Chapter 125: The Knights Called Themselves the Losers (2)

“—I’ll chase him.”

Without taking his eyes off the fading shadow, Yord said so towards Lee Han.

“Can you?”

“At this distance, I probably can.”

“Confident, aren’t you? …Nah, forget it. Let them leave.”

“B-But…!”

Yord didn’t know the details, but it wasn’t hard for him to guess that the reason why the mission’s difficulty rose up, and why his senior was hurt so badly was because of the giant man. So, he expressed his discontent, thinking that it was wrong to just let someone like that go.

“Let him leave. He’s not someone you can handle.”

“Senior?”

At that moment, Jake grabbed his shoulder, stopping him. Not because he was looking down on him, but rather…

“…No matter how exhausted he is, it’s still a long way for you to beat the ‘Black Lion of the North’.”

“!!?”

Hearing those words Yord’s eyes widened.

The Black Lion of the North.

The Giant Slayer, the strongest champion of the north.

“The deputy commander of the Black Lion…”

“I didn’t recognize him immediately because he’s bigger than before, but it’s definitely him. Is his growth plate still not closed like the rumors say?”

“…Is he really such an innocent person?”

“He is.”

“I-I never expected that…”

Yord forgot about his complaints as he stood there, dazed. Then again, he never expected that he’d see the deputy commander of the Black Lion—whom he’d only heard of through rumors—in such a remote place.

While his young junior was unable to hide his shock and kept looking at the back of the retreating figures, Jake looked at his friend who had collapsed in exhaustion.

“…Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?”

“Nope.”

“Then why do you ask?”

“To make fun of you.”

“Rotten bastard.”

This was the first time…

That Jake saw Lee Han so exhausted to the point he couldn’t stand like this.

He guessed that the reason why this guy had become like this was most likely because…

“There’s no way you’re like this because of those fanatics. Mere monsters also won’t hurt you this much. You’re the kind of guy who’d annihilate both of them without breaking a sweat.”

“…You know me too well.”

“Yes, I do. I don’t want that, but I do. Anyway, I know that there are probably less than fifty people in the kingdom— no, across the whole continent who could make a mess out of you like this. One of them is Lionel’s Black Lion. So, let me ask you something…”

“We fought. It just happened.”

“…As expected.”

So you reaped what you sowed, huh?

Before Jake could even ask his question, Lee Han had already revealed the truth boldly, as if he had no intention of hiding it.

However…

“How dare you make light of your mission, you bad knight.”

“…A-Ah… S-Sorry…”

Hearing his friend’s scolding, he murmured that apology, as if embarrassed by it. Even when he tried to think about it deeper, there wasn’t a real reason for him to fight that guy, but he did anyway. The fact that he still apologized here meant that he, surprisingly, still had some ‘conscience’ in him.

In any case, even though Jake criticised him, the knight still didn’t ask him why he fought against the Black Lion of the North.

Because…

It’s obvious they fought for the hell of it.

Both the guy in front of him and the great warrior of the North had different personalities, so it wasn’t hard to figure out that they’d fight over the most trivial reasons.

So, he just kept his stoic and calm expression on his face.

Who won that fight, I wonder?

But, it wasn’t because he didn’t care.

As far as Jake knew, those two were the strongest men in the kingdom, excluding of course, the Aura Users.

He should just stop being a knight if he wasn’t curious about the outcome of the fight after hearing about it.

…However, Jake held himself back.

Because…

If I were to ask him now, he’d just punch me…

Just by looking at his friend’s expression—who seemed like he had swallowed a bug—he could tell that asking such questions wouldn’t be the wisest choice.

Surely he’ll tell me about it later.

…He could only hope that he’d have the chance to satisfy his curiosity one day.

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

The woman ran with all her might.

Sweat poured down from her body, yet she still maintained her speed and ran tens of meters per second in one breath, like a snow leopard running freely across the snowy field.

Even though she was carrying Maximus—who was as heavy as an ox—with her, she didn’t show any hint of discomfort. After all, there was no way she could claim to be a member of the Order of Black Lion, the Guardian Deity of the North, the strongest warrior group if she couldn’t even lift that much weight.

For the warriors of the North, gender wasn’t an excuse, only skill mattered.

“Fortunately, there are no pursuers.”

Lilina Heartmoon, the tall woman with skin as white as the snow of the snowy field, felt relieved that no one was chasing her after keeping a close eye on the path she had taken.

If the knights of the Silver Lion decided to chase her, it would be a bit of a headache for her.

Even without counting the collapsed knight, the other two were not ordinary knights…

Even by the standards of the North, they are at the level where they shouldn’t be underestimated…

Lilina was secretly impressed by that fact.

I heard that all white cats are just fools, but it seems like there are still some good ones among them.

So these guys are the strength that the kingdom has…

But, her interest soon moved away from the cats.

Glance-!

Perhaps because she had the leeway, Lilina looked at the deputy commander who was limp like a spinach.

Maximus Lionel.

Even though he was the youngest brother of Archduke Lionel, he was more often referred to as the ‘Great Warrior of the North’ than ‘Archduke’s youngest brother’. He was a knight who managed to bring all the warriors of the North to their knees through a fight with his natural talent, unyielding effort, and endless desire for improvement.

Lilina herself had a history of rushing at him out of pride, and that day, she felt in her bones that it was possible for a giant to have a human form. Maximus was just that strong. Hence why she could not imagine him losing to a human other than His Excellency the Archduke.

After all, she had personally experienced how powerful his boundless stamina and mountain-shattering strength were.

But now…

This is the first time I’ve seen him this spent.

Even back when fought against the Frost Giant alone, he was completely unscathed when the fight was over. So it was inevitable that Lilina’s gaze would be filled with curiosity…

“Lilina, what are you curious about?”

“…”

“If you have any questions, I’ll answer them.”

“…How did you, the Champion of the North, end up in that state?”

When Maximus gave her the opportunity, she asked directly. The boldness and directness of a northern warrior.

At that question, Maximus, who had been carried on her shoulders like luggage, smiled with satisfaction.

“I had a great match. A truly exciting and passionate match.”

“…”

Hearing his answer, Lilina’s eyes widened. It was the first time she, no, anyone saw their deputy commander with such a satisfied expression.

Then, he…

“Lilina, the continent is truly vast, hahaha!”

“…That’s such a modest answer, so unlike you.”

“Is that so? Well, I can see where you’re coming from.”

Maximus did not deny her words.

As Lilina had said, his personality was more arrogant than humble.

However, it wasn’t the time for him to be arrogant.

After all, he…

“If someone doesn’t change even after experiencing ‘defeat,’ how can you call them a person?”

“!!!”

“Why? Is it so hard to believe that I lost?”

“…Did you really…?”

‘Lose’ wasn’t a word that fit Maximus, her deputy commander, in the slightest. The idea of him losing to someone in a fight never came to her mind even once. After all, he was the kind of person who looked like he’d win all the battles he fought.

But to Maximus himself…

“Have you forgotten Lilina? I’ve never told a lie since I was born.”

“…”

“It’s the same now. I’m not ashamed or unfamiliar with defeat. I’ve always been a loser in the North.”

He was always defeated by his elder brother—no, the archduke’s Mystics. He also never won against the snowstorms raging in the North—another Mystic of the North, the Eternal Snow. The Eternal Snow wasn’t overwhelmingly cold or anything, but its grandeur and presence always gave him an overwhelming sense of defeat.

That was why he was quite familiar with defeat.

“Losing to the Black King and Mother Nature shouldn’t be counted as a defeat! How could a human win against those?!”

Lilina Heartmoon was left dumbfounded.

The things he mentioned: The Black King of Lionel, the ‘Lion King’s Fragment’, the Land God and Master of the North, and the Eternal Snowfield, that had been shrouded by snow for over ten thousand years—which held the mystery of the snow fairy’s remains. Both were things that mere humans could never hope to fight for.

It was the equivalent of a single human trying to fight a natural disaster. No sane person would think that they were ‘defeated’ by such a thing.

“You should aim big.”

“…No, you’re just not right in the head.”

“Hmm… Could be.”

Maximus nodded his head readily and agreed with her opinion. He knew that everyone had their own standards. And that was why…

“At least by my standards, I lost this time.”

“…Even though you broke that knight’s sword?”

“Hahaha, so you saw everything.”

“No, I just saw him throwing his sword’s handle in frustration.”

This was a scene she often saw in the North. Maximus’ specialty was destroying weapons, and many warriors lost their beloved weapons because of him.

However…

“Lilina, look at my neck.”

“Huh?”

“Quickly.”

“…”

Lilina tilted her head, wondering why he would suddenly say something like that, but she still  looked at his neck.

And then…

“Heup…!”

She ended up letting out a shriek.

Liliana thought that she was someone that wouldn’t be surprised by anything, but now she was so shocked to the point that her whole body trembled. Before she knew it, she had stopped running. Her pupils shook as she stared at a certain thing in his neck.

…A red line.

All this time, Maximus had been suppressing the wound on his neck with his ‘Strength.’

“This thing called Martial Power, I was lucky I learned it.”

Indeed. If he hadn’t, he would have died due to blood loss.

Even so…

“As long as someone lives as a knight, they will eventually get their neck cut off, so this isn’t a bad experience, hahaha!”

“S-Stop! Stop laughing, you idiot! You’re bleeding!! Why didn’t you tell me you were hurt!?”

“Ahahaha!!”

Maximus just laughed as if nothing happened, but Lilina’s face only turned paler and paler. At the same time, she realized that she had to treat this lunatic quickly.

“You idiot!”

Lilina Heartmoon lost her temper as she looked at her deputy commander who was her [husband] at the same time.

She really was just one step away from becoming a widow.