Chapter 196: Good Intentions

Under the cover of night, a figure moved swiftly. With little time left until the agreed time, Knightrod had already entered the imperial capital through the southern gate. Due to the urgency, he didn’t care about much else—he channeled his combat energy, gathering it at his feet to maximize his speed as he rushed toward his destination. His entire body seemed to become lighter, leaving only a faint afterimage in his wake. Others couldn’t even recognize him before he vanished like a gust of wind.
“The northern gate—it’s right ahead!” Rod silently reminded himself as he saw the city walls ahead.
He slowed down, took a few deep breaths to calm himself, then walked slowly toward the gate. After exiting, he observed the surroundings and, relying on his memory and map, rushed toward the forest mentioned earlier.
……
“The time has come. Has that kid not shown up?” Looking at the darkening sky, several men in black stood in the forest on the northern outskirts of the capital, guarding two bound women as they waited. Checking the time, one of them said in a mocking tone, “Crow, shut up. He’ll come. Heh, don’t worry!” Nightingale paid no attention to Crow’s concerns. Indeed, weren’t they just Nightingale, Crow, Silverwing, and Viper?
“He’s here!” Just as Crow was about to retort, Silverwing’s voice turned grave as he spoke softly to the group.
Hearing this, their expressions instantly changed as they looked outside the forest. “Where? Silverwing, your joke isn’t funny!”
After searching, they saw no one. Crow pouted in dissatisfaction. But the others ignored him. Nightingale smirked faintly, while Silverwing and Viper scanned the area seriously, as if searching for something.
“You should release them by now!” Suddenly, a voice rang out clearly in their ears.
“Uuuu…” Hearing this, Linda and Lucia, who were being held captive, struggled desperately. From the conversations the day before, they could tell these men wouldn’t harm them. Even if Rod didn’t show up, they would still set them free. To be honest, they were conflicted—hoping both that Rod wouldn’t appear and that he would.

I hope he doesn’t show up because the two of them won’t encounter any difficulties at all. If he shows up, he will surely face great danger; Rod has no chance of winning against these people. Hoping he shows up means expecting Rod not to abandon them and to experience the feeling of a hero saving a beauty. Women’s minds are always so contradictory that no one can figure them out—otherwise, they might have won a Nobel Prize.

“Hehe, little brother, you’ve finally arrived. Sister has been waiting for you for so long. I thought you wouldn’t come. Do you know how sad that made me?” Hearing that voice, Nightingale wore a knowing smile as she spoke softly toward the empty woods ahead, her charming tone unbearable.

“You should let them go now!” Rod slowly stepped out from behind a large tree, walking toward them step by step. Seeing Lucia and Linda being held hostage, he spoke in a deep voice.

“Hehe, kid, just because you say let them go, we’ll let them go? Who do you think we are?” The Crow grew angry upon seeing Rod, frustrated that he hadn’t noticed his arrival alone. With a cold snort, he spoke in a deep voice.

Hearing his words, Rod narrowed his eyes slightly. His hidden dragon emerged as he clenched his hand, staring at the Crow across from him. A killing intent surged toward him in an instant, enveloping him.

The Crow’s face paled, his eyes showing panic as he gripped his weapon tightly. A little sweat appeared on his forehead. Everyone present was astonished by the young man across from them. At just eighteen years old, he already possessed such killing intent—genuine killing intent, not inferior to theirs at all. They couldn’t imagine what kind of training it would take to develop such intensity. At the very least, they knew they had to kill many people to reach that level and gain such killing intent.

“Let them go!” Taking a deep breath, Silverwing roared at the Crow beside him, causing the Crow’s face to pale as he glared at Silverwing with resentment.

“Crow, let them go! Do you hear me?” Nightingale also urged him, further fueling the Crow’s intense dissatisfaction and resentment. From that day on, the Crow planted the seed of revenge in his heart.

Under the urging of the three, the Crow reluctantly released Lucia and Linda, untied their bonds and removed the objects stuffed in their mouths, then pushed them toward Rod.

“Rod, why did you come? Go away quickly! They want your life!” Lucia rushed to Rod’s side and shouted anxiously, feeling both moved and worried. She was moved that Rod had come despite knowing the danger. She and Linda both knew that given Rod’s personality and what had happened with Sean last time, he would never have come here if it weren’t for them—he came for them. What worried her was that he had come alone, and they were well aware of the consequences that might await him.

“Rod, go quickly!” Linda also shouted anxiously, pulling at Rod. The chilling aura emitted by the people behind them made her feel uneasy, prompting her to urge him further.

“You two go first. Leave this to me. Hurry up!” Ignoring their pleas, Rod took a deep breath and spoke in a firm voice.

“We won’t leave. If you’re going, we’ll go together!” The two girls said in unison, clenching their fists, pressing their lips together, and looking at him with stubborn eyes.

Hearing their words, Rod frowned slightly. “Do you want to stay here and hold us back? Go now! I don’t want to see you again!” Unexpectedly, he roared in a deep voice, seemingly furious.

Rod’s words left the two girls stunned. Their eyes flickered as they didn’t know what to say. It was unbelievable—Rod, the mighty Knight Rod, was speaking to them like that. This filled them with immense resentment, compounded by the pain of their previous abduction. Tears welled in their eyes.

“Hehe, you two still haven’t left? Do you want to stay? Didn’t you hear what the young man said? You’ll only hold us back and get her killed!” Nightingale said calmly ahead of them, her gaze sharp as she looked at Rod with a hint of curiosity and a smile.

“Get lost! If it weren’t for you, would I have come here? It’s all because of you. Don’t you think you’ve caused enough trouble? Disappear from my sight now!” Rod looked at the two girls with a complex expression. He took a deep breath, raised his head slightly, closed his eyes, and roared again. For some reason, he felt a pang of pain at that moment. Seeing Lucia’s sad expression made his heart ache, giving him an urge to vent. But he couldn’t. Rod knew he had to stay strong now; otherwise, everything would only get worse.

“You… okay, Knightrod. It’s us who’ve caused you trouble. I’m sorry. We’ll leave now, right away! We won’t bother you anymore!” Rod’s behavior dropped the two women’s spirits to rock bottom. A strong sense of disappointment and sorrow spread through them. Clenching their fists, they let their nails dig into their palms, allowing blood to flow. Lucia glared at Rod and whispered, with a hint of bitterness, before pulling the dazed Linda and running toward the edge of the forest.

Only after the two women left did Rod sigh in relief. “I’m sorry. I’ll repay you when I get the chance!” he muttered to himself.

“Hehe, what a touching scene, little brother. Even your sister doesn’t want to kill you now. Those two beauties were seriously hurt by you! You really tried hard, but your worries are unnecessary. Even if they left, we wouldn’t harm them in the slightest. If we wanted to hurt them, would we wait until today?” Nightingale said in a low voice, looking at Knightrod across from her.

“Stop talking nonsense! I’ll just keep going! Today, we’ll settle this once and for all!” Rod glared at the people across from him, their cold eyes filling him with fury as he roared.

“Hmph, so reckless. Since you can’t wait, I’ll send you to death first. Silverwing, leave this guy to me. Don’t interfere!” With a cold snort, Crow rushed at Rod first.

Seeing the attack, Rod quickly moved, using his back legs to spin violently. Dark Dragon traced a fan-shaped arc as it rushed forward, not retreating but advancing, instantly colliding with Crow. Both were enveloped in golden combat energy, with the sound of clashes echoing and sparks flying—a fiercely intense battle.

“Crow is bound to lose this fight!” Nightingale said calmly, watching the two already engaged in battle. No one present knew Rod’s strength better than she did. Just one fight was enough for her to see many things.

“Shouldn’t we join in?” Viper asked, looking at Silverwing beside him.

“It might be good to teach him a lesson. Watch—Crow’s been arrogant and hasn’t improved at all. He deserves a lesson!” With a sigh, Silverwing said solemnly, watching the battle ahead. It was truly a well-thought-out plan.

The three stood calmly ahead, watching the intense clash of the two in the distance. The assassination attempt seemed utterly unusual.