N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
C 362
The top of the highest peak of the Zamari Mountains, where the red moon seems to be hanging. On the peak where the Drake has nested, more than thirty people were lying down moaning.
"Ugh... Ugh..."
"S, save me."
"Ugh... Ugh..."
"P, please!"
There were black holes in the people's bodies, but strangely, no blood flowed out.
However, the holes began to grow larger, revealing black veins, and the surrounding flesh began to crumple like rotten fruit.
"......"
The Black Water looked down at the people with a cold gaze like he was looking at bugs, and then went down the peak.
"Izzel."
"Yes."
At the call of the Black Water, a small blonde woman came forward and bowed down.
"Is the preparation ready?"
"Yes. The Drake will return to its nest before the sun rises."
A black bead appeared in Izzel's palm. She looked into the bead and her eyes darkened.
"What about the Dark Mages?"
"We've set up perimeters around us so as not to burden you. If the Drake returns, they will move."
"Thank you."
The Black Water nodded indifferently. He moved to the rocky mountain on the right side so that he would not be seen by the Drake, and killed his presence.
"Black Water."
Izzel called him in a low voice, hiding her body behind a rock next to the Black Water.
"What is it?"
"This time, we would have been enough, but why did you take the trouble to come here?"
"......"
The Black Water looked at Izzel without answering.
"Uhm...."
Izzel bit her lip as if she felt fear in his dark eyes.
"It was the order of the Vice-leader Tower."
"T, the Vice-leader Tower...?"
"The Drake that has nested here is a special specimen with cold breath. If we feed it the dark magic accumulated in the sacrifice, it could even become a spiritual beast."
The Black Water answered without emotion, looking up at the peak.
"Spiritual beast...."
Izzel followed his gaze and clenched her fists.
'This is an opportunity.'
The fact that the Black Water spoke to her so long meant that he trusted her. She wanted to make an impression on him, who was directly instructed by the Vice-leader Tower.
"Leave the capture of the Drake to me. I will not let you down."
"Izzel."
"Yes."
Izzel raised her head at the call of the Black Water. However, the answer she had been hoping for did not come.
"Your job is to amplify the dark magic contained in the sacrifice and call the Drake."
"Ah...."
"Know your place and don't talk nonsense."
"I, I'm sorry!"
Izzel trembled her chin and lowered her head. She couldn't move because it felt like a cold gaze was crashing down on her head.
"......"
However, the Black Water had already turned his attention away from Izzel. He looked up at the peak as he had done when he first arrived.
* * *
The five peaks that rose between the rocky mountain where the mages of the Black Tower were hiding.
Rocktan frowned as he lay down between the peaks.
'What is it?'
"Why have the Black Tower folks come here?"
Following 'that person's' teleportation magic, they quickly arrived at the mountain range, only to encounter the monstrous beings from the Black Tower, leading ordinary people to the summit.
If they had arrived a little earlier or later, they might have been caught, but the Black Tower people were too busy amplifying the dark mana within the people's bodies, so they didn't notice their presence.
"Are they after the Drake too?"
Judging by the current situation, it seemed like the Black Tower only cared about bringing people with infused dark energy to Drake, unaware that Raon was even here.
Rocktan smiled coldly as he observed the Black Tower's monstrous henchmen hiding within the rocky hills.
"This works out nicely."
With the personality of Raon Zieghart, who carried the alias "Seolhwagumhyup," he couldn't just stand idly by when witnessing this scene.
"No, no."
Killing them directly would be a waste.
Rocktan smirked as he raised his hand, and gray and green energy emanated from his index and middle fingers.
"When it comes to suffering, there's nothing quite like this."
The gray energy represented mineral poison, while the green energy represented plant poison.
"Let's make them dance to their death."
While powerful on their own, when these two poisons were combined, they created a deadly poison called "Guibloodmura," which made its victims writhe in agony as if possessed by spirits.
It was a challenging poison to wield, but Rocktan was confident that he could spread it to everyone when Raon and the Black Tower clashed.
Suddenly, one of the poison users' leaders approached him.
"Lord Rocktan."
"What is it?"
"Shouldn't we report that the Black Tower has arrived?"
He gestured toward where the Black Tower was hiding, his tone cautious.
"No need for that."
Rocktan slowly shook his head.
"However..."
"I understand that it might be uncomfortable for you since you have orders to report, but today, you don't need to."
He gestured behind him and chuckled.
"Our lord has sent separate informants."
As Rocktan combined Guibloodmura, a wicked smile played across his lips.
"Ap, apologies."
He lowered his head and stepped back.
"Don't worry about such matters. Is everything prepared?"
"Yes."
He nodded.
"As soon as you give the order, we can change the direction of the wind and spread the poison."
"Good. Get ready."
Rocktan tapped his hand with his finger, a sly grin on his face.
"Until our martial artist arrives."
* * *
Yes, that's it. Focus on anger first.
Wrath's voice echoed softly in Raon's ears.
It's not about using aura; it's about harnessing anger. That's the real way to use Legendary Sense. (this was the skill wrath used and raon obtained back in the dungeon arc while hiding from derus' detection skills, the previous translations were veil of serenity, veil of flow and seolhwa sensation, seolhwa means Myth/Legend/Fable)
Raon nodded and opened his senses to the maximum. The anger that rose from the bottom of his soul spread to the end of his senses.
His skin was stretched beyond measure with the senses. As Wrath said, the fuel for the Legendary sense was not aura, but anger/rage.
You must not stop there.
Anger flowed from Wrath. It was not a feeling of possession like before, but a helping hand to open his senses wider.
Spread yourself into nature while wearing anger. It is the feeling of becoming one.
Following Wrath's advice, he scattered mana mixed with anger. The feeling of blooming flowers of fire in the world with the flame spirit. The small and delicate mana that melted away with anger spread throughout the world.
Hwaaaaaaaah!
Along with the feeling of taking off the blindfold that wrapped around his soul, his vision, or rather, the range of all his senses, expanded endlessly beyond the limits.
*Huff*
A foul smell rose from the right rock mountain. It was the space where the mages of the Black Tower were hiding.
'Is that the guy?'
Among them, there was a guy who was particularly spreading a disgusting aura, and he seemed to be Black Tower's floor master, Black Water.
After Raon had identified the auras of Black Water, a mage with a fairly large aura, and 30 Dark Mages, he moved his senses to the left.
*Chiik*
The auras of about 40 people could be felt on top of a steep mountain peak. They were the shadows sent by Derus.
'I knew they would come.'
It seemed like they had used a movement spell to come even faster than him. As he was identifying the auras of the shadows, he felt a familiar and huge poisonous aura.
'Is it Rocktan?'
There were only a few perverts who could spread such nauseating poisonous aura. It was clear that it was Rocktan, the poisoner who taught the shadows poison arts.
'I'm meeting another trash.'
Rocktan raised a poison cloud to experiment with a new poison, turning the entire village into a poison field, not the target.
He had also given himself and the children snake venom under the guise of poison education, and left them to die.
'The guys next to him are the same.'
The poisoners who follow Rocktan use the human poison they get after killing people.
The fact that they had accumulated so much human poison meant that they had also massacred people who were not related to the mission, just like Rocktan. Judging from their slimy temperament, it was clear that they were also pleasure murderers.
'That's good.'
I wanted to deal with it.
Raon knew why Deroux Robert had sent Rocktan. He must have been planning to poison him to death because an ambiguous assassin wouldn't work.
'However...'
It doesn't work on me.
It was not only because he knew Rocktan's poison, but also because he had poison resistance and the ring of fire. I can chew and swallow that kind of trash poison.
'Thank you for looking down on me.'
Derus will lose another henchman today.
Raon finally focused his senses on the highest peak of the Zamari Mountains, the highest peak where the Drake had its nest.
'About thirty-five or so...'
The number of people on the peak was less than what the agent had heard.
'It must have been for the Drake.'
It seemed that the mages of the Black Tower had killed people on the nest to summon the Drake faster.
'Their condition is not good.'
People were poisoned by the dark mana and were emitting a disgusting magical aura from their bodies.
If this goes on, they will all die before tomorrow morning.
'That's right.'
Raon's expression hardened. He had to stop them before they could summon the Drake.
As Wrath had warned, it didn't seem like they had much time left.
For the King's dessert time, they mustn't die!
Raon chuckled softly. Whether it was dessert time or anything else, he was grateful for the effort to save people.
"Don't worry. Dorian has arrived."
From behind the peak where people had gathered, a faint presence could be felt. Without Wrath's help, it would have been hard to notice, but it was Dorian, firmly attached to the peak.
"Now it's my turn."
Raon took a shallow breath, focusing on Legendary sense and its veil.
Roaring anger permeated his soul, enveloping his entire being and harmonizing with the world. He blended his presence with the flowing wind and the earth's scent.
You still need more, Wrath remarked.
Feel the nature deeply, not just through your sense of smell but by imagining breathing through your lungs.
Wrath had stirred up anger himself to demonstrate. He seamlessly integrated into the flow of the world, so much so that he momentarily became invisible.
"I understand."
Raon lowered his emotions and concentrated on the flow of Wrath's essence through the Ring of Fire.
Unlike Legendary sense sensory experience that extended his physical presence in all directions, this sensation felt like the world seeping into his body from within.
Now, his presence, which had been as conspicuous as a pebble, became as subtle as a grain of sand.
Now it's somewhat better, Wrath nodded in approval. However, if you get too close, you'll be detected.
"Understood."
Avoiding detection was essential. The Black Tower henchmen had to move according to his presence.
Raon's mind calmed, and he moved to the right. He moved gracefully, like flowing water, until he stood behind Shadow, who was guarding the perimeter.
With a swift motion, Raon stabbed Dark Mage's heart with the Blade of Requiem and sealed his mouth. The man died without making a sound, unaware of what had happened.
What... why was that so clean...
"I told you, I'm good at assassination."
Moving to the next Dark Mage, Raon sliced his throat as well. Again, no sound, and the man faded into darkness.
Raon continued to eliminate the Dark Mages one by one as he circled the outskirts, being careful not to enter the inner boundary.
"Assassinating from within this boundary would expose me."
Quiet movements were one thing, but assassinating within the boundary would be detected by the Black Water' presence. However, that was the core of the plan.
With each kill, Raon felt a chilling aura emanating from within the rocky hills. It was the dark mana conjured by the Black Water.
"Done!"
Raon used the fastest Supreme Harmony steps, he leaped toward the opposite hill. He emitted a gentle heat wave through the steps, which subtly spread like a fragrance, connecting the hill where the Black Tower was hidden with the hill where the Shadows had concealed themselves.
"Now it's your turn, Black Water."
Raon didn't climb up to the peak but instead leaped into a nearby hillside, wearing a sly smile.
"Let the trash fight among themselves."
* * *
"Izzel."
Inside the cave, the Black Water called out to a woman who looked like a mage.
"Yes."
"Summon the Black Mages.
"Now?"
"Quickly."
"Okay, I understand!"
The woman named Izzel summoned the Dark Mages, but only about 24 of them appeared.
"This... what is this?"
"Assassins."
Black Water narrowed his eyes as he saw the scent of mana spreading from the opposite mountain peak.
"Scan in that direction."
"Yes, yes."
As Izzel used the scan, the flow of mana was revealed. The end of the red aura was pointing to several mountain peaks in the west.
"It's leading there. And..."
"There is."
"Yes. There are about 40 people hiding their tracks!"
"Terrible rats."
Black Water gritted his teeth and kicked the ground. Following his movement, darkness flared and spread its black wings.
"Follow the Floor master!"
Izzel and the Dark Mages also ran to the overlapping peaks behind Black Water.
...
"What the hell is this!"
Rocktan was stunned to see the Black Tower floor master and the masked mages from the Black Tower running towards him.
"Why are they coming here!"
He felt a faint heat around him, and then suddenly they started running like a seizure. He didn't know what was happening.
"It looks like we've been exposed."
The captains approached and swallowed their saliva.
"Exposed? Why!"
"That's... we're not sure either."
They shook their heads, saying that they didn't know the reason either.
"Damn it!"
Rocktan stood up, cursing. It was clear that his position had been revealed from the appearance of Black Water.
"Move the wind. First, get rid of them."
The Black Tower, as expected of people who use dark mana, is incredibly persistent. Even if they run away, they will chase them to the end. So, he had to kill them all when they were in a geographically advantageous position.
Gooooooooooooooooooo!
Roktan raised his hand. The blood-ear poison he had just combined rose up into a transparent mist.
'There is no other choice.'
The poison was prepared to kill Raon, but there was no time. He had to stop them by using it.
Huuuuuuuuuuuuuung!
Rocktan released the blood-ear poison following the wind that the captains blew. The colorless and odorless poison carried by the wind spread to the entire Black Tower group.
Just before the blood-ear poison fell on the heads of the ghosts, Black Water who was running in front raised his hand. A huge black claw emerged from his palm, as if reaching for the sky.
"Die."
With that declaration, the dark claw that he struck down split the mountain peak in half.
"Damn it!"
Rocktan bit his lip as he stepped back. The split in the fortified peak caused by a single strike was a display of insane power.
"Disperse! Disperse and kill them! I'll deal with that boar-like one!"
"Understood!"
The surviving poison users spread out, brandishing their swords towards Dark Mage, who followed Black Water.
"So, it's you."
Black Water' dark eyes locked onto Rocktan.
"It's a matter of life and death, according to Black Tower's laws."
Dark energy akin to cloaked blades emanated widely from his hands, resembling the motion of lifting a sword.
"What's wrong with this madman? What did we do?"
"This guy reeks of an assassin, talking nonsense."
"Absolutely not!"
Rocktan pounded his chest as if frustrated.
"As soon as you guys arrived here, didn't you release your poison and darkness, as if waiting for this?"
"That was prepared for someone else..."
"Your chance is over," Black Water stated as dark mana surged around him like flames. His long, whip-like claws descended like lightning.
Kwaaaang!
The high peak Rocktan had ascended split apart, starting to collapse down the cliff.
"Dammit!"
Rocktan descended from the peak, biting his lip. Around him, a sickly yellow poison aura gradually manifested.
"Fine. If you want to die, I'll oblige."
As he erected a wall of poison, a sinister glint flashed in his eyes.
"I'll melt every last piece of your flesh!"
"We'll offer your flesh as a sacrifice too."
Black Water clashed with Rocktan, and their dark mana collided.
Kwaaaang!
But they weren't alone. All across the jagged mountain range, poison users and Black Tower's monstrous beings clashed.
Kwaaaang!
Assassination swords clashed with dark energies, creating a dissonant orchestra of pain and death.
Raon stood on a hilltop overlooking the hellish scene, his hand lowering gently as if conducting.
Poison and dark mana, both vile energies, inflicted excruciating agony on their enemies while desiccating them.
Raon shifted his gaze to the opposite hill where Drake's nest lay.
"He has gone up."
Dorian had climbed up to Drake's nest amidst the chaotic situation. Though he seemed shaken, his courage to act for the sake of others was commendable.
"Now, let's..."
Raon extended his field toward Rocktan and Black Water, his eyes gleaming with sharp determination.
"Prepare for the end."
