Chapter 167: The Knights’ Spring (2)

Lake de Duran’s expression hardened.

…This rascal has definitely grown stronger.

Half a year ago, back when they first clashed with each other, the rascal’s body was already stupidly strong. Lake even had unleashed all his energy to hit him, but he still failed to get the upper hand in the end. He had to resort to using his technique, his specialty.

However, even if he were to use that now, he wasn’t sure if he could match the rascal.

But, at the very least, he knew…

I’m not beating him in barehanded fights.

If back then his body was robust, now it was solid. The current him was like high-quality steel that’s been tempered hundreds of times in high heat.

Lake never thought he’d feel this way towards someone.

It was as if…

This rascal is not human.

He had always found the guy strange in the first place, and now he evolved into something even more bizarre than that. Once again, he reminded himself to not even think about getting in a barehanded fight with him.

…But of course, if a situation arose where he had to fight with him in that way, he wouldn’t avoid it.

“What’s with those fierce eyes, you fuck?”

“…You have no right to say that to me.”

Lake frowned before retrieving his spear. He wasn’t the kind of guy who’d take up his spear so easily, but the opponents he’d have to aim his spear at weren’t just some random guys. They were a bunch of arrogant mages who didn’t know their place, and in order to get rid of them…

“So, do you still think of me as a burden?”

─This thug’s cooperation was essential.

The thug shrugged.

“I’ve never called you that, what are you even on about?”

“You were the one who said, ‘I’m going in, wait for me here’. That means you thought that I’m a burden.”

“…I only said that because I felt it would be easier for me to go solo.”

“That’s exactly what that means, you rascal.”

Lake grounded his teeth, his anger still hadn’t subsided. But, the most annoying thing here was…

If this rascal refuses to cooperate with me, I won’t be able to climb the tower.

Just like how he deflected the spear with his forehead a little while ago, the rascal had many strange techniques. For example, the one where he made flowers bloom from his sword, or the one where he sent his body flying like an arrow.

And more importantly…

The technique to walk on the sky…

Lake roughly understood the principle behind that technique, but it was a delicate technique that didn’t suit someone who had learned Combat Technique at all.

Controlling your power delicately to create a foothold in the air. That’s the kind of technique it is.

Knights who had learned Combat Technique would find it difficult to perform that technique. After all, the basic fighting method of knights was to release power by utilizing the explosive power within their bodies, and that technique just forsook such basics completely.

Nevertheless…

“Take me with you, Thug.”

“…You are asking me for a favor, what’s with that arrogant tone?”

“…”

“Forget it. Just asking me won’t be enough. Show me whether you’re worthy or not.”

“…Don’t regret it.”

Woooosh-!

Lake thrust his spear again.

The spear that was being thrust into him without hesitation seemed to come in a straight line, but in truth, it had changed courses countless times along the way.

It was as if it would chase after him no matter which direction he tried to dodge.

And as expected…

Bang-!

Again?

Lee Han was hit by the spear again.

It wasn’t like he willingly let himself get hit by the spear, it was just, even when he tried to dodge, the hit would connect anyway. Yes, even with his extraordinary senses and quick movements, Lee Han still had difficulty dodging the spear.

This guy’s accuracy is even more accurate than a machine.

He quickly figured out why the spear was hard to dodge. The guy wasn’t using any special Mystics or tricks. It was just, his accuracy and overall skill had been honed to the extreme to the point that no one would be able to imitate it.

This guy isn’t just throwing attacks randomly, these are highly calculated attacks.

His thrust wasn’t a simple thrust, but a strike that couldn’t be dodged, even if one tried to dodge it by utilizing all the joints of their body, including the hand, elbow, shoulder, and back.

If Lee Han focused on the ‘function’ of one’s body than ‘technique’, then this guy invested everything in ‘technique’.

In other words, he was the complete opposite of Lee Han. Moreover, his dedication to it was so ‘perfect’ Lee Han couldn’t even imagine someone imitating him.

However, what was even more amazing than the perfection of his technique was…

This punk can read my movements.

He was smart. People often called knights like Lee Han ‘intuitive knight’, which was the type of knight who fought with their superior physical abilities, superior five senses, and combat experience compared to others. However, the Spear Guy was a type of knight which people called a ‘strategic knight’. Those who fight like they’re playing Go or chess.

For Lee Han, fighting against a strategic knight was harder than fighting against the intuitive type. Considering that one of the most important factors in a duel between warriors with similar skills was their movement, it only made it even harder.

Moreover…

This guy is at least a grandmaster.

Lee Han assessed that the Spear Guy’s skills regarding reading others’ movements was at the level of a chess grandmaster. This was why he was unable to respond to his attacks properly, and was forced to tank them instead.

However, there was still something he didn’t understand.

Just how did he read all my movements so perfectly?

The Spear Guy’s extraordinary skill in reading movements was one thing, but the crazy part here was that it was as if he could predict where Lee Han would move to. It made Lee Han squint his eyes at the spear blade coming at him in fear.

Moreover…

This isn’t just a prediction, but something like foresight.

Foresight.

The way the spear twisted in the direction he was about to move next made Lee Han think that way.

He became certain. Just like Maximus, the Champion of the North, had the Heavenly Martial Body, this Spear Guy had some kind of ‘skill’ that was similar to that.

As he recalled the Spear Guy’s ability that he had seen while breaking through the Red Mountains for four and a half days, Lee Han thought he had a rough idea of what the guy’s skill was.

“…You… You got a good pair of ‘eyes’, huh?”

“…”

“It doesn’t seem like a [Mystic], so is it a special technique handed down in Galahad?”

“…As expected, you have good eyes despite your appearance.”

“Hey, leave my appearance out of this, you discriminate fuck! Life isn’t all about appearances!”

“…Hmm, I guess that was really my fault.”

“Woah, you know how to apologize?”

“His Excellency told me that if I didn’t want to look like an uneducated person, I should know how to admit my mistakes.”

Thud-!

The guy put his spear down.

Then…

“Have you ever heard of the Mystic called [Thousand Miles Vision]?”

“Huh? Hmm, I probably heard about it somewhere…”

The Spear Guy unexpectedly asked him a question that wasn’t laced with hostility, leaving Lee Han hesitating for a moment. Then, he nodded his head.

“I believe those eyes allow you to see far ahead…”

“They allow you to see 244 miles ahead.”

“…”

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…Use kilometers, you fucker.”

“?”

Lee Han felt his blood pressure rise at that moment.

The number of [Mystics] in the world was numerous.

Although there weren’t many people who possessed them, there were as many types of Mystics as there were stars.

Conversely, a lot of people were fascinated by the power of these Mystics. For example, the mage that Lee Han captured, Greg. He devoted his entire life to finding a way to take others’ Mystics. From that, one could guess how valuable those Mystics were.

However, while there were those who wanted to obtain Mystics by using such vile means, there were also those who studied the Mystics and came up with an idea to assimilate it within their techniques.

For example…

“Galahad has always been doing their best to assimilate Mystics to our technique. Of course, the research process itself was difficult, and even if it bears results, only a very small number of people were able to learn it.”

“Regardless how small the numbers are, there are people who can learn it.”

“Yes. That’s a basic skill that every knight commander in Galahad must learn.”

“Don’t you think that standard is a little too high?”

“What do you mean?! Galahad’s knight commander has to be able to do that much at the very least!”

“…”

…Now I know why Galahad’s knights are so strong.

They only accept those who can learn nonsensical techniques, of fucking course.

Compared to that, the Silver Lion…

Seriously… Those fuckers are hopeless.

There was an obvious unbridgeable gap between them when he tried to compare them. He was about to click his tongue in annoyance after thinking about his workplace, but at that moment, Lake continued to talk.

“The total number of Mystics that we have successfully assimilated to our technique is 31. Of course, no one has learned all of them. Learning one or two of them is already impressive enough.”

“What about you? How many have you learned?”

“Seven.”

“…Are you bragging, you fuck?”

“You were the one who asked first, you rascal!”

“Whatever. The point is, you’ve learned some amazing tricks.”

“…You have no right to complain about that.”

In Lake’s perspective, this guy being able to endure his spear without any scratch was more amazing than his own exploits. While his attacks weren’t imbued with his [Killing Intent], it was still humiliating to not be able to inflict a single wound toward him.

Trying to hide his anger, Lake continued.

“…Also, even though I learned seven, most of the Mystics I learned were concentrated in my eyes. There are five of them there.”

“So that’s why…”

There was a reason why Lee Han thought his eyes were special. On their way to the Central Continent, they didn’t get lost even once. The punk led the way without a shred of hesitation, as if he knew the right path, even through the thick fog, earthquakes and terrain changes.

So it’s a mix of Thousand Miles Vision and several other things.

Wait…

“When you use your eyes, would they turn red? And, would there be commas surrounding your pupils?” ¹

“…What nonsense are you talking about?”

“There is something like that.”

No matter how he looked at it, his eyes worked like that one eye. The way they boosted the user’s perception, discernment of the surroundings, and granted them the ability to predict their opponent’s movements was exactly like that one eye.²

Now, if this guy could also copy his opponent’s skills on top of that…³

Both that guy from the north and this guy… Why do they have so many cheats?

One of them was born like Hercules, and the other one acquired the ultimate eyes through sheer talent?

Seriously…

“How the fuck a talentless person like me supposed to live in such an unfair world?”

“…”

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“…”

Bang-!

Crackle-!

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”

“…You blocked it.”

“What? Should I let it hit me then?”

“…Ha.”

The Spear Guy thrust his spear again, and Lee Han could only frown, wondering why this guy was acting like this all of a sudden.

Lake became certain.

This rascal is a beast.

He could read the guy’s every movement and actions.

According to His Excellency the duke, Lake had a special eye that he dubbed as the ‘[Third Eye]’.

The duke even claimed that nothing could escape his eyes.

And yet…

His reaction speed could escape my eyes?!

No human could ever achieve such a reaction speed.

It was only after a few spars that he eventually got used to the rascal’s speed. But, as the battle progressed, the rascal’s speed gradually increased, and at some point, it wouldn’t be strange if he somehow was able to counter his attacks.

And yet the punk was talking about how talentless he was, and how he wouldn’t be able to live in such an unfair world or whatnot. It wasn’t a wonder that Lake turned livid.

That isn’t even funny as a joke—!

Lake was sure.

That the rascal…

I’ve seen so many intuitive knights, but he isn’t like them at all. He is like a new type, a beast type…

Was the type of knight he’d never seen before.

A frown appeared on his brows as he never expected himself to admire someone so much.

But of course, there was no way that he’d admit that.

They bickered a lot, but they couldn’t afford to anymore since they were running out of time. Of course, not because Lee Han’s vacation was almost over, but rather…

Staying here for too long won’t do us any good.

Even though the empire was in the midst of its downfall and rebellion could happen at any moment, they were still the empire.

They were the crazy fucks who could still proudly flaunt their status as an empire even after a thousand years had passed, the largest country in this vast continent, with a population of 500 million. As long as they made their move, they could quickly find out that they were from Pendragon.

And that wasn’t what Lee Han wanted.

Our goal here is to screw over the Magic Tower quickly and then leave.

That was why…

“Guess I need to carry you up there, huh?”

“Disgusting.”

“That’s my line, you fuck.”

Lee Han didn’t like it, but it wasn’t like he could help it. While he hated to admit it, the guy’s skills were extraordinary. If he took him along, it’d surely shorten the time needed to fuck the Magic Tower over.

“We’ll screw the Magic Tower over before dawn.”

Flinch-!

“…”

“…Hey, kid, you can play dead as much as you like, but if you keep staying here you might get hurt.”

“…”

“Well, we’re going now, so do whatever you want. Sorry for making you like that.”

Lee Han didn’t physically attack the kid or anything, but he still felt sorry for making him faint to begin with, hence why he meekly apologized before they left. After all, if they were to stay here, it would only be uncomfortable for the kid.

When Lee Han was about to turn around…

“I-If you’re going to the Magic Tower, going there through the sky is not a good idea…”

“…?”

“T-There’s a strong defensive barrier in front of it. You can’t get through it unless you’re a mage, so if you want to enter…”

“…”

“…I-If you want to hear the rest, you have to pay…”

“Look at this punk…”

This brat…

“Well, I don’t have much money with me. Can you give me a discount?”

Knows how to do business, I see.