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Chapter 37

As soon as he regained consciousness, he was overwhelmed by pain, both inside and out. His chest throbbed with each breath, proof that several ribs were broken, and the fact that he couldn’t breathe through his nose suggested a broken nasal bone.

His mana hall was completely depleted, making it impossible to generate aura or enhance his recovery abilities. He had suffered serious injuries. Though they were not life-threatening, it was impossible for him to continue fighting.

“It looks like you understand the situation now,” Leonard said.

With a hazy consciousness, the shadow knight recalled the Cardenas family’s demonic offspring. Hatred greater than fear burst from his mouth.

“You! You bastard! You evil spawn of the Cardenas family! How dare you make a fool of my sword and my pride with such despicable tricks! I will never forgive you!”

Astonishingly, in his mind, the fight he had lost miserably transformed into a noble battle against an evil foe who had bested him with deceitful tactics. Even Leonard was at a loss for words upon hearing the shadow knight’s petty excuse.

It wasn’t something the shadow knight should say when he had abandoned his sword and resorted to fighting with his fists because he couldn’t win with swordsmanship.

Did I perhaps hit him in the head too hard? I shouldn’t measure a person’s endurability based on the Cardenas family’s standards.

Perhaps the consecutive blows of Crossing Fist and Chopping Fist had caused brain damage. While he had confidence in his control, Leonard couldn’t interpret the current situation any other way.

Misinterpreting Leonard’s silence, the shadow knight stiffly raised his head as much as his paralyzed body would allow.

“You must have paralyzed my body with some vile magic! Are you so afraid of facing me honorably?”

Unable to tolerate it any longer, Leonard raised his hand.

Smack!

With one punch, the shadow knight’s lips split, and several teeth flew out. He could have possibly come out unscathed if he had been able to use his internal energy, but such injuries were unavoidable in a purely physical confrontation.

Ever since Leonard had undergone draconic transformation, his body had started to gradually transform and mimic a dragon’s physiology, becoming extraordinarily powerful.

“Seems like my punches hurt too much, huh? You are still babbling nonsense, so it seems you haven’t come to your senses yet. Let me help you with that.”

Seeing the shadow knight’s bloodied face, Leonard slapped the shadow knight across the face instead of punching it.

At first, the shadow knight shouted with trembling eyes, but he soon fell silent. With no questions and no particular purpose, his will eventually broke under Leonard’s relentless beating.

Finally, when the shadow knight was barely conscious, Leonard poured a potion he carried onto the shadow knight’s swollen face.

“If you have something to say, say it now.”

“...”

The bloodied shadow knight, silenced by the ruthless violence, trembled with deep-seated anger but refrained from shouting.

Satisfied, Leonard nodded and said, “It seems you’re finally ready to have a conversation.”

The Thirtieth Shadow gritted his teeth and spat, “I have nothing to say to scum like you. Kill me.”

“The right to decide life and death belongs to the victor. You don’t even have the right to ask for death.” Leonard scoffed at the shadow knight’s words.

While the shadow knight was unconscious, Leonard had sealed off most of his acupoints, so it was impossible for him to attempt suicide. Leonard had also stripped him of all his gear, from armor to weapons, so that he couldn’t cause any unexpected situations with magical items.

“Shall we begin? Where did you come from?”

“...”

“Hmm, did I not hit you enough?”

Though he reflexively flinched at Leonard’s words, the Thirtieth Shadow shouted defiantly with eyes full of spite, “No matter how many times you try, I will never speak! You piece of shit with an impure bloodline!”

“An impure bloodline? The Cardenas family?”

“Yes! Do you plan to deny the atrocities flowing in your blood?!” At Leonard’s sincere question, the shadow knight spoke louder, as if to appease himself after feeling victimized. “You should know best since you grew up in such a wicked family! You lot are not humans! Humans are not born with such strength and consistent talent!”

“Ohh?”

“Unless there was a secret hidden in your blood, why does your family prohibit the remnants of your bloodline from going to other nations? If your bloodline were legitimate, your people wouldn’t have concealed it to this extent!” the man shouted in anger, enthralled by his own words.

From the shadow knight’s explanation, Leonard could tell that the shadow knight did not know the truth about why the Cardenas bloodline was under suspicion and why branch families were not allowed to go to other nations. Leonard also realized the shadow knight’s true desire and the inherent contradictions in his claims.

“There is not much I can answer from my point of view, but I know one thing for sure.”

“What is it?!”

“You all didn’t come here to destroy us because we were evil. You just wanted to steal the secrets that exist in the Cardenas family and gain the power you lack,” Leonard remarked sharply, picking at the inferiority complex the shadow knight himself was avoiding. His words thwarted the shadow knight’s wrath.

For the first time, the shadow knight’s eyes were not filled with anger or hatred, but a different emotion. It was as if a diary full of shameful deeds he had hidden in a drawer had been spread out before him. He couldn’t help it.

If the intruder only came to kill the Cardenas family’s apprentice knights, there would be no reason to pack so many restraining tools. It’s obvious he came to kidnap the seemingly easier targets.

Leonard glanced at the shadow knight’s belongings placed to the side. He had checked them before the man had woken up.

There were over ten restraining tools designed to disrupt the flow of internal energy when placed around the neck, wrists, or ankles. These could be removed by someone at or above the Sixth Degree External Force Tier, but anyone at or below the Fifth Degree would struggle.

Well, it wouldn’t have worked on me.

Leonard’s internal energy flowed abnormally strong and fast, and after he broke through to the External Force Tier, his control over his strengthened core had become powerful enough to make these restraining tools useless against him.

He still hadn’t fully explored the depths of his core, the Five Elements True Dragon Ring.

“You, you scum! What do you know about us?!”

“I know enough. You are pathetic losers consumed by inferiority,” Leonard said with a knowing expression.

“What?”

It was a lie. However, Leonard’s sharp words further destabilized the mind of the shaken shadow knight.

The shadow knight was different from the Yellow Lotus Temple’s Soul Chaser Squad, which was considered the equivalent of the secret squad of the Central Plains’ imperial family. Hunting dogs trained to do dirty deeds would never open their mouths. It was common for them to cut their tongues and tie poison pills to their molar teeth.

But this fool didn’t even attempt suicide and instead believed that his actions were justified. He is more fanatical than the secret squad. It’s a behavior reminiscent of cultists and those from the Blood Cult.

Memories from a distant past resurfaced in his mind. He recalled the days when he stood on the front lines and was temporarily affiliated with the Murim Alliance because the Blood Demon Dokgo Hwang had invaded the Central Plains with his cultists. Capturing and interrogating the Blood Cult members had been a nightmare. They were as mad as they came and were no ordinary maniacs.

That was when the Murim Alliance’s commander, the Heavenly Strategist Zhuge Ming, had appeared.

“Do not try to understand a fanatic. We cannot approach them with logical methods. Their faith is absolute, and any attempt to challenge it is seen as a wicked temptation. Torture makes it worse and only strengthens their belief, as they view it as a trial that makes their faith more noble.”

“Even if their faith is a lie?”

“They won’t accept it. Even if you thrust evidence before their eyes, they will believe it’s all fabricated. They are like opium addicts, utterly lost in their fantasies.

“Therefore, mock them. Mock their faith, their doctrine, and the leaders they venerate as saviors. Do not argue logically. Spit in their faces like ruffians. Then, their firmly shut lips will open, spewing out their wrath.”

Zhuge Ming’s advice had worked wonderfully and allowed the Murim Alliance to discover the location and routes of the Blood Cult. Shortly after, they were able to return with Dokgo Hwang’s decapitated head. The decisive clue had come from a Blood Cult member who had fallen for the induced interrogation.

So, Leonard decided to speak based on what he had remembered from that day.

“Is the power and glory of the Cardenas family so enviable to you? So enviable you would abandon the honor of a knight and resort to kidnapping children? There’s nothing more pathetic than the cries of losers, and you are the embodiment of that saying.”

“Shut up! Shut your mouth!”

“No, I must give you some credit. You lacked the confidence to defeat a Cardenas with a sword, so you resorted to brawling. I commend you for your flexibility of mind, though your hand-to-hand combat skills are as mediocre as your swordsmanship.”

Leonard looked down at the fuming man, whose eyes were bloodshot, and delivered the final blow.

“Do you really think that stealing the Cardenas family’s secrets would change your situation? You’re nothing but a third-rate scum with no strength or pride. Aren’t you ashamed of showing such disgraceful behavior to your ancestors?”

“Arghhh! You! You bastard! You fucker! How dare a greenhorn like you insult the name of the Kurdish Kingdom!”

Witnessing the man’s fuming rage, Leonard confirmed the effectiveness of the method and marveled at it. The Heavenly Strategist wasn’t honored as one of the Supreme Ten Venerables for nothing.

“Oh, you’re from the Kurdish Kingdom, huh?”

“What? You, you, could it be...”

The shadow knight realized he had fallen for a child’s trick, and his complexion turned as pale as marble. The shadow knights had endured brutal training—burning their bodies and peeling off their flesh—to prepare for any conceivable torture. Yet, he had fallen for a child’s words and blurted out the truth!

He seems shaken, Leonard thought. It should be easier from here.

Before the shadow knight could regain his composure, Leonard extended his fingers and struck the acupoints around the Baekhoe point. The shadow knight’s pupils dilated, his gaze becoming unfocused, like a soul drifting away.

Once a broken mind was opened, it was easy to pry it further. Though the shadow knight wouldn’t be able to last more than fifteen minutes because his Baekhoe point was forcibly opened, there was more than enough time left.

Contemplating what to ask first, Leonard recalled an old memory.

“Isn’t it amusing? Those who can tolerate insults about their parents are now flying into a rage over mere insults to their delusions.”

Zhuge Ming’s words were correct.

“It feels like deja vu for some reason. You remind me of those who bark about sorcery when they see superior martial arts.”

Yeon Mu-Hyuk had also experienced this several times in his early days in murim. Accusing him of sorcery was one thing, but then demanding he hand over said sorcery was laughable.

His path had been soaked in blood because he would kill every person who picked a fight with him, regardless of their sect or affiliation. It was an Asura-style rampage, without distinguishing between sects, factions, and the Demonic Path.

As Leonard recalled the starting point of that journey, his eyes grew cold.