30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?!-Chapter 210: The Knights’ Night Out (4)

...If there was one rule Ihan had decided on for this mission, it was not to harm anyone.

Not because he had suddenly developed a distaste for violence.

But because if he was going to steal something, and then on top of that punch people, well—

At that point, there would be no escaping the label of a criminal.

So he had made up his mind.

Unfortunately—

BOOM!

...As the elders often said, things rarely go as planned.

THUD!

Ihan didn’t hesitate as he struck his opponent.

His punch was powerful enough to pierce through solid rock, and that same force shattered through his target’s defenses, breaking his jaw completely.

That guy would be eating nothing but porridge for the rest of his life.

But Ihan didn’t have time to pity him—

Because at that very moment, two Holy Knights lunged at him from both sides, swinging their swords.

CRACK!

“!!?”

Their expressions twisted in shock.

Because Ihan had just grabbed their swords with his bare hands.

Their horror only deepened as he clenched his grip—

And shattered the blades like twigs.

The broken edges—

STAB!

“Ghhkk!?”

—Sank directly into their throats.

THUD!

The knights coughed up blood, their bodies trembling as they tried to scream.

But before they could even let out a final wail—

Ihan ripped out their tongues.

A truly gruesome death.

But he showed them no mercy.

If these had been normal Holy Knights, he wouldn’t have been this ruthless.

Unfortunately for them—

“—Why the hell are these things here?”

They weren’t normal Holy Knights.

They were nothing but pests that deserved to be exterminated.

Ihan’s expression twisted into a deep scowl.

Why were they in the temple...?

[Half-Demons] were disguising themselves as Holy Knights?

***

...In the end, Ihan successfully navigated the maze that was the Grand Temple.

He realized he had entered a subterranean shelter (his best guess), and within it, he found piles of treasures hoarded by the temple.

Golden thrones, golden candelabras, golden crowns, golden ingots...

—Damn. The temple’s rich as hell.

He spent a brief moment marveling at the sheer wealth the temple had hidden away.

But he never even considered reaching for the gold.

He wasn’t here for that.

When a man had a goal, he had to focus on that goal—

And Ihan was not one to succumb to greed.

So he walked.

For how long, he didn’t know.

Eventually—he sensed movement.

—Is anyone here?

—Damn rats!

—Do you even know where you are, you wretched intruders?!

—We must burn them at the stake!

...The priests sounded furious.

Ihan hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but hidden in the shadows, he naturally caught their conversation.

For once, he felt a little guilty.

Because this was the rare occasion where he was actually in the wrong.

—...There are other intruders besides me?

That part surprised him.

He tilted his head.

But the priests didn’t provide any further information.

Realizing there was nothing else to gain, Ihan was about to move on when—

—??

He felt uneasy about something.

Something off among the priests.

Something he couldn’t ignore.

—Senior, may I be excused from tonight’s prayer service? I’m not feeling well...

—Of course. Forcing yourself to attend won’t bring any joy to the Light.

—Thank you, Senior.

A young priest—

With a soft, harmless face.

To most people, he would look gentle and pure.

But to Ihan—there was only one word for him.

—Disgusting.

Ihan immediately began tailing him.

The other priests scattered, busy preparing for the night’s prayer.

Soon, the young priest was alone.

And just as Ihan had expected—

—Tch. Kneeling all day at this age is a pain in the ass.

That wasn’t something a young man should be saying.

So Ihan moved.

FLASH!

—GHHK!?

He struck like a hawk diving for prey.

His hand closed around the young priest—

Or rather, the middle-aged man wearing a young priest’s skin.

Then, he spoke.

—Why the hell is a [Half-Demon] here?

—!!?

—Ah, but I suppose you’re not going to answer me, huh? Yeah, I figured as much. So how about this—let’s have a little chat for about ten minutes. You don’t need to talk—I’ll do all the work.

—!!?!!

CRACK!

For the third time this year, Ihan began shattering an impostor’s bones.

It didn’t even take five minutes before the bastard was spilling everything he knew.

But even then—

—Since you answered so nicely, I’ll throw in a free thirty-minute service.

The bastard twitched violently, weeping tears of blood as his body convulsed.

A truly heartwarming sight.

“—If I had more time, I would’ve added another half-day.”

Ihan smirked, thinking about the half-crippled bastard he had left behind.

One thing was for certain—

Doing good deeds always felt satisfying.

"Do you guys even understand this feeling? Ah, no—you wouldn’t. None of you have ever done any volunteer work in your damn lives."

"......"

"Ah, my bad. I forgot—I ripped out your tongues."

"......"

"Don’t cry, you bastards. What the hell did you do to deserve sympathy?"

If anything, their expressions just made him want to hit them more.

***

In this world, there exists a breed known as [Demonkind].

Just as animals and plants that consume the remains of demonic beasts undergo demonization, humans who consume such remains become Demonkind themselves.

And once a human turns into one—there’s a 100% chance they will lose their humanity and even engage in cannibalism.

There are well-known cases, such as the infamous incident of a woman who, after unknowingly consuming demonic flesh, ended up killing and devouring her own child.

From this alone, one can get a rough idea of what Demonkind truly is.

They are humans, yet no longer human—

They possess strength comparable to knights, making them incredibly difficult to deal with.

In a way, they are even worse than demonic beasts—the natural enemies of mankind.

And Ihan remembered—

How, not long ago, those fanatics from the underground had used these traits of Demonkind to achieve results.

The result being Demonkind who weren’t truly Demonkind...

"So their little research project has made its way all the way here, huh?"

They were known as Half-Demons.

Unlike Demonkind, they didn’t completely lose their humanity.

But in exchange, they gained insane growth speed and monstrous strength.

Since his first encounter with them in the underground, he never imagined he’d run into them again.

Ihan stared at the eighteen Half-Demons lying in a heap before him—

And all he could feel was sheer disbelief.

Half-Demons, disguised as Holy Knights, walking freely around the temple?

If this got out, it would turn the entire kingdom upside down.

No—

Forget turning it upside down.

If this was mishandled—

"The temple itself might collapse."

The temple’s downfall.

At first, it sounded absurd.

But the more he thought about it, the more real the possibility became.

Ihan had always harbored resentment toward the temple.

But even he couldn’t deny its benefits.

The existence of holy power allowed commoners to receive healing.

It provided relief and shelter to the poor and orphaned.

And if the temple were to fall...?

The chaos and destruction would be on the same level as a natural disaster sweeping across the kingdom.

"For fuck’s sake. I only came here to shake things up a little—how the hell did it come to this?"

His goal had been to flip the table, not to find evidence that would burn the entire temple to the ground.

If he could just figure out who was responsible for bringing these Half-Demons here—

If he could find the mastermind and take them down, it’d be a simple matter.

But...

"These bastards don’t know a damn thing."

He had interrogated them thoroughly—

But all they knew was that they had received orders to be here.

They hadn’t been given any specific instructions.

They had never even met their superior in person—

All they received were orders through letters and notes.

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

Even after arriving at the temple, they had never once met with a high priest.

A complete disaster of a situation.

"...What the hell is the goal here?"

At this point, Ihan was confused.

Was the mastermind trying to destroy the kingdom?

Or were they trying to seize control of the temple?

The more he investigated, the deeper the swamp became.

"...This is really pissing me off."

Ihan, unable to suppress his frustration, let his killing intent slip.

He had been carefully suppressing his presence until now—

But in that moment, his irritation overwhelmed his restraint.

And then—

WHOOSH!

"!"

His instincts screamed.

Something was closing in on him—fast.

Without hesitation, Ihan grabbed a fallen Half-Demon’s sword and swung it—

BOOM!

The force of the clash shook the entire chamber.

It wasn’t just sword against spear.

It felt like two cannon shells colliding head-on.

"Holy shit—!"

One exchange was enough for Ihan to realize—

This opponent was a monster.

But the real problem was—

FWOOOOSH!

CRACK!

There wasn’t just one of them.

There were two.

Before Ihan could react, a massive figure slammed into him, sending his body flying.

"...Did I just get thrown?"

Even though he had diffused the impact,

The sheer fact that he couldn’t hold his ground—

How long had it been since he last felt this?

It was like being hit by a raging bull—no, a charging elephant.

Ihan barely managed to stabilize himself, narrowing his gaze at the two new arrivals.

He could tell instantly—

They were dangerous.

The kind of opponents where his life was on the line.

Which meant—

"I have to go all out."

BOOM!

Ihan stepped forward with full force.

With two enemies of this caliber, he couldn’t afford to hold back.

Whether or not he got exposed, he had to fight to kill—

“—Hmm? Are you perhaps Lihan?”

"......?"

“That beastly aura and that steel-forged body—it has to be you! Hah! To think we’d meet here! The world is small indeed!”

"......."

What the hell was this familiar voice?

“Why the hell are you here?”

Another familiar voice.

“Wait a damn second—are you the spear bastard?”

"......."

Instead of answering, the masked figure removed his hood—

Revealing a pair of red eyes and a familiar, wolfish grin.

Raq de Duron.

At the same time, the other massive masked figure also removed his hood—

“Hahaha! It’s been a while, Lihan!”

“...It’s Ihan, not Lihan.”

“Hah! Of course, I know that. Do you think I would forget the name of the man who defeated me?”

"......What."

A giant of a man.

Black-haired, built like a damn fortress, with an aura like a walking war machine.

A champion of the North.

The Black Lion himself—

“Maximus.”

“Just call me Max. That’s what my friends do.”

Maximus Iron de Lionel.

Ihan stared at these two knights, unable to decide if they were friends or foes.

What the hell was this?

No—

"Why the hell are you two here?"

“I should be asking you that.”

“Hahaha! It almost feels like a reunion! Delightful!”

"...What the fuck kind of reunion is this?"

For the first time in a while—

Ihan felt the genuine urge to cut ties and run.