Chapter 17

Reincarnated as the Sword Emperor of the Sword Duke Family (17)

In the Arcadia Empire, the renowned sword family, Cardenas, had no less than seven knight orders responsible for law enforcement. Their unique characteristic was the emblem of dragons, said to have existed in ancient times, emblazoned on their banners and cloaks.

Golden Dragon Knights.

Crimson Dragon Knights.

Azure Dragon Knights.

Black Dragon Knights.

White Dragon Knights.

Green Dragon Knights.

Ethereal Dragon Knights.

Each of these orders was so powerful that they could crush a medium to small-sized nation on their own, and they were a military force prioritizing the protection of the vast and expansive empire.

Except for the Golden Dragon Knights, which only the current Sword Duke could command, the activities of the other six knight orders were so significant that they could not be omitted from the history of the empire. Whether it was slaying demons that suddenly appeared or annihilating waves of monsters, the empire would not be as livable as it is today without their contributions.

“Is it already time for them to come this year?”

Bruno muttered as he gazed out the window.

In addition to the seven knight orders representing the glory of Cardenas, there was one more knight order that was not publicly announced.

Knights of the Young Dragon.

Just as the name suggests, they were a group dedicated solely to the proper upbringing of Cardenas' descendants.

They supplied the essential medicine for the Blood Ritual, classified trainees based on their aptitude, and provided optimized training programs.

“Last time, it was a Salmander Knight Banneret, right? I wonder who they’ll send this time.”

While the position itself was not much different from Bruno’s, anyone who could become a Banneret (Senior Knight) in the Knights of the Young Dragon was at least as strong as him, if not stronger.

If someone with a difficult personality were to be dispatched, it would complicate matters.

It would be better if someone he knew came.

“Hmm, I’m sorry to disappoint you, Sir Bruno.”

It was at that very moment.

The voice that came from behind Bruno, who was standing by the window, sent shivers down his spine, as he had not sensed any presence at all.

If he were attacked from this distance, he wouldn’t even be able to draw his sword before dying.

Even in his body that was far past its prime, Bruno was certain of this. He immediately turned around and drew his sword.

Kiiiiing—...

A blue flash appeared.

A vivid sword aura shot out, piercing the person standing in front of him like a sheet of paper.

Or so it seemed.

“Good. It looks like you haven’t been slacking in your sword training.”

Bruno’s swift sword strike was caught between the fingers of the middle-aged man, who smiled approvingly.

Bruno’s face paled as he finally recognized him.

“S-Sir Fabian!?”

Fabian.

The man called by that name stepped out of the shadows.

Despite his towering height of over 190 cm, he made no sound as he moved. Chuckling at Bruno’s frozen figure, he plopped down into an empty chair.

“It seems you know my face. I couldn’t attend your inauguration, so I was wondering how to handle it if I blocked one of your moves and continued attacking.”

“...You’re taking it too far.”

Bruno exhaled a mix of relief and tension.

“I didn’t expect the Knight Order Commander to come himself.”

Fabian, the Commander of the Knights of the Young Dragon.

Though it was just a training regiment for children, unlike the seven major knight orders, the leader of a group had to prove their capabilities.

And he had achieved that.

A Sword Master.

A formidable expert who had reached the realm known as the Harmonious State in the martial world.

“Your report practically called me here. It’s rare to see such high praise for a batch. Moreover—”

Fabian placed a bundle of papers he had taken from his coat on the table.

It was a document summarizing the current batch.

“Number 1, William, I already knew about him. He’s the eldest son, with a special and powerful innate strength. His attitude towards martial arts was also excellent. But to lose his position as Number 1 to Number 25, Leonard? I felt I needed to see it for myself.”

Bruno nodded in agreement.

“I understand. Number 25 is indeed impressive.”

“Seeing you speak so highly of him even in front of me, I’m looking forward to it. If I’ve made a wasted trip, I might as well straighten out the discipline at the training ground for the first time in a while.”

“Hahaha...”

Bruno, who barely managed to hold back a smile, shuddered involuntarily.

He instinctively knew Fabian wasn’t joking.

Chuckling again, Fabian took out something he had brought with him. Bruno’s face immediately turned serious upon seeing it.

“Is this the year’s supply?”

“Yes. 505 units, neither a drop too much nor too little.”

The Blood Ritual required this item, which was a top-secret within the family. Only the senior instructors of this training ground and the Banneret-level members of the Knights of the Young Dragon knew about it, along with a few high-ranking officials within the family.

Dragon Blood.

A miraculous drug that awakens the potential within the family members and creates organs that should not exist in a human body.

Indeed.

The blood of dragons flowed through the veins of the Cardenas lineage.

* * *

Leonard muttered to himself.

“Mana Core...”

After skipping morning exercises and having breakfast, the instructors finally gathered the children in the main hall and explained the Blood Ritual in detail.

The descendants of Cardenas could awaken the power in their blood and form an organ that accumulates and amplifies mana.

This organ is called the Mana Core, and its number and attributes are determined congenitally, with several levels of classification.

‘It’s similar to the inner dantian that some high-level martial arts practitioners form within their bodies.’

While some martial arts techniques form a dantian when reaching a very high level, the Blood Ritual, which is initiated at the beginning of martial arts training, far surpasses such levels.

The other children were also lost in thought.

Until yesterday, they were known as Number 1, 2, 3, and 4.

The Blood Ritual was conducted in reverse order of their training numbers.

“I’m definitely a Single Core.”

Number 1, William, always exuded confidence.

Number 2, Bellita, frowned and retorted.

“Aim high. A Single Core is a once-in-a-decade occurrence, if that.”

“Then I’ll be that one.”

“What if I take that position?”

William looked at her with a disdainful expression.

“That’s impossible. You lack the dignity.”

“...What are you talking about?!”

Number 4, who thought they had become a bit closer after yesterday’s experience, smiled wryly at their continued bickering.

“Well, regardless of the number of cores, just the existence of a core makes one grow several times faster than an ordinary person. Greed is to be avoided.”

Leonard reflected on what they had said.

‘The number of Mana Cores represents the innate potential of an individual. One core means Primordial, five cores mean the Five Elements. The maximum being five suggests that, as Tianma said, the limit for a living human is five.’

From a martial arts perspective, fewer cores weren’t necessarily better, and more cores weren’t necessarily worse.

If that were the case, the Sword Emperor Lian Wuhex would have been inferior to the Taiji Sword Immortal.

However, in the Cardenas family, fewer cores were considered better, and more cores were considered worse. If the instructors’ explanations were all correct, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

‘A Single Core can fully utilize its power and absorb 100% of the external training resources. The more cores there are, the more their performance is divided proportionally.’

Compared to a Single Core, a Dual Core requires four times the resources, a Triple Core nine times, and a Quad Core sixteen times. In the worst case, a Pentacore, with five cores, requires twenty-five times the resources.

Thus, the perception that more cores were inferior was understandable.

‘Moreover, a Mana Core can perfectly control its attribute without the need to refine natural energy.’

In the martial world, where natural energy is impure and requires several refinements after absorption to maintain efficiency, this was a completely different world.

Therefore, a single attribute that doesn’t conflict or clash is naturally advantageous.

A Pentacore must separate and control five different attributes of energy without mixing them, while a Single Core can absorb and release power as easily as breathing.

—Dylan, come in.

The voice calling Number 4 from the other side of the door where the Blood Ritual was taking place indicated that the remaining trainees had already completed it.

Number 4, Dylan, stood up with a slightly nervous expression.

“I’ll go in first. See you soon.”

As he disappeared through the door, the children, now realizing it was their turn, fell silent.

Even the confident Number 1 looked a bit anxious.

Although he had lowered his guard after fighting Leonard, the uncertainty of the Blood Ritual, which would determine his strength, was unsettling.

At that moment,

“I—”

All eyes turned to Leonard.

No one knew what he was going to say in this situation.

“I’m probably a Pentacore.”

“...What?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Leonard?”

The children, confused, blinked their eyes.

Leonard smiled and offered his own form of encouragement.

“What’s so important about the number of cores? If the efficiency is poor, just acquire more resources. You have the talent and ability to do so. I don’t understand what you’re afraid of.”

The children’s eyes widened in surprise, then they smiled as usual.

William, though less visibly, smiled and chuckled.

“Indeed. The distinctions set by ordinary people can’t measure me. If a Single Core doesn’t choose me, I’ll make it regret it.”

Bellita’s stiffened lips softened.

“Well, when have I ever cared about that?”

“I didn’t know you believed in me so much! No matter how many cores I have, I’ll meet your expectations!”

Heather, more enthusiastically than the others, jumped up and ran into the room, tears welling in her eyes.

She was honest and unreserved in her emotions.

‘He’s become a bit more talkative.’

Whether it was due to his younger body or because he liked these children more, he wasn’t sure.

While he was pondering, the other two were also called in for the Blood Ritual.

No matter how he focused his hearing, he couldn’t hear any sounds from inside the room.

Given the ritual’s secrecy, it was designed to be impossible to eavesdrop from the outside.

A few minutes passed.

—Leonard, come in.

He stood up at the call and forcefully opened the tightly closed door.

The room was several times larger than he had imagined.

From a distance of at least a hundred steps, he met the gaze of a man sitting behind a table.

His imposing figure, the overwhelming presence, and the waves of intent emanating from his body.

‘Harmonious State, or perhaps a Master.’

In his previous life, he would have drawn his sword and challenged this man to a life-or-death duel.

But in this room, he was Leonard, not the Sword Emperor Lian Wuhex.

Suppressing the rising competitive spirit within him, he walked forward without flinching under the gazes.

“I’m Leonard.”

Leonard finally spoke, standing in the center of the room.

Senior Instructor Bruno was seated at one of the tables arranged in a circle around him.

But the one who could speak first in this room was the person with the highest status and power.

Fabian, the Commander of the Knights of the Young Dragon.

His eyes widened as if struck by lightning.

“...Fourteen years old? This is—”

Fabian, who had been unable to take his eyes off Leonard since he entered the room, raised his right hand.

And.

Bang!

Leonard dodged the slow, descending sword strike with a precise half-step backward.

The onlookers were bewildered.

The child, who should have been standing still, had suddenly moved backward.

Only Fabian was genuinely amazed.

“To see that at your age? Really? To be able to grasp a sword with your mind without even entering the Aura stage?”

Leonard had to force a bitter smile.

If it weren’t for his memories from his previous life, even a prodigious genius like him couldn’t see a mental sword at this age.

However, he could point out the mistake in Fabian’s statement.

“Martial arts are built with the mind and honed with the body. The presence or absence of Aura is not crucial.”

The room fell silent.

A mere trainee daring to instruct a Sword Master?

If Fabian were to cut Leonard in two right then, no one would have objected.

But that didn’t happen.

“I’ve learned that even a teacher can learn from a student. I never thought I’d learn from a child today!”

Fabian closed his eyes for a moment, savoring Leonard’s words, then stood up.

Though he knew it was impulsive, he couldn’t help it this time.

“I promise, no matter the result of your Blood Ritual, I will ensure you receive top-tier treatment. This is the vow of Fabian, Commander of the Knights of the Young Dragon.”

Leonard remained calm in the face of this unprecedented situation.

“Thank you.”

It was time for his Blood Ritual to begin.