Chapter 113: The Road to Erundel

‘Aooooooooh!’

Pabababababak.

Muno screamed internally as he stared at the rear ends of the two horses galloping ahead of him.

He’d been running nonstop from dawn until now when the sun was setting, and my heart felt like it was going to burst.

But his pride wouldn’t let him ask them to stop.

So, he began to focus on himself instead.

‘Thinking of my body as a blade…….’

Using the principle of Wind Slicer, I tried to pour all my concentration into cutting the air before me to minimize resistance.

Pabak.

‘Ughh…….’

But what was difficult was still difficult.

My concentration broke quickly, and my thoughts naturally drifted elsewhere.

‘Come to think of it, could Father or Lian do this?’

This armor was like another weapon, so it was easy for me to imagine wielding my armored body like a blade.

That’s why I was able to apply Wind Slicer as Wind Sprint as soon as the idea came to me, but on second thought, it didn’t seem like something just anyone could do.

‘Besides, the Corporeal Arts of Gluttony consumes internal calories. It would be impossible for them to run long distances like me…….’

– Space Slicer with the body……? Hah, right. That could be a branch of the lost secret arts.

A perfect evasion technique, or a charging technique. Hmm……. Thank you, my son.

‘Well, even if he doesn’t know Wind Sprint, ‘Space Breakthrough’ is for combat. It’s a good thing I passed on at least one.’

I thought so, but.

Space Breakthrough, an application of Space Slicer, was still difficult for even me, the founder(?), to use properly.

To be precise, the energy consumption at the moment of use was too high.

At this rate, using it in anything but a truly urgent situation was a waste.

Huuuuuk.

‘Rather, should I take this opportunity to refine both techniques at the same time…….’

He forcibly ignored the physical fatigue that had already begun to accumulate and started to gather his concentration again.

Trusting in his body that had evolved three times since swallowing the demon.

He pushed himself.

“Huuuup.”

Thump.

‘Wind Sprint,叠加.’

Some of his calories were consumed along with his mana, and his body accelerated once more.

Fwoooosh.

At that moment, the distance between him and the horses ahead began to narrow again.

Then, he saw Anthony glance back.

‘I’ll surprise you even more.’

Seeing his slightly widened eyes, Muno gritted his teeth once more.

Imagining the sensation of cutting through the space between himself and the horses with his body, he began to wring out the energy in his body in an extreme pattern.

It was a distance that felt a bit much, but.

‘I can do it!’

Sgaaak.

His body seemed to vanish for a moment, then in an instant, he closed a distance of about 100 meters and appeared behind the horses’ tails.

Kwakwakwakwakwa.

Heeeeigh.

Pfrrrr.

The horses, which had been running well, were suddenly scattered left and right by a gust of wind from behind.

The very person who had caused such a situation was panting with a pale face.

“Haaaak.”

I wanted to tell them to stop, but I was so out of breath that the words wouldn’t come out.

Fortunately, the two knights, who were looking back with surprised expressions, had clearly recognized his state.

“We’ll rest here for today.”

Heeeeeigh!

Anthony immediately brought his horse to a halt.

“Hoo-uk, hoo-uk. Thank…….”

Maybe I shouldn’t have used Space Breakthrough at the end.

Even if the Red Heart quickly restored his mana, the stamina he had spent running for half a day couldn’t keep up.

He still couldn’t speak properly due to the sweat pouring down like rain and his ragged breath.

Still.

‘The distance increased dramatically, and the energy consumption efficiency also improved.’

A slight smile appeared on his face without him realizing it, as he felt he had improved a little.

Fortunately, the two Red Iron Knights patted him encouragingly with pleased expressions.

“Just even out your breathing. We’re already quite far from the capital.”

“That’s right. Keeping up with the speed of a fine horse for half a day on two legs is incredible in itself. In our Red Iron Knightly Order, only the vice-commander here would have this much stamina.”

At those words, Anthony let out a dry laugh.

“Sir Rantor, you can do it too, can’t you.”

“Come on. Maybe 10 years ago, but not a chance now. It’s certainly good to be young.”

Rantor, who dismissed the superhuman stamina of running after a fine horse for half a day as mere youthfulness.

But since a 6-Star knight, said to be rare even in the knight kingdom of Iron, was saying it, it somehow seemed convincing.

Of course, to the person in question, it sounded like nothing but teasing.

“Hoo-eup. I’ll just, just rest a little and get some firewood. Ju, just a moment……”

Seeing the setting sun, he couldn’t bring himself to sit down, so he stood and caught his breath.

Anthony approached with a chuckle and patted his shoulder.

“You rest. Do we look like such harsh people? We wouldn’t make even the youngest member work in this state.”

“Just as the vice-commander said. Rest. We’ll get the firewood.”

……The leaders of Iron’s top knightly order were surprisingly easygoing people.

Still.

‘The youngest member can’t just play around.’

He was, after all, an incorrigible Korean man.

Sniff. Sniff.

‘……There it is.’

His sense of smell, which had long since surpassed the realm of humans, was telling him that his favorite meat(?) was not far away.

Under the darkened sky, in a clearing in the forest next to the main road.

A giant whole roasted wild boar turning over a crackling bonfire.

“Heeyah……”

Rantor, who was staring at it blankly, let out an exclamation without realizing it and then smiled sheepishly.

“To catch a wild boar near the main road, have you received the blessing of ‘Reu’ or something?”

At Rantor’s mention of the ‘God of Life and Animals,’ Anthony also let out a chuckle.

“Martial prowess and hunting skills are two different things. Amazing, Sir Muno. Where did you find such a wild boar in an instant……”

“That’s what I’m saying. With hunting skills like these, there would be no need to carry combat rations. That Spirit Arts of controlling metal is also surprising.”

“It’s still too early to be surprised. Heave-ho.”

Sga-gak.

Muno, excited by the banter of the two Red Iron Knights, transformed the ‘Blade’ that was skewering and rotating the wild boar, instantly cutting the meat into three pieces.

“Oh……!”

Thud.

He split the boar’s upper body in two, delivering them in front of Anthony and Rantor, and brought the remaining lower half in front of himself.

There was no particular sauce, but hunger is the best sauce.

‘Heo-euh-ya……. Looks delicious.’

Muno, clutching his rumbling stomach, was about to tear into a hind leg when he became conscious of his companions’ blank stares and couldn’t help but clear his throat.

Well, bringing half of it in front of me was a bit much.

“Ahem ahem. I used up a lot of stamina. But pig forelegs are tastier, so would you mind understanding?”

I tried to make an excuse with some semblance of politeness, but Rantor let out a “puhuhu” and laughed as if in disbelief.

“……My friend. What’s in front of us is enough for a normal person to eat for a whole day and still have leftovers.”

Ah.

“Sir Rantor, you know the gist of Sir Ryan Drasen’s Corporeal Arts of Gluttony, don’t you.”

“Ah……. The Knight of Gluttony. Yes, of course I’ve heard of him. Right, then this would be natural. I’m sorry. It’s a rather unfamiliar sight for me.”

Nevertheless, Rantor’s gaze, filled with curiosity, did not leave Muno.

‘Jeez, making a person feel awkward. I did the hunting, the gutting, the de-hairing, and even the roasting…….’

In any case, filling his hungry stomach was the priority, so Muno opened his mouth and bit into the wild boar’s hind leg.

Crunch.

“Mmm…….”

Delicious, as expected.

The moment hunger met his favorite meat, other people’s gazes no longer mattered.

Crunch. Crunch.

Chomp chomp.

But even that sight seemed fascinating to Rantor.

“My, you seem to have done this a lot. For a friend who grew up in a noble house, that is.”

Those words made Muno, who was in the middle of a good meal, flinch.

‘Ugh.’

If I had to give it a name, it was the ‘street life complex’.

Putting his past life aside, in this life, he had even gained the ability to camp out comfortably, which made him have the skeptical thought that perhaps he was destined to be a dirt spoon from the start.

Rantor’s words had triggered that victim mentality.

“……It just kind of happened. Hah……”

“Sir Rantor, you’ll make Sir Muno choke.”

“Ah ah. I apologize, Sir Muno. As I get older, for some reason, I keep getting interested whenever I see a talented friend……”

“You’re not even fifty yet, why do you talk like a grandfather? Even Duke Kyle doesn’t do that.”

At Anthony’s following reply, even Muno, who was in the middle of filling his stomach, couldn’t help but perk up his ears.

“If it’s Duke Kyle, could it be……?”

“Yes, I’m talking about Duke Kyle Dragon. He’s our commander. Though it’s safe to say it’s almost an honorary position.”

The Dragon Sword Duke.

The wielder of the Dragonic Sword, a mythical-grade named artifact renowned not just in the Iron Kingdom but throughout the northern part of the continent, a Wyvern Knight, and also known as the strongest Seven-Star in the North.

Any knight in the Iron Kingdom would know his name.

“What kind of person is he?”

Such a question naturally came out of Muno’s mouth.

At that.

“Hmm……. How should I put it, he’s not someone who can be defined in a single word. If I had to find the most suitable expression……”

“He’s a scary person.”

Rantor, who added a word to the vice-commander’s statement, suddenly shivered as if he had a chill, and seeing Anthony also nod with a bitter smile, it seemed he agreed with that expression.

“He’s an ally, but you say he’s scary?”

“Yes. He rarely leaves his territory near the capital, but every time he makes a move, he pa……. ahem, ahem. He breaks quite a few things, so His Majesty the King doesn’t call upon him for just any matter.”

“So the rumor about him being the…… King of Destruction was true?”

Muno had heard that story before, but he had naturally thought it was nonsense spread by someone envious of a great man.

“……It went all the way down to King? Still, he’s been quiet for a while, so that’s a relief.”

Anthony’s reply left me dumbfounded once again.

“Down to King……. what?”

At that question, Anthony and Rantor looked at each other and chuckled.

“In his active days, he was even called the God of Destruction. He says it’s because he can’t perfectly control the power of the Dragonic Sword, but……”

Rantor reacted vehemently to Anthony’s words.

“Absolutely not! Absolutely! If that’s true, I’ll change my family name, Vice-Commander.”

It seemed as if he had a lot of something pent up.

“……Well, this is the prevailing opinion.”

At Anthony’s added words with a shrug, Muno made a decision internally.

If people who had seen him in person said such things…….

‘I should avoid meeting that man as much as possible.’

From a great man he wanted to meet someday, to a person he must avoid.

As he revised his thoughts on the Dragon Sword Duke Kyle Dragon and tried to focus on his meal again.

‘Ah, right.’

There was still something he couldn’t help but be curious about.

“But are your skills, you two, at a level where you have to be so careful?”

When Muno asked, a self-deprecating smile appeared on both of their faces.

“6-Star and 7-Star. Between them, there is a difference that cannot be simply explained by a single evolution. Furthermore, he is known to be at the highest level among the Seven-Stars, so if he were to get serious, I wonder if the vice-commander here could last a few exchanges. I would be no match for him.”

Muno’s eyes widened at Rantor’s self-deprecating assessment.

Anthony added something even more astounding.

“A few exchanges? Well, that might be true if he were bare-handed, without the Dragonic Sword.”

“I…… see.”

For Anthony, called the Blood Knight, the Knight of Blood, to say such a thing.

“So you must be especially careful.”

“Yes?”

“He is also very interested in rising stars who are considered future Seven-Stars, you see? He wouldn’t go out of his way to find you, but if you happen to meet him someday, you’ll have a hard time too. The vice-commander did too. Isn’t that right?”

“Mmm…….”

At those words, Anthony was seen reflexively gritting his teeth.

It felt as if a rather unpleasant memory had been brought up.

Seeing that, Muno made up his mind.

“Yep. I will do my best to avoid him.”

“Hoo? Do you not have any curiosity or competitive spirit?”

“Well, natural disasters are meant to be avoided. Why would you confront one?”

Unless I become confident I can win.

“……That’s true.”

A dry laugh spread across the faces of the party who couldn’t hear the omitted words.

Anthony suddenly asked as if he had just remembered.

“Ah, by the way, didn’t you say you had something to tell us before we departed?”

“Yes? Ah……!”

The problem I had forgotten while running myself to exhaustion finally came to mind.

“Ah. That is, I have a party that I sent to Erundel ahead of me.”

“What?!”

“Th-they are friends I can trust completely. Because……”

As Muno’s words continued.

The expressions on the two men’s faces changed colorfully.

And exactly 5 days after that.

The party found themselves right in front of Erundel, the largest city in the southern part of the Iron Kingdom.

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