Chapter 248
Chapter 248
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.55 – A Knight Does Not Speak Lies (3)
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A massive explosion roared.
Due to Lee Han's furious lion's roar, the people whose ears were already numb from it now had to clutch their ears in agony once more from the grenade-like blast.
It was that intense a detonation that suddenly engulfed them.
"Urk?!"
"Kuhk…!"
A few half-beastmen who didn't know their place had been timing their chance to lunge at Lee Han, only to be exposed to the overwhelming pressure of his blazing fist. Their bodies bounced away like marbles, suffering deep internal injuries.
Boom!!
The mere fact that it sent even upper-class knight-level experts flying meant that taking the blow directly would pulverize one's body without question.
It wasn't just a simple punch anymore. It now packed the power of dozens of dynamite sticks bundled together.
Terrifying beyond measure.
Thus…
Whoosh!
"-Scary stuff. How the hell did you know? My stealth was perfect."
The fact that someone had withstood that single strike meant they were no pushover either.
"!!?"
The onlookers were stunned.
When Lee Han had suddenly unleashed the blow out of nowhere, they'd been shocked enough. But now, from the wall shattered by that strike, a woman emerged.
"Sh-She blocked Master's Hundred Steps Divine Fist?"
They couldn't hide their astonishment at the part where she'd blocked the Hundred Steps Divine Fist of all things.
But the opponent paid no mind to Levi's group and their shock, merely shaking out her wrist.
"My wrist hurts. Ow. What insane power. How much force did you condense into that…"
Whoosh!
"!!?"
The woman, who had been grinning as if trying to start a conversation, recoiled in alarm.
Before her eyes was Lee Han clenching his fist again and thrusting it out, as if conversation with her wasn't even worth attempting.
Krunch!
"I don't chat with terrorists."
What was the point of talking to lunatics who'd already lost their minds?
Fwoooosh!
In an instant, wind gathered around Lee Han.
He'd merely clenched his fist, yet a vortex formed around him, whipping up a small tornado. A ferocious aura poured out, as if the previous strike had been mere child's play.
And so…
Kabooooom!!
-An entire forest vanished.
"……."
Drip… drip…
Lee Han gazed at the devastated forest with a blank expression, but inwardly, he was quite surprised.
'What the? Why's the Hundred Steps Divine Fist acting up like this? I didn't even use full power.'
Lee Han was certain he'd unleashed the Hundred Steps Divine Fist with only half his usual strength.
Yet strangely, its current power matched what it would be if he'd layered on the Overlapping Horsepower technique—far beyond his intent.
The fact that it unleashed this much power even when he'd held back meant…
'Image training actually works?'
…And quite effectively, at that.
Come to think of it, aside from spars with Geom-gong, it had been ages since he'd fought anyone else in real combat—ever since starting mental image training.
No, it hadn't even been a full month since his last battle, yet he'd progressed this much. It felt awkward yet refreshing.
This was it. The real deal.
"Am I still in my growth phase?"
"……."
"Why're you staring like that?"
"…It's just so absurd."
"People can make jokes too. No need to look so flabbergasted."
"It's not the joke. I'm genuinely wondering if you're still growing, and that's what's absurd."
"??"
"What's the secret? Are you actually from some mystical race?"
"Pure human."
"……."
"Hey, why the suspicion?"
The little wolf pup shot him an irreverent glance, and Lee Han found the guy's serious reaction to his joke ridiculous.
But there was nothing he could do about the injustice…
"How can we treat someone who erases a forest with a punch as human?"
To be precise, it was the Hundred Steps Divine Fist's doing, but Lee Han shrugged without adding a word.
Even if he could claim he threw punches like that.
'There are monsters everywhere who can block it, so whatever.'
He knew this world was full of beasts his full power couldn't touch.
…Like right now.
Whoosh!
Splitting through the dust storm, a woman drenched in blood struggled to rise.
"…Wow, you, that's too much. If I hadn't blocked it, I'd be dead."
"Tch!"
"Hm, sacrificing three fingers to survive—pretty cheap price, huh? Heh."
"……."
"Not gonna swing again?"
"…Doesn't seem like it'd kill you."
"Oh? Pretty sharp observation."
"……."
Sharp was sharp—why the question mark? But Lee Han ignored it, narrowing his eyes at the opponent who was still very much alive.
She looked on the verge of death, but to him, it felt like mere camouflage.
And rightly so.
'Using some unusual technique?'
Others might not have seen it, but Lee Han had caught what technique she'd used.
'The Hundred Steps Divine Fist got blocked midway—no, split? What was that blood-red glow…'
"-Blood Thorn."
"…Puppy?"
"I-Instructor, if I'm not mistaken, that woman…"
"…You saw it?"
"Y-Yeah, kinda glanced it."
Turns out there were two witnesses, not one.
It was Levi who'd spoken, and though the timing was off, Lee Han nodded warmly, pleased.
'They're growing well.'
Seeing one's disciple shine with talent in any situation was heartwarming.
"Good eye. I'll treat you to a meal later."
"Th-Thank you, sir."
"Lady Levi?"
"Oh, it's nothing major, but I saw it. That woman with the blood…"
Slash!
Lee Han's scabbard whipped out, smacking away a 'projectile' flying straight at Levi.
It was struck with the force of a grand slam home run, sending the projectile right back at the woman.
Bam!
"Blocking this like that?"
The woman caught the projectile she'd launched herself, her eyes widening like a rabbit's.
Not only had her attack been blocked, but it had been flung right back at her, and her hand throbbed from the impact.
"You're one scary bastard. No wonder you're wrecking all our plans—it's not luck."
The woman let out a hollow laugh.
She'd planned a light face-to-face, but this meeting was anything but.
"Blood? No… bone?"
This time, having seen the attack clearly, Arno realized the nature of the projectile and paled.
An attack using blood and bone.
Not human at all. Thanks to his father's profession, Arno had read heaps of history books, allowing him to deduce her identity.
"A noble race born from dragon blood, yet cursed by the gods for their arrogance, shunned by the light. Immortal yet not, akin to monsters—bloodsucking humans…"
Vampire, or.
"Hm, rather than that name, call me 'Nobility of Blood'? I prefer it."
According to texts, it was the name of a dangerous race said to have single-handedly slaughtered an entire nation's army in less than half a day.
Slash!
The blood surging from the woman's body flowed back toward her as if time itself were reversing.
It happened in a flash, and her body was fully restored, as if she'd never been injured.
Except.
"Ah, my fingers won't regenerate."
The fingers obliterated without trace by the Hundred Steps Divine Fist—even a vampire couldn't regenerate what was completely erased, judging by her grumpy expression.
"Tch, it'll take at least four days to regrow. Or maybe I need a bigger 'meal'."
She muttered to herself like an actress on stage.
Her actions and speech were exaggerated, her expressions dramatic to draw attention.
Whether innate or deliberate, it hardly mattered.
The onlookers were still reeling from learning her true nature.
"V-Vampire? Th-That's just from legends, right?"
"I can hardly believe it myself, but no other race on this continent can do that."
"No way…"
Levi's face drained of color—a perfectly reasonable fear.
Whether from fairy tales or history, her kind's danger was legendary.
If she had all the abilities from legend, she was undeniably a perilous creature.
For fledglings like them, she was on a level too burdensome to face, and trembling was the natural instinct of any fearful lifeform.
And sure enough.
"Hm, shall I get some revenge for my lost fingers?"
Stab!
With a playful remark, blood spurted from the woman's side.
She'd stabbed herself with a dagger to force out blood—suicidal madness? No, the spilling blood proved otherwise.
Squirm, squirm…!
It wriggled like a living thing, bone fragments mixing within the droplets, forming what looked like truly alive creatures.
<[Red Ant Legion]>.
The name sprang to mind unbidden.
"How about it? A round?"
The woman grinned as if inviting another strike from earlier, and Lee Han wiggled his fingers, debating whether to draw his sword.
Then, soon enough.
"…You're still quick at running away, punk."
He spat the mocking accusation with a sneer.
"Huh?"
"A round? Your main body's already fled."
"……."
For the first time, the grin vanished from the woman's face.
"Still can't get serious, still treating the world like a joke. Same old rotten mosquito brat."
"…Do we know each other?"
"I didn't recognize you at first either. But now I get it. Why're you a woman? Finally figured out your gender identity?"
"……."
"Congrats, you clown."
"…Who the hell are you? None of the kids I thought were cute looked as rough as you."
She shot her first sharp glare at Lee Han, who had pierced her ploy. But he had no intention of chatting.
Swoosh!
"I've never been 'cute' to scum like you."
Lee Han's foot had already kicked up a spear from the ground. The propelled spear shattered the red ant legion in an instant, impaling the woman's head.
<[Sun-Piercing Spear]>.
The spear, imbued with the resolve to pierce even the sun, crushed the cowardly monster's clone.
"……."
Lee Han scowled fiercely at the perishing ghost's clone.
That damned demon had finally emerged into the world.
'Why's it still alive? Just die already.'
Rarely, he showed unfiltered disgust. Amid his savage aura, the others cautiously gauged his mood.
"…Don't walk on eggshells. I'm not mad at you guys."
"Instructor…"
"I'll explain that demon later. For now."
Drip.
"Parent-teacher conference first."
"…Sorry."
"What're you sorry for? It's all…"
The adults' fault for being worthless.
Yeah, in every era, kids suffered because of pathetic grown-ups who couldn't act their age.
Making even fellow adults ashamed.
"…Urp, blergh. Shouldn't have left a clone?"
The woman vomited blood.
A vampire spewing blood might seem extreme, but what she spat was dead blood.
"What is this? What kind of attack hits me this hard?"
Her clone had merely been destroyed, yet the damage echoed fully back to her.
The woman—Hensel—thought of the knight who'd inflicted such pain on her near-immortal vampire self and smiled.
"Just meant to peek at his face lightly, but he turned out way more interesting than expected. Hm, the First Apostle would love hearing about this."
An unexpected catch.
She'd thought Ophen Kain was the big fish today, but now.
"…Next time, maybe I'll seriously try to kill him."
She'd hooked something even more intriguing and appetizing.
The vampire descendant, once called a calamity alongside the Blood King, smiled with gleaming eyes.
Eyes shrouded in bloody light.
As if truly anticipating their next encounter.