Chapter 498

Burren swallowed nervously as he looked at the blue radiance surrounding his blade.

'Is this astral energy?'

It was on a whole different level from the aura blade. The energy of wind was endlessly condensing around the blade, and he could feel a sharpness capable of cutting through anything.

Confidence filled his shoulders, making him feel like he could defeat any opponent and execute the techniques he couldn't use before.

'He said I have to be even more careful in a situation like this.'

Raon had mentioned that the feeling of omnipotence after surpassing the wall was extremely dangerous and had advised him to calm down.

'I shouldn't be relieved.'

There was no way Raon would be wrong. Since his opponent had become a Master a long time before himself, carelessness would get him killed in an instant even though his enemy was injured.

"Don't you think…"

The elite guard rubbed the laceration on his chest with trembling lips.

The blood falling like a heavy rain came to a halt and the wound tightened. He seemed to have forced the bleeding to stop with his aura.

"You've won with this?!"

The astral energy around his blade intensified into a bloody color, probably because he was going all out.

"I would never think that."

Burren lowered his posture and raised his sword above his head.

"Not until I've killed you!"

"You greenhorn!"

The elite guard charged at him from the left. Blood started to flow from his wound once again because of the drastic movement. As expected, the injury wasn't completely sutured.

'In that case.'

Burren took three steps back with his footwork. He placed his left foot on a boulder, extended his right foot, and executed a downward slash.

The astral energy engulfing his blade split into five gusts of wind to attack his opponent.

It was the Barren Wind Sword's special technique, Rotating Wind Arrow, that he was unable to achieve despite endless practice.

"Kuh!"

The elite guard created a sword barrier as he charged like a boar.

Claaang!

He seemed to be planning to cut through the astral energy to continue his charge, but the Rotating Wind Arrow created a violent rotation of wind to destroy the elite guard's sword barrier.

Blood gushed out of the laceration on his chest once again.

"Y-you bastard!"

"It's not over yet!"

Burren grabbed his sword with two hands and swung it down in a curved trajectory—like the wheel of a carriage. The astral energy on his blade extended like sunlight reflected on the water and shot toward the elite guard's heart.

Claaang!

The elite guard was unable to perfectly block it once again and was pushed back while leaving a deep trace on the ground. His left knee was trembling, showing that he'd received a significant amount of damage.

"You cheap bastard…"

"There's no reason to allow your approach."

The Barren Wind Sword specialized in ranged attacks, and his opponent's skills were better than his own. That was why there was no reason to fight from up close without using his advantage.

'But I also need to help them quickly.'

Runaan was currently maintaining the Light Wind Formation. She must've been under heavy pressure, as it was normally supposed to be done by the three team leaders together.

However, making sure to finish off the opponent in front of him had the higher priority. The Light Wind division would be annihilated if he ended up defeated instead.

'Please hold out a bit longer.'

Burren bit the tip of his tongue while thrusting his turbulent energy of wind.

'I'll return as quickly as possible!'

* * *

"Haa…"

A weak groan could be heard from Runaan.

'It's so painful.'

Her bones and muscles had started to scream from maintaining the Great Light Wind Formation's center, which should've been done by the three team leaders together.

The pain was reaching all the way under her stomach, implying that she must've even gotten an internal injury.

She had no time to breathe because she even had to block a Master's strikes while trying to destroy the sword formation.

'But I have to hold out.'

The opponent Burren was fighting was even stronger than the Master she was facing, and even Yua and Yulius were filling into the formation to swing their swords with their small hands. She couldn't let everyone die like that.

'And…'

Runaan quickly rolled her eyes and looked at Martha on Dorian's back.

'I can't let Miss Rakshasa die like this.'

She couldn't let the first friend of the same sex that she'd ever made die like that while sleeping. She had to endure it even if it broke all the bones in her body.

Whoosh!

While Runaan was bracing herself amid the intense pain, the black-haired elite guard charged at her from the right and swung his sword down.

It was a fiery strike with astral energy. The Light Wind swordsmen were going to be cut in half if it continued.

Ssshh!

She didn't hesitate to use the Snow Footwork. Her movement looked like she was sliding on ice, and she focused her energy of frost while standing in front of the elite guard.

Crack!

The ice barrier was unable to withstand the astral energy, shattered into pieces, and created a small ice tornado.

'It's too weak…'

She couldn't make a decent counterattack because she was spending her aura and willpower to maintain the formation.

"How crude."

The black-haired elite guard snorted and easily cut apart the ice tornado.

Runaan extended Snow Flower, which she'd pulled back, to block the astral energy that was piercing through the tornado.

Claang!

The astral energy was too powerful like always. It felt like her hand was tearing apart as it completely destroyed her aura blade.

"Uhh…"

She was extremely confident in her patience, but the overlapping pain made her unconsciously let out a groan.

"Your scream is no fun."

The black-haired elite guard briefly clicked his tongue while placing his sword on his shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

"Your face is pretty, but your scream is boring."

His eyes started to glow red.

"I like the screams of vermin even more than the swordsmanship."

The black-haired elite guard giggled and jumped to the left. He was targeting Yulius, who was leaning forward to catch his breath.

"Ugh!"

Runaan frowned and chased after him. The elite guard executed a swift downward slash toward Yulius's head with a frightening smile on his face, and tremendous pressure was pushing her back as a result.

'Get in there!'

She shoved Snow Flower between the elite guard's sword and Yulius.

Claaang!

Her wrist and shoulder appeared on the verge of snapping as they shook violently. She had suffered significant damage because the defense wasn't carried out from a proper position.

"Ack…"

"T-team leader!"

Yulius's pale lips trembled. She wanted to tell him she was okay, but she couldn't open her mouth because of the damage.

She patted his head with her left hand and stepped forward.

"Are you still only letting out small groans? What a boring woman."

The black-haired elite guard frowned while tilting his chin.

"And you are also stupid."

"..."

"You wouldn't have suffered such a serious internal injury if you didn't defend that brat."

He snorted while pointing at the blood flowing from her lips.

"This time…"

The black-haired elite guard rolled his eyes and licked his lips.

"I'll go that way!"

He violently kicked the ground and advanced towards Yua.

"St-stop him!"

"Don't let him pass!"

Krein and the swordsmen tried to get in his way, but the elite guard's astral energy distorted the sword formation.

"Ack!"

"Cough…"

The swordsmen were pushed back because they were already exhausted, and they coughed blood while letting out a groan.

"I like your screams!"

The black-haired elite guard's smile deepened as he stood in front of Yua.

"I wonder how your scream is going to sound, little lady?"

"Go away."

Runaan stood in front of Yua, and the black-haired elite guard immediately swung his sword from the left.

Claaang!

Runaan was bounced back once again because it was a clash between a fully prepared Master and a highest-level Expert who couldn't get into a proper position. A large amount of blood gushed out through her tightly closed lips.Vissit novelbin(.)c.𝒐m for updates

"Runaan…"

"…I'm fine."

Runaan forced herself to smile. She couldn't even tell if she was smiling or crying. Her mind went blank, and her vision blurred.

"Are you still not screaming? You are a real deal."

The black-haired elite guard shook his head.

"Don't you often get called out for being persistent?"

"..."

Runaan didn't respond and pointed her sword at the black-haired elite guard.

"I would've been bored at this point normally, but…"

The black-haired elite guard grinned while tapping on his cheek.

"This is rather interesting today. So now…"

He pierced towards the center of the sword formation while letting out a frightening voice. His gaze was directed at Dorian, who was carrying Martha on his back.

"I'll stab that woman! You must be close to her since you've been glancing at her all this time!"

The black-haired elite guard's sword rushed toward Martha. The sword formation was cracked, and he became even faster.

Runaan realized she wouldn't be able to catch up to him even if she used the Snow Footwork to the best of her ability.

"Ah!"

Dorian stepped backward while chewing on his lip. It was a wise decision since he was trying to get away from the sword's trajectory by using his footwork while lowering his lower body.

However, the astral energy on the elite guard's sword was blocking all escape.

"Ah…"

Runaan's chin trembled. The sword looked like it was advancing at an extremely slow speed—as if her life were flashing in front of her eyes.

'I need to stop him. I need to, but…'

There was nothing she could do. Her vision went blank, as if she were paying for the accumulated damage at once.

'Stop him? But how? And… Why do I have to stop him?'

She started to wonder why she'd been fixated on defense.

As she began to forget even her own identity, she could see the back of a person amidst the sea of white.

The back didn't belong to an adult but to a child. It was the back that she'd never forgotten.

'Raon.'

When they were trainees, Raon had defeated her fear of Syria, which was about to devour her. The back she'd seen had left a deep impression on her.

'Yes, that's why I…'

She's been practicing defensive sword techniques to protect others, just as Raon did in the past, and has assumed the defensive role in the formation.

It was the choice she made to protect her companions that she got attached to and to overcome her brother's malevolence that was eventually going to come.

'That's why… I can't give up yet.'

A blue tornado stormed inside her mind as the childish back of Raon turned into his grown form.

The hazy world returned to normal, and she could see that the black-haired elite guard's sword was about to cut down Martha and Dorian at the same time.

Runaan raised her hand. Her energy center felt like it was going to burst from the violent rampage of her energy of frost, and she unleashed it toward her opponent.

Whaaam!

The coldness dashed through her mana circuits and advanced to create a spiky ice wall between Martha and the black-haired elite guard in an instant.

It was so huge that it almost looked like an entire mountain being frozen.

Crack!

The black-haired elite guard and even the sword demons and bloody demons attacking the formation came to a halt upon witnessing the overwhelming size.

Runaan fired the energy of frost on Snow Flower towards the peak of the ice wall.

Crack!

As soon as the round concentration of her astral energy reached the ice wall, countless fissures appeared on it and created a tremendous explosion.

Whaaam!

The ice shards coming from the explosion didn't simply disappear, instead turning into silver astral energy to become a blizzard cutting through the souls of her enemies.

"Cough!"

"Kuaaaah!"

"Wh-what's happening?!"

"D-dodge! It's made of astral energy!"

"Ugh…"

The storming ice made by Runaan became a death god's sentence to put an end to the lives of the White Blood fanatics and the Holy Sword Alliance's warriors.

On the other hand, not the smallest shard came towards the Light Wind swordsmen and the civilians.

"Kuh!"

The black-haired elite guard was also fully occupied with getting the ice shards away from him. Moreover, the movement of his hand was slowed down because of the fog in the area.

"How is this even happening? You can't just awaken like this! Huh?"

He finally caught his breath after disposing of the last shard of ice only to find Runaan piercing through the white fog.

"I've been waiting for you!"

The black-haired elite guard swung his sword downwards with a murderous smile. His posture was flawless, showing that he wasn't being careless at all.

"Die!"

However, Runaan disappeared like an illusion the moment his astral energy cut through her.

"Wh-what's happen—Cough!"

The black-haired elite guard's jaw dropped, and Runaan's sword appeared from the left to stab into his chest.

"Kuaaah!"

"You like screams, right?"

Runaan twisted the blade on the black-haired elite guard's chest and pulled it out. Blood gushed from it like an unstoppable fountain.

"Y-you…"

"Die while listening to your own screams."

"Damn it…"

The black-haired elite guard collapsed with bloodshot eyes. He couldn't even let out the screams he loved so much.

"Ugh…"

Runaan sank to the ground while coughing up blood. Her head was blank and her body felt heavy. She felt like she really couldn't do anything anymore.

She looked to her right while exhaling a bloody breath and saw Burren sinking to the ground after beheading the Master in front of him. It looked like he'd also exhausted all his strength.

"Now the only one left is…"

Runaan raised her chin to look at the front.

* * *

* * *

"Kuh…"

Mark Goetten groaned while looking at the cut on his waist.

"I know who you are."

The man who seemed to be the elite guard captain slowly nodded.

"Mark Goetten, the Saber of the Fallen Flower. People called you a genius in the beginning, but you are just a lazy and mediocre warrior who couldn't get out of the beginner realm of Master in your entire life."

He slowly nodded. He was simply stating the truth, with no trace of contempt in his voice.

"I heard you were wandering around the world as a mercenary. I didn't expect to see you here."

"I also know about you."

Mark Goetten twisted his lips while looking at the scar on the elite guard captain's nose.

"Balben the Landsteel Sword."

Mark Goetten could ascertain that he was Balben the Landsteel Sword from the scar passing through his nose ridge and his unshakable swordsmanship that resembled an iron wall.

"Correct."

Balben peacefully nodded without being flustered in the slightest.

"Don't you find this interesting? You've fallen into being a mercenary when you used to be a famous knight, and I became a swordsman serving the Holy Sword Alliance master when I was a mercenary who had nothing but defense going for me."

"Not really."

"I thought I would never be able to defend against your strike when I saw your saber technique in the past, but I can even push it back with one hand now. It's making me sad at this point."

"Shut up. And I'm not a mercenary anymore. I'm a swordsman from Zieghart."

"Ah, yes. Indeed."

He slowly nodded while looking at the Zieghart emblem engraved on Mark Goetten's uniform.

"I guess Raon Zieghart was impatient to pick such a slothful man like you."

"Don't you dare insult him!"

"But I'm not exactly wrong. It's true that you are slothful, and it's also true that you can't break through my sword art."

"Hmm…"

Mark Goetten bit his lip. Balben was right, as his sword art felt as hard as an iron wall. He'd tried using every technique of the Anarchic Lightning Saber, but he was still unable to break through it.

"The situation went a bit awry, but…"

Balben stroked his chin while glancing backward.

"It doesn't exactly change the outcome. I can just take care of the Light Wind division after I kill you. Moreover…"

He looked in the direction where Raon and Cloud had left.

"Sir Cloud is going to return soon."

"You are wrong about that."

Mark Goetten exhaled a warm breath. He straightened his back while shaking off the blood from his waist.

"You might be able to kill me. The youngsters behind me might end up dying to you. However…"

He firmly shook his head while looking at Balben.

"Sir Raon is different. He will definitely cut down your master and return."

"Wahahahaha!"

Balben had been as calm as water, but he started to laugh like a madman while covering his forehead.

"You are so stupid. I guess there's a good reason you became the Saber of the Fallen Flower."

Balben shook his head with a sneer on his lips.

"You must've heard of Sir Cloud's identity. He is the disciple of our alliance master. He's reached the Grandmaster's realm after learning countless martial arts. He possesses a timeless talent, capable of mastering the techniques of others to a higher level than their original practitioners, even with minimal exposure. A mere Master would never…"

"Something like that doesn't even matter."

"What?"

"Sir Raon is never going to lose, not even if your master has reached transcendence. He also has superior talent."

Mark Goetten's unwavering pupils almost looked like they were fixated on a pin.

"Sir Raon told us that he would be back soon, and he is never wrong."

Raon had never been wrong, not even once so far.

'It's always been the case since the first time I met him.'

Raon had told him that he would help him to the best of his ability even though he wasn't sure whether that would make him stronger or not, and he'd been doing exactly what he'd said.

Countless people had told the same thing in the past, but every single one of them just wanted his power as a sloppy Master.

Raon was the only exception.

He'd been helping his training in various ways instead of using his power, and it was bearing its fruit.

Raon was literally a god for Mark Goetten because he'd brought back the objective that even his family, friends, and he had given up on.

Rumble!

Upon reflecting on the time he'd trained with Raon, vitality flooded his body, which had been nothing but exhausted and pained.

"I misspoke."

"I knew it. Someone like Raon would never win against Sir Cloud—"

"No, that's not what I meant."

Mark Goetten slowly raised his chin. The look in his eyes was different from before.

"Sir Raon told me that he was leaving it to me. Both me and the youngsters behind me need to survive until he returns."

He stomped the ground and raised his saber.

"Come at me!"

"You piece of trash."

Balben twisted his lips and thrust his sword that was pulled back on the left.

Claaang!

The impact reached all the way to his shoulder. Balben's sword wasn't specialized in defense anymore. The offensive ability was also solid enough to push back the astral saber.

Zap!

He pushed Balben away with a forced burst of strength then he unleashed Anarchic Lightning Saber techniques one after the other. Sparks filled the space like fireworks, but Balben felt like a boulder with his impenetrable defense.

"Those without skill aren't allowed to talk."

Balben sneered and swirled his wrist. His sword pressure started to devour the space, starting from the ground.

'Huh?'

Mark Goetten narrowed his eyes upon seeing Balben's attack.

'This shape…'

It was similar to the trajectory Raon had shown to him during their recent spar.

"Your attacks are powerful, Sir Mark Goetten. You should be able to slay even an intermediate Master if you win the mind game. However, you will be at a disadvantage against a powerful warrior focused on defense because of the saber's characteristics. What are you going to do when that happens?"

"In that case, I'll also fortify my defense…"

"A saber shouldn't be used like that. You have to break through no matter what, even if it costs you your life."

Raon had broken through the Anarchic Lightning Saber's barrier with a violent attack as a demonstration.

The aura was similar to before, but his will to cut through anything could be felt.

'I have to break through it no matter what. I'm going to die if I don't!'

Mark Goetten raised his saber while thinking about Raon's teachings. Starting from his ankle to his waist, his shoulder to his wrist, he used his entire body as a blade to execute the Anarchic Lightning Saber's downward slash.

However, he still couldn't break through Balben's sword barrier. Even then, he continued to attack. He was out of breath and his energy center was throbbing, but he endured it and slashed endlessly.

'Y-you bastard!"

Wrinkles appeared on Balben's face because the attacks showed no sign of stopping and became more and more powerful instead.

"You will be the first one to die no matter what you try!"

"Haaaah!"

Mark Goetten's shout of concentration replaced his response. It was the expression of his will, proclaiming that he would die if he couldn't break through his enemy—just like Raon had advised him.

A fight to the death. The important order from his master and his own confidence that he could do it jumped out of its shell.

His thoughts cleared and his hands became light. It could be the deathbed rally from the rumors, the one that supposedly happened before the moment of death.

He could feel the surge of power in his body and energy center, much like the bright radiance of a candle just before being extinguished.

Mark Gotten smiled, simply from the thought that he could swing the saber one more time.

"Kuaaaah!"

Mark Goetten's shout of concentration echoed throughout the land. He unleashed everything he had, his body, aura, and mind alike, to execute a downward slash with the saber that was splitting the night sky in half.

The astral energy engulfing his blade glimmered like moonlight.

"Too slow!"

Balben bit his lip and kicked the ground. His ferocious astral energy surrounded his blade and rushed towards Mark Goetten's heart.

"Huh?"

However, his blade only stabbed Mark Goetten's shoulder instead of his heart.

'Wh-what…?'

Balben's eyes widened. His wrist trembled like a paper boat riding the wind.

Whir!

Mark Goetten's expression hadn't changed in the slightest even though his flesh was cut off from his shoulder.

He kicked the ground and swung his saber down. It was the Anarchic Lightning Saber's special technique, Swift Lightning Slash. The lightning energy dwelling at the tip of his saber fell like a lightning strike cutting through the world.

Cring!

Balben unsheathed his sword and tried to fortify his defense, but the Swift Lightning Slash was faster.

Claaang!

His sword shattered as if it had been bitten by a beast, and a lightning-shaped wound appeared on his body.

"D-damn it…"

Balben looked at the lightning-shaped wound on his body before he collapsed on his back.

"Ah…"

Mark Goetten drove his saber onto the ground and leaned against it. He could feel it himself. He had finally broken through the wall and had reached the level of intermediate Master. Raon's promise was accomplished.

The memories of dozens of years where he was abandoned by his family, friends, companions, and the world fleeted past his mind, and tears started to flow before he knew it.

Mark Goetten roared towards the sky while thinking about Raon's face when he'd held his sword before he'd left.

"Aaaaaah!"

He was saying goodbye to his former self, the one who used to be incompetent and lazy, while expressing his gratitude to his new master who had granted him a new life.