Future Knight

Chapter 53

She was a ranger aspirant skilled in handling a bow, possessing exceptional ability in aiming from a distance.

Kang Chan soon admired how Erika handled the rail gun.

Although it was her first time handling a rifle, the muzzle did not shake at all.

Soon, the muzzle of the rail gun spewed fire, and the bullet, tracing a visibly clear spiral, shattered a stone on the rock into pieces.

Watching this, Kang Chan realized anew why elves were known to be good archers, and he was quite astonished.

‘Handling a firearm so well on her first try… is it because she’s from a race of archers?’

This was something only elves with an innate talent for shooting could do.

But soon, a groan of pain escaped her lips.

The rail gun’s strong recoil, which even men had difficulty controlling, had caused the gun’s sight to hit her near the eye.

“Ow…”

“Are you alright?”

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

“Let me see.”

“It’s fine…”

When Erika, embarrassed, tried to hide her injury with her hand, Kang Chan forcibly lowered her hand.

As expected, her eye was bruised.

She bowed her head in embarrassment, but Kang Chan’s eyes shook violently as he looked at her bruised eye.

When Kang Chan had kicked Jaina’s face without hesitation in the past, her bruised eye ironically overlapped with Erika’s current injury.

Overcome with unbearable sadness, Kang Chan’s eyes welled up with tears again.

When Kang Chan suddenly teared up, Erika thought it was because he was sad about her injury, and she felt happy enough to forget her pain.

But Kang Chan left her with a cold remark and disappeared.

“That’s it for today. Don’t forget to lock the safety after shooting. I’ll be going now.”

“Wait, please.”

She called out to him in a small voice, but Kang Chan walked away without looking back.

Since then, until now on their journey as refugees, Erika couldn’t muster the courage to speak to him and could only watch him from a distance with her bruised eye.

‘What mistake did I make?’

While she was feeling down with such thoughts, clueless elves and dwarves kept approaching her.

Elves and dwarves, amazed by the power of the rail gun she fired from a distance, were deeply interested in the rail gun Kang Chan had gifted her.

The elf rangers were extremely envious of Erika, knowing the rail gun, which she called a divine bow, had been given to her by Kang Chan.

The dwarves, proud to be the best craftsmen in making weapons, were eager to disassemble the rail gun to understand its structure and mechanism.

Thus, their refugee journey was noisy, not at all like a refugee journey should be. They safely arrived at the portal connected to the Montana Mountains, built on the outskirts of the Elven Forest, and successfully reached the dwarf kingdom of Minekingdom, 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 escorted by dwarves, could only grind their teeth in frustration.

At the moment, they lacked the power to face the 40,000-strong army of the world’s best heavy infantry and the famously brave barbarians led by Cracksion.

The Black Centipede was perfect for facing those in heavy armor.

However, the Black Centipedes that survived the battle last night were all seriously injured and needed to recover for even larger battles ahead.

“Damn it!”

The Green Elves, with tears of blood, had no choice but to let them go with eyes wide open.

Although they were undoubtedly victors, the cost of invading the Elven Forest had been too high.

The greatest damage was, of course, suffered by the Green Elves.

They had invested nearly 200,000 elite soldiers in this invasion, but less than a thousand soldiers returned alive.

What had caused this devastation was a mysterious massive pillar of fire.

As they were on the verge of victory, cheering, a gigantic pillar of fire descended upon their heads.

The damage inflicted by that pillar on the Green Elves was beyond imagination.

They had anticipated a minor loss of a few thousand at most due to their perfect strategy, but the sudden, enormous pillar of fire had inflicted nearly total annihilation.

As a result, the frontline of the Helion Kingdom, which was struggling against the human and orc alliance, was now in crisis.

Moreover, to make matters worse, the Eastern Silverline Republic, the Kingdom of Baronsia, and the Eastern Continent’s powers, Terbia and Maris, had formed a new alliance and were pressing from the east.

According to reconnaissance reports, their infantry alone numbered nearly 200,000.

Because of this, the Green Elf camp was in an uproar.

At such a critical time, their spiritual leader and mother of all, Green, was in a coma due to severe injuries.

This added to their chaos.

The damage wasn’t limited to just the Green Elves.

The Dark Elves also suffered considerable damage.

Since the Dark Elves were not a populous race, only thirty thousand troops were mobilized for the conquest of the Elven Forest.

However, the power they demonstrated was enough to devastate an average country overnight.

They were so formidable that even the 200,000 Green Elves seemed insignificant by comparison.

Yet, they too had to pay a tremendous price for this invasion.

They lost half of their secret weapon, the one hundred Black Centipedes.

A single Black Centipede boasted enough power to confront three of the latest Gigantes. Losing half of such crucial weapons was indeed a tragedy for the Dark Elves.

Nemitz knew well that a significant portion of this loss was due to Elradian and Arteon.

In addition, they lost five thousand elite assassins out of the twenty thousand troops drafted from the main assassin families—Blacklion, Darkblade, and Darkillusion—including five Arcsado.

Even though it was a surprise attack.

The only reason any of them survived the massive explosion was because the forest they fought in was near Kang Chan.

Had it not been for his presence, they too would have become unrecognizable corpses along with the Green Elves.

### 17. The Dwarf Kingdom, Minekingdom

The massive Montana Mountain Range, straddling the Visman Empire and the Sorpen National Alliance, was a treasure trove of natural resources and had long been the target of numerous invasions by humans and orcs.

Yet, within those mountains stood the impregnable Dwarf Kingdom, Minekingdom, which had never fallen.

The rugged mountains denied easy access to any large army, and the barbarians’ elusive guerrilla warfare, utilizing the extensive mines, instilled fear in invaders.

Thus, they had steadfastly protected their land for thousands of years.

“Look, there lies our kingdom, Minekingdom.”

The grand and majestic mountain range unfolded like a folding screen.

Pride filled the words of the Dwarf King as he pointed to his kingdom.

The Elves followed him, beginning their ascent up the treacherous mountains.

To reach Minekingdom, they had to climb at least halfway up the Montana Mountain Range.

Living in the forest, the Elves managed to navigate the steep cliffs without much difficulty.

But the problem was the Princess.

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

When she was told to dismount and walk up the steep slope, she began to throw a tantrum.

“Impossible! How do you expect me to climb such a steep place?”

“Well, that’s why I suggested we return to Bellaren.”

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

“That’s not possible, Princess. Riding a horse on such a steep slope is dangerous.”

The path they had to climb was a steep slope precariously bordering a cliff, with a dizzying drop below.

If the horse lost its balance and slipped in such a dangerous place, it would be disastrous.

“Then I will use magic. I can teleport there in an instant, or I will fly using levitation magic! Bring a magician immediately!”

The Elf magicians watching her proposal had twisted expressions.

They had spent the night using attack magic to fend off the Green Elves. Additionally, they had not had a proper rest and had to heal hundreds of injured people, depleting their mana completely.

Edelene’s demand to be magically transported, given their exhausted state, was extremely thoughtless.

Those around her, witnessing her continued tantrum, did not view her actions kindly.

Because of her, their urgent evacuation was being delayed.

However, given her status as a Princess of the Great Empire, everyone had to endure it in silence.

At that moment, Kang Chan, unable to bear it any longer, approached her.

Edelene, startled by his sudden approach, asked,

“W-what is it?”

“Stop it and go back.”

“W-what did you say?”

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

Kang Chan pointed back in the direction they had come from and glared at Edelene.

Edelene, her face flushed with anger, stammered,

“H-how dare you speak to a royal like that…”

“When will you grow up? Look around you. Aren’t you ashamed in front of these Elves?”

When Kang Chan gestured around, Edelene slowly looked around.

She then realized that countless Elves were quietly watching her.

She also felt the deep, unavoidable sorrow in their eyes.

Meeting their gaze, Edelene felt something indescribable tighten in her chest.

It was the first time in her eighteen years she had felt such an emotion.

It was shame.

“I-I am a Princess of the Visman Empire…”

Kang Chan cut her off mercilessly, not caring that she seemed small enough to hide in a mouse hole.

“Enough! What’s so special about being a princess or royalty? Everyone is born equal. Being born with nothing and dying with nothing, that’s what it means to be human.”

“Such nonsense! Are you saying I’m the same as a lowly commoner? I am of royal blood! I was born with a castle and servants!”

Kang Chan felt it was no longer worth engaging with her as she vehemently opposed the idea of equality among people.

“You clearly don’t understand what I’m saying. Fine then, take your castle and servants to hell when you die. That’s it for this outing with the spoiled princess. Goodbye.”

Turning his gaze away harshly, Kang Chan began leading the front group up the steep slope. Behind him, the Elves and Dwarves lined up and started climbing as well.

Edelene, who had been staring at them blankly, felt tears streaming down her face.

Never in her life had she been spoken to so harshly. Kang Chan’s words were a tremendous shock to her.

Not even her father, the Emperor, had ever treated her so harshly.

The fact that a mere commoner, neither royal nor noble, had dared to scold her so bluntly, made her anger slowly rise.

“Princess, let’s go back now, shall we?”

Jaizen tried to help the princess onto her horse as she glared at Kang Chan climbing the slope. She roughly shook off his hand.

“Let go!”

“Princess?”

“Let’s go!”

Jaizen couldn’t believe his ears.

“What?”

“That damn Minekingdom, I’ll go there no matter what!”

Wiping away her tears with her sleeve, Edelene began climbing the steep slope, and Jaizen hurriedly followed her, leading the horse.