N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 400
Raon wiped the sweat from his forehead and approached Dorian.
"Do you have any more holy water?"
Dorian was known for his obsessive hoarding of items. He had stockpiled a significant amount of Holy Water, considering he had used a lot of it to rescue the victims of the Black Tower incident. He said that he had stored much more.
"Yes, but shouldn't we save it?"
"No, we need to use it now."
Raon shook his head as he looked at the undead army. They can't approach right now because of the holy water and the wall of fire, but they will start marching again soon.
"We won't hold out until morning like this,"
"Yes?"
"If we stay here, the castle will be destroyed before the sun rises."
He wasn't saying this to scare anyone. Even with the support of the people inside the castle, it would be impossible to stop the advance of this large army after five days of fighting.
"So, are you giving up on 'that'?"
"We can't just wait forever."
"I see..."
Dorian's hand trembled as he handed over the remaining six holy waters, as if he was afraid.
"This is all I have."
"Thanks. I'll deduct the money from my savings."
"I'm not a bank, you know..."
Raon ignored Dorian, who was grumbling about being a bank now, and clapped his hands.
The members of the Light Wind, who had serious expressions on their faces, gathered on the wall.
"Wendy and Prika, come over here."
He called for the two people who led the Imperial Sword and the rangers.
"As you know, we're at our limit."
No one said anything, but they bit their lips. Martha, too, kept her mouth shut, which meant that everyone was accepting reality.
"So we're going to use our last resort."
"Our last resort?"
"What is it? Tell us quickly!"
Burren and Martha urged, taking a step forward.
Raon looked into everyone's eyes and slowly opened his mouth.
"We're going to open the gates."
"Open the gates?"
Prika's cheeks trembled.
"What are you talking about? There are still so many of them!"
She shook her head wildly as she looked at the undead army, which was approaching but not yet attacking.
"It's impossible to last until morning. The castle will be destroyed before the sun rises, and the massacre will begin."
Until now, the castle's protective ability had been able to ward off the deathly aura, but if the walls were destroyed, even that would be gone.
The swordsmen, as well as the rangers, would be overwhelmed and unable to withstand the enemy.
"The only way to turn this situation around is to break through this undead army and kill the Arch Lich."
Raon looked at the Light Wind members, Mark Gorton, and finally Wendy Arian.
"Only me, the Light Wind members, and Wendy will be going out. The undead will chase us, but just in case, please protect the walls from here."
The Imperial Sword Squad was mostly low-level experts, so they would be of no help.
A small elite team had to break through the wall of corpses as quickly as possible.
"Understood!"
Wendy nodded her head, striking her left chest with her right hand. She looked like she would follow even if she wasn't taken with him.
"Prika."
Raon held Prika's shoulders and gave her a faint smile.
"It may seem reckless, but... I hope this works."
"Alright! I'm in full support!"
Prika said.
While it seemed risky, it was their only chance.
Martha slammed her palm against the castle wall.
"I was getting tired of just picking off the undead one by one, but it looks like the time has finally come!" she exclaimed.
She revealed a sense of anticipation, believing she could now unleash her true abilities.
"I agree."
Burren, who rarely agrees with Martha, nodded.
"I was bored watching from above."
He took a deep breath and glared at the horde of undead.
"Let's finish this quickly and go for ice cream."
Runaan blinked her dull eyes and pursed her lips very thinly.
"We should have left a long time ago!"
"Damn undead bastards are all dead!"
"Watch your heads, you corpse bastards!"
The Light Wind members, too, seemed to have been stressed out lately, as they gripped their swords and emitted a cold aura.
"Dorian."
Raon called out to Dorian and gestured.
"Bring out the blue lotus pills."
The blue lotus pill was not an elixir, but a type of recovery medicine that was very effective in replenishing depleted aura.
"Yes!"
Dorian reached into his belly pocket and took out the blue lotus pills to match the number of people.
"Eat the blue lotus pills and cultivate for two hours."
"Two hours?"
"How are you going to hold out for that long?"
"Even if you're the vice-squad leader, it's too much for one person!"
"I'm not alone."
"I won't be alone," Raon said quietly, gesturing toward the child standing behind Runaan, who was observing her seniors.
"Because we have our Mad Dog squad's secret weapon."
"It's not Mad Dog..."
* * *
Wendy Arian opened the door to her bedroom for the first time in five days. It felt strange, as if she had been away for a year.
"No..."
She forced her body, which naturally headed for the bed, to stop and sat down on the floor.
'I can't betray his expectations.'
Raon was still fighting on the castle wall. In order to follow him, she needed to recover as much aura and physical strength as possible, even if it meant not sleeping.
'I'm just getting more and more amazed.'
She knew that Raon was amazing even before he came here. He was the continent's youngest master level and had the coveted title of White Sword Dragon, so it was no wonder.
However, that was only on the surface.
Even though he was a great genius, she thought he would still be inexperienced because of his youth.
'But...'
That was not the case at all.
Raon Zieghart had not only incredible strength, but also outstanding wisdom, insight, and battlefield vision.
He was not an inexperienced swordsman, but a warrior who was already on his way to perfection. She had finally met someone she could respect, even though he was much younger than her.
"Hmm..."
Wendy sighed as she caressed the blue lotus pill.
'It's going to be tough. We might not even make it to the end.'
Even if she recovered her aura for two hours, she could only recover half of her strength. On the other hand, the enemy was still growing in numbers.
Wendy Arian knew that it might be impossible to break through the undead army and reach the end of the Land of Death.
However, she felt that she could achieve that miracle with Raon.
Wendy removed the cloth that wrapped the blue lotus pill and put it in her mouth. She closed her eyes and concentrated on her aura, a gentle smile on her lips.
* * *
One hour had passed since Raon had soaked the castle wall with the remaining three holy waters.
As the effects of the holy water wore off, the undead began to approach with even more intense killing intent.
"Raon-nim!"
Prika ran up to him, screaming.
"They're coming!"
She pointed to the arrows made by the villagers and bit her lip.
"If we shoot even one arrow..."
"Save those."
The few remaining arrows and javelins were needed for the sortie. They had to find another way to hold out.
"Yua."
"Yes!"
Yua smiled and approached him. It was a forced smile, but it seemed to brighten the mood.
"Do you remember when I played the sword like a musical instrument during training with Roenn-nim?" Raon asked.
"Oh, yes!"
She nodded, saying that she of course remembered.
"It's the same. I'm going to play the sound sword now, so you sing along with it."
"Sing?"
"It doesn't matter how you sing or what you sing. Just sing with the thought of protecting the people here."
"I'll try!"
Yua nodded with her twin tails swishing.
"Thank you."
Raon patted Yua's head and then headed to the front of the castle wall.
Kugugugugu!
As the immeasurable horde of undead moved, it looked like the ground was shaking.
With the holy water gone and the flames extinguished, the undead advanced without any fear.
"Raon-nim!"
"They're coming!"
"Quickly, give us orders!"
Prika and the rangers shouted in a panic.
Raon shook his head to reassure them and drew the Blade of Requiem from his waist.
Chaaaan!
Despite its name, the Blade of Requiem produced a clear and bright sound sword.
'Please.'
The Blade of Requiem let out a low sword cry, as if to say not to worry.
"I'll start."
He sent the power of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation into the Blade of Requiem and looked at Yua.
Wuwuwuwuu!
The Blade of Requiem glowed red and let out a grand sword cry.
The undead began to slow their pace at the auspicious cry that was not filled with resentment, but with a desire to save people.
"Yua. Follow this flow."
"Yes!"
Yua ran forward, clasped her hands together, and closed her eyes.
"The name of Habun, who guards the gray wall of the north is..."
The song she chose was a military march. It was also the military march of the Habun Castle.
'I understand why.'
It seemed that for Yua, the song that protected everyone was the military march that she had heard and grown up with since she was a child.
"Wuwuwuwuu!"
The will of the Blade of Requiem to protect everyone in this land and Yua's will came together in harmony to create a huge resonance that beats the darkness.
"Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
As the harmonious melody, imbued with the aura spread out, the undead horde's footsteps seemed to freeze. Despite their trembling, they couldn't take a single step forward.
"Aa..."
Prika got goose bumps and clenched her right arm tightly. As Raon had promised, the undead were unable to move because of the song.
"Ugh, it's amazing that such a miracle is possible with music..."
She had heard legends that a warrior who had mastered music had repelled thousands of soldiers alone, but she could not have imagined that it would really be realized. She shivered as goosebumps rose on her body.
"Hmm."
Yulius stood next to Yua with his mouth tightly closed. His expression was firm, with the will to protect Yua no matter what.
Raon smiled gently as he continued to skillfully manipulate the flow of energy from the Blade of Requiem.
"Wuwuwuwuu!"
Like opening a wide river, the flow of the sword's melody connected with Yua's song, spreading even further.
"Chiiiiiiiiiing!"
The song imbued with will became a sharp sword that pushed back the undead. The monsters that were staggering backwards fell apart by themselves, entangled with each other.
Hey.
While Raon adjusted the melody in sync with Yua's singing, Wrath popped out from the bracelet on Raon's wrist.
Are you really going to open the gates?
'Of course. There's no other way.'
The guy who's controlling those undead is tempting you to come out, you know? Even a novice like you must know that, right?
Wrath frowned, wondering how he could not have known when he was the human champion of cunning.
'I know.'
Raon nodded slowly.
'The Arch Lich, or the guy behind him, is pretty smart.'
The Arch Lich's strategy was clear: attacking at the worst possible moment, understanding the Arian family's disposition, and employing a war of attrition to diminish their physical and mental strength.
Knowing that, why do you want to go?
'Because I have a trump card.'
Trump card?
Raon pointed at Wrath with his finger.
Are you saying the King of Essence is the trump card?
'That's correct. The Arch Lich is targeting me, who has been fighting for five days straight. He intends for me to be in a state where I can't even properly release aura due to exhaustion. However…'
He clenched his fist, with a cold chill in his eyes.
'With your help, I can regain my strength to its original state.'
Making a deal with Wrath might further deteriorate his mental state, but it would restore his physical stamina and aura to their peak.
Most people wouldn't be able to endure it, but having lived as a Shadow and experienced death once, he had the confidence to withstand it.
'Besides, I have divine power.'
If he restored his aura and physical strength and then struck a sword imbued with divine power, he was confident that he could subdue the Arch Lich or the Death Knight in one blow.
[The mountain that rises after enduring the cold north wind...]
Raon closed his eyes as he listened to Yua's song, which was imbued with the will to save people. The red lightning flashed in his eyes again as he opened them.
"That guy will regret what he did while I was here."
* * *
Thanks to Yua's efforts to buy time, the Light Wind squad and Mark Gorton and Wendy Arian returned with their strength and aura fully restored.
Raon looked back from the front of the castle. The Light Wind squad and Wendy Arian, who were lined up, were exuding a sharp aura like a blade.
'Their minds are also at full capacity.'
Giving them time was not just to restore their strength and aura.
It was to come back with the will to fight the final battle, and it seems to have been effective enough.
"Now is the real start of the battle."
Burren smiled as he turned his wrists.
"Loosen up every inch of your body."
He looked at each member of the Light Wind squad to relax them.
"After all, breaking skulls with your own fists is more satisfying than any weapon."
Martha clenched her fist with a cold smile.
"I'll break the Arch Lich's head."
She licked her lips, saying that she wouldn't give in to anyone.
"Is Raon okay?"
"He hasn't slept at all."
She flicked her swollen, sleep-deprived eyes.
"Can vice-squad leader follow us?"
"That's right! He isn't going to be left behind, is he?"
"If you're late, we'll leave you behind!"
"That's something you should say to Krein."
Raon pointed to Krein, who was keeping his mouth shut.
"Oh, right!"
"The one who always falls behind first is Krein!"
"Krein the Unique!"
"The expert in exiting!"
The Light Wind members laughed at Krein.
"No, it was just bad luck!"
Krein shook his head with his face red.
"There is no luck in the world of martial arts!"
"That's right. It's all skill!"
"If you fall out today, resign from your vice-captain position!"
The Light Wind members threw jokes at each other even though they were facing an army of undead that could not be counted.
Raon looked at the Light Wind squad with trusting eyes.
"Krein may fall behind, but the Light Wind never abandon their comrades"
That remark made the Light Wind squad's smile deepen. Their laughter filled with confidence seemed to erase the gloomy situation.
"Anyway…"
"The plan is simple. The Light Wind squad maintains the Great Typhoon Formation in the center and charges, and Mark and Wendy assist on the sides."
Burren raised his hand, while Raon is explaining the plan.
"What about you?"
"I have to open the way in front."
Raon tapped his sword hilt. The key to this battle was speed. The goal was to quickly break through the encirclement and reach the end of the Land of Death where the pillars were planted.
"I'll run at full speed, so follow me no matter what."
"Yes!"
The Light Wind squad roared in unison.
"We'll follow you to the end."
"Thank you."
Mark Gorton and Wendy Arian also nodded with their fists clenched.
Raon smiled and sprinkled everyone's bodies with a watering can filled with the remaining holy water.
It won't last long, but it will be a great help for a while.
"Well..."
As he was about to open the gate, he felt a presence.
'They are....'
Members of the Arian family's household had gathered. They trembled with fear due to the sinister aura in their midst, yet they bowed their heads as if pleading for help. Their silence heightened the sincerity of their plea.
"Raon! They're coming up the hill!"
Prika's voice rang out from the top of the wall.
"We have to go now!"
"Huf."
Raon stood in front of the gate and took a deep breath. When the morale in front of him reached its peak, he shouted up.
"Open the gate."
"Open the gate!"
With a creak that shook the entire castle, the gate opened.
