Chapter 226: The Knight Brood Over His Defeat (5)

Lee Han had a peculiar dream.

[Do you know that you have sinned! How could a plum blossom swordsman lose to those from Zhongnan Sect! How pathetic! You are a disgrace to the Mount Hua Sect!]

It was a dream where an old man who looked like a Taoist was angry at him.

But there’s not only one Taoist

[We should cut off his limbs and excommunicate him!]

[You are besmirching the name of Mount Hua Sect…][

[How can I face my ancestors now!]

The Taoist treated him as if he were a traitor, and Lee Han just quietly scratched his cheek.

[Look at that arrogant attitude!]

[You don’t know your own faults at all!]

[T-that…!]

As he heard more, Lee Han’s blood pressure continued to rise. So, he opened his mouth.

“Hey, you filthy ghosts. I don’t know who you are, but let’s get this straight. First of all, I’m not a member of the Mount Hua Sect, you idiots.”

[…?]

He continued to swear coolly.

“I used to be an assassin for a strange group consisting of humans who had been experimented on.. .So my origins were more like someone from the Demonic Sect or a wandering warrior. Because of that, I’m not a member of the Orthodox Faction. Even if I were someone from the Orthodox Faction, my first technique was Shaolin, so I should be someone from Shaolin Sect rather than someone from Mount Hua Sect. Even if my technique name was taken from a martial arts novel, that doesn’t mean I’m a real martial artist, right? If you think about it, I made everything. That means I’m the founder, you idiots.”

[…]

“Excommunication my ass. Even if you excommunicate me, I’ll just excommunicate you.”

[B-but the Plum Blossom Sword Technique…]

“Do you have any patent for it?”

[…]

“Without a patent, you’re talking nonsense bastards…”

[T-that…]

“Stop talking nonsense and come here. How dare you, disciples of a sect, betray the founder?”

[W-wait…!]

“Let’s see your plum blossom sword!”

[…!]

At that moment, the evil spirit of the Mount Hua Sect screamed.

“…Is it because they are just evil spirits? Their powers are different from the original?”

Lee Han, who had been blankly staring at the air for a moment as he opened his eyes, looked at his palm. Originally, he had planned to hit them 500 times, but he could only hit them 300 times.

Since evil spirit was still a ghost, they didn’t have legs, they ran away very well.

…Is that the [Dark Fragrance]?

“Hmm, should I try making it myself?”

Lee Han nodded, saying that he had gotten a hint for a new technique.

To him who was like that,

“…What nonsense were you talking about as soon as you woke up?”

“You don’t need to know.”

Baltar spoke to him, and Lee Han, who had already sensed his presence, answered him roughly without even looking at him.

“How long was I unconscious?”

“30 minutes.”

“…For some reason, I felt refreshed.”

“Heh heh, your resilience is still amazing as ever. Did you recover just by sleeping?”

“Even so, I only recovered to about 40%? Others also recover this much after resting like me…”

“Hehehe, if you say that in front of others, you’ll get beaten up for being annoying. Ah… the guys who rush at you will get beaten up by you in return. I made a mistake”

“…”

Instead of responding to Baltar’s teasing, Lee Han just glanced around.

Crackle-!

Rumble-!

Thump-!

“…Ahem.”

He laughed awkwardly with an embarrassed expression.

The training ground, which boasted an area of approximately 6,000㎡ (1,800 pyeong), had terribly destroyed. The ground had collapsed as if a sinkhole had formed beneath it, and the surrounding walls had completely collapsed, exposing the outside.

Was that all? Of course not.

The super-heated energy left behind by Sword Force and Sword Sphere had caused flames, causing everything to burn.

It makes it like an atomic bomb had exploded in the training ground.

The silver lining was… There should be no radiation whatsoever.

However,

“What a mess…”

Lee Han broke out in a cold sweat as he took in the destructive act he had committed.

Before he collapsed, what was on his mind was just to fight in order to land a hit on Baltar. But since he had come to his senses now, he realized that he had caused an accident.

I am crazy…

The property damage alone was enormous, yet they had dared to make a part of the palace like this.

When he defeated the 1st and 2nd battalion of White Cat Knight Order, they were the ones who attacked first, so it was considered self-defense to some extent. But this time, he was the one who caused the accident, so.

Hmm, being a debtor is a foregone conclusion. But what if I get dragged in as a criminal?

I might get dragged to the guillotine.

“Even if I fix this, I’ll still get punished, right?”

“Hmm? Can you fix it?”

“I’ve been working as a Military Engineer before. Maybe in two weeks? No, if you give me a week, I’ll fix it neatly.”

“…You are showing you unexpected talents once in a while, huh?”

“Haha…”

In Lee Han’s past life, he had even worked as a team leader who even built a training ground in the military! In addition, since his whole body could now replace heavy equipment, he was sure that he could build it all anew in a week even if he did the work alone.

At the time when he was worrying whether he could reduce his guilt even a little bit,

“I see what you are worried about. It’s something so you, you idiot.”

“Isn’t that a natural worry?”

“Well, when I see things like this, you seem like an innocent and upright person, but why do you turn into a crazy person when your eyes are flipped…”

“…I should naturally clean up the accidents I cause, right?”

“Haha, you’re crazy, but you seem like an honest crazy guy.”

“?”

When Lee Han was momentarily confused because he didn’t know whether it was an insult or a compliment, Baltar spoke again.

“Don’t worry about useless things. ‘Such things’ happen often.”

“…Such things?”

“In the past, when the former king was in power, this happened often. The knights would fight each other and destroy the royal castle. Hehe, it was like an annual event…”

“…”

“Well, after the former king passed away, the knights’ level declined, and the old comrades gradually went into hiding or left for Avalon, so these kinds of events disappeared, but… they still exist in the royal law. [Even if the royal castle is destroyed due to the knights’ fight, as long as there are no casualties, the crime will not be punished], so don’t worry about anything unnecessary, hehe.”

“…Oh.”

Baltar told him the good news that he wouldn’t have to go up to the guillotine.

Pitter Patter-!

As if to reassure him even more, rain fell just in time to cool the ground that was brimming with flames, and Lee Han snickered as he got wet.

“… It’s been raining a lot lately.”

Though, he was not complaining. He was rather thankful of it.

Whoosh-!

“…”

“…”

Lee Han and Baltar remained silent, staring at the pouring autumn rain.

The training ground had been swept away by their fight, but they were just sitting in the break room, which had only a roof left, using it as an umbrella. Even if Lee Han was doing it, it was really a strange sight for an Aura user to sit and rest in such a shabby place.

“If it’s you, old man, you would be given a large room in any palace when you entered, so why are you doing this? You should drink tea in a warm place, you know.”

“Such fancy things are not my style. Cooling off with rain after a fight is more familiar to me.”

“You’re not a wild man…. Even our little Barbarian doesn’t do it that way.”

“He’s a failed Barbarian then. He’s embarrassing his ancestors, tsk tsk.”

“…Old man, that’s racial discrimination.”

A pointless conversation.

A pointless atmosphere.

It was an unbelievable thing when looking at the fact that the two knights who were talking to each other had been fighting to the death just a moment ago. But somehow, the two knights sitting alone in the rain, talking under a roof that could collapse at any moment, really suited each other.

They were two people who would have been more comfortable smoking cigarettes in the middle of a battlefield after they finished fighting rather than resting in a luxurious mansion.

Well, the funny thing was that both of them were non-smokers and didn’t drink much.

They were two men who were completely different, but somehow similar, and that’s why.

“If you have something to say, say it now, I’ll listen.”

It wasn’t difficult for Baltar to see through Lee Han’s inner thoughts.

“…What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“You must have something you bury inside. That’s why you came.”

“I just came to fight you.”

“You know, you shouldn’t lie at all. It’s written on your face. By the way, you’re a lot like me. Even the fact that you keep a lot inside and just keep quiet is like me.”

“…”

“Just tell me what’s really on your mind. There’s no one around to listen. I don’t even want to go anywhere and hear someone’s story.”

“…”

…Lee Han was still silent, and Baltar didn’t really urge him, just watching the raindrops.

After 10 minutes passed like that,

“I just slightly felt it.”

“…”

Lee Han finally opened his mouth.

“It’s just, yeah…. It’s just strange.”

Lee Han grumbled incoherently.

At first glance, it might seem like a grandson whining to his grandfather, but the two of them didn’t show that kind of affection, and it didn’t suit them at all. On the contrary, it was similar to a conversation between mischievous friends or comrade.

So Lee Han’s grumbling was like revealing his true feelings to his friend.

“It’s really strange. It’s not like I’m directly harmed, but I feel strangely uncomfortable. It feels like I’m playing on someone’s palm, and I feel defeated. … Yes, I also feel dirty and very frustrated.”

“Hehe, how can I understand if you talk so incoherently? Explain everything one by one.”

“…Hmm.”

Lee Han nodded, perhaps realizing that he had blurted out words that were not well-organized.

He then smiled bitterly and slowly talked about what had happened.

“So—”

The surprise attack on the Temple, the Dream Demon, the Saintess plan of the Temple, and the schemes of the cultists. How the enemy’s schemer called the [Prophet] moved the Half Demonic Human, Hell Monster, and the feeling of defeat.

In addition, he also told Baltar about  his fight with the Magic Tower as well as the Master of the Magic Tower, the fact that he was forced to learn the Combat Technique, and even the trivial fact that he was still a beginner.

Big and small stories that didn’t necessarily have to be told flowed out through Lee Han’s mouth. Perhaps if it were someone else who was in front of him, he wouldn’t have been able to tell such honest stories, but Lee Han was able to tell everything because he was dealing with Baltar.

After all, he was strong. He wasn’t the type of person to go around talking about things like his.

Because he had that belief in his heart, Lee Han was able to speak honestly, and Baltar nodded his head during the story as if to let him know that he was a good listener, or added interjections like ‘Is that so?’, ‘Hmm…’, and ‘Wow!’

“…Honestly, it’s strange. I didn’t lose, it’s just the temple who got beaten up. So why do I feel defeated?”

“Haha, isn’t it because you played along with the enemy’s wishes? Because of that, you can’t help but feel defeated. I’ve felt the same when I was young.”

“You?”

At Lee Han’s question, Baltar just shrugged lightly.

“About 60 years ago, there was a famous British general and strategist named Hannibal. He was a genius who excelled not only in military strategy, but also in politics, economics, and art. When I was young, I was defeated by him more than a hundred times. Whether it was battle or strategy. He screwed me over in various ways.”

“…He was an incredible person.”

“There are people like that every once in a while. People who are good at everything except using their bodies and know how to exert more fearsome power than swinging a sword. Even the previous king had a lot of trouble because of him.”

“…”

“He was scarier than the kings and all the nobles of Britain, whose heads were worse than ornaments, combined.”

“So, what happened to that great gentleman?”

“He died by my hand.”

“…”

“I was forty-five when I killed him. It was when I first became an Aura User.”

“…”

Gulp…

Lee Han swallowed dryly.

When Baltar recalled the time he killed Hannibal, his eyes had a ferocity that made even Lee Han feel scared.

“General Hannibal was a great man until the very end. But when I became an Aura user, no one could stop me. No matter what kind of military strategy Hannibal planned, what kind of conspiracy he plotted, and what kind of diplomatic strategy he deployed. I destroyed it all head-on and finally put my sword to his neck. That’s how I won… Do you understand what that means?”

“W-what is it?”

“It means that you shouldn’t be moderately strong. It means that nothing is of any use in the face of overwhelming power that makes any means meaningless.”

“…”

…It was a remark that would normally be met with grumbling, ‘Are you kidding me?’ but Lee Han couldn’t say anything in response. After all, he instinctively felt that Baltar, who was spitting out those words, was spitting out only the truth.

“Become strong. If you become strong, you won’t have to feel that sense of defeat anymore. Don’t remain in that ‘slightly strong state’, do you understand-?”

“…”

“So let me ask you something. Do you want to escape from that slightly strong state?”

“…What are you talking about?”

“What am I talking about?”

─I was asking if you wanted to become a [superhuman].

Baltar asked Lee Han if he wanted to move on to the next stage.

His words were like throwing a pebble into a calm lake…