Outside the Frenzel residence, on the main road, Lizbeth jogged over and soon spotted the carriage that picked her up every day.
After seeing the carriage, she slowed down and immediately boarded when it arrived beside her.
At the same time, the flickering shadow that had appeared behind her last time reappeared.
"So? Did he agree?"
Rohm asked as soon as he appeared.
Apparently, the news that Riezel had taken Lizbeth into the mansion for a talk had already reached his ears.
Since Riezel hadn't hidden it either, the fact that he brought Lizbeth into the mansion in front of so many people meant that those with sharp ears had surely heard about it through various channels.
Aside from discussing the attendant contract, he couldn't think of anything else the two of them could talk about, so he asked Lizbeth directly, causing her to shrink her shoulders slightly.
Nevertheless, Lizbeth still answered honestly.
Lizbeth informed Rohm of the situation.
'Wait for the news?'
Rohm mused to himself.
'Seems like he's already considering it.'
Even though Riezel didn't agree right away, this was undoubtedly a very good sign.
"Your Highness, you—"
As Rohm was about to tell Lizbeth to push a bit harder to seal the deal, he suddenly fell silent before he could finish his words.
In the next second, the flickering shadow behind Lizbeth began emitting a gloomy, cold aura.
"W-What's wrong?"
Lizbeth was startled by the sudden gloomy and cold aura.
"...It's nothing."
After a moment of silence, Rohm replied and withdrew his gloomy and cold aura.
"Since he asked Your Highness to go back and wait for the news, let's just wait for now."
After saying this, the flickering shadow behind Lizbeth quickly disappeared.
Only Lizbeth was left in the carriage, her face still showing signs of doubt and confusion.
===
At this moment, instead of returning to the royal palace, Rohm left the carriage and headed toward the outskirts of the royal capital.
Even though it was still broad daylight, his form seemed to blend into the darkness as if it were night. Only a faint shadow remained, silently gliding toward the outskirts of the royal capital, crossing the city walls, and leaving behind the city called Yeluvia.
After a long while, he finally came to a stop in the middle of a desolate wilderness.
"Come out."
Rohm exclaimed to the desolate wilderness, his voice cold and clearly echoed.
"I know you've been following me. No need to keep hiding."
A few seconds later, a faint voice responded.
"I completely sealed off my aura, yet you still noticed me... Looks like I'm not that good at this whole hiding thing, huh?"
With these words, a figure suddenly appeared behind Rohm like a ghost.
Who else could it be but Riezel?
"..."
Rohm was silent for a moment before speaking unemotionally.
"You hid well, completely sealing off your aura, lowering your presence to the minimum, almost turning yourself invisible. If it were any other Sword Saint, they might not have noticed you."
"Unfortunately, when it comes to hiding, I'm confident no one in this world can surpass me—not even Jinas's so-called strongest, Old Sword Saint, can compare."
In short, what Riezel had done was like showing off in front of a true master in this field, so being detected was inevitable.
Riezel gave a faint smile.
"As expected of the leader of the royal family's assassination unit, Shadow, the rumored Shadow Sword Saint... You're quite impressive, huh?"
As Riezel casually revealed Rohm's identity, Rohm turned around and looked at him.
"I'm a bit curious..." Rohm said in a deep voice. "Judging by your demeanor, it seems like you knew about my presence from the start. How did you discover me?"
He believed that his concealment abilities were unmatched in the world and was confident that even a Sword Saint of the same caliber would have a hard time seeing through his concealment.
Up until now, he had hidden himself well from the other Sword Saints, and of all the Sword Saints in Jinas, only one had ever noticed his presence while he was still in concealment.
Now, knowing that Riezel had seen through his concealment, he was naturally puzzled and surprised.
In response to Rohm's question, Riezel simply raised his eyelids slightly.
"Nothing special. It's just that the world I see is different from the one others see."
As Riezel said this, a thick, transparent light gleamed in his eyes.
Seeing those suddenly transparent pupils, Rohm realized that this young man possessed some kind of very special ability, one that could see through all deceptions.
For Rohm, whose main combat methods relied on assassination and stealth, this ability was nothing short of a natural enemy.
"I see... so you had already noticed my presence when you met His Majesty in the throne room?" Rohm asked pensively.
"Pretty much..." Riezel replied with a half-smile. "At least, I clearly saw and felt the murderous intent you showed when I flat-out refused your king's offer."
"..."
Rohm fell silent, and after a moment, he spoke in a low voice.
"So, you secretly followed Princess Lizbeth, led me here on purpose after I noticed you… Was it all to get back at me for that murderous intent?"
Upon hearing this, Riezel scoffed, his lips curling into a smirk.
"Getting back at you? Nah." Riezel clenched his hand, and a sword instantly appeared in his grip. "I'm just curious to see what the Shadow Sword Saint can do. Think you can show me?"
*Bzzz—*
In the next second, his body crackled with lightning and thunder.
A surge of energy locked onto Rohm, making it clear that Riezel wasn't planning to let him leave.
Seeing this, Rohm's gaze turned cold.
"Do you really think you're invincible just because no one could handle your strike in that arena of yours these past few days?" Rohm sneered. "Kid, don't get too cocky. In the circle of Sword Saints, you're still a rookie."
What he said made sense.
In many people's eyes, Riezel was indeed a new Sword Saint and had no problem crushing ordinary swordsmen or even Sword Masters, but when it came to facing other Sword Saints, no one believed he could take them on easily.
"A flash of lightning means defeat? Sure, that kind of rumor might scare some people, but you shouldn't try that in front of experienced Sword Saints, or you might end up ruining the reputation you just built."
Rohm's words weren't exactly malicious, but they definitely stung.
It was clear that Rohm had been provoked by Riezel's attitude.
Riezel, still wearing a calm expression, looked at Rohm indifferently.
*BOOM!*
Without warning, a lightning bolt exploded, like a thunderclap tearing through space, shooting toward Rohm at incredible speed and crackling through the air as it went.
"?!"
Rohm's eyes narrowed, and the moment the lightning bolt surged, he instinctively transformed into a shadow as dark as black water and darted to the side.
*Swish!*
As the lightning bolt grazed the shadow, it triggered a lightning-encased slash that struck empty space, slicing through the air with a high-pitched sound.
Needless to say, Rohm had clearly dodged Thunderclap and Flash.
Since Riezel returned to the Akasha Continent, Rohm was undoubtedly the first to dodge his Thunderclap and Flash perfectly.
"Do you really think this move will work on me?"
Rohm's gloomy, cold voice reached Riezel's ears.
"For so many days, I've seen you use this move a thousand times, so it definitely won't work on me."
If it had been Rohm's first time seeing Thunderclap and Flash, he would have found it a bit tricky to handle, but after seeing it repeatedly, he could easily counter this superfast iai slash.
Since even Sword Masters like the Letto brothers had identified the flaw of Thunderclap and Flash and developed countermeasures after seeing it twice, it was even less of a challenge for a Sword Saint like Rohm.
During this period, Riezel had used Thunderclap and Flash countless times against many challengers in the arena, so it was no surprise that Rohm had completely seen through it.
"Whenever you use this move, there's always a thunderous roar first, and once you perform it, you can't change direction or alter your move. In other words, as long as I dodge the attack path the moment the thunder roars, there's no way this move will hit me."
Saying this, Rohm drew his sword.
Like a formless black liquid swaying, the sword in his hand looked as if it were made entirely of shadows, its blade as black and ethereal as the darkness itself.
"Let me show you, even though you've become a Sword Saint, you're still just a rookie and no match for an experienced one."
As soon as Rohm finished speaking, his figure vanished, and all that was left was the shadow sword, seemingly floating in mid-air.
In the next moment, as if manipulated by an invisible force, the shadow sword suddenly slashed toward Riezel.
*BOOM!*
A thunderous roar echoed around Riezel's body again as he shot toward the shadow sword.
However, Rohm's shadow sword was like a ghost, first vanishing and then reappearing suddenly in another position—this time, right in front of Riezel.
"Black Sword - Shadow Slash!"
Rohm's gloomy and cold voice echoed.
In an instant, black light seeped from the shadow sword and slashed toward Riezel from mid-air.
*BOOOM!*
For the third time, a thunderous roar rang out, but this time, the sound wasn't from thunder but from the ground being sliced open.
A black light, like a sword beam, cut through the earth and wilderness, leaving a massive, deep chasm in the ground.
Rubble flew into the air, a sandstorm stirred up, and the shockwave exploded outward, blowing away rocks, rock plates, and everything else in the surrounding area.
With just one sword slash, it felt as if the world was shaking.