Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 140

퓨쳐나이트 140화

At Zekyon’s roar, Benzler glanced at the beautiful woman on the screen.

『Who is she? A lover you picked up here?』

At the word “lover,” Zekyon bristled and retorted,

“Yes, she’s my lover! So what? Are you jealous that I have a pretty lover like her?”

『Her face is… passable, but her personality… You should be more selective when you choose women.』

“What’s it to you who I see?”

『If you want, I can introduce you to a woman who is more modest and far more dignified than her. Of course, she’s beautiful beyond words.』

“Oh, are *you* dating such a modest and dignified woman?”

『Of course. She is far more modest and noble than that woman.』

“Humph! I’d like to see just how noble she is.”

『Everyone on this planet knows her. She was the princess of the Visman Empire. I conquered the Visman Empire and made her my woman.』

At the mention of the Visman Empire’s princess, Kang Chan blurted out a name before he could stop himself.

“E-Edeline?”

『So, you know her. Yes, she’s the only one who can truly be called dignified and noble, isn’t she?』

Kang Chan, who never imagined that Edeline would be Benzler’s woman, stared at Benzler with disbelief.

And Zekyon, being compared to the reckless and arrogant Edeline, flared up and argued with Benzler.

“You son of a bitch! Is that the best you can compare me to, that crazy bitch? You got a death wish?”

Zekyon glared at Benzler as if she wanted to tear him apart, but Benzler ignored her and addressed Kang Chan seriously.

『Hey, Kang Chan. We’ve been trying to kill each other for a long time, but now that the Solar System is destroyed, is there any reason for us, the few remaining brothers, to fight like this?』

Kang Chan’s eyes widened at Benzler’s words.

“The Solar System is destroyed? What are you talking about?”

Benzler asked back, surprised by Kang Chan’s question.

『You didn’t know?』

“The Solar System is destroyed? What are you talking about?”

『All the Earthlings living in the Solar System were annihilated. It happened eight years ago during the Second Great Universe War.』

“S-Surely, then… that thing?”

The only thing that could have annihilated all the humans scattered throughout the Solar System at once was that weapon.

『Yes, they used weapons that should never have been used…』

“No way! They used the anti-gravity bomb?”

『That’s right. Everything disappeared into the black hole created by the anti-gravity bomb. The Solar System… and humanity.』

Kang Chan was speechless for a moment.

‘Even if we were trying to kill each other, they were foolish enough to use an anti-gravity bomb that could swallow even the Solar System…’

It was the height of foolishness.

The news of humanity’s annihilation was heartbreaking for him as well.

But on the other hand, hope began to dawn.

He no longer had to worry about reinforcements coming from Earth.

Now, if he eliminated the guys in front of him, all the threats to this planet would disappear.

Kang Chan’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.

Benzler, unaware of Kang Chan’s inner thoughts, tried to persuade Kang Chan to join their side.

Because he coveted the Red Mars [Kang Chan’s spaceship].

Now that the Solar System had been destroyed, the value of a spaceship that could travel through space was beyond comparison.

『It’s unbelievable, but it’s the truth. You have to accept it. Brother from Earth, shouldn’t we stop this foolish fight and join forces to rebuild Earth here?』

Zekyon and Arteon, who were listening to Benzler’s words, instantly grew nervous.

Kang Chan seemed greatly shaken by the news that all the Earthlings in the Solar System had been annihilated.

No matter how much he was on their side, who would be happy to hear that his own people had been destroyed?

But their worries were short-lived.

Kang Chan did not betray them after all.

Kang Chan valued the relationships he had made here more than his own people, who had only used him.

The words that came out of Kang Chan’s mouth were far from kind.

“Why bother rebuilding a destroyed Earth? I think it’s better for the universe if that rotten world doesn’t exist.”

『No matter how rotten humanity is, we have a duty as fellow Earthlings to rebuild a new Earth here. And if we join forces and don’t repeat the same mistakes as before, wouldn’t that be a good thing? Don’t you think so, Captain Kang Chan?』

“Humph! You’re funny. What you’re doing to this planet is no different from what you did on Earth in the past, is it? Enslaving the people of this planet to build ridiculous structures and running huge factories to destroy nature?”

『This is just a transitional period for development. You know that the civilization here is too primitive.』

“Why are you so obsessed with rebuilding Earth? Do you want to be the ruler of this planet?”

『Not the ruler, but the guide. A guide to lead these uncivilized people to a new world.』

“Who wants that kind of new world? You’re funny.”

『What’s so funny about what I said?』

“Your selfishness, which only cares about your own interests without considering the will and thoughts of others, is ridiculous.”

『Why do you think this is selfishness? I’m just trying to improve their primitive lives with Earth’s science. You know better than anyone the abundance that science brings, don’t you?』

“Abundance? From the perspective of Earthlings, that’s what you’d call abundance. But from their perspective, it’s not abundance—it’s a disaster!”

『There is always sacrifice in revolution.』

A cold silence filled the bridge of the two battleships.

Finally, Benzler, with a coldly hardened expression, delivered his final ultimatum.

『As fellow Earthlings, I will ask you one last time. Will you join us in rebuilding Earth? Or will you stand with them and block our great work?』

“Didn’t I already answer? I refuse!”

『Foolish man, you are asking for death.』

“I’m not afraid of death, Benzler.”

『The only thing we can give you, who betrayed your race, is death.』

Benzler cut off the communication and began firing cannons at the Red Mars.

“All hands to battle stations! Return fire!”

Hundreds of beams of light struck the Red Mars, and the Red Mars unleashed all its firepower on the Zvezda [Benzler’s Battleship].

Then, a tremendous roar like thunder echoed in the sky.

While railguns and gravity particle cannons were exchanged between battleships in the sky, fierce fighting began on the ground as well.

* * *

The great clash between the Continental Allied Forces and the Green Elves.

Anyone could see that the Continental Allied Forces were outnumbered.

However, as the knights armored with Aegis armor [Magically enhanced armor] stood at the forefront, the Green Elf army that had been surrounding them began to collapse in an instant.

Because their rifle bullets could not penetrate the armor of the knights protected by shields.

Their fate was sealed.

Every time hundreds of knights raised their aura swords [Swords enhanced with magical energy] high and slashed through the air, countless Green Elves were scattered onto the earth as cold corpses.

“Kuaaaak!”

“Aaaaak! Save me!”

No emotion could be found in the swords of the vengeful knights.

Their ruthless swords cut down the Green Elves as if they were cutting down trees.

Following the enemy lines that had been broken by the knights, Allied soldiers armed with heavy infantry and muskets pushed forward.

Only knights who could handle mana [Magical energy] could wear Aegis armor, so ordinary soldiers were armed with existing heavy armor, and they were responsible for protecting the musketeers.

Hundreds of thousands of gunshots rang out incessantly from both sides, and countless soldiers fell to the bullets.

However, most of the soldiers who died were Green Elves.

Because the power of the muskets possessed by the Continental Allied Forces was superior to the power of the rifles Zvezda had transferred, in terms of range and reload speed.

Thanks to this, the Continental Allied Forces were able to kill a large number of Green Elf soldiers from a much greater distance, despite being outnumbered.

The reason why there was such a huge difference, even though they were weapons made with the same Earth technology, was that the rifles they used were old-fashioned firearms that relied only on gunpowder.

The power of that rifle was no different from that of an ordinary rifle.

However, the muskets used by the Continental Allied Forces had the power of magic devised by Arteon added to the gunpowder made by the dwarves, so their power was incomparable to that of ordinary rifles.

The power of such muskets was almost at the level of railguns.

In addition, the Allied Forces’ secret weapon, the cannons, began to fire.

“Fire all at once!”

“Fire!”

Kwang! Kwang! Kwakwang! Kwakwang!

The specially made magic armor-piercing bullets that flew away with a tremendous sound that shook the earth caused a huge explosion in the enemy lines.

Then, hundreds of enemies were torn to pieces.

“Hurry up and reload!”

Skilled gunners moved busily.

“H-How can the Allied Forces have such firepower…”

The Green Elf army began to panic at the unexpected and tremendous firepower of the Allied Forces.

They had only considered the Allied Forces of the past and suffered great sacrifices when they clashed.

Saxen read the enemy’s flustered mood.

He judged that he had to push harder.

“The enemies are collapsing! Push harder! Gigantes deployed!”

Duke Saxen’s cry was amplified by magic and echoed across the battlefield, and the soldiers’ morale soared. The former guards, who had been waiting in preparation for the battleship’s attack, began to unleash the Gigantes [Giant magical war machines] onto the battlefield.

The Gigantes were reborn with the original framework of the existing Gigantes.

The essence of advanced technology that the dwarves had obtained while repairing the Red Rabbit [Another spaceship] was integrated into the new Gigantes.

Numerous space doors opened, and the Gigantes of the Continental Allied Forces appeared on the battlefield, and numerous Gigantes also cut through space and popped out from the Green Elf formation.

They were new Arc Shadows [Dark Elf Gigantes] composed of Gigantes captured from the continent.

Their numbers had increased tremendously as they occupied vast territories.

There were probably at least 800 Gigantes.

On the other hand, the Continental Allied Forces had only 250 Gigantes.

Anyone could see that it was an unfavorable fight.

However, the moment the two groups clashed,

It was clearly revealed that the battle between Gigantes was not a numbers game.

In the first place, the skills of the Dark Elf pilots, who had been hastily trained for three years, could not match the Allied knights who had survived to this point through thick and thin.

In addition, the performance of the Gigantes ridden by the Allied knights far surpassed that of the Green Elves’ Gigantes.

Because 4th and 5th circle elf wizards were on board their Gigantes.

The wizards could use magic using the mana stored in the Gigantes’ magic furnace, and the Gigantes fully demonstrated their power as true magic weapons, not just simple golems.

When the Gigantes used magic, the Dark Elves screamed.

『The Gigantes are using magic… This is impossible! Are they all ancient giants?』

A Dark Elf who had flanked the surrounded Allied Gigantes swallowed hard.

That’s because the enemy Gigantes, which should have been penetrated by his aura sword, had soared into the sky.

The Gigantes that used magic were not the only ones. All the Gigantes in front of him were using magic one by one.

Some Gigantes fired fireballs or lightning from a long distance, and some used earth binding magic to grab the ankles of the Dark Elf Gigantes.

There were even Gigantes that used space movement.

『H-How can these things…』

Even the Arc Shadows fell into great confusion, just like the infantry.

It was impossible to maintain composure when looking at the enemies in front of them.

“Well, these are all ancient giants. Agni, the era when you were treated well is gone.”

『Am I obsolete now?』

“Hahaha, don’t worry. I will never abandon you.”

『I’m so grateful that it brings tears to my eyes. You used to cry and beg me to make a contract.』

“When did I beg you!”

『Should I show you that image stored in my memory?』

“…….”

Agni’s words were true.

When Duke Saxen first met Agni 50 years ago, he went through all sorts of hardships to make a contract with Agni. The ancient giants were all famous for being as proud as the most beautiful women in the world, so in order to make a contract with them, they had to gain their favor first.