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Chapter 28

“I would like to break through to the External Force Tier because of the Cold-Heat Invulnerable Body State,” Leonard said as he wiped the sweat off his forehead.

He was still in the Tenth Degree Body Refining Tier, so he was not free from the heat and the cold. As soon as he entered the swamp area, the sweltering air wrapped around him. The heat and moisture generated in the forest could not disperse, and it lingered in the swamp area. Pits of unknown depth were everywhere, and dark green plants covered the ground. Most of the monsters that appeared were also adept with abilities related to poison and concealment.

If I break through the Body Refining Tier, I will be close to attaining a body immune to poisons, but it’s not perfect. The toxicity of the monsters’ poisons will be stronger if they surpass the Body Refining Tier.

It was no different from a battle between a spear and a shield. He could travel around all he wanted, believing his shield was invincible, but a spear still might manage to pierce it, putting him in a life-threatening crisis. The monsters’ hiding abilities were an even more bothersome factor. Not only could he be in a situation where he would be ambushed at any time, but he could also not be able to hunt anything for the day if the monsters understood their own inferiority and hid.

If I had excellent searching abilities, there may be no problem, but...

In an environment where he had to be wary of all directions, hunting would be more inefficient than in other regions if he spared his attention to find enemies. However, it was rare to find another place better than this area for gaining practical experience.

When he pondered up to that point, Leonard’s steps slowed down.

From here on, it’s the lizardman’s habitat. If I step in the wrong place even once, they will notice it immediately.

Normal lizardmen were Rank C monsters, and they were intelligent and crafty, their rank befitting monsters with human-like characteristics.

They not only knew how to produce and use tools but could also dig pitfall traps that had nets or poisoned spikes in place. They could also form small groups and patrol at night. A stroke of good news amid bad news was that they had poor eyesight from living in dark places and relied on either their hearing or sense of smell more.

Leonard used the Lightness Art, stepping on the leaves on the ground without trampling them.

The Lightness Art had the same principle as the Grass Wandering Art, but few people could do the Lightness Art while walking. The difficulty was equivalent to using it to cross a river on a reed leaf.

After Leonard walked for a few more minutes, he spotted bubbles bubbling up from the swamp. The bubbles were signs of where lizardmen were hiding.

There’s seven of them.

Unlike the patrolling groups, this group stayed in place. These lizardmen were sentries.

They didn’t notice me. Should I get rid of them before moving on?

With that thought, Leonard shifted his steps and approached the bubbles. He saw a lizardman dozing inside the swamp. He stabbed the top of the lizardman’s head, killing the lizardman instantly with the faint sword energy at the tip of his sword. That was all it needed. The lizardman had died without even being able to struggle, as its brain had been destroyed in a single blow; and even though the sword had penetrated the water’s surface, it had made no sound.

Like that, Leonard took care of three more lizardmen.

When he approached the fifth lizardman, Leonard suddenly locked eyes with it. “Damn it.”

The monster was also surprised, but Leonard was no longer stiff. The lizardman was truly unlucky.

The lizardman reflexively thrust the spear in its hand. Leonard easily evaded it and split the lizardman’s head with his sword. The lizardman’s skin was useless in front of Leonard’s Five Elements Sword Qi.

The sound woke up the remaining two lizardmen.

“Kiyaaak?!”

“Kyaaak!”

The two lizardmen jumped out of the swamp. Their scales had a slight discoloration, and the arms with which they held their spears were contorted.

They were monsters who had broken through the Second Stage. They were Rank C2 monsters. Each of them looked stronger than the Aardgnoll chieftain, the region leader of the Forest of Wastes. Just by looking at their movements, Leonard could sense traces of martial arts. Their martial arts seemed crude, but they knew how to use it.

It’s similar to the army’s spearmanship. It will be annoying if the lizardmen gather around him.

The lizardmen gave off the feeling that the purpose of their martial arts was not for a one-on-one fight but to defeat the enemy in a many-to-many or many-to-one battle. There was no worth in researching their martial arts.

Disappointed by the conclusion he came to, Leonard extended his sword. It was then that the two lizardmen simultaneously thrust their spears. Their arm strength was stronger than that of humans, and the speed exhibited by their deformed joints was truly terrifying. In terms of speed alone, their thrust was comparable to Hayden’s thrust.

“It’s so obvious.”

The only advantage to their attacks was speed. Leonard stepped on both their spears and looked down at the eyes of the shocked lizardmen. The overflowing killing intent from Leonard’s crimson eyes froze the lizardmen.

As he gently drew an arc with his sword, the top of the lizardmen’s heads split apart diagonally. Lizardman skulls would become sturdier when the lizardmen broke through to the Mature Demon Tier, but Leonard’s sword ignored the hardness of the lizardmen’s skulls, cutting them like paper.

Just like that, the seven lizardmen sentries were wiped out. The swamp became more murky as blood and brain juice mixed together with the swamp water. Mid-grade mana stones crystallized above the lizardmen. Three corpses produced two mana stones each, and the other four produced one mana stone each. There were ten mana stones in total.

After easily earning ten mid-grade mana stones, Leonard stuffed all of them into his pouch. The rate at which he hunted for mana stones was different from the days when he earned only about a hundred low-grade mana stones over a few hours. He estimated the contents of the subspace pouch.

I think I collected around 1,500 mid-grade mana stones... If I use it all, will I be able to break through to the External Force Tier and also advance a few Degrees?

Since mid-grade mana stones had no other uses, Leonard had no choice but to use them to raise his Tier. Leonard’s hunting speed for mana stones was already overwhelmingly above the average apprentice knight’s because he traveled around the island every day.

The other apprentice knights might have higher mana cultivations, but they could not slaughter the monsters the way Leonard had just done. From reconnaissance and searching to infiltration and ambush to traps and detection, Yeon Mu-Hyuk’s practical experience, which he had amassed with blood and death, was not something that could be compared to output power.

I know how to consume spirit herbs and properly circulate the energy I get from them, so next time I come, I should find a place to secretly break through to the External Force Tier.

Leonard looked at the island where night had fallen. He was currently in the Tenth Degree Body Refining Tier. He was able to handle up to a three-skull risk level just with the use of the Five Elements Sword Qi, but if he encountered an enemy that was impossible to approach, he absolutely needed a long-distance attack.

I thought the Peak Realm and the External Force Tier were the same, but I greatly underestimated the specificity of the martial artists in this world. The two ranks were by no means equivalent. There were some similarities, but there were also significant differences.

Leonard had learned about these similarities and differences during his exchange with the trio, and he realized that he shouldn’t remain stagnant at the Tenth Degree Body Refining Tier. If he encountered a monster beyond the normal standards, he wouldn’t even be able to run away in his current level of mana cultivation. Above all, there was nothing more to be gained from the Body Refining Tier. He was reaching the limit with just improving the Five Elements Style and training his body.

If the proof of being a Peak Realm expert is unclogging either the conception or the governing vessels, then the proof of being an External Force Tier knight is unblocking the acupoints in the whole body.

Mana acupoints were organs that could release and restore the energy within the body. There were several acupoints that had already been unclogged without having the need to unblock them separately, such as the Nogong point located in the center of the palm and the Yongcheon point located in the center of the sole. The External Force Tier was the mana cultivation level when all the other blocked acupoints could be unclogged, allowing energy to be released or recovered throughout the body.

If I break through to the External Force Tier, I will be able to even win against Bradley.

It meant that at least on the Galapagos Island, he would not have to walk on eggshells around anyone. Even if he raised doubts when he went around using the Face Changing Art, he would be able to escape.

Leonard stopped letting his optimistic thoughts run wild.

The problem is that breaking through a Major Tier will cause too much uproar.

It was said that, unlike when someone enters the First Degree of the Body Refining Tier, an abnormal phenomenon would inevitably occur in the vicinity whenever someone broke through to another Major Tier. A large amount of accumulated energy would burst out from the entire body and cause a pillar of light to soar up to the sky. Even for him, Leonard did not have the confidence to trigger the phenomenon without being caught.

Even if he broke through to the External Force Tier deep inside the island in the middle of the night, the pillar of light would be seen clearly from the watchtower. It wouldn’t be strange if the Fledgling Dragon knights rushed over to protect him after seeing it.

Should I look for a cave with a closed ceiling? But if the pillar of light permeates through the rock wall, it would be the end of me.

If he succeeded without being caught while breaking through, he could then hide the level of his mana cultivation by sealing acupoints and blocking the flow of energy.

The problem was how to hide the phenomenon caused by breaking through.

“Hmmm.”

Leonard only pondered for a short while because he was almost at his destination.

Found it.

Leonard recalled the last time he had visited the Forest of Bones. He had happened to find a cave that trolls frequented at regular intervals. He had been curious about what was hidden inside, so he had seized the moment the sentry troll was yawning to sneak in. There was no way the trolls, who were naturally lazy, would have a shift rotation.

Indeed, the inside of the cave was as he had expected.

There’s a farm where the spirit herbs and mana fruits are personally cultivated by the trolls in large quantities. It’s probably worth more than a treasure trove.

When it came to elemental power, an elixir was more efficient than a mana stone. Unlike equipment that couldn’t be stashed, elixirs only needed him to consume them. As such, they were more practical from Leonard’s point of view.

But the bastard guarding the cave’s entrance is a little dangerous.

Leonard squinted his eyes. There was still only one troll sitting in front of the cave, but it was so powerful that it was at a different level than the previous sentry troll. Perhaps the trolls had noticed something when he had previously sneaked in. If so, it was understandable that they had tightened their watch.

That monster is at the True Demon Tier.

A troll that had surpassed the Third Stage was at Rank B3. It was a monster difficult to deal with even for a knight who had reached the Sixth Degree External Force Tier. Besides the fact that its innate Rank B physical capabilities were strengthened, it could also awaken its special ability.

Unlike other trolls, this troll had tattoos and red skin, and the intense pressure it emanated was not normal.

I can kill it with my sword energy, but it’s going to be troublesome to fight without knowing anything about this monster.

The experience of the Sword Emperor Yeon Mu-Hyuk was limited to martial artists. If something like the superpowers shown by the Cardenas’ direct bloodline appeared out of the blue, he would definitely be at a disadvantage.

Moreover, with the prowess exhibited by the True Demon Tier troll, the red troll would be able to shatter a knight at the Tenth Degree Body Refining Tier. It had to at least be able to use an energy shield.

Huh?!

“Kuruk?!”

Leonard and the red troll looked in one direction almost simultaneously. An unusual presence was approaching at high speed. The red troll seemed to find breathing difficult, and its face distorted. Its whole body heated up like iron in a furnace. It was bracing itself for battle.

“Groarrrrrrr—!!”

An intense roar resonated; the approaching creature was a beast-like monster. Upon hearing the roar, Leonard recognized the monster’s identity.

A lycanthrope?!

Lycanthropes formed large groups in the center of the island and were high-rank monsters that apprentice knights should never face alone. Due to its small size, they were classified as Rank B monsters. However, in terms of potential alone, lycanthropes were comparable to ogres, monsters one rank above trolls.

The power contained in the roar was terrifying. Just like the red troll, the approaching lycanthrope was a monster at the True Demon Tier.

The lycanthrope, leaping in the distance, landed on the ground like a meteor, and the resulting shockwave demolished the surrounding land. The lycanthrope stood up from within the swirling dust cloud. Even at first glance, the lycanthrope was overflowing with wood energy.

Rather than fighting for territory, it looks like the lycanthrope is also targeting this cave.

The beast’s eyes were looking past the red troll.

“Gwaorrr—!!”

The red troll was overwhelmed with anger when it noticed the lycanthrope’s intention. The lycanthrope’s mouth opened up thinly, revealing its long fangs. Neither side had any intention of backing down.

So, there was only one result.

“Kyaoooo—!!”

“Grwark—!”

The two monsters at the True Demon Tier clashed, sending vibrations through the night.