The Indomitable Martial King

Chapter 63

Billowing clouds of dust rose up, as if part of Viscount Kelberen’s castle had transformed into a cloud. The enormous amount of dust spread in all directions, a natural consequence of bringing down an entire section of the castle wall.

Walking atop the rubble of the collapsed wall, Repenhardt couldn’t help but smirk wryly.

“Did I go a bit too far?”

Still, it seemed that no one was seriously injured. Although it might have appeared brutish, Repenhardt had specifically targeted a section where guards were not present to unleash his Calamity Horn.

He had already extended his Sense Realm to check. There were definitively no soldiers crushed under the debris. Most of the soldiers were simply sitting atop the shaking walls, frozen in terror. A few had rolled down below, breaking legs or sustaining other injuries, but such wounds would heal with proper rest.

“This should keep them dazed for a while.”

With this, the soldiers within the territory of Viscount Kelberen could be considered dealt with. They were too shocked to dare make a move for some time.

Destroying walls entirely to break the morale of soldiers was a tactic Repenhardt had often used in his past life.

Walls are unlike ordinary buildings. They are perceived almost like mountains or cliffs, believed to never fall. To any person of sound mind, maintaining their sanity in the face of such a wall disappearing before their eyes would be challenging. Even if they were unharmed, witnessing such large-scale destruction typically leaves one in shock.

Leaving the demoralized soldiers behind, Repenhardt walked towards the inner part of Kelberen. He saw dozens of armed knights pouring out from the inner keep’s corridors. They were from the Tenes Knight Order. Following them, a group of robed figures and men in clerical garb rushed out. These were the mages contracted with the Tenes family and the priests of Aerius, the Sky Goddess.

The knights surrounded Repenhardt with practiced movements, while the mages and priests positioned themselves to form a semicircle. As the formation was set, one of the knights yelled at Repenhardt.

“You brazen villain! You dare show your face again!”

Although he wore a mask the previous night, recognizing Repenhardt was not difficult. He might not be a giant of unprecedented size like Gerard, but Repenhardt’s stature was also rare to behold. All knights were convinced he was the thief from the night before. Of course, Repenhardt had no intention of denying it.

Surrounding him, Repenhardt opened his mouth.

“I’ve heard my companions are here?”

It was a leisurely voice. The knight, Lento, shouted in anger.

“How dare you disrespect the Tenes Knights!”

The thief from the previous night, surrounded by the Tenes Knights, did not show a trace of tension on his face. Moreover, despite coming to rescue his companion, he showed no hurry at all. Casually blasting through the walls and sauntering over leisurely?

‘How lightly must he be taking the Tenes Knights to act so nonchalantly?’

Waves of anger spread among the knights. Of course, they were aware that their opponent was an Aura user. Honestly, they were terrified by the tremendous might of bringing down the walls. However, the Tenes Knights were not so insignificant to be disrespected to this extent!

The vice-captain, Sir Lot, drew his sword and shouted.

“Knights of Tenes! Show this arrogant fool your strength!”

The knights uniformly drew their swords. With precise posture, the entire knight order moved as if they were a single organism. The magicians and clerics also took their positions without a single gap, backing them up. Sir Lot continued with a confident voice,

“It won’t be like last night!”

Repenhardt nodded absently.

“Indeed, it will be different from last night.”

Since they had sneaked in yesterday, one couldn’t really say the Tenes Knights had properly responded. Everyone was relaxed after finishing a tough expedition, and having just fought a demon that suddenly appeared within the castle, nobody expected another incident so soon, hence they were not fully equipped to face Repenhardt.

In contrast, the Tenes Knights now were alert and fully concentrated, ready to unleash 100 percent of their power. It was understandable why Sir Lot was so confident.

However, the situation was different for him as well. Taking a stance, Repenhardt showed a bitter smile.

“…I, too, will be a bit different from last night.”

“Lento! Baras! Go!”

“Yes! Vice-captain!”

Following Sir Lot’s command, two knights charged at Repenhardt with their shields ahead. The unique shield charge of the heavily armored knights, hiding their swords behind the shields, would have been effective enough if the opponent were an ordinary warrior.

However, Repenhardt remained unaffected. Standing in place, he lowered his stance and delivered a series of heavy punches towards the charging shields. As if they had anticipated this, both knights raised their shields to block in front.

Boom! Boom!

Two explosions sounded. The bodies of the two knights were launched into the air. Screams erupted.

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

It was different from yesterday. They had expected that blocking with their shields would be useless. They were prepared to be sent flying with their shields. Thus, both were ready to roll on the ground and get back up immediately, as such occurrences were common during their demon battles in ruins exploration.

But this time, something was different. The shields crumpled, and an intense shockwave traveled up their bodies. It was as if they had been hit directly, twisting their insides and causing severe pain.

“Cough!”

Flung away, Lento and Baras coughed up blood as they tumbled on the ground. A single strike, even though it was blocked by the shields, had rendered their bodies immobile from the shock.

Caught off guard by the unexpected development, Sir Lot looked at Repenhardt in confusion.

‘What kind of trick did he pull?’

Repenhardt retracted his fist and smirked.

“I’ve already shown you this trick yesterday. To fall for it again would be truly foolish.”

Originally, Gym Unbreakable’s strikes always carry Aura waves, ensuring that even if the attack is blocked, the shock passes through the opponent’s body, rendering any armor useless. He had refrained from using Aura last night to conceal his presence, but now he could use it without restraint.

“Gah! Selpid! Lakan! Ernesto!”

Sir Lot sent another trio of knights charging. Leaving the fallen two behind, three other knights launched a follow-up attack.

“How dare you do that to Lento!”

“You villain!”

“Die!”

With generic battle cries, the knights aimed their swords at Repenhardt from the left, right, and rear simultaneously. Once again, Repenhardt swung his arms to parry the attacks, inserting Aura-charged kicks simultaneously to strike the knights. A proper side kick sent the knights tumbling again.

“Aagh!”

“Argh!”

“Owowow!”

Once more, all three knights screamed as they fell. They hadn’t allowed the attacks through lack of skill. When it became impossible to dodge as usual, they cleverly twisted their bodies to take the hits on the thicker parts of their armor. However, the subsequent shockwaves from the Aura waves could not be blocked by armor.

“This, this is…”

Sir Lot was taken aback. The situation was unforeseen. The Tenes Knights’ distinctive tactic of pressuring opponents with their armored bodies was entirely ineffective.

However, the dismay did not last long. The Tenes Knights had battled numerous demons. They were not so weak as to be deterred by this!

Quickly regaining his composure, Sir Lot raised his right hand.

“Priests! Bless their flesh, not their armor!”

The clerics strained their divine power, pouring blessings onto the knights. Instead of reinforcing the armor, they recited sacred spells that enhanced the physical resilience of the knights themselves.

“Aerius! Bestow your blessing upon your servants so their bodies may stand firm as rock!”

The knights, significantly fortified, charged in unison. Following them, the mages in the rear ranks began to chant in unison.

“Blades of frost, come forth before me! Ice Bolt!”

“Conflagration, come to my hand to strike down the foe! Flame Arrow!”

“Ra Filt Krel Asor, storm of thunder, blow forth! Lightning Storm!”

Between the knights’ assaults, a storm of various magics flew towards their target. If it had been only the knights’ attacks, Repenhardt might have managed, but the addition of spells made timing difficult. Dodging swinging blades and occasionally deflecting them, Repenhardt eyed the mages standing at a distance.

‘The mages must be dealt with first.’

In an instant, Repenhardt rolled on the ground and propelled himself into the air. The towering figure of 190 centimeters quickly leaped over the heads of the knights, rushing towards the mages. The startled mages stumbled backward, hastily reciting spells.

“Ah! Ra Tilt Del……”

“Winds of frost……”

Slipping through the mages attempting to form their incantations, Repenhardt thrust his fists in all directions.

“Series of Aura Bullets!”

Golden Aura bullets precisely struck the mages’ legs in succession. The spells were utterly disrupted, and the mages simultaneously clutched their legs, screaming in agony. The Aura bullets fired by Repenhardt had completely shattered their legs.

“Agghhh!”

“My leg!”

“Such a vile fiend!”

Repenhardt flashed a smirk at the sight of the mages writhing in pain on the dirt ground.

‘This is the level of mages here, huh.’

Having been a mage in his previous life, he knew well how to neutralize them. Even he, a grand sorcerer, would see his concentration plummet and his ability to cast spells severely limited with even a single injury back in his prime. It was impossible for these average mages to recite spells properly with broken legs.

‘I thought at least one or two would show some guts…’

With a slightly disappointed face, Repenhardt looked at the fallen mages. All were merely groaning, none overcoming their pain to cast spells. To him, once a grand sorcerer, they all seemed pathetic.

‘Tsk tsk, to walk the path of magic with such a spirit…’

He wondered if this was how a senior felt looking at his unworthy juniors.

‘Wait, these were my seniors, technically speaking.’

With a wry smile, Repenhardt turned around. The knights were furiously charging at him.

“Fallen mages!”

“Geldt! Pjarn! Damn it, are they all down!”

They were grinding their teeth. Their enemy had just leaped over a distance of more than 20 meters in a blink, laying all the mages low without giving them a chance to react. Losing their magical force so pathetically was an unprecedented disgrace in the history of the Tenes Knights. They were all filled with rage, charging like angry bulls.

‘Now, what’s next…’

But Repenhardt paid no attention to their anger. His next targets were the ones in blue clerical robes standing behind the knights.

‘Maybe it’s time to deal with the clerics…’

Once again, Repenhardt launched himself into the air. His form soared over the heads of the knights once more. All the knights felt the bitter sting of frustration, grinding their teeth in vain.

“Damn it!”

The biggest difference between an Aura user and an ordinary knight was this: the gap in physical abilities was simply too vast. When one person is painstakingly running on two feet, another is rolling a single time to cover distances of 20 to 30 meters, making it utterly impossible to keep up.