Chapter 681

The first head of Zieghart?

“Yes.” Raon smiled while caressing the golden part of the embroidery thread. “This embroidery thread is an artifact that used to be attached to the hilt of the first head’s blade.”

Cough! Even for the first head, he should still be weaker than that Nadine bread geezer.

“I don’t think so.” Raon gently shook his head. “I’m not sure if he’s stronger, but he shouldn’t be weaker, at least.”

Raon could tell because he’d witnessed the first head. His prowess was far behind his recognition. Moreover, the first head in those memories was still young. Since he wasn’t in his prime yet, he must’ve gotten much stronger afterward.

‘Regardless of all that… He mastered the Ring of Fire and the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.’

Since he’d completely mastered those two martial arts, he would be at least equal to Glenn—definitely not weaker.

“Even you might be unable to win against him.”

Wh-what nonsense are you spouting? No human in the world can defeat the King of Essence! Cough! Cough!

Wrath shook his head while coughing nonstop.

“You’ve gotten weaker. You even keep coughing. Can you win against our head of house in your current state?”

Err…

Wrath’s lips trembled faintly, unable to answer his question right away.

About that…

He’d previously said that he could win in tens of thousands of moves, but he couldn’t tell for sure anymore.

“Huh? Really?”

Th-the King of Essence’s weakening is part of the reason, but that geezer got stronger at the same time!

Wrath furrowed his brow, saying that Glenn had gotten stronger, just as much as he had weakened. As usual, he couldn’t lie.

“Did our head of house get stronger?”

Indeed. His attainment is increasing slightly whenever we see him. What kind of change in emotions is that geezer even experiencing?

“Is a change in emotions even enough to get stronger?”

Raon was curious that not even a battle but a mere change in emotion could increase martial attainment.

You’ll realize when you reach transcendence. Aspects other than physical growth are far more important at that point.

Wrath bluntly shook his hand, saying that Raon didn’t know because he was still too young.

“He’s getting even stronger…”

Raon couldn’t even imagine Glenn's limit because he could already be called the strongest on the continent, yet he was getting even stronger.

Well, even if he’s gotten stronger, whether he can fully unleash that power will be a different story. Anyway, the King of Essence is never going to lose, no matter who he is fighting against! Cough!

Wrath shook his head, saying that he wasn’t going to lose.

“Yeah, the great demon king shouldn’t lose to a human.” Raon smiled faintly and weakly patted Wrath’s head.

Wait, this isn’t what we were talking about! What is that embroidery thread?!

Wrath wrinkled his nose, shouting that the conversation dragged on for no reason.

“I told you, it was attached to the first head’s sword.”

The embroidery thread was an artifact that was always hanging from the hilt of the first head’s sword, and the name was engraved in the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s information.

“Golden Red Line.”

Even the name sounds so bad. It’s definitely not great.

Wrath clicked his tongue in displeasure.

“But the phoenix ring that I used in the Sword and Saber’s Sovereign’s grave also belonged to the first head.”

Huh…?

Wrath’s jaw dropped as he looked at the embroidery thread because the phoenix ring’s abilities had already managed to surprise him.

Th-then, what is that embroidery thread’s ability?

“It makes a sword more sword-like.”

A sword becomes more sword-like?

“My Ring of Fire and Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation will have to get a bit stronger though…” Raon smiled while attaching the embroidery thread to Heavenly Drive’s hilt. “It’ll be quite interesting once the Golden Red Line’s seal is undone.”

* * *

House Robert

Training Ground

Lephon Robert raised his arm, breaking out in a sweat. The sword gripped in his hand cut through the evening air, turning into a white ray of light.

The straight yet beautiful trajectory of his blade was just like House Robert’s sword. However, Lephon only repeated the four basic techniques, unlike the other swordsmen in the training ground.

By the time the sun started to set and the swordsmen put down their weapons one after the other, the training ground’s door opened, and Derus Robert made his entrance.

“Huff!”

“Th-the head of house…”

The surprised swordsmen in the training ground were trying to greet him, but Derus put his finger to his lips, implying that they should remain quiet.

He walked without making a sound and watched his youngest son’s training from right behind him.

“Haa…”

Lephon finally lowered the hand holding his sword after the sun set completely, the moonlight illuminating the training ground.

He found Derus while turning around, and his eyes widened.

“F-Father?”

“You’re working hard.” Derus raised his hand and wiped away the sweat flowing from Lephon’s forehead.

“Why are you here…?”

“I came to see how you were because I heard your shout of concentration. It was so loud that I thought the training ground was going to shake apart.” His eyes were showing that he was proud of him despite his playful words.

“The young master must be working the hardest in our training ground.”

“Yes. He comes to train at daybreak and doesn’t take any breaks until night falls.”

“I get exhausted from just watching him.”

The swordsmen from the Immortal Sword Squad, which Lephon was temporarily affiliated with, nodded their heads with smiles on their faces.

“Don’t just compliment him. He’ll develop bad habits.” Derus casually shook his hand and looked at Lephon. “By the way, Lephon.”

“Yes?”

“Why are you only repeating the basic techniques? I believe the Immortal Sword Squad leader should’ve taught you new techniques.”

“Of course it’s because of Sir Raon!” Lephon shouted as if it was the natural thing to do. “I heard that Sir Raon has practiced the basic techniques without skipping a single day ever since he started to wield a sword! The basics are what created the current Dragon Slayer!”

He clenched his fist, saying that he wanted to set foot into the same realm as Raon by focusing on basic techniques.

“The basic techniques should’ve served as the foundation for him to defeat the demon in the Holy Kingdom of Schper on his own! Moreover…”

Lephon started to tell the long story about Raon’s accomplishment as if he had been present in the Holy Kingdom of Schper. His sparkling eyes showed his admiration for Raon.

“It’s pointless to try and stop him now that he’s gotten started.” The Immortal Sword Squad leader, Varian, shook his head with a worn-out expression on his face. “If Raon Zieghart decides to stop using his sword and wield an axe instead, he’ll also wield an axe starting tomorrow.”

“Sir Raon Zieghart!” Lephon shook his hand, telling him to add ‘Sir’ to his name.

“Yes, Sir Raon Zieghart!” Variance sighed while adding ‘Sir’ to his name.

“I’m going to focus on basic techniques no matter what anyone tells me. The secret to Sir Raon’s strength must be hiding in the basics. He even crushed everyone with those basics during the Six Kings tournament.”

“That was indeed the case. Do as you wish.” Derus trusted Lephon, a warm smile on his face. “However, even the Light Wind Division leader can’t have trained without eating.”

He raised his finger and pointed at the darkening sky.

“Hmm…” Lephon’s shoulders flinched.

“The other squad members are waiting because of you.” Derus lowered his eyebrows, looking around the swordsmen who were watching Lephon. “The Light Wind Division leader is famous for how considerate he is. You won’t be able to catch up to him.”

“Ah! I-I’m sorry!” Lephon lowered his head at the Immortal Sword Squad’s swordsmen.

“It’s fine.”

“We’re the ones who will take care of our youngest member.”

“It’s actually better to eat late because lots of food will be left.”

The Immortal Sword Squad’s swordsmen patted Lephon’s back while chuckling.

“I-I’ll go ahead and make the preparations!”

Lephon ran towards the cafeteria, apologizing loudly once again. The Immortal Sword Squad’s swordsmen followed him, his cute behavior bringing a smile to their faces.

“Isn’t it wonderful to see?” Varian, the Immortal Sword Squad leader, smiled gently while watching Lephon and the swordsmen’s backs. “He is kindhearted and determined. He will become a great swordsman.”

“I wonder. Can he really become a swordsman?” Derus’s lips curved into a smile, just like a snake’s tail. “That’s enough for Lephon. How did it go for Zieghart?”

He gestured with his chin, using his handkerchief to clean the hand that had wiped Lephon’s sweat.

“It’s unbelievable, but the rumors were true.” Varian’s eyes darkened. The gentle swordsman who’d complimented Lephon just a moment ago was no longer present. “There are countless people who witnessed Raon Zieghart slaying a mid- or high-rank demon on his own. Moreover, he won with overwhelming difference instead of simply defeating it.”

He continued while narrowing his eyes, “The fact that Glenn Zieghart opened the treasury for them is another piece of proof. It was an achievement that even a monster like that had to acknowledge.”

“Hmm…” Derus stroked his chin while listening to Varian. “It looks like Glenn Zieghart cherishes Raon a lot, doesn’t it?”

“Even though he is a collateral, there’s no way anyone would dislike him when he is a genius who became a Grandmaster in his early twenties.” Varian nodded, saying that it was the natural course of action. “Even the deep rift of emotions he had because of Sylvia Zieghart must’ve been made up for by his talent.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. It looks like he cherishes Raon’s existence itself, regardless of his talent.”

“But there are too many rumors that he was discriminated against in the past for that to be the case.”

“That’s why it’s even more suspicious. There’s no way Glenn wouldn’t have noticed his talent.” A frightening pressure wavered in Derus’s eyes, even frightening the moonlight. “I might be able to use this…”

“Are you planning on eliminating Raon Zieghart?”

“Why would I?” He casually shrugged his shoulders. “There are plenty of people who want to kill him. We should look at the forest instead of trees.”

Derus shifted his gaze to the right while caressing the back of his hand.

“Well, of course…” He smiled calmly while watching Cubara walk toward them in the darkness of the training ground. “It’s only going to be possible if she decides to join the plan.”

“My lord.” Cubara knelt in front of Derus and lowered her head. “They’ve sent a message that they are going to accept. However…”

“However?”

“She asked to meet before carrying out the plan.”

“She is a strong woman indeed. She is the most capable one among the fools.” Derus calmly nodded. “Tell them to decide on the date and location.”

“Understood,” Cubara responded, immediately disappearing into the darkness again.

“It should happen soon.”

Varian rubbed his hands in anticipation.

“Yes.”

Derus slowly raised his gaze and looked up to the starlit night sky. His lips twisted into a smile as he watched the biggest star.

“It’s time for a star to fall. No, it might be two of them.”

“Your feet are too slow.”

Raon gestured with his hand, and the Light Wind Division ran to the right side of the training ground while maintaining the Large Light Wind Formation.

“Make sure to enhance yourself with the Light Wind Style’s wind all the way to your toes!”

“Uuh…”

“Isn’t he going to train or something? He doesn’t even have three months left until the duel to the death!”

“I know, right? There shouldn’t even be any more missions. Why does he have to make us suffer…?”

The Light Wind Division continued to follow Raon’s orders, running back and forth through the training ground even though their training outfits were drenched in sweat.

“You’re looking lively with all of that talking.”

Raon came down from the platform and stood on the Light Wind Division’s path. He slammed the center of the Light Wind Formation with Heavenly Drive’s scabbard.

Whaaam!

The Light Wind Formation, which had remained unyielding even against the demon, was shattered in an instant, scattering the swordsmen in all directions.

“The formation’s flow is ruined because you are solely focused on speed. How did you even defeat the demon when you can’t even withstand this strike?” Raon clicked his tongue, calling them pathetic.

“St-stop asking for the impossible…”

“How are we supposed to block your strike… Sir?”

“I’m so tired…”

Burren, Martha, and Runaan shook their heads, standing up in exhaustion.

“You looked so happy that you could fly just from slaying a demon, but…” Raon furrowed his brow while looking down on the Light Wind Division. “Did you seriously get injured just from defeating a low-rank demon? I don’t think that was the performance I was expecting when I taught you the Light Wind Style.”

“Aww…”

“I knew he was going to do this. Who even expected a compliment…?”

“Even though he was low-ranked, he was still a demon. How were we even supposed to defeat him without getting injured?!”

The Light Wind Division pouted, frustrated by the unfair situation where they were getting criticized even though they’d managed to defeat a demon.

“Good question.” Raon unsheathed Heavenly Drive with a frightening smile on his face. “I’m going to teach you how to defeat a demon without getting injured. Make sure to learn it.”

He beckoned with his finger at Krein, who was sitting on the right side.

“Krein, come forward.”

“I-I didn’t say anything, though.”

“I just want to start with you.”

“So mean!” Krein was coming forth with teary eyes, but…

The training ground door opened, and a purple-haired beauty made her entrance wearing a carelessly mended nun’s outfit. It was Saintess Olga.

“Saintess?” Raon’s eyes widened at the sight of Olga.

“Huh?”

“Why is the saintess here…?”

The Light Wind swordsmen were also surprised, their jaws dropping.

“I have something to give you.” Olga waved her hand at Raon, implying that she wanted to talk.

“Do some personal training in the meantime.” Raon nodded and brought Olga to the division leader’s office.

“Haa, we are saved. She really is a saintess…”

Krein put his hands together, saying that he was going to start believing in God.

* * *

“You said you have something to give me?” Raon asked while treating Olga to some green tea. “You should’ve just given it to me when we were at the kingdom. Why did you come all the way here…?”

“I said I was going to visit.” Olga lowered her eyebrows deeply.

“When?”

“Did you not notice when I gestured with my head at the gate?”

“Weren’t you trying to tell me to wait because His Majesty Hopen was going to send us off?”

“I wasn’t.”

“Ah…”

Raon gasped. He’d thought that Olga’s chin gesture was telling him to look at the farewell that the king and the knights were giving, but that was apparently not the case at all.

“You are unbelievably dense.”

“Same goes for you. Your bad personality hasn’t changed.” Raon snorted, not losing to her.

“So, what are you going to give me?”

“Gratitude.” Olga briefly caught her breath and fell to her knees as if she were praying to God. “We managed to save many people thanks to your goodwill. Thank you.”

She expressed her gratitude, thinking about the talk she had with Raon the night before the sacred ceremony about the presence of a demon.

“It all happened because you believed me.” Raon caught her shoulder and made her stand.

He’d told her back then that the king was colluding with a demon. It would’ve been difficult for anyone with a clear mind to believe. However, Olga believed his claim and had taken various countermeasures, not even sleeping. If it weren’t for that, there would’ve been at least twice as many casualties in Schper.

“You damn bastard! Just accept it if someone tries to thank you!” Olga furrowed her brow, telling him to just accept the gratitude instead of praising her.

“You’re insulting me now despite feeling grateful. What’s wrong with your personality…?” Raon shook his head in disbelief.

“This is my way of expressing my gratitude. And…”

Olga took out a transparent water bottle the size of a palm from her inner pocket. The water it contained was sparkling faintly in gold even though it wasn’t reflecting any light.

“What is this…?”

“It’s an elixir made from holy water. It’s called Sacred Illumination.”

“Sacred Illumination?”

“It’s a precious treasure. Only three of these are left even in Schper.” She handed over the water bottle, saying that it was a treasure.

“Why are you giving that to me?”

“Don’t worry, this is a new one made by me.” Olga shook her head, saying that she’d made that elixir herself.

“Then it would be better to use it for the kingdom’s restoration.”

“I need to give you at least this much to feel more comfortable. I’ve been frustrated all along because I couldn’t really do anything for you. I wanted to complete it before you left, but it ended up taking some time.”

“Hmm…”

Raon looked into Olga’s eyes instead of taking the elixir right away. Her eyes weren’t showing any hesitation. He decided that it would be better to accept it for her sake.

“…Thank you.”

Raon accepted the Sacred Illumination with both hands while thanking her.

“Well, then…” Olga immediately stood up, implying that delivering the Sacred Illumination really was the only reason behind her visit.

“Hey.” Raon frowned upon seeing Olga’s arm as she turned around. “Did you do it again?”

“It was the last time.” Olga smiled while caressing her arm. “And I have no intention of dying anymore. Don’t worry.”

She shook her head, saying that she wasn’t going to spend her lifespan anymore.

"I want to defy the lifespan that heaven has decided for me. There’s something I want to witness now."

“There’s something you want to see?”

“Yes. I can’t let myself die before I witness how splendidly our king and the king of that ugly elf will grow up.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’ll find out later.”

Olga left the office with a lighthearted smile. Raon weakly bit his lip while watching Olga’s back.

‘What a shame.’

Olga’s lifespan wasn’t something that she could overcome with her will. An inevitable death was going to arrive, even if she didn’t want it.

Olga had grown up to be an upright and righteous saintess even though she was aware of her short lifespan. Raon wanted to help her because she reminded him of his past self, back when his lifespan was decided by Derus, but he couldn’t come up with any way of doing it.

There’s a way.

Wrath shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn’t even a big deal.

‘There’s a way?’

But it’s not something you can achieve right now. After all, it pretty much defies heaven.

Wrath shook his head, saying that he at least needed to reach transcendence.

‘Transcendence…’ Raon licked his lips while mentioning transcendence. ‘I have another reason to reach transcendence now.’

* * *

Raon entered the cultivation room after focusing on training the Light Wind Division for a week.

‘I really need to get ready now.’

There wasn’t much time left until the showdown against the Axe King. Since he had already given everyone in the Light Wind Division homework, it was time to focus on the duel to the death against the Axe King.

Don’t you need to focus on recovery for now? Cough!

‘Yes.’

Wrath was right. Recovering from the aftermath of the Demon King’s Advent took priority. Fortunately, he assumed that he would be able to quickly resolve the physical issues thanks to the Sacred Illumination given to him by the saintess.

The mental world will be the issue.

‘It’ll take quite a long time.’

Raon nodded. He hadn’t lost as much as the other time, but making up for the loss wasn’t an easy task.

‘Of course, restoring my mental world isn’t the only reason I came here…’

Hmm?

Wrath narrowed his eyes, wondering what he was talking about.

“While restoring my ruined mental world…”

Raon smiled while meeting Wrath’s blue eyes, which looked like flowers were blooming in them.

“I’m planning on trying to make a new Sword Field.”

***

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

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Harley]