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"Whew..."
Mark Goetun let out a sigh of relief after confirming that Raon had entered the forest.
«At least it was worth following him».
He had followed Raon with all his might, thinking he might be an obstacle, but he was glad to have been of little help.
'Now, the next thing is...'
Just as Mark Goetun was rolling his eyes, sensing Raon's aura running through the forest, a bright yellow lightning bolt fell from the darkening sky with a thunderous roar.
'Magic? Sorcery?'
No, it wasn't time to think about those things. Regardless of the power that invoked it, that lightning bolt possessed a formidable force akin to that of a natural lightning strike.
"Huh!"
Mark Goetun planted his left foot firmly on the ground and raised his sword. He unleashed the initial form of the Azure Thunder Sword towards the falling lightning bolt. With a resounding clash, the bright blue sword split the bright yellow lightning bolt and pierced the wall of monsters approaching before him.
"It's not time to relax just because I've sent off the Palace Master."
Mark Goetun shook his head as he gripped his sword, made of dragon horns and teeth.
'I need to clear this place as much as I can until the Palace Master returns.'
His role was crucial if Raon was to rescue Merlin and escape this land. He had to dismantle the net surrounding everything by any means necessary before Raon returned.
"I really need to risk my life here."
Although Raon had eliminated more than half of the monsters and Ghosts of Eden forming the all-encompassing net, there were still countless enemies left. Especially the Eden executives, who had only sent their subordinates and monsters out of fear of Raon, had suffered almost no casualties. He needed to deal with these tortuously hidden executives first.
'Avoid the Grandmasters, focus on the Masters.'
Within this formation were monsters with the aura of Grandmasters. It seemed that it was best to avoid direct confrontations and eliminate the Masters first.
'Of course, the one I have to be most careful of is...'
Mark Goetun's thoughts were interrupted as he swung the Wall Dragon Sword upwards, splitting the lightning bolt falling towards his head.
"It's the commander who's throwing these bolts."
He tried to locate the commander operating this all-encompassing net from atop a mountain overlooking the entire field, but the villain was nowhere to be seen. He was hiding in the forest of monsters, giving orders and launching lightning bolts in surprise attacks. The monsters screamed loudly.
Mark Goetun narrowed his eyes as he deflected the spears and arrows flying from his right and left with his lightning aura.
'The pressure of the all-encompassing net is still directed towards the Palace Master.'
Of course, the Ghosts of Eden were more focused on stopping Raon than him. He had to take advantage of that moment when they were ignoring him.
'I'll stop them no matter what!'
Mark Goetun approached the entrance to the forest where Raon had entered, finishing off the Ghosts of Eden clad in green martial robes.
"I shouldn't use too much power."
He calmed himself and controlled his breathing. This battle would be long, so he had to fight while conserving as much energy as possible. The monsters screamed again.
As he was about to adopt a footwork stance to block the entrance Raon had passed through, a dual-wielding swordsman with a red orc helmet and a shaman with a black troll mask headed towards the forest. The Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom. It seemed that the Eden executives were trying to pursue Raon.
'They're making their move!'
Mark Goetun bit the inside of his lip as he swung his sword towards the neck of the Red Twin Phantom who was trying to enter the forest.
"Mmm!"
The Red Twin Phantom, seemingly sensing Mark's presence, quickly turned around and erected a wall of fighting spirit with his dual swords. With a thunderous clash, Mark Goetun pierced the Red Twin Phantom's defense with his lightning-infused Wall Dragon Sword and cut deeply into the enemy's shoulder.
"Puaj..."
As he was about to follow the retreating Red Twin Phantom to cut his neck, a black mass flew from the right. It was the spectral magic of the Black Soul Phantom.
'Dangerous.'
Mark Goetun frowned as he switched from offense to defense.
"I don't know what effect the magic will have. It's best to avoid it as much as possible."
He cut the approaching wave-shaped magic and advanced towards the Black Soul Phantom.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
The Red Twin Phantom swung his double swords towards Mark's back, as if refusing to let him go. The fighting spirit emanating from the rusted swords lunged forward, threatening to shatter Mark's aura.
"I have a prior engagement."
Mark Goetun tilted his sword slightly to deflect the Red Twin Phantom's attack, then charged towards the Black Soul Phantom's left side. With a thunderous roar, he invoked the lightning aura burning in his energy center and unleashed the initial form of the Azure Thunder Sword towards the Black Soul Phantom's chest. The attack landed with a resounding impact.
Although the Black Soul Phantom deployed a defensive technique, the Azure Thunder Sword cut through the barrier he created and left a deep wound on his chest.
"Ah!"
The Black Soul Phantom coughed up blood and clutched his chest. Perhaps due to his magic, his flesh began to rejoin and heal the wound, but the internal damage wouldn't be easily erased.
"I can block them pretty well."
Both the Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom were high-ranking Masters, but their accumulated experience was different from his. He felt that he could defeat both of them simultaneously. With a crackling sound, Mark Goetun raised the Wall Dragon Sword above his head. He invoked the blue lightning bolts of the Azure Thunder Sword, pressing both the Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom at once.
"¡¡¡B-bastard!!!"
"How can he be so strong when we're all Masters..."
The Black Soul Phantom and the Red Twin Phantom trembled, seemingly surprised to be overwhelmed despite their combined attack. With a sizzling sound, Mark blocked the incoming arrows and magic from behind with a wall of lightning while pushing the blue lightning sword towards the Black Soul Phantom and the Red Twin Phantom. The impact resonated loudly.
What Mark Goetun was expressing wasn't swordsmanship or martial arts. It was the belief he had built up until now, falling along with the blue lightning.
With a deafening roar, the moment a chilling cutting sound echoed in their ears, the wall created by the lightning shattered and a terribly sharp cut plunged into his waist. With a sizzling sound, he tried to block the incoming cut by placing the Wall Dragon Sword horizontally, but the energy contained within it was beyond what he could handle without preparation.
With a thunderous boom, Mark Goetun was finally thrown backwards, rolling sharply on the ground like a stone kicked by a child.
"Puaj..."
Mark Goetun lifted his head, coughing up black blood. A tall martial artist approached, standing next to the Black Soul Phantom who had tried to kill him. In his hands were two pairs of scythes of different colors, and his limbs were abnormally long. He made a sound like wings fluttering as he scratched the mantis helmet he was wearing on his face.
"White Wolf Phantom..."
Mark Goetun swallowed with difficulty as he looked at the man wearing the mantis helmet.
'That monster was here all this time?'
He had only thought that a Grandmaster was hiding, but he didn't know it would be this phantom.
"Out of all people, it had to be him..."
The White Wolf Phantom was an Eden executive who inherited the traits of the Giant Mantis Lord. Unlike the ferocious Giant Mantis Lord, he was cautious but cruel, and with his exceptional senses, he was a difficult monster for martial artists to face. The sound of his breathing was audible.
The White Wolf Phantom, as if he wasn't interested in Mark, lowered his two pairs of scythes and turned his back to enter the forest.
"Puaj..."
Mark Goetun made an effort to strengthen his trembling knees as he got up.
"I can't let him go."
At this moment, Raon couldn't keep his composure because of Merlin. If the White Wolf Phantom, who had been hiding, launched a surprise attack while Raon was fighting the Transcendent in the forest, even the Palace Master could be seriously injured. He had to stop him no matter what. A deep rumbling sound echoed.
He kicked the ground, imbuing all his aura into the Wall Dragon Sword. He invoked the mantra of the Azure Thunder Sword, attracting lightning with the burning bolt.
"What a fool."
The White Wolf Phantom made a fluttering sound with his mouth as he fiercely swung the scythe he had tilted. With a thunderous roar, a pure white star ring shone on the scythe that rose sharply, splitting the lightning of the Azure Thunder Sword and even cutting through Mark's chest.
"Ah..."
Mark Goetun staggered backwards, coughing up blood. As he tried to catch his breath to stop the bleeding from his chest, sword strikes and magic flew from his right and left. With a sharp metallic sound, they were the Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom. They had recovered during the time the White Wolf Phantom had bought them and were now aiming their swords at Mark.
'Damn it!'
Mark Goetun, clutching the bleeding wound on his chest with his left hand, backed away as he barely managed to block the attacks of the Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom. With a resounding clash, he struggled to deflect the sword strikes and magic that he could have easily blocked before, due to his deteriorating physical condition. The sound of his heavy breathing was audible.
The White Wolf Phantom turned around again to enter the forest, seemingly considering that Mark was already dead. It seemed to be the nature of the Mantis Lord to hunt only prey that looked appetizing.
'Not at all!'
Mark Goetun, with his eyes blazing, forced the Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom back with the lightning of the Azure Thunder Sword, then ran towards the forest again.
"Stop!"
With his bleeding chest exposed, he swung his sword towards the White Wolf Phantom's scythe.
"You..."
The White Wolf Phantom frowned, seemingly surprised by Mark Goetun's even stronger charge despite his injuries.
"I made a promise to the Palace Master..."
Mark Goetun's gaze remained firm even in the face of the White Wolf Phantom's chilling killing intent. He gripped his gleaming blue sword with both hands and stomped on the ground as if he wanted to shatter it.
"No one will pass here before I die!"
* * *
"Will he be alright?"
Kerin looked towards the distant Lord's Mansion, clicking his lips.
"The Palace Master's expression seemed extremely serious..."
He frowned, expressing concern for Raon.
"Hmm, I haven't been to the Light Wind Palace for very long, but I've never seen that kind of expression before."
Trevin also let out a low groan, seeming worried about Raon.
"I've been watching Raon since we were apprentices, but I've only seen that kind of expression a few times..."
Dorian scratched his cheek, saying it must be something serious.
-Yes. It was something serious.
Burren nodded calmly.
"I even wanted to follow him."
He clicked his tongue briefly and said he had considered going.
—If you were considering it, why didn't you go?
Kerin tilted his head curiously.
"Because the Guardian was behind Raon."
Burren shrugged and said that was all.
"That person values Raon more than his own life."
He chuckled, saying that in that regard, he was the best in the Light Wind Palace.
"The reason the Guardian tries to get stronger is to help Raon, isn't it?"
Martha tilted her chin as if to say, "Don't you know?"
"In the Light Wind Palace, the only ones who train as much as Raon are the three of us and that person."
She smiled subtly and said that Mark Goetun's passion was no less than theirs.
"Yes. There's no need to worry."
Runaan nodded and looked towards the purple-painted sky at sunset.
"Both of them will return with smiles on their faces."
* * *
"Raging..."
Mark Goetun spat out purple-tinged blood, his face devoid of any trace of a smile.
'At this rate, I really could die.'
He could block the attacks of the Black Soul Phantom and the Red Twin Phantom, but the White Wolf Phantom's cuts were so ferocious that each one threatened his very soul. If his concentration faltered even a little, his head would have been cut off long ago.
'The Palace Master didn't make us do concentration-enhancing training for nothing.'
At that moment, he thought it was hell, but in real combat, it was proving to be a great help. He deflected the Black Soul Phantom's magic and parried the Red Twin Phantom's sword strike, trying to catch his breath as the White Wolf Phantom's scythe fell. His hair stood on end as he realized he couldn't dodge.
"If I can't block it..."
Attack! Mark Goetun recalled the insights he gained from Raon and swung the Wall Dragon Sword towards the approaching White Wolf Phantom's scythe. With a thunderous boom, the Wall Dragon Sword bent as if it was going to break upon impact with the White Wolf Phantom's scythe.
The weapon itself made up for his lack of martial prowess. If it weren't for this sword made with dragon horns by the Continental Master Vulcan, he would have died long ago.
"You're quite persistent."
The White Wolf Phantom waved his hand as if he was annoyed, and his scythe trembled like an insect's wing.
'What...? Ah!'
Mark Goetun, focused on the scythe's movement, quickly threw himself to the left with a ripping sound, but it seemed too late, as his waist was deeply wounded and blood was flowing again.
"Ah..."
He tried to stop the bleeding with his aura, but perhaps because the cut was too sharp, the blood wouldn't stop flowing.
"This is the end for you."
"You're a bloodsucker!!"
The Black Soul Phantom and the Red Twin Phantom, as if they didn't want to miss this opportunity, rushed forward, unleashing sword strikes and spectrally infused magic.
"No time to breathe..."
Mark Goetun, without even a moment to stop his wound, raised his sword to block the attack of the Black Soul Phantom and the Red Twin Phantom.
'My head is getting cloudy...'
His vision blurred and his thoughts faded quickly. He seemed to be in a truly dangerous state from having lost too much blood. The White Wolf Phantom, unlike before, didn't head towards the forest, but slowly approached like a predator stalking its prey. It seemed he intended to finish off Mark personally.
«This might be for the best».
Mark Goetun let out a faint smile.
'I must have bought enough time already.'
Although he had no strength left and didn't know where Raon was, he was sure that Raon would be able to rescue Merlin and return.
[White Wolf Phantom! Don't bother with the one who's almost dead, chase after Raon Zieghart!]
As the White Wolf Phantom slowly raised his scythe, a somewhat clumsy voice rang out from the air. Judging from how he addressed the White Wolf Phantom, it seemed to be the commander who formed this all-encompassing net.
"Tch."
The White Wolf Phantom clicked his tongue briefly, as if agreeing with those words, and quickly turned his back.
"It's not over yet..."
If he let the White Wolf Phantom go and Raon fell into an ambush, he wouldn't be able to close his eyes even in death. He had to hold him back for even a minute. No, not even a second longer.
"I can move. I must move no matter what."
He imprinted the movements of the Black Soul Phantom and the Red Twin Phantom in his mind. If he could quickly cut them down and move, he could hold back the White Wolf Phantom a little longer.
'Starting with footwork... Whew!'
He tried to take a step back using his footwork technique, but his body didn't move properly. With his blurry vision, all he could do was defend against the attacks of the Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom.
"If my body doesn't work..."
Mark Goetun bit his lip as he raised his head.
'I have to stop him somehow!'
After pushing the Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom back slightly with the lightning at his fingertips, he straightened his waist.
"White Wolf Phantom! Are you afraid of me?"
Mark Goetun twisted his lips as he shouted the White Wolf Phantom's name.
"Always running away! No wonder they call you a bug!"
He raised the Wall Dragon Sword, yelling at the White Wolf Phantom to fight him if he wasn't scared.
"Crazy bastard..."
The White Wolf Phantom twisted his lips as he raised his scythe again.
"I'll cut your mouth straight in line!"
Stop wasting time! I told you to enter the forest!
As he was about to swing his scythe forcefully, the commander's voice was heard again.
"White Wolf..."
[I'll end this!]
As he was about to call the White Wolf Phantom back, the entire dark sky turned red and a huge lightning bolt fell, obscuring his entire field of vision. With a deafening roar, Mark Goetun gasped as he saw the lightning bolt descend upon his head in an instant.
'Is this... a real lightning bolt?'
It was lightning of a different level than what he had unleashed so far. It was deep, grand, powerful, and at the same time, flexible.
'And...'
Free. Unlike his sword techniques that simply shaped lightning according to forms, this lightning extended freely, as if it could go anywhere in the world.
-Yes. In its origins, lightning is...
It should be able to go anywhere since it falls from the sky.
"Then my swordsmanship too..."
When he realized that lightning and the sword he had to attract it should be free, all the sword techniques that had filled his mind vanished. What filled the empty space was a single line. But that line was free enough to extend anywhere. The sound of his breathing echoed.
Mark Goetun raised the Wall Dragon Sword with his weakened fingertips. He closed his eyes and recalled the blue line engraved in his mind.
With a thunderous roar, a blue light that seemed to dye everything in all directions bloomed on the Wall Dragon Sword, and from within, a thunder that sounded as if the sky was collapsing resonated. With a crackling sound, the lightning bolt launched by the commander of the all-encompassing net didn't strike Mark Goetun down, but glowed red as if it had become his power, swirling around him.
"B-block it. Block it now!"
The White Wolf Phantom, seemingly realizing the danger Mark Goetun posed, raised both scythes and fired red and blue cuts. The two colors of star rings mixed, forming the shape of a giant scythe.
"Bastard!"
"What are you doing now?!"
The Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom, who also seemed to perceive the danger, exploded all their energy and unleashed their sword techniques. With a sharp sound, Mark Goetun, without taking a single step back, swung the Wall Dragon Sword he had raised above his head. Azure Thunder Sword, Ultimate Technique. Divine Technique of Ten Thousand Waves.
What Mark Goetun expressed wasn't swordsmanship or martial arts. The belief he had built up until now fell along with the blue lightning.
With a thunderous roar, countless lightning bolts that seemed to paint the sky itself split the White Wolf Phantom's body and erased the very existence of the Red Twin Phantom and the Black Soul Phantom. With a deep breath, Mark Goetun raised the hand holding the Wall Dragon Sword, feeling the power surging through his body as if resonating with heaven and earth. A deep rumbling sound resonated.
The commander of the omnipresent net, who now seemed wary of Mark, concentrated the formation's pressure.
With a rumbling sound, the Ghosts of Eden and monsters forming the formation also began to advance towards him instead of chasing after Raon.
"Haha..."
Mark Goetun straightened his slightly bent waist and stood up straight. A terrible pain engulfed his mind, his body shook as if it could collapse at any moment, and countless enemies blocked his path, but he felt that he wouldn't lose to anyone. A deep rumbling sound resonated.
Mark Goetun stood at the entrance to the forest where Raon had entered and adopted a battle stance. He unleashed the roaring spirit boiling in his chest towards the fiercely advancing army of monsters and Eden.
"Come! I am the guardian of the Light Wind Palace Master!"
-
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