N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 664
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the head of the troll shaman that had rolled to his feet.
'This isn't an ordinary shaman.'
While the average troll's skin is green, this shaman had brown skin.
In monsters, different colors signify power. The unusual skin color indicated an extraordinary power.
‘Come to think of it, it reacted even before it died.’
If the troll shaman had been just a bit stronger or more agile, it would have dodged or blocked the astral energy. At that level, it must have been one of the royal guard closest to the king.
“Hmm…”
Raon clicked his tongue as he looked at the monsters blocking the Light Wind swordsmen.
'It's not just the troll shaman, these monsters are generally quite strong.'
Just as knights serving a great king show profoundness, and those following an overlord display immense strength, monsters exhibit greater ferocity when they serve a powerful king.
Seeing the monsters charge like berserkers despite the overwhelming power of the Light Wind swordsmen, it was clear that a strong king had arisen.
“Mad dogs.”
Raon dusted off his wrist and clicked his tongue.
“I told you to maintain your pace and get to the top of the mountain, but you’re quite late, aren’t you?”
He said with a sinister smile.
“N-No, sir!”
“We’re just geting started!”
“We’ll break through soon!”
Upon hearing Raon’s chilling tone, the Light Wind swordsmen frantically shook their heads.
“You damn bastards!”
"Get out of the way!"
“If we don’t kill them, we’ll die!”
“Push through! Kill or be killed!”
The monsters were indeed strong. They risked their lives to block the swords in order to protect their king.
But the madness displayed by the Light Wind swordsmen were even greater. The swordsmen, with a fierce yellow glint in their eyes, shattered the monsters' wall.
“That's more like it.”
Go easy on the kids!
Wrath shook his head as if he was fed up.
Nowadays, even in Devildom, they don’t raise kids that harshly!
‘Even in Devildom?’
Raising them like that in the land ruled by the King of Essence would get you cursed by their parents!
‘R-Really?’
Every time, it feels like the land ruled by Wrath in Devildom is more humane than the human world. No, by now, I’m not even sure what being humane means.
“Um….”
While Raon was pondering, a young knight standing on the right approached him and bowed his head. He had the strongest presence among the knights present.
“Thank you for saving us.”
Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the emblem on the knight’s armor.
‘The Holy Kingdom of Sphern.’
It was an emblem he had seen when sparring with various neutral factions in the city of Barene during the Five Divine Orders’ festival.
But it wasn’t just the emblem, the young knight’s face was also familiar.
"We've met before, haven't we?"
"Y-You remember me?"
The young knight’s eyes widened in surprise, as if he couldn’t believe it.
"You stand out in my memory. Were you Sir Hopen...?"
“Y-Yes!”
Hopen trembled as he nodded.
‘He remembers me….’
At the time, to Raon, Hopen was no more than a passing knight.
It was surprising and an honor that Raon still remembered him.
"Yes, you had excellent basics among those present."
Raon nodded as he looked at Hopen.
‘He even defeated four members of Light Wind.’
In the sparring matches, Hopen defeated Krein and three other swordsmen before finally stepping down.
He was skilled, mentally strong, and possessed excellent chivalry, so Raon remembered him.
“It is an honor that the leader of Light Wind division recognizes me.”
Hopen bowed respectfully.
“You’ve become a Master. Congratulations.”
“Thanks to you, Sir Raon.”
“Huh? Because of me…?”
Raon tilted his head, not understanding what he meant.
“I don’t know if you remember, but when the White Blood Religion leader and the Holy Sword Alliance leader attacked Barene, our captain died….”
“Hmm…”
Raon bit his lip. The scene of Schper’s holy knight captain, Bayton, dying to the White Blood Religion leader, came to mind.
“I was the vice captain at the time, and in my desperate efforts to save the knights, I gained enlightenment. Of course, it would have meant nothing if we hadn’t escaped that hell….”
Hopen clenched his fist and raised his gaze. His eyes were filled with burning heat.
"Thanks to Sir Raon breaking down the wall, we were able to escape from there."
He bowed his head, expressing his gratitude for saving their lives.
“Th-Thank you!”
The knights behind Hopen also bowed, speaking of the events of that time. Now that he looked, the faces of the knights there were also familiar. It seemed like the survivors from that time had gathered here.
"I apologize for the late thanks. We sent a letter to house Zieghart, but at the time, Sir Raon..."
"Yes. The rumor was that I was dead. It's alright."
Raon nodded lightly with a faint smile. After being attacked by the Flame of Inferno Commander, Wrath had descended, and he had even been kidnapped by Aris, so it was natural that the letter hadn't reached him.
“But what brings you here?”
“We heard that a monster king appeared on Divarun mountain, so we came to subjugate it. This mountain partially overlaps with our territory a little. Though it's embarrassing to be in this state…”
Hopen awkwardly rubbed the back of his hand.
“Hmm…”
Divarun mountain is vast, so it wasn’t strange for it to overlap with the territory of the Holy Kingdom of Schper.
However, it was mostly at the far edge, and this area was quite distant. To come all the way here to subjugate monsters, the kingdom wasn't called "Holy" for nothing.
"This is our matter to resolve, but you've gone through trouble. We appreciate the Holy Kingdom’s goodwill."
“No, I’m just following orders from above.”
Hopen awkwardly laughed, saying he was merely carrying out orders to quickly deal with the monsters.
"That's what makes it remarkable."
Raon smiled faintly and nodded. Even when he first saw them because of Bayton, he had a good impression, and they certainly lived up to their name.
“We should have handled it neatly, but we ended up like this. I am ashamed.”
Hopen bowed his head, embarrassed that he was being praised despite having retreated.
“Compared to us, the Light Wind division is incredible. It seems they’ve reached a level we can’t hope to match.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the Light Wind swordsmen turned around. Not a single monster blocking their path was in sight.
“We’re done.”
“We’ve taken care of all of them.”
“There were… so many…”
Burren, Martha, and Runaan shook their heads as they exhaled heavily.
“Division leader! We’ve wiped them all out!”
“Our Light Wind Style are solid, right?”
“We didn’t take much time either!”
The Light Wind swordsmen smiled with expectant eyes.
“Hmm…”
Raon scratched his head as he looked at them.
“I couldn't see because I was talking.”
“Ah…”
“Uh…”
Their faces turned pale at his words.
“I’ll watch properly next time. Let’s move up.”
Raon waved his hand dismissively, telling them to prepare for the next battle.
“Will you knights join us?”
He smiled warmly and raised his hand gently toward Hopen and the knights.
“You have a mission to confirm, after all.”
“Thank you for your consideration!”
“Thank you, Sir Raon!”
The knights bowed their heads as if receiving a divine blessing.
“Uh, uh…”
“The knights need to see the true face of that demon…”
“He’s polite to others, really polite!”
“He’s not a demon, he’s the Demon King. No human could act like this…”
“By the way, didn’t he call us mad dogs earlier?”
“Again? I’m so used to it, I didn’t notice!”
The Light Wind swordsmen trudged over the bodies of the monsters and headed towards the top of the mountain with their shoulders slumped.
"Sigh….He used to be kind, why did he become like this?"
Rimmer shook his head in disbelief.
You! It’s because of you, you shitty ears!
Wrath shouted at Rimmer.
How could he grow up to be a decent human after seeing you!
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“The left flank is open! third team, cover it!”
"Right flank is too fast! Match the speed with the center!"
"Envelop your swords with the Wind of Light Wind Style rather than just relying on formations."
Moving as per the directions of Martha, Burren, and Runaan, the Light Wind swordsmen, enveloped in the Wind of Light Wind Style, was virtually unstoppable.
The monsters sacrificing their lives for their king were split apart like dry firewood.
Grrrrr….
Gryaaaaah….
The madness that filled the monsters' eyes faded, and they began to retreat.
"That's… amazing."
Hopen swallowed dryly as he watched the Light Wind swordsmen tear apart the monsters.
"I knew the Light Wind division had excellent members, but I didn't expect this…."
"They're still lacking a lot."
Raon smiled faintly and shook his head. Upon hearing this, the shoulders of the Light Wind swordsmen trembled.
"D, did you hear that? He said we're lacking..."
"He means we need more training, right?"
"Y-yeah, he rarely speaks nonsense."
"Damn it! Increase the speed!"
"Break through everything and keep going!"
"Raaaaaah!"
The Light Wind swordsmen roared like beasts as they charged toward the still abundant monsters.
Boooom!
The spear-shaped charge formation of the Light Wind swordsmen, infused with a blue wind, shattered the wall of monsters in an instant.
"Keep it up!"
With Martha's roar at the forefront, the Light Wind swordsmen's spear of wind shot toward the summit.
"Hmm…."
Raon watched and clicked his tongue.
'That's not what I meant….'
He didn't mean he wasn't satisfied with their current strength, but rather, he was being humble for the other party's sake.
It wasn't a statement that could be misunderstood, but their reaction was unexpected.
It's not unexpected!
Wrath waved his hand, telling him do not talk nonsense.
How badly did you torment them for them to react that way!
He sniffled, feeling sorry for the Light Wind swordsmen.
'Well, if they can exert more power, it's all good.'
He shrugged, thinking it was good if they could exert more power, no matter how.
Booom!
As Raon and Hopen climbed the hill toward the summit, following the path cleared by the Light Wind swordsmen, they heard the sound of their charge being halted.
Turning their gaze, they saw large monsters like etins, ogres, and trolls blocking the path, with three troll shamans supporting them from behind.
Raon clicked his tongue at the sight of these monsters, who were different from the ones they had faced below.
'It's the royal guard.'
The ogre was over 7 meters tall, and both the troll and the troll shamans had brown skin like the one below.
They all possessed a power that could only be described as mutant, and the etin alone was formidable enough to take down multiple ogres.
Booom!
The etin charged with clubs thicker than logs in both hands, and the ogre leaped into the air, throwing a punch.
The troll shamans cast blessings on the two monsters and rained down curses and rocks on the Light Wind swordsmen. All were top-tier monsters utilizing their full power.
"Now these are guys worth swinging a sword at."
"Great Light Wind Formation!"
"Unleash the Light Wind Style."
Burren, Martha, and Runaan stepped forward, and the formation transitioned from a spear to its original circular formation.
"No need to drag this out! Take them down at once!"
With Martha's shout, the Light Wind swordsmen began using the Light Wind Style to the extreme.
Rumble!
The blue wind emanating from the swordsmen's blades circulated within the Great Light Wind Formation, enhancing their aura blade and astral energy.
The will of the swordsmen, honed through long years of training together, stretched out as a single sword energy.
Slash!
The etin's clubs and the ogre's fist were split in an instant, followed by the shattering of the troll shaman's staff.
Boom!
Before they could even catch their breath, the Light Wind swordsmen unleashed a second strike. The energy, like the wind itself, surged and cleaved the massive bodies of the etin and ogre in half.
"Grrrr…."
"Aaaargh…."
The monsters fell, their eyes trembling as if unable to believe their deaths.
The etin, ogre, and troll shamans were undoubtedly strong. The Holy Kingdom's knights couldn't even reach halfway up the mountain and had to retreat, testifying to their might.
But the Light Wind division had five Masters, with the rest being peak Expert level.
With the best formation and the supreme martial art, Light Wind Style, this outcome was expected.
"Ugh…."
"Wow…."
"So this is the true power of Light Wind division…."
Hopen and the knights were speechless at the true might of the Great Light Wind Formation.
Raon smiled faintly as he watched the Light Wind swordsmen push back the remaining royal guard and monsters.
'They're geting there.'
Initially, their aura and wind were out of sync or scattered, but now they seemed accustomed to enveloping themselves in wind after the prolonged battle.
As expected, there was no better education than actual combat. He was even grateful to Balder for giving him this mission.
'Now it's my turn.'
Raon smiled faintly and followed the path cleared by the Light Wind swordsmen to the mountain's summit.
"That must be the king."
What he thought was a towering peak piercing the sky began to rise.
With tough, gray skin, a massive body like a moving boulder, and two heads each wearing a different expression, the king's appearance was unexpected.
"Double-Headed Ogre…."
And it wasn't just any Double-Headed Ogre. It was a Grey Ogre, known for its immense strength and tough skin.
Being a naturally powerful species, the birth of a Double-Headed Grey Ogre must have drawn all those monsters.
Rooooar!
The Double-Headed Ogre roared at the sky, as if declaring its presence to the world, not just to Raon.
Rumble!
A crimson energy surged around it like waves, a formidable presence that wouldn't lose to monsters of Eden.
Raon clicked his tongue at the overwhelming energy.
'If we had been a bit later, this could have been dangerous….'
Even though it was newly born, it possessed such powerful energy and killing intent that, had its discovery been delayed, the surrounding villages and cities would have been devastated.
"Krurrr."
The Double-Headed Ogre clenched its boulder-sized fist and approached Raon. Instead of charging immediately, it adopted a calm combat stance, it seemed to be showing the dignity of a king.
"So, you have pride as a king."
Raon smiled faintly and drew his sword.
"Krurrr."
The Double-Headed Ogre slowly extended its fist, not as an attack, but as a greeting. It instinctively possessed the spirit of a warrior, displaying a demeanor more honorable than many knights or swordsmen.
Raon raised his sword in a formal salute.
Rooooar!
As soon as the warrior’s greeting ended, the Double-Headed Ogre stepped forward, thrusting its fist. A crimson energy poured down like a storm. The monster instinctively understood martial arts, a terrifying talent.
'It's only polite to give my all.'
A one-on-one duel. Despite being a monster, it displayed a sense of honor that made it not an exaggeration to call this a duel between warriors.
Raon unleashed the fire and wind of Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and Light Wind Style to their extreme. His right hand, holding Heavenly Drive, became a blue light. The fire blade, transcending speed, sliced through the crimson energy.
Slash!
The Double-Headed, even after being struck by the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s fire, did not lower its fist. However, its fist stopped before reaching Raon's body.
Krurrr.
The Double-Headed Ogre let out a mournful cry, as if in regret, and collapsed.
"You're not what I'd call a monster."
As Raon lowered his eyes, looking at the head of the collapsing Double-Headed Ogre, something surged from the empty space on the right and charged towards him at tremendous speed.
Clang!
As if anticipating it, Raon moved his left hand. Drawing the Blade of Requiem, he raised the blade’s ghastly energy.
Clang!
The figure, aiming for the Double-Headed Ogre's head was deflected by the Blade of Requiem, twisting its body in midair.
"Oh, you've gotten stronger?"
The figure laughed, hanging upside down in mid-air. It was wearing a blue snake helmet with three horns protruding from it.
"You…."
Raon's eyes narrowed at the familiar voice.
"Who are you?"
