Future Knight [EN]: Chapter 78

The conscripted soldiers stared at the corpses, their eyes devoid of hope.

Their minds were filled with the despairing thought that they would soon end up the same way.

Even though everyone knew that life eventually led to death, the thought of ending up like that was horrifying.

Before long, a makeshift barricade and numerous tattered tents came into view on the hill.

They had finally reached their destination.

However, it was not what one would expect a military base to look like.

A scene reminiscent of a refugee camp.

“T-This is a military unit?”

He had somewhat expected this when they were handed tattered weapons and armor, but this was too much.

This unit, stationed within spitting distance of the Green Elves, was a nameless, abandoned unit.

Those abandoned before the enemies’ swords and arrows.

They were the first to be thrown into battle, tasked with creating chaos.

Once they risked their lives to disrupt the enemy’s formation, regular soldiers and knights, armed with powerful weapons and armor, would be deployed to wipe out the enemies in one fell swoop.

This method was an extremely inhumane tactic, but it was very effective.

When there was no battle, their purpose was to serve as a human barricade.

A human barricade stationed between the enemy lines and the main camp, delaying the enemy’s intrusion into the main camp.

The soldier leading the conscripts handed them over to the soldiers guarding the place.

From today on, Kang Chan belonged here, and his revenge had already begun.

‘I’ve finally arrived. Jeina, are you watching?’

Kang Chan looked up at the sky, picturing Jeina’s face.

‘I will never stop until those bastards are all dead. Never…’

Kang Chan took a deep breath of the suffocatingly heavy air of the battlefield and steeled himself once more.

While Kang Chan was steeling himself.

The senior soldiers receiving the new recruits shoved them into the designated tents with rough voices.

“Get into the tents, quickly! Move it, you slowpokes!”

Kang Chan was pushed in with Loki into a tent that was hardly worthy of the name.

Inside, emaciated conscripts were waiting for the new recruits.

They looked gaunt.

It was clear at a glance that they were not getting proper meals.

‘Are these the serfs who were forcibly conscripted?’

Kang Chan met their eyes, finding no hope in them.

To Kang Chan, they looked more like war refugees than soldiers.

“Wow, it’s been a while since we’ve had new recruits.”

“Ooh, they’re both so pretty?”

Whistle! Whoo!

Whistles and cheers erupted from all around.

In this place where there were no women to be found, two new recruits as pretty and fresh as women had arrived, so it was only natural that they were excited.

As they say, men will be men, even if they only have enough strength to hold a spoon.

Anyway, the emaciated men approached Kang Chan and Loki with lecherous eyes, swaggering.

Kang Chan sighed inwardly as he looked at them.

He anticipated a situation where he would have to commit insubordination, even though he didn’t want to.

‘Sigh… there are always guys like this in the military, no matter where you go.’

As Kang Chan was sighing inwardly, a man who seemed to be the leader approached Loki and asked.

“Hey, are you really a man?”

“I am a man.”

“Really? I don’t believe it. I’ll have to check it myself.”

As the man’s hand reached for Loki’s private area with a lecherous smile, Kang Chan grabbed the man’s wrist.

The man glared at Kang Chan, who had grabbed his arm, and scowled.

“Oh? What’s this? You’re not letting go of my hand?”

Kang Chan glared at him without a word.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Fibro, the highest-ranking soldier in this tent.”

“So?”

“Wow, this guy needs to be taught a lesson.”

Fibro threw a punch at Kang Chan’s face.

Despite his emaciated body, it was a surprisingly powerful punch.

However, Kang Chan easily caught his punch, and Fibro, with both hands restrained, attempted a desperate headbutt.

“Iyaaa!”

However, his headbutt, which he had no doubt would knock out the impudent recruit, was blocked by the recruit’s knee, which struck his solar plexus instead.

“Kuh-euh!”

Kang Chan leaned close to Fibro, who was in pain, and said in a low voice.

“If you keep bothering me, I’ll beat your stomach until you shit yourself.”

“Huk!”

Fibro felt fear at Kang Chan’s words and stepped back.

‘I’ve been through so many life-and-death situations, living so close to death, yet I’m feeling fear just from his aura…’

He was flustered.

‘W-What is this guy? Why are my legs shaking?’

His already thin legs were trembling, making him look even more pathetic.

Kang Chan pushed Fibro away roughly, as if he was annoyed, and the emaciated Fibro flew 5 meters and crashed into his comrades.

Thud!

“Keuk!”

Dozens of soldiers stared at Kang Chan with their jaws dropped.

Kang Chan, who had easily sent Fibro flying, asked a soldier who was blankly staring at him from the side.

“Where are our spots?”

“Ah, yes? Ah, yes! This way!”

Born as a child of a serf and living a life no different from a slave, he instinctively knew how to deal with the strong.

“This is the best spot.”

To Kang Chan, they all looked the same, but he didn’t bother to argue.

“Thanks.”

Kang Chan threw his luggage haphazardly in the spot he was shown and lay down on the cot.

Loki, who had been copying Kang Chan’s actions, also threw his luggage down haphazardly and lay down on the cot like Kang Chan.

The senior soldiers watching them couldn’t say anything and just stared blankly, hesitating.

Kang Chan and Loki leisurely enjoyed a nap.

While the new recruits in other tents were suffering all sorts of humiliation from the senior soldiers.

It was dinner time.

Loki, who had been starving all day, was excited at the word ‘food.’

But all that was served for dinner was a lump of rye bread as hard as a rock and a watery cabbage soup.

The bread was so hard that it was embarrassing to call it bread.

The sound it made when it was placed on the serving tray sounded like stones colliding.

The cabbage soup that came with it was just cabbage boiled in salt water.

It was only meant to replenish salt and soften the rye bread, which was too hard to bite into.

Loki held up the rye bread and asked the soldier serving the food.

“What is this?”

“What do you think it is? It’s bread.”

“Bread? This is just a rock.”

“Just eat what you’re given!”

“What did you say?”

“Hey, you look like a new recruit? What are you glaring at with your newbie status?”

As Loki was about to get angry, the man who had shown them their spots earlier forced Loki to bow his head and apologized instead.

“I’m sorry! He’s a new recruit and doesn’t know anything yet.”

“Tsk! Does your tent want to go hungry for a few days? Are you not training your guys properly? Am I at a level where I should be talking to such a greenhorn?”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I will train him thoroughly!”

“I’ll be watching you guys. Next!”

Loki grumbled, still angry, as he walked away.

“Ugh… someone who’s not even a mouthful…”

“Shh! Quiet! The person with the most power here is the one in charge of serving the food. From now on, eat what you’re given without complaining. If you want to go back home alive. And soften the rye bread well with the cabbage soup. You’ll break your teeth otherwise.”

“Is there no meat?”

“Meat? If there was meat, would we be eating this? The only meat here is the corpses of those Green Elves piled up over there, but who would eat that? Well, there are some crazy bastards who eat it sometimes, though.”

“Hmm, this is far from enough…”

Loki was a small human now, but as an ogre, this amount of food was nowhere near enough.

But the senior soldier, who had no way of knowing that, said.

“You should be grateful for what you’re given. We only get this garbage twice a day.”

“Really? Only twice?”

“It’s best not to move around if you can help it. You’ll just get hungry for no reason.”

“…….”

While Loki was seriously considering whether he should eat the Green Elf meat.

Kang Chan passed his share of bread to Loki.

Thump!

“What’s this?”

“Eat it.”

“What about you?”

“I just took a pill.”

“Ah, a pill?”

“Why, do you want one too?”

“Um…”

Having experienced it once, Loki, like Zekyon, hated pills.

Loki seriously considered whether he should take a pill or not.

“Hey, Fibro! I heard there are two pretty boys like girls in your tent?”

“Gasp!”

Fibro flinched at the mention of the new recruits, and the soldier who spoke to him, Brunen, asked with a puzzled look.

“What’s wrong? Is something the matter?”

“Ah, no, nothing…”

“What happened to those pretty boys? Did you already take care of them?”

“W-Well, you see…”

Fibro told Brunen about the new recruits, and Brunen was shocked, as if he couldn’t believe it.

“Is that true?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

“So, what are those guys doing now?”

Fibro pointed to his tent, where Kang Chan and Loki were sprawled out comfortably on the cots.

“T-Those rotten bastards!”

Senior soldiers were supposed to be resting, yet the new recruits were sprawled out on the cots; Brunen’s eyes flashed with anger.

“I’ll deal with them right now!”

Brunen, enraged, was about to rush over to tear them to pieces, but Fibro desperately grabbed him.

He had a feeling that he was about to poke a hornet’s nest [stir up trouble].

“Hey, wait a minute! Wait a minute! Let’s just hold back for now!”

“What are you telling me to hold back? Even if they’re good at fighting, are we just going to let them be?”

“…….”

Fibro couldn’t say anything.

“Look at the other tents! Are there any guys like that anywhere else?”

In the other tents, the senior soldiers were busy hazing [subjecting new recruits to humiliating or harsh treatment] the new recruits.

“Let’s gather the guys and give those rude greenhorns [inexperienced newcomers] a taste of their own medicine.”

“Alright.”

Fibro, encouraged by Brunen’s support, regained his courage and went around the surrounding tents with Brunen, gathering his men.

“……?”

Kang Chan, who had been lying on the cot like a discharged sergeant [a soldier who has completed their service], lost in thought, felt a large number of people approaching and slowly opened his eyes.

In front of him, nearly 30 soldiers were glaring at Kang Chan as if they wanted to kill him.

Kang Chan asked while still lying down.

“Do you have some business with me?”

The soldiers who had gathered were enraged by Kang Chan’s impudent attitude.

“Look at that bastard’s attitude.”

“A senior soldier is here, and he’s lying down?”

“Oh my, I came to see if it was true, and it really is.”

“He’s completely lost his mind.”

“You’re going to die today! Ptooey!”

The soldiers with fierce expressions began to surround Kang Chan in order to lynch him [attack and kill him without a legal trial].

But Kang Chan calmly got up and pointed at someone.

“You, there!”

“Hiek!”

Fibro, who had been secretly hiding behind the others, flinched at Kang Chan’s pointing.

“Did you gather these guys?”

Kang Chan’s words about ‘these guys’ added fuel to the fire.

“These, these guys!”

“That son of a bitch!”

“Get him!”

The 30 soldiers rushed towards Kang Chan all at once. But just then, a loud bell rang, stopping them.