“A Knight!”
Upon hearing that title, Yam couldn't help but shiver, a surge of terror rising within him.
He had grown up listening to his father speak of the might of those great figures, knowing in his heart that these Bloodline Nobles were vastly different from commoners like them.
Therefore, he dared not delay, rushing to the hut to find his younger brother, and then coming out to meet his parents.
The family of four didn't even dare to descend the mountain via the path, instead, they directly hid in the adjacent mountain forest, attempting to descend through the dense woods.
Yarn frequently looked back at the firelight on the mountain, his expression filled with sadness.
He had a military background, so he had already estimated from the number of soldiers that at least fifty soldiers had ascended the mountain, which was a quarter of Gemstone City's military strength.
And dispatching so many troops would inevitably mean a Knight was leading them, which was why Yarn dared not even dream of rescue, only daring to flee with his family.
If it were merely fifty soldiers, with the current scale and strength of their Iron Wolf Mercenary Group, they would be able to cope even if they were suddenly attacked at night.
But with a Knight leading them, the nature of the situation was entirely different.
Because this was a difference in strength across social strata!
In this era, to join the noble class, even the lowest rank of “Knight” required activating one's Bloodline.
And precisely because of this, the term Bloodline Noble came into being, because all nobles possessed a Bloodline; the only difference lay in the quality of the Bloodline.
When Yarn joined the Kingdom Army back then, he naturally received the relevant Bloodline stimulation training methods.
However, from the time he enlisted until his retirement, he ultimately failed to activate his Bloodline.
Later, he placed his hopes on his children, but it wasn't until the death of his eldest son a few years ago that he realized it was impossible to activate a Bloodline with just the Bloodline stimulation training methods without the special secret medicine issued by the military.
But while the Bloodline couldn't be activated, the Combat Skills from the military were real.
Yarn's three children had practiced since childhood, so their military swordsmanship was very proficient, only lacking a bit of actual combat experience.
The soldiers of Gemstone City served as both city guards and the lord's private army; they were conscripted from various villages in Gem Territory.
The training intensity of the lord's private army naturally couldn't compare to the regular Kingdom Army.
If it weren't for their superior armaments, they might not even be able to defeat village militias and self-defense forces.
This was why the soldier earlier was cut down by a hot-blooded Yam in just one encounter.
However, while Yam was caught up in the heat of the moment, Yarn was very clear-headed.
Although the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group's reputation was growing, it could not compare to a true Knight.
As long as there was no Knight with an activated Bloodline, even if they could gather hundreds or thousands of people, they would ultimately only be considered a small mercenary group.
The four dared not delay, moving quickly through the dense forest, and soon arrived near the foot of the mountain.
But just as he was about to exit the forest, Yarn's hair stood on end, and he froze on the spot.
He looked forward with a terrified expression.
Not far ahead, a person stood.
This was a middle-aged man, only about thirty years old, not appearing old at all, with short gray hair, exuding a sinister and indifferent aura.
He wore no armor, only a coarse linen robe, but in his right hand, he held a broadsword.
The blade shimmered like a clear spring, appearing exceptionally cold and eerie under the moonlight.
“Father!” Yam was not foolish, so seeing only one person blocking their way, and his father acting as if facing a formidable enemy, he already understood.
“Let's fight him!”
“Give me the sword!”
Yarn didn't respond but reached out and snatched the longsword from Yam's hand.
He knew that his second son had never witnessed a Bloodline Noble in action, and therefore did not know the power of these Knights.
But he had truly witnessed it during his time in the military, so he knew very well that even if he, the entire Iron Wolf Mercenary Group, and the fifty soldiers on the mountain were all combined, they would not be a match for this Knight.
“I'll hold him off, you take your brother and your mother and go!”
“Father?” Yam looked at Yarn with a terrified expression.
But Yarn didn't turn to look at his second son, instead continuing, “As long as you leave Gem Territory, you will be safe.”
“Father!”
“Run!”
“None of you will escape,” the middle-aged man holding the sword said in a deep voice.
“Baron Baoshi has ordered that all of you bandits must die tonight.”
“Nonsense!” Yam, in his youthful vigor, immediately retorted angrily, “We are a mercenary group, not bandits!”
But the Knight merely sneered mockingly, not responding, instead striding forward and charging towards Yarn.
“Go!” Yarn roared, then raised his rusty sword and met the charge.
He saw and understood things more clearly than his son, knowing that the Iron Wolf Mercenary Group's growing size in recent years, which had attracted many villagers unable to bear the heavy taxes, had thoroughly enraged the Baron Baoshi of Gem Territory, leading to tonight's disaster.
But even though he understood, his heart was filled with grief and powerlessness, because he knew very well that since the Baron Baoshi had sent a Knight to block them, there was no way they would have any chance of escape.
At this moment, all he could think of was to buy more time for his son and wife to escape.
He swung his rusty sword with force towards the Knight's broadsword.
Facing the rusty longsword, the Knight's expression of disdain and mockery grew even stronger.
Although Gem Territory had many harsh policies, Baron Baoshi knew what his rule depended on, and thus was quite generous to his soldiers and Knights.
Therefore, the weapon used by this Knight was not ordinary iron, but a superior exotic iron weapon, even better than the fine weapons of Gem Territory's private soldiers.
Such weapons could not only break a rusty sword, but also penetrate the armor worn by the sergeants of Gem Territory.
But in the next second, the mocking look on the Knight's face quickly turned to one of astonishment.
His broadsword was actually cut by that rusty sword!
As a result, a blow that should have severed both sword and head was thus broken.
Furthermore, due to the suddenness of the event and his inner shock, the Knight didn't react quickly enough for a moment, and was forced to tilt his head slightly by Yarn's full-force sword thrust, avoiding a sword through his throat.
But even so, his skin was still pierced, and blood beads oozed out.
...
Robin didn't know how long he had been asleep.
But he knew that he had been awakened by a foul stench.
And the first sight he saw upon opening his eyes was his sword cleaving an exotic iron broadsword, and then the sword tip drawing a drop of blood from the opponent's neck.
That foul stench originated precisely from that drop of blood!
“What is this thing?” Robin murmured, “What era is it now? How long have I been asleep?”
Robin was completely unaware of all these things.
But he did discover that his current environment was completely different from back then.
He still remembered that when he first regained consciousness back then, the surrounding environment was narrow and cramped, making it impossible to even turn around.
Any slight movement would be considered the demon sword losing control, so much so that after his first “holder” in his memory died, he was directly sealed away, and no one dared to use him.
But now.
Robin found that his current environment was a vast, white space, and as far as he could see, he couldn't discern any boundaries for a moment.
Furthermore, if he wanted to perceive the outside world, he couldn't directly observe it as he could before, but needed to touch the sword holder's soul with his spirit, only then could he see a ten-meter radius around the sword holder.
However.
Suspended before him at this moment was precisely a drop of blood taken from that Knight.
This drop of blood continuously emitted waves of foul odor, making Robin want to vomit.
And with just a glance, his mind was filled with several pieces of information about this drop of blood.
“A drop of mixed blood, at least a dozen different Bloodlines mixed in, no wonder it smells so foul.”
Saying that, he slightly sensed the current sword holder's soul aura, and a strange expression quickly appeared on his face.
“The Bloodline is not only impure but also quite thin.
What exactly happened to this world now?
Didn't they overthrow the gods and take charge themselves, creating something called the Ten Thousand People Bloodline?
How did it become like this now?”
Looking at the continuously foul-smelling drop of blood, Robin's heart stirred, and he raised his hand, sending it into Yarn's body.
...
While Robin pondered within the sword and then sent the drop of blood through the soul into Yarn's Bloodline, only a single breath had passed in the outside world.
A strange expression immediately appeared on Yarn's face, and his eyes showed even more joy.
And the Knight, having suffered a loss, suddenly saw such a mix of surprise and delight on Yarn's face, instinctively assuming that the other party was secretly pleased at having wounded him.
Immediately, he became enraged and roared, “You treacherous scoundrel, to actually ambush me!
I didn't want to bully you with Bloodline power, but since you're so ungrateful, don't blame me for being merciless!”
As he spoke, flames actually erupted from the Knight's body.
As the flames rose, they immediately burned his linen robe to ashes, and the broken sword he held in his right hand also became covered in a layer of flames.
However, as these flames combined with the blade, they instantly transformed into eerie blue flames, appearing exceptionally terrifying.
The next moment, the Knight, now like a man of fire, charged towards Yarn at an even faster speed.
Although the broadsword in his hand was broken, two-thirds of the blade remained, and the eerie blue flames attached to the blade surged, making his aura even more formidable than before.
But at this moment, Yarn's face showed no fear at all; instead, his eyes gleamed with eagerness.
He gripped the longsword in his hand tightly, then also let out a roar and charged forward to meet the blade.
Only, a flame also erupted from the longsword in his hand.
But this flame was different from the Knight's eerie blue; it was pitch black, like an abyss.
Moreover, under the scorching of the black flames, the rust on the sword's body actually melted away one after another.
At this moment, what Yarn held in his hand no longer looked like a longsword at all; instead, it seemed as if he had directly grasped the abyss itself.
“Wh—” The Knight let out a short gasp of surprise.
But before he could finish his words, he was already impaled through the heart by Yarn's sword, his heart directly shattered.
And almost at the instant his heart shattered, the flames on the Knight's body instantly dissipated, not even lingering for an extra second!
Although Yarn had been unable to activate his Bloodline before, he came from the regular military, and one of the most common things he heard in the army was that when surrounding and killing an enemy Knight, one must immediately find a way to destroy the opponent's heart.
This was because the heart was the source of power for Bloodline Nobles below the sixth rank.
Once the heart was destroyed, no matter how noble the Bloodline, it would instantly dissipate.
That was why he had aimed directly for the opponent's heart when he attacked just now.
And this Knight, having repeatedly underestimated his opponent, was naturally killed by Yarn without any defense.
Only at this moment, as his consciousness completely sank into darkness, did he suddenly realize: Since the opponent also possessed an exotic iron divine weapon, how could he not be a Bloodline Noble?