Future Knight

Chapter 141

The Duke of Sachsen’s courtship to obtain Agni was truly a drama that couldn’t be watched without tears.

“Come on! Forget those old memories and charge towards the enemies in front of you!”

『Stop changing the subject.』

“Let’s go!”

『Hey, listen to me!』

Ignoring Agni’s words, the Duke of Sachsen charged towards the swarm of enemies, leading with his Aura Blade.

Then, the Arc Shadows lurking there surrounded Agni in a group.

But as if waiting for this moment, an immense flame erupted from Agni’s body and engulfed them.

*Fwoosh!*

Through the small window meant to secure the Gigantes owner’s view, searing heat and intense light poured in, causing the Dark Elves inside the Gigantes to scream.

『Kyaaa!』

『Aaaargh!』

While the enemies, engulfed in flames, faltered, the Duke of Sachsen, true to his Sword Master title, swiftly destroyed five Arc Shadows and leapt towards his next prey.

He truly wielded the skill befitting the master of an Ancient Giant.

『Filthy Dark Elves! I won’t leave a single one of you alive!』

As the battle for the Gigantes neared its end with a decisive victory for the Continental Allied Forces, the ground trembled as the Troll Elves charged forward.

Their numbers were a staggering 200,000, easily double what they had been during the previous continental war.

Their charge was nothing short of terrifying.

Moreover, they were heavily armed with much sturdier armor and weapons than before.

The Green Elves, who had come to dominate the continent, had collected every scrap of metal from all the kingdoms to forge these weapons and armor.

But that wasn’t all.

From one side, hundreds of steel carts began a barrage of fire at the Allied Forces’ Gigantes.

Although they couldn’t penetrate the Gigantes’ shields unless they used Aura Swords, the impact was strong enough to significantly jolt the riders.

As the Gigantes of the Allied Forces hesitated while shielding themselves from the barrage,

the Arc Shadows, who had momentarily retreated, regrouped with the Troll Elves and attempted another attack.

However, their numbers were less than 300.

In a short time, the Allied Forces had lost nearly 500 Gigantes.

The Allied Forces, in contrast, had lost fewer than 50.

But the sheer number of Troll Elves was enough to alarm the Allied Forces’ Gigantes.

『Commander, the enemies are surrounding us with overwhelming numbers!』

『If we get surrounded, we’re in danger!』

As the Allied Forces’ knights, who had been overwhelmingly pushing back the enemies, panicked and disrupted their formation, the Duke of Sachsen infused his voice with mana and shouted loudly.

『Do not break formation! If we don’t stop them, who will? If we flee, the ground forces will be trampled by their axes. Everyone, fight to the end!』

When the Duke of Sachsen charged towards the enemies from the front, the knights, momentarily frightened, steeled themselves for death and charged towards the enemies as well.

『Long live the Visman Empire!』

『Long live the Continental Allied Forces!』

It was a reckless charge by any measure, but they maintained their formation, defending their positions, cutting down enemies one after another.

Their demonic appearance caused the once-courageous Troll Elves to falter and break ranks in fear.

However, mere courage couldn’t bridge the vast gap in numbers.

Before long, the Allied Forces’ Gigantes began to fall one by one under the assault of the Troll Elves and Arc Shadows.

At that very moment, a massive shadow emerged from the forest and engulfed the steel carts.

“Kyaooooooo!”

With a beast-like roar, the giant swung its massive two-handed sword, causing the steel carts to explode and shatter without any resistance.

“Enemy ambush!”

The Green Elves unleashed a hail of bullets at the suddenly attacking enemy. But the bullets merely bounced off the giant’s heavy armor.

“It’s a, a monster!”

“Krurrrk!! Kraaang!!”

The enemy was clearly not a Gigantes.

Yet, it was as massive as one.

There were only two monsters in the world of such immense size: Ogres and Minotaurs.

But the Green Elves knew well that this was not a Minotaur.

The monster before them was an Ogre, a creature they knew all too well as the feared Ogre Loki, notorious for his bloodthirsty massacres during the Continental War.

Loki was an Ogre with immense strength and swordsmanship, capable of fighting Gigantes with his bare hands.

But unlike before, Loki was now clad in gleaming metal armor.

It was armor crafted to resemble a demon from hell.

Two large horns like those of a demon protruded from his head, and enormous spikes adorned his shoulders and knees.

It was a fearsome sight that could make anyone tremble.

This special armor was a gift from Cracksion to Loki.

But it was more accurate to call it a Gigantes than mere armor.

It was a wearable Gigantes, tailored solely for Loki.

The armor, equipped with a Maglight Furnace, amplified Loki’s strength, allowing him to launch even stronger attacks, and significantly enhanced his defense, protecting his body—his greatest weakness.

Ultimately, the armor gifted by Cracksion birthed a terrifying monster.

A monster that craved the blood of the enemy.

“Kraaaah!”

As Loki destroyed the Green Elves’ steel carts, another giant, slightly smaller but still enormous, followed behind him.

It was Britina.

Like the other knights, she was clad in gleaming full plate mail, a custom-made, oversized Aegis Armor specifically for her.

Her armor, made from over five times the material of standard armor, was historically massive.

Yet, in front of Loki’s Gigantes armor, it appeared small and almost cute.

Though her swordsmanship lacked the destructive power to obliterate steel carts in one strike like Loki, she possessed tremendous strength, capable of sending dozens of Green Elves to the afterlife with a single swing.

Having received personal training from Sword Master Kang Chan and the Duke of Sachsen, she had become an advanced Sword Expert within just three years.

As the formidable couple destroyed the steel carts effortlessly, the Allied Forces, who had hesitated under the barrage, began to advance again.

Towards victory.

* * *

While the ground battle raged fiercely, the two warships had now passed the stratosphere.

The combat between these two warships was even more intense than it had been within the atmosphere.

Designed to operate in space, the warships began to demonstrate their true capabilities once they passed the stratosphere.

However, it was the Zvezda ship that showcased overwhelming performance.

It was twice as large and more heavily armed than the Red Mars ship.

*Boom!*

“Ugh!”

-Energy shield output at 35%, left particle cannon lost, upper armor severely damaged, this is dangerous.

“Just a bit longer! Hold on, Red Mars ship!”

Arteon, who had boarded the Red Mars ship to control the newly equipped magic weapons, was left speechless by the astonishing battle in this otherworld.

The battle was on a different level from any ground battle she had ever seen.

Moreover, setting foot in space for the first time and seeing the unfamiliar scenery left her even more speechless.

She had become the first elf from Neo Earth to venture into space.

-Enemy warship deploying unmanned combat aircraft and Zaid units.

“Damn it! Deploy our unmanned combat aircraft too! I’m going out.”

As Kang Chan sprang up, Arteon looked at him with worried eyes.

Despite his incredible abilities, the number of enemy unmanned combat aircraft far exceeded that of the Red Mars ship’s.

Moreover, while they only had one Zaid unit, the enemy had nine.

It seemed like a hopeless battle.

But they couldn’t just sit and wait for defeat, so Kang Chan risked his life and boarded the Red Rabbit.

Silpiris was also aboard, but she soon had to vacate her seat.

“Get off.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m going with Kang Chan.”

“But…”

“Stay here and help Arteon protect the ship. And if things get really dire, use that.”

“Zikyon…”

Reluctantly, Silpiris vacated her seat at her lord’s command, and Zikyon took her place. Kang Chan watched this silently.

At this moment, he needed Zikyon’s help more than Silpiris’s.

The strength of the Ancient-grade Zikyon was clearly more beneficial than that of the young Silpiris, who had not yet reached Wyrm level.

“In the vacuum of space, this is the only way to assist you, right?”

“Are you sure? I tend to drive a bit rough.”

“If I could ride with Aga, why wouldn’t I be able to ride with you? Just drive properly.”

“Then buckle up tight! Here we go!”

The shoulder guard closed, and Kang Chan connected to the computer and the Maglight Furnace. The Red Rabbit, equipped with flight capabilities, launched into space through the launch tube.

The scene before them was chaotic, with the Red Mars ship’s hull severely damaged and unmanned combat aircraft engaged in fierce battles.

The enemy’s unmanned combat aircraft, twice as numerous, began to destroy the Red Mars ship’s aircraft one by one, causing successive explosions on the Red Mars ship’s hull.

“Damn it, the energy shield is almost gone. Zikyon, I’m counting on you.”

“Got it, switching to magic shield! Rekracion, deploy the magic shield.”

『Understood.』

At Zikyon’s command, the fourteen Dragons aboard the Red Mars ship combined their powers to deploy a massive magic shield.

The enormous magic shield protected the hull, which was over 300 meters long.

The magic shield was much sturdier than the Red Mars ship’s energy barrier. However, one drawback was that while the magic shield was deployed, they couldn’t launch any attacks on the enemy.

This meant that only Kang Chan and the thirty or so unmanned combat aircraft had to face the enemies outside.

Despite the desperate situation, Kang Chan was undeterred.

“Alright, let’s really play now.”

“Yeah, let’s have some fun!”

Zikyon, now fully integrated with the Red Rabbit, began to cast spells.

“Reverse Gravity!”

As the speed of the dozens of unmanned combat aircraft charging at the Red Rabbit significantly decreased, Kang Chan seized the opportunity to wield his massive Aura Blade and destroy the enemy aircraft.

Though Kang Chan didn’t show it outwardly, he was quite astonished.

It was clear that an Ancient-grade Dragon was fundamentally different.

‘It’s definitely on a different level from Silpiris.’

But that wasn’t the only thing that surprised Kang Chan.

The casting speed of spatial movement was ten times faster than Silpiris’s, and the distance covered was five times greater.

This meant only one thing.

There was no longer any being that could catch Kang Chan.

‘This is going to be fun.’

As Kang Chan began to sweep through the battlefield, destroying enemy unmanned combat aircraft, the Zvezda crew watching him were taken aback.

『What the hell! His teleportation and spatial movement speeds are on a whole different level!』

『Damn it! We can’t get him in our sights!』

The Red Rabbit’s agility, darting from place to place in the blink of an eye, was outstanding. Kang Chan navigated the enemy lines, destroying unmanned combat aircraft as if mocking them.

The Red Rabbit moved through space like a nimble rabbit.

*Crackle… Boom!*

*Boom!*

One by one, the enemy unmanned combat aircraft were destroyed without rest.

In an instant, Kang Chan had taken down more than twenty enemy aircraft.

Seeing Kang Chan’s prowess, the Zvezda crew felt as if their guts were burning.

The destroyed unmanned combat aircraft were incredibly valuable weapons that couldn’t be easily replaced.

Hong Hak-mae shouted desperately.

『We can’t afford to lose any more aircraft! Stop him!』

As the nine Zaid units unleashed a concentrated barrage at Kang Chan, he quickly dodged and fled.

This hit-and-run tactic went on for tens of minutes.

In terms of performance, Kang Chan seemed somewhat superior.

However, all the unmanned combat aircraft launched from the Red Mars ship had been reduced to space debris, while the enemy still had forty unmanned combat aircraft and nine Zaids intact.

The Red Rabbit was now completely isolated.

With all the enemies focusing on Kang Chan, pressing in from all sides, he found himself unable to move as freely as before.

Busy dodging the concentrated barrage, Kang Chan looked around and spoke.