Chapter 171
Chapter 171
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.40 – Knights' Spring (5)
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BOOM!
"......"
KARRRRUMBLE!
"...The outside is getting rowdy."
BAM!
"Hm, is it dragging on longer than expected? That's unusual."
He had no interest in what was happening outside to begin with.
He always stayed in a space cut off from the world, reading books and conducting research.
But today, it was unusually noisy.
The distracting sounds kept echoing.
KABOOOOOM!
The noises showed no sign of dying down; they only grew louder.
Noise pollution on this scale could drive someone to murder.
"Tch."
Tap.
He finally stood up.
He hadn't planned to go outside at all.
"Has something too tough for my kin to handle arrived?"
It seemed a slightly dangerous creature had shown up.
So he stepped forward.
To put an end to the noise pollution.
KABOOM!
The empire's greatest institution.
An impregnable fortress that no one had ever breached.
The mages' Ivory Tower.
A heavenly castle that ordinary folk could never hope to ascend.
The sacred ground of mages, known by countless aliases, was being pulverized.
By a calamity falling from the skies...
This was an unprecedented event, even in a thousand years of history. Any lesser institution would have lost its wits and collapsed outright under such an assault.
But.
This was the Magic Tower.
Mages overflowed here in abundance.
Rather than cowering in fear at the one daring to assault their sacred ground, the mages trembled with rage and unleashed their magic.
Some repaired the crumbling tower, others deployed defensive spells, and some worked to restore the tower's force field.
And the rest...
"It's that bastard! He dared attack the Magic Tower!"
"That scum...!!"
...blasted magic wildly at him.
One might imagine mages fighting gracefully and elegantly, but right now, they looked utterly barbaric.
Well, it would be weirder if they weren't furious at someone destroying their home, but for mages who were supposed to stay cool-headed, this was pretty low-class.
Thus...
'What the hell are these guys?'
The intruder—the primary culprit behind the tower's collapse—frowned suddenly.
He had been toying with the mages one-sidedly, yet something felt off.
Lee Han knew mages inside and out, whether he wanted to or not.
He'd come to know them better than anyone else out of sheer loathing...
In short, he'd become an expert by diligently hunting mages more than anyone in this era.
...Which was exactly why this was strange.
'Why are they so pathetic?'
He heard all sorts of incantations.
Spells meant to threaten him.
Fiery bows and leaf projectiles, earthen hammers assaulted him.
Yet even so...
WHAM!
'Too easy to deal with...'
Lee Han's fist generated a fist wind that cleanly erased the incoming magic.
Not just dispelling the spells—the frail-bodied mages couldn't handle the unexpected blow and were sent flying.
Overwhelming.
Lee Han was overwhelming the mages.
"......"
Yet he didn't look pleased.
'They're not weak...'
They weren't weak.
Their skill level was high, and their magic was sharp.
Academy cadets learning magic couldn't even compare.
...But that was it.
'These guys are all bookworms.'
And Lee Han was certain.
He knew exactly why they were so weak.
Lack of real combat experience.
Lee Han realized that the Magic Tower, their safe haven, had become 'poison' to these spellcasters.
'They live in such safety they've never learned to hunt. They can toy with the infinitely weak, but actual combat? Rare for them.'
The more he fought, the clearer it became.
These spellcasters were like tigers in a zoo.
Not stripped of wildness, just beasts that couldn't hunt.
They only devoured pre-plattered meals.
Ridiculous.
No wonder they fell for a surprise attack.
Disappointingly weak!
Thus...
—There's no way this is all there is, right?
Lee Han heightened his vigilance even further.
To reiterate, Lee Han knew spellcasters intimately, whether he liked it or not.
Expert-level knowledge, and while he loathed them, he never underestimated or looked down on them.
If anything, he saw spell-users as more dangerous than anyone.
Which made this unease all the more nagging.
Spellcasters he deemed dangerous, and this was all they had?
...No way.
Lee Han never took them lightly.
These parasites had clung to the empire for a thousand years.
There was no way this was their limit.
He trusted them as much as he hated them.
And sure enough.
[Uoooo-!]
As if repaying his trust, they finally began revealing their true power.
"Yes, now we're getting somewhere."
Spellcasters, or mages as they're called—their moniker is 'the Prepared.'
Many meanings, but in Lee Han's terms: insidious bastards always ready for crises.
And those insidious ones finally...
"Blue! The [Bronze Giant] is moving!"
"That intruder's done for."
"Heh, never thought I'd live to see that thing move."
"...Tch, too late, way too late."
THUD!
RUMBLE!
THUMP...!
From within the bisected Magic Tower, it emerged, taking massive steps.
A bronze giant, 10 meters tall, worthy of the name 'giant.'
And not just one, but a whopping...
"...Twelve of them."
Ha.
'You guys were really hiding something fun.'
Lee Han eyed the twelve approaching giants with keen interest.
This is what a spellcasters' den should be.
'Fitting.'
CRACK!
Lee Han clenched his fist brutishly.
The Magic Tower mages had been caught off-guard by the destruction of their impenetrable mana force field, delaying their initial response, but their sense of crisis was minimal.
After all, the tower brimmed with means to 'eliminate' such intruders.
The Bronze Giants alone were the pinnacle of magitech, the crystallization of all the tower's wisdom.
A single one could toy with and destroy an entire territory.
And there were twelve of them.
The intruder's death was assured—
CRUNCH!
"...??"
...The mages doubted their eyes.
"The, the giant's arm...?"
"...Got ripped off?"
The Bronze Giant's arm had been torn off with ridiculous ease.
Not with magic. Just purely...
CRACK!
The intruder, the knight, had ripped it off with raw strength.
Overwhelming power.
But if the knight read those thoughts, he'd scoff.
It wasn't just strength; it was technique.
The [Heavy Hand Technique].
RUMBLE!
The ground shook as the giants lunged at the knight.
Yet the knight stepped forward without fear.
WHOOSH!
Moving like the wind, he slipped through the giants' gaps as if toying with them.
Was it possible for such a large frame to move so fluidly and swiftly?
The Bronze Giants were quick despite their size, yet he dodged them effortlessly. The mages were dumbfounded.
And additionally.
THUD!
The knight planted a fist into the giant while displaying superhuman agility.
Proving there were plenty of spots to hit on such a massive body.
And the struck giant...
GRRIND!
...hilariously had its internals shatter, its leg crumbling from within.
CRUNCH!
The knight toyed with the Bronze Giant like it was nothing, making one wonder if they were ever that fragile.
BOOM!!!
But seeing the ground quake massively from a single fist slamming down proved they weren't weak.
Yes, the Bronze Giants were strong.
Battlefield slaughterers and destroyers gods—how could they be weak?
However, that meant...
"—What the hell is that guy?"
...The knight had the skill to toy with them.
The mages couldn't hide their shock but quickly regained composure and prepared spells.
No time for gawking—they had to step in and...
SLASH!
"!?!"
"D-Debric Gong!!"
"Kin!!"
One mage preparing to cast had his head severed clean off.
While all eyes were on the giant-knight battle, a ferocious wolf had already arrived on the battlefield.
And the wolf never missed a careless prey, snapping its neck instantly.
Like now.
"You moronic bastards. If you're gonna step up, do it sooner—trying to barge into a knight's duel? Know some shame, you honorless wretches."
Lark.
The spear-wielding knight who arrived hoisted his lance and bellowed at the honorless mages.
He'd thought brigands took all the good prey, but plenty remained.
'Hm, but the juiciest prey went to the brigand, huh?'
The Bronze Giants.
GRRIND!
The ones fighting the brigand were regenerating their destroyed arms and legs—self-repair function.
And moreover.
CLANK! CLUNK.
Judging humanoid form insufficient against the brigand, they shifted to beast shapes.
Lions, bears, tigers, wolves, leopards, monkeys, and more.
'The world is vast.'
As expected of the Magic Tower. Full of oddities.
Thus, disappointing.
He wished he could face those himself.
'Only unsatisfying scraps left.'
As Lark frowned...
ZZZCRACK!!
Lark snapped to attention from the intense strike targeting him.
SWISH!
He deflected the lightning swiftly, but his arm tingled.
He hadn't fully blocked the impact.
"Elder!"
"The masters are here...!"
"It's over."
WHOOSH.
Five elders flying through the sky appeared, and the mages beamed as if they'd never been scared.
If the Bronze Giants were guardian deities and destroyers of foes, these were high mages with power incomparable to others.
Rank 1 mages of the tower, also called Archmages.
Five of the seven Archmages in the empire had revealed themselves here.
[He bounced it off?]
[No ordinary warrior.]
[Still just a lowly beast.]
[True enough.]
[Oh, perfect for experiments though—]
CRUNCH—!
Every word from the Archmages became an incantation.
Each utterance crushed the air with pressure, shattering buildings.
Like living masses of mana—monsters among monsters.
In ancient times, Archmages often ruled as gods, and it was easy to see why they were worshipped.
...And the man facing five such ancient god-like Archmages.
"......Yes, now it's less disappointing."
Was thoroughly satisfied.
Yes, this is it...
"Worth the trouble of coming to the empire to kill you."
WHOOSH!
A thick, almost tangible killing intent poured from Lark's body, spreading like fog.
The ferocious wolf born with killing intent for thousands was due for a release.
Normally, his liege Duke Blake helped vent it, but today, no need.
After all.
'I can kill freely.'
Justification aplenty.
Impudent scum who dared target his lord, Galahad's demon sword...!
Their punishment could only be one.
'Execution!'
The ferocious wolf charged at the mages.
"......"
"That guy's having the time of his life."
Lee Han was dumbfounded.
The one who called him crazy was now more excited than anyone.
Not like an uncle who whines about not wanting to go to the amusement park but ends up enjoying it more than the kids.
"Sigh, those are the ones I wanted to fight..."
But he felt regret too.
He'd wanted to face those massive mana emitters, the Archmages.
ROARRR!
...Not tussle with weird robots—no, golems—all the way to the empire.
The Bronze Giants spewed flames reminiscent of 'Greek Fire' from their mouths, and Lee Han drew his sword without hesitation, slashing horizontally.
A single blow wouldn't suffice; they'd just regenerate.
So!
HUMMM!
Lee Han infused his blade with 'Star Halo'.
SLASH!
[Uoooo!]
"...Do you feel sorrow too?"
Lee Han's single stroke bisected the Bronze Giant's body—no, obliterated it.
The intense cohesive force from his sword erased it completely, beyond even self-repair.
But this was.
"...So this is its power."
Not something Lee Han intended.
He'd only just tested it in real combat; he hadn't known its output.
- Sword Energy Manifestation.
Witnessing the superior form of sword ki—also called sword beam—Lee Han gained one lesson.
'Never use on people, not on people...'
Unless he wanted to become a murderer.