At Death's Door 1

"His Lordship has acted wantonly, levying exorbitant taxes. I have already resolved to launch a campaign against the lord and restore peace to the entire Leo Territory." Ward smiled.

Anglie looked at Ward in surprise. Only after a long while did he slowly grasp the fact that the man had betrayed them.

"So, Ward, you betrayed us too?" A trace of regret showed in his eyes.

"Too? Heh, I never expected Young Master Anglie to know something as well." A flicker of surprise appeared on Ward's face. Looking at the unusually calm Anglie, he suddenly felt an inexplicable unease.

"Since Young Master already more or less understands the situation, don't resist. Surrender peacefully."

"Surrender peacefully?"

Anglie gave a mocking smile.

Hiss.

The silver longsword at his waist was slowly drawn. The sound of blade scraping against scabbard echoed through the library.

Slash!!

Anglie vanished from where he stood.

Bang!! Aah!!

A scream suddenly rang out.

Anglie stood behind the two soldiers outside the door, his expression cold as he pulled his sword from one man's neck. Blood splattered across the floor. The two bodies collapsed directly to the ground. They had not even had a chance to draw their swords.

"Traitors have no need to live in this world."

Ward's face went blank, and his whole body instantly stiffened. Cold sweat slowly seeped down his back, while fine beads of sweat emerged across his forehead. He had not even seen that instantaneous movement clearly. Even as a mid-level knight, he could not react to such speed. It was already at that level.

"A-a peak knight?!" he guessed, his voice trembling slightly.

Anglie sheathed his sword, his expression indifferent. He had killed the two men in an instant. As for Ward, who claimed to be knight-level, he clearly had no ability to resist in Anglie's eyes. How could the gap between the peak and those below it be so simple?

"You're a peak knight?!" Ward slowly turned around, staring at Anglie with a pale face.

The young man, who made him feel chilled to the bone, stood outside the door and lightly flicked the blood from his blade. It was as though the two lives meant absolutely nothing to him. Judging from his expression, the guess had clearly become certainty.

"I never thought... I never thought we would miscalculate here..."

Ward knew he would not escape this. A trace of horror rose in his eyes.

"No one would have guessed that Anglie Leo was actually..." But as he spoke, his gaze gradually hardened. With a hiss, a black iron claw sprang from his right sleeve.

Anglie calmly looked at the old man before him. "For the sake of your years of care for me, I'll leave you an intact corpse."

"Heh..." Ward knew how much impact a peak knight would have on their current plan. Unfortunately, no one had expected that the wastrel who once only knew how to eat, drink, and play was actually a top-tier peak knight.

Then he suddenly thought of something, and his expression gradually calmed.

"Even if you kill me, you won't be able to save Kyle. He's dead for sure!" he laughed quietly.

"Is that so?" A hint of coldness appeared in Anglie's eyes.

Ward suddenly shouted. Like a ghostly shadow, he rushed downstairs. At the same time, he flung out a black shadow toward Anglie's lower abdomen.

Clang!!

Anglie casually knocked the black shadow aside. It was a black dart, which flew away and embedded itself fiercely in the stone wall nearby. At the same time, he turned into a white blur and pursued Ward.

He was much faster than Ward.

One after the other, the two dashed out of the main tower. It was still morning, and dozens of people in the practice grounds outside were focused on their training.

Two shadows shot out of the main tower at incredible speed. Before anyone could make out who they were, they had already rushed out of the castle and swiftly vanished down the main road leading outside.

At the same time, the white shadow behind periodically caught up to the black shadow ahead. The two collided, producing crisp metallic clashes and muffled grunts.

No one in the castle could clearly identify either of them. They only saw a man in white chasing a man in black out of the castle. Both were clearly at knight level.

After an uproar broke out in the practice grounds, everyone began asking who had seen the two men clearly. Only a few of the stronger instructors had vaguely recognized their clothing styles. Though they had some guesses, they immediately dismissed such absurd possibilities and began reconsidering.

Anglie did not slow his pace, tightly pursuing Ward ahead of him. Although he had the strength to kill a mid-level knight, if the other party refused to fight him head-on and only fled for his life, Anglie could not deal with him as easily as he had dealt with those two soldiers.

The two ran one after the other, covering several kilometers in moments. The forests on either side blurred into streaks of green, making it difficult to see anything clearly. Their speed was simply too great.

Anglie leaned forward slightly, his footsteps following close behind without pause.

"Ward, do you think you can escape my pursuit? I am young and strong, while you are already old and weakened. Keep this up a little longer, and you'll have no strength left even for a final struggle. Why not stop and tell me about my father's situation and your plans? I might consider sparing you once. After all, you've served our Leo Family for decades."

"Spare me?" Ward sneered and said nothing more. In his eyes, Anglie was so young yet so calculating, concealing his strength. He was practically cast from the same mold as his father. The baron's actions in the practice grounds earlier had already proven his cold temperament—his willingness to break his word and turn hostile at any moment. If he still dared to trust Anglie now, he would truly be an idiot!!

If he kept fleeing, perhaps he might still find a chance to escape.

Anglie's face darkened slightly. Though Ward's basic physical qualities were not high, he was in the midst of a Seed eruption, allowing him to fully unleash all of his physical abilities, with a certain boost to agility as well. That made him difficult to deal with for the moment. Moreover, Anglie needed to learn about his father's current situation from him.

With that thought, his left hand slowly slipped into his robes. Then he suddenly flicked his wrist. A white line instantly shot out.

Hearing the wind, Ward hurriedly dodged right, but he did not evade it completely. With a hiss, a large wound was cut across his left arm.

"Poison!!" Ward suppressed his voice, letting out a trembling low roar. With a leap, he landed on a large white stone beside the road.

Anglie also stopped before the stone and raised his head slightly. His gaze toward the old man who had served the Leo Family for decades was complicated.

"Do you have any last words?" he asked calmly.

Ward's fingers tightened around his left arm until his knuckles turned white. He understood Anglie's meaning as well. It seemed this poison had no cure. He immediately gave a miserable laugh.

"In the end, I fell into the hands of you father and son too. I never expected that a moment of weakness would lead to this outcome..."

Anglie sighed.

"For the sake of your years of care for me, go in peace. I will look after your family. You won't die by my hand." He took out a black card with his left hand. The blood-red spider pattern on it was exceptionally striking.

Ward's expression shifted.

"An assassin of the Dark Chapter? No wonder losing to you was no accident. If I remember correctly, you're only fourteen this year? What terrifying talent..." He did not know whether Anglie was an assassin himself or whether he had killed an assassin sent to murder him and taken the card. But either possibility showed that Anglie's strength was far beyond anything he could contend with, not to mention that he had already been poisoned.

Ward had long since stopped treating Anglie as a boy. Taking a deep breath, he felt the poison had already numbed nearly half his body. He gave a bitter smile. "Since you promise to preserve my family, then in exchange, I'll tell you where the baron and the others are, as well as their current situation..."

Anglie's gaze turned cold.

Bang!!

Audis's massive body was violently sent flying, smashing into a cluster of dense bushes and rolling far away. A trail of blood spattered behind him.

In the forest, the baron gripped his greatsword with both hands. Blood still flowed slowly from one eye, and his entire body was covered in wounds, yet his expression was frenzied. Looking around, the baron suddenly laughed softly.

"I never thought... I never thought that the members of the most united squad in the army back then would end up like this."

Chris and Lisa stood on opposite sides of the woods, forming a pincer formation.

Chris had a horrifying dark-red wound over ten centimeters long on his right arm and shoulder. However, with his muscles tensed, the bleeding was not too severe.

Lisa was in far worse condition. A huge gash in her lower abdomen nearly exposed her internal organs.

"Kyle, all the grudges of these past years will be settled today." Lisa tried her best to remain calm, though her voice trembled from the pain.

At that moment, Audis slowly climbed to his feet from the bushes. After coughing twice, he spat out a large mouthful of blood. He could only stand steadily by supporting himself with his sword, and he clearly was severely injured as well.

"I always thought the gap between us wasn't that great. Who would have thought... heh..." He laughed at himself softly.

The baron's originally flaxen hair had become clumped together with blood. Though he looked somewhat disheveled, he still exuded a wild and noble bearing.

"I always treated you as a brother, Audis. Unfortunately, you have disappointed me too much."

"Disappointed?" Audis sneered. "In the castle, you alone held all the power. Back then, I couldn't compete with you for Qilian. Later, I gave you the silver mine. Even my son's woman had to be given to your son. Why?! Why am I inferior to you in everything?! You're only at the end of your rope now."