“Oh. It’s packed with people, isn’t it?”
Having arrived at Arena One, Cale held out the chicken skewers in his hand to Alberu and the Heavenly Demon.
“I’m on guard duty.”
Alberu refused with a radiant smile.
Heh.
The Heavenly Demon sneered once and ignored the chicken skewer in Cale’s hand.
“......”
Cale felt oddly irritated, but ignored it.
-Slurp.
Listening to the Glutton Priestess swallow, Cale started eating the three chicken skewers in his hand one by one.
“And the kids?”
At the Heavenly Demon’s question, Cale answered vaguely around a mouthful.
“They’re taking care of the egg.”
The hatching ti for Eden Miru was drawing closer and closer.
Average age, ten. Raon in particular was currently staying beside Eden Miru’s egg at all tis, to the point that his eyes looked bloodshot.
Human! I am absolutely going to watch it be born!
That montum was so fierce.
Mm.
It really was impressive.
Of course, there was one very clear purpose behind why Raon was acting like that.
I’m going to watch it with Mom!
The Black Castle was still staying in Apitoyu.
And the one who could not leave a certain radius from that Black Castle was the forr Lord, Sheritt.
Dragon half-blood.
Eden Miru was a being who had inherited the heart of one of Sheritt’s two children.
In a way, theirs could have seed like the relationship of enemies, but—
It’s basically her child.
The feelings Sheritt held toward the dragon half-blood Eden Miru were changing beyond love and hatred into affection.
Raon, Sheritt, Eden Miru.
Whatever the case, the three of them were now definitely family.
Once the recovery rate reached around 95%, Raon planned to return to the Seventh Evil and go to the place connected to the lair of Neo, the Purple Blood Dragon Lord.
That place was a basent where Apitoyu and New World connected naturally.
Whether by magic or other thods, Lady Sheritt will be able to watch Eden Miru hatch.
Forr Lord Sheritt.
The reason for her existence had been to watch over and care for the birth of two Dragons.
But she had lost both children. And for soone like her, seeing Eden Miru’s birth—
I can’t even imagine it.
It was sothing Cale did not dare imagine.
Anyway, that was why Cale was leaving Raon, On, and Hong alone for now.
They’re kids who’ve seen plenty of fighting already.
For those three children, this experience would be very important.
And it’ll be good for Eden Miru too.
Yeah. It’ll be good for all of them.
As Cale nodded to himself, he suddenly heard soone chuckle beside him.
When he turned his head—
“What?”
Alberu and the Heavenly Demon were looking at him.
Cale, sitting between the two, instantly made a thoroughly displeased face.
“What kind of look is that?”
The informal tone slipped out before he knew it.
The Heavenly Demon. And Alberu Crossman.
Those two—
Are looking at fondly?
Suddenly, Cale felt extrely, considerably worse.
Just as his expression was turning deeply irreverent—
“You’re really kind.”
Hah!
After casually tossing out words that made Cale choke in disbelief, the Heavenly Demon asked Alberu,
“You’re softer than you seem.”
He was talking while pointing at Cale.
Alberu looked at Cale as if he were absurd and raised one corner of his mouth.
“......”
Cale’s face crumpled endlessly, but Alberu soon put on a bright smile and spoke to Cale with unusual gentleness.
“You’re looking forward to Eden Miru’s birth, aren’t you?”
“I’m not.”
“Hoo.”
What was that?
What was with that irritating laugh?
Cale stared at Alberu with an incredulous expression, but Alberu and the Heavenly Demon were already looking at each other, exchanging wordless glances.
What the hell is with these two?
Cale was thinking sothing extrely irreverent inwardly when the sound of drums made him turn his gaze.
Boom, bo-boom!
“The first match of the Round of 64 will begin shortly, so please remain quiet!”
Soon, people sat down.
The noisy surroundings gradually began to quiet.
Glance.
Feeling eyes on this side, Cale whispered to the Heavenly Demon.
“As expected, the looks aid at Young Master One Sword are no joke, are they?”
The Heavenly Demon, Kim Hae-Yi, seated in the spectator stands.
He had acquired the epithet “One Sword.”
With a single move!
Up to the Round of 64.
He had defeated every opponent with a single gesture.
What a wondrous sword!
After the elder who was the master of the first disciple of Dao Wind Temple, who had lost in the first preliminary match, called it not a “hand” but a “sword”—
A sword?
But he was barehanded. I thought it was a palm technique.
No way! Then doesn’t that an he still hasn’t even had to draw a sword?
As people gave him the epithet One Sword, they also started expecting sothing.
He’ll use a sword in the main tournant, right?
Of course. His opponents won’t be easy now!
And from the Round of 64 onward, the bracket had been revealed in advance.
Sky Sword’s Seo Rak against One Sword Kim Hae-Yi!
If it’s Seo Rak, One Sword will have no choice but to use a sword!
Seo Rak, heir to the Sky Sword, who regarded only the sword as the end of martial arts.
And One Sword Kim Hae-Yi, shrouded in mystery and assud to use a sword.
People were eagerly awaiting the match between the two.
They had not expected top fighters to et this early, in the Round of 64.
But the Heavenly Demon’s match was still far off.
His was tomorrow.
Even so, he had co for the first ti to watch this arena.
“Will His Majesty the King co?”
At Cale’s question, the Heavenly Demon shrugged.
“Who knows.”
From the Round of 64 onward, King Tamahi would attend.
However, the King would not watch every match.
Attendance from the semifinals onward was mandatory, but for now it was said to be selective attendance at the King’s will.
Cale heard murmuring voices from behind him.
“This is a chance to see which participant His Majesty the King has his eye on.”
“And even if that participant doesn’t beco crown prince, they’ll still beco soone the kingdom uses heavily from now on.”
“That’s exactly it.”
People were curious about the King’s choice.
“He hasn’t co yet.”
“No. He’ll definitely co.”
And most people were certain the King would attend this match today.
It was not because it was the first match.
“It’s the Cooperative Alliance’s alliance leader.”
“That’s true. There’s no way this can be missed.”
Hwa In, alliance leader of the Cooperative Alliance.
She was the one marking the beginning of today’s main tournant.
“And look over there. Cha Run of the Martial Arts Curriculum ca too.”
“That makes sense.”
Cha Run of the Martial Arts Curriculum.
He was the King’s loyal retainer, teacher, and adviser as well.
“...And the top candidates to win have probably all gathered here now to watch the alliance leader.”
“That makes sense.”
Their eyes also briefly reached One Sword Kim Hae-Yi.
But the reason the Heavenly Demon had co here was a little different.
-You said the Cooperative Alliance disguised themselves as the Dark Pulse and eliminated so fairly capable people, right?
At the Heavenly Demon’s words, Cale nodded.
-The Dark Pulse must be pretty annoyed.
The Heavenly Demon’s gaze turned across the arena.
Pao Seo Tae, the alliance leader of the Dark Pulse, was standing there with his arms crossed, looking down at the stage with a very hardened expression.
People around him whispered because this was his first ti coming to watch the matches, but Pao Seo Tae seed not to hear any of it.
Choi Han.
Beside Pao Seo Tae stood Choi Han, wearing a bamboo hat.
-The Wanderers haven’t shown up again, right?
At Alberu’s voice transmission, Cale nodded.
The list the Wanderer had given Pao Seo Tae to kill.
After failing to deal with the Heavenly Demon, Pao Seo Tae had not touched a single person on that list.
The Wanderer ought to have done sothing to the Dark Pulse or to Pao Seo Tae because of that, yet there had been no reaction at all.
And then the participants started dying.
Quite a few of them had not even been on the list.
If Pao Seo Tae had not kept his nerves taut and continuously watched the whereabouts of all the participants, he never would have noticed it.
And traces of the Dark Pulse were faintly left behind.
At the scene, traces of the Dark Pulse had been left behind as if they had not quite been erased.
Pao Seo Tae reported the current situation to Cale with a sigh.
The Snow Flower Sect is investigating those dead participants. It seems they suspect our side.
At this rate, the Dark Pulse was about to be saddled with the bla.
But you see.
However, there was a reason both Cale and Pao Seo Tae had co today to see the alliance leader of the Cooperative Alliance.
It seems to be the Cooperative Alliance bastards after all.
It was partly instinct.
But it was also the sort of instinct Pao Seo Tae and the chief strategist each found fairly trustworthy.
The only place that knows us this well is the Cooperative Alliance. Enough to stage sothing like this. And judging by the scale of the operation, it would have taken considerable manpower. It has to be one of the five major powers.
That was why Pao Seo Tae and Cale had co to see the alliance leader of the Cooperative Alliance today.
Pao Seo Tae, as the alliance leader of the Dark Pulse, ca to face an enemy.
Raon said it.
During the last preliminary match, Raon had said to Cale,
Human! Maybe because the arena was so huge, I couldn’t hear properly, but soone was using voice transmission to talk about the Dark Pulse ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) and Hyun Seong!
The arena was so large, and there had been so many conversations and voice transmissions all at once.
Raon had not been able to hear everything clearly.
Only because it was Raon had he managed to hear even that much amid such noise.
Still, there was no way to know whether the people speaking belonged to the Cooperative Alliance.
And after learning all of this, Cale had co to see the alliance leader of the Cooperative Alliance.
She might be connected to the Wanderers.
With that suspicion in mind.
He had co here.
“Oh!”
“Ah, over there—!”
Suddenly, the surroundings grew noisy.
“...She’s here.”
The mont the Heavenly Demon spoke quietly,
Cale’s gaze turned toward the empty section with the best view of the martial stage.
Tamahi.
It was King Tamahi.
The one beside her seed to be Cha Run of the Martial Arts Curriculum.
-The Queen Consort isn’t here.
The King’s husband did not appear.
There were only the two of them.
They took their seats.
No ceremony of respect was held just because the King had appeared.
Rather, the officials around them rely asked the crowd to keep quiet.
Boom!
Then the first match began at once.
Neither the King nor Cha Run opened their mouths.
-Cha Run.
-Yes, Your Majesty.
But they were speaking through voice transmission.
-There are quite a lot of favorites to win visible in the stands today.
-It seems that way because it is the first match, and because the alliance leader of the Cooperative Alliance is appearing.
-I see.
The King asked quietly.
-So who was it that killed the participants?
-...Your Majesty.
King Tamahi was wrapped in silent fury.
Boom!
But soon her gaze turned toward the stage.
“On the left, Supesa!”
A fairly well-known strong fighter appeared on the left.
“On the right, Hwa In!”
And on the right, the alliance leader of the Cooperative Alliance appeared.
Waaaaaaah----
Waaah---
The quiet space erupted at once into a massive roar loud enough to shake the arena.
Boom!
The match began.
Supesa imdiately leveled his spear at Hwa In and took his stance.
“......”
And Hwa In stood there quietly.
Hm?
Cale paused.
-Kim Hae-Il.
Then the Heavenly Demon sent him voice transmission.
-She’s looking at right now, isn’t she?
Hwa In’s gaze lingered on the Heavenly Demon for a mont.
But that gaze soon disappeared.
Her eyes turned toward her opponent.
“......”
“......”
Supesa wore a tense expression.
By contrast, Hwa In stood calm and quiet.
That silence soon broke.
Bang!
Supesa stamped down hard, and his body shot forward.
His spear was like an ancient tree.
It contained a vast, solid power that looked as though it would never break.
As if resembling that nature, the spear art he wielded was also straightforward, without much variation.
Rather, it was simple.
“That simplicity is what makes it frightening.”
Just like soone said from nearby.
His spear was frightening.
Because it was direct, heavy, and unstoppable.
Shhhh—
Wind rose with the movent of the spear.
Wooooong.
An aura that called a tree to mind settled over the spear.
“......”
Hwa In watched it quietly.
And when the tip of the spear finally ca within about a single step of her—
Shing.
Hwa In drew her sword.
KWAAAAANG!
A deafening explosion rang out.
No one opened their mouth.
A cloud of dust rose, but compared to the enormous roar, it was little more than a small haze.
Swaaaaa—
With a single gust of wind, all the dust was washed away, and the clear sight entered everyone’s eyes.
“Urgh!”
Supesa’s face twisted.
A great ancient tree that looked as though no storm could ever break it.
The spear had been cut.
Half of the severed spear fell onto the stage.
The ancient tree had broken.
“......”
Hwa In looked at Supesa without a word.
“...I lost.”
From the start, Supesa had poured in his maximum strength.
The alliance leader was an opponent who warranted that.
And in the end, he had lost.
“Urgh.”
Supesa’s face twisted with emptiness and anger at himself as he lowered his head.
At that mont, Hwa In spoke.
“Your great strength will only grow firr as ti passes.”
Supesa looked at her.
Hwa In spoke calmly. Because of that, her voice was filled with sincerity.
“Just as an ancient tree ultimately endures every wind and rain and stands tall.”
The alliance leader was famous for being a person of few words.
For soone like that to say this much to a person she had t for the first ti today held considerable aning.
A slight swell of emotion rose in Supesa.
“...Thank you, Alliance Leader.”
“It was a good ti.”
Hearing the alliance leader’s reply, Supesa looked at the referee.
The referee soon announced that the match had ended.
“Hwa In wins!”
Five minutes. The outco had truly been decided in under five minutes.
In fact, if one excluded the ti Supesa had spent being cautious at the beginning, the actual clash had probably lasted only a few seconds.
Waaaaaaah-----
The enormous cheers continued.
A razor-thin match was good too, but a crushing fight like this was good in its own way.
“Now that the Alliance Leader has entered the main tournant, she’s not going easy on her opponents anymore!”
“Exactly. Before this, she would exchange at least a few moves!”
One Sword.
Cheers continued for Hwa In, who, unlike in the preliminaries, subdued her opponent with a single sword strike.
It was then.
“Hm?”
“Mm!”
When Supesa trudged off the stage and disappeared from view,
Hwa In remained standing still.
In the sa place where she had stopped at the beginning.
As everyone looked at that in puzzlent—
Swish.
The hand holding her sword moved.
Was she going to return it to the scabbard?
Those who thought that froze.
“!”
“Huh?!”
Her sword stopped while pointing in one direction.
“Ah!”
“Huh—”
The tip of the sword pointed toward the spectator stands.
There were many people in that direction, but everyone soon realized whom the alliance leader was indicating.
“One Sword!”
“It’s Kim Hae-Yi, right?”
“Huh, for the Alliance Leader to do sothing like this—”
In the direction she pointed sat Kim Hae-Yi, the Heavenly Demon, with his arms crossed.
The atmosphere began to boil in an instant.
The Cooperative Alliance.
The alliance leader of that giant organization with the largest number of mbers, soone usually famous for being quiet and reserved, had shown a gesture like this, so naturally the atmosphere could only heat up.
“Ah! One Sword!”
And so people began to realize it.
The move the alliance leader had shown today.
“One Sword Kim Hae-Yi!”
Kim Hae-Yi, who subdued his opponents with one gesture.
The alliance leader’s match this ti, as if she were looking at him.
People marveled.
“What kind of relationship do those two have?”
“Do they have so kind of history?”
But so wondered whether there was sothing between Kim Hae-Yi and Hwa In.
Because—
“Isn’t he too calm?”
“He looks relaxed. Kim Hae-Yi looks far younger than the alliance leader.”
The Heavenly Demon was looking at the tip of that sword far too leisurely.
“Haha—”
No, he actually laughed.
“!”
“......!”
The surroundings were shocked at that sight.
Shing.
Hwa In returned the sword to its scabbard and stepped down from the stage without the slightest lingering hesitation.
-Kim Hae-Il.
Cale flinched at the Heavenly Demon’s quiet voice transmission.
The Heavenly Demon was smiling, but that voice transmission was cold to the extre.
Why, why?
Unable to speak, Cale only looked at him fearfully with his eyes saying that.
The Heavenly Demon grinned and said,
-The alliance leader used voice transmission to ask whether I know Ahn Roh Man.
Huh?
What the hell does that an?
As Cale grew puzzled—
-So I said I do.
The Heavenly Demon did know of Ahn Roh Man. He had never actually t him, but he knew how the ga board was moving.
Both the Heavenly Demon and Ahn Roh Man were aware of each other’s existence.
-Then the alliance leader said this.
The Heavenly Demon’s smile deepened, but his voice transmission grew even colder.
-She said I had quite the nerve to co looking for her without running away.
Without realizing it, Cale blurted it aloud.
“What the hell does that an?”
What was that alliance leader thinking right now?
The Cooperative Alliance.
Its alliance leader.
And the existence of the Wanderers.
Finally, Ahn Roh Man.
Cale’s mind began spinning furiously.
“Huh?”
And at the mont a ridiculous but plausible guess rose in his head—
-Kim Hae-Il.
The Heavenly Demon’s voice transmission continued.
-Why the alliance leader is doing this to is of no importance to .
His voice was savage.
It felt as though thick blood was clinging to it.
-Since she dared ntion running away to , the alliance leader will have to pay the price.
Gulp.
Cale swallowed.
Pat, pat.
Alberu, who had been quietly watching, patted his shoulder and whispered kindly,
“Why are you so scared?”
This crown prince, seriously!
Just as Cale turned to glare at Alberu in irritation,
the Heavenly Demon muttered quietly,
“This is amusing. Truly amusing.”
If Raon had seen it, he would have said the Heavenly Demon’s eyes had gone strange.
Cale got a little scared.
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