Chapter 221: Attack

“It doesn’t matter who I am. Horri and the others have already returned—they’re inside this mansion right now. Those guys aren’t strong enough to put him in danger. If they did, he’d deserve it. As for your identity, heh, I believe I’m the second person in the entire continent to know it. Of course, the first person is Biano, who’s raised you for so many years—he knows far more than I do! Any other questions?” Sitting in the grand chair, hands clasped together, elbows on the table as he leaned forward, the masked man in black calmly answered every one of Rod’s questions, his gaze leaving Rod puzzled.

Shocked inwardly, Rod’s expression changed instantly. He suddenly stood up, drawing his Dark Dragon sword with a crisp sound, accompanied by an excited hum as it came out of its sheath. Pointing it at the masked man, Rod asked coldly, “Who exactly are you? How do you know these things? How do you know about the old man?”

The masked man mentioning the old man’s name sent shockwaves through Rod’s mind. Even Rod had only learned the old man’s name during the battle before he died, yet this man knew it—and seemed quite familiar with him as well. This truly surprised Rod.

The first thing that came to mind was the Golden Eagle symbol—yes, it was that damned organization, Dark! The most formidable assassin organization in the entire continent. At least in Rod’s understanding, only this organization knew the old man’s name and his existence. The rest were just his friends and Kiro’s group.

“Biano? An old friend, huh? Too bad… Anyway, I can’t tell you who I am now, at least not right now. All I can say is that I have no ill intentions toward you—I definitely won’t harm you!” Seeing Rod’s reaction, the masked man’s gaze grew somewhat confused, as if recalling something. After taking a deep breath, he affirmed firmly.

“An old friend, huh? You’re from Dark, aren’t you?” Rod sneered in disdain at the man’s reply. Other than Dark, he couldn’t think of any other possible identity for this person!

Based on his observations and thoughts over the past time, along with what the masked man had said earlier, Rod reached a rough conclusion. Their powerful abilities, formidable subordinates, mysterious whereabouts, extensive information network, and various other factors all suggested that these people must be Dark, the legendary most powerful assassin organization.

“You can die now~!” After reaching these conclusions, Rod took a deep breath and shouted loudly. He would not allow that dark figure to exist before him. The old man’s death was their fault, and it was because of them that the Swift Wind Mercenaries were destroyed. The captain, the vice-captain, his teammates—all died one after another right before his eyes, forcing Rod to experience various hardships and constant separations between life and death for the first time. He would never forget that moment. The silent acceptance by the man in black meant he had agreed to Rod’s suspicions, or at least hadn’t objected. Thinking of this, Rod’s eyes turned redder, his demonic bloodline and violent nature being unleashed. After roaring, he swung the Dark Dragon in his hand, launching an attack with fierce momentum.

Yet the masked man in black didn’t move at all in response to Rod’s actions. All that could be heard was a sigh from him. He didn’t dodge Rod’s slashing sword and simply sat there quietly, showing no intention or sign of counterattack. As the Dark Dragon neared his head, ready to split him in two, he remained utterly calm and motionless!

Roaring in anger, his mind was filled with rage. The old man’s death and the destruction of the Swift Wind Mercenaries left nothing in his world but hatred and fury.

Seeing his sword about to split the other man in two, he felt a sense of vengeance, and a sinister smile appeared on his lips, tinged with a hint of bloodthirst and coldness.

But the next moment, he froze. His body stiffened as he stared in disbelief at the man before him, his eyes filled with shock, as if he had witnessed something unimaginable.

There was no splashing of blood or screams as expected. The room remained silent, with only a faint sigh heard. His full-force attack had been blocked outright by the other man, blocked with bare hands. His sword hung in midair, less than a centimeter away from the man in black’s forehead, ready to strike down.

Yet even at this point, he couldn’t move it an inch further. No matter how hard he tried, it was useless. He couldn’t pull it back either, and it remained frozen in place. Looking ahead, he saw that the man in black had simply used two fingers to intercept Rod’s swift and powerful attack in an instant, stopping the sword in its tracks.

“You’re not my opponent, at least not yet. If you want to kill me, you still have a long way to go. I’ll be waiting for you!”

He glanced at Rod indifferently as the man in black spoke calmly, his expression unchanged. Then, with a swift motion of his hand, he pushed Rod’s long sword aside, staring intently at him.

“Hmph, bastard! I’ll kill you today!” Fueled by anger and impulse, Rod saw the other man’s actions as a humiliation. He had thought that reaching the Imperial rank would allow him to achieve something significant, but who would have expected such a situation? He sensed no trace of combat energy, no sign of elemental fluctuations, and couldn’t even see what move the other man had made to effortlessly block his full-force attack! Not even his own combat energy seemed to be activated—clearly, the other man didn’t care about his attack at all and could easily counter it without exerting any effort! Rod even doubted whether the other man had used even three layers of his strength! Even at the Saint level, if he used three layers of his strength, Rod was certain he would be able to sense the fluctuations in his combat energy.

Using less than 30% of his strength, relying solely on judgment, physical strength, and sharp senses, the other man grabbed Rod’s sword with just two fingers. This made Rod’s face turn red with shame.

How could he give up so easily? With a roar, he unleashed all his combat energy, instantly enveloped in red energy. He channeled that energy into the Dark Dragon, feeling its excited buzzing, and launched another attack in the confined space.

“Overconfident!” With a cold snort, the man in black’s gaze turned icy. Rod only felt a gust of wind. When he looked again, he was shocked to see the man in black vanish right before his eyes—disappearing completely, even under his attacks!

His face paled. A chilling coldness behind him made his hair stand on end. He quickly turned around and saw a silver-white slender sword pointing at his forehead.

His forehead tingled, and cold sweat poured down. In just an instant, from his attack to the other man’s disappearance and then to him appearing behind Rod with the sword pressed against the back of his head—so much happened in such a short time that Rod hadn’t even noticed. He had no strength left to counterattack, leaving his face deathly pale.

“You’re too inexperienced, just a novice. I’ve said I bear no ill intent toward you. There’s no need for you to force me to act. I think you’d better focus more on training. The entire continent is now hunting you and issuing warrants for your arrest. If you don’t want to die, you must improve your strength. Our enemies are very powerful. Let me tell you—among those hunting you, there are those even stronger than me. You can imagine what would happen if you met them! No need for me to say more. Come to me once you’ve figured it out. I still have things to tell you!” With a cold tone, he retracted his long sword and glared at Rod coldly. The man in black spoke in a deep voice, clearly annoyed and furious at Rod’s repeated attacks.

Watching the man in black leave and the empty room, Rod stood there foolishly, his mind in chaos. He had been utterly defeated by his opponent, with no strength left to fight back. How many times had he died in life-or-death battles already?

“I’m too inexperienced? A novice?” He had said those words before, targeting those guys from the church. He never expected that one day this description would apply to him, and so aptly at that. In an instant, Rod’s sense of satisfaction was shattered, leaving only resentment and despair.

For the first time, he doubted his own strength. For the first time, he felt so powerless and helpless. For the first time, he felt so depressed and disheartened. Standing there, his gaze was vacant; he didn’t even know what he was thinking. Drifting along on instinct, he walked outside to the courtyard. At that moment, the courtyard was empty. Standing there, he gazed at the dark night sky filled with stars, letting the cool wind blow and his hair flutter, staring blankly at the heavens. In the vast universe, he was but a speck of dust—so insignificant.

“Ah…” Intense resentment made him roar, burning his blood and causing the Dark Dragon within him to twist wildly in madness. The sound of wind cutting through the air spread everywhere, with his fiery red figure and the shadow of the Dark Dragon’s sword visible throughout the courtyard.

“Lord, we…” In the distance, Hori watched Rod in the courtyard, his eyes tinged with bitterness. He glanced at the man in black beside him and spoke in a low voice, seemingly wanting to ask something but unable to speak.

“You want to say I’m cruel, right? Heh… Maybe. But to make him grow, he must realize the vastness of the world and his own insignificance. I hope he can overcome this trial without being broken. Otherwise, it can only be said that we misjudged him, that he failed everything!”

“Hey, keep an eye on him over there. Don’t let him cause trouble. Once he calms down, help him settle in. Let him spend some time alone to think things through. I’ll come to see him when I have time!” With a self-mocking smile, the man in black glanced at Rod, who was acting wildly in the distance, then turned and slowly left, disappearing into the night under Hori’s complicated gaze. “Knight Rod, hey, it’s up to you now. It’s the first time the lord has cared this much about someone. I hope you won’t disappoint him!” Feeling the emptyness of the night, Hori murmured to himself as he watched Knight Rod continue to act wildly.