Chapter 46

Reincarnated as a Sword Emperor in the Sword Family (46)

The Shadow Knights' base was very modest.

It couldn't be any other way.

Even if they tried to set up a proper base, retreating via [Mass Teleport] would only leave evidence of their infiltration. There were only a few tents set up to temporarily restrain the kidnapped individuals.

Leonard's sensitive ki senses picked up on all the breathing and movements inside.

Eight people.

Fortunately, none of them were dead; they were all alive and well.

"Hey."

"Ugh! Ugh ugh!"

When Leonard entered the nearby tent, he found an apprentice knight lying on the ground, bound at the wrists and ankles, and gagged.

The apprentice knight struggled violently upon seeing Leonard, who was disguised as a Shadow Knight.

It was a face he didn't recognize.

However, Leonard had no intention of leaving him there. He brought his fingers to his own mouth and whispered,

"I'm going to remove your restraints and gag. Your comrades have come to rescue you, so avoid the combat area and join them."

"Ugh?!"

"Quiet. I won't answer your questions. I'll free the other captives as well, so you can move together."

The apprentice knight, naturally bewildered, instinctively realized that Leonard wasn't joking and nodded without making a fuss.

Crack.

Without using his inner energy, Leonard used his strength to destroy the restraints on the wrists and ankles. While they were effective in blocking the flow of ki, the materials themselves weren't particularly strong.

The apprentice knight, now free from all restraints, looked at Leonard with a puzzled expression.

Unfortunately, Leonard had neither the time nor the inclination to convince him.

"Next."

With a cold, matter-of-fact tone, Leonard led the way, and the apprentice knight, who seemed unsure whether this was a sign of overconfidence or caution, followed behind.

It didn't take long for them to free all seven apprentice knights.

Hayden, Ian, and Gale were among them.

"...Why are you freeing us?"

"I have no intention of answering. Leave before I change my mind."

Leonard maintained a plausible but vague stance, and the apprentice knights, interpreting his words in their own way, all bowed deeply.

Then they orderly launched themselves in the direction of the Wyvern Knights.

Apart from the restraints, they had no major injuries, and their senses and movements were normal. However, without their weapons and armor, they couldn't immediately join the battle. Only after they all disappeared did Leonard's body relax a little.

With the rescue of the trio, half the mission was accomplished.

'The primary objective is achieved. Now, I need to minimize the Wyvern Knights' casualties while figuring out a way to defeat the fifth shadow.'

Just then,

Four sets of footsteps were approaching the tent from the area where the Wyvern Knights were engaged in battle.

They were Shadow Knights' members who had come to secure the mission's success.

Leonard's mind raced.

Each one was at the 9th level of External Power, and a 4-on-1 fight wouldn't be easy. His physical strength and inner energy were both below half after hours of relentless pursuit. If they knew how to use a formation, Leonard would be at a significant disadvantage.

'I need to catch them off guard.'

As he decided on his plan, Leonard removed the Shadow Knight's armor and disguised himself as one of the captured apprentice knights.

There was no time to use transformation techniques.

He pretended to wear the restraints on his ankles, hiding his hands behind his back, and lay on the ground.

The Shadow Knights arrived shortly after.

"What! The bastards are all gone!"

"Same here! Damn, did they figure out how to remove the restraints?"

The Shadow Knights were flustered upon discovering the empty tent. Completing the mission was more important to them than their lives.

If they failed, all their efforts and the deaths of their comrades would be in vain.

However, one of the Shadow Knights noticed Leonard.

"No! One of them is still here!"

A glimmer of hope returned to the pale faces of the Shadow Knights.

"They're heartless. Abandoning their comrade like that!"

"Fortunately. Let's take him quickly. Even if we all die, discovering Cardenas' secret will secure our country's victory!"

"Hurry! [Mass Teleport] is already activated!"

One of the Shadow Knights approached Leonard, while the others focused on guarding the tent from outside.

It was a standard response to potential ambushes, but they couldn't handle threats from within.

Finally, as the Shadow Knight extended his hand in an unguarded position,

Five Elements Style (五象流)

Leonard's hands, hidden behind his back, shot up with two swords.

A swift sword technique that increases lethality when used for surprise attacks.

Blue Dragon Second Form (靑龍二式)

Rising Dragon Pierces the Heavens (昇龍貫天)

The blade, like a dragon rising, pierced the Shadow Knight's jaw and exited through the top of his head.

The 9th level External Power expert was dead in an instant.

The ambush with the Blue Dragon form was so perfect that the other three hadn't even realized what was happening. Leonard still held the initiative.

Five Elements Sword Qi (五行劍氣)

Twin Peaks Thunder Sword (雙璧震雷劍) - Flying (飛)

The blade, wrapped in blue lightning, shot out like a bolt of light.

The moment it left Leonard's hand, the Shadow Knights, shocked by the power, hastily drew their swords.

Thud!

One of them was too late. The Thunder Sword pierced his heart as he was halfway through drawing his sword.

The muscles, stiffened by the shock, prevented him from falling to the ground even after he died.

Swoosh!

Another one barely managed to parry.

Thanks to extensive practice in quick-draw techniques, he was able to react to the surprise attack.

However, the formation of the sword qi was slow, and the lightning that flowed into his sword numbed his entire body. While not paralyzed, his reaction speed was significantly reduced for a few seconds.

Leonard, noticing the spasms, immediately attacked.

Form and Intent Fist (形意拳)

Five Elements Continuous Path (五行連環路)

One Rider, Three Arrows (一騎三箭)

This was faster and more certain than drawing a sword from his waist or subspace pocket.

With a single step, Leonard closed the distance between the swords and moved his body like a bowstring. Using the force from his back foot as propulsion, he delivered three consecutive punches in an instant.

Though simple, the rebound from the first punch created distance, which in turn accelerated the second and third punches, making them almost simultaneous.

Like a skilled archer firing three arrows in quick succession.

Clang!

With the first punch, he shattered the dark sword, which had a crack from the initial blow.

Crack! Crunch!

With the second punch, he crushed the ribs and heart, and with the third, he pushed the nose, breaking the neck.

The Shadow Knight, now a gruesome mess, fell backward.

One remained.

The Shadow Knight, having lost all his comrades in an instant, was filled with rage and fear. The captive they had brought couldn't possibly be this strong.

"Who, who are you!?"

Leonard's eyes darkened at the ridiculous question.

"Is that all you have to say?"

"What, what?"

There was no time.

There was no reason to calm the panicked enemy, and Leonard, drawing his sword from his waist, charged from above.

Pressed by the momentum, the opponent lowered his sword defensively.

Five Elements Style (五象流)

White Tiger Thirty-Six Forms (白虎三十六式)

Mount Tai Presses Down (泰山壓頂)

The heaviest and most ruthless sword from the White Tiger form fell.

Like Mount Tai, it pressed down on the opponent's head.

This technique, while present in the Three Disasters Sword Method, was of a different caliber in the White Tiger Thirty-Six Forms. It could be dodged but not blocked. A heavy sword that crushed everything in its path.

"Ugh—?!"

The Shadow Knight's eyes widened in shock as he felt the immense force after the swords clashed.

The veins on his arms, which were now above the muscles, began to burst, and his skin turned bright red from the high blood pressure.

Once you took the blow, it was impossible to escape.

"Please, please, spare—."

The tiger's paw, which showed no mercy, struck.

Crack!

The White Tiger's sword, which broke the dark sword, split the Shadow Knight's head precisely.

If he had fought calmly and not been caught in a strength contest, he might have lasted a few minutes. But the moment he failed to read Leonard's intentions and entered a strength contest, his fate was sealed.

"Huff... huff..."

Having defeated four 9th level External Power experts, Leonard slowly caught his breath. While it seemed he had easily taken them down without a scratch, many of his actions were risky.

If the Shadow Knights had been wary of Leonard disguised as a captive, he would have had to face all four while lying on the ground.

If the first Shadow Knight's death from the Rising Dragon Pierces the Heavens had been immediately detected, he would have faced a 3-on-1 ambush.

'In the end, I reduced the enemy's numbers from about twenty to sixteen. This should significantly improve the situation.'

However, if the Sword Master was still alive, the battlefield would remain deadlocked.

Few people understood better than Leonard how much a single high-level expert could influence the battle. How long Bradley could hold out was also a concern.

If he gained enlightenment and broke through to the Transcendent Realm in the fight with the fifth shadow, victory would be almost certain.

'But the possibility of that happening is almost zero.'

Lian Wuxie, who had fought many life-or-death battles, knew this well.

While enlightenment could be gained at the brink of life and death, turning that into the power to break through to the next level was another matter.

No matter how valuable the experience, it required time and effort to digest.

Improving simple movements or techniques was one thing, but breaking through to a new realm, especially a major one, was impossible during a fight.

Then,

Rumble——!!

A vibration shook his body, coming from somewhere.

It was a familiar sensation.

The spatial gate used to travel from Cardenas to Galapagos, if amplified several times, would produce a similar vibration.

The identity of this vibration was clear.

"Is it [Mass Teleport]?"

The Shadow Knight he had killed had mentioned it.

The large-scale spatial magic, which would transport the people on the magic circle to their destination, was about to activate in a few minutes.

Leonard moved to the area where the Wyvern Knights and Shadow Knights were engaged in battle to assess the situation. Despite being outnumbered, the Shadow Knights were still holding their ground, indicating they had a trick up their sleeve.

"...Quite a commotion."

As he emerged from the base, the metallic and battle sounds from all directions almost deafened him.

He focused on the place where the most significant presence was clashing.

If Bradley was still alive, the fifth shadow was likely fighting there.

Leonard's ki senses swept the entire battlefield, and he soon found what he was looking for.

And.

'I need to hurry.'

Bradley's presence was rapidly diminishing.

As Leonard launched himself in that direction, the bodies of the Shadow Knights he had killed grew cold in the night air.