N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 642
Raon looked at his wrist, which was being held by the Saber Sword Sovereign, his lips trembling.
‘W-What is this?!’
He was genuinely surprised. They say that when people are extremely shocked, they can't even speak, and that was exactly the case for Raon.
Who wouldn't be surprised when a corpse they were about to burn suddenly came back to life?
Gyaaaaak!
Even Wrath was startled, letting out a monkey-like scream as he leaped into the air. It was like watching cotton candy blowing in the wind.
"You're not surprised at all."
The Saber Sword Sovereign nodded with satisfaction.
"You have the composure befitting a descendant of the great one."
“……”
It was a huge misunderstanding. His heart was still pounding as if it was going to explode, and cold sweat was running down his back.
If the Saber Sword Sovereign's eyes were still twisted, he would have cut his neck immediately.
“It’s d-dangerous!”
“Step back!”
“Division leader…!”
Burren, Martha, and Runaan swallowed dryly as they rushed over. The three drew their swords as if ready to strike the Saber Sword Sovereign.
“Oh no! Not again?”
“Division leader!”
Rimmer and Mark Goetten also grabbed their weapons, eyes wide.
“It's fine.”
Raon calmed his trembling heart and waved his hand at everyone.
“He's a different person now.”
There was no malice or madness in the current Saber Sword Sovereign’s eyes, unlike when he first saw him. His eyes resembled those of a monk who had spent his life in training and doing good deeds.
“Did you read my soul? Beyond my expectations.”
“……”
The Saber Sword Sovereign was mistaken again. But he kept silent, thinking it would be troublesome to explain.
“May I hear your name?”
“Raon Zieghart.”
“The more I see, the more impressed I am. I'd love to hear your story, but we don’t have time, so let’s get straight to the point.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign sighed briefly, raising his calm gaze.
“The first thing I need to tell you is the nature of this place. You may not know, but originally, this area belonged to Zieghart.”
He lowered his voice as if revealing a great secret.
“I know.”
Raon opened and closed his eyes calmly.
“What…?”
The Saber Sword Sovereign's mouth gaped open in surprise, not expecting him to know.
“You knew?”
“Yes.”
Raon nodded lightly. He knew it was Zieghart’s land through the memories of the first head of house Zieghart and Delphiros’s actions, as well as the Saber Sword Sovereign's corpse.
"If you knew that, then things would be easier."
The Saber Sword Sovereign scratched his head awkwardly.
"Then you probably don't know why this land was created. This place is..."
“A training ground for Zieghart.”
“You knew that too?”
He stopped talking, blinking in surprise.
“Yes.”
Raon knew this from the memories of Zieghart's ancestor and the data in the control room.
“I had no idea.”
Martha shook her head, not having thought of it at all.
"Raon kept saying this place seemed like a training ground. Of course, I didn't know it was Zieghart's land, though."
Burren exhaled in exasperation.
“I knew it all along.”
Runaan put her hands on her hips and lifted her chin confidently.
“You?”
“How?”
Burren and Martha looked at Runaan with wide eyes.
"Raon said it as soon as we got here. That this land is Zieghart's."
Runaan nodded, recalling when Raon declared this place to be Zieghart’s land on the fifth floor.
“That’s not it, you fool!”
Martha shook her head in disbelief.
“You'd believe anything the division leader said, even if he said the sun rises from the ground!”
“The sun does rise from the ground, doesn’t it?”
Runaan tilted her head.
“…Forget it.”
Martha raised her hand in surrender, admitting defeat.
“Ahem.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign cleared his throat, pretending not to have heard the odd conversation behind him.
“Your insight is extraordinary. Impressive!”
“……”
Raon sighed softly, seeing the Saber Sword Sovereign’s eyelids twitch.
‘He's misunderstanding again.’
Raon knew because he had seen the memories of the first head of Zieghart. Without that, he would have been as surprised as the others.
“But you wouldn’t know this. The one who created this training ground is….”
“The first head of Zieghart, right?”
“You even figured that out!”
The Saber Sword Sovereign clapped his hands in amazement.
"You know everything as if you saw it with your own eyes! The true successor of the great one is indeed different!"
“……”
It wasn’t “as if.” He had seen it. Raon had witnessed the scene of the training ground being built, so the Saber Sword Sovereign’s words were not wrong.
But he couldn’t say that, so he stayed silent.
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Saber Sword Sovereign, who was simultaneously feeling confusion and joy.
'He seems a bit of an airhead...'
Unlike when he fought mindlessly, the Saber Sword Sovereign now felt very friendly.
“Then, did you know that I belong to Zieghart?”
The Saber Sword Sovereign asked a question as if he had moved on from providing information to a riddle game.
“No.”
“As expected, you didn't know….”
“However, I did suspect it.”
“You… you suspected it?”
“Yes.”
Raon nodded calmly.
"There was almost no information left about you, Saber Sword Sovereign, but you showed reverence for the first head of Zieghart, and I deduced it from the old Zieghart emblem engraved inside your uniform."
"Ha, it seems your mind is even sharper than the great one's."
The Saber Sword Sovereign let out a helpless laugh. After collecting his thoughts for a moment, he nodded gently.
“I belonged to Zieghart, but I wasn’t part of its inner circle. My role was to guard Zieghart from the outside.”
“Ah….”
“So, the Saber Sword Sovereign was part of Zieghart?”
Rimmer and Burren exhaled in surprise, looking at the Saber Sword Sovereign.
"Well, I guess it makes sense since they say Zieghart was even stronger back then. Without records from that time, I thought it was just a legend.”
“To think the Saber Sword Sovereign was an external guardian… that's incredible….”
Others were similarly stunned, hearing a secret they hadn't known.
“That was a path I chose myself to repay the favor of the first head of Zieghart.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign smiled faintly, reminiscing about that time.
"Favor? But didn't the first head and the Saber Sword Sovereign live in different eras?"
“Even after stepping down as the head, the first head of Zieghart worked to create a better world. I received his help back then.”
“Ah….”
“After retiring, I came here to leave my martial arts as a final legacy for Zieghart. I never expected things to turn out like this. I’m truly sorry.”
He bit his lip, seemingly sorrowful for having attacked the descendants of Zieghart.
“It’s alright.”
Raon shook his head with a light smile.
“It’s not your fault, senior.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign was exactly as Raon had imagined. The blame lay not with him but with Derus Robert, who orchestrated everything.
“One more thing.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign raised his hand with a light smile.
“Contrary to what that bastard said, I left behind two successors who inherited my saber and sword techniques.”
He shook his head, pointing at the fallen Delphiros.
“They were such troublemakers that I didn’t tell them about Zieghart, but my martial arts will continue to be passed down. Find their descendants and make them your strength.”
“Thank you for the suggestion, but I have no way of finding them….”
“I will tell you how now.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign reached out toward Raon’s forehead.
Raon was about to step back but met the Saber Sword Sovereign's eyes. Seeing his pure eyes, as if filled with tears, Raon's body naturally relaxed.
“Thank you.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign gave a small smile, grateful for Raon's understanding.
His hand on Raon’s forehead was cold, but oddly, it also felt warm.
"I've thought about it a lot, whether it’s right to pass on my martial arts after experiencing this or let them disappear with me. But seeing you, my doubts vanish.”
As his voice ceased, a heavy force seeped into Raon’s mind.
‘Aura?’
The weighty aura of the Saber Sword Sovereign spread through his entire body from his head. It was an aura like solid, unyielding earth.
It conveyed the Saber Sword Sovereign’s indomitable spirit.
But what the Saber Sword Sovereign passed on was not merely aura. His martial arts—both the Demon Slaying Saber Technique and the Demon Slaying Sword Secret—imprinted on Raon’s mind with the aura.
The Saber Sword Sovereign had died long ago, and since his core was broken, little aura remained. What he truly wanted to pass on was his martial arts.
Both techniques were complex, but having faced the Saber Sword Sovereign directly, they felt surprisingly familiar.
Raon slowly closed his eyes, feeling the blossoming flowers of new martial arts within his mind.
***
Chapter 643 - 658: https://tinyurl.com/theAxeKing
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The Saber Sword Sovereign smiled faintly, watching Raon lost in meditation.
‘He’s an extraordinary child.’
After being awakened by the villains, his mind was intact, but his body was out of his control.
Living a hellish second life, he realized that the times had changed.
Much information was distorted. He feared many secrets would be buried, but it seemed his worries were unnecessary.
Raon Zieghart had figured out everything on his own, without being told.
'The more I see him, the more he resembles him.'
Raon's radiant blond hair, like molten sunlight, and his eyes, which could burn away any evil, reminded the Saber Sword Sovereign of the first head of Zieghart.
'Of course, the most similar thing is his personality.'
Raon thought of the weak even when he was in dangerous situations. The way he saved others first, even at his own expense, embodied the very essence of Zieghart.
Passing on martial arts and lineage wasn’t difficult. The truly difficult thing is passing on the original spirit.
This child named Raon had inherited the spirit and heart that the first head had pledged when establishing Zieghart.
Raon was the reason why the Saber Sword Sovereign changed his mind about not passing on his martial arts.
The Saber Sword Sovereign smiled broadly, greatly misunderstanding Raon.
'He's similar to the first head in every way, but...'
But the face is better on this one.
‘Ancestor. seems to be shining even brighter than you. And….’
He looked with satisfaction at the Light Wind division and the Void Sword division, who were guarding Raon without hesitation.
‘All of them.’
The Saber Sword Sovereign smiled warmly at the golden heat radiating from Raon's chest.
‘I don’t think you need to worry anymore.’
Your flame remains here.
***
When Raon opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the smiling Saber Sword Sovereign.
"Why are you doing this to me...?"
The Saber Sword Sovereign had suffered a tragic fate, falling victim to necromancy while trying to leave his martial arts behind for his successors.
It wouldn't have been strange for him to simply disappear, and Raon never imagined he would pass on his martial arts.
“I felt I could trust you,” the Saber Sword Sovereign nodded with a gentle smile.
“But, I…”
“No need to explain.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign slowly and firmly waved his hand as Raon tried to explain that it was all a misunderstanding.
“I watched over you, bound by chains of the soul.”
A transparent gleam appeared in his black eyes.
“At first, I wanted to die. My small desire had caused you all so much suffering. Even after death, I wanted to die again. But…”
He clutched his chest as if it ached with sincerity.
"When I saw you, I was simply happy. I was touched to see you fight before me, not backing down, with the martial arts and swordsmanship of the great one. I was grateful that I still had eyes."
The Saber Sword Sovereign raised his head with a slightly lighter gaze.
"The moment I saw you moving to save people even while fighting me, I realized for sure that you were the true successor of the great one."
“...”
Unfortunately, that was also a misunderstanding. Raon had only saved people to disrupt Derus' plan.
Normally, he wouldn't have bothered saving the people who came here for their own greed.
"I'm just happy that the great one's martial arts, swordsmanship, and spirit continue.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign met Raon's eyes and stroked his head.
“And you have a better face than he did.”
“...”
It must have been meant as a joke, but Raon couldn't muster even a smile.
"As expected, handsome Raon."
However, Runaan's voice from behind almost made him burst into laughter.
“There’s one last thing I need to tell you.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign lowered his voice, creating a sound barrier.
“Zieghart has a true enemy.”
“Enemy?”
“I thought the ancestor had destroyed them all, but their lineage still continues.”
He sighed and covered his eyes with his hand.
"You remember my eyes, twisted in black and white?"
“Yes.”
Raon had been confused by them when he first saw them. Those eyes were the same as the monster he had seen in the memories of the first head of Zieghart.
“That’s their distinguishing feature. The eyes of demons.”
Why demons again? You guys are even worse and more evil!
Wrath shook his head, saying humans were more wicked.
“What are they?”
“In my time, they were called ‘Anima,’ but I don’t know what they’re called now. They change names frequently.”
“Anima…”
They were definitely related to Derus, but Raon had never heard the name while under him.
'An ill fate among ill fates.'
It seemed that his ill fate with Derus indeed started from his previous life.
“But… huh?”
Raon was about to speak to the Saber Sword Sovereign but then widened his eyes. The Saber Sword Sovereign's body began to crumble into dust.
“Hmm…”
The Saber Sword Sovereign smiled faintly as he watched his hand scatter like puzzle pieces.
“It seems my time is up.”
“Ah…”
“I passed on what little aura I had left to you, so I’ve reached my limit.”
He shook his head as if to reassure Raon not to worry.
“Still, I’m relieved. Seeing you has dispelled all my worries.”
The Saber Sword Sovereign grasped his hand with his remaining left hand.
“With Zieghart’s current successor being this capable, I don't need to worry. Use what I’ve left you wisely.”
“Saber Sword Sovereign, I am not Zieghart’s successor.”
“You aren’t? Well, you’re young. But soon…”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Raon shook his head briefly. He wanted to tell the truth so that the Saber Sword Sovereign wouldn't misunderstand at the very end.
"I'm still a collateral line."
“W-what…?”
The Saber Sword Sovereign’s eyes widened.
"A collateral line? You?"
“Yes.”
"No! That's impossible! How can a collateral line master the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the Ring of Fire?!"
He reached out in disbelief. But his hand turned to dust before it could touch Raon.
"That's..."
"W-wait! Just wait a minute! I can't go like this! Why are you a collateral line?! Are there only idiots left in Zieghart? Why are you a collateral..."
The Saber Sword Sovereign’s scream didn’t stop his body from disappearing.
His melting eyes seemed to twist like when Raon first saw him.
“…”
Raon blinked, looking at the ground where the Saber Sword Sovereign had disappeared.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told him?”
He wanted to be honest in the end, but it seemed to have backfired.
Sigh.
Wrath clutched his head and sighed deeply.
Sometimes, there are things you don't need to say...
He sighed again and furrowed his brows.
No, is it right for a demon to teach a human about humanity?
***
Raon dusted off his hands. What’s done is done. He shook his head to forget it all and turned to the Light Wind division.
“A-are you alright?”
Burren approached, blinking.
“It sounded like the Saber Sword Sovereign was screaming at the end….”
"He looked like he was throwing a tantrum. What did he say?"
Martha tilted her head curiously.
“…It’s nothing. He just wished us well.”
Raon shook his head, thinking that they would be confused if he told them the truth.
“I can’t believe the Saber Sword Sovereign was our ancestor. What an incredible thing.”
Serena, having collected herself, let out a chuckle.
“So your words were not wrong from the beginning.”
“Indeed.”
Raon smiled at Serena.
“Are you alright?”
“Thanks to you.”
Despite her severe injuries, Serena nodded as if it was nothing. She truly embodied the spirit of a warrior.
“Let’s head out now.”
Raon nodded his chin as he looked at the Light Wind division, the Void Sword division, and the surviving neutral factions.
Even excluding the warriors of Zieghart, the number was considerable. There were enough people to be witnesses.
"It's going to be a lot of work to go back up."
“No need to worry about that.”
He shook his head and pointed to the ceiling.
“I found the control room that manages this training ground. We can use it to quickly get to the surface.”
“That’s great! Let’s go right away!”
Rimmer nodded, saying he was thirsty for alcohol.
“I’m sleepy.”
Runaan yawned and blinked drowsily.
“But we can’t all leave. Someone has to stay behind to control it.”
Serena narrowed her eyes, looking around.
“We can’t leave it to someone else. One of us should stay….”
“There’s no person to control it, but there is a chicken.”
“A chicken?”
"This one."
Raon chuckled and pointed at the phoenix Kaiyan, floating in the air.
"Chirpy will manage it."
[Who are you calling a chicken! Besides, why should I do it! I’m not going to do anything!]
Kaiyan shook its head, declaring it wouldn’t listen to humans anymore.
“I’m leaving too, you know?”
[Uh…?]
“If I leave, you can live peacefully. Are you really going to throw away that chance?”
He tapped Kaiyan’s wing, smiling.
“If you enjoy being with me that much, then I suppose…”
[I’ll do it! Right now! I’ll send you up at super speed!]
Kaiyan flapped its wings quickly, determined not to miss this chance. The sand on the ground swirled into a storm.
This demon isn’t leaving forever.
Wrath shook his head, watching the scene.
But the chicken brain can’t process it….
***
The platform, tinged with a soft red light, slowly rose towards the sky. It was a secret passage that only the one who controlled this training ground could use.
“There’ll be a lot of people when we get out, right?”
Rimmer sighed, looking up at the ceiling.
“It would be strange if there weren’t.”
Serena nodded, stating the obvious.
“Ugh, I don’t want to fight anymore.”
“No, we need them.”
Raon shook his head at Rimmer.
“We need witnesses.”
“That’s true, but it’s tiring.”
Rimer nodded slowly, seeming to understand what Raon meant by witnesses.
“I still can’t believe we met the real Saber Sword Sovereign.”
Burren clutched his chest, his heart still trembling.
“I never imagined things would turn out this way either.”
Martha agreed, scratching the bridge of her nose.
“Right. I just want to sleep.”
Runaan, seemingly uninterested in the Saber Sword Sovereign or anything else, blinked tiredly.
Raon looked around at the relaxed Light Wind members and nodded slightly.
‘They fought well.’
But they still have room for improvement.
This time, it would have been quite dangerous if not for several coincidences.
It seemed that he needed to improve the individual martial arts skills of the members.
‘And I have the means to do it.’
By properly combining the Saber Sword Sovereign’s martial arts, he could create new martial arts for them.
While considering ways for everyone to become stronger, Kaiyan’s voice echoed from the control room.
[Chirp! We’re almost there!]
‘Well, before that…’
Raon nodded as he looked at the light that seemed to scatter like sunlight.
‘I have things to do.’
With the feeling that the floor was suddenly rising, the dark night sky came into view. The ground he stepped on after a long time felt as soft as cotton.
“There are many of them.”
“Yeah, it’s crowded.”
Rimmer and Serena frowned, surveying the forest.
Just as they said, the area was filled with packs of hyenas waiting to seize the Saber Sword Sovereign’s legacy.
"Alert."
Burren nodded briefly, the Light Wind division spread out to form a defensive formation.
“I’ll handle it with words.”
Raon left the formation that the Light Wind swordsmen were setting up and walked forward. He stood alone in the middle of the forest and stomped his foot.
KWOONG!
A colossal shockwave reverberated, shaking not only the ground but the sky as well.
The bushes and trees swayed, revealing the pale faces of the warriors who had been hiding.
“From now on, this land is Zieghart’s territory.”
Raon muttered, looking down at the thousands of eyes filled with greed.
“I’ll give you ten seconds. Drop your weapons or leave. Choose one.”
