Chapter 613

Raon lowered his eyebrows as he looked at the gigantic man who’d suddenly appeared.

‘Why did he come here?’

There was only one man in the world with the ferocity of a wild beast and an overwhelming presence, as if he alone existed in the entire world.

It was definitely the Beast King Ogram, the leader of the Beast Union who he’d met during the conference of the Six Kings.

However, Ogram should’ve been living in the Union, which was located far away from the Suran tribe. That was why Raon couldn’t understand why he had appeared.

‘Did you know he was coming?’

Isn’t it obvious?

Wrath furrowed his brow, telling him to stop asking obvious questions.

‘Then why did you not tell me about it?’

Why would the King of Essence tell you?

‘You’re sulking.’

Not at all!

He briskly turned his head away despite what he said. He was definitely sulking because of the earlier prank. He was too narrow-minded for a demon king.

“Raon. And… are you Karoon?”

Ogram curled his lips into a smile while looking back and forth between Raon and Karoon.

“It’s been a while, both of you. By the way…”

He shifted his gaze and furrowed his brow while looking down upon the headless corpses of assassins and the ashen forest.

“What happened here?”

It looked like he hadn’t figured out the situation yet.

“Did you not hear anything?”

Raon blinked while looking at Ogram. He assumed he’d come there immediately, without visiting the Suran tribe.

“I came here because their situation seemed to be over while the fight was still ongoing here.”

Ogram confidently shook his head with his arms crossed. His forearms were massive, and the veins bulging on them looked like they were about to burst.

“Raon, you tell me. What happened here?”

Raon laughed bitterly in his mind while looking at Ogram, who was standing there confidently.

‘His personality is so cool that I’m getting cold.’

He couldn’t understand his personality because giving Raon the Black Dragon Coat shouldn’t be a reason to trust someone when you’d only met them once. That was cool, but Raon thought that he wouldn’t be able to do the same.

“Are you sure it’s fine to hear about it from me? The Suran chief should explain,” Raon pointed out.

“Are you unaware of the meaning behind that coat?”

He pointed at the Black Dragon Coat that Raon was wearing.

“The fact that I gave you the Black Dragon Coat implies that I trust you. I don’t give my belongings away to just anyone.”

Ogram curled his lips into a smile while looking at the scales that had appeared on the Black Dragon Coat.

“You are even more trustworthy now that the Black Dragon Coat has accepted you as its master. Tell me about it already.”

He nodded, telling him to stop dragging things out and run his mouth already.

“......”

Karoon was silently standing there without saying anything. His murderous gaze had also returned to normal. It looked like he wasn’t going to make a move as long as Ogram was around.

‘There’s no way he trusts me. Is it because there’s no proof?’

Juvel didn’t know that Karoon was running the Phantom Assassin division, and Judiel was always given orders by her direct superior, not by Karoon himself.

Since there was no actual proof that Karoon was behind everything, it wasn’t a good idea to bring up his name.

Since he could end up being accused instead, it was time to calmly gather the proof and wait until he could finally strike him from behind. Of course, he had no intention of overlooking the incident either.

“Then I’ll just tell you about what I know.”

Raon quietly sighed and stepped forward.

“My maid was separated from her younger brother during her childhood. I promised her that I would help her find her brother, and…”

Raon explained everything that had happened so far to Ogram. He only spoke of what he could prove, not offering a single lie.

“......”

Karoon didn’t react at all even though Raon had revealed that Judiel came to him as a spy but was recruited instead. It was definitely because he knew there was no proof.

“…That’s why I ended up getting rid of the assassins here.”

“Wahahahaha!”

Ogram clutched his forehead with his right hand and burst into laughter when Raon finished his story. He felt like his eardrums were about to rupture because of how loud he was even though he wasn’t using his aura.

“So you looked for your maid’s brother because of her request and came all the way here to stop the war! I knew my judgment about you wasn’t wrong. The soul of the Beast Union is flowing through your veins!”

He continuously pounded Raon’s shoulder with his huge hands. Raon frowned before he knew it because it felt like he was being beaten by a hammer.

“The soul of the Beast Union?”

“I’m talking about camaraderie! Warriors need to have the camaraderie! I can see the foundation in you!”

Ogram smashed his own chest with his fist. An ordinary person would have perished from that single strike.

“Thank you. It wouldn’t be excessive to say that the Suran tribe is still alive thanks to you.”

“It was nothing.”

“It wasn’t ‘nothing’ at all! Everyone would’ve died if you hadn’t come here!”

He grabbed his shoulder, telling him to stop acting so humble.

“Karoon.”

“Yes, Union Leader.”

“As for you, why are you here?”

“I saw that fire was spreading here and came by on my way back from a mission for the house.”

Karoon lowered his head, giving the same excuse as before.

“Really? Zieghart’s swordsmen are all full of camaraderie!”

Ogram nodded in satisfaction.

Raon quietly raised the corners of his lips while looking at Karoon. His composure wasn’t going to last that long.

“Let’s go. I also want to hear the story from the men over there.”

Ogram held Raon’s shoulder and headed towards the village where the Suran tribe was gathered. The white tiger slowly followed them, as if it could understand what he said.

“Karoon, you should come as well.”

“I’ll be returning now since I didn’t really do anything.”

“That won’t do.”

Karoon shook his head and tried to leave, but Ogram stopped him.

“Even though you didn’t do anything, I’m thankful enough that you came all the way here.”

Ogram shook his hand towards Karoon, saying that his refusal was denied.

“......”

Karoon furrowed his brow but slowly followed them because he couldn’t go against Ogram.

“Brother!”

As soon as Ogram reached the village entrance, the Suran chief came running.

“What brings you here…?”

“I wanted to quietly have a drink with you, but the forest was in this state.”

His gentle voice implied that he was close to the Suran chief.

“Ah!”

The Suran chief widened his eyes upon seeing that Raon was caught like a doll next to Ogram.

“Benefactor! You are back!”

He knelt in front of Raon and bent forward until his upper body reached the ground.

It almost looked like a scene where the loser submitted the winner. It was a way the Beast Union expressed their sincere gratitude.

“Please don’t do this.”

Raon shook his head. He felt uncomfortable seeing a person far older than himself kneeling and prostrating at him.

“Don’t feel pressured. Extinguishing the fire all around the forest and getting rid of the assassins is more than enough to earn this.” Ogram shook his head, telling him to just accept his gratitude.

“That’s not all,” the Suran chief said as he firmly shook his head.

“What?”

Ogram furrowed his brow, asking what he was talking about.

“In addition to stopping the war, our benefactor even prepared against the trouble that was going to occur inside the village.”

The Suran chief pointed at Liston, who was standing there like an idiot.

“He dispatched him in preparation for the fire inside the village. We hadn’t even thought about that part.”

He told Ogram about how the seniors and children had managed to escape from the burning village thanks to Raon.

“Huh…” Ogram gasped, shifting his gaze towards Raon.

His expression revealed that he hadn’t expected Raon to have done so much.

“How did you figure out that they were preparing to set the village on fire?”

“I just assumed that they were prepared to do anything after going so far to cause an incident.”

Raon pretended that it was a guess instead of telling him the fire spirit king’s ability since Karoon was listening to the conversation.

“Wahahahaha!”

“Uhh…”

Ogram came up next to Raon and pounded on his back. He was encouraging him, but Raon felt like his bones were being smashed.

“You really are something!”

“Thank you, Benefactor!”

It wasn’t just the Suran chief. Every member of the Suran tribe went on their knees and got into a posture similar to prostrating.

Ogram smiled warmly and looked at Judiel and Juvel, who were standing awkwardly.

“Is she your maid?”

“Yes, she is.”

Raon nodded while meeting Judiel’s eyes.

“It must’ve been hard.”

Ogram patted Judiel’s back, maintaining the smile on his face. Fortunately, he was patting her weakly since he was aware of his strength.

“What? Ah, yes…”

Judiel didn’t really understand but simply nodded to go with the mood.

“So, who dispatched your maid as a spy?” Ogram asked something he hadn’t asked before after he saw Judiel.

“Err…”

Judiel widened her eyes at the unexpected question.

“......”

Raon looked behind him instead of immediately answering his question. He parted his lips after taking a glance at Karoon’s face, which remained expressionless.

“It was the Central Martial Palace.”

“Central Martial Palace?” Ogram stroked his chin and turned his eyes towards Karoon. “Are you the one who runs the Central Martial Palace?”

“…Yes, I am.”

Karoon’s eyes widened and he nodded, pretending that he didn’t know anything about it.

“I see, that’s what happened,” Ogram chuckled.

His hand sparked with a rainbow of color at the same time before he unleashed an extremely swift punch.

Cring!

Karoon unsheathed his sword and blocked his strike as if he had been expecting that situation.

Clang!

However, Karoon was pushed back by more than ten steps, his sword shaking to the point of breaking, because Ogram was way too strong.

“Was it your doing?”

The frightening light flashing from Ogram’s eyes made it look like he almost wanted to kill Karoon.

“No, it wasn’t.” Karoon shook his head with such a calm gaze that it even looked cold. “I don’t know anything about it.”

“Bullshit.”

Ogram furrowed his brow and punched Karoon. His fist swelled like a divine general’s attack, creating tremendous pressure and giving the impression that his legs were anchored on the ground.

Whaam!

With a tremendous impact, Karoon was violently pushed back and fell on one knee.

“I’m telling the truth. I really don’t know anything about it.”

Karoon bit his lip as blood flowed from it, raising his gaze. He was still acting confident.

“I don’t think he did it either.” Raon calmly shook his head. “The Central Martial Palace master killed the head of the assassins, who was completely neutralized, because he was worried about me. There’s no way that a considerate person like him would’ve done such a cruel thing.”

Raon curled his lips into a smile while looking at Karoon.

“Kuh…”

Karoon’s composure was broken for the first time. He glared at Raon with an extremely murderous gaze. Raon was completely unaffected because he’d seen that gaze a lot in the lord’s manor.

Wow…

Wrath’s chin trembled.

You’re being so hateful. So hateful that the King of Essence wants to slap your cheek!

He ground his teeth, saying that Raon was even more hateful than Karoon.

“You pest!”

Ogram understood the meaning behind Raon’s words and powered up his fist, which was only weakly clenched before.

The power to destroy heaven was dwelling in his punch, which advanced right away. Such a destructive power could even kill a Grandmaster.

Whir!

Karoon clenched his teeth and raised his sword. His blade created a thick sword barrier made of an astral sphere in front of him, incorporating his powerful will.

Whaam!

Ogram’s fist ignored Karoon’s sword barrier and slammed into his abdomen without losing momentum at all.

With a loud bang, like the tearing of a drum's skin, a sandstorm erupted as if it were triggered by a bombardment.

Whoosh!

Ogram shook his hand, and the sandstorm subsided in an instant, revealing Karoon’s appearance.

“Cough…”

Karoon was coughing up black blood, clutching his stomach. He seemed to have gained a serious internal injury from that punch.

Raon narrowed his eyes while examining the trajectory of Ogram’s fist instead of Karoon.

‘Does that attack ignore defense?’

Ogram’s punch had definitely passed through Karoon’s sword barrier. It seemed to be a certain-kill technique that could perfectly deliver his power while ignoring the opponent’s defense.

Such an ability was completely unexpected to him. The martial arts of the continent were vast and boundless indeed.

“I want to just kill you right here, but I can’t do that.” Ogram furrowed his brow, shaking his fist as if he’d touched something dirty. “But I’ll be personally coming to you to kill you once I find the proof.”

He violently ground his teeth and glared at Karoon. He seemed to be thoughtless and acting without thinking about the aftermath, but he definitely planned everything thoroughly.

He was indeed suited to be the head of a huge union of the beasts.

“Disappear.”

“It really wasn’t my doing.”

“Shut up and scram.”

“Haa…”

Karoon gave Raon a deadly glare and eventually turned around, overwhelmed by Ogram’s gaze.

“Young master.”

Judiel came up next to Raon, shoulders trembling.

“Is it going to be okay?”

“It’s fine. This is insurance.”

“Insurance?”

“Yes. Since everyone witnessed that I had an issue with the Central Martial Palace, Karoon will be the first one suspected if a problem occurs on our way back. He won’t attack us unless he’s actually an idiot like Balder. He will have to protect us instead.”

Raon chuckled. Karoon must’ve wanted to kill him so much, but he couldn’t do it at the same time. Raon could only laugh.

“Err…”

Judiel nodded, finally understanding the situation.

“Huh…”

Liston also understood his meaning and gasped. He had a terrified expression on his face.

You sly bastard.

Wrath furrowed his brow deeply in displeasure.

The King of Essence is sick and tired of your slyness.

‘Is that so?’

Raon shook his head while chuckling, and Ogram approached him.

“Come over here.”

Ogram grabbed his shoulder again. It felt like a lump of steel was crushing his shoulder.

“Let’s hold a festival since all of this happened!”

The refreshing smile on his face made it look like his anger had never happened.

“What? Festival? We still have things to do. We need to get the captured assassins to confess and deal with the aftermath…”

“Leave that to the underlings! We just need to enjoy it!”

Ogram forcibly dragged Raon into the Suran tribe’s village, where the fire had been extinguished. He was so strong that Raon couldn’t resist even with his physical strength.

“Call the Union and tell them to bring all the liquor in my warehouse here! Bring all the side dishes, too!”

Raon furrowed his brow while listening to him shout.

‘It won’t be easy to escape…’

Side dishes!

Wrath nodded while licking his lips.

Tell him to bring delicious side dishes!

‘You said you were sick and tired of me a moment ago, right?’

Raon sighed and slapped Wrath’s head away.

‘I’m even more sick and tired of you…’

* * *

Chad, the leader of Shadow Agents, cheerfully knocked on the audience chamber door. The bright expression on his face suggested that something pleasant had happened.

Rumble.

The heavy door opened and Roenn lowered his head with his usual smile.

“Leader of the Shadow Agents, please enter.”

He pointed inside, inviting him to enter.

“Thank you.”

Chad greeted Roenn and headed towards the center, stepping upon the audience chamber’s carpet.

“Greetings, my lord.”

He simply lowered his head instead of an official greeting because Glenn disliked it.

“What’s going on?”

Glenn nodded while staring coldly at him. His legs weren’t shaking like before, but he seemed displeased because Raon wasn’t in the house.

“Today, the Light Wind…”

“Did Raon finally return?!”

He hurriedly parted his back from the throne. He looked like he was going to run outside right away.

“Th-that’s not it.”

“Hmm.”

Glenn leaned against the throne again with a disappointed look in his eyes.

“Instead, the Light Wind vice division leader…”

“So it was indeed about Raon!”

He straightened his back again and leaned forward. He looked like he was going to fall if he leaned any further.

“What happened? Stop with the delays and tell me!”

“We’ve received a report from Sir Raon.”

“Report?”

Glenn furrowed his brow, asking what he was even talking about.

“Why would he send a report when he went out for training?”

“It looks like Sir Raon has gained another achievement.”

Chad took out a white piece of paper from his inner pocket.

Whir!

Glenn bobbed his finger, and the report was sucked into his grasp.

“Ohh!”

A bright smile appeared on Glenn’s face as he spread the letter out and checked the content.

“Huh…”

Chad’s lips parted as he watched the corners of Glenn’s lips reach all the way up to his earlobes.

‘I didn’t know that it was possible for a person’s expression to change so drastically…’

***

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]