Seeking refuge with the Nightmare Empire meant either becoming a blood slave or being turned into a vampire.
Heading to the Caruso Highlands meant keeping company with bloodthirsty dragons, constantly having to deal with hungry dragons coming to pillage, burn, and plunder.
And staying in the Dusk Sea... meant facing the undead army of the Burns Court.
Only seeking refuge with the Heron Empire and becoming Leon's dog was a relatively less unacceptable option...
“Even the Five Kings of the Dusk Sea are nothing but cannon fodder...”
The Shadow King calmly withdrew his gaze and walked down the deck.
“All of you, behave yourselves! If I catch any of you being disrespectful to Leon, I won't even wait for him to act—I'll break your legs myself on the spot...”
...
Three hours later.
The Shadow arrived at the designated meeting point east of the Endless Bay.
A crew member of the Shadow pulled out a prepared signal flare and shot it into the sky.
Whoosh—
A colorless, invisible firework, visible only through a special eyepiece, rose high into the sky and hovered there.
“Now, we just wait...”
“Over there! What's that commotion over there?”
Before the Shadow King could finish his sentence, a crew member below shouted in excitement.
Casting his gaze over, he saw a dark shadow rapidly rising from beneath the surface.
Only when the shadow broke the surface did the crew of the Shadow clearly see that it was a black-and-white submarine.
The submarine was covered in a dense network of profound magic runes, with mana flowing through them like lifeblood.
At the top of the submarine was a fist-sized, long-barreled mana cannon.
Tens of thousands of various magic runes were also engraved on the inner wall of the barrel.
Although the caliber of the mana cannon was not large, when it pointed at them, the crew of the Shadow felt a chill run down their spines, as if they were being targeted by some terrifying entity.
Hiss.
Accompanied by a hissing sound of releasing pressure, the hatch at the top of the submarine quickly opened, and a tall, robust warrior clad in blue-gold armor and holding a chainsword stepped out.
The tall warrior pulled out a flag and waved it slightly. This was the contact signal Leon had instructed beforehand.
“Is that... the Limit Warband?!”
The Shadow King's pupils dilated. From the coating and insignia of the warrior's armor, he immediately recognized the warband the warrior represented—
The Second Warband of the Heron Empire, known as the "Emperor's Blade"—the Limit Warband!
The Limit Warband, even a regular squad, could deal with Gold rank transcendents.
If it were an elite squad of the warband, they could even stand a chance against Diamond rank powerhouses.
And if it were the First Squad of the Limit Warband, led by their commander, they could even contend with Epic rank transcendents!
“The Limit Warband... why are they here? Shouldn't the Falcon Warband be the ones accompanying Leon?”
A trace of surprise flashed in the Shadow King's heart.
That Heron Emperor... had actually dispatched warriors of the Limit Warband to serve under Leon's command?
After exchanging the signals, the submarine floating on the water slowly approached the Shadow.
On the other side, the gangplank of the Shadow was lowered under the Shadow King's orders.
The Shadow King stood in front of the gangplank with his crew, staring at the submarine as if facing a formidable foe.
The submarine docked against the Shadow, and the hatch opened once more. A squad of Limit warriors filed out in a swift, orderly line.
The Limit warriors who stepped out stood on both sides, welcoming the final figure emerging from within.
That figure wore a golden priest's robe, held a teal priest's scepter, and had black hair and black eyes, carrying a peaceful aura.
The moment he stepped out of the hatch, he exuded an incredibly powerful pressure, causing the legs of some weaker crew members to go soft involuntarily.
“He really is at the Gold rank!”
The Shadow King's expression turned solemn.
Cancer James's intelligence was correct. This youth named Leon Douglas had actually advanced to the Gold rank before even turning seventeen!
“Young Master Leon!”
With his thoughts racing, the Shadow King did not delay. He stepped forward quickly, approached Leon, and knelt on one knee:
“Stanley Moore pays his respects to Young Master Leon!”
The crew of the Shadow behind him followed suit, kneeling on one knee:
“We pay our respects to Young Master Leon!”
So sensible?
Leon raised an eyebrow.
He had thought that since the Shadow King was one of the Five Kings of the Dusk Sea... well, technically only two of them were left now.
In short, he had assumed that after being a leader for so long, the Shadow King wouldn't be able to swallow his pride.
Yet, kneeling on one knee and calling him "Young Master Leon" the moment they met showed he was far more cooperative than Leon had anticipated.
Unfortunately... the Alicia-brand sensor was sounding an alarm.
‘There is... hostility.’
Alicia's voice echoed in Leon's mind. She said:
‘Over there... one of the... crew members... has... hostility.’
Leon looked in the direction Alicia pointed out.
It was a thin youth, about the same age as Leon, just around sixteen or seventeen.
The youth was hiding in the crowd, also kneeling on one knee.
However, unlike the other crew members who kept their heads low while kneeling, the youth kept his head raised, staring intently at Leon.
There was no hatred or killing intent in his gaze, only a faint trace of hostility and defiance.
Leon could actually understand this defiance and hostility.
After all, he wasn't some universally beloved figure.
Forcing one of the remaining two kings who once ruled the Dusk Sea to become his dog would naturally breed some dissatisfaction and resentment among their followers.
Therefore...
“Alicia, cut off his legs.”
Leon spoke calmly, causing the nearby Shadow King to freeze.
Who was Alicia? And whose legs was he cutting off?
But in the next second, the Shadow King understood.
A figure emerged from Leon's shadow like rising ink.
Holding a gleaming dagger, the figure flickered rapidly through the crowd and appeared right in front of the young crew member.
The young crew member's face filled with panic. Before he could even attempt to resist, an excruciating pain surged from below.
“Ahhh!!!”
A blood-curdling shriek echoed across the entire deck of the Shadow.
By the time the crew members reacted and looked at the youth, blood was spraying from his lower body, and everything below his knees was completely gone!
His legs had been cleanly severed!
The flesh at the cross-section of his knees was as smooth as glass, without a single ragged edge left behind!
“Pipi!”
The crew members beside the youth cried out in panic.
Meanwhile, Alicia, who had severed the youth's legs, calmly sheathed her blade and returned to Leon's side under everyone's watchful eyes.
“This is merely a warning.”
Leon looked down, casting a cold glance at the Shadow King.
“If I ever sense anyone looking at me with that kind of hostility again...”
“It won't be as simple as losing a pair of legs.”
As he finished speaking, a towering colossus flowing with blue-gold light materialized beside him with a low rumble.
The colossus held a longbow of interwoven gold and silver, the runes on its limbs pulsing as if the power of the stars was coursing through it.
The pure white sacred flames surrounding its body condensed into a giant hand, the flames as biting as ice and as searing as the sun.
The blue-gold giant stood quietly, but its aura was as vast and deep as the ocean!
This caused the Shadow King, who had previously believed he might stand a chance of taking Leon down if he put his life on the line, to undergo a drastic change in expression, completely horrified!
If I put my life on the line... can I really take Leon down???
Rate on N.U.
