Richard then stood up, walked to the window, and stepped onto the sill.

He gazed at an inn across the street—more precisely, at one of its rooms whose windows were tightly shut.

However, thanks to his wave perception, he knew that Austin was secretly watching him through a small hole in the wall.

Austin was clearly startled when Richard suddenly looked straight in his direction.

Whoosh!

Richard leaped toward the inn, activating the power of his Black Heart. Dark lines crawled across his skin, pulsing with sinister energy.

His jump looked effortless, yet his aura instantly turned oppressive, making everyone beneath him gasp for breath as he passed overhead.

Then, black scales grew over his fist, enlarging it to three times its normal size.

BANG!

He punched the wall of the room with immense force, shattering the magical barrier of its formation before pulverizing the wall itself into countless fragments.

Rumble!

The entire inn trembled uncontrollably.

On the other side, Austin was violently thrown backward by nothing more than the shockwave of Richard's strike.

He looked completely stunned—Richard had attacked with full power without hesitation.

Even the sheer pressure from his aura made Austin tremble in fear.

"W-what are you doing?" he stammered.

"What else but killing you," Richard replied coldly.

His black sword appeared in his hand, and he dashed toward Austin once more.

"N-nooo…" The man screamed in terror, but unfortunately, Richard had already swung his blade at his neck.

Swish!

It effortlessly sliced through his throat, then curved back to cleave through his chest, before returning to sever both of his legs.

Still, Richard didn't stop there.

He thrust his sword deep into Austin's heart, channeling a blinding lightning bolt through it.

BANG!

In the end, the heart exploded, scattering flesh and blood across the room.

"Hmph."

Too lazy to even glance at the remains, Richard simply took the man's ring and turned to leave.

However, the contents of the ring made him frown. Ten thousand Nature Spirits and a weapon only at Tier 2.

It hurt his eyes just looking at it.

But then he found a token bearing a dark star symbol with a unique aura.

It had to be a membership token of the Dark Star Legion.

In addition, Richard spotted a curved piece of red metal streaked with dark lines, shaped like a hooked finger with small holes along it.

He guessed it was a Communication Artifact.

Artifacts like that were typically possessed only by powerful organizations—distributed to members so they could contact one another.

Richard tried to activate it but quickly discovered he couldn't.

It seemed to respond only to Austin's Aether signature.

Still, it would automatically activate if someone sent a message.

Richard tucked it into his pocket, planning to listen in if any messages were transmitted to Austin even though he thought it wouldn't happen because the other party should have learned of Austin's death in no time.

Whoosh!

From Austin's room, he leapt straight back into his own window.

The innkeeper he had just wrecked was probably busy watching the tournament, so he didn't come to protest.

Even if he did, how much would it really cost to fix one broken room? Richard didn't care in the slightest.

Sitting on his bed, Richard stared at the Communication Artifact in his hand.

'I guess I'll have to meet Luca and ask him directly,' he thought.

After who knows how long in his room, there came a sudden knock on the door.

Not knowing who it was, he opened it anyway.

"Ohh…" He was slightly surprised to see Paul from the Sky Armor Legion standing there.

Richard greeted him with an easy smile.

"Am I going to be arrested for committing murder in the city?" Richard asked casually.

Paul raised an eyebrow, perhaps surprised by the tone.

Then he shook his head.

"You're under the Empress's protection. The law doesn't apply to you as long as the ones you kill are those who target you," he said.

"Ohhh…" Richard sounded mildly surprised.

"Then why are you here?" he asked again.

"To settle the matter and clean up the corpse you left behind. I'm also here to warn you—there's someone in this kingdom who's not easy to deal with."

After saying that, Paul turned to leave.

"Wait!" Richard stopped him. "Who is that person? Tell me his name!"

Paul hesitated for a moment, but then he finally spoke.

"Prince Charles Holylight."

"What?"

Richard couldn't help but look shocked—or rather, confused.

How could it be that man? After all, he was a prince from a neighboring kingdom.

"Prince Charles is a disciple of the Lord of the Crimson Veil. Most members of the Dark Star Legion deeply respect him because they aspire to join the Order of the Crimson Veil."

"So, he's the one who sent people to spy on me?" Richard asked, narrowing his eyes with a spark of vengeance.

He might not have been attacked directly, but since the prince had targeted him, he intended to send a message—one that said he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

"Most likely…" Paul nodded.

Once he received confirmation, Richard returned to his room.

A plan surfaced in his mind, one that made him smirk.

He was confident in this idea. While it wouldn't hurt the prince physically, it would wound him emotionally—something far more painful than a slap to the face.

"Better get some sleep. The King and Empress are probably still watching the tournament," he muttered, lying back on his bed.

He'd trained far too intensely—some rest was long overdue.

DING!

(Your Heavenly Water Points have increased from 13 to 26!)

Incomplete Heavenly Water (26 Points)

That night, Richard woke up after receiving the notification.

He'd overslept, so he quickly took a bath, dressed neatly, and stepped out of his room—only to be startled by Sister Lisa, who had just been about to knock on his door.

"Sister," Richard greeted instinctively.

"Richard, where have you been? Why didn't you watch the tournament?" Lisa asked.

It seemed she had simply been looking for him, wanting to make sure he was still in his room.

"Sister, I was training," Richard replied.

"Anyway, come with me," he added, grabbing her hand immediately after.

"What? Where to?" Lisa asked, confused.

"To meet the King and Empress," Richard replied, which shocked her even more.

"Meet the King and Empress? For what? Can you even meet them?" she asked.

"I'm going to ask the King and Empress for permission to get engaged to Lilith," Richard said.

Lisa: "…"

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