Chapter 442

Chapter 442

Raon snapped his fingers while running towards the route where the Warring Steel division was seen for the last time.

According to the information, their traces suddenly disappeared from that route.

According to the informative booklet that Chad had given to him, the Warring Steel division was on its way back after spending a night in Loilan Village and disappeared on the way.

Considering that even Trevin, who was at the highest level of Master, and the entire Warring Steel division hadnt left any traces as they disappeared, they were definitely using something special like some kind of power or an artifact.

I need to figure out what that was, but Theres nothing I can tell for now.

Since the Warring Steel division had disappeared during daybreak, the available information was too little, and it was impossible to solve the mystery.

Raon furrowed his brow while touching his slightly dry lips.

Demon Ring and Frozen Scent.

According to the Shadow Agents investigations, the two floor overseers involved in the incident were the demonized humans called Demon Ring and Frozen Scent.

Demon Ring used two white chakrams that gave off holy vibes despite his name. However, the chakrams would supposedly turn as dark as the abyss once he unleashed more than fifty percent of his demonic energy, and they became drastically more powerful than before.

On the other hand, Frozen Scent was apparently capable of freely manipulating the water attribute as easily as her own body. There was also a strange rumor stating that her coldness accompanied some kind of fragrance once she unleashed her power, and whoever inhaled it would die within five steps.

They are both superior to the Black Commander.

Which floor they occupied in the Black Tower determined their ranks, and Demon Ring and Frozen Scent were both known to manage higher floors than the Black Commander.

Since they had both been notorious for a long time as demonized humans, they wouldnt have had much difficulty defeating the Warring Steel division. One of them was probably enough to annihilate the whole division.

However

Even for them, it was impossible to make the Warring Steel division disappear without a trace.

They might have gained a new ability. It could be one of them or both.

Since even the elites from the Shadow Agents were unable to figure out how the Warring Steel division had gone missing, it was necessary to gather information as fast as possible.

I should start from here.

Raon activated the Ring of Fire and the Perception of the Snow Flower at the same time.

Whir!

The faint flow of the demon kings skill linked with the resonating rings of fire. The combination of the mana inside and outside his body made him feel like his body was floating in the air, and his vision and perception widened many times larger, just like a blind person opening their eyes.

Raon could feel countless presences through the spreading perception.

He could feel the movement of small wild animals and insects from the south, which was full of greenery around a river, and the quiet snow field to the north looked like no one was around at first, but he could hear the faint breath of the hibernating animals under the ground.

Raon clenched his fist before opening it while spreading his aura perception even further.

This is strange. The area became even wider than before.

The area of his perception had increased more than ten percent compared to before hed returned to the house. He couldnt understand how that happened since hed been focusing on training his swordsmanship instead of cultivating his aura.

Moreover, he didnt feel stressed at all even though he was using his aura perception and his footwork to the best of his abilities. He felt like he could fight perfectly fine even if a battle broke out while he was in that state.

Did they increase my realm itself instead of only teaching me swordsmanship?

It looked like Glenn and Rector had widened his realm on top of teaching him sword principles.

People in the continent called them the pinnacle of swordsmen for a good reason, as they managed to create such a result in a single week.

However Even my increased perception isnt catching anything.

Even though his aura perception had become wider and more sensitive, he couldnt feel anything similar to a trace of battle.

Wrath.

Raon furrowed his brow and tapped on Wraths head, who was riding on his shoulder.

How about you? Do you feel anything?

Not really so far. But even if he did, do you believe that the King of Essence would tell you about it?

He stuck his tongue out and sneered.

True, thats how you are.

Raon furrowed his brow and flicked Wraths tongue with his finger.

Ack! The King of Essences godly tongue! Its worth ten million gold!

Raon ignored him since he was calling himself a god despite being a demon king and focused on his perception instead.

Well, I still learned something thanks to him.

Wrath seemed to believe that he didnt give Raon any hints at all, but hed said that there was nothing so far. That implies that there was nothing to investigate between the dimensional door and where he was.

Raon smiled faintly while looking at Wrath, who was rubbing his thick tongue with teary eyes.

Thank you again, giving Wrath.

* * *

* * *

Raon and the Light Wind division kept running nonstop and arrived at Loilan Village, where the Warring Steel division was last spotted.

Wow, how can a village even look like that?

Martha furrowed her brow while looking at Loilan Village.

Indeed, its not coherent at all.

Burren agreed with Martha and nodded faintly.

They are high and low.

Runaan tilted her head while looking back and forth between the buildings with high and low roofs.

It was actually normal for the Light Wind swordsmen to be so surprised.

Loilan Village was a mid-sized village since it wasnt that big or small, and the building styles were drastically different between north and south since the climates of the northern and central regions coexisted.

To prevent the snow from piling up, the buildings in the north had high roofs that made them look pointy. Meanwhile, the roofs in the center were a lot flatter.

People who didnt know the reason behind the difference would have believed that two villages from different regions had been forcibly combined.

This place is as peculiar as always.

Raon entered Loilan Village, thinking that it hadnt changed at all since the last time hed seen it.

The atmosphere inside the village was anxious and hectic at the same time, probably because they knew about the Warring Steel divisions disappearance and the Black Towers movement.

Welcome.

Raon was planning to start by examining the village, but a middle-aged black-haired man walked up to him and bowed. He was wearing yellow clothes with a small bird pattern at the hem.

My name is Rugen, the eighth external wing of the Shadow Agents.

However They have many fatalities because of that.

It was impossible for everyone to become a hero. Those who managed to survive became more powerful, but a larger number of swordsmen ended up dying before then. Raon had heard that the White Lotus division always requested many members for that reason. In fact, there was only one of their members who he recognized among those he was seeing.

Its the White Lotus division.

They were supposed to be here, huh

But why are they glaring like that? Are they picking a fight?

The Light Wind division darted their tongues in and out upon recognizing the White Lotus division.

The Light Wind squad? Why is the Light Wind squad here?

I heard they were dispatched as additional reinforcement for this mission.

Reinforcement? What do we even do with them?

And they are the Light Wind division now, instead of a squad.

Oh, yeah. I heard they were promoted.

The White Lotus division also recognized the Light Wind division and slightly furrowed their brows. The way they spoke was rather disturbing.

Its so pointless.

Raon briefly sighed and walked up to the White Lotus swordsmen.

Where is the division leader?

Im not sure. Where did he go again?

The swordsman, who seemed to be a team leader, impudently shook his head while whistling.

The pointless tension was undesirable for Raon since there wasnt much time, but the White Lotus division didnt seem to agree. They seemed to believe that the Light Wind division had volunteered for the mission in order to steal the White Lotus divisions achievement.

You

Hey, you son of a bitch!

Raon furrowed his brow, and a vulgar curse could be heard from behind. Of course, it was Marthas doing.

Wheres your respect, you fucker? Cant you see our vice division leader right here? Huh?

Erm

The team leader widened his eyes in surprise. He must not have expected a sudden curse.

You even know that weve been promoted to a division but still picked a fight with us. You must have a death wish.

Martha glared ferociously at the White Lotus swordsmen. She looked like she would attack them at any moment.

Good job.

Runaan nodded at her while unironically applauding her. It was rare for her to support Martha.

He looks like some paltry rat

Ill pull your limbs off.

Watch out how you run your mouth if you dont want to die.

It wasnt just Martha and Runaan. The entire Light Wind division was glaring at the White Lotus division with their eyes gleaming with damp madness. They looked like they were going to attack if they were provoked any further.

Stop it.

Raon wouldve normally let the Light Wind division mess them up, but he didnt have any time to waste. It was necessary to discuss with the White Lotus division leader as fast as possible and take action.

Say it now. Where is he?

Raon didnt even need to release his pressure. The team leader was intimidated by the Light Wind divisions madness, and he pointed at the southern lake while his shoulders trembled.

Raon followed his hand and saw a tall man standing in the middle of the White Lotus swordsmen.

His shoulders were as broad as a whale, and his jawline was angular. He looked like a heavenly general from the myths, but his pressure was the most important part. The extreme heaviness weighing upon Raons body felt like he was the embodiment of a huge mountain.

Raon didnt use any aura. He endured Ayads pressure with nothing but willpower and bowed to him.

Greetings, White Lotus division leader.

Its been a while, Light Wind vice division leader.

Ayad slowly nodded. He wasnt showing any displeasure for not being the only ones on the mission, unlike the other White Lotus swordsmen, but the foul sign in his eyes clearly indicated that he didnt like Raons presence.

I guess theres no reason they would be welcoming us.

Raon decided not to care about it since he just wanted to save the Warring Steel division.

The Warring Steel divisions traces disappeared after those.

He briefly clicked his tongue while looking at the lake.

Theres no trace of battle, and no corpse floated to the surface. Its a mystery. However, no matter what power was in action, they couldnt have left the Hoffern region.

Ayad turned to look at Raon.

The best method to look for them is simple. Its to scatter the Light Wind division and the White Lotus division one by one to search the entirety of Hoffern. If every swordsman moves individually, we should be able to search the entire region before sunrise.

He nodded, saying that it was the only way to find the Warring Steel divisions traces in that land.

You should head to the east, for instance. Search everything starting from the entrance

I apologize for saying this, but I dont want to.

Raon shook his head when Ayad was about to spread the map. Scattering the members one by one was definitely not a good method in the given situation.

It might allow them to quickly find the traces, but it could increase the casualties. That was why he couldnt accept it.

Err

D-did he just?

The White Lotus swordsmen glanced at Ayad sideways with trembling lips. It looked like they didnt expect Raon to immediately refuse.

Whir!

Ayad straightened his back while almost crushing the half-opened map in his grasp. His gaze pressing upon Raons soul was as fiery as the northern wind and heavy at the same time.

What did you say just now? Say it again.

His gaze became a violent pressure and crushed Raons shoulders. The pain on his skin felt like he was being stabbed by a blade, but he counteracted with the power of his soul enhanced by the Ring of Fire and stood in front of Ayad.

I said I dont want to.

Youve always loved to say no, havent you?

Theres no reason to go out of my way to create more casualties.

Raons red eyes and Ayads gray eyes clashed against each other, and a deep distortion was created on the calm lake.