The Greatest Warrior of All Time Returns-Chapter 196

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Chapter 196

All the siblings wanted was a peaceful life.

Though martial artists lived in a world where fights were common due to the survival of the fittest, as the direct heirs of their noble house, neither of them harbored any grand ambitions.

The younger sister, Hwa Ryeong, only dreamed of meeting someone she loved, getting married, and living a harmonious family life.

Cheon Ryeong, the older brother, wished to inherit the leadership of their sect, the Sichuan Family, and guide it toward peace and balance.

Though society praised the two for their talents, neither of them was particularly interested in fame or power.

But everything was ruined after their father—the former head of the family—died.

“Guh… guhuhhh…”

Ma Cheon, now half-mummified, groaned in pain.

Hwa Ryeong was speechless in the face of this tragedy, and Cheon Ryeong screamed in agony upon confirming his death.

He had already lost most of the family he loved.

He had desperately tried to protect at least his brother, but failed.

The guilt of being unable to protect him—and the overwhelming hatred toward the Elders’ Council, who killed him and turned him into a jiangshi—drove him to the brink.

Soon, corrupted aura began swirling around him.

“B-brother! Please, don’t succumb to the heart demon!!”

“Ah… Aaaah…”

Despite Hwa Ryeong’s desperate cries, Cheon Ryeong sank deeper into his inner demon.

If only he had been stronger.

If only he hadn’t been so complacent in peace.

Perhaps this horrific end could have been avoided.

And so, from deep within him, a terrifying evil spirit began to awaken.

Ah… so this is the heart demon.

Cheon Ryeong quickly realized what was happening to him.

But he didn’t resist it.

No—more accurately, he chose not to resist.

After all, those who fall to their heart demons often gain immense strength, even if only temporarily.

Of course, a dreadful death awaits once all their inner energy is exhausted—but Cheon Ryeong had already begun letting go of what little held him back.

He had already shed so much blood under the pretext of trying to bring Ma Cheon back.

If he could just become stronger, strong enough to stab even a single sword into his enemies...

Then he would gladly become a monster.

A twisted euphoria born of madness surged through him as explosive inner energy enveloped his body.

FWOOSH!!

But suddenly, that euphoric rush dropped away, and clarity returned to his mind.

“Huh?”

Staring blankly at his own hands, he realized the chaotic, erratic flow of aura—his heart demon—had vanished.

Though the darkness in his heart remained, the unstable flow of inner energy caused by it had disappeared.

How is this possible?

As Cheon Ryeong stood in a daze, a voice pierced his ears.

“You trying to get yourself killed or what?”

It was Leon, who had nonchalantly controlled the erratic flow of the heart demon's energy.

Cheon Ryeong could only gape in disbelief.

“Are you in the same situation as me?”

“Huh? What do you mean…”

“Do you also seek revenge?”

“...Yes.”

His youngest sibling was dead.

His family was finished.

The elders and martial artists of the Sichuan Family were no longer kin, but mortal enemies.

Though the instability from his heart demon had been resolved, the darkness in Cheon Ryeong’s soul remained.

The boy who once pursued peace and harmony was now a revenge-driven specter soaked in blood and hatred.

“I want to tear them apart. To rip their flesh and crush their bones, to make them feel even a fraction of the pain Ma Cheon felt.”

The backlash from someone who blindly chased righteousness—only to be shattered—was massive.

“Elder… I used to think Hwa Ryeong was being overly paranoid about you.”

Cheon Ryeong spoke in a low voice, eyes fixed on the elder.

“But that was a foolish thought. I was too blind to see how rotten the Sichuan Family had become…”

“Your father, the former head, was a fool who couldn’t see the currents of the world. Our family’s prestige fell within the alliance because of his decision not to interfere in the Coral-Bata War.”

“My father was not wrong. You are the ones who are.”

The Sichuan Family is not a tool for your ambition.

Cheon Ryeong calmly drew sword energy into his blade and continued coldly:

“My father couldn't do it. But now, with my own hands—I will take your head.”

Realizing that even Cheon Ryeong had fully turned against them, the elder clicked his tongue.

He had tried to use Ma Cheon as leverage, but Ma Cheon was also the most important weapon currently possessed by the elder council.

So harming Ma Cheon because of Cheon Ryeong would be a foolish move.

“You fool. What can a brat like you do against me?”

“If I don’t have arms, I’ll use my legs. If I don’t have legs, I’ll bite you with my teeth—”

“Pardon the interruption, you two, in the middle of your dramatic scene.”

It was then that Leon’s voice cut in between them.

“Lord Cheon Ryeong, could you move aside? You’re kind of in the way.”

Cheon Ryeong gave a blank look at Leon, who waved his hand like he was swatting away a fly.

“Luna, who do you want to handle first?”

“The dead one.” freēnovelkiss.com

“Then I’ll go with respecting the elderly.”

At those words, the air near Leon’s hand shattered with a crack, and he smoothly spun his sword—Elekstra, the cursed blade—as he drew it.

But this time, it wasn’t just Elekstra that emerged.

The space around Leon shattered, and ordinary steel swords rained down and pierced into the ground.

“Coral’s finished. That just leaves you lot.”

The elder’s expression stiffened at those words.

“Coral’s finished? What are you talking about?”

“Curious?”

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As Leon gestured, the shadow beside him rippled, and something dark slowly emerged.

It was an Undead Knight made from the corpse of Sword Master Bachen.

The elder’s eyes widened in horror at the sight.

“L-Lord Bachen!!”

“Clear out the rest.”

At that command, the Undead Knight began to move.

From the ground around him, other wraith-like undead emerged silently and followed him.

“The dead…!”

“A swordsman commanding the dead?! How is that possible?!”

CLAAANG!!!

Leon struck one of the swords embedded in the ground with the cursed blade he held.

With a sharp clang, the sword shot out at an incredible speed, hurtling straight toward the Elder.

CLAAAANG!!!

The Elder reflexively drew his own sword and knocked the flying blade away—his eyes widened.

It was just a simple steel sword he had deflected, yet his hand trembled ever so slightly.

But he had no time to dwell on it.

Leon was moving far faster than he’d anticipated, sending a chill down his spine.

KANG!! KANG!!

Even so, the Elder was a Sword Master.

His pride as a Sword Master—and as a veteran who had survived countless battles longer than this young upstart had lived—refused to allow a one-sided defeat.

“Don’t get cocky, brat!!!”

Aura erupted explosively from the Elder’s entire body.

Warriors of the Eastern Continent often viewed it as a virtue to keep a portion of their power hidden.

But if hiding your strength only led to death, then what was the point?

Judging Leon as a genuine threat to his life, the Elder resolved to use everything at his disposal.

‘That girl can be left to Ma Cheon. The only one I need to worry about is…’

Only Leon Cascadia.

The phantom knight Leon had summoned might be a threat to the warriors of the clan, but not to him.

“HRAAAHH!!”

With a roar-like shout, his hidden aura surged outward, enveloping his entire form.

His speed instantly jumped to a level beyond what he’d displayed so far, and his attacks grew even sharper.

He didn’t know the full extent of Leon’s power.

But if what Leon was showing now was all he had, then the Elder believed he had a good chance of winning.

Like ink spreading on pure white paper, the Elder’s aura and sword moved with fluid grace.

His sword adjusted to Leon’s speed, gradually matching it, and parrying the attacks with increasing ease.

“Oh?”

In this situation, he should clearly have had the upper hand.

And yet—

Even after trading dozens of blows in mere seconds, nothing had changed.

Leon’s speed was still just slightly above his own, just as it had been from the start.

On top of that, his combat technique was anything but ordinary.

Why?!

He had pulled out his hidden strength—he was no longer fighting at 70%, but at full power.

The gap between that should’ve been enormous, yet the difference remained frustratingly narrow.

Worse still, what disturbed him most was the uncanny feeling that Leon’s attacks kept stopping short—cutting off halfway.

As if he could go further, but was holding back.

It was an utterly infuriating sensation.

He glanced over—Ma Cheon was screaming and attacking Luna, but she was calmly dodging all of it with graceful ease.

Luna’s skill was one thing, but Ma Cheon in his current state was a half-finished mess, incapable of clever attacks.

Meanwhile, Bachen’s undead were wreaking havoc against the clan’s warriors with reckless abandon.

It would be wise to retreat until reinforcements arrived, but Leon’s fighting style—so infuriatingly condescending—was grinding the Elder’s pride into the dirt.

A pride forged through years of battle, now being trampled by a boy who hadn’t even lived a third of his life yet.

It felt like Leon was mocking him.

“You blocked that? Then what about this? And this?”

—That kind of insulting provocation.

The Elder’s rage grew as he gripped his sword.

Leon wasn’t just mocking him—he was also trying to avoid showing his sister a horrific scene.

If things continued like this, the Elder would dry up and die without even a dramatic turn of events.

“Warriors of the clan, hear me!!!!”

At last, the Elder blocked one of Leon’s strikes and roared out:

“From this moment forward, target the others first!! Especially! Don’t let that little brat live!!”

His intense hatred, fueled by his rage, now turned toward Arsha.

If Leon and Luna couldn’t be taken down easily, he’d go after the weaker ones first.

I won’t let things go your way.

At his furious command, the warriors of the Sega Clan began to move as one.

Or rather—they tried to move.

GRRRRK…

Their bodies froze in place, as if caught in a massive invisible vice.

Leon’s atmosphere had changed completely—no longer holding back.

He hadn’t even launched an attack yet, but the Elder knew—this was more dangerous than anything so far.

“Th-This guy… What is he…?”

A pressure unlike anything before began to crush the surroundings.

Leon’s entire aura had transformed.

Everyone stopped and turned to stare at him.

Even Ma Cheon—who until now had been an instinct-driven beast—shivered and began to back away like a frightened animal.

“Arsha.”

His cold voice made Arsha hiccup in fright.

And the hatchling wrapped in cloth in her arms trembled and buried itself deeper in her embrace, as if terrified.

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