Raon narrowed his eyes when he saw the middle-aged man dressed as a mercenary standing in front of Dorian.
‘He’s a mercenary with the power of a master… .’
There are a large number of masters in the Six Emperors Ohma and equally famous families and kingdoms. Since there are countless martial artists, it is only natural that there are several masters.
However, although there are an incalculable number of martial artists, there is a group with an extremely small number of masters.
mercenary.
Mercenaries who sell their power and pride for money have a lot of combat experience, but their level of power is low because they do not undergo systematic training.
‘Besides, talented warriors quickly escape being mercenaries.’
If you have the talent to become a master, you can accumulate much more money, fame, and status by joining a famous family or kingdom than by living as a mercenary.
Even though they had outstanding talent, the only people who remained as mercenaries were those who wanted to become or those who were eccentrics who loved freedom.
‘but… .’
Although it is extremely rare, there are also reverse cases.
There have been cases where masters belonging to prestigious families or kingdoms despaired of their skills not improving and ended up living like useless people, or became mercenaries after being kicked out after an accident.
‘That’s him.’
Raon chuckled as he looked at the middle-aged mercenary straddling his legs.
‘Mark Goeton.’
He was a knight from the Kingdom of Warner, considered to be just below the Six Emperors, and became a master at a young age. However, out of despair after not being able to escape the lower ranks for over 10 years, he was kicked out after an accident and became a mercenary.
The nickname he got as a result was ‘Nakhwado,’ which is a slur meaning ‘a fallen flower.’
He was still a junior master 10 years ago and 20 years ago, and he is still a junior master.
‘But it’s a little different from what I expected.’
Raon whetted his appetite by looking at Mark Goeten’s well-forged sword and trained body. As expected, he didn’t seem to be able to believe all the rumors.
“Come when you’re ready!”
Dorian’s excitement had not subsided yet, so he turned his wrist without noticing that the person in front of him was Mark Goeton.
“I don’t mind anytime.”
“That sounds good.”
Mark Goeton laughed as he looked at Dorian’s eyes, which were full of confidence.
“W-what is it?”
Dorian’s shoulders trembled as if he sensed something strange.
“With that kind of strength at that age, you will become a master before you turn 30.”
Mark Goeton lowered his gaze and narrowed his eyes.
“Hey, it’s not that bad… .”
“However, you will not be promoted above the level of Master.”
“… “What does that mean?”
“Becoming a master is open to those with great talent and perseverance. Even if you are late, you have talent, and if you practice with all your might, the path will open one day. but… .”
Futility and despair began to appear in his eyes.
“Those who move up from the lower level of Master need real talent beyond talent. Just like Raon Sieghardt, the vice leader of your frenzy. Unfortunately, you don’t have that talent.”
“Well, I know I don’t have talent like Budanju. But if you don’t try until the end… .”
“I am. He’s a narrow-minded guy. “It’s also extremely narrow.”
Mark Goeton raises his sword with a crooked smile. A chilling feeling emerged from the blade, which was as thin and curved as a crescent moon.
“That’s why I feel sick when I see a confident kid like you.”
“Ugh… .”
Dorian bit his lip as a cool wave seemed to lower the temperature. However, he held his sword tightly and lowered his posture as if he had no intention of backing down.
-hey.
Lars saw the look in Dorian’s eyes and turned his head.
-Aren’t you going to die like that?
‘I won’t let that happen.’
No matter how rough I raise them, I have no intention of letting them die or suffer serious injuries.
‘What I want is enlightenment.’
-Awakening?
‘okay. Both Dorian and his foul-mouthed sister are very mistaken.’
Raon looked at Dorian’s back with blue eyes that looked like glacia flowers in bloom.
‘This stupid match is for the sake of enlightenment.’
* * *
Office in Addis Sepia.
Knock knock!
The door opened with an urgent knock, and a young warrior came in and bowed his head.
“Yes, Lord of the Chamber of Commerce!”
“What’s going on?”
Addis, who was looking at the documents, slowly raised her gaze. His eyes were dry and showed no emotion.
“I’m busy right now, so if it’s not important, talk to me later.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at the document again. My gaze quickly shifted as if there was something urgent going on.
“It’s the youngest master’s job.”
“hmm… .”
As soon as the word youngest came out of the unmanned person’s mouth, Addis’s eyes, which had been moving left and right like a pendulum, suddenly stopped.
“What’s going on?”
Addis raised his head. A clear curiosity seeped into his gaze that had been dry a moment ago.
“The third lady took the youngest master.”
“Where? “You must have figured out the location, right?”
His calm voice rippled like the sound of waves. His words were not easy to understand.
“It’s the escorts’ training ground.”
“Do you even know who is there?”
“These are the warriors that the third lady recently hired. There’s Totten Lovell, Kelmek and Mark Goeten.”
“Two top experts and one master.”
Addis frowned as he tapped the document with the pen he was holding. She sighed briefly and touched her temple.
“Did you take Dorian with you to spar with them?”
“I guess so. “He will try to show that the money he has accumulated is greater than the strength of the youngest master.”
Old butler Rigwin, who was standing on the right, nodded.
“No matter how much you hate it, it’s really immature of you to immediately touch the youngest who came back after 9 years.”
Addis crumpled the paper with spilled ink. His forehead was wrinkled like the paper.
“It is true that the youngest master is stronger than his peers, but none of the three will be able to defeat him.”
The young warrior placed his hand on his chest and bowed.
“If you just give me the order, I will go and stop it right away.”
He built up momentum as if he was just asking to speak.
“Hmm… .”
Addis did not answer but tapped the desk with his pen.
“Did Dorian go alone?”
“no. Sieghardt’s prosecutor, who came with us, also followed us.”
“Right. “Then that’s it.”
He chuckled and took out a new document from the right side. He looked down and looked at the documents as if it was no big deal.
“Shanghoe Lord?”
“Leave it alone.”
“Yes?”
“If he’s there, nothing big will happen. “I told you to leave it alone.”
“Who on earth is that person?” .”
“Raon Sieghardt.”
“Raon jigha… “White Sword Dragon!”
The young warrior was scared and took a step back.
“Why is that person here… .”
“They said he brought Dorian with him as the vice leader of the Gwangpungdan… .”
“Well, then shouldn’t we have to go even further? Baekgeomryong may not intervene because it is a household matter, or if he does, a big fight may break out… .”
“That won’t happen.”
Addis even smiled slightly as if she was convinced.
‘It can never happen.’
As a merchant, I don’t know how much I know about the martial arts power, but when I saw Raon’s true eyes here, an old thought came to mind.
‘I felt like I saw the leaders of the Six Emperor Five Demons.’
I also felt similar to when I saw leaders who were not in their teens or twenties like Raon is now, but in their thirties and had reached a certain level of maturity.
‘monster. ‘It is what it is.’
As I said to Raon, I am confident in my ability to see people, but I was unable to understand the personality of Raon Sieghardt.
There was no way a man like that would fall for the third child’s tricks. It was clear that he would break the child’s plan and provide great help to Dorian.
“And Prosecutor Raon is fully qualified to get involved in this matter.”
“yes? What is that… .”
The young warrior who had been standing blankly raised his head.
“You, Dorian, and Palen are all very mistaken.”
Addis smiled and knocked on the desk.
“Because what that child has accumulated is not just military power.”
“that is… .”
“Still not sure? that… .”
“Shanghoe Lord.”
Rigwin, the quiet old butler, took a step forward.
“If you don’t finish your work now, you will have to stay in the office tomorrow.
“Oh, I guess so.”
Addis nodded and looked at the documents.
“It’s time to see Master tomorrow, so you must prepare.”
“okay. I just waited for today… .”
He shook his head hastily and frowned.
“That’s not it!”
* * *
“Keuuuuuuu!”
Dorian let out a suppressed groan as he blocked Mark Goeton’s path.
‘What is this person… .’
The energy I felt was weaker than that of Totten Lovell, so I thought I would win easily, but that wasn’t the case at all. The difficulty of the sword method, the aura emitted, and the physical ability were all on a different level.
Just by blocking the attack once, all the strength in my body went out.
“You can’t stop it even like this… . “I guess I thought too highly of you.”
Mark Kötten flexibly wielded the sword. The blade imbued with extreme prowess fell with an eerie light.
“Hmph!”
Dorian unfolded the Qinghua Yuun, the season of the Ten Gates of Swords. The blue clouds that bloomed like flowers formed a thick film of sword energy, but Mark Goeton’s Tao instantly tore that solid film apart.
Kwaaaaang!
Dorian was thrown backwards, feeling as if his chest had been hit with a hammer.
“Ugh… .”
I tried to hold it in, but a scream came out of my mouth. It seemed like she had suffered internal injuries, as her stomach was rumbling violently, as if she had been riding for a long time.
‘It wasn’t a special method… .’
Mark Goeton destroyed his season with a strike that could hardly be called a technique. This meant that there was a big difference in skill.
‘Extreme even at the highest level. or not… .’
master.
Dorian’s chin trembled as he saw Mark Goeton slowly approaching. When she realized that the other person was much older, the excitement that had filled her head cooled to a chilling degree.
“Um, over there?”
Mark Goeton did not answer Dorian’s call and fired a diagonal attack.
Hahaha!
Dorian urgently countered the attack by simultaneously deploying the Ten-Moonhyeongeom and Unhyeonbobeop, but he was unable to handle the powerful impact and was thrown back.
“Keuuuuu… .”
“what?”
Mark Goeton lifted his chin as he looked at Dorian, who was breathing heavily.
“Sir, what is your name…?” .”
“It’s Mark Cötten.”
“Falling flowers? “Huh!”
Dorian, who called himself Nakhwado, covered his mouth.
“It doesn’t matter if you tell me. Because it’s true that my sword fell.”
Mark Goeten’s expression did not change even after hearing the derisive nickname Nakhwado.
“And I am your future too.”
“Ah, what on earth are you talking about earlier!”
“There is a period of stagnation for martial artists who become masters. “It’s a period of time when your skills don’t improve for a while due to the reaction of overcoming the wall.”
“I’ve heard of it… .”
Dorian nodded stiffly. When Raon became a Master, Rimmer told him about his stagnation.
“Some people continue to climb the stairs to heaven without any stagnation, but there are also people who cannot escape that stagnation for the rest of their lives. like me.”
Mark Goeton smiled a sad smile on his face that was difficult to describe.
“So when I see a confident young guy like you, I want to crush him and make him understand the topic.”
The pottery blooming from his Tao gradually began to thicken.
“I don’t like talking too much, but the conclusion is good.”
Palen snorted and pointed at Dorian.
“Stomp on the head first. “Don’t let me raise my head again.”
“It looks like they’re really hated over there too.”
Mark Goeten looked back at Palen and grinned. The energy that was condensed in his path gathered and twisted to create a thick and sharp river.
Wooooow!
Dorian swallowed dryly as he heard the powerful sound of the river crossing. He held the sword with both hands without backing down or running away.
“Are you saying you want to continue even after seeing the river crossing?”
Mark Goeton frowned when he saw Dorian’s eyes trembling in fear.
“Well, I’m not special compared to the people around me.”
Dorian looked at Mark Goeton and took a deep breath.
“I lose both my strength and my mental strength.”
Compared to Raon, as well as his team members Buren, Runan, and Marta, he has nothing to excel at.
Even though I watched their backs from the closest, I could not gain any insight into swordsmanship.
‘But I learned one thing.’
That you should never give up.
scary. I was very scared of being killed or seriously injured by the river, but as one of Raon’s subordinates who watched Raon closest, I couldn’t do anything and kneel before him.
Wooooow!
The most brilliant light ever rose above Dorian’s sword.
“I have no intention of winning, but I also have no intention of being trampled ugly here!”
“It’s an irritating look.”
Mark Goeton grits his teeth and moves. The energy accumulated on the blade surged out, gnawing away at the space like a saw blade.
“I’ll kneel down at once.”
His sword, which twisted and surged, became a red thunderbolt and rained down.
“Aaaah!”
Dorian burst into spirit and thrust his sword forward.
Dorian roared and thrust his sword forward. In the season of the Ten Swordsmen, who defeated Totten Lovell, the Great Ten Swords created a huge cloud for the second time.
Damn it!
The sword energy spread out criss-crossed filled the air, but it was meaningless in front of the strong energy.
Quaaaang!
The cloud that seemed solid split and Dorian rolled on the ground, vomiting blood.
“Keuuuuu… .”
Dorian tried to stand up immediately, but he only lifted his neck as if his strength had run out. Although he wasn’t seriously injured, he couldn’t move his body due to the recoil and physical shock that consumed all his auras.
“Ahahahaha!”
Palen sneered and pointed at Dorian.
“I knew it would be like this. That’s your level. No matter how much you sharpen your swordsmanship, you can’t defeat even a mercenary I hired!”
She looked down at Dorian with cold eyes.
“While you were wasting time swinging your sword, I was making money. “Money to hire not only those mercenaries, but also warriors who will easily trample on people like you.”
“Ugh… .”
“Before and now, kneeling under me suits you best… uh?”
“Huh… .”
Dorian stood up using his sword as a cane. He made eye contact with Palen and gritted his teeth.
“Oh, it’s not over yet.”
“W-what are you doing! “You woke up!”
Palen hurriedly stepped back and gestured to Mark Goeten.
“Finish it quickly. “Break that snout first!”
“Hmm… .”
Mark Goeton approached Dorian and frowned.
“If you move in that state, it won’t look good, right? “The internal injuries are so severe that you may not be able to move for a while.”
“I’m very scared. “I hate being scared, and I especially hate being sick.”
Dorian took a deep breath and raised his sword. His weak wrist was shaking and his blade looked bent.
“… But I know that now is the time to stand up and take up the sword.”
Now I’m thinking about it, but Raon is not the kind of person who does things like this for no reason. He trusted him and gave strength to his shaking feet.
“I don’t like the look in your eyes more and more.”
The moment Mark Goeton crumpled his face and struck down the sword, the red line struck like a sword.
Hahaha!
The blue sword is roughly pushed away. What appeared before Dorian’s eyes was Raon’s long sword, burning red.
“Why are you interfering? “This is our chores!”
Palen frowned and pointed his finger.
“No, it’s related.”
Raon pushed away Mark Goeton’s sword and looked down at Palen with cold eyes.
“You said that Dorian’s military power was not worth the money you accumulated, right?”
“What is that!”
“I’m sorry, but sword skills aren’t the only things Dorian has developed.”
With a cool smile, he raised his left hand.
“It’s a little harder than Donghwa.”
The fairy tale, broken into two pieces, fell from my grasp.
“It’s a little tougher than a silver coin.”
Second, crumbled silver coins poured out like cookies.
“A little stickier than a gold coin.”
Finally, the gold coins turned into powder and scattered.
“Because we built a relationship called fate.”
“Destiny? What kind of bullshit is that… .”
“Just as you boasted about making money, Dorian came to Sieghardt and built a relationship. It means I am his strength.”
The sword energy, burning as thick as the sun, began to weigh down Mark Götten’s blue pottery.
“I and the other Gwangpungdan swordsmen are ready to raise our swords and risk our lives for this guy. “You can never buy that with money.”
“Off… .”
Palen’s face was distorted by Raon’s cold laughter.
“That guy should kneel too. “Treat it down!”
Palen gritted his teeth and pointed a point at Raon.
“I don’t like your eyes anymore. “It makes my stomach turn.”
Mark Goeton frowned and threw away the sword. A bright blue energy rose above his blade.
“Understand even if it gets a little rough.”
“Did you say Nakhwado?”
Raon tilted his chin and snapped his fingers. A cool chill flashed across his blue eyes.
“I will lower your strength with my sword.”
