Hurrying On 2

"This thick wooden shield bound in iron... even I would only barely be able to chop it completely through if I were in perfect condition," the Baron said grimly.

"What do we do now?" Anglie's expression changed as well. Though he could barely be considered a Peak Knight Level expert now, there was still a vast gap between him and the Baron at his prime. Faced with this situation, he too felt it was troublesome.

"A round owl and a giant axe—those are Viscount Candia's heraldic symbols." The Baron said in a low voice, "There shouldn't be any knight nearby capable of cutting through this wooden shield. It's most likely someone from Saladin. The two of us will go take a look first."

Anglie nodded. Although he was only fourteen, he and the Baron were the strongest in the entire party at the moment. Their ages could naturally be ignored.

After instructing everyone to stay alert, the two headed straight toward the wooden shield.

As they drew closer, they saw a corpse in full black armor lying face-down on the ground. An owl and giant axe emblem was likewise engraved on his armor.

"It seems to be Ruel." The Baron's face darkened further. Ruel was Viscount Candia's strongest Knight Level warrior. He strode over and lightly flipped the corpse with his foot, turning it over.

Amid the clatter of metal armor, the body rolled onto its back. A swarm of large-headed flies buzzed up in alarm, and a heavy stench of blood and rot immediately spread through the air. The corpse's face was deathly pale. A thumb-wide gash ran vertically down his head, splitting it in two.

Suppressing his nausea and disgust, Anglie looked closely. The man had originally been a burly giant, slightly shorter than Knight Audis but somewhat fatter. Through the crack in his skull, white brain matter was clearly visible. Dark red bloodstains covered the grass beneath the corpse, while swarms of flies and bugs crawled back and forth over it.

The Baron carefully examined the corpse, utterly unconcerned by the foul stench. "He was killed face-to-face." A few minutes later, the Baron spoke heavily. "His opponent should have killed Ruel within two exchanges. To kill someone on the verge of reaching Peak Knight Level in such a short time... it was probably someone at Grand Knight Level." The Baron's expression grew uglier still.

"A Grand Knight?" Anglie asked doubtfully. "Father, what kind of level is a Grand Knight?"

"The kind that can easily kill both you and me without being injured," the Baron said in a low voice. "I saw Grand Knights once, many years ago during the Violetgold Campaign. I never expected Saladin to send a Grand Knight as a vanguard this time."

Anglie's expression changed as well. "Then what do we—" Before he could finish, the Baron raised a hand and stopped him.

The Baron lowered his head and carefully inspected the bloodstains on the ground. Then he strode forward, following them around the bend. Anglie hurried after him. After walking for about five minutes, the Baron pulled Anglie into the woods at one side, slowing down.

At this point, Anglie also sensed that something was wrong ahead.

Bursts of fighting and the shrill neighing of horses grew increasingly clear as they approached.

The two soon climbed a wooded slope and lay in the grass, looking down. Below the slope was the edge of the forest, opening onto a broad expanse of empty grassland.

A fierce melee was underway.

A long-haired man in brown leather armor was leading more than a dozen Swordsmen, surrounded in the middle of the grassland. Every one of them was wounded, and green silk scarves were tied around their right arms, making them highly conspicuous.

Surrounding them were squads of soldiers clad in black iron armor, at least several hundred in number. At their head, two knights in white armor sat mounted on horseback, silently looking down at the long-haired man in the center. Corpses littered the ground around them—some in black armor, others in brown leather armor with green silk scarves tied around their arms. Clearly, a major battle had already taken place.

"It's Rudin Kingdom's Black Legion. The ones surrounded should be Saladin's people," the Baron whispered in explanation to Anglie.

At that moment, one of the two Rudin Kingdom commanders on the field began to call out loudly. "Surrender, Fushi Ximartin. As a Grand Knight, wouldn't it be too regrettable for you to die in some corner where no one knows?" The commander's voice was mild and calm, carrying a powerful air of confidence.

"You think that's possible?" the long-haired man sneered. His accent carried a strange cadence, every sentence beginning with a stressed note. It sounded as if he were chanting poetry, with rises and falls in his tone that felt exceedingly awkward. "I am merely the third vanguard commander of the Saladin Empire. More than ten other forces have crossed the border. Heh heh, you are finished. Jones, why not submit to our Saladin Empire instead? Our Commander Andre certainly won't treat you poorly." Instead, the long-haired man tried to persuade the other side to surrender.

The commander named Jones seemed wary of something and never gave the order to rush in and kill them all. He merely engaged them in small-scale skirmishes while they traded barbs.

After listening for a while from above, the Baron and Anglie cautiously withdrew.

"Even a Grand Knight is doomed when facing that many crossbowmen," the Baron said heavily.

"Crossbowmen?" Anglie pondered. "Father, do you mean those soldiers surrounding them on the outside?"

"Yes." The Baron explained, "Back when I was on the battlefield, I was captain of a scout squad. I once saw a Grand Knight shot dead by several dozen crossbowmen. He only resisted for a few seconds before being riddled like a honeycomb. They are one of the most terrifying troop types on the battlefield. All right, we must take a detour immediately. We can't delay any longer. Deep in this forest, even if they are our own soldiers, if they turn malicious and loot us, no one will ever know."

Anglie nodded heavily.

"This time, Saladin Empire has sent Grand Knight Level experts to invade the kingdom. It looks like they are serious. Rudin Kingdom and Saladin share a border stretching thousands of kilometers. If they truly go all out, they will deploy at least two or three Grand Knight Level experts as vanguards, and who knows how many Knight Level warriors. If they even send the Forest Knights Order, then the overall situation will truly be settled." As he walked, the Baron spoke in a low voice about matters Anglie did not entirely understand. His face seemed somewhat despondent and melancholy.

Anglie could somewhat understand that feeling. In a rural corner like the border Leo Territory, a Peak Knight Level warrior was already considered extremely powerful. But to a regular legion that a nation could deploy at will, such a person was at most an elite. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of Peak Knight Level warriors, while Rudin Kingdom had long been weak and declining. Now that Saladin was launching a massive invasion, it likely had great confidence in swallowing Rudin Kingdom whole.

The two had not gone far when a volley of crossbows sounded behind them. Not long afterward came an earth-shaking roar. With the Chip, Anglie immediately recognized it as the cry of that Saladin Grand Knight from earlier.

"Preliminary assessment of Grand Knight Level data: Strength: 7–9. Agility: 6–7. Constitution: 5–8. During bursts of power, overall physical attributes rise drastically." At Anglie's command, the Chip produced its earlier remote analysis. Based on the opponent's combat condition and patterns involving gravity, physical impacts, and similar laws, it could roughly determine the range of his attributes.

Hearing the data, Anglie still could not help drawing in a cold breath, despite having been mentally prepared. "Th-this is no longer human..." His expression shifted as he bit his lower lip, his heart growing heavy.

Even the Raging Mountain Bear's attributes were no more than this. And if those figures were averaged out, the Grand Knight would be far stronger than a Raging Mountain Bear. After all, humans possessed techniques and tactics; once applied, their strength rose by multiples.

"Zero, bring up my current data."

"Anglie Leo. Physical condition: injured. Strength: 2.1–2.6. Agility: 2.7. Constitution: 1.8. Normal: 2.2."

Only then did Anglie feel as if his entire body had been jolted. The faint pride he had felt after killing several Knight Level warriors instantly vanished into thin air. With the Grand Knight's roughly detected physical qualities, no techniques were needed at all—mere strength and speed could completely crush him. In a single exchange, his fate would not be much better than Ruel's, lying dead by the roadside.

"I'm still far too weak... Though Grand Knights can already serve as legion commanders, their numbers are not small either." Anglie's heart grew ever heavier.

"Don't worry, Anglie. Although your body's limit is too low, as long as you practice swordsmanship and archery properly, you will at least not be weak. Those Grand Knights are not people we can compare with. They all have powerful forces backing them." The Baron comforted him. Though he did not know how Anglie had raised his physical qualities to Knight Level—after all, he had once tried planting a Seed in him, and knew Anglie's body could never cultivate a Life Seed—he could not let his son become disheartened.

Without a Life Seed, one could never enter Grand Knight Level. Human physical attributes had limits. Once they reached a certain point, they could no longer improve. At that point, if the Life Energy Seed within the body could be sublimated, it would produce what was known as Fighting Aura.

Anglie had also read records concerning this in books from the library.

"Long live Saladin!!!" Suddenly, a miserable roar came from far behind them.

Anglie and the Baron both shuddered and turned toward the battlefield. They could both tell that it was the Grand Knight's roar, likely his final roar before death. A Grand Knight, an advanced elite powerhouse in any nation, had fallen just like that.

The Baron's face was gloomy. "If I had not been injured this time, perhaps I could have reached Grand Knight Level within ten years. What a pity..." This was also the fundamental reason he had once been so domineering and arrogant. Unfortunately, with his current body, let alone becoming a Grand Knight, even maintaining his former strength would likely be difficult. "Everything will depend on you now, my son." The Baron's gaze fell upon Anglie ahead of him.

As if sensing the Baron's gaze, Anglie's figure paused slightly. Without turning around, he continued forward at a quick pace.

"Zero, how much agility can the stored radiation energy increase for me?" Anglie asked silently.

"Estimated agility increase: 2.1. Constitution increase: 0.3. Completion time: eleven days. Estimated remaining energy: one-twelfth of the original amount." Zero gave a precise answer.

"Remaining energy?" Anglie froze. "What does that mean?"

"Physical enhancement is nearing its limit. Final genetic sequence enhancement is limited. Further strengthening is impossible. Special energy will remain." Zero's mechanical voice replied swiftly.

Anglie's expression tightened. "In other words, this body of mine will never be able to reach Grand Knight Level, correct?"

"Probability: 94.53%." The Chip automatically returned its result.

Anglie's hand gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist suddenly tightened. He abruptly stopped, raised his head, and looked up at the sky.

Dense leaves blocked the dazzling sunlight, leaving only fragmented golden rays scattered across the ground. Scorching light fell upon the back of Anglie's hand, forming a patch of golden brilliance. Yet he could not feel the slightest warmth.

"What is it, Anglie?" the Baron asked from behind him.

"Nothing. I just thought of something." Anglie forced a faint smile. "Come on, Father. We need to leave this area immediately."

"Yes."

Anglie suddenly remembered that ring. That mysterious emerald ring. The strange symbols engraved upon it.

(Sorry, there was suddenly a problem with today's upload. It said the chapter could not be fewer than twenty thousand characters, so it simply would not upload. It took me ages to sort it out. I'm a little late.)