Chapter 267: Chapter 267
Raon narrowed his eyes as he saw Rimmer coughing inside the cloud he'd created.
'He's completed his energy center.'
The artificial energy center used to have an immature shape, yet it was perfectly rooted in Rimmer's body and was even connected to the mana circuits. He looked like fabric that was perfectly woven together without the slightest error.
'He's gotten even better than I expected.'
Raon was filled with anticipation about how powerful Rimmer would become with his new energy center and perfectly healed mana circuits.
"Kuh, what's wrong with all this dust?"
"The sand exploded because you destroyed the door!"
Rimmer frowned and the Gambling Monster kicked his ass.
'But that guy...'
Raon frowned while watching Rimmer fall down with a scream.
'Why is his aura so bad?'
The quantity was way too small.
The amount of aura Rimmer had in his energy center was much smaller than he expected. He couldn't understand why that was all he'd managed to gather even though he'd gifted him two mid-grade elixirs and enough time to cultivate.
'No way...'
A crazy hypothesis came to mind. Other people never would have done it, but that weirdo elf absolutely would have.
"Squad leader."
Raon walked up to Rimmer. He clenched his fist while watching Rimmer rub his ass on the ground.
"You hid them in order to sell them later, right?"
"Huh? What?"
Rimmer tilted his head as if he had no idea what he was talking about.
"You didn't take the elixirs I left in the room so that you can sell them later to use as gambling funds, right?"
That was the explanation for Rimmer's aura being so small.
"I even used a bronze tablet to get that elixir, yet you are trying to sell them instead of taking them! How could you do that?!"
"Hah! Don't tell me you tried to sell the elixir he left for you."
The Gambling Monster exclaimed. He also seemed to find it ridiculous.
"No! It's not true!"
Rimmer violently shook his hands in denial.
"Squad leader is pretty much a newborn baby right now. You can absorb the entirety of an elixir's energy."
"Th-That's true, but..."
"It's impossible that the aura you have is all you absorbed after taking two mid-grade elixirs in your state."
Raon bit his lip slightly and walked up to Rimmer.
"I filtered it!"
Rimmer swallowed nervously, then screamed in response.
"What?"
"You know! Even an elixir's mana isn't completely pure."
"Of course I do."
Elixirs weren't made of pure mana. Whether it was an artificial or natural elixir, the process of consolidating nature's mana was bound to include a large amount of impurities.
"I've filtered out all the impurities and only absorbed the pure mana from the elixir!"
Rimmer wrinkled his nose while pointing at his energy center.
'I was so thankful to you. There's no way I would've done that.'
He was so thankful that he almost cried when he saw the elixir Raon had left behind. He'd always thought that he had to help his students as a teacher, yet he was being helped instead to an extreme degree. It made him overwhelmed with emotions.
'That's why I took it one step further.'
Since he was so thankful to Raon and the Light Wind members, he pondered how to get stronger faster and even stronger than before and managed to find a way.
'Raon Zieghart. You were the answer.'
Raon's aura was as pure as nature's fire or ice. The high purity was the reason even a small amount could be extremely powerful.
That cultivation technique was only possible because he was completely empty, with no aura whatsoever. He used a special cultivation technique that only elves could use to absorb the essences of the two elixirs in his energy center.
That was why the aura in his energy center was extremely small in quantity, but its purity was as powerful as Raon's.
"Look."
Rimmer briefly exhaled, then raised his finger.
Pssh!
Green energy soared from his finger, and a refreshing green wind swept through the atmosphere.
"Is this..."
Raon controlled the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to make it emerge from his finger. A crimson flame blossomed like a flower upon meeting the wind.
'They are similar.'
Rimmer's energy was as pure as nature itself, just like the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's energy. Even though it was extremely small, Raon could feel that its power far surpassed its size.
'If he manages to complete this...'
He could guess that Rimmer would be able to reach another height once he managed to fill his perfected energy center and mana circuits with that aura.
"Is that an elven cultivation technique?"
"Yes. Everyone threw it away because it's so slow at creating aura, but I tried it out because I'm currently capable of increasing the speed."
Rimmer chuckled, saying that he wasn't patient enough when he was younger.
"Are you admitting it now?"
"Yes. I'm sorry about that."
Raon nodded. Despite his usual personality, Rimmer had actually taken the elixir and only absorbed the pure mana in his energy center. It was a nice decision.
"But where are the other kids? Aren't you supposed to be training?"
"Yes. They are training right now."
Raon smiled faintly while looking at the North Grave Mountain.
"Young Master."
Judiel bowed to him. She'd been standing behind him all along.
"I'll take my leave now."
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
Raon smiled while pointing at the sandwich that he was still holding in his hand. Judiel gave him a fake smile before leaving the training ground.
"Squad leader."
"Huh?"
"When can I perform the compulsory execution on the squad members for disobedience?"
Even though Burren was kidnapped, he needed a justifiable cause to barge into the Central Martial Palace, since he wasn't certain about it yet. He was planning to use the compulsory execution as an excuse.
"Do you really think I'd know that?"
Rimmer snorted with his arms crossed, as if he were proud of himself.
"Haa..."
"Four days."
While Raon was sighing, the Gambling Monster gave him the answer.
"You can activate it immediately during a war, but you need four days at a time like this."
"So we can make our move on the fifth day."
Since she mentioned that it took a week to ten days to complete the brainwashing, Raon figured that going to save him on the fifth day wouldn't be an issue.
"But why?"
"Why did you ask that out of nowhere?"
The two of them approached him at the same time.
"I think I'm going to need to save an idiot."
Raon bit his lip slightly while looking in the direction of the Central Martial Palace.
* * *
"Kuh..."
"Grr!"
Raon closed his eyes after seeing the Light Wind swordsmen's furious gazes. They were showing their teeth as they growled, as if they had really turned into dogs. They must've been really angry that he'd been neglecting them.
'Hmm...'
He couldn't understand why they were turning into beasts when he was only trying to raise them as powerful warriors with sturdy bodies and minds.
'I need to harden my heart even more in a case like this.'
Although he felt sorry for making them suffer, it was going to interfere in future training if he went easy on them. It was necessary to be strong, even if he had to apologize later on.
"Good job."
Raon nonchalantly nodded.
"Good job? Goooood job? Fuck! You son of a bitch!"
Martha stood up with a black flame burning in her eyes.
"Damn handsome Raon, that was too mean..."
Even though Runaan usually took his side, she glared at him white grasping her hair.
"It wasn't even all night long. You even left us there until morning, and all you have to say is good job?"
"That was really excessive this time! I felt like my head was breaking."
"It was really too hard. Argh, I still feel like puking..."
"Sir Burren should've experienced this with us..."
Since they'd maintained their focus all night long and even in the morning, they still looked tired after resting for about an hour. All they had left was their anger towards Raon.
'Still.'
That was the important moment.
Since the physically and mentally exhausted state was the perfect time to engrave the postures and techniques in their bodies, it was necessary to make the best use of that moment.
"Neglected you, huh...?"
Raon snorted and looked down on the Light Wind squad.
"That was this training's purpose all along."
"What?"
"Your focus is too short and shallow."
He crushed the confused Light Wind members with his powerful energy wave.
"We are going to encounter more and more powerful enemies in the future. What do you think is the most important quality to have upon fighting an equal or stronger opponent? The first is obviously prowess, and the second is focus."
Raon's eyes sank into darkness. The Light Wind members swallowed nervously upon meeting his frightening gaze.
"If you want to analyze your opponent's martial art and lead the fight to your advantage, you need to be able to maintain extreme focus for not just a few minutes, but a few hours at least."
"Ah..."
"So you weren't neglecting us..."
"Indeed. I was leaving you alone so that you could increase your focus. It was your first time, right? I bet you've never stayed nervous and focused for such a long time before."
Every member of the Light Wind squad slowly nodded at what Raon said.
"You must've felt like you couldn't think straight, and your body felt heavy—as if it was drenched in water. If you had experienced it for the first time during a real fight, you would most likely have died to an enemy. I was giving you an opportunity to avoid your first death."
"Ugh..."
Even Martha hung her head, unable to refute him.
"We are going to keep doing this training in the future. I'm sure it's going to be extremely painful, but consider it earning a life point every time you do this training. Raise your hand now if you don't want to. I'll allow you to skip it."
Naturally, no one raised their hand.
"Then equip the Black Converter now. We are restarting the training."
"Haa!"
"It can't be helped..."
"Argh, I'm so jealous of Sir Burren..."
The Light Wind members were whining and grinding their teeth, but they still immediately equipped the Black Converters. All of them wanted to get stronger, after all.
"Just like always, we are starting with sprinting. Everyone, sprint as fast as you can!"
"Uaaah!"
"Iyaaah!"
"Damn it!"
The Light Wind members shouted and started running around the training ground. Their acrimony was probably making them run even faster than the day before despite not having slept and having the Black Converters equipped.
"Puhahahaha!"
Rimmer giggled while watching the Light Wind members.
"They aren't even allowed to sleep as they train. How pitiful. I'm so glad I'm not one of them."
"What are you doing right now?"
Raon tilted his head at Rimmer's grin.
"You know, it's funny. I'll leave after watching them a littl..."
"I mean, what are you doing right now instead of running with them?"
"Huh? M-Me too?"
Rimmer's jaw dropped as he pointed at himself.
"I ordered everyone to run as fast as they could."
"But I'm the squad leader..."
"I said this before, but I'm the one holding the rights to supervise training and order the Light Wind members right now. The same goes for your rehabilitation, squad leader."
"I-I'm a bit too strong to be running..."
"You should visit the head of house if you want to complain about it."
Raon grinned while returning what Rimmer had told him when he used to be a trainee right back at him.
"I'll tell you again. Run!"
"You damn deeeeemon!"
Rimmer screamed and started running around the training ground.
"Puhahaha!"
"Oh my god, serves you right!"
"I knew he would end up like that!"
The Light Wind members were the ones giggling at Rimmer instead as he ran around the training ground.
Raon gathered everyone at the center of the training ground after they finished their basic stamina training.
"Since you must be warmed up by now, let's start the spars now. It's not going to be a simple fight, but I'll drive you to the brink of death to raise your focus to the maximum. You should brace yourselves."
"Argh..."
"We couldn't even sleep at night, then ran and suffered, and now the spar is coming..."
"The temporary squad leader is going to kill us before the enemies do!"
The Light Wind members hung their heads while panting. Even then, no one was telling him they didn't want to do it.
"Who is the opponent?"
Martha narrowed his eyes and asked the important question.
"It's obviously..."
Raon raised his training sword with a cold smile on his face.
"Me."
"Huh...?"
"You must be insane!"
"Wh-Why would you do that, though?!"
Every member of the Light Wind squad, including Martha and Runaan, stepped back in surprise.
"I told you already that we need to be prepared to fight an opponent stronger than ourselves, instead of the weaker ones. I'm the perfect candidate to simulate that."
Raon raised his chin while supporting his training sword on his shoulder.
"You aren't just strong, but way too strong!"
"That's right. You just want to beat us up!"
"You don't even have the Black Converters equipped!"
"Y-You must be out of your mind..."
"You fiend..."
The Light Wind squad ground their teeth, enraged by Raon's arrogant expression.
"Haa, you really don't understand."
Rimmer sighed deeply while wiping off the tear flowing down his forehead.
"Having a warrior like Raon as a sparring partner is an extremely special opportunity. You should be thinking about how to make the best use of this opportunity instead. If you keep being angry at him like this, you will simply get knocked out in a single strike and get nothing out of it."
He clicked his tongue while blabbering that they should make use of that opportunity.
"As expected of the squad leader, that was really great advice you just gave."
Raon smiled at Rimmer.
"Right? I've always been great at giving advic..."
"So let's have the squad leader be my first sparring partner."
"Huh...?"
Rimmer's mouth widened to an unprecedented size.
"The senior should show the example in a case like this."
Raon twirled the training sword before pointing it at Rimmer.
"You will be the perfect example."
"You bastard! I was trying to help you just now!"
"Draw your sword instead of talking."
Rimmer shook his hand, and Raon ignored him as he drew his training sword.
"Alright! Even if I've gotten weake...Eeh?"
His eyes lost focus upon witnessing the flaming astral energy burning on Raon's blade.
"A-Astral energy?"
"I shall go all-out while we are at it."
"No, but I'm a patient..."
"You aren't anymore, though."
"You crazy bastard! You saw that I have almost no aura at all!"
"But it's still you. Let's get started."
Raon smiled cheerfully and raised his sword to around shoulder height.
"This guy has gone nuts! He must've gone insane!"
Rimmer screamed while saying the same thing as the Light Wind swordsmen that he was just making fun of.
"I'm starting."
Raon used the River Footwork to move in front of Rimmer and swung his sword down. The astral energy of raging flames burned up the atmosphere and scratched the space to rip it apart.
Whap!
Rimmer barely managed to deflect the astral energy by using the small amount of aura he had. His sleeve melted from the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's heat, fluttering in the air.
"H-He's doing it for real!"
He stepped back, his eyes shivering in fear.
"This crazy bastard is killing his teacher! He's trying to kill me!"
E-Even demons care for their teachers...
Wrath swallowed nervously as he heard Rimmer's scream.
Who the hell are you...?
* * *
Tias sighed deeply upon returning to his room in the Central Martial Palace.
"Haa..."
It was suffocating.
He felt nauseous and woozy because he hadn't been able to sleep for the last few days. He felt like he would fall asleep immediately if he were to lay down, but he was too anxious to close his eyes.
'Is this really what I should've done? Was there anything else I could've done?'
Because Gelmia was threatening him by using Burren's life, he couldn't ask Raon for help and had to lie to him that Burren was doing well. He wanted to contact him later, but he couldn't move anywhere because someone was watching him.
"Damn it..."
Tias gritted his teeth and smashed his bed. He would offer his old life to save Burren if he could, but there was nothing he could do. He felt so pathetic for being unable to do anything.
"What can I do...?"
"It's been a while."
"Gasp!"
He felt like his heart skipped a beat upon hearing a voice coming from the darkness of the night.
"Y-You..."
A tall man was walking towards the window where moonlight was shining in. Splendid blond hair and red eyes could be seen. It was Raon Zieghart.
"...How did you get here, Sir Raon?"
"I came to ask a question."
Raon smiled faintly and leaned his back towards the wall.
"Y-You shouldn't be here. Someone is watchin..."
Tias swallowed nervously. Since someone had been observing him ever since Burren was kidnapped, he couldn't let them witness him meeting up with Raon.
"You don't need to worry about that. The one who was watching Sir Tias is now gone."
Raon shook his hand with a faint smile on his face. It seemed like he already knew about his situation all along.
"Where is Burren?"
"What?"
"I called him for training, but there was no response from him for four days straight. A compulsory execution needs to be carried out in order to punish him."
He said that he was going to punish him since Burren never responded when he tried calling him.
"...Wh-What are you talking about? I'm sure I visited you to notify you about it."
"When?"
"It was four days ag...Ah!"
Tias swallowed nervously as he saw Raon's eyes. His clear red eyes flaring in the darkness of the night didn't have the slightest sign of wavering.
'H-He already knows everything that's happening!'
Raon was already aware of the fact that Burren was kidnapped, and he was using the compulsory execution as an excuse to save him.
Which meant that there were two answers that Raon was looking for. One was that Tias had never notified him about Burren's situation, and the other one was Burren's current location.
'If it's him...'
He was convinced that Raon would be able to save Burren.
"I-I'm not sure."
Tias bit his lip tightly and shook his head.
"H-He might be at the Mansion of Wisdom in the Central Martial Palace."
He voiced the name of the building Burren was locked in and exhaled a heated breath.
"The compulsory execution can apparently be carried out five days after the order. Since tomorrow is the fifth day, please leave this place and come to the fifth training ground at night."
Raon smiled cheerfully and opened the window.
"Wait! Th-Thank..."
Raon covered his mouth with his finger when he was trying to thank him.
"Why would you thank me? I'm just trying to find my underling, who snuck away from training."
He chuckled and melted into the air like the mist under the sunlight.
"Sniff. Thank you."
Tias murmured his thanks in a low voice towards the window where Raon had disappeared.
"I really appreciate it..."
* * *
The next evening...
"Krr."
"Grr..."
"Kie..."
Raon narrowed his eyes, upon seeing the crimson eyes and hearing the beastly growls of the Light Wind swordsmen.
'They really are turning into rabid dogs...'
The extremely sharp pressure coming from the swordsmen could be called ferocious at that point, even though it hadn't even been a week. He figured that the assassin training that he'd received in his previous life, which minimized time sleeping, was a bit excessive for them.
'But they got stronger for sure.'
Even though their prowess hadn't changed that much, they became capable of maintaining their focus for more than twice as long as before, and their stamina and fighting spirit had increased drastically. Those aspects could make a huge difference in an actual battle.
'Perfect.'
Judging from the Light Wind squad's state, he figured that they would be a good match for the Severing Steads, who were supposed to be stronger than them. It was a perfect situation to give them some real combat experience while saving Burren in the meantime.
"Burren."
"Grr?"
"That traitor!"
"Me kill!"
"Uaaah!"
As soon as he voiced Burren's name, every single member of the Light Wind squad started to grind their teeth. The violent reaction came from the fact that they couldn't forgive Burren for having an easy time while everyone else was suffering. Even Krein was saying that he would kill him despite how he used to always follow him.
"There's one thing you aren't aware of. Burren is..."
"Kill!"
"That traitor idler!"
"I'll smack his head open!"
"Hmm..."
He couldn't continue speaking because they started insulting him as soon as he said Burren's name.
"Please calm down and listen. Burren is..."
Raon briefly explained Burren's situation to the Light Wind squad.
"That's why we are going to attack the Severing Steads today, since they are currently locking Burren up. We are going to save Burren after defeating them."
"So you are telling us that some shitty bastards are stopping Burren from training, right?"
"They deserve death! How dare they make Burren skip this training when everyone else is suffering?"
"I'll kill them all, and make Burren become the only one who trains."
"Grr!"
Since they were already going crazy upon hearing Burren's name, they were unable to properly understand the story. Their heads were filled with the goal of forcing Burren into that hellish training regardless of their opponents. Having to fight the Severing Steads or the Five Demons didn't even matter anymore.
"Hmm..."
Raon shrugged while feeling the Light Wind swordsmen's fierce pressures stinging his skin.
"Well, whatever."
Although their reaction was unexpected, Raon figured it was fine since they were even more motivated to fight.
What do you mean 'whatever'? They have a whole different purpose!
Wrath's chin was trembling as he watched the Light Wind squad.
They are just rabid dogs that can't even comprehend human speech! They aren't Light Wind anymore. They are Crazy Dogs!
'We need those crazy dogs right now.'
Raon raised his hand and pointed towards the Central Martial Palace.
"Let's catch Burren and make him train twice as much to make up for what he missed so far!"
"Woaaaah!"
"The squad leader is taking all the responsibility! Destroy everything!"
"Hyaaaah!"
"Let's go!"
The shout bursting from the fifth training ground was loud enough to shake the land.
"Huh? Me?"
Rimmer had been silently standing next to the platform since he was aware of the story, but he dropped his jaw upon hearing their reaction.
"The head of house is really going to kill me if I cause any more trouble!"
* * *
The Central Martial Palace's front gate was even more luxurious than the other constructions of Zieghart's main buildings.
Two swordsmen were chatting in front of that main building.
"I told him that I'm a warrior from the Central Martial Palace, and that idiot suddenly started to lay low and tried to not get on my nerves."
"That can't be helped, since he can easily end up dying from a single mistake."
"I'm really glad that I joined the Central Martial Palac...Huh?"
The swordsmen were giggling, but narrowed their eyes upon finding around thirty people approaching them from the darkness.
"Who could be coming so late at night?"
"I wonder. I think I've seen the person in the middle befor... Gasp! He's Raon Zieghart!"
"R-Raon?"
They swallowed nervously upon finding Raon walking in the middle of the group. It was only natural for them to be nervous because of how frightening he looked in the middle of darkness.
"P-Please stop! This is the Central Martial Palace's domain. You aren't allowed to enter unless you have an appointment!"
"I don't have an appointment, but I have an objective."
Raon climbed the stairs while responding to the swordsman from Central Martial Palace."
"O-Objective?"
"Yes. Burren Zieghart. I came to seize that arrogant guy who ignored my summons."
He walked past the warriors with a cold smile on his face.
"W-Wai..."
"It's a compulsory execution!"
Raon grinned and kicked the Central Martial Palace's main gate.
Slam!
It activated the King of Destruction trait, and the two doors were mercilessly shattered.
"Wh-What?"
"What is that sudden noise?"
"An enemy attack?"
Even before the door was destroyed, warriors gathered towards them after feeling their powerful aura.
'Pretty decent.'
Judging from the energy wave they were emitting and the amount of aura they had, they were worthy opponents for the Light Wind squad.
"I'm Raon Zieghart, the temporary leader of the Light Wind squad."
Raon tilted his head while looking down on the Severing Steads swordsmen who gathered around him.
"I came here to seize the culprit, Burren Zieghart. I'll make you look like that door if you try to stop me."
"Th-That crazy bastard!"
"How dare you act like that here!"
"Stop him! Don't allow him to enter!"
The Severing Steads drew their swords with devilishly twisted faces.
"So you are trying to obstruct justice."
Raon nodded and looked around.
"Hey, guys."
"Grr!"
"Roar!"
He smiled at the growling Light Wind members while pointing at the Severing Steads warriors.
"Bite!"
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