Chapter 686

Raon’s gaze was fixated on Ogram’s back as he held his breath.

‘Why did he appear in my mental world?’

Even though Ogram had taught him Tidebreaker, swordsmanship was the only thing engraved in his mental world. Even the fist art he’d perfectly mastered during childhood didn’t exist there. He couldn’t understand why he had suddenly appeared.

Whoosh!

Ogram punched in the air, not noticing that Raon was watching from behind. Raon could feel a vast freedom from the systemized path of his fist. He seemed to be executing his punches at full power.

Raon swallowed nervously and approached Ogram.

‘What…?’

Ogram looked just like when they met during the Suran tribe incident—except for one thing.

His gaze.

The desperation in his gaze suggested that he was fighting against his worst enemy.

Raon had never felt such desperation from him because Ogram had always been relaxed and confident.

“Hmm.”

Raon bit his lip, looking at Ogram’s desperate eyes.

‘This isn’t the time to think about the reason he appeared here.’

The instincts that had saved him at every turn were telling him that he wouldn’t be able to see this ever again if he missed the opportunity. He increased the Ring of Fire’s output to the maximum. The eight rings slowly rotating in the air resonated with each other at once, increasing his focus to reach a higher realm.

Whoosh!

The wind extending from Ogram’s left fist guided the Light Wind Style’s wind, and the shockwave erupting from his right fist amplified the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s heat. Instead of simply demonstrating his martial art, he was showing how to efficiently utilize his energy.

Whaam!

Whenever Ogram’s fist burst forward, Raon’s mental world distorted. The huge flow wasn’t created by the destructive power of his punch nor the purity of his aura.

It was Tidebreaker, seeping at the edge of the punches.

‘Is this the real Tidebreaker? The more I see it, the more amazing it is.’

The Tidebreaker he’d learned from Ogram consisted of harming the opponent’s body through the aura. However, the Tidebreaker that Ogram was demonstrating seemed to be going through the opponent’s body in addition to their aura.

In other words, it seemed like there was no limit to what could pass through.

Raon watched Ogram’s punches without missing a single moment in order to reach the epitome of Tidebreaker one day. Ogram’s movement changed drastically after some time, which felt as short as an instant but as long as a year at the same time.

Whaam!

Ogram executed his footwork and started to barrage the air with punches—as if an enemy really had appeared in front of him.

‘He dodged to the right, then used the Hundred Palm Piercing Fist. He charged to the front this time and used the Tyrant King’s Fist? He isn’t fighting like he is facing an enemy. He really is fighting an enemy.’

Raon couldn’t tell who his opponent was, but he was having a duel against someone, unlike when he was demonstrating the movements. Ogram clenched his fist and leaned forward, implying that the invisible enemy started a tremendous attack.

He extended his fist, increasing Tidebreaker’s output to the maximum. The flow of his aura, capable of piercing through everything, severed heaven and earth.

Rumble!

Even though Ogram was certain about his victory, he was fully focused on his enemy, not being careless in the slightest.

‘He won this battle.’

Even Raon thought it was over. However, a dark blade burst from Ogram’s left side, tearing off his arm.

‘Demonic energy…?’

The black energy dwelling in the dark blade seemed familiar.

‘No, that’s the energy of death.’

The energy that severed Ogram’s arm wasn’t demonic energy. It was the energy of death that he had sensed in front of the Sword and Saber Sovereign’s grave.

It was definitely the aura Derus Robert had been hiding.

Ogram didn’t stop fighting despite being startled by the ambush. He minimized evasive movements and started a two-on-one battle.

He was powerful even among the Transcenders, but he couldn’t prevail against the assault of two people. In the end, the energy of death spread out like a spider web, confining Ogram.

Raon’s lips trembled as he watched Ogram sink into the darkness.

‘What’s even happening…?’

Raon gasped because he couldn’t understand the situation, and his mental world started to collapse. That implied that his time was up for staying in that world.

‘Could it be…?’

Raon bit his lip while looking at the place where Ogram had disappeared from instead of the collapsing mental world.

‘Did something happen to Sir Ogram in reality?’

* * *

“Huff…”

Garona exhaled roughly as he advanced. He was carrying the Suran Chief on his back, and he was also drastically injured. Even though he was coughing up blood, his steps never stopped.

‘I need to keep going… I won’t be able to walk anymore if I stop.’

The villain in the red coat that had blocked his path was powerful. Since he was even more powerful than an apostle despite not being an apostle himself, he’d almost died countless times whenever their fists clashed.

If he hadn’t been enlightened about Tidebreaker by his determination to help his master, his heart would’ve been pierced a long time ago, making him collapse on the cold land.

“Uhh…” The Suran Chief tapped on his shoulder from his back while groaning in pain. “Garona, leave me behind. You need to live, at least…”

The Suran Chief asked him to leave him behind, his lips turning pale from the intense bleeding.

“That won’t do.”

He wouldn’t be able to look at himself anymore in the future if he left the Suran Chief behind after leaving Ogram already. It was something that he could never do as a Beast Union warrior. He’d rather choose death.

The crystal sphere serving as a communication device was broken, and the warriors and sorcerers following from behind were drastically injured as well, meaning that he was the only one who could carry the Suran Chief.

“Wh-why is the Beast Union Leader not coming back?”

“No way he would be defeated by the White Blood Religion’s leader, right…?”

“Hmm, but that’s the only possibility for now…”

The Suran tribe’s warriors were talking about Ogram with their heads lowered. It was only natural to have those thoughts when he didn’t come back despite a long time having passed after his battle.

“Nonsense!” The Suran Chief was on the verge of death, but he turned his head and shouted at them. “Do you really believe that our Union’s leader would be defeated by a vampire like that?! He simply retreated in a different direction to distract them from our direction!”

His powerful voice implied that he had a firm trust in Ogram.

Garona bit his lip tightly and nodded his head.

‘Yes, I have to believe in him…’

Since they were from the Beast Union, they had to believe in their leader, Ogram.

Garona kept walking, pressing strength onto the tips of his toes. After some time, just as his breath was truly reaching its limit, countless shadows emerged across the dim plain.

The man on horseback at the center of them was a young, handsome man dressed in a scholar’s robe, unsuitable for the plain.

“The Beast Union’s Vice leader…” Garona usually frowned in displeasure at the sight of him, but he couldn’t be more glad to see him for once. “Vice leader!”

Garona stopped walking and let out a shout that sounded like a scream and a roar at the same time.

Crack!

As soon as the vice leader heard him, he disappeared from the horse and reappeared in front of Garona. It almost looked like a lightning strike.

“Garona!”

“Why are you so late?”

Garona fell to his knees and was about to collapse, but the vice leader of the Beast Union held his waist and supported him.

“What even happened to you?!” the vice leader demanded.

“Please contact all the Six Kings right now…” The emotions that Garona had been suppressing erupted as he spoke with teary eyes. “My master is in danger!”

“Are you telling me to believe that right now?”

Glenn Zieghart furrowed his brow while glaring at the crystal ball designed for communication.

[Hah, this is frustrating.]

The Archmage of Eternal Flame, Chamber, was visible inside the crystal ball, nodding her head.

[No matter how much I like to joke, do you really think I’d lie about something like this? Huh?]

Chamber furrowed her pretty brow, pleading with him to believe her. She had cast aside the coy demeanor she usually wore and revealed her true nature.

Glenn stared at Chamber inside the crystal ball for a while and eventually nodded, saying, “You can continue.”

[I’m not your subordinate! You are aware of that fact, right?]

“I know, so explain from the beginning.”

[Haa! I don’t like anyone from your household except for Raon!]

Chamber sighed deeply while glaring at Glenn.

[Listen carefully since this is the last time I’m telling you. Once Ogram heard the news that the White Blood Religion’s leader attacked the Chiran tribe, he ran there on his own. After that, Garona and…]

She delivered the exact story she’d heard from Garona and the Suran chief.

[…That’s why they even contacted me afterward. Of course, I don’t exactly know what happened in that dark shroud. I just heard it from Garona.]

“Garona…” Glenn murmured Garona’s name. He remembered that Ogram had brought Garona to him, introducing him as a potential successor. “So, has Ogram still not shown up since then?”

[That’s why I’m contacting you.]

“Hmm…”

Glenn furrowed his brow. Since Ogram was confident when defeating any opponent, he normally would’ve told his people to come closer to watch. The fact that he’d told them to run away instead implied that his death was a more likely assumption.

‘No, he might be kept alive instead of being killed.’

The White Blood Religion’s leader only drank the blood of the living to nurture her bloody energy. Ogram would’ve been a major delicacy for her, one that she’d never had before. That was why she must’ve let him live no matter what.

“Did you check the area?”

[Yes, there were plenty of waves left behind by Transcenders. The traces of Ogram’s Tidebreaker and the White Blood Religion’s Goddess of Blood Devouring Anguish were perfectly intact as well. However, the dark shroud that Garona mentioned wasn’t a big deal. It was a common concealment spell.]

Chamber calmly nodded.

“What about the outcome of the battle?”

[No traces indicated it for sure. However, bloody energy was what remained in the end.]

“I see…”

[This story is spreading faster than any other rumor right now.]

Her gaze sparkled like a deadly blade.

[You understand what this means, right?]

“…It means that the balance of power is being disrupted.”

[Yes. And this is a rather serious matter. No, it’s not just ‘rather serious’. It’s damn serious.]

Chamber clicked her tongue.

[There will be a conference of six kings in a few days, so you’ll have to participate no matter what. And…]

She lowered her eyebrows slightly.

[Raon’s duel to the death, you should think about what to do with that.]

“......”

[I’ll see you at the conference.]

Chamber casually waved her hand and ended the communication.

“Hmm…”

Sheryl gasped, leaning her back against a pillar, “I can’t believe that the Beast King lost to the White Blood Religion’s leader.”

Her trembling lips revealed that she’d never expected such a thing to happen.

“The difference in power is one thing, but Sir Ogram should’ve had the upper hand in that matchup…” Roenn furrowed his brow, agreeing with her.

“Nothing is clear yet.” Glenn calmly shook his head. It was too early to make a conclusion since it had only happened a few hours ago.

To be honest, he couldn’t believe at all that Ogram had lost to the White Blood Religion’s leader, nor did he want to believe it. However, the incident had already happened, and he had to come up with their next course of action.

“Is Raon still in the middle of his cultivation?” Glenn shifted his gaze towards Rimmer, who was quietly sitting down.

“…Yes.” Rimmer was also furrowing his brow deeply, implying that he was thinking about Raon’s duel to the death.

“Haa…” Glenn sighed quietly and nodded his head. “Call him here right after he is done with his cultivation.”

* * *

Raon raised his eyebrows violently. He’d trained in the mental world many times before, but it was his first time waking up like he’d had a nightmare.

‘What could’ve happened?’

Why did Ogram appear in his mental world? Why did he teach him by using his punches? Who was he fighting against, and why was he captured by the energy of death? There were too many questions.

However, one thing that he could tell for sure was that Ogram was in trouble.

‘It almost felt like he wanted me to know.’

Rather than asking for rescue, Ogram seemed to be hoping to make Raon aware of the situation.

[You’ve gained a new enlightenment from the mental world.]

[All swordsmanship techniques have advanced in realm.]

[All stats have increased by 10.]

[Tidebreaker’s realm has drastically increased.]

Messages appeared in front of him just as he was about to stand up. They were the rewards for what he’d experienced in the mental world.

‘Wrath is still sleeping.’

Wrath would’ve started to rampage as soon as he saw the messages if he was awake. The fact that he was being quiet implied that he was still asleep.

‘All swordsmanship techniques have advanced in realm…’

It seemed to be a reward for training with the Transcenders’ swords. It was a huge growth, pretty much implying his advancement in the versatile sword.

‘And Tidebreaker…’

Tidebreaker’s realm must’ve naturally increased because he’d focused his entire mind on Ogram’s punches while he seemed to be fighting against an enemy. However, the lesson that Tidebreaker could break through things other than aura was an even bigger harvest than the increase in realm.

He could even guess that he would be able to add Tidebreaker’s flow into the new Sword Field that he was going to create.

‘No, this isn’t the time to think about this.’

The rewards were definitely amazing, but there was a more important matter.

Raon immediately opened the training ground’s door and went outside.

‘Is it dawn?’

No one could be seen in the training ground, where the chilly wind of dawn was lingering.

‘It had to be now of all times…’

Raon furrowed his brow, thinking that he’d come out at the wrong time, before a rustling sound could be heard from above the ceiling.

“Did you wake up?” Rimmer’s face suddenly popped out, his slightly muffled voice suggesting that he’d just woken up.

“Vice division leader?” Raon blinked while looking at Rimmer. He couldn’t believe that he was at the training ground at dawn when he often went missing in broad daylight. “Why are you here?”

“Just because.” Rimmer shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn’t for any important reason and came down onto the land. “I was actually waiting for you because I have something to tell you.” He sighed deeply and raised his gaze.

“Something to tell me…” Raon instinctively realized that what Rimmer was going to talk about was the same thing Raon was going to ask about.

“Sir Ogram was defeated by the White Blood Religion’s leader.”

“Ah…”

His hands trembled before he knew. If what he said was true, the Ogram that he’d seen in his mental world must’ve been the exact image of reality.

“No one knows the details, but it’s clearly true that Sir Ogram went missing,” Rimmer declared, then he told him about the battle between Ogram and the White Blood Religion’s leader.

“Isn’t there any evidence of someone’s interference?” Raon asked while thinking about the energy of death that had blocked Ogram’s punch.

“According to Lady Chamber, there was no trace of a third party.”

“......”

It was even more suspicious because there was no trace. If it was done by Derus, he was definitely not going to leave any trace.

“That’s why…”

“Vice division leader!” Raon interrupted Rimmer and raised his gaze. “We have to go there.”

“There?”

“The location where Sir Ogram and the White Blood Religion leader’s battle took place!”

Inside the mental world, Ogram’s gaze looked like he wanted Raon to know something. It was highly possible that he left some trace at the location of the battle.

“Right now!”

Crimson lightning struck in Raon’s eyes.

***

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

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Writing Ant, 글개미]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Harley]