Chapter 395

"Say it."

Raon took another step towards him. Weegen Arianne's face turned pale because his footsteps were crushing his soul.

"Who is backing you up?"

Raon raised his chin while looking at his distorted eyes.

"I'm curious which great name allowed Arianne to be ruined to this point."

"Kuuh!"

Weegen couldn't endure his frightening pressure and stepped back with trembling hands.

"A-a palace master!"

He screamed. He looked like he was making a desperate effort.

"He's not from a mere squad like you. He's the master of a palace!"

Weegen glared at him while saying that one of Zieghart's palace masters had his back.

"A palace master?"

As soon as Weegen said palace master, he collected the pressure that was dominating the audience chamber.

"Yes!"

Weegen violently exhaled and nodded. His jelly belly wavered like an ocean.

"You must've finally realized that you picked the wrong opponent!"

He showed his teeth and smiled. He seemed to believe that Raon removed his pressure because he was afraid.

"How dare you hit me? That little bitch won't have an easy death!"

"Shut up, you look like a toenail."

Martha clenched her fist and ran towards him. She couldn't suppress her anger even though he mentioned the palace master.

"Hieeh!"

Weegen fell on his ass once again because he didn't expect that the mention of a palace master wouldn't be enough to stop her.

"Stop."

Raon raised his hand to stop her, and Martha stepped back with a frown.

"Even you can't do anything against authority."

Weegen stood up with fluttering cheeks. His arrogant face looked like he managed to reverse the situation to achieve victory.

"My lord!"

"Are you okay?"

"Those barbarians!"

House Arianne's executives realized that their backer was enough to stop them and came running at Weegen to support him.

"You idiots. Did you really believe we had no plan?"

"So, who is behind you?"

"Hmm…"

Weegen rolled his eyes without saying anything. He seemed to have noticed the strange turn of events.

"Were you lying?"

Raon lowered his hand that was stopping Martha. He was pretty much threatening Weegen to prevent him from coming up with a plot.

"I-it's the True Martial Palace of Sir Balder!"

Weegen shouted the name of his backer as soon as he met Martha's eyes.

"True Martial Palace…"

Raon quietly murmured the name of True Martial Palace, which he had multiple conflicts with in the past.

'People don't change.'

Since there weren't that many palaces in Zieghart, he thought it would be either the Central Martial Palace or the True Martial Palace, and his guess was right.

"Are you finally regretting it after hearing the name?"

Weegen tilted his chin with a triumphant expression. His face was even more arrogant than when Raon had first arrived in the house.

Creak!

The sound of Martha's teeth grinding could be heard from behind Raon. She seemed to be suppressing her urge to run ahead to beat Weegen up.

"Haa…"

Raon briefly sighed and looked at Weegen and the executives surrounding him.

"Are any of you willing to confess your sins and withdraw from your position?"

The sneers around Weegen and the executives' mouths intensified upon hearing Raon's question.

"Stop your nonsense!"

"We've committed no sins!"

"Skipping the scouting a few times shouldn't be a death sentence!"

"We'll reward you for this incident, so keep quiet—"

The executives shook their heads while telling Raon to stop his nonsense. The sound of a lump of metal hitting the ground could be heard from behind him.

Raon turned around. The Amber Blade division leader, Wendy Arianne had put down her sword and was taking off her uniform.

"I failed to carry out the house's mission. I'll resign as the Amber Blade division leader and withdraw from the scene."

Wendy disarmed herself before she fell on her knees and bowed to show her obedience. Her action confirmed once again that she was the only person among them who deserved to be treated as human.

"Wendy…"

"Amber Blade division leader!"

"That damn bitch…"

The executives ground their teeth at Wendy. They were murmuring that she was trying to ruin their victory.

'This is what I expected. Now then…'

When Raon was about to start beating them up, one of the executives came up next to Wendy.

"Can I kneel over here?"

He was Baneder. The middle-aged man was the head of rangers, whom Raon couldn't see during the previous meeting, and he disarmed himself with a faint smile on his face.

"My name is Baneder. I also failed to fulfill my mission as the leader of the scouts."

He went on his knees and bowed at Raon just like Wendy.

"Baneder!"

"What are you doing right now!?"

"Stand up already!"

Weegen and the executives were shouting at Baneder, but he didn't stand up.

'That man…'

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Baneder.

'Is this because of his sharp instincts?'

Raon didn't expect him to be submissive because he had decreased his pressure and acted like he was going to yield on purpose. He seemed to have sharp wits because he'd been a ranger for his entire life.

'I can still beat him, though.'

Since he confessed his own sins, he could just beat him up for them.

Raon unleashed his aura while walking toward Weegen and the executives. The heat intensified every time he took a step, and their skin reddened like grilling meat.

"Wh-what are you doing?!"

"Stay back!"

"The True Martial Palace is backing us up! Sir Balder is on our side!"

"So what?"

The executives mentioned the True Martial Palace and Balder's name to threaten him, but Raon trampled on their names with his boots and kept walking toward them.

"You said the True Martial Palace of Balder, right?"

"Yes! His authority is incomparable to yours…"

Raon punched Weegen's greasy mouth as he kept rambling.

Smaack!

Along with the bursting sound of a ball, Weegen's yellow teeth were knocked out.

"Aaaaack!"

Weegen couldn't even cover his mouth, blood was gushing out as he writhed in pain.

"Gasp!"

"Yo-you bastard…"

"What do you think you are doing?! The True Martial Palace is supporting us…"

Raon walked towards the executives with a smile. He punched their trembling faces one after the other.

Smaack!

He was controlling his strength but he was just so strong that the executives either lost their teeth or got their cheeks and chins crushed before getting slammed onto the ground.

"Kuah!"

"Aaah!"

"Uuuh…"

They were crying and writhing on the ground, like people who felt pain for the first time in their lives.

"Hey!"

Martha shouted from behind.

"Leave some for me! They are going to break if you hit them! Those fucking dirtbags!"

She leaped towards them in an instant and started to step on Weegen and the executives.

"I'm also beating them up!"

Krein also came running next to Martha and started beating the executives.

"D-do you believe you can get away with this?!"

Weegen weakly declared while trembling.

"Sir Balder isn't going to forgive yo—"

Raon went on his knees to meet Weegen's eyes as he kept running his mouth.

"I'd love to see that."

"Ugh…"

Weegen's body trembled upon facing his icy cold gaze.

"Because he will end up like you if he does."

"No-nonsense! You can't possibly win against him!"

His eyes were trembling in disbelief.

"No, I can't."

"Then how…"

"Because you aren't the only one who has a backer."

"What…?"

"Do you remember who bestowed me with full authority?"

A frightening smile appeared on Raon's face as he grabbed Weegen by his hair.

"…The head of house?"

Weegen's chin trembled. He seemed to have finally remembered what Raon had said in the beginning.

"Bu-but that's for the mission! This is a matter inside our house! You are clearly overstepping your bounds…"

"This is also included in the mission that he gave me full authority over."

There was no way Glenn wasn't aware of the situation in the house. Raon was certain that he wanted him to clean up the pigs in House Arianne on top of purifying the swamp.

"I'm disposing of trash, and this is the most important job."

Weegen and the executives had never gone through a life-and-death battle. Because they'd never experienced a crisis before, they were naive enough to count on their blades instead of reading their opponent's mind.

"Ah…"

"The Destructive King of the North…"

"W-we are screwed…"

Weegen and the executives' last hope was shattered into pieces, and they collapsed with soulless faces.

"Da-damn it…"

Weegen collapsed with a hopeless expression.

"It's too early to lie down!"

Martha hurriedly ran towards him and kicked his head upwards. Along with the shattering sound of the wall, Weegen soared to the ceiling.

Seriously, you are…

Wrath suddenly appeared and narrowed his eyes.

So evil!

'Why?'

You are giving them pain and despair right after giving them some hope. That's what the original demons used to do in antiquity!

He furtively came next to Raon and clenched his shoulder.

There's no other choice.

'Hmm?'

Your talent is suitable for Devildom! Let's conquer Devildom along with the King of Essence…

'I'm not buying it.'

At the three stone pillars located at the end of the Swamp of Death, peace had returned to the swamp. It was as if the battle between Raon and the death knight had never happened before. 

A man clad in a black robe descended upon it. He was the Specter, wearing an archlich's mask with blue flames burning from the eyes.

"Was I too late?"

The Specter briefly clicked his tongue, while looking at the peaceful Swamp of Death.

"It looks like Raon Zieghart has been here."

He'd been so busy with so many preparations that he wished that he had multiple bodies. The death knight that he'd left in the swamp was also part of the plan, but he ended up dying far too quickly.

"No, maybe it's better this way."

The Specter snapped his gray fingers. A clear sound echoed throughout the area, and the swamp under the stone pillar started to boil like lava.

Whir!

The boiling swamp that looked like it was about to explode was split in half. A bead slowly floated from below. It was as transparent as a lake, unlike the dirty swamp around it.

"Come here."

The specter slowly walked towards it and extended his hand. The bead soared from the swamp and spontaneously fell on his hand. He smiled faintly while looking at the bead, which looked ordinary and lacking any kind of energy.

'His death accelerated the purification.'

The reason why he scattered the undead in the swamp was to purify the bead, and the death of the death knight accelerated the process. He felt like he could just take the bead and leave without wasting any more time.

'No.'

The Specter raised his gaze and looked at the east, where House Arianne was located.

'This is a chance.'

According to the intel, Raon Zieghart wasn't the only important person in House Arianne. The Siren's incarnation that the stupid Merlin missed in the past was also there, along with the King of Lizardman's incarnation.

It was a perfect opportunity to kill Raon, who kept becoming an obstacle to Eden, and also take the two incarnations with him.

"I can also experiment."

He injected the mana of darkness inside the bead on his hand. A black line pierced into the bead. The bead used to be as clear as the sky after rainfall but started to turn darker.

Cring.

The Specter opened his hand, and the bead spontaneously floated into the air while turning darker and vibrating to resonate with the swamp.

Death knights and liches made of gray bones started to float on the clean swamp.

A dry smile appeared on the Specter's face as he watched the undead of the highest rank slowly being created.

"I'll change history."

* * *

Raon threw Weegen and the executives at a corner of the audience chamber and called for Baneder. Despite his boorish appearance, he bowed politely.

"Why did you volunteer to withdraw?"

"I'm pretty quick at reading the situation."

Baneder smiled awkwardly while scratching the back of his head.

"I heard from the others that Sir Raon was bestowed with full authority by the head of house Zieghart when you first arrived in Arianne. I quickly gave up because I realized this fight was unwinnable."

He smiled, saying that he was confident about judging character because he always had to please other people.

"Why didn't you tell them about it if you knew?"

"I needed someone to take responsibility once the operation to distract you failed."

Baneder licked his lips while looking at the executives that Krein had smacked.

"So you are admitting that you ordered the rangers to change direction."

"Yes. I was with them, of course."

He kept saying that the other executives were at fault with him.

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Baneder, who was surrendering by raising both of his hands.

'This is repulsive for some reason.'

He was the typical snake, borrowing Wrath's words. He always tried to create a path for his escape, and he wasn't trustworthy at all.

"I know that I'm at fault…"

"Bullllllshit!"

Martha couldn't suppress her anger and ran towards Baneder to kick his mouth when he was trying to speak.

Smaack!

Even though she controlled her strength, teeth came out of Baneder's mouth one after the other from her furious kick.

"Kuah!"

"An apology won't do when you've been a dipshit all along."

Baneder collapsed to the side and she smacked his forehead.

"You fucking hairworm!"

Because Baneder was trying to take advantage of the others, Martha seemed to hate him even more than Weegen and the executives who were trying to oppose them until the end. She kept kicking him furiously.

"Just don't kill him."

Raon tapped on Martha's shoulder and went towards Wendy Arianne, who was kneeling on the ground.

"Why did you want to withdraw?"

"Because I'm also an executive of Arianne."

Wendy responded with her head lowered.

"I realized it after I heard Prica's story. If the death knight attacked us along with the undead, House Arianne would've been annihilated."

Her fists were trembling on her knees.

"I should've gone into the swamp on my own if I had to, but I was unable to take action because I was too afraid of the head of house and the other executives. I can't stand how pathetic I am."

"But you are the one who called us."

"That was the last bit of courage that I could muster. I wouldn't even be here to speak with you if I didn't do that."

Wendy was on the verge of tears as she said that she wouldn't be able to wield a sword anymore because of how ashamed she felt.

Instead of talking to Wendy, Raon unsheathed her sword. The hilt was stained with traces of her touch, and the blade was polished enough to fight at any moment. It was the complete opposite of Weegen's sword.

"It is nicely maintained."

Wendy and her sword division were the only ones in the house that could fight against an enemy.

"Hmph!"

The fact that the villain detector Martha wasn't attacking her after she made Baneder faint was enough proof that she was different from the others.

"Take this."

Raon returned the sword to Wendy and put her uniform on her shoulders. He smiled faintly and took the round bead that was the symbol of House Arianne's head from the platform to bring it to her.

"S-Sir Raon?"

Wendy's shoulders were trembling in panic after she received the symbol of her house.

"You are the only one who can manage this house now."

"Bu-but I'm no different from them…"

"If everyone made a mistake, then the one with a guilty conscience should be in charge."

"Uhh…"

Wendy bit her lip, upon hearing Raon's placid voice. She closed her eyes while clenching the symbol of her house in her hand.

"I-I couldn't dare…"

"The only ones I liked among the warriors I encountered in this house were the Amber Blade swordsmen that follow you as the leader. All of them had nicely trained bodies and minds."

They were weaker than the Light Wind squad, but they were true warriors who'd been polishing their bodies and minds by following Wendy's example.

"But I won't give the position to you without any conditions. I need to explain to our head of house, so I'm going to stay here for a while to watch how you manage this house."

"Err…"

"If a manager ends up being dispatched from Zieghart, Arianne could become a branch instead of a vassal house. You need to work for it if you want to revive this house."

Wendy clenched her stained hilt upon hearing the gentle threat from Raon.

"…I understand."

Wendy raised her head. Her unwavering eyes showed that she had made up her mind.

"I'll try."

"I'll report to the head of house about this after this house gets back on track."

Since Raon was thinking that Glenn sent him there for that reason, he was confident he could persuade him as long as Wendy did her job.

"Understood. I'll sincerely express my gratitude later."

"I'll be waiting."

Wendy bowed politely before leaving the audience chamber.

Raon smiled faintly and turned around.

"Dorian."

"Yep!"

Dorian shoved the snacks he was eating into his belly pocket and nodded.

"Take the skull and the head from above the platform."

"Ugh…"

He showed his displeasure without even hiding it and took out a sack from his belly pocket to put the dullahan's head inside.

"The skull is relatively better."

Dorian sighed faintly and went on the platform. It was at that moment that flames were violently ignited from the skull's eyes.

Whaap!

The dancing fire looked like the death knight was getting revived, but the skull split into pieces, starting from the top, and turned into gray powder before scattering into the air.

Raon swallowed nervously while watching the scene.

'That's…'