Chapter 1033

Huuuuum!

Raon released Glacier’s chill, freezing the White Blood Cult’s sailing ship that had split apart and was sinking—along with the sea itself.

“Martha.”

He climbed down to the deck and approached Martha, who was holding her sword to the apostle.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

Martha spoke, then spat out black blood. With a look that was anything but fine, she nodded as she insisted she was fine.

“How did you catch this bastard?”

Raon pressed the apostle down with the heat of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation so he couldn’t move, and supported Martha as her legs trembled like she might collapse.

– “This King is curious as well.”

Wrath let out a hollow sigh as he looked at Martha.

– “That beef girl’s strength is not enough to defeat an opponent like that.”

‘It’s not just a difference in martial might. This ship is covered in a blood curse.’

The blood curse imbued into the ship must have strengthened the apostle and hindered Martha, so he couldn’t understand how she had won.

“I was pushed back at first. No—there wasn’t even a moment when I had the upper hand.”

Martha nodded heavily, saying it had been just as her words suggested: an extremely difficult opponent.

“Even after I realized the advice you gave me before and swung my sword with rage poured into my soul, I still got pushed back at the end.”

She let out a low groan as she looked at the sword stained with the apostle’s blood.

“It wasn’t me. It was the swordsmanship.”

Martha swallowed dryly and lifted her gaze.

“Swordsmanship?”

“The moment that bastard’s blood energy peaked and he tried to punch through my throat, the flow of the Tyrant Sun Sword changed. As if it understood my emotions—my soul—it pierced through the blood energy and cut into that bastard’s chest.”

She drew in a deep breath, as if she herself didn’t know what she had done.

“Tyrant Sun Sword….”

Raon narrowed his eyes as he watched Martha’s trembling pupils.

‘The Tyrant Sun Sword is the swordsmanship Denier personally taught Martha.’

Martha had shown him the Tyrant Sun Sword before and said it was a sword art Denier had taught her directly.

Aside from having the principle of dominance, he hadn’t thought it was such a remarkable swordsmanship, but hearing her now, it felt like there was something special to it.

‘He’s truly a person wrapped in mysteries.’

The more he learned about Denier, the more questions piled up, making him feel stifled.

“I really wanted to kill him, but I held back.”

Martha spat out the blood pooling in her mouth, saying she could have killed the apostle but endured.

“Why…?”

Raon looked at Martha, who was grinding her teeth as if frustrated.

“My real target isn’t this pig.”

Martha gave a cold smile, as if it wasn’t the apostle but the White Blood Cult Leader who was her goal.

“He called himself the Ninth Apostle. Squeeze as much information out of him as you can.”

After saying that as a request, she sank down onto the slanted deck. With blood continuing to flow from her mouth, her internal injuries looked severe.

“You’re starting to act like an adult.”

Raon lightly patted Martha on the shoulder, telling her she’d done well.

– “That’s right! The beef girl has grown a lot!”

Wrath nodded broadly, saying that even when they’d been communicating, he’d still thought she was a child, but now she was fully grown.

– “At this rate, you could even send her off to be married. Khk….”

‘Are you Martha’s mother?’

Raon stared at the sniffling Wrath with a dumbfounded look.

“It’s a bit late to bring it up now, but I’m your noona.”

Martha tapped her forehead with a finger, telling him not to forget she was a year older.

“I’ll remember.”

Raon nodded with a faint smile.

“Light Wind Palace, wipe out every last blood fiend still here!”

After ordering the Light Wind Palace swordsmen who had come aboard the Azure Wind Pirate Ship with him to kill all the blood fiends left in the harbor and at sea, he walked up to the Ninth Apostle.

“Keuheu….”

The Ninth Apostle was forcing his split wound—from shoulder down to waist—back together with the regenerative ability of blood energy.

With his blood running white, he was a powerhouse at least at the upper Grandmaster level.

“Looking at the situation, I can guess roughly, but….”

Raon tilted his chin as he looked down at the Ninth Apostle.

“I’d like to hear it from your own mouth. What have you been doing with this ship all this time?”

“Hehehe!”

The Ninth Apostle spat out dead blood and grinned.

“Ask that bitch.”

“So you like pointless effort.”

Raon drew the Soul Requiem Sword, which was vibrating violently, and drove it into the Ninth Apostle’s wound.

“Kkaaaaargh!”

The instant the Soul Requiem Sword’s blade lodged into the wound, the Ninth Apostle let out a throat-rending scream that even children wouldn’t make.

“Talk.”

“Uuugh….”

Even though the demonic energy of the Soul Requiem Sword made him feel agony as if his entire body were splitting apart, he didn’t open his mouth.

‘This is what’s wrong with the White Blood Cult.’

Raon frowned as he watched the Ninth Apostle groan.

‘Whether they’re grunts or executives, none of them talk.’

Maybe because they’d been brainwashed inside an irrational system like a cult, not a single one of them opened their mouths even under torture.

In a way, they were harder to extract information from than Eden or Derus.

“Th-those bastards did everything with this ship.”

Martha forced down a pill for internal injuries, then spoke.

“There’s a curse carved into this ship that absorbs blood energy and blood. The archbishop I killed manipulated people’s minds to abduct them, and they erased all traces of blood energy with the waves and the ship’s curse.”

She nodded, saying she’d figured out everything during the fight.

“I see.”

Raon gestured to Martha as he said thanks.

“But there’s still a part that hasn’t been explained.”

He raised a finger and pointed to the blue wolf, which was watching this place with fierce eyes.

“What is that wolf?”

“….”

The Ninth Apostle shut his mouth again.

“Talk.”

Raon frowned and drew the edge of the Soul Requiem Sword, carving into the Ninth Apostle’s abdomen.

“Agh! Kkaaaaargh!”

The Ninth Apostle shrieked and trembled his limbs in pain worse than death.

‘There’s definitely a connection.’

Raon frowned as he alternated his gaze between the howling Ninth Apostle and the wolf whose malice was intensifying.

‘That wolf didn’t just appear for no reason.’

A wolf with power like that wouldn’t suddenly burst out of the sea. It had to be something the White Blood Cult created through curses.

“Hhng….”

The Ninth Apostle only let out groans, head lolling as if he’d rather die than speak.

‘At this rate, he’ll die before he opens his mouth.’

It would be better to probe from another angle.

He pulled the Soul Requiem Sword out of the Ninth Apostle’s wound. Even while foaming at the mouth, the bastard hadn’t answered.

“Hhngh….”

The Ninth Apostle exhaled long and slowly lifted his gaze.

“The Kusar Pirate Crew.”

Raon spoke the name of the Kusar Pirate Crew, whom he had annihilated not long ago, while looking at the Ninth Apostle who had barely regained his senses.

“Do you know that your traces were found in their waters?”

There hadn’t been any traces at all, but he smiled thinly and said there were.

“What are you talking about…?”

For the first time, the Ninth Apostle asked back, flustered.

“Because you made a mistake in the Kusar Pirate Crew’s waters, I was able to wait here with certainty.”

Raon tilted his chin as he met the Ninth Apostle’s eyes.

“It was your first time raiding harbors, so it’s not strange that you’d slip up.”

“….”

The Ninth Apostle only wrinkled the bridge of his nose as if doubting his words, but didn’t open his mouth.

That reaction alone was enough for Raon to be sure his prediction was correct.

‘So the White Blood Cult started abducting people beginning with the Kusar Pirate Crew’s waters.’

Since Paros had said he’d only seen the sailing ship once, Raon had been testing the waters—and judging by the Ninth Apostle’s reaction, that really seemed to be where it started.

“Work like that usually starts close to home. If we scour the surrounding sea, the White Blood Cult’s main base might turn up.”

Raon smiled with only his mouth as he studied the Ninth Apostle’s face.

“Nonsense.”

As expected of a Grandmaster, the Ninth Apostle’s gaze didn’t waver, but perhaps from unease, the speed at which he blinked grew noticeably faster.

“So it was real? I should at least tell Paros thanks.”

Raon smiled as he spoke the name of the Kusar Pirate Crew’s captain, who was already dead.

“If we study this ship and get help from the Kusar Pirate Crew, something should come out.”

He probed the Ninth Apostle again, rolling his eyes.

“…Search for a thousand years. See if even a single ant crawls out.”

The Ninth Apostle still looked natural, but his tone dragged slightly.

Whether it was the sailing ship or the Kusar Pirate Crew’s waters—if they searched in detail, it felt like a path to the White Blood Cult might open.

“And then….”

“Khehehehe!”

Just as Raon was about to probe about the blue wolf one last time, the Ninth Apostle cut him off and started laughing like a madman.

“They say the Sword Emperor’s tongue is sharper than his sword. Seems they weren’t wrong.”

As if he’d realized his act had been exposed, the Ninth Apostle nodded heavily.

“They’re sacrifices that must be offered to the Blood God, but if it’s come to this, it can’t be helped….”

A resigned look settled into his eyes, as if he’d made up his mind.

“Killing you right here would be the path that serves Her better.”

The Ninth Apostle stopped using his regenerative ability and opened up the blood energy still remaining in his body.

“Pointless.”

Raon frowned and set his hand on the Heavenly Drive.

“Right. Even in perfect condition, I can’t beat you. But….”

The Ninth Apostle curled his lips as he looked at the sea—no, at the blue wolf’s face floating on the sea.

“If it’s a sea spirit addicted to blood energy, it can devour even you!”

He shouted and stabbed his own heart with a hand blazing with blood energy.

“A sea spirit addicted to blood energy?”

“You said you were curious what that wolf was, didn’t you?”

The Ninth Apostle grinned as he vomited blood.

“I’ll tell you. That wolf is a guardian spirit that has protected this sea since ancient times. This ship alone can’t erase all blood energy, so we subdued that spirit and taught it to devour the scattered blood energy and blood.”

Baring his teeth, he laughed as he said they used that spirit to erase traces of blood energy and blood, and to raise waves.

“But it was too pure a spirit, so the change came far faster than expected. So much blood and blood energy piled up that it became hard for me to control.”

The Ninth Apostle bared his yellowed teeth, saying the wolf’s trembling eyes meant it was right on the verge of going berserk.

“You bastards are like evil spirits….”

Raon bit down hard.

“I place a blood curse upon you and Zieghart.”

The moment the Ninth Apostle finished speaking of the curse, he exploded into white blood.

Boom!

Not a single shred of flesh or blood he left behind failed to fall into the sea.

Huuuuum!

The instant the Ninth Apostle died, the blood curse lingering on the deck rose on its own, sucking every last trace of blood and blood energy left on the deck and in the harbor into the sea.

Kwaaaaaaah!

The Ninth Apostle’s blood energy—and the blood and blood energy that had piled up in the sailing ship—exploded from beneath the sea, and a terrifying light shot up.

Fwoooosh!

When the blinding light finally subsided and he opened his eyes, the storm that had raged over the sea was gone, and the entire world had sunk into a hush, as if it were asleep.

Hoooooo!

A gigantic wolf surfaced over the now-quiet sea.

Its entire body burned red beyond any description of blue, and even the sea swelled with a crimson glow, as if it had taken in blood.

Ooooooooh!

When the red wolf howled, the entire sea shook, and countless sea monsters surfaced, enough to blot out the horizon.

There were so many that even if he fought personally, he’d likely tire out before killing them all.

“W-what is this!”

“Why did that wolf get even bigger! It really turned as big as the sea!”

“I’ve never seen that many monsters….”

“Are we too late? What the hell happened….”

The Light Wind Palace swordsmen who arrived late swallowed hard as they stared at the endless piling monsters and the gigantic red wolf standing behind them.

“You made it in time.”

Raon nodded calmly as he looked at Burren, Runaan, and Trevin standing before the swordsmen.

“This is your target for field experience. You can handle it, right?”

He pointed at the monsters bearing down on them.

“Not bad.”

Burren nodded calmly.

“Yeah. I’ll do it….”

Runaan put a hand on her sword without taking her eyes off Martha, who was struggling to stay upright.

“It’s been a while since I loosened up.”

Trevin licked his lips, saying it looked fun.

“Palace Lord. I will support you.”

Mark Gorton moved in behind him, as if to follow.

“No. Guardian, help the swordsmen instead. My opponent is that thing.”

Raon raised a finger and pointed at the red wolf rising like a god behind the monsters.

Kuuuuoooooooh!

The red wolf frowned as if it didn’t like him, then lifted its head and unleashed a roar that shook the sky.

“Ghk….”

“Aaaargh!”

“What is this sound….”

Even the Master-level swordsmen couldn’t endure the red wolf’s roar, clutching their heads and groaning.

But the true effect of that howl didn’t seem to be a mental attack—because the sea surged as if enraged, and an enormous wave rose up.

Rumble!

With madness staining their eyes, the sea monsters rode the wave the wolf raised and began charging toward the harbor.

‘Even addicted to blood energy, does it still retain the power of a sea spirit?’

Seeing it command monsters more naturally than Eden’s wraiths made him think its origin really had been a sea spirit.

‘There are too many. Should I help a little…?’

“Go.”

Martha waved him off, seeing his hesitation.

“They’re the people you raised and believed in. They can do it, just like I can.”

She forced herself upright, as if she meant to fight even in that condition.

“I end up learning from you in all kinds of ways.”

Raon gave a small laugh and nodded.

“Because I’m your noona.”

Martha cocked her chin, telling him to remember.

“Me too….”

Runaan raised a hand, as if asking to be included.

“You’re not.”

“You’re not.”

– “You’re not.”

Raon, Martha, and Wrath all shook their heads at the same time.

“Fine.”

Raon looked back at the Light Wind Palace swordsmen and smiled faintly.

“I’m counting on you.”

After telling them to take care of it, he leapt over the wave of monsters charging in and met the gaze of the red wolf, brimming with malice toward humans.

Grrrrrr!

The wolf that had once been a spirit was now snarling savagely, its once-pure sea energy filled to the brim with vicious killing intent and blood energy.

‘That’s no longer a spirit.’

Raon frowned at the stench of blood wafting from the wolf.

‘It’s closer to a berserk monster with nothing left but killing intent.’

Blood energy of a completely different level from the apostle’s radiated off it. The sea spirit had become something that could only be called a monster.

Kuuuuoooooooh!

After unleashing a roar that could shake the shallow seas, the red wolf rose to its feet atop the sea that looked as if it had turned to blood.

Its body looked as solid as if it were covered in fur made of steel, and its size was so gigantic it could blot out the moon in the sky. It was as though a blood demon had descended upon the human world.

Kyaaaaaaah!

Considering him an enemy, the red wolf raised an enormous forepaw even larger than the sailing ship and raked through the air. It was a horrifying assault made of blood energy even denser than an apostle’s.

Tsssing!

Raon swept up the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s Revolving Heaven toward the red wolf’s violently falling claws.

Claaang!

A human smaller than its claws striking back the sea-ruling red wolf with sheer strength was a grand and wondrous sight, like an illustration of a hero from myth.

“How arrogant.”

Raon lifted his chin as he looked into the red wolf’s flustered eyes after it was shoved back.

“Sit. Woof-woof.”