30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 187

"That was truly an unexpected and bewildering sight..."

Just moments ago, they had been calmly discussing the evacuation manual and were overwhelmed with admiration after meeting Sir Raq, one of the kingdom's most renowned knights. But now—

Boom!

"!!?"

"Y-you’re not blocking it!?"

"Is... is that the sound of a punch hitting someone’s face?"

The chaos quickly settled.

It was forced, really.

Because anyone who saw a scene like that would move from confusion to another kind of astonishment, with sheer horror etched across their face.

Boom!

Unrelenting blows.

Relentless strikes to the face, ignoring all defense.

Someone might think they were just randomly swinging, but—

"...There’s no way that sound could come from 'random' punches like that..."

It sounded like a hammer striking armor.

The sound made one’s spine shiver, and with each resounding thud, bodies flinched involuntarily.

...One thing was certain: if anyone else were to take punches like that to the face, their nasal bones would collapse, and their jaws would shatter.

The ferocity of the punches was palpable, and each strike made their bodies flinch involuntarily...

Clang.

“Five minutes have passed.”

With the ringing of a bell, it ended.

Young Lord Roen, who had been unnoticed until now, rang the bell, and the two knights froze in their stances, fists poised to strike one another.

Drip.

Spit...

Blood flowed from their faces.

Blood trickled from their noses and mouths, painting their bruised faces red and visibly painful.

What shocked the cadets even more was how relatively intact the two knights appeared despite the brutal exchange.

They had assumed cheekbones would collapse at the very least, but it seemed to end with only minor bruises.

And yet—

“Whew, now my blood’s finally circulating.”

“You arrogant brute, don’t hold back!”

“If I hadn’t held back, your head would be rolling by now.”

“You bastard...!”

—What were they even saying?

The cadets doubted their ears.

What had they just heard?

Holding back...?

That?

...A serious question arose among them, one they couldn't suppress:

Are these instructors even human?

And if they were human,

What the hell are they? Terrifying...

*****

"His punches really are viciously sharp."

Drip...

Even now, Ihan could clearly sense that the guy had grown stronger since yesterday.

Their first encounter had already shown that he was no slouch—his punches back then had been sharp enough to take note of.

But now, it was different.

It wasn’t just sharpness; there was weight behind them.

As a result—

"Some of the impact remains," Ihan admitted.

Despite his unique recovery abilities, which had quickly mended the bruises, he marveled at how the lingering shock hadn’t entirely dissipated.

Of course, part of the difficulty in recovering fully stemmed from Ihan’s conscious effort not to use [Iron Body].

But this was precisely the process Ihan needed right now.

And that was why—

“Are you mocking me, scoundrel? Not even using that strange technique of yours—!”

“It’s mutual, isn’t it? You’re holding back your killing intent too.”

“...”

‘This guy’s no different,’ Ihan thought with a smirk.

Lecturing him while holding back himself? Ridiculous.

“Just like I’m suppressing [Iron Body] and my strength, you’re holding back your aura and techniques, aren’t you?”

“...Hmph.”

Ihan knew.

This guy was a terrifyingly skilled technician.

He had at least hundreds of defensive and deflective techniques at his disposal, all mastered to the level of a grandmaster.

If he put his mind to it, no matter how hard Ihan struck, he could likely deflect it all with ease.

In martial arts terms, he was the epitome of "soft overcoming hard."

The reason why a man with such a frail-looking build could endure so many magical blows in battles against sorcerers and still rise was probably due to those incredible skills of his.

‘What an absurdly talented guy.’

Adding to that, his innate aura of slaughter made him a genius among geniuses, standing on a completely different level.

So Ihan understood that this guy had also been holding back in the first round.

But that wasn’t out of consideration for Ihan or a sense of fair play.

He, too, had his own struggles—

“You can’t fully control your power either, can you?”

“...”

“I thought so. You’re not the type to show up just because I called you, but here you are.”

“...This so-called ‘blessing’ is far more troublesome than I anticipated.”

Raq had no choice but to admit it.

Even though Ihan had figured him out, Raq wasn’t the type to stubbornly deny it. Clicking his tongue with a slightly gruff expression, he spat his response.

“What a personality...”

Swish.

With those words, Ihan and Raq ended their brief exchange and resumed their stances.

Conversations were fine, but—

Clang!