Chapter 1062: A Sword King Without A Sword
At first, Northern didn’t know how or what to answer.
’What is Bairan scheming now...?’
Northern had a few ideas—actually, one solid idea. But he couldn’t tell if he was right. Did Bairan truly want to help, or did the bunco want to pull something again by simply showing off?
Either way, his help would prove tremendously valuable in battle.
"Not just one, but all of the monsters we encounter until we land."
Bairan dropped to one knee before Northern, making Northern nearly stagger back.
’What?’
His face twisted in shock.
It wasn’t uncommon for Bairan to show respect, but he’d never knelt before. Suddenly, Northern sensed the bastard was plotting something—especially with that mischievous grin plastered across his lips.
"Th—There’s really no need to bow, you know?"
Bairan answered with a calm, measured, silken tone.
"Why wouldn’t I? You are the man I serve. I shall exterminate all monsters for you, my lord."
Raven, Thalen, and Eli stared with unreadable expressions. Eli even averted his gaze, scratching his cheek. It felt bizarre and unsettling to watch the older, stronger man paying such dutiful reverence to Northern.
It sparked their curiosity, but they were wise enough to know some questions were better left unasked... at least for now.
Bairan stepped forward. He carried no sword, nothing in his hands. Then he leaped lightly onto the ship’s railing, staring up into the storm as the vessel hurtled forward at terrifying speed.
"Do you need a sword?"
He glanced back, then faced forward again.
"I’m fine without one, Master."
Northern muttered under his breath.
"Of course you are..."
Bairan was the finest swordsman he’d ever known. Northern was certain the man could accomplish devastating feats in impossible ways.
Honestly, even he looked forward to seeing how the Sword King would win a battle without a blade.
Bairan stood at the ship’s bow, scanning, waiting. For the first dozen seconds, even as the storm grew more vicious, threatening to crush the desperate vessel, Bairan remained silent, watching.
Everyone on the ship—whether panicking or not—wore stoic expressions. After all, there were no children here.
Bairan sighed, and the look in his eyes shifted. A soft, subtle blue light gleamed in his gaze as he murmured.
"Now, the world shall witness my master’s might."
He raised his hand.
In that instant, Northern felt something. The Paragons felt it too. Everyone did. Some recognized it, others didn’t.
But Northern knew it all too well.
’Will?’
Yet this felt different—difficult to describe in words. This one felt like a weapon, not someone’s weapon. It felt like the world itself wielded a blade. Something akin to a volcanic eruption—the world’s vengeance upon its inhabitants.
Similar, yet not quite. Northern had to silence his thoughts to witness it with absolute focus!
The world remained unchanged, nothing seemed different, yet as Bairan lowered his hand, the storm across the entire sky split.
It was a real, physical, visible divide. A straight, smooth line carved across the storm above—so colossal and long it seemed the heavens themselves had been sliced apart.
The storm lost its cohesion and collapsed into heavy rain, battering the sea’s surface.
Bairan stood on the ship’s bow, one hand tucked inside his coat, watching with a slight smile as rain pelted him.
The others—Eli and Thalen—stared wide-eyed, their faces pale with shock as rain battered them, soaking their hair and skin. Even Raven, who usually showed no expression, was stunned, blinking more frequently than usual.
Northern himself was thunderstruck.
’Hell! That was will. The will cut! It sliced the storm. There was nothing, yet it cut?! What the hell was that?! Will? But there was no ability channeling the will? All he did was drop his hand! Fucking hell! Who is this man?!’
A second later, as the storm dissipated from the severed sky, a massive form was revealed. Northern frowned as the monster’s shadow engulfed the sky.
As the creature descended, a thunderous roar tore through the heavens. The beast was a colossal serpent, its body coiled endlessly like divine retribution. Its flesh shimmered with a glacial sheen, textured like ancient weathered mountains, yet impossibly smooth—as if sculpted from frozen void.
Its wings spread wide—not feathered or scaled, but veined and sinewed like those of a corpse bathed in moonlight. From its sides protruded twin talons, elongated limbs tipped with dagger-like claws that snapped at the air with unnatural precision.
All this wasn’t yet terrifying enough—it was the monster’s head that embodied true horror. Even Northern trembled slightly.
On its head, a singular, massive maw gaped wide, ringed with serrated teeth that churned like an inverted vortex. No eyes above, but instead, two rows of glowing crimson orbs embedded along its neck—six on each side—pulsed with malevolent intelligence, moving independently, watching from every angle like a predator forged for war.
Paragon Eli’s jaw dropped.
"Holy... shit."
Northern had to glance at the Paragon but couldn’t laugh or even think—the monster above them radiated such horror that the atmosphere grew suffocating.
He felt watched—not just observed, but scrutinized. As if he stood before eyes of judgment, every action weighed and measured intensely.
Raven’s expression remained cold, her gaze sharp and unwavering, fixed on the abomination above them—vast as the entire sky.
Thalen was equally pale. He frowned and clenched his fists. Lynus and Jeci stood farther behind, their expressions equally stunned, but they showed no fear.
Perhaps because they knew who commanded the battle’s forefront and trusted his abilities completely.
Eli and Thalen didn’t, though. Their expressions screamed: "We’re fucked."
Bairan, however, still wore that subtle smile, one hand tucked inside his coat.
"Oh? Did I not cut deep enough..."
He withdrew his hand and studied his palm with grave intensity.
"Was I holding back?"
His frown deepened.
"Or did I underestimate it?"
His eyes blazed with fury.
"This is disgraceful to my Master’s reputation, which I’m sworn to uphold. Bairan, how can you be such a disappointment..."
His expression contorted.
"Now I’m furious with myself..."
He looked up.
"And guess who I’ll unleash it on..."