The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 37
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 37 I Want to Be a Knight
Despite their harsh training regimen, the recruits
surprisingly had free mornings.
There was no set wake-up time, and they were free to do
as they please before the torture that they named 'Project Steelskin'... began at
nine o'clock.
You'd think they'd get up at 9:00, but it turns out that
this isn't true.
After the afternoon training and meal, everyone was
exhausted and fell into a slumber at eight pm.
Naturally, there were many early risers, and Gu Dae-sung
was one of them.
"Huu... huu...!"
Gu Dae-sung raised his shield from early in the morning.
This was to train his skill with the shield.
He was the only one who trained on his own first thing in
the morning.
"Ooh, Gu-ssi, your stamina is good. Shouldn't you take
a break?"
"No."
Despite being advised by team leader Jim Do-han, Gu
Dae-sung continued to practice his mastery of shield arts. More precisely, how
to wield a shield and a sword at the same time.
'It's
heavier than I thought. And it's hard to swing the sword.'
During the training session to stop Leon's cavalry
charge, the men were allowed to counterattack, so they tried to stop him by
swinging their swords.
Despite being advised by team leader Jim Do-han, Gu
Dae-sung continued to practice his mastery of shield arts. More precisely, how
to wield a shield and a sword at the same time.
'It's heavier than I thought. And it's hard to swing the
sword.'
During the training session to stop Leon's cavalry
charge, the men were allowed to counterattack, so they tried to stop him by
swinging their swords.
Even if they were in formation, they merely just held
swords and shields. Even if you try to swing with the hand holding the sword,
your comrade next to you is in the way.
Inevitably, they could only thrust their swords in the
formation of their defense.
'I've
always known that the phalanx is essential in warfare, but... can my technique
be effective against monsters?'
'The
attacking stances are too limited. If that's the case, I'll have to hone my
stabbing skills to the extreme while holding my shield.'
Gu Dae-sung was practicing just that.
"Hah!"
He pushed the imaginary enemy away with his shield and
stabbed with his sword. Even during his break time, Gu Daisheng would go
through the shield & sword books he found online and experiment different
ways.
And there was someone watching him.
"Wrong."
"Your- Your Majesty!"
Leon was observing him. Gu Dae-sung straightened up,
assuming the posture of a soldier.
"Finish what you started. Thrust your sword
again."
"Ye- yes......."
Gu Dae-sung awkwardly gripped his shield and thrust his
sword. After a few more thrusts, there was a resounding thud.
"Wrong."
This sound had repeated. Leon stepped in front of Gu
Dae-sung and grabbed his shield.
"You have a habit of lowering your shield the moment
you strike. Do not lower your shield at any moment. Even when you are unable to
see."
"W, why is that?"
Gu Dae-sung asked for a reason for the advice, which
other recruits would have simply followed.
From what he had experienced, Leon was not a teacher who
waved off questions.
"When you're swinging a sword to defend only
yourself, you can do that. But I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Your
shield must cover the right shoulder of the comrade next to you."
"Ah......."
"When the shield is lowered, the right shoulder of
the comrade on your left becomes bare. This creates a gap, and a gap breeds a
crack."
Never assume you are fighting alone. Imagine fighting
alongside your comrades.
In modern gate battle tactics, group combat is standard
practice.
Tanks pull the aggro, damage dealers deliver the hits,
and rear support provides the long-range hits.
However, Leon's group combat resembled more of a classic
army than a gate raiding team.
"Your Majesty, your tactic... is for shield bearers
like us to hold the enemy at bay while the knights move in and sweep
them?"
"Indeed. It is the royal method."
The hammer and anvil tactic1. A classic even on Earth.
"But... our opponents are monsters, and I don't
think they're the kind of beings that can be dealt with with a standard
tactic."
"Are you trying to teach me how to fight beings of a
foreign origin?"
"No- not at all!"
Knowing full well that this Lionheart King's mindset was
that of a medieval classist, Gu Dae-sung had a worried expression on his face.
But Leon's expression was actually quite mild.
"Even in my world, there were countless monsters that
you would encounter at the gate."
In fact, the monsters from the gates were rather cute.
The Lionheart Kingdom was constantly facing external
enemies. While most of them were orcs, there were also many monsters of all
sorts.
"Giants over 20 meters tall, trolls that reappear
endlessly, snakes with multiple heads, spiders that spawn dozens of minions.
And then there was the great ancient dragon, a true marvel that stampeded on
mountains as if they were buttons."
It's a long way for 'the soldiers' to go up against
something so much stronger and so gigantic than humans.
"To deal with so many different monsters, you have
to know a lot of hunting techniques and be able to improvise on the spot. It's
a skill that can only be accumulated through actual combat."
Leon stared at Gu Dae-sung. Gu Dae-sung the soldier.
"Do you have decades of training alongside the gods
against monsters, and do you have the courage to raise your honor on any
battlefield with one sword or one lance?"
Gu Dae-sung felt his breath hitched. One would think that
high-level hunters would have a higher survival rate than lower-level hunters,
but that wasn't the case.
Anything can happen at the gate.
You might encounter orcs, perhaps some witches who use
incantations, or monsters of unmanageable size.
For example, the Yakt Spinner from Cheongju Gate was an
all-around killing machine that was a far cry from the monsters previously
encountered.
Against such monsters, even high-level hunters will
unavoidably suffer a high mortality rate.
Why?
Because if you don't have the knowledge, you will die.
If you can't react, there's only death.
The knights, Leon said, were superhumans who, like the
high-level hunters, were the ones dealing with all sorts of monster variants,
without knowing what to expect.
"That's why we only give the soldiers one job.
Versatility is a necessary virtue for a knight. You are to hone your abilities
in a single specialty to increase our chances of survival."
Gu Dae-sung and the rest of the shield cadets have only
one task.
Block, block, block.
Until the knight kills the enemy.
"But......."
It's a grand task, not one to be taken lightly.
Nevertheless, Gu Dae-sung aspired to reach higher.
"Do you dream of being a knight?"
"H, how can I......."
Aren't knights nobles? He wondered if Leon, who
considered him a commoner, would dismiss him like the nobles of typical
stories.
"Don't judge my kingdom by the common sense of your
world. Knights are not just for the nobility."
"Yes?"
"Those who are willing to walk the path of hardship
with a noble mission. Those who protect the people and do good with
courage."
Those who enforce the Ten Commandments of the Pantheon
and armed themselves with it.
Therefore, those who swear an oath for the Gods and the
people.
"Anyone who makes that sacred covenant is a knight.
If one has the courage and the qualifications to do the duty, then they deserve
my respect."
It felt like he had been hit in the head with a hammer.
All this time, the recruits had been very prejudiced
against Leon.
They believed that the king from a medieval fantasy world
would be a rigid authoritarian classist and discriminatory.
As such, he would treat them only as servants and expect nothing
but compliance and obedience.
But this was not the case.
Leon Dragonia Lionheart, was... more than a king, he was
also a knight.
'I
want to be.......'
I want to be a knight.
It was only because Leon told him that he could, that he
held onto that desire.
* * * * *
The end of the four-week course was nigh.
The closing of the standing army training will determine
the future 'supply of trainees' after a showcase in front of the Association
Chairman and other relevant officials.
It was an important moment to prove the result of the
training and to keep bringing in second and third-cycle trainees in the future.
In the end, Leon's plan is to increase the size of his 'army' and recruit
high-quality personnel at the level of knights.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
"You have arrived."
Oh Kang-hyuk, chairman of the Association, had traveled
to the Naju Plain on schedule for the final examination.
A number of Association members, including Chief Kim
Jin-soo, were also here because the gate attack doubles as a 'grade rating
test' for the trainees.
"Your Majesty, we've heard the details, but are you
sure about this?"
"What do you mean?"
"I was told that the gate you picked for the test is
a 'yellow' gate."
The average difficulty of a yellow gate was B. This was
certainly not something D-class hunters would be able to handle.
Of course, the story would be different if Leon took
matters into his own hands. In fact, a yellow gate was likely to be easily
handled by him alone.
But that wouldn't be a good thing for the evaluation. The
recruits would have to prove themselves.
"Of course. There is no problem."
"If His Majesty says so..."
Oh Kang-hyuk was a little doubtful, but he knew the
otherworldly survivor is more than capable. Still, he couldn't help but worry.
Unlike the confident Leon, the recruits were burdened
with the pressure of having to showcase their training results.
There were more Association employees than expected at
the final test of the Pantheon Guild's training... and there were even members
of the Top Ten Guilds who had come after hearing the buzz.
"W- why are there so many people coming?"
Gu Dae-sung felt overwhelmed by the huge audience. As a
10,000 years D-class, this kind of attention was too much for him.
These people had come because they had heard that the
Lionheart King was training low-level hunters, so if they didn't show signs of
improvement, they would be the target of ridicule and sneers.
"Damn... Aren't we in for a rough ride?"
Team leader Jim Do-han felt the same way. He had never
received such attention before. Although hunters are the most recognized
profession in Korea, only high-level hunters can boast about that.
People like him, who merely led mining teams and gathered
the spoils of the ' hunters' ' efforts, were no more than laborers.
"I hear the King isn't even assisting us this
time."
"And it's a yellow gate? That's crazy. Surely it's
not an orc gate like last time?"
"Unless it's a reconditioned gate, we won't know
until we get inside."
As the recruits expressed their conflicting feelings,
Leon, Yapi, and Oh Kang-hyuk, the Association's chairman, made their way to the
podium.
Once everyone had settled into a cooperative standing
position, Leon began to speak,
"You guys have already spent four weeks training and
have sufficiently earned it. Of course, there must be many doubts and
complaints. There must have been a lot of frustrations in the absurdity of it all."
Leon knew that the last four weeks of training had been
the definition of absurdity.
Brutal exercises where they had to beat each other up and
push themselves beyond the limits of their abilities.
On top of that, their only meals were water mixed with
salt and sugar.
It must be especially stressful to have to deal with
Yappy's constant watchful eyes.
"Nevertheless, you men have persevered. You have
displayed by your actions the virtues of a good soldier: perseverance and
obedience."
-Obedience... huh.
-Perseverance... sounds like something for expendables.
When they falter under the word 'obedience' and
'perseverance', Leon deftly picked up on it.
"Do not take these virtues lightly. Though they seem
preposterous, such are the trials and tribulations that serve to fortify the
group and strengthen its walls."
What an all-encompassing statement of their grievances.
Speaking of the absurdity of what was forced upon the men, Leon stated,
"The hardships you are going through now, the
enforced allegiances, will be your lifesaver. It will make you stronger."
Really?
Gu Dae-sung listened to Leon's words with skepticism.
In the four weeks they'd been training, they'd had only
two kinds of lessons.
The grueling beatings and the exhausting drills of
holding onto their shields against Leon's cavalry charge.
Not a single group had managed to stop Leon's charge up
to this moment. Had they gotten stronger?
"Do you doubt? Do you not believe in yourself? The
time to prove yourself has come."
Leon declared. His voice was clear, crisp, and had the
power to lead people.
This was why the recruits complied so easily to the
Lionhearted King of the absurd medieval fantasy.
"Now, you will attempt to capture a gate! A place
you wouldn't dare to approach under normal circumstances."
Gwangju Metropolitan City Gate.
Yellow rating.
"You will realize there! What it is like to be a
soldier of this Lionheart King! It is where you will encounter the 'faith' you deserve
to serve!"
49 hunters, all average D-class.
They departed.
* * * * *
Gwangju Gate was not far from Naju Plain.
It appeared only two days ago. The estimated number of
remaining days until the dungeon break was about ten days.
Even though Leon had asked for a yellow gate for the
final test, it hadn't been easy to find one in time, so the Association had
almost resorted to buying a used gate.
"But are you sure it's okay, Hari?"
"Umm... Wouldn't it be okay, Chief?"
Chief Kim Jin-soo expressed his concern to Hari, whom he
hadn't seen in a long time.
The average D-class. Most of the men were hunters who
were said to be ten thousand year D-class and had no room for growth.
To have them attack a yellow gate? While proving their
growth under the watchful eyes of the Association staffs?
It would've been less worrisome if Leon had said that he
would attack the yellow gate alone.
"Seeing as how the robot knight isn't even going,
does that mean just the recruits are going to do the job?"
"I’m also excluded from the raid."
Hari and Yappy were ordered to stand by while the men
attacked the gate.
It was Leon's intention to ensure that things were as
fair as possible.
"Ugh, thanks to that, I'm going to suffer."
"Good luck, Chief!"
Chief Kim Jin-soo was in charge of overseeing the raid.
He was a tanker in the Association raiding party and a B-class hunter, so he
should be able to watch them at a safe distance even in a yellow gate.
"Depart!"
Leon shouted. One by one, the armed recruits entered the
gate, including Chief Kim Jin-soo.
-Krig.
Yappy sent them on their way. As the eight eyes glow red,
Hari whispered softly,
"Sir Yappy, don't worry too much. His Majesty is
present, so everything will be fine."
-Trouble.
"Eh?"
-His Majesty is the 1st. Forty-nine cadets. One observer.
"Isn't that right? What is the problem──"
-Gate entry 52 people.
Yappy brought up a hologram. It showed infrared footage
of what he had just witnessed. It revealed that a masked figure with a robe was
entering the gate ahead of the recruits.
"Huh? Who is this......."
-Emergency response.
Yappy didn't say anything more, just charged straight for
the gate. Yappy rushed into the gate at full speed like never before.
"S- Sir Yappy! Let's go together!"
And just as Yappy entered the gate, Hari, who was
following behind, couldn't make it through the gate and bumped into something.
"Uh?"
She didn't make it through the gate. Hari realized that
something had happened to the gate that Yappy had also passed through.
"Huuh?! Wha-, what?!"
"The gate is fluctuating! Magic force
fluctuation!"
The surface of the gate suddenly flickered and turned
red, as if smeared with blood.
"Wha, what is this? Red?"
"Why did the yellow color suddenly turn red!?"
Chairman Oh Kang-hyuk was stunned by the change in front
of him.
"......A
shifting gate."
***
Notes:
1 A military tactic involving the use of two primary forces, one to pin down an enemy, and the other to smash or defeat the opponent with an encirclement maneuver. ↩
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