Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.24 – No Excuses in My Life (4)
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Bale, the vice commander of the Crimson Blood Eagle Knights, was a collateral member of the Tristan family.
However, that didn't mean he was a parachute appointment who rose to vice commander through family bloodlines.
On the contrary, precisely because he was from a collateral branch, he had worked even harder, and even the marquis acknowledged the grueling time he had endured to claim the position of vice commander through his own merits.
The title of vice commander of the Crimson Blood Eagles was not something one could hold merely through bloodlines or backers—it was a seat earned solely by one's personal strength and honor.
In that sense, Bale took great pride in his skills, and the world called him the "Red Owl of Tristan," evaluating him as a knight who would represent not just a generation, but an era.
...Well, there were seven such representatives, including him.
Galahad's Fierce Wolf.
Lionel's Black Lion.
Pendragon's White Lion.
Roengreen's Swan.
Tristan's Owl.
Mordred's Fighting Dog.
Agravaine's Wild Horse.
Those who loved to rank them called these the seven indispensable young knights representing the current era, but Bale knew it was all nonsense.
Having actually met the White Lion, the Swan, the Wild Horse, and others among them, Bale was filled only with disappointment.
Just arrogant pretty boys serving as faces.
That was Bale's assessment.
The only ones he acknowledged or even admitted were superior were the Fierce Wolf and the Black Lion, and they undoubtedly possessed the talent to represent the era.
The overwhelming prowess and talent they displayed during their meeting the day before could only be described as a "force" that no other knights could ever catch up to.
Yet even so, Bale did not yield.
He was behind those two now, but he firmly believed his own talent was comparable, and that he would one day reach them.
In a way, what was greater than his talent might have been his unyielding mental fortitude and confidence.
...But now, that very man.
'What... what the hell is that?'
For an instant, shock turned to overwhelming awe.
"He... he broke the Battle Aura Net?!"
Battle Aura Net.
It was a secret technique possessed only by prestigious knight orders, akin to a net woven from fighting aura that could only be deployed when thirty or more knights gathered.
It constricted the body, suppressed it, and unleashed a force from which escape was impossible, ultimately severing the prey's breath...
It was a technique that could suffocate and instantly kill even mid-tier monsters through pressure alone.
And theoretically, when deployed by a hundred men, it became a net that could crush thousands of soldiers.
But.
"The Battle Aura Net is broken?!"
"This is insane!"
"Don't break formation! Throw the spears!!"
A single individual's power had shattered the Battle Aura Net.
A chilling shock swept through the knights, but it was merely a moment of chaos.
The Crimson Blood Eagles concealed their dismay and desperately hurled their spears.
Even if the net was broken, they still held the overwhelming advantage.
But.
Thud!
"...??"
"......?"
"...Am I dreaming?"
How many times would they have to be shocked today?
The knights blankly stared up at the sky—no, the air itself.
-[Can humans, excluding mages, truly fly through the sky?]
It was a saying from some sage, imbued with profound philosophy.
It meant that humans should not dare defy the laws of great nature.
But...
"No need to fly... just walk... in the air."
Bale knew his mutterings sounded foolish even as he said them, but right now, he couldn't help it.
Thud! Thud!!
A man was walking through the air.
Before this impossible sight, Bale felt something akin to awe for the first time.
It was the moment he witnessed someone challenging the impossible and turning it into reality.
"Damn it!"
Bale felt shame and astonishment at the fact that he was experiencing this awe toward someone other than the marquis, and he drew his sword.
He also thought.
'Ah, if not for this situation, I'd love to have a serious talk with him.'
Watching this bizarre man, who exuded fresh ideas and paradigm shifts unlike the wondrous talents of the Fierce Wolf and Black Lion, stirred his heart.
He was someone from whom he desperately wanted to learn...
Of course.
'Not the time for that now.'
Flash!
Bale's sword swung toward the man walking in the air.
* * *
Whoosh!!
Slash!
Flash-!
Swords closing in on him.
Spears and daggers flying toward him.
For a moment, Island Sword Grove came to mind.
Seeing the lethal blades pouring down to kill him, it naturally evoked that situational example.
However, he.
Thud!
Had no intention of dying easily.
He kicked off the air and rose.
Freely shifting between roughly 4 and 5 meters up, denying the enemies time to gauge distance and space.
- Air Treading.
Leaping over a dense obstacle of people in one bound, heading far away—it felt like all constraints of distance and obstacles had vanished completely.
His body shed the shackles of the world, achieving boundless freedom.
Flying through the sky as a human was such a magnificent feat.
However, regrettably, it seemed he couldn't maintain it for long.
'This consumes stamina like crazy.'
Not as bad as Plum Blossom Swordsmanship, but Air Treading was no lightweight in stamina drain either.
It wasn't just expending force; it was the technique of spreading force widely to create proper footholds.
Thus, it looked like walking on air, but in reality, it was constantly forming footholds and quickly kicking off them.
So, it was certainly a technique he couldn't sustain for long. Time to.
'Smash them from here on out!'
Lee Han spun his body upside down in an instant and kicked the air hard.
Whoooosh!
What he wanted was acceleration the opponents couldn't even react to, and the split second to clench his fist and concentrate his power.
The principle was the same as before.
Like Air Treading, it spread force widely, but the difference was solely—!
'Strike!'
It had switched from an evasion tool to an attack method.
Grrrrr...!
Lee Han extended his fist, expanding the range of the Hundred Step Divine Fist to its limits, and even without touching the ground, it caused a astonishing phenomenon.
Boom!!
"Urgh?!"
"My... body...!"
"What is this pressure—?"
In an instant, about twenty men under the influence of the Hundred Step Divine Fist lost control of their bodies.
A sensation like shoulders and heads being crushed at once!
It was as if the "Buddha's Palm" from some wuxia movie had been unleashed as a fist.
However, the power was woefully insufficient.
Inevitable. This was merely a strongly dispersed strike, not concentrated at a single point, so destructive power was sacrificed.
Thus, this punch merely halted the knights' movements for about 2 seconds—a makeshift restraint.
"-Not dodging?"
"!!!"
But those 2 seconds were plenty for him to rampage.
Click.
Sword in right hand, axe in left, he swung mercilessly.
A wild slashing without a name.
Utterly simple, but who could.
"B-block it!!"
Possibly block that savage slash.
Bang! Those struck by his sword and axe flew far away.
Even though it hit their armor and shields, it felt like being smashed by a massive war hammer, sending them flying with intense shock, and the flung knights crumpled as their internals churned painfully.
"Urgh!"
"Urk..."
Some tried to rise, but couldn't easily shake off the impact, and over five combatants were neutralized in one go.
"You bastard!!"
However, knights were knights.
Those who quickly recovered from the Hundred Step Divine Fist swung their swords and spears without hesitation.
Extraordinary swordplay and spearmanship.
Some sword strikes curved like serpents, while certain spear thrusts evoked the penetrating power of a drill.
Peak techniques bearing traces of relentless daily effort, hands blistered from training.
Lee Han faced those powerhouses' techniques.
"Raaagh!"
Roaring with all his might.
Zing...!
The knights launching strikes at Lee Han felt their bodies go numb, movements slowing momentarily.
The awe-inspiring presence he displayed.
Screeech!
Infusing his strike with the Lion's Roar presence, Lee Han swung, his blow flashing like light as it clashed head-on with the oncoming swords and spears.
As if he had never intended to dodge.
Booom!
A massive concentric ripple from the clash of six knights' full-force strikes against Lee Han's sword and axe.
Rumble...!
The ground trembled as power, technique, and will collided in full earnest, and eventually, dust like fog blanketed the area.
Vision obscured completely, and soldiers watching from afar collapsed with legs giving out.
"F-fall back!"
As the dust cloud blocked their view, fearing friendly fire, the knights retreated, and a tense silence fell like a lull in battle.
......Whoosh.
The dust cleared rapidly, revealing the six knights who had clashed with Lee Han, and the Crimson Blood Eagles' eyes widened.
And understandably so.
"Cough..."
The six knights collapsing.
Among the fallen was Zeon, who vied for third in the order, amplifying the shock even more.
They weren't ones to fall so easily.
Thud...!
Zeon and the knights staggered and fell, but only Zeon, who had merely knelt, stubbornly refused to let go, painfully lifting his head.
But... strangely, there was no humiliation on Zeon's face.
Instead.
"......Why... why didn't you dodge?"
It was bewilderment.
He posed the question laden with countless doubts.
Having experienced Lee Han's skill firsthand, Zeon realized he wasn't just strong—he was nimble too, and could have evaded and picked them off individually without clashing directly.
Yet he had met all six strikes head-on with his body.
As a result.
...Drip.
He had shown foolish injury.
A trickle of blood from his mouth.
Meaning he hadn't fully deflected their attacks' impact either.
At this moment, Zeon didn't see Lee Han as an assailant insulting the marquis, but purely as a knight posing the question.
Why act so stubbornly?
And then.
"-You're asking the obvious. I said I came to 'fight.' And when a man challenges another to fight, you don't dodge attacks. You meet them head-on with full power... like a tiger or lion, straight from the front. That's what gives it meaning."
"......"
Lee Han rebuked him like a fool for asking something so obvious, and Zeon forgot even his agony in sheer dumbfoundedness.
...Dumbfoundedness.
"Ha, right... yeah! That's a fight. That's a knight's duel...!!"
'Bravely like a lion.' 'Cleverly like a wolf.'
'Recklessly like a bear.' 'Relentlessly like an eagle.'
'...Honorably like a dragon.'
Countless phrases defining a knight's duel, and Zeon had lived by the teaching that a knight's battle must be thus.
But how many actually upheld such ideals?
How many shunned no cowardly acts for victory?
Reality was rife with those who discarded honor, squinting and resorting even to assassin's methods.
Yet here stood a man faithfully embodying those phrases.
No draconic honor or lupine cunning.
Just brave, reckless, relentless.
A man—no, a 'knight'—with a lion's heart, a bear's straightforwardness, an eagle's pride. How could he not be?
Thus, Zeon.
"...Next time, one-on-one. Too many people now."
"Yeah, sharpen that spear more by then. It's too straight now."
"Haha! Yeah, I'll show you a fiercer one... ahahaha...."
Thud....
Zeon collapsed.
But he laughed refreshingly even as he passed out, a smile lingering on his lips.
It was the invigorating laugh of one who had unleashed all his power in a thoroughly satisfying fight.
".........">
Gulp...
-A silence unlike when the dust had billowed.
What was this?
Thump! Boom!
The heartbeats of those who heard Zeon and his exchange quickened.
With boiling hearts, grips tightened on weapons, metal creaking.
When was the last time they faced such a formidable foe?
The first, surely—this brave, unyielding presence.
Knightly literature or epic war poems made reality, a fairy tale moment...
"—What, not coming?"
"Ha..."
At this moment, if one's chest didn't swell, they had no right to call themselves knights or men.
Despite facing an enemy they should despise, the Crimson Blood Eagles found they couldn't bring themselves to hate this proud man.
The chest-swelling thrill that eclipsed hatred reminded them they were 'knights.'
Whoosh!
"......?"
The momentum shifted abruptly.
Lee Han licked his dry lips and narrowed his eyes.
These guys... their 'complacency' suddenly vanished.
'Why the sudden change?'
During the clash, he had sensed they were furious yet underestimated him.
Of course—who would fear one against a hundred?
So Lee Han had planned to methodically suppress them through that gap in complacency.
But now, who knew.
For some reason...
'They've been properly fueled up?'
The fire was lit.
He could tell from the heat waves rising in their eyes.
They wouldn't be complacent against him anymore.
They'd swing their blades with full power—no, beyond it, staking everything.
To defeat him.
Hmm...
Did they get fired up because their comrade fell?