Chapter 168: The Knights’ Spring (3)

‘How could you trust the words of a Street Urchin?’

If someone were to ask Lee Han that question, he would answer:

I trust his guts and confidence.

After all…

His heartbeat is steady. I can trust that.

Most of his reasoning—around 80% of it—was based on his lie-detection skill.

Furthermore…

“I-I heard this all from a drunken merchant. H-He used to trade with the Magic Tower.”

The boy’s eyes were clear as he told Lee Han the source of his information, as if assuring him that he wasn’t just talking out of his ass. Although his legs were shaking, and it was clear that he was scared, he acted as if he couldn’t afford to miss a lifetime opportunity.

And so, towards the boy—Patrick—Lee Han…

“Are you really okay with this arrangement, young friend? You don’t want the money instead?”

“Yes! Please just take me to the South! It’ll be enough!”

“…That really doesn’t sound like a wise idea, though.”

Patrick had told him his wish; to get away from the empire, or rather, the Central Continent. As a payment for the information he provided, he wanted Lee Han to grant that wish of his.

Hearing his words, Patrick shook his head.

“The Central Continent is like an active volcano that could erupt at any moment. The cities ruled by the feudal lords and viceroys are all at odds with each other, while the imperial family has neither the power nor the justification to control them. A civil war would happen at any moment. And, if a war actually happened, they’d conscript a kid like me without much thought. That’s why it’ll be better for me to go to the South instead.”

“…You came up with that all by yourself?”

“Anyone who uses their head a little could come up with that.”

“…Damn, what did I do when I was at your age again?”

Lee Han burst out laughing at how amazing the little guy in front of him was. Not only was he courageous and bold, he also had a good head with him.

If the empire wasn’t in such a state, he’d probably be hailed as a genius.

Lee Han felt such admiration for the little guy’s conduct.

“But why us? Why are you so sure that we can take you to the South safely?”

“…”

Lake suddenly chimed in.

At first glance, it sounded like he was threatening the kid, but Lee Han knew it wasn’t the case.

This guy…

Is testing him?

It was as if he was trying to appraise a gem.

To that question, Patrick…

“…This is something I realized from dealing with many merchants. Sometimes, you’d need to be bold so that your business could succeed. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should rush headfirst. You have to be sure that your boldness will bear fruit. In that sense, I judge that I can invest in you, Sir Knights.”

“What are you basing your judgement on?”

“Your strength is one thing, but there’s also the fact that you treat me, a mere child, as an equal rather than just dismissing my words. And, more importantly…”

“…”

“I trust you because you came to punish the mages.”

“The magic freaks?”

“…Yes. I…despise those mage—no, those magic freaks…”

“…”

The two knights fell silent.

Even though the kid did a good job on hiding it, they still could sense his resentment and hatred.

No matter how smart he was, at the end of the day, he was still a child. He was still unable to completely mask his feelings.

“…”

The two knights didn’t ask him any more questions and just followed him silently. In fact, they made an expression of understanding as they watched Patrick’s anger.

Just like that…

“We’re here.”

“Is that it?”

“Yes. This is the only entrance to the Magic Tower.”

They arrived at the center of the city.

To be exact, at the huge facility that maintained the Colony’s barrier; an observation tower where the mages who managed said barrier stood on standby.

Then, the child who secretly harbored resentment towards the mages spoke up, revealing that the building wasn’t only used for that purpose.

It was also a device that moved people to the top of the tower, a.k.a…

“A [Portal]. That’s what the merchants call it when they see it.”

“Hmm.”

“Sir Knight?”

Noticing Lee Han’s subtle reaction, Patrick blinked in confusion.

Is there something wrong?

But Lee Han just shook his head slightly at Patrick’s question.

There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just…

“Rather than a portal, that thing looks more like…”

Lee Han scratched his cheek, unable to bring himself to say, ‘The thing looks like a [Capsule Launcher]’.

-So, does the Magic Tower not have any enemies?

-They have a lot!

The boy asserted.

They had so many enemies that would be more than willing to crush them.

The two knights weren’t the only ones who wished for their downfall.

Then again, if anything, it would be strange for such a big organization to have no enemies.

That was why they had actually been attacked countless times so far. It was just, no one had succeeded in taking them down.

As for why…

-They said it’s because of the magic field surrounding the Tower. It’s incredibly strong.

Magic field.

It was the basic ability of mages, just like telekinesis, but this particular magic field was on a different level in terms of quality and quantity compared to your run-on-the-mill magic field.

-In the past, there was a large-scale attack against the Magic Tower. They deployed various siege weapons back then, but even after a month of attacks, it didn’t even scratch the field.

According to rumors, back during the attack, the mages of the Magic Tower were leisurely drinking tea and chatting about the weather.

That was how strong the Magic Tower’s magic field was. It seemed impossible to break through it.

Hence why…

“No matter how strong you are, Sir Knights, it won’t be easy to break through the magic field. Throughout history, there were knights and armies that were known for their flying technique, but even they weren’t able to break through it. The only way to enter the Magic Tower is through that Portal.”

Whoosh-!

As soon as Patrick finished his explanation, a round object shot into the sky from the ejection port of a peculiarly shaped building. In an instant, the object flew smoothly through the sky and flew toward the Magic Tower.

Since that object passed over the Colony where they were, they were able to see the whole scene. They were even able to watch the capsule enter the Magic Tower with a bang.

“You see that? If we could ride that, we’ll be able to enter the Tower somehow, but it won’t be easy…”

Huu…

That was all the explanation Patrick could give. As soon as he finished, fatigue suddenly came washing over him, and his head started to cool down.

Did I do something I shouldn’t…?

As he started to calm down, he realized how much of an impregnable fortress the Tower was. No matter how strong these two knights were, it was just impossible for them to conquer the Tower.

The same goes for the Portal. I said it as if it’s a simple thing to do, but even if we succeed in taking over that building, it doesn’t mean we’ll be able to use the Portal. We aren’t mages, after all.

It would be more accurate to say that only mages could use the Portal.

The Tower wasn’t stupid, and Patrick knew that. That was why even though he hated them, at the same time, he held them in high regard.

One had to know their enemy well to find a way to deal with them.

The problem was that the more he investigated his enemy, the more his hope got crushed.

Dad, Mom…

Crack-!

The only reason why he still harbored resentment towards them was because of his parents, who had died unjustly because of them.

Ever since the mages created the Colony, their already powerful status skyrocketed. They grew to be more arrogant than the nobles, more extravagant than the merchants, and more authoritarian than the imperial family. They flaunted their status as much as they liked because they knew that without them, there would be no way to stop the blizzard.

Eventually, the tyranny of the mages went beyond that, and they began to harass the people who weren’t nobles, the so-called lower-classes.

Patrick still couldn’t forget it.

The time when his poor, yet warm family was torn apart by them.

It was a long time ago. The mages suddenly started an epidemic in a certain village in the name of an experiment.

Due to that, countless villagers, including Patrick’s parents, died.

-I see. So this disease is only lethal to ordinary people? Well, that’s it, I guess. No point in developing a cure.

It was as if they didn’t see people as people.

Patrick still couldn’t forget it.

The mage left Patrick waiting for his death. Fortunately, he was able to survive by taking the only potion in the village.

…His parents secretly fed him the potion to save him.

After that, he became the only survivor in the village, and since then, he still hadn’t forgotten his resentment toward the mages.

Some might say…

That mages were a necessary evil.

Though they were evil, they were still willing to help people.

Whenever he heard that, he wanted nothing but to shout: ‘Don’t make me laugh!’.

‘There’s no such thing as necessary evil in the world. They just don’t give a fuck about you!’

‘You know how many evils they committed, you just turned a blind eye to them!’

This was why Patrick hated everything in the world, and believed only in money.

What about God then?

God is nothing but a bystander…!

They never intervened in worldly matters, just watching silently. Hence why he couldn’t trust Them, and why he deemed Them untrustworthy.

But money wouldn’t lie, and wouldn’t betray anyone. That was why Patrick believed in it.

Also, he had a goal that he wanted to achieve with money.

-I’ll become a merchant, make a ton of money, enough to destroy the empire—no, enough to destroy even the Magic Tower!

In a way, it could be said to be his life goal.

He knew that achieving it was close to impossible.

But even so…

-Someday…!

He wanted to achieve that goal, no matter what.

But now…

…

It dawned on him how huge and powerful the Tower was, to the point that he couldn’t even dream of taking it down anymore.

Patrick lowered his head.

His grand dream now felt so immature.

“S-Sir Knights… N-Now that I thought about it…”

He called out to the knights, trying to hide his feelings and anger. No matter how he looked at it, it was ridiculous for him to expect the impregnable fortress to be taken down by merely two people.

The more he calmed down, the more the two knights’ charge seemed like a suicide. As a decent human being, Patrick thought that he should try to stop the two good knights from charging towards their deaths.

He hoped that they could cherish their lives more.

However…

“Can you see anything?”

“Shut up. Are you gonna take responsibility if I lose my concentration?”

“…Fine.”

“Hmm, I see. The structure…”

The two knights had already begun their preparations to attack.

“…Sir Knights?”

Patrick blinked and called out to the knights, wondering what they were doing.

At that…

Pat-!

“You did well, young friend. Thanks to you, I think I can get a rough idea of how to attack.”

“…Huh?”

“What you’re trying to tell us is that we shouldn’t force our way in, is that right?”

“??”

“Don’t worry, young friend. I’ll show you.”

“…?”

Patrick couldn’t understand them at all.

But…

Unlike his looks, his hands are warm…

The rough hands stroking his head felt somehow warm, calming his anxious heart.

Lee Han wasn’t just bullshitting.

He genuinely felt grateful for the kid’s helpful advice.

Now I know why they called it an impregnable fortress. The power spread around it isn’t normal.

The magic field that he sensed seemed to be as strong as hundreds of magic freaks using their telekinesis at once. Only an Aura User would be able to penetrate something like that with their bare hands.

However, that didn’t demotivate Lee Han.

After all, through his journey to grow stronger…

He had never once walked an easy path.

Then, he saw the portal that the child showed him, and the capsule that could carry someone up the Tower.

‘Ah, I can exploit that,’ he thought.

No matter how strong its defense was, it wouldn’t be perfect.

After all, nothing was perfect in this world, everything had flaws. The main rule of strategy was to poke through those flaws and stretch them into big holes.

In that sense…

“I see it.”

He was lucky.

The guide assigned by Galahad had extraordinary eyes.

That guy’s tri-colored eyes fixed their gaze on the Magic Tower floating in the sky. He even remembered the flow he had seen when the capsule was launched into the Magic Tower.

Lake de Duran. The only knight in Galahad’s long history who succeeded in mastering 7 of Galahad’s methods to integrate Mystics into their technique. He succeeded in finding a gap in the Magic Tower’s magic field that no one had discovered in a thousand years of history.

However, finding the gap was one thing, breaking through it was another.

To do that, one would need a destructive weapon that could break through the sky with the same speed and movement as the launched capsule..

And so…

“Thug, do you have a technique that could fly something into the sky like that capsule? Also, it needs to be strong enough to destroy castle walls.”

“…What’s with that outrageous requirement? Do you expect a human to be able to do something like that?”

“I’m asking you because you aren’t a human.”

“…”

“So, do you have it or not?”

“Haa… It’s not like I don’t, but…”

“…”

“What? Why are you staring at me like that? What’s your problem, you fuck?”

“…You damn monster.”

“!!?!”

Luckily, Lee Han had such a ‘weapon’.

BAAAAAAAAAAANNNNGGGGG-!

[Imperial Year 1,024.]

[The Magic Tower, no, the tower where the ‘monsters’ in human skin live,  was split in half and fell from the sky. Fortunately there were no ‘casualties’ during that incident.]

-Excerpt from Patrick’s diary, the Golden Prize Winner-