Chapter 273: Chapter 273
The Light Wind squad had to do focus training all night long on the North Grave Mountain before training their stamina at daybreak, sparring in the morning, and even partaking in supplementary training in the afternoon for the parts they were lacking.
Because they spent twenty-four hours of the day training, all of them collapsed as soon as it was dinnertime.
"Uaah..."
"I-I'm dying. We are all going to die at this rate..."
"Kuh..."
"Th-The pain isn't fading..."
"Kuh, why does it still hurt when I was beaten up in the morning?"
The Light Wind members were unable to stand up, their faces buried in the sand of the training ground. Their weak breathing was the only sign of life.
Raon smiled in satisfaction while looking around at them.
'Pretty good.'
It had to have been properly engraved in their brains.
He was able to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the swordsmen at a glance thanks to the Ring of Fire. He beat them up to make them learn what their weaknesses were during the spars with their bodies, so it must've been impossible for them to forget about it.
"Good job, everyone. You should follow the general administrator's instructions during training starting tomorrow."
Since he did their focus training, sparring, and even taught them the parts they were lacking, he figured that it was fine to leave the rest to the Gambling Monster.
"Raon, not freaking handsome anymore."
Runaan barely managed to raise her head. Her eyes were even more blank than usual as she pouted. Raon realized that it was his first time hearing Runaan complain.
"Yeah, I know."
Since he didn't really care about his appearance, he nodded at her gladly.
"So hateful..."
That was the last thing she said before burying her head back into the sand.
"K-Kill me instead, you crazy bastard."
Martha closed her eyes tightly while lying flat on the ground. She also seemed to be sick and tired of training where she had to give her all for twenty-four hours straight despite how tenacious she was.
"I can't do it anymore. I don't even have the strength to move my fwinger. Oops!"
She opened her eyes in surprise because her tongue accidentally slipped from exhaustion.
"Then how about your towes?"
"Stop it!"
Martha screamed while raising her neck.
"I guess you can move your neck, unlike your fingers and toes."
"Argh..."
She ground her teeth in irritation and turned her head away.
"D-Did you really survive this for a week?"
Burren sank on the ground with a pale face even though he was trying to endure until the end.
"Everyone's crazy. You guys and that freak, all of you are crazy!"
He was calling Raon a freak, even though he'd said he would repay the favor for the rest of his life just twenty-four hours ago.
"Even your gratitude over my saving your life didn't last for that long."
"But I'm a patient! How can you make me go through all of this training?"
"Does being a patient make you immune to blades?"
"What?"
"You need to train properly when you can to avoid getting into that kind of situation again."
"No, but it wasn't because I was weak this time. Gelmia just attacked me from behi..."
"It doesn't matter."
Raon interrupted Burren's excuses and shook his hand.
"Since you are a week behind, you better be ready to catch up. I'm going to train you separately as soon as my probation ends."
"Argh!"
Burren's eyes wavered like the turbulent ocean.
"...Wh-Why am I missing the days I spent being abducted?"
He stared into the sky with a sad expression on his face before he collapsed.
"See you again in a week. You should be ready to face the consequences if there's no noticeable change by the time I return."
Raon waved his hand while smiling in anticipation.
"Grr!"
"H-He is a demon. He must be a demon..."
"The vice squad leader is heartless! His human heart must've been worn down!"
"Grr..."
The Light Wind members were trembling on the ground, lying around in different postures from when they collapsed. Some of them were even growling like animals.
"I'll leave them to you from tomorrow on."
Raon walked up to the Gambling Monster, who was on the platform, and bowed to him.
"A-Are you trying to kill them?"
The Gambling Monster gasped at his terrifying behavior.
"Of course not. I adjusted the level of their training perfectly so that they would be able to handle it."
He wasn't lying. He'd examined everyone's aura and stamina through the Ring of Fire and made them work to their limits.
It would've been as painful as death, but it was within their capabilities.
"I see..."
He nodded awkwardly while looking at the Light Wind members that couldn't even move at all.
"I'm going to leave now."
Raon said his goodbyes and was about to leave...
Slam!
The training ground's door burst open. There was only one person who would open the door so violently, to the point where it could break.
"Where have you been? The squad leader also needs to trai..."
Raon started to go out to greet Rimmer, but he suddenly stopped.
'Why is he...'
Looking so shabby again?
Rimmer's red eyes were scorched black as if he had been set on fire, his clothes were ripped apart, and bruises could be seen on various parts of his body. It almost looked like he was beaten up by someone and rolled on the ground.
"Grr..."
As soon as Rimmer noticed him, he ground his teeth like a savage beast with trembling hands.
"Did you go gambling again?"
"Grrr!"
As soon as Raon tried talking to him, his growling intensified.
Do you have a talent for raising beasts?
Wrath tilted his head while watching Rimmer.
Why does everyone turn into rabid dogs when they hang out with you?
Raon shrugged while watching Rimmer grind his teeth.
'I have no clue.'
You are really a demon...
* * *
That evening.
The department of justice tried to stop the rumor about the clash between the Light Wind squad and the Severing Steads squad, but it was bound to spread regardless.
The details weren't revealed, but the news about the clash between the Light Wind squad and the Severing Steads squad spread throughout Zieghart within a single day.
People were also babbling in the pub that Rimmer frequented about the incident.
"If it was a fight between the Severing Steads and the Light Wind, it should be obvious who the winner was, right?"
"It must've been the Severing Steads' landslide victory."
"That's right. Their experiences are on a different level. If we compare the Light Wind squad to a cat, the Severing Steads squad would be a tiger!"
"It's not just about their members. It's also obvious how the fight between their squad leaders would end. It would be a different story if Rimmer participated in the battle, but Raon is no match for Gelmia yet."
"It's so obvious that I'm not even looking forward to the result."
People inside the pub were naturally expecting the Severing Steads' victory, since they had completed more missions and had been polishing their martial arts for a longer period of time.
"Th-The Light Wind squad defeated the Severing Steads!"
However, the whole pub was filled with shock after an hour because of the result of the battle, given by a red-haired swordsman that came running from the main building to tell them the results.
"Wh-Who was the winner again? The Light Wind squad?"
"Do you even think that makes any sense? The Light Wind squad is a new organization! The Severing Steads have a history behind them!"
"Oh my god..."
"H-How the hell did they even win? They must've played dirty, right?"
"Apparently, they didn't. I checked the details at the department of justice, and they said they only fought using their swords."
"I keep hearing the Light Wind's name recently, and there's a good reason for that. How can they be so strong already...?"
They kept tossing back their beers, since they couldn't think straight anymore after learning of the Light Wind squad's victory.
"Th-Then how did the fight between the squad leaders go?"
"Good question! Raon must've fought against Gelmia, right?"
"Wait, why did the fight even break out to begin with?"
"Of course, I have the news about the fight between Raon and Gelmia. First of all, they fought in the Central Martial Palace's basement. The reason they fought in the basement was... oh, I'm so thirsty right now because I came running all the way here."
The red-haired man who'd brought the details cleared his throat while rubbing his neck.
"That's the ultimate technique of suddenly cutting the story!"
"No! That's a demonic technique! Bartender! Beer!"
"Stop bringing a glass! Just bring a whole bottle!"
"Order all of the side dishes on the menu!"
"I'm rich! Take my money and say it already!"
"Next chapter! Give the next chapter before I force Nadin bread down your throat!"
The people inside the pub threw money at the man wildly and shouted at him to continue his story. One of them was even telling him he would force him to eat the Nadin bread that Wrath hated the most because it tasted like rubber.
"Aah, wait a second."
The red-haired man lowered his hand to calm everyone down.
"I'll tell you step by step. The first thing you should know is that the incident started because of the Light Wind squad's third team leader, Burren."
"Burren? Why are you suddenly bringing him up...?"
"Actually, the Severing Steads squad leader Gelmia kidnapped his brother, Burren..."
The man told them the reason the fight broke out between the two squads as if he'd directly witnessed the scene.
"Huh! He didn't only kidnap his own brother, but even tried brainwashing him?"
"What a son of a bitch! They are seriously the worst!"
"That's what I'm saying. The guys from the Central Martial Palace are strong, but they are failures as human beings."
"On the other hand, the Light Wind squad is amazing. They even decided to attack the Central Martial Palace in order to save their companion..."
"I thought they were just brats, but I'm seeing them in a new light,."
"Light Wind squad! Light Wind squad!"
"Raon! Raon! Raon!"
The people inside the pub shouted Raon and the Light Wind squad's names in admiration over how they fought against the Severing Steads to save Burren.
"And here comes the last and the best part of the story. The fight between the Severing Steads squad leader Gelmia and the Light Wind's vice squad leader Raon! Even though it was a fight between an intermediate Master and a beginner Master, Raon was the one who led the fight despite everyone's expectations. Each time their swords clashed..."
The red-haired man nodded in satisfaction as people slandered the Central Martial Palace, telling them about the last battle.
He kept praising Raon, telling them that it was Raon's landslide victory despite only using stabs—even though that was Gelmia's area of expertise.
"D-Did he really crush him with stabs?"
"That's crazy..."
"He's really cool. I never thought I would describe a kid that hasn't even lived for twenty years this way, but he's so cool, personality and everything."
"This is such a mystery. How could a beginner even manage to overwhelm an intermediate and even cut his arm off?"
"He's defeated an apostle in the past while being an Expert himself."
"At this point, we should just admit that Raon is strong regardless of his level."
"I don't even know anymore! I'm going to root for the Light Wind squad and the Frostfire Sword of Valor!"
"Raon! Raon! Raon! Raon!"
Because the red-haired man was such a smooth talker and the results were as cool as the beer, everyone inside the pub burst into cheers while shouting Raon's name and moniker.
"Hmm."
The red-haired man watched the people inside the pub chat with each other for a while, before he finished off his glass of beer and left the pub.
Rip!
He covered his face with his hand. Once he lowered his hand after that, the common face of a middle-aged man had disappeared, and Rimmer's sly face appeared.
"Raon, you should thank me. Even though you betrayed me, I only spread good rumors about you."
Rimmer pounded his chest in satisfaction.
"This is what you call a true teacher."
He nodded with a grin on his face, then his eyes rolled towards the package wrapped in a cloth in his right hand.
"Ahem, let's see..."
Rimmer cleared his throat for no reason, discreetly opening the wrap.
His eyes lost focus upon seeing the coins radiating golden and silvery lights.
"How much money is this? Our Raon is truly my god of wealth!"
He closed the wrap tightly and raised both of his arms towards the sky.
"I'm feeling alive thanks to you!"
Rumble!
"Huah!"
The clear sky suddenly started thundering, and Rimmer freaked out and jumped into the air.
"Y-You aren't here, right?"
He rubbed his hands like a fly as he looked around, breathing out a sigh of relief upon confirming that no one was around. However, he still remained careful as he secretly disappeared into the back alley.
"He's really not here, right?"
Raon returned to his room in the annex building. Probation at Zieghart was pretty much a suspension, so he wasn't allowed to perform his duties as temporary squad leader in the meantime. He had no choice but to wait in his house.
'This works out.'
Since he was overlooking his own training slightly while trying to raise the Light Wind squad's might and focus, it was the perfect time to make up for that.
'I can just make them work even harder if they don't meet my expectations when I return in a week.'
Since he managed to learn how to make them work to their bones, he'd gained confidence in handling the Light Wind squad.
A-Are you telling me that you can make them suffer even more than they already have?
Wrath furrowed his brows in terror.
'Even a dry mop has a small amount of water inside, you know.'
Huh!
His eyes turned round as he exclaimed.
Raon Zieghart! No matter how the King of Essence thinks about it, you are too talented to stay here! Come to Devildom with the King of Essence...
'I said I'm not buying it.'
Raon shook his hand at Wrath, who tried to cling to him and sat on the ground. He enjoyed the moonlight entering from the window for a while before he closed his eyes.
'I know what I have to do.'
The Ring of Fire. Since it had reached the upper limit of six-stars from the countless battles and training he'd done, it was time to carve a new path for it.
He wasn't sure whether he would be able to finish it in a week, but if he managed to do it, he would be able to drastically increase his skills and render the Light Wind squad's training even more efficient.
"Haa..."
He slowly caught his breath and controlled the Ring of Fire. The six rings rotating around his heart clashed against each other countless times like glass beads inside a container, creating a clear sound resonance.
'So, I have to create a new ring while avoiding all of those, huh?'
He could only laugh.
It was already hard enough to create a new one while avoiding five of them, but he now had to avoid six of them to form a seventh. It was only natural to be nervous about it.
'But I should still try.'
He tried creating a new ring while avoiding the six rings that were revolving without a fixed trajectory.
While the new ring was still a weak fragment that couldn't even be called a ring yet, the fifth ring came up to it and smacked it from the side.
Clang!
Along with a clear resonance, the ring he'd been making shattered in an instant.
"Tsk."
The first attempt came to an end in such a short time. Raon clicked his tongue in regret.
What kind of stupid shit are you doing this time?
Wrath frowned in displeasure.
Stop being useless and go eat already.
'But not even an hour has passed since dinner.'
What are you talking about? This is the perfect time to eat, since you don't usually eat properly. You are still growing. You should eat two more meals before midnight.
Because he was looking forward to eating the annex building's meal instead of the training ground's disgusting food, he was asking him to take breakfast when dinner was less than an hour ago.
'I'm busy right now.'
Raon pushed Wrath away with the back of his hand and started controlling the Ring of Fire again.
When the new ring grew up to the size of one crease of his finger, the third ring charged at it like a wild boar to melt it down like snow.
'This is difficult.'
He'd expected it to happen, but it was really difficult to achieve.
'Damn it...'
Let's get some snacks if you don't want a meal. Eating is winning.
Wrath ran up to him whenever Raon opened his eyes, blabbering at him to put something in his mouth.
Was he really a demon king?
Raon wanted to complain to whoever turned him into the demon king of Wrath. He couldn't even begin to imagine how Gluttony would act, considering the way Wrath was behaving.
Cring!
Raon ignored Wrath asking for food and started controlling the Ring of Fire once again.
"Haa..."
He took a deep breath from deep in his lungs and cleared his mind. He blocked his five senses, including his vision and hearing, and straightened his back.
'Doing a sloppy job would be pointless.'
Being extremely focused to create a proper ring was more important than doing multiple attempts.
Raon thought to himself that it was his last opportunity and gathered his mana.
He maintained the highest focus to materialize the seventh ring.
The process was extremely slow, to the point that he couldn't even feel the progress, much like the way he couldn't feel his nails growing.
He extended the ring little by little, as if he were putting a puzzle together, and cleared away the thoughts and anguish that kept appearing in his mind.
The thoughts about the Light Wind squad's training, Rimmer's recovery, the Central Martial Palace's plot—even the recovery of Sylvia's status to the direct line and his revenge against Derus Robert, which were buried deep inside his mind, were cleared away.
The Ring of Fire was the only thing that remained in his mind.
Cring!
Once all of his attention was focused on the Ring of Fire, the six rings rotating around his heart looked many times slower than before, and a resonance was echoing throughout his spine.
It was a phenomenon resulting from the combination of the highest focus and his extreme mastery of martial arts.
Raon felt like his focus had increased, probably because he'd made the squad members train their focus.
The third ring charged at the new ring like a furious tidal wave. Raon used the principles of the swift sword to quickly turn the ring around to dodge it.
The sixth ring stormed towards it while spinning in a spiral. The principles of the soft sword allowed him to deflect it.
Raon laughed bitterly.
His focus had increased thanks to the training he'd forced upon his companions, and the swordsmanship he'd learned from them was allowing him to dodge the other rings. It was such a strange feeling.
He'd heard people say that all flows united into one in the end. It meant that rivers and streams combined together upon reaching the ocean, but he was actually experiencing the way it applied to the martial arts.
As he maintained his focus to dodge the six rings, the two ends of the new ring started to meet.
'The most difficult part is only just beginning.'
The longer the ring, the more likely it was to collide with the others. Raon focused his mind to the point that he could even feel the particles of mana he was inhaling.
Cring!
It almost felt like the six rings were cooperating to stop him from creating a new one, as they were taking turns like a cogwheel to attack the seventh ring. Raon was barely able to dodge them, and he couldn't even try to create the new ring.
Once his focus reached the maximum, he managed to increase the length by a tiny amount. He felt like the tension was taking away his breath completely.
Once the seventh ring was almost complete, even the pounding of his heart started to feel painful.
'I can't do it like this.'
Although he only needed to materialize it as a finishing touch, the six rings kept passing next to it one after the other, which made it pretty much impossible to complete it.
It was necessary to wait for the moment where the six rings happened to move in the same direction.
"Haaa."
Raon calmly exhaled. He had always been confident in his patience ever since his previous life. He was willing to wait as long as he needed.
Time passed.
So much time has passed, as much as the amount of cold sweat flowing down his forehead.
Multiple hours, multiple days, or even a month. He couldn't even begin to guess how much time had passed. He forgot about everything and simply waited.
The focus that he used to think it was the maximum he could ever muster increased one step further.
The flow of the six rings resonating with each other and their future movement could be drawn in his mind like a blueprint.
Raon swallowed nervously and waited for the right moment. What he needed was an instant where the six rings moved the same way, just like the eclipse, where the moon hid the sun.
Cring!
The rings distorted upon overlapping with each other, turning into one.
It was even shorter than a split second, but it was the only opportunity to create the seventh ring. Raon bit his lip and filled in the last part of the ring.
Whaam!
The palpitation felt like the two lines of his soul and body were finally connected into a single line as golden lightning flashed inside his mind.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶