The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 30
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 30: Good Orc (1)
"Hey, isn't this Gu-ssi? Did you receive that
message too?"
"Team Leader Jim? We meet again."
At the familiar face, Gu Dae-sung scratched his head in
greeting.
"What is going on? The Association's Chairman only summoned
us low-level hunters."
At that, Gu Dae-sung realized that the hunters gathered
here were all D-class... or at most C-class hunters.
He wondered if they were trying to recruit new employees,
but the salaries in the Association were not high by any means. It was not very
attractive for Gu Dae-sung, who was struggling to make ends meet.
Of course, if you're a member of the Association, they
tend to give you a decent supply of weapons and consumables, but.......
He waited for a long time before seeing a bunch of
Association members in the distance, making their way toward them.
"Oh... it's Ms. Han Hari."
"Han Hari, the Flaming Magic Swordswoman?"
"I heard she broke the record for the highest price
in last year's crop."
The young woman's braided red hair was striking, and the
admiring glances made Gu Dae-sung envy Hari inwardly.
How could he not be jealous when someone twelve years
younger than him was being admired for such a brilliant talent?
Soon, however, Hari would introduce a celebrity she
couldn't compare to.
"His Majesty Leon Dragonia Lionheart!"
A handsome young man with blond hair. Leon stepped up to
the podium, being respectfully escorted by the Association's people.
"He......."
When Dae-sung saw Leon on the news of the Cheongju Gate
closure, he was stunned.
Leon Dragonia Lionheart.
A survivor and the king of a kingdom overrun by demons.
He knew the blond man he'd met at the test was out of the
ordinary.
But he never expected him to be a survivor.
'That's
why he was so strong.......'
Survivors were exceptional beings. They were great
individuals who survived the end of the world, heroes with special powers.
Unlike ordinary people like him.
Now that Leon had cleared the Cheongju Gate, he would
continue to rise.
There were already suggestions that Leon should be
promoted to an S-class hunter, so it was obvious that he would eventually
become an S-class hunter.
Even though Dae-sung himself had been a D-class for 10
years.......
Gu Dae-sung was honestly jealous of him, jealous of his
strength, jealous of the fame he was going to get.
Anyone would be like that. 'I want to be like that
too.......'
But reality is harsh. You can't be him. It was so obvious
that there was no point in thinking about it.
"Greetings. It is no other than I that has summoned
you."
The hunters stirred at Leon's words. It was Leon, not the
President, who summoned them?
And if so, what was the relationship between the
President and Leon?
Did the survivor named Leon decide to join the Hunter's
Association?
As the speculation continued and the noise showed no
signs of subsiding, Hari spoke into the microphone,
"Silence! Be silent! His Majesty is speaking!"
Awkwardly, the hunters stopped talking at her command.
Only when they were all looking at him did Leon open his mouth.
"I am assembling soldiers to enlist in the Pantheon
Guild. Only those who are worthy, those who have proven themselves, those who
have persevered through the tests will be given the honor of entering my military
gate."
""?????""
The hunters were dumbfounded by Leon's rather unexpected
approach.
What kind of offer was that? Wasn't that a kind of
recruitment tactic for professional soldiers?
But aside from that, the idea of being accepted into a
guild of a survivor who was confirmed to be as an S-class hunter in the future
was very tempting.
For the top 10 guilds in Korea with S-class hunters, the
lowest cut is B-class. Even if they don't make it, they are still in the upper
C class with a good chance of becoming a B class.
It was common for hunters who were class C or D hunters
to have to work in small and mid-level guilds or as porters because they
couldn't afford to join.
To them, the invitation to join an S-ranked hunter's
guild was too enticing.
"Is, is it open to anyone who wants to join?"
"It's enlistment. In the end... it will not be
everyone. You'll have to pass a screening test."
At Leon's statement, the hunters were more than willing
to take a little test, which didn't seem like a big deal to them.
This is what they informed to a bunch of D-class hunters
like them. They knew they wouldn't make a very difficult test.
And then there were those who saw it as a great
opportunity and were enthusiastic about it.
"I, I'll do it! Absolutely!"
Others, like Gu Dae-sung, who sought fame and growth,
also wanted to enter Leon's military gate.
"Then let's get things started! We'll be conducting
a practical test. The objective of the test is... to clear Samjeon Station Gate
that was successfully bid on by His Majesty's Pantheon Guild!"
"Samjeon Station Gate?"
It was a familiar neighborhood. Gu Dae-sung had gone to
high school around there.
The hunters immediately used their phones to search up
the Samjeon Station Gate.
"Uh... it's a yellow grade."
"What?"
"How are we supposed to clear it?"
Gates were divided into black, red, scarlet, yellow,
green, and blue grades.
The gate at Seoul Station, which was used for testing
D-class hunters, was rated blue.
Given that most of the hunters here were C or D-ranked,
the maximum difficulty level of the gates they had gone in would be yellow. And
that was when they participated as porters.
"This is ridiculous! You want us to clear a yellow
grade by ourselves? You're just asking us to die!"
"What kind of test is this!"
The sound of over 100 people shouting caused the air to
tremble. Hari plugged her ears, but she could still hear them.
"Uh, be quiet, please. If any of you have no
intention of continuing, you may leave..."
"Ha! You think I won't leave when you don't ask me
to leave?"
"Tch, we just wasted time!"
One after another, the hunters walked away. Gu Dae-sung
looked over at Hari and Leon, hoping they'd stop them, but neither showed any
sign of doing so.
More than half the hunters were out of sight, and only fifty remained.
The man, Leon, stood up.
"You there, the one who looks like you got hit by a
bomb."
"Y- yes!"
"There you are, looking like a bomb."
"Yeah, yeah!"
The afro-haired hunter replied stutteringly.
"Why did you stay?"
"It, it's just... I thought it might have some
hidden meaning......."
"I see. You there. Why did you stay?"
"I, I... I just stayed."
Despite such an answer, Leon nodded and turned his gaze
to Gu Dae-sung.
"Why did you stay?"
Gu Dae-sung replied in a spirited voice, though
embarrassed that he was speaking to a man of such great standing.
"Be, because I didn't think you'd let us die, so I
stayed!"
"Hmm. You got some spirit, that's a good
attitude."
Tap, tap. Leon patted him on the shoulder. It was
strangely not unpleasant. On the contrary, it made his heart swell.
"I'm sure I have said this: I'm here to assemble
'soldiers'."
Soldiers, not hunters. A simple detail, but a big difference.
"What do you think the virtue of a soldier is?
Obedience."
"Respect and do not doubt knight's order."
"Trust in knights' honor, believe in knights' might;
that is all that is required of you."
In short, he would choose the ones who listened.
"We will set out at once! Get your supplies and
finish your preparations."
The fifty or so hunters quickly strapped on their gear
and headed off to Samjeon Station.
* * * *
"Heump... It's a bit heavy."
Gu Dae-sung agreed with Team Leader Jim's small complaint.
He and the other applicants for Pantheon Guild were all
heavily armed.
With the exception of the long-range fighters, the melee
combatants all wore a common set of equipment: shield and armor.
"For combat......."
Instead of his usual longsword, Gu Dae-sung carried a
shield and a one-handed sword. This would make it difficult for him to use his
usual sword techniques.
"Still, your equipment is good. Isn't it all rated
rare? It must have cost at least 10 million won?"
The hunter's equipment, which Leon said he purchased from
the Doojeong Group's Master Swordsmith at his own expense, were high-end items
that couldn't be afforded by D-ranked hunters.
Weapons and armor were essentially expendable, so spending
a lot of money on equipment was not easy for a low-end hunter like Gu Dae-sung.
But with Leon paying for all of their equipment, they
were able to equip themselves with luxurious items they never thought possible.
"Really... I don't think he's just going to let us
die."
"He said it would be a test."
Apparently, although this otherworldly king had a strange
personality, he wasn't stingy.
"But this king is actually a bit sloppy with his
attire."
"I know, right?"
Unlike the heavily armed hunters, Leon was dressed in
casual clothes. Aside from wearing a leather jumper that looked a bit tough, he
didn't wear any other protective gear.
"Han Hari-nim."
"Yes, what is it? Hunter Gu Dae-sung-nim?"
Han Hari also wore armor, even if it was light. Not surprising
since she was a melee fighter.
"Leon, His Maj──"
Hari clamped her hand over Dae-sung's mouth.
"Shhhh, you mustn't call His Majesty's name
carelessly! He'll get angry!"
"Ah… uh, is that so? Then... why doesn't His Majesty
wear armor?"
"Because His Majesty's skin is harder than
armor."
"????"
* * * *
It was a vast grassland.
What the hunters saw when they entered the Samjeon
Station Gate was a field reminiscent of the vast European grasslands.
In this day and age, such a vast expanse of nature simply
evoked awe.
"At least we won't have to fight while inhaling
smoke."
Not all gates were this pleasant, especially the cave
dungeon-type gates were often filled with heat from the aftermath of battles.
'The
quest is.......'
Gu Dae-sung was not distracted by the scenery and
immediately checked the quest of this gate.
[You are mercenaries from the outside. In this great
steppe, where tribal conflicts are raging, choose one of the many tribal groups
and lead them to victory].
"Hmm... an NPC assistance quest."
This was a common case. Just like the Cheongju Gate and
the Honam Plain Gate, the gate will naturally close after clearing the quest.
"Gu-ssi. It's a factional quest, isn't it?"
"Yes. It seems that we need to take the side of one of
the many bickering tribal group and help them to win."
It didn't matter. Whichever one you choose, it was all
the same.
"The question is, which one is more rewarding and
easier?"
These optional quests have different rewards depending on
the choices you make. The problem was how to figure it out. The moment of
choice came quickly.
"E, everyone, look over there! Are they some kind of
monster?!"
The hunters' attention was grabbed by someone's shout,
and they turned to see a group of hulking figures walking toward them.
Fangs jutting out. Huge muscles, huge axes.
Green-skinned. They were.......
"O, orcs?!"
"They are orcs!"
Orcs. Humanoids that appeared almost as often as goblins
in fantasy-type gates.
"N- no way, the tribal war is......."
"It is a war of orcs!?"
There were dozens of orcs. An orc who approached them on
a large boar spoke in a booming voice,
"Who are you! This is the territory of our Warhammer
Tribe, and you have invaded our territory!"
Gu Dae-sung hurriedly made his way to Hari and Leon. To
make a decision.
"Uhm... Your Majesty, for now, why don't we follow
the quest?"
"...Do as you please."
Leon furrowed his brows, but left the judgment to Hari.
She looked at the quest window and replied with what appeared to be the required
line for the quest.
"We're mercenaries! We're here because we heard
you'd reward us for helping the tribe!"
"Mercenaries?"
The orcs glanced over at Hari, then quickly gave their
response.
"They must be the outsiders the Chieftain spoke of.
Follow me!"
The orcs welcomed the hunters with open arms thanks to
the quest scenario. And they entered the camp set up by the dozens of orcs.
"Welcome, mercenaries. I am Karta Karak, chieftain
of the Warhammer Tribe."
"M- my name is Han Hari."
When Leon did not step forward, Han Hari, who naturally
became the representative, greeted awkwardly.
"Hmm, I was told there would be some useful
mercenaries coming, but you seem to be less promising than I thought."
"Haha......."
"We are currently in the midst of a great battle to
determine the great chieftain of the Steppe. The tribes are sending their
warriors to fight, and whoever wins will be crowned great chieftain."
'It's
such a quest.'
Gu Dae-sung flipped through the guidebooks he'd mentally stored
in his head after reading countless reports of gate raids.
Orcs were a battle-loving race by nature, and would
settle anything through battle.
While they were generally hostile to all other races,
they tended to respect warriors and value honorable fight.
In short, it was easy to win their favor if you fight
well.
'The rewards for quests involving orcs are mainly
weapons, but if lucky, you might get an elemental power or the ability to
communicate with elementals from a shaman.'
Elementalists are a rare bunch among hunters. Once
mastered, they could be recognized as at least B class, making them known as
the lottery of orc quests among hunters.
But that was not all. The heart of an orc warrior was a
powerful magic ingredient and was a lifelong physical enhancer. It was also
called the jackpot for lower-level hunters.
Still, there was more. Every single orc was at least
class C. They were powerful monsters, averaging at B class.
On top of that, they almost always move as a group, and
the rewards don't make up for the trouble.
As a result, gates with orcs often don't fare well in the
market, and even those that do are often resold for a pittance.
'Still,
there are dozens fighting over it, so I might get lucky and score a good grab
or two.'
While Gu Dae-sung pondered the vague prospect, Karta
Karak blew out a heavy breath and clenched his fists.
"Support our Warhammer Tribe. More battles! More
honorable deaths! Whoever wins shall have it all!"
"Hmph."
It was then. The sarcastic mockery in the tone was so
obvious it was almost palpable.
"Who is it!"
"Uh, no, not me!"
A hunter waved his hand in fright at the momentum of
Karta Karak, who was outraged. Then, Leon stepped forward.
"I'm afraid I won't be able to keep silent."
"Y- Your Majesty?"
Hari was taken aback by Leon's sudden move, but she
didn't dare stop him.
“You… you are a strong warrior. If a warrior like you
helps us, the battle will be our honorable victory—”
"Honor? Honor?! You savage beasts are so full of
desire that you don't even know the meaning of the word!"
"Insulting me──!"
It was at that moment. Leon's sword flashed out of thin
air, and in the blink of an eye, it sliced through Karta Karak's neck.
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
"Wha, what?!"
The orcs, and even the hunters, gasped in horror. Leon,
however, pointed his holy sword at them and made a declaration.
His declaration of doom was directed at every living orc.
"You will die, not as honorable warriors, but as
worms writhing on the ground, for that is the immutable justice!"
Leon Dragonia Lionheart.
A supremely feisty orc racist.
The Orc Butcher who had buried 8,769,653 orcs.
A legend.
***
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