Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 53

As she aspired to be a Ranger who wielded a bow, she possessed exceptional skills in aiming at long distances.

Soon, Kang Chan was slightly impressed by Elrika’s handling of the railgun.

Although it was her first time handling a rifle, there was no shaking in the barrel.

Before long, the railgun’s muzzle flashed, and the bullet, drawing a distinct spiral, shattered a rock on the boulder.

Watching this, Kang Chan was once again reminded why Elves were known for their archery skills, and he was quite surprised.

‘To handle a firearm so well on her first try, is this truly the way of the Elven race?’

It was something only an Elf with an innate talent for shooting could do.

But soon, a groan of pain escaped her lips.

As the railgun was difficult for even a man to control the recoil, the gun’s sight, pushed back by the strong recoil, struck her near her eye.

“Ouch…….”

“Are you alright?”

“Ah! Yes, I’m fine. I just saw stars for a moment.”

“Let me see.”

“I-I’m fine…….”

Elrika, embarrassed, covered her wound with her hand, trying to hide it, but Kang Chan forcibly pulled her hand down.

As expected, her eye was bruised.

She lowered her head in embarrassment, but Kang Chan’s eyes trembled severely as he looked at her bruised eye.

Ironically, the bruised eye of Elrika overlapped with Jeina’s bruised eye when Kang Chan ruthlessly kicked her face in the past.

Kang Chan’s eyes welled up with unbearable sadness once again.

When Kang Chan suddenly teared up, Elrika thought he was sad because she was hurt, and she thought it was a good thing she got hurt.

She was so happy that she almost forgot the pain.

But Kang Chan only left her with a cold word and disappeared.

“That’s it for today. Don’t forget to lock it in safe mode after shooting. Then, I’ll be going.”

“T-There.”

She grabbed him with a small voice, but Kang Chan left without looking back.

Since then, Elrika had not dared to speak to him, who had not even glanced at her until they were on the run, and could only watch him from afar with her bruised eyes.

‘What mistake did I make?’

As she became depressed with such thoughts, insensitive Elves and Dwarves kept approaching her.

The Elven Rangers and Dwarves, who had seen the power of the railgun she fired from afar, were amazed by its tremendous power and showed great interest in the railgun Kang Chan had given her.

The Elven Rangers envied Elrika so much for the mighty power of the railgun, which they called the Bow of God, and the fact that Kang Chan had gifted it to her.

And the Dwarves, who prided themselves on being the best artisans in weapon making, were eager to disassemble the railgun to see how it worked.

Thus, the evacuation route was bustling unlike an evacuation route, and they safely arrived at the portal connected to the Montana Mountains on the outskirts of the Elven Forest. They were able to safely reach the Montana Mountains, where the Dwarven kingdom of Mine Kingdom was located, avoiding the attacks of the Green Elves and Dark Elves.

* * *

The Green Elves and Dark Elves, watching from afar as the surviving Elves disappeared beyond the portal under the protection of the Dwarves, had to grit their teeth in regret.

Currently, they did not have the power to face the 40,000-strong army led by Kraxion, composed of the world’s strongest heavy infantry and the renowned Barbarians.

Black Centipedes were perfect for dealing with them in heavy armor.

However, the Black Centipedes that survived the battle last night were all seriously injured and had to be recovered for an even bigger battle.

“Damn it!”

The Green Elves shed tears of blood, glaring with wide eyes as they had no choice but to let them go.

They were clearly the victors, but the price for invading the Elven Forest was too great.

The Green Elves suffered the most damage, of course.

They had deployed nearly 200,000 elite infantry into this invasion, but less than 1,000 soldiers survived.

What decimated their forces was the unidentified giant pillar of fire.

A giant pillar of fire that plunged down on top of their heads as they cheered on the verge of victory.

The damage it inflicted on the Green Elves was truly beyond imagination.

They had expected only a few thousand casualties with a perfect operation, but the sudden giant pillar of fire inflicted enormous damage close to annihilation.

As a result, the Helion Kingdom’s front line, which was struggling against the human and orc alliance, was also put on alert.

To make matters worse, the Silverline Republic and the Baronsia Kingdom in the eastern region, as well as the powerhouses of the eastern continent, Terbia and Maris, had formed a new alliance and were pressing in from the east.

According to the reconnaissance team’s report, the number of infantry alone was close to 200,000.

Because of this, the Green Elf camp was in chaos.

At this important time, Green, their spiritual pillar and the mother of all, was in a coma with severe injuries.

Therefore, their confusion was bound to increase.

The damage was not limited to the Green Elves alone.

The Dark Elves also suffered considerable damage.

The Dark Elves were a race with a small population, so only 30,000 troops were drafted for this conquest of the Elven Forest.

However, the potential they showed was so great that they could have turned any ordinary country into ruins overnight.

So much so that the 200,000 Green Elves looked pathetic.

But they also had to pay a huge price for this invasion.

They lost half of their secret weapon, 100 Black Centipedes.

A single one boasts such a powerful force that it can take on three state-of-the-art Gigantes [giant war machines]. Losing half of such an important weapon was truly a lamentable situation for the Dark Elves.

Nemitz knew very well that Eladion and Arteon were responsible for much of it.

In addition, they had to lose 5,000 elite assassins out of 20,000 troops drawn from five Arc Shadows, the Blacklion and Darkblade assassin families, and Dark Illusion, the main force of the Dark Elves.

Even though it was a surprise attack.

The only reason they were able to survive the explosion was that the forest they fought in was around Kang Chan.

If it hadn’t been around him, they would have become corpses that couldn’t even be recognized, along with the Green Elves.

17. Dwarven Kingdom Mine Kingdom

The vast Montana Mountains, which straddle the Bisman Empire and the Sorpen Confederation, are a treasure trove of natural resources and have been invaded by countless humans and orcs since ancient times.

However, the Dwarven kingdom of Mine Kingdom, which has never been destroyed, is located there like an impregnable fortress.

The rugged mountains did not easily allow the passage of any large army, and the Barbarians’ unpredictable guerrilla warfare, using the mines that stretched out in all directions, was a source of terror for the invaders.

They had been firmly defending their land in this way for thousands of years.

“Well, that’s our kingdom, Mine Kingdom.”

The sight of the majestic and magnificent mountains unfolding like a folding screen.

The Dwarven king’s words, pointing to his kingdom, were full of pride.

The Elves began to climb the rugged mountains, following him.

To get to Mine Kingdom, they had to climb at least halfway up the Montana Mountains.

The Elves, as a race that lived in the forest, moved up the steep cliffs without much difficulty.

But the problem was the princess.

A princess who had never even been near a mountain in her life.

When she was told to get off her horse and climb the steep hillside on foot, she began to throw a tantrum.

“No way! How can I climb such a steep place!”

“No, that’s why I told you to just go back to Bellaren.”

“I don’t want to hear it! Bring me my horse at once.”

“No, Princess. It’s dangerous to ride a horse on such a steep slope.”

The path they had to take was a steep hillside that ran precariously along the side of a cliff, with a dizzying valley below.

It was clear that if a horse lost its balance and slipped in such a dangerous place, it would not even be able to recover its bones.

“Then I will go by magic. Wouldn’t it be possible to go at once with spatial movement? Or I’ll fly with levitation magic! Bring me a magician right now!”

The faces of the Elven wizards contorted as they watched her say she would go by magic.

They had to use attack magic all night to stop the Green Elves. On top of that, they had not been able to rest properly and had been healing hundreds of injured people all the way here, so their mana was completely exhausted.

To them, who were so exhausted, Edelrin’s words, demanding that they move her with magic, were really too immature.

The gazes of those around her were by no means kind as they watched her continue to throw a tantrum.

This was because the evacuation route, which had to be moved quickly, was being delayed because of her.

However, because of her status as a princess of the Great Bisman Empire, everyone had no choice but to endure in silence.

Then, Kang Chan, unable to bear it any longer, approached her.

Edelrin was startled to find Kang Chan suddenly approaching her and asked.

“W-What’s going on?”

“Stop it and go back.”

“Wh-What did you say?”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said stop it and go back now.”

Kang Chan glared at Edelrin, pointing his finger in the opposite direction from where they had come.

Then, an excited Edelrin stuttered, her face flushed red.

“H-How dare you order the imperial family in such a rude manner…….”

“When are you going to grow up? Look around you. Aren’t you ashamed of the Elves here?”

When Kang Chan pointed his hand around, Edelrin slowly looked around.

Only then was she able to realize that many Elves were quietly watching her.

And she could also feel the deep sadness in their eyes that could not be resisted.

When Edelrin made eye contact with them, she felt as if some indescribable emotions were squeezing her heart.

It was an emotion she was feeling for the first time in her eighteen years of life.

It was shame.

“I, I am the Great Bisman Empire…….”

Kang Chan mercilessly cut off her words, which had become so small that she wanted to crawl into a rat hole, unlike before.

“Shut up! What’s so important about being a princess or royalty? Everyone is born equal. Being born without anything and dying without anything, that’s what a person is.”

“That’s ridiculous! So you’re saying I’m the same as a lowly commoner? I was born with royal blood! I was born with a surname and servants!”

Kang Chan no longer felt any value in dealing with her, who was screaming and refuting the statement that everyone is equal.

“You don’t understand what I mean at all. Then take that surname and all those servants to hell when you die. Well! Then the picnic with the immature princess is over. Goodbye.”

As Kang Chan turned his gaze coldly and began to climb the steep hillside, the Elves and Dwarves lined up behind him and began to climb the hillside.

Tears streamed down Edelrin’s eyes as she stared blankly at them.

Kang Chan’s words were nothing short of a huge shock to her, who had never heard such harsh words in her life.

Even her father, the emperor, had never scolded her like this.

But how dare a commoner, not even a royal or noble, scold her so rudely? She was starting to get angry.

“Princess, shall we go back now?”

When Jaizen took the princess’s hand to put her on the horse, who was staring intently at Kang Chan climbing the hillside, the princess roughly shook off his hand.

“Let go!”

“Princess?”

“Let’s go!”

Jaizen doubted his ears at the word ‘let’s go’.

“Pardon?”

“That Mine Kingdom, I’ll definitely go!”

As Edelrin wiped away her tears with her sleeve and began to climb the steep hillside, Jaizen hurriedly followed her, leading the horse.