"Hmm..."
Raon stopped his hand holding the Heavenly Drive as he was about to strike down with Crimson Slash once more.
'The Death Energy is reviving.'
The purple sea split by the Crimson Slash began to surge, consuming the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
'The Death Energy inside is much stronger.'
The waves of Death Energy right in front could be easily cut with just Astral Energy, but the Death Energy emanating from the center of the purple sea was so solid and sticky that it would be difficult to penetrate even with an Astral Ring.
'Shall I try harder then?'
Raon gracefully pulled back the Heavenly Drive behind his shoulder, then extended it towards the purple sea. A massive Fire Dragon soared above the sword, letting out a roar that shook heaven and earth.
The sword strike of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation's Heavenly Drive Flame Dragon Strike spread out as if to devour the entire purple sea, burning away half of the Death Energy enveloping the grassland.
However, not long after, new Death Energy surged from the ground, filling the empty spaces.
'The problem isn't just new Death Energy appearing.'
The Death Energy is getting stronger and stronger. Every time I burn it with flames, even stronger Death Energy emerges. At this rate, it seemed impossible to erase that purple sea.
'Then I'll have to remove the source.'
If he poured out a full-power sword strike from the realm of transcendence, he might be able to push back that sea, but there was a risk of being attacked in the meantime, so it seemed better to assess the situation first. Whoosh! Raon created a massive wall of flames with the remaining fire on the Heavenly Drive to block the waves of Death Energy.
"What happened in the meantime?"
After confirming that the waves of Death Energy couldn't cross the wall of flames, he approached Trevin.
"...When I first came, such Death Energy didn't exist."
Trevin let out a long sigh and looked at the ground shimmering with purple.
"The monsters weren't rotten and decayed like now, there were only normal ones."
He shook his head as he looked at the corpses of the decayed monsters.
"Then where did that purple Death Energy come from?"
He frowned as he watched the purple waves that seemed to be trying to cross the wall of flames.
"It suddenly burst out from the ground after I killed all the monsters that came from the grassland."
Trevin wiped away the blood trickling from his mouth, saying it might be unbelievable, but that was the truth.
'He's suffered internal injuries.'
Raon lowered his eyebrows as he saw the black blood flowing from Trevin's mouth.
'It must be because he held off that terrible Death Energy alone.'
Thanks to Trevin emitting aura even while suffering internal injuries, the Warring Steel Division swordsmen and nomads must have been able to withstand the Death Energy. Emitting aura with one's entire body is an exhausting task that could kill you, so it was admirable willpower to endure until the end.
"That doesn't reveal the cause. We need to know how it started..."
"I-I'll tell you about that."
As Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the purple sea, an old man with white hair approached, leaning on an old cane.
"You are..."
"I am Chaepran, the village chief of this village."
The old man, who introduced himself as the chief of Boardri village, painfully bowed.
"I am the Light Wind Division Leader of Zieghart."
Raon pushed back the Death Energy flying through the air with the wind of Garunua and bowed his head to the chief of Boardri village.
"Ah! I've heard much about the Light Wind Division Leader's reputation. Known as the Dragon Slayer, the Kingkiller..."
"Let's talk about that later, please tell me how this all started."
He lowered his hand, asking the wide-eyed chief of Boardri village to explain what had happened so far.
"I-I'm sorry."
The chief exhaled deeply, his hand trembling on the cane as if apologizing for his rudeness.
"In fact, there were no monsters in this grassland where we live. There was nothing but dry grass, so naturally, they wouldn't come."
He raised his eyebrows, saying it was a barren area but a peaceful place.
"But one day, monsters started appearing from across that river. The first attacks were from small creatures like goblins or kobolds, which we could somehow fight off, but gradually stronger ones like orcs and trolls came out, and we couldn't hold on."
He said they were about to request help from the mercenary group of Boardri village when they met the Warring Steel Division and asked for their assistance.
"The Warring Steel Division and I caught all the monsters that attacked the village and went across the river, but there was nothing there."
Trevin deeply furrowed his brow.
"When we thought we had dealt with all the monsters around the village and were preparing to return to our house..."
"No way."
"Yes. New monsters appeared from across the river. Dozens of trolls that weren't even visible when we searched the area suddenly burst out at once."
He bit his lip, saying it didn't make any sense.
"While we were building a wall to protect the village, cutting down the endlessly appearing monsters, suddenly that river started turning purple."
Trevin pointed to the river flowing at the edge of the grassland, his clenched fist trembling.
"So that's why you requested support from the family."
"Yes. I thought it wasn't an ordinary incident, so I sent a request for support. But as soon as I requested help, that purple wave started emitting a terrible amount of Death Energy."
He shook his head, saying the river in the grassland swelled to its current state in an instant.
"Just before you arrived, even zombies using swordsmanship started popping up. I have no idea what's going on."
Trevin let out a long sigh, saying he couldn't understand the situation even though he was here.
"Village chief. Was there anything strange about the village or the river before the monsters first appeared?"
Raon turned his gaze to the village chief.
"Ah, come to think of it..."
The chief tapped the ground with his cane as if he just remembered something.
"On the morning of the day when the goblins first attacked, I saw a strange rock in the river."
"A rock?"
"Yes. A rock with something like thorns on its surface was faintly visible under the river water. Sometimes stones pushed by the current appear, but the rock I saw was quite large, so I thought it was strange..."
He lowered his white eyebrows, saying he had forgotten about it as monster attacks continued after that.
"That must be it."
Martha nodded with her arms crossed.
"If we just smash that rock, this damn sea of Death Energy should subside."
She grinned, saying they had found the answer.
"Then it's not a natural occurrence, but someone's scheme."
Burren narrowed his eyes as he looked around.
"The Black Tower or Eden, perhaps."
He wiggled his finger, saying both were suspicious.
"Then we should prepare to fight right away!"
Krein shouted that there was no need to wait and gripped his sword.
"No..."
Runaan calmly shook her head.
"We shouldn't just charge in..."
She looked at the surging purple sea with a gaze that suggested she didn't like it.
"R-Runaan, you're scared like me too! I understand!"
Dorian sniffled, saying he understood that feeling all too well.
"That's not it."
Raon looked at Runaan and slightly lowered his chin.
"The more we catch monsters and push back those waves of Death Energy, the stronger the backlash becomes. She means we should be careful."
The village chief had said that when they caught goblins and kobolds, orcs and trolls appeared, and after the Warring Steel Division caught those, even larger monsters and that river of Death Energy surged. Looking at the results so far, it was clear that the more monsters they killed and the more Death Energy they erased, the stronger the backlash became.
'Wrath. I'm asking just in case, but do you sense any angelic aura from that purple sea?'
Since Derus Robert might be able to combine the abilities of angels and necromancers, Raon asked Wrath about that aspect.
-Angels? What angels! If I sensed angels, I would have told you already!
Wrath shook his head as if telling Raon to get rid of that idea quickly.
-All I sense from that sea is an incredibly foul stench. However, it's strong enough to be a threat even to you, so you'd better be careful.
He snorted, warning not to take it lightly.
"T-Then, do we have no choice but to leave it as it is?"
Trevin bit his lip as if he thought he had made a mistake.
"Damn it! I shouldn't have acted on my own!"
He pounded the ground with his fist, lamenting that his well-intentioned actions had led to the worst outcome.
"No."
Raon shook his head as he placed his hand on Trevin's shoulder.
"You did well."
"What? What do you..."
Trevin's eyes widened in confusion.
"Whether you helped or not, this outcome would have happened eventually. In fact, you made a wise decision by discovering it early and sending a timely request for support."
"But..."
"Even if it leads to a stronger backlash, we eventually have to deal with it. We can't keep blocking it like this forever."
Raon clicked his tongue as he watched the waves of Death Energy slowly pushing back the flames of the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation.
"That means..."
"Yes. We have to fight."
He nodded as he raised the Heavenly Drive.
"We need to shatter that rock with maximum power and speed before the backlash comes. If that doesn't work, we'll have to evaporate the entire river."
"Ah..."
Trevin blinked blankly as he listened to Raon's words, filled with confidence amidst calmness.
"We'll start as soon as dawn breaks, so get some rest.
Raon tossed internal and external injury medicines to Trevin, telling him to recover.
"Are you sure it'll be okay? We don't know what might come out of that rock..."
Trevin trembled the tips of his fingers holding the internal injury medicine, looking worried.
"Before coming here, I sparred with the Head of House..."
Raon smiled faintly as he swung the Heavenly Drive. The white blade glowed red, creating an even larger wall of flames.
"He said that only the Five Kings and Five Demons, the Transcendents of the old era, and the leaders of the Five Divine Orders could defeat me as I am now."
He easily pushed back the waves of Death Energy, his eyes flashing with what seemed like red Lightning Aura.
"Let's trust your new superior."
* * *
As the purple sea was devouring the vast grasslands and mountains, the sun rose over the mountains, pouring out a golden dawn. Raon stood before the sea of Death Energy, bathed in that brilliant light. He raised the Heavenly Drive in his right hand and the Wooden Ring in his left simultaneously, pressing his left foot into the ground.
Red and blue flashes bloomed above the two falling sword strikes. The fusion of Flame Dragon Strike and Heavy Sky Cannon. The forces of advancing and pulling simultaneously erupted, causing a tremendous explosion.
As if a god in the sky had performed a miracle, the center of the purple sea was completely torn away, opening a path that could reach the grassland's river, the source of this incident.
"Charge!"
"Charge!"
At Raon's cry, the Light Wind division and the Warring Steel Division formed their sword formations and entered the purple waves. Decayed monsters and zombies that had been hiding in the split Death Energy jumped out as if they had been waiting and began to pounce on the swordsmen.
"Sweep them all away!"
"We only have one chance! Focus!"
"I'll cover the rear..."
The Light Wind division, led by Martha, Burren, and Runaan, charged at the front, while the Warring Steel Division provided support from behind. Surprisingly, both sides coordinated well. Their experience of fighting together several times had paid off. Kugugugugugu!
Without Raon needing to lift a finger, the monsters emerging from the sea of Death Energy had their heads severed by the hands of the Light Wind division and the Warring Steel Division.
However, it wasn't as easy a fight as it looked. Just by entering and fighting in this space filled with Death Energy, everyone's physical strength, mental power, and aura were being rapidly depleted. It was no different from fighting in a sea boiling with poison, so they had to use all their strength to break the rock and escape.
Since Raon had pushed back a large amount of Death Energy from the start, and the coordination between the Light Wind division and the Warring Steel Division was so good, they were able to reach the riverbank the Boardri village chief had mentioned in no time.
"T-The river water is completely black?"
Burren bit his lip in disgust.
"Can we even enter this?"
Martha frowned, saying it looked like their flesh would rot just from touching it.
"It's terrible..."
Runaan covered her nose and mouth, saying it was hard to breathe. As the three of them said, the Death Energy emanating from the river water was so potent that even the Masters seemed unable to approach it.
'There it is.'
Raon nodded slightly as he looked under the river water through his Evil Eye of Wrath.
'Is that the rock?'
Just as the village chief had said, a rock that seemed to have thorns growing on it stood prominently under the river water.
'But those aren't thorns.'
What was protruding from the rock's surface wasn't thorns, but magical markings. As expected, this rock was the cause of everything. No, there was no need to even look at the magic. The Death Energy emanating from that rock was even more potent than the purple sea enveloping the entire grassland.
"Wait behind there."
After ordering everyone to retreat, Raon raised the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation to its extreme. Wrapped in golden flames, he entered the river water. He descended, evaporating the river water filled with Death Energy, and stood before the rock.
'Just standing in front of this is giving me a headache.'
The Death Energy was so potent that just facing the rock caused mental anguish.
'With one strike.'
To shatter the entire rock, he employed the Azure Sky Drive of the Azure Sky Sword. Just as the magnificent flames containing the sky poured down, the magic inscribed on the rock flashed white, causing a powerful explosion.
As the sword strike of the Azure Sky Drive collided with the exploding Death Energy from the rock, an enormous shockwave swept through the surroundings. Waves of Death Energy were pushed back, and the earth's surface was overturned, shooting up into the sky.
Tsk. Raon had anticipated this situation, so he erected a Fire Wall to block the shockwave before looking at where the rock had been.
On the purple ground that had been flattened as if a river had never existed, a white-haired old man descended. The massive Death Energy rising from beneath his feet seemed to distort the surroundings.
"You are..."
Raon's lips trembled as he looked at the vicious old man's face.
"Demonblade?"
"It's been a while."
Demonblade Dreg, one of the leaders of the Five Divine Orders, looked at his arm pulsing with Death Energy and gave a chilling smile.
"Raon Zieghart."