Chapter 599

“Hah…”

Raptor gasped as he looked at the space his right arm used to be.

‘I didn’t even sense it.’

He hadn’t even seen Raon’s attack coming. That implied that the difference between them was tremendous.

‘That strike would’ve killed me if it weren’t for the account book.’

Raon could’ve gone for his neck or heart instead of his right arm.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that he was only alive thanks to Raon’s consideration.

‘I can’t believe that rumor was true…’

He’d simply snorted when he’d heard the rumor that Raon Zieghart had become a Grandmaster, but it was actually true.

In fact, the rumor wasn’t even enough to describe him. Raon seemed to have already reached the novice level Grandmaster.

“Haa.”

Raptor bit his lip tightly, meeting Raon’s serious eyes.

‘Buy time against him? Nonsense.’

It was impossible for a Master to win against a Grandmaster unless they were an unreasonable monster like Raon.

Since he was still at the Master’s realm, it was impossible to buy time against Raon.

“You really have become a complete monster.”

Raptor swallowed nervously, stopping the bleeding from his shoulder. Raon didn’t do anything to stop him since he could kill him at any moment if he wanted.

“Your childish appearance from our first encounter remains, but your sword is frighteningly sharp.”

Raon’s face hadn’t changed much since their first encounter, but his swordsmanship was on a different level.

He couldn’t even believe that he was a human being at that point.

“Did you let me live because of the account book?”

Raptor smiled awkwardly, using his left hand to wipe away the blood flowing from his right shoulder.

“But what are you going to do with that account book? Are you going to visit them one by one and recover the elves who have been sold?”

“What if I am?”

“Hah!”

Raptor sneered and raised his head sharply.

“Those people are famous all around the continent, unlike those weaklings who came later on. Some of them are even from the Six Kings and Five Demons. Are you telling me you are going to visit them all?”

“Yes.”

Raon calmly nodded as if he didn’t understand what the problem with that was.

“I’ll take them back, even if they are from Zieghart, let alone the Six Kings and Five Demons.”

His unwavering eyes showed that he was telling the truth. Raptor realized that the crazy man in front of him really was planning to recover the elves by visiting everyone on the list.

“You’ve become stronger, but you’re still naive. You are just a brat living in a dream.”

“You might be right. However…”

Raon shook his head at Raptor.

“It’s better than a terrified dog with the tail between its legs.”

“What are you talking about?!”

* * *

“Just as I said.”

Raon briefly licked his lips, looking at Raptor’s bloodshot eyes.

“Because you weren’t like this the last time we met.”

He’s only met Raptor twice so far, but he had the same impression both times. He was a proud and confident warrior. He was always composed and could look at the big picture.

He was definitely an enemy, but Raon had thought that he was a man that he could learn from.

In fact, it was thanks to his help that he had been able to postpone the duel to the death by three years during the encounter with the Axe King.

He’d thought that he was somewhat indebted to him, but Raptor had become a whole different person.

He was completely intimidated, blinded by greed, his pride and confidence nowhere to be seen.

“What do you even know about me?!”

Raptor bared his teeth and gave a grotesque laugh.

“Account book? I’m never giving it to you! I won’t give it to you even if you kill me!”

He grinned, spreading the only arm he had left in a gesture of complete denial. The malice he was showing made it seem like he’d stepped on a landmine.

“The reason I didn’t kill you wasn’t because of the account book but because I thought I was indebted to you.”

Raon sighed briefly.

“What?”

Raptor widened his eyes, asking what he was talking about.

“I would be dead now if you went for the kill back then.”

He wasn’t lying. It was the case during the encounter with the Axe King and also during their first encounter. If he’d tried to attack while ignoring Rimmer’s presence, Raon would’ve died or been seriously injured at best.

But he’d remained composed and even gave him some kind of blessing by telling him to become stronger by their next encounter.

Raon had thought he was a rather decent warrior despite being in a den of lunatics like the Five Demons, but he felt enraged to see him again in that state.

“Do you remember what you told me back then?”

“......”

“You said ‘I look forward to hearing your name in the Terukan Mountains and Rable River.”

Raon remembered exactly what he’d said because he was impressed by it.

“Ah…”

Raptor’s lips trembled, finally remembering about it.

“So what do you think? Do you hear my name from the Terukan Mountains and Rable River now?”

“......”

He clenched his fist, his arm hanging powerlessly at his side.

“I kept my promise, but the person who made that promise with me doesn’t exist anymore.”

Raon clenched Heavenly Drive and raised it towards him.

“......”

Raptor was simply standing there with his head lowered towards the ground. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“I’ll finish you off right here—”

“It’s in the second partition of the bookshelf at the right.”

He slowly raised his head and pointed at the bookshelf to his right.

“What?”

“The account book you are looking for is in that bookshelf to the right.”

Raptor shook his head, wondering why he was surprised at the answer to his question. The desire filling his eyes seemed to have cleared a little.

“I have no intention of letting you live even if you tell me about it.”

He couldn’t forgive him for treating others as slaves because he’d lived as a dog on a leash by Derus Robert in his previous life.

He was planning to kill the one responsible for it, regardless of who it was.

“I didn’t say it so that I could live.”

Raptor chuckled and shook his head. His characteristic relaxed attitude seemed to have returned a little.

“I was just reminded of the past.”

Raon went to the bookshelf that Raptor had mentioned and took a red book from it. He opened the book and could see that every sale in the auction so far was written down. He could read about which elves had been sold and the people who’ve purchased them in the recent records.

“You are right about that.”

Raptor sighed while touching the gold coins on the desk.

“I ran away with my tail between my legs and stayed here while licking a bone.”

He closed his eyes while looking at the dark hole in the ceiling. Raon didn’t know for sure, but he could guess that there’d been an issue inside the South-North Union.

“You should keep walking down your path until the very end.”

“I’m going to do it anyway, you don’t need to tell me that.”

“Yes. That’s Raon Zieghart that I know.”

Raptor smiled gladly and touched his wounded shoulder.

“It would’ve been nice if I met you a bit earlier…”

He sat on the ground with a gloomy voice. The aura blocking the injury on his shoulder was suddenly removed and even more blood gushed from it. He’d decided to die on his own terms.

“Yo-you should leave quickly. The monster is coming to kill you.”

“Monster?”

“Do you remember Tyler? The man you killed.”

“Of course I do.”

Raon nodded, thinking about how he’d killed Tyler, the disciple of the South-North Union’s boss, when he was trying to save the Blue Lugh tribe that was being enslaved by him.

“Tyler’s grandfather is a man named Siran. He is the vice elder of the Council of Elders. No, he is actually the head elder now.”

“Which means…”

“Yes. He is coming here.”

Raptor smiled weakly, advising him to go upstairs quickly.

“A-as for the chain binding the elves’ necks, you should inject aura into it and destroy it from the inside. It’s going to explode right away and blow up their necks if you don’t do that.”

He even gave an unexpected piece of information as a parting gift.

“…And watch out for Beorn.”

“Beorn?”

Raon never got the answer to that question. Raptor closed his eyes with his lips curved into a bitter smile.

“......”

Raon furrowed his brow while looking at Raptor’s corpse.

‘Beorn?’

He had a bad feeling about that name when he suddenly heard a huge impact from above.

‘Are they already here?’

* * *

Rimmer climbed the stairs that he’d used to enter the marine marketplace and returned to the cabin.

The South-North Union’s warriors attacked him with their deadly swords and spears as soon as he came out onto the deck, implying that they’d already heard the ruckus.

Rimmer used the footwork while holding the child in his arm. He moved to the left by riding the wind and raised his left foot to smack the heads of those rushing towards him.

Whack! Whack!

The South-North Union’s warriors were sent flying violently and slammed onto the deck, but they immediately stood back up and regained their posture, as sailors could take some hits.

“So annoying.”

Rimmer put the child he was holding down behind him and unsheathed his sword.

“Just wait a little. It will be over soon—”

Rimmer was about to raise his sword in order to cut down the South-North Union’s warriors at once when an explosion occurred on the deck and a water giant emerged.

Whaaam!

The water giant sent all the South-North Union’s warriors flying on the deck with a single swing of its hand.

“Are you okay?”

Siyan blinked while looking at Rimmer, riding on the giant’s shoulder.

“I’m fine thanks to you.”

Rimmer chuckled and nodded his head.

“We are almost there. Just keep it up a bit longer.”

Siyan made the giant’s hand move the elves hiding underneath onto the deck.

“Are we going to wait for Sir Raon here?”

Leiran was the last one to come out, and she licked her lips while looking in the direction of the auction house.

“It’s dangerous to stay on the river. As that auctioneer has said, the South-North Union’s pirates are the most proficient when it comes to battles on a river.”

Rimmer shook his head, looking at the grand flow of the river.

“It would make it easier for Raon if we left first.”

“I-I agree.”

Dorian poked his head out like a mole from a hole that Siyan had made.

“You arrived so quickly.”

“I only needed to run because our division leader and Lady Siyan defeated all the enemies from the front.”

Dorian thanked them by nodding at them and came onto the deck.

“Sir Raon said that he would destroy this entire ship. There’s no reason to wait for him.”

He pointed at the riverside, suggesting they get out quickly.

“Since the elves can walk on the water, let’s…”

“We can’t do that.”

Rimmer sighed and shook his head.

“What?”

“That chain is stopping them from using their power.”

He furrowed his brow, pointing at the chain hanging around an elf’s neck.

“I can’t even tell how to remove it because there’s no keyhole and the South-North Union’s warriors said they didn’t know anything about it.”

“Ah, then…”

“It’s okay.”

Siyan snapped her fingers, and a water giant behind her jumped into Peren River.

Rumble!

The giant increased in size by absorbing the water and spread its hands, wide enough for twenty people to mount.

“Get on, everyone.”

Siyan went ahead onto the giant’s hand and waved her hand. The elves hesitated for a moment but mounted it soon enough.

Rimmer smiled deeply as he watched that scene.

‘She really has changed a lot.’

Siyan didn’t even let a single finger outside her blanket in the past because she was afraid of other people’s gazes, but she was guiding people now while confidently showing herself. It was a refreshing sight, and Rimmer felt proud of her at the same time.

“Here you go, get up there.”

Rimmer gave the child next to him to Siyan and was about to go onto the giant’s hand as well.

Rumble!

A gray warship was charging toward them at a tremendous speed from upstream, where Rable River was located.

It wasn’t simply moving with the wind. It seemed to be fueled by mana.

“Are their reinforcements already here?!”

Rimmer twisted his lips and unsheathed his sword once again. He incorporated the wind blowing around the river onto the blade and created a wall of astral energy.

Whaaam!

The blue wall of wind blocked the warship’s path.

The ship started to slow, and the old man standing on the sail cast a fishing rod far out.

The fishing line extended endlessly and ruthlessly cut through the wall of wind.

The warship broke through the wall and continued its charge without decelerating, trying to ram through the water giant.

Whaaam!

Rimmer and Siyan acted at the same time. They created a new wall by controlling the wind and water as if they’d practiced coordinating their attacks.

However, the warship further accelerated to crush the wall before it was completed and clashed against the water giant.

Whaaam!

The upper body of the water giant was destroyed, and the elves on its hand fell powerlessly.

“Aaah!”

“Kyaaah!”

“Ugh!”

Since the power of the elves was suppressed by the chain necklace, they could only flounder as they fell into the river.

“Oh no!”

Dorian was still on the deck and hurriedly jumped into the river. He took out a small boat from his belly pocket and made it float on the river.

“Get on!”

The boat was rather spacious, and it seemed to be more than enough for all the elves to get on board.

“Wh-why does he even have that? Wait, this isn’t the time to ask about that.”

Rimmer breathed out a sigh of relief and looked at the old man who’d jumped down from the warship.

His red skin was quite noticeable, but it was overshadowed by the malice storming powerfully around his eyes.

‘That old man…’

Rimmer had heard about a red-skinned old man using a fishing rod as his main weapon. It must’ve been Siran, South-North Union’s vice-head of the Council of Elders.

“I didn’t expect the vice-head of the Council to personally arrive.”

Rimmer twisted his lips, looking at Siran.

“You are the Sword of Light from Zieghart.”

Siran nodded his head while looking at Rimmer.

“Is Raon Zieghart still in there? It might be better this way.”

He weakly shook the fishing rod while glaring at Rimmer.

“Because I can make him feel the same way I did by killing you all before he comes out.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Raon Zieghart killed my grandson.”

“What?”

“Tyler. He was going to grow up into a hero, but he was killed by that evil fiend!”

Siran raised his fishing rod, shoving his frightening gaze towards him. The tackle was weakly wavering like it was floating on water, but it started to violently rotate.

‘Astral sphere…’

Siran was a Grandmaster, befitting the vice-head of the council of elders. He might be lacking in stamina because of his old age, but his prowess was extremely powerful.

Rimmer furrowed his brow, looking at Siyan behind him.

‘Siyan shouldn’t be able to summon the spirit king now.’

The four spirit kings had to restore the spiritual realm that was on the verge of destruction and were unable to leave it.

‘I’m not in a normal state either.’

The injury he’d gained from the battle against the Crimson Flame Demon was still lingering. He could defeat a Master, but such a powerful warrior was a different story.

‘Do I have to drag it out?’

Rimmer made up his mind and turned his eyes toward Siyan and Leiran behind him.

“Withdraw with everyone. I’ll stop him here, so quickly go to the riverside…”

“How dare you.”

Siran stomped the ground, and the South-North Union’s warriors jumped out from the gray warship he’d come with and surrounded them.

They were even more powerful than the warriors in the marine marketplace. They seemed to be affiliated with the Council of Elders.

“Don’t leave a single one alive. Kill them all,” he declared, and the South-North Union’s warriors jumped down onto the river with deadly bloodlust emanating from them.

Rimmer bit his lip, watching the South-North Union’s warriors moving towards the boat.

‘Damn it!’

Dorian, Siyan, and Leiran would’ve normally been able to fend them off, but the situation required them to fight while protecting the elves in the water. It wasn’t going to be an easy battle.

“You are the first one to go.”

Siran swung down his fishing rod, showing that he wasn’t going to continue the conversation.

The fishing rod rapidly curved as he bent his wrist, unleashing a powerful wave of aura.

‘Right side!’

Rimmer barely managed to read the direction and created a sword barrier towards the right.

Claaang!

A tremendous impact was delivered into his shoulder. Siran was so furious that he was going all out from the beginning, without any hesitation.

Rip!

The fishing rod itself was blocked by the sword barrier, but the line moved like a living creature and rushed toward his left arm, which was holding his sword. Rimmer could feel the astral sphere storming as it tried to break through the sword barrier.

“What an annoying old man!”

Rimmer clenched his back teeth and tried to kick the fishing line away.

However, even the line was sharpened by aura, and his foot was almost injured.

‘He’s a tricky opponent.’

He felt like he was fighting against three people at once, because the fishing rod, line, and tackle were moving separately.

“Gaaah!”

Siran roared, and the fishing rod rushed at him with tremendous power. His barely-recovered internal injury worsened again, causing Rimmer intense pain.

“Take it easy, won’t you?”

Rimmer smiled, pretending to be reserved without showing that he was internally injured.

“You are a sacrifice. The sacrifice to make Raon Zieghart taste hell!”

Siran’s fishing rod soared violently, surrounded by his intense anger. The astral sphere surrounding the tackle spread around in all directions, attacking Rimmer and even the elves behind him.

“Haap!”

Rimmer turned around mid-air and swung the sword pointing down into an upward slash. A huge power of wind concentrated around him in a circle, blocking Siran’s astral sphere.

Claaang!

The defense was successful, but he could guess that he wasn’t going to last for long because Siran’s energy was way too powerful. He concluded that he would need to create the Sword Field even though it was going to worsen his internal injury.

“Sword Field…”

Rimmer started to open the upper energy center in order to use the Sword Field.

A majestic red light radiated from the hole in the ship that the water giant had destroyed.

Whaaam!

A tremendous firestorm surged towards the sky, splitting and exploding the ship that was rooted deeply into the river.

Amid the crimson heat incinerating the ship, a pair of eyes sparkled even more intensely than the flame.

“Raon Zieghart!”

Siran kicked Rimmer away and dashed towards Raon.

Claaang!

Raon casually extended Heavenly Drive and blocked Siran’s fishing rod.

“I’ve thought about your face thousands of times. No, tens of thousands of times! You evil fiend!”

“Are you Tyler’s grandfather?”

Raon looked at Siran confidently.

“He deserved to die.”

Raon shook his head, meeting the old man’s eyes brimming with madness.

“Tyler enslaved the Blue Lugh tribe in order to glorify himself and rule over their life. He was just trash, not a hero.”

“Shut up! You are the one who needs to die!”

Siran showed his anger without hesitation and swung the fishing rod wildly. The river exploded all around as if it were being bombarded.

Claaang!

After listening to his anger, Raon unleashed an astral sphere to fend off the fishing rod.

“Well, it seems like the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree when it comes to bastards."

“What?”

“Since you desire to see your grandson so much, I’ll send you off to the world where trash belongs.”

Raon raised Heavenly Drive and nodded at him. His red eyes were shining even deeper than the river reflecting the evening glow.

“Come at me.”

***

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]