Chapter 9: 9 Counter-Kill

Within a few breaths, Luoning was the first to enter the woodland by the road.

Using the trees and small slopes to block their line of sight, he immediately summoned the Seven-Day Login interface and claimed the Day 1 reward.

Instantly, countless beams of light rose from the ground before him; the scene was as intoxicating as the Tyndall effect formed by light shining through.

These beams of light outlined a complex, obscure, and profound Summoning Magic Array on the ground, emitting a faint aura of power.

A strong wind swept through, and a figure slowly emerged from within the beams of light.

This man was as sturdy as a mountain; beneath his simple Leather Armor were broad shoulders and powerful arms, his expression resolute and calm, never changing even in the midst of a storm.

"Maiken Salidun greets you, my master!"

With a resonant voice and a respectful attitude, the man summoned through the Magic Array struck his left chest heavily with his right hand, performing a standard Knight Salute to Luoning.

"I am glad to see you, Maiken, but our situation is not very good right now."

No sooner had Luoning finished speaking than the group of backstabbing Guards caught up.

They looked at the strange blond man before them in astonishment, unable to understand how a person could appear in the Shanlin in less than ten seconds.

"Who are you?"

The leader of the backstabbers looked at Maiken vigilantly, the unease in his heart growing stronger.

Maiken had already sensed the intentions of this group; he flipped his left hand, took up his Shield, and simultaneously drew the longsword at his waist. "Those who attempt to harm my master, step over my corpse first!"

Standing one step behind Maiken, Luoning watched the opponent and discovered a small Attribute Panel appearing beside him, the content extremely simple:

【Maiken Salidun】: Primary Knight·Earth (0/100)+

Clearly, Luoning could add points for Maiken, consuming Energy Essence to do so.

To ensure no accidents occurred in this battle, he didn't hesitate to consume all his Energy Essence.

【Maiken Salidun】: Primary Knight (0/100) → (60/100)

Maiken was stunned for a moment; he felt his strength increase significantly in an instant, and the Battle Qi Seed at his heart felt as if it had come alive, beating very powerfully!

He couldn't help but look back at Luoning; he was certain such an improvement was definitely the work of his master.

And it was at the very moment he turned his head that the traitors seized the opportunity.

"Kill!"

Luoning drew his sword and shouted, "Maiken, deal with these traitors!"

"As you command, master!"

Maiken took a step forward; with the massive explosive force, the mud on the ground was sent flying, and his figure was incredibly fast.

These traitorous Guards were all ordinary people; they at most caught thieves or beat up commoners, so how could they have ever fought a Professional Knight?

And Maiken was not just a knight, but a knight born with combat intuition; before him, these traitors were like lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

"Pfft!"

The longsword pierced the chest of the backstabber who had charged the fastest, eliminating one person instantly!

While drawing his sword, Maiken used flexible footwork to dodge the incoming blade, and the moment he dodged, he kicked out, sending the two men who had rushed up flying away.

A single round of charging and killing shattered the morale of the traitors.

Before they could even react, Maiken had already pulled out his longsword, lunged, swept, and slit the throats of two more traitors.

The scent of blood spread through the forest with the wind.

Luoning had originally thought he would have to go up and help, but he hadn't expected Knight Maiken to be so fierce, killing three and kicking down two in an instant.

The deaths of the three traitors caused the remaining men to break down completely; the fear of betraying a noble and a knight reclaimed their minds.

Any thoughts of running away or resisting were now cast to the back of their minds; all they could think of was dropping their longswords and kneeling on the ground, wagging their tails and begging for mercy like dogs before Luoning.

"My lord, spare us!"

"My lord, spare us!"

That earlier courage to betray vanished in an instant.

"Heh~"

Luoning sneered, ignoring the traitors, and instead gave a thumbs-up to Maiken.

"Knight Maiken, your ability truly opened my eyes!"

Hearing this, the traitors turned pale; as expected, this cruel man really was a knight!

They suddenly felt how ridiculous they were, having naively thought the Baron had no knight to protect him.

"All of this is your gift, master!" Maiken stood to the side, not continuing the slaughter.

"Master, are you alright, master?"

The Servant Chahar stumbled into the woods, not expecting to see such a scene.

"Chahar, I have witnessed your loyalty; you performed well!"

Although Chahar hadn't been able to help much, in that desperate situation just now, this servant had not betrayed him and had even tried to rush up to help.

For this loyalty alone, Luoning had to give him credit.

He carried his longsword and walked slowly to the leader of the traitors, looking at the man kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, his eyes full of coldness.

"This betrayal was instigated and planned by you, wasn't it?"

Luoning frowned, his voice cold, "What gave you the courage to betray me?"

The man dared not lift his head, his body trembling with fear, "M-my lord, I didn't expect... didn't expect you to have a kn... knight by your side."

"Oh~"

Luoning drew out a mocking long tone, "If you had known there was a knight, you wouldn't have betrayed me, is that it?"

"My lord, spare me, I won't do it again, I will never dare to again!"

"Actually, there is one thing you might not know yet." Luoning's voice betrayed neither joy nor anger.

"What?"

The kneeling traitor could not help but look up; from his perspective, Luoning was unprecedentedly tall, so tall it made him suffocate.

"Actually, I am also a Knight!"

"Even without Maiken, you are still no match for me!"

The sharp sword pierced through the opponent's chest from top to bottom, making the traitor's eyes widen; perhaps he had not expected that he would die.

Luoning still felt some hesitation regarding the matter of killing; on one hand, his predecessor had never killed anyone, and having transmigrated here, he was even more so.

But having come to this other world, as a lord, sometimes one must make a choice.

If he had nothing, then the one who would have died today would be him; the enemy would not be merciful.

Watching the opponent collapse into a pool of blood and lose his breath, Luoning's mood fluctuated violently; after all, this was his first time.

But soon, amidst the trepidation and unease, a sense of joy was added, simply because a line of text was jumping in his field of vision—

【"King of Slaughter" achievement reached, Attribute Point +10, Energy Essence +20】

The content of this King of Slaughter achievement was to have him kill any unit; the traitor was an ordinary person, so naturally, he was included in this category.

He glanced at the achievement panel; at this moment, the King of Slaughter achievement had already updated:

【King of Slaughter】: Kill any Level 1 Extraordinary Unit, reward: Attribute Point +30, Energy Essence +60

"The achievements are indeed progressive in nature, just like when I designed the game system."

A Level 1 Extraordinary Unit refers to a Primary Knight, a Primary Mage, and a Level 1 Magic Beast; wanting to complete this achievement is still a bit difficult for the current Luoning.

Although he also has the level of a Level 1 Transcendental, he has no actual combat experience.

The words he just said to the traitor about "not needing Maiken to be able to counter-kill" actually contained elements of bragging.

If he were really made to act, even if he didn't die, he would be heavily injured; it would be impossible to make the enemy lose their nerve instantly like Maiken.

When he has time, he needs to properly hone his combat techniques.

Now that he has Maiken, he actually has a teacher.

"Master, there is no need for you to act against the remaining people; let me resolve them!" Maiken volunteered.

Luoning raised an eyebrow and looked at the remaining five "elite soldiers" kneeling on the ground and trembling.

(End of this chapter)