Ch.280EP.62 – What is a Knight’s Cause to Fight? (3)

When reading old martial arts novels, there’s a common scenario that often appears:

“How dare you use evil techniques! I’ll kill you and avenge my disciple who suffered unjustly at your hands!”

“No, it’s not an evil technique but my sect’s secret martial art. And your disciple was a criminal who committed everything from human trafficking to murder?”

“Shut up!”

“…..”

“Are you ignoring me?!”

“What am I supposed to say…?”

This kind of development where conflicts arise from twisted logic or hypocritical justifications is typical.

Personally, it’s a divisive trope, but it appears so frequently that anyone familiar with martial arts novels would just think, “Well, I guess this is normal…” and accept it.

After all, following a sword thrust—

“I’m the heir of one of the Nine Major Sects or Five Great Families, so you should forgive me even if I tried to kill you, and you should become our hunting dog who risks your life against evil cults or strange organizations in the future.”

…such developments are so common that the previous exchange seems mild and tame by comparison.

“I guess having characters with terrible personalities is the essence of martial arts novels.”

Ihan had somewhat been brainwashed to nod along with this sentiment.

But now…

“…When it happens to me, it feels really disgusting.”

Ihan felt a wave of displeasure as he looked at the opponent who displayed hostility based on ridiculous misconceptions.

Who is he to block me and judge me…?

Not only had he prevented him from finishing off the monster, but watching someone who harbored hostility based on their own misunderstanding only increased his irritation.

Seeing this, it was clear that protagonists in martial arts novels who endured such treatment or called such people “brother” or “friend” must truly be sages. Which conversely meant…

Crack.

“I guess I’m not cut out to be a sage.”

Ihan drew his axe instead of his sword and glared at his opponent.

While the other person was free to have their misconceptions, there was no reason for Ihan to tolerate them.

As Ihan was gradually raising his fighting spirit…

Clank.

“?”

…his opponent unexpectedly placed his sword on the ground.

“Come on!! Monster, I’ll face you with bare hands!!”

“Why?”

“Since there’s a possibility you might be human, I won’t use weapons!!”

“…What?”

Ihan was so dumbfounded that his rising displeasure faltered and even began to fade. He wondered what this person was talking about.

“You claimed with your own mouth that you’re human! I don’t have the discernment to know if that’s true or false!! So I might make the mistake of using a blade against a human!! I thought about it and remembered my master’s words. My master said that when in doubt, put down your sword and use your fists!! By exchanging punches, you can understand the other’s true heart… Truly wise teaching!!!”

“……”

“Come on! You strong being, whether monster or human!! My name is Felix! A proud knight of Modred!!”

“……”

“Why aren’t you coming?”

“…Well, I’m confused whether you’re kind, crazy, or just strange.”

“What kind of strange human would that be?!”

“I know, right…”

…I never expected to meet such a strange person.

The Madness of Modred—Ihan could finally understand why such a nickname existed.

* * *

Felix de Modred.

If one heard that name, most knights in the kingdom would have widened their eyes in surprise.

He was none other than the one known as the “Fighting Hound” of Modred, and one of the seven young knights representing the South.

An old knight who had met all seven knights once said that if there was a knight who could surpass Galahad’s Fierce Wolf and Lionel’s Black Lion, who were considered the best among the young knights, it would be none other than the Fighting Hound.

When asked why he made such an assessment, the old knight said:

“Because he is stupid and simple.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s why he’s a strong knight.”

“??”

Though his words were puzzling, it was clear that Felix de Modred had the potential to become the best in the South someday.

No knight disputed the old knight’s assessment.

So the people had expectations.

If his evaluation was this good in the past, how much must he have improved by now?

And now…

Whack!

“!”

…Felix was flying backward after being hit by his opponent’s fist.

Felix stood at 2.8 meters tall with a weight approaching 250kg to match.

He was heavier than even Maximus, and it wasn’t just his weight—his entire body was filled with solid muscle without a trace of fat, like a weapon.

Yet this man was sent flying about 2 meters by the punch of someone much smaller than him.

Even though he had blocked it…

Shudder!

His guarding arm was tingling.

It was truly…

“A fist like iron!!”

“Do you have to be so loud about everything?”

“Having a loud voice is not a flaw!!”

“Well, I guess that’s true?”

Whoosh!

As a fist came flying toward him again, Felix this time extended his own fist instead of blocking, and—

BOOM!

The next moment, there was a tremendous impact like lightning striking.

It was the shock of the two men’s fists colliding, and both had to take a step back.

“…How did you train your body?”

A slightly surprised face.

He seemed surprised to meet someone who could match him in unarmed combat, and Felix felt the same, responding with a satisfied expression:

“Hmm! I’ve been training my body under waterfalls consistently for five years! Also, the gravity inside this crypt is stronger than outside!! All these environments have trained me!! So I pride myself that my body is comparable to steel!!”

“That’s impressive.”

“You’re impressive too!!!”

“Th-thanks?”

“I’ll come again!!”

“Is it right to announce that before attacking?”

“Hmmph!”

Instead of answering, Felix took a deep breath and swung his fist.

Whoosh!

It was an incredibly crude punch.

There was no technique to speak of—just the kind of rough movement you might see from someone known for fighting in a neighborhood.

It wasn’t the form you’d expect from a professional combatant like a knight, and one might mistakenly think he fought this way because he lacked technique, but…

BOOM!!

“!”

The moment one took his hit, they would understand.

He didn’t need technique; rather, his crudeness was his strength.

A simple yet intense blow, heavy enough to shake castle walls.

“Is this a fist or a cannon…?”

It wasn’t like being hit by a fist, and though his opponent spoke as if exaggerating, Felix merely laughed heartily.

“It’s been a while since I met someone strong enough to block my strike! No, perhaps the first since Lord Maximus!!”

“…That person?”

“I briefly competed with him five years ago! He was truly strong! As much as I’ve grown stronger, Lord Maximus must have grown stronger too!! But you’re not bad either! You strong being, whether human or monster!!”

“……”

“My fist hurts after hitting you! I wonder what kind of body you have!!”

“The same could be said about you…”

“Hmm! What did you say?!”

“…Just shut up and come at me. You’re hurting my ears.”

“I shall do so!!!”

“……”

…Throwing punches would be better than talking.

Though this was just a small mutter, Felix’s booming voice drowned out even such murmurs.

* * *

Crack!

BOOM!

Ihan and Felix.

The two men pummeled each other relentlessly with their bare bodies, having set aside their armor and weapons.

Anyone watching might have mistaken it for a rehearsed performance, as the two mercilessly struck each other.

Head, stomach, eyes, solar plexus, sides, even the male weak point—nothing was off-limits.

A brawl without the slightest mercy.

One might wonder if their blows were light, but…

BOOM!!

The thunderous sound accompanying each strike revealed their power.

CRACK!

When Ihan’s fist missed and hit the wall, the wall—not made of tofu—was not only dented but shattered into pieces.

It was a formidable blow, and one might wonder what kind of being Felix was to remain unfazed after taking dozens of such hits, but…

BOOM!

Felix’s punch, which missed by just 1cm, turned a boulder into powder.

In other words, they had each taken the equivalent of dozens of cannon blasts, and anyone witnessing this brawl would have shuddered.

Thinking that if they had been in that position, they would have been pulverized long ago.

The knights’ brawl was a terrifying display of destruction that would make one’s knees weak.

Yet…

“Ptui.”

“Huff!!”

The unscathed faces of the two knights seemed surreal.

Though their expressions didn’t show it, the knights couldn’t hide their admiration for each other, their eyes blazing intensely.

‘What kind of guy is this?’

Ihan was certain.

Compared to this guy, Maximus wasn’t even that crude.

‘This guy really went all-in on strength in the most unsophisticated way?’

The reason for Ihan’s admiration was simple.

If knights could be compared to game characters, and their abilities broken down into categories, there would be at least five, perhaps up to ten different stats.

Things like agility, durability, strength, stamina, technique, and so on.

In that sense, the man before him was extreme.

Only power!

While one would expect a knight to evenly develop all abilities including knowledge, wisdom, technique, and judgment, this man seemed to have declared, “I don’t care about any of that, I’m just going to invest in strength!” Ihan was convinced he had such an extreme stat distribution.

‘He’s a madman in a different way than that other guy?’

Maximus.

If we assumed that the limit for all stats was 100, that man would have evenly raised all his stats to 100.

He would be the perfect all-rounder with no weaknesses.

In contrast, Ihan had raised all his stats evenly, but his strength and durability would be at 102, while the rest wouldn’t even reach 90.

In a way, he was also extreme, but he had at least invested somewhat evenly in other abilities.

But this guy…

‘His strength stat must be 105, but the rest are probably no higher than 60 or 70.’

However, that didn’t mean this person was weak…

Whoosh!

‘That’s definitely not the case.’

BOOM!!

With a cracking sound, Ihan’s body was lifted and sent flying.

Fortunately, his balance was stable enough that he didn’t tumble ungracefully but remained standing, though his blocking arm was tingling.

It was a crude punch that could have been dodged if he wanted to, but…

“Ha, what kind of strength is this?”

The pressure from the force created a pulling effect like a vacuum cleaner grabbing his body.

It was a flow that made it impossible to dodge even if he wanted to, a strange experience.

“…So if you have good strength, you don’t need technique or brains?”

“Strength is just a bonus! What’s important is an unyielding conviction!!”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“…No, I just think you seem like a truly exemplary knight.”

“Even if you flatter me, I won’t go easy on you!!!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He meant it sincerely.

Ihan had never seen such an exemplary knight before.

And for good reason.

‘They say the simpler and more crude, the stronger the knight—it’s really true.’

Felix was the most extremely simple and crude knight Ihan had ever seen, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

Is this how others feel when they look at me…?

‘Where did such a monster come from?’

In fact, Felix’s thoughts were different.

‘Huh, what’s going on when my fists are getting damaged from hitting him!’

The more he struck, the more he was at a disadvantage, and Felix wondered what exactly he was fighting against.

‘…Is he not human?’

He seemed to doubt whether his opponent was human, yet suspicion kept rising about this human weapon.