Raon bit his lip. The moment Raptor mentioned killing him, he was engulfed in an intense murderous intent.
However, murderous intent wasnât really effective on him, someone that had lived as an assassin. He pushed back the murderous intent by resonating the four âRings of Fireâ.
âOh!â
Raptor exclaimed, with his eyes wide. His lips parted in his curiosity at how he managed to withstand his murderous intent.
âThis guy isnât a sprout, but a bud ready to burst.â
He smirked and tapped the sheath of his sword. It seemed he was contemplating whether he should use it or not.
âI canât win against himâ
Assassinating him was possible but winning against him in a straight fight was impossible. However, Raon also had a card up his sleeve.
Clank.
Raon drew his sword first.
âDraw your sword and fight.â
He revived the pressure thatâd subsided and pointed his sword at Raptor.
âDo you realize you will die if I draw this sword?â
âItâs natural for the weak to die.â
âHah! How is this young guy so spirited?â
Raptor exclaimed and clapped. His hands were now completely away from his sword.
âI donât want to fight anymore, not after witnessing your spirit. Itâd be a shame to kill you here.â
âA warrior doesnât choose his place to die.â
âWow, thatâs crazy. Are you really a kid? Am I reading an analect right now?â
ââŠâŠâ
âWell, thatâs not actually the only reason.â
Raptorâs gaze went over Raon and reached the top of a tree.
âEven if I manage to retrieve that elixir, itâs pointless if I end up dying instead.â
He nodded towards the tree and withdrew.
âI knew it.â
Raon licked his lips. The instructors were currently hiding behind him.
He couldnât find Rimmerâs location, but he mustâve been close considering his character.
Raptor withdrew because heâd sensed their presence.
âIt wouldâve been really fun if you were in the South-North Union. Whatâs your name?â
ââŠâŠâ
Raon closed his eyes without answering. Raptorâs question reminded him of his old memories.
When he lived as an assassin in his previous life, people rarely asked anything like that. Even if they did, he wasnât allowed to answer.
Heâd always either run away without saying anything or attacked them with the intent to kill.
His heart shook slightly to the fact that an enemy, and a person famous for his might, had asked his name.
âAre you not going to tell me your naâŠâ
âMy name is Raon. Raon Zieghart.â
Raon slowly opened his eyes, and confidently stated his name
âI see. Raon, Iâll be looking forward to hearing your name from the Terukan Mountains and Rable River.â
He grinned and went down the mountain. Raon stayed alert just in case he decided to return, but he was really gone.
âHaa.â
Raon sighed and sheathed his sword.
âIt worked.â
Raptor had a manly personality, despite his pretty appearance.
He managed to leave a favorable impression from acting rashly in an unfavorable situation. It all went according to the information he received in his time at House Robert.
âIâm glad it ended without a fight.â
Raptor was strong. He wouldâve been able to win if he fought with Rimmer, but multiple instructors wouldâve died. Avoiding the fight was the best-case scenario.
Raon put the elixir in his shirt and put the Snow Tiger leaderâs head in a thick bag. He needed to bring the head back in order to get the accomplishment.
âThen letâs return.â
He smiled towards the top of the tree.
***
Rimmer had already located the bandits when the children started the search.
Once he erased the distractionsâthe dense forest and high mountainsâhe immediately realized the location of the banditsâ hideout.
However, that was because heâd accumulated countless experiences, and it was a different story for the trainees.
Just like heâd expected, the trainees went to the mountain and the forest first.
Burren and Martha werenât an exception. They were both headed towards the mountain and the forest and started searching like a hunting dog on a scent.
Since it was such a natural thing to do, he wasnât even surprised.
However, Raon and Runaan were standing still on the road instead of moving away.
They only started moving a long time after the other trainees had already started the search.
And the direction they decided to go wasnât the forest or the mountain, but the hills.
Really?
The bandits had picked the forest next to the hills as their hideout, the one that wasnât visible from the outside. It was difficult to determine how they managed to find out about it.
Itâs Raon after all.
It seemed Raon determined that the bandits were in the hills using his excellent insight.
However, as expected of bandits that live in the mountains, theyâd erased most of their tracks. It was difficult even for the instructors to find them, so it would be impossible for Raon and Runaan to find the banditsâ presence.
However, after looking through the forests on the hills, Raon looked like heâd found something as he went in.
Then, he found the traces of humans one by one, and slowly advanced towards the banditsâ hideout.
What the hell was he?
Rimmerâs jaw dropped. He was on his first mission, yet he was finding the bandits' traces like a professional tracker. That was ridiculous.
And he wasnât even advancing normally. Lowering his body, he wasnât even making any sound because he was walking on the tips of his toes.
Wow, did he just dismantle that trap?
Raon and Runaan removed the trap installed by the bandits and finally reached the bandits hideout.
And there was a hostage that Rimmer didnât even know about.
What are you going to do?
Rimmer moved closer to the tree that the kid that was taken hostage was bound to. He was going to make his move if Raon or Runaan ended up failing.
However, it wasnât necessary.
Raon distracted the bandits standing guard, using Runaan as a bait, then beheaded the one guarding the hostage.
Gulp.
The sharp and definite strike sent chills down his spine. The way he blocked the sound with an energy barrier and killed the other bandit was also perfect.
Then he gathered information by leaving one bandit alive. He really looked like a professional.
However, there was one mistake. No, it was a coincidence.
The inaudible whistle. The underboss detected the whistle that one needed to be trained to hear.
Raon wasnât flustered when facing such a crisis. He immediately came up with a new plan, hiding Runaan and the child.
He leaped in after making the underboss and the bandits careless, rescuing the second hostage in one fell swoop.
The rest was a battle.
* * *
Reaper Scans
[Translator â Kyangi]
[Proofreader â Harley]
Join our discord for updates on releases! https://dsc.gg/reapercomics
* * *
Fiddling with his fingers, Rimmer watched the battle with Raon on the frontline and Runaan on the backline.
He stretched his legs, so that he could be prepared to help them if things got dangerous, but that never happened.
Runaan spread her frost and Raon swung his sword. The bandits couldnât even swing their weapons and ended up dead.
The bandit leader, who came out while pretending to be cool, abandoned his underlings and ran away when he realized that he couldnât win against Raon.
âIâll need to catch him myself.â
There wasnât enough time to catch the leader after killing the rest of the bandits, not while protecting the two hostages.
Since he couldnât let the leader escape, Rimmer started chasing the leader.
Hostage? No, that was also a bandit.
The leader went down the hills, carrying the female bandit like a hostage.
Then letâs catchâŠ
Just as Rimmer was about to make a surprise attack, he heard someone running up from behind.
It was Raon.
He was dashing towards the bandit leaderâs location like a lion.
The leader pretended to panic and threw the female bandit at him, and Raon slowed down to catch her.
ShitâŠ
Rimmer frowned. The woman was a snake user. He needed to save Raon before he got bitten by the snake.
However.
The moment the snake came out, Raon moved his right hand.
Whack!
As if he knew about it already, he pierced through the snake and the womanâs heart with his sword without any hesitation.
âWow.â
Rimmerâs exclamation leaked out. He showed no sign of confusion as he killed the snake. It wasnât something he couldâve done unless heâd realized it beforehand.
How could someone like him exist?
He wasnât even admiring it anymore. His mind was going numb.
Heâd seen countless talents by wandering from one battlefield to another for dozens of years, yet this was his first time seeing such a monster.
After decapitating the Snow Tiger leader, Raon even took the elixir he had.
âYes, good job.â
He held himself back from applauding. When he looked aside, the other instructors were also astonished.
Just as he thought everything was over, a pretty young man appeared with an intense pressure.
Yellow bandana and powerful energy. It was a warrior from South-North Union.
So, they were associated with the South-North Union after all.
He was wondering why the Snow Tiger bandits were still hiding, and it was because they were waiting for the warrior from the South-North Union.
The warrior introduced himself as Raptor.
He knew that name.
The genius young swordsman that became the leader of bandits a mere ten years after joining the South-North Union.
Raon wasnât intimidated by Raptor. He drew his sword, telling him to fight.
That guyâŠ
It wasnât because he didnât recognize Raptorâs strength. It was his determination that he wouldnât surrender as a Zieghartâs warrior.
Raptor was dumbstruck, but also admired Raonâs spirit.
Then he withdrew on his own.
Of course, he did that because he knew that the instructorsâincluding Rimmerâwere hiding nearby, but his hospitality towards Raon was one of the reasons.
âIâm Raon. Raon Zieghart.â
Ah.
Watching Raon, who confidently stated name, after being recognized by somebody stronger than him, made chills run down his spine.
The scene of him meeting Glenn in the past replayed in his head like Deja vu.
Rimmer clenched his fist.
King.
He was still young and weak, but it seemed the seed of the new king had finally sprouted.
***
Raon returned to Runaan and the children. The instructors thatâd arrived after hearing the inaudible whistle had already suppressed the leftover bandits.
âYou are back.â
âThat was a great accomplishment.â
âWho the hell are you?â
The instructors spoke, full of admiration, surprise, and astonishment.
âRaon.â
Runaan approached him, holding the two children. The eyes of the kids wearing robes were completely swollen. It looked like theyâd cried their hearts out.
âRunaan. You really did great.â
It wasnât just a formality. Heâd managed to safely rescue the children thanks to her appropriate action.
âMhm.â
Runaan visibly nodded. She looked happy as she patted the childrenâs heads.
âHmmâŠâ
Raon, who was about to pat the two childrenâs heads, stopped when he realized that his hand was stained in blood.
âItâs alright now.â
He grabbed the childrenâs shoulders and smiled lightly. He wanted to keep talking to them, but he couldnât think of anything to say.
âWaaaa!â
The boy started crying while hugging his little sister tightly. It seemed heâd been holding himself back as the older brother.
âYou guys should return for now.â
The instructors pointed towards the foothold under the hills as they dug into the ground.
âWhat about the instructors?â
âWe will follow after taking care of this place. Leave the rest to us. You really did a great job.â
The instructors put their thumbs up.
âOkay.â
Raon nodded and left the forest full of banditsâ stench, Runaan and the children following him.
Donât you even know how to comfort kids? Back in the devildom, the King of Essence once faced a greater famine. Taking pity on the starving young devils, the King of Essence opened the winter castleâs door andâŠ
âOld man, thatâs enough.â
Moreover, how did you take so long to kill mere bandits? Donât you feel embarrassed that you canât even use your power properly, despite having the King of Essence with you?
âHow am I supposed to use my power?â
You idiot. Itâs the first strike. First strike. You have to thrust your first strike with explosive power.
âExplosive?â
Yes. The humanâs mana circuit is quite mysterious, and you can handle your mana after amplifying itâŠ
Raon learned a more effective way of handling mana by instigating Wrath. He was the Giving Wrath, after all.
***
When Raon and Runaan returned to the foothold along with the children, the center was noisy.
âItâs the mountain. Iâm sure they are hiding at the peak.â
âBullshit. Mountain is too obvious, just like your hairstyle. Youâre an idiot for thinking that they would be hiding in the mountain just because theyâre bandits. Iâm sure theyâre hiding in the dense forest in the west.â
âYour method is too impulsive. Relying on instincts without a proper tracking technique or map reading is too dangerous.â
âShut up! My instincts are better than your reasoning. We will search the western forest tomorrow, no matter what.â
Burren and Martha were arguing, telling each other that there were bandits where theyâd scouted.
âPhew, theyâre at it again.â
âThey really start arguing as soon as they meet.â
âBut I wonder whoâs correct?â
The trainees didnât know what to do as they watched the two growl at each other.
âHmph!â
When Runaan cleared her throat, everyone looked at Raon, Runaan, and the children.
âWho are those children?â
âDid you find some runaway kids when you were supposed to look for the bandits?â
Burren and Martha frowned, upon seeing the two children.
âI wonder. Guess who?â
Raon grinned, putting the bag containing the bandit leaderâs head down.