Chapter 178

The truth shocked Leonard, but a part of him understood.

I understand now why the Golden Dragon is so revered compared to the other orders.

It was where the remnants of Ancestor Cardenas’ soul resided, and that in itself was enough of a reason for the Cardenas to venerate them.

That explained why none of the other commanders ever aimed to steal the title. How could they try to fight their ancestor, who left her soul behind to protect the empire? No one would protest if they were torn to shreds on the spot. It also explained why the Golden Dragon was always considered to be in a class of its own compared to the status of other members of the Cardenas family and why there was an unspoken agreement that Wade was only the second most powerful.

Most importantly, if his explanation just now was true...

“So you’ve realized.” Wade spoke as if he’d read Leonard’s mind, and his eyes darkened. “It’s very simple. The Golden Dragon cannot go out to the field because they need to sacrifice knights to invoke her power, and as potential vessels, the Golden Dragon Knights cannot risk dying on the battlefield.”

It was a logical conclusion. As long as their opponent wasn’t as powerful as a True God, the Cardenas’ commanders and the Wickelines’ Class 9 mages could defeat them, and while the Golden Dragon Knights became stronger after the ceremony, they weren’t on par with Demigod Tier experts.

Though they’d never succeeded in reviving Ancestor Cardenas, those who survived the ritual became more dragon than human and were tens of times stronger than the average Cardenas knight.

They would be the perfect candidates, if it came down to it.

Some might consider it an honor, but it’s hard for me to see it that way. Actually, I’d assume that most of the Golden Dragon Knights didn’t have that resolve when they initially agreed to the ceremony.

His guess wasn’t too far off. Those who were selected by the Order of the Golden Dragon were all geniuses who only came around once every generation and sometimes only a few times in a century.

I have no doubt that they were bursting with unfounded confidence, believing that they would succeed where everyone else had failed.

If the Golden Dragon secretly approached a proud knight who reached the Transcendence Tier faster than anyone else their age and asked if they wanted to inherit Ancestor Cardenas’ soul and become the second person in their family’s history to ascend to the Deification Tier, ninety-nine percent of the time, they would feel hopeful and agree to it.

Even in murim, Yeon Mu-Hyuk had seen countless young, promising martial artists who trusted their own genius too much and participated in something extremely brutal in the hopes of becoming stronger, only to die in the process.

They not only dug their own grave, but they also lay in it and buried themselves inside.

“If Ancestor Cardenas can’t keep the Golden Dragon Knights under control, that must mean she’s either too preoccupied with other things or that she doesn’t have enough capacity to deal with such petty matters.”

“Indeed,” Wade agreed. “She has remained with only her soul for hundreds—nearly a thousand—years. A soul without a body will burn out eventually, but she made her decision despite knowing that.”

Even though she reached the Deification Tier, Ancestor Cardenas had become restrained by the curse and karma inflicted on her by her kin, giving up her immortality and eternal life.

It was amazing how her soul was even still alive.

“Though she holds the position of the Golden Dragon Commander, it is mostly in name. It is nearly impossible to communicate with her on a regular basis, and even when she possesses a body, there is no time to converse because she focuses on ending the crisis as soon as possible,” Wade explained.

“Not even the Golden Dragon Knights can channel her for long?”

“They usually only last about five minutes before they die, even when they are not on the battlefield. So even if they could use her full Deification Tier power, they would all be dead within an hour.”

After Wade’s explanation, Leonard finally realized what Ancestor Cardenas meant to the family.

She was the ultimate weapon.

Among all of the Arcadian Empire’s hidden cards, she was not only the most powerful but also the final resort to be used if there was ever an enemy that the Seven Great Orders could not defeat even if they all worked together.

“If there’s one thing I find strange about the extremists’ behavior, it’s that they can’t keep their mouths shut and they flaunt their power,” Wade said, moving on from the topic of their ancestor. His face hardened like a statue’s. “Though, I will say that they have never fully crossed the line like this, trying to force you to go with them.”

“You don’t think they were just acting impulsively?”

“This is merely my own assumption, but I can’t help but think that there must be a suitable reason for them to suddenly appear when they usually act like resigned, sick patients with no ambitions in life.”

Wade didn’t elaborate. He glanced at Leonard before turning his attention to the documents on his desk.

“Don’t leave the base for the time being,” he said calmly. “Now that they know my stance, I don’t think the Golden Dragon Knights will try something again, but fools like them usually don’t act reasonably.”

“I understand.”

“I have also assigned you an apprentice knight who can show you around and tell you about the base. I thought you would be more comfortable if it was someone you knew.”

“Pardon?”

“You may leave.”

* * *

As soon as Leonard stepped out of the Red Dragon Commander’s office, he realized what he’d meant.

“Long time no see, Leonard. I suppose I can’t call you No. 25 anymore.”

“...William?”

The young man had golden hair and golden eyes, just like Wade, indicating that he was a direct descendant. They had met when Leonard had just recovered his memories and was still adjusting to his new life.

He had been the top student at their training facility. It was No. 1, William. If it weren’t for Leonard, William would have been the strongest knight in their age group.

He left a deep impression because he could use mind arts even though he hadn’t even entered the Body Refining Tier.

Leonard had only figured out William’s power once he learned about the secret of the Cardenas’ bloodline.

Direct descendants can channel a very small sliver of the power in their dragon’s blood even before they go through the Blood Awakening Ceremony. No. 2, Belita, showed traits of Dragon Eyes, while William showed the potential to awaken Draconic Words, or something related to mana mastery.

Leonard couldn’t help but understand why the family differentiated between direct descendants and indirect descendants. Direct descendants were inherently more likely to obtain more powerful dragon traits. Even if the family invested an equal amount of resources to train them, there would be a vast difference in the results, so it only made sense that they would take their bloodline into consideration.

As Leonard casually shook William’s hand, he was able to discern his power.

He’s in the Tenth Degree External Force Tier—no, I believe he’s on the brink of reaching the Transcendence Tier. If he obtains just one more breakthrough, he’ll be able to jump right over the wall.

His natural talent made him a true prodigy.

How fast one improves isn’t an absolute measure of one’s potential, but if he were in murim, he would have become the strongest under the heavens after my generation.

Unlike Leonard, who was able to ascend to his current position thanks to the memories of his past life, William was an actual teenager who’d just turned seventeen. This wasn’t a level of power that someone his age should have been able to achieve.

Considering how he was no longer known simply as the Red Dragon Commander’s son, he had to have been under a lot of pressure. But perhaps that pressure had been a good thing.

“I see that I still have a long way to go,” William said, letting out a long sigh with a bitter smile on his face. “After you stole the title of No. 1, I spent years devoting myself to training with the goal of catching up to you, but I have a feeling that the difference in our power has only increased, not decreased. I can’t believe you’ve become the youngest knight in history to reach the Transcendence Tier. And on top of that, Father has a personal interest in you.”

“Is that rare?”

“Of course. I bet every single Red Dragon Knight envies you.”

Generally, the House of Cardenas’ Seven Great Orders assigned knights to the order that fought enemies that their unique trait was best suited against.

Unique traits were the supernatural powers that determined a one-of-a-kind set of laws that applied to each individual. They were so diverse that it was difficult to categorize them.

But the Order of the Red Dragon was the least picky. No one knew what lay inside Rifts and Corroded Realms, and since there were so many Outer Gods, trying to train one specific aspect was a waste of time. So, the Red Dragon Knights simply trained their physical strength. The standard procedure was to stick to physical refinement without regard for elemental advantages or compatibility with other powers.

“If I’m being honest, it’s just overcompensation,” William said with a sneer as he led Leonard, walking several steps ahead. “Since most people here don’t have very notable unique traits, studying those concepts is unnecessary, so they make up for it with brute force. It’s a way for them to ignore and not acknowledge their nature.”

“How is that related to Commander Wade’s fame?”

“The power that Father shows in battle is intuitive.”

Demian’s mirror, Grace’s affiliation with nature, and even Audrey’s annihilation seemed supernatural. No matter how much a person refined their physical capabilities and trained in swordplay, most would never be able to attain such abilities. Those who weren’t born with that potential would immediately feel disheartened if they saw someone using them.

But Wade’s power wasn’t like that.

...Now that I think about it, William is right. When Wade pummeled the Golden Dragon Knights, I didn’t see a trace of a unique trait that would grant him supernatural powers. Is he saying that Wade had overpowered them and casually crushed their orichalcum armor with pure strength and speed?

At that point, Leonard sensed that there was something off. He squinted.

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

He could already see far more than people who weren’t in the Demigod Tier, and with his Dragon Eyes, he’d seen an abnormal power in Wade’s movements. It was only possible to possess such strength if he’d reached the Demigod Tier through only physical cultivation.

I have the Eastern God Style, which is also specialized to leave the laws of the world untouched, but I can’t move like Commander Wade...

He was missing something.

And then, he realized.

“Oh.”

His instincts unearthed the answer, almost as if they had the power of foresight. He mentally caught hold of what he’d been missing.

If it weren’t for Wade, it would have taken him years of agony and introspection to figure this out. He felt the joy of an epiphany well up inside him, and it even made him smile lightly.

This idea was at the center of the Five Elements, closely tied to the Yellow Dragon.

“Leonard! Hey, Leonard!” William shouted with a worried look on his face.

“Oh, sorry. I must be more tired than I thought.”

He realized that he’d suddenly stopped walking. William relaxed.

Leonard listened to William’s tour of the Red Dragon base with one ear and relished the epiphany with a smile.

I was lucky.

Lucky that the Golden Knights almost snatched him away, because then he saw Wade crush them, heard William’s remarks, and figured out what had been missing.

If even a single situation had transpired in another way, he wouldn’t have discovered what he just did.

And like that, his first day with the Red Dragon went smoothly.