“What is it?”
The master of Black Shadow Gate, Heisi Dong, upon hearing the sudden roar, threw his wine bottle to the ground and stood up.
The moment he stepped outside, he found a man in a wide-brimmed hat surrounded by the disciples of Black Shadow Gate.
‘Just one?’
Just one person?
Unexpected intruder twisted his brows.
‘An intruder at this time?’
“Move aside.”
“Yes! Master!”
He dismissed his subordinates and stepped forward.
One step.
Two steps.
Three steps.
When he finally reached a position where he could see the face under the hat, he narrowed his eyes and stared. Then, his beady eyes widened greatly as he muttered.
“Lion Sword Hero?”
“To think even the master of a sect knows my nickname, it’s an honor.”
“I’ve been watching you since you entered this city.”
“I’m not really interested in men.”
‘This is annoying.’
His temple veins bulged at the relentless sarcasm. But who was he?
The one who had established the Black Shadow Gate and spent years secretly planning to take over the city.
There was no reason for him to be shaken by just this.
“What are you thinking, coming here alone? …Did you suddenly grow tired of living?”
“That’s what I was going to say.”
William calmly deflected the Black Shadow Gate master’s threat and shook the plaque in his hand.
Then, almost provocatively, he shattered it in half with his knee.
At the sight, the veins on the Black Shadow Gate master’s temples bulged.
“Cursed scum! Daring to damage the plaque of Black Shadow Gate…!”
He vented his anger, causing the Black Shadow Gate disciples to step back a few paces, frightened.
‘Someone quite skilled for a backwater place like this?’
At least high-end first-class. Potentially, close to the master-class. But the feeling of being off suggested to him that this wasn’t a person who had trained in martial arts conventionally.
“Hmph.”
“And seriously, could you shower more? I can smell your stench from here.”
“What did you say?”
William’s teasing voice caused the already flushed face from inebriation to grow even redder. After all, there was no one in this area who could speak to him in such a unpleasant manner.
“After some cleaning, perhaps? I might not want to kill a dirty villain.”
“Hah. You’re really asking for it.”
“Let’s see… maybe.”
William smoothly brushed aside the remark and extended his hand. Slowly inching forward, the hand seemed ready to grab the collar.
But as befit a sect master, the man was no weak opponent.
“Disciples of Black Shadow Gate! Show this arrogant man what you’re made of!”
“Oh, so you’re not planning on stepping in yourself?”
“Do I need to soil my hands on you?”
“Do you think you can catch me with your subordinates?”
“Though you may be a skilled fighter, can you withstand the force of numbers? You’ll pay the price for your arrogance.”
‘Looks like at least a hundred.’
An overwhelming number.
Most of them were lower-class warriors, but sprinkled among them were first-class warriors—enough that even William, who was at the peak of his abilities, couldn’t ignore them.
“Is your plan as the master to run away?”
“Not at all! I plan to drink wine while watching you get beaten up! Attack!”
As soon as his words ended, the disciples of the Black Shadow Gate surrounded William and extended their weapons.
“Didn’t I see something like this in an old movie poster?”
With no hint of fear, his face remained calm, almost leisurely twirling around and taking in the sight of his enemies.
“There is a saying in Europe, you know.”
His left leg naturally stepped back. His gaze then shifted to the Black Shadow Gate master who had just sat with a wine bottle in hand.
“Do not point weapons at a knight carelessly. It’s much like pointing them at a fortress.”
Repressed mana began to charge from his core, racing through his body like a wild horse unbridled. In an instant, mana spread throughout his body, clinging to the mana pathways and muscles, and then oozing out through the pores to form a shape—a form of the knight’s emblem, shield, and strongest weapon: the luminous auric armor.
“What is…that?”
“Protective aura?”
“Since I’m currently in the middle of training my stepping techniques, I suppose it’s very convenient that you’ve offered up such good practice.”
“What? You insane-”
He bent his legs. The body naturally lowered, and the aura clinging to his skin began to form a vivid image.
The tightly fitted knight’s symbol, shield, and the strongest weapon— the auric armor.
“If you want to live, step aside.”
Bang!
With a sound that shook the earth, his figure shot forward.
Instinctively sensing the danger as the disciples tried to dodge in panic, how could they move nimbly in such a crowded place?
“AAAAAHHH!”
The ones who collided with William let out screams, falling scattered all over the ground.
Broken weapons and blood pooling on the floor. In the blink of an eye, over a dozen warriors had been taken down like bowling pins by William, who turned to the closer Black Shadow Gate master and spoke.
“Do you plan to play the empty king role once you lose all your followers, or are you willing to fight and survive just a little?”
“What kind of martial arts has this kind of ridiculous power…?!”
While power-increasing martial arts are common, it’s rare to see someone just ramming forward like this.
The reason is simple.
It requires vast internal energy, placing immense strain on the user’s body.
It was not something a man of the Central Plains could easily cope with. Even with mastery in external martial arts, one wouldn’t dare to smash into an enemy recklessly like this.
A single mistake in this could be fatal; a man’s life or death might depend on a small knife, and thus there is none in the martial realm who would dare risk it.
However, a knight, who must consistently stand at the front lines to absorb all enemy attacks, must constantly face death as naturally as eating bread!
Stunned by the unimaginable attack, the Black Shadow Gate master threw a wine bottle at William, buying himself some time.
“Definitely a high-class expert above me! Either a continuous battle or surrounding him with a formation will be necessary!”
As befit a master of a sect, his mind whirled and devised solutions.
“Re-form the encirclement! Use the time I buy you attacking from behind!”
“It’s already too late, Master of Black Shadow Gate.”
His footwork was displayed again.
‘He’s coming!’
Once more, he launched forward like a human cannon. The direct, yet rapid charge startled the master, who used the ultimate form of Black Shadow Technique to narrowly evade.
“Haha! You think such a simple move can-”
‘What on earth is this!’
Is this really the sight of a human colliding with a building? The master looked, dumbfounded, at the temple with a perfectly straight hole where William had rammed through, thinking ‘What are these buildings to me?’
The same went for his subordinates.
“Is that… Invincible Body Technique?”
“Can humans really do this? Crush buildings like that?”
“The buildings feel quite sore after being punched.”
Having created a shortcut through several rooms, William turned while rubbing his shoulder, revealing himself amidst his enemies. After looking at the direct route he had carved through the main hall and letting out a hollow laugh, he inspected the amount of aura stored in his core.
‘Probably can do this two to three more times.’
It was thanks to the leather armor he wore to slightly reduce aura consumption and the top-notch elixirs he received as first prize.
‘More aura is always better.’
‘Time to check if Black Shadow Gate has any hidden elixirs.’
With more aura better than less, William decided to search the house as well after dealing with the Black Shadow Gate master.
“I spent a fortune building that hall!”
Just how much effort had he put into raising money for this building? Witnessing the hole torn into his cherished structure pushed him past the edge of his patience.
“Why not just surrender?”
“I’ll flay your bones and skin and display them in the marketplace!”
“Try it if you can.”
“Disciples of Black Shadow Gate! Raise your weapons! Do not spare the intruder to our domain!”
“Will you?”
His figure flickered, leaving a blurred image as it moved forward.
A charge aimed at destroying everything.
Naturally, the target was Heisi Dong.
Taking the initiative, the master took a stance for his famous Black Shadow Fist, unleashing tremendous internal energy from his fists and then began moving his feet erratically.
‘Dodge and then strike from behind!’
Dodge the direct assault and attack from behind.
This seemed like an excellent solution.
However, his expectations were met with nothing but failure.
“Damn!”
“Are you going to predict and dodge yet use the same tricks?”
Accurately landing right in front of him, William’s sword fended off a crimson light of energy while slowly forcing the Black Shadow Gate master to step back.
‘What kind of strength is this…’
The master usually took pride in his strength, thanks to his practice in muscle cultivation. Being pushed back was not something he found agreeable.
“Ho! You brute’s strength isn’t bad! But I’m not alone! Disciples, now!”
At his words, dozens of disciples rushed toward William’s back.
A life-or-death situation.
Yet, William’s reaction was neither panic nor despair—it was laughter.
“You really have good followers, Black Shadow Gate master.”
William’s body spun around the Black Shadow Gate master like slipping on an ice surface, the sword sliding from his palm along his forearm toward the master’s neck.
Simultaneously, William’s leg viciously kicked the Black Shadow Gate master’s shin.
An unexpected move.
The Black Shadow Gate master immediately wrapped his inner force around his shins, stabilizing his stance and retaliated with an elbow strike to William’s chest.
“Decent work.”
In the blink of an eye, their positions had reversed.
Because of this, the disciples awkwardly retracted the weapons that were about to strike the Black Shadow Gate master.
“Ho!”
“Shall we begin seriously?”
William’s figure shot out once more.
This time, covered with less of the aura armor, the Black Shadow Gate master gritted his teeth and surrounded himself with inner force, evading the charge.
Knowing full well that facing this charge head-on would leave him without any injuries.
However, there was one thing he had overlooked.
“AAHHHH!”
“Run away!”
“My arm!”
And that was the fact that he had his followers behind him.
Seeing twenty of his men already down from this ridiculous charge, the Black Shadow Gate master could only let pure fury rise from the depths of his being.
“My grand plan was so close to fruition, yet some mongrel dog…!”
“Ah, the grand plan. I’m quite curious about what that means.”
‘So there is definitely something.’
A plan too big for just Black Shadow Gate of a mere hundred people. A fragment of truth hidden behind this scheme appeared before William, and a smile formed on his lips.
“One more reason to take him back to the house.”
“Ho ho ho!”
His actions couldn’t be tolerated anymore, the Black Shadow Gate master stormed towards him like an angry bull.
…
