Chapter 689

Raon furrowed his brow while looking at the bloody energy that was surging as naturally as flowing water.

‘He noticed.’

Even though it was a surprise attack, with Raon stabbing at him from behind the door, the tenth apostle managed to instantly react and was ready to counterattack. The tremendous amount of bloody energy made it feel like the attacker risked being defeated instead.

‘It will be even more dangerous if I stop now.’ Raon pierced into the tenth apostle’s space and struck at his hand with the Blade of Requiem.

Claaang!

Even though it was a clash between a sword and a hand, the huge bang made it sound like it was a clash between metal. The tenth apostle’s bloody energy had become even more powerful than in their previous encounter, making it impossible to break through it even with the Blade of Requiem.

‘In that case, the second plan.’

Since the surprise attack ended in failure, he had to immediately proceed to the second plan.

Thud!

Raon stepped onto the ground with his left foot right before the shockwave burst from the impact and moved towards Ogram, who was in a heap on the ground.

“Where are you go—hmm!”

The tenth apostle was going to extend his hand with bloody energy concentrated around it but stopped. He bit his lip, his left hand trembling after blocking the Blade of Requiem.

Raon didn’t miss the opportunity provided by the tenth apostle being unable to move, moving to the location where he could protect Ogram and turning around.

‘I did it.’

His first plan was to kill the tenth apostle with the surprise attack, and if that ended up failing, he’d planned to protect Ogram so that he wouldn’t be used as a hostage. Fortunately enough, the second plan was a success.

“Haa…” Raon sighed briefly and examined Ogram behind him. He was severely injured all around his body and his breathing was weak, but he was clearly still alive.

‘This is enough.’

He was worried that he wouldn’t be able to move him because of the seriousness of his injuries, but his condition was good enough to be carried on his back.

“Raon Zieghart, why are you here? And…” The tenth apostle bit his lip while clutching his trembling left hand. “How did you learn Tidebreaker?”

He furrowed his brow, realizing that the martial art that had destroyed the back of his hand was Tidebreaker.

“As a disciple, I can’t overlook the danger to my master,” Raon stated.

“Disciple?” the apostle questioned.

“The one who taught me Tidebreaker is right behind me.” Raon pointed his chin at Ogram while answering both questions at once. “Though, I don’t think he would see me as one.”

“Disciple…”

A white fog emerged from the back of the tenth apostle’s hand, restoring his twisted wrist. Raon assumed that he’d used his bloody energy to regenerate his bones and muscles.

“Do you know the name of this palace?” White bloody energy blazed from his hand, forming into a sharp spear. “It’s called the Palace of Sacrifice.”

“Palace of Sacrifice?”

Raon looked at Ogram again. Blood was flowing from the covered part on his neck slightly, and his energy had drastically decreased. That implied that they had already finished drinking his blood.

Raon showed a nonchalant expression on his face, suppressing the surging irritation he felt.

“I’ll get to witness the scene of both the master and the disciple being sacrificed. This has never happened since the foundation of this palace.”

The tenth apostle’s fiery gaze was as sharp as a spearhead, showing his intention to prevent him from escaping.

“You’re wrong.” Raon calmly shook his head and unsheathed Heavenly Drive. “An apostle’s blood will be shed for the first time since the foundation of this palace.”

"Your mouth runs as freely as ever." The tenth apostle shook his head, twisting his lips. “However, it’s meaningless to bluff here. You should’ve noticed it already.”

He raised his finger, a flame of bloody energy igniting powerfully on it.

“This land only bestows its blessings on the ones possessing the bloody energy.” The tenth apostle shook his head with his lips curved into a sneer. “You can't even defeat me with your full skills. Are you really planning on fighting me now while protecting that old man, all while your body grows heavier?”

“I won’t achieve any growth without taking a risk.” Raon raised his chin sharply, lifting Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem. “You don’t need to worry about me. Stop the pointless chatter and come at me.”

He confidently beckoned with his finger, but his mind wasn’t actually at ease.

He was frustrated at the situation because his chance of victory against the tenth apostle would’ve been low enough in his best condition.

‘But calling for the head of house wouldn’t be a good decision either.’

He couldn’t hear Glenn’s lightning as loudly as before. He couldn’t exactly tell who his opponent was because his senses had degraded, but someone like the White Blood Religion’s leader or someone as powerful as her must’ve stepped forward to stop him.

If he called for Glenn, the White Blood Religion’s leader and the other apostles were all going to gather, making it even more difficult to escape.

‘I need to secure Sir Ogram at least before sending him the signal.’

He had to send the signal after carrying Ogram outside the palace in order to allow everyone to escape safely.

“I’ll pierce a hole into that thin neck of yours.” The tenth apostle rotated his spear of glowing bloody energy. A tremendous amount of bloody energy started to concentrate around the violently rotating shaft of the spear.

“Haa…” Raon sighed quietly and gripped Heavenly Drive and the Blade of Requiem.

‘My heart is pounding.’

He couldn’t help smiling even though he was in a crisis. His fingers faintly trembled from the exhilaration, from the fact that he was going to unleash the enlightenment he’d gained in his mental world at the tenth apostle.

‘It’s a shame that my abilities are reduced, but… Hmm?’

As Raon was getting into posture while biting his lip slightly, the Blade of Requiem let out a powerful sword resonance, creating a wind of ghastly energy.

Whir!

The ghastly energy emanating from the blade engulfed the surroundings, removing the bloody energy’s pressure weighing upon his body and soul.

‘What’s going on…?’

His body’s senses, which had been being weighed down by the Eldritch Ephemeral Demonblade Formation, returned to their original flow.

No, an energy even more powerful than before was boiling from him.

Raon gasped and gazed down upon the Blade of Requiem.

‘Did you do this for me?’

He guessed that the Blade of Requiem’s ghastly energy had nullified the Eldritch Ephemeral Demonblade Formation’s effect around him.

Whir!

The Blade of Requiem let out another sword resonance, as if it were answering his question. However, the sword resonance was getting gradually quieter, implying that it couldn’t maintain it for long.

‘Alright. I’ll finish this fight in just a minute.’

Raon decided to unleash his full power to push the tenth apostle back in a minute, then proceed to escape.

“J-just how did you…?”

The tenth apostle’s lips trembled in disbelief, noticing the change in Raon’s state.

Wham!

Raon stomped the ground without responding to him. He executed the Flawless Sea of Fire while raising Heavenly Drive and lowering the Blade of Requiem.

The wave of flame and frost blazing from the two blades engulfed the tenth apostle from the front.

Claaang!

The tenth apostle furrowed his brow as he watched the red and blue tidal waves rushing toward him, burning the bloody energy on their path. The veins bulged from the back of his hand, and a huge sphere of bloody energy burst from him at the same time, suppressing the waves of flame and frost.

Cring!

Raon advanced before the Flawless Sea of Fire’s flow was extinguished and thrust the Sword’s Silvery Dream at the tenth apostle’s neck.

Claaang!

The tenth apostle’s eyes sparked coldly as he blocked the Sword’s Silvery Dream’s blade by spinning his spear shaft slightly. A frightening amount of murderous intent was boiling inside the calmness of his eyes.

Raon licked his dry lips while looking into the tenth apostle’s merciless eyes.

‘Fifty-five seconds.’

* * *

Tsk.

The White Blood Religion’s leader raised her eyebrows with a deeply furrowed brow.

‘What’s happening now…?’

Even though she was inside a cultivation room that blocked the noise and flow of mana from the outside, she could still sense the wave of energy. The fact that she could sense the pressure from the room implied that it was done by a Transcender, at least.

‘The first apostle? The second? No, this is…’

It wasn’t from the apostles. It was an outsider, and she was extremely familiar with that energy.

‘Glenn Zieghart…?’

She would never forget it because of how much she had to struggle to remove his lighting energy. The powerful surge of energy erupting from outside was unmistakably Glenn Zieghart’s lightning energy.

‘Why is he here? No, how is he here?’

Their current headquarters only allowed the entry of the chosen ones among the White Blood Religion’s believers. She couldn’t understand how Glenn had managed to intrude.

“Damn it!” The White Blood Religion’s leader bit her lip in frustration and left the cultivation room.

“L-leader!” The executives waiting outside the cultivation room hurriedly lowered their heads.

“What’s going on?” she demanded.

“G-Glenn Zieghart is attacking us!” The archbishop at the forefront trembled, watching the lightning strikes.

“I’m asking how he did it!”

“We aren’t sure either. H-he just suddenly appeared with the Sword of Light, the Assassin King, and even the Heavenly Blade Division leader, then started to slaughter everyone…”

“Slaughter…”

The White Blood Religion’s leader bit her lip, unleashing her bloody energy. Just like the archbishop had said, she could sense that the number of their fanatics was clearly decreasing.

“The first apostle, the second apostle, and even the eighth apostle went to stop them, but they won’t last long.”

“I guess so.”

The first and the second apostles were Transcenders, and the Eldritch Ephemeral Demonblood Formation was supporting them, but it was still impossible to completely fend off Glenn’s assault.

‘I wish he’d attacked a bit later…’

Unfortunately, she hadn’t completely absorbed Ogram’s energy yet. It was regrettable that she wouldn’t be able to absorb Glenn’s energy when he had come to the tiger’s den by himself.

‘It can’t be helped.’

Since she couldn’t just lose the first and the second apostles, she was about to go outside in irritation but heard the very small sound of bloody energy breaking through the wind from the direction of the Palace of Sacrifice.

‘Is the tenth apostle fighting as well? His opponent is… Huh? Raon Zieghart?’

Raon Zieghart’s memory was deeply engraved in her memory, as much as Glenn’s.

‘I finally understand.’

She could understand why Glenn was rampaging around, and why Raon was fighting against the tenth apostle in the Palace of Sacrifice. They weren’t trying to kill her.

They were just trying to rescue Ogram.

“In that case…” The White Blood Religion’s leader curled her lips into a smile. “I might be able to get another meal.”

The tenth apostle clenched his back teeth as he watched Raon unleash his sword strikes one after the other without even breathing in between them.

‘I just need to buy some time.’

He had already sent a wave of bloody energy towards the sacred palace, where the White Blood Religion’s leader was located. He was confident that she would understand the situation at once and come to Raon instead of heading to Glenn to take him and Ogram as hostages.

Since it could become dangerous if he went all out and Glenn ended up noticing the clash, the best he could do was to save his strength as much as possible and simply fend off Raon’s attacks.

‘However… He’s become even stronger.’

Raon wasn’t even a Master during their first encounter, but he’d already become a Grandmaster, and his sword strikes were powerful enough to threaten his life.

Cring!

Raon’s sword curved at a strange angle and suddenly fell.

Claang!

The tenth apostle bit his lip while fending off Raon’s strike, which poured down on him with a sudden tilt.

‘His aura isn’t the only thing that has improved. His swordsmanship is on a whole different level.’

Raon’s swordsmanship was as fine as a clock hand, yet as sudden as a savage beast. He had returned with a ridiculous amount of growth.

Moreover, the fact that he was using Tidebreaker made it extremely difficult to defend against. He couldn’t believe that Raon had a hard time against the seventh apostle a few years ago.

The tenth apostle exhaled roughly and fixed the grip on his spear.

‘Even then, I won’t yield to your plot.’

Raon was only using powerful and flashy techniques in order to call Glenn. The tenth apostle focused on defense while using the minimum amount of power to avoid falling into his scheme.

“Tsk.” Raon Zieghart briefly clicked his tongue and lowered his sword. “As expected, it’s not easy to break through. And you aren’t facing me head-on, either.”

“There’s no reason to.” The tenth apostle calmly shook his head.

“There’s five seconds left now.”

“What?”

“I only have five seconds left.”

Judging from Raon’s reaction, he could guess that Raon was aware that he was trying to buy time.

“It’s meaningless. You won’t be able to escape…”

“Perfect timing.” Raon Zieghart exhaled roughly and gripped Heavenly Drive with both hands. “You won’t be able to avoid this.”

Golden flames burst from the reddened blade, drawing ten different curves.

The moment the messy curves of the slashes connected into a single flow, a dazzling radiance erupted, so brilliant that it was impossible to keep the eyes open.

It was fast, yet slow and powerful, yet soft. The contradicting concepts of the martial art pierced through space and rushed towards him.

‘This is dangerous!’

A warning bell echoed in his mind. It was still rough and messy, but the power at least was beyond comprehension.

‘I’m going to die if I try to dodge!’

The tenth apostle violently gritted his teeth and unleashed all the bloody energy he had. He couldn’t use his full power because he was hurriedly mustering his strength.

Rumble!

The spear wavered to the point of breaking, but he gritted his teeth and endured it.

However, the trajectories of Raon’s strike weren’t just martial arts.

Whack!

Tidebreaker’s flow approached him through the bloody energy, twisting his bones and muscles.

“Kuaaa!”

The tenth apostle screamed in pain and was sent flying outside with a golden radiance, destroying the wall in the process.

Whaaam!

* * *

Raon coughed up black blood while gripping his chest.

‘I knew it. It’s still too difficult for me.’

He had tried using the new Sword Field based on the enlightenment he’d gained in his mental world, but it was still impossible to achieve. He had gained more internal injuries than the tenth apostle he’d attacked.

However, it was certainly powerful. Even the tenth apostle was unable to move from the impact.

‘This is definitely going to serve as a weapon.’

The experience of using the incomplete Sword Field against an extremely powerful warrior like the tenth apostle was going to be a huge advantage during the showdown against the Axe King.

‘No, this isn’t the time to think about that. I need to go right now.’

Raon carried Ogram on his back, suppressing the throbbing pain rising from his chest and abdomen. His body was big, but the fact that his strength was completely drained made it easier to carry him.

“Y-you bastard…”

The tenth apostle’s face twisted like a fiend. Raon escaped from the Palace of Sacrifice before he stood back up.

Beep!

Raon immediately sent the Light Wind Division’s signal, implying that he’d managed to rescue Ogram. Since Rimmer knew the meaning, he assumed that Glenn and everyone else would return to the Blood Spirit Passage.

‘I just need to run now…’

Raon turned his head with a smile because he’d managed to complete all of his objectives.

Rumble!

He suddenly sensed a tremendous amount of energy approaching from the right, where nothing existed before. It almost felt like a celestial dragon was rushing at him.

‘The White Blood Religion’s leader!’

There was no way he wouldn’t recognize her after encountering her twice already. The endless bloody energy of the White Blood Religion’s leader was approaching him.

‘I miscalculated.’

He’d thought that the White Blood Religion’s leader would obviously head to stop Glenn, but she was moving toward him instead. As he came to the realization that she was quick-witted indeed, the joy of driving away the tenth apostle disappeared at once.

‘I can’t even breathe.’

The White Blood Religion’s leader had perfectly located him. It was meaningless to hide.

Whaam!

Raon executed the Supreme Harmony’s Second Step, destroying the floor in the process. Even though he was using the fastest footwork available to him, the distance between the White Blood Religion’s leader and him was hopelessly decreasing. He felt like it wouldn’t take ten seconds until she caught up to him.

Whoosh!

A violent sound of wind could be heard from behind him. The White Blood Religion’s leader was close enough to be seen already. His heart raced so rapidly that he felt like it would explode.

“It’s been a while, Raon Zieghart!”

Her voice was filled with exhilaration. Her eyes were glowing in desire, implying that she was planning to take him hostage as well Ogram.

“I’ve wanted to make you mine ever since the first time I saw you.” The White Blood Religion’s leader extended her hand toward Raon’s back. “You are mine now.”

“No.”

Raon curled his lips into a smile, looking ahead of him instead of the White Blood Religion’s leader. He simply turned around and shook his head.

“I am a Zieghart.”

“It’s too late to try anything—”

The White Blood Religion’s leader tried to grab the hem of Raon’s clothes with an evil smile on her face.

Whaaam!

A huge bolt of lightning struck, pushing her hand away.

“Kuh!”

The White Blood Religion’s leader hurriedly withdrew upon seeing the lightning pillar standing like a wall.

Zap!

An old swordsman with blond hair and red eyes appeared behind the frightening red glow of the lightning. The greatest swordsman in the continent walked with a dignified stride, moving as if the space filled with bloody energy was his own territory.

“Who are you calling yours?”

His red eyes reflected the distorted eyes of the White Blood Religion’s leader.

“Do you want to die?”

***

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]