Chapter 204

"Do you have a problem with that?"

The Heavenly Blade leader looked around at Raon and the Light Wind members coldly.

"I-I don't!"

"Of course, I don't!"

Burren and Martha shouted at the same time. They were both steaming from their noses from excitement at the thought of learning swordsmanship from a Grandmaster.

"Me, neither!"

It was a rare sight that even Runaan clenched her fist while sticking her head out.

"How about you?"

Sheryl looked at Raon, who didn't say anything.

"I'm also fine with it."

Raon nodded his head with a small smile on his face. Since the Heavenly Blade leader had mastered all sorts of different principles of swordsmanship as a warrior, learning from her was a huge opportunity.

"Although the bet only involved the heavy sword and powerful sword, I'll also explain other swordsmanships until we reach House Yonaan, as a token of apology for misjudging you."

"Thank you."

"Th-Thank you!"

Raon and every member of Light Wind bowed to her.

"We will start with the heavy sword today."

Sheryl immediately started the lesson without any further delay or useless chatter.

"Heavy sword's basics involve placing your body's weight on your sword and aura. Even the basic moves—such as vertical slashes, horizontal slashes, and stabs—can become a lot more powerful by including your weight. Mixing in the principles of the powerful sword on top of that will double their power. However, focusing on strength and power means that speed will suffer. That is why you should be careful when you mix the principles of different swordsmanships…"

She taught them about the basics of the heavy sword and the principles of swordsmanship with a plain voice. Her simple and precise explanation was very easy to understand.

"What do you think will happen if you keep practicing the heavy sword?"

Sheryl picked up the small dagger that she had placed on the ground.

"It will become too heavy for the opponent to face."

"It will be strong enough to defeat any opponent in a single strike!"

"That only happens when you are fighting against weaker opponents. Let's assume that you practiced a heavy sword, and your opponent uses a quick sword at the same level as you."

Sheryl shook her head at Dorian and Krein's answers.

"How can a slow, heavy sword catch up to a swordsman who moves as fast as the wind?"

"Hmm, I think it would be difficult…"

"You won't be able to hit your opponent."

"Your footwork will be slower as well."

"You have to endure until you can get one powerful strike in."

The swordsmen tilted their heads, saying that it would be a disadvantageous fight.

"That's what normally happens. However, it's a different story once you become strong enough. A heavy swordsman doesn't lose at all to a quick swordsman."

The gray energy emerging from Sheryl's body engulfed the dagger's blade.

Rumble!

The moment the gray aura was imbued in the dagger, a tremendous amount of pressure weighed down on the entire space.

"Kuh!"

"Gasp!"

"Wh-What's happening?"

The Light Wind swordsmen fell to their knees, unable to endure the pressure.

"Kuh…"

Raon frowned. He felt like two huge pillars were crushing his shoulders.

'So, this is the heavy sword demonstrated by a Grandmaster…'

Although she wasn't using astral energy, the heaviness and space domination were on a different dimension from Garon's sword. It was so heavy that it was difficult to stay up, even with his physical abilities.

"This is the mid-level heavy sword. It doesn't simply incorporate heaviness on the blade—it can weigh down the space itself."

Sheryl slowly raised her dagger and the pressure decreased, which allowed them to raise themselves back up.

"Then, what do you think you need to do in order to incorporate the blade and the space itself with heaviness?"

"H-How about filling the blade with aura…"

"No, you should use the aura you spread around you…"

The Light Wind swordsmen told their opinions, but Sheryl didn't nod to their answers.

"The mental image."

Raon's lips parted after he gave it enough thought.

"You have to create a mental image of incorporating heaviness to your blade."

"Correct."

Sheryl gave him a small nod, then lowered her dagger once again.

Wham!

The pressure crushing their bodies was at least twice as strong as before.

"Kuh!"

"Ack!"

Krein and Dorian were the first ones to start screaming, and Burren, Martha, and Runaan also fell to the ground while groaning.

"Ugh!"

Raon was the only one still standing.

"What I incorporated into my blade earlier was a log, and the one just now was a boulder. Can you tell the difference?"

"Th-They are both goddamn heavy…"

Martha responded while grinding her teeth.

"You might get that impression, but didn't you feel that the earlier one weighed down on one part of your body, while this one is pressing on your entire body?"

"Ah…"

Raon nodded. Just as Sheryl said, while the earlier one only pressed down on his shoulders, the current one was crushing his whole body.

"You don't achieve a heavy sword just by thinking about incorporating heaviness into your blade. You need to be immersed in the form to a point where you can use your sword while sleeping and figure out what you want to achieve with that swordsmanship."

Sheryl raised her dagger once again.

"The more details your mental image has, the stronger the effect will be. If you want to advance further and higher, then you should allocate time each day to practice drawing mental images."

"Yes!"

"Understood!"

Every member of the Light Wind responded loud and clear, since it was a priceless lesson.

"We will stop here for today."

She put down the dagger and returned to her tent.

"Wow, it's so easy to understand when she beats it into my body."

"It's pretty difficult, but I think I get what she means."

"I know, right? A Grandmaster's teaching is different, after all."

The Light Wind swordsmen were all smiling, impressed by Sheryl's lesson.

'This confirms that mental image is the important part.'

Raon's eyes were shining as he looked at the dagger Sheryl left behind. Wrath, Glenn, Rimmer, and Sheryl. Every single powerhouse placed great importance on the mental image. He could guess that the might accumulated with mental image became the decisive factor in battles the stronger they got.

The King of Essence already told you that you just need to practice your mental image, and the rest will follow.

'You are right.'

The fact that the king of doormats Wrath kept repeating the same thing made him decide to allocate more time into mental image training in the future.

Hmm? My nose is tickling.

'Nose?'

You bastard, you must've been thinking some rude things about the King of Essence.

'You are just imagining things.'

Raon smiled awkwardly.

* * *

"Half of you can remove the tents, and the other half can take care of the cooking. You should decide who does what."

As soon as Raon woke up at daybreak, he woke up the Heavenly Blade and made them work.

"Ugh…"

"I-It wasn't a dream."

"What a state we are in! It's all because of the vice-division leader."

"I couldn't have possibly known that he was such a monster!"

Ekan and the Heavenly Blade members realized that what happened the day before wasn't a dream and started moving to do their jobs.

"Hmm…"

Sheryl joined the tent removal team. She apparently wasn't confident in cooking.

"Sh-Shouldn't we be helping them as well?"

"Yes, let's…"

"Stop."

Raon stopped the Light Wind members, who were about to act up.

"You are going to train while the Heavenly Blade does the chores."

"What?"

"Are you telling us to train right now?"

"And right here?"

Burren's eyes widened.

"Yes. You should start training, since the Heavenly Blade members sacrificed themselves to give us time. You are the weakest ones in this group, after all."

"Kuh!"

"I-I can't argue against that…"

Krein and Dorian frowned while scratching their necks.

Raon closed his eyes after confirming that the Light Wind members warmed themselves up and started their respective training.

'Heaviness…'

He thought about the heavy sword Sheryl had shown him the day before. He wanted to master that sword, the one that was capable of crushing the body and even the soul.

'I think I'm going to need a different mental image for that.'

Raon was walking up the stairs to become stronger, step by step, during the short time where people were preparing food and removing the tents.

"Hah!"

Ekan exclaimed once he saw the Light Wind's training.

"Did he seriously order them to train right now? Is he really seventeen years old?"

He thought Raon would laugh at them or start picking on them, but he ordered the swordsmen to train instead. He was an unexpectable guy.

"Division leader, they are training right now instead of playing around in their free time. It looks like we really did something unnecessary."

"I know."

Sheryl scowled while looking at Raon's meditation.

'I really did something pointless.'

She really liked that Raon made them train instead of wasting the time they got from the Heavenly Blade doing the chores.

"But please don't tell me we are really going to continue doing the chores until the end of the mission."

"I don't think we will. Since they are smart kids, they will stop at some point."

Sheryl said, and the Heavenly Blade swordsmen—including Ekan—nodded in agreement. It was only natural that, no matter how crazy Raon was, he would split the work half-and-half at some point.

However.

"We are going to rest here for today. The Heavenly Blade will scout, cook, and install the tents now."

Raon kept making the Heavenly Blade do all of the chores for four days straight, which was one day longer than the duration the Heavenly Blade harassed the Light Wind.

"Ah, please gather lots of firewood as well, since the temperature gets pretty low at daybreak. We also need some clubs to use for our training."

He ordered the Heavenly Blade around like servants without any hesitation at all.

"Please put in a lot of meat today."

"That's right. Yesterday's food was delicious, but it didn't have enough meat."

"The amount of meat is the most important part of a stew."

The Light Wind members that felt sorry for them in the beginning were now blatantly making various requests.

"I want it cool."

"C-Cool…"

Ekan bit his lip while looking at Runaan. The girl from House Sullion was really making it difficult for him by asking for a cool meal every single time.

"You should start training now."

"Yes!"

"Alright."

As soon as Raon gave the order, the Light Wind members spread around to start doing the training they needed.

"Uhh…"

Ekan groaned. Since the Light Wind members were training instead of playing around, he couldn't even criticize them. It was literally a checkmate, with no way to escape.

"Vice-division leader…"

"Do we really have to continue this?"

"Give up already. It can't be helped anymore."

Ekan shook his head. He looked like he wanted to apologize for causing it all.

"I'll buy you a big treat once we retur…"

"Vice-division leader, there wasn't enough food for the horses. Go gather some dry grass."

Raon pointed at the horses that were tied to the nearby trees.

"Huh? But there are the grasses we brought."

"They don't like them because they got stale."

"B-But it's difficult to find dry grass right now because it rained yesterday…"

"The grass shouldn't have gotten wet deep inside the forest."

The smile he showed before returning was telling him that he should figure it out himself.

'H-He's a demon…'

Ekan clattered his teeth. It was true that they started it first, but he couldn't believe that Raon was making them work so much in return.

"D-Division leader!"

He looked at Sheryl, but she quickly turned her head away, pretending she wasn't listening.

"Kuh! We're screwed!"

Ekan slammed the ground with his hands, which had turned black from starting the fire.

"We picked on the wrong opponent!"

Raon's journey couldn't be any more comfortable until he reached Dembell City, where House Yonaan was located.

Since it was a warm region, the buildings were located at elevated places in order to avoid the geothermal heat and harmful insects.

"The division leader should take back the lead from here on out."

Raon stepped back with a faint smile on his face.

"Does that mean that the condition is now ove…"

"Of course not."

Sheryl showed her anticipation, but Raon simply shook his head.

"Just as promised, you will continue doing the chores until we return to the house after the mission."

There was no way he would release the doormats that kept the night watch for them, cooked for them, and even gave them lessons. He was planning to thoroughly use them until the end.

"Damn it!"

"He's a real demon…"

"I'm never going on a mission with the Light Wind ever again."

Ekan and the Heavenly Blade shook their heads, saying that they never wanted to get involved with Raon ever again.

"Haa…"

Sheryl sighed, then headed to the house that House Yonaan was located in, which was in the central area of Dembell City. She apparently had been there before, since she quickly managed to find the way.

"Wow…"

"It's really big!"

"I'm surprised that this is a house of crafters."

In fact, they didn't even need to find the way, since House Yonaan was occupying enough land to be a quarter of Dembell City.

'This is pretty much a castle.'

The walls were as high as castle walls, and it was impossible to see inside, as if the entire house were wrapped in a black cloth. It looked like it was an artifact's effect.

"What is your identity and business?"

The guards standing in front of the main entrance grasped their spears while cautiously looking at them.

"We came from Zieghart."

Sheryl stepped forward and showed them the plate with Zieghart's symbol.

"Ah!"

"Z-Zieghart!"

The guards hurriedly bowed and stepped aside upon confirming the plate, and the gate opened right after. They could apparently tell what was happening from the inside.

Scree!

The huge iron gate opened up and they could see the interior. The way workshops with different shapes were lined up on both sides was befitting their reputation as a house of artifact artisans.

"Welcome."

A middle-aged man wearing a suit walked up to them through the opened gate and bowed.

"My name is Arun, the general administrator of Yonaan."

"I'm Sheryl from the Heavenly Blade Division."

"I'm well acquainted with the Heavenly Blade leader's widespread name. I'm honored to meet you."

Befitting his title of general administrator of a prestigious family, he politely greeted them without panicking upon hearing Sheryl's name.

"Please, follow me. The head of house is waiting for you."

He extended his hand to point in front of them.

"Let's go."

Everyone followed Arun into the ten-story building located at the center of House Yonaan. The magical device inside the building allowed them to reach the tenth floor without walking up the stairs.

'That door…'

Raon narrowed his eyes upon seeing the only door on the tenth floor. The door looked like it was made of iron, wood, or paper at the same time.

'It must be an artifact as well.'

He could guess that those who were allowed to enter could open the door as if it were a piece of paper, while it would turn to sturdy steel against those who didn't have permission.

"Please, enter."

Arun pointed ahead of him, and the two doors opened up automatically.

The delicate light spread out to reveal the interior, giving the impression that the room had just been illuminated.

Countless artifacts with unknown functions were lying all around the place, to the point where there was no gap to set foot in, and a middle-aged woman was sitting on the sofa in the middle with her red hair flowing over her left shoulder. Her masculine appearance underlined her cool beauty.

'Michelle Yonaan.'

That middle-aged woman was the head of House Yonaan, and the great artisan, who was regarded as one of the top three artifact crafters.

"Greeting the head of house."

Sheryl was the first one to bow. She was showing courtesy to the head of another house.

"It's been a while, Heavenly Blade Division leader."

Michelle Yonaan returned the greeting with a smile.

"Please, come this way."

Sheryl skillfully avoided stepping on the artifacts covering the ground, then sat on the sofa on the other side of Michelle.

"Thank you for coming all the way here."

"It is simply our duty."

Sheryl responded, looking at the tablet Michelle was holding in her hand. Glenn's name was written on the tablet with a red sword symbol. That must've been the debt Glenn was supposed to have left behind.

"How has Vice-Division Leader Ekan been doing?"

"I'm fine, thank you. You've become even more beautiful and younger."

Despite his muscles, Ekan casually said that embarrassing line.

"Huhu, that's not true. And is he…"

Michelle waved her hand before looking at Raon.

"I'm Raon, the vice-leader of the Light Wind squad. I'm pleased to meet the master of Yonaan."

Raon bowed politely.

"Ah! You are the one who defeated the seventh apostle!"

Michelle's eyes widened. The rumor about the seventh apostle's defeat had apparently spread all the way to Yonaan.

"I was just lucky."

"You are really handsome."

"Whaat?"

Raon's lips parted in surprise at his appearance being complimented instead of his might.

"I heard that you were amazingly powerful, but I didn't expect you to be so handsome. You are different from any jewel."

She exclaimed while watching Raon's face from different angles. Her eyes looked like she was admiring a piece of art, rather than looking at a person's face.

"Dear head of house, let's talk about the work, since we don't have much time."

"Ah, I'm sorry. It's an occupational habit."

Sheryl reproached, and Michelle apologized while tapping on her cheek.

"I have a daughter named Encia."

Michelle slowly opened her mouth while pushing Glenn's tablet to the center of the table.

"She has a bright and energetic personality because she was loved by everyone as the youngest daughter, and she was also extremely talented at artifact crafting. She was pretty much my greatest masterpiece, since I even considered passing my position onto her."

She honestly revealed the circumstances around her successor despite facing people from Zieghart, who were outsiders.

"However, a problem started to occur in her body in the middle of last year."

"What would that problem be…?"

"At first, she said that one of her knuckles hurt, as if a hot needle were pricking it. I thought she must've gotten a splinter in her finger, but that wasn't the case. Since the healer and doctor both said there were no problems, I thought it was just a temporary issue. However."

Michelle bit her lip.

"One month later, it was her finger that hurt, and another month later, it was her entire hand."

"Did it transfer from a knuckle from the entire hand?"

"Yes. And the pain became more and more intense, and she felt like she was being stabbed by a heated blade instead of a needle."

"Oh no…"

"Huh!"

Since the Heavenly Blade and the Light Wind were all aware of how intense that pain was, everyone frowned.

"You can guess what happened afterward, but it kept getting worse. From the hand to the wrist, forearm, arm, left hand, and right leg. More than half of her body is currently in pain right now."

Michelle's face turned black from the terror. Her hand was trembling as if she was telling them that she wanted to suffer instead of her child.

"Even the famous priests and doctors haven't managed to figure out how to heal her, let alone determine the cause. She's even refusing treatment and just wants to die now because her seizures are happening more and more often, and her pain is getting worse."

"Hmm…"

Raon swallowed nervously. If she really was feeling a stabbing pain in more than half of her body, then that must be worse than death itself.

'And it would be difficult to examine her.'

It was understandable that she would refuse treatment, since the pain would become worse if somebody else touched her during it.

'But this feels familiar for some reason…'

A stabbing pain going from needle to blade, and the affected part spreading to the entire body was bothering him.

"That's why we decided to anchor our hope on the Ragged Saint. However…"

"You couldn't contact him."

"Correct."

Michelle nodded, grasping her heart.

'Naturally.'

The patients in front of his eyes were the highest priority for the Ragged Saint Federick. He wouldn't go to House Yonaan to save Michelle's daughter unless all of the patients in his region disappeared.

"That's why I decided to use this tablet. I want you to bring my daughter to the Ragged Saint to save her."

"Alright. We accept the mission."

Sheryl nodded after looking at the tablet that had Glenn's name engraved on it.

"Shall we leave immediately, then…?"

"I'm sorry to ask this, but can you leave in a few days?"

"Is there a reason for it?"

"I got the news that the healer Temas is currently in a village nearby, so I'd like you to leave after he examines her."

"Temas…"

Raon clenched his fist behind his back.

'It's been a long time since the last time I heard his dirty name.'

Temas was a healer from House Robert, famous throughout the continent for his skill—and one of Derus's confidants, who were aware of his dark side.

"I think Encia will most likely refuse treatment from Sir Temas, but I'm going to force her if I need to."

Michelle's face was completely dry. Her complexion didn't look good at all, between the worries for her daughter and anxiety for the treatment.

'This smells fishy.'

Robert had always liked using the method of creating a debt or killing the head of a competent house to subjugate them. Moreover, he wouldn't send out Temas for no reason, since he was an important vassal for him.

"Excuse me."

Raon raised his hand for the first time.

"Can I meet your daughter?"

"Do you want to meet Encia?"

"Yes. I think we need to check the current condition and problem in order to make appropriate preparations for when we move out."

"He's right. I think we need to see her to devise a plan."

Sheryl also nodded in agreement.

"Hmm… She's really sensitive right now because she's been sick for over a year. Recently, she even refuses to allow anyone to feel her pulse or check her condition…"

"That's okay. We just want to see her."

"Haa…"

Raon asked again, and Michelle sighed in resignation and stood up.

"You might be alright."

She said something strange while looking at Raon's face.

* * *

Raon followed Michelle to the deepest room on the ninth floor.

They opened the pink door and entered, and they could see a young woman lying on a large bed. Just like Michelle, she was a beautiful woman, but her dry lips and pale skin were evidence of her bad condition.

Moreover, her left hand, which was sticking out of the blanket, was swollen and red, like heated glass.

'She's in serious condition.'

Raon frowned. If she was in that condition without any external injuries, she must've been going through a pain that no ordinary person would have been able to endure.

"Hmm…"

Sheryl seemed to also have realized that fact, since she didn't look so good.

"There's not enough energy inside her. We need to be careful when we move."

"We've prepared the carriage. It's excellent at absorbing shock, so that she wouldn't be affected during…"

While they were talking about the carriage, Raon walked towards Encia.

'If Derus is behind this…'

As Raon gathered his aura slightly in order to examine her…

"Uhh…"

Encia opened her eyes, letting out a small groan. Her orange eyes looked around at the people inside the room before stopping on Raon.

"E-Encia! Don't be surprised! They are—!"

"Ah…"

While Michelle was approaching her in surprise, something no one could've imagined came from Encia's lips.

"He's so freaking handsome…"