Chapter 396

Dorian’s lips trembled as he looked back.

“I didn’t do anything! It’s true! The skull destroyed itself!”

He frantically shook his hands, claiming that it wasn’t his fault that the death knight’s skull was destroyed.

Burren pointed at Weegen’s throne, which was crushed like scrap metal.

“Didn’t Raon accidentally destroy it earlier when he was crushing that chair?”

“Oh, right! It was the vice squad leader’s doing!”

Dorian immediately nodded in agreement.

“Our vice squad leader used to destroy everything when he was called the king of destruction! This must be another case of his destruction!”

Dorian supported Burren’s claim, trying to grasp the opportunity on hand.

Martha became curious and went up to the platform.

“That’s not the case.”

She shook her head after she saw the powdery remains of the death knight’s skull.

“It’s true that he is stupidly strong, but this was destroyed by a different type of power.”

“She’s right.”

Runaan nodded. She was on the platform before they knew it.

“An explosion occurred inside of it a moment ago.”

Runaan licked her lips while rubbing the powder that used to be the death knight’s skull with a branch that she’d brought from… somewhere.

“Ueeh…”

Dorian’s face turned pale, terrified by Martha and Runaan’s testimony.

“Please don’t kill me!”

He immediately knelt in front of Raon and bowed.

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the skull powder that Runaan was poking instead of Dorian.

‘Runaan is right.’

The energy of death burst from inside the skull and burnt the bone.

He couldn’t understand how the energy of death had suddenly appeared.

‘Wrath.’

What’s up?

Wrath emerged from the bracelet and yawned leisurely.

‘Do you know why the energy of death burst out from that skull?’

There’s nothing in the world that the King of Essence doesn’t know.

‘Then why…?’

Raon was trying to ask the reason, only for Wrath to wag his round finger at him.

‘Hmm?’

The world functions with give and take as the basis. The grape and blueberry recipes are famous in this region. Start by offering him grape jam sandwiches and blueberry pie…

Wrath listed the famous food in the region while humming. Raon was curious about when he even heard about it to manage to remember at all.

‘I’ll eat them all.’

He nodded since he didn’t have any other choice.

Two of each!

‘Sure, just start the explanation.’

Ahem!

Wrath cleared his throat for no reason and raised his eyes.

The reason the energy of death exploded from the death knight’s skull was because the connection was lost.

‘The connection was lost? Which means…’

You guessed right. The death knight was summoned by another being.

‘Ah…’

Raon slowly nodded while looking at Wrath.

‘That certainly sounds more reasonable.’

The Swamp of Death had remained unchanged for hundreds of years after the first head’s era. It sounded more reasonable that the abnormality was from someone’s influence rather than for natural reasons.

‘Who summoned the death knight?’

The King of Essence doesn’t know.

‘Then where’s the summoner? Are they at the pillar that we visited before?

They might be, and they might not be.

‘Huh?’

A simple manipulation like this is possible from extremely far away. That’s why the King of Essence doesn’t know.

Wrath said that the position couldn’t be known because the skull burned when the connection was severed.

‘But you just said that there’s nothing you don’t know.’

This is the only thing he doesn’t know!

He raised his nonexistent nose and confidently declared that he didn’t know.

“Haa…”

Raon sighed and shook his head.

‘I’m eating nothing but Nadine bread starting from today.’

Wh-what do you mean?! What happened to the blueberry pie?!

‘You deserve Nadine bread. You are ignorant when it comes to anything important.’

Raon couldn’t understand why Wrath was pretending he knew everything when he didn’t know the location or the identity of the summoner.

But he knows that he doesn’t know! This is an extremely important factor…

‘Shut up.’

Raon pushed Wrath away as he kept struggling and looked at House Arianne’s symbol engraved on the wall.

‘Now that I think about it…’

The fact that someone else had summoned the death knight reminded him of the information that Judiel had given him.

‘They fought a lich in the past.’

Hundreds of years ago, the first head of Zieghart and Arianne combined their forces to fight a monster in the Swamp of Death, and their opponent was an archlich instead of a death knight.

Raon went towards Weegen, who was crushed in a corner, while recalling that information.

“Weegen Arianne.”

“Wh-what’s the matter, Sir?”

Respect was shoved into him from Martha’s beating.

“Tell me the story of the battle between the first heads of Zieghart and Arianne against the archlich.”

“What?”

“I’m asking you about what happened during the foundation of this house.”

“I-I don’t really know about that…”

“Huh.”

Raon exclaimed.

‘Wait, no, it would be surprising if he knew.’

Since he was calling himself the head of house despite not even knowing the history of the house, the decline was just a natural result.

“I know about that one.”

Baneder raised his hand while kneeling behind Raon.

“You know about that? Weren’t you supposed to be an outsider who joined the house later?”

“That’s why I worked harder to learn about it.”

Baneder nodded while rubbing his bruised eyes.

“In short, what you said was correct. The first heads of Zieghart and Arianne led their subordinates to fight through countless undead to reach the end of the Swamp of Death, emerging victorious against the archlich.”

He calmly continued.

“After that, the first head of Zieghart asked the first head of Arianne to protect this location to prevent it from happening again. That’s why…”

Baneder told Raon a few more facts about House Arianne’s history. He was unexpectedly knowledgeable about it.

“And you never scouted the area despite knowing that fact.”

“Knowing and doing are two different matters.”

Weegen didn’t know anything and Baneder didn’t do anything even though he knew. They were both equally pathetic.

“He still hasn’t learned his lesson!”

Martha jumped down from the platform and kicked him right away.

Smaack!

Baneder was slammed into the wall with the sound of crushing iron.

“You shameless bastards!”

Raon ignored Martha as she started beating up the executives once again and tapped on his scabbard.

‘I should go into the swamp on my own if I have to after the matter is settled here.’

Considering the fact that Wrath didn’t say anything, the summoner of the death knight shouldn’t have been in the Swamp of Death before.

However, they could return to the swamp and cause an even bigger problem later, given that they destroyed the skull.

Raon figured that it was necessary to investigate the swamp probably on his own before he left House Arianne.

‘Before then…’

Raon turned around and clapped his hands.

“Gather.”

As soon as he told them to gather, the frightening gaze returned to the Light Wind squad as they gathered towards him.

“It’s time to keep the promise.”

“Promise?”

“What promise?”

The Light Wind members tilted their heads in bewilderment.

“You didn’t manage to kill the death knight.”

“Wait, but it was impossible for us to kill it!”

“Defending was already too hard because it kept getting stronger!”

“You meanie…”

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

“But I killed it, and it only took me a single strike.”

Raon shrugged his shoulders, and the Light Wind squad shut their mouths as their own trembled.

“This training exercise won’t be too difficult.”

Raon smiled coldly while looking at the Light Wind squad and Mark Goetten.

“Because it will be a survival game where only one side is going to die.”

* * * 

Zieghart

Lord’s Manor

Audience Chamber

Roenn placed a white teacup on the round table in front of the throne.

“This tea is brewed with Barrence.”

He smiled faintly while pouring the orange-colored tea. A sweet fragrance spread around along with the melting sound of the tea leaves.

“Barrence? Did you change the tea leaves?”

Glenn lowered his eyebrows while watching the tea’s color grow more vivid.

“Yes. A tea brewed with Barrence can comfort the mind.”

“I didn’t dislike the previous tea.”

“I tried changing it because my lord seemed to be having a hard time sleeping recently.”

Roenn smiled faintly while putting down the teaspoon that he used to stir the tea.

“Hmm, I see.”

“Yes. Drinking this tea should decrease the worries for the young masters who went to House Arianne.”

“Ahem!”

Glenn loudly cleared his throat and shook his hand.

“Wh-what do you mean? They went there for a trial. I don’t care what happens to them!”

“Despite what you say…”

Roenn shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the windows on his right.

“You’ve been watching the window all day long recently. It could be a good idea to pay them a visit in this situation.”

“Hmm…”

Glenn frowned in contemplation and slammed the armrest upon noticing that Roenn’s eyes started to smile.

“I told you already! I don’t care about what happens to Raon at all.”

“Huhu.”

Roenn smiled faintly and nodded.

“Actually, I’m also a bit curious whether the young master Raon will notice the true meaning behind this mission.”

“Hmm.”

Glenn calmed down and sipped the tea.

“Divisions get missions where they have to decide and act on their own accord. If he can’t even deal with this matter even though I gave him authority, he’s just not capable enough to run a division.”

“Ah, so you were worried that the young master Raon might not be qualified to run a division yet.”

“Ugh, I told you that’s not the case!”

He shook his hand, pretending he was really uninterested in him. However, he couldn’t hide the sweat flowing down the back of his hand.

Roenn smiled faintly while looking at Glenn’s hand.

“I have a feeling that the young master Raon is going to completely overhaul House Arianne before he retur—”

While he was saying that Raon was going to splendidly complete his mission, the arch-shaped door of the audience chamber burst open.

The red-haired elf standing in front of the door confidently entered the audience chamber as if he were entering his own room.

“You are both here!”

Rimmer’s hair was disheveled, and his clothes were as ragged as Federick’s. However, his eyes were as clear and serene as a mountain lake.

“Hmm…”

Glenn glanced at Rimmer’s ragged shape from top to bottom and tapped on the throne’s armrest with his finger.

‘He has…recovered his original appearance slightly.’

His pressure was on a whole different level, which was surprising even though he was training in that cave. His artificial energy center was stabilized, and the energies inside were settled properly.

A small smile appeared on Glenn’s face because he was good enough to remind him of the Sword of Light from the past.

“I couldn’t find the kids in the training ground. Where did they go?”

“I gave them the second trial because you weren’t coming out.”

“Huh?”

Rimmer gasped and jolted.

“Really?”

“Yes. You took too long…”

“Wow, I’m so glad to hear that!”

He grinned while smoothing down his chest in relief.

“I managed to finish the training, but I didn’t feel like going on a mission! I was wondering what I should do, and it’s already solved!”

Rimmer started humming, saying that it was worth taking so long on purpose.

“Huhuhu…”

Roenn walked away while leaving his signature laughter behind. He must’ve guessed what was about to happen to Rimmer.

“My lord.”

Rimmer took another step towards Glenn, who had fallen silent.

“Actually, Raon is already capable of dealing with most missions. He will solve the problem and return even if we don’t do anything.”

He smiled while covering the back of his head with his fingers locked together.

“Haa…”

Glenn forced himself to stop the hand that was trying to attack Rimmer and sighed.

“But you are the squad leader. You should catch up to them since you said you wanted to be their division leader.”

“Whaat?”

Rimmer stretched his words to express his annoyance.

“About thaaat, House Arianne is too far. It’s also sticky and damp, which isn’t exactly to my liking…”

When he shrugged his shoulders and clearly refused his order, crimson lightning started to appear from the ceiling.

“Huh…?”

Rimmer’s jaw dropped upon seeing the spark tearing through the space.

“I-is this already happening?”

“I was mistaken. You haven’t changed at all.”

Glenn’s face hardened, and the lightning energy filling the ceiling struck at once.

Wham!

Rimmer’s eyes sparkled. With his right hand clad in wind and left hand clad in lightning, he extended both his hands towards the lightning falling towards him.

Zap!

The moment the lightning touched him, he opened his hands in a cone shape to sever Glenn’s lightning into half and make it scatter on the ground.

Pssh!

The ground was scorched black once the lightning passed through.

“Wow!”

Rimmer exclaimed while looking at his hands.

“I only thought about it, but it actually worked!”

He grinned while absorbing the remaining bits of Glenn’s lightning energy in his body.

“Hu.Hu.Hu…”

Roenn’s discontinued laughter expressed his surprise at the situation.

“Hmm.”

Glenn wasn’t too surprised and smiled faintly while looking at Rimmer’s hands.

“You are less unsightly now. It actually took too long…”

“My lord, you must’ve gotten old. It doesn’t even prickle.”

Rimmer laughed loudly with his arms crossed. His lips were raised into an arrogant smile as a bonus.

“Maybe I’ll become the head of house at this rate.”

Bulging veins appeared on Glenn’s forehead upon hearing that. He closed his mouth and raised his hand.

Rumble!

The lightning energy gathering around the ceiling was incomparably stronger than the previous one.

“Uhh…”

Rimmer’s chin trembled violently as he raised his head.

“I-I was just joking. I can’t stop that one…”

He slowly stepped back before he turned around. He tried to run away from the lord’s manor as fast as possible when the lightning sparked.

Whaam!

The lightning struck Rimmer’s abdomen before he could even react.

“Aaaaack!”

Rimmer was scorched by the lightning and rolled on the ground.

Zap!

However, Glenn’s hand hadn’t finished moving.

“One hit isn’t enough now because I’ve gotten too old.”

“Wa-wait…”

Rimmer’s chin trembled in fear as he watched the lightning sphere get bigger and bigger.

“I’m not waiting.”

“Aaaaack!”

The sound of thunder and screams could be heard endlessly from the lord’s manor.

* * *

Raon was looking down on House Arianne while standing on the western castle wall.

Lots of people were busily moving around, but the faint anxiety he’d felt when he’d first arrived wasn’t there anymore.

‘They’ve changed a lot.’

One week had passed after House Arianne’s head of house was changed.

Wendy Arianne became the temporary head of house, and she chose apologizing as her first task. She gathered every member of the house and explained what happened, asking for forgiveness.

Wendy also revealed all of her mistakes, but the people in the house didn’t insult her or slander her.

Since they were fully aware of how Wendy had been living, they encouraged her instead.

The people who used to follow Weegen and the executives were against it, but Martha’s fist calmed them down.

‘I knew I chose the right person for the task when I witnessed that scene.’

Considering the fact that she was the only one that the people kept supporting when every other executive was being insulted, Wendy’s personality and sense of responsibility were the real deal.

The second task Wendy decided to perform was to reorganize the defense of the house.

That was your suggestion.

Wrath snorted.

‘Indeed.’

Raon nodded. He made her train the warriors in the house and repair the defensive structures because the one who summoned the death knight could attack them once again.

There was still a ton of work to do because only one week had passed, but the workers were extremely energetic.

Whaam!

While he was watching people work hard while sweating, a loud bang could be heard from the Swamp of Death.

Raon casually looked around. The Light Wind squad was fighting against Mark Goetten, who was using his astral energy, in the Great Light Wind Formation behind the violent waves of the swamp.

Clang! Claang!

The Light Wind squad and Mark Goetten were attacking each other to the best of their abilities—as if they were facing the archenemy they needed to kill at all costs.

‘They are going all out.’

Of course they are. You are making the losing team train all night long!

Wrath glowered at Raon’s ridiculous treatment.

‘That’s a good thing though.’

You are the only one who finds it good!

He shook his head, telling him to stop saying bullshit.

Humans aren’t perverts like you who love training so much!

‘Pervert isn’t right.’

Raon chuckled and lowered his gaze. Yua and Yulius were training their stamina inside the swamp.

‘This is the perfect place to train.’

There weren’t many opportunities to train inside a swamp. He was planning to get everyone used to the swamp and increase their stamina while they were there.

Well, that’s not wron—Hmm?

Wrath interrupted himself and looked afar.

‘What’s up?’

Call them in.

‘What?’

Call all those weaklings in!

Raon couldn’t understand the reason, but he could tell that something outrageous was happening because of how surprised Wrath was. He watched below him while controlling the Perception of the Snow Flower to the maximum.

“Come up here, everyone!”

“What?”

“Vice squad leader? What did you just say?”

Everyone started at Raon because he had never interrupted training before.

“Climb back into the castl—Ah!”

Raon swallowed nervously while looking towards the Swamp of Death. A huge tsunami was approaching from afar. He could estimate that they didn’t even have time to open and close the castle gate.

“Damn it!”

He immediately jumped down from the castle wall and picked Yua and Yulius up on his sides.

“Jump back in here if you don’t want to die!”

He declared and kicked the castle walls to climb.

“Wh-what?!”

“What’s wrong with him now?”

“Go inside for now!”

The Light Wind squad was surprised but followed Raon onto the castle wall. It didn’t even take one minute after everyone landed on the castle wall before a huge shadow appeared on the white fog.

“Wh-what is that…?”

“Swamp! It’s the swamp!”

“A tsunami is coming from the swamp…”

The huge tsunami that approached the castle walls looked to be made of the entire swamp. Raon had the feeling that the entire castle was going to get swept away and disappear.

Whaap!

Raon chewed his lip and unleashed Glacier’s energy to the extreme. He focused a large amount of coldness that made his entire body turn white and extended his hand towards the muddy tsunami.

‘If I can use Wrath’s technique…’

***

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]