The Sword Emperor Transmigrates

“S-Sir Wade?!”

“Why are you…!”

All the Golden Dragon Knights stumbled back in unison. Other than the Golden Knight Commander, who was considered to be in a class of his own, Wade was considered one of the two strongest people in their family.

The aura emanating from him made his golden hair and eyes glow like a sunset, and he made the air so tense that it seemed as if it would explode. While some people could fight nearly as well as a Demigod Tier expert, they were still leagues below those who had actually reached it.

Especially compared to Wade, who stood at the very peak of the Demigod Tier.

“Why am I here? Is that what you asked?” Wade’s forehead creased at the Golden Dragon Knight’s question, and he casually stepped between Leonard and Tress.

While this would never happen, Leonard and Tress were close enough to make up for the extreme difference in their power with Wade if they attacked at the same time in a pincer formation. At the end of the day, any martial artist would feel uncomfortable standing where they were.

“You’re seriously asking me that? After you acted without the authority of your commander and audaciously tried to intimidate a knight from another order?”

All they could feel from Wade’s footsteps was pure power, the conviction that he could deal with anything that happened with his own power without blinking an eye.

It was as if Wade believed he was the ruler of the heavens and the earth. It reminded Leonard of Heavenly Demon Dan Mok-Jin, the peerless martial artist he had faced in his past life. Wade was truly majestic, so much so that Leonard would have believed that he was the head of the Cardenas family if he didn’t know better.

“N-Not even you can refute the orders of the Golden Dragon Commander, sir! You know this!” Tress protested. Even though he hated Leonard to the point that it was beyond superficial and frankly pathetic, Leonard was impressed that he still didn’t back down.

Of course, that was only what he thought. Naturally, Wade’s perspective was a little different. Even though Tress was one of the Golden Dragon Knights, who were unrivaled by other knights, he wasn’t ranked higher than the commanders, who were essentially the pillars of the family.

Tress had basically just insulted a superior.

“Even if the Golden Dragon Commander himself had come here, he would have asked for my understanding. But a nobody like you is trying to threaten me?”

Wade couldn’t hide the disbelief on his face, even though he usually didn’t show much emotion. He’d thought he’d known the true nature of the Order of the Golden Dragon better than anyone else, but he couldn’t believe that such half-wits were running around, doing as they pleased.

In any case, it appeared that he had to put them in their place.

“There will be consequences for that reckless bravado, you failures.” As Wade’s aura expanded , the sky and earth themselves seemed to hold their breaths, but the Golden Dragon Knights’ fear evaporated as soon as they heard the word “failure.”

“Did you just insult us?!”

“I gave up my hopes and dreams to serve the Cardenas family!”

“There are some lines that not even you can cross, Commander Wade!”

Wade was unmoved. “Is this not the path you chose? As far as I know, you gave up on trying to pave your own way and joined the Order of the Golden Dragon because you were blinded by the idea of a glory that may never come.”

“Th-That’s…!”

“These are nothing but excuses. Enough talk. I’m going to break your arms and legs, so spend some time self-reflecting in the infirmary.”

Wade strode two steps forward with his fists raised as if to say that he didn’t need to draw his sword to defeat them. He moved smoothly, as if skating on the dirt, and closed the distance in an instant.

Even though his timing was perfect, the knights reacted terrifyingly fast. Their bodies, which were closer to a dragon’s than a human’s, were already that powerful.

“Gaaaah!”

As one knight blocked Wade’s punch with the flat of his sword, he was thrown several meters back and coughed up blood.

If Wade’s fist had hit his body and not his sword, the knight’s intestines would have been crushed.

He’s ridiculously powerful, Leonard thought with admiration, eyes darting back and forth.

The difference in their power was simply immense. Because Leonard couldn’t understand Wade’s power, he felt that something else was at play that his Dragon Eyes couldn’t see. Everything from Wade’s physical capabilities to the density of the internal energy flowing inside him was hard to comprehend, even with Leonard’s knowledge from murim.

Tress gritted his teeth and yelled, “Don’t take his attacks head-on! You’ll be crushed along with your sword!”

“Mm, you’re a smart one,” Wade said with a cold smile. “Though, that doesn’t change anything.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he disappeared and reappeared behind Tress to kick him.

He hit the shins, the thighs, the sides, and the temples in succession, moving so fast that it took a moment for Tress’s nerves to process the blows.

“Kuh…!”Tress’s full plate armor shattered, and he crumpled to the ground like a puppet that had its strings cut. Wade had punched through the metal as if it were a thin sheet of ice, reducing it to a pile of orichalcum shards.

The knight that Wade had knocked back earlier recovered while Wade was taking care of Tress, but they had absolutely no chance of winning even though it was three against one. However, the rage lit by humiliation didn’t die out so easily.

Wade seemed to grow bored of the one-sidedness. He kicked Tress’s collapsed figure. “So petty. When I called you failures, I wasn’t quite referring to the outcome of the ceremonies. I called you failures for throwing away your lives to fulfill the Golden Dragon’s long-awaited wish, or whatever it is.”

That was one of the reasons why the Order of the Golden Dragon wasn’t very well regarded among the commanders.

Though everyone else considered it the strongest group and each member was like a weapon of war, their power was shallow. The Golden Dragon Knights’ power didn’t come from the result of their own hard-earned efforts. It was a side effect of a failed ritual, and they were nothing but corrupted beings.

Crunch—!

A knight tried to help Tress up, but Wade punched them in the face, shattering their helmet and revealing a face covered in blood.

“Urk?!”

The knight raised their sword even though they were still in shock from the attack and hadn’t reacted yet. Wade broke their arms and kicked them in the legs before the pain could set in, making the knight collapse onto the ground.

Wade’s attacks were instantaneous.

After smoothly taking out the first two like a rush of water, Wade finished off the remaining two, adding to the pile of bodies on top of Tress. The way their armor glinted in the light was almost humorous.

If they had resolved to invest all their power from the outset, they would have lasted at least three hundred exchanges… but I can’t imagine people who try to intimidate their juniors to think this way.

Leonard was a little disappointed with the way things had unfolded. Since the Golden Dragon Knights had ended up being pummeled without being able to do anything, he hadn’t been able to see or learn much of anything.

“I think this is our first time meeting in person,” Wade said.

“Yes, that’s right,” Leonard agreed.

“I made a mistake at the Hall of Dragons. I’m curious, did you receive my gift?”

“I’ve been making good use of Mimong. Thank you.”

“Mm.” Wade nodded and turned around.

Standing there were the White Dragon Knights, who had not been able to lift a finger when the Golden Dragon Knights appeared. And there was also Calantha, who was nothing but a bystander. As soon as Wade’s eyes fell on them, their bodies froze up.

Still, Isaac stepped forward as the one in charge. “It’s been a while, Commander Wade. I don’t know if you remember me, but I am Isaac, the captain of the White Dragon’s Third Division.”

“You were the one who was sent to help us seal Ball of the Thorns. It’s good to see you,” Wade said in short greeting. “I know you haven’t even had the time to report your return, but I will take Leonard. If he stays here, the Golden Dragon might try to pull something like this again.”

“I don’t have the authority to approve his transfer.”

“And I am well aware of that. I already spoke with Demian, so you can consider this as me simply informing you.”

If that was true, Isaac had no reason to refuse, even for the sake of appearances. Wade nodded to the other White Dragon Knights and gestured Calantha forward with his hand.

The mage was frightened out of his wits. His voice trembled as he spoke. “Um, Commander Wade, w-what do you wish of me?”

“Can you take us to the Red Dragon base? I assume that you have coordinates of all the major bases memorized.”

Wade didn’t seem to be trying to pressure him, nor did he say it as if it were an order. But who would ever refuse him?

Definitely not Calantha, who was already known for being timid.

Calantha’s hands moved faster than they ever had in his life, making a magic array in record time. Leonard stepped inside with Wade and then said his farewells.

“I’m sorry I ended up causing you trouble. I also feel a little dazed because I unexpectedly have to leave like this, but it won’t be long until we see each other again, so I’ll keep it short. I wish you luck on the battlefield.”

The White Dragon Knights smiled, as cool as always.

“Hey, you saved us a few times. Wherever you go, you’ll do great.”

“Next time, we won’t let you hog all the fighting for yourself!”

“There are a lot of ruffians in the Order of the Red Dragon, so be careful. Though, I’m sure they’ll immediately shut up if you give them a good beating.”

Well, Leonard had landed a major blow to one of the Golden Dragon Knights, who were rumored to be unmatched other than by commander-level knights. He wouldn’t be shaken up just because the Red Dragon Knights were mean to him.

Of course, the White Dragon Knights knew this, and they were saying this because they cared about him after defeating two Void Deities together.

The teleportation array activated with a flash, leaving the White Dragon Knights behind.

Now that the commotion was over, the Forest of Swords once again became as quiet as usual.

But all four White Dragon Knights sensed a storm coming.

They didn’t know if it would benefit the Cardenas family or hurt it, but something big was coming.

There was only one thing they were sure of: Leonard would be at the center of it.

* * *

The Order of the Red Dragon boasted the largest numbers among the Seven Great Orders. Aside from the knights who were stationed in Cardenas territory, there were tens of squads who traveled all over the world to seal Rifts. While they wouldn’t make up over half of the Cardenas knights, they were quite close.

It would only make sense that the person who oversaw them all, the Red Dragon Commander, would be this powerful.

As soon as they arrived at the base, Wade brought Leonard into his office.

“Sit.”

Leonard perched on the chair opposite Wade as the commander poured himself a cup of coffee. “You look like you have a lot of questions.”

He was right. There were some things that Leonard had come to suspect while clashing swords with Tress, and it was also suspicious how the Order of the Golden Dragon, which was considered to be the family’s most elite group, was pursuing him so recklessly.

Wade seemed to read the agreement in his eyes. He sat down and began to explain.

“I heard that Audrey and Demian told you the basics of the situation, including the truth about Ancestor Cardenas and the reason we are trying to stop the Golden Dragon from recruiting you.”

“Yes, but I don’t know the details.”

“Well, I’m going to give those details right now. Usually, this would not be allowed, but…” Wade slowly closed his eyes before opening them again. “We cannot keep the extremists in the Golden Dragon under control. And considering the mess you were just thrown into, I believe I can make an exception. Would you like to know?”

Leonard already had his answer ready. “Of course.”

Wade was inwardly impressed with how Leonard didn’t seem shaken. The commander sorted through his memories before he began to speak.

He was about to reveal the truth about Ancestor Cardenas, the Golden Dragon’s long-cherished wish, and the Cardenas family, the sword that protected the Arcadian Empire.

This was confidential information that only the leaders of the Seven Great Orders, the current Archduke, and the empress[1] knew. And surprisingly, Wade started with the faults of the Golden Dragon Knights that Leonard had suspected.

“Before I tell you the actual story, I will tell you this: the reason the extremists in the Golden Dragon try to coerce people like you to join them is simple. It is out of jealousy.”

“That’s… is it because the Golden Dragon Knights can’t grow any stronger?” Leonard asked carefully.

Wade’s eyes widened. Leonard had taken the words straight out of his mouth.

1. Previously the emperor ☜