Jubel gulped dryly as he looked at the man blocking Judiel's path.
'Raon Zieghart, is it?'
Raon Zieghart is currently one of the most famous martial artists on the continent.
A monster who defeated a Grandmaster and hunted a Blue Dragon at a young age. He was someone impossible not to know about, even while stuck in this remote area.
'The rumors weren't exaggerated.'
The spirit and martial prowess of Raon Zieghart that he saw in person were beyond imagination. Even though the energy wave wasn't directed at him, it was enough to make him lose his senses.
'And on top of that...'
Jubel's lips trembled as he raised his gaze. It should have been a moonless night, but as soon as Raon appeared, both the sun and moon rose simultaneously.
The radiance pouring from the sun and moonlight filling the dark sky exuded a mystery beyond martial prowess.
Just seeing it from behind was enough to send chills down his spine.
Not just me, but all the martial artists and assassins here seemed to be overwhelmed by Raon's presence.
'To think such a man is my sister's lord...'
Just looking at Judiel's reaction, he could tell. That the master she served was this Raon Zieghart.
He couldn't even imagine how his sister, who had lived as a spy, had met the Dragon Slayer.
"Sis..."
Jubel started to call out to Judiel but stopped. Her expression looked so complex it was beyond words.
Joy, guilt, sadness, happiness, and gratitude were all mixed to the point it looked dark.
"Sister."
"Jubel."
Judiel took the hand of the dumbfounded Jubel.
"It's alright now."
She held her younger brother's hand tightly and showed a relieved smile that she hadn't been able to show until now.
Despite feeling the killing intent of the Siran tribe and assassins with her whole body, she didn't seem frightened at all.
"Lord Raon will protect us."
Judiel looked at Raon's back with a gentle smile. She seemed to trust him completely.
"Let's wait here."
"..."
Jubel couldn't say anything. He just nodded, feeling the warmth transmitted from Judiel's hand.
* * *
-What an arrogant bastard!
Wrath raised his eyebrows as he grabbed Raon's head.
-Such haughty words can only be spoken by a monarch of the Devildom like myself!
'You called me the Demon King of Manipulation.'
-Demon King of Manipulation my ass! How dare a wet-behind-the-ears brat!
'You're really picky, you know.'
Raon pushed away the struggling Wrath and looked at the middle-aged man who appeared to be the chief of the Siran tribe.
"Are you serious about what you just said?"
The Siran tribe chief glared at him, grinding his teeth audibly.
"You're really going to face all these people? Alone at that?"
"That's right."
Raon nodded and took a step forward.
"Normally, I might have admired your spirit, but right now I don't have the luxury for such things!"
As the Siran tribe chief bit his lip and clenched his fist, a blue aura enveloped his entire body.
It looked as if he had put on a human form made of light. It was a shamanic technique called Spirit Possession.
"Subdue him, and kill all the assassins!"
He charged fiercely, as if he had lost all reason. The martial artists and shamans of the Siran tribe waiting behind him also kicked off the ground.
Swoosh!
The assassins, too, showed no intention of backing down as they approached through the shadows with killing intent in their daggers and flying daggers.
Whizz!
The assassins in the back shot their flying daggers. The blackened blades became beams of light as they rushed in.
Boom!
Raon didn't even look at the flying daggers. With the spatial pressure created by his Sword Domain, he crushed the assassins' flying daggers like pieces of paper.
"Huaaah!"
However, the Siran tribe chief's attack couldn't be ignored like the flying daggers. His fist bent in a strange trajectory. It seemed to be aiming for the abdomen.
Raon thrust his Divine Sword towards the Siran tribe chief's fist that was stirring up a gale.
Clang!
As the Divine Sword and fist collided, a thunderous sound like breaking metal rang out.
'It's heavy.'
It was a fist so heavy it felt like it could tear off his hand. It was martial prowess worthy of a tribe chief, but there was too much at stake for me to be pushed back by this man.
Zing!
Infusing firm willpower into his shaking grip, he swung down his Divine Sword.
Boom!
The flames blazing on the blade of the Divine Sword fell like lightning, pushing back both the Siran tribe chief's fist and his body simultaneously.
"Huh..."
The Siran tribe chief blinked, as if he hadn't expected to be pushed back so easily.
Whoosh!
As Raon drew a semicircle with his Divine Sword, the flames that bloomed from the blade coalesced into a round shield of fire.
Kiyaang!
The Siran tribespeople each shot out magic or aura, but the Fire Wall, true to its reputation as the strongest defensive technique, didn't waver in the slightest.
Zing!
The assassins, as if seizing an opportunity, threw their flying daggers and charged in with their bodies.
Dozens of flying daggers fell like a shower of blades.
Zing!
Raon raised his Demonic Sword that had been tilted. The silver frost blooming from the blade spread like a mirage.
Slash!
The falling flying daggers were all shattered, and the two assassins who had charged in first were split in half along with the daggers in their hands.
Slash!
With just two sword swings, the Siran tribe and assassins stood frozen as if stunned.
It was a situation where the word "overwhelming" fit better than anything else.
"Don't stop!"
The Siran tribe chief didn't yield despite being pushed back by the flames.
He clenched his fist again and stepped into his footwork. The tribespeople who received his order also charged in, drawing out their full strength.
Boom!
Their intense offensive shattered the long-standing Fire Wall into pieces.
"Kuaaah!"
The Siran tribe chief extended his right foot with his left foot as the axis. His kick technique, sharper than a sword swing, dug into Raon's waist.
'There's no killing intent.'
It was a barbaric yet well-honed transcendent martial art, but even in this situation, the tribe chief wasn't trying to kill me, but to subdue me.
If that's the case, I shouldn't show killing intent towards him either.
'Of course, I can't be too careless either.'
As Raon advanced towards the Siran tribe chief, he relaxed his grip on the Divine Sword.
Zing!
The red-tinged blade swayed finely, drawing a dreamlike line.
The Silver Sword Dream unfolding in the Sword Domain. The sparks flickering brilliantly in the sword technique split the mana flow of the Siran tribe chief.
Slash!
The blue aura covering the Siran tribe chief crumbled like dry leaves. The Spirit Possession itself had been undone.
"Ah..."
The Siran tribe chief's eyes widened in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe his Spirit Possession had been undone against his will.
Rumble!
The Siran tribespeople unleashed their auras and magic in place of their stopped chief.
Befitting a single tribe, their skills coalesced harmoniously, scattering intense energy.
Raon pointed his Divine Sword towards the oncoming skills of the Siran tribe.
Heavenly Drive, Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
Dance of the Golden Flame.
The prison of flames that suppresses evil opened its mouth wide, trapping the concentrated auras and magic shot by the Siran tribespeople.
Boom!
The auras and magic of the Siran tribe trapped in the prison of flames exploded, drawing dozens of meteor trails in the air.
"W-what is that!"
"It's impossible..."
"H-how are we supposed to break through that..."
The Siran tribe chief and tribespeople trembled as they looked at Raon, who didn't have a single hair out of place.
Swish!
However, the assassins approached with even sharper killing intent, as if they felt no fear or terror.
As Raon turned his gaze towards the assassins, those spread out on both sides pulled out white papers from their pockets. They were scrolls imbued with magic.
As the assassins tore the scrolls, flames exploded from all directions, surrounding Raon and the Siran tribe.
The flames shot up to the tops of tall trees, creating a fiery hell from which no one could escape.
Woosh!
Layers of fire walls stacked up, drawing a line of flames that reached the sky. It formed a shape like a birdcage.
"Kuhuk!"
"Hueuk..."
"We should have stopped those bastards first..."
As the flames blocked even the sky, even the martial artists and shamans clutched their chests and fell to their knees, as if struggling to breathe.
"It's a meaningless act."
In contrast, Raon raised his Divine Sword with calm eyes. As he pointed the sword towards the cage-shaped flames, the fire burning all around was sucked into his hand.
'So I can use it this way too.'
This was the second effect gained from receiving the power of Ifrit, the Fire Spirit King.
I could now control flames weaker than those of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation at will.
Whoosh!
The cage of flames that seemed inescapable subsided. The wall of fire that had filled their vision disappeared without leaving a single spark.
"Huh..."
"T-the flames were sucked into his hand!"
"It looked like he was controlling the flames. Did he receive a blessing from the god of fire or something?"
The Siran tribe chief and tribespeople couldn't close their gaping mouths, amazed at Raon's seemingly divine appearance.
"Kuuu..."
"Damn it!"
"What the hell is that monster..."
Even the assassins who didn't fear death couldn't approach any further, their hands holding daggers trembling.
"If you're not satisfied yet, feel free to come at me more."
Raon nodded to the Siran tribe chief, saying they could come at him as much as they wanted.
"Haa..."
The Siran tribe chief glared at Raon for a while before sighing.
"That's enough. I know you were holding back. If you were serious, we'd all be dead. Continuing would be a waste of time."
He shook his head, signaling this was as far as it would go. The Siran tribespeople followed their chief, lowering their weapons and releasing their Spirit Possession.
"Well then, what is it you want to say?"
"Before that, I'll finish what needs to be done."
Raon looked at the assassins. Unlike the Siran tribe, they didn't seem to have any intention of giving up.
'I tried to go easy, but...'
Among them, there might be those who chose the path of assassination themselves, but also those who became assassins unwillingly, like Judiel's younger brother.
I deliberately killed only the instigators cruelly at first, but it seemed this wouldn't end unless I did it properly.
'I guess I should show them the difference in power.'
Raon pointed his Demonic Sword at the assassins. The frost racing along the blade curved like a crescent moon, drawing a line that split the earth.
Crash!
Pure white frost rose over the ground that had been full of ash and flames.
The terrifying wave of frost froze the ground the assassins were standing on and their legs before they could even react.
"Kuaaah!"
"W-what is this!"
"I didn't even feel it, how..."
Everyone present widened their eyes at the miraculous sight of not just the ground, but even the assassins' legs being frozen in an instant.
After confirming that all the assassins were subdued, Raon turned his gaze to the Siran tribe chief.
"Let me introduce myself again. I am Raon Zieghart, Light Wind Division vice leader."
He bowed his head to the wide-eyed Siran tribe chief.
"Ahem. I know that."
The Siran tribe chief nodded with a dazed expression.
"That long robe belongs to the elder brother... no, the Alliance Leader, and I heard he passed it on to you."
"Indeed, that's right."
"However, that's not what's important right now. Tell me what misunderstanding there was."
He nodded as if ready to listen to anything. It seemed the anger that had broken through his reason had subsided.
"Judiel."
At Raon's call, Judiel came forward, holding her younger brother's hand.
"You explain. How this situation came about."
"Understood."
Judiel nodded and stepped forward.
"We are siblings who were separated when we were young. When I learned my younger brother was here..."
* * *
"Kuuuk..."
Colin bit his lip as he watched Raon single-handedly stop the war.
'Why the hell is that monster here!'
The plan was perfect.
Thanks to Jubel's escape, an even more perfect situation had been created, but with that guy's appearance, everything was ruined.
'Does this make any sense?'
To control the flames alone and even fend off the Siran tribe and assassins, it was an unbelievable feat no matter how he thought about it.
'And not only that...'
He didn't even shed much blood.
Among the assassins, not even five had died, and the Siran tribe didn't even have any injuries.
It meant Raon had even more martial prowess than he was showing.
'If this continues, it's all over.'
The Siran tribe chief was already showing favor towards Raon. If the situation ended like this, Jubel would live, and it would be the worst-case scenario where all the assassins would lose.
'I have no choice.'
To turn this situation around, he had no choice but to use the last method.
"You've planted the fire seeds inside the Siran tribe, right?"
Taking advantage of the moment when all the Siran tribe's shamans and martial artists had come out of the village, they had planted fire seeds inside the village.
Since most of those inside the village were the elderly and children, if the fire seeds exploded, the Siran tribe would surely go mad with rage again.
"Yes. We received confirmation that the installation is complete."
The second squad leader nodded calmly.
"Good, set them off."
Colin flicked his finger as if ordering to set fire to the village.
"Understood."
As the second squad leader sent the signal, a massive explosion occurred inside the Sran tribe's village moments later.
Boom!
The flames that erupted in the confined space engulfed the village, blazing fiercely. It created a hellscape where no ordinary human could survive.
"Huh...?"
"Aaaaargh!"
"No!"
"There are children in there!"
The Siran tribe chief and tribespeople who had been listening to Judiel screamed and ran towards the village.
"Good. Now... Huh?"
Colin's jaw dropped as he watched the flames soaring to the sky.
A sharp-featured middle-aged man was parting the huge flames and guiding the people inside the village to safety.
"W-who the hell is that guy!"
It made no sense that a complete stranger, not even from the Siran tribe, would suddenly appear and save people. He couldn't understand the situation at all.
"Kill him! Tell them to kill that bastard!"
Colin screamed, pointing at the blue-clad middle-aged man.
"What are you doing! I said tell them to kill him right now!"
But the second squad leader's voice wasn't heard.
"What are you do-"
The moment Colin turned around, the second squad leader's head fell from his body.
Behind him were red eyes glowing brighter than blood.
Swoosh.
Raon lowered his bloodless sword and turned his head.
"So the rat was hiding here."