Chapter 419

Words : 2479 Updated : Oct 15th, 2025

Alex spoke with a deliberately relaxed expression on his face. “Mister. Looks like you’ve taken a wrong turn in the night. Should I show you the way out? Just go straight back. Easy, right?” “Such a polite young man. Unfortunately, I haven’t taken a wrong turn.” Luther’s gaze turned to Pantos. “Rather, I’ve come to exactly the right place.” “Oh, really?” While responding like that, Alex couldn’t help but click his tongue internally. Looking at Pantos’ condition, wounds were visible all over his body. ‘To do this to Pantos...What kind of monster is this guy?’ Even though Pantos didn’t have a weapon, neither did his opponent. That meant they had fought bare-handed. Pantos, who possessed a mutant-level physique even among beastmen, had been completely overwhelmed. ‘This could be serious if I’m not careful.’ Alex thought this as he gripped his sword tighter and stared at Luther. ‘First, a light check...’ And just as he was about to charge in with his sword, Alex instead stepped back with a tap. Cold sweat ran down his back. He instinctively felt that if he had charged in with his sword just then, he would have been the one to suffer instead. “Hmm.” Conversely, Luther raised his eyebrows at Alex’s behavior. “You read that? Where do these guys keep coming from?” He had planned to launch a counter the moment Alex charged in. Of course, he had tried to do it secretly so the opponent wouldn’t read it. Yet it was read. No, did he instinctively sense it? The newly appeared man looked quite young, but his senses were exceptional. Moreover, the technique he showed when blocking his fist earlier. Seeing how he deflected most of the force, it was clear he had achieved considerable mastery in swordsmanship. ‘With skills like these, if he had received proper training in the knights’ order, he could have aimed for the position of commander.’ Why were such people living in back alleys? Wasn’t this a national loss of talent? Luther found this fact truly regrettable but regrettable as it was, what he had to do remained unchanged. “From what I can see, you two seem to be companions, which makes it twice as convenient to ask for directions. Tell me where your base is.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Alex tried to brush it off lightly, but seeing Luther’s firm gaze, he realized the other party already knew everything. “Ah, I hate this kind of thing.” Fighting a monster like that was the last thing he wanted. Hadn’t he just seen Pantos, who was stronger than himself, being completely overwhelmed? But if he backed down here, that monster would follow them to their base. He would storm into the place where his companions, his current family, were. What would happen after that was obvious without seeing it. If he had come with good intentions in the first place, there would have been no need for this violent confrontation. “Sorry about this, mister.” Alex gripped his sword again. His aura sank heavily and sharply. “I don’t know about anything else, but I can’t tell you that even if I die.” “Is that so? Then there’s no choice.” Luther shook his head as if disappointed, his eyes gleaming ominously. “Then I suppose one of us really has to die.” “Damn it.” Alex let out a sound of frustration as he concentrated on the opponent’s appearance, posture, movements. Alex stared at Luther without blinking once. The distance was about 10m. So in that space, he needed to respond... “Where are you looking?” “...!” The distance between the two that had existed until just now closed in an instant. He hadn’t been distracted elsewhere. Alex had been staring at Luther so intently his eyes were getting dry, yet he still missed that movement. Luther, who had approached within arm’s reach, threw a punch toward Alex. The air trembled, and he had the illusion that the world was crumbling. Alex’s breath caught and his entire body froze. The scent of death lingered at the tip of his nose. In Alex’s mind, he saw an image of his head bursting from the punch. -Grrrr! Alex, gritting his teeth so hard they might break, raised his sword with both arms. His whole body felt heavy as if bound in iron chains, but Alex moved with the force of wringing out his soul. Luther’s fist fell upon Alex, who had barely managed to take a defensive stance. Sword and fist, when the two collided, who would win was obvious but Alex didn’t let his guard down, on the contrary, he was convinced that his meager sword would not be able to block that massive fist. He could feel it completely through the impact transmitted to his arms along the blade. He couldn’t withstand it. At this rate, he would collapse along with the sword. ‘Then I’ll deflect it.’ Then how to deflect it? That question was answered by the scene Alex had witnessed earlier. ‘Just like the opponent!’ Alex’s sword moved as if gently bending. Luther’s fist, which was falling like a mountain collapsing or stars imploding, met Alex’s sword and most of its force flowed in an unintended direction. It wasn’t just about deflecting. During that time that felt like a second split into thousands of pieces, Alex squeezed out every bit of strength he could muster. He controlled every single muscle fiber with extreme precision to its limit. With the talent to analyze all of the opponent’s movements and perfectly reproduce them with his body, he imitated Luther’s technique. Even so, it was hard to keep up. He had imitated the swordsmanship of master-level knights before, but Luther’s technique was on another level entirely. His body screamed in protest, and his muscles felt like they would tear but Alex showed no hesitation. The moment he flinched even slightly would be his death. He had to handle all the power he possessed perfectly and he wouldn’t allow even a single drop to be wasted. =Clang! Those efforts bore fruit. Alex’s sword had deflected Luther’s fist to the side. Luther alternately examined his hand and Alex with an incredulous look. Though it was just a single exchange, Alex was already sweating all over his body and breathing heavily. “...How did you do that?” Luther asked Alex with pure admiration in his voice. Alex heard this and grinned. “How? You showed me yourself, didn’t you?” “I did? Hahaha. Right. I did show you.” Luther burst into hearty laughter, finding even Alex’s sarcastic response endearing. That’s how deeply impressed he was by what Alex had shown. Rather, it made his next action unpredictable. Just as Alex was tensing for when the next attack would come, Luther suddenly asked. “Would you like to work for the Imperial family?” “...” It was an incredibly sudden proposal but Alex didn’t ask what that meant. Luther was genuinely impressed by Alex’s skills and wanted to make him his subordinate. If anyone who knew anything about Luther had heard this, they would have fainted from shock. For Luther, who never showed any mercy to his enemies, to break his own principles and propose defection. “The same goes for that beastman over there.” Luther was serious. In his view, Alex and Pantos – these two men who could hold their own anywhere were too precious to waste. He had met many talented and gifted protégés before, but talents like these two were hard to find anywhere. If properly refined, they could easily reach the master level, and might even become stronger than himself. Ending them with his own hands would be too cruel. He thought it would be better to accept their surrender and take them in himself. “...” But Alex’s expression turned ice cold upon hearing the proposal. “Mister. I don’t know who you are. No, you clearly look like some important, great person, but my knowledge is limited.” “I am Luther Wardot. It’s not much, but I serve as the Knights Commander for the Imperial family.” “Wardot? The Empire’s First Sword? Damn it. No wonder you’re ridiculously strong.” Even Alex, who had no interest in such things, knew of Luther’s reputation. After all, no knight who learned the sword could not know of Luther. With strength surpassing that of master-level knights, he was the idol of all knights. Such a Luther wanted him. For knights, there could be no greater dream than this. “I’m sorry, mister. But I still can’t.” But Alex immediately rejected that proposal. Finding this unexpected, Luther opened his eyes wide. Alex deflecting his attack was less shocking than him rejecting the proposal. “Why?” “I already made a promise to someone else.” Since there was nothing to hide anyway, Alex spoke honestly. “Is it because they asked first? To keep your trust?” “It’s not because they asked first, and it’s not about trust either. It’s just...” Alex recalled the day Rudger had reached out his hand to him. It was something that couldn’t be expressed in words. “...Should I say it struck a man’s heartstrings?” Even as he said it himself, he wondered what nonsense he was spouting but hearing those words, Luther let out a small laugh. It wasn’t a sneer filled with mockery and contempt. It was a laugh purely acknowledging the other person. “But if you come to me, I can do even better for you. You could receive my teachings. You could become a knight renowned throughout the Empire.” “Mister. You’re saying this because you don’t know, but I originally learned swordsmanship at a place where I could have done all that.” A place where he could have done all that. In other words, he meant the military academy that trained knights. “But you see, as you can probably tell from my appearance and attitude, I’m a commoner without even a surname. I must have looked quite detestable in others’ eyes. So, well, I was kicked out in spectacular fashion.” “...” “For me, that place isn’t a good one. Rather, it’s a place that makes me angry and uncomfortable just thinking about it. Though I can’t say everything there was unpleasant.” Alex smiled bitterly as he recalled Enya’s face. “But now you’re telling me to go back to such a place again. A man has his pride. Don’t you think that’s wrong too, mister?” “...I see.” Luther’s face grew heavy after hearing Alex’s story. It was more from anger at how a place meant to nurture the Empire’s future had lost such talent, rather than disappointment at his proposal being rejected. “Even if given a chance to make up for that mistake?” “Once you choose a path, shouldn’t you see it through to the end?” Luther’s gaze shifted to Pantos. “As for you...it seems you won’t accept my proposal either. You’re definitely not the type to be tamed under someone else.” Seeing Pantos’ resolute gaze, Luther looked up at the sky regretfully. The night sky of Leathervelk city was so murky with smog that not even starlight could be seen. These were already turbulent times with frequent incidents threatening the Empire. In such times, losing talents of this caliber, not just one but two, was a sad thing for someone serving the Empire but if they truly wouldn’t accept his proposal. “Then there’s no choice.” Luther’s aura changed. The terrifying killing intent emanating from his entire body spread throughout the alley. -Crack. Crackle. The ground where Luther stood began to split with frightening sounds. He was exerting physical force with pure will alone, not even using aura. “That power which might become a threat to the Empire, I shall cut it down here today.” Seeing this, Alex and Pantos gulped. At this moment, both men sensed death but they didn’t turn their backs to run away. Not only were they unsure if they could escape from such a monster, but more importantly, their pride wouldn’t allow it. “Hey Pantos. Has your body recovered a bit?” “...It won’t hinder fighting.” “Right. You know, I think we’re in quite a dangerous situation right now? You agree with that too, right?” Pantos silently nodded. “And you agree that this is the time to throw away things like pride and everything else?” “Yes.” “So let’s work together first and do something about this scary mister.” Pantos and Alex were aware that they were both strong, that’s why they had implicitly avoided working together. There was pride as strong individuals, and also consideration for their companions but now was the time to bury all such complicated emotions behind them. “You know what we need to do?” “Yes.” By any means necessary. They had to fight prepared to throw away their lives. A moment’s carelessness would lead directly to death. And one death would mean the death of the other person too. “We can’t just charge recklessly. That mister’s swordsmanship transcends our common sense.” Alex had seen the unbelievable technique Luther showed with his bare hands. When sparring with Pantos, Pasius had fought while precisely controlling his strength without wasting a single drop. That was the realm of master-level knights but Luther was several levels above that. He had far surpassed the realm of not wasting any of his own power, and could even take his opponent’s power and make it his own to deflect or counter. It was so far beyond common sense that even Alex had difficulty properly imitating it after seeing it. “All half-hearted attacks will be deflected.” “Then?” “We need to land the fastest, most supreme strike. Sharper than the tip of a needle.” If it was even slightly lacking, it would come right back at them. It was an absolutely ridiculous condition, but Pantos nodded readily. “I’ll take the vanguard.” “Buy me time. I need to analyze that technique more. But I’ll give you directions.” “Understood.” As their exchange ended, Luther asked. “Are you done talking?” “You waited for us? That’s touching. It would be even better if you’d be a bit more kind and step aside.” “I must live up to minimal expectations.” “Damn. There’s just no persuading you.” Pantos looked at Alex and asked. “Was that supposed to be persuasion?” “Now that I think about it, maybe not?” Well, whatever it was didn’t matter. There was only one thing they needed to think about now. “Let’s go.” “Right.” The strongest enemy they had ever faced was standing before them.

Chapter 419

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