Chapter 345
Chapter 345
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.72 – The Knight Wears the Suit (4)
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...People were anxious.
It was only natural.
Just ten minutes ago, the world had been utterly peaceful.
To be precise, only the street had collapsed, but for those who had lived their entire lives here, it was no different from the world itself crumbling in an instant.
On top of that, they had witnessed the trustworthy managers being swapped out, which only thickened the despair settling over them.
Yet in the midst of this despair, the knights and soldiers guarding the central district—who were supposed to protect them—
"Break through! Break through!"
"A-again! There's more monsters...!"
"Aaaagh!"
were barely holding on, with no spare capacity to look after the civilians.
They had always seemed so reliable before, but now they just looked like utter incompetents, and the realization that they had trusted such fools made it all the more humiliating.
If only another knight order would hurry up and arrive—but no one knew when that might be, or if they'd even survive until then.
In the midst of this situation...
Slash!
Stab!
'Why is that girl so bold and valiant?'
Ridiculously enough, Tristan's foster daughter—the one they had inwardly dismissed—was the one protecting them.
Whoosh!
'...Not just valiant, but strong too.'
With every swing of the girl's blade, monsters died.
One strike, one kill.
She never needed a second strike, slicing through the monsters with single, clean cuts. The girl was incredible.
Thud.
She didn't fight with just the rapier alone; she swung the scabbard to smash a goblin's jaw approaching from a blind spot or strike vital points to create openings, maximizing the advantages of her small frame as she daringly slipped into the monsters' embraces to stab and withdraw.
Floating like a butterfly, stinging like a bee.
Her swordsmanship evoked that exact phrase, and the people, who had been huddling in fear, now found their eyes glazing over, entranced by her blade.
Her swordsmanship was impressive, but the valiant aura emanating from that tiny body stirred their hearts to swell with courage.
At that moment.
Krunch!
"I'll lend a hand!"
"Thank you. May I have your name...?"
"Name's Dolchen. Just a retired old man, but I can still be of use."
"It's like heaven's armies have arrived."
"Hoho! You sure know how to talk sweet."
Though he claimed to be retired, he was once hailed as the territory's champion knight, and several others joined the girl at her side, swords in hand.
No one had ordered them to.
"Just out of curiosity, are there no additional reinforcements?"
"I wanted to call for some, but the central street is so sealed off that it's hard to get word out. I barely made it in here myself under Tristan's name..."
Levi, the girl, spoke with a subtle expression.
Whenever she tried anything, the nobles blocked her with talk of laws and regulations.
"......"
It was the moment the reason neither the knight nor the girl had called for reinforcements or kept them on standby was revealed—despite their lack of arrogance. The retired knight who had asked the question flushed beet red.
"......My blood pressure's rising. I'll have to look into this properly."
"Hold off for now. You can raise hell after this is sorted."
"Ahem."
"Besides, Master came to resolve this. And as far as I know, my master is..."
"...the most reliable man in the kingdom, more than any knight."
'...I told her to teach well, but this is on another level altogether?'
Lee Han knew that Levi had followed him on escort duty during winter break and learned new swordsmanship.
He had heard it from her directly.
- It's kinda embarrassing to say, but it feels like swordsmanship made just for me. I owe Roan young master a huge debt.
She had felt guilty for receiving instruction from someone other than him but was over the moon about the swordsmanship.
'No wonder.'
Lee Han was more than impressed by Bear Cub's prowess, which he glimpsed sidelong.
It was swordsmanship crafted purely for the girl, combining her physique, muscle power, innate senses, and intelligence without a single impurity.
Given to someone already brimming with potential, well...
'It's like giving wings to a bear.'
Some might call it an exaggeration, but finding swordsmanship perfectly suited to a swordsman was like giving a pitcher a Cy Young-level changeup in baseball, or gills to a swimmer.
"You've grown well."
His nose suddenly tingled.
His disciple's growth.
Today, he realized it truly stirred a man's heart, especially at an age rich in sentiment.
He wanted to crack open a celebratory drink...
"Arrogant, aren't you? Not finishing us off even with us right in front of you... Well, with your skills, you can afford to underestimate us, but that complacency will get you killed."
"......"
But these bastards were in the way, ruining any chance for that.
Lee Han didn't hide his displeasure as he kicked a nearby stone...
"Funny guy?"
Thwack.
Boom!
...A massive pillar of fire erupted with a deafening explosion.
A searing blaze hot enough to char a person to coal.
"You think I'm stupid? You waltzed right into a minefield."
"Urgh... Busted, huh?"
The man scratched his cheek awkwardly, his playful demeanor returning as he narrowed his eyes in that signature sly grin.
"You're the fifth to see through this trap. Impressive."
"Five seems like a lot."
"Haha, if you knew how many died to this trick—over ten thousand—you wouldn't say that."
"......"
"More importantly, that's a unique technique. Striking at all of us at once... As expected of the one who took out the Ear King and Inanna."
"......"
Whoosh!
"...That was a compliment?"
Lee Han didn't bother hiding his irritation and charged straight at the man.
He rushed through spots free of the trap's 'scent,' drawing his sword for the first time in a while to cleave that foul mouth in one stroke.
Clang...!
"......"
The opponent's sword deflected his strike.
'This guy?'
Bam!!
He stomped the ground hard enough to leave a footprint, and his sword traced over six arcs in an instant.
Flashes targeting both flanks, the head, chest, and legs!
Any swordsman would be stunned to know it was just the basic sword forms everyone learned.
And...
Claaaang!
The opponent deflected even this astonishing barrage.
Spurt!
"...Well, damn. I thought after perfecting my training, no one could match me with the sword, but the world's wide indeed."
The impossible strike had been countered again.
Though deflected, it hadn't fully dissipated the impact, so veins burst in the man's arm—a bitter smile was the natural response.
"Not just veins; feels like tendons snapped too. Amazing power—"
"—Variable Sword Style and Flowing Sword Style? You've honed them to the limit."
"?"
"Been a while since I faced a proper swordsman."
He didn't know the school.
But it was no ordinary swordsmanship, and the fact that it was executed so flawlessly meant the opponent was no lightweight.
At minimum...
'Iliad, that author guy's level.'
In other words...
'Sword Saint-class skill.'
Someone of that caliber couldn't be ordinary, which implied...
"...Finally hooked a big one."
Fwoosh!
Before the fruit of his long toil, Lee Han could smile genuinely.
'Where'd a powerhouse like this come from?'
A chilling shiver like prickling electric currents.
Parhan, the Brass Knight Order's top swordsman and vice-commander, was genuinely shocked.
The overwhelming presence that could crumple even an iron shield was one thing, but the sheer unimaginable power...
Clang!
Using only his other arm and lower body after his tendons burst, Parhan deflected the sword, but the opponent's strikes weren't something you could just bounce away.
Ziiing—.
His sword wailed, unable to withstand the force.
Considering the swordsmanship he had mastered—one of the top three eastern styles—it was utterly astonishing.
He had perfected a technique said to toy with any foe if mastered, yet here it was being overwhelmed by basic forms anyone knew.
The sensation of dozens of techniques rendered useless before simple slashes and swings.
For the one facing it, it was deeply unpleasant and repulsive.
No positive sign at all, so Parhan...
"......Now."
made a swift decision.
Slash!
His quiet mutter was the signal, and the knight order moved.
Individuals who were accomplished swordsmen, each with demi-beast bodies.
Their skills rivaled high-ranking knights on average, and the elites among them overwhelmed even those from great noble houses.
At Parhan's call, nineteen such elite knights sealed off the opponent's domain, slashing wildly as if butchering prey.
An inescapable noose of despair...
—Wiiiiiing!!!
Krunch!
Plop, plop...
"......"
2.5 seconds.
The time it took for nineteen elite knights to turn into a puddle of blood.
"Calling in reinforcements out of nowhere startled me."
"...That was."
"This? Nothing much. 'Rebound Aura'—a technique I don't usually use on people."
"Then what is this now?"
"What else? I told you."
—I don't use it on [people].
"......"
"What? More questions?"
Her tone was so nonchalant it sent chills down the spine, and Parhan shook his head.
"...You're terrifying, truly."
Parhan raised his hand with a look of disbelief.
He had realized reason didn't apply to this opponent, so...
"Don't call it cowardly. It just means you're that dangerous."
Clap!
He commanded his thousands of knights to use any means necessary.
"...No, ganging up on one person with thousands is already plenty cowardly, isn't it?"
"......"
"Right?"
"......"
"What a riot this guy's turning out to be."
"......"
Clap.
...Parhan silently aimed his sword.