Chapter 408: Why Hairan? (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 408: Why Hairan? (2)
Every warrior who witnessed the sight was plunged into shock. Many stood dazed, their souls seemingly having fled their bodies as they stared at the Gruneil, which remained without so much as a scratch.
Ron had not used a decisive technique or a secret art.
It was merely a proper strike, not even an attack delivered with his full strength.
Even so, the fact that Ron Hairan’s sword energy had produced such a futile result was something no one present could have imagined—save for Verakt and Jo, who stood at the ship's prow.
Lord Ron’s sword energy… was perfectly blocked?
Jin, too, was struck by the shock, unable to tear his eyes from the Gruneil for a long moment.
It’s a shield. There’s an invisible barrier surrounding the entire hull.
He hadn't noticed it immediately due to the chaotic energy radiating from the lightning and sword energy, but the Gruneil was enveloped in an intangible shield made of mana.
Jin couldn't fathom the principles behind the formation of such an invisible barrier. He could only speculate that some form of Authority had been infused into the mana.
A heavy silence hung among the warriors, while the giant monsters and bio-golems resumed their shrieking as they tore through the castle grounds.
However, the momentum of the monsters and golems was not as formidable as before. They seemed somewhat cowed, as if even they feared the Gruneil looming in the sky.
In mid-air, Ron and Verakt’s gazes collided.
Though he had been briefly taken aback by his sword energy being blocked, Ron’s eyes once again held the gaze of the absolute ruler of the Sword Emperor Castle.
Verakt instantly recognized the flickering desire within those deep eyes.
It was the gaze of a predator whose blood boiled at the sight of a worthy opponent. It had been a long time since Verakt had encountered someone with such eyes.
Heh, ha!
Kh-ha-ha-ha…!
Suddenly, Ron clutched his forehead and burst into laughter. Tears even welled in the corners of his eyes, as if he had just heard a joke so funny it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
The earth shook with every one of Ron’s laughs.
The giant monsters stopped in their tracks, suppressed by the energy contained in the sound, and the bio-golems tumbled across the ground. Even the warriors nearby were forced to deploy shields to protect themselves.
It was only after laughing for a full minute that Ron spoke again.
“You seem to think you’ve become someone like Cyron Runcandel, Verakt Sidriker. Or perhaps you place too much faith in that hunk of scrap metal?”
Ron shook his head, wiping away his tears.
In contrast, the subtle smirk on Verakt’s face was vanishing.
It wasn't because he felt insulted or found Ron’s boisterous laughter unpleasant.
He felt it.
He felt the explosive flow of aura Ron had been radiating begin to change.
The aura that had been surging fiercely like an active volcano was being refined in an instant.
Like light converging into a single point, it gathered into Rashid with unbelievable speed and silence.
Those who had not reached a certain realm of mastery failed to notice this change at all.
Furthermore, even most of those who had reached such a realm failed to perceive that Ron had swung his sword once, immediately after the aura was refined.
Something just now…
He had cut the air.
Even Jin, who stood right beside him, realized half a beat late that Rashid had traced a trajectory through the void. It was a realization of the mind, however, not something confirmed by the naked eye.
The flash of the blade had been that fast.
Ssh—!
A crack appeared in the transparent shield enveloping the Gruneil.
The sword energy that tore through the barrier was invisible—colorless, soundless, and formless.
There was only the enlightenment of the peerless warrior known as Ron Hairan.
It was a pinnacle of the sword that only Ron Hairan, among the warriors of the current generation, had reached.
Only a member of the Hairan family who reached that realm—which the world called the Invisible Sword—could truly be the master of the title ‘Sword Emperor.’
It was on a completely different level from simply using the title because one was the Lord of the Sword Emperor Castle.
“The White Wolf Tribe. Beastmen, are they?”
Slash!
The invisible sword energy pierced the Gruneil’s shield once more.
Jo ducked behind Verakt, unable to comprehend why the shield was being destroyed.
Just as the warriors had never imagined Ron’s sword energy failing to damage the Gruneil, Jo had never imagined the ship's shield would be shattered by such a bizarre, invisible force.
“Beasts, essentially. Occasionally, there are beneficial and commendable ones among beasts, like loyal dogs, but most are mere mongrels that bark incessantly without knowing their place.”
The space around the Gruneil distorted every time the transparent shield was cut by the invisible sword energy.
“Especially a vicious animal like you, who dares to threaten humans so recklessly. Such creatures must have their windpipes crushed on sight.”
“Considering you are called the Sword Emperor among the human race, I showed you a modicum of respect. Yet all I get in return is cheap wordplay. I wonder who the real beast is…”
“Verakt Sidriker, you noxious beast. You are still looking down on me from atop that ship.”
As Ron finished speaking, Verakt drew the greatsword strapped to his back.
Clang—!
The Invisible Sword finally tore the Gruneil’s shield to shreds and struck Verakt’s blade.
Dozens of invisible strikes were now clawing at various parts of the Gruneil. The protrusions that had been forming the thunderclouds were cut away effortlessly, and the hull shook as fragments flew.
Rumble…!
The Gruneil swayed unstably, looking as though it might plummet from the sky at any moment.
It was hard to believe this was the same ship that hadn't suffered a single scratch from the massive wave of sword energy that had momentarily illuminated the entire area.
A strike containing mere 'power' and a strike born of 'enlightenment' belonged to entirely different dimensions.
In fact, Ron was using far less aura now than when he had first fired his sword energy at the Gruneil.
However, something else—perhaps mental strength or willpower—was being consumed in equal measure.
I see. So this is the caliber of the warrior who has competed with my father for the longest time?
Watching Ron’s sword, Jin felt a thrill run down his spine.
It felt as if the limits and horizons of the 'sword' as he knew it were being shattered, and a new domain was opening before him.
Regardless of the urgent and chaotic situation, Ron’s Invisible Sword was a realm so covetable it made his hair stand on end.
“S-Sir Verakt! Something is wrong. What on earth is breaking the Gruneil…! Could that damn brat be playing some kind of trick?”
Cold Jo had been unable to shake his fear of Jin ever since the Dark Magic Association was annihilated.
Chukon Tolderer didn't fear that boy for nothing back then…!
Furthermore, with his pathetic eyesight and senses, he couldn't even perceive that Ron was swinging his sword, nor had he ever experienced a unique and transcendent realm like the Invisible Sword. Thus, he mistakenly believed the power destroying the Gruneil belonged to Jin.
Verakt was so appalled by Jo that he was momentarily speechless.
“Jo, you piece of… trash!”
Boom! Screeech!
Verakt’s words were cut off as he blocked the Invisible Sword.
“This invisible sword energy isn't from that brat; it’s Ron Hairan’s power! Get a grip and find the Vice Captain’s group before I chew you to death!”
“H-Heh, understood! Invisible sword energy… right, of course. There’s no way that brat could possess such incredible power. I must have lost my mind for a moment.”
“Shut up and just find the Vice Captain!”
The Vice Captain’s group.
Ron knew that referred to Vishkel, Margiella, and their retainers.
This piqued his curiosity.
Before his identity as a member of Kinzelo was revealed, Vishkel was known as the hope for the revival of the declining Ivliano family.
However, he hadn't been evaluated as having the potential to shake the world—at least not to the extent that warriors like Cyron or Ron would take a deep interest in him.
Yet, the strongest of the White Wolf Tribe, possessing more than enough power to shake the world, and a mysterious ship had come to Hairan specifically to rescue Vishkel’s group.
Is rescuing him merely a pretext for this attack, or does Vishkel truly possess some extraordinary ability? It was strange from the start that Vishkel Ivliano was the Vice Captain of those suspicious bastards.
He needed to keep them here.
“Sword Emperor Castle! Secure Vishkel Ivliano and his kin!”
“Yes, sir!”
“If their resistance is too fierce, you may kill them. Either capture or kill—one of the two must be carried out!”
“Understood!”
The giant monsters and bio-golems were mostly dealt with, but the ship Gruneil, its operator Jo, and Verakt himself were the real problems.
ROOOOAR—!
At Verakt’s roar, the knights on the ground flinched and momentarily stopped moving.
The particularly skilled ones reflexively deployed shields to protect themselves, but those who failed to do so vomited blood from their ears and mouths.
Their internal organs were damaged and their eardrums ruptured by the sheer force of Verakt’s roar.
As the knights’ movements faltered, Jin had to make a choice.
Should he search for Vishkel, just as he had searched for Veradin?
…This time, it’s right to protect the people within the castle.
He reached that conclusion without much deliberation.
The battle between Ron and Verakt was only in its beginning stages.
Once the two began to fight in earnest, people could die by the second from the shockwaves alone.
Verakt’s claim that every single member of the Sword Emperor Castle would die was not an empty threat.
Knowing this, Ron did not give Jin a special mission to find Vishkel this time.
The task for those among the warriors in the Sword Emperor Castle who had reached a superhuman level—including Jin—was to protect others from the clash between the two and from the ship Gruneil.
The Invisible Sword surged toward the Gruneil with increasing violence. Verakt was parrying the transparent strikes by sense alone, but he seemed to have reached his limit.
Even for Verakt, it was impossible to fight while simultaneously protecting the Gruneil from the Invisible Sword.
Since he couldn't afford to lose the Gruneil so futilely, Verakt had no choice but to leap down to the ground.
If the Gruneil were destroyed, it would cause a significant setback in rescuing the Vice Captain’s party.
Thump…!
Verakt landed on the ground, his brow furrowed.
Ron pointed his sword at Verakt and smiled.
“You’ve finally come down, beast.”
“Ron Hairan, you will regret dragging me down.”
“My, you certainly are a large beast. Seeing as your eye level is still higher than mine.”
Suddenly, Verakt’s right thigh was slashed, and blood sprayed.
Though not deep, it was an effective hit conceded the moment he stepped off the Gruneil.
Ron hadn't even swung Rashid directly at Verakt.
He had gathered the invisible sword energy that had been floating in the air like the wind and struck with his will.
“If you just kneel, it seems you’ll be at exactly the right height. Don't you think?”
Ron followed up with a smile.