Raon unleashed Glacier as he walked towards the main gate of Banneret, the Five Divine Ordersâ city.
He spread the coldness at an extremely small pace, so people wouldnât be able to notice that he was controlling his aura.
âThis is a bit cold.â
âItâs still the central region. This much is childâs play compared to Zieghart.â
âThatâs true. Itâs not piercing through our gloves and boots.â
Since Raon was careful and it was winter, even the Light Wind swordsmen right next to him were unable to notice that he was using his coldness.
Raon stroked his sleeve and examined the people in front of the gate.
The Five Divine Ordersâ warriors were standing in front of the rampart with their spears in their hands, and the entrance was brimming with residents whoâd come to watch the celebrities entering the city.
âIf I was her, I wouldâve started it here.â
Raon had dispatched swordsmen to the main gate during the Thespian Emperorâs visit to pressure her.
If his expectations were correct and she didnât like to lose, she likely prepared to get on his nerves starting from the entrance, just like heâd done.
Huh.
Wrath turned his head and widened his eyes.
So you didnât suddenly start spreading coldness because you are just crazy.
ââŠOf course not.â
The King of Essence thought your energy center suddenly had a hole in it.
âItâs not anything like that. I was trying to find the agitators among them.â
The reason why heâd spread the coldness in advance was to find the instigators among the crowd.
Did you grease your brain or something? How is it working so smoothly?
Wrath started to take notes on his palm, his chin fat shaking in the air. Some letters were being written, but Raon couldnât understand where that was being recorded.
Raon took his eyes off of Wrath and looked at the gate once again.
âItâs highly likely that thereâs no one like that, but if there is, then it wonât be a single person.â
A few instigators were usually dispatched among the crowd to use public opinion as a weapon.
Since there were almost a hundred people in front of the entrance, Raon could guess that there were at least five people ordered there by the Thespian Emperor.
âThat actually makes it easier. I just need to find the signal.â
The instigators wouldnât act independently. They send signals to each other and raise their voices little by little at the most important time.
As long as he could find their signal, which would determine their course of action, it wasnât difficult to find out how many of them they were and where they were.
Whir.
Raon quietly controlled the Perception of the Snow Flower. Once Perception of the Snow Flowerâwhich had already reached eight-starsâwas added to the aura prepared in advance, Raon could feel the movement of people in front of the gate as if he were touching them.
âThe guards are innocent.â
The guardsâ eyes were sparkling like someone who had seen a mysterious animal, and there was no way they could send any signal since they werenât averting their gaze from the front.
âAre they among the crowd?â
Raon focused his senses on the crowd. He observed the movement of their eyes, facial muscles, hands, and chins, but he couldnât notice anything strange.
Maybe there are none.
âThat might be the case.â
Raon gave him a small nod since he didnât notice any signals even though heâd checked all of the spectators.
âIn that case, Iâll have to change my plaâHmm?â
While Raon was thinking that he needed to change his assumption about the Thespian Emperorâs personality, a spectatorâs shoulder trembled from his right.
It was an ordinary reaction, but six other people shook their shoulders slightly in a similar manner from other locations.
Raon focused his aura perception on the seven people whoâd shaken their shoulders. All of them had average might and were extremely young. They were the perfect type of people to act as instigators.
âI found them.â
Raon pretended that he didnât notice anything, lowered his presence further, and walked towards the gate.
By the time he met the guard captainâs eyes standing in front of the gate, the six people that heâd previously noticed gazed at him one after the other.
There wasnât anything like bloodlust. It was just an uncomfortable probing gaze. Some other people in the crowd werenât exactly favorable either, but they were way more natural than them.
The instigators were really hereâŠ
Wrath furrowed his brow.
Seriously, what the hell are you?
He quickly blinked in disbelief.
âJust an ordinary human.â
Raon responded casually and moved the prepared aura little by little to spread it around the seven instigators.
His aura was going to become a thin aura barrier and lock them up when he needed to.
âItâs about time for them to start speaking.â
When instigators tried to get on someoneâs nerves, they usually glared like they were doing before they voiced out something trivial.
It should be too weak to be called an insult or a criticism, and he would look narrow-minded if he argued against it.
If they insulted him instead, it meant that they were most likely not an instigator.
By the time Raon went through half of the road that the crowd had made for him, a young warrior from the right started to speak.
âIs he Raon Zieghart?â
âIt looks like it.â
âHe looks like a wimp, unlike the rumââ
He wasnât exactly insulting, and it couldnât really be called a criticism either. It wasnât anything serious, but it still got on his nerves, which allowed Raon to ascertain that they were dispatched by the Thespian Emperor.
Raon turned his head and the instigator sneered. He seemed to be provoking Raon into saying something.
Raon activated the aura barrier in a split second.
Whir!
It didnât surround the entire space, unlike the other times. The extremely small aura barrier was only covering the area around the instigator and himself.
It was the method that the White Lotus division leader, Ayad, had used, but Raon had learned to use it even better than him.
âWho do you think you are staring at with your dead fish eyes?â
He insulted him inside the aura barrier so that no one else could hear it. The instigator was the only person who looked like he couldnât suppress his laughter upon hearing it.
âWhat did you just say?! How could you say such a thing!â
The instigator shouted loudly, believing that everyone had heard it.
However, Raon had released the aura barrier and his voice spread to the crowd.
âHuh?â
âHmmâŠâ
Obviously, the others were looking at him as if he were a madman.
âWh-what?! Why are you looking at me like that?! Didnât you hear what he just told me?!â
The instigator pointed at Raon with his finger, his face turning red.
He wouldnât have been deceived if Raon had said it through an aura message, but it was bound to work because heâd created an extremely thin aura barrier.
However, it was still not enough. The instigator needed to say something worse so that Raon could seize him and interrogate him.
âShould I try something about the Thespian Emperor?â
Raon created the aura barrier once again the moment the instigator shut his mouth in panic.
âHey, fish. Do you have a fish brain to go with your eyes? Why would you speak in a way that no one other than me can hear you? Was it your master who taught you to do that?â
Raon maintained a dignified expression, but his speech was crude.
âKuh!â
Veins bulged on the instigatorâs face upon having his master insulted when he was already shocked. Raon immediately removed the aura barrier.
âYou son of a bitch, how dare you talk so much trash here!â
The instigator ground his teeth and unleashed his bloodlust. He looked like he was about to attack at any moment.
âErrâŠâ
âWh-whatâs wrong with him?â
âI donât know. Maybe he lost it.â
âHeâs talking perfectly fine though, even though the content would kill him.â
Everyone in front of the gate dropped their jaws while looking at the instigator who got angry out of nowhere.
The other instigators couldnât decide what to do and simply rolled their eyes.
âWhat is this nonsense?! Did you not hear what he just said?! Do you have a caterpillar in your ears or something?!â
The instigatorâs chin was trembling furiously, unable to realize what had happened to him.
Raon created an aura barrier once again and furrowed his brow.
âThank you. I can extort a lot from your master thanks to you.â
Raon couldnât stop laughing in his mind, but he couldnât show it on the outside since lots of people were watching.
âY-you bastard!â
Since the instigator had already lost his composure, he kept shouting without realizing what was happening.
âŠAre you seriously a fiend?
Wrathâs jaw dropped.
You couldnât do this if there was anything human left in you.
His shoulders trembled as he murmured that heâd never thought such evil could exist among humans.
âA-Allen!â
The person who got a signal from an instigator tried to stop him, but it was already too late.
âHey!â
Martha came forward and stood in front of the instigator.
âWhat did you say to our vice division leader, you ugly toad? Do you have a death wish?â
âHuaahâŠâ
He was terrified by her pressure and stepped back before he fell on his ass.
âH-he was mistaken! He sometimes sees things⊠Ah!â
Another instigator who was trying to defend him suddenly screamed upon noticing the blade touching his neck.
Runaan had moved before they knew it, and her blade was on their necks.
âKill?â
Runaan blinked blankly, waiting for the order. The sleepiness in her eyes as she was about to kill people made her the most terrifying among them in a way.
âGreetings, White Sword Dragon.â
The man, who seemed to be the guard captain, walked up to him and lowered his head.
âWe will take care of him.â
âNo.â
Raon shook his head. Since they were clearly on the Thespian Emperor or the Five Divine Ordersâ side, he wasnât about to do anything foolish like hand him over.
âSince he insulted me and revealed his bloodlust, Iâll take care of him myself.â
âBut in this caseâKuh!â frđđđ eđŻđ»ovel.cđšm
Raon unleashed the pressure that heâd been suppressing. The violent wave of energy burst out like wildfire, and the guard captain stepped back while breaking out in a cold sweat.
âAre you telling me that heâs related to the Five Divine Orders?â
âTh-thatâs not true.â
âThen thereâs no problem if I take him.â
âHmmâŠâ
The guard captain bit his lip and looked around.
The spectators were nodding in agreement. They seemed to think that the person who was humiliated should decide his punishment.
âSeize him.â
âUnderstood.â
Krein and the Light Wind swordsmen carried the man called Allen and the other instigator who was trying to stop him on their backs and followed from behind.
âYou are still a novice.â
Raon lifted his head while crossing the gate. He rolled his lips into a smile while thinking about the Thespian Emperor, who shouldâve been watching.
âTry harder.â
* * *
* * *
Crack!
The window frame crumpled like paper in Arielâs grasp.
âTry harder?â
âThat little ratâŠâ
She ground her teeth violently while watching Raonâs back as he followed a guide towards the lodgings prepared for Zieghart.
âWh-what just happened?â
McCain swallowed nervously and went next to Ariel.
âWhy was Allen arrested insteadâŠ?â
âIt was Raon Zieghartâs plot.â
Raon had created an extremely thin aura barrier that only included himself and Allen.
It was so refined that even Allen was unable to notice that he was inside an aura barrier, let alone the others.
âWhat a wicked man.â
No matter how amazing Raonâs aura control was, it was impossible for him to figure out Allenâs identity and create an aura barrier that no one could notice in that short period of time.
âHe mustâve read my thoughts from the beginning.â
She was certain that Raon had predicted that she would dispatch people like Allen the moment he entered Banneret and made the necessary preparations.
âBut how?â
Sheâd made sure to warn Allen and the instigators multiple times so that they would only get on his nerves instead of blatantly provoking him.
Their gazes and comments couldâve come from ordinary spectators. She couldnât understand how Raon had found them out.
âAhâŠâ
McCainâs eyes trembled upon hearing the Thespian Emperorâs explanation.
His face revealed his disbelief at the fact that Raon had made that decision in that short time and took Allen instead.
âThe bigger issue isâŠâ
Ariel furrowed her brow deeply while touching the purple book between her thighs.
âI couldnât read this scene.â
She had checked the heavenâs flow to read the overall situation after sheâd confirmed that Raon was coming to Banneret.
Sheâd seen multiple incidents, but the scene sheâd witnessed wasnât there at all.
âAnd it was the same back then.â
She was confident when sheâd gone to Zieghart in the past because sheâd read heavenâs flow beforehand, but the unexpected actions from Raon had completely destroyed her plan.
It was normal that she couldnât perfectly determine the entire situation from reading the heavenâs flow, and there were many cases where the situation changed.
However, it was the first time that it unfolded in a completely different way.
Rattle.
Ariel lifted her left hand that was holding onto the window frame. The rubble in her hand fell at the same time.
âRaon Zieghart⊠Who the hell are you?â
She would be able to understand if he were a celestial being like Glenn or the other heads of the Six Kings, but he was just a youngster at the highest level of Master. She couldnât believe the fact that he had exceeded her predictions.
âI need to investigate him.â
Since it came down to it, it was necessary to move her body and brain no matter how annoying it was.
She had to discard all of the information she had and obtain new intel to analyze what kind of person he was.
âErr, masterâŠâ
McCain secretly lifted his gaze.
âAllen and Kopel have been captured. Is that going to be okay? If he raises them as an issueâŠâ
âThey arenât officially affiliated with the White Whale anyway.â
Ariel sighed quietly.
âHe should already be aware that I was the one who ordered them. What he did just now must be a warning for us to be more careful.â
Raon had sent a signal to not mess with his Light Wind division by capturing Allen and Kopel. That was why she couldnât use the same method anymore.
âHeâs most likely going to subtly make a request when he returns those two after the festival.â
Ariel bit her red lip slightly.
âMy stomach is feeling worse again.â
The discomfort made it feel like her internal injury had opened back up. She calmed herself down and turned her head.
âMcCain.â
Ariel bobbed her finger at McCain.
âLetâs skip the second step and proceed to the third step right away.â
ââŠUnderstood.â
McCain bowed deeply before leaving the office.
However, he came running back to the office before thirty minutes had passed.
âM-master! Raon Zieghart came to see you!â
Ariel closed her eyes tightly.
âSeriously, this fucking punk!â