N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 444
White Lotus vice-division leader Fran caught up to Ayad, who was walking ahead of him.
"Division leader."
Ayad turned his gaze. He had regained his composure, displaying a calm and emotionless demeanor.
Even after taking a direct hit from Raon, he managed to suppress his emotions in this brief moment, showing the qualities that set him apart from others.
"Are you okay?"
Fran asked, observing the significantly weakened appearance of White Lotus members compared to before, while nervously chewing on his lip.
"It doesn't matter."
Ayad didn't even spare a glance for White Lotus members following him and merely nodded.
"Even if they survive this mission, they'll die on the next one. All they need to do is play the role of a stepping stone."
Despite the large size of White Lotus division, there was a limit to the number of people he could properly support. The individuals taken to the very end had already been selected, and the rest didn't matter, whether they lived or died.
"But Raon's words..."
"They'll certainly have an impact, but they can't leave White Lotus even if they want. Going out on their own is what losers do. Treat them just enough to prevent them from falling apart."
Fran nodded with a sigh. He knew it was cruel, but it was unavoidable to protect White Lotus.
"But earlier, Raon Zieghart seemed to want to say something important. Shouldn't we listen to him?"
Raon had approached with a sense of urgency in a manner that made it seem like he had discovered something, causing concern.
"No need to worry. He must have been trying to start a fight in another way. I was trying to support him because he seemed like he would be good for checking the direct line members, but he's more arrogant and conceited than I expected."
Ayad frowned as he recalled Raon's red eyes, which showed no sign of wavering.
'That damn kid...'
The golden hair and red eyes. When he saw that dazzling and overwhelming light, he thought of Glenn Zieghart standing in the sky.
Raon had already grown to the point where he reminded him of Glenn.
"Hmm, it seems like he's still building up his momentum..."
"That could be one of his tricks. Don't pay attention."
Ayad clenched his fists as he looked straight ahead.
"I'll personally crush Raon Zieghart when we get back."
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"You...!"
Hyeonwoon-gyeom (혈운검) (Blood Cloud Blade) gritted his teeth angrily.
"Do you really want to die by mentioning his name so casually?"
He genuinely seemed to be seething with anger, as red veins popped in his eyes.
"This will not be taken lightly! We will properly protest to Zieghart..."
"You've lost your mind."
Raon scoffed and took a step towards Blood Cloud Blade.
"The ones who won't take this lightly are us."
"What do you mean...?"
"The north side of the small river between the two lakes is house Ziegharts' territory. That means you were secretly hiding in Ziegharts' territory, where the problem occurred."
He drew his sword with his right hand. The blade's sharp sound rang out.
Slither.
The blood-curdling footsteps made Blood Cloud Blade and the White Whale warriors' faces turn pale.
"It would be right to execute you immediately, you bastards with no roots, whether you're White Whale or the Five Divine Rulers, but I'll give you a chance."
Raon took another step forward and pointed his sword at Blood Cloud Blade's neck.
"Tell me why you were hiding here, and what you know."
White Whale was an organization established by Heukgeumje (희극제) (Jester), a place where all information in the world was gathered, like the white whale that swims in both the deep sea and the sky.
There was no way that a group of people who were well-versed in information and intelligence would be hiding here for no reason.
"Leader"
"You bastard! Do you know who he is?"
The White Whale warriors jumped to their feet when they saw the sword pointed at Blood Cloud Blade. However, they couldn't run at Raon and stopped in their tracks.
"Don't move."
"If you move a finger, your head will fly off."
"Stay still."
Burren, Martha, and Runaan had already moved behind them and aimed their swords.
"You too, stay still."
Mark Gorton grabbed the shoulder of the last remaining warrior and let out a chilling voice.
"These filthy wretches..."
Blood Cloud Blade pressed his eyebrows as he raised his aura.
"It's not enough to insult our lord, but to ambush us as well. Can it be interpreted that Zieghart is picking a fight with the Five Divine Rulers?"
"Pick a fight?"
Raon laughed as he swept his hair back.
"Even a fight is a word that is only possible when the weight is matched. What is a fight for a shrimp trying to survive between the gaps of whales?"
"Don't insult us!"
"I have no intention of fighting words with you."
"Ugh..."
"Speak."
Raon raised a sharp aura like a sword tip and crushed Blood Cloud Blade.
"Why were you hiding here?"
If the artifact that hide the aura of Blood Cloud Blade and the White Whale warriors was used, there were many other places to hide besides this lake.
He was curious why they were hiding near the ice lake, which is easier to find than the two lakes.
"I'll tell you again. The tree where you were hiding your body is the territory of Zieghart. Your fancy lord and The Five Divine Rulers are no help."
Using the mana circuit to channel the heat of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, flames rose above the blade of Heavenly Drive.
"Let's just kill them."
Martha brought a knife to the warrior's throat, licking her lips.
"These guys don't know anything. It's a waste of time."
Burren nodded in agreement as he broke the warrior's arm.
"I heard that The Divine Rulers, Heukgeumje (Jester), is skilled in various tricks. He's even extracted the souls of Grandmasters before, they say."
It seemed like he had already obtained information about the lord of the Five Divine Rulers, and Burren wrinkled his face as he spoke about how dangerous Heukgeumje was. (I will use Heukgeumje as his name for now)
"White Whale, wouldn't have just sent someone of this caliber. It's better to deal with this before doing anything else."
"I'm ready."
Runaan blinked her eyes as if she could stab the sword at any moment.
Raon smiled faintly as he saw the murderous eyes of the Light Wind members.
'They're good at acting.'
Although the instructions were not to kill the opponent no matter who it was, the captains were making severe threats even though they knew they couldn't kill.
It seemed that they had become warriors who could play their role anywhere.
'Ans there it is...'
The threat seemed to have worked well.
Except for Blood Cloud Blade, the White Whale warriors were trembling with their pale lips, as if they thought Martha, Runaan, and Burren were serious.
"This is the last time."
Raon looked down at Blood Cloud Blade with a cold gaze like the tip of a sword.
"Tell me why you were here."
His words carried a different intensity than before, as if he were truly serious.
Goooooooooooooooooooo!
Not only Blood Cloud Blade but even the Light Wind members trembled at that murderous aura to the point of shaking their fingertips.
“Hmm…”
Blood Cloud Blade swallowed his saliva, unable to rush in or charge.
'Is this Raon Zieghart?'
The brilliant golden hair that seemed to be wrapped in sunlight and the transparent red eyes that seemed to float a red moon on top of a cup of wine. It was immediately clear that the swordsman in front of him was the White Sword Dragon Raon Zieghart.
However, his martial power level was different from what White Whale's information had suggested. Blood Cloud Blade had considered him on advanced master level, but in person, Raon exuded an overwhelming presence that was beyond his reach.
Raon held his sword naturally, appearing so relaxed that there were no openings to be found anywhere.
If he were to attack now, it felt like his own head would roll on the ground.
"Even if he reached peak master level, it's impossible to generate such overwhelming martial power."
'It's almost like…..Grandmaster level…'
He felt an overwhelming difference in power, as if he was facing a Grandmaster instead of a Master.
'Still...'
Blood Cloud Blade bit his tongue and lowered his right hand.
'I can't back down.'
This was a mission directly given by the lord. It couldn't be helped that his location was exposed due to the mistake of his subordinates, but he couldn't give away the information.
“You’re curious about why we were here, right?”
As he said that, he grabbed the sickle hanging behind his belt. Preparing to cut Raon's neck at any moment, he opened his mouth again.
“If you guarantee our safety, I will tell you what I know. But don't demand more than that."
As if stuttering out of fear, he stumbled through his words and slowly raised the sickle, raising the ominous aura farther, preparing to strike Raon's throat.
"Don't waste your efforts..."
As soon as Raon's mouth opened, Blood Cloud Blade pulled the sickle from below upwards, a rapid and inscrutable deadly strike.
Chiiiing!
Blood Cloud Blade stared at the sickle, which was red from the recent contact, and raised the corner of his mouth.
'That's it!'
The surge of deadly strike energy carried by the sickle was aimed at Raon's chest, his sword remained motionless. It was a perfect ambush..
'Next...'
It was when he tried to operate his secret technique to finish Raon off.
Blink!
As the red lightning struck right in front of him, an intense pain shot from his right shoulder.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”
Blood Cloud Blade screamed in pain and turned his gaze. His right arm, which had been raised with the deadly strike, was lying on the ground, and blood was spurting from his shoulder.
“How, how....”
He retreated backward, holding his right shoulder with his left arm.
It wasn't a problem that Raon had noticed his surprise attack. He never thought that he would come back with such a fast and powerful counterattack in that short moment.
A terrifying cut that he couldn't have stopped even if he knew. He had no thoughts as the physical and mental shock overlapped.
“I told you not to do useless things.”
Raon thrust Heavenly Drive, which was not stained with a single drop of blood, into Blood Cloud Blade's left shoulder.
“Kuuuuuuuuuuuuh…”
Blood Cloud Blade collapsed to the ground as if he had lost his strength, and floundered like a fish out of water.
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at Blood Cloud Blade, whose jaw was trembling.
'He's agile.'
Blood Cloud Blade's surprise attack was definitely fast and complex, but it was as simple as breathing to break through that flow.
Raon was still not fully aware of the improvement in his swordsmanship, but it was clear that it had grown thanks to Glenn and Rekhtar.
"You think you'll get away with this...?"
Raon ignored Blood Cloud Blade threats and twisted Heavenly Drive, which was stuck in his shoulder, to the right.
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrghh!"
Blood Cloud Blade could not bear the pain and screamed. He seemed to be a tough nut to crack, as he did not reveal any information even in the face of excruciating pain.
However, Raon's target was not just Blood Cloud Blade.
Raon twisted Heavenly Drive again, even though it didn't matter if Blood Cloud Blade died, as he watched the bloody blood gushing from his shoulders.
"Uuuugh, I don't know..."
"Then die."
"Wait!"
Just as Raon was about to cut Blood Cloud Blade's neck with Heavenly Drive, a blood-curdling scream was heard from behind. It was the youngest-looking young man among his subordinates.
"We were ordered to wait here until something else happened!"
Raon glared at him, Judging from their gazes and conversation, it seemed like they had some loyalty despite being part of the dark forces.
"What's your name?"
"Torin..."
"Tell the truth. What does 'wait here' mean?"
Raon stood up after bandaging Blood Cloud Blade's shoulder so that he wouldn't die.
"Torin, you idiot..."
Blood Cloud Blade opened his parched lips with a pale expression.
"Don't say anything. That's...
"Shut up."
Raon kicked Blood Cloud Blade's chin to shut him up.
"It's not like it's important information anyway!"
Torin opened his mouth again despite Blood Cloud Blade's words..
"Well, we don't know much either. We were just told to wait here, and if there was any change in this lake, to watch over it and then return."
He shook his head, saying it was part of the orders they received from above.
"They told us to watch from here?"
Raon looked at the frozen lake, shaking the blood off Heavenly Drive.
'Why?'
There didn't seem to be anything special.
He used Ring of Fire and Legendary Sense to search the area around the lake and the bottom of the lake, but he didn't feel anything.
"Torin."
Raon calmed his irritation and turned his gaze to Torin.
"Was this command given from higher up?"
"Yeah, that's right..."
"And you were told not to move?"
"They didn't give us any instructions about moving at all."
He shook his head, saying that the effect of the stealth artifact they used would disappear as soon as they moved.
"Hmm..."
Raon licked his lips, touching the hilt of Heavenly Drive.
'Heukgeumje.'
Heukgeumje was known for having impenetrable martial power, and there were rumors that he was an enigmatic individual
There was no way that a monster who ran a force that rivaled the Six Kings would have just sent these highly skilled men with artifacts.
'He must know something.'
Heukgeumje must have information about the disappearance of Warring Steel, which happened in this place.
'However...'
It was too late to approach Heukgeumje now.
Meeting Heukgeumje was already a challenge, and even if he did, there was a high likelihood that he wouldn't provide any information. For now, he had to rely on the information he had from this place to find Warring Steel.
'Still, I did get a hint that there's something here.'
Raon sat down and placed his hand on the frozen lake. Even though he couldn't feel anything, he still had the most important tool for detecting magic.
'Even though I wanted to save it because it's limited...'
Although he had a limited amount, he decided to use the most peculiar and dark power among the various energies he had gathered.
Gooooooooooooooooo.
A deep and resonant tone filled the air as a divine power emerged from the darkness hidden between Glacier and Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, riding on his mana circuit, then surfaced from his palm.
Hwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
Raon, not only with the sensitivity created by Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, but also with the divine power soaked in his hand, looked at the frozen lake again.
The divine power is the most efficient means of finding magic. Especially his divine power, which was born from the negative energies of ghastly energy, dark mana, and bloody energy, was much better at finding dirty energies.
Woooooooooooooooooo.
In order to grasp the entire lake, he spread the divine power that bloomed from the darkness like a thin thread and spread it on the frozen lake.
He tried to find magic through the divine power spread like a net, but even after operating it for a long time, all he could feel was the thick cold.
'Is it because too much time has passed?'
It had been a long time since Warring the Warring Steel division had disappeared, so he thought that whatever happened here was gone by now.
'Now what should I do...?'
He let out a sigh of regret. However, as he was about to retract the divine power, he felt a faint magical presence coming from the center of the frozen lake
'No way?'
Raon got up in a hurry. He ran to the center of the lake and operated his divine power again.
'It's there!'
He felt the magic not from above but from the opposite side of the icy surface he was standing on, extremely faint. It was like a lingering trace of magic.
'What on earth happened here?'
Raon couldn't comprehend why he could sense magic not from above the ice but from beneath the frozen lake
Tsk tsk.
Wrath looked down at the frozen lake and shook his head.
You found it now.
'You knew?'
The King of Essence sensed a disturbance.
'A disturbance?'
Raon narrowed his eyes at Wrath.
The energy you felt was not created in this space.
'Then?'
It was a small amount of magic flowing in from a rift connected to another dimension.
'Another dimension?'
So, did they open a barrier?
Binghyang is a mage who can freely manipulate cold and water element. It is perfectly possible that she developed the ability to create a barrier using ice, as she has been active for several decades and has grown in strength.
He looked at the magic flowing out of the icy surface again.
As Wrath had said, this icy surface was probably connected to the barrier that had been holding the Warring Steel division. This meant there might be a way to enter or break it.
Gooooooooooooooooo!
As Raon rotated the Ring of Fire and raised his concentration, a faint sound began to come from the flow of faint magic.
