Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.18 – Man-Eater Ghost vs. Man-Eater Ghost? (7)
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Lee Han hadn't simply dumped the task on his disciples out of laziness or irresponsibility.
'They're reliable.'
It wasn't just because he'd trained them himself; his cadets were genuinely strong.
Individually, they might still have shortcomings, but as a group, they could produce the utmost synergy.
That's how he'd taught them, and they were like his painstaking creations.
Above all, there was a 'reincarnator' among them who had experienced war.
Someone who knew how to handle people was worth entrusting this to.
Thus, what Lee Han now needed to focus on was the [monster] plummeting from the sky.
-It was slowly crashing toward the ground.
Whoooosh!
The sight of hundreds of goblins falling moments ago had been spectacular, but this massive thing hurtling down felt like watching a meteor.
It was dropping fast, and the outline of the demon growing clearer by the second.
Enormous.
Almost like the city walls themselves were bearing down on him.
And so, Lee Han...
"How many times a day do I have to do this crap?"
"Gaaahhh!"
"Catch it properly."
"You vicious bastard...!"
"Quit whining."
Drip...
Odwal, veins bulging to the point of nosebleeds and bloody tears streaming from his eyes, finally hoisted the log spear again.
But this time, unlike the first ballista shot, it was infused with telekinetic force and swirling mana.
It had to be a decisive blow to finish the thing off for good.
Lee Han was inwardly satisfied, but instead of warm praise...
"See? Just whining after all. Should've done this from the start."
"You scum!"
...he cracked the whip again.
Carrots were a luxury for spellcasters.
'Well, if he survives, I can hit him one less time next time.'
...
If he survives, that is.
With that resolve, Lee Han twisted his left foot and kicked with all his might.
A full-power thrust substituting for his useless right leg.
Boooom!
The second Coffin Spear shot toward the falling giant.
Of course...
[[Grrrrr…!]]
Bang!
...it didn't do much, unlike the first.
"Bounced it off."
The monster had deflected the Coffin Spear.
As if it wouldn't fall for it twice.
But...
"Good, crash over there."
Unable to fully neutralize the Coffin Spear's impact, it began plummeting toward the opposite side of the colosseum.
None other than...
Splashhhh!
...the massive lake.
Meanwhile, amid the inhuman clash of impossible feats...
The colosseum, shrouded in a relatively normal—no, desperate and suffocating tension—was locked in confrontation between humans and demons.
[Krrr!!]
The goblin horde, momentarily cowed by the knights' valor, quickly regained their senses and howled loudly.
That's what demons were.
Even against unbeatable foes, if they were human, they felt not fear but humiliation, rage, and hatred, driving them to kill humans.
This was why animal lovers who claimed to communicate with demons sometimes spared and protected them, only for entire villages to be wiped out.
Demons must never be judged by human common sense.
Thus, demons were irreconcilable enemies unfit to live under the same sky as humans.
No grudges involved; coexistence was simply impossible.
Demons sought to devour humans, and humans had to stop them.
Survival of the fittest.
Yes, battles with demons were humanity's struggle for survival.
"Form phalanx!"
-Form up!
-Raise spears and shields!
-Ugh! Uuuuugh! U...!
Levi Polt seized command the instant his master's order rang out, issuing slogans alongside.
Phalanx.
A dense formation of spearmen with shields lined up like a porcupine.
A time-honored tactic used since humanity wielded stone axes instead of iron, known to any kingdom soldier.
But if it seemed to carry a Shaolin flavor unlike the common phalanx, that wasn't an illusion.
The instructor who taught the tactics had drawn inspiration from crane wing formations in wuxia tales to train his disciples.
"We must block the passages at all costs!"
Yet Levi Polt took it a step further, organically maneuvering his forces beyond the taught crane wing.
In an instant, he split his troops into three to seal all three passages.
The reduced numbers posed risks, but fortunately, his force of barely 18 cadets wasn't alone.
"Engage in melee! Draw swords, everyone!"
Noble cadets drawing blades at Roan's command.
Swordsmen versed in Fighting Technique filled the gaps the cadets overlooked, blades aimed at the goblins.
[Kiaa….]
The goblins hesitated.
Not only had they been surrounded in a flash, but every one of those preys exuded formidable auras.
Fighting Technique.
An ancient technique humans created to hunt beasts and demons.
If demons were the creatures that slaughtered the most humans in history, then those who slew the most demons were warriors trained in Fighting Technique.
"……."
In the hair-trigger tension, the first to move was...
"-Charge."
Thud!!
...the swordsmen.
Blades slashed toward goblins at Roan's order, and the goblins counterattacked.
Boom!
Splat!
Intense clashes rippled outward in concentric waves.
Swordsmen trained in Fighting Technique clashed with bipedal demons in fierce melee.
A brutal close-quarters brawl where one mistake meant death.
But even if someone slipped up...
Slash!
'He' had their back.
"Get it together! Don't slack mid-thrust!"
"Th-thank you, young master."
"Save the thanks! Annihilate the enemy now...!"
"Wh-whoosh!!!"
Roan's stern reprimands and commands.
Hearing them, Cain unwittingly saluted.
He looked not like a peer-aged youth, but a 'general' who had survived countless battlefields.
A seasoned one at that.
"Slash and stab! The techniques you've learned are far from weak! Your drilled skills and master's teachings are etched in your bodies! You will not lose!"
-Uwaaaah!!
His bellow like a rallying cry.
Roan's presence bolstered their backs, and they pressed forward as ordered.
Gradually growing accustomed to facing goblins, the swordsmen made the horde falter at the colosseum exits.
[Krrrr…!]
The goblins, fiercer than expected from their prey's resistance, panicked but quickly sought other paths.
Spotting spearmen who seemed weaker than the swordsmen.
Targeting those without the ominous aura of Fighting Technique.
But that was...
"Thrust in!!"
Puuuush!
Stab!
Poke!
[!!?]
...a grave mistake.
The goblins learned the hard way not to underestimate the spearmen.
"Aaaah!!"
At Levi's command, the cadets thrust spears, piercing goblin flesh each time.
Thud!
[Ki-!]
[Kiaa!?]
The thick goblin hides that repelled most blades were punctured.
By youths untrained in Fighting Technique, no less.
But that was only natural.
Though they lacked Fighting Technique, what they'd inherited was no trifling matter.
Rather, it was the extraordinary secret arts of a man who had spent his life battling mages and demons.
Muscle Arts.
[Jing (勁)]
Inferior to Fighting Technique, perhaps, but still a power to hunt demons.
"Explode!"
-Huuuuph!
A thunderous kiai unleashing explosive force!
Jing erupted through spear tips piercing hides, and the goblins...
Splurt!
[Ki-!]
...
collapsed, unable to endure the agony.
Unable to match one-on-one, united humans proved strong.
They fully exploited the phalanx's advantages.
...However.
"W-we won!"
"We beat the goblins-."
"-Don't let your guard down!!"
"!!?"
Whoosh!
The goblin thought felled rose again, but Levi Polt nocked an arrow and ended it.
Yet still...
[k……i…!]
...many kept moving.
Tenacious vitality.
Their recovery from internal bursts was dizzying.
Not mere gut or chest stabs; throats or hearts were essential.
Due to their incomplete finishes, felled goblins rose and charged anew, horrifying the cadets.
Splurch!
"Bear cubs, dropping your guard is bad."
A panther-like man.
Kunta bisected a goblin in one stroke with his scythe-sword kopis.
Crunch!
"Aim for heart or head when killing. Like this."
Garand, wielding a halberd, offered advice while cracking open a goblin's skull.
Slash!
"Better to target arms and ankles first. It cripples mobility."
Arno shook blood from his twin blades after mauling two goblins.
"W-we lived..."
Those spared by the trio sighed in relief and gratitude.
But they shook their heads.
"Surviving isn't winning yet."
"Those things are smart."
"Kunta, hate those guys."
Expressions hardening in dismay.
Why were goblins among the most horrific demons?
They always hunted in packs and used tactics despite being demons.
Cunning demons.
Not mere instinct; they knew 'cooperation,' making goblins terrifying.
No wonder 'goblin bastard' was among the continent's top insults.
All for good reason.
"-We're surrounded."
[Kieee!!]
[Krrr!]
[KA-!]
Goblins encircling humans like a herding hunt.
They no longer saw them as easy prey.
Goblins committing fully to the hunt.
No matter their individual prowess beyond their age, overcoming such a horde was impossible.
As tension and dread darkened every cadet's face...
"Charge!!"
"Save the kids!"
Old knights and veteran soldiers.
Unwavering reinforcements joined.
Spectators who, once evacuations ended, grabbed weapons and returned to the colosseum.
Solely to aid them.
And not just them.
"Can't lose to the juniors!"
"I'm Rachel of House Dorian!"
Their seniors.
Thought fled, but returned in armor and on horseback, charging the goblins.
Pride and valor unflinching before demons.
This was the nation founded by dragons' esteemed noble knights.
The spirit of Pendragon.
"...They're here!"
Levi felt relief.
Before the fight, he'd begged the young ladies for as many reinforcements as possible—a fruitful plea.
"Heh heh, those girls begged so earnestly."
"Couldn't just sit with faces burning."
Refusing the girls' pleas and fleeing like cowards was intolerable.
Moreover...
"If we don't repel those vile things, who knows the casualties."
One goblin in a village meant annihilation.
Hundreds loose in the capital? Incalculable damage.
With colosseum bars holding them, total extermination was imperative.
With such resolve, the old knight leveled his spear at a goblin—
Booooom!!
Patter-patter-!
"...Ahem."
—only to freeze instead.
The lake beside the colosseum.
Water erupted skyward like an explosion, raining down.
The old knight, doubting reality, asked...
"Bit rude in this situation, but one question."
"What is it?"
"...That knight—is he really human?"
"Uh, well..."
Levi chuckled awkwardly.
But he empathized.
After all...
"We always wonder too, but yes, human."
Just...
"He does things that make him seem not sometimes."
"...Heh heh."
Sploooosh!
As the girl's words ended, water surged again.
The cause was simple.
None other than...
"Harpoon reload."
"Guuuuh!"
"Faster!"
...massive harpoons.
The knight—their master—was hurling harpoons at the demon that no human should be able to throw.
'Hmm...'
-Who was the real demon here?
It was a scene that naturally sowed doubts about one's own species.