Chapter 74

From the moment he was ambushed by Raon, Nokjeongwi never thought of him as a child. His ability to move silently like a wild animal and his sword strikes without a hint of hesitation were on par with an assassin, and not just any assassin, but one of the highest caliber.

If he hadn’t been using the name Sieghart, he would have been considered a monster with the skills of an assassin.

However, his ambush was only half successful, and Nokjeongwi had the orc warrior’s vitality. He burned his fighting spirit and vitality to prepare for the attack. The boy seemed to have used a lot of energy in the ambush and couldn’t move immediately.

During the time he bought, Nokjeongwi used his fighting spirit to stop the bleeding on his shoulder and gathered his strength.

'It’s over.'

He had lost an arm but managed to withstand the first attack, so he thought defeating the boy wouldn’t be difficult. Since the boy was trained as an assassin, he believed the boy would be weak in a direct confrontation.

He wrapped his axe with fighting spirit and swung it down, intending to split the boy in two like firewood. However, the boy easily deflected the attack.

'Not just an ambush, but also skilled in other areas? At his age?'

It didn’t make sense.

No matter how skilled Sieghart was, it was impossible for a boy of his age to use such a deflection after an ambush.

'He’s not an ordinary kid.'

Nokjeongwi felt an indescribable sense of unease as he continued to swing his axe at Raon.

The boy blocked the attacks he could and dodged the ones he couldn’t, defending against all of Nokjeongwi’s axe strikes. It felt like he was fighting a seasoned swordsman who had seen countless battles.

'But...'

Nokjeongwi also had the orc warrior’s keen sense of smell. As long as he could identify the weaknesses and shortcomings in his opponent’s swordsmanship, defeat was impossible.

'Got it.'

He had fully grasped the boy’s sword strikes. He swung his axe at the boy’s weakness.

Clang!

The sound of the sword and axe colliding echoed clearly. The satisfying feeling in his hands. Now, all that was left was to slit the boy’s throat.

He swung his axe at the staggering boy. Just as he was about to see the blood spray from the boy’s neck, the boy’s sword came at an angle he had never seen before.

Clang!

The powerful force in the boy’s strike and a moment of carelessness. The axe was pushed back, and his stance collapsed.

"Ugh!"

As he tried to regain his balance, the boy moved first, cutting through the fighting spirit and swinging his sword.

Crack!

The sound of his chest and ribs splitting echoed in his ears, and excruciating pain followed.

"Gah!"

Nokjeongwi clutched his chest with his remaining hand, spitting out blood.

"You. How...?"

"You read my swordsmanship, and I read your attack patterns."

"But, but how can that be...?"

"Why not? What you can do, I can do too."

He swallowed hard.

The faint smell of danger grew more intense. A talent he had never seen among countless prodigies. He had a premonition that if this boy grew stronger, he would become Eden’s greatest enemy.

'No matter what...'

He had to kill the boy.

Roar!

He burned his remaining fighting spirit and vitality, wrapping it around his axe. The blades of the double-bladed axe glowed intensely, as if engulfed in flames.

"Roar!"

Just as he was about to strike the axe down to eliminate Raon and the Sieghart behind him—

Snap.

The boy’s eyes turned a fiery red.

Whoosh!

As he muttered "Flame Blade Ten," the small flame at the tip of his sword spread, and ten flames bloomed on the blade.

"Ah..."

The moment he saw the flames, his heart tightened. The wound on his chest, which he had stopped bleeding, burst open again.

The boy, with his flaming sword, glared at him with eyes like a demon.

"Consider it an honor to be the first victim of the Flame Blade Ten."

* * *

Whoosh!

Raon’s eyes lit up as he saw the flames enveloping his entire sword.

'Success.'

He thought it was still too early, but the insights he gained in battle allowed him to achieve the Flame Blade Ten.

Roar!

The power surged. Even a normal Nokjeongwi would have been cut by the force on the sword.

"Gah..."

The shock on Nokjeongwi’s face, visible through his helmet, was palpable.

"Wh-What are you? How can you...?"

Even the orc warrior’s instincts couldn’t overcome the shock, and his voice sounded human.

"That’s not important right now."

Raon, with his flaming sword, took a step forward.

"Come."

"Huff..."

Steam escaped from Nokjeongwi’s helmet. He began to focus all his energy on his right arm, which held the axe.

Clang!

He kicked off the ground and plunged into the space. The double-bladed axe, filled with all his energy, swung down.

Swoosh!

At the moment the axe was about to hit, Raon, who had been holding back, swung his sword.

Flame Blade Ten.

Flame Dragon Wind.

The flowers on the blade stretched out and rotated. The flames on the blade rose like a dragon. The intense heat cut through the blood demon’s fighting spirit.

Boom!

Nokjeongwi gritted his teeth at the power of the Flame Dragon Wind, a technique of the Flame Blade Ten that could only be used after mastering ten flames.

"Not yet! I have to... defeat you..."

"No, it’s already over."

Raon calmly muttered and swung his sword.

Swish!

The fighting spirit that had been cut through couldn’t withstand the flames of the Flame Blade Ten. The silver blade, filled with flames, pierced Nokjeongwi’s heart.

"Gah, you, you Sieghart..."

Nokjeongwi fell backward, unable to finish his last words.

Clang!

The deep green helmet and armor that covered the boy’s face split in half. Inside was a young man in his twenties with a strong presence, his eyes wide open in death.

Huff.

Raon extinguished the flames of the Flame Blade Ten.

"Huff..."

Exhaustion hit him all at once, and a heavy breath escaped him. His legs felt weak, and he wanted to collapse, but he held back and turned around.

He could feel the various emotions in the gazes of the trainees and villagers—shock, trembling, relief, and awe.

"You..."

"Raon."

"You really are..."

Burren couldn’t continue, his lips trembling. Runan, who seemed more tense, collapsed, and Martha’s eyes gleamed as if she was about to pounce.

"It’s not over yet."

Raon raised his sword, pointing at the stunned green demons. They had no idea Nokjeongwi would lose and were at a loss.

"Eliminate them all!"

"Roar!"

The trainees, emboldened by Raon’s victory, charged at the green demons surrounding the battlefield.

"Huff..."

Raon rotated the ring of fire to dissolve the fatigue in his body and filled his dantian with aura.

'As expected, it’s amazing.'

The true effect of the ring of fire isn’t just before and during battle, but also after.

The consumed aura surged like a boat riding a current, and the lactic acid in his muscles dissolved.

Especially, it blocked the cold inside the mana circuits that were about to start glowing. It was the best cultivation method in many ways.

'This is also a funny thing.'

In his previous life, he obtained the ring of fire while fleeing from Eden. It was indeed a funny situation.

On the other hand, it was also the enemy who took the lives of his father and sister.

"Roar!"

"Eliminate all the green demons!"

"End the fight!"

With Raon standing confidently and glaring, the green demons dared not attack or flee, and they surrendered their necks to the trainees.

The battle ended in less than ten minutes, and only the trainees remained in front of the palisade.

"Raon."

Runan, who had just beheaded the last green demon, ran over and grabbed his shoulder. It seemed to be his way of expressing that he had done well.

"Raon Sieghart."

Burren approached next.

"Huff, you were right. The enemy was strong, and we were weak. I was blinded by a single victory. I’m sorry."

He bit his lips and bowed deeply, almost in submission.

"If it weren’t for you, not only us but also the villagers we were supposed to protect would have died. Thank you, and I’m sorry. But..."

Burren raised his head and continued.

"Even so, I would have gone. If I lacked strength, I wouldn’t have let injustice go unpunished. That’s the image of Sieghart the swordsman I believe in."

"Good job."

Raon nodded, looking into Burren’s green eyes.

"What?"

"Thanks to your all-out effort, I was able to find Nokjeongwi’s weakness. This victory is also thanks to you."

"What’s your intention! What do you want from me!"

Burren, surprised by the unexpected praise, tensed up and trembled.

"I mean it."

"Ugh, next time, it won’t be like this."

Burren, with his head bowed, muttered.

"I’ll grow strong enough to catch up to your future self and fulfill my role!"

He bowed again, a gesture of gratitude for saving his life and for the lesson he had learned.

"Thank you for saving all of us."

With that, Burren entered the village with the other trainees, apparently to start rebuilding the palisade.

To still think about the village in this situation, he was indeed a leader.

"Martha."

Raon called out to Martha, who was standing quietly with her arms crossed.

"Good job. Thanks to you doing your part, the fight went smoothly."

If Martha hadn’t kept Nokjeongwi’s attention, the ambush would have failed, and the fight would have been much more brutal.

She had done more than just follow orders.

"I’d have to bite my tongue and die if I couldn’t even do that."

Martha’s lips twitched, and she turned and entered the village. It seemed the praise had pleased her, despite her words.

"Huff..."

Raon exhaled. The tension had completely left him, and his legs felt weak, regardless of the physical fatigue.

Click.

Just as he was about to fall backward, he felt a soft sensation on his back. Turning around, he saw Runan holding him up.

"You were about to fall."

She nodded.

"How did you know?"

"It was the same as when we trained."

Runan nodded, her lips pressed together.

"I see."

It seemed they had been watching him as closely as he had been watching them.

"Huff."

Raon chuckled and sat down. The fatigue from the intense battle hit him, and he felt sleepy.

[Extreme battle...]

Several messages appeared in front of his eyes, but he had no energy to read them. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.