Raon stomped the ground. The pure energy rising from his ankle surrounded his wrist to push the sword.
Whaam!
Despite the huge body and club, the ice troll warrior was slammed into the wall, pushed by the thin sword.
“Krrrr!”
The enraged ice troll warrior roared and swung the club, surrounded by a red combative energy. Alongside a ripping sound of the air, a tremendous wind pressure brushed past Raon’s face.
It felt like his skin was being torn apart, but he advanced through the wind. Using the full power of the , he smacked the club from the front.
Bam!
The collision between the aura-covered sword and the club that was incorporating combative energy created a shockwave, sweeping away all the snow and ice in the surrounding area.
“Kieee!”
The ice troll warrior’s body was sturdier than he thought. It withstood the tremendous shockwave with its body and pummeled its club.
Its body was ripped apart by the shockwave, yet it had already started regenerating. It wasn’t just the strength and the agility, but it also had an incomparable regeneration compared to the normal ice trolls.
“Huff!”
Raon bent his knees. He swung up with his sword, aiming at the red combative energy that was falling down like a waterfall.
The ice troll warrior’s combative energy was powerful, but the ’s fire had enough power to melt it down.
Wham!
The crimson flame, fierce enough to melt steel, slashed through the combative energy and crashed like a tidal wave. It looked like a salmon going up a valley.
“Krr!”
The ice troll warrior groaned upon seeing its combative energy being split apart. Its yellow eyes, which used to look down on him, were filled with panic.
There was no point in wasting time. It was as he was about to slice its neck, after cutting through the combative energy—
Wham!
The lump of ice thrown from the right deflected the sword’s trajectory.
Pssh!
Instead of the troll warrior’s neck, the sword cut through its chest. Despite receiving a huge injury, displaying his ribs to the outside, he still managed to jump back to gain distance.
Raon narrowed his eyes and raised his head. The ice troll shaman was shaking its staff on the hill. What deflected his sword earlier was the by the troll shaman.
“That’s cheap! Why is it interfering with a one-on-one fight?”
Dorian pointed his finger at the ice troll shaman and stomped the ground. But naturally, he didn’t do anything in return.
“I’ll take care of the shaman!”
The Snow Strikers leader Edquill turned quickly.
“If you don’t manage to kill it by the time I finish the troll warrior, I’ll get the shaman myself.”
“That won’t happen!”
Edquill frowned and climbed up the hill, the Snow Strikers following him in a hurry.
“Krr!”
Raon looked ahead, hearing the growl of a wounded beast. The ice troll warrior, who had already recovered, was raising its club.
“I’m sorry, but the fight is over.”
Raon lowered his sword and smiled coldly. He’d finished analyzing the ice troll warrior’s movements by using the and the . The only thing left was to take its life with a single strike.
“Krrra!”
The ice troll warrior shattered the ground and rushed at him. With his sight filled with the monster, Raon brandished his sword. Instead of stepping back, he ran ahead.
, .
.
A crimson flame blossomed on the silver blade, as if spring had arrived. The flower blossom looked like the sun as it spread out in four directions, announcing the end of the cold winter.
Creak!
The dancing crimson flame subsided, and the frozen ground melted. The ice troll warrior’s head and club fell above it.
“Haaa…”
Raon lowered his sword and exhaled an exhausted breath. The ’s techniques were definitely powerful and flashy, but they consumed too much aura and willpower. He felt like his mind was going numb.
However, the power and sharpness that cut the ice troll warrior apart in a single slash was satisfying.
Raon caught his breath and looked up the hill. The troll shaman was spreading its magic and leading the trolls to fight against the Snow Strikers.
Raon fed the extinguishing flame of his blade the firewood called aura and brandished his sword.
Defeating a monster powerful enough to use combative energy would result in an increase of stats and level. There was no reason to give away such delicious food to a stranger, and a bastard like him on top of that.
He felt people staring at him as he was about to climb the hill. When he looked back, Terian, the mercenaries, and even the scouts were all staring at him—dumbfounded.
Raon became curious about what kind of expression they would make if he even killed the ice troll shaman.
You are so greedy when you aren’t even Greed.
Ugh, the King of Essence doesn’t eat that much. It’s just that I like the delicious food. Back in Devildom, the King of Essence personally cooked in the kitchen…
Listen to me!
Raon ignored Wrath as he pleaded with him to listen and went up the hill. He hid his presence with each step.
* * *
“Attack!”
“Target the shaman first!”
“Damn it! What is this intense snowstorm?”
“Kill them quickly and help the leader!”
The Snow Strikers were fighting against the ice trolls inside the snowstorm created by the ice troll shaman.
“Haa!”
Edquill pierced into the center and swung his sword at the shaman, befitting of a leader.
Clang!
Even though his sword was targeting the shaman, it was blocked mid-way, as if there was an invisible wall. It was the defensive magic cast by shaman.
“Haaa!”
He kept restlessly swinging his blade, which was surrounded by a powerful aura, yet the magic barrier didn’t shatter easily.
“Kikrrkarti!”
The troll shaman chanted a strange spell and the snow streams fluttering in the air became even more intense, to the point where he couldn’t even see right in front of him anymore.
“This isn’t enough to stop me!”
Edquill grit his teeth and swung his sword. The white storm was split apart, and the shaman’s body came into his sight.
If he got the achievement of killing the shaman on his own, he could probably cancel the bet he made against that damned kid.
He couldn’t allow them to carry the baggage of the lowly worms, the scouts. He needed to kill that monster at all costs and cancel the bet.
“Ee-yah!”
He kicked the ground and spread his aura blades. It looked like the magic wall was about to be broken, since it was trembling violently.
It was as he was about to deliver the finishing blow, by gathering more energy—
Slam!
Shaman’s body faltered significantly, and a red stream appeared from the left side of its chest, where its heart was located.
“Wh-What is this…?”
While he was standing still, unable to understand the situation, the troll shaman’s body was scattered into pieces along with an explosive sound.
Whoosh!
Behind the fluttering crimson smoke, the blond kid that he hated the most was standing there, holding a dagger emanating evil energy.
“Y-you bastard!”
Edquill pointed his finger while trembling his chin.
“Why are you here?”
“I told you I’d kill it myself if you didn’t manage to finish it before I killed the troll warrior.”
“Shut up! It was just a surprise attack from the back! I could’ve finished it on my own even if you weren’t here!”
“Just a surprise attack or whatever, take this corpse for now.”
Raon sneered and pointed at the shaman’s corpse. His face was so hateful that Edwill wanted to insult him.
“After all, you are my scout party’s baggage carrier from now on.”
* * *
* * *
Gulp.
The man in the black robe swallowed, looking at the ice troll corpses piled up in the valley.
That wasn’t supposed to happen.
Habun Castle’s troops should’ve lost half their soldiers to the surprise attack from the ice troll warrior and shaman, and the rest should’ve desperately fled.
Then, Commander Milland should’ve personally come out with the troops because of the dangerous monsters’ appearance. However, his entire plan went awry because of one thing.
And the reason was a single guy.
Creak.
The man in the black robe grit his teeth. He looked at the blond swordsman standing on the hill.
He noticed the ice troll warrior’s surprise attack, beheaded the troll warrior, and burst the heart of the troll shaman as it cast its magic.
His prowess was one thing, but he was perfectly aware of the way he could finish his opponent’s life.
The man in the black robe fiddled with the mask in his hand. It was a blue mask like an ice troll, with long ears and a wrinkled forehead.
“Huff!”
‘’
He pondered on whether he should kill them right then or devise another plan.
That guy… He could sense an ominous aura from the young boy that killed the warrior and shaman on his own, to the point where he was making his hair stand on ends. It was the danger detection ability from the mask.
“Which means he is a dangerous guy.”
More than Habun’s castellan in some way.
The man in the black robe turned around. He climbed the mountain and clenched his fist.
“Do I have to take that out?”
* * *
When Raon killed the last troll, a message appeared in front of his eyes.
Raon smiled in satisfaction after reading the message. They were the stats he got as a reward for killing the ice troll warrior and shaman.
His soul’s level must’ve also increased from killing the monster using combative energy on his own. He didn’t kill the shaman on his own, but there was no problem since he made the finishing blow.
It’s only natural, since the system was created by the King of Essence.
He wanted to laugh at the way the demon king was bragging about the amazing ability he had lost, but he suppressed it.
“Raon!”
Radin and the scouts came running at him with trembling lips.
“Seriously, who the hell are you?”
“I never imagined you would kill the ice troll warrior in a single strike!”
“And you even killed the shaman! He is a real deal! The real deal!”
The scouts gathered around him and shouted.
“Ahem!”
Everyone turned around as Radin cleared his throat.
“You guys, there’s something else you should say before all that.”
“Ah, yes.”
“That’s true.”
The scouts stopped smiling at once and straightened their backs. They then bowed at the same time.
“Thank you for saving us!”
“You saved our lives!”
“I was just doing my job as a guard, so you don’t need to be like this.”
Raon shook his hand. He wasn’t being modest, it was only natural to accomplish his mission. There was no reason for them to express their gratitude like that.
“No, to be honest, I thought I was done when it swung that club. I seriously thought I was dead.”
“He’s right. I couldn’t think about anything else.”
“My life even flashed in front of my eyes.”
The scouts nodded in agreement and laughed bitterly.
“The moment you stepped ahead to block the ice troll warrior’s club, I got goosebumps all over my body. It was my first time experiencing such a thing, even though I’ve been a scout for over ten years.”
There were tear marks around Radin’s eyes. Even though he was currently smiling, it seemed he really had been prepared to die.
“You didn’t just do your job, you also saved all of us. Saying thanks isn’t enough to express our gratitude.”
“He’s right.”
He turned his head around, hearing a low voice. Terian was standing there wearing a smile for the first time since Raon had met him.
“Countless people run away from their roles. Whether it was because of the mission, or in order to save people, standing alone in front of that club isn’t an easy feat to achieve.”
Terian bowed his head and smiled even more vividly.
“Thank you for saving our soldiers.”
“…Yes.”
Raon slowly nodded his head.
He’d always been busy running away after a battle or assassination. There had never been an expression of gratitude, and he’d always started preparing for the next mission right away, so it was still awkward for him to be thanked like that.
However, he didn’t dislike it. He felt happy, as if a soft and warm fabric was caressing his heart.
“The mixture of a powerful aura, an excellent swordsmanship, and appropriate timing resulted in an unimaginable power.”
The Wolf Mercenary Corps captain, Beto, walked up to him while clapping his hands.
“You are outstanding in many ways, to have exercised a power surpassing your might.”
His eyes were shining like a man that had found the product he liked.
“I want to find out more about you, but since none of our guys died thanks to you… In good conscience, I guess I should stop here, right?”
He shrugged his shoulders and smiled widely.
“Ah, of course! Not investigating others’ background is the mercenary's unwritten law!”
“By the way, the guy that named him the sword demon did a really great job! His sword is seriously insane!”
“I’ve never seen anyone looking so happy when swinging their swords.”
“How the hell did he push back a troll warrior with strength? Is he an ogre or something?”
“What do you need to eat to get that strong at that age?”
The mercenaries gave a thumbs up, telling him that he was amazing without any ulterior motive at all. They were the classic behavior of warriors that worshiped power and fighting.
“Hmm.”
Listening to the scouts and the mercenaries' cheers, he walked up to the Snow Strikers, who were standing as still as corpses.
“Ugh…”
He stopped in front of Edquill, whose chin was trembling, and put down his bag.
“I told you, right? You should carry my stuff. Take it.”
“A-Are you serious?”
Edquill flicked his finger, as if he were going to draw his sword at any moment.
“But you promised. Everyone here heard your promise. Are you going back on your word?”
“Are you trying to be my enemy for some scouts?”
His eyes became wide open, because he didn’t expect him to actually hand over his bag.
“Th-That’s right! And what we did wasn’t that bad to start with!”
“We just gave them the baggage and made them prepare the food!”
“W-We made fun of them and touched them sometimes, but it was a prank!”
The Snow Strikers also blabbered, claiming that they didn’t deserve all that instead of apologizing.
‘It was a prank.’ or ‘It wasn’t that bad’ weren’t things they should’ve been saying. Just as he thought, their mindset itself was unacceptable.
“Well, I guess I don’t want to do anything harsh to the companions that fought alongside me.”
Raon nodded, hiding his true intention.
“However, we can’t reverse the bet we’ve already made, either. That’s why I have a suggestion…”
“Wh-What is that?”
Edquill and the Snow Strikers eyes glittered. They looked like they would do anything to get out of that situation.
Tsk. Those are the eyes of men about to lose everything they have and be chased out naked.
Wrath lightly clicked his tongue, looking at Edquill’s eyes.
“We can make another bet on top of the previous bet. If you win, you won’t have to be my bag carrier, and if I win, you will get another penalty.”
Raon smiled widely. His eyes were sinking into darkness, as if they had engulfed the night.
“What do you think?”