N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 562
Pweeek!
Martha kicked the shoulder of the middle-aged man who appeared to be an executive of house Rakion with the pommel of her sword.
"Don't think you're safe just because you're alive."
She grabbed the middle-aged man's hair by the roots and lifted his head, revealing a fierce glare.
"Those who betrayed Zieghart and joined the Holy Sword Union can be killed at any time."
"Ugh..."
"Whether your head stays attached to your neck will depend on how useful your mouth is. You better start thinking straight."
At Martha's chilling voice, house Rakion executive gulped and trembled.
"Where is the Holy Sword Union?"
"With whom did you make a deal?”
"What the hell is that cursed sword!"
Not only her, but all the member of the Light Wind Division were extracting information from the kneeling house Rakion's swordsmen.
"..."
Runaan, wary of possible escapees, observed from a distance with vigilant eyes on both the Light Wind members and house Rakion's swordsmen.
"Sigh."
Rimmer leaned against the wall of the half-collapsed lord's manor and sighed.
"This is why I do things properly."
"When have you ever done things properly?”
Burren, who had shown no reaction until now, glanced over.
"You always sending us for self-training and going off to gamble. What have you ever done for us?”
He snorted in disbelief.
"Come to think of it, even when we were in the Light Wind Squad days, you always left everything to Raon and went gambling."
Krein nodded quietly, standing next to Burren.
"These days, it feels like I see sir Gambling Monster more often than the division leader at the training ground."
Dorian also frowned at Rimmer's spotless skin, which looked like he had never seen the sun.
"Slacker leader."
Runaan shook his head briefly at Rimmer.
"W-well, calling me a slacker leader is a bit harsh! It's not like that..."
Rimmer was about to argue when he stopped abruptly.
"Wait a minute! You guys heard all that and just kept quiet?"
He blinked blankly.
"You insolent brats! You dare not answer after hearing your division leader's words?"
Rimmer frowned, raising his fist as if he was about to charge.
"Ahem!"
"Say it!"
"They won't speak unless they suffer!”
Burren, Krein, and Dorian started kicking the kneeling swordsmen again, pretending to have their ears blocked again.
"Slacker leader."
However, Runaan just muttered "slacker lord" once more with a fierce gaze, as if to say, "What are you going to do about it?"
"Sigh, those guys..."
Rimmer sighed deeply, lifting his head. The gaze, resembling wet leaves in the rain, sank deeper than before.
'That's right. They don't need to look at me.’
He smiled gently as he observed the Light Wind members, who followed Raon like a leader.
"There's no guarantee that I will still be around after I've achieved my revenge.”
The Yonghyeon Swordmaster (Killis) despite losing his right arm and wielding a sword with his left, had almost fully recovered from his previous state of powerlessness.
Back then, if Sheryl hadn't been by his side, he might have lost to him. He had to risk his life to kill that bastard who had risen to the ranks of a monster again.
'If I start preparing for the farewell now, it will be a little easier.'
Rimmer looked up at the clear sky as the cursed magic faded, then lowered his eyes.
‘By the way, who could be the one who came here?’
Raon had told him through Bels’ and Basion's conversation that the swordsman of the Holy Sword Union would arrive today. Knowing who they are could be a great help in the upcoming fight.
'If the Yonghyeon Swordmaster comes, it will be both an opportunity and a crisis.'
It would be the best outcome if he could kill the Yonghyeon Swordmaster who came here, but the fear that he might lose the Light Wind Division because the Yonghyeon Swordmaster was so strong also arose.
'Just like that time…. No, let's not think about that.'
Rimmer shook his head to clear his mind of the bad memories and called out to Raon.
"Raon. That's enough now, let's get some information! Even if you're angry, we have to get what we came for!"
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"I understand."
Raon nodded briefly at Rimmer and looked down at Juan with dry eyes.
'The division leader is right.'
As he watched Juan writhe in pain, his anger subsided. He had given him enough pain, so it seemed like it was time to extract information.
'However…'
It was a little annoying.
The battle with Juan itself was fierce and bloody.
It was a perilous battle where his life could have been lost with a single blow, but Juan Rakion, renowned for his longswordsmanship, didn't appear to be highly skilled with a cursed sword that had claimed many human sacrifices.
No matter how much my strength and swordsmanship had grown, it seemed a bit strange.
However, it didn't seem like Juan was hiding something. He couldn't even look me in the eyes properly, showing fear.
Raon licked his lips thinly and twisted Hea Heavenly Drive stuck in Juan's shoulder.
Crack!
Juan's eyes squeezed shut and his whole body trembled as the sound of bones breaking rang out.
"Kuaaaaaaaaak!"
"Shut up."
Raon glared at him as he forced open Juan's eyelids.
"When will the swordsman of the Holy Sword Union arrive?"
"Ugh…."
Perhaps due to the pain and fear he had experienced, Juan, with his lips sticking to his dry mouth, opened his mouth.
"They will come around evening. They have always come only after the sun has set."
He shook his head, saying that the Holy Sword Union had never come during the day.
"Evening…."
Raon nodded, looking at the dried corpses of Bels and Basion.
‘Just like what I heard in the early morning.’
Bels had told Basion that the swordsman of the Holy Sword Union would come around evening tonight. Thinking about that conversation, Juan's words didn't seem false.
'We have to prepare quickly.’
To trap the Holy Sword Union, they had to asess the situation as quickly as possible and restore their strength and aura, but there was no time for that.
"Who is the one coming from the Holy Sword Union?"
"Th-that person…”
Juan opened his mouth to speak, but then his whole body convulsed. He started to drool, and an incredible amount of magic began to gush out of every pore on his body.
"W-what's happening…”
Raon stepped back, holding Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem. The enormous aura that erupted was as if the mana that the Blade of Requiem had extracted so far was a joke.
The Cursed Sword!
Wrath, who had been lying down, jumped up and shouted.
'Cursed Sword?'
As soon as he heard the word Cursed Sword, he looked at where Kreatus was.
The twelve blades of the Cursed Sword, which had been severed, were rising up, vibrating strangely.
That Cursed Sword is after the kids! Go and stop it quickly!
Wrath realized that the target of the Cursed Sword was the Light Wind members and gestured urgently.
Raon followed Wrath's hand with his gaze. The Light Wind members stood there, seeming confused, looking at the magic raining down on the ground.
"Ugh..."
When he tried to move, his legs cramped briefly. His body was not in normal condition due to the aftereffects of using wrath and sword field at the same time, but he forced himself to step on the ground and ran towards the Light Wind members.
"Everyone, back off!"
"Get away from all the blades!"
As soon as Raon shouted to back off, Rimmer also came running on the wind. He seemed to have also felt the ominous aura carried in the magic.
Ziiiiiiing!
However, naturally, the response from the Light Wind members was delayed. The Cursed Sword was already approaching their feet.
In a split second, too short to even take a breath, he exchanged glances with Rimmer.
Raon moved to the right, and Rimmer charged to the left, unleashing a flurry of sword strikes at the blades that was rising from the ground.
Kwaaahhhhhhh!
Flames and wind carrying the principles of the space sword spread like a sheet, shattering all the blades of Cursed Sword that were aimed at Light Wind members’ throat.
However, the Cursed Sword's attack was not over yet.
The last blade hidden deep in the swamp of magic suddenly emerged with a time delay, charging towards Raon's heart.
'Damn it!'
Raon felt a chill run down his spine and bit his lip.
'I can't dodge it.'
After using a large sword strike in a tired state, his aura and physical response were slow. Even if he forced himself to twist his body, it seemed like he wouldn't be able to avoid a fatal injury.
Moreover, there were people behind him, Yua and Yulius. The two children couldn't possibly evade this blade, so he had to block it.
Preparing for the worst, when he raised his sword, a fierce wind blew from the left. Like a flash, Rimmer, arriving at the last moment, stood next to Raon, opening a space.
Piiing!
However, even so, they couldn't completely avoid the injury. Raon's waist was pierced by about an inch, and Rimmer also received a wound on his forearm.
"Ugh..."
Rimmer cut through the flesh of his forearm where the magic had penetrated. It was barbaric, but it was the best way to stop the magic from infiltrating in this situation.
“Are you okay?”
He approached Raon, clutching his thickly bleeding forearm.
“I’m fine.”
Raon nodded, clenching his teeth. Black blood flowed from the wound on his waist, a sign that yhe cursed magic had already penetrated his flesh.
He wanted to heal it with the Divinity that Bloomed from the Darkness, but he had almost nothing left after using it in battle.
‘It’s even worse than when Juan got me.’
If it hadn’t been for Rimmer, he might have really died.
You fool.
Wrath shook his head as if he was disappointed.
What if you get hurt trying to save your subordinates?
The guy shook his head as if he was frustrated. But he knew he was tired, so he didn't say anything more.
‘I guess that was it.’
Raon frowned as he gazed at the Cursed Sword slowly rising. It appeared that the true body of the Cursed Sword was the hilt, not the twelve blades.
‘That strange feeling I had when I saw Juan, was it because of this?’
He thought it was strange that Juan was weaker than he thought even though he was holding the Cursed Sword, but the truth was not Juan, but the Cursed Sword itself.
“Y, young master….”
“…Are you okay?”
Yua and Yulis, who were standing right behind him, approached, their chins trembling.
“I’m fine.”
Raon gave the two children a faint smile.
“Vice division leader….”
“Y-your wounds are….”
“Don’t worry and back off.”
He gestured for the Light Wind members to stay away and looked at the Cursed Sword emerging on its own.
“Ha.”
Rimmer approached, exhaling a low sigh.
“I thought it would end quickly somehow.”
“Because you’ve been drinking until now. I need to ask you a favor this time.”
Raon nodded, clutching his waist.
“I can’t help it. This division leader has to come ou….”
"You still only care about yourself.”
A soft voice from the roof of the collapsed lord's manor cut off Rimmer’s words roughly.
“That voice….”
Raon raised his trembling gaze. A middle-aged man with his hair neatly tied up like a scholar stroked his beard with his one left arm.
Yonghyeon Swordmaster. The swordsman of the Holy Sword Union, who had appeared in Barena, revealed himself.
The young man standing beside the Yonghyeon Swordmaster was someone he couldn't help but recognize. Cloud, the disciple of the Holy Sword Union leader, was the guy he had spared despite having the capability to end his life. Now, Cloud sported a new arm and an eye full of malice.
“Yonghyeon Swordmaster. Was it your doing?”
Rimmer glared at the Yonghyeon Swordmaster, grinding his teeth so hard that they made a clicking sound.
“To stoop to such dirty tricks, you’ve really fallen as far as you can fall.”
"I am the sword of the Holy Sword Union. A sword doesn't have personal thoughts. However…”
The Yonghyeon Swordmaster leisurely shook his head.
"I want to kill you now, regardless of current orders.”
As he extended his left hand, the Cursed Sword Kreatus gracefully flew and landed in his grip.
Thud!
The Yonghyeon Swordmaster broke off the remaining blade of the Cursed Sword Kreatus.
As he swept down the hilt, a blade of light that seemed to be surrounded by darkness sprang out of the hole where the blade had been. The blade, burning with magic, flashed eerily smoothly.
“Beautiful.”
The Yonghyeon Swordmaster curled the corners of his lips as he looked at the blade of Cursed Sword. His polite expression hardened into a sinister one.
"This is the true form of the Cursed Sword Kreatus. What you fought was merely a shell.”
He raised the blazing Cursed Sword menacingly towards Rimmer.
“Y, Yonghyeon Swordmaster….”
Juan stretched out his hand to the Yonghyeon Swordmaster, spewing black blood.
“S, save me….”
“Yes. I will save you.”
As Yonghyeon Swordmaster nodded, Juan turned into a handful of blood and sank. The Cursed Sword Kreatus drank the blood of its owner and emitted even thicker magic.
"Thanks to you, Kreatus' awakening has accelerated.”
He looked up at the blade of the Cursed Sword and grinned.
“Then let’s end this now.”
"Yonghyeon Swordmaster!”
Rimmer, his once relaxed complexion now darkened, trembled, holding the sword.
Another person, caught up in anger and unable to regain composure, was present.
“Raon Zieghart!”
Cloud clenched his fists until they bled and glared at Raon.
"I've come back to break every bone in your body!”
With his right arm drawing a sword, he let out an eerie laugh.
“You were begging for your life crying, but now you’re acting tough?”
Raon used the Ring of Fire to the extreme. He forcibly suppressed the cursed magic that was digging in and laughed.
“The only reason you’re still alive is because you had a good master.”
“Shut up!”
“Where did you get that arm? I thought I turned it to dust.”
“You don’t need to know!”
Cloud’s right arm was turned to ashes beyond repair. Judging from the slightly different skin color, it seemed like someone else’s arm or an artifact.
“I’m going to kill you. I’ll kill you no matter what!”
“I think I’ve heard that before.”
Raon took a short breath and raised Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem.
‘This isn’t good.’
Perhaps because of his new arm, the aura he felt from Cloud was stronger than before. He couldn’t use sword field, and his physical condition wasn’t normal either, so it was the worst situation.
Gooooo!
Behind Cloud and Yonghyeon Swordmaster, the swordsmen of the Holy Sword Union knelt down. Not a single one among them was below the Master realm. It appeared that even the members of the Light Wind would face a difficult fight.
‘But there is hope if we can hold out.’
After hearing the conversation between Bels and Basion yesterday, he immediately contacted Zieghart and requested support. If the news had arrived properly, reinforcements would soon come from Zieghart. Until then, he had to endure no matter what.
“It reminds me of the old days.”
The Yonghyeon Swordmaster flicked his index finger.
“Back then, you failed to protect your subordinates and survived alone, clinging to that tenacious life until now. What will happen this time?”
“You….”
“They say history repeats itself, but this time, you won’t survive.”
“Shut up!”
Rimmer erupted with an explosive aura as if he was about to pounce at any moment.
“Division leader.”
Raon called out to Rimmer, but he was so consumed by anger at the Yonghyeon Swordmaster that he couldn’t even hear him.
“Division leader!”
He raised his voice and kicked Rimmer in the butt.
“Ugh….”
"Pull yourself together.”
Holding Rimmer's shoulders with wide-open eyes, Raon raised his head.
“We have to go back together.”
At those words, the anger that had risen in Rimmer’s eyes subsided dimly.
“Right. That’s right.”
Rimmer nodded, catching his breath.
“But who taught you to kick my butt?”
"Who do you think?”
“Hmm, don’t learn everything from her. That woman is weird.”
He smiled faintly, cursing at Sheryl.
"Even if you try, nothing will change.”
The Yonghyeon Swordmaster's forehead wrinkled with annoyance as Rimmer's anger subsided.
Raon narrowed his eyes, observing the Yonghyeon Swordmaster's expression.
'So it was that guy who broke the division leader's energy center.'
From the conversation, it seemed that the Yonghyeon Swordmaster was the one who killed Rimmer's subordinates and broke his energy center, and Rimmer seemed to have cut off the Yonghyeon Swordmaster's arm as well.
It was clear that Rimmer, known for his noble character to the extent of being called the "Sword of Light," had become lethargic after that incident.
"Kill them all."
At the Yonghyeon Swordmaster's gesture, the swordsmen of the Holy Sword Union charged towards the Light Wind Division.
"No one shall pass."
Rimmer stepped forward and drew his sword. The moment he was about to cut down the swordsmen with his sword, the Yonghyeon Swordmaster moved.
Kaboom!
The Yonghyeon Swordmaster blocked Rimmer's path with the magic-burning Kreatus and curled the corners of his lips.
"With your current strength, it's impossible."
"That's not for you to decide."
Along with Rimmer's smile, a red thunderbolt rose over the silver blade.
"The lightning of the Destructive King of the North. I've seen that before."
"No, it's different from then."
As his words finished, the lightning surge entwined like chains, emitting a powerful light.
Kaboom!
Rimmer raised his sword, which was engulfed in a red storm, and his eyes flashed with a chilling glare.
"I will settle my grudge with you here today.”
