Earlier, while sitting on the stair landing chewing on a skewer of grilled chicken, I noticed something unsettling as I looked out over the street.

There were ominous presences scattered all around.

…It irritated me.

Some were mingling with the crowd, some stood watching the street from hidden corners, and others perched on rooftops.

According to the Black Prince, this city was a breeding ground for plots and schemes.

These were most likely the First Prince’s underlings.

So what should be done?

The answer was simple.

Crack their skulls.

I’ve always been a straightforward man.

The kind of bold swordsman who never runs or hides, but faces bastards head-on and smashes them apart. That’s me.

Of course, if I’m the one about to get smashed, I won’t hesitate to run for my life. That, too, is me—wise enough to know when to flee.

But after traveling with the Heavenly Demon, I’ve grown stronger.

Now, I no longer run.

Because I have the strength to crush their heads instead.

If they bother me, I’ll simply break them.

Just like how I launched that chicken skewer bombardment at the fat Baroness.

So then—how do you catch them?

Think of catching fish.

If you chase after them, splashing around, they’ll slip between your legs and dart away.

They’ll swim off at astonishing speed, and you’ll only end up humiliated.

To round up such slippery things, what’s the best way?

Make them chase me instead.

Bait.

Wave something delicious in front of them, let the smell spread, and dangle it just out of reach.

Then those prey will delude themselves into thinking they’re the predators.

They’ll rush in furiously and sink their teeth right into the bait.

Hunting them directly would take ages, but change the strategy, and it becomes quick work.

That’s the power of a shift in perspective.

Just by thinking from another angle, the results change entirely.

See?

They’re swarming in already.

[…Well done.]

So far, everything was according to plan.

But there was one thing I hadn’t accounted for—Lady Ashley.

Had I underestimated the Knight Commander of Stavanger?

Her martial skill was beyond what I expected.

Flash!

In a shadowed alley, a golden brilliance flared.

She became a streak of sunlight, piercing straight through the black-clad man whose voice grated on my ears.

Thud!

With her rapier pulled back, her body leaned forward in a striking stance.

In the very next instant, she was already beyond the wall of assassins that had encircled us.

Only a glowing afterimage of gold remained.

…Boom!

The man who had tried to force her into choosing between surrender or death collapsed, his chest run clean through.

He hit the ground only after she reappeared on the other side.

Instead of the two choices he’d offered, Lady Ashley had picked a third.

Not death. Not surrender. Resistance.

“…”

Honestly, I was stunned.

I hadn’t known she was this strong.

Even I had lost sight of her movement for a moment.

“…”

I saw the assassins’ eyes widen.

Wrapped from head to toe, only their eyes were visible, but it was clear they were shaken.

That they weren’t the only ones shocked gave me some comfort.

[Hmph. Not bad.]

Even the Heavenly Demon muttered with interest.

Lady Ashley turned, sunlight shimmering along her rapier.

Her gray armor bore not a single stain of blood.

A stark contrast to me—always drenched in gore after a fight.

“Wow…”

I stared blankly at the knight, sunlight dancing in her grip.

A small jolt ran through me.

So strong…

Could I even be sure of winning if I fought her?

So this was the strength of a Knight Commander, the one who represented an entire order.

Was it possible that Sir Curtis had been chosen more for his talents outside of combat?

“…”

Lady Ashley’s face remained expressionless as she raised her stance once more.

At that moment, the assassins leapt like a swarm of locusts.

“Dodge!”

Thud!

But before they could even rise, another golden flash cut through, and another black-clad figure fell with a hole through his chest.

His eyes bulged as if blinded by the light.

Having struck twice and returned to my side, Lady Ashley immediately lifted her gaze.

She spotted the assassins springing upward, pulled her rapier back like a drawn bow, and aimed at them.

Then—boom!

She stamped her foot.

The flash carved diagonally across earth and sky alike.

A line that recognized no boundary.

“Wow…”

Without thinking, I slid my blindfold down.

I wanted to watch with my own eyes.

Purely in awe, I watched her fight.

Boom!

She stamped once more.

But this time, not on the ground—on the wall.

Leaping into the air, she darted between the alley walls, skewering enemies as she went.

It was like watching a bee pierce through fluttering butterflies.

Each golden burst lit the dark alley, scattering severed limbs.

Cruel, yet breathtakingly beautiful.

“Damn…”

As I watched, marveling at the sight, a sudden curiosity stirred in me.

How could she create such lightning-fast charges of light?

I lifted my blindfold again and studied her closely.

By spreading my Qi and tracing the golden streaks darting around the alley, I finally figured it out.

[Look at her feet.]

The secret lay in her steps.

It was an art of explosions.

Just before Lady Ashley launched forward, immense mana gathered in both her feet—then boom! It detonated, and she vanished.

By exploding the mana stored at her feet, she propelled herself at such speed that even her afterimage stretched across space.

The sudden burst outstripped even my Bloody World Soaring Step.

Explosive charges, extending in a flash, ending in a piercing thrust that cut like golden light itself.

That was her identity, her deadliest attack, her fastest evasion.

[Unstable.]

Of course, no attack is flawless. I could see it in the faint stutter of her movements right after each charge.

The strain on her ankles was enormous.

At the start, when she exploded forward, and again when she braced upon reappearing—the pressure was enough to shatter bone.

It was a miracle they hadn’t broken.

[But… she keeps it stable.]

She seemed to bear the strain with remarkable control.

Were it not so, she would have collapsed after just one charge. Instead, she danced back and forth across walls, striking again and again.

[Hmph… a far bolder woman than she looks.]

Explosion was always a dangerous principle.

To turn that force inward, using one’s own body as the vessel…

But her sturdy ankles endured the crushing strain each time.

No way this was a technique she perfected overnight.

[She’s ruthless too.]

This wasn’t something one could reach with ordinary training.

Endless trials, countless injuries, bitter perseverance—her feet must be scarred and twisted from years of practice.

“Explosion as a principle, huh…”

A tickle of realization stirred within me.

At once, I gathered my Qi at my feet.

That much I could do without issue. But making it explode… that was another matter.

“Hmm.”

Her golden mana condensed and erupted like sparks on dry tinder.

But when I pressed my Qi into one point, it only clumped softly, then scattered peacefully.

“Why doesn’t it work for me?”

I could gather it at my feet, but no matter what I tried, it never burst.

[It’s a matter of nature.]

“The nature?”

The Heavenly Demon explained.

[It’s simple. Her Qi has an explosive nature, so it bursts easily. Yours is the opposite—docile, so it won’t detonate.]

“…So my Qi’s a tame one after all.”

[That it is.]

“Hmm.”

Still, I was sure this principle of explosion could be applied somewhere.

Even if my Qi was different, letting the idea go to waste seemed foolish.

Sensing my regret, the Heavenly Demon gave counsel.

[Martial arts are built through endless pondering. Keep working on it, and someday, you’ll make it your own.]

“Got it.”

I stored away the martial principle of her golden flash in my mind.

Then, wiping away my regrets, I lost myself in the beauty of her sword dance.

The assassins were shredded apart by her streaks of light.

And it wasn’t only thrusts—she occasionally mixed in slashes.

Of course. A rapier specialized in piercing could still cut.

But given her terrifying speed, I guessed she refrained from slashing too much, perhaps fearing the blade might snap.

As I admired the scene—

I noticed a few figures approaching me.

Their intentions were obvious. What else would cowards do but prey on a blind man in the middle of battle?

“To think they’d dare look down on a blind man…”

The Blind Association would have their heads for this.

So I let them approach.

They slunk closer, pressed a blade to my throat, and barked out:

“Golden Flash! Don’t move!”

“Ohh.”

The poor blind man had become a hostage.

Thud.

The golden knight, who had been streaking light across earth and sky, landed.

Her eyes fixed on the man who shouted at her.

He had seized a blind man, blade pressed to his neck.

She had proved stronger than they expected, so they’d changed tactics.

“Drop your weapon!”

“…”

Lady Ashley looked at the blind man.

His eyes were covered in black cloth, his arm wrapped thickly in bandages.

He seemed utterly helpless, pitiable—no mana at all detectable from him.

The poor blind man let out a trembling cry.

“S-somebody help!”

“Stay still!”

Lady Ashley stared at the scene in silence.

Her face was like one witnessing something grotesque—something that should not exist.

Like she was staring at an incomprehensible abomination.

While she froze in that strange daze, the remaining assassins descended, circling her cautiously.

The hostage-taker sneered and pressed the threat.

“Drop your sword!”

“…”

But she only stared at him.

The distance between them wasn’t small, so the assassin grew smug.

“Go ahead, try it. Which is faster, your thrust from here—or me slitting his throat?”

“…”

“I’m confident. Want to bet?”

“…”

She still only glared at him.

“Save me!”

The terrified hostage shrieked again.

“Tch, no choice then.”

The assassin decided to prove he wasn’t bluffing.

To show he meant it, he angled his blade to cut shallowly across the hostage’s throat—not to kill, but to draw blood.

“…Huh?”

But the dagger wouldn’t move.

“…!”

The assassin’s eyes bulged.

The blind man had somehow seized the blade with his bare hand.

No matter how he yanked, it was stuck fast, like wedged in stone.

The blind man grinned.

“Save the assassin!”

(End of Chapter)

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