Chapter 188 - 15 Seconds

Theo’s face looked deathly pale.

He stared at the terrifying being before him for several more seconds before his survival instincts finally screamed at him.

"All of you! Attack him at once!" He roared.

The remaining five S-Class knights moved simultaneously.

One brandished his sword, its blade humming as energy surged through it.

Another flicked both hands to his sides. His palms straightened like a pair of sabers as a sharp glow enveloped them.

Two spread out to opposite corners of the mountaintop, both raising their hands as torrents of mana gathered before their palms.

The last knight planted himself in front of Theo, raising his massive shield.

But Theo’s expression twisted in rage. "You idiot! Do you really think I need your protection?" he barked. "Go kill that thing already!"

The shield knight gritted his teeth before charging forward as well.

The next instant...

The swordsman and the knight with the glowing palms shot toward Leon like bolts of lightning, while the shield bearer charged close behind.

At the same time, the two knights positioned at opposite corners unleashed their spells.

"Fireball."

"Iceball."

Whoosh!

Whoosh!

Fiery and icy spheres shot toward Leon instantly. They were ordinary elemental spells. Yet in the hands of S-Class knights, each one carried enough destructive force to level buildings.

Boooom!

Booooom!

Violent explosions erupted one after another. The mountaintop shook violently as countless cracks spread across the rocky ground like spiderwebs. Dust and flames engulfed the battlefield.

Yet...

Leon didn’t retreat. He didn’t dodge either.

He simply walked forward, allowing many fireballs and iceballs to crash directly into his body.

Explosion after explosion swallowed his figure. But nothing could stop him. Through the sea of flames... Through the rising misty fog...

A lone silhouette continued advancing.

Every step was steady. Every step carried an indescribable pressure that weighed heavily on everyone’s hearts.

Whoooosh!

The swordsman arrived first. With a roar, he swung his sword straight toward Leon’s neck. Leon didn’t bother to evade. He merely clenched his left fist...

And threw a simple punch.

Peng!

The fist collided head-on with the blade. A crisp snapping sound echoed through the battlefield.

The S-Class knight froze. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the broken sword still clutched in his hands.

Before he could react...

Something as heavy as a mountain slammed into his chest.

Booooom!

A deafening shockwave exploded outward.

The knight spat out a mouthful of blood as his ribs shattered. His body was launched like a cannonball, flying straight off the mountaintop before disappearing into the abyss below.

Whoosh!

At that exact moment, the knight with the glowing palms arrived. His right hand sliced upward in a diagonal slash sharp enough to split steel.

But before the attack could land... An iron grip clamped around his wrist. His pupils shrank.

Leon slowly pulled the man’s arm across his own body...

Then...

Baaaaam!

A casual backhand slap exploded across the knight’s face. The impact distorted his features before sending his body hurtling backward.

He crashed directly into the charging shield bearer.

Boom!

The shield shattered into countless fragments. Both S-Class knights were blasted backward together like broken dolls before slamming into Theo in the distance.

Theo was sent crashing to the ground beneath the two bodies. Dust billowed into the air as the impact knocked the breath out of him. His face was completely devoid of color.

Fear. At the moment... He truly understood what fear felt like.

Leon stopped. He raised both hands forward. Qi surged through his meridians.

Two gigantic ice spheres condensed before his palms. Each was so enormous that from the opposite side, more than half of Leon’s body couldn’t be seen.

Then...

Whoooosh!

Whoooosh!

The two gigantic ice spheres shot forward with terrifying speed. They streaked across the battlefield toward the two S-Class mage knights standing at opposite corners.

The two men looked up. Their eyes widened. There wasn’t even enough time to scream.

Booooooom!

Booooooom!

Two earth-shaking explosions echoed across the mountaintop. Massive craters appeared where the two knights had been standing. Not a single intact corpse remained.

Silence descended once more. Five S-Class knights... Had been wiped out in the span of a few breaths. Only Theo remained.

The elderly man? He was trembling in the corner, hiding behind Elena. Elena was shaking too.

Theo somehow pushed himself to his feet, shoving the two corpses aside. With just a single slap... Two S-Class knights had died.

And the others?

It hadn’t even been fifteen seconds since he had ordered them to attack.

Yet in less than fifteen seconds...

All five S-Class knights had been wiped out.

Theo himself was a Disaster Class knight. But he knew... Even he wouldn’t be capable of something like this.

The creature standing before him...

Was the very definition of terror.

His legs shook violently. "I... I’ll give you the herb," Theo said, his voice trembling. "But you have to let me go."

’I spent an entire decade reaching my current realm. Even among the six great clans of Summitas Valley, my cultivation can be considered outstanding among my peers. Even without the Blood Dantian Pill, I’ll reach the Ninth Heaven one day... I definitely will. But if I die here... what use is any of that?’ The thoughts screamed endlessly inside his mind.

Leon said nothing. He simply walked forward.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Each footstep sounded like the tolling of a funeral bell.

Finally, he stopped directly before Theo. His towering figure cast a long shadow over him.

Without saying a word... Leon slowly raised his hand.

Theo understood immediately. His stiff body turned toward the elderly man. His legs felt like jelly, yet he didn’t dare hesitate for even a second. With trembling hands, he took the Crimson Rosemary from the old man before carefully placing it into Leon’s palm.

"Done..." Theo said, forcing out a smile that looked uglier than crying. "Now... please let me go."

"Let you go?" Leon finally spoke again. His voice was as cold and merciless as a blade.

"You tried to kill me twice today. You kidnapped an innocent woman simply to gain more power. You treat human lives as though they are worthless."

He looked down at Theo with emotionless eyes.

"Someone like you doesn’t deserve to breathe."

Theo’s eyes widened. "I tried to kill you twice? Wait... wh—" He didn’t get to finish his sentence.

Whoooosh! Leon’s left hand swept across the air. His razor-sharp claws sliced cleanly across Theo’s throat in a single motion.

Theo froze. He stared blankly ahead. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. He still had countless ambitions. He had worked tirelessly for everything he possessed. He still wanted to stand at the peak of Summitas Valley. He still wanted to become stronger. How... How could it all end here?

Those were the final thoughts that lingered in his mind.

Thud!

His body collapsed backward, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Dead.

A Disaster Class knight...

Killed as effortlessly as crushing an insect.