The Indomitable Martial King

The moment Hal saw the young man’s attire, he doubted his eyes. The young man wore ordinary leather armor with a cloak draped over his shoulders and a long sword at his waist. While such attire was common in the city, this place was the eternal permafrost, Friesland.

‘How can he remain so calm in this cold with that attire!?’

Following him, the forms of other shadows became clear. There was a red-haired woman in a reddish robe, a young man in his twenties clad in pitch-black full-body armor, and a blonde knight in golden armor shining from head to toe.

None of them were dressed to withstand this cold. They weren’t even wearing fur coats. Yet, none of them showed any signs of feeling cold.

Everyone was so astonished that they just blinked in disbelief. Aaron, barely regaining his composure, asked.

“W-Who are you? And how did you get here?”

The young man stared intently at Aaron. Suddenly, a yellowish light filled Aaron’s vision.

“Huh?”

Aaron’s eyes widened. At the same time, a red line slowly appeared on his neck. Blood started to trickle from the red line, and then his head slid off and fell.

Thud!

Aaron’s head rolled across the frozen ground. Due to the extreme cold, the blood flowed for only a moment before freezing solid.

A moment later, Hal screamed.

“Ah, ahhh!”

Aaron was dead! The other members of the expedition team finally came to their senses and hurriedly drew their weapons.

“Aaron hyung!”

“Enemies!”

“They’re robbers after the relics!”

The members of the expedition team, now understanding the situation, charged at the young man in a fury. The young man glanced at his companions behind him and coldly ordered.

“Kill them all.”

The young man in black armor and the golden knight responded simultaneously.

“Yes!”

“At your command!”

The two knights drew their swords and charged at the expedition members. Black blades danced, and the golden longsword sprayed blood. Screams erupted continuously as dark red blood and bright red entrails spilled everywhere.

“Argh!”

“Gah!”

In an instant, the expedition members fell, bleeding. Hal, panicking, began to prepare a spell.

“By the thunder of the sky, Thunderbolt Arrow!”

The 3rd circle lightning spell, Thunderbolt Arrow, formed in Hal’s wrinkled hand, discharging electricity. Just as he was about to cast the spell, the robed woman chanted in a clear voice, forming hand seals.

“Flow of destruction, follow the natural order! Evasion Road!”

A grey magical staff materialized in front of the woman, absorbing all the lightning arrows. Hal’s complexion turned pale. The magic she used was a third-circle mana absorption spell. She was a mage on par with Hal, despite her youthful appearance.

“This, this can’t be!”

Meanwhile, the expedition members were dying. They, too, were seasoned combatants through dungeon explorations, yet none could stand against the two swordsmen. They could only die with eyes wide open in resentment, becoming cold corpses.

Within mere minutes, all the expedition members except Hal were dead. Hal, terrified, shouted at the young man.

“If you want the artifacts, take them all! I’ll give them all to you!”

The young man approached Hal with a bitter smile. Hal retreated, clutching the book in his arms.

‘No, this can’t be…….’

He didn’t care about the artifacts. But he couldn’t die without revealing the great truth he had discovered, this historical record. Hal pleaded.

“Please, spare my life. Killing an old man like me won’t benefit you in any way.”

At that moment, the young man spoke.

“I’m sorry, mage.”

The young man raised his longsword. His cold voice pierced Hal’s ears.

“The reason we came is actually because of you.”

The cold blade plunged deep into Hal’s abdomen. Excruciating pain struck his brain, and a scream erupted.

“Aaaargh!”

☆ ☆ ☆

A cold north wind swept through the valley filled with corpses, spreading its chill. A woman in a robe, watching the gruesome scene, called out to the black-haired young man.

“Teslon…….”

Philane approached Teslon with a sullen face. She asked, almost whining.

“Did it really have to be this way?”

“It was the command of the Sage of Silver.”

Teslon replied in a stiff voice as he approached Hal’s corpse.

“They opened a door that should not have been opened.”

Ignoring Philane’s sorrowful expression, the young man, Teslon, searched the corpse. He retrieved a tattered book and put it in his robe, continuing.

“This is a history that must not be known. Everything is for the protection of humanity.”

Philane looked puzzled.

“Of course, I’ve heard the Sage of Silver is the protector of humanity… but still, these innocent people…….”

“It’s just a small sacrifice for the greater good of humanity.”

Teslon cut off Philane’s words with a cold voice. At that moment, a knight in black armor approached Teslon. Teslon looked at him and asked.

“What do you think, Stefan? How is the Berserker Armor?”

The black knight replied with a sly grin.

“It couldn’t be better, Sir Teslon.”

The black knight was Stefan von Lepanto Artion, the second son of the Marquis of Artion and holder of the title of Viscount Lepanto.

While searching for his ancestral demon sword, Artion, Stefan had encountered the hidden Fist King, Repenhardt. This meeting left him consumed by feelings of inferiority, driving him to a life of indulgence and vice. Witnessing someone his age already reach the peak as an aura user made all his training feel pointless.

Once a promising knight known as the Knight of Resolve in the Vasily Kingdom, Stefan became a ruin, forgotten, with only a vague resentment toward Repenhardt to console him as he drowned his sorrows in alcohol.

It was then that Teslon, the Sage of Silver, approached Stefan.

Teslon promised him great power, power that would rival that of aura users, if he followed him. Power that would allow him to defeat Repenhardt.

The gift he received was this pitch-black full-body armor.

An exceptional artifact rivaling the magic armor Eldrad, the Berserker Armor.

Unlike Eldrad, which enabled the use of various spells, the Berserker Armor had a single defining feature.

It made the wearer endlessly fast, strong, durable, and tireless.

Stefan was utterly captivated by the power of this armor, which allowed him to fight like a legendary berserker while maintaining a clear mind. With newfound hope, he gave up his vices. He dedicated all his time to mastering the Berserker Armor.

‘Though I have yet to completely master the Berserker Armor…….’

The day this armor fully became his, that arrogant commoner aura user would be kneeling at his feet!

As Stefan clenched his teeth in thoughts of revenge, a calm voice reached him.

“You are not the only one who dreams of revenge, Sir Stefan.”

“Ah, Sir Eusus.”

Stefan turned to look at the knight in golden armor with a bitter smile. Indeed, he was not the only one seeking vengeance against Repenhardt.

Eusus von Tenes, the Golden Knight of Graim, renowned far and wide.

However, his fame had considerably dimmed, thanks to a humiliating defeat at the hands of Repenhardt.

Seeing Eusus, who also entrusted himself to Teslon, Stefan’s gaze softened.

“Are you hurt, Sir Eusus?”

“Haha, Sir Stefan. No matter what, do you think I would get hurt by such rabble?”

“Indeed.”

Though they were technically rivals, Stefan and Eusus got along quite well. Being in similar circumstances and sharing a common enemy, they couldn’t help but feel a sense of camaraderie.

Moreover, unlike Repenhardt, who was considered a mere commoner, Eusus hailed from a highly esteemed noble lineage and possessed significant renown. To Stefan, a nobleman to his core, Eusus was truly “someone worthy of friendship.”

“By the way…”

Approaching Teslon, Eusus reverted the magic armor Eldrad to its sheathed form. Once nearly destroyed by Repenhardt, Eldrad had been fully restored thanks to its self-repair ability and an artifact from the Silver Age that Teslon had provided.

Shedding his armor and feeling lighter, Eusus marveled as he looked around.

“This Necklace of Warmth is truly effective. Even in this blizzard, it feels like a spring breeze.”

The Necklace of Warmth, worn by everyone in Teslon’s group, was a Silver Age artifact that maintained a constant body temperature in any cold. It was an item known only to the Sages of Silver, never revealed to the world.

Eusus glanced at the infinite pouches scattered inside the tent and asked.

“What should we do with these artifacts, Sir Teslon?”

“Take what’s useful and sell the rest. But those listed must be retrieved and kept by the Sage of Silver.”

Teslon recalled the list he had memorized. Among the artifacts from this Salkana Dungeon, some were never to be permitted for the current humanity.

“The Sage of Silver has the mission of protecting humanity from ancient evils. Many of these Silver Age artifacts possess dangerous capabilities, and if not properly managed by the rightful custodian, chaos would ensue.”

As Teslon spoke, Eusus fiddled with the necklace around his neck, puzzled.

“I understand that, but what’s the criteria? Honestly, it doesn’t make sense…”

The Necklace of Warmth was undoubtedly a remarkable item. But was it so dangerous that it couldn’t be allowed for humanity? How could it be that artifacts like the magic armor Eldrad and the Berserker Armor were released to the world, yet the Necklace of Warmth wasn’t? Eusus couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Teslon inwardly smirked at Eusus’s expression. In truth, he also didn’t fully understand the criteria the Sages of Silver used to determine the significance of the artifacts. Despite being a Sage himself, Teslon knew less about their secrets than he knew.

But Teslon couldn’t show any uncertainty, so he ignored it and started rummaging through the infinite pouches. As he sorted through the artifacts according to the pre-received list, Eusus’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Hmm? Isn’t this the Voice of Elucion, Sir Teslon?”

In Eusus’s hand was a square black block. Teslon asked curiously.

“Hmm? It’s just a black square block, isn’t it? Why do you think it’s the Voice of Elucion?”

“Well…”

Eusus pointed to the ancient script engraved on the side of the block.

“The markings here are identical.”

Eusus, though lacking in knowledge of ancient languages, possessed a knight’s keen eye. He couldn’t read the script, but he could recognize identical “pictures.”

“Hmm…”

Teslon let out a slight groan. Was the Voice of Elucion also an artifact that shouldn’t be revealed to modern humanity? It seemed plausible, considering how much the Demon King Repenhardt valued it.

“I didn’t know there was another one.”

Half-heartedly answering, Teslon started to sort out the Voice of Elucion, but suddenly his eyes sparkled.

‘If the Demon King valued it so much, this must be no ordinary artifact…’

Sneakily, Teslon pocketed the black block, glancing at the others. Then, gathering the infinite pouches, he spoke to his group.

“Let’s head back. Even after returning what we owe to the Sage of Silver, there will be plenty of artifacts left.”

Though Teslon made a joke, the response was tepid. Everyone came from well-off families, so acquiring many artifacts wasn’t particularly thrilling. Moreover, the massacre of innocents, even under the Sage’s command, left them feeling uneasy.

As they prepared to return with somber expressions, Philane muttered quietly.

“…What kind of history must never be known that they go to such lengths, these Sages of Silver?”

Watching her, Teslon bit his lip.

“Do not seek to know, do not be interested, Philane.”

Indeed, it must never be known.

The unknown history.

The truth about the elves, dwarves, orcs, and trolls, who are now mere slave races.

The truth about them would only endanger modern humanity. It’s a truth that offers no benefit to the humans who rule the world.

Teslon solemnly declared.

“The only ones who have the right to know are the Sages of Silver.”