The Strongest Knight
Kang Yoonsoo was sent flying backward.
Several bookshelves shattered on impact as he tumbled across the floor from the force of the blow.
He scrambled to his feet. The edge of Lavian's longsword had chipped.
‘My right wrist is dislocated. The sword’s broken too.’
Kang Yoonsoo discarded the blade and quickly slipped behind a bookshelf.
The sound of Helkin’s footsteps echoed closer.
‘Why is Helkin here right now?’
He was an opponent Kang Yoonsoo could not possibly face at this stage.
Swordsmanship, experience, battle instinct—Helkin had reached the absolute peak in every category. He was the strongest swordsman on the continent.
‘I even created a lich just to avoid fighting him. So why?’
Kang Yoonsoo drew the Blood Massacre Sword with his left hand.
Even if his sword technique could somehow surpass Helkin’s, the sheer gap in base stats was overwhelming. There was no chance of victory in a direct confrontation.
“Hey, Kang Yoonsoo. What the hell’s going on?”
Yushido, who had followed him out, asked.
At that moment, another knight burst into the room.
“Grant the sword the blessing of the wind.”
The instant Lennox drew his blade, dozens of slashes flew forward.
Yushido dodged the blades with startling speed.
“Huh? What’s this all of a sudden?”
“You’re faster than you look.”
Yushido and Lennox both seemed surprised by each other.
‘How is he that fast?’
Then Kang Yoonsoo shouted in a loud voice.
“Don’t fight them. We’re getting out of here right now.”
Helkin immediately headed toward the study where the voice had come from.
He raised his sword menacingly and charged straight at the back of the room.
“You dare point a blade at me?”
Helkin froze mid-swing.
A beautiful woman with brilliant golden hair was glaring at him with sharp eyes.
Helkin immediately softened his stance.
“Your Highness the Princess! Are you unharmed?”
“Of course I’m not unharmed!”
Princess Kiciphran snapped angrily.
Helkin lowered his sword at once and moved to her side.
“This place is dangerous. His Majesty the Emperor has already fallen. Even Your Highness must preserve your life—”
Helkin felt a chilling killing intent at the back of his neck.
He instinctively ducked. A blade whistled past where his head had been.
The sword Kang Yoonsoo swung missed and smashed the corner of the study.
CRACK—!
“You son of a bitch…!”
The moment Helkin tried to swing his sword in retaliation—
THUD—!
A powerful strike slammed into the back of Helkin’s head.
Blood flowed. The back of his skull split slightly, but he did not fall.
Helkin turned to Iris with ice-cold eyes.
“You’re not the princess.”
“That was a blow meant to shatter your skull. How are you still standing?”
Kang Yoonsoo rushed forward and pulled Iris into his arms.
In the span of a few seconds, Helkin’s blade had sliced through the air right above them.
CRUNCH—!
The stack of books on the upper shelf was shredded into pieces.
If they had been even a moment slower, their upper bodies would have been severed.
“Excuse me, grandpa! Even if you’re in a hurry, she looks exactly like the princess. Shouldn’t you at least hesitate for a few seconds before swinging your sword?”
Yushido suddenly protested.
The commander of the Imperial First Knight Order gave a dignified reply.
“If someone tried to crush my skull, I would kill them even if they were the real princess.”
“A blunt but honest answer. I’ll give you that.”
The moment he finished speaking, Yushido bent his waist so far back it looked like it might snap.
After dodging Lennox’s blade, he stuck his tongue out.
“Can’t you just let us run away?”
“I won’t bother answering that.”
“What a boring guy.”
Kang Yoonsoo positioned himself in front of Helkin, keeping Iris behind him.
Meanwhile, Helkin finished preparing his stance.
Kang Yoonsoo’s eyes grew serious.
“Helkin, I know your future.”
If a direct fight was impossible, then deception was the only option.
Helkin nodded.
“I know. Rabbit Mask. You will be the one I kill.”
Helkin swung his sword once.
Thanks to anticipating the path, Kang Yoonsoo managed to dodge.
The study shattered and a huge crack spread across the wall.
‘I need to think about an escape route.’
Kang Yoonsoo glanced around.
Lennox was blocking the exit. The only other openings were small windows.
He and Iris were gradually being driven into a corner.
“Aren’t you curious how you’ll die later?”
“I’m not.”
Helkin swung his sword again. Kang Yoonsoo barely avoided it.
Through countless past lives, he had memorized Helkin’s sword patterns, but dodging them was still difficult.
The wall was torn apart as if ripped open.
‘Simple prophecies won’t work. To draw his attention, I need a different topic.’
Kang Yoonsoo felt cold sweat running down his back.
Even if he summoned his creatures or undead, Helkin would cut them down in a single stroke.
“I know the secrets of the imperial palace. Aren’t you curious who the shadow is that even the emperor feared enough to commit suicide?”
This time, Helkin didn’t even respond.
He simply advanced with murderous eyes, sword in hand.
It was Lennox who reacted instead.
“The shadow of the imperial palace?”
Kang Yoonsoo didn’t miss the opening.
“That’s right. The shadow of the imperial palace. Someone inside this very palace is trying to swallow the entire continent.”
“Who on earth…”
Lennox narrowed his eyes.
At that moment, Yushido pulled a knife from his sleeve and threw it.
Lennox quickly knocked it aside.
CLANG—!
The deflected blade flew toward Helkin.
Helkin immediately turned and struck it away.
Kang Yoonsoo seized that perfect gap.
“Abyssal Swordsmanship.”
The strongest sword skill he currently possessed.
Helkin swung his sword to meet it, but Kang Yoonsoo’s true target wasn’t him.
CRACK—! RUMBLE—!
The upper part of the study collapsed, sending countless leather-bound books and ancient tomes crashing down.
The shelves toppled like dominoes, completely destroying the balance of the room.
The wave of falling books swallowed Helkin whole.
“Let’s go.”
Kang Yoonsoo and Iris leaped across the piles of books.
Lennox glared at the three of them and activated a skill.
“Grant the sword the blessing of the wind!”
A fierce barrage of sword strikes flew toward them.
Kang Yoonsoo immediately ducked to avoid them and deflected the blade.
Lennox’s face filled with shock.
“This swordsmanship… You—could it be the one I met in the mountains…?”
“Out of the way, Lennox!”
Helkin burst through the pile of books and charged forward with terrifying momentum.
The old knight, consumed by rage, swung his sword.
CRUNCH—!
There was no room to dodge.
Kang Yoonsoo raised his sword and took a defensive stance.
The blade trembled as if it would snap. He was sent flying backward.
“Kang Yoonsoo. Are you all right?”
Kang Yoonsoo staggered but stood up on his own.
“If we go through the corridor, he’ll catch us. Let’s escape through the window.”
“Escape through the window? Are we supposed to fly?”
Yushido said, looking out the window.
The imperial library across from them was far too distant to reach even with a running jump.
‘I was going to summon White and leap across, but there’s no time.’
Helkin approached with a cold expression.
Kang Yoonsoo spoke quietly.
“Both of you, grab my collar tightly.”
Helkin swung his sword savagely.
The violent force demolished the wall and sent all three of them flying.
CRAAAAASH—!
“Aaaargh—!”
Kang Yoonsoo, Iris, and Yushido soared through the air.
An overwhelming mass of power swept them away.
After tumbling several times, they crashed into the ceiling of the building.
BOOM—!
“Whew! We’re alive.”
Yushido, who had used a break-fall technique to soften the impact, brushed off the dust and stood up.
Iris wasn’t seriously injured either.
But Kang Yoonsoo, who had taken the sword strike head-on, was different.
His last remaining sword had broken, and his abdomen throbbed as if it would burst.
‘Three or four ribs are broken.’
Yushido helped Kang Yoonsoo to his feet.
“Well, we got away pretty well. He won’t be able to follow us here.”
But Kang Yoonsoo shook his head.
“If it’s Helkin, he’ll follow. Let’s get down to the lower levels of the library before he catches up.”
“How is he supposed to get over here?”
Yushido looked at Helkin far across the imperial palace.
The knight took a few steps back, then began to run.
Was he really going to leap across that distance?
THUD!
Helkin vaulted over the broken wall and leaped high into the air.
In the blink of an eye, he landed lightly on the library’s ceiling.
“I swung that with full intent to kill, yet you blocked it. Looks like you’ve held a sword before.”
“Is that old man even human? He’s basically a human siege engine!”
Helkin approached.
Kang Yoonsoo watched him closely while gauging the floor beneath their feet.
There was only one way left.
“Iris.”
“What is it?”
“Break the floor.”
Iris immediately slammed her fist into the floor with tremendous force.
First strike.
BOOM—!
Helkin swung his sword, but the vibrating floor slowed his movement.
Second strike.
BOOOOM—!
Yushido bit down hard on Helkin’s leg with his fangs.
Third strike.
CRAAAAASH—!
The old knight’s and the regressor’s eyes met.
Fourth strike.
CRRRRRACK—!
The marble ceiling began to collapse.
Imperial Library.
It was the largest library on the continent, housing the greatest number of books.
A young boy named Tommy was reading a fairy tale there.
‘When I grow up, I’m going to be a scholar!’
Tommy didn’t originally like books very much.
But he didn’t want to fight fiercely like his grandfather either.
So he had decided to become a scholar.
‘I really hate seeing blood. So starting today, I’ll stay up all night reading. Then I can become a scholar.’
People said that if you did something you never usually did, the sky would fall—but that couldn’t really happen, right?
But it did.
CRRRRRACK—!
The ceiling collapsed, and marble debris rained down.
Fortunately, it was early dawn so no one was crushed, but Tommy jumped in fright.
‘Aaaah! The ceiling collapsed because I was reading a fairy tale!’
Tommy hurriedly closed the book and swore he would never read again.
When he stood up to return the book to its shelf, an unfamiliar voice called out.
“Help me.”
It was a dry, emotionless voice like the villainous lizard from the fairy tale.
Tommy swallowed hard and approached the pile of debris.
A man wearing a rabbit mask was buried beneath the rubble.
“A-are you okay, mister?”
“No.”
“W-what should I do to help?”
“Pull me out of here.”
“How? The marble is too heavy.”
“Just grab my arm and pull. I don’t have the strength to stand.”
Tommy hesitated. He wasn’t sure if he should help a stranger.
This man might be a very bad person.
But the man was wearing a rabbit mask.
So he must be a good person.
‘Grandpa told me not to help just anyone, but a rabbit should be fine.’
Tommy grabbed the man’s arm and pulled with all his might.
Surprisingly, the man’s body came out easily.
The man struggled to his feet.
“What do you do for a living, mister?”
The man pointed at the terminal on his wrist.
“Wow, you’re a traveler. I’m Tommy.”
“I know.”
Kang Yoonsoo looked around.
The sixth-floor reading room of the imperial library.
Fortunately, he had landed in the exact right spot.
Suddenly, Kang Yoonsoo grabbed Tommy’s throat and squeezed hard.
“Uaaagh! Kkgh! M-mister! Kkgh!”
“Sorry.”
Kang Yoonsoo whispered.
Immediately, a rough voice rang out from atop the pile of debris.
“Take your hands off him right now!”
Helkin glared at him with burning eyes.
Kang Yoonsoo kept his grip on Tommy’s throat and said,
“Helkin, let us go from this place. If you want to save your grandson.”
“How despicable.”
Helkin’s eyes overflowed with hatred.
“To prolong your own life by taking someone else’s family hostage. Do you not even have a family of your own? Have you no shame?”
Kang Yoonsoo paused for a moment.
The hand gripping Tommy’s throat loosened slightly.
But from behind the mask, a voice dripping with killing intent replied.
“I can do far worse than this. If it means killing the Demon Lord.”
Helkin ground his teeth.
He sheathed the sword in his hand.
“I’ll let you go. So release Tommy once you’re outside. If you kill my grandson, I will hunt you to the ends of the earth.”
Kang Yoonsoo briefly considered demanding Helkin hand over his sword.
But he remembered that Helkin’s sword could only be used by the commander of the knight order.
“Haa! We’re alive.”
“That was truly dangerous.”
Yushido and Iris had also been found.
The three of them left the library.
Kang Yoonsoo released his grip on the child.
“Go find your grandfather.”
Tommy breathed raggedly, sniffling.
“A-are you a bad person, mister?”
“Yes.”
Kang Yoonsoo answered.
Tommy looked at him with terrified eyes, then ran away as fast as he could.
Kang Yoonsoo suddenly looked down at his hand.
His palm was drenched in cold sweat.
“Kang Yoonsoo is a good person.”
It was Iris.
He asked,
“Why?”
“No one asked you to, yet you’re trying to protect the world all by yourself.”
Kang Yoonsoo looked at Iris.
Covered in dust, she smiled.
“At least, that’s what I think.”