## Chapter 1130 – Elven Forest

So, those elves were scheming something, as expected.

Saintel seemed flustered by this unpleasant atmosphere, but the other elves maintained a perfectly normal demeanor.

It seemed everyone knew except Saintel.

Could it be they wanted to show off the power of the Guardian Warriors to me? The atmosphere certainly suggests that, and for a warrior group like this, it’s entirely possible. They probably wanted to flaunt their strength.

But I’m the kind of person who just laughs when I see people engaging in such petty behavior.

“Hahahahaha!!!”

As I laughed loudly, Saintel walked towards the elf sitting in front and opened his mouth.

“Grand Master? What is th…”
“Bring him over here, Saintel.”

The voice that suddenly flowed out.

I definitely heard “Grand Master.”

So, the elf sitting in front is the leader of these Guardian Warriors. The Grand Master’s voice was eerily similar to that of a serial killer, an unsettling contrast to his handsome face.

I wouldn’t be surprised if someone with a voice like that could kill even their own kind without a second thought.

—Strong.

I felt it.

“Saintel, let’s go.”
“Ah, okay.”

I slowly walked with Saintel to stand before the Grand Master.

—…

He was a male elf with a rather lithe build. His hair was a deep green, almost black. His hair quality was so good it would make Copson jealous, and his long locks extended past his waist.

He wore clothes similar to a martial arts uniform, but the glimpses of skin revealed that he was a born-and-bred killer with a gym-honed physique.

He’s strong, indeed.

Is he on par with a Sword Master?

“Welcome. I am Harkan, the Grand Master of the Elven Guardian Warriors. It’s an honor to meet you.”

He stood up from his seat, extended his hand for a handshake, and smiled. I was taller, so I was looking down at him.

“Hehehe, pleased to meet you. I am Kim Kat, Paladin directly under the Saintess of the Brass Celestial Order, serving the god Verde. It’s an honor for me to meet such a great warrior.”

I took his hand and shook it.

“…”

The grip conveyed his immense strength. Standing this close, I could tell. This guy is the real deal. I couldn’t even gauge exactly how strong he is. He’s definitely Sword Master level.

After shaking his hand casually, I let go, and he glanced at the female elf beside him.

She opened her mouth curtly.

“…Deputy Commander Selasis.”

The Deputy Commander was a female warrior with striking orange hair and a great figure. She extended her hand, and I introduced myself, shaking her hand briefly. But this guy… he doesn’t seem to be in a good mood. I feel like I could take him down easily.

Did he sense that?

“Saintel, return to your position.”
“Ah, yes. Understood, Grand Master.”

At Harkan’s words, Saintel retreated to the back.

After dismissing Saintel, he said to me.

“…You are a remarkably strong warrior. I can sense an astonishing amount of power.”

Can you really compare?

“It is an honor that you accepted our invitation. The reason for the invitation is… well, you are the first outsider to visit the World Tree, so I wanted to meet you. Especially since you are said to be a strong warrior, it piqued my interest even more.”

He said this while staring intently at me.

It seemed he was trying to gauge my combat abilities.

“It’s an honor that you say so. I have rarely seen anyone with power as great as yours.”
“That’s all because of age. But you… you are quite young by elven standards, yet you possess such great power.”

I suppose that’s true.

“Perhaps it’s a characteristic of humans… the individual differences among humans are extremely large. There are very weak ones, but there are also rare, extremely strong warriors like you. But because there are so many of you, quite a few of these strong individuals are produced.”
“You have seen very accurately. You seem to know a lot about humans.”
“They are a numerous race. It’s necessary to study them.”

I don’t know why he’s saying this, but Harkan just stared at me with a seemingly refreshing smile.

“Isn’t that right? Selasis?”
“Yes, Grand Master.”

What’s their scheme?

“Well, then. Since we’ve extended an invitation, we must treat you well. Everyone, proceed as planned.”

—Clap.

It was the moment Harkan said that and clapped his hands.

—Rumble.

The Guardian Warriors all stood up from their seats and diligently began pulling out tables and chairs from both sides. It was like watching our ROK soldiers putting the furniture back in place after a battalion-wide moral education session in the army barracks cafeteria.

I was guided to a seat, and soon the Guardian Warriors began to bring out bottles and cups filled with alcohol to serve me.

Was inviting me just an excuse to drink during work hours?

“A toast to the alliance between our elves and humans. And a toast to our guest who has visited us today.”

Once the seating was arranged, Harkan, sitting at the head of the table, or rather, right next to me, grabbed a glass and said.

“A toast!”
“A toast!”
“A toast!”

The Guardian Warriors simultaneously downed their drinks.

I downed mine as well.

“…Oh.”

It’s quite strong.
But it goes down smoothly.

It’s high-quality liquor.

“It’s our elves’ finest traditional liquor. How is it?”
“It’s very good. I can only be grateful for such hospitality.”
“Haha. I’m glad you like it. Well, now that we’ve set up the seating, shall we have a little chat?”
“A chat?”
“I’m curious about the human world. I heard that the Great Demons of Pandemonium have appeared recently.”

Is that why they invited me?

“And you defeated one of them.”
“Hehehe, yes. It was quite a battle.”
“I’d like to hear that story.”
“Alright.”

As I answered.

“Alright, everyone. Focus. We will be hearing an important story, so listen carefully.”

Harkan… this elf was exuding an aura like a murderer, but the fact that he was smiling and maintaining a polite demeanor made him seem even more bizarre. There’s no way someone this strong could have such a seemingly pleasant personality.

Something must have gone wrong somewhere, leading him to maintain this attitude.

Anyway, since they’ve set up the seating, I should tell the story.

“Well, this is a very proud story, even for me. I’ll explain it from now on.”

As requested, I talked about the recent trends of the demons and briefly explained that I had even killed a Great Demon. The Guardian Warriors just stared at me, not really reacting.

These guys are making it hard to enjoy telling a story.

Harkan was the only one who actively reacted to my story.

“Andromalius… he sounds threatening. Isn’t that right, Selasis?”
“Yes, Grand Master.”

Anyway, that’s how I finished the story.

—Clap clap clap.

I heard applause from the side.

Looking over, I saw a burly elf clapping.

—Clap clap clap.
—Clap clap clap.
—Clap clap clap.

Starting with him, the Guardian Warriors began to applaud silently.

“That was a really interesting story.”

Soon, the burly elf who had started clapping said.

“To slay a Great Demon of Pandemonium. That would be difficult even for elves.”
“Hehehe, thank you for saying so. And you are?”
“Ah, I am Rajinap. Grand Master. Would it be alright if I spoke with him?”
“Of course.”

Harkan answered with a smile, and Rajinap looked straight at me and continued.

“But you said you were a Paladin.”

I could read the fighting spirit in his eyes. And I could read his arrogance in his twisted smile. Rajinap was quite large, but not to the point where it affected me.

His face looked mean, but the aura surrounding him was that of a warrior.

“That’s a warrior of a rank similar to our Guardian Warriors, in elven terms.”

What is this guy trying to say?

“Isn’t that right?”
“To classify it accurately, there would be some differences, but it is correct to say that I am a top-tier warrior.”
“A top-tier warrior! That’s why… ah, Paladin. Can I call you Paladin?”
“Do so. I will call you Sir Rajinap.”
“Alright. So, what I wanted to say was…”

Rajinap glanced around for a moment.

“I would like to test my skills against you, a top-tier human warrior. Would that be alright?”

What?

He wants to test his skills against me?

“Hey.”

Then Saintel, who was sitting on the other side, stood up.

“Suggesting something like that to a guest could be rude…”
“Alright.”
“What?”

I answered, cutting off Saintel’s words.

He wants to see my martial arts skills?

What an impudent bastard.

Was this unpleasant atmosphere and his fighting spirit all designed for this? I don’t know for sure, but it’s probably for a similar reason. It seems they wanted to show off the power of the elves after beating me up a little under the guise of martial arts.

—Creak.

I stood up from my seat.

If they want to see my combat power, I’ll show them.

The Heavenly Demon Kim Kat never avoids such things.

“I’ve always been very curious about the Elven Divine Fist and Elven Divine Art that elves are said to master.”

Let’s fight.

“Elven Divine Fist?”
“I know it as a traditional killing martial art that elves master. It has a very long history, and there are rumors that it is the strongest killing martial art. Since I’ve been offered, I’ll see how strong it is compared to the Real Jang Kwon martial art that I’ve mastered.”

I stimulated their competitive spirit by spewing nonsense as I pleased. Elven Divine Fist and Elven Divine Art are just fictional martial arts I made up.

If I know that the elves’ martial arts are super strong, they’ll fight even better, right?

“I’m really looking forward to it.”

I slowly turned my neck, feeling a pleasant sense of excitement.

Yeah. In the end, fighting is what matters.
Since I’m here, it would be good to fight them once.

I need to gauge exactly how strong the Guardian Warriors are. I’ve received a big gift from an unexpected place. To be able to fight the Guardian Warriors. I’m feeling better and better.

“Hehehe.”

Of course, something like this has to happen when you come a long way.

My heart is pounding at the thought of fighting.
My blood is boiling.

—Swoosh.

I made a finger heart with both hands and showed it to Rajinap.

Thanks for the offer.

“…”

Rajinap, who had brought it up, seemed a little flustered.

This bastard brought it up and is now spacing out.

“Sir Rajinap. Do you happen to have a training ground here? I think it would be good to go there.”
“Ah… wait. Grand Master. Would that be alright?”

When Rajinap asked Harkan.

“This is an interesting turn of events. Isn’t that right, Selasis?”
“Yes, Grand Master.”

He answered with a smile.

“There won’t be any problems. Do as Rajinap wishes. More than anything, the members seem to have suddenly become interested.”

That’s right.

“…”
“…”
“…”

Only then did the Guardian Warriors show a human reaction and smirk.

These bastards are very dark inside.

It seemed like a pre-prepared play. But I don’t know if Harkan planned it. I can’t gauge his true intentions because he’s smiling like that. Anyway, this must have been the Guardian Warriors’ true intentions. As expected of elves, they are cunning bastards.

If they want to show off their power, fine.

I’ll show off my power in return.

“I was worried for a moment that it might be rude to the guest. But you accepted it very confidently?”
“How can I back down when a warrior who looks so strong wants to test his skills against me? On the contrary, I feel like you’re treating me properly as a guest, so I’m just happy.”

In response to Harkan’s words, the Deputy Commander standing next to him muttered.

“…Tremendous confidence.”
“A warrior must have confidence.”

Roughly looking, I saw Saintel looking at me with a puzzled expression over there. Ah, but come to think of it, that Guardian Warrior who appeared after clearing the otherworld dungeon. I don’t see him.

It’s not really important.

“Then let’s move to the training ground.”

—Clap.

When Harkan clapped his hands, the Guardian Warriors all stood up.

I followed them.

“Hey, you.”
“What’s up?”

As we started moving, Saintel quickly stuck to my side.

“Will you be alright? The Guardian Warriors are strong.”

She had a worried expression on her face.

I’m the kind of person who doesn’t usually fight battles I’m going to lose.

The reason I said I would fight is.
Because I can win.

In the first place, that bastard Rajinap… he looks weaker than me. I’m already starting with a 60% win rate here. And that bastard seems to have some confidence, but he’s completely ignorant about the martial arts I’ve mastered, so I add another 15% to the win rate.

Then the total win rate is 75%.

It’s over 70%.

That means I win 7 out of 10 fights.

Kim Kat never loses to an opponent he can win 7 out of 10 times.

Therefore, my win rate is 100%.

“Alright or not, how can I just pass up such a good opportunity as a warrior? Whether I win or lose, I’ll just fight and see.”

I’m so excited right now that I’m going crazy.
It will be a very good experience.

“Hmm… that’s true. You really seem to be a paragon of warriors.”