Chapter 301
Chapter 301
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP. 63 - A Knight's Valor Knows No Recklessness (11)
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"...This bastard fights so dirty."
Lee Han unwittingly spat out the highest praise for his enemy.
It was an act that any honor-bound knights would have cursed and scorned if they saw it—running away, fleeing, beating a hasty retreat, whatever you called it—but for Lee Han, who lacked a knight's sensibilities, that escape felt like the ultimate sucker punch, only fueling his rage.
He felt completely played.
So even in his fury, he was determined to chase the bastard down no matter what.
Kwaaaang!
[Kikikikik!]
"...Should've smashed it completely..."
The enemy wasn't half-assed; it hadn't let its guard down even against a mere human.
The Heavenly Bull of the skies—the great evil spirit's mystery that had been hurled at Lee Han just moments ago—now blocked his path. Its building-sized body was gone, transformed into the shape of a real bull.
Kugung!
But as the pressure it exuded made clear, it had merely compressed itself endlessly; it felt no weaker for it. It had probably realized that a massive bulk would just make it a bigger target for Lee Han's beatdown, so it shrank down.
"Never even tried bullfighting before, damn it..."
Truth be told, it felt trickier to handle now than before.
Its momentum was on another level.
[Kikikik.]
"It even knows how to radiate killing intent?"
[Kikik.]
"..."
Every time the thing pawed the ground, the earth—no, space itself—shook.
A terrifying, colossal force was rattling the ground and the surrounding space.
It was astounding.
While the God of War had been freakishly skilled in martial arts and speed, this one was freakishly focused on destruction and raw power.
Each one a nightmare to fight.
But Lee Han...
'I'll finish this in 3 minutes.'
...wasn't particularly rattled.
There was no reason to lose to a beast that only had brute strength.
That's why he was confident he could crush this pathetic bull in 3 minutes flat.
...Just one issue.
Thud!
Kuwoong!
Kwaaaang!!
"...Fights even dirtier than I thought."
From underground, from the air, from behind.
High-grade monsters resembling the bull's followers swarmed to surround him.
Not just trolls or ogres, but rare ones like twin-headed ogres, gargoyles, three-headed serpents, and flesh golems.
Even house-sized pythons he'd never seen before, swarms of insectoid monsters, and countless beasts packed in tight, all radiating murderous auras as they encircled Lee Han.
The elite of the 200,000 monsters, all gathered here—30,000 strong.
Even Lee Han thought it was overkill.
"This is too much, seriously. All this just to catch a weak human like me?"
[Kikik!]
"What're you saying?"
For some reason, wariness gleamed in the bull's eyes and those of the monsters.
A mere human, yet 30,000 troops feared him—it felt utterly incongruous.
"Hoo!"
Thwack!
Lee Han frowned, flicked his toe to bounce a hand axe from the ground into his left hand like a ball, and drew his sword with his right.
"-If I charge straight, I'll break through eventually."
Whoosh!
Facing 30,000 elite monsters and the Heavenly Bull, he showed no fear, his bold spirit blazing undimmed.
He couldn't lose in numbers and certainly not in spirit. Besides, wiping out all 30,000 wasn't the point—the key was punching through them and smashing the enemy commander's skull, right?
So...
'I'll smash that evil bastard's head for sure.'
With his goal set, he ignited his battle spirit and stared straight ahead.
To catch the escaped prey.
Relentlessly...
Endlessly...
Whoooosh—! "...A tenacious one."
Ninshubur, fleeing at top speed, narrowed his eyes at the intense aura closing in from behind. Fearsome and relentless. Even from this distance, the murderous spirit reached him... Like a beast about to lunge from behind and rip out his throat. But Ninshubur quickly dismissed it. No matter how fierce that guy was, breaking through the Heavenly Bull and 30,000 high-grade monsters would take considerable time. And by the time he did... 'Victory will belong to the Lord God.' He might lose the battle, but he'd win the war. All for the Lord God. [Ninshubur, you'll bring me victory once more, won't you?] "Of course, my Lord God. The events of 300 years ago will never repeat." [Yes, exactly! Unlike back then, I've recovered my strength! Those cowardly humans!] 300 years ago, when they first settled this land, his Lord God had been terribly weakened. To bless their new home, the god had showered miracles of abundance without restraint. Yet in that depleted state, the native inhabitants of the land had dared attack the Lord God. [Ungrateful wretches. I gave them such plenty, and they rebelled over 'minor side effects'!] "Ignorant fools who know not the holiness and mercy of divine grace." [Yes, that's it. That's why they dared imprison me in this filthy cave...] Ninshubur could almost hear the grinding of teeth in Inanna's surging rage. The humiliation she'd endured and the resentment of 300 years imprisoned here fueled her wrath. Thus... [Ninshubur, win mercilessly. Spare no means. Those who mocked me and rejected my mercy must all be cast into the abyss of hell. Understood?] "I shall keep it in mind." [Good. I trust you. You've never disappointed me.] Inanna's words grew sparse. Like a spectator comfortably watching a play from the stands, she awaited Ninshubur's victory in this war. As always.
Kugugugung!!
"...!"
The ground heaved.
The mid-to-large monsters, who had been watching endlessly until moments ago, suddenly mixed with the smaller ones and advanced. The artificial earthquake came from the charge of their horrifying numbers.
However...
"Fire! Blow the cannons even if they shatter!"
"Doesn't matter if the barrels melt! Use up every shell!! Keep firing!"
"Pour out every magic stone if you have to—don't stop! Keep hosing them with flames—!!"
Not a single Modred soldier cowered in fear or despaired.
No, even if they felt terror deep down, they never considered turning tail. They fired until barrels melted, loaded shells until cannons gave out.
The flame cannons were no different.
These pinnacle weapons, embodying all of Modred's techniques, were deemed impossible to recreate in this era due to material shortages.
Yet now they were melting away.
Even the mightiest weapons had limits.
Still, the roaring flames never ceased.
Hwararararak!!
As if determined to burn just one more charging monster.
For Modred's victory.
[[[Waaaaaah!!]]]
Hands melting alongside barrels, flesh searing from the heat—even so, Modred roared with the will to hold this ground at all costs.
...But,
Kwajijijijik—!
Against their will, the limit arrived abruptly.
The stockade—the fortress that had been Modred's bulwark—began showing cracks.
No matter how much fire they poured, the monsters that broke through battered gaps into the walls one after another. Those small cracks were now toppling the fortress.
"Damn knoll bastards!!"
"Why'd they blow themselves up like that!"
Perhaps losing their minds, knolls and goblins charged in succession, absorbing flames and explosions with their bodies like suicide bombers.
The frenzied monsters ahead cleared paths, allowing more to slam into the fortress.
The structure shuddered; soldiers struggled to keep balance.
At this rate, they'd lose the fort and be forced into melee.
And melee meant...
'It's over!'
No matter how elite the 600 soldiers, they couldn't face hundreds of thousands of monsters.
The fort and firepower had let them hold this long. Lose those, and the end was inevitable...
"-It's not over yet."
Whoaaaaah!
As despair loomed, a curtain of pure white barrier unfurled around the fortress in an instant.
"W-What is this...?"
"Your Excellency?"
"It's the lord and the young masters...!"
Modred's bloodkin had descended from command posts to key fort sections, unleashing their power.
A secret art possible only for Modred's bloodkin—those with spirit medium talents, who over centuries had contracted countless spirits and mastered their powers.
[Shield of Hundred Ghosts].
Modred's ultimate secret, blocking even demonic assaults from all evils and spirits.
[Grgrgruk!?]
[Kekek!!]
Puhwak!
The suicide-charging monsters reaped their own momentum right back, exploding on impact.
True to its name, the mystical barrier repelled all attacks and reflected them perfectly.
An astonishing feat, but...
Drip... drip...!
"Your Excellency! Stop! You'll get yourself killed!!"
"It's... still fine. Still okay..."
Cain Margrave and his sons bled from their mouths.
Power this great came with immense risk— the world's unyielding law.
In truth, deploying this barrier signaled Modred pushed to the brink. It was a technique past patriarchs used to buy time for kin and people to evacuate.
Thus, the Shield of Hundred Ghosts was both ultimate secret and final resort.
One requiring resolve to die.
"...Ignore me and prepare for melee while we buy even a moment."
"Your Excellency...!"
"Hurry."
"!?"
The command was ironclad. Cain's adjutant ground his teeth.
He felt the margrave's heart—exhausted as they were, buying them every second.
And so...
"-Don't hold out—surrender, Modred. You've already lost."
...The sound of crumbling hope.
"You...!"
The great evil spirit had closed in on the fortress unseen. It loomed near the Shield of Hundred Ghosts, glaring down at slumped Cain.
"For 300 years, you maintained your irreverent stance, oppressing and mistreating my Lord."
"......"
"Yet my Lord is merciful. He has decided to accept irreverents like you as [slaves]."
"......"
"Be grateful. Bow your heads and tremble in thanks at once. Such mercy is..."
"Oh, it's you. The knoll bastard who fled with his tail between his legs despite defeat."
"...Mind your blasphemous tongue—."
"-Loser."
"......"
"Worse than a knoll. No, worse than a sand worm."
"You bastard!!!"
In the Southern Continent, the ultimate insult likened foes to knolls. In the West, it was sand worms.
Sand worms fed on corpses, their own feces, even devouring the parents that birthed them—that was their ecology.
"...Ha, more effective provocation than I thought."
Even in this dire moment, Cain smirked.
That twisted face alone was deeply satisfying.
This is why learning matters.