Chapter 73

Raon didn't show himself, even after sending out Martha and the rest of the trainees at an opportune moment.

He held his breath as he hid his presence even more, like a wild animal or a twig swaying to the wind.

The trainees recovered their courage and willpower at the arrival of Martha's reinforcements, wiping out the green demons.

'It's going to start now.'

Raon warmed himself up while breathing out slowly. It looked like victory was near, but it was also the most dangerous moment.

'The Green War Demon hasn't made his appearance yet.'

Eden's Green War Demon, who had ordered the green demons to attack, must've been up there.

Raon approached the bushes where everyone was fighting very slowly and silently.

The moment Burren, Runaan, and Martha were about to swing their swords at the remaining few green demons…

He appeared.

'The Green War Demon, I knew you were there.'

Eden's lower executive, the Green War Demon, who had received orc fighter's strength. He was walking towards them with tremendous pressure.

Slam!

Burren, Runaan, and Martha were bounced back at once with a single enraged strike. Oppressed by the Green War Demon's pressure, they couldn't even move their bodies properly.

Thump.

Raon moved his feet, synchronizing his heartbeat with the Green War Demon's breath.

The movement of his feet was the Shadowless Steps he had learned, his life on the line, when he used to be an assassin. Moving as secretly as a shadow, he moved to the Green War Demon's back.

Whoosh!

As the Green War Demon was about to swing his ax at Martha, he raised his sword while hiding his murderous intent under the Green War Demon's murderous intent.

"Then die!"

The moment the Green War Demon was about to strike, he used the 'Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation'.

Whir!

The first flame of 'Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation'. The flower of flame that ignited at the end of the sword fell towards the Green War Demon's neck.

"You!"

The Green War Demon's eyes were full of astonishment as he turned around. He used his combative energy on his back in that instant, trying to deflect the sword's trajectory.

"Just die without struggling."

Raon split apart the Green War Demon's combative energy with the flame from the 'Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation' and slammed his sword down.

"Kuaaaah!"

The moment the sword that fell like a lightning was about to slice his neck, he pierced into him instead.

Thud!

With red blood gushing out, something fell to the ground.

Raon frowned and glared in front of him.

"Kuhuhu…"

The Green War Demon, whose left arm was completely cut off, was smiling as he coughed up blood.

"It looks like you didn't expect me to move into you."

"Crazy bastard."

Human instinct was to run away from danger, not to run towards it. Moving towards him in that instant to sacrifice his arm instead of his neck was a really crazy thing to do.

'This is why I didn't want to fight them.'

Raon clicked his tongue.

"Kuh!"

Red combative energy burst from the Green War Demon's shoulder, and the blood that was gushing out like a broken dam stopped.

"It looks like you can't move either."

"..."

Raon didn't respond. Just as he said, he couldn't move for a moment since he had wagered a lot on that single strike.

He would've run towards him to behead him already if he could move his body.

"Are you the person in charge here?"

He opened his mouth while recovering his body and aura by swinging his 'Ring of Fire'.

"What else? Do you think somebody higher up than me would come to such a small village?"

The Green War Demon grasped his axe with the remaining arm tightly. The red combative energy, which had subsided, burst out once again.

"Well, we never know. After all, you guys are lunatics."

Releasing the murky energy with his breath, Raon bent his knee slightly. He filled his lungs with fresh air in a posture where he could start dashing whenever he wanted.

Thud!

The Green War Demon kicked the ground. He swung his axe, exuding a tremendous amount of murderous intent—enough to give him goosebumps.

Whir!

Raon swung his sword upward. The cleansed first flame of the 'Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation' surrounded his sword,

Clang!

The sword and double-edged axe clashed, sounding like steel being crushed.

Whir!

The crimson spark spread out, burning the ground.

"Did you just block that?"

The Green War Demon swung his axe horizontally while glaring at him. The powerful wind pressure made it difficult to move his sword properly.

"I should give up on being a swordsman if I can't even block that."

Raon swung his sword, engulfed in fire.

Clash!

His hand felt like it was being torn apart as they clashed for the second time, but he brandished his sword once again, hiding his expression.

"You understand the warrior's spirit! A brat from Zieghart!"

The Green War Demon burst into grotesque laughter and swung his axe.

"Even so, I can't spare your life!"

"I never asked you to spare my life."

Raon swung his sword to block the axe and advanced one step.

Clang!

Facing the tremendous amount of combative energy imbued in the axe, Raon's sword trembled as if it was going to break.

'I have to withstand it.'

He couldn't break through him with his current power. He needed to fight while deflecting the axe's energy.

Slam!

Using the intricacy of Zieghart's swordsmanship, he blocked the Green War Demon's instinctive attacks.

Raon and the monster with an orc's instinct clashed their sword and axe countless times at close quarters.

* * *

"Wh-what is this?"

Burren's chin trembled, his eyes wide.

'Seriously, what is this…'

He couldn't breathe because of the two monsters fighting in front of him, clashing their sword and axe.

'H-how many times have they swung their weapons?'

He couldn't even recognize the trajectory of the sword and axe. It would've been an understatement to say they were better than himself, since they were on a completely different level.

Whoosh!

The Green War Demon's axe pummeled down like lightning.

He unconsciously swallowed.

If that attack was directed on his head, his body would've been split into two right after. Goosebumps appeared on his arm thinking about it.

However, Raon parried the ax by swinging his sword in a semi-circular trajectory.

Slam!

The axe crushed the ground. Red energy burst out from the cracked ground.

"Th-that…"

Burren scratched the ground with his hand.

'It's the 'Star-Connecting Sword'!'

The 'Star-Connecting Sword was the most basic technique learned before anything else in Zieghart. Raon was stopping that mighty axe using the 'Star-Connecting Sword' alone.

Burren couldn't close his mouth. Saying that he was surprised was an understatement at that point.

'I thought I had somewhat caught up to him…'

He'd been nurturing his body and mind with everything he had after being impressed by Raon's efforts. He had thought he was right behind him now, but that wasn't the case at all.

The strike that cut off the Green War Demon's arm earlier and the might Raon was displaying right now far surpassed a trainee's level.

"Do you get it?"

He turned his head around at the voice that sounded like a lamentation. Martha was right next to him, gasping for breath.

"That's his true power."

Martha narrowed her eyes and glared at Raon, who was fighting equally against the Green War Demon.

"What he showed us was just the tip of the iceberg."

She was already aware of the fact that Raon had been hiding his power.

'However…'

She had never imagined he was strong enough to fight on equal ground against the Green War Demon, who had pushed back herself, Burren, and Runaan with a single strike.

'I have no choice but to acknowledge him now.'

Martha clenched her fist. The mission. Everything was in Raon's grasp. The situation developed just as he had said, and it was achieved the way he wanted.

The only thing left was defeating that monster.

"Haa…"

Runaan, who regained her composure, approached them holding a broken sword. Raon, who seemed to be barely holding on, was reflected on her blue eyes.

She bit her lip harshly and was about to participate in the fight. That was when Martha blocked her way.

"Calm down. You will get torn into pieces the moment you step in."

"I can help him."

"You are going to die before then."

"I don't care."

Runaan shook her head. Only thing reflected in her eyes was Raon, who was evading the axe with difficulty.

'This girl…'

Martha furrowed her brow. Considering she was trying to participate despite knowing the danger, it seemed she wasn't following Raon for no reason.

"Then hold back just a little bit longer."

"What?"

"That guy…"

Martha pointed at Raon. His eyes, which looked like crimson lightning, were bursting up instead. Martha continued while looking at such eyes.

"He has the same eyes as when he won against me in a duel."

***

"Kuh!"

The Green War Demon bared his teeth, exuding his combative energy.

"It looks like you are running out of strength, am I right?"

"..."

Raon didn't respond. He just focused on swinging his sword and blocking the axe.

'The murderous intent is getting more and more intense.'

It seemed that he didn't earn the orc fighter's armor with hopscotch, since he was still full of energy despite having lost a quarter of his upper body. It was truly a crazy amount of endurance.

'I should've finished him earlier.'

Raon clicked his tongue. He didn't completely hide his murderous intent because it was his first assassination after a while. It was a regretful situation.

"You are special. Considering your age, it wouldn't be an overstatement to call you the biggest genius on the continent. However…"

The corners of the Green War Demon's lips were lifted in the shape of a crescent moon.

"I'm also special."

The intensity of the flame on his axe increased.

Whoosh!

The axe's strike grew faster and fiercer.

Clang!

Raon held his sword vertically to block the blow. When he was about to parry it like before, the axe's blade rotated and pressed on the sword.

"I finished figuring out the swordsmanship you're using. It was a bit difficult because it was a variation of a basic swordsmanship, but it's over now."

The Green War Demon wasn't lying. He was reading into the direction Raon was going to move his sword, preventing him from blocking or parrying.

Bam!

A different sound roared from the sword and axe clashing. It was a clash of strength.

"Kuh…"

Raon groaned despite having been holding it back. His forearm trembled from the strength of the axe, which was too much for him to handle.

"Did you know that? Eden's executives have a special ability."

"..."

"What I have is a sense. A sense that tells me where you are going to move your sword next."

The Green War Demon grinned and swung his axe horizontally. The combative energy in his axe created a strange flow and blocked where Raon was going to dodge.

"You talk a lot, just like somebody else I know."

Raon smiled coldly and swung his sword upward.

Screech!

Along with a sound of sawtooth being twisted, the Green War Demon's axe went past the blade, heading to the ground.

Thud!

Raon kicked off from the collapsing ground, piercing the Green War Demon's chest. He swung his sword to his surprised eyes.

Slice!

A lethal amount of blood burst out from the left side of his chest.

"Keuh!"

Swinging his axe haphazardly, he stepped backward.

"Tsk."

Raon clicked his tongue. He was trying to cut him apart completely, but he was lacking in strength and distance. It was difficult to fight in a body that hadn't completely grown yet.

"Y-you bastard. How could you…"

"Just like you figured out my swordsmanship, I also analyzed your attacking method."

"…Do you expect me to believe that…"

"Why not? If you can do it, then I can do it as well."

It wasn't a lie.

Thanks to using the 'Ring of Fire' while fighting him, he managed to predict where the axe was going to move next. It wasn't perfect, but he could predict half of his movements.

"Huff…"

Blood started subsiding from the Green War Demon's chest. A flame of combative energy burst from his entire body.

"What is your name?"

"It's Raon Zieghart, nameless Green Demon of Eden."

"Blond hair and red eyes. I've been feeling uneasy from the first time I saw…"

As if his murderous intent was taking shape, red energy burst out from his eyes.

"You've inherited most of Glenn Zieghart's blood."

"What?"

"You are dangerous. I'm going to kill you here no matter the cost. For Eden's future."

Wham!

The combative energy that was spreading around the Green War Demon gathered in the double-edged axe. It looked like a mace made of red blood instead of an axe.

"I'm going to destroy everything, you and the Ziegharts behind you alike."

The Green War Demon ground his teeth and raised his axe.

Raon didn't step back despite witnessing that tremendous amount of power. He brandished his sword, which was swaying to the powerful energy wave.

"It's the perfect opportunity to try it out."

Stretching his knee to the front, he turned his sword behind him. 

Whir!

The single flame burning at the extremity of his sword flowed down the edge, splashing as if a tidal wave was carrying it.

The 'Ten Flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation'.

The second door of the 'Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation' opened up, and ten flowers blossomed on the blade and started dancing.

____

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