The black ship cut through the rough waves, where the traces of the battle still remained, as if its front was a huge blade.
Raon examined the huge warship that he couldnât even see in its entirety and exhaled briefly.
âThe MisfortuneâŠâ
Even though he had never seen it before, he had heard its name.
The Grandmaster Roman was famous as one of the strongest members of the South-North Union, and the warship was his flagship. It was known to have never been defeated, and people often called it invincible.
âThere were rumors that heâs crazy for martial arts.â
Roman was famous for his prowess, but he was also famous for how crazy he was for martial arts. Even the reason heâd joined the South-North Union was rumored to be because of a contract to spar with the South-North Unionâs leader.
âT-The Misfortune?â
âWhy is the Misfortune all the way out here?â
âI-Is it here because of Tyler? What should we doâŠ?â
The Doran villagers on the White Spear watched the pitch-black Misfortune with trembling eyes.
âSh-Shouldnât we be running away right now?â
âItâs already too late. They will catch up to us before we manage to escape!â
âThey will immediately sink the ship if we start moving.â
The village chief softly bit his lower lip.
âHeâs right about that.â
Raon nodded in agreement with the village chief. He could see countless gray cannons from the front and sides of the Misfortune. The cannonballs imbued with war magic would turn the entire river into a blazing inferno the moment they made the slightest movement.
âHaa.â
Rimmer exhaled briefly and turned around. The usual carefree smile on his face looked like heâd been nervous in the first place.
âWh-Whatâs happening?â
âWhy is a South-North Unionâs ship coming this way?â
âWho is boarding thatâŠ?â
âS-Squad leader.â
The hands of the Light Wind swordsmen were trembling as they held their swords, terrified by the powerful energy wave from the Misfortune.
âI have no idea why they are coming. However, I know whoâs boarding.â
Rimmer licked his lips while leaning his back towards the handrail.
âRoman Reycal. Heâs one of the closest vassals of the South-North Unionâs leader, and a monster at the Grandmasterâs level.â
âR-Roman Reycal!â
âThe Axe King, RomanâŠâ
âBut heâs still just a pirate!â
Burren seemed to recognize Roman as he swallowed nervously, while Martha fearlessly showed her fighting spirit.
âHmm.â
Since Runaan obviously didnât know about Romanâs name, she was staring blankly at the approaching ship.
âKuhâŠâ
Flumen was shivering even more violently than the villagers. It looked like he was instinctively trembling in fear over the Misfortuneâs pressure.
âWell, donât be so nervous.â
Rimmer casually waved his hand.
âWe should be able to return without much trouble.â
He smiled while saying that nothing special was going to happen, then turned back around.
Rumble!
Although the Misfortune had reached right in front of the White Spear, its speed wasnât decreasing at all. It looked like it was trying to ram into it to destroy it.
After watching the Misfortune filling his entire vision, Raon closed his eyes. He circulated his aura to inspect his body.
âNot bad.â
His body was injured, with damaged muscles and internal injuries, but it wasnât as serious as after fighting with Eden.
Since heâd been continuously rotating the Ring of Fire to heal his body and aura, he was more than capable of fighting.
âI could slay a Master.â
He obviously couldnât win against Roman, but he was confident he could win against someone at Tylerâs level.
He figured that they could win if he quickly defeated the others while Rimmer fended off Roman, then joined him and fought together.
Raon imagined how the battle against the Misfortune would go in his head before opening his eyes. As predicted, the Misfortune still didnât stop. It was ramming into the White Spear as if it were trying to split it in half.
Whir!
Raon stepped back to create an aura barrier to protect the villagers and Flumen on the deck.
Slaaam!
The Misfortune crushed the White Spearâs side with its bow. The huge mass only came to a stop after destroying half of the deck.
Thud!
He could hear somebody kicking the ground from the Misfortune. It was a middle-aged man with white hair. He stopped for a moment in the air to examine the entirety of the White Spear underneath him before slowly descending on the deck.
With dull, white hair kept back, he was wearing a long jacket in pitch-black color. The powerful pressure wriggling on the dragon head shaped axe that he was holding felt like it could sever the entire world.
Despite the strong wind, his hair and jacket werenât being swayed in the slightest. That meant that both his insides and outsides were perfectly tempered as a warrior.
Raon softly clenched his back teeth.
âThat man is the Axe King, Roman Reycal.â
His energy wave was embracing the entire Rable River, and the only thing heâd done so far was make his appearance. Raon could understand why people called him the Axe King.
Thud.
The atmosphere changed once again the moment his feet reached the deck. The powerful pressure pouring out from him couldnât be simply described as heavy, as everyone facing him felt like they were being suffocated.
âKuhâŠâ
âWh-What is thisâŠ?â
âHuff!â
The Light Wind swordsmen grasped their chests, unable to breathe because of the energy wave spreading out from Roman.
Whoosh!
The wind blew towards them as they were about to start drooling from their mouths. The refreshing green wind, different from the river wind, swept away Romanâs energy wave.
âYou still like to harass children.â
Rimmer chuckled while tilting his chin to the side.
âThey are simply weak.â
Roman raised his head without even looking at the Light Wind squad. They apparently knew each other, since they started to speak without even introducing themselves.
âWhere is the owner of this ship, and why are you here instead of him? Zieghartâs Sword of Light.â
âHeâs dead.â
Rimmer announced Tylerâs death as if he just went out to play.
âDid you kill him?â
Roman wasnât surprised. His unchanging expression implied that heâd been expecting it from the beginning.
âNo, our vice-squad leader slew him in a single strike.â
Romanâs gaze turned towards Raon for the first time upon hearing that.
Whir!
Raon chewed inside his cheek.
âPowerful.â
The hair all over his body stood on end upon facing those eyes that were as dark as the abyss. The pressure weighing on his shoulders intensified, and his heart felt like it was getting crushed.
âHoweverâŠâ
Heâd already withstood more powerful pressures twice in the past.
Glenn and Wrath.
Since he had already overcome the energy waves coming from those two monsters, Romanâs pressure was nothing in comparison. Raon straightened his back and looked straight into Romanâs eyes.
âHmm.â
Romanâs dark eyes started to glow. They were reflecting his surprise over Raon, who managed to withstand his energy wave.
âWho are yoâŠâ
âWow! Itâs been a while.â
A second person jumped down from the Misfortune. He was a man wearing a grizzly bear leather jacket. The yellow bandana wrapped around his forehead was fluttering in the wind, and he had a cool smile on his face.
Thud.
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He somersaulted in the air, landing lightly on the deck. He had a carefree atmosphere around him, unlike Roman.
âRaon Zieghart, right?â
âRaptor.â
Raptor was one of the party bosses from the South-North Union that heâd met during his first mission after killing the bandit leader and the snake user.
âHe didnât change at all.â
Even though a long time had passed, his appearance was the same. Even his outfit was similar to the one he wore in the past. The only difference was that the tiger skin was replaced by a bear skin.
âKuh! I knew it would be you. Your aura was overflowing even though I was too far away to watch!â
Raptor nodded as he exclaimed.
âRaon Zieghart? Is he the Frostfire Sword of Valor?â
Roman narrowed his eyes while looking at him.
âDoes he know me?â
Raon was surprised that a warrior of his caliber was aware of his name. The nickname Frostfire Sword of Valor mustâve been spread more widely than heâd thought.
âHe is! Heâs the Frostfire Sword of Valor! Iâm really glad I gave you my blessings.â
Raptor grinned while nodding his head.
âBlessings?â
âYes. I told him that I hoped to hear his name from the Terukan mountains and Rable River.â
He gave Raon a thumbs up while looking at him.
âI didnât tell you before, but thatâs a pretty good blessing. Itâs one of the few nice words that the South-North Union says to others.â
âShould I be thanking you?â
âNo, you donât need to go that far. I only did it because I wanted to.â
Raptor shrugged his shoulders. He seemed to have become more carefree as heâd gotten stronger.
âWhat brought you here?â
âI managed to tempt my big bros into going to the village downstream because I heard something interesting happened there. But what was happening here was even more interesting.â
He grinned while pointing at the White Spear.
âSo he didnât know what happened here before he came.â
Roman and Raptor apparently just happened to pass by Rable River and came to them after noticing the trouble on the White Spear.
âWeâve also met each other before, havenât we?â
Raptor licked his lips while looking at Rimmer.
âIt was a nice decision to run away back then. I didnât know you were the Sword of Light.â
âIndeed. Itâs been a while.â
Rimmer nodded at Raptor.
âSo, did this shipâs owner die?â
âYes.â
âThatâs rather troublesomeâŠâ
Raptor tilted his head before snapping his fingers.
Rumble!
As soon as that sound spread out, a large number of bandits and pirates jumped down from the Misfortune. Every single one of them were powerful warriors at the Expert level, capable of controlling their pressures.
âWhy did you kill him?â
Romanâs serious gaze turned towards them. The fact that he was asking that question implied that he had the intention of talking it out.
âThatâsâŠâ
âIâll tell them about it.â
As Rimmer was about to respond, Raon stepped forward. Since he was the most involved in the incident, he felt like he needed to tell them personally.
âThis incident was a result of Tylerâs greedâŠâ
* * *
[Translator â Kyangi]
[Proofreader â Harley]
* * *
Raptor licked his lips, while watching Raon tell the story of the incident that happened on the Gazel River.
âThat idiot hasnât changed.â
Tyler had always been obsessed with small gains instead of looking at the big picture. The reason he lost to the fifth disciple despite being the fourth disciple of the leader was because he didnât realize his own shortcomings.
Raptor thought that Tyler had finally learned his lesson when he heard he was bringing multiple rivers and villages into submission, but he ended up dying to Zieghartâs rising star after causing brainless problems. He could only laugh because it was a death befitting an idiot like him.
âGood riddance.â
Even though Tyler was a successor candidate, there was pretty much no chance at all that he would become the next leader of the Union. Since he wasnât in his faction, and he would only bring harm to the union, Raptor was actually glad that Tyler ended up dying so quickly.
âAlthough, he shall be enragedâŠâ
Tylerâs grandfather was a senator that contributed the most to making him into the leaderâs disciple. He would be enraged upon hearing the news, but it was none of Raptorâs business.
âRather than thatâŠâ
Raptor smiled after examining Raonâs body as he calmly explained the situation.
âHe grew up nicely.â
His prowess was already surpassing his age back then, and the level heâd attained now was incomparable to before. An eighteen-year-old Master. Moreover, he was powerful enough to slay Tyler, who was almost at the intermediate level, which was almost difficult to believe.
âI made the correct decision by not killing him back then.â
The threat from Rimmer from the top of a tree was one of the reasons, but the reason he even gave him the blessing of South-North Union was because he was curious about how far the genius would go. Of course, he hadnât even begun to imagine that he would grow up so splendidly.
âAnd he has more than that excellent might.â
The way he was calmly telling the tale despite the powerful pressure spreading from Roman revealed how mature his mind was. He almost looked like a warrior that had gone through countless battles.
âIâm a bit jealous. I shouldâve taken him with me at all costs back then.â
The might of the leader and the number of powerhouses was important for an armed organization, but the talent of the rising star was almost as important.
Raon Zieghart had become a Master at the age of eighteen to slay two executives of Eden. Now that he had even managed to defeat Tyler, his fame was bound to soar to reach the sky.
âWell, thatâs only going to happen if he manages to survive here.â
Considering Romanâs personality, Raptor guessed that he would try to erase all of the Ziegharts in front of his eyes regardless of Tylerâs sins.
Raptor smiled while leaning his back against the handrail.
âI wonder whatâs going to happen.â
* * *
ââŠThatâs how I ended up beheading Tyler.â
Raon told Roman and the pirates what had happened up to their arrival.
âHmmâŠâ
âDid he give up on being human?â
âI thought it was strange that I kept hearing good things about him.â
Even the warriors from the South-North Warriors frowned, disgusted by Tylerâs fiendish behavior by toying with the lives of an entire tribe.
âSo what?â
However, Romanâs expression didnât change at all. His apathetic attitude almost felt like he already knew what happened.
âWhich part of your story justifies the killing of a successor?â
He turned his jaw, telling him that it wasnât a good enough reason.
âHe targeted Zieghartâs domain, he attacked the Blue Lughsâwho were living peacefullyâby taking their children as hostages and forcing them to attack people, and he even tried to kill me to keep it a secret as soon as he was caught red-handed. Shall I continue, since there are many more reasons?â
Raon raised his fingers one by one to tell him the reasons.
Huh? But you attacked him first.
âShut up.â
All of the witnesses were dead anyway. The important part was creating a believable reason and justification for his action.
âThose are nothing special.â
Roman shook his head, implying that it was meaningless for him to continue. He looked like he was even looking down on Zieghartâs name, but it matched him because of his powerful pressure.
âSo you had no intention of listening from the beginning.â
He mustâve had no intention of letting them go from the moment heâd reached the area.
âA successor of the South-North Union has died. I donât care about the reason. The South-North Unionâs rules state that blood shall be repaid with blood.â
âWow, are you sure you donât need to unclog your ears?â
Rimmer stepped forward while picking his ears.
âYour successor attacked first, and fucking died from a counterattack. Are you incapable of understanding that?â
âZieghartâs Sword of Light. Do you have a death wish?â
âCan you even do it?â
âStop bluffing. The rumor about your energy center breaking and rendering you disabled has spread all the way to the Rable River.â
âThen, shall we make a bet?â
âBet?â
âSince you told me about the South-North Unionâs rule, Iâll tell you about a legend on the Rable River.â
He grinned and pointed at the fluctuating waves.
âYou must know about the legend that states that three strikes of the Rable Riverâs waves can turn any kind of boat upside down. Donât you?â
âI do.â
âIâll fend off three hits from you, just like the legend. You can do whatever you want with us if you manage to defeat me. However, if I manage to withstand the three hits, then you will withdraw.â
Rimmerâs lips curved into a smile to provoke Roman.
âWhy arenât you answering? No way, are you too afraid that you canât defeat me in three strikes, even though my energy center is broken?â
âYouâve definitely gotten better at taunting.â
Roman slowly closed his eyes before opening them again and stretching out his shoulders.
âFine. Iâll yield to your provocation.â
He raised the red axe that was crushing the ground. The mere wielding of a weapon made his heaviness increase exponentially.
Rumble!
Romanâs energy wave was weighing down on the entire deck, as if he were the only person existing in that space.
âSquad leaderâŠâ
âHey! Donât try to interfere in a fight between adults.â
Rimmer shook his hand towards Raon when he tried to approach him.
âWatch me properly from behind.â
âButâŠâ
âYou should trust me sometimes.â
He smiled cheerfully like always before standing in front of Roman.
âYou guys should also step back.â
Raptor also made the pirates and bandits withdraw, since theyâd come over to the White Spear.
âLetâs get started.â
Roman held his favorite weapon, the Red Dragon Axe, with two hands and raised it above his head. The wind stopped blowing on the river, and the clouds in the sky were crushed in half. It felt like the energy from all over the world was gathering towards him.
âI wonât even need three strikes. Iâll finish you off in a single strike.â
âThat will prove difficult.â
Rimmer raised his sword around his waist. Green light gathered to dapple his white blade.
âBecause I havenât just been playing around either.â
âInteresting.â
Roman stomped the ground, striking down his axe. The pitch-black astral energy was blazing on the red axe.
Swaa!
It felt like the sky was collapsing as the tremendous amount of energy poured down, straight onto Rimmer.
Even though Rimmer was facing the powerful axe strike that was even distorting the space, he didnât step back. He pointed his blade at the sky and pointed his hand towards the river.
âSword Field Creation.â
His sedate voice resounded in all directions to change the flow of the world.