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Chapter 35

Having broken through to the External Force Tier, Leonard found that his body and internal energy were so strong that the monster wasn’t challenging. It was difficult to call this fight a worthwhile experience. If he were still in the Body Refining Tier, the blade-like wind would have torn his body apart, and severing an arm in a single strike would have been nearly impossible.

Now, he could kill a Rank B2 monster without receiving a single scratch.

But even if I chase after and kill the monsters that are hiding from me, it would only serve to vent my anger.

After he slightly calmed down thanks to the Owlbear’s sacrifice on behalf of all the other monsters, Leonard pondered how he should act. For him to gain practical experience, a place with a three-skull risk level was not good enough. He needed to venture deeper. The problem was what came afterward.

“For areas with a four-skull risk level and above, apprentice knights are prohibited from entering unless accompanied by a knight from the Order of the Fledgling Dragon.”

The Cardenas family had made this judgment because it was clear that no matter how talented an apprentice knight was, the apprentice knight would only suffer a death in vain if they entered such a high-risk area alone. The family was not wrong about this.

Most apprentice knights would be appointed to a knightly order when they reached the Third or Fourth Degree External Force Tier, and they would leave the island once promoted to low-rank knight (squire). Therefore, even if the apprentice knights were talented, they were at best at the Fifth Degree.

Moreover, from the four-skull risk areas and onward, even mid-rank knights who reached the Sixth or Seventh Degree did not enter unless they were in a group. Bradley was the only strong knight on Galapagos Island who could enter alone and return safely.

“Huh?”

Leonard suddenly detected a moving presence at the edge of his mana senses.

An Owlbear? Where is it going?

At first, he thought it was drawn by the death of its kin, but then he realized it was heading in a completely different direction. Owlbears were the dominant species of the Owl Plains, and their tendencies were similar to those of the Lower Five Sect’s disciples. Therefore, it was a rare event for Owlbears to rebel against anyone superior to them. It was more probable that this other Owlbear wanted to deal with uninvited guests who, like Leonard, had come from outside the Owl Plains.

According to Ian, the mid-rank knights of the Order of the Fledgling Dragon would go out to hunt and earn mana stones in their spare time, but...

Leonard’s intuition said otherwise. With a huge number of knights absent due to night training, would the remaining knights abandon their duties to try to fill their pockets? At the very least, the knights he had seen in the Cardenas family were unlike the disciples of the prestigious clans and great sects whom Yeon Mu-Hyuk had seen and encountered in his previous life.

Everything will be clear once I check it out myself.

Having made up his mind, Leonard once again activated the Waning Moon Fleeting Art. A faint mist enveloped the wolf leather cloak, rendering him almost invisible to the naked eye. While it was less effective on the monsters of the Owl Plains, this technique was effective against humans. The martial arts of the Central Plains murim were primarily designed with humans as the opponent.

He accelerated, using the wind at his back to propel himself.

Five Elements and Six Divinities Arts

Golden Iron Star

Whirlwind Step

The White Tiger of the West, one of the Four Symbols, governed the wind. The principle of its movement art was to draw in the surrounding wind to create a small whirlwind. The technique couldn’t be used in windless areas, but it was useful for covering long distances quickly where natural wind existed.

Once airborne, Leonard would no longer leave any footprints on the ground. As such, the Whirlwind Step was good for shaking off pursuers.

I can probably catch up soon at this pace.

Leonard’s gaze turned cold. The Galapagos Island was an educational facility for apprentice knights and was only accessible to the Cardenas family. If the uninvited guest was a Fledgling Dragon knight neglecting their duties, the situation would be wrapped up with Leonard being a little disappointed in the knight. However, if it was an unknown person who had slipped onto the island, it would be a different story.

“It wouldn’t matter even if I killed them.”

The prospect of being able to slay a human instead of a monster caused his eyes to sharpen in anticipation.

***

The Thirtieth Shadow of the Kurdish Kingdom was on the island. He was a shadow knight who had abandoned his name. He had entered the island with a nervous expression, all for the sake of overthrowing the evil empire. He was trembling with rage.

“Damn Cardenas devils! They secretly raised so many monsters! What are they scheming? Are they finally revealing their true colors?!”

In order to locate the Cardenas family’s offspring, the thirty-two shadow knights scattered in different directions and entered deep into the island, which was full of monsters. Before long, they came to a realization. To break through the center of the Galapagos Island by force, the Fifth Shadow and the rest of the knights would have to wage a full-scale assault.

They had only ventured a few kilometers inland, yet they had encountered several Rank A monsters rarely seen on the continent. Trolls were a piece of cake compared to these Rank A monsters. Monsters like griffins, wyverns, and ogres were on par with Sixth Degree External Force Tier knights once they advanced to the Second Stage.

The average Tier of the shadow knights participating in this operation was Eighth Degree External Force Tier, but only the Fifth Shadow would be able to reach the center of the island.

I’ve strayed too far. My sense of direction is growing unclear, and I don’t know which way to go. Fortunately, the monsters are getting weaker.

The Thirtieth Shadow let out a long sigh. As soon as he spotted a True Demon Tier griffin, he took a big detour and eventually lost his way. The advance squad had come all this way to restore the glory of the Kurdish Kingdom and expose the evil of the Cardenas family, but they were in too much of a mess. Lamenting his wretched state, the shadow knight closed his eyes briefly and redirected his thoughts.

Damned Cardenas! Breeding high-rank monsters in secret on this island—this fact alone would garner condemnation from the whole world if it was exposed.

Though his conjecture was far from the truth, facts mattered little to those who chose to believe in rumors.

Navigating this place with the stars...I’m not far from my destination. Once I get out of these plains, I’ll have to rest a little.

He immediately absorbed the mana stones that rose from the corpses of the Owlbears. He couldn’t do much about the fatigue he had accumulated, but he could recover some of his mana.

The trainees here may be seeds of evil, but they are still young. They will not be my match.

The Thirtieth Shadow was unaware that someone had appeared behind him and was watching him.

Hmmm.

As soon as Leonard discovered the unknown individual, he noticed that the uninvited guest harbored ill-intention in coming to this island. The intruder was radiating bloodlust and was dressed in black from head to toe; both his armor and sword were black.

The energy radiating off the intruder seemed to be biased, something that did not exist among the knights of the Cardenas family, and the intruder seemed accustomed to killing humans. In a way, this type of martial artist was more familiar to Leonard.

The existence of this island itself is not so secretive. It may be an ambush out of hostility or vengeance against the Cardenas family, or a surprise attack targeting the technology or resources here.

Leonard was a seasoned veteran who had been through countless battles, and his experienced eyes saw through the opponent.

He’s at the Eighth Degree External Force Tier, huh? The overall flow of energy is unstable, so he most probably broke through recently or forcefully increased his Tier. I can sense an unidentifiable energy emanating from the sword and armor—magic equipment, perhaps? I should be careful of that.

In a sword fight, Leonard would never lose. It was even questionable whether there was a swordsman in this world better than him at fighting other human beings.

However, it was necessary to be careful if powers like magic, enchantments, or spirits were in the picture. He had learned long ago that he should approach unknown things with humility.

It’s unlikely that the intruder infiltrated the island alone. He seems to have been separated from his group, but just in case...

What if the intruder had a device capable of calling allies from a distance beyond the range of Leonard’s mana senses? It could be a dangerous situation.

A whirlwind of speculations and thoughts crossed Leonard’s mind in mere seconds. His vast combat experience and intuition, which Leonard had honed by surviving countless life-and-death situations in his past life, led him to one conclusion.

This is an opportunity.

It was not an impulsive conclusion. This place, the Owl Plains, was not too far from the area where Leonard and the other apprentice knights were located. However, the fact that the intruder hadn’t called his allies meant that either he was too far from them or that calling them was too flashy. Above all, the man was exhausted.

The man had only recovered a little bit of energy by absorbing the mana stones while still covered in wounds. Even if Leonard could use his martial arts expertise to bridge the gap between the Third and the Eighth Degrees of the External Force Tier, the intruder’s magic equipment could bring about an unexpected turn of events that could prove fatal.

Leonard recalled the moment he had almost died when the red troll had self-destructed in what was otherwise a one-sided fight.

I should start with sealing his pressure points and then subdue him. Afterward, I’ll interrogate him.

Leonard had heard that non-mage individuals needed to shout an incantation to use magic equipment. There were a few types that could function just by supplying power, such as a spatial portal, but most portable magic equipment required an incantation.

If this was true, what if he could prevent the intruder from shouting the incantation?

The magic equipment would be nothing but expensive trash.

With his plan set, Leonard briefly closed his eyes, then opened them. It was time to act. A small stone flew toward the Thirtieth Shadow from behind, grazing his ear and embedding itself in the ground. It was a crude throw, but the Thirtieth Shadow couldn’t help but be startled. He was ambushed and hadn’t sensed anyone’s presence.

For someone at the Eighth Degree External Force Tier, his mana senses had already entered the realm of hyper-sensory. Not noticing an enemy taking position behind him and letting them attack first was frightening.

“What! Who’s there?!”

The shadow knight quickly turned around, a yellow sword energy flaring from his sword. Leonard was already behind the Thirtieth Shadow. He reached out his hand.

Stab.

The energy, which was concentrated into Leonard’s finger, pierced through the energy shield enveloping the Thirtieth Shadow and channeled a stream of energy into his Amun point.

If Leonard intended to assassinate him, things could have ended right then. The acupoint he targeted was at the back of the neck, and a deeper strike would have been fatal or at least crippled him.

However, Leonard was going to interrogate him, so he quickly withdrew his finger and stepped back.

“...! ...?!”

Suddenly rendered mute, the shadow knight looked back at Leonard in shock. Be that as it may, Leonard felt a pang of disappointment. It had gone as expected, but the effectiveness of acupoint strikes had diminished significantly. Another knowledge point he knew from murim had shattered.

If I aimed for the Ma point, Su point, or Hun point, I would have failed. Unlike the martial artists from murim who have unclogged meridians throughout their bodies, he has a very strong energy shield protecting his acupoints. Other than the Amun point and the Sa point, I wouldn’t be able to use acupoint strikes unless it was with a proper finger art.

It was similar to why experts in the Creation Realm would not be subdued by acupoint strikes. The flow of energy, which they could circulate subconsciously, would deflect any outside energy. Unless they accepted it willingly, external forces wouldn’t be able to reach their acupoints. Of course, Leonard had no intention of mastering acupoint-striking because he wasn’t going to rely on them.

Eventually, Leonard unsheathed his sword.

“...!”

The shadow knight saw Leonard, then pointed his sword at him.

The shadow knight was dumbfounded. The enemy was a child who had yet to have his coming-of-age ceremony, and he had even successfully sneaked up behind him and sealed his ability to speak to prevent him from saying anything.

It was clear that the shadow knight was flustered, but as soon as their swords crossed, the shadow knight’s blue eyes quickly calmed. He had a lot of practical experience, and his martial arts skills were very good.

Leonard smiled after evaluating the shadow knight’s ability.

“Not too bad. Let’s see if you can handle this.”