Chapter 698

Whaaam!

The South-North Union’s warriors who’d been waiting at the riverside rushed at him while destroying the land in the process.

“You bastard! What did you just say?!”

“What arrogance!”

“Who do you think you’re running your mouth at?!”

A middle-aged man with long, disheveled hair that resembled a rag, a baldy wearing a monk’s outfit, and a blue-haired young man with an eyepatch on his right eye dashed on the river, clenching their spear, harpoon, and sword respectively.

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the three people with particularly powerful pressures among the South-North Union’s warriors.

‘Those are familiar faces.’

He remembered seeing their faces on the list of the South-North Union’s members he’d looked into before coming to the duel.

They were the Black Wolf Boss, the White Mountain Boss, and the Rogue Wanderer Boss, the South-North Union’s executives who commanded groups of bandits on the mountain and water. They were all powerful people, but Raon didn’t bother paying attention to them and fully focused his senses on Roman. That was because he had other people to defend his back.

Whaaam!

Trevin, Burren, Runaan, and Martha rushed out by riding the wind and blocked the path of the attacking bosses.

“Hey, you motherfuckers! How dare you try for an ambush?! Do you have a death wish?” Martha glared furiously at them, violently grinding her teeth.

“It looks like a thief’s nature is impossible to conceal,” Burren sighed heavily and clicked his tongue.

“Shall I kill you?” Even Runaan was saying something scary, closing her lips tightly.

“Step back. What do you think you’re doing in a one-on-one duel?” Trevin furrowed his brow, looking down on the three of them.

Rimmer and Sheryl didn’t move. They seemed to be keeping the two powerful bosses who weren’t moving from the riverside in check.

“You insolent youngsters! Get out of my way!” The Black Wolf Boss yelled while pushing Trevin back.

“Oh, are you bragging about your old age? Can you even straighten your back?” Martha weakly tapped on her waist, laughing at the Black Wolf Boss.

Zieghart swordsmen and the South-North Union warriors ground their teeth, glaring at each other through their crossed weapons.

“Black Wolf Boss.” The Axe King Roman twisted his lips into a smile while looking at the Black Wolf Boss. “Did you just call him arrogant?”

“Yes! Could he yield three strikes? His insolence knows no limit! He isn’t worthy of your time, Axe Ki—”

“How foolish.” He firmly shook his head. “His insolence is exactly the reason I spared his life.”

“What?”

“There have been countless idiots who tried to survive using the same method as Raon Zieghart after I made the promise of a duel to the death with him. However, I didn’t spare a single one of them. Do you know why?”

“Err...” The Black Wolf Boss was unable to respond, his chin trembling in panic.

“It’s because of his eyes. No one showed me the same madness that he has.” Roman bared his white teeth while looking at Raon.

“Madness?” Raon furrowed his brow, wondering what he was talking about.

"Yes. When you proposed a duel to the death here three years ago, your eyes were filled with absolute confidence in your victory. They were on a completely different level from those cowards who only wanted to run away from the situation." Roman started to laugh like a madman, as if he were overjoyed by the moment. “Step back, everyone. Raon Zieghart is entitled to say that to me.”

“Ugh...”

“I-I beg your pardon.”

He shook his hand, and the South-North Warriors, including the Black Wolf Boss, lowered their heads.

“You don’t need to be sorry. It was a rather entertaining appetizer. Isn’t it true, Raon Zieghart?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t too bad.” Raon calmly nodded and looked back. “You should return to your positions as well. Watch the duel to the death until the last moment instead of exhausting yourselves for no reason.”

He offered the Light Wind Division the same words Rimmer used to say whenever he faced an enemy before them.

“Understood.” Burren lowered his head and returned to the left riverside with Martha, Runaan, and Trevin.

“So you are returning the three strikes to me. You must feel indebted for what happened in the past.” Roman tilted his chin, massaging his own shoulder.

“I’m not just feeling indebted about it. It is a debt.” Raon nodded, meeting Roman’s entertained gaze. “I can only fight without hesitation after settling the debt.”

“In that case, I shall accept it. You...” Roman was nodding his head, but a gray warship approached them through the tides from the direction where the Misfortune had appeared.

“That ship...” Raon furrowed his brow while looking at the warship getting closer to them. The energy undulating on the deck of the warship was even more powerful than Roman’s.

“It’s the vice leader’s ship.” Roman shook his head while snorting. “I thought he wasn’t going to come, but he did in the end.” He stomped the ground violently in displeasure.

“The vice leader?”

“Yes. You should be careful about him since he’s literally a thief.” Roman furrowed his brow, warning him about the South-North Union’s vice leader. “Of course, it’s not about today. Don’t worry about him, since I’ll be the one to stop him if he starts to act up.”

He took a step back, telling Raon not to be concerned about the vice leader.

Rumble.

A warship as massive as the Misfortune soon arrived at the riverside, and an old man with white-gray hair descended, stepping onto the air as if it were a staircase. The old man’s face had an unusually large number of wrinkles, but his body was made up of firm muscles, as if layers of steel were surrounding him.

‘Is he Hellgrum, the South-North Union’s vice leader? He is a Transcender, as expected.’

Hellgrum was an incredibly powerful warrior who had reached transcendence, befitting his title as the second strongest in the South-North Union. It even felt like the atmosphere was suddenly plummeting whenever he took a step.

“......”

Once Hellgrum reached the shore, his gaze turned toward Raon. As he met the sharp eyes that seemed to dig into his very soul, Raon felt a tingling pain all over his body, as if he were paralyzed.

‘This much isn’t a big deal when I even managed to endure our head of house’s pressure.’

He made the Ring of Fire resonate with a cold smile on his face, and the pressure caused by Hellgrum completely disappeared.

“Hmm...” Hellgrum widened his eyes in surprise and was guided to a luxurious seat by the Black Wolf Boss.

Raon was about to focus on the Axe King Roman again but suddenly came to a halt. He was distracted by a red-haired young man following behind Hellgrum for some reason.

‘He’s powerful.’

He seemed to be young, but he could feel an outrageous prowess from him. He wasn’t as powerful as Roman, but he had already crossed over the intermediate realm of Grandmaster.

‘Did they have someone like him?’

[Raon.]

As Raon grew intrigued about him, he heard Sheryl’s aura message.

[I’ll stop the South-North Union’s vice leader no matter what he tries to do, so focus on the duel against the Axe King.]

Raon nodded his head while looking back at Sheryl.

‘The Heavenly Blade Division leader is right.’

It wasn’t the time to be concerned about other people, whether it was the South-North Union’s vice leader or a hidden powerhouse.

“Is anyone else arriving late?” Raon shrugged his shoulders while looking at the Rable River. “Call them now if more people will be coming instead of breaking the mood.”

“No one is coming. Don’t worry about it, since the duel won’t stop even if the South-North Union’s leader arrives.” Roman gripped the Red Dragon Axe, declaring that he was going to continue the battle no matter who arrived.

“In that case, let’s get started.” Raon beckoned at Roman with his finger.

“A three-strike duel. I honestly didn’t expect it at all, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Roman lifted the Red Dragon Axe above his head, and a wave of energy powerful enough to send a chill down the spine erupted from him.

The Rable River shook violently, as if it were facing a storm.

“The first strike is the Void Fall Slash.”

He swung the Red Dragon Axe downward powerfully enough to split the Rable River apart. Dark flames erupted from the deadly blade of the axe. It was the martial art that Raon had witnessed from behind Rimmer’s back three years ago.

Cring!

Raon raised Heavenly Drive toward the falling Red Dragon Axe that seemed capable of devastating the river. The white blade was covered by Glacier’s coldness. The undulating wave of blue frost fended off the violent rush of the axe.

Whaam!

The thunderous noise made it sound like the land had split apart, but the river’s waves were completely unaffected. That implied that the coldness dwelling in Heavenly Drive had perfectly withstood the Red Dragon Axe’s power.

“The soft sword?” Roman lowered his eyebrows, supporting the Red Dragon Axe on his shoulder again. “No, it’s not just a soft sword. Lots of things are mixed into it.” He nodded his head as if he understood. “Soft sword, severing sword, and even the slow sword is dwelling in it. Your skills have grown a lot.”

“The same goes for you.” Raon narrowed his eyes, shaking the remaining impact of the clash from his hands. “Your axe was solely focused on power in the past, but it is more balanced now.”

Roman’s previous way of fighting consisted of crushing his opponent with sheer power, but he was different now. The swing of his axe was fluent and profound, just like a skilled swordsman.

‘This is dangerous.’

Raon began to think that he might end up dying before the duel to the death even started. However, he couldn’t stop despite the danger.

‘Because I’m indebted to him.’

The reason Roman accepted the duel to the death was because Rimmer never yielded in the three-strike duel. It was necessary to settle that debt before he could fight without any regrets in the duel to the death.

“Come at me with the second strike.” Raon nodded, holding Heavenly Drive at mid-height.

“I was going to... do it anyway!”

Roman lifted the Red Dragon Axe with a frightening smile on his face. The dark red sphere of aura surrounding the axe’s blade was spherically condensed. It was the axe king’s special technique that consisted of amplifying the astral sphere’s power, the Great Mountain Crusher.

Swoosh.

Raon held his breath and strained the wrist of the hand holding Heavenly Drive. Extending his left foot, he unleashed a flame that was even sharper than a blade.

It was a clash between astral spheres, between sharpness and heaviness. It wasn’t a clash between a sword and an axe. The extremely polished principles of martial arts tore apart each of their breath.

Whaaam!

The concentrated energy between Heavenly Drive and the Red Dragon Axe exploded, and the translucent water soared all the way into the sky from the river.

Swaaa!

The river water showered down and rain clouds started to cover the clear sky. Human prowess had changed the climate.

“Uuh...”

“I-is he really in his early twenties? What the...?!”

“Am I dreaming right now? Did he really fend off Sir Roman’s axe head-on...?”

“So that is the Dragon Slayer, Raon Zieghart.”

As Raon wasn’t being pushed back in the slightest by the Axe King’s special attack, the South-North Union’s bosses watched the scene with trembling lips.

“He is full of energy despite being old. Didn’t he get even stronger?”

“He did. He’s on a whole different level now compared to when he had that three-strike duel against our vice division leader.”

“This duel to the death isn’t going to be easy.”

The Zieghart swordsmen were also gasping in astonishment after witnessing Roman’s destructive power.

Roman laughed like a raging flame, sweeping back his rain-drenched hair.

“This is getting more and more interesting! The three years of waiting was worth it!”

Whir!

A crimson red current started to blaze from the Red Dragon Axe’s blade, taking away Raon’s breath. The dark red astral sphere expanded explosively, and a spiral rotation occurred from it, twisting the atmosphere.

“Here comes the last strike, the Revolving Void Axe Strike!”

Roman slammed the Red Dragon Axe downwards, and the astral sphere concentrated on the axe blade was fired like a majestic ray of light. It was a monstrously powerful energy blast, created with martial arts.

Cring!

Raon thrust his right foot and his right hand at the same time, similar to a stab. He thrust Heavenly Drive, connecting the strength rising from his ankle to the muscles at his waist and back.

Whaaap!

The flaming sphere concentrated at the tip of his sword was fired alongside a tremendous shockwave.

Raon Zieghart Style, Second Form

Heavenly Heavy Cannon

The Heavenly Heavy Cannon with its accumulated force of gravity clashed head-on against the rotation of the Revolving Void Axe Strike. The entirety of the Rable River trembled violently and the water boiled as if it were evaporating.

Whaaam!

Fissures started to form in Raon and Roman’s auras, which were as large as a small mountain, signaling that they had reached their limits. A tremendous explosion occurred, so powerful that it seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth.

The river wavered like an ocean and a rainstorm crashed from the sky.

“M-monsters.”

“The entire sky is full of rain clouds...”

“And they haven't even started yet...”

The South-North Union’s warriors watched the falling rain with trembling chins.

“Three strikes.” Raon tilted Heavenly Drive downwards. He raised his chin sharply, clenching his hand. “I withstood them.”

“Acknowledged.” Roman nodded calmly. “There’s no more debt between us now.” He nodded. The hand lifting the Red Dragon Axe was also shaking.

“Haa...” Raon exhaled deeply, massaging his shoulders, which still felt numb.

‘He’s powerful.’

He realized it clearly through the three-strike duel. Roman’s realm was definitely higher than his own. It was an unexpected situation, but it brought a smile to his face for some strange reason.

“It looks like you’re also having fun. The same goes for me.” Roman gave him a toothy grin upon seeing Raon’s smile. He lifted the Red Dragon Axe overhead and stepped forward with his right foot.

“Yes. I’m not sure, why but it’s making me smile.” Raon nodded his head and pulled Heavenly Drive behind his left shoulder, bending his knees.

Whir!

Raon and Roman didn’t move once they settled into their battle stances. It was as if time had stopped.

Even after ten seconds, one minute, ten minutes, and thirty minutes had passed, they didn’t even budge a finger. The only change was their energy waves. The energy waves of the two warriors kept rising endlessly, filling the sky with lightning strikes.

“Why aren’t they moving?”

“Because they are well aware of their opponent’s abilities.”

“Yes. Their heads will roll the moment they make the smallest mistake.”

“So they are equally matched.”

“I’m not sure. I can’t even breathe just watching them...”

The Zieghart swordsmen and the South-North Union warriors could only swallow nervously, unable to take their eyes off the standoff between Raon and Roman.

Zap!

The moment a spark accumulating at the riverbank erupted with a powerful sound, Raon and Roman made their move.

Whaaam!

Their bodies were launched toward each other at lightning speed and clashed at the center of the Rable River, creating a tremendous shockwave in the process.

Footnotes:

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