The Thirtieth Shadow was an Eighth Degree External Force Tier knight, someone considered above average even among Apex Realm experts.
Only a few of the Order of the Fledgling Dragon's mid-rank knights stationed on the Galapagos Island surpassed the Eighth Degree. Every single one of them was a crucial asset for the knightly order, and their skill was the result of training their inherent talents and gaining decades of practical experience.
Nevertheless, Leonard faced this foe with a faint smile and lifted his sword.
"...!"
The shadow knight attempted to say something, but remembering that he had been robbed of his ability to speak, he stared at Leonard with a murderous gaze. He didn't know what Leonard had done, but he knew that it was definitely because of Leonard that he had lost his voice.
The children of the Cardenas family might have practiced black magic. With this thought, any guilt about cutting down a child quickly dissipated, and it was replaced by a vague surge of murderous intent. A sharp, refined killing intent emanated from the knight, unlike the raw killing intent of a monster.
"That's more like it," Leonard murmured, feeling his hair stand on end from the intense bloodlust.
It was a familiar scent. Though it was very fun playing house with the children at the training center, exchanging blows with the monsters on the island, and experiencing a type of excitement he'd never felt in his last life, this was different. This bloody smell, a scent that permeated his nose, was what he had been yearning for.
The two swordsmen stood still for a moment, facing each other. They simultaneously took a step forward. The shadow knight took the initiative, striking first. His black sword emitted a yellow sword energy that was nearly a meter long, and the sword energy extended the knight's attacking range.
Leonard intercepted the shadow knight before the attack could reach him.
Five Elements Style
Black Tortoise First Form: Soul-Deflecting Shell Mirror
A blue color dyed Leonard's blade. The first form, which could be said to be the foundation of the 36 Black Tortoise Defensive Forms, faced the yellow sword energy head-on.
It was a fight between a knight in the Third Degree External Force Tier and a knight in the Eighth Degree External Force Tier. Even with Leonard's uniqueness, a gap of five Minor Tiers was too great to ignore. Even if Leonard succeeded in defending, the residual force would overwhelm him and leave him defenseless against the next attack.
The shadow knight foresaw this, and the moment he sneered, he was unexpectedly blasted away. Leonard's attack seemed less like cutting through something with a sword and more like striking a springy rubber object with a club.
The shadow knight's eyes widened in astonishment.
Regardless of the shadow knight's reaction, Leonard launched a follow-up attack.
Five Elements Style
Azure Dragon First Form: Thundershock
Leonard fiercely slashed his blade into the shadow knight's side. The Azure Dragon First Form was considered the best among the 144 Forms in terms of speed and sharpness. Blood spurted out of the cracked armor.
It was shallow.
Leonard had struck accurately, but his sword energy had failed to pierce in deep. It felt like cutting into an armor made from the silk of a Divine Silkworm. The shadow knight's armor was probably not an ordinary item.
"...?! ...!"
Having let his guard down and taken a hit, the shadow knight twisted his face in anger, his face filled with rage. His stance and balance shifted.
Leonard realized that he wouldn't be able to cut him as easily as he had.
The Five Elements Sword Qi's Lightning Blade and the yellow sword energy unleashed by the black sword clashed several times, scattering fragments of energy.
In a typical clash of sword energies, an Eighth Degree External Force Tier knight should have the upper hand, but Leonard was ahead. Unlike the incomplete yellow sword energy, Leonard's Five Elements Sword Qi was fully developed. If he wasn't pushed back in terms of output, Leonard would have turned the tide.
"...!"
Unable to accept being inferior in sword energy despite an advantage of five Degrees, the shadow knight pressed forward recklessly. The shadow knight tried to drive Leonard into a corner with his sword energy. Sword energy was the only thing he was more skilled at than Leonard.
What a fool.
Leonard would not overlook such a mistake. He stared straight into the shadow knight's bloodshot eyes with a cold gaze and deployed the most suitable defensive form among the 36 Black Tortoise Defensive Forms.
Five Elements Style
Black Tortoise Third Form: Ending Massacre of the North Gate
Leonard's sword energy struck just before the shadow knight's blade could land a hit. It was a counterattack capable of taking the life of the opponent if there was an opening from a sloppy attack. A person could stab or cut with the technique.
According to the principle "the one who moves last holds control first," this ensemble of counterattacks was called the Black Tortoise Third Form. Nevertheless, the shadow knight survived, thanks to his armor, which even the Five Elements Sword Qi could not pierce in one blow.
"Don't try to fight. It's futile. If it hadn't been for that armor, you'd be dead. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
It was not provocation, but sincere advice.
"...! ...!!"
However, the shadow knight could not take it to heart and responded with a fury-fueled attack.
Clank! Clank, clank!
Sword attacks continuously came at Leonard from outside his field of view. The shadow knight only aimed for the vital points that could kill Leonard at once, repeatedly stabbing and slicing. It was not a clash between swords. Rather, the shadow knight was avoiding Leonard's sword and aiming to cut him down.
It was a style purely crafted for the sole purpose of killing humans. It was a cunning and sly sword style, reminiscent of a viper's head.
How pathetic.
Leonard's assessment was ruthlessly cold. The shadow knight's swordsmanship was commonly seen among those in the Evil Faction, and it was a style that specialized in deceiving human perception and stabbing at any opening.
Even the Poison Blood Wolf, one of the Seven Absolutes of the Yellow Lotus Temple, was defeated by Leonard. Compared to the Poison Blood Wolf's famed ultimate skill, the Ravenous Wolf Saber Art, the shadow knight's swordsmanship was less than a worm.
Leonard accurately stabbed his sword into the snake's jaws.
Five Elements Style
Vermillion Bird Twelfth Form: Scorching Flame Edge
A ray of red sword energy pierced the writhing black blade, sealing the shadow knight's movement and igniting a flame.
Though his skillful counterattack had required the precision to thread a needle, Leonard didn't celebrate when it succeeded. After all, he had decades of experience with counterattacking, so there was no reason to make a big deal out of succeeding.
"How crude. It's obvious what your illusory sword art is aiming for. The ones who died to your blade must have been fools."
"...!"
Annoyed at the opponent's insignificant skills, Leonard charged and shouted, "If you don't want to admit it, speak with your sword, not your mouth!"
The strategy of pushing with the overwhelming energy at the Eighth Degree External Force Tier was not effective at such a close range. Their sword energies' strength was similar due to the completion of the Five Elements Sword Qi, and as long as that was the case, within one meter, the fight would be a swordfight based purely on swordsmanship.
Realizing this, the shadow knight responded desperately.
Leonard relentlessly attacked. He didn't even use the Five Elements Style, which could be considered his ultimate skill. Rather, he used the Six Harmonies Sword Art, a sword technique that was considered the basics of basics. Controlling the six directions—up, down, front, back, left, and right—the art sealed off the opponent's movements.
The Six Harmonies Sword Art unleashed by Yeon Mu-Hyuk, a man proudly known to be at the pinnacle of swordsmanship, was catastrophic in itself. The fight was one-sided.
"...!!"
With each clash, the shadow knight was pushed back step-by-step. In the end, his face was colored with despair.
It was inevitable. Though it was a basic sequence of movements, he couldn't find a way out of the combination of Leonard's sword movements. There was an overwhelming difference in their skills as swordsmen. The shadow knight's heart crumbled like sand as he felt a wall in front of a child who was not yet twenty.
The Thirtieth Shadow of the Kurdish Kingdom finally abandoned all his pride as a knight and became a true shadow. Leonard was the first to notice the change. The shadow knight's poorly executed killing technique was aimed at an unexpected spot.
"Huh?"
It was a strange move. A surprise attack came from an impossible position, striking from an unexpected angle. Nevertheless, Leonard evaded it perfectly and stepped back a few paces to analyze the incomprehensible attack.
The shadow knight's face, previously twisted in malice, turned expressionless. His eyes seemed like those of a dead man. He approached again, despite being utterly dominated at close range.
Leonard couldn't help but feel suspicious about the shadow knight's intentions. However, Leonard did not retreat, and he faced the attack head-on.
It seems that his attack is hard to use if it's not at this distance.
The shadow knight's sword technique was weird, and not even Leonard's high-level senses could detect it. Leonard took on a risk to give himself the opportunity to delve deeper into the nature of his opponent's sword technique. The fight began once again at a close distance.
Naturally, Leonard controlled the flow of the battle. There were no changes in the offensive and defensive parties. Slashing, thrusting, and cutting unilaterally, Leonard caused the once-invincible armor to become covered in cracks.
A few drops of blood dripped down Leonard's cheek. The sword in front of Leonard had suddenly curved, narrowly grazing him. If he had reacted a little later, the bent sword would have taken out his right eye and pierced through his head. However, in that instant, he had seen enough to understand the weird sword technique.
"So, your sword can extend and change shape? Is it like Jingu Bang[1]?"
Leonard was at a loss for words when he learned the secret of the strange sword technique. Though there were similar weapons in murim that concealed their lengths and shapes, a sword that extended, contracted, and changed shape so unpredictably was unheard of.
It wasn't just the length. The straight sword had temporarily curved like a saber, then reverted to its original form, deceiving Leonard's eyes.
With his secret exposed, the shadow knight frowned, but he soon lowered his stance and charged in again.
Leonard met his attack with a resigned expression.
"It won't work anymore."
"...?" The shadow knight murmured soundlessly, questioning if that was true.
"What?"
When their swords collided, a peculiar sound like mud splashing replaced the usual sharp clang. The dark sword lost its shape, gripping Leonard's blade like a mire. Even the Five Elements Sword Qi couldn't break it free, rendering Leonard's sword unusable.
Realizing his opponent's scheme, Leonard swiftly leaped back, evading a punch, and landed several meters away.
Though unharmed, the distance between them was what the shadow knight was aiming for. Both had lost their swords. The shadow knight's strategy was to abandon the sword fight.
"...! ...!!"
The shadow knight laughed silently and sinisterly, assuming a stance for a fist fight. Though a Third Degree External Force Tier knight could kill an Eighth Degree External Force Tier knight with a sword, hand-to-hand combat depended on physical prowess and aura quantity, which were directly reflected in a knight's Degree and Tier.
"Hah," Leonard scoffed. He was baffled. "Because you can't win with swords, you want to fight with your fists...is that it? Like kids in a playground?"
The fact that the shadow knight thought he could defeat Leonard with his fists was so laughable that it nearly made Leonard forget about his bloodlust.
Leonard took the stance of the Santishi, a stance commonly used in the Form Intention Fist Art, and beckoned with his hand.
"I'll play along. Come at me."
The shadow knight immediately pounced like a tiger. His fist was imbued with the explosive aura of an Eighth Degree External Force Tier knight.
In response, Leonard swung his fist straight down. It was the Chopping Fist—a palm strike representing the metal element in the Form Intention Fist Art.
The scattered force reverberated in the shadow knight's bones, evident in his pained expression. Leonard's physical ability had already surpassed the constraints of his level and become unrivaled.
Fighting with punches and kicks against someone with proper martial arts. That's not something an Apex Realm expert would do.
While the shadow knight's martial arts were decent, he lacked the skill to harmonize them with his inner energy. Simply punching and kicking with force didn't make him strong. The shadow knight's flurry of attacks was in vain.
After narrowing the distance by half a step, Leonard evaded and then counterattacked. His hand, pausing momentarily in front of the armor, unleashed a powerful force.
Kaboom!
A direct, destructive strike—the Crushing Fist. The impact penetrated deep, shaking the shadow knight's internal organs. He was already not in good condition, and with Leonard's punch, it caused him to spit out blood.
Had Leonard attacked normally, the armor and defensive equipment would have absorbed most of the force. However, Leonard had come into contact with the armor and punched in a penetrating orbit, so the impact had been channeled to the shadow knight, heavily injuring the knight.
"It's over."
Leonard swung his arm at the shadow knight's face while the knight was still bent over and vomiting blood. A powerful Crossing Fist twisted the shadow knight's upper body.
As the shadow knight faced the sky, Leonard's Chopping Fist struck again, burying the shadow knight deep in the ground. Now on the verge of death, the shadow knight stopped moving.
Leonard shook the blood off his fists, then murmured, "What a boring ending."
A Kurdish Kingdom's shadow knight was defeated by a fourteen-year-old boy.
1. Jingu Bang is the weapon that Sun Wukong uses. ☜