The Time-Stop Breeding Uncle Wants To Retire – Chapter 154

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Hans was troubled.

Logically, the Royal Knights should split up. They were the only force that could effectively counter the True Demons.

However, he was reluctant to disperse the Royal Knights’ forces. It felt ominous, as if something terrible would happen if their forces were scattered.

But he couldn’t rely solely on feelings. Hans sighed. He couldn’t argue against logic with feelings. He had to find a solution…

But before he could, something suddenly barged into his office. At first, he thought it was a wild animal. But Hans quickly realized it wasn’t.

It was Clara and Ruby.

They were fully armed and staring at him with serious expressions.

‘Is this about what we discussed earlier?’

Hans asked,

“What’s going on?”

“About what you said earlier, Commander.”

“Regarding that matter…”

Hans tried to explain calmly. He had been considering having the Royal Knights split up to counter the True Demons. But they were one step ahead.

Clara shouted,

“We know! You’re worried about us, Commander!”

“Well, that’s true.”

“But we want to prove ourselves! That we’re not children who need to be protected anymore!”

“I-is that so?”

‘This feels familiar.’

Hans nodded with a hesitant expression. If they were this insistent, he had no choice but to give them a chance. Just as he thought that,

“So, Commander! Let’s fight again!!”

“?”

“It’s been two years. Let’s fight again, Commander.”

“???”

‘How did we arrive at this conclusion?’

He pondered briefly, but it didn’t change anything. He would normally be flustered, but Hans found himself accepting the challenge.

“If you insist…fine, I’ll test your skills.”

Hans slowly stood up.

That simple action was enough to make Clara and Ruby feel overwhelmed. It was like facing Commander Yuren. A very angry Commander Yuren.

Clara and Ruby chose to spar with the Commander, who was equal to or even stronger than Yuren. They wanted to show him how much they had grown.

And they wanted to be acknowledged by the Commander. That’s why they chose this. They had no regrets. A short while later, they gathered in the training grounds in the courtyard.

“Do you need a handicap?”

“No, we don’t need one.”

“We’ll fight you with everything we’ve got!”

“…”

‘No, I’ll give you a handicap and lose on purpose!’

Hans screamed internally. Even if he was influenced by the Dragon Heart, his thoughts hadn’t completely changed.

But then he changed his mind. Now that he had the Dragon Heart, it would be a good test. Besides, he had Time Stop. He wouldn’t be completely overwhelmed.

However, that thought quickly vanished as Ruby’s flaming hammer appeared before him.

Hans barely managed to react to the intense heat that threatened to scorch his flesh.

As he dodged Ruby’s hammer, he tried to punch her, if it weren’t for Clara’s arrow that suddenly appeared before him.

Hans jumped back.

If he hadn’t, his head would have been pierced by the arrow. They weren’t holding back. And they had their reasons.

“Are we really allowed to fight him with our full strength?”

“Who’s worried about whom?”

“Well, that’s true.”

Clara snapped back to reality at Ruby’s words.

This was because Yuren had always pushed them to their limits during training. She would effortlessly counter and crush their attacks, no matter how hard they tried.

Moreover, Hans was stronger than Yuren. So how could they hold back? It made sense. LIn a way, it was Hans’s fault for creating this image.

Thanks to that, Hans was desperately dodging their attacks. He hadn’t expected them to go all out from the beginning.

Moreover, despite their usual bickering, their teamwork was impeccable.

“I can’t tell if they’re close or not.”

“Be friends with this midget? I’d rather not!”

“I should be the one saying that! You damn half-elf!”

Despite their words, their coordinated attack overwhelmed Hans. Clara’s arrows restricted his movements, creating an opening for Ruby to finish him off.

They had definitely become stronger.

What was the reason? Constant training with Yuren? Or the experience they had accumulated? There were many factors, but the biggest reason was their desire.

They had already experienced annihilation once. If they had been broken by that experience, they would have been just another group of defeated soldiers. But they had chosen to move forward.

Their bitter past experiences had become fertilizer for their growth. That’s why they yearned to never lose anything precious again. That’s why they sought to become stronger.

And they had.

“Th-the difference in desire is significant, I think.”

“Indeed, you’re not wrong.”

Helia nodded at Bayard’s words.

There was a world of difference between going through the motions and striving with desire. Especially for them, who knew their place.

In the past, Ruby and Clara had been in an ambiguous position.

Even excluding Helia, who was a complete newcomer and young, there had been an insurmountable gap between them and Bayard, Yuren, and Cluna.

But through their continuous efforts, they had finally become stronger. They had gained power that even Yuren and Cluna couldn’t ignore. And they were demonstrating that power now.

‘Oh my god! Shit! Help me!’

Hans, facing their combined might, was struggling. He screamed internally as he dodged their attacks. Their teamwork was so flawless that he couldn’t find an opening.

He was only able to hold on thanks to his enhanced physical abilities from the Dragon Heart and his accumulated experience. Hans clicked his tongue and retreated.

But just then, Ruby reached out and grabbed his wrist. Clara seized the opportunity and closed the distance in an instant. Hans reacted to that, but he couldn’t react to the arrow that followed.

“What…?!”

Controlling the speed of an arrow.

More precisely, shooting it from a greater distance to slow down its travel time. It was a technique bordering on divine, usable only by those who had reached the pinnacle of archery.

In other words, Hans was essentially being attacked by three people, not two. Even Yuren would have been caught off guard. But their opponent was Hans.

Hans snapped his index and middle fingers.

A ripple emanated from the unusual gesture, draining all color from the world. In the monochrome world, only Hans could move.

Hans escaped their encirclement and moved behind them. Then, he restarted time. From Ruby and Clara’s perspective, Hans had vanished before their eyes.

“What?!”

“When did he…?”

“That was excellent teamwork. If it weren’t for me, I would have been done for.”

Hans, standing behind them, praised them with genuine admiration.

It wasn’t a lie. If it weren’t for him, he would have been defeated.

Hans had no choice but to acknowledge their strength. If he didn’t, they would be greatly dissatisfied. Besides, he had intended to approve their request from the beginning.

It was just that they had challenged him to a spar without even listening to his explanation.

Hans wondered if he should be happy or sad about this fortunate miscalculation.

…His unease lingered, but he had no choice but to trust them.

He hoped they would all succeed.

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The number of True Demons had decreased significantly. Creating monsters and lesser demons consumed a True Demon’s life force.

It had been manageable at first. They could replenish their numbers. But the situation had changed. Just as a plant would wither and die without nutrients, waiting passively wouldn’t change anything.

So, the demons chose to eliminate the greatest threat. Initially, it had been the Dragon Lord. No matter how impressive Hans was, he couldn’t compare to the Dragon Lord.

However, their plan had changed due to the testimony of the demon who had almost captured the Dragon Lord.

Although the Dragon Lord was still the greater threat overall, there was someone who posed an even greater threat in a direct confrontation.

That was the assessment of the True Demon who had survived a clash with Hans. So, their target shifted from the Dragon Lord to Hans.

The True Demons currently deployed were a diversion.

The moment the Royal Knights split up to hunt the True Demons, the other True Demons would stall for time, and their strongest forces would attack Commander Hans.

That was the demons’ plan.

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