Chapter 178
Chapter 178
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 178
Chapter Title: Calculated Cruelty
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A knight gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
Before him stood the master of the white giants, the calamity that had brought disaster upon the city.
The indifferent eyes of Gigant.
Before those white, lake-like eyes that made even his own frame—a full head taller than the average man—seem frail and small, the knight's lips trembled.
It was overwhelming.
And hopeless.
He couldn't fathom where or how to even begin to stop this giant.
*Rumble.*
With a sound like a landslide, the steel walls crumbled like styrofoam, and Gigant's massive thigh pushed through the gap.
Shards of steel rained down on the city's buildings, and the screams of people filled the knight's ears.
In that moment, habit took control of the knight's body and mind.
Yes, the habit of one who was always ready to lay down his life to protect the people and the ideals he revered.
"Aaaargh—!"
The knight's sword struck the center of the lake-like eye.
A perfect thrust, born from immense physical strength that surpassed even the intruders in suits, and swordsmanship honed over many years.
But the blade, which usually tore through the air and cut through steel, shattered the instant it touched the white lake.
Like a wooden sword striking a boulder.
*Blink.*
Whether from the impact or a slight itch in its eye, the white, gate-like eyelid fluttered up and down.
*Swoosh.*
The gray pupil within the white eye fixed its gaze on the knight.
Then, with the sound of a tempestuous wind, a white arm swept across the top of the wall.
Like a child's hand crushing a small sandcastle, the giant's arm swept away the humans and the Gatling guns mounted on the wall, approaching the knight slowly, yet inexorably.
*Ruuuumble.*
Is this what a fly feels when facing a swatter?
The knight planted the shield on his left arm into the ground and summoned all his strength.
Just as he inwardly braced for his fate—to be crushed by the giant's blow—his comrades stood beside him.
"Block it—!"
At the squad leader's cry, a dozen knights planted their shields.
If one pair of hands wasn't enough, two would be.
If two weren't enough, then ten would have to be.
With his comrades by his side, the knight felt a warmth spread through his heart, a sense of reassurance.
Yes, he was not alone.
With these men who had survived countless life-or-death situations, they could overcome any crisis.
As one body and one mind, they faced Gigant's palm.
*SPLAT!*
Like flies crushed by a swatter, the bodies of the knights lined up on the wall were torn into pieces of flesh and scattered.
The limbs of the ten knights flew in all directions like the remnants of exploded fireworks.
A rain of blood and entrails streamed down the steel wall.
One of the knights who witnessed the scene with his own eyes spoke.
"No... we can't win."
That single phrase was the tipping point. The despair that the battlefield's adrenaline had tried so hard to suppress coiled in the hearts of the entire knight order.
Like a triggered trauma, the memory of that day resurfaced—the day they had faced Gigant, helplessly lost their comrades, and retreated.
But at the same time, they remembered what they carried, what they shouldered.
Someone said.
"No. We can't fall back."
As if possessed by those words, the knights raised their shields to their chests and held their swords upright.
"If we retreat, the walls will fall."
Someone took a heavy step forward. *Thud.*
Responding to that stomp, which was like a war cry in itself, the other knights followed suit.
*Thud, thud, thud.*
Were they mesmerized by the drum-like sound of their footsteps?
The scattered knights began to gather before the wall.
Total members: 300.
Deceased: 107. Wounded: 23.
Current survivors: 170.
Though many had died, perhaps they drew confidence from the fact that more than half their number remained. The knights roared.
"Uwoooaaah—!"
As if summoned by their desperate war cry, the Knight Commander dropped from the sky.
Clad in silver armor and a helmet bestowed directly from headquarters, the Knight Commander's eyes glinted coldly.
The Knight Commander shouted in a heavy voice.
"First and Second Squads, take its left leg! Third and Fourth Squads, its right leg! And Fifth through Seventeenth Squads, follow me and block its attacks!"
At the commander's orders, the knights moved with agility and discipline.
Their movements were orderly, as if a headless body had suddenly found its head.
Soon, as the walls completely collapsed to the left and right and Gigant's mountain-like body charged into the city, the knight squads—each with ten members—split off and swarmed both of its legs.
*BOOM!*
Flames erupted from the knights' swords, and ice shot up to attack Gigant's feet.
The individual knights' Wishes had begun to manifest.
As if annoyed by the knights' struggles, Gigant's palm moved once more.
*WHOOSH!*
The air trembled as the shadow of a colossal hand fell over the knights' formation.
The Knight Commander looked up from within the dark shadow.
Staring up at what felt like the base of a mountain, a darkness that threatened to crush him at any moment, the commander gritted his teeth and raised his shield.
And his Wish.
'The Unbreakable Shield' manifested.
*KUUUNG!*
Gigant tilted its head.
It had intended to sweep the insects away in one go, but its palm was blocked by something hard and could not advance further.
But it soon raised its hand again, as if it didn't matter.
If once wasn't enough, it would just end it with a second blow.
The Knight Commander, who had blocked Gigant's attack alone, was bleeding from his nose and mouth.
A single defense had not only exhausted all the mana in his body but had also caused internal injuries.
The Knight Commander let out a dry cough and shouted.
"Defense squads—! Raise your shields—!"
The palm descended once more.
An utterly simple attack, devoid of technique or skill.
But before a blow of transcendent mass and strength, the knights struggled with all their might.
"Gyaaaah—!"
With a scream-like roar, the shields of 130 knights received Gigant's palm.
Under a pressure that felt like gravity had been reversed, some of the knights collapsed, and in severe cases, those whose shield arms were broken fell with groans of pain.
The first blow was blocked by the commander alone; the second was blocked at the cost of a dozen knights.
What about the third?
Just as the question of whether they could block it shook everyone's minds, the efforts of the attack squads paid off.
*Krrk?*
Feeling a sting in both feet, Gigant's body swayed like a branch in the wind.
Soon, having lost its balance, Gigant staggered like a drunken man and fell, utterly wrecking the walls in the process.
As the steadfast Gigant wavered, the knights cheered like the Lilliputians who brought down Gulliver, their morale soaring.
The Knight Commander, seeking to ride the momentum, encouraged his knights.
"Our attacks are working! Everyone, keep it up! Just a little more..."
*Heh heh heh.*
A laugh that seemed to mock their efforts.
As if doused with cold water in the midst of their excitement, everyone's gaze was drawn forward.
There was Gigant's face, its hand covering its mouth as it tried to stifle its laughter.
Chucking with a mischievous expression like the host of a hidden camera show, Gigant opened its mouth.
"-Were you excited?"
That one phrase.
Hearing Gigant's voice for the first time, the Knight Commander's face fell.
He had been convinced that the white giant, Gigant, possessed might but not intelligence.
It wasn't just a misconception; it was an assumption based on the experience of several clashes.
But what if it had all been his own delusion?
What if it had been the enemy's malevolent deception?
And if even the hope that had colored this moment was a lie, was there any chance of victory in this war?
"-You fucking insects."
This time, Gigant didn't use its palm. It clenched its fist and swung.
The Knight Commander tried to manifest his Wish, but his depleted mana wouldn't allow it.
A fist like a runaway locomotive grazed past the Knight Commander.
*SQUELCH.*
With the sound of a rotten egg bursting, a wave of blood splashed across the Knight Commander's face.
Forcing his stiff neck to turn, the Knight Commander saw the mangled corpses of his knights strewn across the ground.
In a single blow, a third of the 130-man defense squad had been wiped out.
*'When it went from walking to running, I should have been suspicious.'*
Why had Gigant started running?
It must have been because it felt threatened by the birth of some being.
And, in all likelihood, that being was Lee Si-woo.
I should have known then.
That Gigant possessed intelligence.
"-Where is he?"
The Knight Commander knew the 'he' Gigant referred to was Lee Si-woo, but he couldn't answer.
Because he didn't know either.
With his knight order sinking, he was just as curious about where Lee Si-woo was and what he was doing.
"-No answer. Then there's no choice. You'll just have to die."
With a light grunt, as if getting up was a small effort, Gigant stood.
And as if clearing away trash cluttering the floor, it swept the knights away with its foot.
The knights struck by Gigant's foot were turned to pulp and sent flying, and the Knight Commander could only watch helplessly.
In the end, after just a few kicks from Gigant, the 170-strong knight order was reduced to a mere 30.
In a short time, most of the knights had lost their lives.
The city mayor, monitoring the entire battle from afar, wiped his dry face and spat out a curse.
"Dammit, Lee Si-woo. What the hell are you doing? Do something! At this rate... at this rate, they'll all die. Every last one of them...!"
The mayor stared at the monitor with bloodshot eyes.
Just as blood began to trickle from his nose, crushed by immense stress, a suspicious movement was detected on the monitor.
*'Is that... Lee Si-woo and Si-woo?'*
The monitor showed Lee Si-woo and Si-woo raising their voices on top of a building.
"Hyung! You have to move now! You said you'd draw Gigant's attention so I could make my move! But what is this! Why aren't you doing anything while they're all dying!"
To the agitated Si-woo, Lee Si-woo replied in a languid voice.
"Don't worry. I'm about to move."
"Now?! When they're all about to die?! Dammit! Hyung! What the hell are you thinking? Shit! If you were going to do this, you shouldn't have stopped me from moving first!"
Lee Si-woo looked at Si-woo with a dry, emotionless gaze and said.
"It was necessary. We knew nothing about Gigant and needed time to figure it out."
"Time to figure it out, my ass! So you drove them to their deaths! And just watched? Irresponsibly?!"
"Irresponsible... hmm, I don't know if that's the right word. From the start, I felt no debt or responsibility toward them."
"Is that supposed to make sense! Fuck, I... I thought you were a decent person, Hyung. But now I see... you're... you're a real..."
Lee Si-woo smiled at Si-woo, who was struggling to swallow the words 'son of a bitch'.
"Sorry. For not being a good person. But Si-woo. I may be a piece of work, but are they... good people?"
"What kind of bullshit is that? They're risking their lives for the citizens. Of course they're not bad people."
"Yes, on the surface, they look good. But... what about after all this is over? When it's proven that you have the ability to deal with Gigant? Will they still be good people to us... no, to you?"
At Lee Si-woo's words, Si-woo's blood ran cold.
Only then did he realize why Lee Si-woo had been holding him back.
"Hyung... don't tell me?"
Lee Si-woo's lips curled into a smirk.
At that cold smile, a chill ran down Si-woo's spine.
Lee Si-woo said in a low voice.
"Now, Si-woo. Let's get moving. We... no longer need to wonder if they're good people or bad."
Just as he said, there was no longer any need to imagine a troublesome future.
The element that could have threatened them had been personally cleared away by Gigant.
Yes, just as Lee Si-woo had intended.
Lee Si-woo glanced at Luctator.
Luctator, reading his mind from his gaze, scratched the back of his head and said.
"Tsk, you impudent brat. Always making the old man do the work first. Well... I'll let it slide today. Facing that thing... seems like it'll be quite fun."
Luctator murmured with a slight smile on his lips.
"I am the wind, and my steps cleave the earth."
[First Stage Body Hardening Art - Elemental Style: Wind Step]
A streak of green wind shot across the city center.
Reaching the white mountain in the blink of an eye, Luctator raised the edge of his hand.
"I am the blade, and nothing before me remains whole."
[Fourth Stage Body Hardening Art - Single Strike Style: One Sword, Two Halves]
Luctator's hand-blade moved lightly from top to bottom.
And a violent current of wind extending from his hand-blade sliced off Gigant's ear.
Luctator hummed a tune, enjoying Gigant's ear-splitting scream as if it were an opera singer's aria.
Having regained his lost mana and recovered his Body Hardening Art, life was finally starting to feel good again. And it felt good to hit things, too.
Luctator said in a thoroughly excited tone.
"Let's have some fun, shall we? Kid."
Was it driven mad by Luctator's taunt and the pain?
Gigant's furious roar greeted Luctator with gusto.