Chapter 22: Irene Windler Is the New Neighbor (3)

“Cadet Irene, why don’t you eat dinner here before going home?”

“S-Sorry?”

“It’s already this late, and I’ll feel bad if I just send you away. You even gave me the cake and all.”

“I-I made the cake because I wanted to, though…”

“Please consider my feelings too. It won’t feel right for me to send you away like this. Maid.”

“Yes!”

“Warm up some beef stew and bread for her, please.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!”

“…Don’t work too hard, just take it slow, okay?”

“??”

“I-I’ll help!”

It seemed like Irene was quite a quick-witted girl, as she quickly approached Leila to help her warm up the stew.

Pleased by this, Lee Han grabbed the two hand axes hanging on the wall.

“I’m going to chop up some wood while you two are getting ready. I’ll leave the maid in your care, Cadet Irene.”

“Y-Yes!”

To Irene, everything felt like it happened in a hurry. Though, since she was forced to eat dinner here, she secretly felt glad that she wouldn’t need to eat by herself.

Even though the ghost inside her couldn’t keep her mouth shut, ghosts provided no warmth whatsoever.

Maybe he is actually a kind and considerate person…?

As Irene stared at the instructor’s back—who was walking towards the door—she thought to herself that this man was probably a considerate and caring person despite his appearance.

─However, contrary to her expectations…

Creak-!

“…”

The face that Lee Han made as he left the door was dark, without any trace of warmth or affection.

The cabin felt quiet and tranquil.

It reminded one of a peaceful part of a movie’s opening where the narrator would talk to the viewers. However, Lee Han couldn’t feel the same sentiment.

With the two hand axes in his hands, he walked forward.

“Come out.”

-…

“For your information, two warnings is my limit.”

At that moment, Lee Han’s eyes gradually turned red and his spirit started to build up and…

Whoosh-!

‘They’ appeared.

A suspicious group of people donned in black from their head to toes. Lee Han could sense that there were about thirty of them here, so he didn’t soften his expression as he stared at them.

At that moment…

“First, let’s calm down. We didn’t come here to harm you.”

The one who possessed the biggest presence among the black-clothed men spoke up with such an excuse.

“Pfft… If you didn’t, why are you giving off such a dangerous vibe, hm?”

“…”

“No matter how I look at you guys, you are clearly a dangerous bunch.”

An excuse had to make sense for anyone to believe it. No one would believe such words coming from people who reeked of blood.

However…

“That applies to you as well.”

“What?”

“You said that we are dangerous, why don’t you take a look in the mirror, Commoner? How can we stay put when someone like you is right next to the young lady?”

“…Pfft, look at this guy.”

What did they call this shit again? Victim blaming? Ridiculous.

Looking at the guy coming out so confidently, Lee Han’s head went cold, but his heart started to pound loudly instead. So he…

Thud-!

“This won’t do. I can let the other guys off easy, but you? Fuck you, come here, I’ll spank you good, you fucker.”

“Nonsense.”

Lee Han threw his axes on the ground and approached the man in black—whom he disliked the most. The man quickly followed suit.

“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you.”

Probably liking what Lee Han suggested from those words, the man handed the sword he had brought to someone else and approached him.

Right after that…

Boom-!

Bang-!

The two men started punching each other without saying anything further.

…Just like that, an unexpected fistfight began right there and then.

Lee Han’s fist, no, his whole body, was strong.

Even without the troll’s healing factor, his sheer brute force was already at an extraordinary level. And yet he still trained his body tirelessly to the point where he could defeat a knight with just his physical ability alone. As a proof of this, he was able to pummel the vice-commander of the Paulet Family’s Knight Order just a while back.

That was why, when it came to fistfights, there were only a handful of people who could beat him. Well, actually, they shouldn’t even try to fight him barehanded in the first place.

But…

Bam-! Bam-!

Boom-!

Rumble-!

This knight was able to go toe-to-toe with him. No, actually…

Crack-!

“…I have to admit that you’re pretty strong.”

“What? You only know how to fight with words?”

“Probably.”

Boom-!

He was being pushed back by the knight. Lee Han, the one guy who had never lost in a physical fight before, was being pushed back at this moment. The black-clad man’s fists were sharp and it was clear that he had learned proper martial arts before.

It was unusual, considering that most knights would focus on training with their weapons instead, but the two of them were too busy to be able to think about this.

Bang-!

Instead, the only thing that occupied their minds was how to ‘subdue’ their opponents.

Their fists clashed and the sound of something breaking could be heard in each and every one of their clashes. However, their bones weren’t the thing that was broken, but the rocks rolling around their feet.

Punch-!

Lee Han threw his jabs, they look like normal boxer jabs, but the sound they made was anything but. His jabs branched into six trajectories, with each holding a power that could tear the skin even with the slightest brush.

However, the black-cladded man managed to either dodged or parried all of his punches. Then, he dug towards his body and kicked his calf. While the black-clad man might be weaker than Lee Han in terms of strength, all his attacks held the sharpness that allowed him to dig straight into the bones.

Guys like this would appear sometimes, indeed. Those guys who’d put their entire weight in their strikes, putting the trait of a ‘sword’ into their strikes, to make their entire body akin to a razor blade. The more Lee Han allowed himself to be struck by this guy’s strikes, the redder his skin became.

However, that didn’t mean Lee han’s strikes were something to be scoffed at. If the black-cladded man’s blows were akin to that of a sword’s, Lee Han’s were like a hammer’s.

Boom-!

“…I’ll admit it, Commoner, your fist is quite sharp.”

After Lee Han’s fist hit his stomach, fresh blood flowed from the corner of the black-clad man’s mouth. It was a blow that should have shaken his insides, so it wouldn’t be strange if he were to collapse right there and then, but he strangely seemed fine. Lee Han stared at him wide-eyed.

“How are you still standing?”

“Why are you still yapping instead of fighting?”

Bang-!

There was no need for any more exchange of words, so their exchange of blows continued again. Each time, they took each other’s fists and kicks or parried them, not even bothered to block them.

This was a fight of pride.

No one knew when did the fight turn into something like this; a reckless bout without any attempt to defend themselves. They’d just tank all the hits and dish out harder hits to their opponents.

It was a fierce fistfight between the two men who were clearly comparable to none in terms of physical strength. Every time their strikes grazed part of the yard, a lot of things were shattered just from the shockwave they created.

Trees were pierced, rocks were crushed like tofu, and many things that were scattered around the ground were destroyed.

“…”

“…”

The two men proceeded to tank even more hits without even letting the slightest grunt despite the pain they must’ve felt when they were hit. At some point, they even threw out something other than punches and kicks.

Whoosh-!

Catch wrestling. Even though this style of wrestling allowed both sides to do joint locks, it was known for its gentlemanly style in which both sides would maintain their dignity and manners. But the catch wrestling performed by the man in black was not gentlemanly at all. On the contrary, it was dangerous, like a snake coiling around the body of its prey.

Don’t tell me this bastard is a grappler!?

His proficiency in this wrestling style was creepily perfect to the point that even Lee Han’s liver started to shiver.

Lee Han had to acknowledge it. This guy had either spent his whole life training in a way that rivaled his own training, or he was born with such a crazy talent and physical abilities. Because he was way stronger than anyone he had ever met, well counting out someone like Baltar, of course.

And probably, because of that…

Fuck. Why is this so fun?

Lee Han started to feel excited. Even though he wasn’t the kind of pervert who’d get turned on by meeting strong people, the situation still got him pumped up.

And that was why…

Bang-!

He decided to let himself loose.

‘What is that guy?’

‘There’s someone who can go head-to-head against Lord Lake…?’

‘…This is ridiculous.’

Meanwhile, the other black-cladded men who were watching the fight let out a silent astonishment.

Who was the so-called Lord Lake exactly?

He was a monster who stole all the attention back when he was young at the training camp before he was recognized by the Galahad Family. Even Duke Galahad himself thought his talent was ridiculous. That was why he was given the name ‘Lake’, which was only given to the best knight in the Galahad Family.

However, that same Lake was being pushed in a fight against an unknown knight.

Even though he was fighting so well, there was a reason why they thought he was being pushed back.

‘He’s even using that amazing technique…’

Yes, because he had been using his grappling techniques. He only ever used it when he felt that his stamina was running low when he sparred with his knight commander or their lord, Duke Galahad himself, the person he respected.

That was why, the men in black thought that the fight would be over soon. After all, they knew how amazing and terrifying that technique was.

However…

“…Crazy…”

What happened next left them speechless.

Just a moment ago, the crazy guy had shown attacks that were able to match Lake’s power, which was astonishing enough, but this time, they were speechless because of a completely different reason.

Crack-!

“He stood back up? With his own strength…?”

In the state where Lake was holding him down with his technique, the knight called Lee Han rose to his feet. There was a risk that his arms and shoulders would break at the same time as his neck—which was also being strangled—but he somehow was able to endure it and raised his body up. His arms and shoulders trembled, making a sound like they were breaking.

“…You’re crazy.”

“What? It’ll heal if I leave it alone anyway.”

“Should I test your words?”

“Go ahead.”

Crack-!

The cracking sound became louder, but Lee Han held on even harder so that the bastard couldn’t break free.

As if declaring that it wasn’t him who was being held down.

“Don’t let go, I’ll finish you off.”

“Go ahead.”

It was clear that none of them had any intention to let the other guy off as they became even more aggressive as time passed. They were both prepared to suffer small losses to achieve a big victory.

Lee Han was prepared to strike down his opponent even though his throat was strangled and his shoulders were breaking. Meanwhile Lake tried to use his strength to break Lee Han’s shoulders, but he was left dumbfounded since no matter how much strength he put, he just couldn’t seem to break them.

The moment the two men’s fight of pride, which was about to turn into a life-or-death fight was coming to an end…

[-Stop.]

“…”

“…”

A ‘Third party who couldn’t be disobeyed’ ordered them to put down their pride.

[Stop. Let go of Lake’s arm. You should stop too, Lake.]

“…I’ll do it if this guy lets me go first.

“I will stop If this commoner admits defeat.”

[…Does it sound like it was a request?]

“…”

“…”

[I’ll count to three. At three, let go of each other’s hand. One, two, three—]

Crack-!

Bang-!

“…You aren’t letting go?”

“What about you?”

[…Haa.]

But, even after all that, they refused to listen and another fistfight started.

Looking at the two men who refused to stop fighting because of their pride, this third party could only let out a deep sigh.

Contrary to what was written in the information that Lee Han had received, this third party looked like a normal man without even a hint of madness in his eyes.

He was none other than the current patriarch of the Galahad Family, Blake Vivienne de Galahad. The duke let out a deep sigh, feeling his head ache after failing to stop the two young men.