Chapter 247
Chapter 247
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.55 – A Knight Does Not Speak Lies (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“????”
…What?
‘A dream?’
Gardin was approaching ninety-five this year.
Not that it was obvious with Felicia around, but in truth, he was the oldest knight in the kingdom. Excluding the Pendragon royal family, who lived unnaturally long thanks to their dragon blood, few people had lived as long as he had.
And living a long life meant having a wealth of experience, in a way.
Yet even he…
‘I’ve never seen anything like this…’
…could only gape like a fool right now.
‘Can a person really fly through the sky and charge down from above…?’
The scene unfolding before him was just that unbelievable.
A human—no, something he wasn’t even sure was human—had flown in from the sky, descending and turning the area into a wasteland…
If he’d only heard about it in a report, he would have snapped that they should cut the jokes.
But unfortunately…
Kaboom!
…he’d witnessed the absurd spectacle with his own eyes, so he had no choice but to believe it. Gardin forced himself to snap out of it.
“E-enemy incoming from above! T-take him down!”
He wasn’t even sure if that was the right call himself, but it was the most level-headed judgment he could make in the moment. The swordsmen moved in perfect unison.
Right—enemy intrusion was an enemy intrusion, whether they came from the sky or not. The proper response was to counterattack…
—“You lot? The ones threatening my kids?”
Pop!
In an instant, a sound like a balloon bursting erupted from the face of a swordsman who’d been about to draw his blade. His body spun seven times in midair before slamming into the ground.
Thud!
Drip, drip, drip…
His face had hit first, and blood poured from it. But he didn’t even let out a pained groan—he seemed to pass out on impact.
Not a single twitch.
It was a single strike, one so brutal it bordered on merciless violence.
The group approaching him froze, cold sweat beading on their brows. Dozens were overwhelmed in real time by the sheer presence emanating from one man—an eerie phenomenon.
And witnessing this spectacle were…
“H-he really beat us there…?”
“Little Timid, is this thing defective or something? Why’s it so slow?”
“Flight artifacts are super fast. It crossed a distance that takes five hours by train in just one hour.”
“Then why’s it slower than the instructor?”
“That’s… because the instructor’s a freak.”
The two boys arriving late stepped off their paper-airplane-like flight artifact and scratched their noses at the sight of the half-destroyed mansion.
Their instructor—having leaped into the air ahead of them(?)—had already begun the rescue operation.
‘…What the instructor used wasn’t Air Step. It was straight-up Flight Technique.’
Derek could only chuckle wryly as he recalled the man soaring through the sky like a human missile, kicking off the air itself.
Pop!!
Sounds like bursting balloons rang out in succession, and with each one, the swordsmen fell helplessly.
Resistance? Counterattack?
Crunch!
…What’s that?
“A s-sword?!”
A swordsman who’d snuck up behind Lee Han and swung his blade smirked. But his triumphant strike shattered his sword instead.
It was a moment of cognitive dissonance. For an instant, the swordsmen wondered if they were dreaming.
And understandably so. Even if they’d staged a rebellion and turned half-demonic, their skills as swordsmen weren’t amateurish by any means—they were genuinely skilled.
Yet their slashes weren’t just blocked—their swords shattered.
And that from a sneaky backstab, no less!
What the…?!
“You think I’d leave my back exposed for nothing?”
“!!?”
“Good attempt.”
Whoosh!
Krunch!
Lee Han’s massive palm enveloped the man’s face and slammed him straight into the ground. A sound like shattering glass came from the man’s body as he hit.
It was a chilling noise that made the attackers’ blood run cold. It sounded like the footsteps of the Grim Reaper himself, evoking cold sweat and dread—not their imagination.
“You know? Your back muscles can be a great weapon too.”
–??
Everyone froze in confusion at the grim reaper-like figure’s sudden nonsense, but he just kept talking.
“Nothing fancy. You transform your back muscles into both a shield and a weapon. Once you get the knack, it’s easy.”
–?????
…What the hell is this guy babbling about?
That was written all over the swordsmen’s faces. But he hadn’t expected them to get it anyway, so he just gave a wry smile.
“Pioneers always have it rough.”
Pluck!
Lee Han picked up the half-broken sword from the man he’d smashed.
What’s he gonna do with a shattered blade…?
Vmmm!
“This sword can still fight.”
“Sword Resonance…”
The blade hummed naturally, and the swordsmen’s faces paled.
They’d never heard of invoking Sword Resonance with a broken sword.
But the next moment brought even greater shock!
Whoosh!
They witnessed flower petals blooming from the sword—an otherworldly sight. And so the swordsmen…
“There’s a certain charm to seeing plum blossoms in winter, right?”
…were forced to crumble before the onslaught of plum blossoms.
Swish…
“……”
The ‘monster’ approached, brushing iron filings from his palm like sand.
“…Unbelievable.”
Gardin looked up at the sky.
The sky that had never once been on his side in his entire life.
“How indifferent it is. Why won’t the light smile upon me?”
He’d devoted his life to it. Given everything.
He’d even abandoned his humanity. So why—
“Why is a monster like you blocking my path?!”
Gardin spat out his rage and sense of injustice.
The terrifying aura of a swordsman who’d swung the blade for over ninety years erupted. At that moment, as the lethal sword wind scattered…
“The sky’s never on humanity’s side. Nothing’s as unfair as the world itself.”
“…And you understand the ways of the heavens?”
“Don’t know the principles, but I know how tough life is. You’ve lived longer than me, old man—you should get it.”
“……”
“Unless dementia’s set in.”
“…Insolent cur.”
“Weird, huh? Why do all the adults call me insolent? I think I’m pretty polite.”
“……”
Gardin paused his fury and fixed the monster with a calm gaze at his casual shrug.
Those words might be a tactic to provoke him.
‘Not just a mindless beast. He knows how to use his head.’
And a beast that could think was dangerous in itself.
Gardin resolved to see the man not as human, but as an intelligent predator.
With that in mind…!
— “You shouldn’t move.”
…He froze.
“You’ve already lost. Don’t make it ugly—give up.”
“Wh-who’s lost?!”
“You have. You don’t even realize your own state.”
“What…?”
“Look at your hand.”
“……”
Gardin, about to snap back, looked at his own hand instead.
Shake!
His trembling hand, like he had the shakes…
“See? You’re already scared. That means you’ve lost.”
“!?”
“It’s been a while since you fought for real, hasn’t it, old man? You’ve got the skills, but it’s probably been years since you saw action. You’re rusty.”
“Th-this is…”
“Even the finest named sword is useless if you just hang it on the wall. Don’t beat yourself up. You’re better suited to wielding a pen than a sword anyway.”
“……”
…The ultimate insult.
He, once called one of the kingdom’s top hundred swordsmen, was being told a pen suited him better than a sword.
And yet…
“……”
…he couldn’t draw his blade.
“Master!”
Arno rushed to Lee Han without hesitation, and Lee Han chuckled.
“Good to see you in one piece.”
No visible injuries.
They’d rebelled, but at least they hadn’t completely lost their minds.
“Yeah, even brainless idiots know to fear that lady.”
“You mean your grandmother?”
“Obviously.”
“…That’s an awkward comment from a grandson’s perspective.”
“Whatever. You hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine, so could you ease up on the destruction?”
“Bill the academy. Not me.”
“…I’ll send it to Gardin personally. Don’t want to see the dean clutching his neck and collapsing.”
Arno glanced at Gardin, kneeling in defeat.
He’d always looked young for his age, but now he seemed a decade older.
The fact that he’d admitted defeat without even fighting must have hit hard.
“Impressive as a swordsman.”
“Swordsman? He reeks of ink—I figured he was a politician.”
“…That’s killing him twice over, Instructor.”
Arno desperately wanted to lop off the man’s head even now, but he wasn’t cold-blooded enough to behead someone whose spirit was already broken.
“Guess I’ll leave him to Father and Grandmother.”
“You’re too soft.”
“…Isn’t keeping him alive better for intel, Instructor?”
“You think I care about that?”
“……”
“I spared him because it’s your family business. Proof? No one’s dead.”
“Y-you held back?”
“Otherwise, this mansion would be gone by now.”
“……”
“I went easy since it’s my disciple’s house.”
“Th-thank you?”
He expressed gratitude, but wondered if it was warranted.
If this was him holding back, what would full power look like—?
‘…My goal is so far and treacherous.’
Arno smiled bitterly, realizing how distant the back he chased truly was.
“Such a buzzkill.”
Lee Han lightly scolded his disciple for overthinking, but he took joy in the spark still in the boy’s eyes.
Unlike that rusted swordsman, this kid would rise again no matter the despair.
A promising future.
So…
— “What kind of scum are you, messing with my bright young prospects—?”
Kaboom!!
…Lee Han’s fist unleashed the Hundred Paces Divine Fist.
Toward the insolent scum who’d invited him here.