Leo opened the door of his little home to surprise his mother.
And froze.
But first, let’s go back a few hours.
"The Knights’ Sacred Mountain is where our Knight Temple raises all kinds of Magical Beasts," Mira had explained, as the Rose Unicorn raced across the hills.
"Three thousand years ago, one of our ancestors in the Alliance found something special about that place. Magical Beasts grow very well there. And their wildness fades. Taming them becomes much easier."
"A young knight only needs the approval of one of them. Then he can take it with him, and it becomes his mount."
"It’s one of the greatest benefits of the Knight Temple. Just like a young Mage genius gets amazing equipment from the Mage Temple."
"And remember this. Every top knight of our Alliance has been to the Knights’ Sacred Mountain."
Leo’s deep blue eyes lit up.
"What if we tamed all the Magical Beasts there?"
Mira couldn’t help laughing.
"It’s not that easy! If our whole Knight Temple finds even a few dozen knights under twenty in one year, that’s a good year. Sometimes there aren’t even ten."
"And there’s a giant summoning array on the mountain. It seems linked to some special place. After a while, a new Magical Beast is called through it. So don’t worry about running out."
"There are ninth-stage Magical Beasts there too. If you get a ninth-rank beast, you’re as strong as a seventh-stage knight."
"Big sister, what stage is your Rose Unicorn?" Leo asked.
"My Rose is fifth stage for now." Mira said proudly. "But she isn’t fully grown. When she is, she’ll reach at least the seventh stage. That’s the strength of a sixth-stage knight!"
"And your big sister will become at least a sixth-stage Radiant Knight too. So you’ll have to work twice as hard, hahaha!"
"Yes. My first goal is to earn the right to go to the Sacred Mountain. I’ll work twice as hard."
The mission turned out to be easy.
A Genuine Knight who had been to the mountain was by his side. And Leo, with Divine Obstruction, was a second-stage knight himself. Hunting ten Magical Beasts wasn’t hard at all.
It took only half a day.
He earned 25 gold coins. And the first entry of a completed mission on his Adventurer Certificate.
Sometimes a new friendship is truly special. Mira felt exactly that. She really liked her new little brother.
She had helped with the mission. And she followed him from Moonhaven City, more than a hundred kilometers, all the way to Eldrin Town. Neither of them wanted to say goodbye.
Night was about to fall. The sun on the horizon was turning red.
A proud smile spread across Leo’s face.
"Master gave me two days for this mission. It only took me one."
"Let’s go home. I’ll see Mama. Then tomorrow morning I’ll go back up the mountain and surprise Master."
With that thought, he walked happily toward home.
But there was a little jealousy in his heart too. The beautiful red glow of the Rose Unicorn kept circling in his mind.
*If only I could have my own Magical Beast mount one day! How amazing that would be!*
Leo knew it perfectly well. If Mira had been riding her unicorn, he’d never have passed the test.
With that thought, he soon saw his little house. This chapter was copied from g.com without permission.
He wanted to surprise Mama. So he opened the door very softly and quietly.
But as soon as he took one step inside, he froze.
His blue eyes went dark. His whole body shook, and he couldn’t stop it.
His mind was far above that of ordinary people. That was why he was always calmer than other kids his age.
But at this moment, he couldn’t hold himself together at all.
He saw something he had never imagined, not even in a dream.
Elena was in the yard. But she was sitting in a man’s lap.
And that man was second only to Mama in Leo’s heart. The man who had turned him into a Standard Knight in just one year.
His master. Corvin.
"You... you..."
Leo stood there. He couldn’t speak. His mind was completely empty.
"Lolo!"
Elena tried to get up from Corvin’s lap.
But Corvin suddenly held her tight. A thin light flashed. And she couldn’t move or speak.
Corvin stood up. He set Elena to one side and looked at Leo with cold eyes.
"Why?"
Leo screamed, completely out of control.
"Why are you bothering my mother?!"
In the next moment, he drew his Refined Iron Swords. His eyes were bright red.
Corvin’s wrist twitched slightly. He made a mysterious move.
A Bamboo Sword appeared in his right hand.
His left hand went behind him. The sword tip pointed at the ground.
He said in a low voice,
"Come."
All of Leo’s excitement from the day was gone.
In its place rose despair, pain, hatred, and every terrible feeling at once.
"AAAHHH!!!"
With a scream, Leo charged at Corvin.
This time he used no skill. He just swung both swords and threw all his strength at Corvin.
He had no idea how strong or how fast Corvin really was. The truth was, fighting his master was impossible for him.
But his master had hurt his mother.
And he had just learned that the two most important people in his heart were involved in something like this.
There wasn’t a speck of reason left in him.
*Crack!* This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
One small strike from Corvin’s Bamboo Sword.
And Leo felt like a mountain had fallen on him. He flew backward and crashed into the yard.
"What did I teach you?"
Corvin’s voice was quiet.
"No matter who your enemy is, even if it’s me, you must stay calm."
Even in that moment, Leo remembered the lesson.
But his body kept crawling and rolling on the ground.
His heart was full of hatred. He felt betrayed. It felt like the blood in his whole body was on fire.
Without hesitating, he charged again.
*Pure-White Edge! Thorny Charge!*
With an advanced charge, he threw his strongest attack.
But it was all useless.
Corvin used the same amount of Spiritual Energy as Leo had.
In his hand was just a plain, thin Bamboo Sword. Even so, he struck the weakest points of Leo’s fully spinning blades.
The Bamboo Sword hit. The shock ran through both of Leo’s hands.
*Thwack! Thwack!*
His iron swords flew from his hands and landed on the ground. Leo fell backward and sat down hard.
"Argh..."
It didn’t end there.
Even in pain, even without weapons, Leo lunged at Corvin like a mad tiger.
Corvin’s brows drew together.
The Bamboo Sword shot straight toward Leo’s stomach.
But Leo didn’t try to dodge. He jumped right onto the sharp tip of the blade!
Corvin panicked.
It was only a Bamboo Sword. But it was sharp. Leo had no protection on his body. If it didn’t kill him, it would wound him badly.
So without thinking, Corvin stopped the sword. And let Leo crash into his body.
Without a second’s pause, Leo sank his teeth into Corvin’s arm.
At Corvin’s level, shaking him off would have been easy.
But he didn’t move.
Leo’s teeth dug into his arm without mercy.
And Corvin’s only reaction was a small wince on his face.
Behind him, Elena’s frozen eyes filled with tears. Her lips trembled, trying to form a single word.
She was trying to say, *Stop.*