Chapter Title: The Knight Who Descends from the Sky


It was around that time. Just as my first year as a knight was reaching its midpoint, I was assigned to my first-ever joint knight mission.

“Good to see you all.”

The one in charge was Yulian. The participants were Tiana, Leon, and myself.

“The objective of this mission is assassination.”

Yulian continued nonchalantly.

“Imperial Intelligence has pinpointed the location of high-ranking members and a plan belonging to the armed group ‘Zentra’.”

Zentra. They were a splinter faction of the Revolutionary Army, but far more radical, a group that focused solely on crimes like pillaging, robbery, and raids.

“As you know, they’ve assassinated countless imperial nobles, and three years ago, they even attempted to kidnap a member of the royal family.”

As their history suggests, they are so extreme that even the Revolutionary Army keeps its distance. They are less a revolution and more a heresy.

“The target is the officer, ‘Emulen’.”

The target was a mid-level officer in Zentra. Four knights would be more than enough; in fact, it was overkill.
But we failed. It was because we hadn’t accurately assessed the enemy’s strength.
There was one other person there.
That one person was the problem.
He was too much for even four knights to handle, and we only barely survived thanks to Yulian.

“His current location has been identified as the Independent Nation of Kanilan.”


The Independent Nation of Kanilan is a union of island nations established in the Kanilan Archipelago. Its land area and population are a mere fraction of the Empire’s, but its technological prowess cannot be ignored.

“According to local intelligence, they are planning to seize weapons in Kanilan. If those weapons fall into Zentra’s hands, the entire Empire will be under threat of terrorism. We must stop them.”

Back then, I had run away.
To be honest, even now, the desire to run away hasn’t completely vanished.
I am still Maximillian. Returning to the past doesn’t make the fear disappear. I am simply in a position where I now know a greater fear: ‘ruin’.

“We will first infiltrate the area disguised as mercenaries. The advance team will be….”

Yulian looked at me.

“Max, can you do it?”

This was a chance to change my past, to forge myself anew. If I run away again, there is no future. I will die a weak, pathetic coward.

“Yes.”

Besides, I had a lot of money to make in Kanilan anyway. If I went under the pretext of a business trip, I could save time. It was killing two birds with one stone.

“Good.”

Yulian handed me a file folder.

“Finish your preparations and depart next week. Once you arrive in Kanilan, secure a base and rendezvous with our informant.”
“Yes, understood.”

I stood up from my seat. Leon and Tiana seemed surprised that I had volunteered for the advance team without a word of protest.

“I’ll be on my way.”


As I left, I called Dieter.

“Dieter. I have something to prepare. An ID to use in Kanilan and….”

I relayed the business matters to Dieter and immediately returned home to face Priya.
This time, it was for an ‘emergency tutoring session’.

“The fee is tripled.”

Priya’s hair was a tangled mess, as if she had just been woken up.

“Yes. I’ll pay whatever you ask.”

She raised an eyebrow and looked me up and down.

“By the way, Maximillian, you’ve already completely mastered the first form of Ebenholz. Yeon is the foundation, the cornerstone, and the root of Ebenholz, and at the same time, it is one of the most difficult sword forms in the entire world. What you need now is not to learn something new, but to embody it. The process of making it one with your body.”

Her words meant I shouldn’t be impatient and should just wait.

“I know. However, I want to learn how to fight against fists.”
“...How to fight fists?”
“Yes.”

Priya suddenly flattened her palm, making the ‘paper’ sign. My expression instantly soured.

“...”
“...”
“...Why?”
“Oh, come on.”

Priya couldn’t hold back her laughter.

Phht. Ah, I’m kidding. But not entirely. The truth is, scissors beat rock.”

I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair.

“There is someone I must kill.”
“For such a murderous reason, I have even less cause to teach you.”
“...There is an opponent I want to overcome.”

I changed my words. At that, Priya leaned her back against a training yard tree and straightened her posture.

“What kind of martial art was it? Show me.”
“It was like… BAM! BAM!”

I threw a few punches. Whoosh, whoosh.

“Something like this.”
“...”
“...Are you talking about how you fought the neighborhood kids when you were thirteen?”
“No, that’s….”

I searched my memory. It was the first time in my life I had seen such a fighting style. A true fist art. Moreover, his entire body was so tough that a sword blade couldn’t even pierce it.

“A crimson demonic energy was rising from his fists. His body was incredibly durable, too.”

Priya snapped her fingers.

“Ah~ The ‘Iron Heart Style’, you mean. Tricky. Very tricky. However, if their opponent is an Ebenholz user…”

“Am I at a type advantage?”

“No. The Iron Heart Style holds a temporary advantage against almost every type of swordsman. They force a fight at a distance swordsmen aren’t used to. The moment you allow them into close range, you lose. A fist is much faster than a sword. However, Ebenholz is a sword art that never lets an opponent get close in the first place.”

The sword of nobles. The blooming Yeon that flows from a static position is certainly elegant and arrogant, drawing an uncrossable line between the enemy and myself.

“But just blocking their approach won’t decide the match.”
“Should I wait for their stamina to run out while I block?”
“No. Ebenholz is not a sword style that drags out a fight. On the contrary, it ends the situation with a single sword draw. In that sense, you already possess more than enough speed.”

Priya glanced at my legs.

“Therefore… what’s most important for you right now is the visual acuity to perceive the ‘opening’ to unleash your speed, and…”

Priya pulled a small sword from her robes.

“...moving your sword and body as one.”

With that, she took a single step forward. The scabbard seemed to clatter for an instant, and then—

Hwiiiiiiiiiiii—!

She vanished like the wind.

“...The art of the sword draw.”

A voice came from behind me. I turned to look. Priya was bathed in the moonlight, a faint smile gracing her lips. Her bluish figure was suddenly mystical.

“But before we begin class, a question. What did I just ‘step on’?”
“...What? The ground, I suppose.”
“Wrong. Class is on hold until you figure it out. Find the answer yourself.”

She yawned, leaned against the tree trunk, and sat down. I fell deep into thought.


Five days later.
After a long flight, I arrived at Kanilan Airport. Without a moment to rest, I immediately hailed a cab.

“To the Kanilan Stock Exchange, please.”

There was somewhere I needed to stop before meeting the informant.

“Yes.”

The taxi driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror.

“You must be from the Empire.”

The Independent Nation of Kanilan uses Atinian—the common language of the Empire. Its other cultural aspects and customs are also very similar to the Empire’s.
After all, it was a nation founded by people who had fled the Empire’s oppression.

“Yes.”
“Haha. I thought so.”

Kanilan has no class system. Instead, it’s easier to think of it as a kind of ‘corporate state.’ It’s a place that espouses capitalism more strongly than any other nation.
In fact, several islands in the Kanilan Archipelago are run by mega-corporations.
Even during the world war before my regression, they had strictly maintained their neutrality, and never once participated in the war until the foolish Empire blockaded their territorial waters on suspicion that ‘Kanilan was supplying the Western Alliance.’

“You imperial folk are so tall and handsome.”

In any case, there isn't much animosity towards Imperials. In fact, they are welcomed more than people from other nations in the West or East.
After all, Imperials who come to travel tend to spend a lot of money.

“We’ve arrived.”

I paid the driver three times the fare. Purely because he had called me handsome.
The people of Kanilan know how to make money.

[Kanilan Stock Exchange - KNSE]

The Kanilan Stock Exchange. Located in the heart of the capital. The more money, the better, and Kanilan was the easiest, fastest, and safest country to leverage the information I possessed.

“...This should be enough.”

I picked up my notebook. It was a list I had written down on the plane, jogging my memory with Virus.

ㆍSolaris Energy: 300% growth in 1 year.
ㆍArgentum Bio: 250% growth in 3 months.
ㆍAshton Dynamics: 300% growth within 3 months.
ㆍNovatech: 400% growth within 2 months.
ㆍYeokson-Jeike: 600% growth in 6 months.

Kanilan had been a good investment opportunity even before I returned to the past, and I used to read the business section of the newspaper quite often. For survival. I had a feeling Jepestian wouldn't leave me a single coin of inheritance.

I entered the stock exchange. The inside was chaotic. The stock tickers covering the walls and the sound of terminals ringing from every direction were disorienting.

—Hey! Hey! Don’t touch that!
—Ah~ It’s this crap again. What the hell did these bastards do?
—Sir. Please, reconsider. If you can just hold on through today, I’m sure—

“Over here. You must have an appointment.”

I presented the ID and documents I had prepared in advance to the front desk. They very politely guided me to an elevator.

“This way, please.”

The top floor of the stock exchange. It was a reception room for VIPs.

“A pleasure to meet you. I am Russell, the vice president of KNSE.”

A man with slicked-back hair and a rather greasy impression greeted me. He first offered me tea, but I simply handed him the note with the company names and a check.

“This is the initial investment.”
“—Initial? For a first investment, this is a very large sum. And you’ve already decided where to invest it.”
“Then I’ll be on my way.”

I rose from my seat. He looked quite surprised by the abrupt development.

“Oh, leaving already?”
“My representative will be coming from now on.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”

I had a busy schedule today.
I headed straight for the rendezvous point.
I sat at an empty table at the designated outdoor café, placed a chicken sandwich, a glass of lemonade, and fries on the table, then held a weekly newspaper folded three times so that the back-page advertisement was visible, and waited.
Five minutes passed.

“You’re a little late.”

An informant wearing a beret sat down across from me.

“I had something to attend to.”
“Yes. I understand.”

He placed a map on the table.

“The location is here. A point south of Kallen Island.”

The location was marked with a red circle.

“Next week, weapons from the Eskal Corporation are scheduled to be shipped in this area. Emulen and his cronies will attack to seize them, so you can strike then.”

The informant’s intel was missing one crucial detail. It wasn’t just ‘Emulen and his cronies’. There was a monster among them, one of Zentra’s core operatives, a man named ‘Dun Khan.’

“Other mercenary groups hired by Eskal, including the Acarius, will also be present. You knights will be participating in the operation under the guise of the ‘Embla Mercenary Corps’.”

Dun Khan.
I quietly recalled him.

Hissssss.

The Iron Heart Style. A monster whose body, wreathed in a bizarre crimson vapor as he spouted steam, couldn’t be pierced by a sword’s edge.
With only his fists, he crushed every swordsman there.
I had only survived thanks to Yulian.
No, maybe I had already died back then.
My life as a knight had effectively ended in my zeroth year.
After him, I came to fear battlefields, combat, and duels.

“Acknowledged.”

I said to the informant.

“And one more thing. I need to arrange for a transport aircraft.”

As a knight, for this mission, I would personally execute the teachings of the manual I would write.
This, too, was a part of the process of proving myself.

“...A transport aircraft?”
“The payment will be this.”

I handed him a small pouch. It was filled with high-purity manastones.

“In Kanilan, it should be easier to convert to cash.”
“Yes. I’ll look into it. The next rendezvous is in 36 hours at the burger joint next door. The method is the same. Well then, I’ll be off.”

I watched the informant’s retreating back intently.
Could he be trusted?
He didn’t know of Dun Khan’s existence, but all the other information was correct.
I should be suspicious, but not overly distrustful.
There were still many people in the Empire who could become my allies.


A few days later, my comrades arrived in the country one by one. I guided them to the safe house I had secured in advance.

“...This isn't a house... What is this, an imperial luxury mansion?”

The top floor of a very expensive residential building in Kanilan. Tiana and Leon looked bewildered, and Yulian asked with his eyes.

“I bought it under a false name a week ago. A place this expensive will actually have tighter security.”

They all had dumbfounded expressions.

“...I guess so. It’s not like you’d think someone would use a place like this for a few days and just abandon it.”

Yulian muttered as if in disbelief.

“Let’s start the briefing.”

I explained the operation in the spacious living room.

“The informant suggested we escort the shipment under the guise of a mercenary group, and then counter-attack when Zentra makes their move, but…”

Zentra’s raid was a piece of intelligence painstakingly uncovered by Imperial Intelligence. The company being attacked is unaware of this fact, so the security force at the port won't be large. It can't be too large. After all, our objective is to capture the Zentra agents, not the weapons.

“I propose a different method.”

Yulian tilted his head.

“An aerial drop.”
“...A drop?”
“Yes. An aerial assault. In any operation, we must always assume the worst-case variable. Therefore, there's a possibility that a much stronger entity than Emulen could appear.”

That’s why.

“We observe the situation from the sky and remain on standby. When the incident occurs, we perform a high-altitude drop to instantly strike the enemy’s core…”
“What? Hey, are you crazy?!”
“No, no, no, Max, wait a minute. The first time I ever rode a plane was on the way here.”

Tiana and Leon suddenly started freaking out. I furrowed my brow.

“Are knights this weak?”
“Hey, who are you calling weak? Isn’t it weirder to suddenly do something you’ve never done before in your life?”

Tiana let out a hollow laugh.
Just as she said, an aerial drop is certainly difficult. If you handle your body incorrectly in the air, you could die on the spot, no matter how skilled a knight you are.
Before my regression, I had done it quite a few times—mostly for escape—and I had even practiced twice a week ago.

“Sir Yulian.”

Yulian looked at me.

“I’ll do it alone if I have to.”

A direct application of my manual is necessary. I need to build a track record so that Empire Point will trust my manual, and this method is optimal for taking down ‘Dun Khan.’

“I understand, Max.”

Yulian nodded and rose from his seat.

“The destination is the Kallen Island port. On the ground, I’ll be with Tiana and Leon. From the air, Max, you will monitor the situation.”

Yulian was an ideal superior. He judged the rationality of a plan he was hearing for the first time from a rookie knight in his first year, and trusted him like this.

“Yes.”

All I had to do was prove it to him.

“I will show you.”

The method for dealing with the Iron Heart Style that Priya had told me was simple.

“A knight is….”

The weakness of a rock is scissors.
A blade that can, for just a single moment, be faster than a fist.

“...strongest when descending from the sky.”

A sword strike plunging from the heavens.
With my sword, I will sever that bastard’s head from his neck.

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Pub: 25 Oct 2025 19:57 UTC

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