Chapter 577
Aris pounded her desk with her fist, letting out a heavy sigh.
“This is so boring…”
She chewed on her lip, staring at the sunlight warmly streaming through the window.
“Heh heh heh.”
Roenn placed a teacup and some cookies on Aris’s desk, smiling softly.
“You’ll finish soon enough.”
“There’s still so much left! I can’t see the end!”
“They say starting is half the battle. You’ve already done more than half.”
“Sometimes, you’re more annoying than Father, Roenn.”
Aris glared at Roenn, but still popped a cookie into her mouth.
“Heh heh heh.”
Roenn just laughed, seemingly finding everything she said endearing.
“Any news from Raon?”
“He sent word that they should reach Sephia around noon today.”
“Noon today?”
Aris squinted at the slightly tilted sun.
“They must already be in Sephia by now.”
“Indeed.”
“Ugh!”
Aris ruffled her fiery red hair and screamed.
“I should have gone too! When else would I get the chance to visit Sephia as a guest?”
“Heh heh heh.”
“Can’t you laugh differently for once?”
“Heh heh heh.”
Roenn changed his laughter as requested.
“That’s even worse! You sound like Father!”
Aris slammed her head onto the desk, exasperated.
“Raon is probably being treated like a king by the elves right now. Drinking fruit wine, admiring the World Tree… He must be having a great time.”
“Probably. Rimmer seemed to hold quite a high status in Sephia.”
“Yeah, he said it was something like a noble rank. He was so pompous when we first met, it was annoying. I like his current foolish self much better.”
“Heh heh heh.”
Roenn nodded in agreement.
“Roenn, don’t you have anything interesting?”
Aris rubbed her forehead against the desk, clearly desperate to avoid her work.
“Well, Burren, Martha, and Runaan are currently training with Denier.”
Roenn mentioned something he thought might interest Aris.
“Really?”
Aris lifted her head abruptly.
“Denier is training them?”
“Yes, all three are working hard, determined to catch up to Raon.”
“That sounds interesting. Should I go take a look?”
She smacked her lips, clearly intrigued.
“If they all improve by one level, Raon will be swarmed by them calling out ‘Aunt’ as soon as he returns.”
“If you want them to call you Aunt, you’ll need to finish today’s work first.”
Roenn placed another stack of documents on her desk.
“Roenn, I’m going to die at this rate…”
Aris grabbed Roenn’s sleeve, her eyes welling up with tears.
“Heh heh heh.”
Roenn calmly pulled his hand away, freeing himself from her grip.
“You’ve really changed, Roenn. You weren’t like this before!”
“People change.”
“It’s not just you. Father and others have changed a lot too. It’s all because of Raon, right?”
“Not entirely, but his influence is significant.”
He nodded with a faint smile.
“His real talent isn’t just in martial arts. It’s in drawing people in.”
Aris closed her eyes briefly and smiled softly.
“I wanted to go on an enjoyable trip with my charming nephew. What a shame…”
She picked up her pen and sighed deeply.
“Auntie will work hard here. You better enjoy yourself.”
“You said we’d just have fun!”
Raon gritted his teeth, forming a semicircular barrier with Jecheon Sword.
“You said you lived a normal life here!”
Despite his expectations, the situation was worse than anticipated, and he couldn’t help but switch to a casual tone out of frustration.
“Why did you steal the sacred relic?”
“I didn’t steal it! I received it legitimately!”
Rimmer shook his head vehemently, claiming he didn’t know what was happening.
-Phuhehehehe!
Wrath laughed, holding his stomach.
-I knew this would happen. Why trust that elf’s words instead of Grid’s?
‘Shut up!’
Raon brushed aside Wrath’s giggling and focused on the arrows raining down.
Clang!
The arrows struck the barrier he had set up. Each impact felt like being hit by a heavy metal object.
‘Are these really arrows?’
It felt more like being struck by throwing spears filled with aura than arrows. The arrows seemed to be made of wood rather than metal, yet they packed such power.
Whoosh!
The elves hiding behind the thorny vines continued to fire arrows, showing no intention of talking.
Clang!
Raon rotated the barrier, deflecting all the arrows, and glared at Rimmer.
“What’s going on? You said they would welcome us!”
He didn’t believe the welcome, but he never expected an attack right at the entrance.
“I really don’t know what’s going on…”
Rimmer didn’t even wipe the cold sweat running down his forehead, looking genuinely bewildered.
“We should never have trusted him from the start. We should have left him behind.”
Dorian sighed, lamenting that they should have left Rimmer in Zieghart.
“Are we not going to be able to enter?”
Yua trembled, unable to believe they had become intruders from the start.
“Keep firing!”
The female elf’s sharp voice commanded another barrage of arrows. The arrows were now faster and stronger, spinning with a sharper edge.
‘The power behind these arrows is incredible.’
Raon had encountered many archers on various battlefields, but this was the first time he had faced such high-level archery.
He observed the arrows closely, intensifying the flames forming the barrier.
‘They’re not just shooting with force.’
The elves imbued their arrows with the essence of martial arts, pulling the bowstrings with precise technique.
The arrows carried speed, sharpness, and weight, striking like massive iron bars. Among them, the female elf directing the others had the most exceptional archery skills. She seemed to be at least a Master in swordsmanship terms.
‘Imbuing arrows with martial arts techniques, interesting.’
Seeing a new flow of martial arts in an unexpected place excited him.
-Ugh! He’s started again!
Wrath frowned, shaking his head.
‘What do you mean?’
-A martial arts fanatic! That’s what you are!
‘You really come up with the weirdest terms.’
Raon chuckled and focused on the arrows again.
‘This is convenient.’
The elves were attacking to subdue, not kill, allowing him to observe their arrows closely.
‘Clearing up the misunderstanding can wait.’
Raon could overpower the elves right away, but he wanted to expand his understanding of swordsmanship by studying their archery.
He dropped the barrier and deflected the incoming arrows directly.
Clang!
The moment Jecheon Sword clashed with an arrow, the force and technique imbued in the arrow penetrated deep into his grip.
‘Speed and weight are perfectly balanced. This time, there’s even a change in trajectory.’
It wasn’t the freely flying arrows Rimmer had mentioned, but observing the intricacies of their techniques was educational.
Clang!
Raon smiled as he focused on the arrows from all directions.
He deflected the fast arrows with heavy strikes, the heavy arrows with light strikes, and the varied arrows with precise movements, refining his own swordsmanship.
After deflecting arrows for a while, they suddenly stopped.
“Hmm?”
Raon lowered Jecheon Sword, narrowing his eyes.
“Aren’t they going to shoot anymore?”
“Would you want to shoot at a freak who deflects arrows with a smile?”
Rimmer shook his head and stepped forward.
“A freak?”
“You’re a freak among freaks when it comes to martial arts.”
He waved his hand dismissively and stood before the thorny vines again.
“Let me explain. Sephia is my hometown, and I received this sacred relic legitimately. I didn’t steal it.”
Rimmer asserted his innocence confidently.
“How can we trust you?”
The voice from behind the vines was slightly less hostile.
“If we had truly come with bad intentions, you’d have lost your heads the moment you met this guy.”
Rimmer pointed at Raon and shrugged.
“Can’t you tell?”
After a brief silence, the thorny vines parted, revealing an elf. She had green hair like melted foliage and blue eyes reflecting the sky. She was a natural beauty, with harmonious features that exuded elegance.
“What’s your name?”
“Reiran.”
“Wait, I think I’ve heard that name before. Are you from the Cotton Branch tribe?”
“…Yes.”
The elf, who introduced herself as Reiran, nodded slightly.
“I remember. They said a very pretty girl was born in that tribe, so I went to see. You’ve grown well.”
Rimmer smiled, pleased to see her grown up.
“What’s your name?”
“Rimmer. If you don’t believe me, call Elder Sterin. He can confirm…”
Before he could finish, an arrow shot from the elf who had been listening to their conversation. It was the first arrow imbued with killing intent.
Crack!
Raon reached out and crushed the arrow targeting Rimmer in midair.
“Don’t speak his name so carelessly!”
All the elves displayed killing intent, making Raon curious about the identity of the person Rimmer mentioned.
“Who exactly did you call?”
“The leader of Sephia.”
“This damned fool!”
Raon clenched his eyes shut, understanding why the elves were enraged.
Calling Glenn an old man in Zieghart would have resulted in death, so Rimmer was in a similar situation here.
“I’m allowed to call him that…”
Rimmer blinked, still unaware of his mistake.
“Enough. Vice-Leader, please stop talking.”
Raon covered Rimmer’s mouth and bowed to Reiran.
“I apologize for the earlier remarks. He’s foolish, not malicious. Please understand. As I said, we’re neither thieves nor intruders. If we clear up the misunderstanding…”
“What misunderstanding?”
A cold voice carried by the wind reached them.
The air trembled as a sharp-eyed elf with flowing blue hair landed on a nearby tree.
“Ah!”
Rimmer smiled, recognizing him.
“It’s fine now! Someone I know is here!”
He waved to the blue-haired elf, shouting not to worry.
“Erian! It’s me! You know me!”
“How could I not? Rimmer.”
Erian nodded calmly.
“A thief of sacred relics.”
But his next words were icy cold.
“As expected…”
“I knew it…”
“Trusting him was foolish.”
Raon, Dorian, and Yua’s eyes bore into Rimmer.
“What are you talking about? You saw me receive this sword!”
Rimmer shook his head so fast his features blurred.
“That sword wasn’t given to you. It was lent. Taking the sacred relic and not returning makes you a thief.”
Erian drew his sword, releasing a killing intent-filled aura.
Swish!
As Erian’s sword swung towards Rimmer, Raon moved.
Thud!
Raon kicked off the ground, intercepting Erian’s strike.
Clang!
The clash of swords created a powerful gust, shaking the forest.
“Hmph!”
Erian snorted and twisted his body gracefully, unleashing another strike midair.
‘His movements are fluid.’
He seemed to manipulate the wind differently from Rimmer.
Raon observed Erian’s flow of wind and drew two lines with Jecheon Sword. Flames rose between the lines, forming a fiery shield.
Clang!
Erian’s wind blades couldn’t penetrate the flame wall, dissipating into gentle breezes.
“Tsk.”
Erian frowned and stepped back, slightly wary of the heat.
“Impressive, right?”
Rimmer grinned, waving his left hand.
“I trained him!”
He smiled, still unaware of the gravity of the situation.
“Shut up.”
Erian kicked the ground, moving unpredictably fast. His sword strikes carried the scent of blood, suggesting numerous lives had fallen to his blade.
Raon lowered his stance, extending Jecheon Sword from his left hip. The silver blade sliced through the air, followed by a shadow of frost.
Slash!
The first strike parried Erian’s sword, and the following frost blade aimed for his shoulder.
“Huh!”
Erian’s eyes widened in surprise but swiftly maneuvered backward using his wind technique.
Sshhh!
The frost blade grazed Erian’s shoulder, leaving a shallow cut.
“Hmm…”
Erian smirked, pressing his shoulder wound with clawed fingers.
“Fine. If you want, I’ll show you your disciple’s death.”
Erian murmured, blaming them for everything, and brought his hands together.
Whoosh!
A powerful wind surged around him, and a giant green light orb formed, spreading immense wings.
‘What is that?’
Raon forced his eyes open against the powerful mana waves, seeing a massive entity in the sky.
A hawk.
The enormous hawk, breathing with green wind, was as large as a drake.
Screech!
The green hawk roared, shaking the entire forest.
“That’s…”
“A spirit. A top-tier one.”
Rimmer exhaled sharply, recognizing Erian’s power.
“I knew he’d gotten stronger, but I didn’t expect him to summon a top-tier spirit…”
He shook his head, admitting their disadvantage.
“A top-tier spirit can match a Grand Master. Be careful.”
“Indeed…”
Raon nodded slightly. The spirit’s aura was almost as powerful as a Grand Master’s. It wouldn’t be an easy fight.
“Regret it all you want. It’s too late now.”
Erian snorted, aiming at Raon and Rimmer.
“Tear them to pieces!”
“Sounds fun.”
Raon stepped forward, licking his lips, but the top-tier spirit didn’t move.
Instead of attacking, it retreated, hiding behind a tree.
“What are you doing? Attack them!”
Erian commanded again, but the spirit remained still, trembling.
“What…?”
Raon tilted his head in confusion, seeing the spirit bow its head in submission.
“What did you do to my spirit?”
Erian trembled, unable to believe his eyes. Even as he approached, the spirit wouldn’t rise.
‘What’s going on?’
Raon wondered, glancing back to see Wrath picking his nose.
-What are you looking at.
