Chapter 57: The Knight Hates the Exam (4)

In martial arts novels, there were always outside forces that appeared in the storyline, such as the Demonic Cult or the North Ice Sea Palace. Anyone who had read such novels would be able to tell that those forces were formidable. There were so many instances where they were even portrayed as the strongest force in the era, and all sorts of trouble came up because of it.

The reason why martial artists belonging to the North Sea Ice Palace or the Demonic Cult appeared as the strongest was because of the individual strength of their warriors. A natural outcome since they were all living under a harsh environment, and had to struggle every day just to keep themselves from dying.

In that sense, the Lionels could be considered as the North Sea Ice Palace or the Demonic Cult of this world. After all, they were the lunatics who honed themselves by fighting against countless monsters in the harsh and barren frozen land every single day, all while cultivating their territory of icy mountains that were constantly enveloped by snowstorms.

Moreover, they had loyal followers who accompanied them until the very end even in that kind of environment, the fierce and ferocious subjects of the Lionels.

Those people had served the family that had inherited the bloodline of the winged lion for generations, and swore absolute obedience to them. It was because of that the Lionels managed to build a territory and military force that was on par with the kingdom.

In fact, they possessed the strongest military force and territory across all the forces of the kingdom. They were also the only force that, even though they put strength above all else, they still obeyed the royal family unconditionally.

That was why Lee Han calling them Northern Sea Demon Cult wasn’t entirely far off from the truth.

If I were to use modern terms, those guys are the guys who managed to develop the entire Siberia and went a step further.

Lionel was a powerful force, that was an undeniable fact. Even the Pendragons would find it hard to deal with them. However, there was a reason why even though they were capable of going independent at any time, they were still holding onto their status as the one of the founding family of the kingdom; the oath made by their ancestors.

Lee Han had heard a rumor that half of Lionel’s powerful military force came from a particular Knight Order.

The strongest Knight Order which was made up solely of those who inherited Lionel’s bloodline and the strong people of the north.

The Order of Black Iron Lion.

Like the Silver Lion, they were one of the few knight orders in the kingdom that could use the symbol of a lion. However, the world valued The Black Iron Lion above the Silver Lion, which was only natural. After all, there was no way a beast that was reigning in the fields of harsh winter would be any scarier than a docile beast that grew up in a zoo.

“Are you a member of the Black Iron Lion or something?”

“I am Maximus Iron de Lionel, the deputy commander of the Black Iron Lion Knight Order. You can just call me Max. What about you? What’s your name?”

“…Don’t you already know my name?”

“I want to hear it directly from the warrior’s mouth.”

“…It’s Lee han, Lee Han Totle.”

“Lihan, huh? I’ll remember that!”

“My name is Lee Han, you punk.”

I hadn’t heard anyone misspelled my name in a while now. Is he doing that to piss me off?

Or is he just…

“Who cares! Just fight me to death, Rahan!”

“…This punk.”

…A crazy fucker who’s obsessed with fighting more than the name of his opponent? Yes, he’s probably that kind of a guy, huh?

Hearing his name changed from Lee Han to Rahan, a frown appeared on his face. From this, it was clear that the man in front of him wasn’t someone he could communicate with.

Is this fucker someone from a warrior race or something?

I guess this is why that old man told me not to associate myself with northerners.

At that moment, he remembered a certain thing that Baltar had told him a way back.

‘Even if you’re itching for a fight, don’t ever try to fight against the northerners. They aren’t a scary bunch, it’s just… If you get yourself involved with them, they’ll be a pain in your butt for the rest of your life.’

Now Lee Han understood why he said such a thing, and how accurate his words were.

Guess this is why you shouldn’t ignore an old timer’s words.

But still… I didn’t even try to involve myself with them… This fucker is the one who came to me on his own! What did I do to deserve this?!

“Oh, Heavens above… Why is my life like this…?”

Lee Han actually wanted to decline this fight because he had just spilled a lot of blood recently, but…

“Whatever. Don’t come crying after I’m done with you.”

Whoosh-!

Lee Han still took out a dagger that was lying around. Although, compared to the great axe in his opponent’s hands, the dagger was no different than a toy.

Someone else might wonder what he could do by taking out something like that in this situation while mocking him in their head, but Max didn’t relax his guard.

On the contrary…

Woah, woah, I actually got goosebumps! It feels great!

He got excited.

I knew it, I was right!

Just as he expected, his opponent was as fierce as a northerner, and his spirit was just like a large beast. The revelation brought a huge joy to him since he never thought that there would be such a skilled warrior that was worthy of his [performance] in this peaceful capital.

If I could defeat this man, my soul will get a little closer to Avalon!

Just like that, Max raised his spirit. At the same time, Lee Han’s momentum turned unusually cold.

After confirming that the man in front of him wasn’t any ordinary lunatic, he lost the will to do leisurely things such as engaging him in hand-to-hand combat. He realized that their fight wouldn’t be a light spar, but a duel to death.

However, just as Lee Han and Maximus were about to collide…

Bang-!

“Ugh!?”

“You daredevil bastard! I told you to stay still, not to cause trouble!”

“…E-Elder brother.”

“You rude bastard!”

Bam-! Bam-!

“S-Stop! E-Elder brother, stop hitting me! I-It hurts!”

“I hit you because I want you to feel that pain! Or do you want me to hit you to vent all my anger instead, huh?!”

“Ugh!”

…For a moment there, both Lee Han and Maximus had to hold back their spirit.

The latter—whose body was as big as a gorilla—was being beaten by a man much smaller than him, completely unable to show off his strength.

It was like an imprinted fear.

He was acting like a puppy who had figured out the hierarchy of its living space, and was unable to do anything but obey its owner.

It wasn’t a very pleasant sight, it was extremely ugly.

But Lee Han—

…What’s the matter with that guy?

—involuntarily hesitated, not even feeling like teasing the fierce gorilla.

Instead, he immediately widened the distance between them and concentrated all of his strength on his calves and toes, so that he could escape at a moment’s notice.

He was just one step away from completing a Bending Body Launch, not to launch an attack, but to get away from this place immediately.

At this moment, what was important to him wasn’t victory or defeat, but [Survival].

To him, that was the most important thing in his life, after all, his goal was to live a happy and long life. If he were to encounter an enemy he couldn’t defeat, he would always opt to run away, regardless of pride and shame. He didn’t care if people were to call him a coward because of this mindset.

In any case, attacking the man in front of him was the worst possible move he could make.

“No need to do that. I have no intention to kill you.”

“…If so, then at least put this awl away. It’s so close to stabbing my neck, you know?”

“Ah. I’m sorry. Just know that it wasn’t my intention.”

“…Ha.”

Lee Han let out a smile.

Gulp-!

When did that happen?

He could feel a drop of blood falling from the nape of his neck. It was as if a sharp ice pick had dug into his skin.

Considering that it was his skin—which was stronger and harder than a bulletproof vest—that was easily pierced as a tofu, one could already tell how big of a deal this situation was. He could have easily died from this.

And yet…

The one who had inflicted such a wound on him genuinely didn’t have any intention of killing him. That was the only reason why he was still alive to begin with.

Tsk, such a monster is roaming around like this, and yet people are calling me a monster?

Lee Han could feel it. A ‘monster’ didn’t suit him at all, as it fit the man in front of him better.

Magnus Julian de Lionel.

The Great Emperor of the North had appeared right before his eyes.

A chilling silence enveloped the whole building.

Usually, there would be security guards or teachers passing by through the room, or maybe one or two cadets who were sneaking in, but today, the place was unusually empty. If someone were to say that there weren’t even a single ant in here, Lee Han would believe it.

Because he could guess the reason why the place felt so empty. With ‘something’ like that loitering around in this place, it was only natural that no living things dared to approach the room.

[━━]

“Calm down and just return already. No matter how much you want to test someone, you can’t just threaten them like that.”

[━━]

“Haa… Fine, I’ll offer a sufficient sacrifice later. Can you please return now?”

[━━]

“I promise.”

The man, Archduke Magnus, was talking to something in the air.

If it was anyone else who had seen him, they would have mistaken him for being crazy, but it wasn’t the case for Lee Han. Because he could tell that he was being ‘threatened’ by that something.

There it is… The giant creature…

Lee Han concentrated all of his senses and focused his gaze on the direction that Archduke Magnus was looking at.

At that moment…

[━━]

Flinch-!

Lee Han finally met the thing’s— no…

Is that…a lion…?

He met the savage beast’s eyes.

Though it was just his gut feeling, he felt that his guess was close to the truth.

Behind the archduke was a beast as big as an elephant, its face covered in thick mane. It walked on all fours, its claws thicker than Lee Han’s waist, and its fangs were gigantic, to say the least.

The gigantic fangs made it look like a sabertooth, but he felt that it was closer to a lion than a sabertooth.

How could he feel that way?

Because I got stabbed by it.

Not only did he get stabbed by it, its presence was also similar to the lions he had seen at the zoo back in his previous life.

And at that moment, he realized.

That the lion was…

A [Mystic]…?

One of the continent’s wonders, a being that could be traced back to the time when the mysterious races, fairies, and ‘gods’ flourished. Mystic.

Gods in the form of animals… To think that people who worship them still exist…

Lee Han recalled the information he had received from Jake just the other day, as well as a certain record that he had read a whole back.

[The Leader of the Lionel family has been living with a Mystic for generations. The power of that Mystic is said to be on par with ‘Aura Users’. Along with Galahad’s demon sword, it is said to be one of the powerful forces that supports the kingdom.]

…The first time he had read that record, he genuinely thought it was a joke.

After all, in his eyes, whether it was a Mystic, or the Galahad’s demon sword…

None of them could be compared to Aura Users.

But facing the Mystic right in front of him, he no longer harbored such thoughts.

Instead, he was certain that…

…If this thing were to fight Baltar… I don’t even know who’d win…

Just like with Baltar Grace, he couldn’t gauge the limits of this thing’s power.

Only now did Lee Han finally understand how this kingdom, despite being swarmed by enemies from all sides, managed to survive for so long.

Even without Aura Users the kingdom will be fine because monsters like this are staying in here.

This guy looks even sturdier than an aircraft carrier…

Regardless…

I feel like I’m going to wet my pants, fuck…

Whether it was sturdy or not, there was nothing he wanted more than it to turn its attention away from him.

“Please receive my apology again, young knight. My brother has behaved in a way that is disrespectful to you.”

Archduke Magnus offered a sincere apology to Lee Han, even though the latter was nothing but a common knight. Despite his status, it seemed like he wasn’t the type of person who was drunk of his authority and influence.

At that moment, hearing his brother’s words, Maximum chided in and protested.

“Elder brother, how is it disrespectful?! A warrior’s duty is to fight! Please, take your words back!”

“Oh, shut up!”

[Roar!!]

“Aaak!”

Being scolded by his respected brother and the ‘guardian’ of the family, Maximus’ body flipped over comically. If others had seen it, they might have just seen him flipping his body over nothing, but those who inherited the blood of the lion could see the giant ‘jet-black lion’ hurling a finger flick at him.

He couldn’t even fight back. Then again, no normal human could.

“Ugh…”

The humiliation deterred him from standing back up, and it was only then did Magnus finally turned his gaze at the knight again.

“…This isn’t something that aligned with my original intention. I really just wanted to have a moment to talk with you.”

“H-Huh? Are you talking about me?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“You can rest assured. [The Black King] doesn’t easily harm others. However…he often plays pranks on others without realizing his own strength. That’s why you felt that your life was being threatened back then.”

“…That’s not a reassuring statement at all.”

Doesn’t that mean if that lion were to play a prank on me again, I’d have to say goodbye to this world?

…Can’t I just run away…?

“Hoo… Judging by that reaction, you really are able to see the Black King, huh? That’s surprising.”

“…”

…Did he just set me up…?

The reason why Magnus revealed the lion’s existence was to test him, and he was unceremoniously caught like a deer in the headlights.

Lee Han thought for a moment about what to do next, but in the end…

“…It isn’t like I can see it…I just can feel its presence…”

He decided to answer him honestly. After all, it didn’t seem like he could hide anything from the gentleman in front of him.

Hearing that, a bitter smile appeared in Archduke Magnus’ face, as he stared at him with an amazed expression.

“Someone who isn’t even a blood relative of ours is able to sense the Black King? Without magic power or the power of another Mystic to boot… Interesting…”

“…Could you please stop directing your feelings of interest at me?”

“I believe that I’ve restrained myself well enough, I’ve been holding back from testing you more, you know?”

“…”

This rotten—!

Lee Han muttered a low curse as a sudden dizziness struck him.

The cadets are the ones who are in the middle of exam period…

BUT WHY?!

AM I?!

THE ONE BEING TESTED?!

[Chuff.]

As he was currently being watched by a lion with the size of an elephant, Lee Han could only sulk with a sad face.

Nevertheless…

“Phew… So, what is your purpose in wanting to talk to me?”

“Hmm? I see you aren’t trembling anymore.”

“There’s a saying that says as long as you keep your guard up in a tiger’s den, you’ll still be able to survive. If it gets dangerous, I’ll just run away. With that in mind, I feel no need to be afraid of anything.”

“…Now I understand why the Black King is curious about you.”

[Chuff!]

Indeed, this young knight is quite an interesting man.

His stupid, ignorant youngest brother still found himself frozen like a mouse in front of a cat whenever he met the Black King. And yet the man in front of him showed zero intention to back down and said everything he wanted to say to him, even though it was the first time that he had ever seen the Black King.

He had never seen a more interesting guy in his life so far.

“Hahaha! And here I thought after the previous king passed away, there would be no one else left in the royal capital, but I see that it wasn’t the case at all!”

“Huh?”

“Ignore me, I was talking to myself. In any case, you wanted to know why I wanted to talk to you?”

“…Yes.”

“It wasn’t anything special. The Black King wanted to meet you, that’s why.”

“Just for that reason…?”

“The fact that the Black King showed his affection to someone is enough of a reason for me to meet that person.”

Based on his experience, every warrior that managed to draw the Black King’s ‘interest’ ended up becoming famous regardless of their will.

And the person who the Black King had chosen right now—

How will this young man leave his mark on history, I wonder?

—would surely achieve great feats that will be remembered in history.

That was why Magnus wished to meet him, he wanted to see what kind of person this young man really was.

He didn’t need anything else, just meeting him was enough.

Some people might dismiss his action as he had nothing better to do, but the thing here was, the more free-spirited someone was, the more leisurely and curious they would become. No, rather, the more their curiosity served as the driving force of their life.

That was why…

“…How about going north with me?”

“?”

“If you are willing to, I’d like to let you marry my daughter.”

“…”

Archduke Magnus became someone who wouldn’t hesitate to pull off some crazy stunts.

…Although to Lee Han, he was just an unwelcome scout.