N/T: Translation made by our friend 'Irving'. A big round of applause for him :)
Chapter 702
Paaaang!
The Axe King Roman couldn't keep his balance and began to sink into the rough currents of the Rable River.
"Ugh..."
Raon vomited blood and tried to use the River Footwork. His aura was depleted, and he had suffered wounds severe enough that it was not surprising he might collapse at any moment, making it impossible to use the Supreme Harmony Steps.
"Roman!"
He grabbed Roman's shoulder, which was submerged up to his neck, and lifted him up.
So much blood had flowed out that the surrounding river water had turned red.
"Raon Zieghart."
Even in this situation, Roman called Raon’s name with an unwavering voice.
"I told you. Only one person can leave here. Let go. This is a fatal wound."
He lifted his black long jacket with trembling hands. There was a hole the size of a child's head in his left chest, spewing crimson blood.
"I know."
Raon nodded, looking at Roman's wound.
'I inflicted it. There's no way I wouldn't know.'
Roman and I had risked our lives in our final clash.
This is a duel to the death where mercy can't and shouldn't be shown, so it's inevitable that one will live and the other will die.
Even if the Ragged Saint, Federick, came, he couldn't heal the wound left by Genesis.
"Sir Roman, you still have subordinates who are loyal to you. As the Axe King, you should leave some last words for them."
"Heh, why the sudden formality? Besides, didn't you always call me 'old man'?"
Roman chuckled, saying it gave him goosebumps.
"Today, you were a senior warrior who deserved respect."
Raon nodded, looking into Roman's eyes, which were losing their color.
"..."
Roman said no more. Whether he had nothing left to say or was saving his last strength for his subordinates, Raon couldn't tell.
"Huff..."
Raon finally managed to get out of the Rable River and laid Roman down on the sandy shore.
Several times, his strength had nearly given out, causing them both to almost collapse, but he bit his tongue and barely managed to endure.
"Raon Zieghart."
Roman, with a faint breath, lifted his gaze.
"If the vice union leader attacks, escape to the river."
"The river? Why the river?"
Given that the South-North Union's main territory is in the river and mountain areas, the suggestion that Raon escape to the river caused his eyebrows to furrow in confusion.
"If you win, the vice union leader might take action. I destroyed the warships beforehand, just in case."
Roman glanced at the half-destroyed warships and boats and chuckled.
"The warships?"
Raon had found it strange when Roman destroyed the warships with the Red Dragon Axe’s crimson flames before the fight began, but it seemed that had been his intention all along.
“I'm sure you've already secured a boat. Just follow the river and you'll be able to escape…”
With a faint smile, Roman's hand fell. His voice was breaking off, indicating he had reached his limit.
However, the same was true for him. With the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, he wouldn't die, but he would likely need a considerable amount of time to recover.
"Sir Roman!"
"Please, please! Open your eyes!"
“Don't collapse here! We still have things to do!”
The leader of the Black Wolf unit, White Mountain unit, and the Martial Wolf unit grabbed a healer and rushed towards Roman.
“Ugh...”
The vice union leader Helgurum and the warriors from the South-North Union who followed him seemed frozen in place, still stunned by the roar Roman had unleashed at the end.
“Division leader!”
“Why did you get beaten up like this! You should have dodged!”
"Handsome Raon, are you okay?"
Burren, Martha, and Runan approached, supporting his shoulders and waist.
“Di-division leader, please get treated first!”
“Ugh, what kind of wounds...”
Dorian and Krein's lips trembled as they looked at his torn waist.
“You did well.”
Rimmer approached and grabbed his shoulder. His hand was damp with sweat, indicating his tension.
“Open your mouth.”
“What?”
“We don't have time! Open your mouth quickly!”
When he opened his mouth, Sheryl placed a red pill she was holding into it.
She didn’t stop there and placed her hand on the wound on his abdomen. Warm aura flowed into his heart, and the pain started to subside.
“Hoo...”
Raon breathed heavily, forcibly lifting his eyes. As the pain subsided, his tension eased, and his eyelids grew heavy. If he relaxed even a
little, he felt he would lose consciousness right there.
‘The heat has excessively built up in my head.’
The original plan was to avoid major injuries until the end, saving enough strength to fight after the duel to the death. However, his excitement during the fight with Roman made him forget everything else.
Growing stronger through the duel and evolving alongside his opponent was an exhilarating experience, far beyond just enlightenment.
He had become so absorbed that he hadn’t thought about what would happen after the duel, even turning the Divinity Blooming From the Underworld into an attack.
Though the plan might get a bit messy, it would be alright since he had prepared for such scenarios.
Raon wiped the blood covering his eyes with the back of his hand and looked to his right.
Roman was also looking this way. He curled his lips as if to say, "Wasn't it fun?"
‘It was enjoyable.’
As he blinked, Roman smiled in satisfaction.
“Everyone...”
Raon turned around. Nodding to Rimmer, Sheryl, and the Light Wind swordsmen, he said, “Take care of the rest.”
With those words, his vision darkened.
* * *
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On a dim hill overlooking the winding Rable River.
"Th-That's... Is that even possible?"
Kubara trembled as she looked down at Raon. For once, she initiated a conversation with Derus.
Even knowing it was rude, she couldn't help herself. It was the first time she had seen both sides grow stronger through a battle.
"...It's not possible."
Derus bit his trembling lips with his teeth and shook his head.
“It’s an impossible feat.”
Warriors who grow through battle do exist. He himself had grown stronger through fights with powerful opponents.
‘However….’
There had never been a case where two people grew stronger by mutually influencing each other.
Raon and Roman didn’t just end with growing their own martial arts, but evolved their martial arts by influencing each other.
Raon learned the tenacity and weight he lacked, while Roman established a solid foundation for his thin string energy.
Both warriors filled their shortcomings through battle.
Moreover, their growth speed was astonishingly fast. It felt as though Raon and Roman had both entered a trance. It was so absurd that his fingertips still trembled even after the battle had ended.
Drip. Drip.
Derus Robert removed his leather gloves. Just from watching Raon’s battle, blood was dripping from the back of his hands.
'That's a kid who'll be 22 years old in a day?'
He had already known the danger posed by Raon Zieghart, but seeing it firsthand, Raon's growth far exceeded his expectations.
If he recovered, he might reach at least the advanced Grandmaster level, or even the highest Grandmaster level.
‘Neither Glenn nor I were like that.’
That’s not a normal growth rate. Even the heads of the Six Kings or those with similar talents were only Masters at that age.
‘If he continues to grow like this….’
Derus Robert bit his lip hard.
‘Before he turns thirty. No, perhaps even before he turns twenty-five, he might reach Transcendence….’
He felt certain that the wall considered impossible for humans would be broken by Raon Zieghart.
‘How is that even possible?’
Even if Raon Zieghart were truly the reincarnation of the assassin Raon, such insane growth shouldn’t be possible.
It seemed like something else was aiding him.
'It was a good decision to come today.'
Derus Robert burned his blood-soaked gloves and put on a new pair.
‘That guy must not be allowed to live.’
More than any of the numerous strong ones on the continent, eliminating Raon was a priority. If left alone, he would undoubtedly be the biggest obstacle to his plans.
“The South-North Union isn’t making a move.”
Kubara narrowed her eyes as she looked at the unit leaders who wouldn’t leave the Axe King Roman’s side.
“Fools blinded by emotions.”
Derus Robert pulled out a blue dragon helmet from his subspace and put it on.
His presence distorted sharply. A deathly energy that shouldn't exist in this world began to seep out.
“……”
Kubara bowed her head and rapidly moved her lips. The hidden assassins in the shadows began to move silently.
"Nothing will change anyway. The brightest star will fall today, and soon after..."
Derus twisted his mouth as he looked down at Raon and the Light Wind division.
“The biggest star will fall as well.”
* * *
“N-no, this can’t be….”
The healer treating Roman trembled with lips as he wiped the blood off his hands.
“It’s already too late.”
He shook his head, saying that not even a god could save him.
"Stop talking nonsense!"
"Keep going till the end!"
"You bastard! Do you want to die!"
"Enough."
When the unit leaders were shouting at the healer, Roman weakly raised his hand.
"I told you, didn't I? I have no regrets in this life."
Roman glanced at the unit leaders and gave a weak laugh.
"But Sir Axe King…."
"What are you doing, you fools!"
The vice union leader Helgurum gritted his teeth so hard it made a grinding sound.
"I clearly ordered you to attack Raon Zieghart! Why are you just standing there!"
He raised his hand, signaling to attack Zieghart immediately.
"No, we can't."
The Black Wolf unit leader bit his lip and shook his head.
"We cannot tarnish the Axe King's honor."
"Raon Zieghart must leave here alive!"
The White Mountain unit leader and the Martial Wolf unit leader also stood up, blocking the way as if they couldn't accept it.
"You stupid fools!"
Helgurum shouted angrily as he stepped forward.
"If Raon Zieghart returns, he will pose a serious threat to the union! At that point, even I can't guarantee that I'll be able to stop him!"
"Even so, today's duel to the death was a fair fight. Even if I die at the hands of the dragon slayer in the future, he must be let go today."
The Black Wolf unit leader lowered his gaze resolutely, as if Roman's spirit had possessed him.
"Khuhuhu…."
Roman, trembling, placed his hand on the ground and raised his upper body.
"You look troubled, vice union leader."
With a pale complexion as if all the blood had drained from his body, he twisted his mouth into a smile.
"You…."
Helgurum gulped as he looked into Roman's sunken eyes.
'A final burst of energy.'
Like a candle burning brightest just before it goes out, Roman was burning his last life force before dying.
"The South-North Union was originally founded by heroes of the mountains and rivers who understood honor and the weight of power. But…."
Roman laughed derisively and shook his head.
"Now it's a place worse than a sewer, filled with those who know no shame like you."
He gathered strength in his legs and stood up. In a condition where it wouldn't be strange if he collapsed, he stood on his two feet, looking down at Helgurum.
The healer's eyes trembled violently. It was nothing short of a miracle.
"Being strong doesn't mean never losing. True strength is about accepting your failures and continuing to move forward."
Roman's gaze shifted to Raon, who was lying on the ground. He nodded at the unit leaders who stood in front, their eyes brimming with tears.
"Did you see my fight?"
"Y-yes, we did."
"Then that's enough. Live a life where you are not ashamed of yourselves."
With those words, Roman collapsed for the last time. Even in death, his eyes remained open, as if to watch what Helgurum and the South-North Union’s warriors would do.
“You damn bastard!”
Helgurum clenched his fist so hard it bled, glaring at the now breathless Roman.
“This is your last chance! Attack Raon Zieghart.”
He raised a finger as if to say this was the end.
“We refuse.”
“Even if we die, we won’t attack.”
“Raon Zieghart has been acknowledged by the Axe King. We will make sure he leaves here alive.”
The Black Wolf unit leader, the White Mountain unit leader, and the Martial Wolf unit leader blocked the way, holding their weapons.
“Ha!”
Helgurum let out a hollow laugh, as if he couldn’t believe it.
“Fine! If that’s how you want it, I’ll kill you all together!”
As he furrowed his brow and raised his hand, Rimmer and Sheryl stepped forward.
“It seems there are still some who know honor in the South-North Union.”
Sheryl placed her hand on the hilt of her sword as she looked at the unit leaders.
“Indeed. Perhaps because I didn’t expect it? My heart aches.”
Rimmer sniffled as he drew his sword.
“But you.”
He pointed his sword at Helgurum, lifting his chin.
“Leaving this place is our decision. It’s not something for the likes of you to decide.”
Rimmer beckoned with his finger, as if daring him to come.
“Beorn.”
Helgurum bit his lip and called Beorn’s name.
“Kill them all.”
“Yes.”
Beorn bowed his head and drew his sword.
Booooom!
Helgurum gripped his spear, as if he was about to join the fight himself.
“Hoo.”
The Black Wolf unit leader bit his lip hard.
‘We might die here.’
Even with Zieghart’s swordsmen behind them, the opponent was the vice union leader. No one here could stop a Transcender like him.
‘Beyond that, Beorn is also a problem.’
Beorn was a warrior who had reached the realm of Grandmaster at a young age. Stopping him would also be difficult.
“You two, take Raon Zieghart and get out of here!”
The Black Wolf unit leader turned and shouted to Sheryl and Rimmer.
"The river is your lifeline! We'll hold them off here, just focus on escaping!"
"That won't do."
It was at that moment when he tried to speak about the river. A black shadow sprang up from the right.
“When a toy moves on its own, it must be stopped.”
A swordsman wearing a blue dragon helmet emerged from the black shadow, sneering as he swung his black sword.
“Ah….”
The Black Wolf unit leader’s lips trembled.
'I can't block this.'
Even though he was on guard, the perfect trajectory was unavoidable. His throat tingled, as if he were already dead.
‘I’m sorry. I can’t keep my promise….’
As the Black Wolf unit leader lowered his eyes, looking at the fallen Roman.
Rumble!
A wall of red lightning surged up, burning away the energy of death that was bearing down.
Crackle!
From within the lightning bolt that shattered the space, an old swordsman with blond hair and red eyes appeared. The Lightning God, Glenn Zieghart, who should have been at Zieghart, raised his Heavenly Tremor at the Rable River.
“So you came after all.”
A cold light shimmered from within the blue dragon helmet. Derus smirked as if he had anticipated Glenn’s appearance.
“Who are you?”
Glenn narrowed his eyes as he pointed Heavenly Tremor at Derus.
“Heavenly Demon.”
Derus lifted his chin slightly and spoke the name of Heavenly Demon.
"I am the Heavenly Demon of Eden."
“If that is your last word….”
Glenn’s eyes flashed with a deadly glint, as if they could pierce through every part of Derus.
“Then die with that name.”
