C892
"Mmm..."
Raon stopped his hand holding the Heavenly Drive as he was about to strike with Crimson Slash once more.
‘The Death Energy is reviving.’
The purple sea split by the Crimson Slash began to churn, consuming the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
‘The death energy inside is much stronger.’
The waves of Death Energy that were right in front could be easily cut through with just Astral Energy, but the Death Energy emanating from the center of the purple sea was so solid and sticky that it would be difficult to penetrate even with an Astral Ring.
‘Should I exert myself more then?’
Raon gracefully withdrew the Heavenly Drive behind his shoulder and then extended it towards the purple sea. A massive fire dragon rose above the sword and let out a roar that shook the heavens and earth.
The sword strike of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation Heavenly Drive Flame Dragon Strike extended as if to devour the entire purple sea, burning half of the Death Energy that enveloped the prairie.
However, not long after, new Death Energy surged from the ground, filling the empty spaces.
‘The problem isn’t just that new Death Energy is appearing.’
The death energy is getting stronger and stronger. Every time I burn it with flames, even stronger death energy emerges. At this rate, it seemed impossible to erase that purple sea.
-Then I’ll have to eliminate the source.
If he launched a sword attack with full power from the realm of transcendence, he could push back that sea, but there was a risk of being attacked in the meantime, so it seemed better to assess the situation first. Ugh! Raon created a massive wall of flames with the remaining fire on the Heavenly Drive to block the waves of death energy.
“What happened in the meantime?”
After confirming that the waves of Death Energy couldn’t break through the wall of flames, he approached Trevin.
“…When I first arrived, such Death Energy didn’t exist.”
Trevin let out a long sigh and looked at the ground glowing purple.
“The monsters weren’t rotten or decomposed like they are now, there were only normal ones.”
He shook his head as he looked at the corpses of the decomposed monsters.
“Then where did that purple Death Energy come from?”
He frowned as he watched the purple waves that seemed to be trying to cross the wall of flames.
“It suddenly erupted from the ground after I killed all the monsters that came from the prairie.”
Trevin wiped the blood dripping from his mouth, saying it might be unbelievable, but it was the truth.
‘He sustained internal injuries.’
Raon lowered his eyebrows as he saw the black blood flowing from Trevin’s mouth.
“It must be because he alone could contain that terrible Death Energy.”
Thanks to Trevin emitting aura even as he suffered internal injuries, the swordsmen and nomads of the Warring Steel Division must have been able to withstand the Death Energy. Emitting aura with your entire body is an exhausting task that could kill you, so it was admirable that he had the willpower to hold on until the end.
“That doesn’t reveal the cause. We need to know how it started…”
“I’ll tell you.”
As Raon narrowed his eyes as he looked at the purple sea, an elderly man with white hair approached, leaning on an old cane.
“You are…”
“I am Chaepran, the head of this village.”
The old man, who introduced himself as the head of Boardri village, gave a painful bow.
“I am the leader of Zieghart’s Light Wind Division.”
Raon pushed back the Death Energy flying through the air with Garunua’s wind and bowed his head to the head of Boardri village.
“Ah! I’ve heard much about the reputation of the leader of the Light Wind Division. Known as the Dragon Slayer, the King Slayer…”
“Let’s talk about that later, please tell me how it all started.”
He lowered his hand and asked the head of Boardri village, with wide eyes, to explain what had happened so far.
“I-I’m sorry.”
The head exhaled deeply, his hand trembling on the cane as if apologizing for his rudeness.
“Actually, there were no monsters in this prairie where we live. There was nothing but dry grass, so naturally, they wouldn’t come.”
He raised his eyebrows and said it was an arid area but a peaceful place.
“But one day, monsters started appearing from the other side of the river. The first attacks were from small creatures like goblins or kobolds, which we could somehow repel, but little by little, stronger ones like orcs and trolls appeared, and we couldn’t resist.”
He said they were about to request help from the mercenary group in Boardri village when they encountered the Warring Steel Division and asked for their assistance.
“The Warring Steel Division and I captured all the monsters that attacked the village and crossed the river, but there was nothing there.”
Trevin frowned deeply.
“When we thought we had dealt with all the monsters around the village and were preparing to return home…”
“No way.”
“Yes. New monsters appeared from the other side of the river. Suddenly, dozens of trolls appeared that weren’t even visible when we scouted the area.”
He bit his lip and said it didn’t make any sense.
“While we were building a wall to protect the village, dealing with the monsters that kept appearing, suddenly that river started turning purple.”
Trevin pointed at the river flowing at the edge of the prairie, his clenched fist trembling.
“That’s why he requested support from the family.”
“Yes. I thought it wasn’t an ordinary incident, so I sent a request for help. But as soon as I requested help, that violet wave started emitting a terrible amount of death energy.”
He shook his head and said the river in the prairie grew to its current state in an instant.
“Right before you arrived, even zombies wielding swords started appearing. I have no idea what’s going on.”
Trevin let out a long sigh, saying he couldn’t understand the situation despite being there.
“Head of the village. Was there anything strange about the village or the river before the first monsters appeared?”
Raon turned his gaze towards the head of the village.
“Ah, now that I think about it…”
The head struck the ground with his cane as if he had just remembered something.
“On the morning of the day the goblins first attacked, I saw a strange rock in the river.”
“A rock?”
“Yes. A rock with something like thorns on its surface was faintly visible under the river water. Sometimes stones pushed by the current appear, but the rock I saw was quite large, so I thought it was strange…”
He lowered his white eyebrows and said he had forgotten about it because the monster attacks continued after that.
“That must be it.”
Martha nodded with her arms crossed.
“If we just smash that rock, this damn sea of Death Energy should calm down.”
She smiled and said they had found the answer.
“Then it’s not a natural phenomenon, but someone’s plan.”
Burren narrowed his eyes as he looked around.
“The Black Tower or Eden, perhaps.”
He moved his finger, saying that both were suspects.
“Then we should prepare to fight immediately!”
Kerin shouted that there was no need to wait and grabbed his sword.
“No…”
Runaan shook her head calmly.
“We shouldn’t just attack…”
She looked at the churning purple sea with a gaze that suggested she didn’t like it.
“R-Runaan, you’re scared like me too! I get it!”
Dorian sobbed and said he understood that feeling very well.
“That’s not all.”
Raon looked at Runaan and lowered his chin slightly.
“The more we catch monsters and push back those waves of death energy, the stronger the reaction will be. It means we have to be careful.”
The head of the village had said that when they caught goblins and kobolds, orcs and trolls appeared, and after the Warring Steel Division caught them, even bigger monsters appeared and that river of Death Energy emerged. Observing the results so far, it was clear that the more monsters they killed and the more Death Energy they erased, the stronger the reaction became.
—Wrath. I ask you just in case, but do you feel any angelic aura coming from that purple sea?
Since Derus Robert could combine the skills of angels and necromancers, Raon asked Wrath about that aspect.
-Angels? What angels! If I felt angels, I would have already told you!
Wrath shook his head as if telling Raon to get rid of that idea quickly.
-The only thing I perceive from that sea is an incredibly unpleasant stench. However, it’s strong enough to be a threat even to you, so you’d better be careful.
He snorted, warning him not to take it lightly.
“T-Then do we have no choice but to leave it as it is?”
Trevin bit his lip as if he thought he had made a mistake.
“Damn it! I shouldn’t have acted on my own!”
He pounded the ground with his fist, lamenting that his well-intentioned actions had led to the worst outcome.
“No.”
Raon shook his head as he placed his hand on Trevin’s shoulder.
“You did well.”
“What? What are you doing…”
Trevin’s eyes widened in confusion.
“Whether you had helped or not, this outcome would have happened at some point. In fact, you made a wise decision by discovering it in time and sending a request for help in time.”
“But…”
“Even though it generates a stronger reaction, sooner or later we will have to deal with it. We can’t keep blocking it like this forever.”
Raon clicked his tongue as he watched the waves of Death Energy slowly pushing back the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
“That means…”
-Yes. We have to fight.
He nodded as he raised the Heavenly Drive.
“We have to smash that rock with maximum power and speed before the backlash occurs. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to evaporate the entire river.”
“Ah…”
Trevin blinked in bewilderment as he listened to Raon’s words, filled with confidence amidst the calm.
“We’ll start as soon as dawn breaks, so get some rest.”
Raon threw internal and external injury medicines at Trevin, telling him to recover.
“Are you sure everything will be alright? We don’t know what might come out of that rock…”
Trevin trembled the tips of his fingers holding the internal injury medicine, looking worried.
“Before coming here, I had an encounter with the Head of House…”
Raon smiled slightly as he wielded the Heavenly Drive. The white blade shone with a deep red, creating an even larger wall of flames.
“He said that only the Five Kings and the Five Demons, the Transcendants of the ancient era, and the leaders of the Five Divine Orders could defeat me as I am now.”
He easily repelled the waves of Death Energy, his eyes shining with what seemed like a red Lightning Aura.
“Let’s trust your new superior.”
* * *
As the purple sea devoured the vast prairies and mountains, the sun rose over the mountains, spilling a golden dawn. Raon stood in front of the sea of death energy, bathed in that bright light. He raised the Heavenly Drive in his right hand and the Wooden Ring in his left simultaneously, pressing his left foot against the ground.
Red and blue flashes bloomed over the two sword strikes that were falling. The fusion of Flame Dragon Strike and Heavy Sky Cannon. The forces of advance and traction erupted simultaneously, causing a tremendous explosion.
As if a god in the sky had performed a miracle, the center of the purple sea was completely ripped apart, opening a path that could reach the river of the prairie, the source of this incident.
“Charge!”
“Charge!”
At Raon’s shout, the Light Wind Division and the Warring Steel Division formed their sword formations and entered the purple waves. The decomposed monsters and zombies that had been hiding in the divided death energy jumped out as if they had been waiting and began to pounce on the swordsmen.
“Sweep them all away!”
“We only have one chance! Focus!”
“I’ll cover the rear…”
The Light Wind Division, led by Martha, Burren, and Runaan, charged from the front, while the Warring Steel Division provided support from behind. Surprisingly, both sides coordinated well. Their experience of fighting together several times had paid off. Kugugugugugu!
Without Raon having to lift a finger, the monsters emerging from the sea of Death Energy had their heads cut off by the hands of the Light Wind Division and the Warring Steel Division.
However, it wasn’t as easy a fight as it seemed. Just by entering and fighting in this space filled with death energy, everyone’s physical strength, mental power, and aura were rapidly depleting. It was no different from fighting in a boiling sea with poison, so they had to use all their strength to break the rock and escape.
Since Raon had repelled a large amount of Death Energy from the beginning, and the coordination between the Light Wind Division and the Warring Steel Division was so good, they were able to reach the bank of the river that the head of Boardri village had mentioned in a short time.
“T-The river water is completely black?”
Burren bit his lip in disgust.
“Can we even enter here?”
Martha frowned and said it looked like their flesh would rot just by touching it.
“It’s terrible…”
Runaan covered her nose and mouth, saying it was hard to breathe. As the three said, the Death Energy emanating from the river water was so potent that even Masters didn’t seem able to approach it.
‘There it is.’
Raon nodded slightly as he looked under the river water through his Evil Eye of Wrath.
‘Is that the rock?’
Just as the head of the village had said, a rock that looked like it had thorns growing on it was prominently located under the river water.
«But those aren’t thorns.»
What protruded from the surface of the rock wasn’t thorns, but magical markings. As expected, this rock was the cause of it all. No, there was no need to even look at the magic. The Death Energy emanating from that rock was even more potent than the purple sea that enveloped the entire prairie.
“Wait back there.”
After ordering everyone to retreat, Raon raised the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to the extreme. Enveloped in golden flames, he entered the river water. He descended, evaporating the river water filled with Death Energy, and stood in front of the rock.
“Just standing in front of this gives me a headache.”
The Death Energy was so potent that just facing the rock caused mental anguish.
“One blow.”
To shatter the entire rock, he used the Azure Sky Drive of the Azure Sky Sword. Just as the magnificent flames containing the sky poured out, the magic inscribed on the rock glowed white, causing a powerful explosion.
As the Azure Sky Drive’s sword strike collided with the death energy that exploded on the rock, a massive shockwave swept the surroundings. The waves of death energy were pushed back, and the surface of the earth overturned, shooting up into the sky.
Tsk. Raon had anticipated this situation, so he erected a Wall of Fire to block the shockwave before looking at where the rock had been.
An elderly man with white hair descended on the violet ground, which had flattened as if a river had never existed. The enormous death energy rising beneath his feet seemed to distort the surroundings.
“You are…”
Raon’s lips trembled as he looked at the cruel old man’s face.
“Demonblade?”
“It’s been a while.”
Demonblade Dreg, one of the leaders of the Five Divine Orders, looked at his arm pulsating with Death Energy and gave a chilling smile.
“Raon Zieghart.”
-
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