Legendary Bloodline

Saban Chavez, the genius knight of the Northern Empire, had achieved knighthood at the age of fourteen, a prodigy without equal. Countless young men in the empire idolized him, and countless young women swooned over him. But no one, except his enemies, knew the truth: beneath the surface, Saban was a madman.

He craved battle. He was addicted to slaughter. The sensation of his blade slicing through flesh and bone brought him ecstasy. And the stronger the opponent, the greater the thrill.

When Saban was chosen to become a Mage apprentice, even the king of the Northern Empire pleaded on his behalf, hoping the Mages would let this rare knight stay.

But Saban refused.

The power of Mages fascinated him. And if he could kill a Mage with a blade, the euphoria would be enough to send him to heaven.

So, Saban became an apprentice, and entered this entrance exam.

Strong enemies. Legalized killing. It was heaven on earth for him.

Which was why, when he found out one apprentice had killed an Arcane Beast, excitement surged in his heart.

This was exactly what he lived for.

Until a blinding light flashed before his eyes.

An orange-red fireball streaked from Edwyn's hand, heading straight toward him.

In that moment, Saban felt fear like never before, worse than the fear he felt facing an Arcane Beast.

"What kind of spell is this?!"

He had no time to think. He tried to dodge, and as he brushed past the fireball,

Boom!

It exploded.

The violent flames instantly incinerated his clothes. His chainmail, meant for protection, turned into a burning iron brand, leaving black scorch marks across his body.

The blast wave launched Saban like a cannonball. His greatsword flew from his hand.

On the other side of the fireball, Edwyn stood calmly. A transparent barrier shielded him from the explosion.

Zero-Circle Spell: Forcefield Barrier.

"Whew! So that's a Lesser Fireball? The gap between First-Circle and Zero-Circle spells is huge," Edwyn murmured.

He glanced at the massive crater, three meters wide, half a meter deep.

This spell packed the punch of artillery.

"If he took that head-on, he's got to be dead."

Just then, a furious roar rang out from the woods.

"Bastard! I'll tear you to pieces!"

A scorched figure burst out, tall and charred. It was Saban.

He had taken a full hit from the Lesser Fireball, and survived.

Edwyn stepped back and fired two mana missiles, but Saban swerved aside, dodging both effortlessly.

Edwyn raised his hand to cast Ice Spike, but what happened next stunned him.

Saban began exhaling clouds of white vapor, and golden fur started growing over his burned skin.

The fur spread rapidly, and his body seemed to inflate and grow larger.

"Beast transformation?!"

Edwyn's mind flashed to the legends of Goldengrove, stories of legendary knights.

Could this lunatic be descended from one of them?

He fired an Ice Spike, but Saban batted it aside effortlessly.

"This is going to be tough. One hit wasn't enough."

Edwyn reversed his grip on his magic dagger. Judging from Saban's behavior, he was clearly a close-combat type.

"You're the first person to force me to use my legendary bloodline!"

Saban stretched. Burned skin peeled away. Underneath, his new flesh gleamed beneath golden fur.

Edwyn checked the recharge time on his fireball staff.

Two minutes left.

That was bad.

Saban tore off his chainmail, leaving only arm bracers. His muscles bulged as the transformation continued, armor now only hindered him.

"Legendary bloodline? So you're a descendant of a legendary knight?" Edwyn tried to stall, buying time.

As long as he could cast one more fireball, this beast-man would be toast, literally.

He hadn't been fooled by the appearance. No one could take a fireball at point-blank range without internal injuries. Those were far harder to heal than wounds to the skin.

But Saban wasn't going to wait.

With his bloodline awakened, he felt a flood of overwhelming power, he knew it was an illusion, but he reveled in it anyway.

Edwyn was right, Saban's internal injuries were worsening. The bloodline boost even accelerated the damage.

He had to end this fast.

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, Saban crossed dozens of meters and appeared right in front of Edwyn.

"Die!"

He punched with such force that Edwyn's hair blew back from the shockwave.

If that blow landed, he'd end up like Ramsay, dead.

But the air in front of Edwyn rippled like water.

Saban's punch stopped dead.

Forcefield Barrier, sucker!

Edwyn smirked coldly and slashed with his dagger, aiming straight for Saban's heart.

Ice Spike needed distance to build power, it was no use up close. The dagger, however, was perfect.

But Saban blocked with his bracer. A screeching, metallic shriek rang out, and when they parted, a shallow mark was etched into the bracer.

"Nice dagger."

"Tough bracer."

They separated. Edwyn gave up on attacking, he had the advantage of timing, distance, and surprise, but still couldn't penetrate Saban's defense. Now that Saban was on guard, attacking recklessly would be suicide.

Saban retrieved his greatsword. Despite surviving a fireball, the blade remained pristine, clearly a high-grade item, likely the ancestral weapon of a legendary knight.

As soon as it touched his hands, Saban's aura exploded. His golden fur rippled in the wind.

The difference between bare fists and a weapon was like a wall.

"I've decided, I'm going to take your head and mount it with my finest trophies," he snarled.

His greatsword crashed down toward Edwyn's dagger.

Forcefield Barrier shattered!

Clang!

Edwyn barely parried the massive blade. Even with the barrier's help, the force made his arms tremble.

"And this is just a bloodline user… how strong were the legendary knights themselves?"

Saban switched tactics, launching a follow-up slash from the opposite direction. But Edwyn, trained in Wind Crow Sword Style, easily parried. To him, Saban's technique looked like a child's scribbles.

Clang.

After two failed strikes, Saban's eyes narrowed.

"This kid's got skill, but no strength. Even weakened by that barrier, my sword is still too much for him. So… what if I just brute-force it?"

Changing tactics, he switched to pure power, and it worked.

Edwyn was pushed back. Even with his technique, he couldn't handle the strength difference combined with inferior weapons.

"Hahaha! What about your spells now?!"

Saban laughed maniacally, his strikes wide and wild, every move aiming to kill.

Edwyn checked his staff with his mind, but that brief distraction gave Saban an opening.

The greatsword broke through the barrier and cut a finger-deep gash into Edwyn's chest.

"Tch!"

Pain surged through him. His mind went foggy, and several more slashes followed, each drawing blood.

Luckily, none were fatal. With adrenaline flooding his system, Edwyn started to adapt and focus.

"Ten seconds left. I need distance, fast."

Magic didn't discriminate, if he cast fireball up close, he'd get blown away too.

Edwyn counted down in his mind, then launched a flurry of mana missiles and ice spikes to halt Saban's advance. He used the pause to retreat.

"Damn, he's going for the spell again!"

Saban panicked. The memory of being blasted to hell resurfaced. Instinct took over, he turned to run.

But no matter how fast he was, a spell was faster.

Edwyn waved the staff. A fiery meteor launched from the tip and struck Saban dead-on.

Boom!

With a thunderous blast, the genius knight of the Northern Empire joined the bones of the fallen, becoming yet another fertilizer for the forest.