The Sword Emperor Transmigrates-Chapter 231

“...Is that so,” Declan, the Archduke of Sword, stammered, looking dazed as he faced Leonard, who had returned not even a day after his visit.

His reaction was only natural. The Ancestor’s fragmented soul reaching its time limit was already alarming enough. Coupled with the fact that the Order of the Golden Dragon had just transitioned from mere consumables to a formidable force, either development alone would have been cause for immense concern. Having them both surface at once left Declan nearly reeling.

“Can you truly control the Order of the Golden Dragon? Their power is immense, but since they didn’t earn it through their own efforts, it remains unstable. Part of the reason they’re confined to Dragon’s Head is their role as vessels, but also the fact that they’d be unpredictable on the battlefield.”

If the Golden Dragon Knights were ever to go rogue, it would be impossible to quell them without a commander’s direct oversight.

“On the outside, the Order of the Golden Dragon is known as the greatest knight order in the family, and in terms of sheer power, that reputation holds. Every member of our family, unaware of the truth, aspires and works hard to join the Order of the Golden Dragon. If so much as a hint about what lies beneath is revealed, it could cause some serious trouble.”

Leonard recalled something at that moment—a memory of the three apprentice knights he had met while training on the Galapagos Island. They, too, had spent every waking moment honing their skills, earnestly speaking of their dreams to join the Order of the Golden Dragon, oblivious to the fact that those knights had only narrowly survived the failed ritual and were now little more than disposable assets.

The elevated reputation of the Golden Dragon Knights was a cover to conceal this vital secret, and should they run rampant, it wouldn’t only lead to casualties but could also tarnish the family’s honor and pride.

“It’s fine,” Leonard responded without hesitation, even in the face of Declan’s ominous warnings. “The Ancestor has come up with a measure, and I believe it’s time for them to reclaim their lives.”

“A measure?”

“Yes. The Golden Dragon Knights are so similar to real dragons that they are unable to defy someone who wields Draconic Words. It’s like they’re naturally obedient to them.”

Declan nodded, finally understanding. “If you’re that confident, it would be rude of me to doubt you any further. I couldn’t overlook this as the family head, so I hope you won’t feel offended.”

“Not at all.”

To the Cardenas family, the Golden Dragon Knights were like a double-edged sword. Their formidable power, which could even rival Demigods, was certainly enticing, but if they were not controlled properly, it would require more than half of the Seven Great Orders to keep them in check.

The Golden Dragon Order was the very definition of high risk, high reward. Even Declan found it difficult to decide their fate.

“I’ll approve it. Effective immediately, I’ll publicly announce your role as commander of the Order of the Golden Dragon and recognize your command over them. Like other knight orders, you will have the autonomy for independent missions, but I must ask that you remain stringent with security.”

“Of course, since this is a matter regarding the Ancestor. And speaking of the Ancestor...”

“Is there more?” Declan asked, his mind already swirling with everything that had happened. He waited with a weary expression for Leonard to continue.

And sure enough...

“The Ancestor’s soul is currently residing in my Mindscape.”

“...What?! The esteemed Ancestor is?”

“Yes, and she said she can hold on for a while.”

Leonard’s Mindscape, structured as a unique trait suitable for Ancestor Cardenas, had made the impossible possible. Even so, the soul that had reached the limit of its existence would continue to deteriorate and fade within a decade, even if Leonard never called upon her power.

Hearing this, Declan let out a heavy sigh.

“It’s not necessarily bad news, fortunately... but if a True God being were to intervene again, we’d only be able to hold them off once. With the Wickeline and Jehoia families each capable of handling it once as well, that makes three in total.”

Leonard, who had personally dealt with the fragment of Surtr, a True God, on the Spriggan Frontier, understood the weight of those words. Although Vulcanus’ projection had been incomplete and clumsily wielded, that Surtr had still managed to overwhelm two Demigod Tier knights.

The fact that they could survive such an entity three times over was a testament to the boundless might of the Arcadian Empire.

“Was that all you wanted to tell me?” Declan’s eyes, almost pleading, searched Leonard’s face.

Leonard couldn’t help but give a wry smile as he responded, “One last thing. The Order of the Golden Dragon needs a mission they can fully commit to. While their power is undeniable, having spent decades—almost a century—idle within Dragon’s Head, they lack real combat experience compared to the other knight orders. To reignite their fighting spirit and pride, they need to be tempered on a battlefield that matches their caliber.”

For humans who had their basic needs met, what mattered most was proving their worth through self-realization. The Golden Dragon Knights, raised with the pride of being part of the Cardenas family and aware of the dangers threatening the world, needed proof that they were essential to this family.

A battlefield would be the perfect opportunity to prove themselves.

“I can’t argue with that. There’s nothing more worthless than a sword that’s never drawn. As it happens, the Order of the Light Dragon has reported some suspicious activities.”

“Suspicious activities?”

“To summarize, there are two areas of concern: the far eastern part of the continent and the southern seas.”

Those areas were too remote for the Arcadian Empire to monitor closely, and there was a chance they were somehow connected to the warnings of the Celestial Realm. Thus, Declan had dispatched the Order of the Light Dragon, including their Commander Corbin, to scour all parts of the world for information. After all, that knight order specialized in scouting operations.

The Cardenas family aimed to eradicate cultists devoted to the Outer Gods, demon worshippers, and those who dabbled in the forbidden arts outlawed by the Empire.

“Demon worshippers have been sighted in the far east, and in the southern seas, cultists devoted to the Outer Gods have been spotted. If left unchecked, these groups could multiply like cockroaches, so we need to eradicate their bases as soon as we discover them.”

Demoniacs could only descend into this world through the Hell Gate, but worshippers could conduct rituals and human sacrifices to create avatars for the Demoniacs or channel a fragment of their power. Even practitioners of black magic, forbidden by the Arcane Society and hunted across the continent, were essentially demon worshippers.

The Outer God cults were no different. Leonard had seen firsthand in Atlantis how they transformed into otherworldly species by borrowing the power of the Outer God and creating spaces like the Corroded Realms through intricate rituals. The longer they were ignored, the more of a threat they posed.

Even the unknown Corroded Realm in the Sixth Sea District was difficult to gauge in terms of danger.

If we head to the southern seas, I could meet the people of Aquamarine again. I wonder how Frances and Marianne are doing.

As Leonard remembered his long-absent friends, Declan finally voiced his decision after a moment’s thought.

“Once more details come in, I’ll let you know which direction you should deploy to. Until then, focus on tightening the Golden Dragon Knights’ discipline.”

“Understood, Family Head.”

With that, the sudden meeting between the two finally reached its end.

* * *

Step, step...

After leaving Declan’s residence, Leonard did not immediately fly toward Dragon’s Head. Though he could reach it in less than a minute if he wished, he had matters to consider before dealing with the Golden Dragon Knights, who were still reorganizing the island as per his orders.

Having given them their aspirations back, Leonard felt a certain sense of responsibility.

As the Ancestor had pointed out, the most pressing concern was finding martial arts that could motivate the Golden Dragon Knights and undo all those years of stagnation. Determining which combat skills suited the knights best and teaching them was no easy task, especially since he had to train dozens at once.

Given the physical capabilities of Dragonians, physical cultivation would be a waste of time, and teaching them flawless sword techniques would merely add to their repertoire without fostering genuine improvement. True growth wouldn’t come from that.

Leonard quickly dismissed the idea of training them like the Order of the Black Dragon, who specialized in fighting Demoniacs.

The Golden Dragon Knights were already brimming with vitality and formidable in terms of strength, which meant that any further training in external or internal arts was meaningless. Their real potential lay in mastering their inherent abilities, which already made them several times more powerful.

Indeed, the Golden Dragon Knights could effortlessly wield techniques capable of shattering the bones of ordinary warriors in a single strike.

If I introduce techniques that surpass their current limits or focus on group tactics that are underdeveloped in this world... Formations like the Eighteen Arhat Formation or the Heavenly North Star Formation could allow them to take down even Demigod Tier beings. Although, certain adversaries with unfavorable traits might still pose challenges.

When it came to fighting against overwhelming odds, the martial arts of murim outshone this world by a wide margin. The reason the murim martial artists were that much more advanced was rooted in the very history of the Central Plains.

To counter the aggressive rise of demonic and unorthodox sects, which thrived on swift progress, orthodox martial artists had to rely on reaching at least the Apex Realm to claim superiority through stable technique and sustained combat.

Conversely, until reaching that stage, orthodox sect practitioners were at a disadvantage and often lost to unorthodox or demonic sects in one-on-one combat.

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This is why the orthodox sects, including the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families, overcame their disadvantages through cooperation and combined formations. Two hundred years ago, the Eighteen Arhat Formation had famously annihilated the 3,000-strong Dark Serpent Alliance, an alliance between the unorthodox and demonic sects, the ruling force of the Central Plains at that time.

The outnumbered, fast-growing unorthodox sects were swept away like autumn leaves, and even the demonic sects, known for their religiously unified strength, couldn’t overcome their numerical disadvantage and were driven beyond the borderlands.

Indeed, even the strongest could fall to the weight of numbers. The unorthodox and demonic sects pursued only one path but were ultimately repelled by the orthodox sects, who wielded both in balance.

For the Golden Dragon Knights, I guess martial techniques based on the Imperial Sword Style would be best. If combined with the Chaos Lightning Blade, it might be more physically taxing, but the power would increase exponentially.

Leonard proceeded to piece together the ultimate martial arts from the Great Namgung Family and Hebei Peng Family, considering their compatibility.

They fit together better than I expected. Could it be because the energy of the Imperial Sword Style matches well with the Chaos Lightning Blade?

Having reached the Demigod Tier, Leonard now possessed the insight of a grandmaster, enabling him to dissect and reconstruct even the most advanced martial arts scriptures, a feat once beyond him when he used to merely guess at their core scriptures.

The Imperial Sword Style and the Chaos Lightning Blade were legendary techniques—the former reserved for the patriarch of the Great Namgung Family, and the latter on par with the Hebei Peng Family’s famous Five Tigers Gate-Cleaving Blades. If even a few lines of their core scriptures were leaked, chaos would be unleashed in murim.

Even the Sword Emperor Yeon Mu-Hyuk had never fully deciphered them. Leonard, however, had dueled both the patriarchs of the Great Namgung Family and the Hebei Peng Family, witnessing their techniques first-hand.

Just from memory alone, his insight into the mechanics of those techniques allowed him to piece together their essential scriptures.

“Well, it shouldn’t take long,” Leonard muttered to himself, knowing the practitioners of those two martial families would spit blood if they heard him. He then leaped into the air.

Whoosh!

Stepping through the sky with windwalking, Leonard sped toward Dragon’s Head. Though the knights were still not done reorganizing, the news he was about to share would surely hasten their progress.

The time had come for the Golden Dragon Knights to prove their worth.