Chapter 45

Reincarnated as the Sword Emperor in the Sword Master Family (45)

Leonard made his decision and immediately began to move. He had to hurry to catch up with the Shadow Knights. If the Fifth Shadow was with them, they could have cut straight through the center of the island.

It was too late to wait for Commander Fabian to arrive.

Whoosh!

This time, Leonard escaped the base through the underground passage, dug his way out of the ground, and ran without stopping. He was heading towards the Valley of Lions.

Fortunately, no one tried to block or hinder him. The killing intent that unconsciously overflowed around his body prevented even the monsters from standing in his way. Even the fearless mountain orcs could only sweat profusely and make way for him.

His first destination was the place where he had fought the special Manticore.

“...It’s still here.”

It seemed that the Fifth Shadow had given up on tracking him and had not returned to this place.

Five Shadow Knights, each killed in different ways.

One Manticore with its head shattered.

After surveying the carnage, Leonard quickly moved his hands. He stripped the armor from one of the Shadow Knights' bodies that seemed relatively intact, cutting and adjusting it to fit his own build.

Ironically, the armor of the knights who had been decapitated by his Azure Dragon technique was in the best condition.

Click.

The armor of the Shadow Knights was surprisingly comfortable to wear.

Or, considering their abilities and missions, it would be more surprising if the quality was low. It clung to his body like a second skin, and he couldn’t even feel the weight of the metal; it was truly a masterpiece.

He picked up a few dark swords and attached them to his belt, and then put on the helmet, completing his disguise as a Shadow Knight.

‘From now on, even the slightest mistake cannot be tolerated.’

One misstep and everything would be for nothing.

Leonard’s eyes burned with a fierce determination.

His rebellious nature, which only awakened in the face of adversity, was now fully awakened.

Disguised as a Shadow Knight, Leonard retraced his steps.

This time, he planned to approach the base of the Wyvern Knights on the surface, without using the underground passage.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

As soon as he left the Valley of Lions and entered the forest, he used the branches like a bow to propel himself forward.

In a few moments, the scenery changed, and he covered hundreds of meters in just a few seconds.

Every second was crucial.

Approaching the base of the Wyvern Knights at his maximum speed, Leonard charged in. The Wyvern Knights, unprepared for such an approach, were a step behind in their reaction.

Leonard, who stormed in like a storm, swept through the area where about half a dozen knights were gathered.

Boom!

As his sword struck the center, a thick cloud of dust rose, enveloping them.

More loudly, more spectacularly.

He intended to create as much chaos as possible.

“What, what’s happening?!”

“Enemies! Enemies have appeared!”

“Enemies?! How many?”

“They’re hiding in the dust! Don’t let them escape!”

He could sense dozens, even hundreds of people approaching.

A few seconds off and he would be surrounded and either killed or captured.

With a sensation that made all his hair stand on end, Leonard couldn’t help but smile.

‘This is where it starts.’

Leonard, who had slipped out of the dust cloud without a trace, subdued a novice knight first.

Thud.

A defensive technique at the 2nd level of the External Force Realm couldn’t block the pressure point.

As soon as he pressed a pressure point with his finger, the young man’s body stiffened like a statue, and Leonard lifted him onto his shoulder.

At the same time, he moved at full speed.

The Five Elements and Six Spirits Technique (五行六神法)

The Azure Dragon King (蒼天龍王)

The Lightning Step (閃電)

A crack of lightning burst forth.

Leonard’s body, moving like lightning, accelerated terrifyingly while carrying the novice knight.

“Gasp...!”

If he were alone, it might be manageable, but carrying a person with the Five Elements and Six Spirits Technique made his throat bleed.

However, he didn’t hesitate for a moment and continued to move.

The double Lightning Step tore through the incomplete encirclement.

Boom!

Using the shockwave from behind as a stepping stone, Leonard, using the Whirlwind Step, crossed a few meters in the air.

The Wyvern Knights, seeing his absurd speed and the fact that he was running in the air, and the novice knight shaking on his shoulder, were enraged.

“This bastard! How much does he mock us?!”

“Protect the children of Cardenas!”

“If you can’t defeat him, at least sever his ankle and kill him!”

Each of them was at least at the 6th level of the External Force Realm, and among them were even those who had broken through to the 9th level.

Chased by these top-tier experts, Leonard’s back felt cold. He was confident in his agility, but from the later stages of the External Force Realm, they usually had long-range attack capabilities.

Sure enough.

Boom!

As he rotated in mid-air, a sword flying from below shattered a thick tree trunk.

It was a crude but powerful attack, not quite a throwing sword technique. Inspired by this, some of the knights began to throw their swords at Leonard.

Impressively, they aimed only at his legs to avoid hitting the novice knight on his shoulder.

“Tough...!”

Leonard narrowly avoided several sword beams, understanding that this partnership had its limits.

He threw the novice knight high into the air.

The Wyvern Knights, surprised by this unexpected action, froze for a moment, and Leonard took advantage of that instant to dart forward.

At that moment.

Rumble——!

A shockwave, a few seconds behind, obliterated his afterimage and created a massive crater on the ground.

‘Bradley!’

There was no need to look behind.

Bradley, at the 10th level of the External Force Realm, with a presence that could overwhelm even the Twelfth Shadow, was the only one.

A powerhouse, one step away from the Transcendent Realm.

Bradley, who could cleave hundreds of meters with a single strike and uproot the earth, raised his eyebrows.

“Fast. I don’t feel a particularly overwhelming aura, but he must be wearing a high-tier artifact or has exceptional aura control.”

“Should we chase him?”

“Of course. Judging by his agile movements, he’s not just a grunt. This is our last chance to rescue the kidnapped children.”

Banneret Bradley, responsible for Galapagos, answered with a face that resembled boiling lava, unlike his usual demeanor.

“Our role is to provide appropriate trials to the children who will become the pillars of Cardenas and protect them from threats they are not yet prepared for. And we have failed miserably.”

The faces of the knights nearby, who had been listening, turned grave.

This was a situation that had never occurred before.

A Sword Master had invaded? That wasn’t the issue.

Honor and pride are burdens on my shoulders, but the weight of those burdens is not a reason to run away. It is the virtue of a knight to risk his life to fulfill his duty.

“Everyone. We are going to fulfill our responsibility. We can seek atonement later.”

“““Charge!”””

The knights, accepting the order with a single salute, launched themselves.

The Wyvern Knights.

While they didn’t rank among the seven great knight orders, they were a group of people who took pride in raising the future pillars of their families.

To wash away today’s humiliation, they had to risk their lives to recover what they had lost. Mathematically, it was a losing proposition. They were sacrificing several or dozens of experts at the 6th level of the External Force Realm to save eight novice knights at the 3rd level.

But that choice was what proved their lineage.

* * *

Night fell.

As soon as the sun set below the horizon, Galapagos was shrouded in darkness, threatening human survival.

“Pant...! Pant...! Pant...!”

After running for hours without rest, Leonard’s mouth was filled with the taste of blood. Even if he had just been running, the distance and speed would have been exhausting, but the slightest lapse in concentration would result in a lethal attack from behind.

Bradley’s shockwaves blocked his path, and dozens of swords rained down, reducing his options.

The pursuit by the Wyvern Knights was relentless.

Even with the Water Tortoise’s ultimate movement technique, the Flowing Step, he still suffered quite deep wounds in various places.

‘But... I’m almost there.’

Before he knew it, Leonard had arrived at the opposite side of the island from the Wyvern Knights’ base, at the beach where the Shadow Knights had landed.

This was the most suitable place if they were to use [Mass Teleport]. It was faster and more accurate to return the way they came rather than advance into unknown territory to create distance.

However, his heart sank several times.

Not only did the Wyvern Knights almost catch him several times, but A-rank monsters that the Shadow Knights had left unattended also suddenly appeared in his path.

‘Most of the monsters retreated in fear due to the presence of the pursuing Wyvern Knights...’

But when a Twin-Headed Ogre, at the Demon Realm level, threw a punch from a distance, creating a powerful wind blast, he was truly startled.

Fortunately, the accuracy was so low that after dodging a few times, it stopped attacking. If it had been a proper fist technique, he would have been finished on the spot.

Shaking off the past events, Leonard crouched down.

‘As expected.’

As he approached the beach, his body tensed.

His sixth sense, before his five senses, detected the threat. Leonard had already guessed that the Fifth Shadow, a Sword Master, wouldn’t leave his post.

‘The effect of the Crescent Moon Technique is clear. Even the Fifth Shadow can’t detect me if he can’t recognize me.’

If he were discovered, his stealth would decrease significantly, but if he remained undetected, it was a martial art that even a top-tier expert couldn’t ignore.

If he could convert to an offensive stance without revealing his presence, it would be considered a top-secret technique in the assassin world. The complete annihilation of the Yellow Spring Pavilion by a single Sword Emperor wouldn’t have happened.

The Wyvern Knights and the Shadow Knights.

The distance between the two groups was now less than three kilometers, a distance that a top-tier expert could cover in a few leaps, almost within arm’s reach.

Now.

“[Fireball], [Lightning Bolt], [Explosion], [Wind Cannon], [Thunder Spark]!”

He tore and activated all the magic scrolls he had taken from the Shadow Knight.

The five magic scrolls lit up simultaneously.

A chain of explosions, as spectacular as they were destructive.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A corner of the night sky was suddenly illuminated.

The Wyvern Knights and the Shadow Knights.

Their eyes widened, unable to process the sudden situation. Whether they had successfully completed their secret mission or were frustrated by the sudden disappearance of the target they had been chasing for half a day, they shared a similar sentiment for a brief moment.

And then.

“Enemies! ——!”

With someone’s shout, the two groups recognized each other.

The Fifth Shadow took to the sky, and Bradley, sensing his presence, launched a maximally compressed shockwave. A one-time attack with a destructive force that even a Sword Master couldn’t ignore.

With this exchange, the battle on Galapagos began.

The Wyvern Knights, their eyes blazing at the appearance of their long-awaited enemies, charged forward with a fierce momentum, momentarily pushing back the Shadow Knights. Even considering the average level of the two groups, the numerical advantage in this situation was a significant factor.

‘Good, everything has gone well so far.’

Leonard, watching the clash of the two groups, walked into the inner part of the Shadow Knights’ camp.

Now it was time to rescue the kidnapped novice knights.