Chapter 53: The Old Warrior Never Dies!

[10 minutes ago]

“Hwaaak!”

A fierce light flared up.

But unlike before, it soon emitted black smoke.

“Pssshh.”

That meant—

[Knight Summon Ticket (Malice Gregg) enhancement failed.]

A sign of the failed enhancement.

“Well.”

I lost a precious Knight Summon Ticket, but there’s no regret.

I already knew the enhancement chance of this ticket was quite low to begin with.

From my rough estimate, + enhancements have about a 50% success rate, ++ around 30%.

I haven’t dared to try beyond that, but I reckon it’s about 15%.

In other words, success is difficult.

You have to rely on luck, so you need a fair number of tickets ready.

“Of course.”

Flash!

I attempted the enhancement again.

I had prepared enough to keep trying despite repeated failures.

This was thanks to clearing the 30th floor multiple times.

Because of the repeated 30th floor sweeps, my pockets were stuffed with an enormous amount of tickets.

Of course, since these tickets were among the rarest, it wasn’t like I had an endless supply.

But since I couldn’t summon the same Knight repeatedly anyway, I had no choice but to keep enhancing.

Therefore—

Despite repeated failures, I kept trying, and finally—

[Knight Summon Ticket (Malice Ahman++) obtained.]

I got a double-enhanced Knight Summon Ticket (Malice Ahman).

“I see.”

I had been curious about how a Knight Summon Ticket would change after enhancement.

And the result that appeared was unexpected.

The summon changed from Malice Gregg to Malice Ahman.

He was a figure I knew well.

He was the founder of the Malice Family who had been active hundreds of years before I was summoned to the Gritia Continent—a legendary swordsman who practically built the renowned Malice Family.

No matter the era or dimension, one unchanging truth remains.

Those who rise as founders or progenitors of a family have an extraordinary edge over others.

Malice Ahman was no exception.

From a regular soldier to a Knight, this genius who carved his own path through hardship was often regarded as one of the Knights who left a lasting mark on the continent’s history.

Thanks to the Knight Summon Ticket’s enhancement, it became possible to summon a Knight who had made history—the founder of the Malice Family.

There was no reason to hesitate.

“Squeak!”

I immediately tore the ticket.

[Kim Si-won of the Republic of Korea used the Knight Summon Ticket (Malice Ahman++) targeting the nation (United States).]

[Summoning designated Knight (Malice Ahman++) aboard the United States aircraft carrier.]

***

Thanks to the enhanced effect, there was no need to divide the region—he could summon anywhere.

The target was the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier currently stationed off the East Coast.

“Face the disaster.”

It was the greatest central power on land, capable of striking South Korea at any moment.

The message echoed sharply in his ear.

“How dare you!” Colonel Clint Dempsey shouted in rage.

They say a puppy doesn’t fear a tiger, but how dare someone summon a Knight onto his carrier under his command?

But that fury lasted only a moment.

Clint Dempsey, a veteran who had been through thick and thin, immediately began calculating rapidly.

A Knight summoned on the deck of an aircraft carrier.

Surely, to attack him there, the carrier’s powerful weapons would be restricted by the summoning effect.

But—

“You have underestimated the power of the United States!”

There wasn’t only modern weaponry aboard this Gerald R. Ford-class carrier.

“Wheeeee!”

With the wailing of the emergency siren inside the ship, special forces appeared on the deck to punish the illegally summoned Knight.

In the blink of an eye, they surrounded the area.

Radiating an extraordinary presence, these were Awakeners from the United States.

Not just any randoms.

Top-tier Awakeners who had boarded through the cooperation of the Hero Guild for this war.

At their forefront was the black man with an afro—Jamir Mayer.

One of the executives of the Hero Guild, led by Kyle Turner, and a member of the party called Allstar.

His clothes tore open, revealing a hidden facet.

Where smooth skin should have been, there was thick fur.

Bones twisted and his form changed.

A long snout and protruding fangs.

It was—

‘Werewolf.’

One of the Beast Transformation traits—a manifestation of the Werewolf.

Jamir Mayer’s beast transformation not only drastically boosted his stats, but granted him incredible agility.

“Pah!”

His movements were so fast that only faint traces could be seen.

“Sshhiiik!”

His role was disruption.

Though not a tank, his swift movements confused enemies, creating openings.

In those gaps, allies attacked.

Moreover—

“Jjeojeojjeok!”

The surrounding air and ground froze, emitting a chilling cold.

Absolute Zero.

Similarly, Nicholas Palmer, another former Hero Guild executive, unleashed his Absolute Zero trait to freeze the surroundings.

Cold slows down movement.

And the Knight, whose movements were limited,

Papapat!

Was fiercely pressured by Jamir Mayer.

Acceleration.

‘Swift Acceleration.’

Buffed even by his supporters, his movements transcended sound.

However—

“,,,,”

The summoned Knight, Malice Ahman, showed no reaction at all.

‘Of course!’

Jamir Mayer was confident.

The Knight couldn’t keep up with his movement.

It had to be so—his speed was arguably world-class.

Who could possibly handle a speed that broke the sound barrier?

“Papapat!”

He displayed even flashier movements to disrupt further.

“Pat!”

Judging that he had successfully deceived his opponent, he struck from behind.

“Chaaang!”

Sharp claws protruded.

Swinging that brutal weapon that could slice through steel like tofu.

‘I’ve won!’

He was certain of victory.

No need for any Awakeners here to step in—he could finish it alone.

“Swoosh!”

“…Huh?”

But something was strange.

As if his vision was split—the opponent’s figure, or rather his very sight, was divided in two.

“Damn…!”

In the next moment, he realized.

From his crown to groin, his body had been cleanly bisected vertically.

“Thud, slump!”

Out of the bounds of perception, his body collapsed, scattering his insides.

“Pathetic moves.”

The veteran coldly stared down the fallen world-class Awakener.

“You’re no different from that guy.”

His gaze swept over the stunned and silent chamber.

“Swoosh.”

He grabbed his greatsword embedded in the floor.

At first glance, it looked rusty.

But—

“Clink!”

As soon as he touched it, the piled-up rust fell away.

“Woong, wooouuung!”

Brilliant runes began to glow.

‘Dragon Slayer.’

A Knight Sword granted by the founding king of the Asran Kingdom.

Its defining feature was its immense weight.

Forged from the heaviest metal in the world, heavy iron.

Its weight was 6,000 kg.

No matter how much a Knight trained to increase their strength, perfectly wielding a six-ton sword was impossible.

Therefore—

Lightweighting.

The Dragon Slayer was imbued with multiple layers of lightweighting magic.

In fact, most of the runes contained the power of this lightweighting magic.

Of course, even with lightweighting magic, it was still heavy.

But Malice Ahman never once detached the Dragon Slayer from his body.

He had reached a level where he wielded it as if it were part of himself.

Right now, for example.

The sword’s radiant light bloomed.

No one could have predicted it.

That this massive, heavy sword could move this fast.

No technique, no trickery—pure speed alone.

“Thud, kooong!”

His bisected body rolled on the ground.

A split-second was enough.

The United States’ top Awakeners turned into cold corpses.

But it wasn’t over yet.

“Huuuup!”

The old warrior unleashed a kuai he had never used while dealing with Awakeners.

Its sole purpose—

To cleave the very aircraft carrier he stood upon.

Was it even possible?

The Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier stretched an astounding 337 meters.

Could a human cleave such a massive ship with a six-ton sword?

‘Slashing Blow.’

It was possible.

Malice Ahman’s strike held true meaning—a blow devised to pierce the tough scales of the strongest land creature, the dragon.

“Kooong!”

A tremor shook the interior of the ship.

And that vibration miraculously split the huge ship in two.

“Bang! Kwachak! Kwak!”

The hull exploded.

“Argh!”

“Ugh!”

Shouts erupted at the unbelievable sight.

Survival was human instinct.

People scrambled to escape the swirling sinking ship, some trying to flee by plane.

But the calm old warrior—

“My lord’s orders: die!”

Following the orders of Kim Si-won, who summoned him, he slaughtered every fleeing soul without exception.

Even as the bisected hull was sucked into the vortex.

If this continued, he too would be swept away by the massive whirlpool and lose his life.

Was he willing to risk death to carry out his lord’s orders?

No.

Death was a betrayal of his lord. 

He must survive and return.

The old warrior had no intention of sacrificing himself for such a trivial mission.

Moreover, he had succeeded in sinking the Gerald R. Ford-class carrier.

‘I have yet to fully fulfill my lord’s orders.’

But many other carriers still remained off the East Coast.

His lord’s command was to annihilate all enemies in these waters.

“Swoosh.”

He gripped the Dragon Slayer, which he had been wildly swinging moments ago, in the form of a throwing spear.

Along with it—

“Huuuup!”

He bent his arm back and used the recoil to powerfully hurl the sword.

“Paaaaat!”

The Dragon Slayer sped forward with incredible velocity.

Of course, he wasn’t just watching.

“Tat!”

He landed atop the flying Dragon Slayer’s blade.

“Swaaaak!”

Despite its weight augmented by the armor, the force propelling it forward ignored all of that.

He soared through the air on the Dragon Slayer like a flying bird.

Unbelievable speed.

And his target was the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier near the Gerald R. Ford-class.

Naturally, the carrier tried to bomb the flying object.

“Bang! Kwakak!”

But even the most advanced lasers were powerless against the Dragon Slayer’s speed that surpassed the limits of detection.

Calmly, the Dragon Slayer advanced amid the bombardment.

“Kwang!”

It struck precisely against the hull.

“Chuk chuk.”

The ship had no choice but to admit the intruder.

“Whooooiiiing—”

The warning sirens blared throughout the ship.

“My lord’s order: accept death willingly.”

The raging lion began its activity.