NOVEL WEB Chapter 92
92. Forced Through
In the center of Carbal City stands the lord’s castle.
A dark figure charges toward its solid gates.
Its entire body is covered in a metallic, blue-black shell, reminiscent of a knight’s armor.
A tail extends from its waist, and a wolf-like mask covers its entire face.
A [Code Beast].
Jack, transformed and covered in enhanced, mutated skin, has become a bizarre figure.
“Ugh, let me go already! Are you planning to use me as a hostage, you coward?!”
“Be quiet for a bit. You might bite your tongue.”
Ignoring Miranda’s angry shouts, Jack retorts.
Still carrying her on his right shoulder, the beast knight runs straight ahead.
“This is the land ruled by Levin-sama!”
“Stop right there!”
A dozen knights block their path.
All were clad in full armor, each wielding a longsword.
On their foreheads gleams a faint emblem, likely a sign of their allegiance to Levin.
Jack doesn’t give them a second glance.
“──Move.”
His casually swung left arm generates a gust of wind and a shockwave, blowing the knights away.
“Sorry, but I can’t afford to hold back. I need to meet Levin and end all of this──force through.”
Jack continues forward.
This time, mages appear and begin casting attack spells.
Swirling flames, golden projectiles, water spears, and massive boulders──all come crashing down.
The barrage of spells is strong enough to obliterate a small mansion.
“Useless.”
His enhanced, armor-like skin easily deflects them all.
“You too──move.”
He accelerates, sweeping the mages away with a shockwave, just like the knights before them──.
Suddenly, the ground beneath him vanishes.
“What the──!?”
“Got you, intruder!”
One of the enemies shouts in triumph.
It was a pitfall.
The hole is probably several dozen meters deep.
For an ordinary person, falling to their death would be inevitable.
And with his enhanced vision, Jack notices the sharp spears lined up at the bottom.
A classic but deadly trap.
That said…
“This trap alone wouldn’t kill me, even if I fell to the ground…”
Jack frowns slightly.
“But Miranda would be in danger.”
“Are you actually worried about your enemy? How kind of you.”
“I just don’t like seeing others get hurt, no matter who they are.
Besides, wasting time with traps like this is pointless.
I need to meet Levin as soon as possible──I won’t be satisfied until I stop him from messing with me or those around me.”
Speaking to Miranda on his shoulder, Jack begins to think.
Of a way to break through.
Though his physical abilities far surpass those of a human, he still can’t fly.
“──Extend.”
The black beast knight thrusts out his left hand.
He enhances the speed of his extending fingernails, hardening them at the same time.
The claws stretch out several meters, stabbing into the wall, halting Jack’s fall.
But,
“It’s over, intruder!”
Suddenly, flames engulf him.
It appears the pitfall was paired with an ignition device to burn him alive.
“Click…”
Jack clicks his tongue softly.
The enemy clearly doesn’t care about Miranda’s safety.
And even though Jack’s reinforced skin likely won’t burn from mere flames,
inhaling the smoke could still damage his lungs.
He could enhance his lungs to escape──.
“One after another…”
With a sigh, Jack kicks the wall, propelling himself off to the opposite wall──and then again to the other side, repeatedly.
He rapidly ascends using the momentum.
Escaping the ring of flames, the beast knight lands on the ground.
“What…what is this guy…!?”
“Does he plan to break through everything with just his physical abilities…!?”
“I told you to move.”
He sweeps away the remaining trembling enemies with a shockwave.
After that, just as the enemies said──
Jack breaks through every trap using only his enhanced physical abilities.
“In such a short time…?”
“If the traps don’t work, we’ll have to stop him by force…”
In front of the castle stand rows of knights and mages.
They exude a clearly different aura from the previous group.
These must be the elite guards of this place.
“If you retreat, you won’t get unnecessary injuries.”
Jack warns, but they don’t retreat, of course.
The battle is inevitable.
However, Jack feels neither anxiety nor fear.
He can tell his power is growing stronger at the moment.
Just like when he first met Levin, Jack’s enhancement skill has become even more potent since his encounter with Hart in the battle against the Demon General the other day.
“If possible, I’d rather use this power for work, not fighting…
I’ve carried loads tens to hundreds of times heavier than an ordinary person, but now I might be able to carry thousands of times more.
If so, Heimmat Transport could thrive even more.
I’m excited about that.
To grasp that future, I first have to negotiate with Levin.
I have no interest in building a kingdom or expanding territories.
I just won’t tolerate anyone threatening my peace.
If anyone dares to extend their rule over the good people around me or someone important to me, I’ll stand against them──.”
“Thinking in the middle of a battle?!”
“Don’t underestimate me!”
Five knights strike with successive slashes.
Jack continues forward, undeterred.
The swords that struck his black, armor-like skin are deflected without leaving a single scratch.
“Then how about this──”
This time, the mages cast attack spells.
Seven magical projectiles rush toward Jack, seemingly intent on burning him and Miranda together.
But he remains unfazed.
With a single sweep of his arm, he generates a gust of wind, blowing the magic projectiles away.
As the blasts from the deflected projectiles explode around him, the black beast knight strides forward calmly.
“You can’t stop me. You can’t even hurt me. Now, stand aside.”
“Damn it…”
“If you still insist on blocking my way──though I don’t want to, I’ll have to force my way through. You’ll have to be prepared for injuries.”
The quiet yet intensely intimidating red gaze from Jack makes the knights and mages hesitate.
And──Jack reaches the deepest part of the castle.
“Levin Hector…!”
Ahead of him sits a young boy on a throne-like luxurious chair.
With glossy black hair and a handsome face, his cool eyes gleam with a strong will.
He truly exudes the aura of a king.