Chapter 301: Leon’s Return

Leon could still see what was happening, his vision becoming blurry with each passing moment though. Logan’s heartbeat had stopped. He actually sacrificed himself. ’Was it so he could protect Spade?’ Leon wondered. Then his eyes darted toward Lilith. ’Or maybe he had already decided it. Those treasures. He was collecting them to revive Ariana. That second perl. It must have gone toward her corpse.’

During his last few moments, Leon saw the Eternal trying to destroy the pyramid like structure. But it wouldn’t even budge. He saw the Grand Emperor rushing toward him and checking Logan’s pulse.

And then...

Everything became dark. Leon couldn’t see anything else. Couldn’t hear either.

.....

.....

.....

.....

.....

Snap!

Leon sprang into a sitting position. He was back beside the pool inside the cave. "Ugggghhhhhhhhh." Leon gasped for air. As his brain started to settle, he snapped back, staring at the place where the beast man was standing before. Tears rolled down his face. "Mercer." He whispered. He had seen Logan’s memories. In those memories, he and Lilith almost died once when Mercer saved them. In return, he promised Mercer he would always protect Spade no matter what. That’s why at the last moment, he didn’t hesitate to sacrifice all his hearsts to plan for Ariana and Lilith and also save Spade. He looked around with pained eyes. Then at the two transportation crystals. "One must be to reach the Seventh Heaven. Where that pyramid is. Is Spade still alive after so many years. I hope he is. But that eternal must have figured out by now what Logan did. So he is surely waiting for Logan’s return. If I go there in this state, I will die." Leon fell into deep thoughts. "I need to get strong. I can’t wait for the military license or hunter license anymore. I will barge into the dungeons by force if required."

Leon remained seated beside the pool for a few more moments. His mind was still filled with everything he had just seen.

Logan. Lilith. Spade. Mercer. And that Eternal.

Leon slowly closed his eyes before taking a deep breath. There was no point thinking about the Seventh Heaven right now. Even if one of those transportation crystals could take him there, he would only be walking toward death.

Leon placed his hands on the ground and slowly stood up.

His body still felt a little heavy after experiencing Logan’s memories, but he could move normally. He looked once more toward the two transportation crystals.

"Later."

Then he turned around and walked out of the cave. The moment Leon stepped outside, cool air brushed against his face. He looked around before heading toward the place where he had first landed after entering the red gate.

It didn’t take long for Leon to reach the location. But when he arrived...

He stopped.

There was nothing there. Leon blinked once. Then, his brows furrowed. "Where is the gate? Is the special task to permanently close this gate not complete yet?"

He looked around. No system notification appeared. No gate opened.

Nothing.

Leon frowned. Then suddenly, a thought entered his mind. "Wait. Don’t tell me I have to save Spade to get out of here."

Leon rubbed his forehead. "That will be troublesome."

If that was really the condition, then this task was far more dangerous than he had expected. The Eternal had been there when Logan died. Even if thousands of years had passed, Leon didn’t believe someone like that would forget what happened. And if Spade was still alive... The Eternal might already know Logan had planned something before dying. Going there right now would be suicide.

Leon started pacing back and forth.

"There has to be another way." He tried to think about everything related to this special gate. Then Leon suddenly stopped walking.

His eyes narrowed. Another thought appeared. "What if it’s the villagers I have to deal with first to get out of this gate?"

Leon slowly turned toward the direction of the village. That possibility actually made sense. Those villagers looked harmless on the outside. But Leon knew what kind of people they really were. They had been sacrificing outsiders for years just to make their fighters stronger.

They smiled. They acted kind. But none of them would hesitate to kill innocent people.

"Do I have to actually kill them all to get out of here?" Leon whispered.

His expression became complicated. The villagers were evil. There was no doubt about that. But most of them couldn’t fight. Leon could slaughter them easily. That was exactly the problem. He didn’t like killing people who couldn’t even fight back.

Leon again paced back and forth for a long time. Finally, he sighed. "I’ll have deal with them. There is no other way."

He turned toward the village and started walking.

A short while later...

Leon reached the village.

A few people noticed him first.

"Why is he alone?" Someone whispered.

People started shouting about his arrival. Doors opened. Others came outside.

Soon, many villagers were walking toward Leon. One middle-aged man looked behind him.

"Where are the others?"

Another woman asked quickly, "Where is my son?"

Leon stopped walking. "They’re dead."

The villagers froze. Silence spread. One man stared at him. "What?"

Leon looked at them calmly. "I killed them."

A woman gasped. Several people stepped back. Leon continued. "They tried to kill me. So I killed them first."

For a moment, nobody said anything.

Then...

"Nooooo!" The woman dropped to her knees. "My son!"

Another man grabbed his head. "My brother!"

Cries spread through the village. Some people started howling. Others stared at Leon in shock. Leon simply watched them. Then one elderly man shouted, "Enough!"

The crying slowly weakened. The elderly man looked around before lowering his head.

"They deserved it."

Several villagers looked at him.

The old man clenched his fists. "They kept doing this. Bringing outsiders here. Tricking people. Killing them."

Another villager slowly nodded. "He is right."

A woman wiped her tears. "We are sorry."

Another man lowered his head. "Please forgive us."

Leon was stunned beyond words seeing their quick shift. But, he didn’t say anything.

An elderly man with white hair suddenly stepped forward. He looked weak. His back was bent. His hands trembled.

"Young man..."

Leon looked at him.

The elderly man bowed. "Please forgive us on behalf of everyone." He slowly walked closer. "We ordinary villagers couldn’t stop them."

Leon kept watching him. The man took another step.

"We never wanted this."

Another step.

"We only want to live peacefully."

Leon didn’t stop him. The elderly man reached directly in front of him. His head was still lowered.

Then suddenly...

Schlk!

A knife appeared in the man’s hand and stabbed straight into Leon’s chest. The villagers went silent.

Leon looked down at the knife. The elderly man’s trembling instantly vanished.

Then...

"Hahahahaha!" He started laughing. Other villagers joined him.

"Hahahahaha!"

"What an idiot!"

"He believed us!"

The old man looked up with a wide grin. "You fool."

He twisted the knife. "You are strong, but dumb."

Leon remained silent. He didn’t even twitch.

The old man continued laughing. "Now we will absorb your cultivation and nurture another fighter in the future." Several villagers smiled greedily. "With this much power, we might even create someone stronger than ever before!"

Leon finally lifted his head.

"Is that so?"

At those words, the laughter stopped. The old man’s grin slowly disappeared. Leon stared at him calmly.

"Thanks for that."

The villagers looked confused.

Leon grabbed the knife and slowly pulled it out of his chest. Blood appeared for a moment. Then the wound began closing. The old man’s face turned pale.

Leon dropped the knife.

Clink!

"Now I won’t have to see nightmares at night..."

His right hand straightened. Cold air spread around him. The Frost Monarch’s Blade appeared in his hand.

"Seeing that I killed innocents."

The old man stumbled back. "W-wait!"

Leon lifted the sword.

"Sword Rain."

Hum!

One sword appeared in the sky. Then another. Then ten. Hundreds. Thousands. Countless swords materialized above the village.

The sunlight disappeared. Everyone looked upward. Their faces turned white.

"No..."

"Run!"

The villagers scattered. Some rushed toward their houses. Some ran toward the forest. Some fell to their knees.

Leon lowered the Frost Monarch’s Blade.

Whoooooooooosh!

The swords rained down.

Schlk!

Schlk!

Schlk!

Screams erupted. One sword pierced through the old man’s chest. Another tore through a man’s head. Several villagers tried to hide inside their homes, but the swords smashed through the roofs. Others ran toward the forest. But nobody was spared.

The screams continued. Then slowly...

They became fewer. And fewer. Until finally...

Schlk!

The last villager fell. Silence returned. Leon stood in the middle of the village. He looked around once.

Then...

Hum!

Green light appeared behind him. Leon turned. A gate slowly formed in the air. His expression finally relaxed.

"Finally."

He walked toward it. The green light swallowed him.

Whoooosh!

For a moment, Leon felt space twist around him. Then his feet touched solid ground. He opened his eyes. But the moment he did...

He froze.

He was surrounded. Dozens of people stood around him. Some carried bows. Some held swords. Others already had energy swirling around their bodies. Every single one of them was staring at Leon. Killing intent filled the area.

Leon slowly looked around. Then his eyes stopped on the man standing at the front.

Major Albert. Commander of Alpha Company.

Albert stared at Leon coldly. And behind him... Every soldier looked ready to attack.