Luckily, They Were Allies

Sunan watched the scene before him with an indifferent expression.

Given the Middle-aged Knight's strength, even if he was no match for Hidden Dragon, he should not have been crushed so quickly.

The key was that he knew nothing of Hidden Dragon's abilities and traits. He had not even realized Hidden Dragon was there at first, so he had been gifted with an instant kill upon meeting.

An information gap could be deadly at times.

Retracting his gaze, Sunan turned to look at the Black Sword Knight.

The moment their eyes met, the Black Sword Knight felt a chill run through his entire body.

He had figured it out. That terrifying giant beast was under Sunan's control.

Was this the power of a wizard?

Just as strange and unfathomable as the legends said!

With his companion dead, the situation had become extremely unfavorable for the Black Sword Knight.

After a rapid whirl of thoughts, he immediately made his decision. His entire body became an afterimage as he dashed toward Sunan like a ghost in the night.

As long as he killed Sunan, that giant beast would most likely fall into chaos. Even if it lasted only an instant, it would be enough for him to escape.

Seeing the assassin charge straight at Sunan while the giant lizard was still dozens of meters away and unable to return in time, Kei's expression changed drastically. Instinctively, he was about to rush forward to stop him.

But then he saw Sunan's calm, unruffled expression, and his steps abruptly halted.

"Die!"

In the blink of an eye, the Black Sword Knight had crossed over a hundred meters. The black blade in his hand slashed down fiercely, and a crescent-shaped sword aura formed out of thin air in its wake, tearing through the air toward Sunan like lightning.

Aura Emission!

A long-range aura attack technique that only Grand Knights could master!

As the sword aura was about to strike Sunan, a glimmer of delight flashed through the Black Sword Knight's eyes.

But in the next instant, his expression froze.

Before everyone's astonished eyes, the sword aura seemed to collide with something invisible. With a hiss, it vanished into nothingness.

The force of the collision sent a warped shockwave rippling through the air, faintly outlining the shape of a Tower Shield.

"!!!"

The Black Sword Knight's eyes widened in horror.

What the hell was that?!

Before he could recover, Sunan had already raised his hand. A glittering ruby was held between his upright index finger and thumb.

Under the moonlight, the blue-green patterns on the gem's surface gleamed beautifully, drawing every eye.

The next second, Sunan hurled the gem.

Boom!

It was as though deafening thunder had exploded beside everyone's ears. Lightning suddenly flashed across their vision, and then they saw the Black Sword Knight fly backward like a kite with its string cut, crashing with a boom into a towering tree dozens of meters away.

Crack!

The trunk, thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around, snapped in half. Its upper section crashed to the ground, sending up billowing clouds of dust.

When the dust settled, everyone looked closely and discovered the Black Sword Knight lying motionless on the ground, his entire body charred black. He had already lost consciousness.

The surroundings fell silent.

Everyone stared blankly at the scene, their mouths dry and hanging open as they remained unable to recover for a long while.

Even Kei looked dazed.

He had guessed that Sunan had a way to deal with the Black Sword Knight, but he had never expected it to be so swift and decisive.

The Black Sword Knight had not even lasted a single exchange before he was defeated and knocked unconscious!

That was a Grand Knight!

Had Sunan unknowingly become so powerful?

No.

Kei suddenly came to his senses.

It was not that Sunan had grown stronger. Rather, Kei had never seen Sunan fight at full strength from the beginning, so he had never understood Sunan's true power.

Even now, Sunan had clearly not gone all out.

Just what level had his true strength reached?

Kei stared blankly at Sunan.

This younger brother whom he had watched grow up now gave him an unfathomable feeling, as though he could not be seen through.

Tap tap!

Rapid footsteps suddenly rang out, breaking the silence in the courtyard.

A large group of armored knights rushed into the courtyard, led by none other than Jordan.

"Lord, we came to help! Where's the assassin?"

Jordan's voice abruptly cut off halfway through.

He stared wide-eyed at the wrecked courtyard, the unharmed people, and the Black Sword Knight lying on the ground not far away, blinking in confusion.

It was already over?

Kei had already composed himself by then. He ordered the soldiers to clean up the battlefield and take the Black Sword Knight away.

After arranging everything, he came to Sunan's side and said with an ugly expression, "The assassin was sent by Owen."

Sunan nodded calmly. It was something anyone could have guessed without much thought.

"But what channel did he use to find an assassin?" Kei frowned tightly.

Forces such as assassin organizations did indeed exist in this world.

But they were all second-rate powers.

Let alone an assassin at the Grand Knight level—an assassin organization capable of producing even a single Knight would be considered first-rate within the assassin world.

At least, Kei and Sunan, both born into noble families, had never heard of any assassin organization with a Grand Knight-level member.

After thinking for a moment, Sunan said, "Owen definitely doesn't have that kind of influence. Otherwise, he wouldn't have endured until Father's accident before tearing off the mask. My guess is that it was most likely through the Golden Rock Marquis's connections."

Kei's brow twitched. The more he thought about it, the more sense Sunan's words made, and his expression darkened further.

He was confident he could handle Owen alone, but if the Golden Rock Marquis became involved, things would become troublesome.

After all, the latter was the true overlord of Golden Rock Province, commanding tens of thousands of troops.

The current Blackstone City was nothing more than a slightly larger ant in his eyes.

Seeing Kei's expression shift uncertainly, Sunan said calmly, "Don't worry. The fact that the Golden Rock Marquis didn't step in personally before means he still has some regard for the rules among nobles. He won't personally seize a vassal's territory. We only need to be wary of any assassins he sends."

Kei thought about it and realized that was true, finally relaxing a little.

Then, seeing Sunan's composed expression, he could not help but feel secretly ashamed.

He was clearly the Lord, yet when trouble arose, he was less calm than Sunan. It seemed his temperament still needed tempering.

What he did not know was that Sunan could remain so calm because he did not place much importance on the territory itself.

He had already passed through the hardest early stage. Even if the territory were taken from him next, he would only lose a stable source of funding.

He could simply take Kei to the Thorn Flower Principality and lie low. Once he achieved Wizard Advancement, he could return and wipe out his enemies.

As for making money, he had plenty of methods.

Of course, it would naturally be better if he could keep the territory.

After all, having a force of his own would make both earning money and gathering resources far more convenient.

But he would not say any of that to Kei directly.

Not far away, Jordan was pestering Brad for an account of what had happened.

After hearing Brad's account, Jordan could not help widening his eyes and looking around.

A giant lizard over ten meters long that could effortlessly crush a Grand Knight to death? That was far too unbelievable. It felt like he was listening to a knight novel.

Seeing Jordan's gaze darting all over the place, Brad said irritably, "Stop looking. I already told you that giant lizard can turn invisible. Even a Grand Knight can't detect its presence—do you think you'll be able to see it?"

Jordan scratched his head and said sheepishly, "I was just curious. Still, Lord Sunan is way too amazing. That giant lizard was originally only at the Peak Knight level. He only brought it back and raised it for a few months, yet it can already kill a Grand Knight. It's simply inconceivable!"

The surrounding Knights all revealed expressions of deep agreement.

Wasn't that exactly so?

Every time they witnessed Lord Sunan's methods in battle, it felt as though their understanding of the world had been overturned.

Fortunately, such a powerful figure was on their side. If he were an enemy, the thought alone was enough to make their scalps tingle.