N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 566
Upon opening his eyes, Raon realized that his world had changed. He could feel in his skin that he had stepped into the realm of Grandmaster, a rare feat even among the Six Kings and Five Demons.
His body felt heavy, as if he was sinking into the deep sea. His arms and legs felt like they were weighed down by rocks, making it difficult to move.
But the world around him moved even more slowly and heavily. It seemed like this was the world that a Grandmaster faced when unlocking their will with full power.
This crazy bastard!
Wrath jumped out of the bracelet and glared at him.
Who in the world goes into a trance in the middle of a battlefield? Just how big is your damn brain!
The guy shook his head in disbelief.
Why is this guy breaking the wall? This is so unfair!
'I'll play with you later. Just be quiet for now.'
Raon ignored the growling Wrath and met the distorted eyes of the Dragon Swordmaster.
'Strong.'
The power of the Dragon Swordmaster, who held the Cursed Sword Kreatus, felt like it transcended the word 'strong'.
However, thanks to Rimmer persistently wearing him down, cutting through his magic and aura, a path to victory seemed possible
'I have to end this now.'
He could feel it. He wouldn't be able to maintain this powerful state for long. He had to cut off the Dragon Swordmaster's head before this awakened state ended.
Hwaaah!
He chanted the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's technique carved into his head and raised Heavenly Drive. Eighteen pillars of fire erupted from the sky and ground, surrounding the Dragon Swordmaster.
Each strand (steam) was a prison of flames containing the power of an Astral Sphere.
"Mere flames!"
The Dragon Swordmaster swung the Cursed Sword Kreatus to try to escape the heat of the Flawless Golden Strands, but the eighteen strands of flame devoured the magic and continued to burn even stronger.
"What the hell!"
He seemed not to understand how the flames could erode his magic, and he brought the Cursed Sword down viciously. Kreatus ran wild, spewing out vicious magic, but the flames never went out
go out.
Raon narrowed his eyes as he compressed the range of the flame prison with his will.
'This is Flawless Golden Strands.'
Flawless Golden Strands was not simply a means of attack or defense, but a special technique that created a prison with strong resistance to magic.
It was a technique that Zieghart's ancestor (first patriach) had used when fighting the monster with reversed black-and-white pupils, but he didn't expect to use it so soon.
Kwaaaah!
The Dragon Swordmaster seemed to realize that Flawless Golden Strands had resistance to magic, and he poured his own aura on the magic to break through the bars of flame. The condensed aura caused a violent explosion that shook the Flawless Golden Strands.
"Damn it!"
He threw himself into a small space that a child could barely fit through. It seemed like he was trying to escape Flawless Golden Strands even if it meant getting burned.
"You have to defend yourself before you can leave."
Raon tightened the bars of flame as the Dragon Swordmaster tried to escape Flawless Golden Strands.
Hwaaah!
The rapidly shrinking strands of flame burned deep wounds into the Dragon Swordmaster's legs and waist.
"Ugh…."
The Dragon Swordmaster gritted his teeth as he looked at the bright red burns that were like slave marks. His wrinkled eyebrows didn't seem to be able to spread out, perhaps due to the pain.
"W-what the hell did you do!"
“I don’t know.”
Raon shook his head, pointing Heavenly Drive at the Dragon Swordmaster’s eyes.
“Ha! You dare to be so arrogant with just a single wound! The real fight begins now!”
The Dragon Swordmaster, feeling disgraced by losing momentum in the battle, unleashed a formidable aura as if to crumple the air.
"Just two wounds? Can't even count properly?”
Raon raised his fingers and pointed to the burns on the Dragon Swordmaster’s waist and legs, letting the Dragon Swordmaster’s aura flow through him.
“Shut your mouth!”
The Dragon Swordmaster raised his Cursed Sword, his eyes glinting.
“How dare you, a mere fledgling who has just reached the starting line!”
Black magic and aura simultaneously burned on the blade, exuding a chilling darkness.
“This is not the starting line, it’s the finish line where your head will fly off.”
Raon curled the corners of his lips and swung Heavenly Drive. The flames flowing down the blade condensed in the swordsmanship, and a brilliant sphere of light like the sun blazed. Astral sphere. The Grandmaster’s technique was finally in his grasp.
“I told you to shut up.”
“Then don’t tell me to.”
“Shut that mouth of yours!”
Unable to contain his anger, the Dragon Swordmaster thrust out the Cursed Sword Kreatus. The astral sphere made of magic rotated at a terrifying speed, distorting the space.
Kyaaaaaaaaang!
Raon pushed Heavenly Drive into the swirling vortex of magic. The astral sphere, wrapped in a bright red light, dug into the darkness.
Kuwajajajaang!
As the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s astral sphere and the magic astral sphere clashed, the ground between the two men turned upside down and the blackened sky split open.
Raon dug into the Dragon Swordmaster’s space from the falling ground. The flames wrapped around the silver blade, determined never to break, and cut through the magic and pressed forward.
“Keugh!”
The Dragon Swordmaster staggered backward, biting his lips until they bled.
“How is this….”
He stared at Raon with wide eyes, as if he couldn’t believe he was losing the battle of strength.
Raon used the Supreme Harmony Steps and chased after the Dragon Swordmaster. The wind seemed to push him from behind, riding the wind and unleashed the Flame Spirit.
Hwaaah!
A red-soaked tree blooms at the end of the sword. In an instant, the petals that filled the branches, as if they had experienced all the joys and sorrows of life, fall.
Hundreds. No, thousands of flame fragments opened a red path, carrying Raon’s will. The petals of the Flame Spirit became a storm of heat (blaze) and engulfed the Dragon Swordmaster.
“This little thing!”
The Dragon Swordmaster roared and raised the blade of Cursed Sword.
Kreatus, as though it had returned to the Life-Draining Tree, the tree of the Devildom before transforming into a sword, unveiled its thick branches and scattered its blackened leaves.
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
The black leaves emitted from the blade of the Cursed Sword Kreatus crushed the red petals of the Flame Spirit.
The previous Flame Spirit had been grounded by this, but the current Flame Spirit was different. The shattered petals gathered again to form a second storm.
“T, this is….”
The Dragon Swordmaster's eyes twisted. As he attempted to stab the Cursed Sword again, the gathered petals intertwined in a knot and advanced together.
The red petals burned the black leaves and fell on the branches created by the Cursed Sword Kreatus.
Kuwajajajaaaang!
As the black tree was decorated with red petals, revealing its eerie beauty, an enormous heat exploded and indiscriminately tore through the Dragon Swordmaster's magic and aura.
"Keugh!"
The Dragon Swordmaster, who emerged from the red heat, was in bad shape. His coat was in tatters, and his face and left arm were covered in severe burns.
"Damn it..."
He looked down at his charred arm and bit his lip.
"W, what the hell! Just what are you! How can you unleash such power as soon as you cross the wall!"
The Dragon Swordmaster roared in disbelief and charged forward. His aged face seemed to be possessed by a demon.
"It's not just my power."
Raon calmly replied and raised the blazing flames. A wall rose up, connecting the space where the blade had passed.
Kuwajajajaang!
The Flame Wall, which literally created a wall of flames, perfectly blocked the Dragon Swordmaster's astral sphere.
"T, the wall of astral sphere?"
Raon plunged into the Dragon Swordmaster's space, who was taken aback. The flames of the Flame Wall wrapped around Heavenly Drive like a coiling serpent, striking deep.
"How dare you!"
The Dragon Swordmaster, fitting for a warrior who had risen to Grandmaster, immediately reacted and raised a shield of astral sphere with his Cursed Sword.
Raon, as if it didn't matter whether he defended or not, drew Heavenly Drive, which was covered in flames, to the end.
Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Thousand Flames.
Crimson Slash.
The thickness of the flames on the sword's tip was distorted, as thin as a thread.
Gaaaaaaah!
The Dragon Swordmaster's shield of astral sphere cracked slightly. It wasn't that he made a mistake. The blade of Crimson Slash, imbued with the principles of space sword, had cut through the astral sphere.
"This!"
The Dragon Swordmaster hurriedly tried to gather his astral sphere, but Raon's swordsmanship had already passed through his chest.
Pukaaaaaaak!
The blood, red from the heat, evaporated before it could even see the world, and a terrible burn was carved into the Dragon Swordmaster's chest.
"W, what..."
The Dragon Swordmaster took a step back, his hand clutching his chest trembling.
Kuuung!
Raon stepped on his left foot and thrust forward Heavenly Drive that he had pulled back. The flames in the sword swirled and drew the shape of a fire dragon.
A breath of flame erupted from the maw that seemed to devour the world.
Kuwajajajaaaang!
The roar of the Flame Dragon Art exploded, and the ground where the Dragon Swordmaster stood melted like lava, and black smoke billowed.
"Hoo..."
Raon gulped as he looked at the blade of Heavenly Drive, which was blooming with pale golden flames.
'Is this the real Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation?'
Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation was a powerful swordsmanship even at hundred flames, but after becoming thousand flames, it exerted a power on a different level.
It appears that Zieghart's ancestor, the first patriarch, designed this swordsmanship with a Grandmaster-level swordsman in mind from the beginning.
'I want to maintain this sensation.’
If this moment ends, it will be difficult to return to this state for a while.
In order to reach this sensation quickly, he had to familiarize himself with the current feeling.
Yaaaah!
Wrath thrust his face forward.
The King of Essence's technique is powerful too, but you've been too weak to use it properly until now! Now, you should be able to follow it a little bit!
The guy told him that his own technique was even greater and even told him how to use it.
"Hehehe...."
Dragon Swordmaster let out a rough breath as he stepped off the blackened ground. His robe was now in tatters, and his entire body was covered in red burns that looked like worms crawling.
"Feeling hot?"
Raon scoffed and reached out to the Dragon Swordmaster. Extending his hand as if to grasp his head, he pulled out Glacier.
The Ultimate Technique of the Monarch of Wrath.
Silver-White Aurora.
A blue light flashed from his outstretched hand, which was spread like deer antlers. The moment he saw the light, the blue cold had already enveloped the Dragon Swordmaster.
Tssssss!
The blade of frost pierced the burn wounds, and the Dragon Swordmaster's wounds turned black as if freezing.
Kuwhaaaaaaaaaaang!
The Dragon Swordmaster exerted all his might as he stepped on the ground with forceful footwork, but the Silver-White Aurora clung to him like a leech, exerting immense pressure on his legs.
"Get off me!"
Unable to bear it any longer, the Dragon Swordmaster plunged Kreatus into the ground and created a storm of magic.
However, even the magic froze in the cold, drastically narrowing the space he could move in.
A tremendous force surged into Raon's legs. He ran, breaking the ground, and reached the Dragon Swordmaster's right side. A blue light shone on his outstretched left palm.
The Ultimate Technique of the Monarch of Wrath.
Silver Moon Technique.
The orb that rose between his palm and the Dragon Swordmaster's right shoulder split, sending out a wave of cold frost.
Kuwhaaaaaaaaaaang!
Raon's unique ultimate technique, different from Wrath's Silver Moon Technique, bloomed, freezing the upper right half of the Dragon Swordmaster's body.
"Keuheuk!"
The Dragon Swordmaster spat blood and backed away, trying to erase the cold of the Silver Moon Technique with the black flames of Kreatus, however, the cold wouldn't be extinguished.
Uheheheheehehe!
Wrath shook his round fist and snickered.
Did you see that? That's the King of Essence's techniques! Your flames are nothing against it!
The guy smirked, saying that Glacier was superior to Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
'His simple thoughts....'
He used to curse at him for using his technique, but now he praises him for using it well. He never knows what tune to dance to when he's with Wrath.
"It, it can't be. How can someone who just reached Grandmaster...?”
The Dragon Swordmaster shivered his frozen lips, peeling off the chunks of flesh-like ice.
"You still don't get it."
Raon looked at the Dragon Swordmaster with a pitiful look.
"It's not that I've gotten stronger, it's that you've gotten weaker."
"What are you talking about...."
"Didn't you feel anything while fighting our division leader?"
He turned his back on Dragon Swordmaster, leaving him standing there. He bit his lip as he looked at Rimmer, who was still lying on the ground, unsure if he was dead or alive.
"Our division leader intentionally let you freely scatter and use your magic, absorbing the power of the Cursed Sword and your aura. In the end, even as he fell, he confined the magic to his own body.”
"Ah...."
Dragon Swordmaster's face turned yellow at those words. The eyes of the one chasing after Rimmer trembled.
"That person doesn't fight without reason. He calculated everything and paved the way to the current situation.”
Raon savored the darkening expression on Dragon Swordmaster's face.
'I don't need to tell him the most important part.'
He raised Heavenly Drive. A golden light shone over the silver-gray blade. An auspicious aura like the light of dawn opening the sky spread out in all directions.
"Only we have the privilege to mock and make fun of our division leader. He is not someone for you to ridicule and ignore.”
He clenched the remaining traces of his awakening and stepped towards the Dragon Swordmaster.
"Rimmer! That pathetic bastard!"
The Dragon Swordmaster roared and rushed forward. Not only the Cursed Sword Kreatus, but also all the aura he possessed seemed to be drawn out, created a tumultuous disturbance, causing the sky and earth shaking.
Raon drew his aura as he stepped into the swirling aura and magic.
The aura that emanated from his lower energy center intertwined with the firmness of his middle energy center and the will in his upper energy center. This aura, having passed through the three energy centers, saturated the blade of the Heavenly Drive, transforming it into a golden flame.
Raon and the Dragon Swordmaster thrust their golden and black swordsmanship at each other's breath without a moment to spare.
Kwaaahhhhh!
A crack opened from the sky to the ground at the clash of Heavenly Drive and the Cursed Sword, which met head-on.
The shockwaves of immeasurable intensity exploded one after another as the power, strength, and Grandmaster martial arts clashed. The ground shook and trees were uprooted.
Despite the overwhelming collision, the outcome quickly became clear.
Pputdeuk!
The hilt of the Cursed Sword Kreatus, containing all the strength of the Dragon Swordmaster, shattered, and the magic of the Cursed Sword began to scatter.
"W, why the Cursed Sword….”
He looked down at the crumbling hilt of the Cursed Sword and his eyes shook.
"It's the seed that our division leader, whom you called an pathetic, planted."
The Yongyeon Swordmaster was too psychologically driven to notice, but Rimmer had infused wind into the blade of the Cursed Sword, creating a subtle twist.
The seed he had left behind had opened the way to cut the Dragon Swordmaster's throat.
"Wait wait a moment!"
Ignoring the Dragon Swordmaster's desperate cry, Raon thrust forward with Heavenly Drive. Golden flames engulfed the magic, and a majestic light radiated towards the center of the scattered magic.
Kuwhaaaaaaaaaaang!
An enormous shock erupted, causing the buildings of house Rakion to collapse like dominoes, and black smoke billowed up into the sky.
Hooowung!
As Raon lowered Heavenly Drive, the figure of the Dragon Swordmaster, whose upper and lower body were completely separated, was revealed. He was barely alive thanks to the Cursed Sword, which was about to break.
"I, I lost to such a brat….”
"Your defeat. No...."
Raon, looking at the dying Dragon Swordmaster, nodded towards Rimmer.
"It's our victory.”
