Feeling the sharp edge of the sword pressed against his throat, Leom swallows hard and struggles to speak. “Hope of the Rising Sun! You’re the Iron Knight?”

  Henwell scoffs. “If I were the Iron Knight, do you think you’d dare show up? I may not be the Iron Knight, but I’m more than enough to deal with you! Like I said, I’ve killed more than one Grand Knight. Why won’t you believe me? Besides, you should know this, I have quite the talent for killing!”

  With that, Henwell sheaths his sword and strides over to the gambling table. Pulling out a chair, he sits down and taps the tabletop. “Alright, let’s sit and talk.”

  Leom understands Henwell’s meaning: this is a sign Henwell considers himself worthy to negotiate terms with the Veil Organization.

  Henwell’s sudden violent dispy was partly to show his strength. But more importantly, it’s because of the Fury Spirit attack.

  That ambush nearly put Henwell in an extremely precarious position.

  If the Fury Spirits had been just a bit stronger, Henwell might’ve been fine, but Orak and Obian would’ve been in serious danger.

  He could have stepped in to protect them, no problem.

  But afterward, Henwell couldn’t hide his connection with Obian anymore. Afterall, Orak isn’t stupid.

  For Henwell to abandon his own men to save a Knight Centurion, that person must be incredibly important to him.

  This means the Jansen family might learn about Henwell’s origins.

  Even though the Jansens are already tied to him, having such leverage held over him isn’t something Henwell wants.

  So when he discovered Leom and the others were behind it, Henwell flew into a murderous rage, ruthlessly taking down two cloaked figures.

  With Henwell’s Iron Knight rank, sensing the emotional fluctuations of those two was easy.

  He immediately knew they were responsible.

  Now, having established Henwell’s dominance by killing, Leom hesitates, unsure how to respond to Henwell’s invitation.

  After a brief pause, Leom steps forward and sits down opposite Henwell.

  After a long silence, Leom asks, “Why didn’t you kill us?”

  Henwell shrugs. “Like I said, without you, I might’ve died. So, strictly speaking, you saved my life. Otherwise, I could’ve killed you a long time ago.”

  “Is that the truth?”

  “Of course not! Killing you would’ve brought Veil’s retaliation. It’s not that I’m afraid, but it’s just a hassle.”

  Leom sneers. “Henwell, you should be afraid. You’re strong, no doubt, but the organization is far more powerful than you realize. Don’t talk about you as a seasoned Grand Knight, even if you break through to Iron Knight, you’re just a minor problem for the organization.”

  ”Not even Glory Knights dare oppose the Veil. Your perspective is too narrow. The world is huge, far more exciting than you think.”

  Henwell rolls his eyes. “If you’re hunted everywhere on the Abundant Continent with nowhere to hide, don’t ftter yourself. A terrifying organization like Veil, condemned by churches and empires alike, has no pce anywhere.”

  ”Whether it’s the Abundant Continent or the Divine Continent, if you show your face, the gods might just smite you. It’s only here, on the Forgotten Continent—the nd of abandonment—that there’s a pce to settle, and even then, you have to keep running and hiding. Stay in this barren nd too long, and you really start thinking you can rule the world?”

  Ignoring Leom’s shocked expression, Henwell pulls out a medal from the Holy Spirit Church. “Look at this! What is it? I’m a church knight recognized by the Holy Spirit Church. A real power lord on the continent, a man who holds a seat on the continental stage!”

  ”Why should Veil look down on me? Think I’m just an ant to be crushed? Let me tell you, if you push me too far, I’ll go train for decades on the Abundant Continent, then come back. After that, I won’t do anything else but hunt down the Veil Organization. I want to see how tough you local tyrants really are!”

  Leom asks in disbelief, “How do you know all this?”

  Henwell shrugs again. “Why can’t I know? Does Veil think I have to be some small pyer? Honestly, by now, there aren’t many left who see me that way. It makes me seriously doubt your Information capability.”

  Leom widens his eyes. “Who exactly are you?”

  Henwell leans back in his chair. “Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is who you want me to be. I can be the poor soul fleeing to this pce from the Abundant Continent, escaping a deadly hunt. Or I can be a talented local youth born and raised here. I can be a noble lord hungry for power—or a gifted young warrior. It all depends on how the Veil Organization chooses to deal with me from now on.”

  The meaning is clear: if Veil decides to go all out against Henwell, he’ll just call for reinforcements from the Abundant Continent.

  With his cultivation talent, if he abandons his family’s legacy, he could quickly become a formidable lone wolf.

  Then Veil would face a young warrior burning with rage and hatred, possibly backed by even stronger forces from the Abundant Continent.

  If the Veil Organization leaves him alone, Henwell will focus on building his own power base.

  He’ll py his game of managing his territory and vying for supremacy.

  After another long pause, Leom says, “I’ll report this to the higher-ups. What the organization decides isn’t something I can decide.”

  Henwell waves his hand. “Enough of that for now! Let’s talk about projects we can cooperate on. Veil doesn’t ck bases. This continent is huge, and with Veil’s resources, finding a foothold is easy. What Veil really cks is an ally who can openly cooperate, a partner with enough power, not just some minor pyers you prop up.”

  Leom is intrigued. “You mean you want to become Veil’s public ally? Work for the organization?”

  Henwell shoots him a surprised look. “In your dreams! I’m a noble Holy Spirit Church knight, a loyal knight lord of the Kingdom of Vorry, and the peace-loving spokesperson for Peace Haven! How could I possibly have anything to do with a terrifying organization like Veil? That would be a personal insult to my character!”

  Leom rolls his eyes. He’s never seen such a shameless church knight.

  Loyal knight lord?

  If King Amir of Vorry heard that, he’d be furious.

  And peace-loving?

  Give me a break.

  Peace Haven is just a name, it has nothing to do with peace.

  In less than ten years, its territory has grown tenfold. Do you think that happened by pnting crops?

  If Henwell really loved peace, the freshly dead would be the first to rise up in protest!