From Alchemy Apprentice to All-Powerful God King

"You can give it a try."

Leon held his greatsword horizontally in front of him and swung it lightly, instantly sending a powerful gust of air blowing towards Matthew's face.

"Aren't you afraid of being discovered by others?" Matthew raised his eyebrows and squinted, his bangs being lifted up as he didn't quite understand the other person's behavior.

If it's just for a recipe, or because you're losing the limelight, there's absolutely no need to take the risk.

"Discovered? You, a powerless alchemist, ran off to the border in the middle of the night and got killed by a monster. What does that have to do with me, a knight?"

Leon brandished his greatsword at Matthew: "I'll ask you one last time, are you going to hand it over or not!"

Moonlight filtered through the dappled leaves, illuminating the silver sword tip and reflecting a blinding light, while also highlighting Leon's disdainful face.

"The first-tier magical insects inside you knights are usually armored worms, right?"

Matthew suddenly asked a completely irrelevant question, which startled Leon. Before he could answer, Matthew continued.

"Years of carrying heavy loads have strengthened my physique, enabling me to unleash extraordinary speed and power. However, the drawback is also obvious: I experience a brief period of exhaustion after each burst of power."

As Matthew recounted the knights' abilities and weaknesses, Leon's expression remained unchanged.

Instead, he mocked, "You're just a newly promoted alchemist apprentice. So what if you know everything about demonic insects? Do you think you can defeat me with your swarm of exploding insects?"

Matthew shook his head and laughed out loud as well.

"What I want to say is that the magical insects used by you low-ranking knights are really trash."

Suddenly, the surroundings fell silent.

After hearing Matthew's words clearly, Leon's smile vanished instantly.

He had expected the other party to kneel down and beg for mercy, or turn around and run away, but he never expected that they would say that their knights' magical insects were trash.

The knighthood that others dream of and struggle to obtain even with their entire fortune is utterly worthless in the eyes of him, an apprentice.

"Manual laborer".

As Matthew spoke again, his face full of sarcasm, Leon could no longer hold back. He gripped his greatsword, unleashed his magic, and charged towards his opponent.

"A mere apprentice, weak and helpless, dares to spout such nonsense!"

Long, long ago, there was no such profession as knight; people were more often referred to as laborers or strongmen.

As empires rose one after another, laborers gradually evolved into knights, and their status and position were greatly elevated.

Arrogance has taken over their minds, and power has become their weapon.

From then on, the words "laborer" became taboo in their speech.

As Leon rushed towards him, Matthew's face still wore that mocking expression. He didn't understand why the other man showed no fear whatsoever.

But the next moment, a feeling of unease quietly arose in my heart.

Suddenly, a bright red demonic insect appeared in Matthew's hand.

"Fire bee!"

At the same time Leon saw it, the fire bee also looked at him, its wings already vibrating behind it, aiming at him.

"Damn it!"

Clearly, he hadn't expected Matthew to possess such a one-time-use magical insect, comparable to a full-force attack from a first-tier magical insect.

The explosive momentum prevented him from changing direction in time, so he could only swing the greatsword he was about to use at the fire bee.

Upon impact, intense flames erupted from the fire bee's body, completely engulfing Leon and engulfing him.

Matthew took the opportunity to retreat, retrieved the swarm of exploding insects he had previously crafted at home from the Ring, infused them with magic, and threw them into the raging fire.

"I'll let you eat your fill."

Amidst the flames, Leon covered his entire body with magic, activating the armor encasing him to provide protection. However, the flames released by the fire bees also possessed magic, constantly clinging to his body.

Just as he was about to break through the flames in one go, another demonic insect suddenly flew in from the front and landed at his feet.

When he saw it clearly, his face instantly turned ugly.

"Swarm of exploding bugs!"

He had witnessed the power of this demonic insect firsthand in the guild square last time; even he would be injured if he were hit by it.

However, before he could react, the swarm of exploding insects beneath his feet began to expand, moving even faster than before under his magic and the influence of the flames.

After a series of explosions, the flames gradually died down, and Leon's figure came into view.

The blood flowing from the corner of his mouth and his drooping left arm made it clear to anyone with eyes that he was not in good condition, without even needing to probe.

"Matthew, you're cunning enough, but you have no idea how powerful a knight is. He's far beyond what one or two demonic insects can defeat!"

Leon's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were filled with a sinister glint of anger.

He never imagined being injured like this by an apprentice without any magic. If this got out, it would be the biggest stain on his knightly career. After quickly regaining his composure, he charged at Matthew again.

He absolutely cannot let the other party leave alive!

"I think you're really stupid. You saw I wasn't leaving, so instead of running away, you rushed over to your death. Did you really think I only had one-time use magic insects?"

As Matthew spoke, Leon's pupils contracted sharply as he rushed in front of him, feeling the magic that didn't belong to him rising rapidly in front of him. At that moment, he admitted that he had acted impulsively.

A burst of fire erupted after a snap of the fingers, followed by a powerful punch; Leon felt as if his head was about to explode.

"impossible....."

The explosion drowned out Leon's incredulous voice. He was sent flying backward, crashing through several tree trunks before finally stopping by plunging his greatsword into the ground.

The knight's physique and the abilities of the beetle make him far more resistant to blows and able to recover than ordinary ability users, but he is still seriously injured at this moment.

He had already exhausted all his magic power in order to resist the two one-time use magical pets.

"How could you possibly possess a first-tier magical insect? You're clearly just an apprentice!"

Leon was truly panicked at this moment; the two explosions had almost knocked him unconscious.

He's at his limit now. He can handle ordinary people without much trouble, but if it's an ability user who's still at their peak, there's only one outcome.

He tried to stand up and escape, but a sharp pain shot through his body. His right leg had been broken in the impact, and his abdominal armor had been blown apart, leaving his flesh and blood a bloody mess.

Matthew, rubbing his fists, walked towards him.

"Your knights' turtle shell is really hard; a full-force attack only managed to break a hole."

But to Leon, these words sounded rather harsh.

Their armor was made of special minerals and could resist most magic, but even so, it was still shattered by Matthew with a single punch.

Seeing Matthew approaching and his undisguised, death-gazing eyes, Leon, who had lost all fighting ability, crawled backward on his hands and feet.

"Matthew, I don't need your formula anymore. Let's pretend this never happened. I promise I won't hold it against you when we get back."

Hearing this, Matthew laughed in anger; he had never seen such a shameless knight.

"You seem a little confused. Didn't you try to kill me first?"

Before the other could speak again, Matthew kicked him in the stomach. The magical strike caused Leon to curl up on the ground, tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Matthew, you can't kill me. My family is very famous in the Empire. If I die, none of you in Val will escape."

"Matthew, I was wrong, please forgive me, I was really wrong."

Leon knelt on the ground, clutching Matthew's feet, looking genuinely repentant.

But the next moment, magic erupted, and the explosion engulfed Leon's head, rendering him unable to make a sound.

"I hate it when people apologize afterwards."