Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.27 – The Knight Doesn't Want to Return to Duty (6)
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...Aren still hadn't accepted his defeat.
'I didn't lose!'
He had gone down in one strike, but that was only because his body wasn't in peak condition, and he'd taken an unexpected blow.
Aren hadn't entertained the thought that he was weak or that his opponent was overwhelmingly superior.
And why would he? He was the "White Lion" that the White Silver Lion Knights prided themselves on.
The Pendragon White Lion.
The greatest knight of the current era—that was him...!
So he denied his defeat, convinced that a rematch would yield a different result.
'I can't deny the guy's strong, but if I'd drawn my sword, the outcome would've been different!'
He was strong with a sword in hand.
Armed with that unshakable self-confidence, Aren brimmed with it just moments ago.
But then...
'Wh-what the hell is that...?'
Aren's jaw dropped as he beheld the scene of carnage unfolding before him.
"S-Sir Baker? Sir Riman..."
Baker and Riman.
They weren't top-tier, but they possessed knightly prowess worthy of the title.
Yet those two had...
'...been taken down so pathetically?'
It was absurd.
If they'd been ambushed, it might've been understandable, but the thug had roared at them head-on like a beast, and the two knights froze before collapsing on the spot.
As if some invisible force had crushed them.
But that was just the beginning.
"S-Sir Delin. Sir Temern, even Sir Tobaros..."
The fierce warriors boasted by the 1st Knight Order.
All of them lay sprawled with eyes rolled back, utterly defeated.
They'd drawn their swords and charged, only to be flung aside like infants tossed by an adult.
Even he would've struggled to take them down...
But what was even more astonishing than subduing them was...
"Ha! Calling him a troll all the time must've made him think he really is one. Why's that guy grown so much?"
"...He's on a whole different level from when he crossed swords with me. I trained hard too, but I didn't expect the gap to widen this much..."
"It's not that you're lacking—it's just that the guy's growth is downright unreasonable. Even so, taking down 'over a hundred knights'—can we even call that growth? But still..."
—Without a single scratch.
...Yeah, that monster had effortlessly crushed over a hundred White Silver Lions.
'What kind of freak is that...!'
Sweat dripped and breaths heaved, but no wounds or injuries marred him.
That fact drained the color from Aren’s face even further, and finally, the monster bellowed...
"—Anyone else wanna step up?"
"......"
"Guess not. Then, by the rights of the victor, hear this: Don't bother me again. I hate political games, especially getting tangled up with you lot. Ignore this warning and come at me again, and I won't hold back next time."
A calm warning.
The guy had issued it against the combined might of the 1st and 2nd Knight Orders.
The very symbols of the royalist and noble factions' military power.
Yet no one could dare dismiss it.
The power he'd displayed was...
'This is insane. He's not even an Aura User...'
...More than enough to evoke one.
The knights couldn't hide their trembling eyes, and one with particularly strong pride couldn't hold back his fury.
"...You think you can get away with this unscathed?"
"Threats are fine, but you need the skill to back them up. Empty threats from the powerless are worse than a dog's bark."
"!!?!"
"Mad? Then get stronger. For your information, your current level couldn't even handle one Crimson Hawk. You'd probably need at least ten piling on at once for a decent fight."
"You...!!"
Comparing them—not just to the White Silver Lions, but to the Crimson Hawks, no less—and deeming them far inferior turned the knights' faces beet red.
Even after such a humiliating defeat, they were still White Silver Lions.
The kingdom's premier knight order!
It was an insult, and outrage was natural...!
"I told you—if you've got a problem, come at me. Just know I'm done holding back."
"......"
The low warning echoed, teaching them the true meaning of chills down the spine.
His sheer presence overwhelmed them completely.
...A total defeat for the White Silver Lions.
Lee Han was in the royal prison.
He hadn't been dragged there by force.
The pitifully frail soldiers had approached trembling under orders from their superior.
—Uh... C-Could you... come with us, please?
...He'd gone along out of pity.
Even if it looked like he'd been hauled in...
—No bed or food ready? I'll collapse this prison then. Your call.
—Uh... Well...
—Or should I go beat up those guys on the floor some more?
—......Anything else you need?
In reality, though confined behind bars, no one dared mistreat him.
He could wash with clean water, and the soldiers fetched whatever he wanted. It was quite comfortable.
He figured staying a day here wouldn't be bad...
"Ahahaha! I knew you'd cause a huge mess someday, but this? This is monumental! Kraaha ha!"
"...Laugh quieter. My eardrums are gonna burst."
"Haha! How can I not laugh at something this hilarious? Kraahaha!"
"......I'm gonna lose it."
So much for peace and quiet.
Lee Han's body vibrated with each laugh, shaking him to the core.
Like a massive speaker blasting right in his face.
His roaring laughter alone evoked the Lion's Roar technique.
'Why's he calling everyone else monsters when the real one's sitting right here...'
A middle-aged man of slight build compared to Lee Han.
A frail, twig-like frame beneath white hair, yet...
Far from frail, he brimmed with vitality. His piercing gaze burned with the vigor and energy of a young knight.
Even past seventy, he was the picture of robustness.
Baltar.
The living legend, great hero, Pendragon's strongest and finest knight—that was him.
'...This guy's even stronger than I thought.'
Lee Han felt a chill.
Maybe because of all the massive incidents this year?
He'd been forced to grow, and fortunately, he'd survived.
And in surviving, he'd grown stronger.
Training beyond physical limits, miracle elixirs, desperate battles—the experience had finally leveled him up.
So Lee Han had been confident in his newfound strength.
...Until now.
'Not even close.'
Drip...!
Cold sweat poured like rain as he truly grasped the gap between himself and Baltar.
His growth only made it clearer—the chasm in power was undeniable.
...Vast.
'I thought I'd caught up..., but he's lapped me a hundred times over.'
Not even his back in sight.
"...People really need to stay humble."
"Only now realizing that?"
"Damn it..."
A sense of remoteness washed over him—could he ever catch this man? Yet Lee Han refused to give up the fight.
'I'll catch up to him no matter what.'
Even if he was a hundred—no, a thousand laps ahead!
Close the gap by running harder, faster. Giving up the moment it felt impossible was the real end.
Self-affirmation and an unbreakable positive mindset.
Like a losing pitcher or a coach whose team tanked—he displayed extreme mental resilience.
Lose now, win later. That was his attitude.
Watching him...
"Heh heh, what a range of expressions all by yourself."
Baltar laughed again, this time with amusement that never grew old.
But in that laughter lingered a father's—or master's—warm pride in his growth.
Baltar hadn't come to the knight order in the dead of night just to scold or tease Lee Han.
He wasn't that idle.
"Aren't you totally idle? You barely work and just hang out with your girlfriends all day."
"Hey!"
"...It's true."
"That mouth of yours needs a good whipping."
"......I'll shut up."
Lee Han clamped his mouth shut—no need to pass out all day.
"Heh heh, you've turned the palace upside down."
135 men taken down by one.
As the 3rd Knight Order's commander in name, Baltar had been summoned late at night.
Some had raged for the rabble-rouser's punishment...
"They should be the ones ashamed. How pathetic must the knight order be to lose to a single regular knight?"
But Baltar didn't see Lee Han as wrong.
If anything, over a hundred losing to one was cause for shame and reflection.
"Idiots. Even in wartime messes like this, they'd nitpick right and wrong... Tsk."
"...Ahem."
Seemed like some heavy backstory there.
Lee Han averted his eyes, feeling guilty for troubling a man who should be enjoying retirement.
...He knew he'd gone overboard.
Still...
'Kinda feels unfair though...'
In hindsight, Lee Han hadn't planned to go this far.
He'd meant to lightly rebuke the initial agitators and call it done.
But...
—You bastard! Don't frame us!
—How dare you accuse us of using His Highness the Prince...!
—The nerve of this scoundrel!
...They'd flown into a rage like that.
Thieves protesting their innocence, voices rising louder, escalating...
'They blew it up themselves.'
Take down one, another steps up; down that one, suddenly they call allies.
Down the allies, and they start shouting...
—A-Ambush! It's an ambush...!
Shamelessly crying ambush, and then...
"Even the 2nd Knight Order joined in?"
"...Shameless bunch."
Beyond protesting innocence, begging for help...
The knight order's disgrace, pure shame.
But the ultimate humiliation was...
"Charging so dishonorably and still all losing, then begging me for help... Good grief. Even mercenaries wouldn't stoop that low."
Grovelling to a senile old man(?) for aid.
That was the real spectacle.
"What do you think?"
"About what? The knight order's level? Or ganging up and still losing to me?"
"Both."
"...Yeah, pretty lame. Individual skills? Plenty barely scraping 'average' knight level. Some hadn't trained at all—growth stalled. Those'll self-destruct soon enough."
The external training he'd emphasized to the swordsmanship department as instructor.
Training internal energy while neglecting the body left them brittle as glass—rampant in the White Silver Lions.
Youth, talent, and Fighting Techniques held them for now, but age would decay the body. No youth or talent then.
They'd implode unable to withstand the techniques' explosive power.
...But the bigger issue was...
"Recently, I fought a knight order."
"Heard about it. You crushed the red chicks."
"...That was supposed to be secret. How'd you know?"
"Ways and means. Anyway, your point?"
"......Look, knight orders need individual skill, sure. But cooperation and trust between knights? That's key."
He'd beaten the Crimson Hawks, but it had been terrifying.
He'd learned firsthand how fearsome knight formations were, the might of a famed order—through bruises.
His body still ached thinking back.
One slip, or if they'd been a bit more cowardly?
No honor or duel rules—just full intent to kill?
What then?
Easy answer.
"I'd be dead."
That strong were knight orders—no, Tristan.
But the White Silver Lions?
"They all fought solo. Plus, so much mutual suspicion it made them easier to pick off."
Enemies present, yet eyeing allies instead.
Fear of a knife in the back, plain as day.
In other words, White Silver Lions lacked trust.
Saw comrades as rivals. Such an order...
"I could've wiped them faster if I'd wanted. No focus on me when they should've been—playing separate games instead... Honestly, that pissed me off more, so I beat 'em harder."
"Heh heh."
"Anyway, to me? That's no knight order. Want to be one? Move like a unit. So today? I didn't fight a knight order. Just beat weaklings one by one."
Weaker the more they "cooperated."
Essentially, the White Silver Lions weren't a knight order.
A brutal truth about a historic order like the kingdom itself.
Enough to make leadership drown in shame.
Yet the unofficial pinnacle of that leadership...
"Well said! Teaching's broadened your view. The old you wouldn't have seen it."
...Was delighted. No illusion there.
Baltar beamed at the harsh critique; Lee Han was baffled.
"...Why so happy?"
"You're finally grasping what a knight order is. I drilled in knightly path and order purpose, but it went in one ear out the other. Now you're getting it! Haha!"
"......"
"Time to reinstate you. Return, and the commander's seat is yours. Heh heh!"
The order's historic humiliation? So what?
This young knight's growth was worth it.
Confirming that made him thrilled.
So Baltar hoped he'd wrap up instructing and return.
He'd proven himself—perfect timing for reinstatement and command.
Thus, Baltar brimmed with anticipation...
"—I'm not reinstating."
"......?"
...Only to be thoroughly dashed.
Grown, yet manners worse—he shrugged arrogantly.
"Not taking commander either. Why would I want that hassle?"
"...It's an honorable post."
"Give it to someone else. Plenty need it."
"......"
"What?"
"...Your manners seem worse."
"Wanna fix 'em?"
"......Not really matching lately."
Their gazes clashed.
Neither looked away first, auras flaring savagely—as expected...!
BOOM!!!
—They collided fiercely.
...That night, only after twenty bars bent did the clash of the two men—no, monsters—end.
No one could guess their brawl stemmed from a knight hating reinstatement clashing with one dodging work.