“Private?”
Nautilus was stunned and asked again.
“You’re a soldier in the army?”
A soldier who called himself Ars. His eyes were the only thing that could be seen through the deep helmet and he shook his head.
“No.”
‘That’s right. I heard wrong...’
“I’m a private, not a soldier.” (TL: Unsure of this. It seems to be some type of word game in Korean)
“You crazy guy! Making puns!”
It didn’t matter what he called himself. The fact that he said he was a soldier was the problem. A soldier was strong enough to block the sword of the 9th ranked Red Knight? It was something that had never happened in the 41 years he lived.
“You’re deceiving me! I know that you are the one who stopped my sword twice before! Reveal your true identity! That is only polite!”
Nautilus threw a dagger as he shouted. It was the poisoned dagger that made Lauel paralyzed for a while. Private Ars drew a circle with his spear and blocked it. No, Asmophel clicked his tongue.
"You’re talking about politeness? How shameless.”
Asmophel’s discerning eyes could tell that this robed man was a knight. He was a knight that learned the swordsmanship of the Saharan Empire. In the old days, it was inconceivable that a Red Knight would use hidden throwing weapons. This was inconsistent with an honorable act.
‘The Red Knights have become corrupt.’
Asmophel smiled bitterly and mourned.
‘Indeed, the Red Knights are different than before.’
All the chivalrous knights had been framed by Empress Marie and were dead or scattered. The Red Knights of the present day only had the same name. Otherwise, it was a completely new organization with different tendencies.
‘Marie...’
The damn woman who killed all their families and friends!
‘On the day that Grid devours the Saharan Empire, I will surely take everything back... Heok.’
Asmophel shook his head as he fell into his thoughts.
‘Right now, I’m Private Ars.’
A private didn’t need to think about the empire’s empress. Most ordinary soldiers in the world didn’t even know the face or name of the empress! Asmophel took a deep breath and stuck to his current role as Nautilus flew towards him.
"Daring to think in front of me!”
Syuok!
Syuok!
Nautilus’ sword aimed for two points. The ends of the Y blade were only aimed for weak spots like the heart, throat, and eyes. The grains of sand that rose up were split in half every time.
‘Great skills.’
Regas, Pon, and Faker felt admiration. The level of the robed NPC was estimated to be at least 400. The strength of a fourth advancement class was overwhelming for the Overgeared members, who were still only in the third advancement. But the Overgeared members were shocked by the soldier, not the robed man.
‘Why is a soldier so strong?’
Why did the soldier seem better than the robed man? Regas, Pon, and Faker were speechless when they heard Lauel’s call.
"How long are you going to stand there blankly? Go help the guild members destroy the Borneo army!”
“Y-Yes...”
The most threatening presence on the battlefield, the robed man, was being kept in check by a soldier. Thus, they could feel assured and do their roles well.
"Then who is that private?”
“Ars.”
"So who is Ars?”
“I don’t know.”
"Where did Grid pick up another named NPC?”
"In any case, Grid is great.”
The three men who misunderstood separated. On the other hand, the battle between Nautilus and Asmophel was becoming more intense.
Chaeeeeeng!
Nautilus’ sword moved at a fast pace while Asmophel focused on defending with his spear that had a wide range. The two people looked even. This was why Nautilus felt indignant.
“What? What’s your identity? How is someone like you hiding in a small kingdom?”
"Private Ars of Reidan.”
"Stop repeating the same bullshit! You’re too strong to be a soldier! Reveal your true identity!!”
"No, any soldier can be as strong as me if they learn Reidan’s spearsmanship.”
Reidan’s spearsmanship. It was something Asmophel had made after brainstorming with Piaro. All the soldiers of Reidan learned these techniques, which collected the merits of the ‘Imperial Spearsmanship Style’ that was passed down to only a handful of knights recognized by the Saharan Empire’s court.
However, the difficulty level was high and not one soldier had learned it to a good level yet. Of course, Asmophel had a complete understanding of it.
"Reidan’s Spearsmanship 2nd style. Dragon’s Tail.”
Peeng!
Asmophel swung the spear and a wave of energy shook Nautilus’ cochlea.
“What?
Nautilus lost his balance and barely defended against Asmophel’s attack. Then his eyes widened. It was because Asmophels’s spear, which was in contact with his sword, curved and stabbed at his neck.
‘This is bad...!’
Puok!
“Keok!”
Blood emerged as Nautilus was stabbed lightly. In the meantime, he predicted Asmophel’s movements and counterattacked. However, Asmophel was able to avoid him.
“You are forever dancing in the palm of my hand.”
"Ugh."
If a passersby was grabbed and asked about the strongest knights on the continent, they would all say the Red Knights. And among the Red Knights, Nautilus was the 9th strongest. Nautilus was confident that there were only around 30 people stronger than him on the continent. Yet he was being overpowered by a soldier of Reidan. It was also a private!
“How? Why is someone like you...?”
It was serious. He couldn’t have the stigma of a ‘solo number knight defeated by a soldier.’ It was absurd. Nautilus decided to flee and used Aura Rage, threatening Asmophel by erupting aura everywhere, creating a sand storm.
‘Use this gap to escape... Heok!’
Nautilus believed that he’d disturbed Asmophel’s view and ran away.
"It’s strange for a Red Knight to show his back. Originally, a Red Knight should have the instinct to ignore the limit and exceed it if they meet a stronger opponent. You’re actually like this?”
That damn voice was heard right above his head?
‘How did he escape from the bombardment of Aura Rage?’
A chill went down Nautilus’ spine as Asmophel stabbed his spear several times.
Papang!
Papapapang!
One, twice, three times, four times, ten times! Continue, continue, continue! Continue!
Puuoooook!
"Kuoooak!" Shit! Shitt!”
Nautilus tried to cope with the ruthless bombardment that was pouring down on him, but Asmosphel was too fast. Nautilus was constantly battered despite his resistance.
"Reidan’s Spearsmanship 3rd style.”
Kurururu!
The spear stabbing and piercing Nautilus’ body became surrounded by a golden light. It was the precursor to the peak technique of Reidan’s spearsmanship, Splitting the Seven Seas.
“Golden aura...? This is ridiculoussss!”
Nautilus whitened as the spear led to a storm of golden aura. He was afraid that his identity would be exposed and didn’t wear the Red Armor, the symbol of the Red Knights. Now he felt disappointed and helpless by this fact.
Puoook!
The golden-colored spear split Nautilus’ chest in half.
"Kuaaaack!"
Nautilus suffered catastrophic damage and collapsed. He belatedly thought. 'Yes, this is the best spearman on the continent...’
Kirinus! That monster was hiding among Reidan’s soldiers!
‘I would’ve had a chance if I wore the Red Armor... Too bad...’
Nautilus turned to grey. He never knew. Asmophel wasn’t Kirinus, and his swordsmanship was much better than his spear techniques.
***
“Whoa...”
"A-Amazing.”
The Reidan soldiers witnessed how an ordinary private (?) defeated the enemy. They obtained new hopes and dreams. If they kept working hard on Reidan’s spearsmanship, they could one day be strong like Private Ars? The morale of the Reidan soldiers rose and Lauel issued a timely order.
"Full force! Rush and hit Borneo! And I will promote Private Ars to a Private First Class right now!”
"Waaahhhhhhhh!"
The prize might seem a bit low since Ars defeated an enemy that no one else could stop, but this was the unfortunate treatment of commoner soldiers. Since there was a private first class who could perform the role of 50 people, it was relatively easy to advance.
‘Let’s earn achievements like Ars!’
The soldiers of Reidan burned with desire and attacked Borneo. After a while. Lauel whispered to Ars as they were left in the rear.
"I didn’t even dream that you would be Asmophel.”
“I’m Private Ars.”
Asmophel tried to conceal his identity, but he couldn’t deceive Lauel’s eyes.
"Huhut, you don’t need to hide your identity from me. I can guess your reason behind becoming a soldier. Is it to give encouragement to the soldiers so that they can train better? Always thinking about developing the army... Truly a great commander. You’re someone who is hard to fully grasp, like Grid and Piaro. Kukuk.”
“...?”
Lauel’s interpretation made Asmophel embarrassed. He tried to deny it by repeating the same words.
“I’m Private Ars.”
"Haha! Understood. Please continue to act as a soldier in the future. Private First Class Ars.”
Asmophel said again to the smiling Lauel. “I’m Private Ars.”
"...Do you have a fetish with being a private?”
"I should start from the beginning instead of getting the role of a private first class.”
He wanted to experience everything about being a soldier. Therefore, he refused. Lauel was delighted by Asmophel’s strong will.
‘I can reduce our financial expenditure.’
There was a big difference between a private and a private first class. Since Asmophel received a salary as the captain of the Overgeared Magic Knights division, it was a waste to pay him the salary of a private first class as well.
"It’s good that Ars has this private disease.”
The Saharan Empire’s solo number knight. He was killed by a soldier of Reidan. Unfortunately, this news was quietly buried. No one except for King Aslan and Asmophel knew that Nautilus was a solo number knight.
The next day at dawn. The long and intense battle ended. Borneo’s 10,000 troops were defeated by Reidan’s 3,000 troops. The members of Overgeared were active, but the crucial difference between the Borneo and Reidan soldiers were their items. The Borneo soldiers couldn’t go against the mass production Grid set that the legendary blacksmith Grid that every 1 in 10 soldiers had. There was also the activities of Private Ars.
At the same time, the vampire city.
"The vampires are simple to handle using this method. Just have the God Hands hit them with Mjolnir. How is it? Simple right? The viewers can try it as well.”
"...”
Grid was fooling viewers around the world. It wasn’t intentional, but it was unavoidable. The viewers became confused by Grid’s explanation.