novelraw Chapter 201 : Chapter 201
Chapter 201 : Chapter 201
Chapter 201. The Ghost Named Robern
Robern’s Knight Order already knew.
They knew that Varkanon had fallen to Harashin and an unidentified man.
From the moment they first heard the news until now, they still held a question.
How on earth did that monstrous being meet his end?
One thing was certain: Harashin had not done it alone.
They believed that the unidentified man must have played a decisive role.
But now, Ironveil and Blackthorn realized it with their own eyes.
The fact that the Harashin standing before them had played no small part in Varkanon's defeat.
“Hey, Blackthorn.”
“I know. Stop the foolish talk and focus.”
They did not know the exact nature of Dracotuan, which Harashin had just realized.
But they felt it intuitively, and the hair on their bodies stood on end.
They sensed that if that energy were to fully manifest, they would be finished.
That was how much the aura emanating from Harashin’s body was death itself.
—Tat!
Without a moment’s hesitation, they charged simultaneously.
Ironveil swung his greatsword downward, while Blackthorn fiercely whipped his saw-toothed sword.
In their eyes, Harashin’s stance had a fatal weakness.
It seemed that time was necessary for that martial art to manifest.
If that weren't the case, he would have used it sooner.
They were certain that if they continued to press him with a joint attack as before, they would never see the end of that dangerous technique.
But now, it was clearly different from before.
—Kakang!
Because Rotman was there.
“You will not pass beyond this point.”
The moment the sword strikes flashed, Rotman threw his body forward and blocked Blackthorn’s attack.
“Oh? You seem to have gained some confidence after doing all sorts of dirty work from behind, have you?”
“Confidence… I have more than enough!”
Rotman gritted his teeth and took the blow.
But reality was harsh.
Simply clashing with Blackthorn’s saw-toothed sword made his wrist throb.
An overwhelming gap.
There was too great a difference between the current Rotman and the Five Swords.
“Excellent, Rotman. But you’re still a few decades too short to stop us.”
As Ironveil’s greatsword came crashing down from above his head, Rotman gritted his teeth, squeezed out his strength, and flung his body back to retreat.
He barely dodged the greatsword, but Blackthorn’s follow-up saw-toothed sword grazed his shoulder, slicing off a piece of flesh.
“Keuk!”
It was an overwhelming dominance, hardly worthy of being called an exchange.
With every sword strike that came, he struggled just to stay alive.
“Ugh!”
He couldn't even dream of victory; he was in a position where he had to endure each move as if trading his life for it.
The more he did so, the more his body was torn apart, even as he saved his life.
‘But… how am I still alive?’
The question flashed through his mind.
Despite two of the Five Swords attacking him simultaneously, he had not yet fallen.
If it had been the old him, he would have already been a corpse rolling in a pool of blood.
Of course, his wounds were increasing in real-time, but he was still alive.
‘Why?’
The ones who were more bewildered were Ironveil and Blackthorn.
“What’s with that guy? He’s clearly different from before.”
“Did you go off and train somewhere?”
As Blackthorn said, Rotman had no time for separate training.
He had been detained ever since being captured by Evan, and the last time he had moved his body was when he fought Evan while brainwashed.
However, that very fight had become the most significant foundation for awakening the current Rotman.
‘If I recall the attacks of Lord Evan, I can dodge this much. I don't know why, though.’
If he calculated with his head, it was impossible to dodge their attacks.
But the current Rotman was not thinking.
—Tat!
He blocked, deflected, and dodged the joint attack of the two of the Five Swords purely on instinct.
And that instinct had already adapted to the overwhelming presence Evan had shown earlier.
“Blackthorn! Don't be complacent!”
“You too!”
The two only bickered with their mouths.
In reality, they intended to easily dispatch Rotman and use their remaining strength to capture Harashin.
But to do that, they had to decisively defeat Rotman, who had betrayed the Empire.
Thus, the two put their full strength into their swords, channeling their energy into them.
Their swords began to glow as they simultaneously approached Rotman.
—Swish!
—Whoosh!
The saw-toothed sword and the greatsword, both enveloped in sword aura, rushed toward Rotman at the same time.
“You won't be able to dodge this! You vermin!”
“It would be an honor! Rotman!”
Different trajectories, different sounds of the wind.
The fact that he could distinguish the difference even at the brink of death was proof that Rotman had surpassed his own limits at this very moment.
And at the same time, he foresaw his own death.
‘Their signature killing moves that they pride themselves on! I can't dodge this.’
To be precise, he could have dodged it.
But if he did, it was clear that Harashin, who was behind him, would take the full force of the attack.
‘I’m sorry. For not being of help.’
In the end, the time he had bought was barely 10 seconds.
He now painfully realized that he had not held on as leisurely as he had initially intended.
“You did well. Nameless imperial.”
But why did he think Harashin needed over 10 seconds?
Along with that fundamental question, Rotman felt a sense of relief at Harashin’s voice coming from behind him.
At the same time, he felt a strong force pushing him away.
“Sorry. I am still inexperienced.”
Before the eyes of the pushed-away Rotman, Harashin faced the approaching greatsword and saw-toothed sword head-on.
As his fist cut through the air, the two swords, without even touching, collided with an invisible energy.
—Jjeooong!
A tremendous shockwave spread out, and dust and dirt erupted as if in an explosion.
The three men stood motionless, confronting each other with pure strength, but the balance did not last long.
—Jjeojeok!
Cracks spread across the blades of the greatsword and the saw-toothed sword, and they eventually shattered into pieces.
“Impossible!”
“Damn it!”
From the moment they joined Robern’s Knight Order until now, their swords had never once broken, and before that, even their sword aura itself had never been broken.
But at this very moment, their swords, enveloped in sword aura, had shattered so spectacularly.
“You son of a bitch! It won't change anything!”
Blackthorn, who had spat out a curse, swung his broken saw-toothed sword in a surprise attack, but Harashin lightly deflected it and took a step forward.
—Kung!
As his foot pressed down on the ground, the ground cracked.
That sight alone was enough to sense that some overwhelming technique was about to erupt.
“Dodge it, Blackthorn!”
Ironveil and Blackthorn instinctively tried to create distance, but it was too late.
A storm-like fist wind erupted from Harashin’s fist.
—Peok!
Ironveil, who had blocked with his broken greatsword, was shattered into pieces along with his sword and disappeared without a trace, while Blackthorn, who had dodged to the side, was left with only half of his body and rolled away.
“Kuaaaaaaak!”
A pain that would have been better to die from coursed through his entire body.
It was the price for underestimating one of the Seven Stars.
Harashin was not a mere member of the Seven Stars.
He was a being close to a monster who had surpassed another level by defeating Varkanon.
Harashin glanced at the dying Blackthorn, then looked at Rotman, who had been sent flying far away, and said a word.
“As I said earlier, it’s because I’m inexperienced.”
It was a signal.
Rotman, understanding the meaning, gritted his teeth, ran over, and pierced the fallen Blackthorn’s heart with his sword.
“This is revenge for those who died at your hands!”
—Pushuk!
With a final scream, Blackthorn met his end at the hands of Rotman.
He had met a miserable death at the hands of the very person he had been mocking.
“With this, forget that I pushed you away. I couldn’t control my strength.”
“It’s alright.”
Harashin turned his gaze to another battlefield far away.
There, Evan and Ron were clashing with the First Sword, Raven.
Their situation was the complete opposite of theirs, but Raven showed no signs of being pushed back an inch.
“That one… he’s on a different level from the others.”
Rotman replied with a hardened expression.
“That’s right. Even if all the other swords attacked him at once, they wouldn’t be able to defeat him.”
“What? Then shouldn’t we lend our strength?”
“I don't think so. Both of them probably wouldn't want that.”
Harashin was silent for a moment before nodding.
“Yes, you’re right. Then we have something else to do.”
Trusting the two who were fighting the First Sword, they threw themselves back into the battlefield to turn the tide that had once again collapsed.
***
Although he arrived later than Ron, Evan was not actually that late.
Nevertheless, at this moment, Ron wanted to ask Evan why he was so late, even though he had arrived after him.
The time flowing for him seemed to have stretched tens of times longer than usual, and the entire reason for that was the First Sword Raven, with whom he was exchanging blows in front of him.
‘Damn it… He’s strong. Insanely strong! Why isn’t a guy like this one of the Seven Stars?’
Ron had prided himself on not being inferior to anyone in terms of skill.
But now, he had no choice but to acknowledge his opponent.
The First Sword Raven before him was a monster who was in no way inferior to any of the powerful individuals he had met.
—Chaechaechaeng!
The sound of metal clashing erupted in succession.
Raven lightly deflected the series of thrusts from Ron’s trident and charged in reverse.
—Chut!
Ron also dodged the charging sword, but it was by a hair's breadth.
—Chaechaeng!
At that moment, as Ron and Raven clashed strongly, Evan, who had joined a little late, narrowed his eyes and watched Raven’s movements.
‘He’s strong… I haven't seen the other four swords fight directly, but even if they coordinated, they wouldn't be able to defeat this one.’
If all the other Five Swords had been at this level, the allied forces would have been annihilated before Evan arrived.
That was how strong Raven was, and he even exuded an intimidating presence, as if he were looking at Robern.
And that fact immediately made Evan feel uncomfortable.
It was because the image of the person he hated the most came to mind.
‘The one who has most perfectly inherited Robern’s sword is in front of me. I absolutely cannot let this one go.’
If the opponent looked like the ghost of Robern, Evan wanted to appear to the opponent like this.
The ghost of Mikhail Reverk is here.
So that if Robern were alive, he would feel the same discomfort that he was feeling now.
He intended to recreate himself from that time.
“Ron, sorry but…”
Ron cut him off with a hollow laugh.
“You want me to step aside? Do you think he’s your opponent? I’m more sorry. I was the first to face him, so he’s my opponent.”
At Ron’s declaration, Evan shook his head and replied briefly.
“No. I mean let’s fight together. Let’s put aside a man’s pride for a moment.”
“!”
Ron’s eyes wavered greatly for a moment.
But he soon realized.
This is not a simple one-on-one duel.
If one of them dies or is pushed back here, the battlefield will tilt.
Now was not the time to be stubborn.
“Got it?”
Evan was not a person who mixed personal feelings into battle.
Unless the opponent was the real Robern.