After John finished explaining the ins and outs of the situation, Roy didn’t think for long before saying:
"If what you say is true, I can accept your commission."
"On one condition: you pay an additional 500 Gold Coins."
"Jeremy isn’t an ordinary High Tier Knight. Assassinating him means making a mortal enemy of Count Rock Lion. You should be well aware of this."
"Also, if I’m not mistaken, you have more than one copy of the Inheritance Map for the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique. Your clan should possess at least two."
Although the art of creating Inheritance Maps has been lost to time, many clans received several identical copies when they first acquired a Breathing Technique.
As soon as Roy finished, John’s voice rang out.
"You’re right. The Compton Clan does indeed have several copies of the Inheritance Map for the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique."
"Otherwise, my father would never have agreed to let me use an Inheritance Map as payment."
"I can pay the extra 500 Gold Coins, but I have a condition of my own."
John looked at Roy, his expression serious.
"What condition?"
Roy asked.
"I want Jeremy brought before me. I will be the one to kill him with my own hands!"
An intense, irrepressible killing intent once again surfaced on John’s face.
"Alright."
"I’ll hand him over to you alive. How you kill him is up to you."
Roy replied calmly.
Capturing someone alive was more difficult than simply killing them, but for him, it was a trivial matter.
Forget about Jeremy being a mere High Tier Knight.
Even if Jeremy were a Peak Knight, Roy was absolutely confident he could capture him alive.
’That’s the confidence that comes from cultivating four Breathing Techniques at once!’
"Good! It’s a deal!"
John stood up, pulled the Inheritance Map for the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique from his coat, and handed it to Roy. "Consider this the deposit," he continued. "You can inspect it."
If the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique were a Universal Breathing Technique instead of a Bloodline Breathing Technique, he would never have given its Inheritance Map to Roy as a deposit.
As it was, however, he didn’t mind using the Inheritance Map for the deposit.
Without the blood of the Compton Clan, it was impossible to cultivate the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique.
Ticky, before he died, as well as Sonia and John, had all pegged Roy as a so-called "Breathing Technique collector."
Breathing Technique collectors, as the name suggests, were people who enjoyed collecting the Inheritance Maps for various Breathing Techniques.
Roy nodded, taking the Inheritance Map for the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique and giving it a quick scan.
At the top of the Inheritance Map was a domineering Iron Claw Bear, reared up on its hind legs.
Below the Iron Claw Bear were 32 Cultivation Positions.
After confirming the Inheritance Map was genuine, he tucked it away and continued,
"I need some time to prepare. Ten days from now, around this same time, I will deliver Jeremy to you. Where would you like to take custody of him?"
"Would Sword Lake, outside the city, work?"
John suggested.
"That works."
"In ten days, I’ll bring Jeremy to the outlet of Sword Lake."
Roy replied.
John nodded. Without another word, he pulled up the hood of his black robe, readjusted the black cloth over his face, turned, and left the room.
「A few minutes later.」
After inspecting the Potion ingredients Sonia had brought, Roy took them, left the tavern, and returned to the Cuckoo Inn.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he immediately entered Chaos Square.
According to his usual cultivation schedule, he should have continued practicing the Purgatory Dragon Meditation Method.
Now, however, he decided to temporarily set aside his Purgatory Dragon Meditation Method training and focus all his efforts on cultivating the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique.
After arranging the Potion ingredients, he went to the center of the square, sat down, took out the Inheritance Map for the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique, and reviewed it carefully.
Then, he rose and began his Cultivation with the first position.
...
Time flew by.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
During those two days, Roy went nowhere, dedicating all his time and energy to the Cultivation of the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique.
’It has to be said, the barrier to entry for an Excellent Level Breathing Technique is indeed a bit higher.’
When he was cultivating the Ice Wolf Breathing Technique, it had only taken him half a day to master the basics and form the Ice Wolf Seed.
This time, however, it took him a full two days to finally master the basics of the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique.
Once he mastered the basics of the Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique, another Life Seed formed within his body.
Compared to the four Life Seeds—Ice Wolf, Giant Elephant, Black Raven, and Shadow Leopard—the newly formed Iron Claw Bear Seed was noticeably smaller.
However, that wasn’t an issue.
As long as he continued to cultivate, the Iron Claw Bear Seed would sooner or later grow larger than the other four Life Seeds.
[Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique: Tier One (152/1000)]
After glancing at the progress of his Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique, Roy, who had been cultivating all night, ended his session and returned to his room at the inn.
Back in his room, he collapsed into bed and fell asleep instantly.
He slept until the afternoon, only then heading down to the inn’s first-floor common room for a meal.
Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he left Redwood City on foot.
’I’ve mastered the basics of the Excellent Level Iron Claw Bear Breathing Technique.’
’Time to assassinate Baron Red Eagle and Baron Giant Dog!’
Once outside the city walls, he immediately unleashed his flame-like white Fighting Qi and began sprinting toward the Red Eagle Domain.
To avoid attracting unwanted attention, he didn’t take the main road, instead cutting across mountains and ridges, making a beeline for the Red Eagle Domain.
He arrived outside Red Eagle Castle just before nightfall.
From the forest bordering the castle, he surveyed Red Eagle Castle—a place he had "visited" six months prior—then retrieved the Dark Night Knight’s signature black armor and white mask from Chaos Square.
Once fully equipped, he didn’t hesitate, drawing his ruby-inlaid Fine Steel Cross Sword and striding toward Red Eagle Castle.
As he emerged from the forest, the soldiers guarding the castle gate and walls quickly spotted him.
The next second, the deep, sonorous blast of a horn echoed from within Red Eagle Castle.
BWAAAAAAA!
The low, resonant horn blast instantly spread throughout the entire castle.
Although it had been half a year since Roy’s last "visit" to Red Eagle Castle, the soldiers at the gate and on the walls still recognized him.
’It would have been hard not to!’
Half a year ago, he had stormed Red Eagle Castle in this exact attire and unleashed a massacre.
If he had been a Peak Knight back then, the grass on Baron Red Eagle’s grave would be waist-high by now.
「The castle study.」
The sudden horn blast not only interrupted the conversation between Baron Red Eagle and his eldest son, Edel, but also caused their expressions to turn grim.
’An attack!’
’That was the horn call reserved for an enemy assault on the castle!’
The moment they heard the horn, they involuntarily recalled the scene of the Dark Night Knight’s massacre within the castle six months earlier.
’Could it be him again?’
The thought had barely formed in the minds of Baron Red Eagle and Edel when the study door was thrown open. Bentley Knight, the Captain of the Personal Guard, strode in, his expression grave.
"My Lord, the Dark Night Knight is here again!"
Bentley Knight reported urgently.
At his words, the expressions on Baron Red Eagle and Edel’s faces turned utterly grim.
Though he had no idea how he had offended the Dark Night Knight, Baron Red Eagle didn’t dwell on it. "Gather everyone immediately!" he ordered. "This time, we must capture him, no matter the cost!"
"Red Eagle Castle is not a place he can come and go as he pleases!"
"Yes, My Lord!"
Bentley Knight replied swiftly, then turned and left the study.
After Bentley Knight left, Baron Red Eagle turned to Edel. "He’s here for me. You, your mother, and the others must go to the secret passage."
"If something happens to me, you all must escape through there!"
"I won’t go! I’m staying to help you!"
Edel refused without a second thought.
"You must go, whether you want to or not. Of all my children, you are the only one qualified to inherit my title."
"If you die too, the Knight Clan will have no future!"
...