, an old man landed on the river with a red axe in his hand.

The rampaging wave subsided as if it were afraid of his overwhelming pressure, and the whirlpool that could reach the sky calmed down.

Raon raised his gaze, feeling the fiery wave of his aura prickling his heart.

The white hair that was roughly swept back, the black coat covered in scars, and the axe shaped like a dragon’s head that glowed with a bloody color. He was the Axe King Roman, who was practically revered as the god of the Rable River.

Why is that mongrel appearing like he’s the protagonist?! Wrath complained in displeasure.

Raon was jealous of his boldness and composure at that point.

“G-good timing, Roman!”

Siran quickly nodded, running towards the Axe King.

“He’s dangerous! We have to kill him right now instead of waiting until next year!”

He pointed his finger, asking him to kill Raon before he got any stronger.

“......”

The Axe King stared at Raon instead of responding to Siran.

“Has it been two years since then?”

“It’s been a bit more than that,” Raon sighed while meeting Roman’s eyes.

“You’re as insolent as before. How could you sigh at people’s faces?”

Despite what he said, Roman’s lips were curved into a smile.

“You made me lose my turn by pretending to attack him.”

Raon briefly clicked his tongue, shifting his eyes towards Siran.

“That was a smart move, despite how you look.”

“It’s been a long time since the last time someone complimented me.”

Roman chuckled and nodded his head.

“Roman! What are you doing right now?!”

Siran stood next to Roman and furrowed his brow.

“Kill him already! You will never get an opportunity like this again!”

“Head elder,” Roman exhaled in frustration while looking at Siran. “You are being unsightly.”

“What?”

“Raptor asked me this when I promised to have a duel to the death with that greenhorn after three years,” He continued, meeting Raon’s composed eyes. “He asked what I was going to do if you killed him before the three years were up. Guess my response.”

“Uhh…”

Siran’s lips trembled, implying that he already knew the answer.

“I said that I didn’t mind it. If someone like you, who lost your fangs and claws from old age, could kill him, then that was all that he could amount to, and there was no reason to be upset.”

Roman twisted his lips slightly, meeting Siran’s trembling eyes.

“That’s why the opposite is also true.”

“What…?”

“There’s no reason for me to help you just because you are at a disadvantage. I’m not a shameless warrior. I’m not unsightly enough to interfere in a duel.”

He shook his hand, a cold smile on his face.

“Keep going. I’ll be the notary of the result.”

“Wh-what are you even saying?!”

Siran’s lips trembled as he turned pale at Roman’s reaction.

“Just kill him right here and it will be done!”

“Why should I?”

Roman shrugged his shoulders, as wide as the river.

“Our duel to the death takes place the first day of the next year. A fruit that hasn’t ripened yet is only going to be bitter.”

He crossed his arms to hug his axe and closed his eyes, showing that he really had no intention of joining the battle.

“Roman! You damned bastard!” Siran shouted at him, but Roman didn’t open his eyes.

“I have a question.”

Roman slowly raised his eyelids after Raon called out to him.

“What is it?”

“Why did you save him if you weren’t trying to interfere with the fight?”

Roman had rescued Siran a moment ago by using his brain despite his character. Since Raon had thought that they were obviously going to attack together after that, he found it strange that he wasn’t going to join the battle.

“It’s a simple question.” Roman raised his chin and twitched his lips. “Because I wanted to witness how much stronger you’ve grown.”

He curled his lips into a smile, saying that was the only reason.

“You crazy bastard! If the Union’s boss learns about this fact…”

“He’s going to compliment me.”

“Wh-what?!”

“The boss himself gave the order to not touch Raon Zieghart. Since you are the one who disobeyed him, I won’t be criticized for not saving you.”

Roman shook his head, saying that it was a simple matter.

“Uhh…”

Siran twisted his lips and stepped backward. He seemed to be planning to run away with his warship because he had no confidence in winning the battle.

“Head elder, where are you going?”

Roman stood in Siran’s way and glared fiercely at him.

“I’m the notary of this duel to the death. Neither of you is allowed to leave unless the other party is dead.”

He unleashed his destructive aura, showing that he was serious about being the notary.

“You are insane! Stop with the jokes!”

“I’m always serious.”

Roman gestured with his chin to urge him to go back to the battle.

“I’m never going to forgive you after I return!”

Intimidated by Roman’s pressure, Siran returned to his position with a quickened breath.

“Sure.”

Roman casually smiled, showing that he didn’t really care.

“What are you waiting for?”

He glanced at Raon, who was standing in front of Siran.

“I’ve prepared the scene, so finish him off now.”

“How am I supposed to trust you?”

Raon furrowed his brow while looking at Roman.

“Are you saying that you can’t trust me?”

“Of course not.”

Rimmer responded instead of Raon.

“You kept attacking last time after I withstood three hits from you, saying that you were excited by it. How are we supposed to trust you when even the duel to the death was established because of your whims?”

Rimmer violently ground his teeth at Roman.

“Where did you sell your arm?”

Roman narrowed his eyes, looking at Rimmer’s right shoulder.

“It’s none of your business. Just answer my question.”

“This and that are different stories.”

He glanced at Siran and Raon one after the other and twisted his lips.

“It’s a duel between an old man who brought his sickly old body to the battlefield to avenge his grandson and a genius who is trying to kill the grandfather after killing his grandson. You won’t get to see a fight like this ever again.”

Roman stomped the ground violently and laughed like a madman.

“I’ll never interfere in this battle, and I’ll even escort the winner to their home without laying a finger on him. I swear on my name as the Axe King.”

He pounded his chest, saying that he was promising it on his name.

“Regardless of his intention, we need to put an end to this.”

Raon nodded at Rimmer.

“Haa, alright,” Rimmer sighed, taking a step back.

“I’ll stop the Axe King no matter what if he tries to interfere, so focus on finishing Siran off for now.”

“Understood.”

Rimmer wasn’t in good condition, but he kept his word, unlike Roman. Raon stepped forward while counting on him.

Crack!

Siran ground his teeth to the point of breaking while glaring at Raon.

“I’ll split you into pieces, to the point where even the fishes can’t eat you!”

He lifted his fishing rod. The wave rampaged again, concentrating a huge amount of aura in it.

* * *

Raon narrowed his eyes, meeting Siran’s bloodshot eyes.

‘His determination is commendable, at least.’

Siran was aware that he’d already lost the battle. He was creating his will with the determination to avenge his grandson even though his mind had already been defeated.

“Haaap!”

Siran pulled the rod far back and swung it. The fishing line bent like a whip towards Raon’s neck, imbued with an astral sphere.

Whir!

Raon coated his blade with the flame blazing in his energy center. He slashed the fishing line bending towards him with the crimson line of heat.

Pssh!

The line was as hard as steel, but it was torn apart easily and swayed in the air. Even the tackle and the hook had been disconnected and sank under the water.

Raon licked his lips as he watched Siran start to falter.

‘As expected, he has weakened.’

Siran’s aura was as powerful as before, but his will to kill him had subsided. It must’ve happened because he’s already experienced defeat.

‘Even then… I can’t underestimate him.’

A person engulfed in his desire for revenge was capable of anything. It was necessary to focus until the very end instead of celebrating his victory early.

Raon added his footwork to the flow of the river. He approached with the fluent steps of the Supreme Harmony’s Third Step and thrust Heavenly Drive towards Siran’s neck.

Claang!

Siran gritted his teeth and raised his rod to defend himself. The scent of blood was coming from his mouth. It was the sign of a serious internal injury.

Cring!

Raon didn’t miss his opportunity as Siran tried to catch his breath, piercing into his space.

“Kuh!”

Siran hurriedly stepped back and swung his fishing rod. It wasn’t incorporating any strong will, but the amount of aura was overwhelming.

‘It’s not easy to defeat him.’

Raon clenched Heavenly Drive’s hilt and stomped with his right foot. He silenced the sloshing water and thrust the Blade of Requiem with his left hand. A white shadow was cast over the red blade, surrounding the astral sphere approaching him.

Raon Zieghart Style

Fifth form, White Shadow Slash

The White Shadow Slash executed with the Blade of Requiem removed the rampaging astral sphere from the fishing rod.

“Huh?”

Siran widened his eyes in disbelief as his huge astral sphere disappeared in an instant.

Cring!

Raon didn’t miss the opportunity presented by his confusion and rushed towards him to stab him with the Thirty-Six Crimson Slash. The burning blade severed Siran’s vitals, attacking from thirty-six different directions in a single move.

Pssh!

Siran managed to defend his most important vitals—his heart and neck—but blood gushed from his other wounds, covering his entire body with blood in an instant.

“Kuh…”

Siran powerlessly lowered his fishing rod. His pain and despair were obvious in his expression.

Raon swung Heavenly Drive down in order to finish him off, and Siran clenched Heavenly Drive with his left hand while grabbing the wrist with his right hand.

“I got you!”

Siran’s lips curled into a deep smile even though a dangerous amount of blood was gushing from his hand.

Raon tried to pull the sword and his wrist away, but he couldn’t do it—probably because he was even using his life force in addition to his aura.

“If I can’t kill you, I’ll bring you down with me!”

Siran’s skin turned a burning crimson color as he declared a suicide attack.

His energy center pounded violently, and a tremendous amount of energy started to gush from it. He seemed to be planning to self-destruct by exploding the aura from his energy center.

“Did you really believe you could keep living after killing my grandson? I’ll definitely bring you down…”

“I knew you would do that.”

Raon briefly nodded, looking at Siran’s sneer.

“What?”

“You’re pretty bad at acting.”

Siran kept stepping back and showed his weakness even though his eyes were still brimming with his desire for vengeance. Raon wasn’t deceived from the beginning because he’d figured that he was plotting something.

Thud!

Raon let go of Heavenly Drive and opened his palm.

“Y-you bastard!”

Siran hurriedly punched with his left hand, and Raon deflected it with his shoulder and thrust his right hand.

It was the monarch of Wrath’s ultimate technique.

Silver Moon Demonic Veil.

Aah! That’s my technique!

The silver ray was fired along with a scream from Wrath, and Siran’s body froze the moment it reached him.

Crack!

Since he had concentrated all his aura into his energy center to self-destruct, he completely froze, with no way to defend against the Silver Moon Demonic Veil.

“You…”

“I told you I’d send you to your grandson.”

Raon smacked his right arm, which was holding his wrist, while meeting his wavering eyes.

“D-di…”

Siran couldn’t even finish his last word, freezing completely and then falling into the river.

Raon could see the disbelief, the refusal to recognize his death, in Siran’s eyes.

“Be reunited with your grandson in hell.”

Raon kept watching until Siran’s cold body completely sank under the river.

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Raon exhaled roughly, and a clapping sound as loud as a gong could be heard behind him. Raon turned around and saw that the Axe King Roman was clapping his hands with a cheerful smile on his face.

“Excellent. It was an amazing mind game.”

Roman nodded and took a step towards him.

“You really didn’t do anything.”

“I told you, I keep my promises.”

Roman shook his hand, saying that it was only natural.

“Haa…” Raon sighed briefly and shook his head, then asked, “Then can I leave now?”

“Of course. Your fight against the head elder was a fair duel.”

Roman nodded, saying that he was naturally allowed to leave.

“However…”

He uncrossed his arms and clenched the red axe’s handle.

“It’s a different story if a new fight breaks out.”

“What?”

“I wanted to see a clash of powers, not some mind game.”

Roman grinned and took another step towards him. It felt like he was advancing several meters per step because of how big he was.

“I need to check if your sword is entitled to the duel to death.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Three moves.”

He raised three fingers from his left hand.

“I promise I’ll let you go without doing anything to you if you can take three moves from me.”

Roman lowered his axe. The water started to boil, probably because the axe’s blade touched the surface.

“Hah, that compulsive liar.”

Rimmer furrowed his brow at Roman.

“I’ve never seen you keep a promise! Didn’t you swear on your name?!”

He twisted his lips and clenched his sword, showing that he wanted to fight him himself.

“Then don’t call me the Axe King anymore.”

The Axe King smiled, saying that he would give up on the name that he’d sworn upon.

“You son of a…”

“Leave this to me.”

Raon asked Rimmer to stay back and stepped forward.

“You wanted to see my skills, didn’t you?”

“Indeed. Since there will be countless spectators, we can’t show them a trashy duel.”

“Fine.”

Raon nodded and fixed his grip on Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem.

“Then I’m also going to confirm it.”

“What?”

Roman frowned, asking what he meant.

“If your axe isn’t as heavy as my expectations…”

A crimson lightning sparked from Raon’s eyes.

“You’re going to lose your head right here.”

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