Chapter 562
Pooof!
Martha brought down her sheathed sword on the shoulder of a middle-aged man who seemed to be a high-ranking member of the Rakion family.
“Don’t relax just because you’re alive.”
She fiercely lifted him by his hair, her eyes burning with intensity.
“For betraying Zieghart and siding with the Holy Sword Alliance, your lives can be ended at any time. Whether you keep your head depends on how useful your mouth proves to be. Think carefully.”
Martha’s chilling voice made the man gulp, his shoulders quivering.
“Where is the Holy Sword Alliance?”
“Who did you deal with?”
“What exactly is that magic sword?”
She wasn’t the only one; all members of the Light Wind Division were extracting information from the kneeling Rakion swordsmen.
Runaan stayed back, watching over the Light Wind Division and the Rakion swordsmen, in case anyone attempted to flee.
“Ah.”
Rimmer leaned back against a half-destroyed wall of the chief’s residence, sighing.
“This is why it’s useless to be nice.”
“When have you ever been nice?” Burren rolled his eyes, having shown no reaction up until now.
“You always leave them to train themselves and go off to have fun.”
He snorted incredulously.
“Ever since the days of the Light Wind Group, you’ve dumped everything on Raon and went off gambling,” Krein added calmly, nodding next to Burren.
“Recently, we see Master Derus at the training grounds more often than our chief,” Dorian remarked, looking at Rimmer’s unusually clean skin.
“Lazy Chief,” Runaan muttered, shaking his head slightly at Rimmer.
“Lazy Chief? That’s a bit harsh! It’s not that…” Rimmer started to retort but then stopped short.
“Wait a minute! You’ve been listening this whole time and just stayed quiet?”
He blinked dumbly.
“These insolent ones! Listening to the chief and not even responding?”
Rimmer looked like he was about to dash over, his brow furrowed in frustration.
“Ahem!”
“Blow them away!”
“Standing around like this only puts you at a disadvantage!”
Burren, Krein, and Dorian pretended not to hear again and began to rough up the kneeling Rakion swordsmen.
“Lazy Chief.”
Runaan muttered again, looking unimpressed.
“Oh, these guys…”
Rimmer sighed deeply, his expression deepening—his eyes resembling wet leaves had sunk even deeper.
‘Yeah, no need to look at me.’
He watched the Light Wind Division, who followed Raon as if he were the chief, and let a faint smile play across his lips.
‘There’s no guarantee I’ll be around after I’ve had my revenge.’
Even having lost his right arm, the Dragon Swordmaster had almost regained his former martial prowess. If not for Shirley by his side back then, he might have lost to the Dragon Swordmaster. To kill that monster again, he too had to risk his life.
‘If I prepare for a farewell now, it might be a bit easier later on.’
Rimmer looked up at the clearing sky and then closed his eyes.
‘Wonder who will show up here.’
Raon had told him through conversations with Bels and Bashion that the swordsmen of the Holy Sword Alliance were due to arrive that evening. Knowing who it would be could significantly aid in the upcoming fight.
‘If it’s the Dragon Swordmaster coming, it’s both an opportunity and a crisis.’
Being able to kill the Dragon Swordmaster here would be ideal, but the fear of losing the Light Wind Division because of his strength also surfaced.
‘Like that time… no, let’s not think about that.’
Rimmer shook his head to clear the unwanted memories and called out to Raon.
“Raon. Enough of this, extract the information! It’s frustrating, but we need to get what we can!”
“Understood.”
Raon nodded briefly to Rimmer and looked down at Juan with dry eyes.
‘The chief is right.’
As he watched Juan writhing in pain, his anger subsided. Enough pain had been inflicted; it seemed time to extract information.
‘But…’
Something was bothering him.
The fight with Juan had been fierce and deadly.
A battle where lives could be lost with a single stroke, yet despite wielding a magic sword renowned for growing through numerous human sacrifices, Juan’s performance hadn’t seemed that impressive.
Even though my own strength and sword realm have grown, something felt off.
And it didn’t seem like Juan was hiding something. He couldn’t even meet my eyes properly out of fear.
Raon wet his lips and twisted the Heavenly Sword embedded in Juan’s shoulder.
Crack!
A bone-crushing sound echoed as Juan clenched his eyes shut and trembled all over.
“Aaaaagh!”
“Shut up.”
Raon forcefully opened Juan’s eyelids and glared into his eyes.
“When is the Holy Sword Alliance’s swordsman coming?”
“Ugh…”
Juan, overwhelmed by the pain and fear he had endured, quickly parted his dry, crusty lips. He was certainly one of the ugliest humans Raon had ever seen.
“They, they will come tonight. They always come after sunset.”
He shook his head, indicating that the Holy Sword Alliance never arrived during daylight.
“Tonight, then…”
Raon nodded as he looked over the dried corpses of Bels and Bashion.
“Just as I heard this morning.”
Bels had told Bashion that someone from the Holy Sword Alliance would be arriving tonight. Considering their conversation, Juan’s words seemed truthful.
“We need to prepare quickly.”
To trap the Holy Sword Alliance, they needed to organize the situation and restore their strength and aura as soon as possible. There was no time to waste.
“Who from the Holy Sword Alliance is coming?”
“He, he is…”
Juan tried to speak but convulsed instead. Saliva dripped from his mouth as an immense amount of magic began to surge out of his pores.
“What, what is this…”
Raon stepped back, holding the Heavenly Sword and the Soul Sword. The magic that the Soul Sword had been extracting seemed trivial now compared to the enormous energy now pulsating.
“It’s the magic sword!”
Wrath jumped up and shouted.
“The magic sword?”
Upon hearing this, Raon looked towards where Criathus was. The magic sword that had shattered its twelve blades and blade spirit was now strangely vibrating and rising.
“The magic sword is targeting the children of the Light Wind Division! Hurry and stop it!”
Wrath urgently gestured, realizing the magic sword’s target was the Light Wind Division.
Raon followed Wrath’s hand and saw the Light Wind Division staring blankly at the magic re-wetting the ground.
“Guh…”
When he tried to move, a short spasm ran through his legs. The aftereffects of using the Sword Realm Manifestation and unleashing his rage had left his body far from normal, but he forced himself to step onto the Supreme Harmony Steps and sprinted towards the Light Wind Division.
“Everyone move back!”
“Get away from the magic!”
As Raon shouted, Rimmer also rushed over, carried by the wind. He seemed to have felt the ominous aura carried by the magic as well.
Chiiiing!
But, as expected, the Light Wind Division’s response was slow. The deadly blade of magic had already reached their feet.
In the brief moment that they could breathe, Rimmer and Raon exchanged looks.
Raon moved to the right, and Rimmer charged to the left, unleashing their sword attacks towards the rising blade of magic from the ground.
Kwaaaaaaa!
The spatial sword technique wrapped in flames and wind laid out like a mat, shredding the blade of magic that was targeting the Light Wind Division’s lifelines.
However, the onslaught of the magic sword was not over yet.
A final blade hidden deep within the swamp of magic leaped out, timing its strike towards Raon’s heart.
“Damn!”
Raon felt a chilling sensation scrape his spine as he bit his lip.
“I can’t dodge this.”
Exhausted from using a significant sword strike, his aura and physical reactions were delayed. Twisting his body seemed unlikely to avoid a fatal blow.
Especially since behind him were Yua and Julius. The two children would definitely not be able to dodge this attack, so it was up to him to block it.
Preparing to face death, he raised his sword when a fierce wind blew from the left. Rimmer, moving like a flash, joined Raon’s side, opening a path for him.
Psssh!
Yet, they couldn’t completely avoid injury. Raon’s side was gouged out, and Rimmer also received a wound on his forearm.
“Kuh…”
Rimmer cut off the flesh of his arm where the magic had seeped in. It was barbaric, but it was the best way to prevent the magic from spreading under the circumstances.
“Are you okay?”
He approached Raon, holding his bleeding forearm.
“I’m okay.”
Raon gritted his teeth and nodded. Black blood dripped from his wound, indicating that the magic had already begun to burrow into his flesh.
He wanted to heal with the divine light that emerged from the darkness, but he had almost none left after the battle.
“It’s worse than when I caught Juan.”
The attack had come tearing through the Black Dragon’s Hide. If it hadn’t been for Rimmer, he might have truly died.
“Foolish man.”
Wrath shook his head in disdain.
“Trying to save your subordinates and getting hurt yourself, what will you do?”
He shook his head in frustration, but knowing they were all exhausted, he didn’t say more.
“That was real, I guess.”
Raon squinted at the rising magic sword. It seemed not the twelve blades, but the sword hilt itself was the true essence of the magic sword Criathus.
“The misgivings I felt about Juan’s weaker-than-expected performance make sense now—it wasn’t him, but the sword itself embodying the true threat.”
“Young Master… Are you alright?” Yua and Julius approached, their voices trembling as they reached out to Raon.
“I’m fine,” Raon reassured them with a gentle smile, signaling to the Light Wind Division to keep their distance.
“Sigh,” Rimmer exhaled deeply as he approached, his expression weary. “I knew it ended too quickly.”
“It’s been quiet until now; this time, I must ask for your help,” Raon said, clutching his side while shaking his head.
“No choice then. I must step in… Always looking out for yourself, aren’t you?” Rimmer’s attempt at levity was interrupted by a low voice from above.
“That voice is…” Raon’s gaze lifted, and a middle-aged man with a neatly combed back hair and a beard, the only arm he had left, brushed his chin.
The Dragon Swordmaster. The master swordsman from the Holy Sword Alliance who had appeared in the city of Barene had revealed himself.
The young man beside him was unmistakable. Cloud, the disciple of the Holy Sword Alliance leader, who should have been killed but was instead spared, now revealed a new arm filled with malevolence.
“Dragon Swordmaster. Was this your doing?”
Rimmer glared upwards, grinding his teeth.
“To stoop to such vile acts, you’ve fallen far.”
“Vile? I am a sword of the Holy Sword Alliance. Personal feelings are irrelevant to a sword. However…”
The Dragon Swordmaster shrugged casually.
“Right now, I just want to kill you.”
He spread his left hand, and the magic sword Criathus smoothly flew into his grip.
Crack!
The Dragon Swordmaster snapped the few remaining blades of Criathus.
As he slid his hand along the hilt, a blade of light, wrapped in darkness, emerged. The magic-imbued blade gleamed ominously.
“Beautiful.”
The Dragon Swordmaster admired the blade of magic, his previously composed expression turning sinister.
“This is the true bloom of Criathus. What you fought was just the shell.”
He brandished the roaring magic sword, aiming it at Rimmer.
“You, Dragon Swordmaster…”
Juan, spewing black blood, reached out to the Dragon Swordmaster.
“Save me…”
“Very well. I’ll save you.”
As the Dragon Swordmaster nodded, Juan disintegrated into a handful of blood. Criathus, feeding on the blood of its original master, emitted an even darker magic.
“Thanks to you, the unlocking of Criathus has accelerated.”
He smiled wryly as he admired the blade of the sword.
“Now, let’s end this.”
“Dragon Swordmaster!”
Rimmer’s face darkened as he prepared to charge.
“Chief.”
Raon called out to Rimmer, but he was too wrapped up in his rage to hear.
“Chief!”
Raon kicked Rimmer’s side to get his attention.
“Ouch!”
“Focus.”
Raon grabbed Rimmer’s shoulder, his eyes wide, shaking his head.
“We need to leave together.”
With that, the fury in Rimmer’s eyes subsided slightly.
“Yes. We should.”
Rimmer took a deep breath and nodded.
“Who taught you to kick like that?”
“Who do you think?”
“Hmm, don’t follow everything she does. That woman is strange.”
He disparaged Shirley while flashing a faint smile.
“It doesn’t change anything.”
The Dragon Swordmaster’s irritation grew as he noticed Rimmer’s calmed demeanor.
Raon narrowed his eyes, observing the Dragon Swordmaster.
‘It was indeed him who shattered the chief’s core.’
The conversation suggested that the Dragon Swordmaster was responsible for killing Rimmer’s subordinates and shattering his core, and Rimmer had likely cut off the Chief’s arm.
“The proud nature known as the Light Blade seems to have deteriorated since that incident.”
“Kill them all.”
At the Dragon Swordmaster’s gesture, the swordsman of the Holy Sword Alliance surged towards the Light Wind Division.
“Nobody gets past.”
Rimmer advanced, drawing his sword as winds swirled around the blade, ready to strike the swordsmen when the Dragon Swordmaster moved.
Chiiiing!
The Dragon Swordmaster blocked Rimmer’s path with the burning Criathus, smirking.
“Your power is not sufficient now.”
“That’s not for you to decide.”
With a smile, Rimmer’s silver blade surged with red lightning.
“I’ve seen the Thunder of the Northern Extinguisher before.”
“No, it’s different this time.”
As he finished speaking, the lightning intertwined like chains, emitting a fierce light.
Kwaaaaaaa!
Rimmer raised his storm-wielding sword, his eyes flashing fiercely.
“Today, I end our bad blood here.”
