When the mayor saw Baron and the Priest, he came forward to greet them.

He then introduced the three men and one woman he had brought with him, telling Baron they were all renowned Hunters in town and that he believed they could help...

The mayor then lowered his voice. "To be honest, they saw your fight with Ludwig this morning and want to learn some Demon Hunter skills from you. Their fathers are all wealthy merchants in town. Ordinary people don’t have the money or energy to send their kids to become Law Enforcers..."

’So they’re just some rich kids looking for an adventure.’

Baron said, "That won’t be necessary. Send them back."

A young man behind Gorman froze, then quickly said, "Mr. L, we’ve already registered with the Fude City First Hunter Association. We’re prospective Silver Faction Hunters. We won’t hold you back."

"Won’t hold me back?"

Baron’s gaze swept across the four faces. The young Hunters had varied expressions: one was eager for action, another was blindly ignorant, a third was sharp and cunning, and the last—the woman—was biting her lip and trying to flirt with him... ’Does this girl really think she’s all that?’

’At least Cui Cui had a good figure!’

Baron snorted. "That’s because you’d be dead the moment you started to hold me back."

"Mr. L..."

The young man who had spoken first tried to reason with him again, but a well-muscled youth behind him stepped forward, pointed at Baron, and said:

"L, you’re taking this too far! Don’t get so arrogant just because you have a few skills! You’re nothing but a lowly Black Iron Demon Hunter..."

Before he could finish, the world spun. The youth felt a wave of dizziness, his vision filled with Baron’s upside-down, retreating form. A mocking voice drifted back to him:

"My apologies. I thought someone who dared to run their mouth like that would at least be a Bronze. Turns out... you’re a Bronze who hasn’t even finished collecting his Command Spells."

Baron then looked at the other three. "Anything else? If not, please head back. If you can’t even react to a shoulder throw, you have no hope of reacting to a Demon’s claws when your life is on the line."

The other three exchanged a look, then shook their heads to show they were done.

They hoisted up the young man from the ground and headed in the opposite direction.

Gorman looked at Baron with a wry smile. "Mr. L, you’ve made it quite difficult for me to answer to their parents."

Baron said, "Didn’t you want me to teach them a lesson, Mr. Mayor? Otherwise, you wouldn’t have just stood there so calmly, enjoying the show."

Gorman just smiled, glanced at the sky, and said it was getting late. "Well then, I won’t disturb Mr. L’s demon-slaying any longer. I hope you both stay safe."

With that, he too mounted his horse and left.

"This is the place. Right here."

Baron followed the old Priest to a stretch of road where the old man pointed to the mud. "This is where I saw them," he said, "those Knights in Armor engraved with lions."

Baron scanned his surroundings. The woods were dense with lush foliage, and the air felt colder and more desolate than before.

The sinister energy was definitely stronger here.

The old Priest’s legs weren’t what they used to be, so Baron told him to head back the way they came. He then found a concealed spot nearby to lie in wait.

He waited for a while. As the sun sank below the horizon and crimson clouds faded from the sky, Baron suddenly felt a vibration in his chest.

It was his Hunter Badge.

’Has it detected a Demon or a Demon Beast?’

With this thought, Baron looked up, but he couldn’t see anything.

But at the same time, the Hunter Badge on his chest began to vibrate as if someone had cranked a dial up to its highest setting.

He felt the wind quicken and the sunlight fade faster, a sensation born of his enhanced senses.

He suddenly understood. He closed his eyes, then opened them again to activate the exclusive Hunter’s Eye of a Blood Faction Demon Hunter—the Cross Blood Eye.

His body jolted. Sure enough, he saw a hulking Knight in Heavy Armor striding slowly down the path in the distance. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The Knight’s pupils shone with a ghastly green light. A lock of pale-blond hair hung over its forehead, set above a pair of thick, cold, and heavy brows. In the shade of the trees, its large, aged face seemed to give off the same faint, fluorescent glow as its eyes.

A blood-red cape billowed in the evening wind, snapping audibly.

Baron narrowed his eyes. Just as the old Priest had said, the Knight’s Armor was indeed engraved with a lion design.

The old Priest had said he’d never seen this kind of Knight Armor, but the lion motif was enough to remind him of something every one of the Prole People knew: the Golden Lion Legion, which served the Emperor exclusively.

But as Baron examined the engraved lion, he saw its mane was not gold, but white. Visually, it was less like the Golden Lion and more, Baron believed, like the Silver Lion of the Inner Lion Eye Knight Order.

The Undead Knight dragged a Giant Sword as heavy as a tombstone. As its tip scraped along the ground, it kicked up sparks of green fire, despite the path being nothing but mud.

’Does it come with its own special effects?’

Baron knew with a single glance—from the oppressive aura it gave off and his own intuition—that he was no match for it right now.

Especially since the Undead Knight’s pupils were shrouded in that fluorescent glow, Baron couldn’t determine its Tier.

After a quick assessment, Baron decided running was probably the best option.

So he flattened himself to the ground and began to slowly back away. But just then, he clearly heard voices conversing from the other end of the road.

"L? What a joke. He’s just a lowly Black Iron Demon Hunter. He only got me with that shoulder throw because I wasn’t ready! Once I’ve finished collecting my Command Spells, I’ll be able to take on ten guys like him, no sweat!"

"Relax, it’ll be fine. Who the hell knows if that old Priest was telling the truth about some Undead Knight. Besides, I’ve already got a Forbidden Magic Silver Mercury Fog Command Spell. Even if we can’t win, we can definitely escape, right?"

That familiar, arrogant voice, laced with a domineering tone and a touch of an adolescent power fantasy.

’It’s the young Hunters Gorman brought earlier! They came back!’

Baron’s heart sank as he glanced toward the Undead Knight.

The Undead Knight had clearly heard the voices as well. It stopped and gazed in their direction, resting the tip of its sword on the ground.

Baron opened his mouth, intending to shout a warning, but then he stopped. He decided to respect their fate, put aside his complex about helping people, and avoid any self-congratulatory heroics.

The person he’d rescued from the altar last night—who had then turned around and brought Ludwig to cause him trouble—was a prime example.

He remained flattened to the ground, quietly observing how things would unfold.

Sunlight retreated, the afterglow turned to ash, and the dead Knight stood in the shadows of the trees, waiting for the living to walk to their doom.

The young Hunters appeared at the other end of the road. It was the same group—three men and one woman—but now they were fully armed, their swords drawn.

Baron glanced at the girl and noticed her Hunting Outfit was a midriff-baring one. The leather didn’t cover everything, leaving certain key areas tantalizingly exposed.

If she hadn’t been wearing a genuine leather Hunting Outfit soaked in Magic Potion, Baron would have thought it was just a tiny bit short of what she’d need to enter a bikini contest on a beach in Hawaii and compete for "Miss Beach Body."

A snarky thought suddenly crossed his mind.

’Does she really think being a Demon Hunter and slaughtering Demons is some kind of glamorous affair?’

’Even someone with a bombshell figure like Yalilan wears a Hunting Outfit that’s meticulously tailored, not one that leaves her half-naked.’

’Besides, judging by the way her male companions keep sneaking glances at her figure, her getting hurt is the least of their worries. It’s far more likely she’ll get her teammates killed by distracting them during a fight.’

Baron shifted his gaze, and then his body went stiff.

He rubbed his eyes, as if he had just witnessed the impossible.

Somehow, the group of four had walked right past the spot where the Undead Knight stood leaning on its sword. They were completely unharmed and now getting farther and farther away!

Then, the Undead Knight raised its Great Sword, the blade pointing directly at Baron, who was hiding in a nearby thicket.

A green glow pulsed along the blade, which seemed to be thrumming with accumulated Spiritual Power. ’So that’s it,’ Baron realized. ’The Undead Knight wasn’t just waiting—it was charging its power!’

’Why charge up? It’s about to swing its sword, obviously. But who is the target?’

Baron: "..."

’There are a few choice words I’d like to say right about now.’

’The female Hunter succeeded! I actually got distracted!’