The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 16
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 16 Cowardly Ranged Weapons
In Leon's world, ranged weapons were considered weapons
of the cowardly, reserved for the weak.
They were never acceptable to a knight who valued honor, and
the only people who used them were either serfs or freeman soldiers who had no
need for honor.
Needless to say, the man is a natural commander and an
undefeated rising general.
He had no shortage of archers, catapults, and even
cannons.
But ranged weapons have their restrictions. They have a
certain limitation, and it's the same with guns.
There's a limit to the amount of ammunition, a limit to
the amount of firepower... In the end, they're weapons that have a maximum
value.
But swords and lances are different.
How you swing is how you swing, and how you thrust is
what how you thrust. It's purely based on the individual's capabilities.
If you can't split a boulder with your sword, then you're
not a knight.
Can't slice through the enemy's armor on horseback? A
skilled knight can do it even against cavalry.
In the end, honor and prestige are earned purely through
your own skill, not relying on weapons such as bows.
For Holy Grail Knights who have completed their quests
and been chosen by the Grail, a ranged weapon is a dishonorable affirmation of
their inadequacies.
"No, there's something wrong with you!"
Of course, it didn't make sense in this modern age.
"You're a funny fellow."
Oh Kang-hyuk laughed it off, but not the rest of the party.
They were about to say something, when the impatient hunter staff member
shouted,
"We need to get going!"
"Okay......."
Gu Dae-sung followed where the Association hunter led,
thinking this test might be a bust.
"This test... how does it work?"
Dae-sung asked, and the Association staff kindly
answered,
"Basically, you'll be hunting 50 kobolds. They'll be
out in the field, but if it's too dangerous, I'll go forward with you."
Even though the Association staff member said that only
kobolds were required, Gu Dae-sung wanted to earn a higher score.
Obviously, hunting down gnolls and boss monsters earns
higher scores, and there are specific areas where they appear.
"Hey, guys. I know a spot. Why don't we head over
there and hunt for some points?"
"You're more experienced than us, so......."
"This old man is fine with that."
"........"
The three agreed, while Leon remained silent. Gu Dae-sung
led the party out of the meadow and into the forest.
Tae-hoon and Na-yeon, the novices, craned their necks to
see where he was taking them.
"Dae-sung-ssi1, I think I see a village at the end of
the meadow? There must be a lot of them there."
"Don't mess with the villages. We're outnumbered and
could be surrounded by kobolds and gnolls, many of whom are mobile."
Gu Dae-sung was a veteran of the gate, entering it for
the tenth time.
Although he doesn't come to this gate as often because
it's only for testing purposes, he had seen kobolds and gnolls at other gates.
"We're going to target the kobolds in the
cave."
Gu Dae-sung explained the advantages of fighting in
caves.
First, the cramped space and one-way passageway meant
they wouldn't have to worry about being surrounded.
He said, plucking a patch of grass he'd found while
passing by,
"I'm going to light a fire with the grass here and
fill the place with smoke, so we can easily attack the cave kobolds."
"Ah~"
"You're different after all."
Even as he was praised by the party members, Gu Dae-sung
smiled bitterly.
It wasn't that big of a deal as he had come to this
testing gate ten times.
If his class had increased, the testing gate would
naturally be different. For Class C, it would be the Samjeon Station Gate. For a
B class, it will be Building 63 Gate.
He spent hours studying and researching various
strategies, imagining that one day he would be able to enter the top gates, but
all he could see was the Seoul Station gate.
'I
have to move up this time, I can't be a Class D forever.'
He wanted to be strong, and he was sick and tired of
being D-ranked.
"Kobolds up ahead!"
At that moment, Shin Tae-hoon, who was in the forefront
as a tank, stopped. The kobolds had spotted them because the loud shouting.
"Grrr...!"
Kobolds are humanoid monsters with the heads of dogs.
They are about the height of an elementary school student and are the lowest
class of monsters.
"Block them using your shield in front,
Tae-hoon!"
"Yes!"
The kobolds' charge was simple. Straightforward and
simplistic. They had a strong tendency to go with pure strength and power.
In such a case, the hunters would win unless they were
overwhelmingly outnumbered.
"Kiaaak!"
The kobold that had been charging straight for Na-yeon
was struck down by an arrow.
It spun around to face Tae-hoon's shield and crashed
head-on into it, bleeding from the nose.
"Stupid bastards."
Tae-hoon plunged his sword into the fallen kobold. Just
then, another kobold threw itself at Tae-hoon, and he fell to the ground in surprise.
"Aaah...!"
"Tae-hoon-ssi!"
Just as the kobold was about to sink its teeth into him,
Dae-sung's sword pierced the kobold's neck. Hot blood poured down Tae-hoon's
face.
"Don't let your guard down! They may be weak, but
they're quick!"
There are five kobolds left. But immediately, Na-yeon's
arrow pierced through the second kobold.
"Humph!"
Elder Oh Kang-tae took over the collapsed formation and
punched the kobolds in the face with his armored fist. It was a swift jab.
"Kuk!"
"Kwak!"
The kobolds' faces got squashed. The moment Dae-sung
picked up Tae-hoon and joined the fight, the kobolds collapsed one after
another.
"Huu...."
"I'm, I'm sorry. I made a slip-up."
When Tae-hoon apologized for breaking the formation due to
surprise, Dae-sung patted him on the back and encouraged him,
"It's okay, it happens the first time."
He, too, had made his share of mistakes against the
kobolds. Considering Tae-hoon was a rookie, his mistake was hardly counted as a
mistake.
"Na-yeon took care of two of them, and thanks to
you, no one got hurt. Everyone did a good job."
'Though
I was insecure at first, this is not a bad party. Except for one person.'
"Hey, foreigner, you... you didn't do anything to
help us fight, did you?"
"That's right, you were just standing in the back
watching1 Mr. Staff, is it okay to do this?"
A shot was fired at Leon, who remained silent. The desire
to get rid of Leon and get another party member was in the air.
"Haha... I'll take that into account, so don't worry
too much."
Leon would get the lowest score, and the others would get
extra points. Dae-sung was disappointed in one person, but he thought it was
good to receive extra points.
"If you say so... then let's go further in. We'll
reach the cave soon."
True to his word, they walked further into the forest,
and a cave appeared.
"There really is a cave."
"Ugh... Do we have to go in and fight? I don't like
dark places."
Na-yeon's complaint made Dae-sung want to say, "
That means you won't be able to be a hunter in the future..." but he
swallowed it down and said with a smile on his face,
"No, we're going to 'raid' the cave."
"Raid?"
"Well, a basic part of being a Hunter is to raid the
gate, so I need you all to gather some leaves from the surroundings. We'll set
them on fire and send the smoke into the cave."
"Aaah! You're going to choke them to death with
smoke?"
"Wow, awesome. Then we'll just have to catch the
ones that come out."
That was precisely it. According to Gu Dae-sung's
experience, there are more than twenty kobolds in this cave.
He had been using this method ever since his sixth
attempt at the gate, as it allowed him to eliminate the more than twenty
kobolds with little loss of health.
As he worked out his plan and gathered up fallen leaves
and tufts of grass around him, his eyes caught sight of Leon, arms crossed and
eyes closed.
"Hey, why don't you help instead of just hanging
around?"
Leon opened his closed eyes. His blue eyes penetrated Dae
Sung.
"In your eyes, am I being idle?"
If not, then what...
But he couldn't say it out loud.
Dae-sung couldn't explain it with logic or reason, but a
strange gut feeling told him that if he said anything more here, he might get
in trouble.
"Uh uhmm... Wha- whatever, you're the one at the
bottom, just so you know!"
It was the best he could do to avoid eye contact.
"I gathered up everything!"
"Do we need a lighter for the fire?"
"This old man has a lighter. Oh, I've long since
been done with cigarettes, don't get me wrong."
When the old man was about to flick the lighter on the
tinder,
"Do you really reckon that is best?"
Leon spoke up.
"Huh. I mean, you haven't even helped out so far, so
what?"
"I asked you if you think it is best, don't make me
ask you twice."
"......I've tried this three times. And it worked
all three times."
"It's based on experience, which isn't bad. But how
can you rely on that experience when it's so flawed?"
"What are you talking about, really......."
For a moment, Dae-sung wondered if he was wrong, but he
didn't know any better way.
"Oh, never mind. You're too young to have actual
experience......."
With that, he lit a fire and pushed the smoke from the
huge bundle of leaves around them into the cave.
-Kyaaaaak!
A guttural thumping sound echoed from within the cave.
"Oh, here they come!"
With Tae-hoon's shout as he raised his shield, everyone prepared
for battle. And as the first group of kobolds burst out of the cave, they
stopped at the sight of the flames blocking the entrance.
"Now!"
The arrow Na-yeon pulled flew, and the rocks thrown by
Old Man Oh and Dae-sung smashed into the kobolds' faces.
-Kkeek!
-Khakk!
One kobold after another fell. Five of them were slain in
a matter of seconds, and Dae-sung cheered.
'See!
My method is not wrong!'
The next group of kobolds jumped out. They were gasping
for air to keep from choking on the smoke, and they looked dizzy.
"Alright, let's get on with it!"
The moment the seventh kobold was taken down,
"Krrr...!"
A similar but different howl. For a moment, Gu Dae-Sung
doubted his ears.
"Gnoll?"
He turned to the sound coming from his flank, and there,
staring back at him, was a gnoll, armed with body armor, shield... and a
one-handed axe.
With a head of a ferocious hyena and a physique one and a
half times larger than the average gnoll.......
"Gnoll Chieftain?!"
Gnoll Chieftain. He's a boss here at the gate of Seoul
Station. His monster rank is at least Class C. He's definitely tough for them.
"Oh, no. Why now?"
Suddenly, Dae-Sung's mind flashed back to Leon's words
about ten minutes earlier.
"Do
you really reckon that is best?"
It was as if he'd been expecting this, but how?
"Dae, Dae-sung-ssi, what should we do?"
Na-yeon's urgent cry made Dae-sung's breath quicken.
"Old man and Na-yeon, stop the kobolds from the
cave, and me and Tae-hoon will deal with the Gnoll Chieftain!"
Adepts were needed for both sides. Above all, it would be
suicidal for a D Class to fight against a Gnoll Chieftain without any tactics.
'I
could only hope that Tae-hoon, who is technically a novice, could hold his own
with the shield.'
"Graaaaaaaaah!"
The Gnoll Chieftain screamed and charged. Tae-hoon goes
first and held up his shield, but one can see his legs were shaking from the
roar of the beast.
'He won't
even be able to block the attack with a stance like that!'
"Tae-hoon, get a...!"
Before he could finish his sentence, the terrifying axe
slammed into Tae-hoon's shield. Tae-hoon was unable to withstand the blow and
fell to the ground, his shield missing.
'Holy
shit!'
Gnoll Chieftain was about to strike Tae-hoon down.
Dae-sung moved himself forward on a spur to save Tae-hoon.
"Grrr...!"
Gnoll Chieftain easily blocked the attack with his
strength. The longsword was unable to penetrate the shield in front of him, and
Dae-sung's legs were forced into a halt.
"Kuhk...!"
Gu Dae-sung gasped as his back arched backwards. Then the
swung axe struck him in the side.
He tumbled in an unsightly roll. His gut ached like it
was going to explode from the impact that his armor had barely absorbed.
"Uh, agh......."
It was then that he caught sight of the terrified
Tae-hoon, the shadow of the great axe obscuring his features.
'Hasn't
the others finished dealing with the kobolds yet? Why hasn't the Association's
hunter come forward?'
His thoughts didn't last long. Dae-sung grabbed onto
Tae-hoon's shield on the ground, forgetting to even grip his own sword.
"Tae-hoon-ssi, step back!"
The shield blocked the axe that struck down at Tae-hoon.
His knees buckled under the unimaginable weight of the axe.
"Keugh!"
But he held on. He instinctively adjusted the angle of
the shield to make the axe slide down even just slightly.
"Grrr...?"
Gnoll Chieftain let out an annoyed grunt as his weapon
slipped, and he raised his axe again.
'A
second blow. Can I stop it? If only Tae-hoon-ssi would come to his senses and
counterattack, we might be able to do something.'
The axe comes down, and Dae-sung clenched his teeth.
-......!
The expected clashing sound didn't occur, and Gu
Dae-sung's pupils dilated as he stared at the Gnoll Chieftain's axe without
blinking.
"Well, that was a pretty passable effort."
Gnoll Chieftain's axe was caught in Leon's fingers, and
the thing was shaking.
"You, you........"
"Try again."
"What...?"
His reaction was slow. Thoughts lagging. What is
happening?
"Raise your shield and face it again, I say. If you
have done it once, why not twice?"
"???"
Leon, who had let go of the Gnoll Chieftain's axe, urged,
and Gu Dae-sung as well as the Gnoll Chieftain tilted their heads.
***
Notes:
1 An attachment to names for politeness. Can translate to Mr. in this case, but since its weird for colleague, I will stick with ‘-ssi’↩
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