Future Knight

Chapter 127

‘No! What is that? The mana emanating from it is comparable to a wyvern-grade dragon!’

Although she was well aware that the humans from space possessed scientific prowess that rivaled their own magic, experiencing such power up close was a new and startling revelation.

At the same time, worry surged within her.

If even such a crude and seemingly insignificant Gigantes exuded the aura of a wyvern-grade dragon, how powerful could the battleships lurking in space possibly be?

While Zikyon was amazed at Zaid, Kang Chan, inside the cockpit, found himself in an awkward situation.

“Huh? Why isn’t this moving?”

He had certainly connected his nerves to the Red Rabbit and tried to move its limbs as before, but the arms and legs refused to budge.

This was because the Red Rabbit’s limbs were those of the Gigantes, independent of its main body.

Thus, to move them, he had to use the Gigantes’ method rather than Zaid’s.

King Cracksion of the Dwarves shouted,

“Hey, you there! First, you need to make a pact with the Gigantes and the Golem!”

“Ah! That’s right! The legs and arms belong to the Gigantes.”

Kang Chan smeared blood on the crystal ball that wasn’t there before and sent mana to the Maglight Furnace. At the same time, he made a pact with the Golem.

Then, a deep green light began to emanate from the Maglight Furnace embedded in the chest of the Red Rabbit, and tremendous energy started to surge.

The energy was enough to astonish Arteon, who had created the Maglight Furnace.

This was because the Maglight Furnace was different from the one she had designed.

Normally, the Maglight Furnace emitted a red light, but this one was uniquely emitting a green light.

Even when another dwarf had done the test run, the Maglight Furnace had emitted a red light.

However, those gathered there did not realize that the Maglight Furnace, installed just above the nuclear fusion reactor, was absorbing the energy of the reactor.

It was a moment when the fact that the energy generated from the nuclear fusion reactor, operating on principles similar to the sun’s nuclear reactions, was closely related to mana was revealed.

However, Kang Chan himself was entirely unaware of this fact.

『Alright! It’s moving.』

As the Red Rabbit, enveloped in an unknown immense power, took its first step, a colossal vibration shook the War Factory.

Rumble!

Kang Chan’s enormous Red Rabbit slowly began to move out of the War Factory towards the Gigantes mobility testing ground.

In front of him, he could already see Elradion’s Elven Knight standing in the testing ground.

He was already holding a massive sabre, waiting for Kang Chan.

『How is it? Does it seem well repaired?』

『Yes, Master. The response is as good as before.』

『That’s good to hear. Now, shall we test its power?』

『I will do my best with my lacking skills.』

Kang Chan drew the dual blades strapped to his waist and began to close the distance with Elradion, circling him slowly.

『This is the first time I’m facing the Master while inside the Gigantes.』

As the duel between the Sword Masters, which could be called the highlight of today’s new weapon demonstration, unfolded, all the dwarves living in Mine Kingdom stopped what they were doing and gathered to watch the battle of the century.

A duel between Sword Masters was a rare big match.

The crowd that quickly gathered was so large that it filled the surroundings of the mobility testing ground.

And as expected, where there was such an exciting fight, there were always bets.

Dwarves with exceptional business acumen had already set up gambling stalls.

“The dream of instant wealth! Will it be Elradion, the elf’s sword, or the rising star of the continent! Sky Knight Kang Chan! Place your bets!”

“No way, how could a disciple beat the master? I’ll bet on Elradion!”

“Ah! Yes! Customer! 20 silvers received. Here, your ticket!”

Watching the dwarf placing money on Elradion, another dwarf clicked his tongue from behind.

“Tsk tsk tsk, that guy doesn’t know anything. I clearly saw with my own eyes when Elradion and the leader of the Dark Elves clashed during the continental war, and when Elradion faltered, his disciple Kang Chan stepped in and drove the Dark Elf leader away.”

“Is that true?”

“Of course! Have I ever lied? Just trust me and bet everything on that guy Kang Chan!”

“Then I’ll trust you and bet on Kang Chan!”

“Me too, I’ll bet on Kang Chan.”

“Ah! Yes! Here, tickets for both of you! Place your bets!”

Apart from the gamblers, there was another person reaping benefits, and that was the tavern owner, Chelsea.

“Hey! Misha! Go to the shop and bring all the beer we have!”

“Yes, sis!”

Chelsea, who had received information about today’s duel through Elradion in advance, had hastily prepared a temporary bar since last night, and the beer was selling like hotcakes.

Indeed, gambling and drinking couldn’t be missed in an exciting fight spectacle.

As all attention was focused on them, Kang Chan and Elradion began to gradually draw on their mana.

Then, dazzling aura blades emanated from their enormous swords, blazing as if they were on fire. The spectators couldn’t help but gasp in amazement.

Seeing a Sword Master wielding an aura blade was a rare opportunity, even in a lifetime.

Moreover, witnessing them exude aura blades while piloting gigantic Gigantes was not only mystical but also awe-inspiring.

However, to the dwarves, already inebriated, they were nothing more than racehorses.

“It’s started!”

“You brat! If you lose, I’ll kick your ass!”

『…….』

Kang Chan and Elradion felt like monkeys in a zoo, but they had no time to worry about anything else, given their formidable opponent.

As a suffocating tension settled between the facing Gigantes, the noisy dwarves held their breath and watched the two machines.

It was a tension so tight it felt like it could snap at any moment.

And when that tension finally broke.

The two colossal Gigantes clashed with incredible speed, belying their massive sizes.

Rumble!

When the aura blades collided in midair, the tremendous impact shook the underground cavern.

The shock was so powerful that the bodies of spectators, hundreds of meters away, tingled. Some of the weaker-hearted dwarves couldn’t withstand it and had nosebleeds.

Elradion and Kang Chan engaged in a contest of strength.

『Haaah!』

『Grrr!』

It was an evenly matched situation…

It was difficult to say who had the upper hand.

The ground began to tremble before the immense power of the two iron giants, whose strength was gradually escalating.

However, after a short while, Elradion’s Elven Knight began to be pushed back and soon flew back about ten meters.

『Ugh! That brute force is something else.』

The strength contest was a complete victory for Kang Chan.

As expected, the Red Rabbit, a head taller than the Elven Knight, won in terms of raw power.

However, Elradion’s forte was not strength.

His swordsmanship belonged to a style that valued extreme speed.

Elradion, having been pushed back, fiercely pressed Kang Chan to make up for his loss in the strength contest.

『Hiyah!』

Clang! Boom! Thud! Zing!

In the blink of an eye, dozens of attacks rained down on Kang Chan.

But since Kang Chan’s dual-blade style was also based on extreme speed, he easily withstood Elradion’s lightning-fast attacks.

Kang Chan, who calmly parried Elradion’s attacks, seized any openings to counterattack.

His sharp counters, exploiting the gaps, made even his master, Elradion, break into a cold sweat.

‘As expected… he’s no ordinary fighter.’

After witnessing Kang Chan’s duel with Nemitz during the continental war, Elradion knew well that his student’s swordsmanship had already surpassed his own.

It was an unbelievable reality for him.

Kang Chan had reached such heights in just three short years.

‘What kind of magic have you used, my disciple…?’

Even though Kang Chan was his disciple, seeing him grow so strong in such a short time made Elradion immensely proud as a master.

Yet, it was also slightly vexing.

It had taken him 400 years to become a Sword Master.

Thus, Elradion resolved to show his annoying disciple that he was no easy opponent.

‘To think I’d have to use this against my disciple.’

Elradion began to display the most powerful technique in his swordsmanship.

It was akin to a final lesson he could teach his disciple.

『Be careful this time…』

『Yes?』

As Elradion’s Elven Knight suddenly retreated, Kang Chan’s face was full of questions. Elradion’s swordsmanship was disadvantageous at a distance.

However, in an instant.

The Elven Knight, which had been retreating, split into two and vanished from Kang Chan’s sight.

『Huh!』

For a Sword Master, whose reflexes were dozens of times faster than an average person, losing sight of a target before his eyes was impossible. Moreover, Kang Chan, with a biochip implanted, had reflexes far superior to an ordinary Sword Master.

For him to lose sight of his opponent’s movement was unthinkable.

Kang Chan wore a look of disbelief.

But that surprise was fleeting; his expression soon turned to shock.

The Elven Knight, which had disappeared, reappeared above Kang Chan’s head, striking down at the Red Rabbit with the force to split it in half.

It was an attack that didn’t seem fitting for a master-student relationship.

Kang Chan hastily crossed his swords to block Elradion’s strike.

Screeeech!

Sparks flew wildly.

『Ugh!』

The impact of the blow, containing the full weight of the nearly 60-ton Elven Knight, was undeniable.

With the intense clash of forces, Kang Chan’s Red Rabbit was brought to its knees, and the shockwave reverberated throughout the underground cavern.

『No, that’s impossible! How can he move like that in a Gigantes!』

Elradion’s attack displayed an agility that he had not shown even to Nemitz before.

‘How could he possess such skill yet be pushed back by Nemitz?’

Even as Kang Chan pondered this question, Elradion’s assault continued unabated.

Elradion landed next to Kang Chan like a cat and unleashed another lightning-fast barrage.

His attacks were so dazzling that even Kang Chan’s eyes struggled to keep up.

Whenever he thought he had been struck, Elradion was no longer there, and the sabre always found its way to Kang Chan’s blind spots.

Cornered, Kang Chan had no choice but to activate combat mode.

『If Master insists on coming at me like this, I have no choice either! Haaah!』

As Kang Chan activated combat mode, the Maglight Furnace in the Red Rabbit began to emit an even more intense light.

Soon, gasps erupted from the spectators who had been watching their duel with bated breath.

And it wasn’t just the spectators.

Even Elradion, who had been aggressively pressing Kang Chan, gasped and wore a look of disbelief.

It was the sight of the enormous aura blades emanating from the Red Rabbit’s hands.

‘No, how could this be…?’

Kang Chan himself was equally taken aback.

Seeing the 8-meter-long aura blades emerging from the Red Rabbit’s hands was simply unbelievable.

‘How is this possible in a Gigantes?’

A Gigantes, which had to fight with limited mana stored in the Maglight Furnace, could never produce such massive aura blades.

‘Even when I used combat mode with the Elven Knight before, the size of the aura blades didn’t change…’

However, his surprise was short-lived, as Kang Chan quickly realized he needed to reduce the power of the aura blades.

Using such massive aura blades would quickly deplete the mana in the Maglight Furnace.

Without mana, the Maglight Furnace would be nothing more than a chunk of stone, just like the Elven Knight that Cracksion had lent him.

But Kang Chan was even more astonished.

The mana in the Maglight Furnace showed no signs of depleting. Instead, it seemed to be surging even more.

‘Where is all this incredible mana coming from?’

Kang Chan’s face was filled with confusion.

He couldn’t make sense of it at all.

Just then, the voice of the bio-computer echoed.

– Nuclear fusion reaction increasing. Energy efficiency 98.328%

“98.328 percent?”

Achieving over 98 percent energy efficiency was no easy feat.

Even when using the Buster Cannon, the nuclear fusion reactor’s efficiency never exceeded 80 percent.

When massive amounts of energy are generated, there must be a corresponding use to prevent energy overload.