Chapter 503

The greenery was fluttering in House Robert’s vast garden despite it being the middle of winter.

Derus Robert watched the moonlight wavering from the clouds, and a small woman wearing a maid’s outfit knelt behind him.

“Sirith sent us a message.”

The maid raised her lowered head and revealed her emotionless eyes.

“Who showed up?”

“The Holy Sword Alliance master arrived with the Sword Wing. The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword had only one arm, and a man who seemed to be the Holy Sword Alliance master’s disciple was also seen.”

“Disciple? Was it Quirrell?”

Derus was interested in the disciple of the Holy Sword Alliance master and inquired about him.

“No, they said he was a new disciple, but that he has already reached the Grandmaster realm.”

“So the youngest disciple is a Grandmaster. They weren’t idling around while they were hiding.”

He nodded with a faint smile on his face.

“How about the other faction?”

“The White Blood Religion's leader personally went to the city with the third and tenth disciples.”

“That evil spirit never fails to be predictable. Anyway, that means two of them are there. It looks like he hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Lastly…”

The woman in maid uniform briefly licked her lips.

“Merlin appeared.”

“Merlin?”

Derus lowered his gaze for the first time upon hearing the unexpected name.

“But Eden shouldn’t be able to afford that right now.”

“Merlin seemed to be targeting Raon Zieghart on her own accord. I heard she was facing the tenth apostle.”

“Did she still not learn her lesson after what happened last time?”

He clicked his tongue a couple of times at her pathetic behavior.

“How is the situation?”

“The Holy Sword Alliance master, the White Blood Religion's leader, and the heads of the Five Divine Orders are fighting equally inside the city. The Heavenly Blade division leader and the Sword of Light are defending against the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword and an apostle, and…”

The woman in a maid uniform briefly paused before she continued.

“Raon Zieghart managed to defeat the Holy Sword Alliance master’s disciple outside the city.”

“What?”

Derus’s eyes violently wavered even though they’d remained calm up to that point.

“Cubara.”

“Yes.”

“You said the Holy Sword Alliance master’s disciple was a Grandmaster, didn’t you?”

“Indeed.”

“Does that mean that Raon Zieghart has become a Grandmaster?”

“That is not the case.”

The woman called Cubara slowly opened her mouth without being intimidated by Derus’s frightening gaze.

“They said he used the Sword Field Creation.”

“Hah! Sword Field Creation?”

Derus gasped while covering his forehead with his palm.

‘He activated the Sword Field at twenty-one years of age? It should’ve been incomplete. Still…’

It would’ve been less surprising if he’d become a Grandmaster.

Derus knew about the Sword Field Creation better than the warriors from Zieghart because he’d looked into countless books and records and even kidnapped a member of the direct line from Zieghart who was capable of activating the Sword Field to dissect him.

The Sword Field of Zieghart was a boundary that materialized the mental world, signifying the swordsman’s life. There were infinite ways of using it, and it was also prone to change according to the swordsman’s growth.

Since it incorporated the user’s life itself, even a genius would need a long time to activate it. Yet Raon Zieghart was crazy enough to create his own Sword Field at twenty-one years of age.

‘This is incomparable to his previous achievements.’

Derus had thought Raon wouldn’t surprise him anymore, but it was far beyond his imagination.

“What kind of Sword Field was it?”

“I haven’t heard anything about it.”

Cubara slowly shook her head.

“What do you mean?”

“He said that they would attack Raon Zieghart right away since his energy had reached rock bottom as soon as his Sword Field was disabled. He cut off contact right after that.”

She sighed, saying that Sirith acted on his own accord without waiting for an order.

“Will you stop him?”

“Hmm…”

Derus stroked his chin while looking at a fluttering green leaf.

‘He isn’t wrong about that decision.’

The Sword Field was the trump card of a Zieghart swordsman. They lost their stamina and aura to the point of exhaustion once it was used.

If the balance of power inside Banneret was perfectly equal, no one was going to come to his rescue.

Considering Sirith’s experience, his decision to act must’ve implied that he saw a perfect opportunity. Derus figured that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to count on him.

“I’ll leave him alone.”

Derus’s lips curved into a frightening smile as he covered the moon emerging from the clouds with his hand.

“In any case, Raon Zieghart won’t survive the day.”

* * *

Raon’s steps came to a halt behind a tree the size of an adult man. He released the small amount of aura that he’d recovered to observe the surroundings.

‘These movements definitely belong to assassins. Moreover… It’s the same as the Shadows.’

Even assassins had different characteristics depending on their faction.

The Blood Curtain sought the ultimate speed while the Death God Religion focused on stealth.

On the other hand, Shadows changed their course of action depending on the situation. They became darker than the Death God Religion if stealth was required, and they moved even faster than the Blood Curtain to eliminate their target if speed was important.

‘The sound is faint, but the fact that they are making any at all implies that… they must be aware that my body is in the worst condition.’

The shadows must’ve been running towards him to quickly eliminate him before he recovered his stamina and aura.

Raon could guess that they’d been watching the battle from higher ground.

However, the fact that they still managed to remove most of their presence despite moving so quickly implied that every single one of them was close to being the best of the assassins.

‘Well, I guess he wouldn’t dispatch random assassins against me.’

There was no way they were ordinary assassins since Derus was behind it. They must’ve had something up their sleeves.

‘I should avoid a frontal clash.’

Since both his stamina and aura were exhausted, a frontal clash wasn’t a good option.

Yaawn.

Wrath yawned and returned to the flower bracelet, satisfied from learning of the Light Wind division’s safety.

This is boring, so wake him after it’s over.

‘Seriously…’

Raon bit his lip slightly and unsheathed the Blade of Requiem.

‘I’m in the worst condition possible, but I still have another option available. Let’s return to the past.’

* * * 

Raon entered the forest while pretending to run away from them. The trees and bushes had no leaves because it was winter, but he activated the concealing technique while passing by a large trunk.

It wasn’t the shadow’s martial art that he’d learned in his previous life. It was the White Shadow Steps, created by improving the Dark Shadow Steps through the martial arts of his new life.

He erased his presence perfectly with the White Shadow Steps and climbed the tree.

‘They are here.’

Even a Master warrior wouldn’t be able to notice him, but he still had to be careful since he was surrounded by assassins.

Raon held the Blade of Requiem in a reverse grip while observing his surroundings.

‘As expected, they can’t find me.’

Contrary to how they rapidly ran into the forest, they were circling in the area without finding him.

‘But I have the same issue. I can’t exactly locate them…’

He couldn’t find the exact locations of the assassins since his stamina, willpower, and aura were at rock bottom.

‘I haven’t felt this way in a long time.’

A battle between assassins was different from one between warriors.

It was a war of information, decided by who managed to find the opponent’s position and state first. It was a soundless war where any thoughtless action led to losing one’s head.

‘Every single one of them is extremely proficient at concealing themselves. I’m surprised he managed to raise so many of them.’

No presence nor sign of life could be detected. It was as if they were dead bodies. Their concealing technique was more than top-notch.

Raon let out his breath into the sound of the wind and spread his aura perception in an even more detailed manner.

‘They are hiding so well.’

His body was in the worst condition, his enemies’ presence was faint, and they didn’t show any signs of life. That was why it was difficult to precisely locate his enemies.

‘I can’t use the Perception of the Snow Flower either.’

The Perception of the Snow Flower consumed his aura and willpower on top of wrath.

The problem was going to get worse if he couldn’t locate every single assassin after using it. That was why it was better to suppress the urge to use it.

Raon closed his eyes while placing his hand on a thin branch. He ordered the rings of fire rotating around his heart to find his enemies as fast as possible.

Cring!

The seven rings violently resonated with each other and refined his senses. The forest turned white as Raon endured the exhausting stress.

Amid the white space, where nothing but nature was present, dark existences arose as embers. It was the energy of the assassins.

‘I found them.’

He could locate twenty-four assassins encircling the forest like a web. However, Raon still couldn’t detect their signs of life even though he knew their locations. They really felt like corpses.

‘Did he create a new martial art?’

Raon started to think that Derus must’ve made a martial art to remove the signs of life like a real corpse when a small resonance occurred from all around the forest.

[I can’t even see your hair.]

The voice was strangely altered. They must’ve been using an artifact to prevent their location from being discovered.

[The White Sword Dragon from Zieghart is hiding in front of his enemies. It will be humiliating if the rumors spread about this.]

Raon calmly nodded while listening to the mockery.

‘I knew it. They have a leader.’

Shadows usually had a leader who gave out the instructions during an assassination mission, and the owner of that voice must’ve been the leader.

‘Where are they?’

None of the twenty-four assassins he’d located a moment ago was a leader. He could guess that the leader’s concealing technique was even more special.

[Your beloved Light Wind division will be annihilated if you waste more time here. We’ve also dispatched people over there.]

The leader of the assassins started to provoke him, trying to get him to reveal himself.

‘Tsk.’

Raon briefly clicked his tongue in his mouth.

‘There’s no way that’s true.’

Derus wasn’t interested in the Light Wind division at all. All he desired was the death of Raon Zieghart.

‘Is he trying to agitate my mind? That’s my specialty though.’

Raon used the White Shadow Steps and moved behind the closest assassin.

He was looking towards the center of the forest while hiding behind a trunk on the right.

‘His presence is different.’

Raon was still unable to feel his sign of life despite being so close. Derus Robert really must’ve created a new martial art.

Shoosh.

Raon covered the assassin’s mouth and pierced his neck with the Blade of Requiem that he was holding in a reverse grip.

‘He’s not moving in the slightest!?’

Even though he was an assassin, it was unexpected that he wouldn’t move at all at the moment of his death. It almost felt like he was stabbing a doll.

‘How much was he brainwashed to fall into this state?’

Raon moved sideways while thinking about Derus’s cruelty. He covered the next target’s mouth and severed the heart.

‘Ack!’

The blood flowing from the assassin’s chest reached his wrist, and the flesh started to melt as if it were burned.

‘Is this poison? No, that can’t be.’

It was impossible to mix a poison capable of melting his skin into the blood, even for an assassin.

‘Wait, now that I think about it…’

He noticed that the assassins had low body temperatures when he got close enough to cover their mouths. They almost felt like dead bodies.

‘Their blood is poisoned and they are corpses with low body temperature.’

Once he started to consider the assassins as corpses, he remembered the plan that Derus had mentioned in his previous life.

‘Don’t tell me, are they the ones?!’

Raon released the corpse and was about to withdraw when he heard the voice of the Shadows’ leader.

[I found you.]

As soon as the voice resounded, the neck of the assassin he’d just killed by stabbing the heart was turned 180°. He extended his hand with a hole in his heart as if he were a zombie.

Crack!

The one that Raon had stabbed in the neck was also running towards him with his waist bent in an unnatural manner, and the assassins that had been hiding revealed themselves at the same time and rushed towards him.

‘Damn it!’

Raon bit his lip while stepping backward.

‘Did he manage to complete it? The Deathbringer Revenants.’

He could finally understand why the assassins had no sign of life. It was because they were actually corpses. Derus Robert must’ve ended up completing his plan to turn corpses into assassins.

[Shouldn’t you be called a rat instead of a dragon? You are as good as a rat at running away.]

A mocking voice could be heard from behind the Deathbringer Revenants chasing after him. The owner of the voice must’ve been controlling the Deathbringer Revenants.

‘They are undying assassins with acid poison for blood. That means he must’ve also achieved that.’

The most frightening part about the Deathbringer Revenants wasn’t the fact that they were already dead. The biggest danger was something else.

‘That must be his plan.’

Raon figured he had to take advantage of that fact to get out of that situation.

“Ugh! Come out!”

Raon fended off the assassins’ assault while pretending to be in an extreme panic.

The assassins were obviously fearless since they were corpses. They kept attacking until the very end while spreading their poisonous blood even when their limbs were cut off.

‘A bit more.’

Raon circled around while pretending to avoid the poisonous blood and unsheathed Heavenly Drive as four cold Revenants started to attack at the same time.

Slash!

The sharp strike gained momentum and cut off the heads of the four Deathbringer Revenants at the same time.

That was when…

[Caught you.]

The headless assassins’ bodies started to glow as if they were covered in oil alongside a laughing voice.

‘It’s coming!’

Raon bit his lip tightly and focused the small amount of aura he had left into the mana circuits under his feet to use the Supreme Harmony Steps.

He violently kicked the ground and gained distance.

Whaaam!

As soon as he escaped from the headless Deathbringer Revenants, a tremendous explosion occurred. It was as powerful as an astral sphere explosion and ended up creating a bottomless pit at the place where he used to be standing until a moment ago.

‘Kuh…’

Raon frowned while looking at his hands and legs.

‘I was slightly affected.’

He couldn’t completely avoid the explosion because he was too close to them. The back of his hand and thigh were severely injured.

‘This is why they are called Deathbringer Revenants.’

They were called Deathbringer Revenants because they brought death to the living, just like the evil spirits.

‘But my plan should’ve worked…’

The one who’d been controlling the Deathbringer Revenants must’ve believed in his death after that explosion.

Raon was going to prepare for a surprise attack the moment the leader came down.

[Hmm…]

The assassin groaned while looking at the hole without revealing themselves. They stayed quiet for a while before they started to giggle.

[You aren’t dead. That’s amazing.]

Raon broke out into a cold sweat.

‘How did they notice that?’

Raon had escaped by only using footwork. He hadn’t even made an aura shield to avoid suspicion. That was why it was unexpected for them to notice. Whether it was intuition or some kind of ability they had, they were a rather extraordinary opponent.

‘It can’t be helped.’

He figured he had to activate the Perception of the Snow Flower to locate them even if it aggravated his internal injuries even further.

Raon sighed and rubbed his abdomen, which was screaming in pain, just as he detected a small movement from behind. He got nervous because he thought it was an assassin, but the presence was extremely faint and emerged from underground.

Poke!

A mole whose head was covered in the snow that used to be on the ground was poking its head out from the ground.

‘It must be because of the earlier tremor…’

“Are you having a hard time?”

The mole spoke.

‘Merlin?’

Raon’s jaw dropped and he rapidly created an aura barrier.

“Aren’t you fighting against the tenth apostle right now?”

“I am, but I still need to watch you.”

Merlin tilted her head as if it was the obvious thing to do.

“I saw you when you used the Sword Field Creation. It was an extremely beautiful twilight.”

She covered her flushed cheeks with her hands.

“This isn’t the time for that…”

“Do you need my help?”

“Huh?”

Merlin smiled happily and returned to the ground.

‘What does she mean?’

Raon couldn’t understand why she’d left after offering her help.

He was thinking that he seriously couldn’t understand her when the sky brightened. He raised his head and saw dozens of magic circles floating in the sky like a constellation. They started to radiate brilliantly and started to bombard the ground indiscriminately.

Whaaam!

The consecutive explosions caused by magic pulled the trees out and split the land, but the tree where he was hiding was completely intact, only the upper part being burnt.

‘This is Merlin’s doing.’

Merlin must’ve helped him after noticing his situation.

‘I can’t miss this opportunity.’

Raon wasn’t stupid enough to not swallow the soup that was brought to his mouth. He focused the small amount of aura he had left into his hands and feet and activated the Ring of Fire without using anything else.

An extremely faint presence moved amid a barrage of magical explosions. It was a presence of the living, different from the corpses.

Whir.

A red glow burst from Raon’s eyes.

‘I found you.’

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]