<h4>Chapter 179</h4>


    Though several weeks passed after that unsavory encounter with the Golden Dragon Knights, they didn’t approach Leonard again, likely because Wade had made his stance clear.


    Actually, it was likely more urate to say that they didn’t have the chance to get close to him. Following Wade’s advice, Leonard never left the Red Dragon base after that day.


    But he didn’t find it tedious. After he happened upon a clue that would help him with the Yellow Dragon Forms, he didn’t even notice the days pass as he spent the time refining the Western God Style, which only had one technique so far.


    <i>The atmosphere at the Order of the Red Dragon is very different from the others. It feels as if everyone is always on edge, </i>Leonard thought.


    As he walked to the training grounds as always, he studied the knights that brushed past him closely. Most of them had full te armor and high-grade artifacts, as if they were <i>looking </i>for a battlefield.


    But that wasn’t far off from the truth.


    “It’s already been a week since they entered Anthill Abyss. You’re telling me they haven’t even figured out a strategy, let alone seal it?”


    “Well, not only is the terrain built like a maze, but they also say that there are too many ant soldiers to handle. They say they kill tens of thousands per day but that the ant soldiers are reced the very next day. It might take another two weeks to solve the Anthill Abyss.”


    “And it’s even underground. That’s another problem. If they try to use one big attack to wipe all the monsters out, the tunnels could copse.”


    As soon as one group of Red Dragon Knights passed by him, another walked past with hasty steps from the opposite direction. Even though Leonard only heard part of their conversation, he could sense the exhaustion in their voices.


    Day in and day out, Red Dragon Knights were always on missions, and their order was notorious for being the most demanding out of the Seven Great Orders. There was a good reason why it boasted thergest number of members: if the Red Dragon didn’t have that much manpower, it would be hard to sustain itself.


    <i>Now that I think about it, the White Dragon Knights have a rtivelyrge amount of free time between missions. The ck Dragon Knights also only have three or four battles a year to defend the base, and they spend the rest of the time in personal training. </i>


    Unlike the knights of those two orders, the Red Dragon Knights worked around the clock. Though Leonard didn’t know what the Green Dragon and the Blue Dragon were like, he didn’t think they would be more taxing than the Red Dragon either.


    The grueling work was a result of their core mission.


    <i>In some ways, Rifts are a more pressing issue than Celestials, Demoniacs, and Void Deities. </i>


    Celestials and Demoniacs were easier to take care of, of course, because they could only enter the Middle Realm from a limited number of passages. And other than a few who had an enormous amount of divinity, Void Deities weren’t too much of a threat either.


    There was no need to invoke Ancestor Cardenas’ power for these enemies; the Seven Knight Commanders always found a way to take care of them.


    Celestials and Demoniacs, which could be considered more powerful species than mankind’s current form, still acted in ways they understood, and the Void Deities were limited in number and power. Therefore, the chances that any of them would cause a major catastrophe were very low.


    <i>But Rifts and Corroded Realms? As long as we never find out and take care of whatever causes them, this war of attrition will go on forever. And since the Arcadian Empire can’t see what happens in Corroded Realms, someday an Outer God cult might emerge that not even Ancestor Cardenas can defeat.</i>


    Not even the Arcadian Empire, which upied half the continent, could monitor the entire world.


    Take, for example, the Antis Maritime Alliance and their Sixth Sea District. After the Alliance neglected to do anything about the Corroded Realm for centuries, it ended up swallowing the entire area, creating a territory where outer entities pranced about however they liked. And that was already an old story.


    If an enemy as strong as a Demigod Tier expert sprang out, it wouldn’t take long for the Alliance to fall, because they didn’t have any forces that could stand against such power.


    “What a dilemma,” Leonard muttered as he sighed.


    He didn’t have much interest in things such as international affairs and world peace, but he <i>did </i>care about preventing the entire world from being destroyed.


    The more he learned, the more he worried.


    The mindset of taking things one day at a time wouldn’t solve anything. But as long as someone continued to seek an answer even if they knew it was futile, they just might find a way.


    <i>...Ah. I see now why the Order of the Golden Dragon is so obsessed with reviving Ancestor Cardenas. </i>Leonard understood them despite himself. <i>They remind me of that one proverb: “If a hundred of your ns fail, perhaps your own power is insufficient.”</i>


    There was a limit to how effective pure strategy was. If the Cardenas family could produce even a single Deification Tier knight, this seemingly impossible dilemma would be perfectly solved. They would be able to tear down the Celestials, Demoniacs, and even their Realms, and not even the strongest of the Void Deities, who lost their original forms, would stand a chance against a true deity.


    Even if an Outer God ripped through the fabric of their dimension with their Corroded Realm, they would have to face off against another god who had the entire world on their side. Of course, the god with the world on their side would have a great advantage.


    <i>Oh. </i>


    Leonard realized why the Golden Dragon Knights had suddenly made such a move. It was more of an instinctive assumption than a logical inference, but if Ancestor Cardenas was fully revived, the Golden Dragon Knights would no longer be forced to be sacrificialmbs.


    <i>Do they think that I have a high chance of bringing her back to life? But who could deduce that? If every single candidate so far has failed to be her permanent vessel, they have no reason to think that I’ll be the exception. </i>


    There was only the slightest bit of a chance that the ritual to restore Ancestor Cardenas’ deific power could work on a ss 9 Archmage, yet someone was able to immediately conclude that Leonard stood a chance?


    Ridiculous.


    Once he finished his train of thought, his mind calmed again.


    “Hm?”


    When Leonard reached the training ground, he suddenly sensed a power and determination that he could only describe as peculiar. Though he’d experienced this once before,st time, it had been far fainter.


    Naturally, Leonard turned in that direction and then realized what he’d been sensing.


    “Haap!”


    It was William.


    Just like his father, he had golden hair and golden eyes, and an aura that burned red like the color of a sunset, making the air shimmer with its heat. His determination to cut down the Red Dragon Knight in front of him was clear.


    His aura was so dense with energy that it was hard to believe he was in the External Tier, even at the Tenth Degree, and the level of technique shown in his vertical swing was impressive.


    <i>aang!</i>


    William was fighting a formidable opponent who was not only in the Transcendence Tier but also at its very peak.


    When young knights joined the Order of the Red Dragon, it only took them about a month or two to be as hard as veterans in other orders, so those who had been there for years or even decades were more terrifying.


    William’s opponent didn’t even blink as he counterattacked. William responded with a defensive stance, but his opponent was pressing down on him so much that he was pushed ankle-deep into the dirt. Then, with a hit to his breastte, William was thrown far back.


    “Guh!”


    Even as he spat out blood, he still didn’t let go of his sword and collected himself from his spot several meters away from where he’d stood.


    It wouldn’t have been surprising if he’d been knocked out. But thanks to his psychic powers, he had urately predicted where he’d be hit, reducing the original impact by more than half, so it only ended with him throwing up a bit of blood.


    <i>There’s arge skill difference between them. I understand why he’d want to challenge someone this strong so he can reach the Transcendence Tier, but he won’t gain much from this kind of method.</i>


    Though his opponent was brutal, he didn’t give off any killing intent, and William’s injuries weren’t that serious. But that was to be expected. Even murim didn’t have many organizations that trained its members by making them fight life-or-death battles. Third- and Second-ss martial artists were easily receable, but anyone who was First-ss or above was precious. There was no way people would stick to such training methods that treated them as if they were disposable.


    Besides, William was the Red Dragon Commander’s only son. Wade wasn’t the type of man to begrudge someone simply for injuring his son while training, but the Red Dragon Knight was still conscious of the very slim chance that he would, which was why he still held back.


    While Leonard was thinking, William and the knight exchanged tens of attacks, which resulted in a one-sided beating.


    <i>ng!</i>


    William was thrown several meters back, rolling across the ground.


    William had urately read his opponent, but the difference in their power was simply too big. If an opponent was too strong for someone to fight head-on, they had to focus solely on aiming for any openings and disregard all conventional techniques and strategies. However, despite attacking a rare opening, William barely scratched his opponent because the Red Dragon Knight was so much stronger.


    “We’ll stop here. Take ten minutes.” The Red Dragon Knight sheathed his sword.


    William managed to stand, gasping out words that were hard to make out. “I—I can...! I—can—still...!”


    “Enough.”


    Even if William kept fighting, in his current state, he would copse from one blow.


    As if to demonstrate this, the Red Dragon Knight took a step forward and kicked him in the chin. William had barely been hanging on as it was, so the kick knocked him outpletely.


    He copsed to the ground. It didn’t take long for him to regain consciousness, but he was so battered that the potions didn’t immediately heal him.


    “You’re being too hasty,” Leonard advised, appearing out of nowhere.


    William’s face twitched as if Leonard’s words angered him. However, he immediately regained hisposure. He calmly said, “Should you really be saying that?”


    Leonard realized what William was thinking. “I’m not talking about you trying to reach the Transcendence Tier.”


    “Then?”


    “I’m talking about <i>how </i>you’re trying to reach it. Challenging a stronger opponent is courageous, but challenging an opponent you can’t possibly defeat is just reckless. If the difference in power is too big, there’s not much you can learn.”


    Yeon Mu-Hyuk had done the same thing in his past life when he’d fought Heavenly Demon to the death. This wasn’t something he’de to realize on his own; he’d only realized it when Dan Mok-Jin had pointed out his specific ws.


    William had a dubious expression on his face. “I heard about you.”


    “What about?”


    “I heard that you contributed most to repelling the Kurdish Kingdom’s Shadows at Gpagos Ind. Sir Fabian was the one who ended the battle, but they said you were the one who defeated their leader, all on your own.”


    Despite that long-winded exnation, the logic was very simplistic: if Leonard could do it, couldn’t William do it too?


    Leonard chuckled. His childishness was like that of a boy’s, but his thirst for victory was like that of a martial artist’s.


    “That was a bit of a special case. It wasn’t rted to Tiers. My swordy was simply better than his. Even though he was in the Transcendence Tier, he obtained his power through improper means. That’s why even someone like me could match him.” Leonard nodded toward the Red Dragon Knight. “Your opponent just now was several times stronger than that dunce. You won’t even have a chance of winning until you’ve reached the Transcendence Tier.”


    The Red Dragon Knight cleared his throat, a little embarrassed by the obvious praise. However, he’d been thinking the same thing. The knight wasn’t very good with words, and he hadn’t known how to exin it, which was why he had been trying to make Williame to the conclusion on his own through their match. However, he hadn’t expected the boy to be so relentless that he would probably keep going until he died. That had put him in a bit of a predicament.


    William understood. He smiled bitterly. “...I understand now. Thank you for the advice. And Sir Bellington, thank you for indulging me.”


    “Mm.”


    Still solemn, the knight called Bellington returned to the edge of the training grounds.


    To the Red Dragon Knights, time was as precious as gold because they had so little time for personal training. If anyone other than William had asked for a match, he never would have made time for some apprentice knight.


    William examined his body. “In the end, I suppose I received a beating for nothing. I thought I would have a chance if I just became a little stronger, but it frustrates me how that isn’t the case,” he muttered.


    Of course, Leonard understood how he felt. He thought for a moment.


    “It’s been a while. How about a match?” he said lightly.


    William scrunched his face. He knew how strong Leonard was. If half the rumors were true, he would surely be several times stronger than even Bellington.


    “What, you want to beat me too?”


    “No. I’ve just thought of something that will help you reach the Transcendence Tier. If you can handle it, I want to test it out.”


    “Test it out... so you don’t even know if it will work.”


    Leonard tilted his head. “So, no?”


    William’s face said that he was already ready. “Let’s get started.”@@novelbin@@