Chapter 519

Raon’s hand holding Heavenly Drive trembled intensely as he looked at the seagull.

“I-is it really you?”

“I wanted to see you.”

She didn’t respond to his question, but the fact that she said she wanted to see him confirmed his suspicion. Merlin had literally become a stalker on top of being a madwoman at that point.

Uaah…

Wrath shrunk like a turtle trying to hide in its shell.

Why is the madwoman here?!

His sky-blue pupils trembled, unable to comprehend the situation.

We were separated at the center of the continent! How come she’s here in this coastal city?!

‘I don’t even know…’

Raon shook his head. He couldn’t respond because he really didn’t know.

“You… Ah.”

Raon was about to ask Merlin a question but noticed a battle on his right side. The presence was similar to the Seafog warrior he’d killed a moment ago.

“Let’s save the talk for after the emergency is dealt with.”

“I can wait as long as it takes.”

Merlin nodded at him, implying that he should do as he pleased before landing on his shoulder.

“Haa.”

Raon sighed briefly and used the Supreme Harmony Steps towards the right. The Seafog warriors’ energy was a lot bigger than the one that he’d fought a moment ago. They seemed to be the main force.

As soon as he entered the alley, which looked like it was filled with gray, smoky dust, he could see three Seafog warriors next to a large fountain. A huge fog was surging from the fountain, and it seemed to be the source of the fog surrounding the city.

“Start by burning the fog!”

“It doesn’t burn or freeze!”

“Damn it! Even aura can’t pierce through it.”

“Their defense is sturdy, but their attacks are too powerful. Eight of us have been defeated already!”

The warriors and magicians from the city were trying to attack the Seafog warriors, but the fog was too thick and the monsters around them were preventing them from opening the path.

They were stabbed by the fog and died one after the other while trying to attack.

Cring.

Raon fixed his grip on Heavenly Drive and analyzed the Seafog warrior’s state. The young ones at the left and right were at a similar level to the one he’d killed earlier, and the middle-aged Seafog warrior at the center who was manipulating the fog looked much stronger than the rest. He seemed to be the boss.

Thud!

Raon used the Supreme Harmony Steps towards the Seafog warrior at the center. Just as he was about to break into the fog, the marine monsters that were spread around the area started to gather towards him.

‘Are they also manipulating the monsters?’

He’d never heard that the Seafog tribe was capable of controlling monsters. Raon could guess that they were acting together because of the dragon’s order.

“In that case…”

Raon pulled Heavenly Drive behind his shoulder. He stepped forward with his left foot and unleashed the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s aura that was filling his energy center. The heat dashed through his mana circuits and burst out to create the shape of a dragon on Heavenly Drive’s tip.

Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation

Hundred Flames.

Flame Dragon Art

The flame dragon’s breath extended from the tip of his blade, devouring all of the monsters that could be seen.

Rumble!

The accuracy had fallen a lot lower because of the issue in his upper energy center, but the output seemed to have gotten even stronger thanks to his increased stats.

Whoosh!

Not a single monster managed to survive the heat of the Flame Dragon Art, but the Seafog warriors created a wall by concentrating the fog, perfectly blocking the flame.

“You are making this annoying.”

Raon stepped onto the scorched land and dashed towards the fog.

Cring!

The gray fog controlled by the Seafog warriors turned into a sharpened blade and rushed toward his vitals.

‘I can see it.’

He could feel the flow of the fog with extreme precision, probably because he had the Ring of Fire and the Evil Eye of Wrath activated at the same time.

Tap!

He used the River Footwork to precisely follow the fog’s movement. He dashed into the fog as nimbly as a salmon going against the stream.

“Kill him.”

The middle-aged Seafog warrior shook his hand, and the two young Seafog warriors from both sides thrust their spears and swords. The numerous blades seemed to be trying to pierce all over Raon’s body instead of targeting his vitals.

Cring!

Raon didn’t withdraw. He accelerated his advance and executed the Frost Pond. The blade of frost followed the silver blade like a shadow.

Smash!

The deadly blades destroyed the weapons of the Seafog warriors and continued their advance.

“St-stop him!”

The two Seafog warriors tried to create a wall of fog in panic, but they were far too late. The two blades had already reached their foreheads.

Crack!

The Seafog warriors were stabbed by the Frost Pond’s ice and collapsed, unable to control their bodies anymore. They had died instantly. They were known for their strong vitality, but it was impossible to withstand the Frost Pond.

‘There’s only one left now… Hmm?’

Just as Raon raised Heavenly Drive and was about to unleash the flame, a gray energy rushed at him like a tidal wave. The middle-aged Seafog warrior had been preparing an unavoidable attack after throwing away the two others as bait.

Wham!

Raon stomped the ground and shook Heavenly Drive. The flame surrounding the blade glimmered in white and engulfed the tidal wave of fog rushing toward him.

Raon Zieghart Style Swordplay.

Fifth Form, White Shadow Slash

The snow-white blade erased the wave of fog reaching all the way to the sky. The Seafog warrior’s eyes revealed his surprise amid the subsiding fog.

Thud!

Raon didn’t miss the opportunity presented by his panic and pierced into his personal space.

“Kuh!”

The middle-aged Seafog warrior surrounded himself with the fog that was covering the city and created a gray whirlwind.

Raon stopped his steps and smoothly swung Heavenly Drive. The red flower petals blooming from the blade followed the foggy cyclone and danced elegantly.

Whap!

The Flame Spirit, which was further enlightened thanks to Wrath, mercilessly destroyed the foggy cyclone surrounding the Seafog warrior.

“Ah…”

The middle-aged Seafog warrior’s lips trembled as he watched the disappearing fog in disbelief.

Step.

Raon calmly walked up towards the Seafog warrior. He ground his teeth, and just as he was about to put up a desperate struggle, Raon slashed Heavenly Drive downwards.

Crack!

The middle-aged Seafog warrior and his hand, which was raised to attack, were split in half at the same time.

The fountain of blood fell silent for a moment.

“Huh…”

“H-he defeated three Seafog warriors on his own…”

“Moreover, he did it with only a few swings of his sword.”

“How could he be so powerful at his young age…?”

The swordsmen and the magicians who’d been fighting the Seafog warriors gasped at his ridiculous performance. Their faces expressed disbelief at the fact that the foggy barrier, which they couldn’t break even if they traded their lives for it, was destroyed so easily.

Whir!

The fog covering the coastal city of Aikar started to disappear. However, only a quarter of it has disappeared instead of the entirety.

Raon could guess that he had to repeat the same process three more times to completely remove the fog.

‘I need to move faster.’

Raon sent the injured to the harbor and was about to locate the presence of other Seafog warriors.

Whaam!

Majestic energy burst into the sky. His fingers trembled upon feeling the massive, frightening wave of energy.

He couldn’t really see because of the fog, but it was obvious who the source of it was.

‘Aries Zieghart.’

The weirdo, who led a carefree life while leaving the title of Pirate King to her subordinate, was floating in the sky.

Raon used the Evil Eye of Wrath to look into the fog and saw Aries.

She was leaning forward with her eyes closed, and her hand was placed on the hilt. It was the posture of a sword draw. An incredible amount of focus and energy was rampaging around her.

A red radiance sparkled from her eyes, and a long cut was left in the space. Her sword draw was extremely fast, to the point where it was invisible. However, the speed wasn’t the important part.

Crack!

Aries’s sword strike leaped through the space and severed the lives of the monsters and Seafog warriors scattered all around the city.

Kieeh.

Raon went into a narrow alley behind him upon hearing a scream and saw that the marine monsters—alive until a moment ago—were convulsing, their bodies cut in half.

Whaam!

The fog covering Aikar burst in an instant, and clear sunlight shone down upon it.

“Huh…”

 Raon’s lips trembled faintly as he looked upon the blue sky.

‘Is that really swordsmanship?’

He’d seen countless sword techniques in the past, but it was his first time seeing one transcend the space. It almost looked like magic instead of a sword technique.

It was the space.

Wrath twisted his lips while looking at the monster corpses.

‘Space?’

What that female thief cut earlier was the space where she felt the presence of the monsters. It can be called the space sword, with the way you usually name it.

‘Space sword…’

Raon swallowed nervously while voicing the phrase ‘space sword’. It looked extremely difficult to use, but it made his heart pound in excitement. He wanted to try learning it no matter what.

Whir!

The ship’s horn could be heard from the harbor. The Pirate King’s warship, Navy Wind, must’ve arrived at the city. He could guess that the battle was over.

Shring.

Raon returned Heavenly Drive to the scabbard and looked at the right side. Merlin’s seagull was still there.

Oh! Right! The madwoman!

Wrath’s chin trembled as he remembered Merlin.

“Why are you even here?”

Raon sighed while making a similar face as Wrath.

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“All along?”

“Yes, I never stopped.”

Merlin smiled cheerfully and nodded. Raon couldn’t believe that he was actually seeing a seagull’s smile.

“You got so lucky.”

It was amazing that they came across each other at the edge of the continent. Raon even started to think that fate was binding them at that point.

“Hmm? It wasn’t because of luck.”

Merlin calmly shook her head.

“What do you mean?”

“I’m currently controlling over a thousand animals right now.”

“Huh…?”

Raon’s jaw dropped. He almost fell on his knees because the strength started to leave his legs.

“A-a thousand…?”

“This isn't the only one. They are scattered all around the continent. They are moving around as we speak.”

Merlin smiled happily, saying that their encounter was inevitable rather than being a coincidence.

A-a thousand animals…

Wrath started to foam from his mouth.

The King of Essence told you before! She is dangerous! She is way more dangerous than the ones we met a few days ago!

He pounded Raon’s shoulder, telling him to run away already.

“Hmm…”

Raon groaned and tilted his head.

“Is it even possible to control a thousand animals?”

Even for Merlin, he thought it would be impossible to possess over a thousand animals to move around the continent.

“I’ve invented a new spell. I made my main body fall into a half-asleep state, split my mind, and inserted it into the animals.”

“Hah…”

Raon let out a long gasp.

‘What the hell is wrong with her? Did she just say she invented a new spell in order to find me?’

She said it so easily like always, but inventing a new spell was a ridiculous task. She almost sounded like she was talking about making a new recipe.

“I thought I wouldn’t lose to anyone with this. I’m glad it went as I thought.”

“Lose at what?”

“At finding you.”

Merlin twisted her wings like a shy girl in love.

“Hmm…”

Raon closed his eyes and asked the question that he had from before.

“Isn’t that magic dangerous to you?”

He was worried about her safety since she should be completely defenseless if she was half asleep.

“Ufufu.”

Merlin furtively hid her beak with her wing.

“Are you worried about me?”

“That’s not what I’m saying…”

“It makes me happy, but don’t worry about me. I’m currently hiding, and…”

Her eyes glowed in a strange passion.

“I have to find you even if I end up dying as a result. I’m really glad that you are alive!”

Merlin spread her wings, implying that it was all that mattered for her.

Ugh…

Wrath quietly sniffled, his shoulders trembling in fear.

She’s literally a lunatic!

‘I can’t argue against that.’

Why does the King of Essence’s life have to be like that?! He just wanted to eat some delicious food, but the city was destroyed. Why is that stalker madwoman following him?!

‘Poor you.’

Raon patted Wrath’s shoulder to comfort him. He was also honestly afraid of Merlin, but he couldn’t let the fear take over him because she’d helped him a lot in the past.

“How is your injury?”

“Hmm?”

“You were stabbed by the tenth apostle’s spear.”

“Oh, right.”

Merlin nodded slightly. She sounded like she had even forgotten the fact that she was injured.

‘Seriously…’

Raon could never get used to her madness even though he’d interacted with her many times already.

“This is already the second time you’ve worried about me. I might be unable to sleep tonight with how happy I am.”

Merlin raised her wings and rubbed her cheeks in embarrassment.

“Ah…”

She smiled cheerfully only to suddenly shudder.

“What’s up?”

“I think the spell is going to be undone because of my strong emotions.”

“What do you mean…?”

“It’s partly because I’m out of mana from using this spell for over two weeks straight.”

“Over two weeks?”

If she was telling the truth, it implied that she had never stopped using that spell since she’d made it right after his disappearance.

“Seriously, you…”

“Raon, as for this one…”

Merlin was trying to continue, but her beak suddenly twitched. The change occurred in her eyes. She had disappeared before she could tell him what the seagull wanted.

“Kree.”

The seagull took a large step towards him, to the point where it almost looked like it was leaping.

“Kreee!”

It started to flap its wings as if it were telling him to grant its request already.

“What?”

Raon swallowed nervously while looking at the seagull approaching him.

“I don’t even know what you want…”

* * *

The seagull landed on his shoulder instead of leaving because it couldn’t get what it wanted.

Raon had no other choice than to look around the city with the seagull. The city was in a hellish state, with the nice roads and buildings being destroyed and black smoke rising to the sky. The beautiful coastal city had become a harbor of death.

The city wasn’t the only thing that was ruined. He could find plenty of corpses just by looking around a little. Countless residents had died, men, women, elders, and children alike.

‘There are almost no survivors.’

He couldn’t feel any human vitality in the area.

‘It must’ve been because of the dragon’s magic.’

The city’s defensive system was destroyed because of the mad dragon spamming its 9th-circle magic, and the garrison must’ve perished before they could do anything. It was as clear as day that even the warriors who’d managed to survive the spells tried to protect the city, but they ended up being wiped out by the monsters and the Seafog tribe.

Crack.

Raon clenched his back teeth while turning towards the direction of the harbor. He could see a reddened rabbit plushie and the hand of its owner. He felt like his heart was being gripped by an iron wire upon seeing the small hand of a little child.

‘Damn it…’

He’d thought that it wasn’t his battle. He’d believed that he just needed to reap the benefits from helping Aries before returning to the house.

However, the sad reality struck him upon seeing the destroyed city and the corpses of innocent people as if cold water had been poured upon his head.

“Is it really doing this kind of shit just because it hates humans?”

The wrath in his soul started to burn like a wildfire, either because of the emotion he’d received from Wrath or his malice against the dragon.

The lizards have always been famous for their double standards.

Wrath twisted his lips while looking at the smoke rising from the city.

‘Double standards?’

They have always been hypocrites.

‘I see…’

The dragons say that adult dragons shouldn’t interfere with each other and don’t even stop them from slaughtering humans or other races. However, they take action if that dragon ends up dying.

He sneered, saying that they hadn’t changed at all.

They claim they protect the continent, but that’s just bullshit. They are just a dirty race.

‘Indeed.’

Raon nodded heavily. The dragons who claimed to be the protectors of the continent seemed to be even more demonic than the demon kings like Wrath, who cherished his subordinates, or Sloth, who just wanted to sleep.

‘I’ve clearly made up my mind now.’

He was going to take the upcoming battle seriously. It was a battle to slay the dragon who slaughtered humans, raise his soul level, and acquire the sea serpent’s heart to make Sylvia’s energy center.

He made a vow to himself, and his boiling rage subsided.

“I couldn’t save you, but I’ll avenge you at least.”

Raon placed the bloody rabbit plushie in the small hand’s grasp and left the crimson-stained street.

Once he arrived at the harbor, he could see that Aries, Rabawin, and the crew were already standing there.

“All the monsters and the Seafog tribe who invaded the city have been eliminated. But the damage is too great…”

Rabawin bit his lip while looking beyond the city.

“So who managed to survive?”

Aries briefly clicked her tongue and asked about survivors.

“The city’s garrison was annihilated, and only a third of those who were supposed to come with us are left. Moreover…”

Rabawin lowered his gaze and continued.

“The fleet that was supposed to come from Yukal Village has also been attacked by the Seafog tribe and monsters.”

He sighed deeply, saying that the mad dragon hunt was going to be difficult.

“Hmm…”

Raon furrowed his brow while looking at Rabawin.

‘So half of them have died.’

Aries was originally planning to gather the affiliated fleet and pirates in Aikar before leaving for the dragon hunt.

However, the two cities with the supplies and personnel were both attacked, which made it difficult for him to predict her future course of action.

“This city is located on the opposite side from his nest. Considering the fact that he decided to attack this place…”

Aries furrowed her brow, while glaring at the ocean.

“He must’ve known our movements all along.”

She was right. Kaibar’s nest was a significant distance away from the city, and it was in the wrong direction, too. Considering the fact that the dragon attacked that specific city and Yukal, where the reinforcements were supposed to come from, it definitely knew about their movements.

“What are you going to do now? With the plan gone awry, it won’t be an easy fight.”

Rabawin sighed and looked around at the crew. Everyone’s eyes were filled with worry.

“Why are you so worried about it? What do you think the reason the mad dragon attacked this city is?”

Aries smiled faintly and spread her arms.

“It’s because it is afraid of us. The dragon fears our will to hunt it down, and humanity itself.”

“Hmm…”

A small light appeared from the warriors’ eyes upon hearing her confident declaration.

“There’s no reason to avoid a lizard that fears humanity. The plan will proceed without any changes.”

Aries smiled faintly and looked far away into the ocean.

“We will depart as soon as the preparations are done. The mad dragon…”

She proceeded to look at Raon, who was standing behind her.

“Will be slain by Raon and 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]