Omniscient First-Person’s Viewpoint-Chapter 531: A Mountain Beyond a Mountain

Grull moved like a bolt of lightning. Striking and retreating in an instant, he never missed a single opening, piercing through the briefest of gaps. The two daggers, sharp as fangs, slashed mercilessly at his opponent’s weaknesses. With these weapons, Grull feared no enemy.

"A technique that only works with prior preparation? How half-baked."

However, neither Grull’s prized technique nor his beloved weapons worked against Marquis Raphaeno. The marquis advanced slowly, leaving a trail in the air as if he were indifferent to whatever Grull attempted.

"Do you have to push against the ground to move that distance? You only grow stronger by preparation... How weak. You are weak, Grull—far too weak."

Each time Grull used his technique, he dragged his foot against the ground. Raphaeno instantly identified this trigger and relentlessly pressured him. The moment Grull attempted to brace himself, the marquis targeted his legs, suffocating him with overwhelming force.

"Your qi techniques, the elixirs you consumed, and the skills you honed... That is your preparation, Grull. Have more faith in yourself."

"Stop acting so superior!"

"It is not an act, merely a fact."

Marquis Raphaeno’s breath remained steady as he stepped forward. The Vulcan Combat Manual was a qi technique designed for duels. When the marquis leaned forward and extended his leg, his entire body elongated like a spear. From Grull’s perspective, the marquis shot forward like an arrow.

"He’s faster than me...!"

Without his technique, Grull fell behind in both strength and speed. Was it due to talent? No, even before discussing that, the two of them stood on completely different levels.

Raphaeno’s qi techniques were more refined. His internal energy was more abundant. And on top of that, he had never neglected his training. He planted his foot into the ground like a towering tree, then in a single moment, exploded his qi, propelling himself forward while fully extending his body to maximize his movement.

"It’s not just that. His techniques are flawless! There is not a single wasted movement!"

The techniques Grull now faced had been developed and refined over decades—no, centuries—by those hailed as geniuses. Seeing their pinnacle firsthand, Grull barely had time to admire it before he was forced to dodge. A streak of light grazed past his vision.

Grull, who had been about to rise using the recoil, suddenly recalled Raphaeno’s technique and instead extended his foot, deliberately toppling himself. If he had lifted his head, his throat would have been severed.

Losing his stance was dangerous. The marquis’ rapier twisted and slashed downward at him. Watching the blade descend toward his abdomen, Grull, still lying on the ground, used Ground Leveling. It was a gamble—his first attempt at using the technique in this manner—but it worked. His body slid two meters across the ground, narrowly avoiding the rapier, which instead dug deep into the earth.

"A technique is a new source of power. It is like gaining an extra hand to move freely. Yet your technique is merely an extension of conventional movement techniques. Moving quickly with qi... That is something even an ordinary qi user can do without reaching the level of a technique."

Even as he spoke, the marquis took two steps forward in pursuit.

Ground Leveling was essentially a form of teleportation, a movement akin to a shrinking technique. But Raphaeno’s footwork was so refined that, to the eyes of an ordinary person, his speed was almost indistinguishable from Grull’s technique. His mastery of footwork compensated for the lack of a technique.

"Because of that very technique, you, who never mastered proper footwork, cannot be my opponent."

With a wet squelch, blood spurted from Grull’s side as his flesh was torn open. He gritted his teeth, forcibly sealing the wound with qi.

He could not win. If he had prepared the terrain in advance, before fighting the wolves, perhaps he would have stood a chance. But in his current state, even defending himself was a struggle. In truth, even if he had prepared, he likely still would not have won. No matter how fast he moved, if he was caught in the rapier’s trajectory, he would only end up injuring himself.

"It is because you have not learned properly. A warrior as keen and talented as you making such a misjudgment... Tsk, tsk."

While Grull gasped for breath, Raphaeno remained unshaken.

"Do you truly not understand why you’ve survived until now, Grull? Do you think no one ever considered obtaining the elixirs from these lands? The reason no army was ever sent to seize them was simply that the risks outweighed the benefits. The wolves and beasts would have torn them apart. Instead, it was left to adventurers and mercenaries."

Grull had built his business with the roaming Beast Faction, bringing them both wealth and power. His abilities were exceptional, but his opportunities had only arisen because of the King of Beasts.

"But now that the principalities have taken direct action, you should have joined us. It would have been beneficial for both you and us. However... if you insist on standing against us, we will have no choice but to cut you down."

Grull scoffed. The idea was laughable. He had refused the marquis’ offer because Raphaeno had made it clear he intended to drive out the beastkin.

"For someone so profit-driven, why do you insist on expelling the beastkin?! What do you think you can accomplish in the Enger Plains without them?!"

The divide between their perspectives was clear. Raphaeno furrowed his brows.

"Hmm? If your people remain, it will be difficult to send settlers."

"They are the settlers!"

"That is not for you to decide."

"No! We decide for ourselves what we will be and what we can do!"

"Regrettably, Grull... that is not your decision to make."

The twin daggers flew. The advantage of dual-wielding was sheer numbers—just as a single hand could not block two, a rapier alone could not easily deflect daggers coming from separate angles. In such cases, the best approach was to target the wielder’s body to halt the attack.

But Raphaeno chose a more troublesome method.

"It is power that decides."

He slashed ahead of time, severing one of the daggers before it could reach him. Then, shifting, he parried the second blade. The past strike blocked the left, the present strike blocked the right—

And the future strike would cut Grull down. The sunlight glinted coldly off the rapier.

"Without strength, one cannot impose their will upon the world, Grull. Return when you have grown stronger—if you can."

"Stop!"

At that moment, the regressor intervened. A gust of wind tore through space, hurtling toward Marquis Raphaeno. Sensing its power, the marquis clenched his fist and struck the air.

A volcanic burst—Exploding Crush. The gathered qi in his fist caught the wind and crushed it. Advanced qi techniques could imbue not just steel but even air itself with power. Raphaeno seized the wind and swung it aside.

Boom. Hughes’ attack dissipated upon impact with Raphaeno’s fist. The marquis, rubbing his slightly numb fingers, turned to face the newcomer.

"That was no technique. An artifact, perhaps? Then you must be the adventurer summoned by the Violet Merchant Group."

"Yeah. And who do you think you are, storming in like this?"

Despite Hughes’ appearance, Raphaeno remained unperturbed. If anything, he let out a disappointed sigh.

"Is everyone here only half-baked? An artifact is merely borrowed strength. Those who rely on others’ power will never reach true mastery... What a waste of talent at your age."

Without Jizan, Hughes was slightly below a master in ability. He had lost to Absolute Blade, and even against Earth’s Sage, he had failed to claim a definitive victory. Even with Jizan, there was no guarantee he could defeat Raphaeno.

But Hughes did not care.

"The real waste of talent is you! If you’re so strong, why aren’t you fighting the King of Wolves yourself? Instead, you’re just trying to swoop in and take the spoils!"

Raphaeno, irritated by the persistent interruptions, sighed deeply.

"This is an internal matter of the principalities. Stay out of it. Of course, if you insist, you will have to prove you have the strength to interfere."

But Hughes only scoffed.

"All you do is talk about strength. And you? You’re just some provincial bully throwing your weight around. If you were truly strong, you’d be fighting the Sword Saint, not just lording over a borderland!"

Silence.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Even Raphaeno’s soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. His mustache trembled ever so slightly.

"I see. I have been too patient."

With a slow rasp, he drew a second blade. A pitch-black main-gauche, its ominous gleam swallowing the sunlight.

"There are two of you, so I see no issue in using two swords."

The air thickened with murderous intent. Someone was going to die.

Sensing the impending disaster, Lord Sapien urgently stepped forward.

"Stop, Marquis Raphaeno! If you do not—!"

He made his final move.

"I will petition the Empire and the Holy Crown Church!"

That single statement made not only Marquis Raphaeno but also his entire army hesitate. Confirming that his threat had taken effect, Sapien took another step forward.

"The Enger Plains are the land where Saint Enger planted his banner! We, his descendants, are the rightful rulers of this land, noble protectors who have shed blood and sweat to defend it! Any attempt to seize this sacred, anointed land for yourself is an affront to justice and will not be tolerated!"

Had this been merely a territorial dispute between principalities, such a declaration would have been meaningless. However, invoking the name of the Saint carried weight beyond borders. This argument held undeniable legitimacy, and the Empire would not pass up an opportunity to intervene.

"You... You should not have said that."

—But for Sapien, this was a terrible misstep.

Marquis Raphaeno quietly gave his command.

"Everyone, prepare for battle."

The soldiers raised their weapons in unison. The battlemages began chanting their incantations, while the elite guards formed a solid formation.

The Black Tiger Army—a war machine led by the Black Tiger General. Each one of them was stronger than the average warrior of the Beast Faction, and now they advanced in perfect order. Their targets were not only Grull and the Regressor, but every beastkin who had been resting after the battle.

"Execute the traitors."

"...What?"

"Public Official Sapien, Grull of the Beast Faction, and that adventurer. The three of them are hereby declared traitors. Anyone aiding them will be executed as well. This is the Black Tiger General’s decree."

The principalities were subjects of the Empire. That meant that their people were inherently of a lower status than the Empire’s own citizens—a fate determined from birth.

Naturally, no one liked a fate that placed them at a disadvantage. And some sought to defy it.

Marquis Raphaeno was one of those people.

The Regressor was aghast.

"Are you seriously starting a war? You’ve lost your mind!"

"Does this feel unjust to you? What can I say? This is how the world works. In the end, when sides clash, the only way to settle things is through force."

The pig beastkin had fought against humans to oppose injustice. Yet once they gained power, they created new injustices in turn. The beastkin of Ende had condemned their hypocrisy and cowardice.

But were the pig beastkin truly the only ones capable of such cowardice and folly?

No. They had simply been a little slower in repeating the same mistakes. Countless revolutions had taken place throughout history, and even the successful ones merely masked their new injustices beneath their supposed radiance.

Humans had always been pig beastkin themselves.

And now, the principalities sought to do to Ende what the Empire had done to them.

"Obelisk! Prepare for battle!"

"Everyone, grab your weapons!"

Panic spread among the beastkin and Obelisk warriors as lightning and flames rained down from above.

It was a preemptive strike—white magic unleashed by the Imperial War Mages to crush the enemy’s morale. The warriors of Ende, having just fought the wolves and still exhausted from rescuing the trapped, were caught completely off guard.

They had no counterforce to match the war mages.

Even in terms of martial prowess, the Black Tiger Army was already far stronger. Now, with mage support, they advanced relentlessly. The weary warriors fell one by one.

And the rescues still hadn’t even been completed.

Regardless of the incoming army, workers had continued clearing rubble to save the buried survivors—until the magical bombardment struck them without warning.

"Toeeeeeng... I barely got out of there... Finally, I can rest—"

"AAAGH! FIRE!"

"Toeeeeeeeng?!"

There was no structure, no strategy—only an ambush from those they had assumed were allies.

Before even considering whether they could win, they had to worry about whether they could even escape.

But by sheer miraculous timing, Ende’s only mage had just been freed. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

The war mages, who had been unleashing indiscriminate magic upon the beastkin, suddenly sensed something amiss.

"Magus Algeos, the triggers have been disrupted."

"What? A unique magic?"

"It seems so. Our wands are unresponsive. Even if we change the trigger, the same issue persists. It feels as if something is interfering with our laws... However, if we channel magic manually, the spells still activate properly."

"A unique magic that controls triggers? Its effect is weak, but the rule is simple and the area of effect is broad. Annoying to deal with in battle."

"Wait. If it’s interfering with triggers—"

"Then... can it also activate triggers?"

"What?"

BOOM!

The ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) mages’ catalysts suddenly activated all at once, sending their spells flying in random directions.

Unlike black magic, which used the caster’s own body as a medium, white magic relied on external catalysts—gems or tools engraved with alchemical circuits. Normally, these tools required only an activation phrase to cast spells, and many had been prepared in advance with triggered enchantments for rapid use.

But those prepared catalysts had now been forcibly activated by Kito’s unique magic.

Flames erupted uncontrollably from the war mages’ wands, engulfing everything around them.

Untrained in defensive magic, the war mages panicked, screaming as they ran in every direction.

"An ambush?!"

"No—it’s a unique magic!"

The war mages were a valuable military asset for the principalities. Their sudden rampage briefly distracted the advancing forces.

And the Regressor did not miss that opening.

"Heavenly Blade Technique—PALE GREEN LOTUS!"

Tianying, a relic that embodied space itself, roared to life.

A violent storm raged across the battlefield, halting the legions’ advance. The chaotic magic now spread on the wind, amplifying the disaster.

The army was forced to pause just for a moment—but that moment was precious.

Seeing the gap he had created, the Regressor turned back and shouted:

"Everyone, run—!!"

"Tch!"

"Futile effort."

A sharp blade rushed toward the Regressor.

Two swords struck at her simultaneously. A swift, lethal ambush—but she dodged by instinct, bending her waist backward with Celestial Reflection.

In raw qi power, the Regressor did not lose to Marquis Raphaeno.

She had consumed countless elixirs using her future knowledge, and she wielded Celestial Reflection, an absolute qi technique.

No matter how fast the attack, she saw and avoided it all.

Her evasive ability was almost on par with Grull, who had mastered his own technique.

"Tch! I can’t counterattack...!"

But no matter how well she dodged, she could not claim any advantage.

Every strike that Raphaeno unleashed remained in place, lingering long after it had been made.

Most techniques worked that way—but his was so overwhelmingly unfair that fighting back was almost impossible.

And there was another problem.

"How long does this last?! There are slashes everywhere! I have nowhere left to retreat!"

The true terror of Continuous Slash was territorial control.

Any space his sword had passed through became his domain.

Unlike Grull, whose technique consumed space, Raphaeno’s only gained more control over time.

The longer he fought, the more the battlefield became his.

Retreating to anywhere his sword had touched was suicide.

But the only safe direction was toward his own allies—which meant dragging them into the onslaught instead.

"This is beyond unfair...!"

"Do you find it unfair?"

Raphaeno spoke as if reading her thoughts.

"It is the same for everyone. Injustice arrives unbidden. The only question is—do you have the strength to overcome it?"

"So you’re just going to drive all the beastkin out?! One day, that injustice will come for you too!"

She remembered the King of Sins and shouted in frustration.

But Raphaeno remained calm.

"Perhaps. But no matter what I do, injustice will come. So I will ensure I have the strength to survive it. If that means becoming injustice myself—so be it."

But that wasn’t injustice.

That was just selfishness.

And before she could argue—

A girl appeared.

A girl with a striped tail, swaying lazily beneath a flowing coat.

She spoke, indifferent to the war, flames, and blood around her.

"I have a question."

And every instinct screamed in terror.

The King of Tigers, Mountain Monarch had arrived.

And she spoke one simple command.

"Where is the Wolf?"