Knight: from Apprentice to the Almighty

Chapter 325: Chapter 313: A Peculiar Body Refining Technique

Leonard looked past the cold steel at his throat, his eyes locked on Roland’s, trying to convey all of his sincerity.

"Let me return to the Royal Capital. Let me stand before Prince Lucius myself and report everything that happened here—Duke Anno’s creation that blasphemes life, and how it cruelly slaughtered our own men."

As he said this, a cold flame ignited in his eyes.

"And I swear to you—on my family’s honor and my dignity as a Knight—that as long as I draw breath, I will do everything in my power to make Duke Anno pay the price for his betrayal and madness. This isn’t just for you; it’s to avenge all the Golden Valley Soldiers who were needlessly sacrificed today!"

To add weight to his words, and to bargain for a sliver of life, Leonard struggled to move his other hand, carefully reaching into his tunic.

Under Roland’s vigilant gaze, he slowly took out an ancient Sheepskin Scroll, bound with a dark leather strap.

The edges of the Scroll were worn, as if it had been consulted often. Its surface bore no text, yet it seemed to emanate a profound aura.

"As a show of my sincerity... and as the price for our lives and freedom,"

Leonard held the Scroll in his palm, offering it to Roland.

"This is a skill passed down in my family for generations, from the same source as the Fist Blade I use. It doesn’t detail the common Swordsmanship or Magic of the battlefield, but... a path of unarmed combat that pushes the body’s potential to its very limit."

"I hope... it can be of some use to you."

Roland’s gaze slowly swept over Leonard’s pale, desperate face, and then to the few surviving Golden Valley Soldiers scattered around them, all on the verge of death.

Under the power of the [Domain of Honesty], he was certain that every word Leonard spoke and every emotion he showed was entirely true.

The anxiety, the regret, the loyalty that bordered on despair—it was all as hot and clear as burning embers.

"When you received the order to surround and kill me..."

Roland spoke, his calm voice cutting through the air.

"What were you thinking in that moment?"

Leonard’s lips trembled as he struggled to speak the truth under the magic’s compulsion.

"I... I felt... doubtful. The order came too suddenly, and the target... was a close ally. It was illogical..."

"But you came anyway."

Roland stated, his piercing gaze catching every trace of Leonard’s struggle.

"I am a Knight of the Golden Valley Kingdom! The king’s command..."

Leonard roared instinctively, but his defiance crumbled under Roland’s gaze.

Roland nodded slightly.

"You weren’t completely unaware. You just chose to suppress your doubts with ’obedience’."

His voice was cold and penetrating.

"Loyalty blinded your judgment. You sensed something was wrong, yet you still led your soldiers to this outcome..."

His gaze swept over the dying soldiers.

"And the price... was their lives."

"That’s not loyalty, Leonard. It’s blind obedience."

Leonard froze as if struck by lightning, then began to tremble violently.

’A man of blind obedience.’

The words were like a final judgment, crushing him under their weight.

After a brief silence, the Mithril Longsword in Roland’s hand lowered slightly. His voice was low and clear, each word stabbing into Leonard’s consciousness like an Ice Cone.

"Think about it, Leonard. If Duke Anno was bold enough to set this trap and openly slaughter soldiers of the Golden Valley Kingdom, why would he ever let you—a Knight who knows part of the truth and bears a grudge—return safely to the Royal Capital and stand before Prince Lucius?"

He leaned forward slightly. Though the Mithril blade was lowered, the invisible pressure he exuded suddenly intensified.

"You, returning alive, would be the greatest threat to him. Do you really think the road to the Royal Capital will be unobstructed? You won’t be met with a welcoming party, but with hidden arrows, traps, and a silent noose. He’ll make certain you’re ’accidentally’ silenced along the way."

The urgency and Hope on Leonard’s face gradually froze, replaced by an icy pallor.

He was no fool. Roland’s words were like a cold key, instantly unlocking the deepest Fear in his heart.

The one possibility he hadn’t dared to consider.

However, after a brief moment of wavering, an almost fanatical resolve reconverged in his eyes.

He took a deep breath and straightened his spine, despite the wound on his neck still oozing blood.

"You’re right, Lord Roland."

His voice was hoarse, yet exceptionally clear.

"This will very likely be... a dead end."

His gaze swept over his dying men. Agony burned in his heart, but it did not break his will.

"But I am a Knight. My oath is not just loyalty to the Prince, but a vow to defend the Order of the Kingdom. If I were to abandon my duty out of Fear of death and allow such a crime to be concealed, then my honor, my very reason for existence, would be a fate worse than death."

He raised his head to meet Roland’s gaze without flinching, his expression one of a man who had already moved past any concern for his own life or death.

"I must go back. Even if there’s only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I have to try and bring the truth to the Royal Capital. And if... if the Duke’s blade is destined to cut my path short..."

He paused, his voice as heavy as iron.

"Then let my blood serve as one more piece of evidence to condemn him for his crimes."

Roland lifted his gaze, staring at the blood-streaked face of the Knight before him.

After a moment, he took the Inheritance Scroll and spoke quietly.

"Remember your oath, Leonard. Take your men and disappear from my sight at once."

He chose to let them go, not because of the inherited technique, nor out of some hollow sense of mercy.