Chapter 683

‘Heavenly Tremor isn’t the only one.’ Raon swallowed nervously, watching the other swords as they brushed past him. ‘The swords of the other Transcenders are also here.’

The swords of Transcenders like Aries Zieghart and the Sword Demon Rector were also flying around in the air.

‘And that one… Is that Wrath’s Flower in the Snow?’

He could see something invisible slicing through the frozen sky. It seemed to be Wrath’s technique, which consisted of cutting the space apart with a formless blade.

‘I finally understand.’

The swords floating in the sky were the techniques of the Transcenders that he’d witnessed so far. The swordsmanships, of which he wasn’t even aware of their existence, must’ve appeared in his mental world thanks to his improved power and the Ring of Fire. That wasn’t even counting the Holy Essence Pill and the Sacred Illumination’s awakening effects.

Raon smiled faintly, watching the rings of fire slowly rotating in the air.

‘Wrath would’ve started to rampage again if he’d seen this.’

Imagining Wrath clutching his head, exclaiming about how unfair it was, naturally brought a smile to his face.

‘Let’s check them out.’

It was impossible to make the Transcenders' swordsmanship his own in their entirety in his current state. He decided to examine the trajectory for now, making the rings of fire resonate as much as possible.

‘As for the Heavenly Tremor, it’s drawing… the sky?’

Glenn’s Heavenly Tremor was drawing a sky that was even darker than night. It was the Azure Sky Sword that he’d demonstrated in the beginning.

‘He said his sky was dark.’

Glenn had said that his Azure Sky Sword was dark and advised Raon to create his own Azure Sky Sword.

Raon shifted his gaze to a sword that was moving in a complicated pattern with a small smile on his face. It was the Spacebound Specter Sword used by Aries.

‘Lady Aries’s sword is as free as always.’

The Spacebound Specter Sword was as free as its master, who’d left her house behind. It almost looked like it was carving her own constellation.

‘And as for that sword… It’s Sir Rector’s Sword of Infinite Forms.’

The Sword Demon Rector’s Sword of Infinite Form was simply upright. It didn’t lose its righteous nature even though it was incorporating the versatile sword, a complication of countless swordsmanship. He could feel the breath of an artisan who’d been walking a single path for his entire life.

‘I can’t believe that a person like that betrayed me. No, there’s definitely something behind his actions.’

Rector had withdrawn on his own accord even though he’d had two opportunities to kill him. Raon was certain that there was something between him and Sylvia that he didn’t know about.

Raon was exhaling in frustration when a hazy sword emerged, hitting the Sword of Infinite Forms from the side.

‘That’s… the Celestial Azure Sword?’

Derus Robert’s Celestial Azure Sword was also flying around in his mental world.

‘Well, I guess I also saw that sword.’

Derus’s swordsmanship must’ve remained in his mental world because he had already learned the Ring of Fire in his previous life. However, the sword was blurry, as if it were deep inside a fog—probably because he hadn’t seen much from it, unlike the others, and the Ring of Fire’s realm was too low.

‘I should still check it out.’

Even though it was hazy, seeing it would make a huge difference. Familiarizing himself with it was going to be extremely helpful in defeating Derus in the future.

‘Lastly…’ Raon licked his lips and looked at the formless sword cutting through the blue frost. ‘That one is vivid even though I’ve only seen it once.’

The formless sword created by Wrath was almost as vivid as Heavenly Tremor, probably because Raon had experienced the senses of moving Wrath’s body. Moreover, its trajectory was similar to his own technique, and the familiarity made it easier to watch.

‘On top of being the Giving Wrath, he is even helping me while sleeping.’ Raon smiled faintly with the thought that Wrath would go insane if he heard it. ‘This is a miraculous chance.’

He’d entered the mental world to create a new Sword Field, but he had a feeling that he would be able to gain even more than that by the time he returned.

‘The three months I have left…’ Raon’s lips curled into a smile, using Heavenly Drive to follow Heavenly Tremor’s trajectory. ‘I’ll use them more efficiently than anyone else.’

* * *

Shring.

A frightening sound resounded throughout the air as a marble scraped above an axe blade engraved with a dragon.

Roman Reycal, the owner of the Red Dragon Axe and the one named the Axe King, was still sharpening his axe while sitting by the river.

However, there was one difference from before: there was no marble to be found around him anymore.

The area was only filled with fine sand, not even the smallest pebble nearby. That implied that the hundreds of thousands of marbles filling the riverside were ground into sand.

Zzzt.

Roman carefully picked up the only marble remaining and started to grind the blade of his axe. The frightening pressure emanating from him made it feel like his body and soul were also being sharpened along with the axe blade.

The sun rose, the moon set, and by the time the sun set once again, the marble in Roman’s hand had crumbled into fine sand, trickling down to the ground.

“It’s finally complete.”

Roman nodded after watching the glowing blade of the Red Dragon Axe for a long time. He seemed to be talking about himself rather than the axe when he said it was complete.

“Come out. Stop hiding like a rat.” He lifted the Red Dragon Axe onto his shoulder and jerked his chin backward.

Swoosh.

A red-haired young man appeared, stepping on the grass that seemed to be making way for him. It was Beorn.

“You really ended up grinding all the marbles into nothingness,” Beorn gasped while looking at the riverside, where not even a single pebble remained. “I’ve learned for the first time that sharpening an axe blade can make someone this strong.”

"You’re not one to talk." Roman narrowed his eyes while looking at Beorn.

‘How come he gets stronger every time I see him? What has he even been doing?’

Beorn had already become a Grandmaster, yet he kept growing stronger each time they met. The speed of his growth was ridiculous. Roman would’ve believed that he was the only real genius in the continent if he’d never met Raon Zieghart.

‘I don’t like him after all.’

Beorn’s red eyes had a similar color to Raon Zieghart’s, but they were different in nature. Looking into Raon’s eyes made him burn with passion, but Beorn’s eyes made him uncomfortable instead.

“Why did you come here?” Roman blatantly furrowed his brow.

“I came to deliver some interesting news.”

“Some interesting news?”

“It concerns your duel to the death, Axe King.” Beorn casually nodded.

“Are you talking about Raon?”

“Yes. He went to the Holy Kingdom of Schper, and—”

“Whatever.” Roman shook his hand as if he couldn’t be bothered to listen. “I can tell what happened without even hearing it. You are going to say that he saved the Holy Kingdom of Schper from a crisis or something.”

“How did you find out…?”

“Because from what I’ve seen, Raon Zieghart is the type of person who solves issues rather than someone who causes them. And…” He twisted his lips, his thoughts about Raon surfacing in his eyes. “The opponent of the great Roman should do that much, at least. Sparing his life was the best decision of my life.”

“I wonder if that’s really the case.” Beorn narrowed his eyes in displeasure. “Raon Zieghart’s growth defies all reason. He might have become as powerful as you on the day of the duel.”

He briefly clicked his tongue, saying that he was given too much time.

“How narrow-minded you are.” Roman furrowed his brow while looking down at Beorn. “The stronger my opponent is, the stronger I can become. Just like always, a life-or-death battle will bring a talentless person like me to a higher realm.”

He bared his teeth, describing himself as talentless.

“Yes, I’m also hoping for your victory. After all, the vice leader of the Union won’t stay quiet if you lose.” Beorn coldly raised his eyes, as if he were threatening him.

“Stop your nonsense and disappear. I’ll cut his head off even after my death if he does such a thing.” The cold pressure emanating from Roman felt like he was going to behead Beorn at any moment. "And never show yourself before me again. If we cross paths once more, I'll take it as your wish to die."

“It looks like I’m not to your liking.” Beorn smiled faintly. “My duel against Raptor was fair.”

“Instead of being satisfied with just defeating Raptor, you completely crushed his mind. And you did it on purpose, too. Did you really need to do that when he used to be your superior at one point?”

“Might makes right in the South-North Union. Don’t the strong have the right to decide anything?” He nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders.

“And I’m telling you this as the strong: disappear right now if you don’t want to die.” Roman touched the axe’s handle as if he were holding himself back one last time.

“…I’ll obey.” Beorn nodded with a calm look in his eyes and disappeared into the forest.

Roman shifted his gaze while clicking his tongue. He bit his lip while staring at the river where Raptor was buried.

“You fool…”

Suran Tribe

Training Ground

“Isn’t he amazing?” Ogram, the Beast King and the Beast Union’s leader, burst into laughter while holding an entire pot of liquor. “He overwhelmed a mid- to high-rank demon on his own! It was worth teaching him the Tidebreaker Strike!”

He drank the liquor from the pot in one go, expressing his satisfaction with Raon’s actions.

“Of course he’d crush something like a demon!” Garona gave a big nod of approval, also implying that he was proud of Raon. “He is my brother!”

“So, why aren’t you improving at all despite being Raon’s brother?” Organ furrowed his brow while putting down the pot. “You are still polishing the basics of the Tidebreaker…”

“Ugh!” Garona flinched, and his shoulders—as sturdy as an iron frame—shrinking. “I-it’s too hard. I think I understood it in theory, but my body just can’t follow…”

“Pathetic.” Despite calling him pathetic, Ogram was smiling faintly at Garona’s cute reaction. “Take your time with it. People have their own paths. You might be slower right now, but you might stand ahead of anyone else in the future.”

“Then can I win against my brother, too?”

“You should be well aware that you are spouting bullshit right now.”

“Yes, I am…” Garona hung his head.

“Raon… He’s different from everyone else. I wouldn’t have been able to catch up with him either if I was around his age.” Ogram snorted, saying that no one could compare to Raon, even among the current leaders of the Six Kings. “I think it'd be better to go.”

“What? Where…?”

“To Raon’s duel to the death that’s happening in a month. I’m not really interested in fights between those who are weaker than me, but I think I’d regret it if I missed the duel between the Axe King and Raon.”

“I’d also like to go!” Garona energetically raised his hand.

“I’ll consider it if you can activate the Tidebreaker consistently.”

“I’ll need to do it no matter what, for my brother’s sake!”

He clenched both his fists, shouting that he was going to watch Raon’s duel to the death no matter what.

“I wonder if you can really do it,” Ogram chuckled and was about to pick up a new pot.

“Beast Union Leader!” The Suran tribe’s chief ran up to him with a pale face.

“Why are you in such a hurry? Slow down…”

“The White Blood Religion attacked the Chiran tribe!”

“What?” The pot in Ogram’s hand crumbled into powder. “What kind of nonsense is that?!”

“We just got the urgent message! The White Blood Religion’s leader personally appeared and is currently slaughtering people!” The Suran tribe’s chief responded, his pale lips trembling in fear.

“God damn it…”

Ogram stood up. The white mist of alcohol emanated from his shoulders.

“W-wait a moment!” The Suran tribe’s chief stood in Ogram’s way as he was about to run to their rescue. “You can’t go on your own! Please wait for the Beast Union’s elites!”

He shook his head, saying that it was dangerous to go on his own because the White Blood Religion’s leader was there.

“It’ll be too late!” Ogram ground his teeth violently. “Did you already forget how the Khal Kingdom was attacked by her? Even if I run there right now, there’s no guarantee that I’ll be able to save them!”

The Khal Kingdom was adjacent to the Beast Union, and Ogram had been friends with their king ever since their childhood. He’d immediately run to help them as soon as he heard that the kingdom was under attack, but all he managed to find was the corpse of his best friend, dried up like a mummy.

“This is actually our chance!”

The White Blood Religion must’ve been unaware that he was in the Suran tribe, probably because he had been staying in the tribe quietly for a while. He was going to act quickly to cut the head off the vampire bitch.

“Th-then please take our warriors and sorcerers at least!”

“I also want to go!”

The Suran tribe’s chief and Garona lowered their heads, asking him to bring them with him.

“…I’m not going to wait.”

“Yes! We’ll follow, even if we end up being late!”

Ogram nodded at the Suran tribe chief and Garona before he kicked the ground. A huge fissure was created on the land, and his body advanced, turning into a brown ray of light.

* * *

Rumble!

Ogram violently ground his teeth, watching the Chiran tribe’s village from afar. Flames were rising from the village inside the jungle. His heart pounded so quickly that it felt like it would burst upon hearing the screams of the tribe.

“Damn it…”

Chiran was a large tribe, even among the Beast Union. However, he couldn’t sense many lives inside the village. He could guess that the bloody demons had already had their bloody feast.

“Haa…”

Ogram looked back while catching his breath. Garona and the Suran tribe’s warriors were nowhere to be seen. He left a signal for them to be careful and entered the village.

Splash.

His feet were sinking as if he were stepping on mud. The entire land was covered in red, from blood and corpses.

“Kuh…”

Ogram bit the tip of his tongue harshly in order to maintain his composure.

“Why is he still alive?” A bloody demon’s lips twisted into a smile as he found Ogram. “I’ll grant you a painless…”

Boom!

The bloody demon rushing at Ogram imploded, turning into a pale lump of blood.

“Huh?”

“Wh-what was that…?”

“No way…”

The White Blood Religion’s fanatics were drinking the blood of the Chiran tribe, their eyes widening upon seeing Ogram.

“Mosquito bitch! Come out, now!” Ogram roared at the White Blood Religion’s leader.

Whaaam!

A tremendous amount of aura exploded, extinguishing the flames covering the entire village, and the bloody demons around him collapsed at once, spraying blood from the five orifices on their faces.

“If you don’t appear, I’ll kill them all—”

“How impatient.”

Alongside a mesmerizing voice that made it seem like it was sucking away the soul, a black-haired and black-eyed woman appeared. Whenever she set foot on the red blood, it turned white—as if it were being purified by her steps.

Whaam!

Ogram stomped heavily on the ground. His fist extended, causing an earthquake in the process and crushing the head of the White Blood Religion’s leader.

Footnotes:

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