Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 21

Future Knight Episode 21

Kang Chan couldn’t deny the Keremion before his eyes.

His skills were completely different from what they were a year ago.

Of course, he was strong back then, but now Keremion’s skills had improved to a truly frightening degree.

However, he wasn’t the only one surprised.

Keremion, too, felt a hint of fear as he watched Kang Chan engage in a battle that was neck and neck with him.

One year ago, Kang Chan didn’t even know how to handle mana, yet he kicked Keremion, who was using mana, in the face and knocked him out.

So, unlike then, he unleashed all his skills from the start and launched a fierce offensive.

But he still hadn’t gained the upper hand, just like before.

Moreover, he was feeling a severe mana depletion from the continued use of the Aura Sword, and he was becoming increasingly anxious.

‘Damn it! After that humiliating incident, I endured the pain of carving bones and spitting blood to dedicate myself to swordsmanship for a year to turn you into mincemeat, but why! Why is this happening! I can’t lose to you again. Absolutely, absolutely can’t lose! Kuahhh!’

He kicked Kang Chan in the abdomen and infused his saber with powerful mana, swinging it with the intent to bisect Kang Chan.

Kang Chan crossed the blades in both hands to block Keremion’s sword, which was piercing towards his waist.

Amidst a tremendous burst of sparks, Kang Chan aimed a back kick at Keremion’s face.

However, Keremion predicted his kick and simply twisted his body to avoid it.

Then, he swung his Aura Sword like lightning at Kang Chan’s remaining leg, where an opening had appeared.

‘Damn it!’

Kang Chan quickly launched himself into the air to avoid Keremion’s surprise attack, but it wasn’t enough, and Keremion’s saber grazed his calf, tearing away a chunk of flesh by a hair’s breadth.

Thwack!

“Kuh-ack!”

A smile spread across Keremion’s face at Kang Chan’s scream.

“Kuhahaha! It finally hit! I’ll finish you off now!”

Keremion’s fierce attacks rained down on Kang Chan, who was bleeding and tumbling across the floor with a massive wound on his calf.

Kang Chan dodged his brutal attacks by rolling on the ground.

To anyone watching, it seemed the outcome was already decided.

Then, inside Kang Chan’s black helmet, which covered his entire body in a black suit, a flash of light gleamed.

-Neural connection disconnected from pain.

-Battle suit power at maximum.

-Stealth mode activated.

Mired in crisis, Kang Chan ignored the pain from the wound on his leg and jumped to his feet.

He easily blocked Keremion’s successive attacks, then jumped back to create distance between himself and Keremion.

Then, Kang Chan’s black suit gradually became transparent, and he vanished completely before Keremion’s eyes.

‘What, what is this? He suddenly disappeared, could it be Invisibility?’

Keremion shouted in bewilderment as he looked at Kang Chan, who had suddenly disappeared.

“That’s cowardly! Using magic! Let’s fight fair with swords!”

“It’s not magic. It’s science.”

As an invisible sword rushed towards him with the sound of cutting through the wind, Keremion almost instinctively raised his sword to block Kang Chan’s sword.

However, he was sent flying helplessly by Kang Chan’s unbelievable brute force transmitted from the saber.

He flew nearly 6 meters like a bird and crashed into a tree, a sound of air escaping from his lungs.

“Kee-eck!”

Blood gushed from Keremion’s back as he fell forward.

He had been stabbed in the back by a broken tree branch, suffering a deep wound.

As Keremion lay writhing on the ground, coughing up blood, Kang Chan released his stealth mode and slowly approached Keremion.

The word ‘fear’ gradually crept into Keremion’s eyes as he looked at Kang Chan.

Kang Chan’s appearance looked as if a grim reaper from hell had come to take him away.

‘Too, too strong! Unbelievable! This is unbelievable!’

Keremion lost his will to fight at Kang Chan’s last strike.

That strike was a force that he couldn’t block even with his own power.

‘I’ve been devoted to swordsmanship to avenge the humans, but I can’t even beat one human standing before me and I’m feeling fear. How can I, with such weakness, avenge my sister who was humiliated and killed by the humans? Keueueueuk!’

Amidst the encroaching misery, Keremion shed tears and unknowingly dropped his saber.

Dropping the sword in a duel was an act tantamount to admitting defeat.

Kang Chan, watching the scene, stopped walking, slowly turned around, and walked towards Jeina.

There was no need to fight any further since the opponent had given up the will to fight.

Kang Chan, struggling to straighten his staggering body, sighed inwardly.

‘Thank goodness. That last strike just now was all the power I had.’

That last strike, which had caused Keremion to lose his will to fight, was a momentary burst of power that combined the remaining suit’s power with the force of squeezing his body to its limit.

The moment his leg was cut, he blocked the pain, hid his body with the stealth function, squeezed out his last strength, and launched a final, desperate strike at Keremion.

But Keremion gave up the fight first.

It couldn’t have been a more fortunate event for Kang Chan.

Kang Chan’s suit battery was indicating zero.

Not only the suit, but Kang Chan had also burned all the remaining stamina in his body.

His suit, with its power depleted, was slowly deactivated, and Kang Chan’s face, which was slowly revealed, was as pale as death, without a trace of blood.

And his ear, pierced by the Blade Spear, was hanging on by a thread.

Kang Chan grabbed Jeina’s hand and opened his mouth with difficulty.

“Let’s go, Jeina……”

He had to hurry to a safe place and recover his exhausted body in battle mode with mana cultivation.

Otherwise, he would have to sleep for days straight.

Jeina, who had watched everything, was stunned with an unbelievable expression, and Kang Chan led Jeina by the hand, fleeing the forest as if running away.

Then, Jeina, regaining her senses, screamed and wailed as she saw Kang Chan’s half-torn ear and the deep sword wound that was so wide that the bone was visible.

Kang Chan didn’t even pay attention to his ear and leg.

He was just disappointed that he couldn’t show his true skills in the duel with Keremion.

‘I wanted to fight sword against sword……’

He didn’t know how long he would have to hide his skills like this, but he quietly vowed that one day he would show Keremion his true skills.

He had become a true warrior.

After that, Kang Chan devoted himself to swordsmanship as if possessed.

He devoted himself to swordsmanship, not even sleeping or eating.

Even his master, Elradion, was tongue-tied.

8. Gale Urukanta

It had been a year since the Continental Alliance was formed around the Visman Empire, but the war situation still hadn’t improved at all.

Numerous lives were being lost in fierce battles that occurred almost daily.

The number of Green Elves, who had already established themselves deep in the continent, was increasing with tremendous reproductive power, while the number of Continental Alliance forces was gradually decreasing.

The Continental Alliance was losing territory little by little, suffering defeats day after day.

One year after the war situation had tilted like that.

The desperate situation of the humans, who were gradually collapsing, began to improve again due to unexpected reinforcements.

The Orcs had begun to support the humans.

The Green Elves, who had been pushing the humans hard with numerical superiority, slowly retreated when Orc warriors, boasting numbers as great as their own, rushed in.

The number of Orcs was astronomical.

Duke Sachsen, watching the retreating Green Elves, sighed and expressed his gratitude to the Orcs’ Lord for helping them.

“Thank you, Urukanta.”

“Tchwiik! No need to thank me. We’re participating because we’re next in line anyway. Krurrrr.”

“Still, gratitude is gratitude. Thanks to you, we were able to get through today safely, but those you see now are just the tip of the iceberg, Urukanta.”

“Krurr, I confirmed that by riding a wyvern. When will the support troops from other races join?”

“We continue to demand participation from the Elves and Dwarves, but they keep saying it’s not the right time yet and refuse to participate.”

“Kueeehwek! Cowards, krurrr! I’ll go and drag them out!”

Duke Sachsen dissuaded Urukanta, who was exhaling fiercely and getting excited.

“Don’t get excited, Urukanta. I heard that the two races are joining forces to prepare for war, so they will join soon.”

Urukanta, who had calmed down at the news that the Elves and Dwarves were joining forces to prepare for war, said in a low tone.

“Krurrr, I don’t know how we came to form a joint front with you humans, who were once sworn enemies. I have no face to show my ancestors. Krurrr.”

The expression of Duke Ryumiel Sachsen, the commander-in-chief of the human army, who was looking at Urukanta making an ambiguous expression that was hard to tell whether he was laughing or crying, was also ambiguous.

‘Those are my words to say. How can I face my ancestors, having to reach out to inferior beings like you? Kalitz, what are you doing under what sky? The country needs you now……’

Kalitz Garman, he was currently the best swordsman in the world and another Duke of the superpower Visman Empire.

He was the only human swordsman with the power to face the Green Witch.

It had already been 10 years since he suddenly disappeared, and Duke Sachsen sighed deeply, thinking that if he were by his side now, they wouldn’t be pushed back so much by the cunning Green Elves.

While Duke Sachsen was lost in thought, Urukanta, who had risen from his seat, left the operations room and said a word.

“Shiiik! I’ll go meet them!”

* * *

The fact that humans and Orcs had formed a joint front was quickly conveyed to the Elves, and the elders and dwarves gathered to hold a heated discussion on the matter.

“I felt a crisis as I watched the collapsing humans, but I’m really glad that those foolish Orcs decided to help the humans. In the meantime, we can buy time.”

“Yes, I’m really glad. The Elf Knights were about to participate without properly mastering the Elven Knight operation method provided by the Dwarves. Kracksion, how is the production of additional Elven Knights going?”

“Hmm! That’s, the amount of mithril [a mythical metal known for its lightness and strength] used is more than I thought, so it seems difficult to produce additional units with the current stock. Besides mithril, kronen is also in short supply, and there is no stock of amandatium [another rare and strong metal], which is the backbone of the frame, so we need to get the materials first to produce additional Elven Knights.”

“I see. If you’re short on materials, we’ll provide them from the Elf Forest. Don’t worry and gather the miners.”

At Artheon’s words, all the Elves in the hall were startled.

And they strongly opposed it.

“Artheon! That’s not allowed! H, how can you destroy the forest!”

“Please reconsider, Artheon. Destroying the forest is not allowed no matter what!”

The elders continued to strongly oppose it.

In particular, the opposition from Amari of Spiritism and Raseon of Summoning was the strongest.

But Artheon’s will was already firmly fixed.

“There is no reconsideration. This is an inevitable conclusion to protect our forest, our children, and the Dwarves who are dedicated to helping us from the greedy Green Elves. Of course, we will not destroy the forest. If we work together with our Elves, that is. Isn’t that right? Kracksion.”

“Hmm, of course, if we use magic and spiritism without using gunpowder, we can extract minerals with minimal damage.”

“As you heard, we will not destroy the forest and will only extract the minerals in the ground. To do that, I would like Raseon to take on this task.”

“I understand. I will take responsibility for that task.”

Raseon, feeling that he could no longer oppose Artheon’s strong will, reluctantly accepted Artheon’s request with a long lingering feeling.

Raseon, his spiritism would be of great help in creating mines without destroying the forest by moving the surrounding trees.

“Thank you, Raseon. Then the next discussion will be……”

Just as Artheon was about to move on to the next agenda, good news flew in from the Elf guard who burst into the conference room.

“Artheon! A group of Orc wyverns has appeared! Judging by the flag of Urukanta, it seems that Urukanta himself has come!”

“What? Urukanta?”

The conference hall became noisy once again in an instant.