Chapter 131

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So, to summarize.

A Dwarf engineer, unable to contain their curiosity, pressed that incredibly suspicious button, and as a result, they were now facing a horde of these things?

It was truly laughable.

Dhahaha!!!

Hans stopped his mental escape. He had nearly been brained by the fist of an approaching iron golem.

He had managed to dodge it thanks to his experience and training.

The problem, however, was the sheer number of golems. There were far more than he had imagined, and each one was difficult to subdue. But then, Hans saw it.

The Jewel’s Star subduing the golems…

They were striking a yellow jewel embedded in the golems’ chests with hammers. As the jewels shattered, the golems instantly crumbled to the ground.

Hans nodded.

“I’ll take care of this.”

Now that he knew how to defeat them, there was nothing to fear.

With a peculiar gesture of touching his thumb and middle finger together, the surrounding scenery turned grayscale.

He entered time Stop, a space only he could traverse.

Hans carefully took a large hammer from a nearby member of the Jewel’s Star.

He then swung the hammer, meticulously shattering each of the golems’ jewels one by one.

Breaking the jewels themselves wasn’t difficult.

The reason the Jewel’s Star had retreated was because of the golems’ movements. Dealing with them without stopping time was not easy.

But thanks to Time Stop, Hans could easily destroy the jewels.

He returned the hammer to its original place and walked past the golem fragments.

“This should be enough.”

The position of Commander of the Royal Knights was all about showmanship, at least for Hans.

While he had become considerably stronger through continuous training, he was still far from the mythical strength of Yuren or Cluna.

Therefore, every bit of showmanship was crucial. It might seem like mere posturing,

But rumors tended to be exaggerated. And what was witnessed firsthand became an achievement, not a rumor.

Especially the weight of an achievement attributed to one’s position, which could not be ignored.

Frankly, who would dare to think the Commander of the Royal Knights was weak?

Hans had carefully maintained his image through this delicate balancing act and had barely managed to achieve results.

And now, time resumed.

The Jewel’s Star, and even Bell, were stunned by the sight before them.

The Jewel’s Star was the undisputed best knight order of the Dwarf Kingdom.

Even these veteran knights had struggled to subdue the iron golems of the Purgatory Workshop. But Hans had muttered something to himself and then instantly taken care of all of them?

“I’d heard about it, but your skill is truly remarkable.”

“He’s the Commander of the Royal Knights for a reason.”

“You’re surprisingly calm, Ambassador.”

“I’ve witnessed his abilities several times.”

Besides the Royal Knights, Viral was the only one who wasn’t surprised.

He replied nonchalantly to Bell’s comment.

He had seen Hans’s abilities firsthand on several occasions.

Bell now understood why Viral was so friendly towards the Royal Knights and provided them with so much support.

Of course, Hans being the Kingdom’s benefactor was one reason,

But the biggest reason was Hans’s own overwhelming power.

Surprisingly, before the attack on Lionheart Fortress, Hans’s strength hadn’t been widely recognized in the Multi-Racial Alliance.

Until then, only Yuren, Cluna, and Bayard’s strength had been known, and even Bayard’s abilities were questioned due to the 12 Tribes’ blatant favoritism.

However, the repulsion of the True Demons’ attack changed everything.

While some still belittled him, no one could deny that he possessed the strength befitting a Commander.

“Lazuli, did you see his movements?”

“No. Not at all.”

“I see.”

Lazuli, the orange-haired female knight standing next to Bell, shook her head.

She was the youngest knight of the Jewel’s Star, recommended by Bell herself.

She was skilled enough to crush any discrimination or contempt she faced.

Yet, even Lazuli couldn’t follow Hans’s movements. She brought her hand to her forehead.

Cold sweat trickled down.

It had been a brief moment, but Lazuli had felt utterly overwhelmed.

It was a first for her. If that man were to attack Princess Bell… could she protect her?

Lazuli briefly imagined the scene. And it always ended with her being beheaded before she could even react.

‘For Lazuli to react like that… We have to be wary of him.’

Even Bell had never seen Lazuli so tense. She always wore an impassive expression and effortlessly crushed the Kingdom’s strongest warriors.

Hence her nickname, the Iron Hammer.

But even the Iron Hammer, the pride of the Dwarf Kingdom, was reduced to a mere child before the Commander of the Royal Knights.

She had heard the stories, but she hadn’t imagined the gap was this significant.

“He’s the Commander! Of course he’s strong!”

“I see, the Commander is truly amazing.”

“Of course! Whose Commander is he?!”

“…”

Looking at Ruby, who nodded enthusiastically, Bell wore a complex expression.

Half of her had approached him with the Kingdom’s interests in mind, but the other half genuinely wanted to be his friend.

“…Ruby, what if…”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Bell shook her head.

She didn’t want to damage her image with a strange question.

In any case, she understood one thing, she had to strengthen their relationship with the Royal Knights.

“It seems it’s finished. Let’s go inside.”

Hans turned his back coldly.

Following his words, Bell and the Jewel’s Star headed for the entrance of the Purgatory Workshop.

The button had already been pressed. It seemed these were all the golems guarding the entrance.

“Sir Hans, what do you plan to do with these golem fragments?”

This was a surprisingly important issue.

As their name suggested, the iron golems were weapons made of steel. And not just any steel, but high-quality steel.

In other words, for the Dwarves, it was like stumbling upon a mountain of treasure just by entering the entrance. But that’s why they had to be cautious.

After all, it was Hans who had defeated the golems.

Moreover, it was the Dwarf Kingdom that had requested the Royal Knights’ assistance.

In this situation, if Hans claimed the golems as his spoils, the Kingdom wouldn’t be able to object.

‘…Still, if we negotiate, we should be able to get some of it.’

“These golems? Take them if you want.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Is something wrong?”

“N-no, nothing.”

Bell shook her head.

She was afraid the Commander might change his mind. The iron from the golems was incredibly valuable to the Dwarves. But she couldn’t help but wonder.

Why was he giving it away so easily? Did he not know its value?

No, that couldn’t be.

He couldn’t possibly be ignorant.

🚨 Important Notice 🚨

); }

Perhaps if he were just a knight fighting on the front lines…

But the Commander, the one in charge of the entire knight order, couldn’t possibly be unaware of the value of this steel.

Perhaps the commander of some nameless knight order… but not the Commander of the Royal Knights.

“He’s the one who willingly gave the national treasure to the Human Kingdom, isn’t he?”

“Ambassador, I haven’t said anything.”

“I can see right through you.”

“I can’t hide anything from you, Ambassador.”

Viral immediately understood what Bell was thinking.

Unlike most Dwarves, she was suspicious and complex.

That’s why she was fit to be the Kingdom’s princess.

But perhaps because of that, Bell, who had been caught up in various incidents since childhood, was skeptical of pure goodwill.

That’s why Viral considered this meeting with Sir Hans an opportunity.

A ruler had to be ruthless. But without any compassion, a ruler was nothing but a tyrant.

Viral hoped that this encounter with the noble Sir Hans would help their princess become a true ruler, not a tyrant.

‘What good is scrap metal if it’s so troublesome to acquire?’

The truth, however, was that Hans had simply given it away because he didn’t know its value.

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[Translator Notes]