Chapter 639

Raon looked at the ring on his middle finger. An emblem shaped like a phoenix feather was engraved on the ring’s surface, as if Caiyan’s feathers had melted into it.

He nodded briefly and unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation on the ring. The color of the flame blazing from the ring changed to gold, spreading its majestic wings of fire.

“Wh-what is that?”

Delpros stepped back as soon as he saw the dignified flame emanating from the ring. He had a frightened expression on his face.

Whoosh!

The wings of fire emanating from the ring landed upon Raon’s shoulders as if they were making fun of Delpros, who was stepping back, and surrounded his entire body.

It didn’t feel hot. It was only delivering warmth, just like the sunlight in the spring making the winter fade away.

Pssh!

As soon as the flame reached his skin, the wounds caused by the Sword and Saber Sovereign disappeared rapidly. It almost felt like the time was being reversed.

It wasn’t just his injuries on the outside. The internal injuries on his organs had also been reverted, and the ruptured muscles, bones, and mana circuits had also been restored perfectly. The pain in his abdomen that had been making his hands tremble was completely gone as well.

Whir!

The empty dungeon was also filling up with a new stream. The Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s fire and Glacier’s frost filled up his energy center, and the remaining aura spread throughout the mana circuits all around his body.

Lastly, his exhausted mind had been cleared, as if he’d just had a deep sleep in the annex building. He could even activate the Sword Field once again without any issue.

Wh-what did you do?!

Wrath’s eyes widened as he looked at Raon.

Refilling your aura is understandable, but recovering willpower should be impossible!

He’d always told him that he couldn’t recover his willpower during trades. It was natural for him to be surprised because the ring had achieved something that even a demon king couldn’t do.

‘This is the Phoenix Ring.’

Pheonix Ring?

‘Just as a phoenix revives after death, this ring entirely recovers its owner’s wounds and aura, and even their willpower.’

B-but that’s overpowered!

‘It’s more useful than you, isn’t it?’

Sh-shut up! Th-the King of Essence could also do it if he had his bod… Ugh.

Wrath couldn’t finish his sentence. It was a reaction befitting his honest personality.

‘But you don’t need to be jealous.’

Raon shook his head while looking at the Phoenix Ring that was losing its light.

‘It only has one use.’

The ring’s recovery ability was even better than Wrath, who was a demon king, but it could only be used a single time.

O-one use? Hmm, this is indeed a good time to use it, but it’s a bit regrettable.

‘Yes, it is regrettable.’

There’s no way it wouldn’t be regrettable since the artifact could only be used once. Just like Wrath had said, there might be another time when the ring could have been put to better use.

However, his instincts and feelings were telling him that he needed to use the ring.

‘Because I’d be too frustrated if I didn’t destroy him myself.’

Raon clenched his right fist and raised his gaze.

“What are you? What the hell are you?!” Delpros clutched his head and shouted, unable to understand the situation.

“You haven’t changed.” Raon shook his head while meeting Delpros’s panicking eyes.

‘You coward.’

Delpros had countless chances to attack him. Every moment of the battle against the Sword and Saber Sovereign was an opportunity for a surprise attack. However, Delpros foolishly only started to move when he was about to burn the books.

The reason was simple.

‘Because he is a coward.’

Delpros had been relying solely on the Sword and Saber Sovereign until the last moment because he was afraid he would be defeated by a move that Raon had been hiding. He must’ve been planning to act after Raon was completely exhausted, but thanks to that, Raon was able to burn the books and silence the Sword and Saber Sovereign.

The fact that Delpros withdrew the moment his aura and wounds had recovered was a testament to that fact.

‘That’s his limit.’

Derus Robert must’ve entrusted the grave to him because of his careful personality, but he was betraying his expectations in the worst way possible. It was a huge relief for Raon.

“Aren’t you coming?” Raon jerked his chin while looking at Delpros. “Why did you stop? You looked like you were going to kill me.”

“Kuh…”

Delpros remained reserved even though he was the more powerful one. It wasn’t because he was careful. He was just afraid.

“It’s good for me if you are giving me some time.” Raon shook his head and slammed Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem into the ground.

Rumble!

A golden sun and silver moon rose once again amid the darkness. The divine and demonic swords floated under the dazzling light illuminating the cavern.

“D-did you just activate the Sword Field again?” Delpros widened his eyes in disbelief.

“It must’ve been nice when you were watching from afar.”

Raon curled his lips into a smile, holding the divine and demonic swords that had gotten even hotter and colder than before.

“You’ll meet an even crueler end than anything you’ve seen before.”

“Bullshit.” Delpros gritted his teeth to the point of breaking. “I’ve already fully analyzed your martial art during your battle against the Sword and Saber Sovereign. There’s nothing to fear even if you activate the Sword Field!”

“You talk so damn much. If you aren’t coming to me…”

Raon extended his left foot. The mana circuits at the center of his sole unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s heat explosively. As his body advanced as rapidly as a cannonball, he added the Supreme Harmony Steps as well.

“I’m going to you.”

Delpros’s shape got closer in an instant, as if the land between them had been folded.

“You are all talk!”

Delpros swung his hand like lightning. The sword he was holding cut through the space violently and pierced towards his chest.

‘Was it not a lie when he said he analyzed my martial art?’

He was going for the moment where the Supreme Harmony Steps were connecting perfectly. He wasn’t simply watching the battle against the Sword and Saber Sovereign after all.

‘In that case…’

Instead of stepping back, Raon advanced even faster. He smacked the side of Delpros’s sword before it managed to gain momentum.

Claang!

Even though he didn’t fend it off at its perfect state, the impact was still powerful. His entire arm could’ve been blown up if he made the smallest mistake.

“It’s far from being over!”

Delpros leaned forward like a bison and thrust his sword, showing his intention to continue the advantage he’d gained. The astral sphere seeping into his blade burst out explosively.

Whir!

Raon created the Firewall with the demonic sword and thrust the Heavenly Heavy Cannon with the divine sword.

He was trying to defend with the Firewall and counterattack with the Heavenly Heavy Cannon, but Delpros twisted his lips as if he’d been expecting that move.

“I’ve already seen them all!”

He rapidly changed the direction of his attack. He turned to the right to ignore the Firewall and crushed the Heavenly Heavy Cannon.

Claaang!

The coldness forming the Heavenly Heavy Cannon shattered, making Raon take a step back.

“I told you.” Delpros raised his chin, and his eyes sparkled arrogantly. “I’ve fully analyzed your martial arts. It’s over for you.”

He lifted his sparkling sword, announcing that he would put an end to him as quickly as possible.

“You said that you analyzed my martial arts, but…”

A haughty smile appeared on Raon’s face, as he swept up his disheveled hair.

“When did you start?”

* * *

“Die!”

Martha rushed at a White Blood fanatic, her black eyes blazing.

“I’ll tear you all apart!”

Every time her hot-tempered sword was extended, White Blood fanatics collapsed while spreading their blood around. She was perfectly befitting her name, Miss Rakshasa.

“…It looks like I don’t need to worry about this side.”

Burren shifted his gaze away from Martha and looked at Raon’s location. He was crossing blades dripping with bloodlust against a middle-aged man who seemed to be the perpetrator behind the incident.

“Is our division leader going to be okay?”

His opponent’s astral sphere was more powerful than Raon’s, and he could tell that the enemy had the advantage since he’d been watching the fight the whole time.

“He’ll be fine.” Runaan shook her head while protecting both the first and the second team to make up for Martha’s absence. “Raon is perfectly calm right now. He can win.”

She lifted her lips very slightly while glancing at Raon’s back.

“It must be true if you said so,” Burren stated as he calmly nodded.

Runaan knew Raon better than anyone else. He figured he could count on him since she was saying he would be fine.

“Then we just need to finish our battle.”

The phoenix was stopping the monsters, and the greedy warriors had returned to their senses as soon as the books of martial arts were incinerated. The entire situation would be over as long as the Light Wind Division and the Void Sword Division defeated the White Blood Religion and the Holy Sword Alliance.

“I knew your head was empty, but it’s even worse this time.” Rimmer twisted his lips while looking at the Master of the Abyssal Sword. “Did you think they’d give away the books of martial arts? That was as stupid as me, who bets all my salary at gambling.”

“You are the stupid one!” The Master of the Abyssal Sword bit his lip, ghastly fire emerging from his eyes.

“The Holy Sword Alliance can even jump into hell for the sake of swordsmanship and sword!”

“Seriously, you sword fanatics…” Rimmer sighed deeply.

“How dare you burn the Sword and Saber Sovereign’s books of martial arts in front of me? I’m going to rip out Raon Zieghart’s heart!”

The Master of the Abyssal Sword rushed at him, unleashing the most frightening will so far.

Whaam!

The amount of aura had decreased, but his will was too intense, causing a powerful impact. He felt like his prosthetic arm was dislocated, even if it was only a little bit.

“Same goes for me.” The sixth apostle ground his teeth while looking at Raon’s back. “Since I couldn’t carry out our leader’s order, I’ll be taking his head instead!”

“I’m your opponent.”

Serena stomped the ground and swung down her sword. A tremendous weight surpassing the realm of the heavy sword was poised to crush the sixth apostle’s body.

“You are already a corpse! How persistent!”

The sixth apostle tried to push the sword back with his bloody energy blazing around his hand, but Serena’s sword wasn’t budging an inch, as if it was completely fixated on the spot.

“You aren’t allowed to pass unless you kill me.”

Serena didn’t bat an eye even though blood was gushing from her abdomen again. She smiled instead and pushed the sixth apostle back with her powerful pressure.

“You damn pests!”

“Alright! I’ll kill you before him if you crave death so much!”

The Master of the Abyssal Sword and the sixth apostle dashed at them, dark malice emanating from their eyes.

“Yes, it’s about time we put an end to this battle.”

Rimmer raised his finger while lowering his sword. He smiled faintly and summoned the barren wind of the north.

“Sword Field Creation.”

* * *

Claaang!

Delpros twisted his lips, fending off Raon’s strike as it bent downwards beautifully.

‘I already saw this technique.’

Raon’s sword was powerful and full of variety, but he’d fully analyzed his swordsmanship because he’d been watching him ever since the second floor.

However, he wasn’t in a good mood.

‘I shouldn’t even have needed to fight.’

His plan was to put an end to him with the Sword and Saber Sovereign, but Raon Zieghart had ruined everything. The power channeling into the Sword and Saber Sovereign was cut off, the monsters were being slaughtered by the phoenix, and even the dispute had stopped.

The entire plan was ruined.

‘It’s still fine.’

As long as he killed Raon, he could just brush it off as a trivial occurrence. Since the ring Raon had used wasn’t shining anymore, it shouldn’t be usable a second time. He could make up for everything as long as he cut off Raon’s head.

‘But I need to finish him off as quickly as possible.’

Raon Zieghart had a special talent that made him stronger as he fought. He had to kill him as fast as possible in order to avoid meeting the same end as the doppelganger lord.

[Shadowed Serpent Division leader.]

[Yes.]

[Greed isn’t needed anymore. Focus on enhancing my power!]

[Hmm… I can’t maintain it for long.]

[I have no intention of dragging it out anyway.]

[Understood.]

As soon as the Shadowed Serpent Division leader finished his response, power welled up in his body. The aura surged endlessly from his energy center, filling him with an omnipotent sensation. He felt as though he could accomplish anything he desired in the world.

‘I’ll destroy you to the best of my abilities!’

Delpros concentrated the empowered aura and unleashed the sword strikes. The Dark Heaven Sword that Derus had personally taught him created a majestic storm of astral spheres.

Raon extended both of his blades at the same time. The tips of the swords wavered in different colors, activating a slash of extreme speed that cut through the space.

Swoosh!

The storm of the astral sphere that Delpros had unleashed disappeared as if it had never existed from the beginning.

“Huh…?”

He knew about the technique, but the power seemed to be a bit too different.

‘What?’

He swallowed nervously while thinking that it was strange, and Raon rushed at him from the left side. He slashed down diagonally with his blazing sword, not even batting an eye. A silver blade and a blue blade advanced towards him at the same time.

‘Frost Pond!’

It was a move that Raon Zieghart had created himself, a strange attack that consisted of attacking twice in a single swing. However, it was extremely easy to defend against as long as you knew how it worked.

Claang!

He blocked the first blade and waited for the second blade, but it didn’t come right after.

‘What’s going on?!’

He was breaking into a cold sweat from the tension when the second strike suddenly fell upon him.

Claaang!

It was far slower than his knowledge. However, the speed wasn’t the only thing that had changed. Frost Pond’s power had changed far too much.

“Kuh!” Delpros stepped back, redirecting the impact on this sword. “You… just what…?”

However, he didn’t have time to get the answer to his question. Raon’s attack followed up right after.

A water dragon with rising scales emerged from his sword. A breath of bitter frost burst from its dark and distorted mouth.

‘In return for a wider range, the power must’ve been decrea—huh?’

Delpros widened his eyes in the middle of his footwork. Raon’s strike, which was supposed to eradicate a large area, was focused on a single area.

“Oh no!”

He stopped his steps and hurriedly turned around. He pushed his sword out and mustered all of the aura he had.

Whaaam!

As soon as he clashed against Raon’s sword strike, his entire body was pressured by a tremendous impact. He was almost about to drop his sword because of how much his hand was shivering.

Whaap!

A flame dragon’s breath followed the water dragon’s roar. The energy concentrated at the tip of the flaming sword was unleashed in an instant.

Crack!

The thick shield of aura that he’d created was being destroyed. His sword started to tremble as if it were about to break.

‘Wh-what is this power?! And what is this technique?!’

He definitely knew about the technique and didn’t give Raon any time for growth, but his power was far surpassing his expectations already.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Delpros’s pale lips trembled as he watched Raon calmly walk towards him.

‘Did he already get stronger before he started to fight against me?’

* * *

Raon sneered while looking at the astonishment in Delpros’s eyes.

‘You must be surprised.’

He was bound to be surprised because his realm was too different from what he knew. However, it was just a natural outcome.

‘In reality, I did get stronger.’

It wasn’t because the amount of aura had noticeably increased nor that his realm had drastically improved.

He could perfectly put together the enlightenment he’d gained in the grave while fighting the Sword and Saber Sovereign on the border of life and death.

He couldn’t exactly express that growth because he was lacking in stamina, aura, and willpower, but the phoenix ring allowed him to perfectly display his improved realm.

“What the hell are you?! How long are you going to keep getting on my way?!”

Delpros twisted his sword while shouting. Astral spheres rained down from his sharpened dark blade.

Wham!

Raon pierced into Delpros’s space. He curled his lips into a smile while looking into his eyes.

‘He’s afraid.’

While Delpros had been attacking to kill him before, he was only trying to defend himself. That implied that he’d returned to being his cowardly self.

Raon closed the distance from the left and executed the Crimson Slash and Blue Rain.

Claaang!

The sword strikes incorporating his enlightenment extended towards him, but they couldn’t break through Delpros’s sword barrier. It seemed to be an extremely sturdy one.

‘Even his sword technique has changed.’

Instead of the Dark Heaven Sword, Delpros was using the defensive Four Gate Sword instead. Since it was a 90%-defensive swordsmanship, it wasn’t going to be an easy task to break through it.

‘But it’s still bound to open if I knock into it.’

He advanced toward Delpros, still regarding him as the same small man he had always been.

Claaang!

The Thirty-Six Crimson Slash and Frost Pond were executed at the same time, pounding against Delpros’s sword barrier nonstop.

“Fuck off!” Delpros completely gave up on offense, only repeating defense and evasion. “Kill those pieces of shit first!”

In the middle of his retreat, he suddenly ran towards the crowded area to prevent Raon from using wide-range attacks. He was the sneakiest man Raon had ever seen.

“You won’t be able to leave this place! This is your grave!” Delpros was still shouting to provoke him. “I’ll send you off to the same place as those two!”

“......”

Raon’s eyes glowed coldly.

He looked at the location where Kuzan the Cohman knight captain and Barphil the Boltweaver had perished. He bit his lip while looking at the broken sword and the shattered staff.

“Kuh!”

Delpros also noticed the change in the air around him and mustered all of the aura he had to create a sword barrier. The sword barrier made of streaming astral energy surged up like a wall.

“No matter how hard the shell is, a turtle is still a turtle.”

Raon pulled the divine sword back. The golden flame dwelling on his blade roared like a dragon, drawing a majestic trajectory. The flame dashed forward and danced with the dazzling light.

[The blade under the dusky twilight shall not waver, even in the face of the surging waves.]

A new call followed after the first precept he’d achieved while slaying the Snow Wraith Duchess.

[A wall isn’t broken by a sword but by a person. One who has polished their will can cut through anything.]

His enlightenment became a precept, raising a new sword in his mind.

Raon Zieghart Style

Seventh form, Void Severance

The strike, capable of slicing through time and space, cut through in an instant and pierced Delpros’s sword barrier.

Craack!

A long laceration was made on Delpros’s abdomen behind the sword barrier that remained perfectly intact.

Psssh!

Delpros’s underbelly was cut apart, red blood gushing from it.

“Kuaaah!”

He shrieked while clutching his stomach. It was an unsightly scream that couldn’t come from a warrior.

However, it was a natural outcome. After all, his abdomen wasn’t the only thing that was cut apart.

A huge lump of aura explosively gushed from between his blood. His energy center was cut apart, and his aura was bursting from losing its path.

“Auaah!”

Delpros’s face turned as pale as if he were about to die.

Crack!

Raon stepped upon the destroyed sword barrier and stood in front of Delpros.

“I didn’t behead you on purpose. Such a death is wasted on you.”

“W-wait!”

“I told you, didn’t I? Your end will be crueler than anything you’ve seen before.”

Raon extended his hand with a frightening smile on his face, enough to send shivers down the spine.

“You can look forward to it.”

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