Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 37

Future Knight Episode 37

* * *

“We have come to join Arteon of the Wind Elf tribe.”

“Welcome, brother. Come this way.”

“We are fire elf warriors, here to fight alongside Arteon.”

“Thank you for coming. Food is prepared over there.”

“Thank you for your hospitality.”

“We are water elves, here to join Arteon.”

“Many brothers have come to help. Come, this way.”

The once-deserted elf village was now bustling with countless elves.

They were elves from various tribes scattered throughout the vast Elf Forest, warriors from other tribes who had gathered under Arteon’s banner for this war.

The village was becoming increasingly crowded with the constant arrival of elf tribes.

“Elladion, what is the total number of troops gathered so far?”

“So far, the Water Elf tribe has the most with 15,000, followed by the Wind Elf tribe with 5,000, and the Fire Elf tribe with 3,000, bringing the total to approximately 23,000 warriors.”

“If we add our 30,000 Wood Elves, that brings the total to 53,000 troops.”

“Yes, it is the largest army in elf history.”

“Indeed, but I hear the enemy numbers over a million.”

“Our elves are all top warriors. We are not afraid of such a disorganized rabble.”

“I wish they were just a rabble.”

Arteon knew well that they were not a mere rabble.

Otherwise, the human-orc alliance would not be struggling against their army.

* * *

Kang Chan stood under the waterfall, deep in thought.

‘How did I end up with so many secrets?’ he wondered.

His purpose for coming to this planet was a secret, being Elladion’s disciple was a secret, and being in love with Jeina was a secret.

None of these could ever be revealed to anyone; they were all top secrets.

‘Secretive man,’ Kang Chan sighed deeply.

“Hoo……”

Just then, Jeina came running from afar, carrying a large basket.

“Honey!”

“Oh, you’re here?”

“I want a kiss.”

“Ah, no. What if someone sees us?”

“So, you won’t give me one?”

Jeina grabbed Kang Chan’s waist with both hands and glared at him playfully. Kang Chan quickly looked around and kissed Jeina on the lips.

Jeina then patted Kang Chan’s butt and said,

“Good job, my baby. You’re so pretty.”

“Stop it! I’m going to get angry.”

“Ehehehe!”

Jeina had become like life itself to Kang Chan. But their love also had to be kept strictly secret.

Elves who fall in love with other races are banished from the village.

For them, the only places where they could freely express their love were this waterfall and the crashed Red Mars [their spaceship].

In other places, they had to act like friends, carefully watching the other elves’ reactions.

But the more they did so, the more desperate and affectionate their love became.

“Heehee, come here. I packed a lunch.”

“Huh! Lunch? Don’t tell me Jeina made it herself?”

“That’s right. I learned from Mom yesterday and made it myself. Why? You don’t want to eat what I made?”

“No, it’s not that. I just miss Jerenis’s food……”

“Our mom is really good at cooking. But! You can eat that next time, and today you have to eat mine. Come on, come here.”

“……”

Jeina grabbed Kang Chan’s hand and led him away. Kang Chan’s feet barely moved, like a cow being dragged to the slaughterhouse.

He felt sorry for Jeina, but Kang Chan thought it would be better to keep starving under the waterfall than to eat the food Jeina made.

But what could he do? He had to eat it…

“I’m full, I can’t eat anymore.”

“Was it good?”

“Uh-huh……”

“I’ll make something even more delicious next time.”

“Okay……”

‘Is this what lunchtime in hell tastes like?’

It was a lunch that could never be called delicious.

Kang Chan, who had put on all sorts of delicious pretenses and barely forced it down his throat, leaned against a tree with a tired look, like a defeated soldier returning from the battlefield, holding the remaining banana fritters, lost in thought.

‘Even if you just fry bananas, it shouldn’t taste like this. How can it taste like this?’

Kang Chan felt the urge to take a sample of the banana fritters, run it through a centrifuge, and analyze its composition.

Jeina, who had washed the lunch box and returned, said to Kang Chan, who was staring intently at the banana fritters she had made.

“Why? Are you still hungry? Should I make you more?”

“No! This is enough for me!”

Kang Chan hurriedly shoved the banana fritters into his mouth.

The taste of the banana felt through the batter was tasteless no matter how much he chewed, and it was just mushy. The taste even evoked a sense of shame, as if he were eating someone else’s phlegm.

As Kang Chan was forcibly swallowing the banana fritters, Jeina brewed a fragrant herbal tea.

“Eat slowly, even if it’s delicious. You’ll get indigestion. Drink this.”

“……”

Holding the teacup, Kang Chan and Jeina, sitting next to him, sat side by side in the cool shade of the tree, enjoying the aroma of the tea and chatting about this and that.

Then, when Jeina hesitated to say something and seemed troubled, Kang Chan asked.

“Are you worried about something?”

“Oh? No, it’s nothing.”

“Tell me, we promised not to hide what we want to say to each other.”

After a moment of hesitation, Jeina opened her mouth with difficulty.

“Can’t you think about not going to the battlefield?”

In a month, the elves would have to go to the battlefield, and Kang Chan had promised to go with them in this war. How heartbroken would Jeina be to send her beloved Kang Chan to the army? It hadn’t been long since they had confirmed their feelings for each other.

Moreover, it was clear that it would be a fierce war, so much so that they could not guarantee whether he would return alive. This was because the war was on an unprecedented scale, and the opponent was so strong that all the races that occupied most of the continent, including humans, elves, dwarves, and orcs, had to unite.

Perhaps even if he returned crippled, she would have to offer prayers of gratitude to God just for him returning alive.

Because of the war that had become a fire on their feet, all the brothers who had been scattered in the Elf Forest gathered in one place, and the village was busy preparing for war.

In addition, the village atmosphere was even more chaotic due to the emergency alert that had been issued since morning.

“I’m sorry, Jeina. It’s a promise between the master and me, and furthermore, it’s a struggle to protect our love. I heard that their goal is to drive out all the races on the continent and establish their own kingdom. If we can’t stop them anyway, you and I won’t be able to live in this forest loving each other anymore.”

Jeina shed tears of sadness because her head knew she shouldn’t hold him back, but her heart didn’t.

“Please send me off with a smile, Jeina. I promise I’ll come back alive.”

“You have to come back alive.”

“Don’t worry! I’m the only one who survived even after falling from the sky.”

Kang Chan deliberately struck an exaggerated pose to ease Jeina’s worries.

“If you die, I’ll die too. So, if you don’t want to kill me, don’t die! Got it?”

“I won’t die leaving you behind. Jeina, I love you.”

“Me too……”

* * *

“Are the Black Centipedes ready?”

“Yes, Nemitz. They are filling their bellies before the battle.”

Mole-like creatures the size of bulls, the main food of the dark elves living in the underworld, were dragged to a huge pit and struggled in fear.

However, unable to overcome the strength of dozens of dark elves, the moles began to fall into the pit one by one.

Some of the moles that fell to the bottom due to the considerable drop died instantly, while others had broken legs and groaned in pain.

Yellow eyes flickered in the darkness of the abyss, and they slowly began to approach the injured moles, making eerie sounds.

Chrarararararak…….

The sound of thousands of legs moving in unison.

Then, the surviving moles, smelling the Black Centipedes, forgot the pain of their broken legs and desperately tried to escape in terror.

But it was impossible.

In an instant, the yellow eyes that soared high into the sky covered the fleeing moles.

The huge lower jaw that plunged down broke the spine of a bull-sized mole in a single blow and burst its internal organs.

“Kweaaaaaaeaaaaaek!”

The screams of dozens of moles echoed loudly from all directions.

Crunch, crunch.

The eerie sound of chewing meat, bones and all, began to echo in the cave.

The Black Centipede, whose head alone was larger than a bull mole, ate a mole whole, head and all, and began hunting other moles.

“As soon as the Black Centipedes finish their meal, they will go above ground. Tell everyone to adapt to the light with small lights so that they are not blinded by the moonlight. And tell them again to take good care of the vests made from the secretions of the baby centipedes so that they are not attacked by the Black Centipedes.”

“Yes! Commander.”

“Um, but Commander.”

“What is it?”

“Should we also make the Black Centipedes adapt to the light?”

“No, there’s no need. Their eyes are almost degenerated, so they can only distinguish the difference in temperature.”

“I understand.”

As each aide scattered with their missions, Green, who had been waiting behind for the meeting to end, approached Nemitz.

“It’s finally starting, Nemitz.”

“I was worried because I was preparing in a hurry, but it seems that this attack will be very easy because there are not many Gigantes [giants].”

“I have a request.”

Nemitz, who was about to put on his dual swords, raised his head at Green, who suddenly said he had a request for him.

“What is your request?”

“Please let me take the head of Arteon, the leader of the elves.”

Nemitz, who had a momentarily embarrassed expression at her words, put on his dual swords again and said.

“Why do you want her head?”

“I have something to get from her.”

“Something to get, I see. Although there is a plan in place, if you want her that much, Green, I should hand her over to you. Then, please take care of it. However, one thing I would like to ask is, please don’t let your guard down. That woman is the best magician on the continent, except for dragons, no matter what anyone says.”