Chapter 437

The Light Wind swordsmen swallowed nervously and raised their gazes.

Raon was looking at them with a crimson glow around his eyes, standing on the platform that had turned orange from the setting sun.

"Hmm…"

Burren's fingers trembled as he saw the glow in Raon's eyes.

"Why do I have this feeling that his eyes are full of insanity…?"

Raon's eyes were usually either cold or indifferent, but they were brimming with some sort of twisted madness instead.

"It's not just you. He's indeed insane."

Martha came next to Burren and sighed.

"Those are the eyes of a madman."

She bit her lip, saying that they were the exact same eyes the Light Wind swordsmen had when they lost their minds from the difficult training.

"He's not damn handsome."

Runaan's shoulders were trembling. She seemed to have clearly noticed the difference in Raon's pressure from before.

"His eyes are as cold as ice cream…"

She lowered her gaze, saying that his eyes were even more evil than when they first started the focus enhancement training.

"Aww…"

"D-doesn't the atmosphere feel dreary for some reason?"

"Why is he even making those eyes?! That's scary!"

"What even happened when he was with the head of house?"

The Light Wind swordsmen were also wrinkling their brows upon realizing that Raon's gaze and the atmosphere around him were different from usual.

Step.

Raon took a step towards the Light Wind division. It was a small footstep, but the pressure bursting from it made it seem as huge as a giant's step.

"It's been a while."

He smiled gently, his hands clasped behind his back. However, his eyes were even more insane, which created an intense fear in those looking at him.

"How have you been doing?"

Raon looked below the platform and asked how everyone had been.

"We've been…"

"We fully rested…"

"We exercised from time to time…"

"I came to a certain realization while training here."

He raised his chin without even listening to the answer to his question.

"A realization?"

"Wh-what realization is that?"

The Light Wind swordsmen raised their hands one after the other. They seemed to be curious despite the terrifying atmosphere.

"It's that I've been sinning against you."

"Sin?"

"What bullshit is he spouting now?"

"I-I wonder…"

Runaan, Martha, and Burren tilted their heads, unable to understand what Raon was talking about.

"And it's an extremely grave sin."

Raon raised his right hand to put his hair up.

The bloody glow on his gaze intensified even further, and the Light Wind swordsmen licked their dry lips.

"I underestimated your potential and failed to bring it out to the limit. There are still plenty of gems underground, but I couldn't take them out for you and only probed the surface."

He bowed, saying that it was a grave mistake he'd made and that he was sorry for underestimating them.

"I realized it perfectly while the head of house and Sir Rector trained me. I learned everything about how to get stronger and how to surpass the limits."

Raon smiled, telling them they didn't need to worry about it anymore. The vivid madness shining in yellow was emerging from his bright smile, and the chins of the Light Wind division's swordsmen trembled in fear.

"W-we are fine with that!"

"Yeah! I'm fine with not surpassing that fucking limit!"

"Raon, damn handsome. I prefer the way I am right now."

Burren, Martha, and Runaan hurriedly shook their hands.

'We can never allow him to do this!'

'I just saw that even that guy broke out in a cold sweat. We are definitely going to die if it happens to us!'

'I want to eat another ice cream…'

The three of them shouted in their thoughts that they couldn't experience another hell and refused the new training he had come up with.

"V-vice squad leader. I mean, vice division leader! We are already satisfied with the focus enhancement training!"

"I agree! You don't need to pay so much attention to us!"

"We would feel too bad for taking so much of your time, vice division leader. You are already busy enough with your own training!"

"Just like the saying 'better the devil you know', we are going to continue what we've been doing!"

The Light Wind swordsmen, including Dorian and Krein, frantically shook their heads as their anxiousness drenched their backs in cold sweats.

"I'm fine with it. There's no reason to make you take a longer path when I know a shortcut. Good food should be shared instead of eating alone. I've decided to train with you every evening from today onward."

Raon raised his clenched fist, declaring that he wanted to grow together with the Light Wind division.

"Y-you really don't need to share it…"

"That's right! You should keep the good stuff for yourself!"

"I-I have to feed my dog…"

The sense of crisis intensified for the Light Wind division, and they pursed their lips while shaking their heads.

"No, I can't be the only one to suffer."

Raon came down from the platform with a cold smile on his face.

"He said it again! He said that he can't be the only one to suffer!"

"He's blatantly venting his frustration on us! What a demon!"

"He's not just a demon. He's a demon king at this point!"

"Shut up and draw your swords."

Raon ignored the Light Wind division's resistance and drew Heavenly Drive. The madness emerging from his eyes intensified into a powerful radiance.

"I'll teach you how fun it is to practice swordsmanship."

Raon briefly taught them how to incorporate the principles in their swords before returning above the platform.

"We are going to start the training to incorporate the principle of the swift sword into a technique you learned. Make it as fast as possible, regardless of what technique it is."

He gave the instructions for the training and swung Heavenly Drive from top to bottom at the same time.

Whoosh!

The extreme swiftness engulfed the Fangs of Insanity's ferocious and sharp technique, and the blade flashed in red to sever the darkness.

"I-I couldn't even see it though?!"

"Has the vice division leader's sword always been that fast?"

"Moreover, he's not even being serious…"

The Light Wind swordsmen dropped their jaws upon witnessing Raon's swift sword, which looked like his sword hadn't moved at all because of how fast it slashed before returning to its scabbard.

"You will notice once you try it, but it's not that difficult. There's no reason to be afraid."

Raon lowered Heavenly Drive and twirled his finger.

"Try swinging your sword to the best of your abilities while drawing an image in your mind where you incorporate your technique with extreme swiftness."

"Yes!"

The Light Wind swordsmen responded loudly before swinging down their swords.

Even though Raon had seen their techniques countless times before, they were connecting faster than before.

"Hmm?"

"This isn't that hard."

"I know, right? You just need to add the principle of swift sword and use your technique."

"It consumes a lot of aura and it requires focus, but it's not anything to be scared about."

Everyone smiled, saying that the training wasn't as difficult and painful as they'd expected.

"That was rather decent for your first attempt."

Raon nodded at the Light Wind swordsmen.

"However, you haven't managed to fully incorporate the principles of swift sword yet. Do it again."

He ordered them to repeat it once more since they didn't have enough focus and speed.

"Yes!"

Since the Light Wind swordsmen had already learned that the training wasn't that difficult, they nodded without hesitation before unleashing their technique once again. They were clearly faster than their first attempt.

"Do it again."

However, Raon didn't seem to be satisfied with it, since he told them to do it one more time. The swordsmen unleashed their techniques a third time.

"Again."

Raon kept repeating 'again' endlessly. Because the swordsmen had to unleash their techniques for two hours straight to the best of their abilities and even had to incorporate the principle they weren't used to, their faces started to look clearly exhausted.

"Th-this is no joke."

Burren exhaled roughly while lowering his sword.

"It was fine in the beginning, but doing it repeatedly is sucking my stamina like a leech…"

Martha gritted her back teeth with her hands on her knees.

"Martha, weak…"

Runaan was blinking her eyes while almost lying on the ground.

"You should stand up before saying that!"

Martha frowned and picked Runaan up by her collar.

"Argh!"

"I-I'm dying…"

"I never expected it to be so hard to consecutively use a technique."

"I think it's even more exhausting because I have to add a principle that I'm not used to."

The Light Wind swordsmen were even more weakened than the team leaders, and they were panting while leaning forward.

"One more time."

Raon ordered them to focus once again and unleash their technique from the beginning. He still didn't seem to be satisfied with their performance.

"What the hell is the issue?!"

"We are doing it correctly!"

"At least tell us what the problem is!"

The swordsmen furrowed their brows, asking how long they had to keep repeating it.

"I'll tell you since you are curious about it."

Raon nonchalantly looked at the team leaders in front of him.

"Burren, your body has lost balance ever since your first technique. The flow went wrong because you were too focused on speed. As for Martha, the principle of the powerful sword is more intense than the swift sword. Make sure to learn the difference between fast and strong. Runaan, you need to focus without dozing off. Dorian is just too slow. You need to make it faster…"

Starting from the three team leaders, he pointed out the problem for every single Light Wind swordsman.

"Huh…"

"D-did he really manage to grasp all of our shortcomings?"

"Is it really possible to notice all of that when he'd been training all day long?"

"He really is a monster…"

The Light Wind swordsmen shook their heads with expressions of admiration and surprise on their faces upon hearing his remarks.

"Your arms are idle. Swing your swords if you have time for surprise!"

Raon tilted his chin while furrowing his brow. The Light Wind swordsmen were startled and raised their swords once again.

"Ugh…"

"Damn it!"

"I'll definitely get stronger than him one day and order him into hellish training!"

The swordsmen's movements became faster and more systematic, probably because they'd just heard about their shortcomings a moment ago.

"Do it again!"

Raon shouted at them to do it again, saying that he was still not satisfied with it.

Hmm…

Wrath tapped on his head while yawning.

There's no way those shitters can improve in a single day. Why are you asking them to repeat it over and over when they seem to be trying pretty hard?

He murmured that they should return and eat something since he was getting hungry.

'Not yet.'

Raon shook his head while pushing away Wrath's flabby belly.

'They can improve a bit more. And they also need to experience the pain.'

He couldn't be the only one to suffer the torture of swinging a sword all day long to the best of his ability while incorporating the sword's principles. He wanted to teach them the same pain he'd gone through.

"One more time!"

Haa…

Wrath sighed deeply while looking at Raon's eyes, which were glowing with madness.

Every single person is crazy around here…

* * *

The next day, Raon finished Rector's morning training—which had become tougher than before—and was catching his breath when Glenn appeared and gave him a Nadine bread.

"Thank you for the meal."

Raon raised his gaze while taking the Nadine bread from him. He could've been mistaken, but Glenn's expression seemed as warm as the bread.

"Sure."

Glenn shook his hand as if he was telling him to take his time eating before moving away.

Damn it!

Wrath pulled his hair out while shouting that he was going insane.

The rubber taste isn't the only bad part about that damned bread! The stale taste stays all day long! It's as if there's rubber stuck on the tongue!

He pleaded for Raon to stop with the Nadine bread, but Raon had no other choice since he wouldn't be able to last in Glenn's severe training without eating it.

N-nooo… Kueh!

Raon swallowed the Nadine bread at one gulp, and Wrath tilted like a broken tumbler before he fell down.

"I'm done eating. Let's get started."

Raon ignored Wrath, who'd fainted with his tongue sticking out, and walked up to Glenn.

"Alright."

Glenn nodded and stepped aside.

'Hmm? Why did he step aside?'

He would've normally demonstrated from there and asked him to repeat after him, but he was standing on the side instead.

"Try incorporating the variation to the Fangs of Insanity."

Glenn ordered to unleash his technique instead of a demonstration.

"Understood."

Raon nodded and drew Heavenly Drive. He unleashed the Fangs of Insanity with variation while thinking that he probably got lazy.

Whoosh!

The blade crawled as slowly as a snail and managed to achieve a clear variation like a rising heat haze.

Heavenly Drive's edge was unraveled like a thread to create a pure wave of variation.

"Hmm…"

Glenn lowered his brows while touching his chin. His expression was saying that it wasn't too great.

"You swung your sword slightly too fast. The wrist is the most important part of the variation, but you didn't make perfect use of it. Don't pay attention to the speed, focus on the variation."

He raised his sword and swung it downwards. Hundreds of blades filled the training ground, looking like the perfected version of Raon's slash.

"Try it again."

Glenn shook his hand, telling him to try fixing what he'd pointed out.

"Err…"

Raon's lips parted as he fixed his grip on Heavenly Drive.

'Did the head of house change just like he did?'

Just like Rector started a tougher training because of Glenn's influence, Glenn seemed to have gotten softer with Rector's influence.

They must've changed their ways of teaching because they'd been watching the other person's lesson.

"What are you waiting for? Start moving already."

"I'm doing it now."

Raon briefly sighed while raising Heavenly Drive.

'But in this case… Isn't it only getting more difficult for me?'

* * *

Raon sighed after he finished Glenn's lesson, which had actually become more intense despite its mild appearance.

'I'm going to die at this rate.'

He had to draw out his focus and willpower to the limit of his abilities on every single swing in order to satisfy Glenn, and repeating that until evening had made his body as heavy as soaked cotton and his head completely dizzy. He really couldn't return to his senses anymore.

'There's no other choice. I can't leave this stress as it is.'

He figured it was necessary to vent his stress on training the Light Wind swordsmen in order to withstand Glenn and Rector's lessons the next day.

While Raon was thinking about how to mess the Light Wind division up, Rector entered the training ground.

"Head of house."

Rector rolled his lips into a smile while walking towards Glenn.

"You've changed your training method."

"You've also changed your way of teaching, Sir Rector."

Glenn smiled, telling him that Rector's lesson had also changed a lot.

"I've realized that being soft all along wasn't the way to go while watching the head of house's lesson. Being rough is better sometimes."

"On the other hand, I've thought that it's better to give some explanation. I can point out what he's lacking and press him even further if he can't fix it."

"Indeed. Doing that creates more time to swing the sword."

"I agree. I believe he practiced his sword at least ten more times than yesterday."

Their conversation sounded like they were being cautious about each other at first, but they started to discuss how to make the training even harder and more compact.

"Huh…?"

Raon's eyes widened as he watched Glenn and Rector looking at each other with wholehearted smiles.

'When did you get so close to each other…?'

* * *

Rector returned to his room after helping with Yua and Yulius's sword practice. He sat on the bed and smiled faintly.

'This is so fun. I can't even tell when the last time I felt this way was.'

Teaching Raon, who learned five when he taught him only one, raising his disciple, who had become as innocent as blank paper, and teaching the sword to Yua and Yulius, who felt like his grandchildren was all so fun. Every moment he experienced since arriving at Zieghart was brimming with happiness.

'Moreover…'

He managed to get closer to Glenn, probably because they could sympathize with each other as Raon's teachers. He had so much fun and felt like they'd really become a family whenever he discussed how to make Raon stronger with him.

Since every moment was even more fulfilling than when he used to raise Edgar, he wished for that life to continue forever.

"I don't want to leave. I'd like to stay a bit longer…"

Rector lay on the bed and closed his eyes when he heard two knocks.

"Master."

"Enter."

He immediately told him to enter since it was Mustan's voice.

"I'm sorry for visiting at such a late hour."

He entered the room with a frozen look on his face, unlike when Rector was helping his training a moment ago.

"What's the matter?"

Mustan took a white letter from his clothes instead of responding.

"The Alliance has ordered us to return."