Chapter 172
Chapter 172
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.40 – The Knights' Spring (6)
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The bronze giants were menacing.
They moved autonomously, as if they weren't mere plastic models made of scrap metal, actively seeking out and annihilating their enemies.
When they shifted from human form to suddenly morphing into beasts and charging, it was enough to make one flinch.
Kududuk!
Kwaduduk!
[Uoooo!!!]
"What's with turning into a bull?"
A bronze giant transformed into a bull and charged.
Its sharply gleaming horns carried enough cutting power to slice a body clean in half on contact, but Lee Han blocked them with both hands.
Gold Gang.
The cutting force wasn't nearly enough to slice through his hands.
However, while the cutting power fell short, the raw strength was no joke.
Kududuk...!
His entire body's muscles surged as he blocked the full-force charge of the massive bronze bull with his bare body—a feat possible only for him. In truth, the very premise of a human arm-wrestling one of these things was absurd.
Yet Lee Han pulled it off.
Just recently, he'd finally achieved a 7-ton squat.
It was the fruit of his efforts, and his muscle strength grew daily, granting him ever-superior muscle quality.
His goal of a 10-ton deadlift was still distant, but even so, a bull like this...!
'Just hurl it away!'
Lee Han activated 경.
The already immense power surging through him now lifted an object vastly exceeding his own mass with monstrous strength.
Like an ant dragging prey several times its size back to its burrow, or the superhuman strength felt in stag beetles and rhinoceros beetles when gripped in hand.
Lee Han's 경 enabled such extraordinary feats of power.
Of course, mastering 경 didn't make it possible for just anyone.
Lifting thousands of kilograms at will meant one's body had become a vessel capable of calmly handling that mass—and only the one who forged that vessel could wield such godlike strength.
"Uwaaaaaah!!"
Lee Han bellowed like a battle cry.
A shout wasn't mere roaring; it was one element that maximally activated the body's full power.
His spirit-infused roar echoed thunderously, making nearby mages clutch their ears as if their eardrums might burst.
Kugugung...!
But more astonishing than ruptured eardrums was the sight of the bronze bull being hoisted up and flailing helplessly.
In the midst of this battle where dream blurred into reality, Lee Han simply hurled the bull away.
In which direction?
Obviously...
[──!?]
Toward the other bronze giants.
Kwaang! An enormous explosion rang out in an instant.
They had no choice but to suffer massive impact from the collision alone.
However...
Pushuk!
"...That hurts."
Lee Han wasn't unscathed either.
In hurling the bronze bull, he'd exceeded his limits, and blood burst from his palms.
'Was that too brute force?'
Relying purely on raw power wasn't the best approach, after all.
He needed to fight with his head too.
That said...
'I can't keep spamming sword aura either.'
He'd sliced through three bronze giants with it, but afterward, stamina forced him to stop.
Unlike the Dark One's natural use, it still wasted too much energy for free deployment.
He needed more time to refine it.
In that sense, facing the remaining bronze giants without sword aura was the right call.
If it were just endless bronze giants, he could keep drawing sword aura until his stamina bottomed out.
But his instincts told him...
'This won't end with bronze giants and old spellcasters.'
Lee Han's intuition kicked in.
There were still more threats lurking in the Magic Tower.
Far more dangerous than what had appeared so far...
This was it.
'Yeah, that's what spellcasters do.'
It lived up to expectations.
Lee Han, who hated and despised mages while simultaneously holding them in high regard, ironically felt relief that the Magic Tower wasn't weak.
...A textbook case of how terrifying twisted love-hate could be.
Meanwhile, the entire Empire was in an uproar.
The sight of the Empire's landmark, the Sky Citadel, plummeting to the ground was impossible to miss for anyone who could see it, and the news quickly shook the whole Empire.
-Who the hell...
-What is this?!
-Hah...
-Divine punishment! Those bastards are finally getting theirs...
The news spread to royals, nobles, and commoners alike, plunging the Empire into emergency meetings.
The topic: "Should we rescue the Magic Tower, or not?"
But the current Empire was a mess, and even the officials who should attend moved sluggishly.
Besides, sentiments against the Magic Tower abounded.
It was only natural they'd dawdle.
The relatively competent regional kings and marquesses pondered: if the Magic Tower fell, wouldn't the imperial family and central nobles suffer too? So they leaned toward not helping.
Cause and effect.
It showed just how much resentment they'd built up across the Empire.
...However, one thing.
Even hearing of the Magic Tower's massive losses—
"—there's this 'certainty' and 'trust' that the Magic Tower won't truly fall."
No one in the Empire doubted its survival. It wasn't an illusion.
Even in crisis, they'd overcome it.
"'It's that Magic Tower.'"
"...Indeed. The Magic Tower."
"......Is the Magic Tower really that great?"
"......"
"I-It can't be helped if you don't know! It's possible!"
"...I was just surprised by the unexpected remark. Forgive my rudeness, milady."
"Hmph, whatever!"
"...Haha..."
The gray-haired boy smiled awkwardly, flustered by the sharp exchange between the quirky duo.
Soon, in place of the black-haired boy, he kindly explained to the golden-haired, blue-eyed beauty who seemed like a descended fairy.
"...An organization that's lorded over the Empire for over a thousand years—it's natural for Empire folk to assume they can't fall. ...Even if their own nation crumbles, they'd survive to the end."
"Isn't that practically faith?"
"Faith wouldn't be unwarranted. The power they've amassed over a millennium is something even Pendragon can't ignore."
"Hmm, really...?"
"...?"
"If they're so great, ...why are they getting wrecked by the instructor and Sir Lark?"
"......"
...For a moment, the gray-haired boy, Derek, was speechless.
He couldn't respond to Irene Windler's question either.
And in his stead...
"...Those two are just freaks."
The black-haired swordsman, Roan, answered with a weary grimace.
Not that weariness was unwarranted.
'Those bronze giants are definitely Level 7.5 weapons...'
Bronze giants, machine name: .
Invincible bronze soldiers, the pinnacle of the Magic Tower's wisdom.
Strength about three times an ogre's, movements as nimble as a hyena.
Plus auto-repair, flames at 1,500°C, and animal shape-shifting.
'One alone could destroy five cities.'
And there were twelve of them.
Enough to wipe out a small kingdom in a day, right...?
"...The instructor's toying with them solo."
Derek watched the instructor's fight via skills like [Magnify] and [Enhanced Vision].
Pure toying.
When he lifted and flung the bronze bull alone, his legs nearly gave out.
Was that really human strength?
"No, it's not toying. The instructor's giving his all."
"...Huh?"
"Pushing with skill, power, and spirit. But he's holding back a bit. Conserving energy."
"T-That's conserving energy?"
"Yes. Probably preparing for the next foes."
"......"
...Was a warrior's perspective truly different?
Roan observed the battle differently from Derek, his expression grave.
"Hee, got it. So Sir Lark's conserving too, huh."
Irene Windler, peering at the distant battle through a convex lens of water mana, shifted to Lark.
She had a connection, so she wanted to see how he fought.
He didn't yield an inch to five grand mages, countering their spells and striking fatally in turn. It sent chills down the spine.
If Lee Han's fight was a precarious circus, Lark's was precise gymnastics.
A razor-edge battle allowing no single mistake.
'A true ferocious one.'
'Well, Lv.8 hero class. Expected.'
The boys' evaluations split.
The regressor knew the Heavenly Slaughter Star's might from memory; the other nodded, knowing he was top-tier among peer heroes.
Additionally...
-As expected.
Top-tier traits, amazing.
'Heavenly Slaughter Star and Prodigy must be suppressed thanks to Duke Galahad; normally it'd self-destruct at Lv.6, but he's...'
'Master of All Weapons and Iron Man? With that talent, obvious.'
'Embodiment of Mysteries? Wow, that's just broken. How does he even have that...?'
'River Guardian... Matches Giant Slayer efficiency; total rare.'
'All-Rounder!? With that, it's cheating. He's not even designed to win, but this...'
The more he looked, the more he chuckled in disbelief.
Heavenly Slaughter Star and Prodigy alone made him top-class; others were all tier 1.
In terms of traits alone, unmatched potential.
'Of course, traits don't decide everything.'
Northern great warrior Maximus's traits outclassed the instructor's, yet in real combat, the instructor held firm.
Traits merely describe one's talents and abilities in writing; they don't measure strength gaps.
Just tools—their use is up to the individual.
Besides, right now, that sturdy Lv.8 powerhouse fought alongside the instructor against grand mages.
So their job was...
"Young master, young lady, time to move. Honestly, we're the ones who were late."
Completing the 'mission' from the instructor, right?
The duo nodded at Derek's words, realizing they couldn't just spectate.
That said...
"We didn't want to be late; rather, aren't those two weird for arriving faster than us flying in?"
"The artifact Derek brought isn't faulty, right?"
"...Not faulty. They're just abnormal. And I'm not an assistant instructor!"
"R-Right, sorry."
It wasn't deliberate tardiness; those two running faster than their aerial artifact was the oddity.
The trio marveled at their instructor's lesson that nothing was impossible for humans, then hurried to their mission.
"...Wonder if my kids have arrived yet?"
Lee Han thought of his reliable two boys and one girl.
He hadn't wanted to drag them in, but just in case, he'd messaged via Tae-chang.
Apparently, they had a flying artifact for three, so they'd make it fine.
'If it seated four, I'd have ridden it too.'
He chuckled at the idle thought.
......Kkii... kkiieee... eek!
"...Ah, don't get mad. Not looking down on you."
Lee Han shrugged at his opponent.
He'd just worried briefly about how well the kids would handle things.
Perfectly natural, right?
So...
"Now rest easy."
[------.]
...Kkiiieee............
Kuung...!
The last bronze giant reached for Lee Han till the end but couldn't touch him.
...It had frozen solid, ceasing all activity.
"Not an easy foe."
Lee Han clicked his tongue.
It was strong.
Not just brute strength, shape-shifting, or fire-breathing.
Insanely tenacious.
Regenerated no matter how much punishment, charged relentlessly.
No fatigue, adapting with ever-refined, better tactics.
Impressive.
Probably had learning ability beyond self-repair.
If it'd developed just a bit more, even Lee Han might've struggled.
But he was the victor, the giant the loser.
So.
"Good work."
Tok.
Lee Han patted the bronze giant as he passed, like praising a job well done.
Pasususuk....
The bronze giant crumbled to dust and vanished.
The final end of the guardian deity that had protected the Magic Tower for a millennium on its orders.
But sadly, no eyes witnessed that guardian's demise.
For good reason.
Kwarururung!!
...The major battle raged on.
"Man, those old spellcasters are sharp as hell."
Storm clouds blanketing the sky spun counterclockwise, forming a massive air mass.
Lightning, winds, whirlwinds raged, sweeping everything away.
Cyclone.
An extra-large one assaulted them.
After admiring the majestic natural destruction show, Lee Han asked,
"You alive?"
"......"
"Hm, finally dead?"
"...Don't decide my death on your own, you thug."
"Tch, still kicking."
"......You bastard!"
"Heh."
Full of vigor, punk.
Lee Han eyed the spearman amid scattered spellcasters.
About thirty?
All throats slit.
No need to glance at such small fry.
The real hassle: those five pesky old spellcasters.
In that vein...
"...All you managed was severing one arm?"
"Kuh!"
Only lopping one arm off one old spellcaster? Disappointing.
Lee Han's rebuke; Lark ground his teeth in frustration.
As if even he had to concede it.
...To the mages, it was maddening.
Overhearing, the mages trembled pale as ghosts.
Like prey frozen before predators.