Raon curled his lips slightly as he looked at Lawrence, who had a crumpled expression on his face.
'He's really angry.'
Well, it must have been even noisier for him. Because Lawrance was not just a master or even a grandmaster, but a transcendend. Sure, he could have blocked his hearing with aura or created an aura barrier to shut out the noise. But no matter how much he blocked the sound, he couldn't block the vibrations that he couldn't help but feel.
Raon had expected Lawrence to come out naturally since he had caused vibrations in the air by clashing the Demon Sword with the Quick Sword.
"First earlier, and now again, how on earth did you get up!"
Lawrence glared at Raon, lowering his chin.
"I hit you hard enough that you should have needed to recuperate for a while, so why!"
"I'm a bit on the sturdy side."
Raon grinned as he pounded his chest with his fist.
'Though it did hurt.'
Just now, Lawrence had struck his solar plexus with the clear intention of knocking him out. It was a force that even a Grandmaster would have collapsed from, but Raon was able to withstand it without fainting by mitigating the impact with his physical abilities comparable to a Transcendent Warrior and the Magic Armor of the Snow Flower.
-This guy isn't just a leech, he's a tenacious leech.
Wrath shook his head.
-He's disgustingly tough and won't let go! He'll suck blood until he dries up!
He gritted his teeth, saying he shouldn't have gotten caught.
"A, a bit sturdy?"
"If it were us, we'd be on death's door..."
The String Sword Lord and Demon Sword Lord let out a sigh, finding it unbelievable.
"Do you have no conscience at all!"
Lawrence approached Raon, pressing his lips tightly.
"Are you saying it's okay to cause trouble for others under the pretext of sparring! It's too noisy to live!"
He yelled, telling Raon to just leave.
"Well, that's true."
Raon nodded calmly, acknowledging his own mistake.
"I should apologize first."
"I don't need your apology! Just disappear from my sight!"
Lawrence stretched out his hand, telling him to keep his mouth shut and go down the mountain.
"Still, I should apologize."
"I don't need-"
"No, not to you, Lawrence. To those friends over there."
Raon pointed not at Lawrence, but at the Zelkova tree next to the cave he had come out of. A family of squirrels was peeking their heads out of a hole. In fact, since he had aimed the vibrations at the inside of the cave from the beginning, the squirrels hadn't really felt the shock.
Those guys coming out of the hole now was probably due to Lawrence's shouting, not the vibrations.
"They're the owners of this mountain, right? I'm sorry. It'll be over soon, so please bear with it a little longer."
Raon bowed with his hands clasped together towards the squirrels. As soon as they made eye contact with him, the squirrels quickly retreated back into the hole in the tree.
-Ah, how vicious...
Wrath trembled his thick chin.
-This king has lived for a long time, but it's the first time I've seen a madman greeting squirrels just to mock others!
He let out a sigh, saying that the number one lunatic in the dimension was truly different.
"Grrrr..."
Lawrence also seemed to have lost his reason, drooling. It seemed that even a Transcendent Warrior's mental strength couldn't withstand this.
"Huh!"
"Ah, no. This is a bit..."
The Demon Sword Lord and String Sword Lord, who had been enjoying Raon's performance, blinked their eyes as if finding it ridiculous.
"Fine! I'll face you right now as you wanted!"
Lawrence approached, grinding his teeth.
"But this time, you absolutely won't be able to get up!"
A deeper golden light burned in his eyes as if anger had taken root.
"Ignoring the order, you're quite the disorderly person."
Raon bowed his head, asking the Demon Sword Lord to yield to him.
"Order? Discipline? Are those words that should come out of your mouth!"
Lawrence yelled as if he found it absurd.
"I can't keep up with your glib tongue. I think I know who you take after!"
As soon as he clicked his tongue, he disappeared from sight. It was a ghostly footwork that erased even his presence.
'I shouldn't trust my eyes. The same goes for aura perception.'
Lawrence's footwork creates illusions for the eyes and senses. What he needed to focus on was the emotion of 'Wrath' that Lawrence was feeling.
'Not from the left... Behind!'
Raon wasn't fooled by Lawrence's presence felt from the left side, but turned his back to find the aura where anger was shining through. As soon as he turned his head, he saw Lawrence stretching out his hand, elongated like a tree branch.
Raon, as if he had been waiting for this, bent his knees and thrust out the Heavenly Drive sword he had been holding in front of his chest.
Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation. Heavenly Drive. A supreme swordsmanship that thrusts in thirty-six directions in one strike, imbued with the essence of extreme speed.
"Hmm!"
Lawrence, realizing his surprise attack had been blocked, raised a defense with his right hand that he had been stretching out. As the golden light flickering in his eyes blazed in his hand, the thirty-six sword strikes that had been advancing in straight lines subsided like dying embers.
'It doesn't work even if I increase the speed and add wind? Then...'
Raon ignited the flames of Revolving Sky over the Heavenly Drive sword as its flow was stopping, and drew the Blade of Requiem with his left hand. While the flames of Revolving Sky were blocking Lawrence's defense, he raised the extreme Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation over the Blade of Requiem.
A fire dragon that rose over the sword's edge breathed out a magnificent fiery breath. It was the Flame Dragon Strike, second to none in power.
The grand flames that seemed as if they would burn down the entire mountain spread out, but Lawrence's defense erased all the flames of the Flame Dragon Strike as if it had erected an absolute wall. All that remained afterwards were tiny sparks that had settled on the ground.
'That's...'
Raon bit his lip as he watched the flames being erased.
'It's not just simple martial arts.'
Even though he was operating the Ring of Fire, he couldn't feel the sense that he could immediately follow it. That nullification technique seemed to be both martial arts and a phenomenon.
'I want to see more...'
Just as Raon was about to raise the Heavenly Drive sword he had tilted downwards to fight to the end, Lawrence approached from the left with an even faster and more mysterious footwork.
'There's no space to thrust the sword.'
Because his reaction was late, there was no interval to thrust the Heavenly Drive sword. He swung down the Blade of Requiem imbued with frost energy. Lawrence easily erased the frost as if he had decided to go all out, and placed his hand on his own chest.
"This time it will really hurt."
Along with his low voice, a powerful impact exploded on his chest. Raon was sent flying like a kicked ball and crashed into the ground. The surrounding earth was deeply gouged out from how strongly he was hit.
"Phew..."
Lawrence frowned as he looked at his slightly trembling hand.
'He's grown again in that short time.'
Ordinary swordsmen fear their swordsmanship being shattered so easily. Even in the Holy Sword Alliance, no swordsman asked him for a sparring match. But that young guy seemed to enjoy his swordsmanship being broken, clashing with full force every time.
He seemed to lack the pride or fear that a swordsman should have. He was a monster, both in terms of strength and mentality.
"Isn't, isn't this too much!"
The Demon Sword Lord frowned as he looked at Lawrence.
"He's still just a kid!"
The String Sword Lord also bit his lip, saying it was excessive.
"You can see for yourself. He's a tough one, this much is necessary to keep him down."
Lawrence sighed briefly as he dusted off his hands. Being Rector's grandson, he had used as much force as possible without killing him. This time, he absolutely wouldn't be able to get up.
"If you get up this time too, I'll acknowledge you. But..."
"Really?"
Raon opened his eyes wide as if mocking him.
"Aaagh!"
"Huh!"
The Demon Sword Lord and String Sword Lord, who had been worried about Raon, stepped back in shock. Their reactions were truly amusing. He could understand why Merlin always popped up in animal form.
"You, how did you..."
Lawrence trembled his golden eyes as if facing an incomprehensible phenomenon.
"This time it's a little... no, quite painful."
Raon smacked his lips as he rubbed the left side of his chest.
"But it's not unbearable, so..."
"Aaaaargh!"
Lawrence screamed as he messed up his own hair.
"Are you a zombie or what! I hit your heart area with aura, why aren't you even fainting!"
"I'm used to getting hit."
Raon smiled faintly as he slowly raised his upper body. This time the impact was really big, so he couldn't move right away.
"Why are you tormenting me like this! Why!"
Lawrence raised both hands as if begging to be spared.
"I'm not tormenting you, I just want to spar. It's playing, you know."
Raon shook his head calmly.
"I don't want to play! Just leave me alone!"
-He's not a zombie, but a leech. I told you he won't let go.
Wrath shook his head, saying it was all over the moment he got bitten.
"Since you said you'd acknowledge me, let's do this."
Raon raised his index finger towards Lawrence.
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"Spar with me once a day, without fail."
After clashing with Lawrence three times, Raon felt it. His nullification technique was a special power that couldn't be broken right now. Since it would be meaningless to keep clashing like this, it seemed best to increase his swordsmanship achievement through sparring and then challenge him once a day.
"O-once?"
"Yes. Once a day."
Raon nodded, saying that would be enough.
"Ugh..."
Lawrence bit his lip as if troubled.
"I, I have a routine. As those who know me are aware, if my routine is broken, I have a very difficult time..."
"If you don't like it, I'll do it like before. I have good stamina, so I can fight day and night. I wonder how many people I should bring."
"Alright! Alright!"
He finally surrendered to Raon and nodded.
"Contract confirmed."
Raon smiled and pressed his hand seal in the air.
-Is that really a contract? Isn't it more like blackmail?
'I got an answer through non-violence, so it's a contract. If anything, I'm the one who got hit, so I am the victim.'
-No matter how I look at it, that grasshopper seems to be the one in actual pain...
Wrath clicked his tongue, finding it ridiculous.
"...Now go down."
Lawrence waved his hand with all his strength drained. His face seemed to have aged 10 years in that moment.
"Alright. Ah!"
Raon nodded and then opened his mouth again.
"Since the recent sparring was after we made the contract, I'll come back again tonight."
He grinned as he said that.
"No, that... Urgh!"
Lawrence trembled his jaw as if anger was rising again, then lost his words and lowered his head.
"Well then."
Raon bowed to Lawrence and went down the mountain with light steps.
"Oh..."
"Ooh!"
The Demon Sword Lord and String Sword Lord let out admiring sighs as if they had seen a noble person, then followed after Raon.
"Ugh..."
Lawrence trembled his hand as he watched Raon's retreating back.
'Is this right? Is this really the best? Wasn't there another way?'
But no matter how much he racked his brain, no answer came. The only correct answer would have been to run away the moment he encountered that guy in the village, unfortunately it was too late.
"Aaaaargh!"
Lawrence screamed loud enough to wash away the mountain, regretting that he had accepted the sparring in the first place.
* * *
"Ugh..."
Martha bit her lip as she looked at the middle-aged female swordsman standing opposite her.
'She's strong. And it's a trained strength.'
This swordsman was not only strong in swordsmanship but also possessed pride in her skills. She was a true swordsman with convictions.
'This is going to be fun.'
There are many strong ones among external swordsmen, but it's rare to find someone who holds beliefs about swordsmanship. She could understand why this place was called the Holy Sword Alliance.
"We're both tired, so why don't we end it this time?"
The middle-aged woman tilted her head as if telling her to come at her with full force.
"I like your personality too."
Martha smiled refreshingly and raised her sword. The two swordsmen looked into each other's eyes and simultaneously stomped on the ground. Martha unleashed an extremely powerful sword strike, imbuing the Titan aura with the wind of the Gale Wind Style. A sound that seemed to tear through space erupted from her sword blade.
"Strength is good. But..."
The middle-aged woman, without erasing the smile from her lips, stretched out the sword in her hand. A small but profound light rose from her sword blade. It was straight and accurate. A noble sword strike that seemed to have accumulated only that one belief clashed with Martha's sword.
Anyone could see that Martha's slash contained the stronger force. But the person standing at the end of that collision was the middle-aged female swordsman.
"Ugh..."
Martha bit her lip as she sat down on the spot.
"It's not difficult to withstand wind that's just strong."
The middle-aged woman smiled slightly.
"It's much harder to dodge lightning that strikes me accurately."
She lowered her sword and stretched out her hand to Martha who had fallen.
"What did you say your name was?"
Martha nodded as she grabbed the middle-aged woman's hand and stood up.
"Jaira."
The middle-aged woman revealed her name with a faint smile.
"Wait for me. I'll easily defeat you soon."
Martha showed a fresh smile contrary to her fierce words.
"I'll be waiting."
Jaira waved her hand lightly and left.
"Are you okay?"
Burren, who had finished his sparring earlier and was watching, approached.
"Miss Rakshasa. Does it hurt...?"
Runaan also tilted her head with worried eyes.
"Don't call me Miss Rakshasa!"
"Don't want to."
"Eek!"
Martha struck Runaan's head, and Runaan retreated, sliding as if using footwork.
"Seeing your condition, you seem fine."
Burren chuckled as he examined Martha.
"I'm fine. Physically."
Martha gritted her teeth with her head lowered.
'I could have won...'
Although Jaira was stronger than her, the difference wasn't that big. What determined the victory at the end was the concentration and the size of the belief they had built up until now.
'I should have believed in myself until the end, but in the end, it's a lack of strength.'
"Your concentration wavered at the end."
A familiar voice was heard from the side while Martha was reflecting on herself.
"Huh?"
When she turned her head, Raon was approaching, looking as if he had put on makeup with dirt. Looking at his forehead and around his mouth, it seemed he had even coughed up blood.
"What happened to you! What on earth happened!"
Martha trembled her jaw as she looked at Raon.
"Something fun happened."
Raon smiled as if excited, with his face in a mess.
"It looks like you got hit a lot, is that really fun?"
Burren frowned as he examined Raon's clothes.
"You bathed in dust..."
Runaan also tilted her head as if finding it strange.
"How did it go for you guys."
Raon nodded at Burren and Runaan, saying not to mind about him.
"I barely won. The matchup was favorable for me."
Burren let out a sigh of relief, saying he was able to win just barely.
"I lost..."
Runaan bowed her head heavily.
"Runaan's opponent was at the pinnacle of Master level. It was a close match, so you did well."
Burren nodded, saying that Runaan's fight was quite impressive.
"You saw mine, right? I got thrashed like a dog."
Martha frowned, telling him not to ask any further.
"What about Dorian?"
"Don't know."
"He seemed to have been dragged away somewhere..."
Martha and Burren shook their heads slowly.
"You don't need to worry about Sir Dorian."
Mustan approached and bowed.
"Master Zalek took him away, saying he needed to cultivate his mind first after seeing him drop his sword before even starting the sparring."
He told them not to worry, explaining that Zalek was an Elder of the Holy Sword Alliance and Rector's confidant.
"Then we can trust him."
While he might not know about the Elder of the Holy Sword Alliance, Rector's confidant was certainly trustworthy.
'Still, I should check later.'
Raon organized his thoughts and looked at Burren, Martha, and Runaan again.
"You might want to prepare yourself to lose more here."
"Lose! Absolutely not!"
Martha quickly shook her head.
"Is there a reason?"
"The swordsmen of the Holy Sword Alliance imbue their beliefs in their swordsmanship. Rather than thinking about winning, if you approach the sparring with the mindset of learning that attitude, you'll be able to reach a higher place."
Raon revealed a solemn gaze as he shared the point he had realized himself.
"I too am prepared to lose a thousand times here."
As he said that, he looked up at the mountain where Lawrence was.
'No, I have to overcome even if I lose more than that.'
* * *
Raon returned to Rector's mansion after finishing his sparring with the Demon Sword Lord and String Sword Lord. Rector had prepared dinner for everyone to eat after finishing his work. He too was a swordsman of the Holy Sword Alliance who did his own work.
"Where is Dorian?"
"Master Zalek took him away. He said he would stay there for a while."
Mustan bowed his head briefly.
"His bad habit has flared up again."
Rector laughed lightly as if familiar with the situation.
"Well. How was the sparring?"
He nodded slightly, looking at Raon first.
"I met someone named Lawrence. There..."
Raon told him everything that had happened with Lawrence.
"Hahaha!"
Rector couldn't hold back and burst into laughter, hitting the table.
"So that's what happened. That guy's face must have been quite a sight."
He smacked his lips as if regretting not being able to see that scene properly.
"Isn't that going too far?"
Burren let out a gasp in shock.
"That's called noise pollution! You devil!"
Martha also trembled her jaw.
"Want to see squirrels..."
Runaan smacked her lips, saying she wanted to see the squirrel family, not caring about anything else.
"No."
Rector calmly shook his head.
"Keep going. Go even if he tells you not to come."
He patted Raon's shoulder, saying he did well.
"He's a lonely guy, so keep playing with him."
Rector looked at Raon with warm eyes as if he found him admirable.
-Is that right?
Wrath shook his head.
-He looked like he was about to lose his hair from stress...
* * *
A week had passed since Raon came to the Holy Sword Alliance. During that time, he spent all day sparring with other swordsmen and then went to find Lawrence for a single duel at night. Of course, he had never won, and he came down the mountain every day after getting hit on the head and chest.
However, there was something he had learned during this time. Lawrence values maintaining his daily routine and sleeps during the day.
He didn't look that old, so it was hard to understand how he had reached transcendence with such a lifestyle.
'The more amazing thing is his martial arts.'
Lawrence's martial arts were on a different level from the swordsmanship he knew. If general swordsmanship was created to kill opponents, Lawrence's swordsmanship seemed to be created to break the opponent's martial arts. (E/N: I am confused why it is called 'swordsmanship' when there is no sword involved, but it seems to be the correct translation?)
"Phew..."
Raon let out a low breath as he climbed up to the cave.
'This time I'll definitely break through.'
Today, he had raised his swordsmanship level by fighting with ten swordsmen, so he was feeling a bit confident.
'I came a bit early.'
It was a bit earlier than usual, but since the moon was rising, Lawrence probably wouldn't be sleeping.
"Lawrence!"
Raon called Lawrence's name as he stood in the forest clearing where they always fought. A footstep full of irritation echoed from inside the cave, and Lawrence slowly walked out. The area under his eyes was darkened as if painted with charcoal.
"Please come at the right time! Why does the time always change!"
"There's no set time for sparring, right? I just come as soon as I'm done."
Raon shrugged his shoulders towards Lawrence.
"You..."
Lawrence gritted his teeth and walked out of the cave, then suddenly stopped. He bit his lip as he looked at the full moon rising in the sky.
"Wait, what day is it today. Urgh!"
Lawrence collapsed on the spot as if his legs had lost strength. A different power and temperament from what he had felt so far began to emanate from him.
"Lawrence?"
"Don't come!"
Lawrence waved his hand right in front of the cave.
"Because of you, my routine was broken and I lost track of time! There's no sparring today! Come back tomorrow!"
He shouted for Raon to back off as he crawled inside on trembling arms.
"Wait, that's..."
Raon chewed his lip, then kicked off the clearing and stood in front of the cave.
"I told you not to come!"
"You..."
Ignoring Lawrence's shout, he entered the cave. He placed his hand on the Heavenly Drive sword as he saw the white blood flowing from his mouth.
"What is your relationship with the Leader of the White Blood Religion?"