Chapter 110: The Decaying Eye of the Moon

As the dust settled, the soldiers of Clarman Territory began to regain order.

Meanwhile, Cayman and his companions anxiously kept their eyes fixed on the scene.

“What are you doing here?”

A voice came from behind them—Raion’s voice.

Everyone jumped in surprise and turned around.

“Master! What happened to you?”

“What on earth happened, Master!”

“Weren’t you inside there?”

Questions poured out all at once, and Raion glanced around before replying.

“I was inside. Some things happened. Anyway, let’s head back to the lodging and get ready to depart.”

“Depart?”

It was still the middle of the night.

Leaving the fortress now was dangerous.

“I’ll explain on the way, so pack up quickly. And, Dejir.”

“Yes, Your—… Master. Please speak.”

Dejir almost called him Your Highness, but corrected himself.

“We’re heading straight back to Kanas. What will you do?”

“Right now, you mean?”

“If you want to come along, you may.”

“To Kanas?”

He hesitated, worried about crossing the Clamen Mountains.

Once they crossed, all contact with the Royal Capital would be completely cut off.

“Do as you wish. Either way, word about me will reach the Duke soon enough.”

Because of Parcian and Harold, who had escaped from the Eye of the Moon Chelon Branch.

If they had used teleportation to return to their base, they would no doubt pass along information about Raion to their superiors.

Naturally, that information was most likely to reach Duke Alito.

“Anyway, everyone, get ready!”

With that, Raion turned and headed toward the lodging with his companions.

After using an artifact to teleport, Parcian and Harold arrived in a wide chamber.

At the same time, both of their silhouettes collapsed and they fell to the ground.

“Ugh…!”

As groans escaped their lips, a door on one side opened.

From it, a middle-aged man slowly walked out.

It was Stain Craven, the leader of the Eye of the Moon.

“You two ended up like this? What in the world happened?”

Two Sword Masters were severely beaten.

Having no idea of the situation, Stain Craven was utterly dumbfounded.

Harold staggered and spoke with difficulty.

“Ugh…! We were defeated by the prince.”

“The prince? The very one I sent you to take care of?”

“Yes. As we suspected, he was none other than Raion Dragonia, registered as an S-rank adventurer in Praizen.”

At those words, Stain’s expression hardened.

“You mean that prince did this to you two?”

“…Yes.”

Even as he heard the answer, he found it hard to believe.

Then, beside him, Parcian let out a crazed roar and swung his dagger violently.

“Aaaargh!”

Shraaaak! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaaaang!

The aura blades bursting from the dagger tore an entire wall apart.

But the excessive attack seemed to drain what little strength Parcian had left, and he collapsed to the floor.

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He’s enraged… that’s all.”

“You mean to tell me both of you were taken down by a single man?”

“He wasn’t a Sword Master on our level.”

“Then what was he?”

Harold paused, then spoke quietly.

“A Grand Master…”

“What? Are you saying he’s truly a Grand Master?”

Sword Masters were generally classified into three tiers—

Lower, Intermediate, and Advanced.

The higher they rose, the more their blue aura would turn pure white.

But even that wasn’t the end.

Above that existed a realm so rare only a handful across the continent had ever reached it—Grand Master.

“His aura wasn’t a form of flame. It carried the essence of pure white lightning.”

“Hah…!”

That was the defining trait of a Grand Master—the aura of thunderlight.

Harold had witnessed that form in Raion’s final Aura Blade.

Parcian had seen it too.

That was why he had lost control just now, unable to contain his fury.

“But there were two of you.”

“The realm of a Grand Master is on a different plane.”

With a single swing of his sword, he had split not just a building but the very ground beneath it.

It had been in an enclosed space, too.

Had it been an open field, they couldn’t even imagine the extent of his power.

That was how far beyond their comprehension Raion’s skill was.

“This is impossible… But Raion Canel hasn’t even held a sword for five years!”

Of course, both men knew that fact.

That was why they had assumed he was merely a Sword Master of genius level.

But their assumption had been completely wrong.

“We’ll have to gather intelligence again. More importantly, the plan has fallen apart.”

“I apologize… This was our failure.”

The plan had completely crumbled.

Stain furrowed his brow, his mind racing.

Having left Clarman Territory, Raion quickly procured horses and rode deep into the forest.

Their mounts galloped without pause.

As they sped through the woods, monsters inevitably appeared.

Shraaaak! Shraak! Shraaaak!

Aura gathered on the blade of Raion’s sword as he cut through orcs and goblins in a single sweep.

“……”

Those following behind swallowed hard at the sight.

“But shouldn’t the horses be exhausted by now?”

They had been riding since midnight, and now the sun was already rising.

At this pace, the horses should have collapsed long ago.

“Don’t worry—just keep riding!”

“Did you do something, Master?”

“I don’t feel like explaining, so just ride faster! Our destination is the entrance of the Clamen Mountains!”

At Raion’s shout, Cayman glanced at Dejir and asked,

“Aren’t we going the same way we came from?”

“There’s something I need to check!”

The horses kept running, crossing through the Praizen Territory without stopping.

In truth, Raion had inscribed a remote Engraving of Restoration on each of their saddles.

Because of that, whenever the horses began to tire, the marks would heal their fatigue and allow them to continue running.

Dakadak! Dakadak! Dakadak!

They rode until the sun hung high in the sky.

Eventually, following the border of Marlen Territory, they reached the far edge of the Clamen Mountains.

Only then did Raion raise his hand, signaling everyone to stop.

“From here on, we go slowly!”

The horses calmed down and slowed to a walk.

At the same time, everyone sighed in relief, shifting in their saddles.

“Master! Can’t we rest for a bit?”

“Why?”

Cayman was grimacing.

The others wore similar expressions.

“My backside feels like it’s about to fall off!”

“Ah…”

They had been riding nonstop from night until daybreak.

Even for those who were well-trained, such pain was inevitable.

“All right, let’s rest a bit.”

“Are you fine, Master?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

Raion had used a Third Circle spell, Wind Wall, as a cushion beneath him.

Of course, the others didn’t know that, which made him appear even more mysterious.

“You can dismount the horses. Let’s keep going.”

Grumbling, they continued onward.

They passed along the lower path of the Clamen Mountains, crossing the border of Marlen Territory and moving toward the vicinity of Hasein.

Then they followed the mountain ridge north-westward.

“There are people over there…”

Howard looked curiously at the group of people riding in wagons.

It was strange to see anyone there, as the Clamen Mountains were known to be nearly deserted.

Aizel and Allen shared his puzzled expression.

There were more than just one or two wagons in that group.

“So, it’s finally begun.”

“Begun? What do you mean, Master?”

The direction those people were heading was the narrow mountain pass known as the only entrance to the Kanas Territory.

But even that place was infamous for being surrounded by mountains teeming with monsters.

It was said that without a proper knight order or mercenary corps, crossing that pass was nearly impossible.

“You’ll see when we get there.”

The line of travelers was long.

Raion and his companions joined their ranks and followed along.

After a short while, they spotted a village surrounded by high stone walls.

“There’s a village here…?”

Dejir and the others stared in disbelief.

Of course, Raion and Cayman were calm—they already knew of this place.

“It’s called Clamen Village,” Raion said, leading the way.

As they passed the long line, guards from the territory blocked their path at the entrance.

But only for a moment.

The soldiers recognized Raion’s face and quickly raised their spears aside.

“The prince has returned!”

At the shout, soldiers from within rushed out and lined up in formation.

Raion couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of satisfaction.

“Unnecessary formality—but not unpleasant.”

He murmured as his companions followed behind him, looking around in awe.

As they passed through the gates into the village, their surprise deepened.

“How could there be a village in the middle of the mountains…”

The buildings didn’t look old, and the settlement was larger than they had expected.

While they were taking in the sight, a middle-aged man approached slowly.

“You’ve done well, Master.”

It was Patrick Waver, Raion’s personal butler.

Patrick gave a slight bow, smiling pleasantly.

“It’s been a long time, Patrick.”

“Indeed. You’ve gained quite a few companions, I see.”

His gaze shifted toward those standing behind Raion.

The group swallowed nervously at the dignified aura radiating from Patrick.

“It just turned out that way. But they’re quite capable, so they’ll be useful.”

“I trust your judgment, Master. Also, a guest is waiting for you.”

“I know who it is. Lead the way. Have these ones arranged properly.”

“As you command.”

Patrick gestured for a soldier to summon someone.

Before long, a man came running up hurriedly.

It was Calsios, once the captain of a unit in the Red Sand Mercenary Corps, now the commander of the Clamen Village Guard Knights.

“Master! You’ve finally arrived. It must’ve been a hard journey.”

“You’ve worked harder than I have.”

“But, may I ask… what brings me here?”

At Calsios’s question, Patrick stepped forward.

“These are the ones Master brought with him. Sir Howard is a warrior, Sir Allen is a swordsman, and Lady Aizel is a mage. They’re B-rank adventurers close to A-rank, so please assign them to captain-level quarters in the lord’s castle.”

“Ah… understood. Everyone, please follow me.”

Patrick had already memorized all their information.

The others could only stare at him in shock.

“No need to be surprised. It’s just how he is. Now, let’s go.”

“This way, please.”

Raion followed behind Patrick.

They eventually arrived at a tavern built within Clamen Village, called the Blue Sunset.

Inside, a woman was waiting, bowing her head.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Prince Raion Canel. I am Regina Foster, branch leader of the Eye of the Moon Canel Royal Capital Branch.”

It was the branch leader of the Eye of the Moon’s Royal Capital branch—the one responsible for the incident in Clarman Territory.

Her appearance was not unexpected to Raion.

“You came faster than I expected.”

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