Chapter 123: What They Need Is Not Honor

Sreung-!

What Derrick handed to Lee Han was a Renowned Sword in the form of a gladius. He didn’t know where it came from, but it was definitely a sword that was crafted by a master.

Otherwise, the moment he held it in his hand…

Wooong-!

“What the hell did he give me?”

There was no way that ‘sword echo’ would be triggered.

A Renowned Sword, a sword that was able to read its owner’s fighting spirit and thoughts. It was imbued with spirituality through the so-called master’s repetitive strikes. Usually, such swords were so rare that they could only be found in the kingdom’s treasure vault.

And yet, he was holding such a sword in his hand.

“…”

However, rather than feeling excited, he just swung the sword in the air in a calm manner, as he was trying to get used to the sword.

Whoosh-!

Whoosh-!

With each swing, the sword became faster and faster. Its speed accelerated rapidly until at one point…

Swish-!

Only its afterimages, accompanied by a ray of light, could be seen instead of the blade itself.

Whoosh-!

As the dust that had spread around began to settle down, Lee Han finally was able to familiarize himself with the sword.

Meanwhile, Maximus, who had been watching him from the start…

“Wow. You’re able to control your Sword Resonance?”

“It’s embarrassing to call it Sword Resonance when it doesn’t come out of my own will. It’s the sword’s own cries.”

“Right, right! Just because you have a good weapon, it doesn’t mean you should be dragged around by it!! Whether in the north or the center, there are many fools who don’t know that, but as expected, you are well aware of it, Lihan!”

“My name is Lee Han— Forget it. I’m going to use a sword from now on, so if you have any problem with that, tell me quickly. I don’t mind fighting you with or without a sword.”

“Hahaha, how could that be? It’ll be more fun if you use a sword. Moreover…”

Wooosh!

“To make it fair, don’t you think I should also use a sword?”

Maximus raised his right arm and reached out, as if waiting for something to come.

“…”

“…?”

“Ah, please wait a minute. This guy is probably lost…”

“…I don’t know what you are doing, but hurry up. The tunnel is collapsing.”

“Give me one—no, two minutes— Oh, wait, here it is!”

Only after the pointless comedy bit ended did Lee Han realize what Maximus had been waiting for.

Whoosh-!

An axe, or rather, a battle axe, floated through the air and settled into Maximus’ hand.

Woong-!

However, it didn’t look like a typical battle axe, it was much larger and longer. Judging by its spearhead, it could probably be used as a spear. From the brilliant glint it gave off, it was clear that it was an excellent weapon, no less than the Renowned Sword that he had.

Woong-!

Moreover, it was the first time Lee Han heard such a loud echo.

“What the hell was that? Can weapons from the north fly in the sky?”

“It’s a type of enchantment. One that represents that the master’s and the weapon’s bodies are connected.”

“What a nice function…”

A function where one could call one’s weapon at any given time…

It was indeed a convenient function.

However…

“What a pity, that convenient weapon is going to be destroyed today.”

“Oh, will it?”

The two monsters with great strength took up their weapons. They seemed like a pair of wild beasts, holding a gun in their hands. It was just that they happened to be amazing marksmen as well.

If a wild beast who was smarter than a normal human was taking up a gun…

Crackle-!

That meant the creature wasn’t the kind of creature that could be subdued.

The sword and the battle axe clashed against each other.

Common sense dictated that a sword should not be able to withstand the weight of a battle axe and break apart immediately, but that common sense collapsed as the sword easily overcame the weight of the battle axe.

Due to its weight, the battle axe’s movements should be considerably slow, but this particular battle axe seemed to be able to move faster and lighter than the average sword, or even a staff made of bamboo.

The sight could easily be called a feast of unbelievable strength and skill.

Bang-!

Baaaaaaaang-!

A tremor no one could have imagined took place as the two weapons clashed. The sword tried to cut the battle axe while the battle axe tried to break the sword. Yet, they also cleverly stabbed or slashed towards each other’s necks, chests, shoulders, and so on.

The exchange of hits, slashes, parries, and stabs went on.

It was a simple exchange of offense and defense.

Even so, no one could intervene in this particular exchange of offense and defense.

[Keee!!]

[Kiee!!!]

[Kaaa-!]

Unfortunately, even in this kind of place, there were those who didn’t know how to value their lives. After sensing the death of the Mother Worm, the Mini Worms rushed towards the enemy who killed their parents.

Dozens, hundreds, thousands…

It made one wonder where the hell did all of these worms come from.

The worms boasted a frightening number of approximately 10,000. All the worms rushed in after smelling their mother’s blood, trying to avenge her…

But…

Stab-!

Unfortunately for them, they chose the wrong timing to attack.

They should have done it after the two monsters’ fight was over.

Baaang-!

[!!!!?]

The worms were dying—no, they were starting to be annihilated.

However, the two knights didn’t kill them on purpose. To begin with, the two of them didn’t care about the worms, they were just swinging their weapons at each other. After all, how could they have time to care about monsters when the moment they lost focus on each other, their bodies would be torn apart by the other?

So they deliberately ignored the worms.

But…

Stab-!

[…k…ee…?…!]

Even though these worms tried to pounce on the knights, they got caught up in their fight instead, and found their bodies torn into two or just straight up exploded.

Bang-!

As the clash of the two knights became more and more intense, the worms started to die at a quicker rate. The waves that spread from the collision between their weapons swept the worms away while the pressure crushed them, making them explode.

[KEEEE!!!]

Among the worms, a particularly large one expressed its anger at the lowly prey that had dared to kill its brothers and mother.

Then…

Crunch-! Crunch-!

It ate the bodies of its brothers and dead mother.

Cannibalism. Winner took all.

At the end of the day, a monster was still a monster.

They were beings that would eat their parents and siblings just to become stronger in order to take revenge. That was why they were the natural enemies of humanity to begin with.

Crack-!

The worm grew rapidly. It was an unconventional growth, but its original 3 m long body swelled like a balloon as it turned more ferocious and disgusting than before.

This creature was the so-called disaster and terror of the desert, the Sand Worm.

It was worthy of such a majestic name, no, as its length had exceeded 100 m now—a rare length even among its kinds out there in the desert—it deserved a new name to make it stand out from the rest. Its power had grown considerably, surpassing its own mother, even.

If it was now it probably…

Slash-!

[[!!!?]]

“What is this?”

Bang-!

Unfortunately for the worm, Lee Han just kicked it away before climbing onto its giant body.

Bending Body Launch.

His body shot like an arrow. As he changed his footwork, he accelerated again. It was an application of Bending Body Launch, the Phantom Eight Trigrams Step, the same movement technique as the one he used against the Ghost King.

The technique accelerated Lee Han’s body, making it move at a speed that was so unpredictable that even the Sand Worm’s eight eyes could not keep track of. Dizzying wasn’t the only thing it was good for, though. As there was no better technique to make a fool of this giant monster.

Stab-! Stab-! Stab-!

As he ran through the giant worm’s 100 m body in one breath, he slashed it repeatedly, making it lose its vitality at a rapid pace. Even though it had clearly become an adult worm and its outer skin had turned tough and strong, it was as if it didn’t matter at all.

But, it was only natural.

It didn’t know…

That the opponent it was fighting against was a human who had slashed even a thousand-year-old troll called the Ghost King without hesitation.

Against the Sand Worm, who could not recognize which one of them was the ‘superior beast’…

“How dare you interfere in a knight’s duel. Know your place.”

Maximus lifted his body into the air and struck its head hard.

Crackle-!

It was as if he was delivering a strike of lightning.

His strike that had killed the Frost Giant in one blow in the past was recreated at this moment.

-Lightning Strike.

The strike, which contained lightning, burned like a divine punishment falling from the sky.

[[—-]]

At that moment, the Sand Worm realized that it should have just run away. With such regret, the adult Sand Worm who had gained some intelligence saw the darkness enveloping its sight.

Rummmbleeeeee-!

Rumble-!

“Did we kill all of them?”

“Hmm, it seems so.”

Although they didn’t mean it, the two knights had annihilated all the Sand Worms that lived in the tunnel. Although they were small and weak, they still had wiped out 10,000 monsters off this world in just 10 minutes. It was still a considerable achievement.

There were adult Sand Worms and an extra-large Sand Worm among them, but the two of them still weren’t impressed.

After all, monsters weren’t of much interest to them right now.

“Hmm, 189 moves… Even the giant didn’t make it past 100 moves.”

“Do you fight while counting all that?”

“I just figured it out somehow.”

“…This is why they called you a genius.”

“Ahaha! Stop it, it’s embarrassing to be called a genius at this age.”

One hundred eighty nine moves.

That was the number of times the two knights had clashed until now. However, despite all that, they still hadn’t reached the conclusion of the fight. Considering that knights’ duels were decided in the range of 50 moves on average, their duel lasted quite a long time.

Was it because they weren’t serious in attacking each other?

No, that wasn’t the case at all. They swung their swords fully with intent to kill each other. They didn’t let up even for a single swing.

Every single strike they unleashed was filled with strength, skill, and wills, they could even swear on it.

It was just…

So this is how it feels to face an opponent with similar stamina and resilience, huh?

Neither of them got tired at all. Despite them engaging in such a life-or-death situation, their stamina didn’t deteriorate—even their wounds recovered quickly. Ironically, the two were too similar, and there was no way to tell the difference in their strength, stamina, or endurance.

They were pretty much evenly matched. It would be one thing if they were different kinds of people, but they were so similar that it was difficult to decide the winner.

That was why…

“What do you think if we put our all in a single blow to determine the winner?”

That blow could just take the other’s life.

After hearing Lee Han’s suggestion that they should end the match with such a method, Maximus…

“Hmm, I can still continue, though?”

Let out a groan.

Not because he was afraid of losing his life, but because he was sad that this match would be over soon.

However, Lee Han just pointed upward.

Thud-! Thud-!

As he stared at the underground world which was collapsing even faster than before, he…

“You don’t want everything to end with us getting crushed by a pile of dirt, right?”

“Nggh…!!”

Maximus expressed his regret with all his might at Lee Han’s words.

He didn’t want the match to end, he wanted it to continue as long as possible. It was a maddeningly tantalizing match that he wished could continue forever. Since the end of such a precious and thrilling time was approaching, Maximus couldn’t help but get sad.

Just like that…

“What a sad day! To think I have to take the life of a knight I like.”

“Are you trying to say that you didn’t think of the possibility of yourself dying?”

“Of course I didn’t! Who would fight with the intention of dying?”

“…That’s true.”

Whoosh-!

Wooong-!

Lee Han raised the tip of his sword, while Maximus aimed with his battle axe’s spearhead.

Dududududu-!

From the moment they exuded their murderous intent at each other, there was no turning back. This could be the last day of them living in this world.

However, even though their swords and spears held murderous intent, their faces were calm. So were their eyes, as they didn’t hate or detest each other.

And…

“How dare you steal that. That isn’t free, you know?”

“Hehe, I’m sorry.”

Lee Han didn’t spare his rebuke. After all, he saw what Maximus ‘stole’ from him.

So a guy who could just learn it through instinct really exists.

Martial Power. Maximus had been using Lee Han’s skill that was also called Muscle Arts at some point. Through the clash, his way of handling Martial Power—which was awkward at first—became sharper and sharper. Even the trio he called geniuses, or the black-haired regressor couldn’t do something like that.

He took the hit, and learned through experience. Lee Han assumed that he became more adept at handling it the more he experienced it. Maybe, he might just be able to imitate Hundred Steps Divine Fist, or turn it into a technique of his own.

Now I understand what those villains in martial arts novels feel. It’s fucking unpleasant.

Among the main characters of the various martial arts novels, there were people like him. People who could learn any martial arts after seeing it just once. There were even cliche scenes involving them. Through their journey, they would come across an enemy who got so angry and ended up dying after seeing what they did.

Of course, they didn’t die without a cause.

They died from anger disorder.

Seeing someone else understanding and utilizing the skills he had spent his whole life and practicing in an instant, while doing it better than him, even Lee Han would be angry.

It really was unreasonable.

Talent really is unreasonable. I swear, it only exists to make other people feel miserable.

“Being an ordinary person truly is a sin…”

“…”

“What? Why do you look at me like that?”

“I’m not saying that I’m better than you, but you really have no conscience whatsoever, do you?”

“Me?”

“Yes. You know, if someone were to see us right now, they could see that I’m not the only one who stole a technique among us.”

“What are you on about?”

“What am I talking about? The skills you’re preparing right now—isn’t that ‘my technique’?”

“Ah… This?”

Crackle-!

Lightning flew from Lee Han’s sword.

Just like Maximus’ [Lightning Strike].

This was why Maximus had said such a thing to him. While yes, he had stolen Lee Han’s technique, the other guy also did the same.

However, Lee Han denied it. In his eyes, he didn’t really steal his technique. His technique just inspired him to create a new one of his own.

“The principle of your technique is to apply a strong pressure to the handle of the weapon to create an artificial friction and to call out lightning with Sword Resonance, isn’t it?”

“…”

“I knew it. The principle itself is based on your instinct. But, it still requires a crazy amount of strength and skill, so it’s a little trickier than that to attempt.”

As long as I add a little more strength and let it run wild a little, I can reproduce his technique.

“Still, it’s a simple technique. If anything, it’ll be funny if I can’t imitate it.”

Lee Han shrugged.

He openly showed me how he stole my technique without knowing the principle. We’re pretty much even.

“…Haha.”

Hearing such a brazen and confident statement, Maximus let out a hollow laugh. For the first time, his magnanimity disappeared.

The thing that had happened was just absurd to him.

Does he really think anyone could imitate that technique as long as they know the principle behind it?

He had tried to teach the technique to the knights of the north, but no matter how much he tried to do that, they still couldn’t imitate him. When he told them the principle behind it, they’d get angry instead and say things like, ‘Don’t make fun of me!’ or ‘Are you kidding me?!’. But the guy in front of him just blatantly said that it was easy to do so.

But what was even more absurd was…

Crackle-!

“Anyway, I gotta thank you. Thanks to you, I can do this.”

“…”

His technique… No, what the other guy was using was no longer his technique. Rather, it felt like it was a technique that suited him perfectly.

The one thing that Maximus didn’t have and Lee Han had, was the freedom of thought and the flexibility of ideas.

Crackle-!

The lightning spread wide, creating a blue energy spreading through the sword, illuminating the dark underground.

Whoosh-!

During his fight with the Ghost King, he had awakened the Plum Blossom Sword.

He was cut by Bale, the knight of Tristan, with his Sword Threads.

Then, he realized the meaning of Arhat while fighting the marquis.

And now, he was unifying all those enlightenments by creating a new idea of spreading new energy with a sword. What he was showing right now was the swordsmanship of the Namgung Family¹, the loser of Anhui, a family who practiced Wisdom Swordsmanship.

However, he didn’t like the ambiguous things like the arrogant Emperor Swordsmanship, or the Lightning Swordsmanship.

So the swordsmanship name he chose was…

“Boundless Swordsmanship.”

-Sword of the Boundless Heaven.

The blue-tinged Sword Power literally resembled the blue sky, and the power gradually covered the entire sword, drawing a Chakram.

The Chakram—the sword sphere—spun faster and faster. Menacingly, the stronger Lee Han’s energy became, the more it grew.

At that moment, Lee Han, who had accomplished such an absurd miracle, opened his mouth.

“How is it? Quite good, right?”

“…Who was calling who a genius again?”

Maximus, who had a heart of iron that wouldn’t be easily surprised by anything, stuttered. This was the first time he felt ‘awe’ from someone other than his brother.

…Is this how others feel whenever they see me?

“Kh…! Kaahahahahahahaha!!”

However, soon after, a loud roar of laughter burst out from his mouth.

Right now, he was terrified. He was afraid that he might just die if he were to take that overwhelming blow with his body. After all, what he saw was a sight and power beyond imagination.

Hence why, he…

Ah, I’m happy! I’m really happy!

Felt a joy that overwhelmed even his fear.

He was grateful for everything.

To be born with such an excessive talent.

Thanks to that, he could fight someone as absurd as this man.

He was happy because someone like him was standing in front of him.

After all, it meant that he could fight with everything he got.

Wooong-!

At that moment, an ominous aura emanated from Maximus’ axe.

If Lee Han got hints from Maximus’ technique and created a new technique based on it, Maximus was the opposite. He straight up just learned Martial Power by himself and used it to strengthen his body using all of his strength.

The man who had the body and talent bestowed by the heavens, who had earned the name of the Great Warrior through endless struggles, had finally obtained the means to squeeze out all of his body’s strength.

There was a worry that his body might not be able to withstand the strength and collapse…

But, is that important right now?

Of course not!

Crackle-!

His spear shrieked.

The Martial Power of the man called Maximus…

─Was stacked on top of each other, through Overlapping Martial Power.

Crackle-!

The lightning strike that he used to kill the Frost Giant. That same technique had become even more destructive, making it seem like it was some kind of fury of the Gods.

If he had to give it a name…

“I’ll call it [Smashing the Sky].”

“…I know I don’t have the right to say anything, but you really don’t have a good sense for naming things.”

“It’s intuitive and simple, isn’t it?”

“How about Breaking the Sky instead?”

“…Isn’t that even worse?”

“…Seems like you are someone from Demonic Cult in name only.”

“?”

The two wanted to observe and explore each other’s technique that had become the foundation of their own techniques a little more, but unfortunately…

Rumble-!

The underground world was about to collapse in just ten seconds, probably because they were running wild even until now. Because of that, the two of them had to end their conversation.

Actually, no. Even without words…

Wooooooong-!

Crackle-!

They still could have their last conversation with the clash of their sword and axe.

Some might ask…

Why would they risk their life in a duel that would bring no fame, glory, or praise?

The answer they would give would probably be similar.

Because such things were meaningless—illusions that could be made up by other people.

What they needed wasn’t those things, but ‘the present’. The rewarding and valuable present where they both felt like they were alive—something that was even more precious than fame, glory, and praise.

“───.”

So the two men simply lived in the fleeting present without regrets, doing their best. They did it in order not to leave any regrets.

Probably that was why…

Whaaaaaaa───!

They could burst out laughing at any moment.

In the midst of the collapsing piles of dirt, and the waterfall of rocks, the sword and axe’s spearheads clashed.

Then, the thing that should not exist in the underworld…

The ‘azure sky², illuminated the underworld.