Chapter 394
Burren shook his jaw as he watched the Death Knight's body shatter and sink into the water.
'A Death Knight in one blow?'
Was that even possible?
He knew because he had fought the Death Knight with a sword. The monster was strong. Not only was its astral energy strong, but its swordsmanship was also high.
It was hard to believe that the monster that had easily blown away the entire Light Wind squad and Mark Gorton, revealing the green eyes that were the characteristic of a Death Knight, had died in one blow.
'What the hell is that guy?'
He knew very well that Raon was strong. He knew it better than anyone else.
But he couldn't have imagined that he would kill a Death Knight who had reached the mid-rank. That, too, was a special Death Knight who had gained the power of the swamp in one blow.
"That damn..."
Martha glared at Raon and trembled her sword-wielding hand.
'You monster!'
When the astral energy of the Death Knight, which was becoming stronger and stronger, was about to break the Light Wind squad's formation, Raon stepped forward.
He had a resentful and ominous feeling when he saw his eyes that seemed to tell him to step back.
She had never fought a Death Knight that grew stronger as it fought, so she thought even Raon wouldn't be able to catch it easily.
'I thought he would do his usual fire and ice crap.'
Raon's fighting style is as flamboyant as his face. I thought he would fight by spewing fire and ice again, but he cut the Death Knight's soul with a single sword strike.
It was an incredible power that she had seen with her own eyes at the closest distance.
"Wow..."
Runaan opened her mouth wide with a more dazed look than usual.
"Today, Raon is really handsome."
Encia had always asked her to add 'handsome' in front of Raon's name, and she had called him that without much meaning until now, but he really looked handsome today.
The sight of Raon, with his black dragon coat fluttering in the mist and his Heavenly Drive sword drawn diagonally, was nothing short of a painting.
However, more than his beautiful appearance, what she thought of was the sword strike that had cut down the Death Knight in one blow.
The destructive power and accuracy that were embedded in that sword strike were enough to make her spine tingle even now.
"Vice-squad leader! If you can kill it so easily, why you didn’t step up soon?"
"Is that really a Death Knight?"
"That's right! We all almost died!"
"Besides, it was a monster that kept getting stronger."
"But why did it die in one blow?"
The Light Wind squad also looked at Raon with their eyes wide open, as if they couldn't believe this absurd situation.
"Huu...."
"I, I just saw what?"
"Is this the real power of the White Sword Dragon?"
"It's said that he puts the Twelve Stars of the Continent under his feet..."
Prika and the other rangers were also shocked and sat down on the swampy ground, shaking their jaws.
"Wow! Vice-squad leader!"
"It was a touching sword strike!"
"Thank you for your hard work."
Yua and Yulius laughed and jumped up and down, and Mark Gorton lowered his head quietly.
Raon smiled at the two children and then looked at the Heavenly Drive, which still had heat left in it.
'Not bad.'
It was the first time he had used a sword strike with a mixture of the fire of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the divinity that bloomed from the darkness, and the effect was beyond his expectations.
He had never thought that a Death Knight at master intermediate level, even one that had been strengthened by the power of this swamp, would be unable to resist and crumble.
'I've gained a great power that can pierce the Black Tower.'
Although the divine energy was so small that it would run out after one sword strike, it seemed that it would be a great help in future battles.
You brat!
Wrath gritted his teeth and thrust his face forward.
'What is it again.'
Why did you kill it!
'It was dangerous.'
I don't know what he's talking about. His subordinates even gestured that it was dangerous, but he's still complaining.
You didn't need to come out and fight directly! It would have been enough to support from behind and rained down your attacks from behind!
Wrath scrunched his nose, saying that Raon was a weasel who was stealing the opportunities of his children to growth.
'That's strange.'
Even if he had only provided support from behind, they could have defeated the Death Knight, but it would have taken longer than it did now.
It was suspicious that a guy with a personality disorder who couldn't stand being bored for a second would say that.
'If this guy hates...Ah!'
Raon curled his lips as he looked at Wrath.
'It was because of the reward for defeating the Death Knight, wasn't it?'
Hic!
Wrath trembled his eyes as if he had been stabbed at his weak spot. His body, like a cotton ball, swayed as if it had been caught in the wind.
What nonsense! There's no way the King of Essence would think of such a thing!?
'It looks like he's flustered, so it's right.'
No, the King of Essence doesn't even care about such things...
The guy lowered his voice like an ant crawling and hid his body in the ice flower bracelet.
As expected, Wrath had made a fool of himself by claiming that Raon denied the Light Wind squad members an opportunity to gain experience in battling the Death Knight until the end due to his fear of losing his abilities and stats points that Raon would acquire as the system rewards upon defeating the Death Knight.
'He's still not cute.'
Raon shook his head and looked at the Death knight's skull.
A faint green flame was burning in the empty eye sockets.
'This is the loot.'
The loot you get when you defeat a Death Knight is this skulls.
The flame that burned in the eye sockets remains faintly, making it a valuable item that proves that you have defeated a Death Knight. It can be sold for a very high price.
'Just in case. It would be better to keep more.'
Raon gestured to Mark Gorton.
"Would you please bring me the heads of the Dullahan you defeated a little while ago?"
"Yes, sir."
Mark Gorton brought the head from the Dullahan, which had been buried in the vines floating on the swamp.
The red eyes flashed from the distorted face.
'These two will be enough, right?'
With the skulls of a Death Knight that had reached the intermediate master level and the head of this Dullahan, it would not be difficult to gain the upper hand in the Arian family.
Hwaaaaah!
Raon used the sensation of frost, pulling up the extreme cold of Glacier, and used the legendary sense.
He spread his senses in all directions, but he couldn't feel the presence of any undead monsters.
'The swamp is also sinking.'
The water level of the swamp was also slowly falling, probably because the Death Knight who had caused the problem had been removed.
'It's all over.'
They had killed the Death Knight and the increased number of undead, and the swamp was sinking, so everything was over. Now it was just a matter of going back.
Raon put the skulls of the Death Knight and the head of the Dullahan in his spatial pocket and turned around.
"Light Wind squad."
At his call, the Light Wind squad, who were nursing their internal injuries, lined up.
"Uh..."
"Kkyung."
The Light Wind squad felt a sense of foreboding and couldn't even look Raon in the eye, swallowing their dry saliva.
"That was disappointing. But I saw that you did your best in the battle."
The Light Wind squad raised their eyes at Raon's surprisingly soft voice.
"Good job."
"Woo-hoo!"
"Thank you!"
"As expected of the vice-squad leader!"
When Raon said "good job" instead of additional training, the atmosphere of the Light Wind squad became as cheerful as petals blown by the wind.
"However..."
Raon raised his hand when the Light Wind squad began to get excited.
"It's also true that you didn't defeat the Death Knight. I told you to deal with it."
"We, we did our best just now."
"Yeah, we gave it our all!"
The Light Wind squad tried to argue with trembling lips, but of course, it didn't work on Raon.
"I prefer doing well over just giving your best. You had to defeat it no matter what."
"How could we defeat that guy! He's a Death Knight!"
"That's not an ordinary guy, he's a growing monster!"
"His head got bigger and bigger..."
Burren, Martha, and Runaan shook their heads, saying it was impossible.
"That's all because of your lack of training. I cut it with one stroke."
"Ugh!"
"Damn it!"
"My sleeping time..."
Since Raon's words claimed that he had taken down the monster known as the Death knight in one strike, the Light Wind squad members couldn't argue and simply hung their heads.
"I'll prepare a special training menu for you when we return. Look forward to it."
"Huff...."
"Damn it!"
"My life..."
The Light Wind squad members sighed deeply as they thought about their life after returning to the house Zieghart.
Your personality is really dirty.
Wrath came back up to the bracelet and frowned.
An evil demon that is rare even in the Devildom...
When he said it was terrible, a message popped up.
[By harmonizing two different powers, you have defeated a strong enemy in one stroke.]
[All stats will increase by 5 points.]
[The achievement of footwork will increase.]
[<The Divinity that Bloomed from the darkness> grade will increase.]
It seemed to be a reward for defeating the Death Knight with one stroke by harmonizing aura and divinity for the first time.
'But...'
The timing is just perfect.
As soon as Wrath, who had escaped with the bracelet, came out, the reward message popped up, as if it had been waiting for him
This is why the King of Essence didn't want to come out!
Wrath gritted his teeth as he looked at the message.
Stop tormenting the King of Essence!
* * *
Advance chapter: Tinyurl.com/Aldbnlf
Arian family audience chamber.
Wigen put his hand on his frog-like belly and licked his lips.
"Is it going well?"
He reached out, as if feeling uneasy, and bit into a large pork rib.
"Don't worry."
Bainder raised his head and smiled.
"The children will do well."
"Still, I'm a little worried."
Wigen licked his greasy lips and frowned.
"Even if things go wrong, it doesn't matter."
"It doesn't matter?"
"With the great eloquence of the head of the family, you can easily manipulate those little brats, right?"
Bainder smiled lightly and raised a finger.
"Plus, we have him behind us, so even the White Sword Dragon won't dare to act rashly."
"Kerhem! That's right!"
Wigen nodded with a cough.
'That's why I haven't been wasting money on bribes.'
The reason the Arian family was able to ignore the duties passed down from their ancestors because they had bribed officers from house Zieghart.
Now it was time to reap the fruits of labor that had been carefully sown with money.
"Bainder is right!"
"Now that we know what kind of person Raon is, we can easily deal with him."
"No matter how much pressure those guys put on us, how much can they do? We have someone behind us!"
The general, treasurer, and quartermaster also bowed their heads, flattering Wigen.
"Since he also told me not to worry, I will only believe in you, head of the family."
Bainder lowered his eyelids and closed his eyes, bowing his head.
"Yes, yes, only believe in me!"
Wigen nodded with a smile at the flattery of the executives.
As the executives of the Arian family were laughing and enjoying themselves, Wendy, who was standing behind the door, clenched her fists tightly. She stepped out of the audience chamber with a determined expression on her face.
* * *
Raon looked at the slowly opening gate of the Arian family and put his hand in his spatial pocket.
He took out the skulls of the Death Knight and the Dullahan from the pocket and handed them to Burren and Dorian.
"Hmm?"
"Eek!"
Burren lightly received the skulls of the Death Knight, and Dorian screamed as he held up the head of the Dullahan.
"Why is this?"
"These people should know."
Raon looked at the inside of the gate with cold eyes.
"That Wigen and the executives almost destroyed this family."
As he was about to enter the open gate, Wendy came running out in a hurry.
"Raon-nim. You're here... what?"
She was looking down, but when she saw the skulls of the Death Knight and the Dullahan in Burren and Dorian's hands, she opened her mouth wide.
"De, Death Knight! That's also a mid-rank one?"
Wendy trembled all over as she looked at the skull of the Death Knight, as if she had gone mad.
"De, Death Knight?"
"Look! It's, it's real!"
"No, the green eyes mean it's a mid-rank one!"
"There was something like that in the Swamp of Death?"
The knights and residents standing behind Wendy took a few steps back in fear.
"Ar, are you saying that Death Knight was in the swamp?"
"Yes. It was on the pillar at the end of the swamp."
Raon explained what had happened in the swamp. He put aura into his voice so that not only Wendy, but everyone gathered at the gate could hear him.
"Prika."
Wendy looked at Prika, who was standing on her right. Prika nodded as if to say that everything was true.
"Guh... ..."
She felt a variety of emotions, so she bit her lip and lowered her head. Her cheeks and ears turned red.
"Phew!"
Wendy calmed her mind and raised her head. She raised her hand with a determined look in her eyes.
"Let's go to the audience chamber."
Raon nodded and followed Wendy to the audience chamber.
The residents cheered and thanked the Light Wind squad members, as if to welcome the return of the heroes, but gradually more people began to suspect the executives.
"Dullahan and Death Knight!"
"The Swamp of Death has changed so much..."
"The, the higher-ups said nothing was wrong..."
"See! I told you it was weird! If nothing was wrong, why did the water level in the swamp rise?"
"The grapes were also wilting."
"Those damn executives..."
"Should I have supported Wendy-nim?"
Raon smiled as he felt the uneasiness of the people coming from the side.
'It's going well.'
In order to change this family, it is not only the pigs lying on top, but also the minds of the people who are crushed by them, that need to be changed.
The hideous head of the Dullahan was a great help in changing that thinking.
Raon walked into the audience chamber without saying a word, so that the doubts and anxiety would grow even larger.
Wendy didn't even knock and opened the door to the audience chamber.
Wigen, the head of the Arian family, and the executives of the Arian family were seen gathered on the podium, as if they were in a meeting. Judging from the situation, it seemed that the news had already been received.
"Oh... ..."
Wigen smiled awkwardly and raised his hand.
"You've all worked hard!"
Unlike the first time he came, he spoke in a raised voice as if to treat them with respect, with his hands folded.
"Thank you for your hard work!"
"To defeated a Death Knight, the Light Wind squad's bravery is true to its reputation!"
"Thank you for your efforts on behalf of this Arian family."
The executives also rubbed their hands together like flies and smiled crookedly. They were completely different from the previous ones who had sent cold glances.
"Dorian."
Raon smiled lightly and reached out to his right. Dorian handed him the head of the Dullahan, which he was holding with his fingers only.
He grabbed the head of the Dullahan and threw it straight onto the podium.
Paah!
The blood that remained in the head of the Dullahan was sprinkled on the heads of the pigs who were laughing falsely on the podium.
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
"What are you doing?"
"Eek! This isn't alive, is it!"
The executives, who made eye contact with the Dullahan, who still had glowing red eyes even after death, screamed and fell to the ground.
Thump.
Raon walked up to the podium, crushing the red carpet in the center of the audience chamber. A dry aura that contained discomfort spread over his shoulders.
"Guh!"
"Kugh... ..."
"Ugh!"
The executives, who were crushed by the eerie aura, stopped their rampage and trembled with expressions that looked like they were about to die.
Raon ascended to the top of the platform without even giving them a second glance.
Seated in the chair, Wigen, who was struggling, was presented with the Death knight's skull by Raon. The still unextinguished green flames flickered.
"Aaah!"
The startled Wigen couldn't bear his massive weight and the chair toppled backward.
"This is a Death Knight born at the edge of the Swamp of Death."
Raon pulled the toppled chair closer and placed the Death Knight's helmet on it.
"If yhe Imperial Sword squad hadn't called for us, this head would be sitting on this chair over your corpses."
The Death Knight's skull served as proof with its still unextinguished green flames.
"If Wendy could handle something like this..."
Wigen stammered, not even properly looking at the Death Knight's skull.
Raon couldn't help but let out a mocking laugh. "Are you truly this clueless?"
Even when faced with the empty eye sockets of the Death Knight's skull, it seemed as if his mind had been emptied as well.
"...I cannot win this."
Wendy, standing behind him, bowed her head. Her expression was filled with shame for the family.
"P-Prika! Tell them! That Death Knight..."
"That's a Mid-Rank Death Knight. Furthermore, there were two of them, including Durahan/Dullahan. If we had attacked head-on, we would have been annihilated."
Prika conveyed the stories he had witnessed without any embellishments.
"Ah..."
"Ugh!"
In response to the Rangers' revelations, the executives couldn't utter a word and bowed their heads.
Raon, with a cold smile, placed his hand on the chair where Wigen had been sitting.
The giant iron throne was crushed and crumpled like scrap metal, unable to withstand the power in his hand.
"Wigen Arian, you are not worthy to sit on this throne. I will strip you of your position until orders come down from house Zieghart..."
"Wh-what are you talking about!"
Wigen trembled and got up. In the meantime, his chin and belly fat wobbled.
"I am the head of this family, what right do you have to do that!"
He gritted his teeth, saying it was nonsense.
"Right? To you..."
"Right is bullshit!"
Raon snorted and was about to speak when Martha stepped forward. She climbed onto the stage with eyes that were burning hotter than ever before.
"This piglet still hasn't come to his senses!"
"Pig? This young woman!"
"Because of you, everyone in this family almost died. Do you still have anything to say?"
"What do you know..."
"I know, you piglet!"
Martha kicked the ground and ran to punch Wigen in the face.
"Ugh!"
Wigen was unable to even defend himself and was knocked to the ground by a punch.
"Kweeek!"
He really sounded like a pig being slaughtered as he rolled off the stage.
Raon narrowed his eyes as she looked at Martha's back, who was filled with anger.
'I wonder if she remembered the old days.'
He didn't know the exact details, but it seemed that she felt even greater anger due to her village being destroyed by the White Blood religion.
"Even after all this, do you think you'll get away unscathed?" Wigen, exposing his desperation, continued to make excuses."
"I, I have someone from house Zieghart that backs me up…"
"Who?"
Raon, with his sharp, crimson eyes, walked down from the platform. The eerie chill of the aura naturally spread throughout the entire chamber.
"Speak up."
