The Lord Of Blood Hill

Henwell and the others descend to the first basement level through a hidden passage. Following Catherine’s lead, they arrive at a mechanism.

Catherine activates it, revealing a staircase leading further down.

Henwell jumps down first and immediately bumps into someone.

A Veil Grand Knight looks at Henwell in confusion, clearly caught off guard.

Their team had been ordered to hunt down a small group of leftover Western Regions knights.

After successfully killing three of them, the rest escaped.

This Veil Grand Knight was about to give chase when suddenly a hole appears above his head, and Henwell drops down.

Henwell reacts faster, unleashing a whirlwind slash that kills several Veil knights nearby.

He follows up with a stepping upward strike, deflecting the Grand Knight’s sword and slashing Rose Thorn diagonally across his neck.

The knight stiffens, and Henwell slices through his left ribs and heart as he passes by.

After dealing with this nuisance, Henwell draws his sword and pursues the remaining two Veil knights.

The entire fight takes only a few breaths.

When Catherine and her two female guards jump down, they see a floor littered with bodies and Henwell wiping Rose Thorn clean with an enemy’s clothes.

Catherine and the guards freeze, realizing more clearly just how powerful Henwell is.

Henwell asks Catherine, “Where’s your little storage room?”

Snapping back to focus, Catherine points the way.

After walking a short distance and about to turn a corner, Henwell suddenly stops.

He quickly peeks around, then pulls back.

Henwell hands Rose Thorn to Catherine and makes a shushing gesture.

He then points to the short blade at the guard’s waist. She understands and slowly draws out just part of the blade.

Being skilled, she only pulls out a portion, pressing her finger against the exposed blade to avoid any noise from fully unsheathing it.

Henwell takes the short blade, lightly jumps, and climbs up to the ceiling.

Holding the dagger between his teeth, Henwell moves like a gecko, hanging upside down and silently slipping into the room.

After a while, the lights suddenly go out inside.

A soft gasp is heard, then silence.

The female guards tense up, standing by the corner.

After an unknown amount of time, a figure emerges.

One guard instinctively thrusts her sword, but Henwell raises his hand to block the blade. “It’s me! It’s done!”

Henwell raises his hand and chants a complicated spell. A bright glow appears on his left hand.

With Rose Thorn in hand again, Henwell leads the three into the large room.

It looks like a laundry room, with several bodies scattered haphazardly.

Thanks to the light from Henwell’s hand, the three get a clear view of the scene.

Most of these bodies are killed from behind, with wounds mainly along the spine.

Catherine says, “You can still assassinate?”

Henwell replies, “My hands are a bit rusty. It’s been a long time since I’ve done this!”

Then Catherine looks at Henwell’s left hand. “You studied so hard back then just to learn this illumination spell?”

“Of course! If I want to become a Sword Saint, this is a prerequisite skill. Otherwise, I can’t unlock heavy strikes, whirlwind slashes, or dual-wielding!”

Catherine tilts her head. “Really? A Sword Saint needs to learn that?”

Henwell laughs, “No, not really! This is just my own path to becoming a Sword Saint!”

They chat casually as they head toward their target area.

After about half a minute, Henwell suddenly stops and tilts his head, listening.

Catherine is about to ask what he hears when Henwell suddenly pulls her into his arms.

The wall explodes, and a huge sword blade slams down where Catherine just stood.

Then the wall breaks again, and a basin-sized hooked blade shoots out, snagging one of the female guards who’s caught off guard.

The hooked blade tightens and slices the guard—who handed Henwell the short blade—cleanly in half at the waist.

Henwell raises his hand and catches a short arrow shot straight at his face, then flicks it back.

He pushes Catherine away, then kicks a massive decapitation sword lying on the ground, sending it flying to block a magic energy ball hurtling toward them.

“Go! I’ll cover the rear!”

Catherine doesn’t hesitate. She knows this fight isn’t hers to join.

She grabs the only surviving female guard, still shaken, and races toward the target area.

From behind the collapsed wall, four figures emerge through the dust.

Jeremy watches Henwell with curiosity and claps softly. “That was impressive! I didn’t expect you to be an Iron Knight!”

Henwell glances at the Abyssal Berserker Demon, then takes a deep breath. “Just lucky. I only broke through in the heat of battle.”

Jeremy shrugs in disbelief. “Henwell, do I look like a fool? I’m also Iron Rank, and I know what a beginner at this rank is capable of. If your Iron Knight status was just a heat-of-the-moment breakthrough, there’s no way you could have blocked that Abyss Familiar’s strike just now. You wouldn’t have the strength to kill Blacksmith either.”

Then Jeremy looks at Old Crucible beside him. “I’ve said it before, Blacksmith kept killing geniuses and got cursed for it! Look! Isn’t this proof? He ended up dying by a genius’s hand.”

Old Crucible chuckles softly. “Heh... Those who can be killed by him aren’t true geniuses.”

Jeremy nods. “Exactly. Henwell is clearly one of those true geniuses. An Iron Knight under thirty years old! It’s enviable. Honestly, I’m more jealous than anything else. Now I get why Blacksmith had that obsession.”

Henwell eyes them warily. “Since you think I’m a genius, why don’t we talk? Veil wanted to recruit me, right? I’m open to considering it. Your strength has made me see Veil in a new light. Previously, through my instructor, I sent a message to Veil hoping for support. Now that I’ve successfully infiltrated the church as a Paladin, I think there’s room for cooperation.”

Jeremy shakes his head with a smile. “Henwell, don’t treat us like kids! We’re all bad people doing bad things! If you were a Grand Knight, you’d be a promising candidate worth nurturing. But since you’re already an Iron Knight, you’re beyond joining us now.”

Henwell clearly understands what that means.

With Veil’s power, a Grand Knight can be controlled easily.

But an Iron Knight, especially one with a brave army and rich territory, is impossible to subdue.

Jeremy continues, “Henwell! You know why we never answered your request? Because Veil never cooperates with anyone! We don’t need partners, and no one is worthy of being our partner. You’re a genius, but you’re no exception! We only conquer. “

”Right now, we don’t want to conquer you, and you won’t be conquered. So, you’re as good as dead. Out of respect for geniuses, I gave your princess lover enough time to escape. Now it’s your turn to die!”