Future Knight

Chapter 105

“Keremion! Keremion! Please wake up!”

Someone shook Keremion roughly, and he snapped out of his daze.

“Keremion! There’s no way we can win this!”

‘Hmm? Keremion?’

Kang Chan, who was slaughtering Dark Elves, turned his gaze toward the familiar name. Then, in his sight, he saw a Dark Elf holding a saber instead of a dagger, unlike the others.

‘Hmm? A Dark Elf using a saber?’

Curious, Kang Chan bisected the Dark Elf in front of him and charged toward the Dark Elf holding the saber. Keremion, now the target, gritted his teeth and summoned all his mana into his aura sword.

“Damn it! Fine, let’s see what you’ve got!”

Though he hadn’t become a Sword Master yet, he was still a top-tier Sword Expert, so he decided to give it his all.

A clash of strength ensued. But the result was devastating.

Boom!

“Ugh!”

Keremion suffered severe internal injuries from Kang Chan’s powerful strike and was miserably thrown backward.

As Keremion was pushed back, the nearby Arc Shadows attacked Kang Chan simultaneously. However, they too quickly became cold corpses on the ground, cut down by Kang Chan’s aura blade.

They were mid-tier Sword Experts, yet they couldn’t withstand even ten of Kang Chan’s attacks and fell pathetically.

After that, no Dark Elf dared to challenge Kang Chan. So, he approached the fallen Keremion with ease and asked,

“Is your name Keremion?”

Keremion nodded.

“Why do you use a saber?”

“Why? Is it funny that I use a saber?”

“More than funny…”

Kang Chan stopped talking and stared intently at Keremion’s face.

Then he suddenly stepped back in surprise.

“No way, you’re!”

He recognized that it was indeed Keremion. Although his skin had turned black, his handsome features and combative eyes were unchanged.

“It’s been a while…”

“How did you end up like this?”

“Do you really not know? You’re the one who did this to me.”

At Keremion’s sudden accusation, Kang Chan tilted his head in confusion.

“What do you mean I did this to you?”

“After losing to you, I cursed and blamed myself, ending up like this. How do you feel? Satisfied?”

“Why would I be satisfied? Whether you became a Dark Elf or a Green Elf, you’re still Keremion, aren’t you?”

Keremion burst into laughter at Kang Chan’s words.

“Hahaha! Hahaha….”

“Why are you laughing?”

“Did you say that for me to hear?”

“Yeah, so what?”

“What do you know? You’re just a human…”

“I lived in an Elf village, so I know a thing or two. I know why Elves become Dark Elves and why Dark Elves are ostracized.”

“Really? Then you must understand. How it felt to wake up with blackened skin, having to leave my beloved family, friends, and home to live in the pitch-black underground.”

Keremion believed his life was ruined because of Kang Chan. The depth of his resentment had grown beyond measure.

“I understand you had to leave, but why blame me? You hated humans even before I arrived.”

“The problem began when you, a human, entered our forest! If you hadn’t come, I wouldn’t have ended up like this!”

“Your stubborn nature hasn’t changed a bit.”

As Kang Chan spoke, he dodged a dagger from a Dark Elf attempting to ambush him from behind, severed the Dark Elf’s hands, and beheaded him.

It was a smooth, unhesitant movement.

Watching him, Keremion remarked,

“You’re still adept at killing people.”

“I may be used to killing, but I don’t recall ever killing anyone in front of you.”

“Do you remember the day of our first duel?”

“I remember.”

“That’s when I knew. I knew you had killed countless people.”

“Based on what?”

“When you attacked me, you only aimed for my vital spots without hesitation. That’s when I knew you had extensive experience in killing. Was I wrong?”

Kang Chan agreed with Keremion.

Everything he said was true.

“Yeah, you’re right. I’ve killed many people even before I met you.”

“Then it must be my turn to die now. Go ahead, stab me.”

Keremion bared his chest and thrust it toward Kang Chan, who turned away, dismissing him.

“I don’t want to kill you. Just go back.”

Hearing that Kang Chan didn’t want to kill him infuriated Keremion.

“Why? Why don’t you want to kill me? Are you pitying me right now?”

“Pity? Sure, call it that. Now disappear from my sight.”

Keremion’s eyes blazed with rage.

“Rather than accept your pity, I’d rather die here. Yaaah!”

Keremion stabbed his saber into Kang Chan’s back.

But Kang Chan easily deflected the reckless stab and kicked Keremion in the abdomen.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

Keremion was thrown back several meters, collapsing onto the ground, and Kang Chan coldly said as he turned away again,

“Go back while I’m sparing your life.”

“……”

Keremion couldn’t respond to Kang Chan’s words.

“Captain, we’ve dealt with all the Dark Elves, but some managed to escape.”

“Good work.”

“Sir, that Dark Elf over there doesn’t seem dead yet. Should I finish him off?”

“No, let him be.”

“Let him be?”

Hollice asked in disbelief at the order to spare an enemy, and Kang Chan commanded again,

“Yes, let him go.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Gather the crew. We’re heading back immediately.”

“Understood!”

Kang Chan led his team out of the enemy camp without looking back.

Left alone, Keremion lay on the ground, unable to move.

It felt like a nightmare.

How wonderful it would be if this were just a nightmare?

“Aaaaah!”

Left alone, Keremion wept over the cold corpses of his annihilated subordinates.

But his tears weren’t for their deaths.

They stemmed from hatred and anger toward one man.

That man was Kang Chan.

“How, how did you! How did you!”

Keremion couldn’t comprehend how Kang Chan had become a Sword Master before him.

Just three years ago, Kang Chan couldn’t even wield mana.

Yet, he had surpassed Keremion, who had trained for a hundred years, to become a Sword Master.

Keremion cursed the gods.

And he resented them deeply.

He no longer wished to live.

Not only had he tasted the bitterness of defeat twice by Kang Chan, but he had also received his pity.

A life spared by an enemy’s pity.

It felt more insignificant than the life of a fly.

Keremion would rather die.

He thought that slashing his wrist with his broken saber would make him feel better.

But he couldn’t die like this.

He absolutely couldn’t die like this.

He had to get revenge on Kang Chan no matter what. And he had to exact vengeance on his former master, Elradian, who had betrayed him and joined forces with the humans.

Those two were unforgivable.

Perhaps his determination reached someone.

An enormous explosion shook the ground, and a massive fire soared into the night sky.

Boom!

It was the same explosion that had destroyed the food warehouses yesterday.

Keremion instinctively knew that the Green Elves’ smithy had been destroyed. The explosion came from the opposite direction of where they had been pursuing their target.

Yet he felt nothing about the destruction of the smithy he was supposed to protect.

Only the brilliant, massive flame moved his heart.

Because that flame burned as fiercely as his desire for revenge.

When the crew on the wyverns detonated the armor-piercing rounds from the air, the enemy’s vast smithy was engulfed in flames and blazed fiercely.

The mission was a great success.

On top of that, they had taken care of 30 Dark Elf pursuers, making it an incredibly successful operation.

However, the crew couldn’t celebrate.

Despite the immense success, their captain, Kang Chan, was in a very foul mood.

While the crew discreetly watched Kang Chan, he was thinking about the Keremion he had encountered in the recent battle.

The Keremion who had become a Dark Elf.

Though he was a frustrating guy, full of resentment and tightly wound, the bond formed from clashing swords countless times couldn’t be ignored.

Seeing him as a Dark Elf had been somewhat shocking for Kang Chan.

‘Is this how Elradian felt when Nemitz became a Dark Elf?’

Kang Chan bowed his head and sighed at the absurdity of his own thoughts.

“Sigh…”

Elradian and Nemitz had been close friends for centuries, while he and Keremion were enemies, making the comparison laughable.

But it was true that seeing Keremion’s changed appearance made his heart ache a bit.

Feeling down, Kang Chan unconsciously sought out Zikyon.

However, Zikyon wasn’t in his tent.

‘Where did he go?’

Kang Chan went to Loki’s tent to find out Zikyon’s whereabouts.

“Loki, are you in there?”

“Yes, come in.”

Entering the tent, he saw Loki, who looked very tired, sitting on his bed practicing mana cultivation.

“Am I interrupting?”

“No, I couldn’t sleep, so I was practicing mana cultivation. What brings you here?”

“Do you know where Zikyon went?”

“You’re looking for Zikyon? I haven’t seen him all day.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Loki, seeing Kang Chan’s gloomy expression, asked with concern.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. I’m just a bit tired.”

“Really? Then why are you looking for Zikyon in the middle of the night?”

“It’s nothing. Just couldn’t find him. Rest well, we need to be ready to fight tomorrow.”

“Yeah, you should rest too. You look tired.”

“Got it. See you.”

“Yeah.”

Kang Chan left Loki’s tent and returned to his own. He also began to practice mana cultivation. It was the best remedy at times like this.

“Sigh…”

Slowly drawing in the surrounding mana, Kang Chan guided it through his mana lines. Just then, he overheard the idle chatter of the soldiers on guard duty.

“Hey, did you see the priestess?”

“Huh? What priestess?”

“You haven’t heard about the priestess?”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“Man, how can you not know when everyone else does?”

“So it’s true?”

“Dude, she’s in the field hospital right now, treating all the soldiers who got injured today.”