Chapter 15
Chapter 15
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.4 – Lee Han Has Been Demoted
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Knowing my own abilities and level objectively was a crucially important matter.
No matter how hard one tried to view things objectively, human psychology had a way of perceiving situations subjectively and becoming endlessly positive about oneself.
However, Lee Han was always strict with himself.
He had no choice but to be.
He had no master and had to stand entirely on his own.
He did possess a special ability, but it was nothing more than a convenient tool at the end of the day.
Because of that, even as he trained diligently, Lee Han constantly strove to view his abilities objectively.
'How should I gauge my own strength?'
If this world operated on wuxia logic, then most knights would probably be at the level of first-class or peak martial artists.
They were practitioners of Fighting Technique, after all—on par with promising young talents from orthodox sects.
And in contrast, he himself had grown strong through unorthodox demonic path methods rather than Fighting Technique.
His sorcery and troll-like regeneration were more or less on the same tier.
Nevertheless, having repeatedly grown stronger this way, Lee Han's level had undoubtedly reached the very edge of peak realm.
And if he were to surpass that and enter the Entering Divinity stage, he would probably become...
Kaboom!
...that guy.
Lee Han's body tumbled wretchedly across the dirt ground.
Whoosh!
But before he could even finish rolling, he sprang up like a coiled spring and charged at his opponent.
His movements were so elastic and swift that they evoked the image of a four-legged beast rather than a human.
Crack!
Every time he kicked off the ground, the concrete floor shattered beneath him, and Lee Han went straight into a tackle.
With his weight, power, and speed combined, it boasted destructive force equivalent to a dump truck collision—but unfortunately, his opponent was no mere dump truck-mover.
Swoosh!
"Still so rough around the edges. You need to learn some composure."
Movements like a butterfly dancing on the wind.
Baltar effortlessly redirected and evaded Lee Han's powerful tackle, then naturally thrust a palm strike into his back.
Thud!
"Guhhh!"
The ground quaked.
Baltar's palm strike, penetrating his body, carried some profound technique that pierced through Lee Han's sturdy frame like a skewer, threatening to shatter him.
If an ordinary person had taken that hit, their internals would have exploded in a chain reaction, bursting them apart on the spot.
It would have been a gruesomely cruel sight.
"...You ruthless bastard!"
"Heh, you've gotten even tougher."
Yet Lee Han's body neither burst nor fainted.
He seized Baltar's wrist outright.
Crunch!
The raw power to crumple steel was unleashed without mercy, squeezing Baltar's wrist.
Strength that could snap a human wrist like a thin twig.
"Brute force alone won't get you anywhere."
Even against Lee Han's grip strength, Baltar showed no sign of pain.
Why else were Aura Users considered superhumans?
That seemingly fragile flesh contained superhuman power beyond anyone's expectations.
No matter how immense the grip strength, it couldn't be broken so easily.
And sure enough...
"Hup!"
"Gah!"
Lee Han went flying pathetically.
A ferocious pressure erupted from Baltar's body like a volcanic explosion, turning into a typhoon that blew him away.
But.
Bang!
He didn't fall.
He poured power into his charging stance.
His calves and thighs swelled as if about to burst, and from that position...
Kaboom!
...he launched his entire body forward.
A bold move, propelling himself like an arrow.
Whoosh!
A gale whipped up, sweeping the surroundings.
The pressure and shockwave turned even scattered pebbles into sand, proclaiming his power.
Baltar, who had been smirking throughout, finally lost his sneer.
Instead...
"Good."
Shing!
He drew his sword for the first time.
It was still sheathed, but the mere act of drawing it shifted his aura.
Slash!
Before Lee Han could even reach him, Baltar swung first.
A swing through empty air.
It might seem ridiculous at first glance—what kind of stance was that?—but the change it wrought was anything but laughable.
Boom!
"...?!"
With a crash, Lee Han collided mid-path as if hitting an invisible wall and flipped over.
Unlike an arrow embedding into a shield, this wall of air was incredibly firm yet soft, repelling him without injury.
"...Old man, you can make an air shield too?"
"Just a little trick. But it's fairly effective against beasts rivaling the Mountain Tyrant."
"......Dizzying."
Lee Han grimaced, panting in his humiliating seated position on the ground.
But he didn't look particularly exhausted.
He'd taken fewer hits than usual, and above all, his stamina was freakishly beyond spec—this much wouldn't even leave him winded.
Of course, sparring with an Aura User wasn't without repercussions.
Throb!
"...Ribs are cracked."
"Heh, just that?"
"'Just'? It hurts like hell."
He'd probably need at least an hour before he could go again.
"Well done—forcing even this move out of me."
"How do you do that?"
"Anyone can do it easily once they read the flow of the wind. It's a technique those Spellcasters love to use."
"...First time hearing you can cast magic without spells."
"The world of martial arts has no end. With enough effort, you can pick up Spellcaster tricks easily."
"What nonsense."
The Spellcasters probably said something similar about their own arts.
It was that absurd a claim.
A wall of wind—how the hell were you supposed to break through that?
'No matter how much I smash, more keeps coming.'
As expected of a 70-year-old monster.
His hidden techniques seemed endless.
"What was that last move of yours? You flew at me like an arrow."
"Called it Divine Arrow Flight."
"...That 'Indestructible' thing you mentioned before, and now this—your techniques all have this weird flair."
"Pot calling the kettle black."
Lee Han grumbled even as he mentally reviewed the recent exchange.
'Mine was something like Internal Weight Technique, and his was Sword Wind?'
Drawing from countless wuxia novels he'd read in his past life, Lee Han analyzed Baltar's techniques in his own terms, deep in thought.
'...I might be able to mimic the Internal Weight Technique one.'
...Like this?
Thump.
"...Tch, no?"
He slapped his palm against the ground to propel himself, but it only gave a slight jolt.
This was closer to infusing qi than true Internal Weight Technique.
As he felt disappointed...
"Your instincts are still sharp as ever. Mimicking that without even knowing Fighting Technique basics? Heh."
It was only natural for Baltar to find it absurd.
What was Fighting Technique, after all?
It was a kind of body reinforcement technique where a seasoned martial artist sensed the life force flowing within them—their vital energy—and expelled it or momentarily strengthened their body.
Yet because it was a profound "skill" not everyone could learn, it was dubbed Fighting Technique.
Sensing one's internal life force and controlling it was purely a matter of talent.
Moreover, the ideal time to sense those flows was in early childhood, when life force was faint and subtle. Trying to learn it later in adulthood was pointless.
By then, the most delicate flows had passed, and the vital currents had stiffened in maturity—sensing them became a pipe dream.
But this guy was different.
He was already thirty, yet his life force still pulsed like that of a growing child.
And whether due to his growth or his unique traits, he handled those flows intuitively.
For example, swelling his legs to shoot forward like an arrow, or enduring Baltar's power with his organs intact—all followed that principle.
'But his power is all over the place. He's just handling it by feel.'
Lacking Fighting Technique fundamentals, he merely expanded his flows through relentless training, resulting in a unique state where his entire body brimmed with fierce rotational force.
It was as if endless waves churned ceaselessly within him.
And if anyone besides Baltar knew of Lee Han's bodily condition, they would have been horrified.
He should have long collapsed under those flows and died, yet he'd brute-forced a larger vessel and remained fine.
A mad Spellcaster would have turned him into an experiment or tried dissecting him in a frenzy.
'...Fascinating.'
The only emotion Baltar felt was pure interest.
Assuming those flows—his "life force"—continued growing stronger, and his vessel held...
What if he awakened aura in that state and became a superhuman?
Perhaps...
'He might rival the legendary Lion King or Knight King in strength.'
It was still mere speculation.
But imagining the bright future of this promising youth...
'To think I'd find such an intriguing fellow in my twilight years. Heh heh.'
For a man on the verge of retirement, it was an irresistible diversion.
Baltar laughed heartily, hiding his sore wrist.
Gulp...
Only the sound of dry swallows echoed faintly.
Such was the intense shock from the clash of these two knights.
Especially for the rookie knights witnessing it for the first time—the impact was even greater.
They knew Lee Han was strong, of course.
He'd taken down top graduate Yord in one shot, after all.
But they hadn't expected this level.
What the hell was that?
'A mini Mountain Tyrant?'
The monster known as the Mountain Tyrant—or ogre.
He'd never seen one in person, but if there were a humanoid Mountain Tyrant, wouldn't it look just like that?
It even sparked suspicions of monster hybrid blood.
'Why is someone like that still just a regular knight?'
No matter his background, a powerhouse like that deserved some rank.
Yord wouldn't deny a bit of bias in his view, but he couldn't accept that Lee Han was still a regular knight...!
"It's because of all his demerits. So don't get the wrong idea."
"...Pardon?"
"It's true plenty of higher-ups dislike him due to his low status, but that's not the only reason he's stuck as a regular knight. It's his behavior—he's the reason."
"His behavior?"
"He's perpetually late, skips missions constantly. That's why he's piled up so many points."
"......"
"By skill alone, he could've been deputy commander ages ago, but with that attitude... who knows if he'll ever advance. Heh."
"...Ri Han sunbae really is an odd one."
"It's Lee Han. ...And why am I even correcting you?"
Yord ignored Jake's muttering, gazing hotly at Lee Han.
Even if Lee Han saw it as a total beatdown, Yord viewed it differently.
He instinctively realized that Lee Han wasn't just the commander—he was a towering wall and an ideal goal to aspire toward.
'Having someone like that by my side—this is a stroke of immense luck!'
Such a powerhouse nearby.
And he'd even said he was always looking for sparring partners!
This was Yord's chance.
Sparring with someone like that would naturally make him grow stronger too.
'Can't wait.'
Yord felt his knightly life would brim with fulfillment—
...Huh?
Unfortunately, Yord's hopes seemed to have flown far away.
Lee Han.
He had been demoted.