Chapter 1047

After telling the Light Wind Palace swordsmen to prepare thoroughly for training before returning, Raon headed to the annex.

》I thought you were going to straighten out those brats right away?

Wrath rolled his eyes in surprise.

‘We won’t be able to see each other properly for two months, so I should at least say goodbye first.’

The Light Wind Palace swordsmen were not the only ones who needed to endure hellish training to wage war against the White Blood Cult.

He, too, had to train with the resolve to die, so it was only right that he tell Sylvia and Edgar first.

》T-two months without going to the annex…?

Wrath’s eyes widened as if asking what that meant.

‘It would be a waste of time to keep going back and forth. I’ll be staying in the barracks at the training ground.’

Raon shook his head, saying he needed to save even the time spent traveling.

》Then what about meals!

‘Of course, I’ll eat at the training ground cafeteria.’

》The side dishes there are too monotonous! They serve the same things every day!

Wrath grabbed his own cheeks, complaining that the menu repeated every week.

》And it doesn’t taste as good as the food at home!

‘It can’t be helped.’

Raon shoved Wrath aside with the back of his hand.

‘I can’t sleep on a soft bed and eat lavish meals while putting those kids through hellish training.’

Lowering his hand, he declared firmly that he had to sleep in the barracks and eat the same food as the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.

》No! Absolutely unacceptable!

Wrath screamed in refusal and bit his own head.

‘Then Nadine bread….’

Just as Raon was about to bring up Nadine bread to Wrath, whose eyes were already rolling back—

“Eh? Raon!”

Evelyn, who had been tending the garden at the annex, spotted him and waved.

“It really is Raon!”

“Son! You’re back!”

Sylvia and Edgar brushed the dirt from their hands and stood up.

“Raon!”

Sia threw down the shovel she had been holding and rushed into his arms.

“I’m back.”

Raon embraced the charging Sia and bowed his head to everyone.

“When did you get back?”

Evelyn set down her garden shears and walked over.

“Just a little while ago. But why are you here…?”

Raon blinked as he looked at the shears in Evelyn’s hand.

“Weren’t you working on the spell?”

He had heard it would take two months to complete the spell, so he had assumed Evelyn would be shut up in her room, but instead she was tending the garden with the family.

“I’m working hard on it.”

Evelyn raised a finger and tapped her forehead.

“Right now, I’m combining formulas in my head.”

She smiled, saying she was calculating the most efficient formula in her mind.

“Can you really concentrate like that?”

“Yes. Coming out here and moving my body actually helps me think better.”

Evelyn shrugged, saying physical activity had a positive effect on the mind.

“What about Larian and Chamber?”

“I speak with them regularly. They’re definitely mages above my level, so even just talking with them feels like it raises my own magical realm.”

She curled her lips, saying she could feel her own level rising thanks to Chamber and Larian.

“That’s a relief.”

Raon nodded as he looked at Larian, who was smiling pleasantly.

“So the spell will be completed in two months, right?”

“Of course.”

Evelyn lowered her chin as if telling him not to worry.

“Actually, two months is a generous estimate. The spell itself could probably be completed in just a month, but we still need to improve its performance and run repeated experiments, so we settled on two months.”

She raised her index finger as if to say that a single month would be enough for the spell itself.

“Thank you.”

Raon bowed his head to Evelyn.

“It isn’t even your task, yet you’re going this far….”

“I told you already. Your business is my business!”

Evelyn shook her head vigorously, saying such words were unnecessary between people who had stayed up all night together.

“St-stayed up all night together….”

Sylvia’s lips trembled as if she still had not recovered from those words.

“Son! You have to take responsibility now!”

Edgar frowned, saying he could not pretend not to know.

“What does that mean?”

Sia blinked, asking for an explanation.

“Our young master has already gone that far….”

Helen sniffled as if moved.

“No! I already explained everything!”

He shouted for them to come to their senses because that was absolutely not true, but everyone seemed enchanted by Evelyn and refused to listen.

“Ugh….”

Raon rubbed his temples as a headache came on.

》Hah, there was one more….

Wrath swallowed dryly as he stared at Evelyn’s purple eyes.

》That Madwoman is even worse than you or that Sword Demon!

The rascal let out a hollow breath, saying that even his and Darkhan’s madness could not keep up with Evelyn’s.

“But….”

Sylvia looked behind him and licked her lips.

“Where is your grandfather?”

“He returned to the Holy Sword Alliance.”

Raon told them that Rektor had gone back to the Holy Sword Alliance first to rest.

“I didn’t even get to properly say goodbye….”

Sylvia narrowed her eyes regretfully at having missed the chance to see him off.

“Grandfather said he’ll come again, right?”

Sia pouted as if she already missed Rektor.

“He’ll be back soon, so don’t worry.”

Edgar smiled faintly, saying it was obvious that Rektor would return before long.

“Your mission is over now, so are you going to rest for a while?”

He changed the subject as he looked at Raon and brought up the topic of rest.

“No.”

Raon shook his head as he looked at Sylvia and Edgar.

“It looks like I’ll need to focus on training for the next two months.”

“Two months….”

“It’s a long time, but it can’t be helped.”

The two nodded heavily, as if they understood his situation even without further explanation.

“Too long….”

Sia made a displeased face, but perhaps because her mind had matured somewhat while going through puberty, she did not throw a tantrum like before.

“So before that….”

Raon took Sia’s hand and met her eyes.

“I came to have a proper meal with you first.”

“Really? Then I’ll make it! Helen!”

Sia declared that she would prepare the meal herself, called for Helen, and ran toward the kitchen.

“I should show off my skills a little too. Come on!”

“Yes, Madam!”

Sylvia smiled as if telling him to look forward to it and headed into the annex with Helen.

》Hwaaaak!

The moment Wrath heard the words “proper meal,” he gasped and tumbled off Raon’s head.

》Raon!

The rascal clasped his hands together and wagged them as if asking when he had ever lied.

》I believed in you!

===

– Krein’s Training Log, Day 1

Before the real training began, that palace lord of ours suggested we head to the hot springs to relax.

We all followed him with eager faces, but what greeted us was not a hot spring, but the freezing lake on Northgaze Mountain.

That lord—no, that lunatic—boiled the lake with his own Aura and threw us into it.

Swinging our swords while protecting our bodies with Aura inside water hot enough to boil flesh off the bone was agony beyond description.

But the moment we failed to endure it and tried to jump out, a scabbard heated as if fresh from the forge would come crashing down on our heads and force us back into the lake.

“[I-I’m scared of water! I want to go home!]”

Dorian shouted that he wanted to go home while sniffling, got smacked in the forehead with a scabbard, and passed out.

This was not a hot spring. It was hell. No different from the Hell of Flogging, where your whole body is beaten with red-hot clubs.

That lord of ours is a madman.

– Krein’s Training Log, Day 2

As I went to the training ground rubbing my swollen forehead, which had puffed up like a lump, that lord asked me how yesterday’s hot springs had been.

If I’d had the strength, I would have sewn that bastard’s mouth shut.

Saying that the second day meant it was time for the real training to begin, he personally inspected our swordsmanship and pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of each of us.

Thinking it was more systematic than usual, I was smiling in satisfaction when he called me forward.

Since I was used to it by now, I stepped forward prepared, and he told me to demonstrate my swordsmanship again.

The moment I swung my sword downward, having improved it somewhat by reflecting on the strengths and weaknesses he had pointed out, my vision went black.

When I opened my eyes again, an hour had passed, and the other swordsmen were all rolling on the ground just like me.

Thinking it strange, I tilted my head, and he called me again and told me to show my swordsmanship once more.

Still dazed, I swung my sword down, and my vision went black again.

Only then did I realize it. That palace lord was launching sneak attacks with the force of a top-tier Grand Master—attacks none of us could even react to—and training us to block them.

“[T-this is too much! At least give us training we can actually do… Gah!]”

Dorian muttered that this was too much, got smacked in the forehead, and fainted again.

This was not training. It was just outright violence. I still have no idea how we, as Masters, were supposed to block Sword Strikes that even the division leaders could not stop.

This brutal training continued for four sleepless days, and eventually the swordsmen learned to survive those sneak attacks—whether by blocking with their swords, dodging with footwork, or rolling across the ground like rabbits.

That palace lord of ours is very much a madman.

– Krein’s Training Log, Day 8

Today was the day for concentration enhancement training.

Since it was familiar training by now, I climbed Northgaze Mountain somewhat prepared, but the lord said he had changed the method.

If he was going to say that, he should have said it sooner. What a hateful face he has.

The new concentration training method was not for the palace lord or the division leaders to find and attack us, but an individual survival game in which all the members of the Light Wind Palace fought one another.

Each swordsman had one Zieghart badge, and the only way to escape this training was to collect three of them.

On the other hand, anyone who failed to gather enough badges, or lost their own, would be unable to leave the mountain and would have to repeat the enhanced concentration training.

To escape Northgaze Mountain before it truly became hell, the swordsmen charged head-on, launched ambushes, or hid and waited for opportunities according to their own styles.

Naturally, the division leaders and Mark Gorton secured four badges before a single day had even passed, and the quicker thinkers among us also managed to gather badges early.

“[Finally, my chance has come! Zieghart badges are essential!]”

Dorian pulled a large number of badges from his pouch and handed three to me as well.

But the badges in our hands were meaningless.

The palace lord, whom we thought would merely watch while the Light Wind Palace swordsmen fought one another, suddenly jumped out, attacked us, and stole our badges.

His left hand was already holding a bundle stuffed with dozens of badges.

“[Why….]”

When Dorian, who had been struck in the forehead and collapsed, asked why, the palace lord answered like this:

“[I said all members of the Light Wind Palace. I’m also a member of the Light Wind Palace.]”

After saying that, the palace lord took every badge from the entire Light Wind Palace and forced us through an even more brutal round of concentration enhancement training.

That palace lord of ours is a filthy madman.

– Krein’s Training Log, Day 19

When I went to the training ground, Evelyn the mage was waiting there.

At first, I thought she had come to see the palace lord, but it turned out the palace lord had summoned her.

“Hello, everyone?”

The moment Evelyn smiled and waved, the whole world turned pitch-black as if a black curtain had been drawn, and countless spells rained down from that dark sky.

We tried to dodge or cut through the magic, but the number of spells falling from above was too overwhelming, so all we could do was endure them with our bodies.

“[She’s more vicious than a demon! What sin did I even commit!]”

As Dorian sniffled and cursed the palace lord, more than a hundred spells fell on his head at once.

“[Guh….]”

Dorian got hit in the forehead by an ice block and passed out. Of course, the rest of us were not in any better shape.

By the fourth day, the swordsmen had learned how to block or evade magic while conserving their energy, but their stamina and minds had both reached their limits, and in the end, everyone collapsed.

But even after everyone had lost the strength to lift a finger, the magic did not stop.

“[B-bastard….]”

“[He’s not even human!]”

“[Does our palace lord not have emotions?]”

“[If I die, I’ll definitely become a ghost and haunt him….]”

As we watched the magic rushing toward our faces and spat curses at the palace lord, the black world suddenly lifted, and a blue sky appeared.

The ground, which had looked ruined by the unending barrage, was perfectly intact, and all the injuries we had suffered from the magic vanished as if washed away.

It had all been an illusion. Just as the swordsmen were about to protest that this was too much, Raon cast us a chilling glance as if daring us to say whatever we pleased.

That palace lord of ours is a cheap, crazy bastard.

– Krein’s Training Log, Day 30

After enduring a month of training, I dragged my battered body to the training ground, only to find the Ragged Saint, Federick, waiting there.

As I trembled from head to toe with an inexplicable sense of dread, the palace lord announced that today would be a midterm evaluation, and we would spar with him.

“[Krein, step forward.]”

Since sparring with the palace lord was already something I was somewhat used to, I stepped forward with my sword in hand, but that day was different.

The moment he raised the Soul Requiem Sword and pointed it at me, my spine turned cold as if I had fallen into the North Sea, and my vision went white.

In that instant, my neck was cut dozens—no, hundreds—of times by the lord’s sword.

The sensation of death rushing toward me. A dreadful feeling even the fiercest battle had never made me experience swept through my soul.

“Ugh….”

I dropped my sword and collapsed to the ground. Gasping for air, I tried to regain my senses somehow, but strangely, my pants felt warm.

Tilting my head, I looked down and saw moisture spreading through them. A fishy smell drifted up even though it was not raining.

“[Gasp! Sorry! I didn’t mean to go that far.]”

The palace lord clasped his hands together as if apologizing, saying he had failed to control the power of the Heart Sword.

I had wet myself, but fortunately, the other swordsmen were either looking at my profile or at the palace lord, so it seemed no one had noticed.

Just as I tried to leave that place as quickly as possible, Dorian came over from the side.

“[S-should I give you pants? Pants are essential.]”

Dorian, having read my condition with his Mind’s Eye, deliberately brought up pants so the others would notice too.

I cursed and smacked Dorian in the forehead, but it was already too late.

The eyes of the Light Wind Palace swordsmen were fixed on my damp, soaked pants. At that moment, I wanted to bite my tongue and die.

That palace lord of ours is a fucking insane bastard.

Ah, and today, add that damned Dorian too!

===

“That’s enough for today.”

Standing atop the platform, Raon clapped his hands.

“There will be new training tomorrow morning, so hurry back and rest.”

He instructed the swordsmen, their training uniforms reduced to rags from practical drills, to go rest.

“Haaa….”

“I-I’m dying.”

“How does it get harder every single day?”

“I can’t adjust to this….”

The swordsmen drooped their shoulders, saying they simply could not adapt to the training.

“That just means it’s helping us that much.”

“Right. The effects are undeniable.”

Burren and Martha clenched their weakened fists, seemingly satisfied with the training.

“S-sleep is lacking….”

Runaan, saying everything was fine except for the lack of sleep, swayed like a zombie with half-closed eyes.

“L-let’s go too….”

“Ung….”

Krein and Dorian, seemingly too exhausted to walk properly, leaned on each other’s shoulders and dragged themselves along like slugs. Their swollen foreheads matched perfectly.

The noisy atmosphere disappeared, and silence and darkness settled over the Fifth Training Ground.

Chiiiiing!

Raon did not return to the barracks. Instead, he stepped down into the darkened training ground, drew the Heavenly Drive, and held it upright.

》Don’t you ever get tired?

Wrath let out a hollow breath as if the whole thing were absurd.

》You train those brats from dawn to night, and now you’re doing personal training at this hour too? This is too much!

The rascal shook his head, saying Raon would die soon if he kept going without even sleeping for an hour a day.

‘It can’t be helped. I need to grow stronger too.’

We cannot win the war against the White Blood Cult merely by strengthening the Light Wind Palace swordsmen.

Only by climbing higher than I am now can I keep my promise to save Martha’s mother from the White Blood Lord.

Whoooosh!

Though he was more exhausted than anyone else in the Light Wind Palace, Raon unfolded his swordsmanship without the slightest wavering.

》You’re thoroughly insane, in both the best and worst ways.

Wrath called him insane, but he did not retreat into the bracelet. Instead, he stayed and watched Raon’s training until the very end.

Thus, each person’s time and each person’s earnest wish flowed on, and before anyone realized it, the season of falling white snow had arrived.