The Regressed Blood Knight’s Strategy

Chapter 124

"The Great Demon’s Masterpiece?"

"Ah! Ugh."

Blata quickly covered his mouth with his cute paws, realizing his mistake. He looked embarrassed. Under Charlotte's gaze, he quickly hid again. As she tried to find where he disappeared to, Kane smiled and stopped her.

"Don't mind him; he's just rambling."

"It doesn't seem like rambling. He seems to know quite a bit about the Blood Star."

As Charlotte's curiosity grew, the situation began to get complicated.

Suddenly, a light burst from the sky.

Flashes of light appeared all around, followed by a tremor from the ground.

"Are monsters swarming in?"

"It doesn't feel like that."

While the students were puzzled, Kane stepped forward.

"Please, stay back."

Passing Charlotte, he began to manipulate blood mana. Droplets of blood rose from the corpses of nearby monsters, spreading quickly around them.

A purple shield formed, created from the blood droplets soaking the ground.

He had made a barrier using blood mana.

Moments later, the trembling of the earth stopped.

The sound of hoofbeats echoed.

The bushes rustled before wilting and bowing down. The ominous presence of someone approaching was strong enough to destroy nature itself.

His heart pounded fiercely.

‘Dirk.’

Finally, he was about to meet his nemesis.

From the moment he opened his eyes, he hadn’t forgotten him for even a second.

He had waited solely for this moment, to meet him.

Murderous intent welled up inside.

His mana was uncontrollable, surging involuntarily at the thought of seeing Dirk.

‘Calm down. Breathe.’

He did his best to suppress the mana.

Meanwhile, the sound of hoofbeats grew closer and closer.

Soon, a familiar silhouette emerged, pushing through the trees.

‘You haven't changed at all.’

A man with red hair.

Greed was written all over his face.

An ambitious man, with no ability to match his oversized desires.

That was none other than Dirk, the second prince of the Hatzfeld Royal Kingdom.

As Dirk curled his lips into a smirk, Kane clenched his fist tightly.

He felt an overwhelming urge to smash that face in one blow.

The murderous intent he had suppressed was rising again, uncontrollably.

And when Dirk finally spoke, his rage reached its peak.

"I heard there was a capable warrior here, but since nothing happened on my way, I thought everyone had run away."

Dirk’s eyes scanned everyone present.

"The second princess is still here too. Lucky me."

Then he looked straight at Kane, standing at the front.

"You must be Kane Rehinar."

His voice dripped with condescension, as if looking down on him from above.

For someone so clueless, he sure acted arrogant.

"Such arrogance for someone with no talent," Kane muttered under his breath.

Whether Dirk heard it or not, he merely snickered.

"Your attempt to provoke me was decent, but if you think I’d fall for such a shallow trick, you're a du-"

"Enough. The fact that Hatzfeld has crossed the border into Rehinar territory means you're declaring war, right?"

Before Dirk could finish, Kane cut him off, causing the muscles next to Dirk's eyes to twitch.

The expression on his face screamed, How dare this insignificant fool!

Dirk quickly hid his emotions, replying casually, "Hey, friend, it seems you're not grasping the situation. My plan is to kill every last one of you here and wipe Rehinar off the map. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The students began murmuring anxiously.

Fear gripped them at the threat of being killed.

It didn’t stop there.

One of the students pointed towards someone.

"T-That person! Isn’t he the ‘Lord of a Hundred Spears’?"

"I thought he looked familiar…."

"Why is someone like him with Hatzfeld?!"

Gregor Elser.

Once known as the ‘Lord of a Hundred Spears,’ he was a legendary figure.

A master of spear fighting, ranked among the top three spearmen in the land.

He was a wandering spear knight who wasn’t affiliated with any country.

Yet, there he stood next to Dirk, dressed in the robes worn by priests.

It was only natural for everyone to be shocked, seeing a man they had only heard of in tales siding with Hatzfeld.

“If you understand the situation, you’d better kneel. That is, if you want to live,” Dirk sneered.

A disgusting grin spread across his face.

He had already assumed the posture of a victor.

At that moment—

Spit!

A single drop of blood grazed Dirk's cheek.

A thin cut appeared, and blood trickled down his face, dripping onto the ground.

"Shut that disgusting mouth of yours. The stench is so foul, my nose is starting to rot."

Kane had already drawn his Bloodsky blades.

Gregor's eyes wavered.

In that brief moment, he had lost track of Kane's movements.

By the time the blood droplet was halfway to its target, Gregor realized Kane had already moved.

‘The Blood Oath… He’s fully awakened as a blood knight. No one could fool my eyes.’

Gregor’s eyes gleamed with a sense of thrill.

The very thing the House of the Sun feared had happened.

‘His blood mana moves at will... That must mean he’s absorbed the Blood Star as well.’

Kane Rehinar’s awakening.

Rehinar now possessed a power that defied the gods.

And not just any power.

He had gained the strength of the ‘Morning Star’.

This would surely make him a disaster for the entire continent.

He must not be left alive.

Gregor knew he had to kill him, right here and now.

‘But if I could capture him instead… the credit I’d receive would far surpass killing him.’

The Blood Star.

The very essence that the Meyer Family had searched for tirelessly.

A one-of-a-kind existence.

Bringing it back to the Meyer Family would be a monumental achievement.

That was why other executioners had been desperately hunting for the Blood Star.

‘If I can extract the Blood Star from that wretch, it’ll be worth any hardship.’

As he finished thinking, he glanced at Dirk, whose body had begun trembling uncontrollably.

‘That fool is about to lose it.’

As expected, Dirk wiped the blood drop from his cheek.

The moment he saw the blood, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

“That filthy insect dares—!”

Dirk’s spear ignited in flames, and he assumed his striking stance before thrusting the spear forward. At the same time, spear shadows appeared in the air—two, four, eight. From the spear shadows, pillars of fire burst out, aiming to turn Kane into ash.

But Kane was the heir of a family that wielded the Water Rune.

As Kane’s Bloodsky blades sliced the ground, columns of water shot up.

Fire clashed with water.

Given their clear elemental opposition, Dirk's attack was easily extinguished.

Dirk’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“You dare block my attack?”

It wasn’t his most powerful strike, but it shouldn't have been so easily deflected.

Especially not by someone from a declining family.

Even though he had trained under the Lord of a Hundred Spears and had achieved incredible growth, his attack had been thwarted by a fool from a collapsing family. His pride was deeply wounded.

Gripping his spear tightly, Dirk prepared to strike again when Kane’s voice rang out.

“You can't do it alone. Stop wasting time and let your underlings handle it. That’s what you’re best at, isn’t it? Letting others weaken your enemy while you swoop in to take all the credit.”

Kane’s mocking tone made Dirk’s eyes flash as he ran a hand through his hair.

“If you want to die so badly, I’ll grant your wish. Bring that bastard to me!”

At Dirk's command, the Phoenix Spear Unit charged forward.

Kane watched the Phoenix Spear Unit with a sharp gaze.

“No familiar faces.”

The Phoenix Spear Unit was one of the units Kane had once created and led when he was still known as Ray.

But in this life, this unit was helped created by Gregor and given to Dirk.

His heart raced at the thought that someone he knew might be among them.

But fortunately, none of his former subordinates were present.

Of course, he hadn’t inspected each face thoroughly, so he couldn’t be completely sure, but none of the mana signatures felt familiar.

That alone helped to calm his anger somewhat.

If anyone he knew had been among them, Kane would have been even more eager to tear Dirk apart.

“Well, at least I can kill them without hesitation.”

As long as the Lord of a Hundred Spears, Gregor, didn’t intervene, Kane could proceed with his plan.

Time to give them a little surprise.

Kane combined his Bloodsky blades, transforming them into a spear.

Around him, the air shimmered with heat instead of water droplets.

The air slowly grew hotter.

Hatzfeld’s Flame versus Kane’s Flame.

The Red Dragon and the Blood Phoenix collided.

Swish!

Kane’s spear was the first to cut through the throat of a Phoenix Spear Unit soldier.

But it didn’t end there.

The shimmering heat that decapitated the first soldier struck the next target as well, sending him flying backward with a sharp thud.

Kane danced with his spear in the midst of them, his movements so mesmerizing that Dirk, who had been watching in a daze, quickly shook his head.

Shame flushed across Dirk’s face as he realized he had been captivated by his enemy's skill.

Dirk shouted at the Spear Unit.

“What are you doing?! Half of you should be taking those brats as hostages by now! Ugh, Dumbasses!”

Dirk had completely forgotten that Gregor, his master, was standing next to him. That’s why he could scream so shamelessly, forgetting his dignity in the process.

Following Dirk’s orders, half of the Phoenix Spear Unit thrust their spears into the purple barrier.

Boom!

The barrier shook from the impact but remained unbroken. However, under continuous assault, the barrier started to sway from side to side.

Seeing this, Charlotte summoned her mana.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

Sara, Sasha, and Rose also drew their twin swords.

With the second princess leading them, the rest of the students reluctantly unsheathed their weapons.

“Are we all going to die here?”

“No matter how strong the Young Duke is, he can’t beat the Lord of a Hundred Spears.”

“Yeah, if that guy intervenes, there’s no point in resisting.”

Everyone was filled with doubt—even Charlotte, who stood at the forefront. After all, they were up against a hero ranked just below the Twelve Star Lords.

Yet, Charlotte tried to reassure the students.

“This barrier was created by Young Master Kane. Their attacks have barely shaken it; there’s no sign of it breaking. Stay inside and don’t even think about going out.”

She emphasized Kane’s name, expressing her trust in him. As the Princess of Moonlight, she had eyes that could see through everything—eyes that could gauge the strength of the barrier and the level Kane had reached.

The students firmly believed in her.

However, there were still a few who refused to listen.

“I’ll just surrender. I don’t want to die here.”

“Me too. Surely, they won’t kill us if we surrender?”

“I’m sorry, Your Highness, but I want to live.”

A few students left the formation.

“No! You’ll die if you leave!”

The defectors raised their hands, signaling their surrender the moment they stepped outside the barrier.

But!

The result was obvious.

The students who left the barrier were immediately skewered by spears and died on the spot.

Those who witnessed this from inside covered their mouths in horror.

“I told you they’d kill us. Hatzfeld has never spared a single surrendering enemy…”

Hatzfeld’s reputation for cruelty preceded them. Throughout their conquests, they had never allowed any prisoners to live—not a single one. Nations targeted by Hatzfeld had no choice but to resist until they were entirely wiped out, leaving behind nothing but the dead.

Hatzfeld was an utterly merciless enemy. Expecting any form of mercy from them was foolish.

Charlotte remained vigilant, ready to attack at any moment, while keeping an eye on Kane as he fought the enemy.

“Huh?”

Something strange caught her attention.

“Why… is he smiling?”

Despite being in the thick of battle, slashing through enemies with his spear, Kane wore a visible smile.

Smiling in this situation?

“Is he out of his mind?”

Her question quickly turned into shock.

At the moment Kane’s spear struck the ground, Hellfire descended.