Chapter 94: My Life Isn’t a Life Full of Excuses (5)

Martial Power, which his disciples often call [Muscle Arts], was Lee Han’s own technique modeled after the External Technique he saw in martial arts novels. It was a simple technique of using the body’s functions to its limit. Since it was a technique based on strength, speed, and strong endurance, it was a technique that anyone, even those with somewhat lacking talent, could easily learn.

Comparably, Combat Technique was trickier, despite its simple principle; causing an explosion inside the body to release explosive strength and speed. It was clearly a powerful, if not unimaginable, technique, as it could instantly increase someone’s physical abilities by 5 to 10 times.

However, one needed to have special sense and talent to learn the Combat Technique.

Hearing that it was a technique that caused an explosion inside the body to forcibly increase the body’s physical abilities should be enough for someone to see how crazy the technique was. In the first place, it required a genius level ability to apply the power of the explosion without damaging the body. One would need to have the judgment skills of an F1 racer at least to pull off such a thing.

That was why Lee Han never made light of those who have learned the Combat Technique.

In the martial arts world, most of the martial artists who had learned Internal Qi Circulation Technique were always considered the strongest.

When he reincarnated, he realized that there was a reason for that.

And now…

Bang-!

“!!?”

He always knew it in his head, but it seemed like he hadn’t truly realized why Combat Technique was the greatest technique recognized by the whole continent. All this time, he had bragged about knowing something about it, even though in truth, he knew nothing about the ‘true Combat Technique’.

Realizing how arrogant he had been, Lee Han clenched his teeth. If he were to open his mouth right now, he’d probably vomit out everything he had eaten yesterday.

What are you guys? Dump truck?!

He could see thirteen knights charging at him with one-handed shields.

Bucklers. Round shields that were made for attacking rather than blocking attacks.

However, as many advantages it had, it also had many disadvantages, so most knights did not use it often. However, most of the knights in the Red Eagles used bucklers, and whenever those shields came towards him and hit him, they’d produce a power that was no less than a dump truck.

Bang-!

The knights kicked into the ground as if they were trying to split it into two and slammed their bodies into him.

Perhaps because there were thirteen of them coming at him at once…

The spirit they exuded created a haze around them. In response, Lee Han swung his one-handed shield at them in the same way.

He and the knights were wielding the same buckler, but Lee Han utilized his Martial Power and wrapped it around his body so that he could use Vajra Body to its fullest.

Wooong-!

It was a technique meant to reach the realm of Indestructible Vajra Body.

Since he was currently wearing armor all over his body, he had no blind spots. His entire body was a shield, an armor, and a means of attack.

Thanks to that…

Bang-!

He managed to endure the impact that hit him like an explosion.

“Kuuuuuuk!”

“Keuuup!”

“Keuuk…”

On the contrary, some of the attacking knights failed to endure it and fell.

Of course, he didn’t just shake them off like this in a single try. He only managed to do this after colliding with them dozens of times.

“…They’re really trying to kill me now, huh?”

However, while he managed to shake them off, it wasn’t without any sacrifice.

Cough…!

He could feel his insides shaking.

Even his extraordinary strength and resilience couldn’t shake off all the impact his body had received, so it had been piling up for a while now. If they persisted just a little more, and hit him a few more times, he could tell that it was his Vajra Body that would break first.

Thankfully, his tenacity and stamina was above theirs, so he won the clash in the end.

Suppressing the temptation to take a sip of water, he turned his head to another approaching sound.

“Eight of you this time?”

“Together, we’re the strongest.”

“…Why don’t you all come at once?”

“Hehe, do you think our strength is lacking?”

“Hmph, of course not.”

“Then, this is just right. If a hundred of us gathered at once, our strength would be dispersed.”

“…Ha.”

At some point, or to be exact, after that one guy who was good at using spear was defeated, they stopped rushing at him all at once, and instead went in groups of two to ten.

Did that mean they were looking down on him, or because they were arrogant?

No, that wasn’t the case at all.

If anything, it’s much more annoying and difficult to fight them this way…

When he faced a hundred of them, the battle turned into a melee, and it was easier for him to deal with them that way. After all, no matter how hard a group trained, a hundred people couldn’t truly move like they had a single mind.

But now, it was different. The guys who came in groups of ten, seven, five, or whatever, all had good synergy with each other. In other words, they were more efficient and threatening than back when there were a hundred of them attacking at once.

None of these guys are weak.

While he managed to defeat the most threatening ones of them all so far—the thirteen shield-wielding knights and the two swordsmen—it didn’t change the fact that they were all strong opponents. Using baseball terms, they synergized well like an expert pitcher and catcher who were free to show off their skills to throw a no-hitter or a perfect game.

That was why it was more mentally exhausting and difficult for him to deal with these guys in this way, because of their extreme level of synergy.

And he once again realized that…

This was truly a duel between knights, or rather, duel of knighthood. It was the real deal.

With that thought in mind, he spat out the dust and blood mixed in his saliva.

Then, he threw a question that came to his mind.

“What are you doing, acting so noble to fight a suspicious man? Why are you guys putting your all into this, huh?”

“Hehe, do you think there are any of us left who’d think of you as merely a suspicious man?”

“But I am a suspicious man.”

“After that conversation with Lord Zeon, there’s no way we’d look down on you ever again.”

“…But why?”

Lee Han tilted his head in genuine confusion.

Also, who the hell is Zeon?

However, seeing his reaction…

“…It seems like you don’t even realize what you did, huh? Ha! This only provokes our fighting spirit even more! Alright! We’re going to fight with our honor on the line!”

“…I’m going crazy.”

The knights became even more passionate as fire-like gaze spitted out of their eyes. It made Lee Han wonder if they had taken some kind of medicine or something.

“Whatever. This will end as long as I beat every single one of them.”

Nevertheless, what he needed to do remained the same. He threw away his broken axe and armor, and silently picked up his sword.

Inwardly telling himself that he just needed to win against 60 more punks as he did so.

Whoosh-!

Bang-! Bang-!

“…”

Even Tristan’s elite soldiers didn’t dare to interfere in that fight.

A suspicious man had attacked. Common sense dictated that they should protect the Knight Order who would eventually defeat the suspicious man. They knew that in their heads, but their bodies refused to move to interfere.

The reason?

It was because…

“If you try to get close to that, you’ll die…”

“…Gulp.”

…The moment they interfere, they’d be torn apart as if they were facing a typhoon with their bare bodies.

All the soldiers’ faces turned pale. Those people fighting there looked like humans, but it was just hard to believe that they were made of skin and flesh like themselves.

Humans could move like that…?

Does gravity not affect them at all…?

“S-Superhumans…”

A soldier muttered.

This wasn’t the first time he had seen a duel between knights. He had been working as a soldier for Tristan for a long time, so he sometimes could catch the knights in the middle of their spars.

But what happened in front of him was different from what he had watched.

Rumble-!

Every time their feet touched the ground, the marble floor shattered.

Crackle-!

Every time their bodies collided and swung their swords, the sound of lightning strikes echoed.

Is it really possible for humans to produce that sound just by colliding with each other…?

The soldier couldn’t help but to recall the contents of a ‘hero tale’ that he had heard from a bard a long time ago.

-A knight’s movements are like the wind, and a knight’s sword strikes are like lightning. That’s why they are superhumans who can defeat a thousand people alone.

He thought it was just a fairy tale that was made to steal the money a naive kid had earned.

But, after seeing this sight, he realized…

They are… Knights…

Superhumans who could turn into the wind or the lightning…

However…

“No. If they were actual superhumans, the result of their clashes would be different. Our family would have been burned to the ground a long time ago, hahaha!”

“!!?”

A certain old knight corrected the soldier’s misunderstanding.

The soldier’s eyes instantly widened. Hearing that familiar voice, his master’s, and seeing the man approaching him, he immediately tried to salute him, but…

“Stop. No need to be so ceremonious in this kind of situation. I was planning to watch everything unfold on my own, but I felt pathetic by doing so, so I came all the way here. Why don’t we watch them together?”

“M-My lord?”

“Mhm, good, good. That’s how a duel should be!”

“…”

“I hope he can win and face me eventually. Seriously, I’m not a kid anymore, but somehow, I feel so nervous… Do you think I’m going crazy?”

Shiver-!

The soldier suddenly felt a shiver running down his spine. He could see it. The master’s eyes, His Excellency Marquis Jenimia’s eyes, turning bloodshot red like a hungry beast. But he could tell that the master wasn’t just hungry, but also moved. Just like an eagle that had forgotten how to fly suddenly remembered that it had wings and was ready to soar through the sky.

Then, to prove it wasn’t just an illusion,

Crack-!

The bow in the marquis’ hand started to crackle. As if begging him to shoot an arrow with it.

Marquis Jenimia…

Was impatiently waiting for his turn.

…He even wished for the defeat of his knights.

Strangely enough…

Kwaaaaang-!

As if fulfilling his expectations, his turn was steadily approaching.

Clang-!

“…”

Lee Han looked at his sword that was torn in half. Seeing how it only started making ominous sounds after he beat up 50 people with it, its durability was truly something notable.

Ever since he had learned Vajra Body, he hadn’t broken a single sword until now.

Nevertheless, he threw the sword away without regret, and reached into his back to take out a hatchet.

“Carl de Metz of the Red Eagle. Let’s say that I’m the 20th in our ranks.”

“Name’s Lee Han.”

He didn’t even remember how many times he had this kind of conversation.

At one point, the knights started introducing their name to him, and he started introducing his out of habit.

Although he couldn’t remember all of them—because there were times where he almost lost his consciousness throughout the fight—he did remember some of them. However, that didn’t matter. While he couldn’t remember their names or what kind of conversation they had, their techniques and weapons were etched in his mind.

No, it was etched in his body rather than his head.

And the exact same thing would happen again now.

Whew!

The hatchet and the sword that was coming towards his body collided, creating sparks. At the same time, the other person’s body was pushed back. Without letting the opportunity slip by, Lee Han immediately dug towards the guy and headbutted him.

Bending Body Launch. It wasn’t a blow that his opponent could just dodge.

But, considering that the opponent was wearing a helmet, for him to headbutt him was a little…

Foolish. In fact, it wasn’t strange if he ended up breaking his skull because of this. But…

“…Is your skull made of steel or what…?”

“Your helmet’s just old. Get it replaced with a new one.”

“C-Crazy…guy.”

Thud-!

It was the helmet that was broken, and his head was the winner of the clash.

“…It hurts.”

He learned a valuable lesson today: never headbutt someone with a helmet. Because of his foolish antics, he almost lost consciousness right then and there.

“Huuuu…”

“There’s blood blowing from your forehead.”

“I know. Anyway, what number are you? Why did you come alone?”

“Well, I would love to come with someone, but unfortunately, there’s no one left.”

“How come?”

“Look around.”

“…Ah.”

Only after Lee Han followed his opponent’s words and looked around did he realize…

Except for the one knight in front of him, the others were already lying on the ground.

Red Blood Eagle.

The Knight Order with countless legends surrounding them were rolling around on the ground, while he, their enemy, was still standing.

“Congratulations. You have pretty much defeated the Red Eagle.”

Swish-!

“However, I still have to prevent us from suffering a complete defeat.”

The duel was important, but winning was just as important.

The knight, Bale, showed off his unusual ‘sword sound’ while spitting out his fighting spirit.

Woong-!

Sword Resonance.

The moment he pulled out his sword, it immediately started to hum.

As soon as Lee Han saw it, he realized…

This guy’s the strongest one among the guys I’ve faced…

“My name is Bale de Tristan. I am the deputy commander of the Order of Red Eagle.”

“Tristan?”

“Yes, I’m from a collateral line, though. Let me clarify this in advance, I did not rise into my position solely because of my blood.”

“I know, I can tell just by looking. You’re the strongest one among the guys I’ve faced so far.”

“…Haa, it’s been a really long time since the last time I felt that my hard work wasn’t for nothing.”

At that moment, all the sense of inferiority he had felt simply because he was a collateral line disappeared. The knight in front of him didn’t even see him as someone from the collateral line, but as a rival who must be defeated.

It made him feel blessed, as he finally could reap the rewards from all the time he spent to hone himself.

However, there was still a pang of regret in his heart.

“I should’ve come out and fought you when you were still fine.”

“But, I’m still fine?”

“Fine? You look like that and you’re saying that you are fine?”

“…Ahem.”

Just as Bale had stated, Lee Han’s appearance was miserable.

Even though he felled 99 guys from the Red Eagle, they didn’t just fall like reeds.

Some of them managed to wound him, some hit him in the jaw, some blocked his moves to protect their comrades, some even got to stab him in the face.

Lee Han’s current appearance was no different from that of a bloodied man. In other words, he looked like he could fall at any time.

Hence why Bale felt regretful for coming up last. Of course, it wasn’t like he didn’t try to push forward to become the first. The others just kept pushing him back.

“Aren’t you the deputy commander? Why didn’t you use your position and force them to back down?”

“Yes, but the others are still my seniors, you know…”

“Ah… Well, it can’t be helped then.”

Having experienced the military where experience was regarded as more important than rank, Lee Han could sympathize with Bale.

So, he nodded in understanding.

“Forget it, just put your sword up.”

“You can rest for a little longer, you know?”

Bale tried to get Lee Han to rest with a frown on his face, but…

“I’m not looking down on you, it’s just… It feels like if I rest now, I won’t be able to move anymore.”

“…I see. Though wounded, a lion is still a lion.”

Woong-!

Bale’s sword shook.

The hum on his sword became incomparable to before.

So there are levels of Sword Resonance…

His Sword Resonance is on a different level compared to that Yord guy in our Order and the Regressor.

Saaaaak-!

Is it Sword Energy?

No, that’s not it. It is…

Bale’s Sword Resonance felt as if the energy of the sword had been pulled out like a thread.

Indeed, just like Lee Han’s Sword Flower, the man in front of him was only using the energy of his sword.

Sword Thread…

Squeak!

The threads emitted by the sword showed cutting power that could cut through rocks.

“…Amazing.”

“Its power is much more amazing than you think.”

Woosh-!

There was no need for much conversation.

Bale’s Sword Thread came rushing in, and Lee Han immediately responded by lifting his body into the air.

Airwalking.

Using that technique, he quickly tried to dodge.

“I’ve already seen that!”

However, it was a technique that Bale had already seen, so how could he not be prepared to face it?

Just as Lee Han’s Vajra had no weakness, Bale’s Sword Thread also had no weakness.

The reason he was called [Tristan’s Owl] was because his attacks weren’t limited by range.

Even aerial combat was just a stage for him to freely play.

His Sword Thread fiercely surged and lashed towards Lee Han, who had jumped into the air. Just like an owl that could hunt and devour falcons in a single breath.

However, facing that Sword Threat, Lee Han…

Bang-!

Kicked the air without hesitation and dashed forward into it.

“What—!?”

It was a move that was no different from suicide.

Is he giving up the fight…?

No, of course not!

Lee Han was someone Bale had recognized, so he believed that the man wasn’t dashing forward in despair to give up on winning. Which meant, he must have some kind of plan in mind.

Knowing that, Bale…

I’ll cut you down!!

Spread out a Sword Net that would make him unable to escape no matter what plan he had.

He named it [Heaven’s Net].

It was a Sword Net that no one could escape from, whether they were on land or in the sky.

“Net of Heavens and Earth¹!?!?”

Seeing this, Lee Han was dumbfounded.

Wondering how such a thing could appear in this kind of place.

With this, he was stuck in a situation where if he wasn’t careful, his whole body would be torn apart.

But…

So what—?!

Lee Han spun his whole body as if he didn’t care if he would be torn apart or not.

If that guy uses the Net of Heaven and Earth, then I’ll use that…!

“What!?”

The legend of Taoism, Kunlun, the home of the immortals².

The martial art that the descendants of Kunlun created by observing the movements of dragons flying through the clouds.

-The Cloud Dragon Great Eight Styles!

However, this was his own reinterpretation of the Cloud Dragon Great Eight Styles.

While it was classified as Divine Technique in the martial arts world, Lee Han’s Cloud Dragon Great Eight Styles was merely a technique that greatly increased the rotational and penetrative power generated by him falling from the air.

In other words, he was reproducing the Sun Piercing Spear he had used against the monster the other days with his whole body.

Because of that, his Cloud Dragon Great Eight Styles definitely…

Crack-!

Had the power to tear apart the Net of Heavens or whatever it was.

“…Just where did you learn such things?”

Bale couldn’t help but ask such a question as he watched his technique being broken. Rather than feeling disappointment over it, he was curious where he learned such a technique.

“From a book full of romance and chivalry.”

“C-Chivalry?”

Thud-!

Bale fell on his back.

Before he could dodge, Lee Han’s knee hit the exact center of his stomach, causing him to fall down.

“…”

Huuu… Huuuuu….

Lee Han gasped for air roughly.

A sense of relief over the fact that he had defeated a strong man that he couldn’t afford to let his guard down against came washing to him. At the same time, he also realized that he was extremely lucky.

The only reason it worked was because he was unfamiliar with the technique. If it wasn’t for that, I’d be the one who fell.

It was a moment when he felt greatly rewarded for all the time he had stubbornly spent practicing the Cloud Dragon Great Eight Styles. He was also thankful towards the Kunlun Sect, although he didn’t know if they existed or not.

Regardless, it was thanks to them that he won this fight.

But of course…

“Huuu, did I make you wait for too long?”

“Don’t worry about it. The time spent on watching you was incredibly rewarding and exciting for me. You don’t know how eager I had been while waiting for my turn! Hahaha!”

“…I know I have no right to say this, but aren’t they your subordinates?”

“Indeed, but all of them should be satisfied by this result. Where else would they experience a duel like that? Even though they lost, it was a valuable opportunity that no money could buy.”

“It seems like all great nobles are weirdos…”

Whether it’s the archduke, the duke, or the princess… They’re all people with unique thoughts and values.

Guess it’s true that the more powerful someone is, the weirder they would become.

Lee Han let out a wry laugh, but the marquis ignored it.

Instead, he just raised his bow with a hint of excitement.

Woong-!

When the huge bow hit the ground, it made that loud sound. Lee Han couldn’t even guess how heavy the bow was.

In fact, he doubted that he’d be able to pull its string with his current strength.

Swish-!

At that moment, the marquis pulled the bowstring, as if showcasing his strength.

Whoosh-!

Even though it had no arrow, a vortex was created the moment he pulled the bowstring. It seemed as if an arrow, no, a bullet made of wind was aiming at him.

While Lee Han was facing his imminent destruction, the marquis spoke with a smile.

“Ah, right, someone just reported the matter to me, so let me apologize in advance. To clarify, it wasn’t my intention to send a hawk to your disciple. That was my retainers’ doing.”

“I know, I’m not here to blame you. Although, I know that I’m crossing the line by pulling this kind of stunt.”

“…Then why did you do it?”

“To make a statement.”

“Make a statement?”

“I won’t stop anyone from taking my child, but I want to show them that they should never take my children lightly. I wanted to show you that my children all have a strong backer behind them.”

“…Is that why you did this?”

“What? Are you disappointed because it’s such a trivial reason?”

“…No, how could I be disappointed? After all—!”

It was a wonderful reason!

The marquis was moved.

Since the era of the previous king he respected had ended, his life had become utterly boring. And yet this young man managed to give such a heart-pounding stimulus to the old knight who was growing older day by day and kept losing his energy.

He was so grateful that he almost shed tears. The man did all this just to show the whole world that his disciples weren’t people who could be treated lightly. That they were children that not even Tristan should dare to treat carelessly.

“For the lady, huh? That’s the kind of attitude that young knights these days should follow. Honestly, I might just fall in love with you.”

“…I will have to refuse, you handsome old man.”

“Young man, that’s just rude! Hahaha!”

Paaaaang!!

The marquis laughed cheerfully and released the bowstring.

This was a message for him, that Tristan had acknowledged him.

Albeit, the message was sent in a rather violent way…