“Guwooh!”

The ogre thumped its bare chest. The monster was poorly dressed in untreated leather.

It was a unique action taken to display its great power.

“

Shieek

!”

“Tskkk!”

The lizardmen spread out in ranks to the sides of the ogre as they slowly approached. They would not dare act rashly within the boundaries of the elves’ territory, where all sorts of traps were lying hidden everywhere. However, since they were situated in an open area, the lizardmen were willing to have a go with the elves.

Boom! Boom!

In addition, an ogre was by their side. Normally, they would not even dare to encroach upon an ogre’s territory. It was reassuring to have one as their ally.

No matter how cruel and fearless the elven warriors were…

“Tssk?”

The lizardmen fluttered their long tongues while dreaming of finally exacting vengeance for their fallen comrades. However, they became stunned when someone suddenly rushed out from the crowd of elves.

“Hu. Man…?”

However, their shock only lasted for a short moment. How much danger could a stupid human possess? To think that he was equipped with such heavy armor in this hot, humid jungle, it was truly…

Fwoooooosh

!

Something erupted from the body of the human knight as he ran forward with a sword in each hand. In response to the volcano-like flare, the leaves of the surrounding bushes soared into the air as if a storm had descended.

Flutter!

Wings made of flames had sprouted from the human.

The flow of air was distorted by the huge wings burning in brilliant silver white, and the bushes that made direct contact with the wings crumpled.

“

Tzzzaaahk

!”

Agitated lizardmen scattered around. It was the first time in their lives that they had come into contact with the energy, but they recognized the danger surrounding the human knight who was charging towards them.

Unfortunately, it was much stronger and more frightening than the aura of their reliable ally, the ogre.

“

Guwwwooh

!”

But the ogre reacted differently.

It could not forgive the arrogant challenger who dared challenge its reign as the king as the monarch of this area, rushing towards it without hesitation. More importantly, it could not tolerate the fact that it had been daunted by the small human, who was nothing more than prey to be feasted upon.

“

Guwwwwohh

!”

The ogre thumped its chest once more before rushing forward with a roar.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every time the 30-foot-tall monster took a step forward, the earth trembled. The monster’s eyes glimmered red as it moved. It was truly a fearful sight. A monster that possessed power rivalling many orc warriors and quick reflexes was charging towards a small human.

As it narrowed the distance between itself and the arrogant human,

“Guwoooooh!”

The ogre opened its mouth wide, and a roar burst out in a red torrent. It was much more intense than Orc Fear. It was a unique roar of the ogres known as Blood Howling.

The roar contained enough power to stiffen even the stronger, larger monster like the griffons and the lycanthropes for a moment. The power containing instinctive terror collided with the silver-white, wing-shaped spirit.

Boooom!

The ogre’s skill disappeared without a trace as it collided with the Spirit of the Dragon.

“Guwoooh…!”

The ogre became flustered when his skill was rendered useless. It had feasted on the creatures of the forest after paralyzing them with the very same roar.

In that moment, the monster’s most frightening memory resurfaced.

The being who had caused it to move together with the lizardmen. The old human had encroached upon its territory on a day of pouring rain. He looked frail and weak, and all it would have taken was a simple finger tap to break his skull.

Blood Howling had no effect on the old man either.

On the contrary, the old man had burst out into mocking laughter before knocking it out by calling down a red bolt from the gray sky.

Now, for the second time in its life, it was facing a similar situation.

“Guwooh…!”

The ogre realized that it was daunted and let out a cry to overcome its fear. However, the ogre did not know. Its previous experience would have been a preferable choice to its current predicament.

Woosh!

Raven rotated his body while maintaining his momentum, and he swung the Widow’s Scream with vigor. The Spirit of the Dragon swirled around his body as he moved and stretched out in the direction of the sword strike along with the owner’s will.

Craack

!

The ogre hurriedly raised its long arm after seeing the blade fly towards him while tearing the very air.

“

Guwwwwohhh

!”

It roared.

But it was a different roar than the previous sounds. It was a scream full of pain.

“Guwooh…”

The ogre stepped back while flapping its bloodied arm. The arm appeared as if it had been torn and mangled by a giant saw blade. However, it had not suffered a significant injury due to its firm, thick skin and large muscles.

Nevertheless, the ogre became more cautious as it faced the second calamity of its life. It realized that the human exuding the strange spirit was as dangerous as the old man who had overwhelmed it with lightning.

‘It is an ogre after all, huh…’

Raven observed the ogre with a deep frown. His attack had contained his full power. The technique he had utilized was something he never showed before. It was a skill that allowed him to project the Spirit of the Dragon through his sword.

It was a similar skill to those used by an extremely small number of knights in the past. The ‘Sword Masters’, those who had the potential to become sorcerers, possessed a similar kind of skill. The Sword Masters denied their fates to become wizards and exuded the mana accumulated in their bodies using specially crafted swords or spears.

Naturally, in order to utilize such a skill, a high level of mental strength was essential to feel even the smallest movements of one’s body and mana. In addition, the technique took a huge toll on the user’s stamina. As such, it was a trump card to be used in moments of desperation or to turn the tides of the battle.

Therefore, Raven had never had the need to use the skill in the battles he suffered until now. Even though he had signed a contract with Soldrake, he had not been sure if his physical and mental strength could handle the utilization.

And even if he was capable, nothing good would result from revealing one’s strength that surpassed other human beings.

Historically, most of the Sword Masters had lived miserable lives. Beings with such great power troubled other humans, especially those in power, such as lords and kings. If a single human commanded the power to kill dozens or hundreds of people in a single strike, the influential figures had no choice but to keep the man in check, regardless of the circumstance.

People tended to flock around the strong, and the formation of a new power was never a welcome sight for the existing powers. Therefore, if Raven displayed such a power, it was clear that the emperor and the high lords would not stand still.

Even now, there were quite a few high lords who tried to keep him in check because of Soldrake.

 If they were to find out that Raven could pass the human limits even without a dragon by his side, they would be left with no other choices to take.

Therefore, Raven never used the technique when there were humans watching.

However,

‘Things are different now.’

The opponent was a monstrous being capable of rivalling dozens of human knights, and only elves and lizardmen were in the vicinity. It was an opportunity for him to test the powers he had held back until now.

“Guwoooooh!”

Even though it had suffered some injuries, the ogre attacked without faltering. Raven’s eyes glimmered momentarily. 

Whoosh!

The ogre’s weapon flew towards Raven while creating a shockwave. It was a humongous axe created by ramming a sharp boulder into a log. It was a fast, ferocious attack capable of decimating a human body instantaneously. 

Raven elevated his senses to the limit, and he watched as the blow headed towards him. As if time had stopped, Raven could see the wild energy circling around the ogre’s makeshift axe like snowflakes. He carefully observed the worn-out components and gaps in the boulder that had crushed countless monsters in the Great Forest. Then, he moved without delay.

“Suaaaaaah!”

Letting his held breath loose at once, Raven drew the Widow’s Scream, the only sword in the world that could fully contain and expel the Spirit of the Dragon. There was no other weapon more compatible with the Spirit of the White Dragon than the horn of the dragon herself. 

The sword wrapped in a silver-white light capable of blinding the world and flew towards the boulder with a dazzling flash. 

Booom!

With a deafening roar, the rock exploded into dozens of pieces.

“Guwoooh!”

The ogre was shocked beyond belief at the destruction of its weapon. It had crafted the weapon immediately after becoming an adult. Then, it saw a cold glimmer shine through the scattering pieces of the boulder. 

It was the last light that the ogre saw in this world – its kingly reign of more than a decade had finally come to an end. 

Craaack

!

The sword made of a dragon’s horn could not be destroyed even by the legendary metal Orcon. The legendary blade delved straight into the forehead of the ogre.

The Spirit of the White Dragon flowed through the sword and fiercely penetrated into the ogre’s head, which ruptured everything inside of the monster’s head.

Splat!

Along with the sound of something exploding, dark red blood sprouted from the seven orifices of the ogre’s head. Without even having a chance to scream, the large body of the ogre started to tilt sideways.

Booooom!

An ogre, the king of the mountains, fell down with a large sound. 

Befitting of its large stature, blood constantly flowed from its fallen body and reddened the ground. Raven pulled out the sword from its head. He was covered in the ogre’s blood from head to toe.

Then he slowly turned to the lizardmen, who were staring at him with blank expressions. 

“

Hieek

!”

The lizardmen watched the unbelievable event from beginning to the end. Fear filled their reptilian eyes. The being had brought down the king of the terror with a sword of light – the same creature that could not be defeated even with all of their 

tribesmen’s

 strength. 

He held a sword flowing with red blood.

Fwoooshh

…

The ogre’s blood vaporized like a fog in the presence of Raven’s spirit. The sword of Pendragon once again shone eerily in the red clouds. It was enough to instill great fear in the enemy while bolstering the allies’ momentum. 

“

Kyarararararara

!”

Eltuan gave a thrilled shriek. The elves had seen an ogre collapsing for the first time since they settled down in the Great Forest. 

The first attack of the Red Moon Valley elves began with Eltuan’s cry as the signal. 

“Kyarararara!”

Woooosh!

Elven warriors ran past Raven’s sides like a tide.

Shishishing!

The warriors in the rear fired poisoned arrows, and those who ran forward threw boomerangs covered in poison. Dozens of boomerangs drew a beautiful arch and swept through the lizardmen’s formation.

“Tsuwae!”

The lizardmen raised their shields to block the oncoming arrows, but their arms and legs were cut through by the curved boomerangs. Most of their injuries were minor, but the poison produced by the Red Moon Valley elves was incredibly potent. 

In the time it took to take a few breaths, dozens of lizardmen fell to the ground, their eyes and nose pouring out blackened blood. With their formation disrupted, the elven warriors jumped in with their buffalo-horn blades with Eltuan at the forefront.

“Kyarararat!”

A dance of death unfolded before the sorcerer’s tower.

*** 

Deep in the Great Forest, on the path to the Assia Plateau. A large structure stood erect, hidden by numerous trees and bushes. No one knew when it was made or who created the structure, and even monsters, large and small, avoided the place. 

However, it had become someone’s ‘castle’ several years ago, and all of the gathered monsters followed the orders of the most powerful being in the history of the Great Forest. 

“St. Ra. Nge. En.Er. Gy”

Thousands of monsters with different appearances from different races bowed their heads as a being spat out accentuated words.

Goblins, lizardmen, harpies, knolls, ghouls, lycanthropes, trolls.

The monsters would normally kill and devour each other when they came into contact, but they were now gathered in a single place, bowing their heads towards a specific place.

The creature receiving their attention was 20 feet tall, and it was adorned in a black chest plate made of unknown metal. The creature received the reverence all too naturally, and it continued on.

“It. Is. Time. To. Follow. Master’s. Orders.”

Thousands of monsters lifted their heads and growled. Unlike their wild counterparts, a strange light glimmered in their eyes.