Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 115

“I’m not mad.”

“Really?”

When Kang Chan spoke to her for the first time in three days, Zikyon rushed to him with a happy smile and sat down beside him.

“You’re really not mad?”

“Yeah, I’m not mad.”

“Hooray!”

Zikyon shouted with elation, her face beaming with genuine happiness.

And once again, she apologized to Kang Chan.

“I was sorry before. I won’t do that again.”

“You really mean it? You really won’t do it?”

“Yes, I promise in the name of the Dragon.”

The two reconciled after three days, finally able to share the words they had been holding back.

About the enemies lurking in space.

“Why do you think they’re helping the Green Elves?”

At Zikyon’s question, Kang Chan paused for a moment before answering.

“Maybe they’re trying to recruit them to their side?”

“Did you guys try to do that too?”

“No, our plan is… well, it’s hard for me to say it myself… it was to annihilate all life on this continent. Because there are a huge number of Earthlings scattered throughout the solar system, enough to populate this planet many times over.”

Zikyon was momentarily speechless at Kang Chan’s revelation that they had intended to annihilate all life on the continent. Then she asked, “How many is ‘a lot’?”

“According to the last information I have, it’s about 36 billion.”

“36 billion!”

36 billion was a population that Zikyon couldn’t even fathom.

Even combined, the Orcs and Humans, who boasted the largest numbers among the races of the Arkandor continent, didn’t reach 1 billion.

“Does your country have that many people?”

“What I just said is just an estimate. There are also those who live without registering for space citizenship, so if you combine them, there would be even more.”

“……”

Zikyon made a face at the thought of even more people.

“But the actions of those things in space right now are the opposite of what we were ordered to do. That’s too suspicious.”

“Let’s just wait and see for now. They’ll reveal their true colors soon.”

“Yeah, you’re right, Zikyon. But if we don’t prepare ourselves, we might get hurt when they come. So I’ve been thinking about a lot of things for the past month.”

“What did you think about?”

“A way for the people of this planet to fight against them.”

“A way?”

“Yes, I know a lot about the weapons and weapon systems they use, so I’ve been thinking about various ways to counter them.”

“What is it? Don’t beat around the bush and tell me quickly.”

Zikyon was genuinely curious about Kang Chan’s thoughts. After all, no one knew more about the enemy than he did.

The countermeasures that Kang Chan, who knew everything about the enemy, came up with were incredibly important.

“First of all, it’s a countermeasure against the small arms that our Earthlings use the most.”

At the mention of small arms, Zikyon recalled the small firearms that Kang Chan had fired at her in the past.

The small but surprisingly powerful firearms that had even surprised her.

“Are you talking about that small firearm back then?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Railgun pistol. That’s the most common personal firearm among Earthlings these days. It’s a hybrid pistol that applies both gunpowder and rail propulsion methods at the same time. But that’s not all. You saw the power of that railgun that I gave to Ms. Ellica, right?”

“Of course. It was really terrifying.”

“Honestly, I think that even if I had 10,000 soldiers armed with such guns, I could annihilate about 500,000 soldiers here in half a day. Of course, without the help of Gigantes [giant magical constructs] or magic.”

Kang Chan’s words gave Zikyon pause.

The power of the railgun that Ellica had wielded was definitely great.

No matter how strong the armor a soldier was wearing, it boasted tremendous destructive power that could smash dozens of people even if they were lined up in a row.

However, the battles in this world were mostly infantry-centered, with soldiers attacking the enemy with long spears or crossbows, using dense formations and shields in the front.

It was like serving them a well-prepared meal.

“I guess so……”

“And the defense power of the armor they wear can never be penetrated by the bows or crossbows, which are the ranged weapons used by the people here. Unless you use mana. And as Zikyon knows, humans who can handle mana are not common here, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I know that it takes decades to raise a knight who can handle mana here, but they are different. They just hand them weapons and armor made as if they were made in a factory.”

At Kang Chan’s words, Zikyon said in a subdued voice.

“Then there’s no way for the humans here to stop the Earthlings. As of now……”

“That’s right.”

“Then, what do we need to do to help them?”

“To beat them, there’s nothing but magic. The existing weapons and Gigantes that the humans here have won’t work. They have to be armed with magic.”

“With magic?”

“Yes, Zikyon. That’s why I need your help. I don’t know magic. But you’re the best magician in this world, right?”

Zikyon, who was in a good mood at Kang Chan’s words, patted her chest.

“Of course! When it comes to magic, it’s the Dragon!”

“That’s why I’m asking you. Because you’re the only one who can make it. Zikyon, please. Take charge of developing new weapons that combine magic that can stop them.”

“Why are you asking me for something like that! Of course, I have to help you, right? It’s not someone else’s business, it’s everyone’s business. It’s everyone’s business.”

As Zikyon linked her arm with Kang Chan’s at the word ‘we’, Kang Chan felt a deep gratitude to Zikyon.

“Thank you, Zikyon. Meeting you here is the best luck in my life.”

“Do you have to say such obvious things? It’s embarrassing.”

The two looked at each other silently and smiled.

“Ah! Then what is the concept of the new weapon development? What kind of magic enchantment is needed?”

“First of all, armor that can block their railguns and beam attacks and powerful ranged weapons are the most urgent, and secondly, air superiority.”

“Air superiority?”

“Yes, if you take control of the air, it’s useless to struggle on the ground. So we have to take control of the air from the enemies.”

“Our dragons are also masters of aerial warfare. Don’t worry.”

“I know that the number of dragons is small. That’s not enough. When I saw the enemy battleship attacking you before, it looked like a cruiser class. If it’s a cruiser, it must have more than 100 unmanned fighters on board. They’re small, but their power is really great. The speed is also incredibly fast, reaching Mach 45 in space. But in the atmosphere, they’ll probably operate at Mach 5 or less due to atmospheric friction. Of course, that’s still incredibly fast……”

Mach 5 was an incredible speed that would allow you to circle this planet in 8 hours.

However, Zikyon could not understand even half of what Kang Chan was saying.

She didn’t even know what a cruiser was or how fast the unit of Mach was.

So Zikyon tried to ask him about it, but Kang Chan turned his eyes away from her and looked up at the sky with a very dark complexion.

“I wonder how many cruisers equipped with these fighters are lurking up there?”

Honestly, Kang Chan knew very well that no matter how hard he struggled, his struggles would be useless once the main force arrived from the home planet.

They had thousands of cruiser-class battleships, and hundreds of even more terrifying space carriers.

Such space carriers had thousands of unmanned fighters on board, which Kang Chan was so worried about.

Dealing with such tremendous power was impossible from the start.

But he didn’t want to give up.

Because he couldn’t lose precious things without even fighting.

But he didn’t know.

That all the things he feared were drifting around the solar system as piles of junk called scrap metal.

“Well, if it’s that fast, do you have any countermeasures against it?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

“There are several things here that are impossible even with Earth’s science. For example……”

“For example?”

“Like teleportation?”

“Teleportation?”

“Yeah, teleportation. If used well, it might be a big variable.”

“Teleportation……”

Zikyon began to draw up a blueprint based on the clues Kang Chan had roughly given her.

And she jumped up from her seat and said.

“That won’t work. This is not the time to be doing this. I’ll go meet some of my fellow dragons for a while.”

“Huh? Now?”

“Yeah, see you later.”

Zikyon disappeared with teleportation without looking back, and Kang Chan looked at her and decided to go meet Elladion himself.

Because there was something he had to visit and tell him anyway.

It weighed heavily on Kang Chan, but he still had to tell his master and ask for forgiveness.

About the secret he had been hiding.

The place where the Elves were stationed was a forest far away from the human race’s station.

The reason they lived so far apart was because they were originally a race that lived in the forest, and it was very uncomfortable to live with humans.

Their beautiful appearance was always the source of unsavory incidents.

Elladion and Arteon welcomed Kang Chan, who came with Ellica.

Because Kang Chan was like family to them.

Ellica also felt the comfort of her fellow tribesmen in the midst of such people.

No matter how much she liked it and followed him, she preferred the company of her fellow tribesmen to the midst of humans.

As Ellica disappeared with her fellow tribesmen whom she had met after a long time, Kang Chan entered Elladion’s quarters and drank tea together.

Elladion’s quarters were, as expected of the Elves, an eco-friendly building made by transforming trees like the Elven forest.

“Master, have you been well?”

“I’m fine. There are no battles these days. More than that, it seems that the humans think we are rabbits. When I see them feeding me only carrots for three meals a day.”

“You originally liked carrots.”

“The taste is very different from the one in the Fairy Forest.”

Kang Chan smiled at his master’s food complaints.

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

“That’s right, your swordsmanship skills have improved a lot these days.”

“It’s all thanks to your excellent master.”

“You’re good at talking.”

The two drank tea together and savored the tea fragrance silently for a while.

“So, what wind brought you here today?”

“I have something important to tell you.”

“Something important to say? So, what’s wrong?”

Elladion was curious, wondering ‘What on earth is going on that he’s acting like this?’ at the sight of his disciple Kang Chan looking quite serious.

“I, that’s……”

Kang Chan looked very nervous when he was about to tell the truth.

That trembling was incomparable to when he confessed his identity to Zikyon.

This was because his master, Elladion, was a benefactor who had bestowed upon Kang Chan greater grace than anyone else in the world.

He couldn’t help but tremble.

“I have been deceiving the master.”

“Deceiving? What do you mean?”

“Actually, I’m not a traveler traveling through space.”

Elladion was not very surprised at Kang Chan’s words. That’s because he had expected it to some extent.