Chapter 317: Chapter 317
Raon smiled coldly while feeling gazes coming from all directions.
'They are underestimating us.'
Although they were briefly intimidated by the Light Wind squad's madness when they entered the arena, the spectators were still blatantly looking down on them. They were belittling the Light Wind swordsmen because of their ages, experience, and fame.
'It's understandable.'
The Light Wind squad was younger than the warriors from the other factions. They were the youngest among the ones present in the arena. Since the difference in age signified the amount of time they spent training, Raon could understand why they would underestimate them.
'However, age isn't all that matters. Our experience is on a whole different level.'
The battles and the training the Light Wind squad had to experience didn't lose to any other faction. The hellish scenes they went through were more than enough to make up for a couple of years of experience.
The King of Essence is almost scared of you at this point.
Wrath came out of the ice flower bracelet and furrowed his brow.
The King of Essence is also the type of king who doesn't let the subordinates have an easy time, but he's not as bad as you. Even that Envy bastard who is supposed to be the harshest towards his subordinates would be amazed by you!
Wrath's chin was trembling in fear after watching the Light Wind squad's training for the past two days.
'Really?'
Raon chuckled while looking at Wrath's surprised expression.
'They shouldn't lose now, since they went through a training that even managed to impress Wrath.'
Even though the training's intensity was even higher than back at the house because they didn't have much time, none of the Light Wind members fell behind and managed to draw out the potential hidden under their bodies and minds.
The match was bound to be decided in an instant if their opponents underestimated the Light Wind squad that was clad in madness and capable of utilizing their full potential.
"Hmm."
Raon smiled in satisfaction and looked into the Light Wind squad's eyes. The golden madness was dwelling faintly in the middle of their eyes.
'I don't even know if I should be happy or sad about it, because that madness is directed at me.'
The Light Wind squad looked like they wanted to beat Raon up instead of the Six Kings' warriors they were about to face, as Raon was the one who made them go through all that hardship for two days.
"We are revealing the list of matches now!"
The master of ceremonies shook his hand, and the magicians revealed the list of matches for the Experts bracket in the air. There were 128 rounds because of the huge number of participants.
"Woaaah!"
"The third prince is in the sixth match! He's fighting against the Beast Union!"
"Princess Jayna! Please win!"
"Look at all those names. There's not a single match that doesn't look interesting."
Since most of the participants were famous warriors and magicians, the spectators burst into cheers as they waited for the tournament to start.
'The first one to fight among us is...'
Raon looked for the first match for the Light Wind squad while the others were cheering.
'Burren.'
Since Burren was pretty much the eldest brother of the Light Wind members, Raon was satisfied with him getting the first match.
'And his opponent is Rickel Robert.'
Although he wasn't a member of the direct line of House Robert, he was a swordsman in his early twenties who managed to get somewhat famous with his flashy swordsmanship. It would have normally been difficult for Burren to fight him, but Raon guessed that it would be fine since the previous training made him stronger.
"Uhh..."
"Th-that person looks way stronger than me, though..."
"Hmm..."
"I-I'm screwed."
The Light Wind swordsmen hardened their faces upon seeing their opponents from the list of matches. The spectators saying that the match was already decided in their opponent's favor intimidated them, and they seemed to agree that their reputation was a lot shabbier than those famous seniors.
"Focus, everyone."
Raon clapped his hands to gather their attention.
"You must've realized it by now. No one in this arena is expecting Zieghart to win."
"Hmm..."
"Damn it..."
The Light Wind squad ground their teeth. Even though they were half-mad, it still managed to hurt their pride.
"You shouldn't be angry about it though."
Raon shrugged his shoulders while watching their anger.
"What do you mean?"
Burren tilted his head. His cheeks had become hollow after the two days of training.
"This is a stage prepared for you."
Raon opened his arms and pointed at the spectators crowding in all directions.
"It will be fun to fill those arrogant faces with astonishment since they are underestimating you and expecting you to lose, don't you think?"
"Ah!"
"That's..."
The madness disappeared from the Light Wind swordsmen's eyes, and a flame of passion was ignited instead. They clenched their fists tightly while looking at the spectators.
"You are right. It sounds fun."
Martha licked her lips while looking at the spectators. She had huge bags under her eyes.
"I won't even need any side dishes for dinner if I can see those idiots dropping their jaws."
"I definitely want that to happen."
"My heart is pounding."
The Light Wind squad bit their lips while looking at the spectators. Their excitement seemed to have surpassed their madness.
'I need them a little bit hotter.'
Their state wasn't too bad, but they needed a little more madness in order to show their best performance.
"From what I see, all of you have opponents that you can win against."
Raon raised his chin at the Light Wind squad.
"If you even end up losing before fighting another Light Wind member..."
His lips rolled up into a smile, madness burning in his eyes even more powerfully than the Light Wind squad.
"You will have to repeat the training we did over the two last days for a whole month after we return to the house."
"Ugh!"
"Kuah..."
"Huff..."
A breathtaking groan could be heard from the Light Wind squad. The madness that was dying down from their eyes rose back up like wildfire.
Rumble!
Raon smiled while facing their madness, which was even more frightening than a murderous aura.
"It's hot enough now."
"Victory goes to Charlie WeeBin from the Owen Kingdom!"
"Woaaah!"
The Owen Kingdom's young knight raised his hands to answer the spectators' cheers after winning against a Balkar knight.
He enjoyed the moment of his victory for a short time before he left the stage with a smile on his face, and the defeated knight bit his lip, his face pale.
"We will start the next match. Burren Zieghart versus Rickel Robert!"
"Uooooh! It's Zieghart versus Robert!"
"A match between the swordsman houses!"
"But I think it will be a short match."
"That's true. Rickel reached the highest level of Expert a long time ago. He's even gained the name 'Sword of a Hundred Beasts'."
The spectators were already acting as if Rickel had won even before the match began. They didn't even hesitate to do so because the more famous one had always won so far.
"Haa."
Rickel Robert exhaled briefly after entering the stage.
'I'm against Burren Zieghart. It will be an easy win.'
He was just a nineteen-year-old kid who he had never even heard of. He was still a team leader, but that was probably because he was a member of the direct line, and there was no way he could match up to him.
'It's Zieghart anyway. Glenn carries that entire house.'
That house was considered the weakest among the Six Kings until Glenn overwhelmed the White Blood Religion's leader and the Fallen on his own. He believed Glenn was the only strong one there, and the others were nothing but weaklings. That's why he had no doubt of his victory.
'I should finish this quickly.'
Since it was a tournament, he didn't want to waste any stamina against a greenhorn from Zieghart. He wanted to finish it as fast as possible in preparation for the next battle.
Step.
The boy called Burren entered the stage from the opposite side. He must've been nervous because his name was called a while ago.
'It should be even easier if he's nervous.'
He smiled faintly and examined Burren. With thin blue hair, his eyes...
'What's wrong with his eyes? The colors have completely changed!?'
The madness burning from Burren's eyes was even more intense than when he entered the stage. Rickel felt like he was facing a real battle instead of a spar, and a life-and-death battle on top of that.
"Erm, hey. Are you both ready?"
The master of ceremonies was swallowing nervously. He must've also noticed that something was wrong.
"Yes."
Burren nodded. He looked like he was possessed by something.
"Hmm, I'm ready."
Rickel Robert nodded with narrowed eyes, and the master of ceremonies left the stage.
"The sixth match is starting now!"
As soon as the master of ceremonies lowered his hand, Rickel Robert kicked the ground.
'As fast as possible!'
Burren's gaze was making a chill run down his spine. Rickel charged from the left and swung his sword down with the intention of finishing the match in a single strike. The Hundred Wave Sword's powerful attack imitated a tidal wave and struck diagonally towards him.
Clang!
Even though it was a surprise attack, Burren simply turned his sword to deflect the Hundred Wave Sword's technique.
"It's pointless!"
Rickel turned his wrist to connect into the second strike. The attack contained a slightly more powerful aura and flow than the previous one, and it was a technique called the Tiger King of a Hundred Beasts of the Hundred Wave Sword.
Cring!
However, Rickel's strike failed to pierce through Burren's defense once again and faded away.
'Not bad, I guess he has at least one trick in his sleeve.'
He was still a member of the direct line of Zieghart despite his young age. Rickel realized he shouldn't underestimate him.
Whir!
Rickel calmly caught his breath and took out more than half of his aura from his energy center.
"Try stopping this now!"
He pounced from the left and swung down his sword. The sword strike that was targeting Burren's wrist was even faster and more powerful than before.
"Haap!"
Burren remained composed even though his slash was on a different level from before. He lightly stepped aside and unleashed a strike that was surrounded by cold wind.
Clang!
The two strikes were equal in power. Burren was staring at Rickel without even taking a single step back.
"How is this possible...?"
Rickel's chin was trembling. He couldn't push that Burren guy back even though he'd used more than sixty percent of his power. He couldn't understand what was happening.
"I'm sorry, but..."
Burren's breath looked like dark smoke.
"I have a reason why I can't lose. It's even more true against you guys..."
He ground his teeth and dashed towards him.
"You arrogant bastard!"
Rickel gathered all of his remaining aura and thrust his sword. The silver blade wavered to create a powerful tidal wave of aura blades.
'You won't be able to block this!'
He was using the Hundred Wave Sword's special technique, which got stronger if the enemy tried to defend or evade. He was saving it for the next opponent, but he couldn't afford that anymore.
"It's ove—Huh?"
Rickel widened his eyes. Burren was charging at him through the powerful aura blade instead of dodging or withdrawing.
"H-how do you know how to counter this technique?"
"Counter? I don't know anything like that!"
A shout of madness burst from Burren's lips.
"I'm going to die if I lose this match!"
His sword fell down at the same time.
Whaam!
The tremendous resolution and energy dwelling in his sword destroyed Rickel's special technique and cut into his shoulder.
"Kuah!"
Rickel screamed and sank to the ground. He even dropped his sword, his eyes trembling like a sailboat on a turbulent ocean as he looked up at Burren.
"Wh-what?"
"Did Rickel just lose?"
"How is this even possible?"
"But he's way older than him!"
"What the hell...?"
The spectators' chins were trembling violently upon witnessing that unbelievable scene. They were all staring at Burren with wide eyes.
"H-how did you...?"
Rickel was talking to Burren with trembling hands, but Burren was simply staring at his own hands.
'What is going on...?'
All he did was swing his sword in the midst of his madness because he didn't want to die from taking on Raon's training, but Rickel was defeated before he knew it.
'How did I even win?'
Rickel was a pretty famous swordsman. Although he wasn't expected to win the tournament, people guessed he would easily reach the quarterfinals at least, yet Burren had defeated him way too easily.
"Th-the victory goes to Burren Zieghart!"
Burren turned around to look behind him while listening to the declaration of his victory. The faint smile on Raon's face looked like he was praising him.
'What did you do to us this time?! You damn demon king!'
* * *
Whaam!
Unlike Burren, Martha charged at her opponent from the beginning and started attacking him. Although the Balkar knights were supposed to have the best defense, his armor was torn apart from her attack—which was even fiercer than one from the Beast Union—and he rolled on the ground.
"This makes ten wins out of ten."
If Martha ended up winning, the Light Wind squad would score ten victories out of ten. They were the only ones who emerged victorious in every single match.
"Is this really happening right now?"
"W-was the Light Wind squad always this powerful?"
"They are still kids, but how...?"
"I-I know I shouldn't be saying this, but don't the Zieghart swordsmen look like rabid dogs?"
"I know, right? They should be called Mad Dog Squad instead of Light Wind..."
The spectators couldn't even gasp anymore because of their violently trembling lips.
Hmm.
Wrath narrowed his eyes while watching Martha sever the knight's breastplate in two.
The growth you've achieved through training and battle usually doesn't get converted into your skills right away. It stays at the deepest part of your body and mind, slowly appearing later.
'You are right. Might increases step by step.'
Raon nodded. Most warriors improved step by step unless they had stats like himself. They didn't immediately get better, and they needed enough time to get used to it in order to get stronger.
However, you plastered those incomplete steps to drag them up. People can't normally do it even if they knew how it worked, but you... How terrible...
'I'm not being terrible. It's all thanks to their hard work.'
The instructor's efforts weren't enough to draw out people's skills. It was because the Light Wind swordsmen managed to follow his teachings that they got stronger.
Hard work? They almost died!
Wrath looked at Martha in the arena with a trembling chin.
Beef Girl has always been ferocious, but she wasn't that bad! She's not even human at that point, she's just a rabid dog!
Raon looked at the arena. Although she'd already won the match, her black eyes were still glowing gold.
'It's perfect.'
Raon nodded with a smile on his face.
'A little bit of madness is necessary for humans.'
A little?
Wrath shook his head.
That's not a little! She's literally a crazy bitch!
* * *
On the highest floor of Owen Castle, five transcenders were gathered in the conference room, which was usually used for discussing important matters of the royal family.
"The quarterfinals were supposed to end today, right?"
The archmage of Eternal Flame, Chamber, licked her lips while twisting her red hair with her finger.
"Yes. The semifinals and the finals will be held tomorrow. We will be watching them when that happens."
Derus smiled faintly as he nodded.
"Those matches are pointless. I'm sure our kids will be in the finals both for the Expert and Master divisions."
The Beast King Ogram chugged his wine down in an instant and smiled a toothy smile.
"It won't be that easy. The others weren't playing around either."
King Lecross casually shook his hand. His eyes were also brimming with confidence.
"You've always been powerless against us throughout history."
Chamber sneered at Ogram.
"You are probably gonna get thoroughly defeated once again, don't you think?"
"Shut your mouth."
Ogram smashed the glass in his hand into powder and glared at her.
"Our swordsmen aren't going to lose that easily either."
Derus tapped the table with his finger with a faint smile on his face.
"Because some of them got enlightened recently."
"Enlightened? An average enlightenment won't be enough to pierce a trained body with a stick."
Ogram twisted his lips while looking at Derus.
"Those proud bodies of yours have always been pierced by our magic though."
Chamber giggled at Ogram.
"You shut up!"
Ogram couldn't refute it because it was true that they were weak against magicians.
"Well, that might be the case. However, I'm confident we will win the Master's tournament."
Unwavering trust was dwelling in Derus's eyes, which were as clear as the ocean.
"You must be talking about the Blade of Shattering Wave. It's true that his growth was remarkable. However..."
King Lecross continued after slowly nodding his head.
"Sir Borini Kitten has also reached another realm. It would be interesting if those two ended up fighting each other."
"Hmph, those kids weren't half bad. However, Garona will smash their limbs like squeezing a mob if he manages to catch them. After all, he tore apart a drake with his bare hands."
Ogram raised his huge hand as he made his confident declaration.
"You haven't changed even though you got older. Don't you ever get tired of it?"
Chamber swept her hair up from her forehead and chuckled. She looked at Glenn, who'd remained silent so far.
"How about you, mister? They were called the Light Wind squad, right? How far do you think they are going to reach?"
"..."
Glenn didn't respond, instead remaining still while supporting his chin on his hand. He looked completely disinterested in the topic.
"You are no fun."
Chamber briefly clicked her tongue before turning her head.
"It can't be helped. After all, he should know better than anyone that they have no chance of winning."
Ogram smiled coldly at Glenn.
"Even the boy named Raon who is participating in the Master division has been kidnapped before. How can a warrior even get kidnapped? I would've bitten my tongue to kill myself if I was him. I'm sure none of the kids with Zieghart's name will be in the semifinals. They all looked naive after all."
"Hmm, that couldn't be helped. Since Merlin and the tenth apostle were involved, no one would've been able to easily escape that situation."
Derus licked his lips while defending Glenn.
"However, it's true that it's unlikely for the Frostfire Sword of Valor to reach the semifinals in his current state. It might be a different story in a few years though..."
"Ahem, I have a slightly different opinion, but let's talk about the matches later."
King Lecross shook his hand and looked behind him. The servant who had been waiting off to the side brought the documents and placed them on the table.
"Semifinals? You sure love to talk rubbish."
Once the documents were placed in front of the leaders of the Six Kings and the servants left the room, Glenn opened his mouth for the first time.
"The experience that Raon and the Light Wind squad went through transcends their age. Their determination is blazing even more fiercely than before after experiencing defeat."
The other leaders shut their mouths upon hearing his cold voice, which almost sounded threatening.
"They definitely won't lose, not in terms of might nor in terms of willpower. Moreover..."
The leaders' hands trembled slightly because of the frightening look in Glenn's eyes.
"Our kids are the cutest."
"...?"
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