Chapter 215: Inner Strength

"I forgot to mention something else. The first 20 who die will have the captain's who recommended them follow them in death!"

Even Leonel was stunned by this sudden turn of events. He could see the disdain the knight held for all of them, but to order that 53 of them should be killed… wasn't that a bit too much? Even beyond that, he was even dragging the captains into this?!

At that moment, the training grounds turned completely silent. Not to mention the youths locked within the circle, even the captains that had selected them couldn't stop themselves from shaking. What were mere captains worth in the face of a true Knight?

Those captains who knew they had bended the rules in exchange for benefits all paled considerably. Even those who had followed the rules were trembling. So what if they followed the rules? In a battle royale, who was to say that someone deserving wouldn't die? In that case, wouldn't they be screwed?

Maybe the only one who didn't have a great reaction was Leonel. He didn't notice when it was, but he had been in so many life and death situations to now that he was no longer affected by just this much. 

"What are you all standing around for?" The knight growled. "If someone doesn't die within the next minute, all 57 of you can die."

The words were like a spark that lit a raging fire. Leonel had only managed to raise an eyebrow at the words before he found several attacks coming toward him, one of which was actually coated in Force!

Leonel frowned. 'He didn't give us any weapons? No, some of them do have weapons, it's just that he couldn't be bothered to care whether or not everything was fair…'

The more Leonel thought about it, the more he disliked this knight. Testing them was fine, by why was it that this test was so despicable? The worst part was that those who were more likely to have bribed their captains were the most likely to have the best equipment on them. 

However, the fact one could attack Leonel with Force definitely meant that he was worthy of his title of four or five star genius. 

Heckle paled when he saw so many attack Leonel right from the start. It was as though they all had a tacit agreement to get rid of the 'lesser thans' first. 

Heckle had followed the rules. He never once took a bribe. But, if Leonel were to die so early on, it wouldn't matter. He would have to follow him in death. 

Leonel sighed. He could faintly see Heckle's face drain of all color from his vantage point as a dagger and two fists came his way. 

He shifted backward, sinking into his boxing stance. He could sense every change within this hundred meter range. In fact, he could already see that within the next second or two, at least three talents would fall, all of them dressed just as simply as him. 

A flicker of rage sparked in Leonel's heart. What a cruel world… In that case, they shouldn't blame him for not showing any mercy. 

Leonel's left fist flattened out, whipping out in a downward slapping motion that cleanly hit the dagger wielding hand. His actions were so fast that the young man before him hardly had time to react before he found his wrist swelling with pain.

The dagger clanged to the ground as the young man called out in pain, but Leonel had already moved on from him, facing the two remaining punches.

He rolled his shoulder, causing the fist to skim off his defenses. The strike alone should have carried nearly 1.00 in strength, but Leonel's Runes flickered beneath his armor out of the sight of everyone else. 

Let alone causing damage to him, Leonel's attacker was lucky to only catch a piece of Leonel. Before the young man could even react to the bursting pain his fist felt, Leonel had already taken a step forward, his hips winding and his back foot pivoting against the ground hard as he sent a punch toward the final fist. 

Heckle's face drained of all color. He could see the benefit of his training with Leonel right before him, but he could also see the Force coated on the final young man's fist. He knew how strong Leonel was… but his background was too lacking. He simply didn't know about these things. If he met this fist head on… he was finished. 

BANG!

However, completely out of Heckle's expectations, Leonel's sent the young man flying. A mournful, muffled cry sounded through the training grounds. But, it was completely drowned out by the sounds of battle. 

Leonel frowned. 'Killing with my fists is too difficult. Had that been my spear…'

Leonel sighed. He couldn't take out his spears now. If he did, he would expose his spatial bracelet. Who knew what kind of consequences that would have?

But…

Leonel's steps didn't pause as he pressed his two fingers together and turned, jabbing a bloody hole into the throat of the young man who threw the normal fist. 

With another step, he entered the range of the young man with the dagger. The latter held onto his wrist, crying out in pain. But, Leonel didn't seem to care as he threw a punch toward his head. 

'[Call of the Wind]!'

BANG!

The young man's head exploded into a cloud of blood. 

Let alone the crowd, this shocked even Leonel. He had only applied [Call of the Wind] to his fists because he found that his fingers were too vulnerable to continue using like a spear. Since he didn't want to expose his Runes so easily to toughen them up, this was the better option. 

But, never had he expected the result to be so exaggerated. 

At that moment, a hushed silence fell over the battlefield. 

Blasting a person's head apart with a single punch… What kind of concept was that?!

The young man who had awakened Force and attacked Leonel earlier trembled fiercely. He didn't even seem to register his broken arm as he tried to scramble backward. The further he got from Leonel, the better. 

"HAHA! You did it Leonel! You awakened Inner Strength!"

Leonel smiled bitterly when he heard Heckle's words. At this moment, that wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Several pairs of eyes landed on Leonel. They all knew what to do. Several youths had already stood out amongst the crowd, killing targets not long after Leonel had. If they didn't band together against these youths, they would die.