Chapter 255: Assassination of the Apostle
Raon had decided to assassinate the 4th Apostle and called out to Dorian.
“Dorian.”
“Eek!”
Dorian, who had been holding a luxurious, gleaming desk, flinched and shook his shoulders. He took a defensive stance, pointing the desk forward like a sword.
“W-what is it?”
“…”
“What’s that?”
Why is he carrying around a desk?
A chuckle escaped Raon’s lips. If he was holding a sword, at least it made sense, but why was he lifting a desk like it was a sword? It was even weirder that the desk was so unnecessarily beautiful.
“It’s… a desk, sir.”
“I know that. Why are you carrying a desk?”
“Ghosts…”
“Ghosts?”
“This desk is made of white wood, which is said to have the power to repel ghosts, so I thought it might be effective.”
Dorian’s face flushed with embarrassment as he lowered his head. ‘A desk made of white wood…’ White wood was a rare timber renowned for its ability to expel evil spirits and malice. In fact, many artifacts and weapons used by shamans were made from it.
“Did I scare him too much?”
The desk that had come out of his pocket was one thing, but the fact that Dorian was trying to use it to chase away ghosts made Raon laugh.
“It’s not heavy?”
“N-not at all.”
Given his immense strength, he lifted and lowered the desk like a twig. Of course, his face was pale from the effort.
“Is that usable?”
Raon pointed at the white wood desk and looked at Lohengrin.
[There’s no way. I’m not a ghost.]
Lohengrin shook his head with a chuckle.
-This king’s subordinate, do not treat him as a ghost! ‘Dorian is your subordinate too.’ -That guy is not stupid. You should understand.
Raon thought Lohengrin looked down on him and frowned. Even in this situation, he was thinking about his subordinates. Strange guy.
“It’s not usable.”
“Gah!”
Dorian grabbed the back of his neck and sat down. Even in that state, he hadn’t let go of the hand holding the desk, which showed how terrifying it was.
“It’s not important right now.”
“If ghosts aren’t important, what is?”
“This person isn’t a ghost. And below this…”
Raon raised a finger and pointed at the floor of the passage.
“There’s a White Blood Cult Apostle.”
“Eek…”
The desk that had been stuck to Dorian’s hand fell.
“A-a Apostle?”
“There’s Morell from the Salamander and Princess Jayna.”
“Then are the Valkar Kingdom and the White Blood Cult fighting right now?”
“Yeah.”
Raon nodded.
“W-we should sneak past. Since they’re fighting, I can ask the ghost lord to guide us…”
“There’s no way to sneak past. The lab is right below, so it’s better to clean it up properly. So…”
“S-so?”
Dorian swallowed hard. ‘If it’s the Demon Lord, he’ll find a way even if there isn’t one.’ Up to now, Raon had never been flustered in any situation and had come up with the best solution. This time too, he would find a way to deal with the White Blood Cult and Valkar without going below.
“I’m thinking of assassinating the Apostle.”
“…”
“E-excuse me?”
Assassination?
It felt like his heart had dropped. More absurd than digging a tunnel or coming back.
“Y-you’re saying you’re going to assassinate the Apostle right now?”
The voice trembled like it was carried by the wind, unable to make sense of it.
“Yeah. If we don’t, the White Blood Cult will exterminate Morell and the Valkar Kingdom and reach the lab first. So, I’m going to kill the Apostle before that.”
“Eek…”
Spittle dripped from Dorian’s open mouth. ‘What kind of fly is an Apostle?’ Kill him?
If he said they would win by fighting, it would make sense. But suddenly assassinating? It was unbelievable.
What was even funnier was Raon’s calm expression. Raon had seen it many times. He truly believed he could assassinate the Apostle.
“How many Apostles are there in the group?”
“The 4th Apostle.”
“T-that guy is Master Intermediate rank, right?”
After encountering the 10th and 7th Apostles in Forban, Raon had investigated the information on White Blood Cult Apostles.
Most had their identities and power levels hidden, but the 4th Apostle’s power was somewhat revealed. Master Intermediate. Two years ago, he was Master Intermediate, so he might be even stronger now.
“Probably.”
Raon nodded while looking at Lohengrin’s bead. Judging by the aura he felt and his movements, the 4th Apostle had reached the peak of Master Intermediate.
“How are you going to assassinate such a monster! If you can’t avoid it, at least team up with Morell-nim…”
“That’s fine too, but it’s a waste to just abandon the situation where the enemy doesn’t know about us. If we team up, even if we win, our say would be weak. If we kill the Apostle in a dangerous situation like this, I can control the situation here.”
“No, but…”
Dorian’s mouth twitched like a goldfish.
“Don’t worry. It’ll be fine.”
Raon smiled and tapped the sword sheath.
“I’ve prepared countermeasures for emergency situations.”
“Does assassination mean sneaking up on the enemy and cutting their throat in one go?”
“Yeah.”
“Then how are you going to hide the 4th Apostle’s Master Intermediate senses and stab him!”
“Well.”
“Huh…”
“Well” made Dorian’s mouth drop to the floor.
“I knew it! That’s just stabbing on the ground! You haven’t even tried assassination!”
“Yeah. I haven’t done proper assassination.”
Raon smiled faintly and nodded.
“But I can do it.”
Because I’ve done it countless times in my previous life.
* * *
The two squads left behind in Doran Village sighed as they looked at Runaan standing on the tower in the center of the village.
Her gaze scanning the entire village was still dazed, but there was a different will in it.
“How long has it been?”
“It’s been more than two days.”
“Without sleeping for two days…”
After Raon and the other squads left, Runaan had climbed to the tower and guarded the village without sleeping even a wink. She ignored Ebi’s advice to rest and come back up.
“It seems like you’re overdoing it…”
“Yeah. This is the first time I’ve seen you like this.”
“The person who loves sleep the most…”
Runaan was someone who slept a lot, second only to Rimer in the Light Wind Squad. It was surprising that someone who often dozed off during dawn training or morning inspection could endure such little sleep.
“It’s going to be tough. It’s not just simple vigilance.”
Runaan wasn’t just using her eyes to guard; she was using subtle aura to perceive the surroundings, so she must be very exhausted.
“I’ll go back and say it again.” Ebi, the vice leader of the second squad, let out a soft sigh and climbed the tower.
“Leader.”
Runaan turned her head at Ebi’s call. Despite not sleeping, there was no sign of fatigue in her eyes.
“Rest for a bit. You might not be able to use your full strength when the real fight comes.”
Since telling Runaan to take care of her health wouldn’t work, Ebi talked about the mission.
“I’m fine.”
Runaan slowly shook her head.
“I’ve practiced holding out without sleeping.”
“W-what? W-when did you…”
Ebi’s mouth fell open. She had never heard of Runaan practicing to endure sleep.
“Raon said. You can’t always be the same.”
Runaan gripped her Snow Flower sword tightly and closed her eyes. ‘I can’t keep burdening others forever.’ Raon, despite his high position as Demon Lord, always took the night watch and guarded when going on missions so other swordsmen could rest.
His appearance of not resting himself but only caring for others was pitiful, so he asked his father for a method to expand his senses with minimal physical consumption.
At first, it was so difficult he wanted to give up. Since he loved sleep as much as bead ice cream. ‘So I couldn’t give up.’ Realizing that Raon must have felt the same way, her will grew stronger.
Thanks to consistent practice every time he returned home, he had mastered the method to reduce sleep and carefully observe the surroundings, ‘Cloud Gaze’.
“I can do a little more.”
Runaan shook her head and surveyed the village scenery.
“I will protect this place no matter what happens.”
The determination to complete Raon’s mission no matter what bloomed in her purple eyes.
* * *
Raon stopped in front of the entrance to the sixth cavern where Morell and the 4th Apostle were fighting.
Even though it was invisible, the shock of the magic and the Apostle’s blood aura clashing was felt.
“Is it even? No. Morell is losing.”
There was a difference between magic and martial arts, but Morell had higher physical power. Why was he losing even though he was higher? It seemed because the Apostle’s blood aura and the black sword he held were interfering with the magic.
“That sword…”
Through Lohengrin’s bead, Raon saw the dark sword held by the 4th Apostle. Even now, the sword that cut through Morell’s flame magic in one go had strange power embedded in it.
“Is it interfering with magic? Or aura too…”
From the bead, it was impossible to know exactly what power was in the sword.
“I need to analyze it properly.”
Even if time was short, to increase the chance of successful assassination, the enemy needed to be analyzed accurately. Whether the sword was the problem or the Apostle’s blood aura.
Goooo.
Raon activated Glacia and opened the sea of senses. He connected the cold throughout the dungeon and turned on the sense of frost flowers to observe the flow of blood aura caused by the Apostle.
Hwaaaaa!
Thick flames like building pillars shot out from Morell’s two hands.
The flame attribute magic named after his title, Flame Snake. The snakes with scales of fire writhed as if alive, targeting the Apostle’s throat.
Kugugugu!
The Apostle bent his waist sideways and swung the sword down. White blood aura rose like embers from the black blade.
Kwaaaaang!
The power of the slash and magic was even. But at the moment of the strange tremor from the sword, the snakes’ heads were sliced off and a powerful explosion occurred.
“What was that just now…”
Raon narrowed his eyes.
“The blood aura that bloomed from the sword had intruded into the magic flow.”
The blood aura from the Apostle’s sword a moment ago didn’t cut the magic, but intruded into the mana flow and weakened Morell’s magic.
Even after that, the Apostle easily melted the torrent of flame magic Morell was pouring out.
“So that was it.”
Raon nodded while looking at the Apostle’s sword that cut through the magic flow.
“It wasn’t the blood aura, but the power of the sword.”
Although blood aura itself was strong against aura and magic, he had never heard of such ability. Cutting magic easily was the power of that sword.
“It shouldn’t be that difficult.”
If it was not the Apostle’s original ability but the weapon’s power, there would be no big obstacle in assassination.
[Hum, Lord of Wrath.]
Lohengrin let out a short groan and approached.
[This guy who uses that blood aura has stronger power than you, sir. In an unprepared state, it might be better to reconsider the assassination.]
Because of the difference in strength, not only Dorian but also Lohengrin expressed concern.
-That’s right. Don’t do useless things and get your glasses’ affection unresolved. Fight by gathering strength with the weak. Assassination is not easy. You little weasel, scammer, demon spawn!
Raon frowned and opened his mouth. Judging by the many things stuck at the end, he seemed not yet calmed.
“I’m fine. I’ll finish it quickly.”
Raon pushed Lohengrin away and shook his head. Assassination was, in a word, one-hit kill. If it failed, the risk would come back greatly, so their worry was natural.
But he didn’t need to worry about that. In this dungeon filled with cold, it was no different from what he had prepared.
Goooo!
Raon raised Glacia. He completely suppressed the Cultivation of Ten Thousand Flames and filled the mana circuits of his whole body with Glacia’s cold.
He resonated the cold throughout the dungeon and the aura of Glacia rising from the dantian into one flow.
“A little more…”
It was still lacking. He needed to erase the aura enough that the Apostle wouldn’t recognize him. He blended the Glacia’s aura with the surrounding cold so it felt like a piece of frost floating in the air.
“W-what…”
Dorian swallowed hard while looking at Raon’s back. ‘Why is there no presence?’ Even though Raon was right in front of him, his presence wasn’t felt. If not seen with eyes, he wouldn’t even know he was there.
[Huh!]
Lohengrin let out a cry of surprise, feeling Raon’s presence as if he had become one with the dungeon’s cold.
“That was unnecessary worry.”
There was no way he would make a mistake.
The Lord of Wrath would never appoint a stupid person who didn’t know his own abilities as a shaman. The one who doubted unnecessarily was ashamed.
Srrrlung.
Raon pulled out the Requiem Sword. Fiery aura flickered on the red blade.
Uuuuuung!
Excited about killing the Apostle, he released a denser sword cry than usual and spat out strong sword energy.
“No.”
Raon clenched the Requiem Sword and shook his head. ‘If I make noise like that, I’ll be caught. Hide your killing intent in the enemy’s killing intent and lower your aura.’
Raon controlled the sword energy of the surging Requiem Sword like a tidal wave to match the flow and wavelength he had created.
Uuuung.
The rough burning sword energy that had exploded like lava began to flow calmly like a stream.
After lowering the Requiem Sword’s sword energy enough to be hidden by Glacia’s cold, Raon nodded.
He calmed his mind and stood at the entrance to the sixth cavern. Since his presence had completely disappeared, no one was paying attention to this side.
Morell, the 4th Apostle, and the mages of the White Blood Cult and Valkar Kingdom were pouring aura and magic at each other with killing intent in their eyes.
Raon looked at the scene and closed his eyes.
When did the prey have the most gaps?
When sleeping? When eating?
No.
It was right before cutting the prey’s throat.
By thinking that if I miss this, I’ll starve to death, all my senses are focused on the opponent more than when killing the enemy.
Huu.
Slowly exhaling, he covered his previous life senses with the soul, and naturally adjusted the sword energy of the Requiem Sword.
Sweating coldly, he fixed his gaze on Morell, who was retreating from the Apostle’s blood aura, and lowered his stance.
“Kuh!”
“Kyaak!”
Inild and Princess Jayna were slammed to the floor, unable to withstand the blood aura unleashed by the high priest. The high priest didn’t miss the chance and created dozens of blood spears.
“Damn it!”
Morell gritted his teeth and unleashed a powerful flame wave. A terrifying flame sphere. But this magic shouldn’t be used now.
In desperation to end the fight quickly and save the princess, he threw the prey to the opponent.
Crackle!
With the Apostle’s sinister laugh, fierce blood aura shot up from the black sword and distorted the magic flow Morell had created.
“It was urgent! Flame Snake!”
The Apostle bent his waist obliquely and swung the sword down. Morell’s flame tangled with the sword’s blood aura and began to lose power.
“It’s not yet.”
Raon shook his head.
If he moved now, the guy would notice. He had to endure a little more.
Chiiang!
The Apostle’s blade cut through the large flame sphere and pierced Morell’s shoulder.
Pukak!
A fierce vein burst from Morell’s collarbone, and the Apostle’s killing intent grew stronger. He twisted the sword’s trajectory as if trying to cut the throat in one go.
“Now!”
Raon gritted his teeth and stomped the ground. Extreme Taehwa Footwork. He struck the air and advanced to the Apostle’s vicinity.
He calmed his emotions and stopped breathing. Holding his breath like blue frost trembling the dungeon, he stood in the Apostle’s shadow.
Huuuung!
At the moment the Apostle’s black sword was about to pierce Morell’s neck, he stepped on the ground and thrust the Requiem Sword.
Crackle!
The red blade that seemed to have blood seeped into it slashed through the blood aura flow and pierced the Apostle’s left chest.
“W-what!”
The Apostle gritted his teeth and tried to pull his body away, but it was too late.
Kwaaaaa!
The sword energy and cold condensed in the Requiem Sword’s blade shot up instantly and caused a massive explosion from the Apostle’s chest.