Chapter 422

The next morning, the Light Wind swordsmen entered the training ground at Raon's summons.

"Weren't we supposed to rest until tomorrow?"

Burren was the first one who arrived, and he stood in front of the platform while rotating his stiff shoulders.

"I know, right?! Why the hell is he calling us in the morning?!"

Martha frowned without even trying to tame her bedhead.

"Yaaawn…"

Runaan didn't manage to wake up yet and yawned like a hippo with her eyes closed. 

"Why is he calling us today? Did anyone hear about it?"

"I don't know."

"He's just an impulsive guy…"

"And why is the squad leader nowhere to be found ever since yesterday?"

The dark area under the eyes of the Light Wind swordsmen showed how much they'd enjoyed the night before.

"I-I have a bad feeling about this…"

"This can't be right…"

Dorian and Krein swallowed nervously while looking around them. Their sense of danger had them on high alert.

Tap!

While the Light Wind swordsmen were tilting their heads from the strangeness of the situation, Raon came walking through the indoor training ground.

"Everyone's here."

Raon went on the platform with a faint smile on his face.

You must be planning to bully them again since you have that evil smile on your face!

'Of course not.'

He had zero intention of bullying them. He just wanted their success from the bottom of his heart, even though it could get slightly violent…

"I told you to rest until tomorrow, didn't I?"

Raon looked around at the tired expressions of the Light Wind swordsmen with his arms crossed.

"Yes, you did!"

"Stop disturbing our rest and go away already!"

"Your presence here is scary because you can ask us to do something unreasonable!"

The Light Wind swordsmen furrowed their brows, telling him to stop disturbing their rest.

"Are you really going to rest though?"

Raon took a step towards the platform.

"Err…?"

"Wh-what do you even mean?"

"Are we really going to rest?"

The Light Wind swordsmen quickly blinked their eyes, unable to understand what he'd just said.

"I'm indeed planning to let you rest until tomorrow, but I'm asking whether you are really going to rest or not."

Raon looked down on the Light Wind swordsmen with a frightening gaze.

"Are you really going to rest for two whole days when we've simply been traveling here without any battles? You still have a huge amount of sword techniques and footworks to learn, not to mention training to do, yet you are really going to rest? Once again?! The world is teeming with enemies of Zieghart, yet you are going to rest again?"

"Ah…"

"Ugh…"

Each time Raon accentuated the 'again' part, the Light Wind swordsmen hung their heads with trembling shoulders.

"Yes, it's understandable. You can rest. You can play around to your heart's content! It's also fine if you want to eat, sleep, and everything else. However, I'm not sure you will be able to follow my training afterward if you play around so much, because it will become a real hell when that happens. It will be an inescapable living hell."

Calling it hell must've been effective since the Light Wind swordsmen lowered their heads even further until they almost reached the ground.

"I-I'll do it…"

"I'll train! I'm doing it, okay?"

"You should've just asked us to train instead of pretending to give us rest!"

"That was so mean!"

"Are you playing cat and mouse with us?"

The Light Wind swordsmen raised their heads defiantly while shouting.

"Let me ask one more time."

Raon ignored the Light Wind squad's angry shouts and raised his hand.

"Who wants to play around today?"

"..."

Naturally, no one raised their hand.

"I'm deeply impressed as the vice squad leader because my squad members are volunteering to practice. I'm looking forward to your continued participation."

Raon spoke like a soldier and nodded in satisfaction.

Does the word 'volunteer' have a different meaning in the human realm compared to Devildom…?

Wrath tilted his head while picking his ear with his round finger.

"Damn it!"

"He's a demon. No, he is a demon king!"

"You won't die an easy death!"

"Where are the demons?! Bring him with you already!"

The Light Wind members shouted and scattered around the training ground to get ready to practice.

The King of Essence is sorry…

Wrath hung his head like a defeated warrior.

The demons are dead and the King of Essence is captured by him…

* * *

Raon supervised the Light Wind squad's training until noon before heading to the medical room where Mustan was hospitalized.

Mustan hadn't managed to regain consciousness, and the Sword Demon was sitting next to him instead of a healer.

"Is he doing better?"

"It should take some time until he fully recovers, but his condition isn't too bad."

The Sword Demon nodded awkwardly. He licked his lips while looking up at Raon.

"There won't be any major issue because you stopped right before causing aftereffects or endangering his life."

"I'm relieved to hear that."

"Did you learn how to beat people up by any chance? The way you screwed him up should be called an art at this point."

He even used a vulgar word despite his appearance and gasped in amazement.

"I'm sorry. I must've gone too hard on him because he insulted my teacher."

"Ahem, I have no excuse for that. I'm sorry about it."

Raon blamed Mustan for insulting Rimmer because it was getting a bit awkward, and the Sword Demon closed his eyes tightly.

"I'll scold him as soon as he wakes up since it's my fault for raising my disciple this way."

The Sword Demon lowered his head, saying that he deserved to be blamed for that.

"It's fine."

Raon shook his head and observed the Sword Demon.

'He's a lot different from the rumors.'

Most rumors stated that the Sword Demon was as cold-hearted as the sharp look in his eyes, but staying with him allowed him to learn that he was a warrior with an excellent personality.

Raon couldn't understand why such a great man took a donkey as his disciple.

"Please feed this to Mustan once he wakes up."

Raon placed the medicine he'd brought on the table. It was a medicine for healing internal injuries.

"It should help his recovery since he must've gotten internal injuries from that."

"Thank you."

The Sword Demon gladly accepted the medicine.

"I'll be back later."

Raon bowed to him and was about to return but suddenly stopped to look at the Sword Demon once again.

"And please be more casual towards me. It makes me uncomfortable when a senior like you is so polite towards me."

Raon told him to speak more casually because the Sword Demon had been polite since the first encounter.

"About that… I'll do it later."

The Sword Demon shook his head. He looked like he had suddenly grown a few years older.

"…Understood."

Raon didn't pry any further because he seemed to have a reason behind it and left the medical room.

"..."

The Sword Demon quietly sighed while looking at the door where Raon had left.

'He's grown up into a fine man.'

He smiled faintly while holding the wooden box containing the medicine that Raon had brought.

"I want to see her already."

* * *

Raon went to Milland's office after lunch.

His office was as humble as before, but one thing was different.

"What is that?"

A fully drunk red-haired elf was fast asleep in a corner on the right, snoring away.

"He was drinking here and was the only one to collapse."

Milland sighed while putting down his teacup.

"Zieghart's Sword of Light was such a cold-hearted man. I don't understand how he turned into such an idiot."

He shook his head, saying that there was no limit to how much a man could be ruined.

"I understand. Whenever I think he can't fall any lower, he just digs a cave underground."

Raon clicked his tongue while watching Rimmer, who was talking in his sleep while scratching his stomach.

"I don't think you came to see that drunkard. What brought you here?"

Milland pushed the documents on the desk to the side and raised his head.

"I'd like to ask a question."

"A question?"

"Yes. Did the number of monsters decrease recently? I could barely find any."

"I also wanted to talk about that."

He slammed the table with his palm and nodded.

"Curiously, the number of monsters visibly decreased after you left. Even the monsters from the waves became twice as small in number compared to before."

Milland smiled brightly, saying that the casualties had drastically decreased thanks to that.

"You must've been our lucky charm."

He walked up to Raon and grabbed his hands while expressing his gratitude.

"Huh? He's my lucky charm! My money. My god of wealth! But where did my money go…? Ack!"

Since Rimmer started to flounder while talking in his sleep, Raon simply kicked him away into a corner.

"I'm glad to hear that."

Raon smiled while meeting Milland's excited gaze.

'He kept his promise.'

Raon had asked Sloth to manage the monsters, and he must've reduced the numbers to a reasonable degree.

'He must be still around. What a relief.'

Since there was no way that lazy demon king would keep doing that work after he left, he must've still been at the peak of Stallin Mountain.

"Castellan, can I visit Stallin Mountain?"

"Stallin Mountain? Why would you?"

"I just want to check it out since it's been a while. I also want to confirm the decrease in numbers from the monsters."

"I'll get the scouts ready."

Milland nodded in acknowledgment.

"No, I'd like to go on my own. I'd like to travel quickly, and the scouts won't be able to catch up to me."

"I guess it's fine since you are the person who is most accustomed to the mountain among us."

He shook his hand, saying that he trusted him.

"I'll be back soon."

Raon lowered his head and went to the door.

"Ah, wait."

Milland pointed at Rimmer, who was snoring in his sleep.

"Take that with you on the way back."

"..."

Raon shrugged his shoulders with a sour look on his face.

"I don't know him…"

"Hey!"

Raon prepared for a light trip and left Habun Castle.

Standing on a white snowfield where no one had stepped before made him feel lighthearted.

'This place is the best for the snow.'

Since the snow in that location was the whitest in the world, even the sensation of stepping on it was nice.

'Let's go.'

He didn't even need to try to remember and immediately used footwork toward Stallin Mountain, which could be seen from afar.

'It will be a decent footwork practice.'

Since Stallin Mountain was relatively far away, Raon figured he would practice footwork on the way instead of simply using it.

Raon mixed the Supreme Harmony Steps with various martial arts as he advanced towards Stallin Mountain.

Because he'd become a lot stronger than before, he managed to reach the entrance of Stallin Mountain before the middle of the night despite having practiced on the way.

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking up at the mountain.

'The number of monsters really has decreased.'

There were originally countless powerful monsters around Stallin Mountain, but he couldn't feel that many presences anymore. It was exactly as Milland had described.

'I wonder how he did it.'

It's obvious.

Wrath frowned while looking up at Stallin Mountain.

He made them fall asleep.

'Fall asleep?'

Sloth spread the energy of sloth to make the monsters fall asleep.

He murmured that Sloth was such a crazy sleepyhead because of how he reduced their numbers by making them sleep.

'He made them sleep?'

Raon examined the monsters more carefully by activating the Perception of the Snow Flower.

Wrath was right. The monsters were sleeping as soundly as a bear.

'It's true.'

Spreading the energy of sloth around the mountain to make the monsters fall asleep was such a peculiar yet effective method.

"Amazing."

Raon chuckled and climbed Stallin Mountain.

"Grrr."

"Kieeeh!"

However, a group of ice trolls appeared upon noticing the scent of humans because Sloth hadn't made all of them fall asleep.

"Grr?"

"Kiee…"

They looked like they were going to attack him at any moment with the clubs in their hands, but they came to a halt upon meeting Raon's eyes.

"Grr…"

"Kieeh…"

Even though Raon hadn't spread his pressure nor activated his aura, the ice trolls were terrified just from meeting his eyes and trembled like dogs with their tails between their legs.

'Is it from their instincts?'

Their wild instinct must've warned them because they couldn't move from the spot at all. It was as if they'd turned into statues.

'I really have gotten stronger.'

He had to fight with his life on the line against the ice trolls when he first came to Habun Castle, yet they were terrified just from meeting his eyes. The fact that he'd gotten stronger was sinking in.

"Go away, I have no intention of harming you."

Raon shook his hand towards the intimidated monsters and kept climbing the mountain.

He encountered monsters more powerful than the ice trolls from time to time, but they shut their mouths as soon as they met his eyes, as if a cat had gotten their tongues, and became unable to move.

Raon climbed along the valley that was as sharp as an axe, and the sun had already risen.

He was about to accelerate the pace since he was about to reach the peak, but he noticed a listless fragrance that made the strength leave his body.

"What is this?"

It wasn't visible, but faint darkness was rising from all around the peak to form a huge dome-shaped layer.

'Is this a boundary?'

Even though it was covering a large area, it didn't look like he could easily break through because of how sturdy the energy was.

'This is…'

Huhuhu.

Raon frowned while looking at the wall, and Wrath laughed like a snake.

It's finally here.

Wrath gave a big nod at the wall that was faintly glowing in black.

'It's finally here? Do you know what this is?'

It's a barrier.

'Barrier?'

Indeed. The sleepyhead created this barrier to prevent the entry of other existences.

He licked his lips, saying that he hadn't seen Sloth's barrier in a long time.

'What's the barrier's effect? Is it going to make me fall asleep if I approach it?'

It's not anything like that. You will suddenly feel like you can't be bothered the moment you approach the area and won't want to climb the mountain anymore. That feeling is part of sloth, after all.

Wrath murmured that the method worked both for humans and monsters.

However, it creates a sturdy wall like this against people like you, who can feel the power of sloth.

He stuck his tongue out while knocking on the black wall that Sloth had created with the back of his hand.

A weakling like you won't be able to destroy this wall even if you tried for a hundred years! Congratulations on coming all the way here for nothing!

'Does that mean you knew about this all along?'

The King of Essence is the Monarch of Wrath. Of course he knew about it!

Wrath giggled, laughing at all his efforts having gone to naught.

He's been pretending he didn't know in order to see that confused look on your face!

'You jerk…'

It feels so good to see you getting angry! What a rare sight!

Wrath gestured as if to cut his own neck with his thumb, saying that it was revenge for the two pineapple pizza pieces that he'd left behind the previous day.

'Seriously…'

That demon king only cares about food and is completely useless.

Raon shook his head. Wrath should've changed his name to the monarch of childishness, and Raon didn't even want to respond anymore.

'But it definitely looks sturdy.'

He tightly bit his lip while looking at Sloth's barrier.

He hadn't previously noticed it because it was concealed, but he could feel a tremendous power once he observed it.

Wrath was right. The power of sloth in the barrier was too powerful, and he didn't feel like he could destroy it with any of his techniques.

'I still have a long way to go.'

He had already resolved himself recently, but being satisfied with the highest level of Master wasn't an option. It was necessary to advance even faster.

"Does that mean we need to wait until Sloth wakes up?"

You idiot. Sloth doesn't wake up for years once he falls asleep. He will never wake up unless you go next to him and start hitting him.

Wrath sneered, saying that anything he tried was going to be pointless.

How does it feel to face an unbreakable wall? Are you upset? That's how the King of Essence feels every day!

He broke into laughter, trying to grasp that opportunity.

The King of Essence shall personally grant you some stats and a trait if you manage to pass through that wall today!

Wrath smiled in satisfaction, saying that there was no way it would happen. It was a happy smile that was only seen while he was eating a pizza.

In return, you will have to order five pineapple pizzas and eat them as soon as we return if you fail!

'Make sure to remember that promise. I'm going to break through it by any means necessary.'

Raon caught his breath and extended his hand towards Sloth's barrier.

Whir.

He was trying to check how hard it was by touching it, but his arm passed through the black energy as if it were water.

Heh…?

"Huh?"

Raon's lips parted, and he tried to shove his left arm into the barrier. Just like the other time, the arm entered without any resistance.

"It worked."

'And it was too easy.'

Huh? Huuh? Huuuuuuh?!

Wrath's pupils were splashing like a fish that was freshly caught.

What is happening now?!