Return of The Martial King

Chapter 246

Sir Klat had never met the Fist King of his era in person.

But he recognized him immediately.

Broad shoulders and a powerful chest, a physique with muscles so sharply defined they seemed sculpted by a chisel.

Who else in the world could flaunt such a towering frame, standing bare-chested without even the faintest piece of armor, wearing only a simple outer garment before thousands of soldiers, other than Gym Unbreakable's martial artist, the Fist King himself?

‘Gerard is an old man, over eighty by now. That must mean this man is the Fist King of this era, Repenhardt.’

Repenhardt stepped forward with a measured pace.

Following him, eight warriors of various races also advanced.

Whoosh!

Golden aura surged from Repenhardt’s entire body.

The warriors following behind him each summoned their Blade Aura.

Woom! Boom! Boom!

A dazzling display of aura illuminated the entrance to Koln Canyon. Nine radiant streams of destructive light completely blocked the gap between the Zeppelin Pursuit Squad and the fleeing mixed-race group.

The pursuit squad erupted into an uproar.

“My God, it’s really Blade Aura!”

“Those are Antares' aura users!”

In contrast, the group of runaway slaves appeared visibly relieved. They regained their composure and calmly resumed their march, following the lead of their guides. As the remaining slaves at the canyon entrance disappeared from the pursuit squad’s line of sight, they vanished into the shadows cast by the cliffside.

Klat’s lieutenant, observing the scene, shouted angrily.

“Th-they’re escaping, Captain!”

“It doesn’t matter. How far do you think they’ll get?”

The pace of untrained individuals was predictable. The army would easily catch up in no time.

Thus, Sir Klat paid no attention to the fleeing slaves, focusing all his attention solely on Repenhardt.

Eventually, the last of the runaway slaves disappeared from sight. Even the elite troops from Antares, guiding the group, had vanished deep into the canyon.

Now, only Repenhardt and the eight aura users remained at the canyon's entrance.

The sight of just nine individuals standing boldly before an army of thousands left Sir Klat inwardly impressed. Dismissing them as mere slaves was impossible; their presence and aura were far too overwhelming.

‘Heh, who could call them slaves? They’re the epitome of martial valor!’

At the same time, a question gnawed at his mind.

‘But surely… do they intend to hold us back with just the nine of them?’

It was undeniable that aura users were superhumans, each capable of taking on a hundred foes. But even so, there were limits to what a single person could do against an entire army.

No matter how narrow the entrance to Koln Canyon might seem in proportion to the army’s size, it was still at least 100 meters wide. It was impossible for just nine individuals to completely block the entrance. Inevitably, the formation would be breached, and they would find themselves surrounded.

Once encircled, even aura users would eventually expose their backs to an enemy blade amidst the chaos of battle. Maintaining aura defense continuously during a fight consumed an extreme amount of energy, making it something even aura users couldn’t sustain indefinitely. The heightened focus required to sense attacks from all directions would eventually become too much to bear over extended periods.

Unless they were someone like Gym Unbreakable, with a body impervious to most blades and seemingly endless stamina, even aura users could fall prey to sheer numbers. A strategy of overwhelming force through sheer numbers, while crude, could prove effective.

Besides, Sir Klat had the Zeppelin Knights, soldiers specifically trained to fight aura users.

Although their display of strength was undeniably impressive, it wasn’t enough to strike fear into Klat.

‘What are they thinking? Surely, they know the odds aren’t in their favor.’

Regardless, he couldn’t afford to keep standing here idly. Having received his orders, Sir Klat urged his horse forward and took a step ahead.

“Fist King Repenhardt! Who would dare deny your strength? But you are only one man. No matter how strong you are, you cannot possibly protect all of those slaves! Surrender now!”

He hesitated momentarily before continuing.

“Or… leave those slaves behind and retreat! I won’t pursue you!”

Behind him, his lieutenant angrily protested.

“What are you saying, Sir Klat? Are you planning to let them go?”

Klat chuckled softly and lowered his voice to respond.

“And who’s going to chase down those monsters? You? Be my guest, I won’t stop you.”

The lieutenant’s face turned pale as he fell silent. Klat let out another soft chuckle before turning his gaze forward again.

Even if they threw their entire army at them, they could eventually defeat the aura users. But the cost in lives on their side would be immense. Sir Klat’s true intent was to avoid recklessly sacrificing his troops to those monsters.

Of course, Klat didn’t actually believe Repenhardt would run away.

‘If he were going to retreat quietly, he wouldn’t have started this fight in the first place.’

As expected, a cold smile crept across Repenhardt’s lips.

“Run away?”

Clenching his fist tightly, Repenhardt roared.

“I refuse!”

The resolute voice echoed off the canyon walls, reverberating on both sides of the cliffs. With a bitter expression, Sir Klat raised his right hand.

"…I expected no less."

Their opponents weren’t an army but a handful of superhuman individuals. Against such adversaries, the proper strategy was to deploy an elite force of their own.

"Zeppelin Knights! Advance! Show them the power of Chatan!"

With a deafening roar, fifty Zeppelin Knights charged forward. Activating the magic imbued within their magic swords and enchanted armor, they enhanced themselves as they stormed across the barren land.

“Strength! Haste! Armor Guard!”

“Sharpness! Magic Eyes!”

Though they were scorned for their use of magic swords and often looked down upon, the Zeppelin Knights were undeniably the strongest military force in the duchy. They were the elite of the elite, painstakingly trained by the Duchy of Chatan to counter the aura users of foreign lands. No matter how formidable the aura users from Antares were, it would be impossible to escape unscathed against such a force.

And even if the Zeppelin Knights were to fall, behind them stood the Chatan Order of Knights, led by aura user Sir Klat himself, along with thousands of soldiers.

Victory was certain in Klat’s mind.

‘Aura users are far from invincible!’

It was then that Repenhardt, ignoring the approaching Zeppelin Knights entirely, suddenly turned his gaze to the left.

“Russ! Iniya!”

At his call, Russ and Iniya sprang into action as if they had been waiting for the command. But instead of heading toward the advancing Zeppelin Knights, they dashed toward the left-side cliff.

As expected of aura users, both scaled the sheer cliffside, several times the height of an ordinary fortress wall as if it were flat ground, quickly reaching its midsection. From their positions, tens of meters above the ground, both extended their Blade Aura in a sweeping motion.

“Seven Stars!”

“Blade of the Frozen Wastes!”

A radiant blue Blade Aura dug deeply into the cliffside, radiating an intense light.

Meanwhile, a silver aura shattered the rocks, leaving behind a luminous trail.

Repenhardt then turned his head to the right.

“Malroid! Sloytle!”

The two dwarven warriors immediately dashed toward the right cliff. Despite their short legs, their incredible power as aura users allowed them to cover tens of meters in the blink of an eye. Once they reached the cliff base, Malroid and Sloytle drew their weapons and swung with force, bellowing triumphantly.

“Here we go!”

“Earth Resonance!”

The colossal battle hammers, brimming with verdant green aura, slammed into the base of the cliff with resounding force.

A massive greatsword, engulfed in crimson aura, sliced upward along the cliff face like a waterfall flowing in reverse.

Kwaaang!

The entire cliff trembled violently, sending clouds of dust billowing into the air.

“Tassid! Kalken! Hadatoum! Kinzir!”

The orc aura users leapt toward the cliffs on either side. Tassid and Kalken extended their hands and shouted in unison.

“Go forth, my fierce companion, Dakar!”

Tassid’s cleaving sword radiated a cyan Blade Aura as it burrowed into the cliffside.

“Thunder Drop!”

Kalken’s massive greatsword, Magnum, tore through the air with a deafening boom. Its emerald Blade Aura transformed into a streak of roaring thunder, slamming into the cliff with explosive force.

Kinzir and Hadatoum, too, infused their beloved weapons with Blade Aura and unleashed devastating strikes. Deep blue and brass-colored Blade Aura clashed together, whipping up a tempest of energy. The four radiant trails of aura painted a dazzling display across the cliffside.

“What the… what is this?”

“What in the world are they doing?”

The unexpected events unfolding one after another caused the charging Zeppelin Knights to falter, their momentum slowing. Something felt deeply unsettling about continuing their advance. Confused, they stared at the spectacle before them.

The towering walls of Koln Canyon on both sides, now scored by eight streaks of Blade Aura.

The eight hues of aura glowed brightly, as if nailed into the cliffs themselves. The radiant energy pulsed violently, as if threatening to unleash its destructive power at any moment, like wild beasts straining against their chains, ready to rampage.

Klat, drenched in cold sweat, muttered under his breath.

“…What are you planning, Fist King?”

Repenhardt cleared his throat, then let out a roar far louder than anything before a bellow that shook the very air.

“A-TTI-LA!”

The echo of his voice reverberated up the canyon walls, making the atmosphere ripple with a static charge. From high atop the cliffs, a shadow appeared. The height was so dizzying that only someone like Klat, an aura user, could make out the figure. It was a massive troll, Attila, with an immense, rugged frame, thick muscles, and gleaming tusks.

Holding a pair of sticks in both hands, Attila began to strike them together rhythmically as he sang an eerie song.

“The lake wails, the thunder falls silent,  

The whirlpools twist and churn, turning to a crimson flood,  

This is the lament of Mother Earth…”

As the melody carried on, a crimson mist began to rise. The faint, blood-red haze cascaded down the canyon walls like a waterfall. Everywhere the mist touched, cracks spread across the rocks, the entire canyon quaking as the earth itself groaned in pain.

Rumble! Roar!

A series of deafening explosions resounded, each one intensifying the tremors. The shaking, which began at the cliffs, soon spread beyond the canyon's edges, causing the very ground beneath the Zeppelin Pursuit Squad to quake as if struck by an earthquake.

Amid the escalating chaos, Repenhardt raised his fist high. His booming voice crashed down upon the advancing Zeppelin Knights like thunder.

“I declare to the army of Chatan! Those who value their lives, step back at once!”

The already faltering advance of the Zeppelin Knights slowed even further. Sir Klat, drenched in cold sweat, shouted desperately, a foreboding chill running down his spine.

“Do not be deceived, Zeppelin Knights! They are only nine! Keep charging forward!”

Just as the knights spurred their mounts to resume their advance, Repenhardt clenched his raised fist with a powerful grip. The golden aura enveloping his entire body began to concentrate, gathering at his fist and glowing more intensely with each passing moment.

Wooooom!

A wave of golden aura rippled through his muscular arm, from his forearm to his shoulder. Five distinct waves of aura radiated outward, forming luminous rings that pulsed in synchronized rhythm.

A low, commanding voice escaped Repenhardt’s lips.

“Fist and Mana Become One…”

A sixth ring of light appeared, this one hovering in front of his clenched fist. The six rings spun violently, compressing rapidly into a single, concentrated point of energy.

“Taaaaahhht!”

With a shout, Repenhardt brought his raised fist crashing down into the earth.

“Calamity Horn!”

An earth-shattering roar reverberated through the land, a sound so immense it felt as if the entire world had vanished in its wake.

*       *        *

A golden dragon tore through the barren land, writhing as it clawed at the earth. The ground split apart, and pillars of golden light erupted from the fissures.

The radiant column of light that illuminated the skies of Zeppelin, this was the sixfold Calamity Horn. The devastating strike burrowed into the ground of Koln, quaking like a living beast and radiating its power outward in every direction. The eight Blade Auras embedded in the cliffs detonated simultaneously, amplifying its destructive force. Holes burst open along the canyon walls, and colorful streams of light erupted like geysers. The rumbling tremors grew louder and louder, until they coalesced into a deafening roar that made ears ring.

Nine blazing streams of destructive light, wild and untamed, surged upward like nine dragons breaking free from the shell of their egg, the canyon of Koln.

Koo-koo-koo-BOOOM!

The Zeppelin Knights, who had advanced to the very mouth of the canyon, could only watch in horror as the ground collapsed before them. Shaken and overwhelmed, groans of fear spilled from their lips.

“Th-this… this can’t be real!”

“Something like this shouldn’t be possible in this world!”

Everything in their field of vision was crumbling, an unstoppable force unraveling reality itself.

The towering cliffs, which had once pierced the sky, began to crack and split, hurling massive chunks of themselves toward the earth. Tens of thousands of tons of colossal boulders rained down, blotting out the sky as they fell.

“Run!”

“Everyone, run for your lives!”

Neighhhh!

The horses screamed in terror, throwing their riders to the ground. Faces pale with fear, soldiers scrambled to flee without a second thought.

“Ahhh!”

“Save me!”

Boom! Boom! BOOOOM!

The collapsing cliffs turned into an avalanche of rock, a tidal wave of stone sweeping through the canyon entrance and everything within a radius of several hundred meters.

Dust and smoke surged upward in massive waves, swirling, collapsing inward, and foaming as they raced across the ground. The destructive storm of debris and wind howled outward, engulfing the fleeing Zeppelin Knights in an instant.

“Arghhh!”

“AAAAHH!”

Screams, wails, and desperate cries for help were carried by the wind, only to be swallowed by an even greater, deafening roar. The relentless tide of shattered cliff debris crushed knights and horses alike, spilling into and beyond the canyon without pause.

The earth bucked and surged as if alive, trembling endlessly atop the fractured, upheaved plains.

Beneath the swirling black clouds, the very atmosphere seemed to wail, echoing the destruction.

A moment later…

“My God…”

“O, heavens…”

Klat and the soldiers of the pursuit squad stood frozen, overcome by shock and terror, staring at the scene before them.

The Great Canyon of Koln.

A massive gorge that had stood steadfast for thousands of years had now sealed its maw completely, silenced by the fist of a single man.