Chapter 546
Episode 145: Omen (15)
The Paewang Sword, the secret sealed technique of the Hailan Imperial Sword.
Though the swordsmanship was devised some five hundred years ago and refined by the Hailan clan heads and sword saints ever since, the existence of the Paewang Sword had never once been revealed to the world.
When Ron uttered its name, the sword saints’ eyes shifted. Suddenly, an aura poured from their bodies, etching strange rune-like patterns across their skin.
A murky whirlpool swirled within their pupils, and their pristine white coats—the symbol of the sword saints—turned ashen gray.
It wasn’t just an aura; it looked like a transformation wrought by ancient dark magic or some forbidden sorcery.
“Paewang Sword…? This is Hailan’s blade?” Jin thought.
The Imperial Sword symbolized the ‘righteous path.’ Its inheritors’ swordsmanship always radiated a pure yet powerful energy. But the change in the sword saints now was the exact opposite.
Dark, murky, and ominous.
It looked less like martial arts and more like a form of curse.
Anyone who witnessed the Paewang Sword’s aura would instinctively know: once wielded, there was no turning back.
Strangely, the energy of the Paewang Sword bore a faint resemblance to a sword style Jin knew well—the Paedo, the sword of Runcandel.
“The 24th clan head created this sword not to fight Ziphl, but to prepare for a possible future battle against Runcandel,” Ron explained.
That was why the Paewang Sword had remained hidden for five centuries. It was a sealed technique forged solely to counter Runcandel’s invasion, modeled after their swordsmanship.
The righteous path of Hailan had no place in the Paewang Sword’s purpose.
It was an extreme blade, designed to face the strongest power even if it meant sacrificing the body in a single moment.
In some ways, the Paewang Sword exuded a fiercer, more savage aura than Runcandel’s sword, which came with the safeguard of a ‘blessed body.’
It was like the chilling breath of beasts who had abandoned their future just to win.
“To wield the Paewang Sword alongside Runcandel, fighting Ziphl… how strange,” Ron murmured.
Clack!
The sword saints drew their blades and lowered their stances. The stones beneath their feet cracked, leaving deep impressions.
“Sword Saint Leader Luyan, Paewang Sword activation complete. I obey the clan head’s command.”
“Sword Saint Aquita Hailan, Paewang Sword activation complete. I obey the clan head’s command.”
“Sword Saint Erol Ryman, Paewang Sword activation complete. I obey the clan head’s command.”
“Sword Saint Bel Artemiro, Paewang Sword activation complete. I obey the clan head’s command.”
“Sword Saint Franz, Paewang Sword activation complete. I obey the clan head’s command.”
In unison, the sword saints drew their swords.
At once, a surge of sword energy poured from their blades. The gloomy, ashen light pierced through Keliak’s fiery barrier, advancing swiftly toward the fleet inside.
A monstrous, claw-like trail scarred the air. Ron’s intangible sword energy bolstered the sword saints’ assault, tearing through the flames in an instant.
The falling embers smelled of ash. The thick smoke, swallowing the fire, obscured all vision.
But the five darkly glowing swords pressed on relentlessly.
No matter where they swung toward the sky ahead, enemies filled every direction. Any stray sword energy merged with Ron’s intangible sword energy, finding its mark. The pitch-black haze was no obstacle.
The intangible and ashen sword energies struck the fleet ceaselessly. Occasionally, screams—human and dragon alike—pierced the chaos.
Ron’s growth alone had already defied expectations, but now the sword saints’ transformation added another layer.
‘They’re fighting with desperation.’
Yet Keliak no longer panicked.
His initial clenched teeth upon witnessing Ron’s martial prowess weren’t born from fear of defeat in this war.
Not a shred of such anxiety existed.
Keliak’s momentary despair stemmed solely from losing to Ron within the category of ‘human’ competition.
He felt again the deep inferiority he’d always sensed toward Siron since youth.
“I admit it, comrades. As a human, I cannot surpass you.”
But the Demon God Stone was an artifact that could elevate him beyond humanity. To a god, or something transcendent even beyond that…
A crimson light flickered from Hroti.
The Annihilation Flame Orb, Magic King Type 2.
A fiery sphere swallowed the smoke as it spun.
Even larger than the one Jin had formed during the first battle using the wills of Solderet and Klam, this orb radiated the majesty of a pinnacle spell.
Jin had seen this only once before in his past life—when Valeria unleashed the Annihilation Flame Orb, Type 2.
“That’s my lord’s…”
Lata looked up at the fiery sphere.
Most of the Balmel Alliance and the Sword Saints mistakenly believed Keliak used the same magic as Jin. They thought the power increased simply because a stronger mage wielded it.
And knowing the devastating legacy of Rior that Jin had displayed, they couldn’t help but be tense.
“Keliak Ziphl, you haven’t been idle either. Luyan!”
“Yes, clan head.”
“I’ll stop that. Meanwhile, Octavia will surely attempt an infiltration…”
As Ron spoke, Jin recalled what Valeria had told him in his past life.
—According to records, the Annihilation Flame Orb, Magic King Type 2, surpasses the final form in raw firepower.
—The final form must be superior in other aspects. Stability?
—Exactly. The final form was refined to use Type 2 stably. But that’s not all.
—What other differences?
—Weaknesses. Type 2 is the strongest but has glaring flaws. It even has errors absent in Type 1. Usually, no one survives seeing this magic, and hardly anyone is capable enough to analyze Rior’s perfect magic, so it’s an unknown realm… but look here.
Back then, Valeria had demonstrated Type 2 near Hister’s ancestral grounds, explaining as she cast the massive fiery orb behind her.
—Like paper that reveals writing when wet. When Type 2 begins, if you spread magic around it like this—try it yourself, I can’t maintain this and chant simultaneously—
Following her instructions, Jin scattered his magic, instantly grasping Type 2’s weakness.
The flow of magic composing the Annihilation Flame Orb, Type 2, became visible.
Previously unseen runes shimmered, and countless lines appeared between them.
—Cutting those lines is the key to dispelling Type 2. And you know what happens when the magic is interrupted by someone other than the caster?
—Magic backlash…
—Right. If you cut those lines now, I’ll most likely die. I can’t handle that level of backlash.
Therefore, Type 2’s nemesis was a combination of a magic swordsman or a mage and a knight who knew its weakness.
The mage revealed the runes and lines with magic, and the knight severed them.
Unlike Type 2, the final form’s visible runes weren’t weaknesses, making it the ultimate Annihilation Flame Orb.
“Sir Ron, I will block that with the Balmel Alliance and the Sword Saints.”
Ron’s eyes widened. Jin was volunteering to stop a spell even Ron himself would need to go beyond aura and use true energy to counter.
But Ron didn’t ask for confirmation. He didn’t warn Jin not to be reckless, knowing how difficult it was even for himself.
He simply trusted Jin. To Ron, Jin was no longer a child or a lesser warrior, but a man who always fulfilled his promises.
“What can I do to help?”
“If possible, please enable the knights to fly through your sword wind technique.”
The ten-star warriors used sword energy as a means of flight during aerial combat.
Ron had surpassed that, reaching a level where he could lift others, not just himself.
“How long?”
“Five minutes, no, three minutes will suffice. As long as you can perfectly protect our airborne allies.”
Ron smiled.
That was short enough not to require true energy consumption.
“Simple enough. Shall we begin immediately?”
“Yes.”
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, a fierce intangible wind wrapped around the Balmel Alliance and Sword Saints. The knights, enveloped by the wind, rose into the dawn sky.
“Until Keliak’s magic ends, all Sword Saints follow Jin Runcandel’s command.”
Jin opened his magic. His profound power intertwined with the natural magic, creating a thick, white haze.
Into it, the flames of the Annihilation Flame Orb, Magic King Type 2, began to fall. Swirling bands of fire fiercely engulfed the knights ascending into the sky.
Ron shouted, releasing intangible sword energy. The clashing of sword energy and flames roared wildly, and the knights sharpened their senses, witnessing the explosions erupting right before them.
Sword and fire were locked in a razor-thin standoff.
Jin held back from scattering his opened magic too quickly, wary that Keliak might notice Type 2’s weakness.
‘Now’s the time to release it all at once.’
About a minute passed.
“Balmel Alliance, Sword Saints! Destroy the runes and sever the magic lines connecting them!”
The moment Jin shouted, the one most shocked was none other than Keliak Ziphl.
“They’ve figured out the release ritual for Type 2?!”
No, that can’t be.
This kind of response was only possible if someone already knew about it. And as far as Keliak knew, aside from himself, there was only one person in the world who could know the weakness of Type 2.
Valeria Hister—the last surviving member of the Hister family.
Only now did Keliak become certain that she was already involved with Jin. But by then, it was too late.
Even if it were Keliak or Riol Ziphl, there was no way to retract the already unleashed Type 2 in an instant.
The Balmel Alliance and the Sword Saints were already driving their blades toward the runes and lines of Type 2. Meanwhile, Jin had pinpointed the runes and lines far enough away that their swords couldn’t reach, preparing to unleash the secret technique of Runkandel.
Runkandel’s Fifth Secret Technique:
Light-Speed Thrust — Pluto
Far beyond the flames, the glowing runes shimmered as a blade of electric blue lightning surged forward.