“Wipe out the bandits!”
“You damn trash, I’ll split your heads in two!”
“Haap!”
“Woaaah!”
Burren, Martha, and Runaan charged towards the pirates while spreading powerful auras from their blades. The rest of the Light Wind swordsmen followed their respective team leader to pierce into the agitated pirates, swinging their swords at them.
Whaam!
The frontal clash between the two groups stormed the deck with the wind coming from the blades. The Light Wind squad was using the Large Light Wind formation, and the pirates also used a large-scale formation to face them.
Although it looked like the Light Wind squad was running into the jaw of the beast called the South-North Union, the swordsmen shattered the fangs of the beast instead, pushing the pirates back.
“They shouldn’t even be considered human! Don’t show them any mercy!”
Burren severed the pirates’ weaknesses by creating an aura blade imbued with the energy of wind.
“Oxygen is wasted on you!”
Martha shattered the pirates’ formation by striking with a tremendous amount of energy concentrated on her blade. The way she wasn’t sparing her power looked like she was trying to sink the entire ship.
“Move away.”
Runaan spread frost to slow down the pirates’ movement before beheading the pirate at the front of the formation without hesitation.
“U-Ugh…”
“What the hell is wrong with them?”
“Why are they so strong despite their young age?!”
Even though the pirates were around twice as large in number, they were helpless in front of the Light Wind’s aggression.
Raon smiled while watching the frown on Tyler’s face.
“We’ve practiced, since we expected to fight on a ship. There will be no accidents.”
While pointing his sword at Tyler, Raon activated the mana circuits throughout his body.
“Actually, there might be one. The situation should change if you manage to defeat me. However…”
Raon used the Supreme Harmony Steps to advance. He struck down with Heavenly Drive, engulfing it with the energy coming from the footwork of extreme swiftness.
“That’s simply impossible.”
“You arrogant bastard!”
Tyler roared, swinging his spear. The blue energy surrounding the spearhead was burning up in streams.
Clang!
The thunderous noise sounded like the ship was splitting in half. The wind made of astral energy soared into the sky at the same time.
Cring!
Raon grinned while looking at Tyler, who was clashing his spear against Heavenly Drive.
“Let’s move away, since my boys won’t be able to have fun if we fight here.”
“What?”
“I’m telling you to get out of here.”
Raon twisted Heavenly Drive and kicked Tyler. Since he was using all of his physical abilities, Tyler destroyed the deck as he was sent flying towards the Rable River.
“Kuuh!”
Even though Tyler was confused, he still managed to spin in the air in a circle. He dissipated all of the kinetic energy and landed softly on the river.
“I can trust you, right?”
Raon was looking at the Light Wind squad instead of Tyler, who was grinding his teeth.
“Of course.”
“Mind your own business.”
“Mhm!”
Raon smiled at Burren, Martha, and Runaan’s responses before jumping down from the ship.
Splash.
Even though he had jumped down from a high position, Raon didn’t sink beneath the water, nor did the water scatter at all. Tyler scowled even harder upon witnessing that sight.
“Are you trying to fight me on the river despite knowing what I’m called by the people?”
Tyler twirled his spear. The blue energy wavering in his spear thrashed along with the river.
“You must be praying for your death!”
He swung down his spear, and the violent astral energy created a wave rushing towards Raon.
“Don’t worry.”
Raon snickered while looking at the wave that was large enough to swallow the ship.
“Because I’ve been planning to defeat you on your home turf from the beginning!”
He gathered the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, unleashing the Star Connecting Sword. The wave of astral energy was mercilessly shredded to pieces by the blade, severing it like starlight.
“Argh…”
Tyler’s completely irritated eyes could be seen between the severed red and blue astral energies.
‘He’s not going all-out right now.’
Tyler was saving his strength in preparation to fight Rimmer. It was meaningless to defeat him when he was saving his strength.
“Stop being stupid. Fight me properly.”
Raon snorted, bobbing his finger.
“Haa…”
Tyler sighed heavily while covering his eyes with his hand. His shoulders trembled as he giggled, before he lowered his hand.
His face was twisted like a fiend. He looked a lot better like that, probably because that was his real face, unlike when he was making that cringey face.
“Alright. I shouldn’t care about Zieghart’s Light Sword or whatever. I shall finish you off first.”
He extended his left foot far to the front, wielding his spear in one hand as if he were holding a sword.
“I’ll grant your wish and tear your head off!”
Tyler disappeared from Raon’s vision before his words could even reach his ears. Raon predicted his movement by using the remaining wave on the floor.
“Right side!”
Raon turned his ankle to change direction. Tyler looked like he’d teleported when he suddenly appeared and thrust his spear. Astral energy was emerging from the deadly blade of his spear in a spiral.
Whaap!
Raon lowered his posture in order to keep himself from getting pushed back, igniting the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. He defeated the spearhead’s rotation with his heated blade.
Claang!
The collision between the tip of the blade and the tip of the spearhead distorted the astral energy. A deep crater was created on the surface of the river before the water gushed back out to make the masses of river water fall back down like a rain shower.
“Haah…”
Raon caught his breath by resonating the Rings of Fire.
‘It’s manageable.’
Tyler’s prowess was superior to his own, but he managed to defend without gaining any internal injuries thanks to the Blue and Red Ring and his perfect defense.
“I’m only getting started!”
Tyler glared at him and swung his spear. The wave emerging from under his feet was even bigger than the previous one.
Whaam!
He advanced by stepping on the wave, then thrust his spear. The astral energy incorporating the principles of the Coiling Power was splashing on the spearhead, charging like lightning.
“Kuh…”
Raon felt like the energy wave gushing out from the spear was tearing apart his flesh. The spear attack was so powerful that it was enough to give him goosebumps.
Whaap!
Raon pulled his shoulders back, drawing Heavenly Drive back. He increased the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s output to the maximum, then thrust his blade, which was burning with crimson flames.
Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation, Hundred Flames.
Flame Dragon Art.
The heat busting from the tip of the blade turned into a dragon’s head and breathed out fire that seemed capable of burning the entire world.
Baaam!
The clash between the blue wave and red dragon created a huge explosion. The intense competition between water and fire covered the entire river with white steam.
“Haa…”
Raon quickly caught his breath. The frontal clash was making his stomach feel nauseous. It was a sign of an internal injury, which was inevitable because he was using his physical abilities to make up for his lower level of martial arts.
‘But it’s still manageable.’
As he was preparing to fight again, he could feel the coldness appearing behind his back. However, that wasn’t the real one.
Thud!
Raon unleashed the Revolving Sky of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to his left.
Claang!
The flame rotated in a spiral above his blade, deflecting the spearhead thrust towards him diagonally.
The perfect mixture between power and deception was an excellent attack, befitting a warrior who had almost reached the intermediate level of Master—but it didn’t work against Raon, who had already figured out the Gambling Monster’s tricks.
“Are you sure you are doing your best right now?”
Raon smiled while meeting Tyler’s eyes, which could be seen through the rising steam.
“I told you to attack with everything you have.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll finish you off right away!”
Tyler dipped the spear shaft in the water before jumping into the air. He stepped on the wave that surged along with the spear shaft as he thrust his spear.
Rumble!
The astral energy on his spear wasn’t the only one rotating. The spear itself was rotating in Tyler’s hand. The intense rotation was causing the spear to buzz in Raon’s ears. It was his first time witnessing a martial art containing so much Coiling Power.
Whir!
Raon kicked the ground while carefully watching the rotation created by Tyler.
Cring!
He looked like he was riding on the river as he withdrew by freezing the surface.
“You aren’t running anywhere!”
“Running?”
Raon’s lips curved up into a smile as he brought Heavenly Drive forward with both hands.
“Such a thing isn’t in my dictionary.”
The moment the spear shaft reached in front of him while creating a storm, Raon instantly focused his aura on Heavenly Drive. A round sphere formed on top of the snow white blade, generating a powerful spark.
Raon Zieghart Style Swordplay.
Second Form, Heavenly Heavy Cannon.
The concentrated energy of the heavy sword was making Tyler’s spearhead even faster. The moment Tyler lost his balance, Raon detonated the Heavenly Heavy Cannon.
Boom!
The explosion of astral energy that incorporated an extreme amount of rotation and heaviness caused the wave and aura to mix into a huge waterspout, surging into the air.
Thud!
Raon kicked the water. He looked like he was pushing back the surface as he rode the wave with River Footwork to charge towards Tyler.
“You insolent bastard!”
Tyler must’ve thought the same thing, as he attacked with his spear while trampling on the wave. The Coiling Power was as big as a human’s body as it rotated in a spiral.
Rumble!
Raon smiled coldly, fixing his grip on the sword. He struck Tyler’s neck with his astral energy of raging fire, which was capable of incinerating the wave.
Claang!
* * *
“Hmm.”
Rimmer lightly kicked the ground to board the warship.
The deck was crammed with the pirate corpses. A few pirates that seemed to be the executives were still resisting, but it didn’t take long for them to be turned into corpses by Burren, Martha, and Runaan’s blades.
Eventually, the Light Wind squad were the only ones standing on the deck.
“Woaaah!”
“We won!”
“This is Zieghart’s power!”
“The South-North Union is no match for us!”
The Light Wind squad burst into cheers while pointing their swords at the sky. Many of them were injured, but no one had any serious injuries. It wasn’t an exaggeration to call it a perfect victory.
‘I can’t see Flumen anywhere.’
Although he couldn’t find Flumen, who used to be on the deck, he didn’t try to look for him since he guessed he would be talking to the Blue Lughs who had regained their sanity.
“Come here, everyone.”
Rimmer pointed at the surging waterspout by sucking in all the river water. Raon and Tyler were clashing with their sword and spear in there.
“That fight is as important as the combat experience. Watch it carefully without even blinking your eyes.”
“Yes!”
Even though it was difficult to see them, recognizing the flow was going to be helpful for them.
‘Hmm…’
Rimmer frowned while feeling the energies emerging from the waterspout.
‘So, Raon’s losing after all.’
It was natural that Raon was falling behind, as there was a huge difference between them in terms of time spent polishing their martial arts. Raon was holding out with his monstrous physical abilities and stamina, but it seemed difficult.
‘They are taking a completely different approach to fight on the river.’
Tyler was crushing the river to dominate it, and Raon was riding the wave as if he were getting along with it.
Tyler was currently overwhelming him because of his higher level, but Raon could reach higher over time because he was following the flow of nature.
‘He’s really amazing.’
Rimmer chuckled, rotating his shoulder. He focused on the fight while preparing himself to join whenever he needed to.
However, the fight didn’t end easily.
Even though Raon was losing in the frontal clash, he kept following up to swing his sword.
“Huh?”
Rimmer narrowed his eyes as he saw Raon deflect Tyler’s spear. The loud sound of the clash had reached his location, but he wasn’t surprised because of that.
‘What is that…?’
The rotation and astral energy in Tyler’s spear was only getting stronger over time, but Raon was deflecting and parrying the spear more easily than in the beginning. Even though Raon was only at the beginning level of Master, he was starting to gain the upper hand against Tyler, who was almost at the intermediate level.
‘Wait! No way…’
Rimmer turned around to look at Burren. He remembered what happened in the past. It was the first time that Raon had shocked him.
“He’s doing it again!”
* * *
* * *
Raon’s Heavenly Drive rose, incorporated with the principles of the Fangs of Insanity, towards the spear being thrust at his heart.
Claang!
Heavenly Drive was pushed back significantly more than the spear, creating an opening around his waist.
“Die!”
Tyler swung his spear shaft towards that location. The fact that it wasn’t a bladed weapon wasn’t a reason to underestimate it. Since the astral energy was also rotating around the spear shaft, Raon’s body was going to be ripped into half if he allowed Tyler to land the hit.
Thud!
Raon used the River Footwork to escape the spear shaft’s trajectory. Tyler looked like he’d predicted his move, as he quickly followed with his spear shaft, but Raon bent his body backward to dodge. The spear shaft brushed past his chest, scattering his ripped uniform into the air.
“You mean rat!”
Tyler shot the astral spear by holding the center of the shaft. It rotated in a spiral, just like the waterspout surrounding them. Even though the principle of Coiling Power was powerful enough to crush steel upon contact, Raon simply watched it until the end.
‘Rotating to the right.’
He analyzed the direction of the astral energy’s rotation on the spearhead, then swirled the astral energy on Heavenly Drive in the opposite direction.
Crack!
Along with a vibration that felt like the entire river was being split apart, Raon and Tyler were thrown out from the waterspout.
“Kuh…”
Tyler started to dash towards him once again as soon as his feet reached the river, an expression of disbelief on his face. He held his spear around his waist with two hands before thrusting it. Raon’s lips trembled from the tremendous speed and power.
‘It’s okay.’
Raon raised his eyes while enduring the nausea. He knew he was fully capable of blocking it as long he watched it properly.
‘To the left, this time.’
As soon as he saw that the rotation was in the opposite direction from before, he controlled Glacier. He bent his knees to gather the energy from his ankles, exploding it at the tip of the blade.
Raon Zieghart Style Swordplay.
First Form, Frost Pond.
The first strike clashed against the spearhead, and the frost wave spreading out afterwards joined the river water to deflect Tyler’s astral energy.
Whaaam!
Raon and Tyler were pushed back at once, and the ice pillar surged between them as a result of Frost Pond.
Slam!
Tyler struck the pillar with his spear shaft to destroy it, advancing forward. Not only his eyes, but also his face had also turned completely red, as if they were about to explode.
“What the hell did you do?”
“What?”
Raon leisurely shrugged his shoulders.
“I’m asking how you managed to stop my spear! How could you do that, when I’m better than you in terms of both aura and martial arts?!”
Tyler’s hands holding the spear were trembling. He looked like he couldn’t understand how it was happening.
“Because I’ve done it before.”
Raon fixed the grip on his sword and chuckled.
‘I did it to teach a lesson to an arrogant brat.’
He thought about Burren when he used to be arrogant the moment he saw Tyler’s Coiling Power.
‘If I can’t overpower the rotation, I can just cancel it out instead.’
He applied the Void Tiger Fist’s principles that he got from Burren to create a rotation in the opposite direction from Tyler’s to neutralize his strike.
It was a bit difficult because his Coiling Power was rather unique, but he’d already finished analyzing it because the fight had continued for a while. There was nothing he could do about the internal injuries he’d received, but he was finally capable of fighting equally.
“Nonsense! That can’t be true!”
Tyler strained his left foot, which was extended to the front. The intense rotation of his spear started to spread a sound similar to the buzzing of a swarm of bees in all directions.
Whir!
Raon felt like his body was being pulled into the tremendous rotation of Tyler’s spear.
Cring!
He stomped the ground to drive his feet into the river, rotating the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation in the opposite direction to resist it.
Rumble!
The spear’s assault sounded like thunder. Raon focused his aura to his lower body in order to avoid falling down, then slashed with Flame Spirit.
Whaap!
The flower petals covered his entire vision to revolve in curved lines, sweeping over the astral energy of Tyler’s spear.
Whoosh!
The blue spearhead pierced through the space where the astral energies were violently fighting against each other. The surprise attack would’ve been difficult to predict, but Raon’s senses had already predicted the attack.
He pulled his right foot back to turn his body, increasing the output of Glacier’s coldness to the maximum at the same time. Raon imbued the Coiling Power of extreme swiftness in his blade while hearing the freezing sound of the river.
Cring!
The blade and the spearhead surrounded by astral energies visibly curved to the point that they looked like they would break before getting bounced back.
Rumble!
Both Raon and Tyler were pushed back, unable to withstand the energies on their weapons. Their path left a white crevice on the river, which made it look like the river was separated in two.
“Huff…”
Tyler turned his head while wiping off the water covering his face. His eyes were glowing murderously.
“You’ve erased the rotation in my spear…”
“You realized it so late.”
Raon smiled faintly and nodded.
“Talent. What a crazy talent you have.”
“You flatter me.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever wanted to kill someone so much.”
Tyler started spinning his spear with his fingers. The spear shaft rotated like a pinwheel, but it became gradually faster, and the rotation eventually became so fast that it couldn’t be seen with the naked eye.
Whir!
The river water kept rising as the spear’s rotation accelerated, and it eventually became high enough to reach the sky.
“That smile is the last one you’ll have in your life.”
Tyler kicked the ground while grasping the spear that had created an extensive rotation. The wave created behind him moved at the same time, covering Raon’s entire vision with his astral energy.
Celestial Spear of Flooding Ocean.
It was Tyler’s ultimate technique, one that was rumored to be capable of eradicating his enemy by using all of the water of the Rable River.
Raon bit his lip.
‘I need to watch properly.’
Although it was extremely powerful, the principle itself remained similar. The problem was the fact that the rotation kept changing over and over.
‘The solution is simple.’
He ignited the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation on the Heavenly Drive in his right hand, then imbued Glacier on the Blade of Requiem in his left hand. He applied rotations with different directions to the astral energies on the two blades before he walked forward.
Crack!
He crossed his two swords when the Celestial Spear of Flooding Ocean was right in front of him. The perfect combination between Frost Pond and Flame Spirit nullified the Coiling Power in the spear, and the wave of astral energy was split into a cross shape.
“Huff!”
Raon could see Tyler’s eyes getting distorted between the shredded waves. The injury appearing on his chest had the same shape as the cut in the wave, and blood gushed out violently from it.
“H-How could this be…?”
Tyler’s chin was trembling as he grasped the laceration on his chest. His expression was filled with disbelief over the fact that his best technique had been defeated.
“You showed me too much of your abilities.”
Raon supported Heavenly Drive on his shoulder and returned the Blade of Requiem to its scabbard.
“That’s how I would’ve looked if you fought me with everything you had from the beginning instead of saving your power until now.”
Tyler kept trying to save his power as he used his spear techniques because he’d been aware of Rimmer. Since Raon could easily analyze his martial arts through the Ring of Fire, the outcome was only natural.
“Let’s finish this fight.”
Raon pointed Heavenly Drive at Tyler’s neck.
“Th-This can’t be.”
Tyler screamed and charged at him. Even though he was enraged, his spearmanship was still sharp and powerful. It was an excellent martial art, comparable to any Six King’s successor despite being a pirate.
‘It’s meaningless, though.’
Raon easily deflected the blow by applying a reverse rotation to Heavenly Drive.
Clang!
Tyler’s arm holding the spear looked like it would break as it trembled violently.
“Shit!”
Tyler gritted his teeth and attacked consecutively, but Raon deflected all of them and unleashed the Fangs of Insanity.
Whoosh!
The wave coming from the Fangs of Insanity snapped the tip of the spear, slashing Tyler’s waist.
“Kuh…”
Because the cut was even deeper than the laceration on his chest, red blood started to flow down from his waist.
“Huff…”
Tyler exhaled roughly while grasping his spear shaft that had been shortened. Even though he still had a significant amount of physical strength and aura left, he looked like his mind had reached its limit.
“I told you it’s over.”
Even though Raon’s muscles were extremely damaged, his bones were at their limits, and he had to keep swallowing the blood gushing up from his internal injuries, he kept smiling without showing his pain.
“Haaaap!”
Tyler stepped back and created a wave. It was the biggest wave so far, which seemed even capable of affecting the people behind Raon.
“The same thing again.”
Raon stomped the ground. The extreme coldness surging from the middle of his foot froze the wave that was soaring to the sky in an instant. It was the maximized power of Watery Blossom.
Rumble!
The frozen water lost its momentum and crumbled on the spot. However, Tyler couldn’t be seen there, even though he should’ve been behind it.
‘No way!’
Raon turned his head to the left. He could see Tyler advancing through the wave. He was running towards a small fishing ship that came to a halt because of the raging wave.
“That crazy bastard!”
Raon kicked the water. He alternated between River Footwork and Supreme Harmony Steps to run as fast as he could.
‘I can’t believe he would stoop so low.’
He didn’t expect him to run away from his opponent to take hostages during a life-or-death battle. He was one of the worst people he’d ever met.
‘Damn it! I’ll be lat…’
He couldn’t catch up to Tyler because of his late start. He racked his brain to think of a solution, but there was nothing he could do.
Whir!
As Raon was chasing him with everything he had, the fishing ship and the people on board disappeared like a fog. He felt their presence on his right side, where Flumen’s hand was poking out from the surface of the water.
‘Was that his doing?’
He wasn’t sure what he’d done, but considering he’d sensed the movement of water mana, Flumen must’ve hidden the ship and the people.
“A mere monster dares to disturb me until the end!”
Tyler also realized that it was Flumen’s doing, grinding his teeth.
“Good job! Run away no…”
Raon was shouting at him to run, but Flumen was immobilized while his eyelids quivered. It looked like he had exhausted his power.
“What an idiot!”
Tyler used the wave to change his direction in an instant, catching Flumen, who was about to sink underwater. He laughed, grabbing Flumen by his neck as he turned around.
“Oh no? You ended up like this when you tried to disturb me.”
“I-It’s okay.”
Flumen smiled faintly, even though he couldn’t speak properly because Tyler was grabbing him by his neck.
“I-I knew you would do this. Because you are a shameless person.”
“You bastard…”
“Please kill Tyler. It’s okay if you kill me at the same time…”
He smiled. He looked like he was fully prepared to face his death.
“Lots of people and my tribe members have died because of me. I’m okay, so please cut me down with him.”
“Flumen…”
Raon frowned. He must’ve been aware of the fact that making the ship disappear would leave him unable to move. He was asking him to cut him down without the slightest hint of hesitation.
“Wh-What kind of bullshit are you spouting?!”
Tyler violently shook his head as Raon grasped the hilt.
“Isn’t he your friend? Are you planning to kill your friend that’s been taken hostage?”
He gritted his teeth because he couldn’t miss the hard-won opportunity that he managed to get.
“Aren’t you the Frostfire Sword of Valor? How can a valiant man kill his friend in order to slay his opponent?”
Tyler forcefully curved his lips into a smile.
“Drop your sword if you want to save this monster! Right now!”
“Flumen.”
Raon stared at Flumen instead of dropping his sword. His face looked like he didn’t care about his life anymore. His round eyes were filled with guilt and pain.
“I-I’ve committed too many sins. I-I’m really okay with dying because I finally got a friend. Please just ki… Kuh!”
“Shut up!”
Tyler smacked Flumen’s mouth to stop him from talking any further.
“Drop your sword! I’m telling you to drop it!”
“……”
“Are you not dropping it? I know you would do that. Valor! It’s such an empty word! Even though I’m also referred to as a knight, I never believed in chivalry!”
He grinned as if that was something to boast about.
“The fact that you aren’t dropping your sword means that you are the exact same as me. And it’s only natural! No one puts others above themselves. Something like chivalry doesn’t exist in this world.”
“That might be the case.”
Raon nodded, then returned Heavenly Drive to its scabbard. He had never tried to be a valiant man. He’d only been walking his path, the one he believed in, and the one his heart desired—just like Sylvia had told him.
“I don’t know about those virtues. I don’t even know if they exist. I’m simply walking my own path.”
He threw Heavenly Drive into the river along with its scabbard as he said that.
Splash.
Tyler made his move even before that sound could finish. He was thrusting his spear at the fastest speed so far, with as much power as he could muster.
“What an idiot!”
Even though his spear was incorporating all of his remaining power, he was still hugging Flumen in preparation for Raon’s counterattack. He was really annoying, but his movement was so predictable.
Red lightning sparkled in Raon’s eyes.
Cring!
Glacier’s energy, which he had set up inside the scabbard, started to rotate and jump out of the water by itself.
Swaa!
By the time the completely drenched scabbard reached Raon’s hand, Tyler’s spearhead was right under his nose. Raon could feel the sharp astral spear tear his flesh apart.
Whir!
The Ring of Fire resounded to the extreme. Inside the slowed-down world, Raon could totally feel his blood and aura flowing with his heartbeat.
He divided the instant into smaller moments, extending his left foot and holding the hilt with his right hand. Feeling the cold sensation that seemed to awaken his mind, he briefly inhaled.
The principles of sound sword and illusion sword were spread out everywhere in discord, as they couldn’t find their places. However, as they found the last piece—rotation—thunder roared inside his head.
Feeling the supreme thrill running down his spine, Raon unsheathed Heavenly Drive.
All of the martial arts he’d learned so far turned into an auspicious light to strike his enemy.
Raon Zieghart Style Swordplay.
Third Form, Sword’s Silvery Dream.
The crimson blade erased the sound from the world.
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