Chapter 483

Chapter 483

The conference of the Five Divine Orders had begun.

They started with an explanation about each faction.

The Thespian Emperor’s explanation was calm, the Demon Slaying Spear was energetic, the Demonblade was gloomy, and the Queen of Swords was dry. Each of them stated how their group came to be and what objectives they had.

After that, the reports about what they’d been doing recently followed. Of course, none of it was about their evil deeds. Instead, they spoke about their fights against the five demons or their good deeds.

Raon stayed one step back from the conference without finding fault with them in order to figure out what intentions the heads of the Five Divine Orders had.

The Thespian Emperor was, of course, the one to lead the conference, and the other three only blabbered on with flexible responses to avoid ruining the atmosphere.

What they were saying was simple.

The Five Divine Orders had no intention at all of antagonizing the Six Kings and the neutral factions, and they were fully ready to fight against the Five Demons in order to protect the continent.

In short, they were saying that they weren’t enemies, and they wanted to get along and cooperate.

“What we’ve said so far is our sincere opinion.”

The Thespian Emperor bowed, saying that she wanted to get along with all factions in the continent.

“The same goes for us!”

“That’s what we’d like to request!”

“Most of the good deeds we’ve been hearing recently were about the Five Divine Orders! We gladly accept that offer!”

“I also agree. I’m just thankful that you took the initiative to invite us.”

The heads of the neutral factions sent a round of applause to celebrate the foundation of Five Divine Orders. Since none of them were refusing their offer, the atmosphere inside the conference room became friendly.

It was a natural outcome in a way, as those natural factions were relatively important, but they were still incomparable to the Five Divine Orders. That was why they must’ve felt like they were being treated nicely.

However, Raon smiled coldly, not joining the warmth of the friendly conference room.

‘All of them are naive.’

Raon was well aware because he’d clashed with the Thespian Emperor from the onset. The Five Divine Orders’ true objective wasn’t to get on good terms with the neutral factions.

He couldn’t be certain what their true objective was, but one thing he could tell was that they were trying to take advantage of the neutral factions.

“Thank you.”

The Thespian Emperor lowered her head once again and leaned towards the table.

“I’m planning to hold a fighting competition where only the warriors below the age of forty can participate so that the youngsters can get acquainted with each other as well. There will be a special reward, so please encourage them to participate.”

She smiled, saying since the people inside the conference room agreed, she wanted to allow the youngsters to do the same.

“That’s a great idea! After all, there wasn’t really any reason for the youngsters to meet!”

“The reward that Lady Ariel branded as special is worthy of anticipation!”

“I’ll make all my crew participate!”

“Forty? It’s a shame, but I won’t be able to join.”

“What are you even talking about when you are way past fifty?!”

The heads of the neutral faction nodded at each other, saying that it would be interesting.

“Ah, even if you are under forty, you aren’t allowed to participate if you are representing your house.”

The Thespian Emperor’s gaze slowly shifted towards Raon. She seemed to be telling him that he couldn’t join because he was a representative.

“May I have a word?”

She started walking towards the center of the conference table and lifted her hand. She must’ve figured that it was the right atmosphere for it.

“I’d like to make a suggestion since we are getting along a lot better than I’d expected.”

The noisy conference room fell quiet. The Thespian Emperor was dominating the mood.

“How about we make a temporary alliance between the people present in this place?”

“A-alliance?”

“This is a bit sudden for an alliance...”

“Aren’t you being too hasty?”

The heads of the neutral faction widened their eyes upon hearing the sudden mention of an alliance.

“I’m sure everyone is aware, but the current situation in the continent isn’t that good.”

The Thespian Emperor came to a halt at the center of the rectangular table. The moonlight falling through the window was adding a divine feeling to her presence.

“The Black Tower, White Blood Religion, and the South-North Union have started to actively reveal their power, and Eden is raising their demons in their hiding. Moreover, we’ve received information that the Holy Sword Alliance’s Master of Sword has recently appeared.”

Her heavy voice was pressuring the previously peaceful conference room.

“Th-the Five Demons?”

“Are the sword demons from the Holy Sword Alliance returning to the world...?”

“Is Eden making a new demon? What are they trying to do this time?!”

“I-I heard about it too. Yurt City was attacked by the White Blood Religion, and not even ashes remained as a result.”

The heads of the neutral factions’s shoulders trembled upon hearing that the Five Demons had resumed their activities.

“Their appearance isn’t the only problem. Those monsters used to be bound together in name only, but they are now cooperating with each other.”

The Thespian Emperor closed her eyes before opening them again. A frightening light was glowing from her red eyes. The warriors from the neutral factions swallowed nervously upon meeting her eyes.

“Since a disaster can happen at any time on the continent, we’d like your cooperation.”

She returned to the edge of the table and turned around.

“Hmm?”

“C-cooperation...?”

“You said alliance at first. What did you mean by that?”

The heads’ lips parted upon hearing the Thespian Emperor’s request for help.

“Our Five Divine Orders have only recently appeared in the world. We are confident in our might, but we don’t have enough of a footing yet. We’d like you to fill that part for us.”

Once the Thespian Emperor changed the alliance into a request for help, small smiles started to appear from the mouths of the leaders. Her voice was dominating the conference room while changing in different colors like a rainbow.

‘It would be beneficial for everyone indeed. It’s like a give-and-take... Hmm?’

Raon was putting his thoughts together and furrowed his brow.

‘Why was I thinking just now...? Of course it wouldn’t be beneficial for everyone.’

It was simply obvious that if they accepted the alliance, the Five Divine Orders were going to keep all of the reputation for themselves while the neutral factions became the cannon fodders. It definitely wouldn’t be beneficial for them.

‘But why was I thinking like that just now?’

Raon was continuously thinking about how to criticize her, but his head suddenly became blank and a strange thought entered his mind. It was clearly not a normal situation.

‘Don’t tell me...’

Raon slightly bit his tongue.

‘Was that the Thespian Emperor’s doing?’

Even though she wasn’t using any aura in her voice, he could clearly hear her as if she were speaking right next to his ears. There must’ve been something behind it.

Whir!

Raon immediately activated the Ring of Fire. The seven rings resonated with each other, and he could see the energy inside the conference room.

‘As expected, she wasn’t using any aura.’

The Thespian Emperor wasn’t using the slightest amount of aura. However, the air inside the conference room was jolting whenever she spoke. It was clear that there was something in her voice.

Did you finally realize it?

Wrath muttered as if he were looking at someone pathetic.

‘What is that?’

What else? It’s her will.

He frowned while looking at the Thespian Emperor.

Will is the technique used through the power of your soul that can be increased by gaining achievements. That’s why the will is the power of the soul. She’s incorporating her will in her voice to convince those idiots.

‘Is that even possible?’

It can result in the opposite effect if it’s excessive, but she is doing it so smoothly. She must’ve done it many times before.

‘What an extraordinary way of using it.’

Raon had never thought that the will could be used like that since he’d believed that it could only be used for martial arts. The Thespian Emperor couldn’t be underestimated after all.

By the way, that woman is really no good. She must’ve been acting when she came to save her subordinates.

“......”

Yuria exhaled roughly without saying anything. He looked like a bison about to start its charge.

His wide shoulders trembled, and he eventually shook his head and left the conference room.

Raon shook his head while watching Yuria’s back.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

* * *

* * *

Raon went to the restaurant in front of the lodgings alongside Denning Rose and Encia. He was guessing that the shop was already closed because the Thespian Emperor was talking too much, but he still decided to check it out because Wrath was urging him so much.

“Hmm?”

‘The light is on.’

He thought it was obviously going to be closed, but he could feel many presences from inside.

H-hurry up! Get in there already!

Raon opened the door and entered the restaurant, and the Light Wind division was drinking beers with some simple side dishes.

“Huh? You are finally back.”

“You are so late!”

Krein and Dorian were sitting at the table right in front of the entrance and waved their hands at him.

“How did the conference go?”

Burren was sitting deeper inside and asked about the conference with a smile.

“Why did the conference take so long?!”

Martha frowned, saying that it was so late at night already.

“Sit down already.”

Runaan hit the seat next to her and pointed at it to ask for Raon to sit.

“Hmm...”

Raon narrowed his eyes while looking at the Light Wind division. He couldn’t smell any food, and there was nothing other than dry side dishes and beers on the tables.

“Did you not have your dinner yet?”

“How could we have it when you weren’t here yet?”

Martha clicked her tongue, saying that it was only obvious.

“Yeah, we didn’t have our treat person.”

Burren chuckled and nodded.

“Everyone has been waiting.”

Runaan hit the chair even faster, telling him to sit down already.

“You’ve finally arrived!”

A middle-aged woman came from the kitchen and bowed at him. She was the manager that he’d met when he was making the reservation.

“It looks like my crew forced you to wait. I apologize for this.”

“It’s fine.”

“The people from the Light Wind division paid an extra fee and said that they wanted to wait until your arrival.”

The manager smiled brightly while saying that they’d already paid enough.

“I’ll prepare the meal right now.”

The manager returned to the kitchen, saying that the ingredients and personnel were ready. The kitchen started to become noisy.

“You didn’t need to wait. Why would you do that?”

Raon wrinkled his nose while looking at the Light Wind swordsmen.

“You should’ve just had your meal and returned.”

He was being blunt, but he felt warm in his heart for some reason.

The Light Wind division waiting for him with smiles on their faces made him feel like he’d returned to the annex building after a long mission.

“He’s being shy, so damn handsome...”

“Huhu.”

Encia was in front of him before he knew it and was pressing the button on her camera. Denning Rose was smiling while covering her mouth with her hand, as if she were enjoying the scene.

Hmph!

Raon looked to the right upon hearing the snorting sound. Wrath was flushed with teary eyes.

You all!

The wetness around his eyes showed that he was moved by the Light Wind division’s actions.

Alright! The King of Essence will take care of all of you! You are still so young, but you already know the importance of a bond!

Wrath nodded, saying that he loved the Light Wind division. He was so easy.

Raon chuckled and sat on the chair that Runaan had been hitting.

“Come here, everyone.”

Since it looked like it was going to take some time until the food was ready, he explained to them what happened at the conference.

“It shouldn’t be a simple alliance.”

“It looks like the Five Divine Orders are trying to absorb the neutral factions...”

“They are making their moves so quickly.”

The Light Wind swordsmen nodded while murmuring that the situation was no good.

“I have one more piece of news.”

Raon lifted his index finger.

“They are holding a fighting competition in two days. Since they said that any warrior under the age of forty is allowed to participate, all of you shall join.”

“Don’t we need to register?”

“It’s not necessary since they set it up so that we can participate without any registration.”

Denning Rose responded in his stead, telling them that they could simply participate.

“If the age limit is forty, there should be some Masters.”

“I wanted to test out my current ability. That’s great.”

“I’m definitely going to participate!”

“Me too!”

The smile on the Light Wind swordsmen looked like they were looking forward to the matches.

“I’m glad to hear that you like the idea. But if Zieghart doesn’t win...”

He clenched his fist to the point where it made a cracking sound.

“You are all going to die.”

“Err...”

“Th-that’s a bit unreasonable...”

“There should be some Masters among participants, though.”

“A-are you asking us to win?”

“I don’t care about that.”

A frightening smile appeared on Raon’s face as he looked at the Light Wind division.

“If the winner isn’t among the Light Wind division, we are going to do the focus enhancement training for an entire month after we return to the house.”

The Light Wind division’s laughter and warm atmosphere suddenly disappeared upon hearing his cold and frightening voice.

You punk!

Wrath yelled while smacking the back of Raon’s head.

Why are you messing your subordinates up now?!