Bone-chilling pressure suddenly gushed out of Kang Jin-Ho as he stood there with a sword in each of his hands.

This was different from the “usual” sort of aura. No, it was murderous intent. A bloodlust so thick and heavy that it sent chills down the back of everyone here! Simply being subjected to it made their hair stand on end while their hearts began pounding madly out of control!

The Elder Knights’ honest impression of Kang Jin-Ho at this moment was…

‘It’s as if we’re facing a wild beast.’

No, rather than a “wild beast,” maybe a “bloodthirsty predator” might be more appropriate! Worse still, this was no ordinary predator, either.

“It seems Fenrir has finally descended to the mortal realm.”

“Mm? Are you suggesting Ragnarok has begun?”

“Of course not. We’re not Asgardian gods, after all. Having said that… That warrior has the potential to become the Beast of the End, gentlemen. There is no question about it!”

At this point, these Elder Knights tacitly agreed that fulfilling their duty to the Round Table could be set aside, at least for the time being. That was because… Their enemy this time was dangerous. Indescribably so!

Elder Knights could all instinctively sense it. Kang Jin-Ho wasn't merely a threat to the Round Table's existence. Judging from his aura reminiscent of a devil, the Elder Knights simply had to stop Kang Jin-Ho today. Or else, the entire world could fall under that devilish predator's deadly claws!

“We must kill him, no matter what!”

“Yes. We are all in agreement, then!”

The Elder Knights simultaneously roused their mana. The mysterious energy gushing out from their hearts infused into their ancient armor pieces, making them glow brightly. That signaled the beginning of their transformation.

Rust fell rapidly from the ancient armor pieces. Blinding rays of light burst out, and then… The outlines of the armors began changing noticeably.

“Hmm??” Kang Jin-Ho’s brows rose up ever so slightly in surprise.

Despite having experienced countless different sorcery and trickery back in Zhongyuan, he had never witnessed such a mysterious phenomenon until today.

‘Is this another type of magic?’

The Elder Knights' armor was literally transforming. And their shapes were all disparate and varied. Those ancient armor pieces morphed from seemingly ordinary into many different and striking designs.

One of the Knights' armor transformed into a truly gorgeous, pure-white design. Someone else's became weighty-looking heavy armor. Meanwhile, the armor on another Elder Knight completely disappeared and was replaced with a magnificent, airy flowing robe.

‘Truly mysterious…’

The more Kang Jin-Ho witnessed the wonders of magic, the more intrigued he became. So much so that he was tempted to actually learn magic himself!

However, it was a brief temptation, nothing more.

Kang Jin-Ho ultimately didn't think mastering those sundry skills was worth wasting his limited time. After all, such skills would make his life a bit more convenient, but not much else. These things wouldn't help Kang Jin-Ho in his pursuit of acquiring strength.

The stuffy-looking helms vanished to finally reveal the faces of the Elder Knights. And they were unexpectedly young. Younger than Kang Jin-Ho had expected, at least.

He thought only the older Knights who had become strong enough could become Elder Knights. So, he expected to see wrinkly old folks with their helms removed, but the oldest among them still seemed well within the prime of their life.

Was this also the effect of the mysterious magic spell? Or did they become Elder Knights while still young?

‘It doesn’t matter, now does it?’

Since they would die, anyway!

Kang Jin-Ho smirked. He could clearly sense these Elder Knights’ strength.

The power they emitted was distinctly different from the pressure as ginormous as Mount Tai that the Crimson King exuded. No, this feeling was closer to… divine? Ŗ𝒶ƝÒВƐ𝘴

One thing was for certain, though; these Elder Knights were stronger than Kang Jin-Ho thought. They easily exceeded his expectations. Judging from their current power, it seemed like a change of outfit had transformed them into different beings altogether.

The corners of Kang Jin-Ho’s lips curled up all on their own. Even the hair on the back of his hand stood up… A clear indication that his body had instinctively felt “it.”

These Elder Knights Kang Jin-Ho was about to fight were the “real” deals!

‘What a shame…’

Kang Jin-Ho used to think conquering Zhongyuan was the same as standing triumphantly against every powerful expert under the heavens. However, as it turned out, he was wrong.

Knights of these people's caliber must've existed in Europe while Kang Jin-Ho was lording over Zhongyuan as the demon cult's leader. In fact, the Elder Knights should have been a thing back then, too. Even if the composition of members was probably different in those days.

In that case, just how many more experts could there be back in that ancient era?

At this very moment, Kang Jin-Ho was finally realizing that Zhongyuan, a land that seemed improbably vast in his view, had been nothing more than a cramped little well all this time!

“I am Gawain!” The Elder Knight standing at the front of his comrades and wielding an impressive long spear introduced himself in a proud voice, then pointed his weapon at Kang Jin-Ho. “You’d do well to prepare yourself, oh the Devil from the East! We shall henceforth use all of our strength to defeat you!”

“...Even so, you should be proud,” said another Elder Knight. He stood next to Gawain while wielding a gorgeous longsword. “Today will be the first time the Elder Knights of the Round Table assault one lone individual, after all. And it'll also be our last time doing so. As such, we permit you to hold your head up high in pride as you head off to the next life.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled in dismay. It made sense that these Elder Knights were proud of who they were. After all, they most likely hadn't met anyone stronger than themselves in their respective eras. That was why they were chosen by the Round Table to become its ultimate guardians in the first place!

Even if that was the case…

‘How disappointing.’

In Kang Jin-Ho’s view, these people were disqualified from calling themselves martial artists.

Maybe it was the difference in mindset between the East and West? Whatever the case might be, their impression of encountering a powerful enemy after leaping across multiple eras was starkly different from Kang Jin-Ho's.

While Kang Jin-Ho was genuinely happy about encountering powerful experts from the ancient past, these Elder Knights… They were being a little too overconfident in their own strength.

Since that was the case, it was up to Kang Jin-Ho to teach them. To teach them the true vastness of the world! To let them know how foolish it was to act like kings in this cramped corner of the world! And also…

It was time to teach them what true strength was!

Kang Jin-Ho gripped the Crimson Destiny even tighter and bared his fangs in a ferocious smirk. “I’ll allow you to talk a little more.”

Pitch-black demonic qi began leaking from somewhere below Kang Jin-Ho's feet. Initially, it circulated around Kang Jin-Ho's ankles like some kind of air currents… Only for it to explode upwards to envelop his entire figure. And it began burning eerily like living, dancing flames.

“Because… Soon, you will never be able to talk again.”

Kang Jin-Ho's voice now sounded like coarse metal scraping against another metal. Even the proud Elder Knights had to flinch and shudder from this spectacle.

“...Maybe he really is a devil?”

“At the very least, he does look like one, no? To think that our new opponent after three centuries of slumber happens to be a devil!”

The Elder Knights visibly grew tense. However, they were obviously not scared. As befitting their lofty title, the Elder Knights didn’t lose their fighting spirit even after witnessing Kang Jin-Ho unleashing his power.

“Death to our enemies!”

“Yes! Death to our enemies!”

As the raucous chorus echoed thunderously within the hall, the Elder Knights charged unhesitantly at Kang Jin-Ho.

The demonic qi-covered area just below the pair of crimson eyes, where Kang Jin-Ho's mouth should be, wavered eerily. With a chilling smirk etched on his face, Kang Jin-Ho rushed toward the incoming Elder Knights.

Gawain gripped his spear tightly while injecting it with as much mana as he could rouse in that brief moment. The impressive long spear responded by emitting brilliant white light.

“Wu-oooooooh!” Gawain roared while spinning his spear, then thrust it powerfully forward.

Rumble, whoooooooosh!

Almost at the same time, a massive vortex of air was generated in front of the spear’s tip. The air currents viciously spun around while rushing forward with an explosive acceleration. This white vortex closed in Kang Jin-Ho with the intensity of a tornado angry enough to sweep everything away in its path!

Kang Jin-Ho slightly narrowed his eyes, then vertically sliced this vortex apart with his trusty Crimson Destiny. The air currents split apart left to right, then slammed mercilessly against the hall’s walls.

Craaaaaaaack!

The noises were as grating and unpleasant as pebbles tumbling inside a mixer. The vicious air currents quite literally tore through the hall’s thick walls. Even though the walls here had been reinforced with magic, they couldn’t withstand the air currents Gawain had generated!

Pitch-black holes opened up on the walls. It was impossible to see how deep these holes went.

“Ooooooooh!”

Gawain thrust his spear again and again. Each thrust generated more vortices of air. Soon, a dozen-plus vortices rapidly closed in on Kang Jin-Ho. That was when the black flames burning on the Crimson Destiny and the Azuremourne suddenly erupted even more fiercely.

RUMBLE!

The two treasure swords trembled in unison as they were resonating. Kang Jin-Ho powerfully and dizzily crisscrossed the surrounding space with his weapons. A large wall of black flames rose up to completely devour all of Gawain's vortices.

‘Wait, devoured them?’

Gawain frowned slightly. That wall of black flames hadn't stopped the air currents but literally swallowed them all up. It could only mean an energy source overwhelmingly greater than Gawain's had completely obliterated his attack.

“Fuu-heuph!” Gawain sucked in a deep breath.

It wasn't as if today was the first time his Vortex attack had failed. Many Elder Knights here would have been able to block the attack without suffering any damage, anyway.

However, it was his first time seeing his attack get completely absorbed without a trace like this! And that wasn't all.

Fwhooooosh!

Gawain's hearing registered a crisp whoosh as Kang Jin-Ho's figure broke through the wall of flames. The Elder Knight momentarily lost composure in surprise, allowing himself to be exposed to Kang Jin-Ho's attack.

Gawain reflexively cried out, “You!”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly hacked down on the defenseless figure of Gawain from above with his Crimson Destiny. The air viciously tore apart.

KA-GAAAAAAACK!

However, Gawain was not sliced apart in half. Instead, an Elder Knight in heavy armor ably defended against Kang Jin-Ho’s attack with his towering shield.

“Hmm?” Kang Jin-Ho momentarily let out a surprised gasp.

His Crimson Destiny could cut through pretty much everything in existence... But it failed to split this shield apart. Of course, there was a scar running across the shield's surface now, but that only served as a reminder of Kang Jin-Ho's failed attack.

“Sir Breunor!” Gawain excitedly cried out.

“Uwaaaaaaaht!” The giant Elder Knight named Breunor roared like a beast while shoving away with his towering shield.

‘Huh? Is that Vator?’

Vator's name briefly popped up in Kang Jin-Ho's mind. Of course, this man's physique wasn't as absurd as Vator's and stayed within the realm of “normal.” And his physical strength also was nowhere near Vator's, either.

However, falling well behind Vator physically didn't mean that Breunor was a weakling!

He might lose against Vator in terms of pure brute strength, but his technique with the shield more than made up for it.

Kang Jin-Ho was shoved back by that powerful shield heave.

“Now… Fire!” Breunor roared while throwing himself back. He then hurriedly used his shield to cover his front.

The black flames covering Kang Jin-Ho’s face wavered eerily again. That was because he could see countless arrows of light blanketing the hall’s ceiling!

FWHOOOOOOOSH!!!

The rain of light pummeled down. Had these arrows been physical items, even the sun would’ve been blocked out. That was how many of them there were!

...And all those light arrows, each containing the destructive power of dozens of real arrows, rained down mercilessly on Kang Jin-Ho’s position!

Kang Jin-Ho rapidly crossed the Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne above his head to create a burning wall of swords.

Clang, clang, claaaaang!

The light arrows collided against the black flames before getting deflected away in every direction. The cacophony of noises was reminiscent of bullets bouncing off a steel wall!

“It's ready! Let him have it!”

Just as Kang Jin-Ho heard that yell, intense heat suddenly enveloped him next.

‘What is that?’

Kang Jin-Ho scowled a little. That was because he could see something a little concerning.

Beyond the raining light arrows, there was a gigantic sea of flames burning vigorously. Such was the intensity that rather than flames, they resembled floodwater bursting through the dams to sweep Kang Jin-Ho away.

KUWAAAAAAAH-!

“Wuooooooh!” Gawain roared while firing more Vortexes. Only after sending dozens more attacks of wind at the target enveloped in roaring inferno did Gawain stop thrusting his spear.

While panting heavily away, Gawain glared at the flames obscuring Kang Jin-Ho’s figure and asked, “Did we get him?”

The roaring flames gradually petered out.

“Ptooi!” Breunor spat on the floor, then picked his shield up. “Don’t be absurd, Sir Gawain.”

“...Kuk.”

“Our enemy this time isn’t frail enough to go down from only this much. We must put our lives on the line today, Sir Gawain,” Breunor grunted while glancing at his hands.

The hand gripping the towering shield was quaking nonstop.

He exchanged moves with his enemy only once. To be more precise, all Breunor did was shove Kang Jin-Ho back, but his hands couldn’t deal with the impromptu weightlifting session and trembled uncontrollably away.

‘That man… is a genuine monster!’

That inconceivable physical strength, combined with the vast inner energy reserve residing within him, proved that Kang Jin-Ho didn't merely look like a devil on the surface. No, he really was a monster!

Breunor instinctively realized only one of two fates awaited him and his comrades today. Either they exorcized that devil and brought salvation to the world… Or they would get ripped apart into shreds by the devil's merciless claws!

Breunor tensely glared at the gradually weakening flames. Eventually…

Fwhoosh!

Black flames suddenly flared up from within the crimson flames before swallowing up everything around them. And then, a devil cloaking himself with the pitch-black demonic qi flames like wings leisurely walked out of the scorched area.

Breunor gritted his teeth, hard.