The Knight Who Devours Magic - Chapter 84

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 84. The Beginning of Competition
Crack!
“……Cough!?”
A single slap sent the thug’s body hurtling through the air.
In that instant, what looked like yellow corn kernels scattered through space alongside sprays of blood.
Crash! Bang!
Clang!
“Stop at once!”
“How dare you!”
“Any further use of force will be considered an attack on House Aslan, Black Knight!”
The escort knights, who had been watching with the faint hope that he wouldn’t actually attack, suddenly drew their weapons in unison, startled.
Yet.
“You want to try me now? Just three 2-Star knights?”
Thud.
Crack.
They froze as Munno drew out a massive black Two-Handed Sword from behind his back.
The incident in Ruble that had spread the name of the Black Knight far and wide.
From that place, there circulated an unbelievable rumor that he had struck down a 6-Circle Mage.
Though not everyone believed it.
— The genius knight of Drazen, known to be 2-Star, is likely actually 3-Star, probably even among the highest tier of that rank. This is so even aside from the Artifact’s power.
The Inquisitor of Heresy who had come to the Royal Palace and forced contemplation on countermeasures to the Veil—the public declaration left by the commander of her mother’s spear—carried sufficient credibility.
It was a statement made by the Paladin of the Earth Mother Goddess herself, swearing by the name of the goddess.
Of course, Evolution types had matchups, and differences in rank could be overcome with numbers, but still.
— That’s impossible.
The same thought bloomed in the minds of the knights now facing Munno.
Little was known about the Black Knight’s Evolution characteristics, but more than that.
‘That armor.’
The three knights stared at the armor, its eerie sheen leaving not a gap visible even at the joints, and swallowed hard.
No matter how you looked at it, it wasn’t ordinary steel.
‘Artifact armor. Our blades won’t even penetrate it.’
‘And we can’t target the head either.’
‘Could we even aim at it in the first place? We have to hold back. If we don’t want to die for nothing……’
The assessment came far too easily, freezing the feet of the three knights solid.
There seemed to be no way to win.
In the meantime.
“Blood!? Ouch, ugh! Quit it!!”
The tasteless thug, with his left cheek puffed up enough to make him look slightly less ugly, was screaming.
Seeing the three knights’ reaction, Munno smirked and approached the fallen thug.
“If you raise your hand further, I will consider it hostility toward House Aslan, Black Knight!”
“What, when wasn’t I hostile?”
“Prince Teron is of the direct line of House Aslan……!”
“I know. He’s a discarded piece.”
“This becomes the Third Prince’s faction attacking the First Prince, Your Highness!”
“I’m not part of the Third Prince’s faction.”
“But……”
Smirk.
Trudge, trudge.
As he silenced the knights and approached with a leisurely stride.
Teron Aslan finally grasped the situation and began backing away frantically on his rear end.
“What am I going to do with this bastard……”
Trudge, trudge.
“You, you farmer. How dare you. Mother’s adopted—”
Thud.
“……Eek!”
Seeing him terror-stricken at merely a light kick, Munno lost the urge to use any more force.
But he couldn’t just leave it at that either.
“Hey, you.”
“I, I am of the House of Aslan……!”
“Want to die? Or apologize?”
“……What?”
Perhaps it was unexpected that he tried to talk his way out.
The terror-stricken man’s expression suddenly brightened.
“Heh, hehehehe. Now you understand, don’t you? How incredibly grave a crime you’ve committed!? But it’s far too late for regrets……!”
Whoosh.
“……Eeek!?”
The tongue that had suddenly found courage shriveled again at the sight of the Two-Handed Sword buried deep in the floor between his legs.
“So? You want to die?”
If that’s your wish, I’ll oblige.
Munno stared directly into the man’s blue eyes, laying his intention bare.
Then.
His eyes dimmed rapidly, darting between his guards—still frozen in place—and his own pathetic state, beginning to tremble violently.
And after a moment had passed.
The light in his eyes faded entirely, leaving them hollow and lifeless as a corpse’s.
He’d finally grasped, it seemed, that boasting of his family alone could not overcome the terrible reality before him.
His trembling lips slowly parted.
“……My rudeness. I apologize. Forgive me.”
His bowed head, words emerging in a voice so small they barely carried.
Even his apology dripped with arrogance.
“Tch…….”
Though exasperated, Munno simply turned away from him with a click of his tongue.
‘This bastard’s broken.’
He’d already inflicted far harsher punishment than intended.
The man would likely become a cripple now.
There was a slim chance he might recover, but.
‘Not my concern anymore.’
Karina too was smiling and nodding approvingly from a distance.
For now, it was enough to have simply swept away the nuisance.
But then.
“No matter how discarded a prince Teron may be, he is not someone anyone can lay hands on.”
“Hm?”
“Black Knight, you have crossed the line.”
One of the three frozen knights was glaring at him with resentful eyes.
The very name “Black Knight” itself meant he was merely “anyone” in the eyes of the great house of Aslan.
“Aslan will not let this slide.”
But Munno simply laughed.
“Let them.”
The relationship was already twisted beyond repair anyway.
Only after arriving in the Royal Capital had he learned that Aslan’s current predicament ultimately stemmed from him.
‘A hateful man doing hateful things once more, that’s all.’
And beyond that, he’d never been the type to tolerate Teron’s thuggish behavior for long.
‘I have a rather flawed temperament.’
He always called it a mistake, but those words that slipped out unbidden when something rubbed him wrong—they were ultimately his true feelings.
And forcing himself to hold back only meant that one day it would explode outward.
He’d been fired from jobs or had his life turned upside down because of this more than once, but.
‘I have nothing to be ashamed of myself for.’
That mattered most.
Proving that one could live well while living uprightly and with integrity.
It was the standard of life that both Han Moon-ho and Munno shared.
Though that uprightness and integrity ultimately rested on his own judgment, and might appear selfish.
‘But that’s what beliefs are, after all.’
So.
I live by my convictions.
“Karina, would you mind guiding us through the Royal Palace again?”
“……Of course.”
Fortunately, the awkward tension between them from moments before seemed already forgotten.
Though, if he was honest, it was a bit disappointing.
‘I shouldn’t be thinking of other things right now.’
His life was difficult enough just navigating the immediate future, let alone some distant one.
So.
“Ah, that place is a famous landmark of the Royal Palace…….”
Karina’s expression seemed noticeably brighter than before.
They had drawn closer, yet the distance between them still felt vast—and yet he found himself content with it now.
The walk back to the lodgings was warm, despite the dead of winter.
* * *
His physical condition was undoubtedly at its peak.
But after nearly ten days of sleeping rough before reaching the Royal Capital, he’d been forced to maintain constant vigilance the entire time.
The moment Munno returned to his lodgings and washed up, he collapsed into sleep like a dead man.
And then, the next day.
Knock, knock.
– Sir Munno, it is time to prepare yourself.
Haah…….
His eyes flickered open dimly as a voice cut through his sleep.
“Hmm?”
He’d been dreaming something sweet, but that gruff voice had dragged him forcibly back to reality.
He felt a slight irritation at the disturbance.
– Sir Munno! His Highness’s orders……!
The moment the words from beyond the door registered in his mind, sleep vanished completely.
Damn.
“I’m up!”
He rose immediately, splashed water from the pitcher beside his bed onto his face, ran his fingers through his hair, and unfolded his armor without delay.
Whoosh.
Thunk.
“Good.”
He tapped the armor lightly, and the metallic ring reflected back at him as a confident smile in the mirror.
He was grateful, too, that today he wouldn’t have to suffer through those pompous, cumbersome ceremonial robes.
And yet.
Tap, tap.
– Sir Munno…….
Creak.
The hurried voices from outside continued.
Before they could grow more insistent, he opened the door.
“I’m ready.”
Six royal knights who had been waiting outside immediately saluted him in unison with crisp precision.
“We apologize for the early hour. But His Highness’s orders must be…….”
“Obeyed. I understand. Let’s go.”
“Yes, sir.”
The knights set off without further preamble, moving in perfect formation.
From their gray armor and insignia, they were clearly from the Steel Knights, the third knight order of the realm.
‘All of them are probably Third Circle…… impressive.’
That even rank-and-file knights dispatched for such a minor errand were Third Circle spoke volumes about the Steel Knights’ standing as merely the third of the royal orders.
Of course, he’d heard yesterday about the unique character of the higher orders—those called the White Steel and Red Steel Knights—but it was only now, in this moment, that he truly felt the depth of the royal house’s strength.
And yet, despite their evident skill.
“Are we heading straight to the Iron Palace?”
“No. His Highness will emerge at the appointed time. You need only wait in the forecourt.”
The squad leader offered only a brief reply to his question, while the rest of the knights moved forward with unwavering discipline, their steps synchronized and their bearing austere.
The strictness of their bearing was palpable.
‘If men like these fought as one…….’
As he contemplated the might of the Steel Knights, they were already drawing close to their destination.
In the distance, the most splendid edifice—the Iron Palace, the royal residence—came into view once more.
“Here we are. Please wait.”
“……Yes.”
The place to which the royal knights and soldiers had guided him was the broad forecourt of the palace proper.
Soldiers ringed the space, standing rigid and solemn, their eyes fixed upon the center.
There already stood a lean, middle-aged man who appeared to be a Paladin, and beside him, a large, broad-shouldered man with short, angular brown hair, dressed in red armor.
“Red armor…….”
He didn’t know the Paladin’s identity, but the knight in the red armor—with hair cropped as short as the soldiers he’d seen in his past life in Korea—he’d heard about before.
Yesterday, from Karina.
“That man is Anthony, Vice Commander of the Red Steel Knights. To explain in case you weren’t aware…….”
“A commoner-born knight who rose to the 6-Star rank, and at merely thirty-five, considered the strongest of all 6-Star knights—comparable to the Wall of the North. His epithet is the Blood Knight…….”
The grim title had been earned because every battlefield where he marched forth in his red armor became a sea of blood.
And officially, she answers only to the King and the Sword Duke, the nation’s honored commander—one of the strongest knights in the realm.
“You’re well informed. Ha. That settles it, then.”
“And that Paladin over there?”
“That one, I’m not entirely sure…”
As the escorting knight fumbled for an answer, Munno’s gaze naturally drifted back toward the scarlet-armored knight, Anthony.
In this kingdom, that crimson armor meant one thing: supreme strength.
It was the very symbol of the Red Steel Knights, the pinnacle of the Royal Guard.
And.
– The knight most likely to become a Seven Star in the next generation.
– I’ll surpass him and become the kingdom’s greatest knight. That’s my dream.
Karina had spoken those words with a radiant face, eyes alight with ambition.
Yet this legendary knight seemed to recognize him.
“That black armor, those unusual gauntlets and boots. I’ve heard of them recently. The Black Knight, was it?”
He’d drawn close without warning, those pale blue eyes sweeping across Munno’s entire frame.
The moment their gazes locked, a crushing weight bore down on him from all sides.
‘This man—he’s every bit the match of grandfather Enoch.’
Only after Munno managed to shake off that overwhelming presence could he finally speak.
“It’s an embarrassing epithet, I’m afraid…”
But before he could finish, Anthony cut in with a faint smile.
“A 3-Star at your age? I haven’t achieved that myself. False modesty doesn’t suit you. You should take pride in what you’ve earned.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
He’d regarded Munno like a piece of merchandise, then suddenly offered praise.
“Ah, thank you…very much?”
Bewildered though he was, Munno tried to respond with proper courtesy.
Wait—
Without another word, Anthony simply turned and walked back to his post.
‘What was that? Is he some kind of automaton?’
The man clearly had nothing more to say and wouldn’t spare another glance. Munno stood deflated, but he had no time to dwell on it anyway.
There were far more pressing concerns at hand.
“The King approaches!!”
“Hail!”
The moment the gate sentries’ chorus faded, every soul in the courtyard knelt as one.
Munno swiftly followed suit, falling to his knee.
Then—
Creak… creak… creeeeak.
The great doors swung open, and through them strode a king arrayed in magnificent splendor.
‘That crown must weigh a fortune. Doesn’t his neck ache?’
The same king who’d shown such vigor in yesterday’s tournament now bore an extraordinarily thick Purple Gold-thread Coat and wore a towering golden Crown that seemed to dwarf him entirely, all while gripping an enormous scepter.
The ensemble appeared excessive, yet each of the king’s regalia radiated remarkably dense Mana.
‘All Artifacts. They’re not mere ornamentation.’
He’d heard that powerful Artifacts typically carried affinities or conditions that could clash with one another, yet the king wore what appeared to be well over a dozen without issue.
Still, it was disrespectful to stare openly at the sovereign.
Munno hastily bowed his head before their eyes could meet, and the king’s voice broke the silence.
“Excellent. The knights of our kingdom are ever dependable.”
The king seemed to work just as decisively as he had in yesterday’s tournament.
“No need for lengthy speeches. You three—hunt down every demon-spawn lurking in Ironheart and bring them before me! Show me what you’re capable of!”
Thud.
Creak… creak… creak… creeeeak.
As the king’s scepter struck the ground, massive doors connecting the courtyard to the outer city began opening in succession.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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