TRAIGS (Novel) Chapter 745

C745

Krein bit his lip as he watched Raon's Formless Sword, which seemed to have transformed into a different swordsmanship from his own.

'They said to let a true genius move forward when you encounter one.'

It was something the instructor had told him when he was struggling to keep pace with Raon and Burren during his apprentice days. At that time, he had nodded and said he understood, but in his heart, he couldn't accept it.

'Because I thought I had talent too.'

Who would understand if you told a 12-year-old boy full of dreams that he was different from those geniuses and could not catch up to them?

He had worked day and night, never letting go of the expectation that he too must have some special talent.

'But not only could I not catch up to them, but I also fell further behind.'

The gap widened to the point where he couldn't even see the backs of Burren, Martha, and Runaan, let alone Raon. The more effort he put in, the more desperate it became.

'Thanks to that, I learned that mental pain is worse than physical pain.'

Only then did he understand the instructor's words about letting geniuses move ahead. It was a consideration for himself, who would only become more exhausted and miserable the more he tried to catch up to them. After realizing he was not special, he settled for being average. It was not difficult to keep up with the training among the apprentices, as he did not lack talent.

That was how he became a swordsman of the Light Wind division from an apprentice, while Raon became the vice leader of the division.

Raon began to directly teach the swordsmen, saying he would become stronger alongside everyone in the Light Wind division. His training was exhausting, but it guaranteed definite growth.

'However, his words about becoming stronger together were not sincere.'

He, who had been observing others since childhood, knew this. Raon's claim back then about becoming stronger together was not sincere. Whether it was out of consideration for the untalented swordsmen, mercy from someone ahead, or to use them, it was certainly far from his true feelings. But over time, Raon changed.

Just as he had grown fond of Dorian, whom he initially disliked for being slow and frustrating, Raon also began to show his sincerity to everyone.

His intense feelings of wanting to become stronger alongside everyone and not wanting to lose a single person were conveyed strongly.

'That's why I changed too.'

Being perceptive is my only strength after all! Krein kept his gaze fixed on Raon's sword as he absorbed his attacks with his body. He constantly pushed himself, determined to absorb every detail of the sword techniques.

'If it doesn't work, let's try to imitate it.'

Since he couldn't find the answer just by looking, Krein attempted to imitate the forms of the Formless Sword that Raon was demonstrating.

'Huh...?'

It was a sword path he could trace even with his eyes closed, but it was slightly different. Raon did not settle for simply showing the forms of the Formless Sword; he was incorporating even more variations.

'Now I understand.'

Raon concentrated his strength on the variations of the Formless Sword. Instead of using the Variable Sword, Phantom Sword, and Quick Sword appropriately to compensate for weaknesses, he focused on a single principle to maximize the long sword. Only after feeling Raon's sincerity did his own thoughts change.

He stopped discarding the title of Division Leader and stepped forward without complaining, even when he was teased for being 'just Krein.'

Because his words of wanting to advance alongside everyone in the Light Wind division were sincere without a single lie.

'It must be the same now.'

It was clear that Raon was showing a more perfected Formless Sword not to boast of his own talent but to help him grow. Krein bit his lip as he countered Raon's Formless Sword with his own.

'What is different between the Division Leader's sword and mine?'

Raon was not resorting to monstrous physical skills, nor was he using a powerful aura. However, his Formless Sword was so complex and mysterious that it seemed impossible to block.

'Think. Think.'

Krein suppressed his Phantom Sword and Quick Sword, concentrating his strength on the variation while unleashing his Formless Sword. With a thunderous clash, his sword strikes, which had been pushed back relentlessly, competed with Raon's sword for the first time, sending bright sparks flying.

"It's not simply about showing the swordsmanship you've learned..."

Krein continued, maintaining eye contact with Raon.

"You mean to show the sword that adapts to the situation, right?"

"You finally understand."

Raon finally showed a slight smile.

"You grasp it quickly, for you."

Krein had been using the Formless Sword too honestly. He should have adjusted the intensity of the Phantom Sword, Variable Sword, and Quick Sword according to the situation, but he always used the swordsmanship in the same way, making it easy to penetrate and counter.

However, to tell him directly might hinder his path to think and grow on his own, so Raon had spoken through his sword. Judging by Krein's expression, it seemed to have worked well.

"Now I understand! Let's keep going!"

Krein readjusted his grip on the sword, as if ready for more.

"No, time is up."

Raon raised a finger, pointing to the sun high in the sky.

"Huh, when..."

Krein opened his mouth wide, as if he hadn't realized it was already noon.

"Now that you've realized what you were missing, you need some time alone. I look forward to our next combat session."

Raon gave Krein a pat on the shoulder and left the large training ground.

"Thank you."

Krein bowed his head towards Raon's back with his hands together.

"Division Leader!"

His voice calling "Division Leader" was clearer than ever. Raon returned to the large training ground after finishing lunch. He thought he had come back first, but there were already two people there. One was Krein, who had continued his sword training without eating, and the other was Dorian, who was scheduled to fight in the afternoon.

"You're here!"

Dorian, who had hastily filled his stomach with bread, approached with a silly smile.

"L-Let's start right away!"

Although his hand holding the sword trembled with fear, Dorian took his stance, ready to fight.

-Keh!

Wrath snorted, watching Dorian's wavering eyes.

-To think the wallet has grown so much, how admirable!

'Then stop calling Dorian a wallet. It's pathetic.'

-Hey, you were the first to call him that! You even treated him like a real wallet!

The guy frowned, saying that such double standards were the very essence of angels.

"Your swordsmanship was the Silent Manifestation Sword, right?"

Raon pushed aside the fighter Wrath and stood in front of Dorian.

"Show me everything from start to finish."

"Um, well..."

Dorian lowered the sword and shook his head.

"I've been learning a new swordsmanship for the past few months. Could you evaluate it instead?"

He took a deep breath, mentioning that he had been practicing a sword technique on his own.

"A new swordsmanship?"

"It's a swordsmanship opposite to the Silent Manifestation Sword."

"Show it to me."

As Raon nodded, Dorian unleashed a highly aggressive sword strike.

'A strong sword, Quick Sword, wind sword, severing sword, and even assassin's sword are mixing.'

Each was an aggressive principle and technique. It was a swordsmanship completely opposite to Dorian's usual personality.

"What is the name of this swordsmanship?"

"It's the Surging Wave Sword."

Dorian looked down, saying it was a swordsmanship he had learned to overcome his fears.

"Show me the Silent Manifestation Sword as well."

"Ah, yes!"

Dorian nodded and demonstrated the Silent Manifestation Sword he had been practicing consistently. Unlike the Surging Wave Sword, it was a swordsmanship focused on heavy defense.

"I'm afraid your Surging Wave Sword isn't at a level where we can fight with it yet."

Raon shook his head calmly.

'Even if it's admirable, we can't waste time.'

Although it was impressive that Dorian had trained in the Surging Wave Sword to change himself, Raon refused because the benefits that could be gained through it were not significant enough.

"I'm sorry."

Dorian scratched his head, looking embarrassed.

"The fights aren't just for today. So..."

Raon raised his finger, pointing at the sword marks Dorian had left on the ground.

"Improve your skill for our next combat session. If you reach a usable level, I will also evaluate your Surging Wave Sword."

"Understood!"

Dorian bowed his head, saying he would practice even if it meant reducing his sleep.

"Then let's begin."

The moment Dorian lifted his head, Raon unleashed the fourth form of the Silent Manifestation Sword. ¡Whoosh! He raised the Heavenly Drive like a shield and struck Dorian's chest.

"Hnngh!"

Despite seeing the Heavenly Drive charging at him, Dorian did not retreat. Realizing he had to block instead of dodge, he lifted his sword diagonally, taking a solid defensive stance. ¡With a resonating clang! Dorian staggered from the powerful force behind the Heavenly Drive but stood firm without being pushed back.

"Defense alone is not enough. Think about where the weight of the Silent Manifestation Sword can exert the most force."

Raon unleashed a series of forms of the Silent Manifestation Sword, striking Dorian's shoulders, waist, and thighs.

"Ugh..."

The intense impacts shook Dorian's body.

Dorian's eyelids trembled from the powerful impacts. True to his cowardly nature, he instinctively wanted to close his eyes when scared. But he didn't close his eyes or back down. Even while suffering wounds that tore at his flesh, he unleashed sword strikes as heavy as rocks.

"Observe your sword and mine at the same time. If you can't understand the difference, you'll end up being just a punching bag."

Raon smiled slightly as he watched Dorian refuse to stop trying to improve even in the face of fear.

'He has changed. No, he is in the process of changing.'

-Change doesn't come suddenly by nature.

Wrath nodded emphatically as he watched Dorian.

-Only those who are prepared can break out of their shell. That guy has been watching you all this time, so he had no choice but to change.

'That's right.'

Some might say that change is sudden, but from what I've seen, it isn't. To achieve a true change, one must harbor the desire to change themselves and build the stairs of effort from the bottom up. Raon struck Dorian's waist with the sixth form of the Silent Manifestation Sword, creating a thunderous clash.

Dorian stepped forward toward the rapidly approaching sword, executing an almost perfect defense. His sword strikes now carried a defined weight.

"I think I'm starting to understand a bit."

Although Dorian's hand holding the sword still trembled, his eyes were as clear as a lake.

"The defense changes completely depending on the angle of the sword."

He bit his lip as he realized Raon's teachings on his own.

"And for the attack!"

Dorian charged forward, pushing himself forcefully off the ground. Following his defense, he brought down a sword strike filled with heaviness. He understood what Raon was trying to teach him and sought to match that weight.

Raon curved his lips into a smile as he watched Dorian take steps forward despite his fear, with the other swordsmen silently observing his back.

* * *

In a gray castle that seemed to have withstood hundreds of years, with its faded color, Derus Robert sat on the highest throne, looking at the bleeding wound on the back of his hand.

'It is not healing at all.'

The wounds to his soul inflicted by Glenn and the hole in his chest were healing slowly, but the wound on the back of his hand remained indelible.

'Especially the first one...'

The second wound inflicted by Raon Zieghart in this war was healing, although very slowly. But the first sword mark left by Raon the assassin showed no change even with Uriel's help. It seemed impossible to heal.

'I don't understand why.'

Even the wounds inflicted by the Demon King's Authority were fading, and the cut from Glenn's Soul Sword was healing, but he couldn't understand why this wound wouldn't disappear.

'That Uriel...'

He is hiding something. Uriel seemed to know more about Raon, but he wouldn't say it directly.

"Tch."

As Derus clicked his tongue and wiped away the blood flowing from his wound, the door to the audience chamber opened and Kubara and Bardiel entered.

"Lord Derus. We have finished the headcount."

Bardiel knelt and bowed his head.

"The Ziun Division, the White Frost Division, and the Ghost Demon Division have returned. The Execution Division and the Silent Thunder Group that were outside have also returned without any losses."

“Ten Shadow squads have returned, and the Water Demon Guest Division arrived last night.”

Unlike Bardiel, Kubara bowed while informing about the personnel of the Shadows.

"Good work."

Derus nodded as he looked down at Kubara and Bardiel.

'This is better than expected.'

Thanks to the previous preparations, they were able to minimize the loss of forces. Of course, it was painful that the Robert House forces had been reduced by half.

"Has Lord Uriel gone elsewhere?"

Bardiel looked around the audience chamber where Derus was alone and spoke.

"He disappeared, saying he had something to do."

Derus shook his head, saying not to worry, as Uriel would act on his own.

"How is the situation developing?"

He gestured with his finger toward Kubara.

"Through the Conference of the Six Kings, no, the Conference of the Five Kings, Lord Derus, and all of us have been declared enemies of the continent.

The Five Kings, the Black Market, and the neutral forces have firmly united and are suppressing the houses that used to follow us."

Kubara bowed his head, saying that the situation was not good.

"As expected."

Derus smiled calmly, as if he had anticipated this.

"If they are acting as expected, it is only fair that we do something unexpected."

He threw four gray letters that had been placed beside the throne at Kubara's feet.

"This is..."

"Send them to the Five Demons."

Derus's lips twisted into a long smile.

"If they held a Conference of the Five Kings, let us hold a Conference of the Five Demons."

* * *

Glenn nodded calmly as he looked at Raon.

"In just two weeks, you've grasped the flow of the two swords I've been teaching you. You shouldn't have any major issues using them in real combat. Starting tomorrow, I'll teach you different swordsmanship, so come prepared."

He said "good job" and sheathed his Heavenly Tremor.

"Thanks for your hard work."

Raon exhaled deeply and sat down where he was.

'Have I finally succeeded?'

Glenn seemed to have higher expectations for my talent since he made a terrifying number of corrections every time I showed my swordsmanship. Seeing that he didn't make a single correction today, it seemed I had passed his test to some extent.

'This is fun.'

-F-Fun, you say?

Wrath's jaw dropped in disbelief.

-You find it fun to practice swordsmanship with those brats from dawn to dusk, and then to get hit by that old man at night? You really are a masochist! How is that fun!

'Just all of this.'

As Wrath said, the days of training with the Light Wind division and learning swordsmanship from Glenn had continued for about two weeks.

It was true that it was exhausting and difficult, but he couldn't help but enjoy it as he felt that he and the Light Wind division were becoming stronger.

'It's far away, but getting closer.'

Transcendence still seemed incredibly distant, but not unreachable. It wasn't a mystery wrapped in fog, but a clearly visible mountain peak.

-Hmph!

Wrath snorted and shook his head.

-Just as that old man said, you haven't even reached the peak of the Grand Master! Visible my ass...

It was just when he was about to shake his hand in mockery.

[<Blade of Requiem> has absorbed the energy from the Soul-Severing Orb.]

[<Blade of Requiem> offers purified energy.]

[All skills...]

[New trait...]

Messages of skill increases appeared as if the Blade of Requiem had absorbed all the red orbs obtained by subduing the Ghost King.

-Ugh...

Wrath's jaw trembled as he saw the messages that seemed to leave him speechless.

'Perhaps it won't take as long as I thought?'

Raon curved his lips into a smile as he watched the messages appearing.

-Shut up!

Wrath shouted. His voice had a touch of sadness.

'We'll have a snack late at night when we return. Don't get too angry.'

-R-Really? What are we going to eat?

'Bread from Nadine.'

-We're going to die. I'll die! You'll die! Everyone dies!

Just as he was about to charge with clenched fists, Rimmer jumped over the wall and entered the training ground.

"Why do you always climb the wall when there's a door?"

Glenn frowned, as if he couldn't understand.

"Because the wall is there?"

Rimmer tilted his head, as if to say 'Isn't that obvious?'

"Sigh..."

Glenn sighed, as if it wasn't even worth responding.

"Is the training for today over?"

Rimmer smiled and nodded at Raon.

"Yes. It just finished."

Raon dusted off his pants and stood up.

"Then let's have a training match."

A red lightning flashed in Rimmer's green eyes.

"Seriously."


-
More Ch4pters on KoreanPlayer


↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓↓
Thanks for the support

Post a Comment

Previous Post Next Post

Number 2

Number 3

close