Chapter 394

Burren’s chin trembled as he watched the death knight’s body sink under the swamp.

‘Did he just slay the death knight in a single strike? How is that even possible?’

He could tell because he’d fought against the death knight. He was powerful. It wasn’t just his energy of death—his swordsmanship was also advanced.

The monster had revealed the green burning eyes that were the symbol of an intermediate fiend after easily sending the entire Light Wind squad and Mark Goetten flying…yet he was slain in a single strike, and Burren couldn’t believe that it had just happened.

‘What the hell is wrong with him?’

He was fully aware that Raon was powerful. He should’ve known about that better than anyone.

However, he’d never imagined that he would kill the death knight in a single strike when it was an intermediate fiend and even had the power of the swamp in him.

“That fucking…”

Martha’s hand holding her sword was trembling as she glared at Raon.

‘Monstrous bastard!’

Raon stepped forward when the Great Light Wind Formation was about to break because the death knight’s energy had become more and more powerful.

She was frustrated because Raon’s gaze was telling them to stay back, and she secretly hoped that he would experience the same pain.

Since she’d never seen a death knight that could get stronger during a fight before, she believed that even Raon wouldn’t be able to defeat it so easily.

‘I thought he was going to do all his fire and ice shit like always.’

Raon’s combat was as flashy as his face. She thought he was going to unleash fire and ice to fight the death knight, but all he did was a single sword draw to sever his soul.

Even though she saw it from the closest spot with her very eyes, she still couldn’t believe it.

“Wow…”

Runaan’s lips parted. Her eyes were even more blank than usual.

“Raon is really damn handsome today.”

She’d been saying damn handsome without much meaning behind it because Encia had asked her to call him it, but he really looked damn handsome because of what happened.

It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that the way Raon lowered Heavenly Drive with his Black Dragon Coat fluttering in the wind looked like a beautiful picture.

However, his sword draw that slayed the death knight in a single strike left an even stronger impression than his beautiful appearance.

The destructive power and precision of that strike sent a chill down her spine.

“Vice squad leader! We are going to look like shit if you defeat it so easily!”

“Was that really a death knight?”

“He was! We almost died to it!”

“Moreover, he was a monster that grew stronger over time.”

“But why did he die in a single strike?!”

The Light Wind squad was also staring at Raon in disbelief, their eyes wide.

“Huh…”

“Wh-what did I just witness?”

“Are those the White Sword Dragon’s true skills…?”

“I heard the rumors that even the Twelve Stars of the Continent are below his feet…”

The rangers, including Prica, had fallen on their knees in the swamp as their chins trembled.

“Wow! Young master!”

“I-it was an impressive sword draw!”

“Thank you for your effort.”

Yua and Yulius were jumping around with bright smiles on their faces while Mark Goetten quietly bowed at him.

Raon smiled at the two children and looked at Heavenly Drive, where the heat still remained.

‘Not bad.’

He tried mixing the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation and the Divinity Blooming from Underworld for the first time in the sword draw, and it was even more effective than his expectations.

The death knight was an intermediate fiend and was further enhanced with the power of the swamp. He didn’t think it would be crushed to death before it could even resist.

‘I’ve gained great power to pierce the Black Tower.’

The amount of divinity was small enough to be exhausted after a single sword draw, but it was going to be extremely useful in future battles.

You are such a snake!

Wrath shoved his face onto him while grinding his teeth.

‘What’s your problem now?’

Why would you defeat him?

‘You also said that it was getting dangerous.’

Raon couldn’t understand why Wrath was complaining when he even pointed at his endangered subordinates.

Throwing some daggers would’ve been enough! You didn’t need to straight-up kill it!

Wrath wrinkled his nose, calling Raon a weasel who took the opportunity away from the others.

‘That doesn’t sound right.’

Support from behind would’ve been enough to kill the death knight, but it would’ve taken longer.

It aroused Raon’s suspicion because Wrath was a psychopath who couldn’t even put up with a short moment of boredom.

‘Why is he hating so much… Ah!’

Raon rolled his lips into a smile while looking at Wrath.

‘You are complaining because I’ll be getting the rewards for slaying the dark knight.’

Hiccup!

Wrath’s trembling eyes confirmed that Raon had hit the mark. His fluffy body was trembling as if a powerful wind was blowing on it.

Bu-bullshit! There’s no way the King of Essence would be thinking like that!

‘I can tell I was right because of how surprised you are.’

No, you aren’t. The King of Essence doesn’t care about that at all…

His voice became as small as the crawling sound of an ant before he hid in the ice flower bracelet.

Raon’s guess was correct. Wrath was complaining that Raon should’ve given the opportunity to the Light Wind squad because he didn’t want him to get those stats after slaying the death knight.

‘He’s not being cute.’

Raon shook his head and looked at the death knight’s skull.

Extremely small green fires were burning from the empty eye sockets.

‘This is what you call a loot.’

The skull was the loot from slaying the death knight.

The small fires in the eyes served as proof of killing a death knight, and it could be sold at an extremely high price.

‘I should get some more just in case.’

Raon shook his hand at Mark Goetten.

“Can you bring the heads of the dullahan and the horse that you killed a moment ago?”

“Understood.”

Mark Goetten brought the head from dullahan’s corpse that was thrown onto the vines floating on the swamp.

The eyes were sparkling in crimson on the hideously distorted face.

‘Those two should be enough.’

The skull of a death knight that was an intermediate fiend and the huge head of dullahan were more than enough to get the upper hand with House Arianne.

Whaap!

Raon unleashed Glacier’s coldness to the maximum output and used the Perception of the Snow Flower.

He spread his aura perception in all directions, but he couldn’t feel any presence of undead monsters.

‘And the swamp is subsiding now.’

The water level was decreasing at an extremely slow pace, probably because the death knight was the source of the abnormality.

‘We are done here.’

The mission was complete since they managed to defeat the death knight, dealt with the increased number of undead by killing them, and the swamp was subsiding. Returning was all he needed to do.

Raon put the death knight’s skull and the dullahan’s head in his subspace pocket and turned around.

“Light Wind squad.”

The Light Wind squad that managed to suppress their internal injuries lined up upon hearing his call.

“Uhh…”

“Argh.”

They must’ve had a bad feeling about it since they kept swallowing nervously without looking straight into Raon’s eyes.

“It was a shame. But It was nice to see you fighting to the best of your abilities.”

The Light Wind squad raised their gazes because Raon’s voice was unexpectedly soft.

“Good job.”

“Whoaaa!”

“Thank you!”

“I know our vice squad leader would say that!”

Because Raon said ‘good job’ instead of announcing additional training, the Light Wind squad immediately became cheerful like a flower petal carried by the wind.

“However…”

As the Light Wind squad was getting excited, Raon raised his hand.

“It’s also true that you didn’t manage to slay the death knight. My order was to kill him.”

“Bu-but you just said ‘good job’…”

“Yes, you said we did our best!”

The Light Wind squad tried to argue against him with trembling lips, but it obviously didn’t work against Raon.

“I prefer that you do your job rather than doing your best. You should’ve killed him by any means necessary.”

“How were we even supposed to kill him?! He was a death knight!”

“Moreover, he was a monster that kept getting stronger over time. It wasn’t an ordinary death knight!”

“His head was getting stronger and stronger…”

Burren, Martha, and Runaan shook their heads, saying that it was an impossible task to begin with.

“And it happened because you didn’t train enough. Look at me, I killed it in a single strike.”

“Ugh!”

“Damn it!”

“My sleep…”

Because Raon did manage to slay the monstrous death knight in a single strike, they couldn’t argue anymore and lowered their heads.

“I’ll prepare a special menu as soon as we return. You can look forward to it.”

“Sniff…”

“Damn it.”

“What is life…? Haa…”

The Light Wind squad sighed deeply while thinking about what was going to happen to them after they returned to the house.

Your personality is so nasty.

Wrath climbed back onto the bracelet and frowned.

An evil fiend like you is rare even in Devildom…

While he was calling him evil, messages suddenly appeared.

[You’ve slain a powerful opponent in a single strike by combining two different powers.]

[All stats have increased by 5.]

[Sword Draw’s proficiency has increased.]

[The Divinity Blooming from Underworld has increased in rank.]

It looked like the rewards were given to him because it was his first time combining his aura with divinity to kill a death knight.

‘By the way…What a perfect timing.’

He could only laugh because the messages appeared as soon as Wrath came back from the bracelet. It was as if they were waiting for that moment.

Th-this is why the King of Essence didn’t want to come out!

Wrath ground his teeth violently while looking at the messages.

Stop bullying those kids and the King of Essence!

* * * 

In the audience chamber of House Arianne, Weegen licked his lips, his hand placed on his pot belly. He looked like a frog.

“It’s going well, right?”

He seemed to be anxious as he extended his hand to start eating a large piece of grilled beef ribs.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Baneder raised his gaze and smiled.

“Our boys will take care of it.”

“But I have a bad feeling about this for some reason.”

Weegen frowned while licking his greasy lips.

“It won’t matter even if the plan goes awry.”

“Why would it not matter?”

“My lord’s excellent eloquent speech can easily control children like them.”

Baneder raised his finger with a faint smile on his face.

“Moreover, that person is backing us. Even the White Sword Dragon won’t be able to do anything reckless.”

“Ahem! That’s true!”

Weegen nodded while clearing his throat.

‘We’ve been bribing them for this purpose, after all.’

The reason House Arianne could neglect the mission they’d inherited from their ancestors was because they’d bribed a lot of Zieghart’s executives.

It was time for them to harvest the fruit grown from their money.

“Baneder is right!”

“We are now aware of what kind of personality Raon has. We should be able to easily deal with him now!”

“They won’t be able to pressure us even if they want to. We are backed up by even greater people!”

The general administrator, financial officer, and even the quartermasters bowed at Weegen while flattering him.

“That person also said that we don’t need to worry about it. I’ll be counting on you, my lord.”

Baneder lowered his eyebrows to hide his gaze and lowered his head.

“Yes, yes. Leave it to me!”

Weegen nodded while smiling at the flattering executives.

While the executives of House Arianne were laughing in harmony with each other, Wendy clenched her fist from behind the door. She left the lord’s manor, with a determined expression on her face.

* * *

Raon put his hand in his subspace pocket while watching the slowly opening castle gate of House Arianne.

He took out the death knight’s skull and dullahan’s head from the pocket and gave them to Burren and Dorian.

“Hmm?”

“Hieeh!”

Burren casually accepted the death knight’s skull, while Dorian freaked out while holding the dullahan’s head.

“Why are you giving those to us?”

“The people also need to know.”

Raon looked inside the castle coldly.

“That Weegen and the executive almost drove the house to extinction.”

When he was about to enter through the opened gate, Wendy hurriedly came running towards him.

“Sir Raon, you’ve return—Huh?”

She started to bow, but her jaw dropped upon noticing the death knight’s skull and dullahan’s head that Burren and Dorian were holding.

“D-death knight! It’s even an intermediate fiend!”

Wendy started to tremble like crazy after she saw the death knight’s skull.

“A-a death knight?”

“Look at that! I-it’s true!”

“Th-the green light from the eyes means that it’s an intermediate fiend!”

“Did they find that in the Swamp of Death?”

The swordsmen and residents behind Wendy stepped back in shock.

“N-no way! Was there really a death knight in that swamp?”

“Yes. We found him at the pillars located at the end of the swamp.”

Raon explained what happened in the swamp. He used his aura in his voice to allow everyone around the gate to hear him, not just Wendy.

“Prica.”

Wendy looked at Prica, who was standing on the right side. Prica nodded, implying that everything Raon had said was true.

“Argh…”

She bit her lip and lowered her head. She seemed to be having various feelings. Her cheeks and earlobes were turning red.

“Haa!”

Wendy controlled her mind and raised her head. She raised her hand with a determined gaze.

“Let’s go to the audience chamber.”

Raon nodded and followed Wendy towards the lord’s manor.

The residents were thanking the Light Wind squad while cheering for them like it was a heroes’ return, but they gradually started to suspect the executives.

“A dullahan and a death knight?!”

“The Swamp of Death has changed so much…”

“Bu-but the top brass said there were no problems…”

“See?! I told you it was strange! There’s no way the water level would increase so much if there were no issues!”

“The grapes were also wilting.”

“Those damn executives…”

“We should’ve supported Lady Wendy…”

Raon smiled while feeling people’s anxiety around him.

‘It’s proceeding as it should.’

It was necessary to change the people’s mindset on top of the pigs reigning from above in order to change the house.

The hideous head of the dullahan was extremely effective at changing their mindset.

Raon entered the lord’s manor without saying anything in order to amplify their questions and anxiety even further.

Wendy opened the audience chamber’s door without even knocking.

Raon could see the head of house, Weegen, and the executives of House Arianne gathered on the platform. The way they seemed to be discussing something implied that they’d already heard of the news.

“Ooh…”

Weegen raised his hand with an awkward smile on his face.

“Good job, everyone!”

He gathered his hands and politely declared the words, unlike when they first arrived at the house.

“Th-thank you for your work!”

“You’ve even slain a death knight. The Light Wind squad is as gallant as the rumors!”

“Thank you for using your power for the sake of House Arianne!”

The executives were also rubbing their hands like flies, distorted smiles on their faces. They were completely different from before, back when they were coldly looking at them.

“Dorian.”

Raon smiled faintly and extended his hand to the right. Dorian gave him the dullahan’s head that he was holding with the tips of his fingers.

Raon took the dullahan’s head and threw it on the platform.

Wham!

The remaining blood inside the dullahan’s head scattered over the fake smiles of the pigs above the platform.

“Aaaah!”

“Wh-what do you think you are doing?!”

“Hieeh! Don’t tell me this is alive!”

The executives freaked out and fell on their asses upon meeting the dullahan’s eyes, still glowing crimson after death.

Step.

Raon trampled the red carpet at the center of the audience chamber and went above the platform. The dry pressure creeping from his shoulders revealed his displeasure.

“Gasp!”

“Kuh…”

“Ugh!”

The executives couldn’t panic anymore because they were crushed by his frightening pressure, and they trembled in fear with faces that suggested they were about to die.

Raon didn’t even take a glance at them, instead going straight to the top of the platform.

Weegen was writhing on his chair, and Raon shoved the death knight’s skull at him. The green fires were still sparking from its eyes.

“Aaah!”

The throne fell to the back, unable to withstand the heavy weight of Weegen’s panic.

“This death knight was born at the end of the Swamp of Death.”

Raon pulled up the throne where Weegen used to sit, placing the death knight’s helmet on top of it.

“If the Amber Blade division leader didn’t call us, this head would’ve been sitting on this throne instead of you after trampling over your corpses.”

The flames still burning in green from the death knight’s skull justified his claim.

“We-Wendy would’ve killed a monster like that!”

Weegen’s lips trembled, and he couldn’t even look at the death knight’s skull on the chair.

Raon’s lips twisted into a sneer.

“So you can’t even tell its rank.”

Considering the fact that he could still say that after he witnessed the green light radiating from the empty eye sockets, his head must’ve become empty already.

“…I couldn’t have won against it.”

Wendy bowed from behind Raon. She looked like she was extremely ashamed of her house.

“Pr-Prica! Tell us the story! What is that death knight…?”

“That death knight is an intermediate fiend. Mo-moreover, there were two dullahans involved as well. If they attacked us with their army, we would’ve been annihilated…”

Prica stated everything he had seen without exaggerating or deprecating the matter.

“Ah…”

“Ugh!”

The executives were unable to respond and lowered their heads after hearing the truth from the rangers.

Raon smiled coldly and put his hand on the throne where Weegen used to sit.

Thud!

The huge steel throne was crushed like scrap metal, unable to withstand the power from Raon’s hand.

“Weegen Arianne, you have no right to stay on this throne. I’ll deprive you of your position until I get instructions from Zieghart…”

“Wh-what do you mean?!”

Weegen stood up with trembling shoulders. The bulging fat on his chin and belly looked like he’d gotten even fatter in the meantime.

“I’m the head of house here. What right do you have?!”

He ground his teeth, saying that he wasn’t allowed to do that.

“Right? You…”

“Fuck rights!”

Raon snorted and was about to speak when Martha stepped forward. She climbed the platform with her eyes burning angrier than ever.

“This fucking pig still didn’t learn his lesson!”

“Pi-pig? You little bitch!”

“You almost killed everyone in this house, yet you still dare to talk back!”

“You know nothing…”

“I know everything, you fucking pig!”

Martha kicked the ground and jumped towards Weegen to punch his face.

Smaack!

Weegen couldn’t even defend himself as he was slammed onto the ground after she punched him.

“Kweeeh!”

He rolled down the platform, sounding like an actual dying pig.

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at Martha’s furious back.

‘Did this remind her of the past?’

He didn’t know the details, but he guessed that she was more furious than others because she’d experienced the annihilation of her village by the White Blood Religion.

“D-do you believe you can get away with this?!”

Weegen pointed his finger at her while showing his missing teeth.

“Who do you think is supporting me—”

“Who is it?”

Raon walked down the platform with his eyes glowing in deadly light. A frightening coldness engulfed the entire audience chamber because the pressure of a conqueror naturally spread around as he breathed.

“Tell me.”

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Kyangi]

[Proofreader – Harley]