After Duke's power enhancement, he can easily handle any magical beast as long as it's not at the Official Knight Level.
He is not reckless; his actions are based on a certain level of strength.
Zorn saw that Duke wanted to continue searching for Wood alone, so he chose to stay instead of leaving.
Duke doesn't care whether they follow him or not, but he can't drive them away.
For Zorn and the others, Duke is their temporary leader now; there's no reason for soldiers to abandon their leader and leave alone.
If word got out, even if Duke doesn't mind, Zorn and the rest would be punished. This is the basic discipline expected of a soldier.
...
At night, in a cave, a bonfire was burning, illuminating the surrounding rocky walls.
Leo, the leader of the Wild Wolf Robber Group, sat by the fire, struggling to chew on hard jerky, washed it down with a gulp of alcohol.
This is their temporary base. Recently, they suffered significant losses due to the pursuit by Earl Hardy's personal soldiers.
This all started with the issue at Endeland Town. Leo's men took control of a mine there, but the town's militia recaptured it, and the sub-leader Cole planned to seek revenge.
The plan was originally good, but despite their numbers, they failed to take the town and were captured by the Nightingales.
After that battle, the Wild Wolf Robber Group was severely weakened. Leo led the remaining members elsewhere to try and make some gains, but they hit a wall everywhere, and their numbers kept dwindling.
Recently, the defense forces in Maple Hill County have grown stronger, so Leo, with his remaining dozen men, retreated into the depths of the mountains to recover, planning to try elsewhere later.
A few days ago, Leo and his men encountered Wood, who was chasing magical beasts in the mountains.
They have known each other for a long time and have a lot of grudges.
Enemies meeting each other naturally made tempers flare.
Leo, a high-order knight attendant, was stronger than Wood in rank, and with more men, they soon captured Wood.
Leo didn't hurry to kill Wood; merely killing him wouldn't vent the anger he had been holding in.
He used many methods to torture Wood, keeping him barely alive.
Leo planned to deal with Wood when he was about to leave, which would be a form of catharsis.
He intended to leave the next day and settle things with Wood then.
At that moment, in the cave, Wood was hung up, covered in wounds, with many scabs on his injuries.
All his fingernails had been pulled out, leaving him on the brink of death.
Leo bit down hard on the jerky in his hand, chewing vigorously as he walked to stand before the hanging Wood.
"You've been missing for so long, why hasn't your revered Earl Hardy come to rescue you? This is the fate of being a lackey for nobility!"
Wood smiled faintly, saying nothing, possibly because he no longer had the strength to speak.
Leo was enraged by his smile, picked up a whip from the ground, and lashed out again, adding another bloody mark to Wood's body.
Wood showed no reaction, as if he was already accustomed to such beatings.
Still fuming with anger, Leo lifted the whip to strike again but suddenly sensed something and swiftly dodged.
A cold arrow pierced the spot where he had been standing, embedding deep into the rocky wall.
"Who's there!" Leo immediately became alert, picking up a nearby longsword.
"What a pity." Duke emerged from the darkness, sword in hand, the bonfire illuminating his youthful face.
"Go…" Wood suddenly mustered the energy to speak, struggling to get out a single word.
Just uttering this one word had sapped all his strength.
Looking at Wood from afar, Duke's pupils contracted, saying softly, "Uncle Wood, hold on a little longer. It will be over soon."
"So you're here for a rescue, are you from Nightingale?" Leo recognized the leather armor Duke was wearing and felt some confidence.
They had over ten men here, and he himself was a high-order knight attendant.
Unless Duke was an Official Knight, he wouldn't be their match. This was stepping into a trap.
Without a word, Duke charged forward with his sword, his attack intercepted steadily by Leo's blade.
"A high-order knight attendant?" Leo felt the force from the longsword, roughly estimating Duke's power.
But actually, Duke had only swung his sword casually, not using his full strength.
With a low roar, Leo's fighting spirit exploded within him, his power doubling as he forced Duke back with a sword swing.
Indeed, a high-order knight attendant, enhanced by fighting spirit, unleashed formidable power.
Soon, Duke became locked in fierce combat with him, with neither side gaining an upper hand.
He relied mostly on the physical strength of his body rather than using excessive fighting spirit.
Being merely a mid-order knight attendant, it was unwise to compete with Leo in terms of fighting spirit quantity. He needed to reserve it for more crucial moments.
Leo, like Cole, was clad in a full suit of white armor, significantly enhancing his defensive capabilities and reducing the areas he needed to protect.
Seeing Duke seemingly at his limit, Leo felt he had figured out Duke's strength.
"Kid, you've got some nerve to charge in alone. Unfortunately, it takes strength to survive out here!"
Duke's lips curled slightly as he took a deep breath, causing his muscles to expand instantly, even straining his leather armor.
This scene took Leo by surprise: "A combat technique?"
Just as he found something odd with Duke, an immense force hit his sword.
Now Duke truly displayed the effects of his nine-point strength, his body transformation paired with the burst of fighting spirit, instantly suppressing Leo.
Under immense pressure, Leo fought desperately to defend himself.
He assumed Duke was using some combat technique to temporarily boost his strength, planning to stall until Duke's state passed.
Leo knew of certain secret techniques, generally with side effects, forcing him to endure until Duke could be easily dealt with.
Taking a deep breath, Duke lunged forward with a thrust, the simplest forward strike in basic swordsmanship, devoid of unnecessary movement.
Leo reacted swiftly, bringing his sword up defensively to block.
Just as he believed he had successfully defended, a layer of white fighting spirit enveloped Duke's blade. A white sword light extended sharply from the tip, trembling violently.
Seeing this, Leo's heart skipped a beat, he attempted to retreat, but the quivering sword glow was already before him, piercing straight into his face.
Moments later, the sword light emerged from the back of Leo's head, his sword clattering to the ground as his body went limp, kneeling down.