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‘The Misfortune…’

Even though he had never seen it before, he had heard its name.

The Grandmaster Roman was famous as one of the strongest members of the South-North Union, and the warship was his flagship. It was known to have never been defeated, and people often called it invincible.

‘There were rumors that he’s crazy for martial arts.’

Roman was famous for his prowess, but he was also famous for how crazy he was for martial arts. Even the reason he’d joined the South-North Union was rumored to be because of a contract to spar with the South-North Union’s leader.

“T-The Misfortune?”

“Why is the Misfortune all the way out here?”

“I-Is it here because of Tyler? What should we do…?”

The Doran villagers on the White Spear watched the pitch-black Misfortune with trembling eyes.

“Sh-Shouldn’t we be running away right now?”

“It’s already too late. They will catch up to us before we manage to escape!”

“They will immediately sink the ship if we start moving.”

The village chief softly bit his lower lip.

‘He’s right about that.’

Raon nodded in agreement with the village chief. He could see countless gray cannons from the front and sides of the Misfortune. The cannonballs imbued with war magic would turn the entire river into a blazing inferno the moment they made the slightest movement.

“Haa.”

Rimmer exhaled briefly and turned around. The usual carefree smile on his face looked like he’d been nervous in the first place.

“Wh-What’s happening?”

“Why is a South-North Union’s ship coming this way?”

“Who is boarding that…?”

“S-Squad leader.”

The hands of the Light Wind swordsmen were trembling as they held their swords, terrified by the powerful energy wave from the Misfortune.

“I have no idea why they are coming. However, I know who’s boarding.”

Rimmer licked his lips while leaning his back towards the handrail.

“Roman Reycal. He’s one of the closest vassals of the South-North Union’s leader, and a monster at the Grandmaster’s level.”

“R-Roman Reycal!”

“The Axe King, Roman…”

“But he’s still just a pirate!”

Burren seemed to recognize Roman as he swallowed nervously, while Martha fearlessly showed her fighting spirit.

“Hmm.”

Since Runaan obviously didn’t know about Roman’s name, she was staring blankly at the approaching ship.

“Kuh…”

Flumen was shivering even more violently than the villagers. It looked like he was instinctively trembling in fear over the Misfortune’s pressure.

“Well, don’t be so nervous.”

Rimmer casually waved his hand.

“We should be able to return without much trouble.”

He smiled while saying that nothing special was going to happen, then turned back around.

Rumble!

Although the Misfortune had reached right in front of the White Spear, its speed wasn’t decreasing at all. It looked like it was trying to ram into it to destroy it.

After watching the Misfortune filling his entire vision, Raon closed his eyes. He circulated his aura to inspect his body.

‘Not bad.’

His body was injured, with damaged muscles and internal injuries, but it wasn’t as serious as after fighting with Eden.

Since he’d been continuously rotating the Ring of Fire to heal his body and aura, he was more than capable of fighting.

‘I could slay a Master.’

He obviously couldn’t win against Roman, but he was confident he could win against someone at Tyler’s level.

He figured that they could win if he quickly defeated the others while Rimmer fended off Roman, then joined him and fought together.

Raon imagined how the battle against the Misfortune would go in his head before opening his eyes. As predicted, the Misfortune still didn’t stop. It was ramming into the White Spear as if it were trying to split it in half.

Whir!

Raon stepped back to create an aura barrier to protect the villagers and Flumen on the deck.

Slaaam!

The Misfortune crushed the White Spear’s side with its bow. The huge mass only came to a stop after destroying half of the deck.

Thud!

He could hear somebody kicking the ground from the Misfortune. It was a middle-aged man with white hair. He stopped for a moment in the air to examine the entirety of the White Spear underneath him before slowly descending on the deck.

With dull, white hair kept back, he was wearing a long jacket in pitch-black color. The powerful pressure wriggling on the dragon head shaped axe that he was holding felt like it could sever the entire world.

Despite the strong wind, his hair and jacket weren’t being swayed in the slightest. That meant that both his insides and outsides were perfectly tempered as a warrior.

Raon softly clenched his back teeth.

‘That man is the Axe King, Roman Reycal.’

His energy wave was embracing the entire Rable River, and the only thing he’d done so far was make his appearance. Raon could understand why people called him the Axe King.

Thud.

The atmosphere changed once again the moment his feet reached the deck. The powerful pressure pouring out from him couldn’t be simply described as heavy, as everyone facing him felt like they were being suffocated.

“Kuh…”

“Wh-What is this…?”

“Huff!”

The Light Wind swordsmen grasped their chests, unable to breathe because of the energy wave spreading out from Roman.

Whoosh!

The wind blew towards them as they were about to start drooling from their mouths. The refreshing green wind, different from the river wind, swept away Roman’s energy wave.

“You still like to harass children.”

Rimmer chuckled while tilting his chin to the side.

“They are simply weak.”

Roman raised his head without even looking at the Light Wind squad. They apparently knew each other, since they started to speak without even introducing themselves.

“Where is the owner of this ship, and why are you here instead of him? Zieghart’s Sword of Light.”

“He’s dead.”

Rimmer announced Tyler’s death as if he just went out to play.

“Did you kill him?”

Roman wasn’t surprised. His unchanging expression implied that he’d been expecting it from the beginning.

“No, our vice-squad leader slew him in a single strike.”

Roman’s gaze turned towards Raon for the first time upon hearing that.

Whir!

Raon chewed inside his cheek.

‘Powerful.’

The hair all over his body stood on end upon facing those eyes that were as dark as the abyss. The pressure weighing on his shoulders intensified, and his heart felt like it was getting crushed.

‘However…’

He’d already withstood more powerful pressures twice in the past.

Glenn and Wrath.

Since he had already overcome the energy waves coming from those two monsters, Roman’s pressure was nothing in comparison. Raon straightened his back and looked straight into Roman’s eyes.

“Hmm.”

Roman’s dark eyes started to glow. They were reflecting his surprise over Raon, who managed to withstand his energy wave.

“Who are yo…”

“Wow! It’s been a while.”

A second person jumped down from the Misfortune. He was a man wearing a grizzly bear leather jacket. The yellow bandana wrapped around his forehead was fluttering in the wind, and he had a cool smile on his face.

Thud.

He somersaulted in the air, landing lightly on the deck. He had a carefree atmosphere around him, unlike Roman.

“Raon Zieghart, right?”

“Raptor.”

Raptor was one of the party bosses from the South-North Union that he’d met during his first mission after killing the bandit leader and the snake user.

‘He didn’t change at all.’

Even though a long time had passed, his appearance was the same. Even his outfit was similar to the one he wore in the past. The only difference was that the tiger skin was replaced by a bear skin.

“Kuh! I knew it would be you. Your aura was overflowing even though I was too far away to watch!”

Raptor nodded as he exclaimed.

“Raon Zieghart? Is he the Frostfire Sword of Valor?”

Roman narrowed his eyes while looking at him.

‘Does he know me?’

Raon was surprised that a warrior of his caliber was aware of his name. The nickname Frostfire Sword of Valor must’ve been spread more widely than he’d thought.

“He is! He’s the Frostfire Sword of Valor! I’m really glad I gave you my blessings.”

Raptor grinned while nodding his head.

“Blessings?”

“Yes. I told him that I hoped to hear his name from the Terukan mountains and Rable River.”

He gave Raon a thumbs up while looking at him.

“I didn’t tell you before, but that’s a pretty good blessing. It’s one of the few nice words that the South-North Union says to others.”

“Should I be thanking you?”

“No, you don’t need to go that far. I only did it because I wanted to.”

Raptor shrugged his shoulders. He seemed to have become more carefree as he’d gotten stronger.

“What brought you here?”

“I managed to tempt my big bros into going to the village downstream because I heard something interesting happened there. But what was happening here was even more interesting.”

He grinned while pointing at the White Spear.

‘So he didn’t know what happened here before he came.’

Roman and Raptor apparently just happened to pass by Rable River and came to them after noticing the trouble on the White Spear.

“We’ve also met each other before, haven’t we?”

Raptor licked his lips while looking at Rimmer.

“It was a nice decision to run away back then. I didn’t know you were the Sword of Light.”

“Indeed. It’s been a while.”

Rimmer nodded at Raptor.

“So, did this ship’s owner die?”

“Yes.”

“That’s rather troublesome…”

Raptor tilted his head before snapping his fingers.

Rumble!

As soon as that sound spread out, a large number of bandits and pirates jumped down from the Misfortune. Every single one of them were powerful warriors at the Expert level, capable of controlling their pressures.

“Why did you kill him?”

Roman’s serious gaze turned towards them. The fact that he was asking that question implied that he had the intention of talking it out.

“That’s…”

“I’ll tell them about it.”

As Rimmer was about to respond, Raon stepped forward. Since he was the most involved in the incident, he felt like he needed to tell them personally.

“This incident was a result of Tyler’s greed…”

* * *

* * *

Raptor licked his lips, while watching Raon tell the story of the incident that happened on the Gazel River.

‘That idiot hasn’t changed.’

Tyler had always been obsessed with small gains instead of looking at the big picture. The reason he lost to the fifth disciple despite being the fourth disciple of the leader was because he didn’t realize his own shortcomings.

Raptor thought that Tyler had finally learned his lesson when he heard he was bringing multiple rivers and villages into submission, but he ended up dying to Zieghart’s rising star after causing brainless problems. He could only laugh because it was a death befitting an idiot like him.

‘Good riddance.’

Even though Tyler was a successor candidate, there was pretty much no chance at all that he would become the next leader of the Union. Since he wasn’t in his faction, and he would only bring harm to the union, Raptor was actually glad that Tyler ended up dying so quickly.

‘Although, he shall be enraged…’

Tyler’s grandfather was a senator that contributed the most to making him into the leader’s disciple. He would be enraged upon hearing the news, but it was none of Raptor’s business.

‘Rather than that…’

Raptor smiled after examining Raon’s body as he calmly explained the situation.

‘He grew up nicely.’

His prowess was already surpassing his age back then, and the level he’d attained now was incomparable to before. An eighteen-year-old Master. Moreover, he was powerful enough to slay Tyler, who was almost at the intermediate level, which was almost difficult to believe.

‘I made the correct decision by not killing him back then.’

The threat from Rimmer from the top of a tree was one of the reasons, but the reason he even gave him the blessing of South-North Union was because he was curious about how far the genius would go. Of course, he hadn’t even begun to imagine that he would grow up so splendidly.

‘And he has more than that excellent might.’

The way he was calmly telling the tale despite the powerful pressure spreading from Roman revealed how mature his mind was. He almost looked like a warrior that had gone through countless battles.

‘I’m a bit jealous. I should’ve taken him with me at all costs back then.’

The might of the leader and the number of powerhouses was important for an armed organization, but the talent of the rising star was almost as important.

Raon Zieghart had become a Master at the age of eighteen to slay two executives of Eden. Now that he had even managed to defeat Tyler, his fame was bound to soar to reach the sky.

‘Well, that’s only going to happen if he manages to survive here.’

Considering Roman’s personality, Raptor guessed that he would try to erase all of the Ziegharts in front of his eyes regardless of Tyler’s sins.

Raptor smiled while leaning his back against the handrail.

“I wonder what’s going to happen.”

* * *

“…That’s how I ended up beheading Tyler.”

Raon told Roman and the pirates what had happened up to their arrival.

“Hmm…”

“Did he give up on being human?”

“I thought it was strange that I kept hearing good things about him.”

Even the warriors from the South-North Warriors frowned, disgusted by Tyler’s fiendish behavior by toying with the lives of an entire tribe.

“So what?”

However, Roman’s expression didn’t change at all. His apathetic attitude almost felt like he already knew what happened.

“Which part of your story justifies the killing of a successor?”

He turned his jaw, telling him that it wasn’t a good enough reason.

“He targeted Zieghart’s domain, he attacked the Blue Lughs—who were living peacefully—by taking their children as hostages and forcing them to attack people, and he even tried to kill me to keep it a secret as soon as he was caught red-handed. Shall I continue, since there are many more reasons?”

Raon raised his fingers one by one to tell him the reasons.

Huh? But you attacked him first.

‘Shut up.’

All of the witnesses were dead anyway. The important part was creating a believable reason and justification for his action.

“Those are nothing special.”

Roman shook his head, implying that it was meaningless for him to continue. He looked like he was even looking down on Zieghart’s name, but it matched him because of his powerful pressure.

“So you had no intention of listening from the beginning.”

He must’ve had no intention of letting them go from the moment he’d reached the area.

“A successor of the South-North Union has died. I don’t care about the reason. The South-North Union’s rules state that blood shall be repaid with blood.”

“Wow, are you sure you don’t need to unclog your ears?”

Rimmer stepped forward while picking his ears.

“Your successor attacked first, and fucking died from a counterattack. Are you incapable of understanding that?”

“Zieghart’s Sword of Light. Do you have a death wish?”

“Can you even do it?”

“Stop bluffing. The rumor about your energy center breaking and rendering you disabled has spread all the way to the Rable River.”

“Then, shall we make a bet?”

“Bet?”

“Since you told me about the South-North Union’s rule, I’ll tell you about a legend on the Rable River.”

He grinned and pointed at the fluctuating waves.

“You must know about the legend that states that three strikes of the Rable River’s waves can turn any kind of boat upside down. Don’t you?”

“I do.”

“I’ll fend off three hits from you, just like the legend. You can do whatever you want with us if you manage to defeat me. However, if I manage to withstand the three hits, then you will withdraw.”

Rimmer’s lips curved into a smile to provoke Roman.

“Why aren’t you answering? No way, are you too afraid that you can’t defeat me in three strikes, even though my energy center is broken?”

“You’ve definitely gotten better at taunting.”

Roman slowly closed his eyes before opening them again and stretching out his shoulders.

“Fine. I’ll yield to your provocation.”

He raised the red axe that was crushing the ground. The mere wielding of a weapon made his heaviness increase exponentially.

Rumble!

Roman’s energy wave was weighing down on the entire deck, as if he were the only person existing in that space.

“Squad leader…”

“Hey! Don’t try to interfere in a fight between adults.”

Rimmer shook his hand towards Raon when he tried to approach him.

“Watch me properly from behind.”

“But…”

“You should trust me sometimes.”

He smiled cheerfully like always before standing in front of Roman.

“You guys should also step back.”

Raptor also made the pirates and bandits withdraw, since they’d come over to the White Spear.

“Let’s get started.”

Roman held his favorite weapon, the Red Dragon Axe, with two hands and raised it above his head. The wind stopped blowing on the river, and the clouds in the sky were crushed in half. It felt like the energy from all over the world was gathering towards him.

“I won’t even need three strikes. I’ll finish you off in a single strike.”

“That will prove difficult.”

Rimmer raised his sword around his waist. Green light gathered to dapple his white blade.

“Because I haven’t just been playing around either.”

“Interesting.”

Roman stomped the ground, striking down his axe. The pitch-black astral energy was blazing on the red axe.

Swaa!

It felt like the sky was collapsing as the tremendous amount of energy poured down, straight onto Rimmer.

Even though Rimmer was facing the powerful axe strike that was even distorting the space, he didn’t step back. He pointed his blade at the sky and pointed his hand towards the river.

“Sword Field Creation.”

His sedate voice resounded in all directions to change the flow of the world.

“Eye of the Storm.”

A green storm soared towards the collapsing sky.