Chapter 172: The Knights’ Spring (7)

The knight’s spear technique was everchanging.

Whoosh-!

Sometimes the spear would move quickly like the claws of a bird of prey.

Whoosh-!

Other times, it would dig into its opponent like the fangs of a beast.

Whoosh-!

At times, it would move flexibly like a whip or a reptile. It was clearly a spear, yet it could perform the roles of a sword, a whip, and even a shield.

It was a skill that made one wonder if such a thing was really possible, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this was the best spear technique among them all.

The King of All Weapons.

When it came to deciding which weapon was the best, sword or spear, it was still up to one’s judgment, but seeing this display, people would come to naturally think that spear was the best one of the two. However, that conclusion was heavily influenced by the man who was wielding the spear. After all, this man was someone who had the potential to master all weapons, but chose not to pay any attention to anything other than the spear.

Regardless, his technique was so great that one could even call it a Divine Spear.

Crackle-!

However, the knight wasn’t only good at spearmanship.

The [Red Combat] that transformed his innate Killing Power into Combat Energy possessed a sharpness that could tear flesh with just a touch and a destructive power that could even crush rocks.

It was strong.

And overwhelming.

The mages of the Magic Tower who experienced it firsthand no longer looked down on the greenish-haired warrior. On the contrary, they thought of him as someone who was more threatening than anything else in this world.

Yet, there was someone who had the courage and audacity to approach that man and shove him to the side.

He was none other than the knight who turned all 12 Bronze Giants into scrap metal.

That knight…

“You are good at fighting, I admit that, but you have no clue how to deal with magic freaks at all. Your way of dealing with them is too inefficient.”

Suddenly started giving some pointers to the other knight, whose face began to distort in a visible discomfort that even the mages could tell.

“…Anyone can run their mouths like that.”

“You’re right.”

“How could you admit that so easily?”

“What you said is true, of course I’d admit it.”

“…”

Anyone could run their mouths.

The knight with superhuman strength agreed with those words without hesitation.

“I don’t teach this know-how to just anyone, but I’ll show you something because it’s you.”

“?”

“Stay behind me for now. When it comes to dealing with those bunch, there’s no one better than me in this world.”

“…?”

─It was only after he saw with his eyes how the guy cut off an Archmage’s neck in less than three minutes after he started that Lake de Duran understood what Lee Han was trying to say.

He brilliantly proved that he was a master in mages hunting.

…The mages of the Magic Tower began to run away.

While yes, they had strong pride, and the Tower was a place that housed all of their research materials, those all were on a lower priority list than their lives.

It would be one thing if it was any other opponent, but the assailants this time were just absurdly strong. They were warriors that made them wonder if they really were the members of the same species as them.

“They destroyed the Bronze Giants…! They aren’t human! How can they be humans?!”

“Run away! Run away!!”

“But, can we just run away…? The ‘Tower Master’ won’t forgive us if we do…”

Flinch!

“I-It can’t be helped… W-We have to live…”

The mages’ bodies flinched for a moment, but they soon nodded their heads. To begin with, mages were individualistic creatures. They strived to reach perfection solely for the sake of themselves, as if they were born with selfish tendencies.

However, such people still chose to live in the Magic Tower. That was because the research facilities inside the Tower were state-of-the-art. Not only that, the Tower also provided a lot of ‘research materials’.

The research funds given to them by the Tower were also plentiful.

…However, when their lives were clearly in danger, they were willing to give it all up.

Normally, people who got such a generous treatment would try to join forces with their benefactor to drive out the enemy, but that wasn’t the case for them.

What they wanted was personal glory, development, and research; to obtain clues to reach a higher level.

They associated themselves with the Magic Tower for that reason only. They had no intention of risking their lives for the Magic Tower.

“I’ll take this thing at least though. This artifact will be enough to fund my research for four years.”

“Oh, then I’ll take this one.”

“Haa… Is there any good cane I can take?”

Soon enough, the mages evolved into thieves who were lusting over the Magic Tower’s assets. They started to poach artifacts and magical items that could be sold for astronomical amounts in the market.

Those guys—people who spent money like water and were completely in the dark when it came to economics—thought that what they took would be enough for them to live a comfortable life in the future.

“Nope, you guys can’t do that.”

Swiish-!

“Seriously, my kind are so hopeless. They have no sense of belonging…”

At that moment, he let out a sigh as he walked leisurely.

Well, what can I expect from my ‘kind’ anyway?

Even I didn’t have any sense of belonging when I was young. But that’s that and this is this.

“You dare to touch ‘my property’?”

His kind should know it better than anyone else. One should never touch a mage’s personal belongings; not research materials nor artifacts.

…Well, if the other party was a genius who would bring about a new upheaval in the magic world, someone might be willing to invest their belongings in them, but if not, they shouldn’t even dare to think of touching a mage’s personal property.

“Don’t think that I’m being unfair. Since you’re my kinds, I’ll let you go without any pain.”

The man smiled affectionately at his kinds whose heads burst like tomatoes. In his eyes, that couldn’t be anything but a merciful death. They dared to steal from him, so they were given a swift and painless death.

He smiled and started to walk slowly again.

Then, he saw it.

“…Hoo, I see that my other kinds are having a hard time.”

He watched the warriors fighting the old men with interest.

For some reason, he found the scene interesting.

Maybe that was why he…

“Let’s watch a little more, shall we?”

Laughed playfully and flopped down.

He wanted to ‘watch’ the fight a little more.

If the Academy ever decided to open a class on [How to Kill a Mage], they wouldn’t need to look far and wide to get an instructor who could teach the class.

[This bastard! Just what is he?! He deflects all spells we send towards him!]

[Does he have an anti-spell on him!?]

[Stop talking nonsense and attack quickly!! That monster is coming!!]

[Clouds, gather, become powerful! More intense-!!]

The five, no, now four, Archmages chanted the spell in shock.

All the Archmages present were people whose everyday ‘words’ was already no different from a ‘spell’. It was common sense that every time they opened their mouths, ordinary mortals would be affected by their words—they’d either kneel or die.

But, that ‘monster’…

[…Our spells aren’t working—no, that monster is tearing them all apart…! Am I dreaming?]

Crack-!

[This is too terrible, even for a dream…]

Gulp…

A sudden surge of pressure passed through one of the Archmage, and he started to bleed from his nose.

It was an extremely ugly sight, but he was too shaken to realize how ugly he looked right now.

Lee Han came in to substitute the Spear Guy.

He knew that the guy got mad easily, while Lee Han himself wasn’t the type of person who’d involve himself in other people’s battles, this time, he had no choice but to disregard those sentiments and step forward.

This rookie, he’s so awkward when dealing with these magic freaks.

From the way he fought, it was obvious that the guy hadn’t fought many magic freaks before. He was really good at fighting, but Lee Han couldn’t help but to offer him some training.

As an expert mage hunter, it made him feel even more obligated to do so.

And so…

“Why did you just keep tanking the spell? You should parry it, parry it…”

Lee Han decided to teach him the 4 out of 100 basic methods of fighting mages.

Lesson Number 1.

Parrying their spells.

Bang-!

Spells were the equivalent of rice that were being thrown by shaman. If they threw it wrong or they failed in throwing it, the rice would return to the person who threw it.

When the spell came over, if one could ‘intuitively feel’ it and deflect it, one’d automatically be able to parry it.

Bang-!

“Kuaaaaak!”

Just like what Lee Han did.

While it required some degree of skill to attempt it, the guy had special eyes, so it shouldn’t be a problem for him.

Lesson Number 2.

“Try learning how to use a simple Concealed Weapon Technique, or a Long-Range Strike Technique. Aim at their head, mouth or heart when you throw something at them.”

Paak-!

Everything Lee Han could hold in his hand could turn into a secret weapon.

Finger Gun Technique.

Whether it was a pebble or a piece of glass, it would fly over as if it was a phantom.

It was as if he was throwing a spear.

Well, if one couldn’t perform it, he thought that they should learn other techniques like Hundred-Steps Divine Fist or Hitting a Cow Across the Mountain first.

Bang-!

Bullseye…

Lesson Number 3.

Crackle-!

“You see, those guys are a bit of a pain in the ass.”

Sometimes, there were some magic freaks who’d use big spells, ones that could cause natural disasters.

With the method that Lee Han taught earlier, it would be easy for them to hunt most magic freaks, however in the case of those guys, those methods wouldn’t work.

In a way this lesson was a course for experts.

“Against them, you just have to keep swinging your sword. In short, this method requires hard labor.”

Ppaat-!

One would require stamina and concentration. While yes, one could deflect smaller spells from those strong magic freaks, but, if the spells were too big to deflect…

Rumble-!

…You have to tank it.

Then, one just had to endure with one’s body and break through. Never run away or back down from it.

This was a general rule for fighting them. If one were to try to retreat in front of a strong magic freak, they’d just get hit by more spells instead.

Even if one had to risk getting their skin torn and bones broken apart, breaking through their spells and striking them was the only way forward.

Kwajijik-!

Crackle-!

Go forward while sacrificing one’s flesh and bones.

Crunch-!

Then, strike the strong magic freaks.

[Keueuuk!]

…It’s not really worth it if you could only cut their chest like this, though.

“Tsk!”

Lee Han clicked his tongue.

He wanted to show off a cool demonstration, but the magic freak was just a little too strong.

As expected, old magic freaks were persistent.

…Lee Han scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed expression and backed away.

Lesson Number 4.

If one felt that the fight was an uphill battle, run away immediately. Never, ever thought that running away was shameful. Just retreat and wait for another opportunity. After all, it was nothing but a waste of breath to ask a magic freak about honor and chivalry.

After showing the last lesson himself, Lee Han returned to the temporary student who was watching his lecture with an awkward expression.

“Ahem, it’s embarrassing. I could only send one person to hell.”

“…”

“Anyway, that’s the short version of the lesson. Use it well.”

“…I don’t even know where to use it.”

“What a rude guy! You can’t find such a great lecture like that anywhere else, you know?!”

“…Ha!”

The guy looked at him disrespectfully, as if dismissing his words as ridiculous.

Even within Galahad, Lake de Duran’s martial prowess was overwhelming. The reason why his name wasn’t well known at first was because he carried out his mission as a shadow and hid his skills.

In the first place, the reason why people got to know him at all was because of the 72-ship group pirates that attacked the river system ruled by Galahad. He single-handedly destroyed 50 ships at that battle, and because of that achievement, he was known to the world as the ‘Mad Wolf’.

-Is he going to be the next commander of Galahad?

-Commander Kurin must’ve felt good. With such a great junior, he can retire with peace of mind.

-Still, he’s so brutal. Yes, they’re pirates, but he slaughtered them all except for one…

-Do you know what’s even more terrifying? All of the pirates were killed in one blow. Some of them were former mercenaries or warriors, but he still pierced through these guys in one blow.

-It reminds me of the time when Sir Maximus first appeared, hahaha!

A man who was likely to be the next leader of Galahad’s pride [Blue-Green Unicorn Knights], a man who was comparable to Maximus of the North, a man who had the moniker Ghost Spear and Heavenly Spear.

Since Duke Blake gave him his name and surname, he lost his original name, but he took it as an honor. He didn’t have any regret about it whatsoever.

In that sense, Lake de Duran wasn’t someone who’d admire or be surprised by others’.

When his sister, whom he had hoped to live an ordinary life, became knight, he responded indifferently, saying, ‘Idiot, you should get married soon, why bother becoming a knight…?’ (Then he proceeded to swear at her for over three hours).

When he first met Maximus, the only thing that came to his mind was, ‘Can I kill him?’.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was rarely surprised, if ever. He’d react to his master’s actions at times, but those were closer to excitement or passion than surprise.

That was why he wanted nothing more than to deny the feelings he was feeling right now.

Especially when the other guy was…

This thug…

There was no way he could bring himself to admire such a guy.

It was incredibly humiliating to even think about. Lake felt his eyes begin to twitch.

However, no matter how much he wanted to deny it…

Crunch-!

─That thug really fights well.

It’s as if…

…He’s been killing mages for breakfast…

The thug was so good at fighting mages to the point where such ridiculous thoughts came to Lake’s mind.

However, Lake knew that his teachings were a mess. From the ridiculous method of parrying spells, to his technique of shooting invisible strikes from far away or putting pebbles and glass shards on his fingers and shooting them as if his hand was a musket.

Even Galahad’s knights wouldn’t be able to imitate that.

Though, Lake himself might be able to if he were to try.

However, the other method…

Rather than human, he’s closer to a lizard…

Seeing how the thug’s body was already recovering after he gave up his bones and flesh, it was clear that he was far from the word ‘normal’.

Looking at him, Lake became certain.

If that thug were to become an enemy, he would have to kill him at all costs.

Because…

He would become the most dangerous enemy.

Lake de Duran concluded that this one knight was more dangerous than the Archmages who were still manipulating the weather up in the sky.

At that moment…

“…So annoying…”

“Ahem.”

Did he notice my gaze?

Lake felt a little embarrassed.

Right now, they were on the same side, so he shouldn’t have treated him as an enemy.

Lake tried to make a rare apologetic expression, but…

“You there! How long are you going to watch?”

Whoosh-!

At that moment, Lake’s spear flew quickly towards the place Lee Han had pointed at.

Unfortunately…

Boom-!

…The strike he sent was easily blocked.

Lake’s eyes opened wide. His pupils shook as he watched his opponent gently disintegrate his strike.

“Oh, did I get caught?”

Then, a boy revealed himself, smiling mischievously.

“…”

“That isn’t important. The power of your attack is quite surprising. It’s comparable to a Penta Spell—no, a Hexa Spell. What incredible Combat Energy.”

“A child?”

The fact that his blow had been blocked so easily surprised Lake more than the fact that the one that blocked his blow was a child who at most was fifteen years old.

But what was even harder to believe was…

[Tower Master!]

[You are late!!]

[You’re late again…]

The name the Archmages referred the boy as.

Tower Master.

In other words…

“Everyone who sees me for the first time always finds it hard to believe. Nice to meet you, my name is Toure, the master of the Magic Tower.”

Toure, the Master of the Magic Tower.

A renowned name.

Toure de Sagan

Even a knight who didn’t know anything about mages would know of his name.

After all, one could find his name in history books.

He was…

“An Archmage who lived for 400 years…”

“To be exact, I had lived for 453 years. Damn, I’m so old, aren’t I? Hahaha!”

“…”

Lake and Lee Han didn’t laugh at his joke. They just kept their silence as sweat poured out of their bodies uncontrollably.

They were sure…

That the man before their eyes…

“Lesson Number 5…”

“…”

“Run away. Let’s run away. We can’t win against that.”

“…Don’t you have any honor?”

“What good is protecting our honor against a magic freak?”

“…”

“So, are you gonna run or not?”

“…Hmm.”

…In the end, Lake had to admit that the guy really was a master. After all, all his teachings were practical teachings.