Chapter 46

Five hours before Killian encountered the Annihilation Squad.

A secret guest visited the Red Knight Order's Commander of the Knights' Office.

“Had your body fully recovered?”

Escardo Schtenberg opened his mouth without taking his eyes off the documents.

After a moment, a woman appeared before him.

She was a woman with impressive dark green hair that fell to her shoulders and eyes that looked as cold as frost.

“I greeted the Commander of the Knights of the Family.”

She raised her Aether and bowed.

“Your stealth skills had improved greatly.”

“Compared to you, my lord, it was a humble level.”

“No, if I hadn't taken control of the space, I wouldn't have noticed you easily either. You've grown, Serena.”

“Thank you.”

The woman called Serena bowed her head briefly.

Serena Constantine.

The First Sword of the Annihilation Squad, and a knight who would have become the new Annihilation Squad Leader, succeeding the previous one, if not for Killian.

Escardo Schtenberg was confident that she was a genius comparable to Demian and would undoubtedly reach the 7-star level in the future.

“So, if you came here in broad daylight with your body not fully recovered, there must be a reason.”

“I will meet the Fourth Young Master.”

“……”

At Serena's answer, Escardo Schtenberg swallowed his sigh.

‘I see. Is it today?’

A week had passed since the convocation of Eterno Hall.

Five members of the Annihilation Squad had survived the previous mission.

They were all waiting to test Killian, who had been granted the Aether.

The Annihilation Squad underwent their own trial every time a new member joined.

Moreover, it was especially true if the newcomer was a rumored 6-star knight who had been bestowed the sword of the deceased Annihilation Squad Leader.

“Serena, there was no need to doubt the Fourth Young Master's skill.”

Escardo Schtenberg advised, still trying not to reveal his emotions.

For Killian, who had survived two Knight Slayers at the 6-star level and had his skills recognized before the Family Head, the existing initiation test was virtually meaningless.

However.

“I will meet the Fourth Young Master today.”

Serena merely stated her thoughts in a cold tone.

“Is it because of the sword?”

“……”

The Aether Killian had been bestowed.

That sword was a memento of the previous Annihilation Squad Leader, who was also her biological father.

“If the Fourth Young Master was worthy of possessing that sword, it would not be a problem. But if not……”

Swoosh.

Green Mana surged from Serena's body.

“I will reclaim my father's Aether.”

“Hmm.”

Escardo Schtenberg quietly surveyed Serena's Mana.

Its density was not inferior to Fred Perry, the Vice-commander of the Red Knight Order.

Another genius who had reached the 6-star level at twenty-eight. If she had been an ordinary knight, her renown would have spread across the Continent.

“It seemed the other members shared the same thoughts.”

“That was correct.”

Serena nodded without a moment's hesitation.

‘If they had made up their minds, it wouldn't be something to break with idle words.’

Escardo Schtenberg let out a shallow breath.

“Do as you wish.”

“Thank you.”

Serena, who had completed her sword salute, quietly vanished. It was the Annihilation Squad's unique stealth technique.

“The Annihilation Squad's trial……”

Although they had suffered no small sacrifices, they were the ones who had hunted the Superhumans of the Empire.

The level of their swordsmanship and their mindset when wielding a sword were different from anyone Killian had met so far.

‘Killian, would you be able to earn their recognition as well?’

The Fourth Young Master, who had reached 7-star, and the Annihilation Squad, who had experience hunting 7-star targets.

Escardo Schtenberg, who had been lost in thought, turned his eyes back to the documents.

It was information about the movements of the allied families, which he had recently acquired from the eastern branch of Hennessy at a considerable cost.

‘A storm of blood was about to blow.’

Just as the trial of the Annihilation Squad had fallen upon Killian, dealing with matters related to the Empire was his priority.

***

Yulian, the Fourth Sword of the Annihilation Squad, felt a chill as he parried Killian's sword.

‘The more I exchanged blows, the heavier his sword became.’

That meant his skill in handling Aether was superior to his own.

‘Had he truly mastered 6-star?’

Yulian was a knight who had achieved mastery of 5-star at the age of thirty-two.

He wasn't the only one.

Portran, the Ninth Sword, Gala, the Twelfth Sword, and Aron, the Thirteenth Sword, too.

Though their ages varied, all the Annihilation Squad members here had mastered 5-star.

Despite facing them simultaneously, the Fourth Young Master's breathing didn't waver at all.

On the contrary, he was putting pressure on them by appearing behind them.

Yulian quickly stepped back, moving out of Killian's range.

‘It was hard to believe even with my own eyes, but the rumor of him being a 6-star master seemed true... If I had known he possessed such swordsmanship, I should have prevented him from using Carpe.’

The Fourth Young Master wasn't just freely using Mana.

In his relentless swordsmanship, a seasoned skill comparable to Fred Perry's could be discerned.

As Yulian retreated, Portran aimed for the Fourth Young Master's back.

“……”

However, Killian twisted his body, evading the attack by a hair's breadth.

Gala, who then rushed in to slash his waist...

Thwack.

He rolled on the ground from a merciless kick.

Clang!!

The Aether wielded by Aron, the middle-aged man, clashed once again with the Fourth Young Master's.

After a brief struggle of strength.

Bang!!

Aron's large body was sent flying by the sword swung by the Fourth Young Master.

‘I need to correct myself. This was Serena... no, this was at the level of Commander Bastian.’

Yulian gritted his teeth as he blocked the Fourth Young Master, who was rushing towards Portran.

Five minutes after the engagement began.

Unlike Killian, who maintained stable breathing, the four Annihilation Squad members were breathing heavily.

This was because managing their Vitality was difficult due to the Carpe that dominated the training ground.

A glance.

Yulian cast a glance at the woman standing with her arms crossed near the entrance.

She was watching the battle with an ice-cold expression, without drawing her Aether.

She didn't seem to have any intention of intervening for now.

‘Tch. There was no helping it.’

Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh.

Yulian unleashed the Mana he had been holding back.

That was the signal.

The three scattered Annihilation Squad members formed a formation, placing Killian in the center.

“So, you're finally going to show me what you've got?”

Killian scanned the four knights, whose breathing had grown ragged unlike his own.

A middle-aged man and woman who appeared to be over forty, and a young man in his thirties and an older man who had been leading the attacks.

Although they wore light grey armor engraved with the symbol of Eurasia, they were all unfamiliar faces.

More importantly.

“……”

Killian looked at the green-haired woman by the entrance.

She was watching him, holding back her aura.

‘She was the leader.’

Even after confirming that the Annihilation Squad was being pushed back, she showed no movement.

Her intention to observe her opponent's movements through her other squad members was clear.

‘She wouldn't be unaware of the Family Head's reason for bestowing the sword upon me...’

He had called himself the Annihilation Squad Leader to provoke them and confirm their skills.

Killian couldn't understand their excessively hostile emotions.

He suddenly recalled the day he first visited the Blue Knight Order with Julian Eurasia.

The difference from that time was that, unlike the disorganized Blue Knight Order, these were all high-ranking knights who had at least mastered 5-star.

‘Should I draw them in slowly?’

Killian released the hand that held the Aether.

The blue Mana filling the training ground weakened.

Not missing the gap in the weakened Carpe, the four knights' Mana penetrated.

The color of their Mana was red, resembling a sunset.

It seemed they had received instruction from Escardo Schtenberg.

Clatter.

Killian placed the Aether on the ground.

“What are you doing?!”

Yulian asked in a sharp voice.

“I thought this much would be appropriate.”

It was a statement that couldn't be made without significantly underestimating one's opponent.

“Fourth Young Master, you were too boastful.”

“Take up your sword.”

Gala and Aron warned him with stern faces, but Killian firmly shook his head.

“You guys were too much. The Head Apothecary told me. Among the Aethers, there was a sword symbolizing the Annihilation Squad Leader.”

Tap-tap.

When Killian poked his sword with his toe, the faces of the watching Annihilation Squad members twisted sharply.

Serena, who had been watching emotionlessly, was no different.

Killian was convinced that his prediction was not wrong.

“Try to take it. If you succeed, I'll cleanly give up both the sword and the position.”

As if the provocation had worked, a murderous intent was imbued in the red Mana.

‘They were accustomed to forming formations using Mana. The utility of Carpe was superior to that of the Red Knight Order.’

Merely by completing Carpe, their aura transcended 6-star.

If knights of their caliber had been present in the subjugation, capturing the Slayer would have been much easier.

However.

‘That much was nowhere near enough.’

Just as Killian, having confirmed their full strength, was about to pick up the Aether for suppression.

Crunch.

The green-haired woman, who had approached swiftly, stepped on the blade of the Aether.

The green Mana wrapped around her foot was adding to the downward pressure.

“Greenie, you finally moved your heavy butt.”

“Aether doesn't suit you.”

Contrary to her calm tone, her voice was frigid, as if laced with ice.

“So?”

“I will reclaim it.”

Shing.

The sword the woman drew in the blink of an eye was pointed at Killian's neck.

Whoosh.

As Serena spread her green Mana and deployed Carpe, the Annihilation Squad members' red Mana flowed into her Carpe, as if assisting her.

‘Was she 50% of their full strength?’

He could feel it without even clashing swords.

The young woman before him was a 6-star knight.

Merely by completing Carpe, an aura equivalent to that of Fred Perry, the Vice-commander of the Red Knight Order, was emanating.

“I hoped you weren't just all talk.”

“Fourth Young Master, you were slow to grasp the situation.”

Thud.

She stomped the foot that was stepping on the Aether.

At the same time.

Whoosh!!

The scenery of the training ground began to change rapidly.

Giant trees and dense undergrowth surrounding them unfolded before his eyes, and the scent of flowers and trees tickled his nose.

It felt as if he had actually entered the heart of a forest.

Before he knew it, the four knights who had surrounded him, and the green-haired woman who had pointed her sword at him, were nowhere to be seen.

All he could see was a forest that stretched like a labyrinth, and the only thing that existed was himself, abandoned alone.

‘Oh. A variation of Carpe, then.’

Creating a hallucination within the space controlled by Carpe.

It had a similar effect to a mages' Illusion magic, but its power was incomparable.

This was because the hallucination could become reality depending on the extent to which it was manifested.

In other words, dying here would lead to the same result as actually losing one's life.

‘They were showing interesting tricks.’

Killian let out a small breath.

Due to the perfectly manifested space, without any gaps, he even felt an illusion that his senses were gradually blurring.

To slowly tighten the noose around the prey's neck through a space that controlled all five senses.

It was a tactic that high-ranking knights of Eurasia had used in the past to hunt the Superhumans of the Empire.

“Well, I'll be……”

The corner of his mouth twitched inadvertently.

This was because he had confirmed that Edan's will to overthrow the Empire was being passed down, albeit imperfectly, to the present day.

‘If I was to be recognized by these guys, I couldn't show a mediocre fight.’

He needed to show a clear difference in level, more so than just defeating them.

Clench.

The Aether, touched by the blue Mana, sprang into his hand as if flung.

He thrust the sword, held in a reverse grip, straight into the ground. Sand flew up, and the smell of earth rose.

“Watch closely with wide eyes.”

This was the original, shown by the founder of the technique created for multiple high-ranking knights to hunt Superhumans.

Blue Mana, swirling around the Aether, raged.

“Carpe Illusion.”

Killian projected his inner world.

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