The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

Chapter 8

I slowly spread my aura, as if carefully operating it.

Releasing aura outside of the body is something only Experts and above can achieve, and precise manipulation is the domain of Sword Masters.

However, my current state was beyond my control, as an excessive amount of aura was naturally overflowing from me.

Controlling it wasn’t particularly challenging since I had practiced it to the point of boredom.

‘Yet, they’re not sensing this aura at all.’

[The energy form you possess deviates completely from standard trajectories.]

Perhaps it was because I had built it up using a method I created myself, or maybe it was due to the unique environment of the Labyrinthos.

Whatever the case, it worked in my favor as long as my opponents remained unaware.

I wasn’t leaving this place immediately because there was something I needed to confirm.

‘Librarian.’

[Awaiting confirmation.]

‘Do you remember the business investigation reports in my room?’

[All memorized.]

‘What about the personal details of the merchants or their family status?’

[All retained. I’ll cross-check the details now.]

Good.

Just confirming that most of the hostages were being held here made my visit worthwhile.

Of course, there was still a need to check whether other locations existed.

“Come to think of it, I could just ask them directly.”

Perhaps annoyed by my muttering, the knight guarding the cell frowned before abruptly opening the cell door and stepping inside.

It was the same man who had threatened me at Verus’ house.

“Oh? Am I being released?”

At my question, he immediately reached out, grabbed my collar, and slammed me against the wall.

As an aura user, his enhanced physique allowed him to lift me effortlessly.

“What the hell have you been mumbling about this whole time? I’m already annoyed enough having to guard a prison like this.”

“Hey, what are you doing?!”

The other knight shouted in alarm, but the man gripping my collar ignored him entirely.

“What’s the big deal? He’s going to die soon anyway. Let me blow off some steam.”

Contrary to what Tyvel’s son, Vishiri Cascadia, had said, it seemed they had no intention of letting me live either.

This made me curious.

Why did this man harbor such hatred toward my family, the Cascadia family?

Could it be that my father had a different side I didn’t know about?

Given my father’s generally virtuous nature, I was all the more intrigued.

Beep!

[Confirmation complete. All individuals imprisoned here match the identified targets.]

With the results in, there was no longer any reason for me to stay in this cell.

While I was lost in thought, not resisting, he pressed me harder against the wall.

“Why don’t you at least put up a fight?”

“Do you perhaps hold a grudge against Cascadia?”

If my father had committed wrongful acts in places unknown to me, how should I reconcile that?

“A grudge? Of course, I hold a grudge. A deep one at that. He cut off our financial lifeline while spouting nonsense about integrity.”

Frowning deeply, he increased the pressure.

“So don’t take it too personally.”

“Are you going to kill everyone else here too?”

“If that’s the order, sure.”

“Hmm... and you feel no resistance to that idea?”

“Why should I care? We’re just paid to do what we’re told. Does pretending to be noble put food on the table?”

Finally, he gripped my neck harder, as if ready to break it.

For an ordinary person, the force he was applying would have already broken their neck.

But there was one thing he didn’t know.

The aura overflowing from me was naturally protecting my body without any deliberate effort on my part.

No matter how much force he applied, it was like trying to crush an iron pillar with bare hands—it was futile.

“Huh? Why isn’t this working?”

“Thank goodness. My father really was the man I thought he was.”

Since the grudge stemmed from underhanded dealings that my father had blocked, it confirmed he had acted with integrity.

“What...?”

Crack!

In an instant, I twisted the arm that had been gripping my neck.

“Huh?”

Crunch!

Simultaneously, I smoothly applied a joint lock, and as soon as my hand reached his neck, I snapped it without hesitation.

The knight didn’t even have time to scream before collapsing lifelessly.

During the process, a message about acquiring something appeared, but I ignored it as usual.

“?!”

The knight outside was understandably shocked.

Seeing his colleague, who had been perfectly fine moments ago, suddenly drop dead was enough to startle anyone.

He tried to draw his sword in a panic, but I was faster.

Snatching a dagger from the dead knight’s waist, I hurled it.

Thud!

The dagger, imbued with a faint trace of aura, pierced the second knight’s head with precision.

The heavy sound of impact echoed as the man crumpled to the ground.

For most people, imbuing a weapon with aura and throwing it was extremely difficult unless they were of the Expert level.

Even attempting it would typically result in the aura dissipating rapidly.

However, if the rate of dissipation was a problem, simply cramming in more aura to overwhelm it was a viable solution—if one had the skill to control it.

At least for the level of difficulty an Expert required, it wasn’t a big deal.

Having swiftly dealt with the two knights, I calmly walked out of the open cell.

Screech! Clang!

“What the hell is that?!”

“Emergency! The hostage has escaped!”

Ignoring the “how” of my escape, the knights stationed outside were visibly flustered.

Thankfully, none of them tried to flee immediately, indicating their confidence in subduing me.

At the very least, the knights here were all aura users.

Meanwhile, I was known to the world as nothing more than a frail noble’s son incapable of handling aura.

I pulled the dagger from the corpse beside me.

Then, after retrieving the dagger from the second dead body, I lightly gripped them in both hands.

Without a sound, I stepped forward, accelerating as I moved.

* * *

Slash!! Slice!!!

With each movement, another person fell.

Watching his comrades collapse without even a scream, the knight, Balkom, realized how horribly wrong things had gone.

The only sounds were the metallic slicing of flesh and the brief cries of those falling.

The narrow underground passage was already a sea of blood.

Charging in like a flash of light and cutting down the knights with almost acrobatic precision, it was unmistakably Leon Cascadia.

Every time one blinked, his position changed, and every time they found him again, another life had vanished without a trace.

Leon Cascadia—the fool of the Cascadia Count's family.

A boy synonymous with incompetence.

Impossible.

Knights, who had spent years strengthening their bodies with aura and honing their sword skills, were being torn apart without even being able to retaliate?

There was no hesitation in his killing, no wasted movement to be seen.

The knights desperately tried to counterattack, but Leon seemed to anticipate every strike as if he knew where it was coming from.

With a single step, he avoided their attacks and massacred them.

"Ugh… Aaaah… Aaaahhh!!"

Most of the soldiers and knights guarding the underground prison were already dead.

Only a few, including Balkom, remained.

Feeling an overwhelming chill across his entire body, Balkom dropped his sword and bolted backward in a panic.

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]

That thing isn’t human.

The rumors had it all wrong.

That isn’t an incompetent fool—it’s a monster hiding its power!

With the sole thought of escaping the underground prison, Balkom ran frantically without looking back.

Thwack!! Slice!!

But Leon, wearing an expression of indifference, didn’t seem to care much about his escape attempt.

He silently turned the area into a hellish scene.

Even the prisoners, who had been sitting idly in their cells, were so terrified that their faces turned pale.

‘Just a bit further. Just a bit further, and I can get out of here!’

As the door to the outside grew closer, Balkom's pace quickened.

Then, just as his hand reached out to open the firmly shut door—

Whoosh!! THUNK!!!

A dagger flying from behind pierced his right arm and pinned it to the door.

"AAAAAAARGH?!!"

It wasn’t even imbued with aura.

He was merely wielding aura like the rest of them, yet his power, speed, and skill—all of it—were far beyond reason.

"Ugh…"

The excruciating pain made him want to collapse, but with his arm pinned to the door, he was left dangling and screaming desperately.

"Please... Please spare me! I beg you!! I was wrong!"

Tears and snot streamed down Balkom's face as he pleaded desperately.

The pain in his pierced arm was less terrifying than Leon's calm and expressionless gaze as he turned the area into a living nightmare.

Leon slowly approached and grabbed the dagger lodged in the door, yanking it free with force.

Schlunk!!!

"AAARGH!!"

Completely demoralized, Balkom crouched on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

"The people you captured, are they all here?"

Leon finally spoke in a low, calm tone.

"Th-That's…."

"If you delay your answer, something will start flying."

Flying?

What will fly?

Slice!!

"AAAAAAARGH!!!!"

As he felt a sharp pain, a finger flew off.

Balkom writhed on the floor, screaming.

"I asked if this is everyone."

"Y-Yes, yes, it’s everyone! This is everyone here!!"

"What about Vishiri Cascadia?"

"Th-That’s…."

"It’ll sting a little."

Slice!!

"AAAAAAARRGH!!!"

Another scream echoed through the passage.

Leon didn’t even allow him the time to process the pain.

"Where is Vishiri Cascadia?"

"He-He went to the Count’s estate! The Count’s estate, I swear!!"

He was referring to the main estate of the Cascadia family, where Melissa resided.

At this point, there was nothing Balkom could do but spill everything he knew.

"Is that so? What about the nobles helping Tyvel Cascadia?"

"Th-That… I…"

Slice!!

"Ugh!!"

Monster.

There was no other way to describe him.

There wasn’t an ounce of hesitation in the boy’s movements, even though he was still young.

It was as if he had spent countless hours fighting for his life against enemies, leaving no room for mercy.

The third question was something that a mere knight like Balkom couldn’t possibly answer.

"Pl-Please… I really don’t know… Please."

"No, you can figure it out. Think harder."

Slice!!

"AAARGH!!"

How could he answer something he didn’t know?

Balkom’s bloodshot eyes were filled with terror, his breathing ragged and heavy.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

His face was entirely consumed by fear.

The cruelty and brutality he witnessed were nothing like what he’d seen from the former Count or Melissa.

Leon hadn’t always been like this, but the labyrinth world of Labyrinthos was enough to change a person entirely.

"Looks like you really don’t know."

"Pl-Please…"

"Well, then. You’re probably not lying. I’ll find out the rest myself."

Thud!!

Leon’s blade pierced through his chest, and only then did Balkom’s face relax into a faint smile.

The fear of death was nothing compared to the hell he imagined enduring if he survived.

‘Now I can finally escape…’

With that final thought, his consciousness faded into darkness.

* * *

As I dealt with the knights, one thought came to mind: right now, I’m only at the level of an aura user.

But when it comes to combat power alone, I’m beginning to wonder if one’s rank even matters at all.

"Something's definitely not normal."

[Translator - Night]

[Proofreader - Gun]