Violence Can Be Elegant Too

Long Haochen was somewhat confused.

His slightly reddened eyes looked at Long Haoyu.

His pried-open hand clenched back into a fist as he glared furiously at the foul-mouthed Bearded Man.

"Brother Haoyu, don't be impulsive!"

Li Xin came to her senses and hurriedly pressed down on Long Haoyu's shoulder. "Today's matter was your sister's oversight. I'll give you an explanation!"

Long Haoyu smiled faintly. "Sister Xin'er, Haochen and I were both raised by our mother alone. Since they insulted our mother, let us handle it ourselves!"

"There's no need for Sister Xin'er to help us fight. If you're willing, then please serve as a witness for me!"

Long Haoyu spoke calmly. He took the White Glove from Long Haochen's pocket, walked up to the Bearded Man on his own, and tossed it down before him.

At the same time, he pulled No Edge from where it had been embedded in the Bearded Man's instep. As the blade tip left his foot, even more blood gushed from the wound.

Although No Edge had a very distinctive design, its blade tip was still fairly long and had not severed the Bearded Man's foot.

Even so, the huge gash made the Bearded Man suck in a cold breath.

Seeing this, the other two burly men hurriedly took out some unknown powder and sprinkled it over the Bearded Man's foot, causing the wound to scab over and stop bleeding quickly.

"You little brat, we already gave face to that knight who returned from Knight Sacred Mountain."

"You little bastard, what the hell do you mean by this?!"

One of the burly men shouted angrily.

Even as he shouted, he warily glanced at Li Xin.

Li Xin, with her Rose Unicorn mount, was undoubtedly the person they feared most right now.

As for Long Haoyu and Long Haochen, these ruthless men who lived by the blade did not take them seriously at all.

"Face isn't something other people can grant with their mouths. It only counts if you earn it yourself."

"I, Long Haoyu, challenge all three of you today in the name of a Quasi-Knight of the Knight Temple. Until death!"

Long Haoyu challenged all three of them at once. He had not overlooked the fact that the Bearded Man's two companions had also intended to draw their weapons earlier.

The moment those words came out, everyone in the Adventurer's Guild fell silent. Pair after pair of strange eyes focused on Long Haoyu.

Especially when they saw the five-star Quasi-Knight Medal he pulled from his robes, their eyes widened even further.

The Bearded Man and his two companions froze for a moment before flying into a rage. "You little brat, we gave you an inch and you took a mile, didn't you? You don't know why flowers are so red, do you?"

The Adventurer's Guild had a high ceiling, but its floor was equally low. The Bearded Man and his companions represented that lower end.

As they berated Long Haoyu, they looked toward Li Xin again. "That knight over there, we brothers have already given plenty of face."

"Now this little brat has initiated a knight's challenge against the three of us himself, so don't blame us for showing no mercy!"

Fighting was forbidden inside the Adventurer's Guild, and the three men understood that clearly. Long Haoyu's challenge against all three of them had thoroughly enraged them.

The three burly figures marched out of the Adventurer's Guild in unison.

Long Haoyu followed them out, while many adventurers eager to watch the show streamed out after him.

Li Xin followed as well, her expression complicated. Watching Long Haoyu casually issue a knight's challenge to the death against three adventurers gave her a terrible headache.

Li Xin suddenly moved close to Long Haoyu and whispered into his ear, "If you can't hold on, don't force yourself. Even if I have to give up being a knight, I absolutely won't let anything happen to you."

Long Haoyu's body stiffened slightly. Li Xin's sudden words moved him deeply; he knew all too well the Ten Great Tenets that knights upheld.

His and Long Haochen's relationship with Li Xin had not yet reached that point, yet she was willing to go this far under these circumstances.

To say he was not moved would have been a lie.

"Don't worry, Sister. I wouldn't do something I wasn't sure about!"

Long Haoyu said with a smile, "I said I'd shield my little brother from the wind and rain. If I wasn't confident, wouldn't I make a fool of myself in front of Haochen?"

Li Xin rolled her eyes. At a time like this, he was still thinking about that. Suddenly, she felt a little envious of Long Haochen for having an older brother like Long Haoyu always standing in front of him.

"Brother, be careful!" Long Haochen said worriedly.

Long Haoyu smiled. "Just watch with peace of mind. When have I ever disappointed you?"

Long Haochen nodded firmly. Under Li Xin's guidance, he retreated some distance, leaving the challenge ground to Long Haoyu and the Bearded Man's group.

The other spectators were quite considerate as well, all leaving ample space as they watched curiously.

A little brat challenging three adventurers at once to a knight's duel—this was quite a spectacle.

"Hey, you little brat."

"Don't say we're bullying you. You were the one who initiated a knight's challenge against the three of us."

"I'll put the ugly words first. We gave face to that knight over there, but you didn't want it. Since you insist on challenging us, don't start crying and looking for your mommy after we beat you up."

"Though you little fellow are quite delicate-looking. If you're about to lose in the end, you can call your mother over. Then maybe I might..."

Now that all pretense had been torn away, the Bearded Man once again began spewing obscenities.

His other two companions chimed in from time to time, perfectly embodying the meaning of the word "low."

Long Haoyu did not wait for the Bearded Man to finish. No Edge in his hand had already begun to hum.

Already a Level 5 Quasi-Knight, and with No Edge's unique properties, the Bearded Man and his two companions posed no threat to him whatsoever.

He had not even used any of the Knight Skills he had learned from Long Xingyu during this time, such as the Pure White Blade that Long Haochen would originally have used.

With absolute speed, his figure—far more slender than those of the Bearded Man and the other two—had already closed in on the Bearded Man, who loved spewing filth from his mouth.

Seeing this, the Bearded Man raised his two battle axes as though to chop at Long Haoyu. But Long Haoyu, whose footwork had even made Ying Suifeng's eyes light up, naturally would not give him such an opportunity.

Charge, stride, sudden turn.

Long Haoyu came to a stop at the Bearded Man's side. No Edge in his hand leveled slightly, and the blade viciously slammed into the Bearded Man's body.

No Edge, which could originally have cleaved the Bearded Man in two, merely crashed heavily into his side this time.

The Bearded Man, who clearly outweighed Long Haoyu by a great deal, was sent flying outright by that heavy blow.

Though he had not been cut in half, the bones in the Bearded Man's body shattered instantly from the impact.

Without missing by an inch, he crashed straight into the wall beside the Adventurer's Guild entrance.

His body stuck firmly against the wall before slowly sliding down.

"Third Brother!"

Seeing this, the other two burly men roared and swung their weapons as they charged at Long Haoyu.

Caught off guard and allowing Long Haoyu to strike first, the Bearded Man was still slowly sliding down the wall.

At this moment, they did not want to give Long Haoyu even the slightest opportunity.

This was a challenge to the death. If they did not take it seriously, they would follow in the Bearded Man's footsteps.

Long Haoyu did not pause. Just as he had nearly smashed Long Xingyu in the face before, he launched a second attack.

He had failed to smash Long Xingyu in the face, but against the Bearded Man's two companions, there was no pressure at all.

They simply were not on the same level.

His not particularly broad palm covered one burly man's face.

Long Haoyu shoved the man toward the Bearded Man's position. After doing the same to the second man, he had only one opponent left.

Every onlooker watching the spectacle stared dumbfounded at the scene. They had thought Long Haoyu would be no match for the Bearded Man and his two companions.

Yet in the blink of an eye, two of them had already been hung on the wall. When they slid to the ground, they left two streaks of blood across it.

Punishing evil was promoting good—indeed, that was the creed of Retribution Knights, and everyone who frequented the Adventurer's Guild knew it.

But the way Long Haoyu had acted...

Beating people into wall decorations did not seem like something an ordinary Retribution Knight would do, did it?

Had Retribution Knights become this violent these days?

Wasn't this more the sort of thing warriors did?

The gazes of the spectators were exceedingly strange as they marveled at Long Haoyu's clean, decisive brutality.

Yet as they watched how calm and unhurried Long Haoyu remained throughout it all, they vaguely began to sense that something was off.

How could such violence actually look somewhat pleasing to the eye?!

PS: I went to the hospital for an IV today. Sorry for the late update; the second chapter will be a little later.