Chapter 779
It wasn’t a lush green forest. Instead, it was a forest blackened and dying.
The trees were charred as if swept by a fiery calamity, and the undergrowth had turned to ash, leaving not even a single stem behind.
The ground, instead of being adorned with leaves, was covered with thousands—no, tens of thousands—of monster corpses.
This was no forest but a graveyard. At the eerie heart of this land stood the King of the Black Orcs, alone.
Like the orc helmet Sia had worn, two horns protruded from his forehead. His crimson eyes, as large as a human fist, gleamed as if they had been soaked in blood.
His blackened body, resembling ink-stained steel, was even more imposing than an ogre’s and appeared harder than iron.
Finally, the massive stone sword he held in his hand looked powerful enough to bring down a fortress wall in a single strike.
‘So that’s the King’s soul,’ Raon thought, his gaze narrowing as he stared at the Green King, the ruler of this mental world.
‘I expected him to be strong, strong enough to transcend his kind…’
But this strong?
At most, Raon had expected him to be around the mid-level of a Grand Master, but now that he stood before him, the Green King exuded an aura so intense it could rival his own.
A presence so overwhelming it made his skin crawl. Truly, a creature befitting the title of Orc Lord and Green King.
‘Hmm…’
As Raon scrutinized the Green King, his eyes shifted.
‘Another soul’s presence?’
Moments ago, somewhere in this world, he had sensed the presence of a soul that wasn’t the Green King’s. It was undoubtedly his sister, Sia.
‘She’s alive! But…’
Where is she? I can feel her presence, but I can’t see her.
Although he could sense the faint stirring of her soul somewhere in this mental world, her exact location eluded him.
All he could see was the corpses, the scorched forest, and the Green King.
‘In the end, I’ll have to fight, won’t I?’
Raon sighed and stepped toward the Green King.
“……”
The Green King, seemingly aware of his presence, slowly turned his blood-red eyes toward him.
“You…”
Just as Raon placed his hand on his sword hilt, ready to draw the [Heavenly Drive] at any moment, the Green King’s mouth opened.
“You’re the human who blocked me outside.”
The Green King lowered his gaze and spoke in the continent’s common language. Though the words and pronunciation were archaic, they weren’t difficult to understand.
“You can speak?”
Lowering his hand from the [Heavenly Drive], Raon met the Green King’s eyes.
‘Now that I think about it…’
Those eyes are clear.
Unlike the savage gleam he’d seen within the helmet in reality, the Green King’s gaze now held a calm and intellectual clarity.
It was more like looking at a wise sage who had accumulated wisdom and experience than at an orc.
“I’ve been learning human language. After fighting so many battles, I picked it up naturally.”
Though his pronunciation was slightly off, the Green King nodded, assuring Raon that understanding him wouldn’t be an issue.
“How much time has passed since my death?”
He let out a low sigh as he looked around the ash-covered forest.
“Sorry, but I don’t know.”
Raon sighed and shook his head.
“Until recently, I didn’t even know you existed.”
“Is that so?”
The Green King muttered as if he had expected that answer, lowering his hand.
“Judging by your speech and fragmented scenes I’ve seen, it must have been at least several centuries.”
His gaze, filled with futility and anger, swept over the forest reduced to ashes.
“But human greed remains unchanged. No, it’s grown even fiercer.”
The Green King’s lips curled into a mocking smile as he looked at Raon, seemingly ridiculing humanity through him.
“They went as far as to resurrect me just to use me.”
“Were you killed while fighting humans?”
Raon frowned, his gaze shifting to the pile of corpses behind the Green King.
As he had suspected when he first saw the forest, the monsters, and the Green King—they had all died at the hands of humans.
“Yes, war. A war we didn’t want.”
The Green King nodded heavily, as though reliving the memories of his past life.
“Because of human greed, we lost our forest, our kin—everything. To survive, we had no choice but to go to war.”
His lips bled as he bit them, staring at the charred remains of his people.
“But the humans framed us, claiming we had attacked their villages first. Then they rallied armies from across the continent. In the end, my kin and I were swallowed by flames along with this forest.”
The Green King gently closed the eyes of a small orc corpse, trembling as he exhaled deeply.
“So, you joined forces with Eden for revenge?”
Raon swallowed hard as he stared at the Green King. If his story was true, it seemed he had been resurrected purely for vengeance against humanity.
“I didn’t choose this.”
But the Green King firmly shook his head.
“What? Without your consent, you couldn’t have been resurrected.”
To Raon’s knowledge, creating a monster’s helmet or mask required direct contact with the soul and its consent.
It was hard to believe he could have been resurrected without agreeing to it.
“Someone did approach me, but I was already weary and refused. Yet…”
The Green King frowned, as though even he couldn’t comprehend what had happened.
“When I opened my eyes, I found myself in this body.”
Unable to control his soul, he was now trapped within it.
“Ah!”
Raon clapped his hands softly.
‘So that’s why.’
Since the Green King’s soul hadn’t submitted to Eden, the external version of him had acted like a beast and fallen under the Dual-Headed Ogre’s control.
‘The Fallen One…’
How far are you planning to go?
Destroying the souls of the living and toying with the souls of pitifully deceased monsters—he could only describe it as demonic, on par with Derus.
He regretted not hitting him harder.
‘Still, in this state, I might be able to communicate.’
The Green King didn’t seem to harbor hostility, though he wasn’t friendly either.
He was clearly cautious, but Raon felt he might be able to learn something about Sia from him.
“I have a question.”
Raon took a step closer to the Green King, raising a finger.
“Where is the soul that originally inhabited this body?”
“I cannot say.”
Unlike before, the Green King’s gaze turned sharp and wary as he shook his head.
“Why not?”
“……”
The Green King kept his mouth firmly shut, refusing to answer.
“You won’t talk?”
Raon narrowed his eyes, resting his hand on the hilt of the [Heavenly Drive].
“Then I’ll have to get rough.”
“Even so, I cannot say.”
The Green King, eyes filled with resolve, pulled the massive stone sword from the ground. Just the sight of him readying the weapon made the space tremble with an oppressive intensity.
“That’s your choice—so bear the consequences.”
Raon surged toward the Green King, drawing the [Heavenly Drive]. With the swift technique of unsheathing, the blade infused with Glacier’s frost shot straight for the Green King’s heart.
‘Whooosh!’
The Green King twisted his stone sword upward, blocking the swift trajectory of the [Heavenly Drive].
‘Clang!’
The frost imbued in the [Heavenly Drive] clashed head-on with the condensed energy of the stone sword, releasing bursts of brilliant blue sparks.
‘Heavy.’
Raon gritted his teeth as he pushed against the crushing weight of the Green King’s stone sword.
‘His mental strength is incredible.’
In this mental world, victory wasn’t determined by physical power but by mental fortitude.
Feeling the Green King’s overwhelming aura directly, Raon realized it surpassed even the limits of a Grand Master’s mental strength.
‘But I’m no different.’
Confident that his mental fortitude was second to none, Raon synchronized the [Ring of Fire] and deflected the Green King’s stone sword.
“Ugh…”
The Green King widened his eyes, seemingly unable to believe that his strength had been overpowered.
Not willing to be outdone, he summoned a more intense aura and swung his stone sword horizontally.
‘Screech!’
Raon responded with a diagonal slash of the [Heavenly Drive], aiming to cut through the stone sword. The flame-covered blade pressed down on the stone sword and carved a streak across the Green King’s chest.
‘Whooosh!’
The Green King didn’t seem to care about the injury and drove his stone sword down toward Raon’s head.
‘Flare!’
Raon raised a fiery shield along the blade of the [Heavenly Drive], deploying the defensive form of the [Flame Wall].
‘Clang!’
As the [Flame Wall] collided with the stone sword, a curse escaped his lips.
‘Damn it…’
The [Flame Wall] cracked deeply, and even the blade of the [Heavenly Drive] bent under the sheer weight of the blow. The Green King’s mental strength was beyond what Raon had anticipated.
“Humans may have killed me, but my soul never broke.”
The Green King pressed down with his stone sword, raising his chin.
“Do not underestimate me.”
“I never did.”
Raon channeled the principles of [Midheaven Cannon] along the blade of the [Heavenly Drive]. The waves of condensed energy surged forth from the blade, targeting the Green King.
‘Boom!’
The Green King drove his stone sword into the ground, a calculated move to shield his vital points without retreating.
However, his exposed arms and legs couldn’t escape the attack, and crimson blood gushed out.
“Feeling like talking now?”
Raon lowered the [Heavenly Drive], staring at the bleeding Green King.
“……”
Without a word, the Green King raised his stone sword again, showing no intention of yielding.
“Figured as much.”
Raon nodded. A being with such immense mental strength wouldn’t succumb to mere injuries.
“Sorry, but I’m in a hurry too.”
Raon exhaled heavily. He didn’t want to witness Sylvia’s tears any longer and was determined to unite his family. Retreat wasn’t an option for him either.
Planting his left foot at a sharp angle, he brought down the [Heavenly Drive] with the principles of [Beast King Sword].
‘Boom!’
The crushing slash seemed strong enough to pulverize flesh and bone, yet the Green King held his ground, blocking the attack head-on without even groaning.
‘Click.’
Raon clicked his tongue and moved behind the Green King.
‘Whoosh!’
As if expecting this, the Green King swung his massive sword in the direction Raon approached, generating a pressure so immense it felt like his entire body was being crushed.
‘He’s been holding back his strength.’
Raon lightly stepped forward, deploying [Flowing Spatial Steps] to disperse the crushing pressure with the rising blue winds at his feet. Then, he executed [Frost Pond], aiming the silver and blue streaks of energy at the Green King’s chest and waist.
‘Crash!’
The Green King didn’t dodge but slammed his sword into the ground, using the uprooted earth to block [Frost Wave].
Then, he aimed the tip of his stone sword at his own head and lunged forward.
‘Boom!’
Raon retaliated with [Flame Dragon Break]. Flames shaped like a dragon roared along the blade, engulfing the King of Black Orcs.
‘Whooosh!’
When the flames that could even scorch the mental world subsided, the Green King stood in the same spot, having endured the fiery onslaught without retreating.
‘Could it be… he’s unable to move from that position?’
The sight of the Green King fighting from a fixed position seemed strangely peculiar.
‘No, that’s not what matters right now.’
Having entered this mental world without rest after the war, Raon’s mental strength was nearing its limit. If he couldn’t bring the Green King down quickly, he would collapse first.
‘Huff.’
Raon steadied his breathing and firmly gripped the [Heavenly Drive].
‘I’ll end this as quickly as possible.’
He raised the flame-infused [Heavenly Drive] toward the sky.
‘Blaze!’
A thousand petals bloomed atop the crimson tree rooted in the blade, scattering fiery fragments like autumn leaves. The fragments turned into a storm of flames, engulfing the Green King.
“Graaaah!”
The Green King swung his stone sword wildly, trying to dispel the flames enveloping him. It seemed his memories from his past life made him despise being consumed by fire.
‘Then I’ll use that.’
Raon advanced across the ash-covered ground, raising the tilted [Heavenly Drive].
[Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation – Flawless Sea of Flames].
The dwindling flames, suppressed by the Green King’s stone sword, were reignited, surging into a massive wave of fire that seemed to reach the heavens.
‘BOOOOOM!’
The Green King’s aura shrank under the overwhelming might of [Flawless Sea of Flames].
“Ughhh…”
Even the Green King, who had endured slashes and bursts of flesh without a groan, couldn’t withstand the flames. His face contorted in agony, and a low cry escaped his lips.
“Where is the soul that inhabited this body?”
“…I cannot say.”
The Green King, as though even in death he wouldn’t reveal it, stood his ground.
“Why…?”
Raon furrowed his brows when suddenly, a black void appeared in the air, and within it, a swirling blue cloud began to form.
‘Wrath?’
It seemed Wrath had arrived late, just as when he followed after Raon while wearing the helmet of the Dragonoid Lokta. Raon decided it was best to finish things quickly before Wrath could meddle.
‘Crunch.’
Raon clenched his jaw and gripped the [Heavenly Drive] with both hands.
‘Whooosh!’
The Green King, resolute and refusing to die, raised his massive sword above his head and drew every last ounce of his remaining aura.
Above him, the condensed energy blazed like a crimson sun.
“Graaaaaah!”
The Green King, pouring all his desperate will into the swing, brought the colossal sword crashing down. For a brief moment, the world seemed to darken under the immense wave of energy.
‘Screeeech!’
Rather than retreat, Raon stepped forward, raising the [Heavenly Drive].
[Sword Field Creation – Genesis Blade].
In his fatigued state, a newfound mastery emerged, blooming from his spirit.
The golden brilliance of his blade wiped out the crimson aura, illuminating the mental world with overwhelming radiance.
‘Slash!’
The Green King’s massive sword broke in half, and a large hole was torn through his chest.
Yet, even as black blood gushed from his chest and mouth, the Green King neither fell nor wavered, enduring in place.
“This is the last chance. Speak.”
“…….”
The Green King, lifting his shattered sword, shook his head. Even in death, he seemed determined to stay silent.
‘I’m running out of time.’
Raon’s vision blurred, and a sharp pain throbbed in his head. He had to resolve this here and now.
“Don’t hold it against me…”
Raon raised the [Heavenly Drive], preparing to sever the Green King’s neck, when—
‘Pop!’
A sharp, resonant sound, like a sealed lid being removed, echoed as something massive shot out from the void.
“You mustn’t kill him! Kehlok!”
Wrath, emerging from the opened void, frowned as he looked down at Raon.
“Within that orc’s soul resides a human soul!”
