Chapter 563

The battle between the Light Wind division and the sword demons from the Holy Sword Alliance came to a halt, as if they’d been doused in cold water.

“S-Sir Cloud!”

“Impossible…”

“D-did Sir Cloud really die?”

The sword demons’ chins trembled, as they couldn’t believe the fact that Cloud, the disciple of the Holy Sword Alliance master, was defeated by Raon in his injured state.

“Hah! That bastard’s seriously insane!” Martha gasped in disbelief.

‘How could he defeat another Grandmaster after using the Sword Field Creation during his previous fight?!’

Insane was the only word to describe him. It was impossible to understand this existence called Raon Zieghart, whether she saw him from up close or far away.

“I didn’t expect him to finish his fight before us.”

Burren raised his fist while looking back at Raon.

‘He really did a great job.’

Raon was in the biggest crisis on that battlefield.

He had already spent most of his aura using the Sword Field Creation, and he was even injured. That was why his victory seemed unlikely, but Raon managed to completely clear that doubt by cutting off Cloud’s head.

Burren felt like he just wasted his time worrying about Raon at that point.

“Vice division leader!”

“I believed in you all along!”

“Leave the remaining sword demons to us!”

Dorian and the Light Wind swordsmen also smiled in excitement, waving their hands at Raon.

However, Runaan’s purple eyes were directed at the sword demons from the Holy Sword Alliance instead of Raon.

Slash!

The coldness welling up from Snow Flower sliced into the chest of a sword demon and pierced their heart.

“Cough…”

The attack froze the sword demon’s wound completely and took their life.

“This isn’t time to rest yet.”

Runaan briefly nodded at the Light Wind division and moved towards the next opponent. She wasn’t acting like that because she wasn’t worried about Raon—it was because she completely trusted him.

“Did Runaan really just say something right?”

“It’s true, and it makes me angry!”

Burren and Martha also started to slay the sword demons without saving up their aura, realizing that the tide of the battle had shifted towards the Light Wind division.

“Haa.”

Rimmer’s eyes curved into a smile as he swept his sweat-drenched hair back.

“It looks like we won the fight between the rising stars.”

He giggled while looking back and forth between Cloud, whose head was rolling, and Raon, who was standing proudly.

“Hmm…”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword furrowed his brow, showing that even he hadn’t anticipated Cloud’s defeat.

“I guess it shouldn’t matter since you are going to die here anyway.”

“Right, it doesn't matter.”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword regained his composure in the span of a single breath and shook his head.

“Because Raon Zieghart is no longer in this battle anyway.”

He narrowed his eyes while watching Raon cough up black blood.

“The alliance master won’t say anything as long as I kill you right here and bring Raon back with me.”

“You want to bring Raon back?”

Rimmer furrowed his brow, questioning what he meant by that.

“The alliance master desires his talent. It will be helpful for him to ascend even higher.”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword callously ran his mouth, implying that Raon would be used as a test subject.

“What complete nonsense.”

A frightening wind blew above Rimmer’s blade.

‘I knew it. He still hasn’t given up on taking Raon away.’

The Holy Sword Alliance had begun targeting Raon in Banneret, the city of Five Divine Orders. Rimmer could guess that they weren’t driven by simple curiosity.

‘I need to finish this fight as fast as possible.’

He was feeling a slight pain inside because he’d been stopping the demonic sword Kriatus’s demonic energy from reaching the Light Wind division and Raon.

Since Raon’s fight, the one he’d been worried about the most, had come to an end, quickly putting an end to the fight was the correct course of action.

“Sword Field Creation.”

Rimmer raised his sword towards the rainstorm in the sky.

“Song of Wind and Lightning.”

A ferocious voice similar to the growl of a beast resounded from high up in the sky all the way to the end of the land.

Rumble!

The heavens and earth trembled, unleashing relentless storms and lightning. In the midst of the boundary of the sword, where the mana itself was being eroded away, Rimmer’s blue eyes sparked blue.

The majestic wave of energy spreading from him gave the impression that he’d returned to his prime, back when he was called the Sword of Light.

“Yes. It wouldn’t be fun to kill you if you couldn’t even do that much.”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword calmly nodded his head and pointed the demonic sword Kriatus at Rimmer.

Crack!

The demonic sword’s red eyes emerged from the trembling violently blade. A menacing wave of demonic energy surged from the bloodshot eyes and covered the surrounding area. The rampage of the demonic energy distorted the space in a vertical line.

“Let’s start the second round.”

* * *

Raon wiped away the black blood soaking his lips. He observed the battlefield while suppressing the urge to faint from the pain caused by his internal injury and the demonic energy.

‘Our division leader opened his sword field.’

Rimmer had stopped worrying about him and was fighting against the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword at full power.

Neither of them was gaining an inch from the close battle, but the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword seemed to have the upper hand because he was using demonic energy.

‘It can’t be helped, I guess. After all, he’s been protecting me and the Light Wind division.’

The demonic sword Kriatus was a terrible sword that spread demonic energy to the entire area instead of just its opponent.

Since Rimmer had spread an aura barrier in order to stop it from reaching the Light Wind division while facing the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword, he’d been at a disadvantage all along.

He looked like he would be fixated on his opponent, devoured by his wrath, but he can do it when it comes down to it.

Wrath complimented Rimmer for the first time, surprised by his decision.

‘I know, right?’

Raon bit his lip and nodded.

‘Damn it…’

He wanted to help Rimmer, but he was going to be reduced to dust the moment their waves of mana reached him. Staying out of it was the best way to help.

‘How about this side…?’

He looked at the Light Wind division fighting behind Rimmer and the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword. While the sword demons from the Holy Sword Alliance were more numerous, the Light Wind division was slightly more powerful.

They were pretty much equally matched, but Raon could guess that they were going to win eventually since Runaan and Mark Goetten managed to break the balance. 

‘But it’s all over if our division leader loses his fight.’

Even if the Light Wind division managed to slay the sword demons, the situation would be over if Rimmer lost against the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword.

Since Rimmer was still protecting the Light Wind division as he fought, defeating the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword seemed unlikely.

‘Their fight is probably going to end with our division leader’s death or the deaths of both sides.’

There were two choices Raon could make in that situation.

The first was to leave the rest to Rimmer and retreat with the Light Wind division. Since Rimmer was being hindered by the Light Wind division, it would be beneficial for both sides.

However, there might be other sword demons from the Holy Sword Alliance in the vicinity, and there was a high risk of falling into a dangerous situation since Raon wasn’t going to be helpful at all.

The second and last method was to surpass the wall.

He’d gained a clue for enlightenment during the fight against Cloud. If he could grasp the faint martial principle that was tickling his brain, it wouldn’t be impossible to surpass the wall toward Grandmaster right there.

Since the enlightenment might disappear if more time passed, it was a great opportunity at the same time.

However, he couldn’t easily decide to take the second choice because his condition was pretty much the worst and the enemy was right in front of him.

‘It must be the only way.’

Raon finished his brief contemplation and mustered the small amount of his aura that had recovered. He sent an aura message to Burren, Martha, Runaan, and Mark Goetten.

[Listen without looking towards me.]

The team leaders and Mark Goetten flinched slightly, but they kept swinging their swords.

[I’m going to surpass the wall.]

The trembling from the team leaders and Mark Goetten intensified.

[You crazy bastard! What the hell are you even talking about?!]

Martha couldn’t hold back anymore and yelled through an aura message.

[Huh!]

Burren was also dumbfounded and gasped.

[Hide somewhere else at least if you’re going to do it!]

[The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword or other enemies might follow me if I move. It’s better to push through the enlightenment while pretending to be incapacitated.]

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword wasn’t an idiot. He was definitely going to follow if he moved away, so staying there while pretending he couldn’t take action was the best thing to do.

[Mhm.]

Runaan replied firmly, showing her trust in him as she drove her opponent into a corner.

[Don’t worry, we will protect you with our lives.]

Mark Goetten’s voice was also filled with trust as he nodded.

Raon looked at Rimmer’s back for the last time before he took out his subspace pocket.

He took out the Ocean Soul’s leaf and two elixirs that he’d gotten from Glenn. He wrapped the Ocean Soul’s leaf around the red pill that radiated heat and the blue pill that radiated cold and put it inside his mouth.

Whap!

Since all of them were highest-grade elixirs, they melted down into a liquid as soon as they touched his tongue and went down his throat.

Explosive heat and freezing coldness struck him at the same time.

The pain was intense because he was in the possible worst condition, but it quickly subsided, probably from the Ocean Soul’s effect.

‘Haa… I need to take it slow.’

If they found out that he was trying to break through the wall, the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword and the sword demons were going to attack him like crazy. He had to put his enlightenment together under the pretense of simple cultivation.

Raon closed his eyes while standing. He controlled the Ring of Fire to spread the energy of the elixirs filling his mana circuits all around his body.

Rumble!

The energy of the elixirs dashing through his mana circuits gathered at his middle energy center and erupted like a volcano.

The powerful, high-purity energy stopped the demonic energy from tearing apart his body and drove it into a corner.

The heated energy of his middle energy center slowly rose through his mana circuits and reached his upper energy center.

The heat and coldness spread around like fireworks upon reaching the top, and the faint enlightenment he’d gained from defeating Cloud shone clearly.

His mental world opened up.

His aura perception, which he’d spread around to sense the outside reaction, subsided on its own as the world solely focused on himself was revealed.

‘It’s better this way.’

Since he’d started cultivating, a delayed reaction was inevitable. It was better to enter the trance and surpass the wall as quickly as possible.

‘It changed a lot.’

His mental world had become wider than before, but it still maintained the same appearance of a grave of swords, countless blades embedded in the ground.

As Raon watched the divine and demonic swords, which were the only ones floating in the air, someone’s hand grabbed a sword embedded in the ground.

‘That’s… me.’

His young self, wearing a training outfit, pulled out a training sword from his mental world and started to practice basic techniques.

Next up was a taller version of himself. He took a training sword and practiced the Star Connecting Sword.

The next Raon unleashed the Fangs of Insanity, another Raon activated the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s sword technique, and there was even a Raon who demonstrated the Raon Zieghart-style sword art that he’d created himself.

As many Raons as the swords appeared to demonstrate the sword techniques.

‘No, that’s not all there is.’

It wasn’t just the techniques that he’d used before. Even the sword techniques that his opponents had used in previous battles were reenacted in his mental world.

He remembered the conversation he’d had with the Sword Demon and Glenn in the past as he watched that scene.

“What is a sword, you ask? A sword is simply a sword. It’s not anything complicated,” Glenn said.

“Your head of house is right. The more you think of it as complicated, the more difficult the sword becomes. Even the versatile sword is no different from the others,” the Sword Demon stated.

“But if you want to advance even higher, you need to have an appropriate reason for learning and using the sword technique. You need to wrap it with your will.”

“Don’t frown so much. It’s not that hard. The answer is always inside you.”

They gave him a similar response, as if they’d learned the same martial art.

‘Answer.’

Raon watched the swordsmanship of his other selves to obtain the answer that he couldn’t find back then.

Every single one was flashy and powerful. It looked like they could cut through anything in the world, the principles being fully incorporated into them.

However, he noticed a strange thing as he continued to observe. Every technique except for the basic techniques functioned separately from each other.

Just as chains can’t function if they’re separated from each other, he couldn’t feel any connection between the sword techniques.

‘Is it because I learned too many sword techniques? No, that’s not it.’

Learning many different techniques was fine. The issue was the fact that he’d increased the number without having a definitive will.

He hadn’t realized it when the swords were embedded in the ground, but he could see the issue as he pulled them out and demonstrated.

The reason he couldn’t reach the Grandmaster’s realm despite having gained lots of enlightenment and having enough aura was because his mental world wasn’t organized yet.

‘Moreover… I couldn’t incorporate a proper will into my swordsmanship yet.’

He’d been fighting with momentary reactions instead of thinking about what he wanted to achieve and what he wanted to gain.

That implied that he hadn’t changed that much from the child Raon who was practicing basic techniques.

“Haa.”

Raon slowly raised his gaze.

The dark fog faded away, and seven red rings were revealed. Probably because his mind was wavering, the rings of fire were looking twisted as well.

‘My starting point.’

It was time to return to the starting point, the Ring of Fire, and complete the eighth ring in order to put the enlightenment together.

‘Let’s start with removing the demonic energy… No, I don’t need to remove it.’

Because his mind had cleared, he managed to get a new idea.

‘I don’t have any demonic energy, but I have the authorities of demon kings, which are superior to them.’

Raon clenched his back teeth while looking up at the seven rings rotating in the air.

‘Let’s try it.’

* * *

Wham! Wham!

The light saber of wind and lightning in Rimmer’s hand clashed against the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s light saber of demonic energy, endlessly bombarding the area with rays of light like comets.

Rimmer severed the space amid waves of mana, shaking the heavens and earth.

The tip of his blade rotated counter-clockwise and unleashed countless lightning storms. The beautiful and explosive sight made him look like he’d recovered his prowess from his prime.

Whir!

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword raised the demonic sword Kriatus diagonally. The extremely concentrated demonic energy twisted the sky and advanced relentlessly.

The dazzling light clashed against the dark light, causing a tremendous shockwave to burst out all around. The entire land trembled, and the entirety of House Lakion vibrated as if it were about to collapse.

Rimmer turned around mid-air and rushed toward the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword from the left. He raised the blade of wind towards the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s neck.

However, the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword had already predicted Rimmer’s movement. He slanted the demonic sword Kriatus diagonally to create a shield of demonic energy.

Claaaang!

The powerful wave of the wind and lightning blade gnawed into the light saber of demonic energy, but it didn’t manage to break through it. The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword was still superior in terms of power alone.

Whir!

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword extended the demonic sword Kriatus, and the demonic energy surged from its rotating tip into nine different directions. The demonic energy curved like a whip and ruthlessly slammed down upon the area.

Wham! Wham!

The land turned dark as if it had been poisoned upon being smacked by the demonic energy. It was a fatal attack, capable of killing the opponent in a single strike.

Rimmer surrounded himself with wind and withdrew to the right. He gave up on counterattack and focused on evasion so that he wouldn’t waste any energy.

However, the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword flew at Rimmer even faster and slashed down with Kriatus. He seemed to have no intention of leaving him with a choice.

“Kuh!”

Rimmer frowned because of the demonic blade surrounding him like a birdcage.

‘So annoying!’

He bit his lip and advanced towards the demonic blade closing in on him.

Slash!

The light saber of lightning managed to cut off two bits of demonic energy, but the seven other blades entangled with each other like a whirlwind and dashed towards his heart.

As the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword’s demonic sword kneaded the darkness, Rimmer dashed towards it and thrust the blade made of concentrated wind and lightning energy.

Rumble!

Red and green radiance stormed around Rimmer’s sword of light, but the darkness of the demonic sword Kriatus couldn’t be cut off, even though it seemed close.

“Dark Blood.”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword pulled the demonic sword Kriatus to the left. The blade, which only had the length of a longsword, extended endlessly and became a greatsword suitable for a divine general from heaven. The descent of the blade that glowed a darkish red looked like it was trying to cut down the entire world.

Rimmer raised his sword of light while sensing that his sword field was narrowing. The light from his blade spread to the front and created a majestic storm of light.

Whaaam!

A bottomless pit appeared on the ground as Rimmer and the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword were pushed back, dragging their feet.

Spit.

Rimmer spat out the black blood welling in his mouth and furrowed his brow.

‘This is going to be difficult…’

The demonic energy spreading from the demonic sword Kriatus was becoming more and more powerful, as if it were limitless. The discomfort in his stomach made him want to throw up, and his fingertips were trembling.

Since the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword had been relying on the demonic sword, he didn’t even spend that much aura. As a result, the situation was getting more and more dire.

‘Should I let the youngsters escape, at least?’

Rimmer started to contemplate whether he should save the Light Wind division and bring the Master of the Wise Dragon Sword to the grave with him when the man suddenly sneered.

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

He raised his chin sharply while digging out the land with the demonic sword Kriatus.

“Are you planning to let your subordinates escape? Well, while that would be a wise decision since you can’t defeat me before your Sword Field Creation runs out, the Light Wind division hasn’t finished their battle, and Raon Zieghart can’t help you. Even contemplating that is meaningless.”

He pointed left and right with his chin.

“This entire area is already surrounded. The only choices you have are to die here with them, or die here yourself while letting the others die out there.”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword smiled, showing his confidence at the encirclement.

“I told you already, you aren’t capable of saving others. You can’t even save yourself anymore.”

“You bastard…”

A frightening gleam filled Rimmer’s eyes. His reason disappeared and crimson fury replaced it.

“This is where you end… Huh?”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword suddenly stopped speaking. His eyes were trembling faintly.

“What…?”

Rimmer turned to see where he was looking.

Raon used to be faltering as if he were going to collapse at any moment, but he was slowly floating into the air.

‘N-no way, is he really… trying to break through the wall right here?’

What Raon was showing was the phenomenon right before breaking through a wall.

‘How the hell is he so bold?!’

He was trying to break through the wall in the middle of a battlefield. Even the biggest madman in the continent wouldn’t do such a thing.

“What the…?”

The Master of the Wise Dragon Sword also noticed that fact and ground his teeth.

“Catch him! Drag him down right now!”

On the other hand, Rimmer shook his hand towards the Light Wind division.

“Stop them! Stop them no matter what!”

***

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]