Chapter 164
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: Battles at the Gates
Royal Guard.
The last bastion of the Pang Kingdom—the final force that had withstood the Khan Empire for so long.
They bore no grandiose name.
They were simply called the Guard.
No other title captured their purpose quite as perfectly.
"Captain, are you sure this is okay?"
Shartan, the youngest among the Guard's leadership controlling the Toolgur north gate, spoke with evident worry.
His eyes remained fixed on the south gate, where things were undoubtedly heating up.
"Even if they're caught off guard and outnumbered, the Karawna are the Khan Empire's hunting dogs, aren't they? I told the men to pursue, but can they catch them without us?"
"Well, didn't they say Yeo's got their back? Yeo's no pushovers. If they claim they'll take down Karawna, they wouldn't send any old riffraff."
Even after Captain Rynash's response, Shartan's brow stayed furrowed.
"That's exactly what bothers me. Yeo? You expect us to trust those no-good bandits? We should've had one of ours stationed at the palace..."
"I've already explained, Shartan."
Rynash sighed as he spoke.
"The Khan Empire isn't run by idiots. The moment they dispatched Karawna, they sensed something was off. And if we're camped out at the palace? That'd look even more suspicious. The guys who always man the walls suddenly swarming there en masse? Nothing screams 'fishy' louder than that."
"But..."
"And besides."
Rynash leaned against the wall and continued.
"To drive Karawna toward the south gate, we need to hold the other walls firm. If even a few slip away and breach elsewhere... we'd be in a real mess. I've explained this a dozen times, and you all agreed, remember?"
Despite Rynash drawing a clear line, Shartan's concerns lingered.
"Yes, Captain. You're right. But... in the end, if that Lichtenauer kid and Yeo fail to take down Karawna at the south gate, we're back to square one, aren't we? Tarik might act like a thug, but you know his skills are the real deal. No one on our level could handle him... not even a direct Lichtenauer bloodline. A punk they called half-baked just a few years ago taking on Tarik? Come on."
Human prejudices are a fearsome thing.
Even after Ian had racked up so many achievements, there were still those in foreign lands who doubted his prowess.
'Well... not like I'm much different.'
Rynash chuckled, watching Shartan's reaction.
Before the purges began, on the day Raychen first met Ian.
Rynash, guarding Raychen from behind the walls, had been stunned when Ian sensed their presence.
Back then, he hadn't trusted Ian any more than Shartan did now.
But... things were different now.
"Don't worry. That young man, Ian Lichtenauer, has far more skill than you think."
Yeah.
Maybe even more than me.
Rynash swallowed those last words and gazed south, his expression calm—unlike Shartan's anxious one.
Clang!
The heavy halberd shoved aside the short spear.
Despite the overwhelming strength and clear weight difference between the weapons, both wielders retreated the same distance.
That alone made their skill gap crystal clear.
"Ugh, damn it! These bastards are tough as hell!"
Ralph, who never lost in raw power, bellowed in wounded pride as his halberd was checked by that puny spear.
But the one truly humiliated... was the Karawna warrior.
"You little punk...!!"
To have his attack blocked by what looked like a kid half his age.
For a warrior bearing Karawna's name, that was insult enough.
"Die already!!"
As he lunged to pierce Ralph's heart in one thrust—
"Grease!!"
Whummm!
The mana rippled beneath his feet, friction vanished from the ground, and the Karawna member's forward-leaning foot slipped.
"Kgh?!"
As he staggered off-balance, a massive halberd blade descended before his eyes.
Crunch!
"Nice one, Dane!!"
Thumbs up to Dane, but Shamshir came flying at Ralph.
"You idiot, eyes front!!"
Clang!
Ryu An swung his sword in panic, blocking for Ralph.
"Get your head in the game, you shit-for-brains, Ralph!!"
"Man, can't take my eyes off you guys for a second."
Helena fired arrows while casting heals to support the team, and Sylvia hurled hidden blades at Karawna's feet to harass them—both tossing barbs at Ralph.
"Remember what the boss said? Slack off and you die! They're stronger than us. Snap to it!!"
"You guys always pick on me..."
Ralph grumbled but quickly reset his stance.
Individually outmatched by Karawna, the Latent Dragon Squad fought on seamlessly, covering each other.
"Here they come again!!"
Regrouped, they clashed anew with Karawna.
Claaang!
"Not worried about your men? At this rate, they'll be dead soon."
Tarik sneered at Ian without breaking eye contact.
"Nah, they're fine. Tough as nails, those guys. Not the type to drop that easy."
True, each member's skill fell short of Karawna's.
But the time the Latent Dragon Squad had honed together dancing on death's edge... outstripped Karawna's.
No—the sheer weight of crises they'd overcome gave them superior crisis-handling.
Unlike Karawna, who merely licked boots in other lands, every Latent Dragon trial had been life-or-death.
"Ho, strong faith in your comrades. Though... that's not the point right now."
Snap!
Tarik stepped forward, hand blurring.
"You should worry about your own neck first!!"
Boom!
In an instant, the short spear from his back closed the gap.
A卑鄙 strike unworthy of a Master, even at entry level.
Clang!
Ian calmly parried the spear's path with his lesser blade.
Shriiing!
The lesser blade's upper section unraveled like chains, snaring Tarik's spear.
Tarik's weapon snatched in a blink.
"Hmph!"
Far from panicked, Tarik snorted, leaped, and stomped the stolen spear's shaft.
Crack!
Whipping out another short spear from behind his shoulder, Tarik spun and slashed at Ian's shoulder with the blade.
The tables turned instantly—Ian's lesser blade now suppressed.
Even if Ian blocked this spear with his free hand's weapon, Tarik still had a shamshir left.
'This is weapon mastery, punk!'
A greenhouse flower from a fancy house like you.
Challenging me, who clawed to this spot killing in the wilds? Mistake from the start.
Shuuu!
The spear neared Ian's heart—
Shriiiing!
Ian's right-hand greater blade extended long, batting the spear aside.
As Tarik predicted, no weapon left to block the shamshir.
"Die, you arrogant brat...!!"
Slash!
The shamshir's curved edge arced for Ian's throat, but Tarik's goal fell short.
Spurt!
A chain burst from Ian's greater-blade wrist, stabbing straight for Tarik's eyes.
"...!!"
Stunned by the unforeseen strike, Tarik recalled his shamshir to deflect the chain and retreated hastily.
Thud!
Ian pressed, slamming the spear-deflecting greater blade into the ground.
Rumble rumble!
The earth crumbled, unable to withstand the sword's infused energy.
Whoosh!
The greater blade's edge pierced underground and erupted at Tarik's feet in an instant.
Ian's blade traced a perfect circle, encircling Tarik like a noose.
"Hup!"
Ian channeled Blood Demon True Qi into the blade; it coiled around Tarik's torso like a serpent crushing prey.
"Neat trick!"
Whirr!
Tarik spun like a top with his spear, batting away the encroaching blades.
Ian kicked the snared spear far off, extended his lesser blade with True Qi.
Shraa!
The lesser blade bared fangs at Tarik's spinning feet.
"Kgh!"
Tarik flicked it with shamshir, but his spin halted inevitably.
Meaning—no more deflecting the greater blade's squeeze.
Crunch crunch!
"...!!"
Ian hurled the cocooned blade, ensnaring Tarik.
Slam!
Rocks and trees shattered as Tarik crashed into the dirt.
A blow that would've pulverized any normal man's bones.
But.
Groooowl!
Tarik rose from the rubble unscathed, it seemed.
Crack, crack!
Ian taunted as Tarik rolled his neck.
"Not bad for a brat's level, huh?"
"...You little punk...!"
Grind!
Tarik glared, grinding his teeth at the provocation.
Whummm!
Aura blazed along Tarik's shamshir and spear like a scorching desert mirage.
'A Master is a Master, after all?'
The aura flowed as naturally as breath.
That last hit left intact? He'd armored himself in aura on impact.
"I was gonna go easy since it's bandit turf, but... fine."
Groooow!
"Playtime's over. I'll kill you."
Immense pressure sank Tarik's stance, carving a deep furrow at his toes.
Boom!
Tarik streaked at Ian like a meteor, trailing syrupy afterimages.
A trajectory no ordinary knight could match—entry-level Master, yet flawless.
'Peak Expert skill... Impressive for your age, I'll grant you.'
But that was it.
Between peak Expert—human limit—and Master beyond the wall? An uncrossable gulf.
Even in the star-studded Lichtenauer Martial Clan, a 20-something punk couldn't keep up with a Master's moves.
This strike would rip the brat's throat; then off to the Empire.
Simple as that.
As Tarik's aura-clad spear and shamshir tore into Ian—
Ian's eyes flushed red, rooted in place.
Boom!
Amid the shamshir's light-speed arc, Ian sidestepped right.
Tarik's shamshir missed by a paper's width.
Unfazed, Tarik thrust his spear again.
The aura-packed shamshir? A feint to unbalance Ian.
The real kill: the spear hidden in its path.
Shiiiing!
The spear tip dove like a shadow-hidden dart.
But.
Wham!
"...Dodged that?"
It whiffed.
The spear grazed Ian's nose as he arched back.
Ian's crimson eyes glued to Tarik's every motion like glue.
Battlefield experience?
Tarik instinctively shivered at that gaze.
And he was right.
Ian's glowing red eyes read every hidden intent in Tarik's moves first.
"That all you got?"
Ian lifted his head, eyes blazing red, raising the Twin-Headed Blood Serpent.
"Then... my turn?"
Shraaaa!