Chapter 111: Knight of the Past (2)
by fnovelpia
“You relied on chivalry and that nonsense, which is exactly why you failed to protect the Demon King. That’s also why your own country abandoned you in life. Pathetic. Pfft. Pathetic. Pathetic. A worthless knight who couldn’t even protect his own lord. Will you be able to do it this time?”
I covered my mouth with one hand and let out a small laugh.
If you’re that upset about it, why don’t you come at me?
This side has a solid party of returnees!
“Are you insulting me?”
Of course, I am!
How could I not insult someone who couldn’t even protect his own master, yet still has the audacity to act all high and mighty?
“Just looking at you is an insult in itself. A loser who failed in the Demon King’s army, yet still spouting nonsense about chivalry? It’s laughable.”
“Very well. This time, I will not hold back!”
He took a stance, drawing his greatsword.
If he swings that thing once, it’ll split the air itself.
Probably about as strong as an orc wielding a sword.
“That’s my line. Battle Mage, fire off Gungnir. Cheonma, use Pepero Attack. The orc will handle close combat.”
Operation: Storm.
We’re going to crush him with overwhelming numbers, rush straight to the Demon King, and get him down to his last breath just in time for the Hero to arrive.
—But will the Hero actually come?
If he’s watching me, he will.
Without a doubt.
That’s just the kind of person he is.
“But, Saintess, isn’t ganging up on him a little unfair…?”
Unfair?
Not ganging up is the real stupidity here.
This is exactly when we should be overwhelming him.
We need to crush him with sheer force, minimize casualties, and conserve our strength for the final boss battle.
First, let’s deal with this dumb knight.
“I could just chop off that useless thing of yours, you know?”
A shōta with a massive but useless tool, and he dares to talk back to me?
“Kuh… Ah, I understand. Do as you please.”
“You should’ve said that from the start.”
If he talks back one more time, I won’t forgive him.
Anyway, my knight at least knows when to compromise with reality.
But that guy over there?
He’s just pitiful.
So, I’m going to make sure he understands what reality really is.
Let’s see if he can take it.
“Saintess, you may look down on me, but I am not the same as before.”
“Defeated villains always say that.”
Even the Demon King said that before.
And that’s exactly why I came to kill him again.
“I will not fall for your underhanded ambush this time.”
Oh dear.
How unfair of me!
“Once you’re dead, honor and tactics don’t matter anymore. Now, let’s go. Let’s crush this loser completely and take the Demon King’s head.”
“No, I will do it.”
I was going to gang up on him, but the Cheonma stepped forward.
Is it going to be another Pepero attack?
A battle between the Black Knight and the Neko Cheonma…
Is the gate going to flash open, spilling out an endless stream of ?
I can’t underestimate the Black Knight.
With a single swing of his sword, he can carve through everything around him.
Likewise, the Cheonma’s Slash is no joke either.
It’ll be interesting to watch.
Just in case, I’ll get ready to crack his skull.
“Oh? A woman wielding a sword?”
At some point, the Cheonma had drawn her blade.
A black energy sword, its sleek, menacing form pointed directly at the Black Knight.
Hmph.
Let’s see how this plays out.
“To be precise, I wield martial arts. The sword is merely an extension of my skills. Once I mastered internal energy circulation, my power changed entirely.”
Why is this turning into a lecture?
I just want to see the Cheonma Slash already.
The enhanced Black Cheonma Slash.
“Internal energy circulation? What is that?”
“If you don’t even know that, you’ll never defeat me.”
“What nonsense are you spewing?”
“I was originally reincarnated in Joseon, but I ended up in the martial world and suffered through harsh days before becoming a Cheonma. Fortunately, I made my way back to Korea.”
This sudden backstory dump is a bit much.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Since I was originally Korean, I adjusted quickly. To be honest, I prefer fighting the easy way.”
“What are you even—”
“And after becoming a follower of the god the Saintess worships, fighting has become even easier.”
“I fail to understand your meaning.”
“Welcome to the inescapable hell of Energy balls.”
Before I knew it, dozens, hundreds, thousands—no, an endless amount of Peperos hovered in the air.
I see.
To the Cheonma, this knight is nothing more than a test subject for Pepero techniques.
“I wanted to see the Cheonma using a variety of martial arts, though.”
“Maybe the opponents here are just too weak? Maybe the Cheonma has simply grown stronger?”
Pepero Edition Energy balls rained down upon the Black Knight.
Tududududu!
The Peperos scattered as they struck the Black Knight’s swinging sword.
“Hmph. You dare call yourself a swordsman and rely on cheap tricks?”
“Sorry, but I, the Cheonma, do not cross swords with those who dedicate themselves to evil. For you, Energy balls is more than enough.”
“Even the Saintess’s allies look down on me now?”
“It is true that you have devoted yourself to darkness. As the Saintess said, it is only natural that you will lose. And you will lose again today.”
…Is it really okay to provoke him this much?
This time, the Black Knight dashed forward, slashing through the raining Energy ball Peperos.
Shhhhk!
“There is a limit to how much you can underestimate me.”
“And what’s wrong with looking down on villains? Fine, then. Keep blocking. Next up—Hundred Barrage.”
Shhhhkkkk!
“What kind of childish trick is this?!”
“Next is a thousand.”
“!!”
I wondered if the Black Knight could even block a thousand attacks.
In the end, he did manage to block them.
“Good job. Then next is ten thousand Energy Balls.”
“What in the world—?”
“After that, a hundred thousand. Then a million.”
Wow, it’s increasing tenfold each time.
So the next one would be… ten million?
“…!!”
“Didn’t I tell you? This much is more than enough for you.”
A hundred thousand… a million…
Just how many does she plan to fire?
An uncountable number of Energy balls rained down upon the Black Knight.
He kept cutting them down, but—
Crack! Crackle!
There was no way he could block them all.
As expected, the Black Knight was utterly shattered.
Though his body wasn’t completely torn apart, his armor was wrecked beyond repair.
The fact that his armor crumpled while he was still wearing it meant only one thing: he was in a world of pain.
And yet, our dear Neko Cheonma wasn’t even close to being finished.
Her Energy balls was just a warm-up.
She hadn’t even shown her true abilities.
On top of that, we had divine backing!
And yet, this guy was nothing more than the Demon King’s lackey!
“Look at you. You couldn’t even beat one of our team members. How embarrassing.”
I lifted the Black Knight’s chin with my scythe and sneered.
Neko Cheonma just stood there, watching with a deeply disappointed expression.
“Pathetic. You couldn’t even block this much?”
“Cheonma, to be fair, even I would struggle against a million attacks.”
“Kain, but you wouldn’t go down as miserably as this fool, would you?”
“Well… yeah, that’s true.”
Even with Kain’s words, the Cheonma couldn’t hide her disappointment.
The Black Knight trembled.
Not only had he lost miserably, but he wasn’t even being treated as a proper opponent.
A complete and utter failure.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Even the Hero, who usually offered empty praises about the Black Knight’s loyalty, was nowhere to be found.
“Khh…!”
Clang, clang.
A strange sound came from behind.
The distinct clatter of heavy armor.
Wait.
That could only mean one thing.
There was no one else here who wore such armor—except for Shōta Knight.
But he was currently in the hands of the Nightmare.
And the original Black Knight?
He just got beaten to a pulp by the Cheonma.
So… does that mean there are more copies?
“Oh? So you weren’t alone after all.”
Of course.
It made sense.
Even I wouldn’t trust a guy like this.
Three more Black Knights appeared.
This might actually make things a little more fun.
As for the original…
He just sat there, collapsed on the ground, looking every bit the loser he was.
Damn.
Did the Demon King make copies of him because he knew the original would lose?
“My lord… why?!”
He wailed in agony.
But really, what could he say?
Even the Demon King didn’t trust him.
Not only had he lost in his past life, but now he’d been utterly humiliated by the Cheonma.
And not just beaten—he was obliterated.
If I were the Demon King, I wouldn’t trust him either.
I’d make clones too.
I walked up to the Black Knight.
“Why, you ask? The answer is obvious. He simply doesn’t trust you.”
Seriously, why even ask?
“He doesn’t trust me…?”
“Of course not. You’re a loser who already lost once. Right?”
I clutched my stomach and burst into laughter.
It was obvious.
He’d already lost once—who in their right mind would trust him again?
And sure enough, he got utterly destroyed just now.
If it were me, I’d never trust him either.
“No… but still, this is—”
The Black Knight knelt and wept bitterly.
Well, yeah, of course he would.
Even his own lord didn’t believe in him.
“It’s the Demon King’s decision. Can’t be helped, can it?”
In the end, even the Demon King had no faith in his subordinates.
The Black Knight cried while we laughed.
Because honestly, how could you not laugh at this?
I laughed so hard my stomach hurt.
“Enough laughing. The kid’s gonna start bawling.”
“Ah, but come on. It’s hilarious. I mean, this idiot was the Demon King’s subordinate? How ridiculous.”
What a joke.
“…Actually, isn’t that the real problem here?”
“True. What should we do about this?”
“How about we split up and crush them all?”
“Sounds good. They’re clearly here to stop us, after all.”
Looks like the Demon King put in quite a bit of effort.
If it had been the old world or the previous returnees, dealing with these Black Knights would have been tough.
“Oh my, that’s a good plan. But we must not let our guard down. These ones might be stronger than the original.”
The copies of a loser who couldn’t even block the Energy balls…
I wonder how strong they actually are?
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