SFRW-Chapter 296

Ch. 296 Sword God From The Ruined World

“Can’t you walk any faster? What, are we on a picnic or something?”  

Choi Kang-soo scowled fiercely, glaring at the two women, but they remained utterly unfazed.  

“We don’t have the energy to walk faster. What do you expect us to do? If you really want us to move quicker, try asking politely while giving us enough food,” Qua retorted.  

Ver chimed in as well.  

“If you want something, you should at least show basic courtesy to your hostages.”  

“What? Courtesy? You’ve got to be kidding me! Do you need to be dragged around like dogs to come to your senses?!”  

Choi Kang-soo pulled out a sturdy rope he had prepared in advance, as if he could tie them up and drag them around at any moment.  

To emphasize his point, he flicked the rope with his hand, as if to say, I can bind you whenever I want.  

“Do whatever you want.”  

“You think you have the guts? You know exactly why you can’t kill us. Do you really think the other Seven Apostles will just sit back if you treat us like that? I’m curious—go ahead. Try tying us up!”  

Mocked by Ver and Qua, Choi Kang-soo let out a frustrated scream, as if he couldn’t believe such women existed.  

“Grrraaaaaah—!”  

If it weren’t for the Seven Apostles…  

If it weren’t for Seo Do-jun’s warning not to make unnecessary enemies…  

Choi Kang-soo would’ve tied them up and dragged them around like dogs, regardless of their gender.  

Watching Choi Kang-soo’s tantrum, Qua and Ver exchanged glances and snickered.  

“Pathetic. He can’t even do it when we dare him. What kind of empty threat is that?”  

“There’s a limit to our patience. Don’t get the wrong idea just because we’re letting you live.”  

At that moment, Seo Do-jun’s icy voice cut through the air, his emotionless eyes fixed on them. The smirk on Qua’s face stiffened instantly.  

Choi Kang-soo was one thing—he was at least fun to mess with. But Seo Do-jun was different.  

Above all else…  

‘That man might actually kill us.’  

‘If he kills us and erases all traces…’  

Of course, if Ver and Qua were to disappear, Seo Do-jun’s group would be the prime suspects.  

After all, they had been tailing them before vanishing.  

But proving their guilt wouldn’t be easy.  

Especially since their relationship with the Six Seats had already deteriorated completely—there was no ruling out the possibility that the cunning Luam had orchestrated things behind the scenes.  

From Seo Do-jun’s perspective, if Ver and Qua continued to be a nuisance, he might just kill them cleanly.  

If it were Ver or Qua in his position, they would’ve done the same without hesitation.  

That was why, unlike Choi Kang-soo—who was harmless to provoke—Seo Do-jun was difficult to deal with, even frightening.  

Even before becoming hostages, they had witnessed firsthand how Seo Do-jun liberated the Guardian Planets of Barhaut.  

‘A man with no weaknesses!’  

‘Where did someone like him even come from?’  

Though they were both Transcendents, watching Seo Do-jun sent chills down their spines more than once.  

It was no wonder Luam and the Six Seats kept losing to him.  

As Seo Do-jun turned away after his warning, Choi Kang-soo smirked triumphantly.  

“Our Uncle never regrets his words. So, like he said—don’t push your luck!”  

Like a fox acting tough under a tiger’s protection, Choi Kang-soo was exactly that kind of person.  

“Hmph! Idiot!”  

Qua openly insulted him, while Ver turned her head away as if he wasn’t even worth acknowledging.  

Regardless, Choi Kang-soo was satisfied just seeing their spirits dampened.  

“It’s not like we have much left anyway. Once we finish here… there’s only one Guardian Planet left. So, until then, let’s cooperate nicely, hostages.”  

As Choi Kang-soo said, excluding the Guardian Planet they were currently liberating, only one remained:  

Pedroma, overseen by Vipiens, one of the Six Seats and an Ancient Dragon.  

His last remark seemed to have some effect, as Ver and Qua exchanged glances and nodded slightly.  

They didn’t know when Kael would return, but one thing was certain—once Vipiens’s planet was liberated, only Barhaut itself would remain.  

‘There’s no way they can just overpower Vipiens like that. Before that happens, Kael needs to return and stop them somehow…’  

Qua hoped Kael would return before Seo Do-jun faced Vipiens and fulfill Barhaut’s request.  

But…  

“Now there’s only one left!”  

Even as the planet’s guardian met his end, Kael never appeared.  

“Rahf, open the dimensional gate.”  

At Seo Do-jun’s command, Rahf hesitated.  

“You’re going now? Shouldn’t we recover our strength a bit more?”  

The opponent was no ordinary foe.  

Facing an Ancient Dragon at the peak of its power was daunting, even for Rahf.  

‘If we just use those two…’  

Rahf’s gaze lingered greedily on Qua and Ver, the Transcendents.  

If he killed them and turned them into Death Knights—or extracted their essence—they could become an overwhelming force, whether for Grichuk or Rahf’s hidden trump cards.  

Even if not, if he used his dark magic to its fullest, he was confident he could build a far more formidable army than now.  

“Stop talking nonsense and open the gate.”  

But Seo Do-jun dismissed him outright.  

“…That arrogance will come back to haunt you.”  

It was a bold statement from Rahf, but Seo Do-jun simply stared back indifferently, as if it were none of his concern.  

‘Uncle is getting scarier, don’t you think?’  

Choi Kang-soo swallowed dryly as he silently asked the Divine Sword.  

『He has no choice. Vandeyan already failed once, and he knows better than anyone how formidable Barhaut is. And if the last remaining guardian is a true Ancient Dragon… this won’t be an easy fight.』  

No—Seo Do-jun was acting on instinct.  

‘But there’s no way Uncle would lose, right?’  

The Divine Sword didn’t answer.  

Only Seo Do-jun and the sword knew the bitter taste of defeat and helplessness they had once felt before Barhaut.  

“Fine, do whatever you want! Damn it!”  

Crushed by Seo Do-jun’s aura, Rahf gave up and opened the dimensional gate.  

This might be the last one.  

As the gate opened, Seo Do-jun stepped through first.  

Choi Kang-soo followed, nudging Qua and Ver’s shoulders.  

“Come on, hostages, let’s go. Who knows? You might be smiling and waving goodbye once we’re there.”  

***

CRACK!  

“This… must be that skeleton’s doing.”  

Veronica crushed the skull of a Bone Ogre three times her size, furrowing her brow.  

Vipiens’s realm, as the domain of an Ancient Dragon, was teeming with monsters acting as guardians.  

Since Veronica and the others were taken hostage, they had hunted them down relentlessly, drastically reducing their numbers.  

Vipiens had allowed it—even deploying Golems across the realm to help them train.  

Undead monsters had appeared occasionally, but they were always few in number.  

Until a few days ago, when their population exploded.  

“Obviously. A Dragon wouldn’t control undead, right?”  

Dragons, the pinnacle of living beings, despised undead—abominations that achieved immortality through blasphemous means.  

The only explanation for the sudden surge of undead around Vipiens’s realm was one:  

Their unwelcome housemate, the Lich Luam.  

The problem?  

These undead recognized Veronica and the others as enemies and attacked relentlessly.  

While undead monsters naturally harbored hostility toward the living, this was only true for wild ones.  

Those with a master would never act without their master’s permission.  

Meaning—  

“They’re trying to kill us?”  

Veronica scoffed at the thought of Luam wishing for their deaths.  

“Could there be another purpose?”  

Rakun pinned down a Death Knight with his shield, suspecting Luam had ulterior motives.  

“Another purpose?”  

Kushak looked puzzled, but Rakun just shrugged after stabbing the Death Knight’s helmet.  

“They know we won’t die to these weaklings. There must be a reason they’re doing this.”  

Veronica twirled her hair thoughtfully.  

“You’re right. That skeleton bastard wouldn’t just leave us alone.”  

But what was his plan?  

Even if his relationship with Vipiens was strained, they were still allies.  

If things escalated, Vipiens would likely stay neutral.  

“Why overthink it? As long as they don’t act directly, we’ll be fine.”  

Kushak shrugged.  

None of them were weak enough to die to mere undead.  

“Right?”  

Even Hyun Joo-yeon and Gloria were far beyond being threatened by undead.  

Or so they thought.

***  

FWOOSH!  

THUD-THUD-THUD!  

A single arrow pierced through space—and dozens of undead collapsed.  

The arrow moved as if alive, tearing through the monsters effortlessly.  

Gloria’s bow, crafted from the World Tree’s roots, carried a unique power: vitality.  

The essence of life itself, lethal to the undead.  

Yet, despite her overwhelming power, Gloria’s expression remained grim.  

‘Their numbers keep increasing.’  

She had lost count of how many she had slain.  

Her quiver was nearly empty, yet the undead kept coming—herding her.  

By the time she realized, Hyun Joo-yeon was nowhere to be seen.  

‘They planned to separate us from the start.’  

Gritting her teeth, Gloria drew her bow again.  

CRACKLE!  

The arrow became a whirlwind, shredding the undead like a blender.  

But as she tried to dash through the opening—  

SLAM!  

Two massive greatswords crashed down, blocking her path.  

Dragon Bone Knights.  

Undead warriors forged from dragon bones, far stronger than ordinary skeletons.  

Forty of them stood before her.  

Gloria frowned.  

After fighting for so long, facing forty Dragon Bone Knights alone was daunting.  

And her arrows were almost gone.  

There was no guarantee other undead wouldn’t swarm her mid-battle.  

She had been too complacent.  

“What now? I’m in trouble.”  

A sudden voice made her turn.  

Perched on a tree branch like a shadow, Ratio leisurely bit into an apple.  

“Wow, I get to finish my snack here.”  

“…You.”  

The moment Gloria saw her, she understood everything.  

“Oh, if you’re waiting for Vipiens, forget it. He won’t come.”  

Ratio smirked.  

Luam had already intercepted him to prevent interference.  

Gloria was on her own.  

SWISH-SWISH-SWISH!  

THUD-THUD!  

“I should practice my archery too. I’m getting rusty.”  

Ratio’s arrows barely missed Gloria—psychological warfare.  

“Prove you’re the bow’s true owner.”  

Gloria’s eyes narrowed.  

“Why should I? It’s already mine.”  

She fired instantly, shattering the tree Ratio sat on.  

CRASH!  

Ratio barely dodged, grinding her teeth.  

“When you die, I won’t even leave your bones intact.”  

Ignoring the threat, Gloria focused, asking Dea to retrieve as many arrows as possible.  

‘Just hold on…’  

No matter how vast Vipiens’s realm was, she trusted her allies would find her.