Chapter 95

"My lady, I can't watch this anymore."

Helen couldn't open her eyes even before the Sword Duel started. She had always viewed Raon as her own son, ever since he was born. And the fact that he was going to have a Sword Duel against Raden, who was infamous for his cruelty, was making her so nervous that she could hardly breathe.

"But we have to watch him."

Unlike Helen, Sylvia was staring at Raon with her eyes wide open.

"Because he is fighting for our sake."

Helen tried opening her eyes. Raon was standing in the middle of the training ground, warming himself up. The fact that he didn't look any different from usual eased her tension slightly.

"Haa, but I'm still nervous. How is my lady…?"

Her eyes widened after she turned her head to look at Sylvia. It was because her hand was trembling so much that even the handrail was trembling with her.

"My lady…"

Helen barely managed to stop herself from crying. Sylvia was desperately trying not to show her emotions on the outside, despite being even more nervous and anxious than herself.

Because she knew about Sylvia's difficult childhood, she felt both proud of her and sorry for her.

'…Can she ever be happy?'

She felt bad for both Sylvia and Raon. She would've already made them leave that place if only she had the ability to do so.

"He will be alright."

Judiel turned to look at them with a calm gaze.

"The young master has been preparing against Raden's flexible sword day and night. I'm sure everyone here will be astonished by his performance."

"Th-that would be great, but…"

"You are right. Let's think like that, Helen. Thank you."

Sylvia thanked Judiel with her eyes.

"Let's hold hands. Come on."

"Pardon?"

"Let's hold hands and pray for Raon's victory."

Sylvia went ahead and grabbed Helen's hand. With a puzzled expression, Helen grabbed Judiel's hand, as she was sitting next to her. In that manner, every maid from the annex building held each other's hands.

"Hmm…"

Judiel shook her head, feeling Helen and the other maid's wet and trembling hands.

'But they really don't need to worry about him at all.'

Raon was a monster.

He was still weaker than countless strong warriors that she had encountered so far, but his temperament was on another level.

She would never be able to forget Raon's gaze, the one that she witnessed that day. Remembering the fear and murderous intent dominating the space still gave her goosebumps.

He was the real deal.

He wasn't someone that could ever lose to that fake, the one that was just violent and nothing more.

As Judiel was reminiscing about the day she witnessed Raon's true face, the ringmaster announced the start of the Sword Duel.

"Hmph!"

Helen, who was sitting next to her, clasped her hand.

Bam!

Raden's flexible sword was extremely flashy right off the bat. Despite spectating from far away, she was able to feel its sharpness and ever-changing nature.

On the other hand, Raon was using Star Connecting Sword and River Footwork, both of which were just too honest.

It looked like he was in an extremely precarious situation, like a flower petal fluttering inside a tornado.

"Hmm…"

"Aah…"

Sylvia and Helen's hands were shaking intensely.

'They are all mistaken.'

Judiel licked her lips. Raon's eyes were the same as the time that he had suppressed her.

Baam!

Raden's technique was so flashy, to a point that it looked like he was bragging. The moment his aura blade twisted like a rose vine to attack Raon, he used the River Footwork.

It was a basic footwork that even she could use, yet he managed to dodge Raden's varied technique and rushed at him from the right side.

Raden kept watching from the front as if he didn't even notice, and Raon got his neck.

"H-he won! He won, my lady!"

"Kyaaah!"

Helen and the maids screamed in joy as Raon's sword was right by Raden's neck.

"Aww…"

Sylvia sighed, still holding on the handrail. She seemed happier about the fact that Raon wasn't hurt, rather than his victory itself.

"Haa…"

Judiel exclaimed. She knew he was going to win, but she didn't expect him to win so easily.

'He is really a m… huh?'

In the middle of her admiration, she saw Raon pulling back his sword and punching Raden's mouth.

Raden bounced back while bleeding from his mouth, but he hadn't become any weaker. All it did was make him angrier, his aura gushing out like fire.

"Wh-why?"

Sylvia screamed. It should've ended right there as his overwhelming victory. She couldn't understand why he had let him go.

Raden turned his wrist to shoot his flexible sword at Raon's heart, wriggling like a snake.

Raon stepped back with River Footwork, but Raden's flexible sword kept following him. It almost looked like tracking magic was used.

Raden's sword wriggled towards Raon's heart, but his expression stayed indifferent. He flowed like a lotus flower on the water to reach Raden's left side.

Raon's sword was at Raden's neck once again, then he slapped his cheek this time.

It was the second time. Raon let Raden off the hook even though he could have won once again.

Raden now looked like an enraged monster as he swung his flexible sword. However, Raon didn't change in the slightest. He dodged the sword and dominated him from the front with a peaceful expression on his face.

Smack!

Raon kicked Raden's face so hard that the sound reached the stands.

Helen bit her lip. She finally realized why Raon was letting him go.

'He is taking revenge for us.'

Raon was returning Raden's misdeeds in the annex building, one by one.

Punching his mouth first was revenge for his lie about sending a letter, and slapping his face was for spitting on the ground. And what he did just then was for trampling on the flowers.

"Ah…"

An unbearable emotion seeped into her heart.

Bloodline was equal to strength in Zieghart. Sylvia was the only person that treated her properly, as she wasn't even a collateral—let alone a member of the direct line.

She had realized that cruel reality when Sylvia had left the house, the fact that she was the only person who treated the maids as human beings in that entire cold earth.

However, there was now one other person. The person that was with her from the moment of his birth, Raon, son of Sylvia.

He was fighting against a member of the direct line for their sake and crushing them.

She couldn't hold back her tears, sensing Raon's intentions.

"Huff…"

Hearing the sound of someone trying not to cry, Helen turned her head. The other maids were also shedding tears, noticing Raon's intentions.

Everyone was feeling the same emotions. They were moved to tears because it was the first time someone had cared for them so much.

And Sylvia was proudly watching Raon, her mouth tightly closed. It was the same confident expression as before she had lost her aura and swordsmanship.

However, Sylvia was actually more delighted than Helen thought.

She had always been daunted because no one had cared for her since she was born. She was left out in the cold like she never existed, despite being a member of the direct line.

Her father, her brothers, and the house all weighed down on her—suffocating her.

That was why she had decided to run away. She ran away from the family to obtain her freedom.

'However.'

That wasn't the correct answer. She should've overcome it with her own strength, no matter how terrible that place was.

And that was what her son Raon was telling her.

He was born weaker than anyone, yet his mind was now stronger than anyone else's. Such a boy was telling her with his back that it didn't matter who his opponent was, he would fight until the very end so that they wouldn't dare try anything funny.

"Raon…"

Feeling her turbulent emotion, Sylvia clenched her fist.

Creak!

Balder ground his teeth while looking down on the training ground.

"How is this happening?"

He thought Raden's victory had already been decided.

And that wasn't just his opinion. More than ninety percent of the people in the training ground must've expected Raden's overwhelming victory.

However, it was completely different once the fight began.

Raden was one-sidedly getting beaten up by Raon, who was using lower-grade swordsmanship and footwork.

The fight would've been already over after the first clash if Raon desired it. That was how much of a difference there was between the two of them.

Whoosh!

Raon split apart the last technique of Raden's Crystal Flexible Sword, using the plain Star Connecting Sword and River Footwork.

"That's crazy…"

Balder unconsciously gasped. He couldn't believe his eyes as Raon Zieghart's sword displayed the true purpose of the Star Connecting Sword.

One needed to infuse the sword with their will in order to achieve the true purpose of swordsmanship. Only those at an advanced level Expert or higher were capable of doing that.

'Yet, he…'

He had become an Expert only recently, and he was just a fifteen-year-old boy. It felt like a dream, a terrifying nightmare.

Raden was unable to think rationally, and he could never pierce through Raon's sword in his state. The Sword Duel was already over, in an opposite way from what he had expected.

'A genius. No, he is more than that.'

The continent was vast, and geniuses were numerous.

Not just Zieghart, every armed organization regardless of its size had someone called a genius.

Raon couldn't be described by a word like that. A monster that grows by devouring geniuses, he was a devil that would stand at the apex of the continent with his sword.

'A mere collateral!'

The fact that he was winning against his son made him boil with anger. Even though he was Sylvia's son, he was just an inferior boy from the seed of an unknown origin.

"That bastard…"

"Wooow! I hit the jackpot!"

As he was about to spread his pressure, somebody started yelling in a light and unpolished voice right next to him. It was Rimmer's voice.

"My. Life's. Turning. Around!"

He kept shouting in joy, swinging the papers he was holding in both hands.

"Shut up already!"

"Huh? Oh no, I'm sorry."

Rimmer bowed while scratching his head. However, his gaze was as frightening as a warrior about to fight.

"That's why I told you that Raon was going to win."

He moved next to Balder and grinned.

"You are going to spend a lot of money and time to prepare the reward for the bet. Well, I've already won a lot without that."

Rimmer giggled and pointed at the papers he was holding. They were proof of the bets he had made with different people.

"I told you to shut up."

Balder's atmosphere became as sharp as a polished blade. He looked like he was about to attack him at any moment.

"Since you must've already realized the fight is over, I'm going to leave after telling you one thing."

Rimmer came up right under Balder's nose.

"Many people are going to be watching Raon from today onward. Never touch Raon or the annex building unless you are confident that you can avoid all those eyes."

"How dare you…"

Balder frowned. Rimmer's eyes were no different from back in the day, when he was called the Sword of Light. His eyes glowed fiercely, like a father wolf angry at seeing his son hurt.

"Instead of me, you should be afraid of the head of house. You know he really hates people who break their promises."

His frightening pressure disappeared in an instant, and he left like a giggling loafer.

'He is right.'

Both Raon and the annex building would become difficult to deal with unless he took care of him before the rumor spread.

'And…'

His two sons and the other direct lineage nieces and nephews would be overshadowed by him. That was how dangerous he was.

'Raden!'

Balder secretly used aura to send Raden a message.

'Forget about sharpness and variety! Use strength! Break him with power! Use what you are better at to your advantage!'

He conveyed a hint to defeat Raon. It could become problematic in the future but winning was the highest priority for now.

'Win! I'll deal with the rest somehow!'

***

'Hmm?'

Raon narrowed his eyes. He thought Raden had given up, yet his will had returned to his eyes as he stood back up.

He wasn't spreading his aura anymore, surrounding his sword with it instead, as if he was using a normal sword.

'I see.'

The Ring of Fire had noticed a faint aura flowing down from the stands. He thought it wasn't anything special, but it looked like Balder had told him the way to win.

'Like father, like son.'

Raon turned around to look at Balder, who was pretending he did nothing.

A Sword Duel was a match of pride and might between the two swordsmen.

He was completely shameless, despite having interfered in that noble fight. It looked like he was telling him he could do anything since he was a member of the direct line and Glenn's son.

"Kuh…"

Raden's eyes were the same as Balder's. He gathered all his remaining aura in his sword, just like he was advised.

Whir!

His posture wasn't that of Crystal Flexible Sword as he glared at Raon. It looked like Balder's dirty interference was indeed effective.

"Yes, I should've done this from the beginning."

Raden spat his bloody saliva and growled. His straightened flexible sword was burning in an intense aura blade.

"I should've beaten you up with the most advantageous method to me!"

It was true, since the amount of Raden's aura was a lot bigger than Raon's.

'However.'

Just like powerful technique wasn't everything, the amount of aura wasn't a decisive factor either.

"Do you think you can win in a fight of power?"

"Of course! I'll shred your weak aura to pieces!"

Raden pounced at him and swung his flexible sword. The powerful strike looked like it could split the ground in half.

Clench.

Raon brandished his sword. The small flame ignited at the point of his sword multiplied itself and burned.

Clang!

A flaming sword that melted the atmosphere clashed with the flexible sword surrounded by a green aura.

"Gasp!"

Raden grit his teeth. The shock was making him nauseous. He couldn't believe his power would increase that much just from multiplying the flames.

"How did you…"

"It's not over yet."

Raon's eyes burned crimson, just like his sword.

Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Ten Flames. Extending Strike.

The dancing red flame dashed through the blade to burn up Raden's aura and pierce the flexible sword.

Clang!

The flexible sword was shattered into pieces, and Raden's eyes looked like they would burst out of his head.

"N-no way!"

"Where are you trying to go?"

Raden stepped back, trying to withdraw, but Raon was faster.

"W-wait! I lo…"

"There's still two more times to go."

Raon smashed the fist holding his sword into Raden's mouth.

"Keuh…"

Raden's teeth came out like corn kernels, and he collapsed back with his eyes rolled up.

"I'll spare you the last one with this."

Raon waved his sword. As the flame on his sword was extinguished, the entire training ground fell silent.