The royal conference room fell silent. None of the Six Kings’ heads nor the assistants behind them could say anything as they stared at Glenn.
“Erm…”
Chamber’s lips parted about ten seconds later.
“Did I hear that correctly? Did Mister just call them cute?”
Her eyes were trembling in disbelief.
“Huhu. I didn’t expect the Destructive King of the North to say such a thing either.”
King Lecross laughed bitterly with an awkward smile on his face.
“Kuhahahaha! Geezer, did you go senile in the meantime? Cute? Cuteness is meaningless for warriors! You should know that better than anyone else!”
Ogram started laughing like a madman while covering his forehead. The fact that he was intimidated by Glenn’s pressure must’ve hurt his pride, as the entire conference hall was trembling from his loud laughter.
“Hmm, is it…”
Derus didn’t immediately react, staying silent for a little longer before he started speaking.
“Because the Beast King said they had a naive appearance that you called them cute?”
He narrowed his eyes while thinking about what the Beast King had said before Glenn spread his pressure.
“Ah!”
Chamber clapped her hands and nodded.
“That’s it. The musclebrain did say something like that.”
She chuckled and leered at Ogram.
“It’s true that the Light Wind babies are a lot cuter than their kids, who are as plump as a balloon.”
“I told you to shut your mouth!”
Ogram ground his teeth while glaring at Chamber.
“Leave my mouth alone and mind your own business.”
Chamber confronted his gaze without falling back.
“Huhu, that was what you meant. It’s true that they have a spectacular appearance. Raon, in particular, was one of the most handsome men I’ve seen before.”
King Lecross smiled while stepping between Ogram and Chamber.
“He was noticeable even in the banquet hall. It’s true that he has an amazing appearance, as it’s uncommon for humans to be more handsome than an elf.”
Chamber nodded in agreement with King Lecross.
“Ahem…”
Glenn covered his mouth and cleared his throat while easing the powerful pressure engulfing the conference hall.
“Appearance? I already said this before, but might is the important aspect of a warrior, not their appearance. Overwhelming and simplistic violence is what determines their true value.”
Ogram clenched his fist on the table. That simple action made the entire castle tremble as if an earthquake were occurring.
“You keep rambling so much.”
Glenn smiled coldly while looking down on Ogram.
“Even in terms of strength that you love so much, our kids are stronger than your kids with fashion muscles.”
He was certain that the Light Wind squad was going to win against the warriors of the Beast Union.
“Kyahahaha!”
Chamber came up on the table and burst into laughter while swinging her legs.
“Fashion muscles he said! Fashion muscles! He’s so right! Their size is the only advantage they have! How did you become so funny, mister?”
“That’s… Pfft!”
King Lecross was trying to stop her but couldn’t suppress his laughter and had to cover his mouth.
“Haa.”
Sheryl sighed faintly while watching the situation from behind Glenn.
‘No one would believe that they are the leaders of the Six Kings.’
They didn’t hesitate to make fun of each other. If anyone who didn’t know about them was present in the scene, they would’ve believed that they were ordinary old men and women having fun with idle chatter.
‘The head of house is really similar to Raon.’
Raon had called the Heavenly Blade’s vice division leader, Ekan, a fashion muscle when he showed off his strength before. The grandson and the grandfather must’ve had something in common.
“Geezer.”
Ogram glared at Glenn fiercely. The powerful pressure bursting out around him almost seemed to be limitless.
“If you are so confident about them, make a personal bet with me.”
“A bet?”
“Yes. Since you said you believe in the Light Wind or Mad Dog or whatever squad, let’s make a bet on who is going to win the match.”
He took a small wooden box from his inner pocket and placed it on the table.
“This is an elixir made with our tribe’s secret technique, the Four Clouds Elixir. It can increase the aura and even the size of the body. It’s a highest-grade elixir even by your standards.”
“Alright.”
Glenn untied Heavenly Tremor from around his waist and placed it on the table without the slightest hesitation.
“Th-the sword?”
“That’s Heavenly Tremor!”
“What the…”
“Huh!”
King Lecross, Chamber, Derus, and Ogram’s jaws dropped as they looked at Heavenly Tremor on the table.
“Huff!”
“The sword…?”
Even the assistants who’d been standing still like dolls had to widen their eyes in surprise.
“……”
Since Sheryl and Roenn had absolute trust in Glenn, they didn’t show any reaction, their hands clasped behind their backs.
“M-mister, are you really betting that? The price is incomparable.”
Chamber tried to stop him, but Glenn simply shook his head.
“This much is obvious if you are confident about it. Are you betting an elixir? You sure love to show off your small caliber.”
“Kuh…”
Ogram bit his lips tightly and slammed the table.
“Fine!”
He took off the coat that was wrapped around his bulky body and placed it on the table.
“An elixir wouldn’t be a match for that sword. If your grandson wins the tournament, I’ll give you as many elixirs as the number of your kids along with this coat.”
“It’s far from enough, but I accept the bet.”
Glenn nonchalantly nodded.
“Wow, can I also participate? Let me in! I love this kind of stuff!”
“Stay out of this already!”
Chamber threw her staff on the table, asking them to let her join the bet, but they didn’t accept it.
“Well now, let’s start the conference. Please remember why we’ve gathered here.”
King Lecross lightly tapped the table and handed over the documents.
“……”
Derus didn’t say anything until the bet was established, continuing to stare at Glenn with serious eyes.
* * *
Clang!
Along with the powerful sound of clashing swords, Runaan and a knight from Owen took five steps away from the center of the arena.
“Hmph!”
The knight, who’d introduced herself as Jenna, dashed like the wind to thrust her sword towards the left side of Runaan’s waist. The sharp strike was piercing into her like lightning.
‘Waist.’
Runaan blinked her eyes while looking at the sword’s tip approaching her shoulder and abdomen.
‘It’s slower than Raon’s.’
When she was training, Raon’s sword kept piercing into her opening at a frightening speed and power. It didn’t even feel like he was piercing it at that point, since it was shattering it instead.
Compared to that terrifying attack, Jenna’s attack was nothing but a twig.
Clang!
Runaan lowered her body and slammed Snow Flower down. The blade that was enchanted with blue frost easily fended off Jenna’s strike.
“Not bad! But I’m only getting started!”
Jenna smiled coldly and dashed at her once again, swinging her sword. The prevalent flow of her strike connected like a river.
“Me too.”
Runaan casually nodded and unleashed her frost.
“I’m also getting started.”
She lightly kicked the ground to charge towards Jenna. She advanced faster than her opponent’s stab and slashed down with Snow Flower.
Clang!
The two swordswomen unleashed various techniques to continuously target their opponent’s opening at a frightening pace. Jenna seemed to have the upper hand by far in the beginning, but she was gradually pushed back once Runaan started using a swordsmanship that looked like moonlight.
“It’s not over…yet?”
Jenna was bounced back by Runaan’s strike, and she was trying to charge back in like a bull when she suddenly stopped.
“Ice?”
Her armor and boots were completely frozen, and she couldn’t take them off the ground. The armor and boots weren’t the only problem, since her arms and legs weren’t moving as she wished either.
“Wh-when did you do this…?”
“From the beginning.”
Runaan removed the frost rising from her sword and blinked.
“Argh…”
Jenna tried to force them to move, but she had to stop because even the inside of the armor and her body were filled with coldness.
“I-I lost.”
She lifted her left hand, which was the only part she could move, to admit her loss.
“It was a good fight.”
Runaan nodded and walked up to Jenna to remove the ice that was binding her.
“Woaaah!”
“Runaan! Runaan! Runaan!”
“Azure Lunar Blade!”
“She won again!”
“Ziegharts are so crazy! They never lose unless they fight against each other!”
“Who could’ve known the Light Wind squad was so powerful…?”
Although the spectators had been looking down on Zieghart before the tournament started, they cheered their heads off at Runaan’s victory.
“B-but they are a bit scary, aren’t they?”
“I know, right? They are all seasoned fighters. They never fall back.”
“Rather than seasoned fighters, they are more like dogs. Mad dogs.”
“Mad Dog instead of Light Wind, huh…”
“I like that name better. It’s so cool.”
The Light Wind squad quickly turned into the Mad Dog squad—even faster than Rimmer was concerned they would. However, they liked them even more because they all loved their martial arts.
“Good job.”
Raon nodded at Runaan, who left the arena after winning her match.
“Mhm, by the way, Raon…”
Runaan puttered up to him and lowered her eyes.
“I don’t need the focus enhancement training anymore, right?”
“That’s not true.”
Raon shook his head firmly.
“I’m not sure yet because you’ve only met opponents weaker than you so far.”
Upon hearing that it wasn’t enough, Runaan frowned very slightly.
“You are so ugly…”
“I know.”
Runaan kept talking about his appearance, probably from Encia’s influence, but it was completely ineffective against Raon because he didn’t really care about it.
“Hmph.”
Runaan wrinkled her nose and went towards the other Light Wind members.
Raon watched her back for a moment before turning his head towards the spectators.
‘The quarterfinals are about to start… So what is that guy even doing?’
Unlike Sheryl and Roenn, who were supposed to assist Glenn, Rimmer should’ve been there with them—but he never showed up. Raon couldn’t understand what he was even doing when he should’ve been with the squad.
“Wow! I won!”
Raon was shaking his head when he heard the familiar voice shouting from the spectator seats.
He’s over there…
‘He’s over there.’
Even Wrath furrowed his brow upon noticing that Rimmer was among the spectators.
Someone like him needs to be taught a lesson. The King of Essence will… Ah.
He started raising his fist but gave up on it.
Y-you are more suited to the job…
Wrath remembered the inhumane training the Light Wind squad had to go through and powerlessly lowered his hand. His chin was trembling as he called Raon even worse than a demon king despite being a human.
‘Don’t worry. As soon as I reach a higher stage than him, I’ll kill hi—I mean, teach him a lesson.’
Raon smiled coldly as he glared at Rimmer.
‘Then the next up is…’
Raon turned his gaze to look at the list of matches floating in the air.
‘Everyone’s doing well.’
The Light Wind squad never lost unless they had to fight with each other or their opponent was clearly stronger than them. Burren, Runaan, and Krein had already reached the quarterfinals, and Martha was also going to reach it soon enough.
‘Four out of eight in the quarterfinals… Only two of them are going to reach the semifinals.’
Unfortunately, Runaan and Burren had to fight each other, and Krein’s next match was against the third prince. He would probably lose that match. The only ones who could reach the semifinals were Martha and the winner between Runaan and Burren.
‘Shall I tell them to lose on purpose?’
He turned around while thinking about whether he should ask one of them to lose in order to guarantee victory in the tournament. Burren and Runaan were polishing their focus in preparation to meet their opponent.
‘I don’t need to do that, I guess.’
Victory wasn’t the only important part. It was an excellent occasion to develop their abilities, and there was no reason to ask them to lose on purpose.
‘I also need to start getting ready now.’
The quarterfinals were the last matches for the day. Since the semifinals were scheduled for the next day, he needed to get ready for the Master division’s matches.
He narrowed his eyes while looking at the man wearing a referee’s clothes under the list of matches.
‘Martio.’
The fact that Martio was assigned as a referee implied that Derus was planning to thoroughly observe him. His secretive gaze was probing into Raon instead of the arena.
‘He’s not the only dangerous one.’
The Fallen. According to Merlin, he was also targeting him. Since the leaders of the Six Kings were supposed to spectate the next day’s semifinals and finals, the Fallen was bound to attack him before then.
Since the futures of the other Six Kings were also participating in addition to himself, Raon was certain that Fallen was going to attack that day.
‘Oh, wait.’
Raon lowered her gaze from the sky to look at Martio, who was a referee, and licked his lips.
‘I just need to decide the moment of the Fallen’s attack.’
Since the Fallen was bound to aim for an opening, he could bait his attack by creating an opening.
Raon clenched Heavenly Drive’s hilt and smiled in excitement.
‘I can blow up all of the annoying ones.’
* * *
* * *
After a brief rest, a different master of ceremonies entered the stage.
“Thank you for waiting! The quarterfinals for the Expert division are starting now!”
His shout was slightly more cheerful than the previous master of ceremonies. He must’ve been trying to liven up the mood.
“Unfortunately, the Balkar knight Rikki Raron has forfeited the match, and the swordswoman Martha Zieghart has advanced to the semifinals without a fight!”
Martha automatically advanced to the semifinals because the Balkar knight who was supposed to be her opponent forfeited from injury.
“Damn it! He ran away!”
Martha ground her teeth violently. She looked frustrated that she couldn’t fight before reaching the semifinals.
“You should die on the stage if you are a warrior!”
She stomped on the ground while insulting Rikki Raron, who should’ve been unconscious in the medical room.
“We will start the first match. Wow! We got a double! It’s a fight between the swordsman Burren from Zieghart, and swordswoman Runaan from Zieghart!”
The master of ceremonies shouted, and Burren and Runaan entered the arena from the left and right sides, respectively.
“Who do you think will win?”
Martha moved next to Raon and narrowed her eyes.
“Let’s see…”
Raon sighed faintly while watching Burren’s intense gaze and Runaan’s composed eyes.
“It could be either of them.”
Martha was clearly the strongest one in the Light Wind squad, excluding himself and Rimmer.
However, the matches between Burren and Runaan, who were right beneath, her had never been decided. Ever since they were trainees, neither of them had managed to get the upper hand on the other.
“This won’t be fun. Even though they are Mad Dogs, they should still recognize their companion.”
“I know right? No matter how crazy Zieghart is, they have the semifinals right ahead of them. One of them should give up.”
“Is Burren going to advance? He was absurdly fast.”
“Runaan wasn’t any worse. She already mastered the art of stopping her opponent’s movement with the ice.”
Since it was a fight between Ziegharts and the next match was the semifinals, the spectators were convinced that they wouldn’t go all-out during the match.
“What a bunch of idiots.”
Martha snorted at the spectators.
“Idiots who don’t do their best in an incoming fight aren’t allowed to wear the Light Wind squad’s name of Zieghart! Am I right?”
“It’s so true!”
“Of course!”
The Light Wind swordsmen nodded in agreement with Martha.
“Hmm.”
Raon turned around to look at their eyes. Their eyes were completely convinced that they obviously had to fight to the best of their abilities.
‘They grew up so nicely.’
Although their martial arts were still immature, they had taken another step forward in terms of a warrior’s mentality. The satisfaction of that face created a smile on his face.
“The first match of the quarterfinals is starting now!”
The master of ceremonies came down from the stage and raised his hand.
Thud!
Burren and Runaan started moving at the same time before his hand pointed at the sky.
Claang!
Their swords powerfully crashed at the center of the arena, and an extremely cold wind surged into the air. Blue ice was raining down around the stage.
Crack!
They attacked each other once again at point-blank distance. The dropping blade of wind and the soaring blade of ice clashed against each other to radiate a majestic blue light.
“Kuuh!”
“Haap!”
Burren and Runaan looked like they were facing an enemy they had to kill at all costs instead of a companion from Zieghart as they unleashed all of their martial arts.
Whaam!
The endless clashes between the wind and ice created a deadly storm bursting from the stage.
“Wh-what’s going on…?”
“They are on the same side!”
“Why are you fighting with everything you have?! You have the semifinals tomorrow!”
“They aren’t just fighting with everything they have. They are trying to k-kill each other!”
“They don’t even care who it is as long as they can bite!?”
“Th-they really are Mad Dogs…”
The spectators’ jaws dropped as they watched Burren and Runaan thrusting their swords against each other without any hesitation. They were completely shocked because they didn’t expect them to fight so seriously amongst themselves right before the semifinals.
Clang!
Regardless of what they said, Runaan and Burren didn’t stop swinging their swords. They kept slashing at each other at point-blank range, where they could hear each other’s breathing, with the intention of ending their opponent’s life.
Whoosh!
The frozen blade with a slowing effect dominated the space and severed the barren wind, while the wind blade’s roar tore the atmosphere apart to crush the coldness.
Their determination for victory was dwelling in those sword strikes, and which attribute was supposed to have the upper hand in that matchup didn’t even matter anymore. As they kept fighting to the best of their abilities, they were rising towards a higher realm.
Clang!
After clashing for a long time, Burren and Runaan were bounced back at the same time and stood at the borders of the arena.
“Huff…”
“Haa…”
Their rough breathing showed their exhaustion, but their eyes weren’t wavering at all.
“I’ve wanted to defeat you ever since we were trainees.”
Burren clenched his teeth and brandished his sword. The sharp barren wind of the northern sea burst from his silvery blade.
“Let’s finish this match.”
“I’ll be the winner.”
Runaan nodded before holding Snow Flower with both hands and pulling it back like a bowstring. The blue frost twisted like moonlight to create a magnificent energy wave.
Whir!
The spectators fell silent as their energy waves intensified. Once the seats turned as silent as a library, one of the spectators dropped his beer glass from his nervously trembling hand.
Tap!
The moment the beer glass shattered into pieces, Burren and Runaan kicked the ground at the same time.
Tching!
The barren wind that was capable of severing the northern sea burst from Burren’s sword, and the moonlight glimmering from Runaan’s sword seemed powerful enough to freeze the entire continent.
Whaam!
The clash between the two powerful aura blades with different attributes created a huge wave of aura that soared into the sky.
Whoosh.
Once the storm of ice and wind subsided, the arena could be seen once again. Runaan and Burren both collapsed at the center of the arena with their eyes closed. They must’ve been enduring the impact of that huge clash of power to unleash their techniques until the last moment.
“Haa…”
Raon breathed out a sigh of relief after examining their conditions through the Ring of Fire.
‘They weren’t wounded too badly.’
They were just exhausted from mustering every last bit of their auras. There were no serious injuries to be found on their bodies.
“B-Burren and Runaan have been incapacitated! Th-there’s no winner in this match!”
The master of ceremonies swallowed nervously because of the unbelievable situation and announced their elimination.
“S-stretcher! Bring it right away!”
The healers who’d been standing by took them to the medical facility.
“Ooh…”
“Wooooow!”
“This is crazy! For real!”
“Are they really from the same house? Why did they fight so desperately?!”
“Zieghart! Zieghart!”
“Light Wind squad! Light Wind squad!”
The spectators who originally underestimated Zieghart and looked down on them were shouting their heads off after witnessing their powerful might and indiscriminate fighting spirit.
In the end, Zieghart got the loudest cheers from the spectators among the Six Kings.
“Azure Lunar Blade! Azure Lunar Blade!”
“Blade of Tempest! Blade of Tempest!”
The spectators gave the nicknames of Azure Lunar Blade and Blade of Tempest to Runaan and Burren respectively and kept cheering loudly enough for them to hear despite their unconscious state.
“Huh!”
“Are they really insane?”
“Why would they even do that against their own companions…?”
“They are the real Mad Dogs…”
The warriors from other factions were also surprised by their actions and watched them with trembling eyes.
‘Even that guy was surprised.’
Raon smiled while looking at Martio’s awkward expression.
‘You should watch as hard as you can right now. Today will be the last day you can be a referee.’
Are you planning to get rid of him? How?
Wrath narrowed his eyes in confusion.
‘Yes. I won’t be able to kill him, but I can get rid of him at least.’
But how?
‘Let poison deal with poison.’
Raon smiled coldly while looking up at the sky.
‘Yes, poison shall take care of poison.’
