The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 53
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 53 The Internet Dictator
Leon's declaration spread like wildfire.
The Academy's seniors were initially unhappy.
Hunters were a valuable resource in their own right.
Every year, from small to large guilds, the contract price was being bumped upwards
to keep up with the demand for talent.
Meanwhile, this was the first time, even among the Top 10
Guilds, that a guild had shown such arrogance.
-I heard he is a survivor, but isn't he a bit too
barbarian?
-What kind of attitude is that in this modern world?
-Isn't there a down payment or a salary? Are they not
following the rules of the industry?
There were many comments from the Korean Hunter Academy,
and it was posted as a real-time best article in various places.
While the interest in Leon grew in Korea, there were also
those who fanned the flames.
This is the case of Park Yeon-rae, a Hunter Academy
alumnus and member of the Korean Mage community.
-Honestly, that man. It's ridiculous to say that magic is
inferior, and what's with the horse riding?
-He seems uncivilized because he came from the Middle
Ages.
"Huhu~ How refreshing."
Park Yeon-rae looked satisfied as she watched the number
of likes on her comments increase.
[Magic is inferior to Holy Law.]
Park Yeon-rae was outraged by this statement. But she
couldn't refute it on the spot.
She had seen the Holy Llaws that had flatten the concept.
But she could not admit the inferiority of magic.
Throughout her life, she had lived with a sense of superiority as a mage.
Mages were the most powerful Hunters. The non-magical
Hunters were merely stalling tactics until the mages started bombardment.
But the Holy Law? The power that makes magic inferior?
The education she received throughout my life could not tolerate that.
"Okay, just a few more comments and then──"
Park Yeon-rae was about to check for replies to her
comments when she realized that she hadn't seen any.
"Huh? Why don't I see them?"
No comments. Her comments had disappeared.
'H-
huh? No way.'
What's the problem with the comment I just made?
She even checked her comment history, but she can't see
her comments anywhere. Even all the malicious comments she had posted so far
have disappeared.
"Is, is it really all my comments so far? On
YubTube?!"
Why?
But YouTube's response didn't end there.
[We would like to inform you that your account has been
permanently suspended for serious violations of the YubTube Community
Guidelines.]
"Huh?"
Suspended? Why?
All I did was post a few abusive comments. YubTube didn't
just give a warning, not a suspension, but a permanent suspension?
"Why, why, why?!"
She tried repeatedly logging in to her account, but the
permanently suspended status did not change.
At the same time, Yappy's brain sensors, which were
floating around the Internet with a computation rate of 3%, posted a report:
-Malicious comments accounts suspended. Hacking of
YubTube central processing system. Traces incinerated.
When Yappy wasn't at the gate, it was putting all its
computing power into promoting and expanding the Pantheon Guild.
Naturally, Yappy would hack into community sites, delete
content with administrator privileges, and even cause permanent suspension.
Even when owners of numerous suspended accounts raised
complaints, they were deleted in less than 0.3 seconds. At this point, it was
like automatic deletion.
The internet dictatorship had already begun.
Yappy quickly uploaded the edited videos under the
Pantheon YubTube account, while simultaneously promoting the videos with a
bunch of pseudonymous on YubTubes.
[Shock! Japan watched in horror, the U.S. watched in
horror. Why did the demons kneel to the King of Knights?]
[Why the demons wept and sobbed when they saw the King of
Knights.]
[8K 60fps. Pantheon official battle report video.]
This fully edited 8K video and translated into over 100
languages is a video of the battle at the Shifting Gate.
Background music and sound effects were added, camerawork
and poor angles were fixed with in-house CG, and Leon's deep voice was
highlighted with epic cuts.
The reaction of those who saw the video was great.
-Holy shit... is that a person?
-Look at the dozens of demons he's taking down with each
charge. Are demons supposed to be that fragile?
-What are those bulls and Death Knights? How did they
manage to pull that off?
That was not all. While the Shifting Gate may have
changed the game, the original purpose of the strategy was to showcase the
effectiveness of the training of the first batch of trainees who joined the
Pantheon Guild.
Indeed, the sight of the 10,000-year D-ranked Hunters
forming a defensive formation, silently repelling the demonic onslaught, and
even fighting back, was as impressive as the Death Knights themselves.
-What's with the shields? They're all tankers?
-The matchups are shit, so how come they block so well?
-Aren't they B-class tanks? Doesn't that one look like
Kim Jin-soo Kim, Chief of the Hunter Association? He's a B-class.
Yappy commented with additional information,
-That guy in the center is the head of the mining team,
Kim Do-han. I worked with him and he's a D-class.
-D-class is that good? Don't be ridiculous.
Yappy thought about suspending the account for replying but
then added another comment.
-The gate raid this time was to evaluate the training by
the Lionheart King of the D-class members. They were all promoted to C class.
-How come you know the details? Do you happen to be──
Yafi immediately deleted the account. It further traced
the IP, used a VPN, hacked into the consolidated database in 1.5 seconds, and
caused a blackout at and around the actual IP address.
The power would have been restored in a minute, but their
computer have short-circuited due to overvoltage.
-Ahhhh! Fuck my computer!
Having confirmed the kill via the house's pet
surveillance camera, Yappy repeated the same action 687 times. The entire world
was the target.
Even as this was happening, the videos of the Pantheon
Guild were spreading far and wide, and the students of the Hunter Academy were
beginning to develop an interest in the Pantheon while being fed only biased
information.
* * * * *
Academy cadet Han Su-ho, who was from Han-wonjang
Orphanage, boarded the bus to the Naju terminal.
Next to him were fellow classmates Jae-hyuk and Cheon
So-yeon.
"There are more of us than I thought."
Jae-hyuk scoffed, then looked at the bus full of cadets
and sneered.
“Well, because everyone saw that.”
Leon's Holy Law was definitely a complete shock.
Conventional gate raiding had always relied heavily on
rear-guarded mages.
With tanks and dealers holding up the front line and
mages firing from the rear, their firepower was enough to change the difficulty
of the gate.
However, mages were few and small in number, and even the
few that did make it to the top of the ladder often ended up in the Magic
Tower.
The monopoly of magic was not new, and it was common for
most gate-raiding teams to not include mages.
Even the Top Ten Guilds were heavily reliant on mages
from Magic Tower aside from their own recruited mages.
But what Leon showed them was a new opportunity.
Breaking away from the existing monopoly of magic,
allowing not only dealers but also tankers to use 'magic'.
"Su-ho, did you see it?"
"What?"
"Pantheon's channel on YubTube. This one video is no
joke. Plus, it explains in detail how to use the Holy Law.”
"Really?"
Jae-hyuk handed over his earphones and said to have a
look. Su-ho plugged the wireless earphones into the old Hunter phone and
scanned for Wi-Fi on the bus.
“Just use 6G? The Wi-Fi on intercity buses is slow.”
"I... use LTE."
"Ew. Are you using your grandpa's phone? It's so
fucking old."
Jae-hyuk knew Han Su-ho was from an orphanage, but he
didn't expect him to live on a shoddy budget.
“Don’t you make a lot of money? You must have received a
lot of reward money because you won second place in the last training session,
right?”
"I sent it to the orphanage."
"You and Ms. Hari are so dedicated, ah."
Han Hari and Han Su-ho were both Hunters from the same
orphanage, and they donated every penny they earned to their home orphanage.
"Hari Noonim (Big Sister) is there too."
In the video posted by the Pantheon Guild, Han Hari was
also present. It showed her in action at the Orc Gate.
"By the way, that guy is really vicious. Like born
for war. Have you seen the Shifting Gate?"
"Uhm... I'm watching it now, it's rather
brutal."
The video showed demons being burned at the stake and
brutally murdered.
Thanks to the fancy video editing, it wasn't that
grotesque, but it was easy to understand what was going on.
“By the way, didn’t you say that your sister is also in
the Pantheon?”
"Yeah. It's been a while, since the New Year."
Han Su-ho and Han Hari were from the same orphanage. In
the orphanage, they had no choice but to rely on each other, and Su-ho had
always followed Hari.
Or rather, he looked up to her for awakening at a young age
and proving her genius.
Even when a Top Ten Guilds offered her a hefty contract,
she didn't hesitate to choose the Association.
She chose the Association with a civil servant's salary
because she admired the Association employee who protected her from the
monsters in a haunting Dungeon Break.
That person was killed in the attack on a gate just
before another Dungeon Break, but he left behind a Class A Hunter named Hari.
Hari was a righteous and passionate Hunter. She genuinely
wanted to help and protect people, and Su-ho, who grew up under her like a
brother, admired her.
“Now that I think about it, I saw an article saying that
your sister was dispatched to the Pantheon. What is she doing these days?”
"Hmm~ I only heard from her on the phone, so I didn't
get to learn the details... but I'm sure she's doing great things."
Su-ho had no doubt about it. The sister he admired will
save people in a stylish way no matter where she goes.
That was how they arrived at the Naju Plains, Pantheon
Guild's headquarters. A familiar voice sounded from beyond the large gates.
"S- Sir Yappy. Is this really the one? For
real?"
-See Big Data. Numbers don't lie.
“Still, I think it’s too short….”
-Information reliability rate is 99.999%. Doubting big
data?
It's my Noona(Big Sister)'s voice! Su-ho's face lit up at
the sound of Hari's voice, which he hadn't heard since the Lunar New Year.
'I
will surprise her!'
With his back to his classmates, Su-ho swallowed his
voice and knocked on the gate.
"What, what is it?! Ah, that's right! I heard the
juniors from the Academy are coming today. –Be right there!"
His classmates were also excited when they recognized the
voice on the other side of the door as Hari.
Han Hari was the youngest Class A Hunter to be offered a
legendary contract in last year's Draft.
Although she was an employee of the Association and acts
as a government official, isn't she one of the greatest geniuses since the
establishment of Hunter Academy?
For the current third-year students, who had seen her in
action time and time again in mock games, Hari remained a cheerful and cool
senior.
But from the other side of the door they hear the sound
of frantic running.
"Ah, wait, wait, wait! Please wait a moment!”
-Visitors. Important to respond.
"No, wait a minute! Sir Yappy! Wait!!"
The gate flung open despite Hari's desperate cry. Hari,
hastily pulling down her skirt, greeted them with a reddened face.
"Ah, hello, everyone. Thank you all for your hard
work in coming a long way... uh."
She wore a sleeveless maid's outfit that exposed her
cleavage and shoulders. The skirt was so short it was borderline skimpy.
The spandex stockings were transparent, showing off her
flesh-colored thighs.
Ranked 1st in Yappy's big data survey.
A full set of a 5-pieces sexy maid's outfit.
Use: Boyfriend.
Satisfaction: 9.98 stars.
Numbers don't lie. The numbers are.
-His Majesty, King Leon. Culture similar to that of
medieval European kingdoms. Handmaid's uniform = maid's uniform, reasoning is reasonable.
-The results of the machine's computations and the
ordering of the goods were the most perfect conclusion.
It was the evil of big data.
"No, Noona... uh, what is that?”
“Oh, no. I-I didn’t wear this because I wanted to….”
-Disregard Big Data?
A tiny mechanical spider raised the hem of her skirt with
a mechanical limb to enforce the 'recommended way to wear maid clothes' posted
on the sales site.
“Lord Yappy! Ah! Skirt! Don’t raise my skirt!”
Hari made desperate excuses as the cadets watched with
blank expressions.
"No, no, no...! I didn't buy this! I, uh, yes, His
Majesty, the Guildmaster of the Pantheon, is a very medieval person, and we've
welcomed a Queen recently, and that's why Sir Yappy ordered a suitable outfit!
I didn't want to wear this!"
-Do you distrust this machine’s big data?
Yappy's red eyes fixed on Hari.
"What... what is this scene?"
A familiar voice came from behind Hari with a low-cut
maid's outfit. Leon's eyes widened at the sight of Hari's attire.
It was the most shocked he'd ever been since he'd arrived
on Earth.
"Your Majesty, about this..."
Leon's voice which quivered then quickly turned into a
roar,
"You disgusting woman, change out of those clothes
right now!"
"Hick...?!"
Hari, whose legs went limp after Leon's rant, flopped
down in her spot. Hari's pouty gaze turned to Yappy.
"Sir Yappy?"
I told you it wasn't right, and you snarled at me for
doubting the Big Data!
-Kiklug?
Yappy spun on its heel and began to head nonchalantly
toward the kitchen.
-Two o'clock trainee meal. Commencing brine distribution.
"............."
"............."
Reuniting with his beloved older sister was a disaster.
* * * *
Jeju Island Gate.
This 'Red' gate appeared in the middle of downtown Jeju City
and made headlines across the country as soon as it appeared.
While the Shifting gate incident, which had recently
become a big issue, WAs fading away, the appearance of this red gate attracted
a lot of attention.
The gates, which were categorized as black, red, scarlet,
yellow, green, and blue, were not uniform, but there was a general appropriate
strategy composition.
With the exception of black gates, which were the worst
disasters in history, red gates were the hardest. Commonly known as S-class
gates, the minimum attack composition was generally two raid teams with about
100 people and two S-class members.
This was the minimum number of participants, and it was
widely agreed that three S-class Hunters were needed to reliably defeat the
gate.
The guild leader of the Phoenix Guild, an S-ranked hunter
of one of the Top 10 Guilds that purchased the Jeju Island Red Gate, was
nervous about taking on this Jeju Island Gate on their own.
The Phoenix Guild had two S-class Hunters, including Lee
Yong-wan himself. At the very least, he wanted to attract one or two more
S-class hunters.
But S-class hunters were not that common.
There were 20 S-class Hunters in Korea, but all of them
belonged to the Top 10 Guilds.
Usually, the Top 10 Guilds cooperate with each other on
hunter-related business and projects, but only when they have a common goal.
Large guilds that were in competition with each other
were fully prepared to bite each other whenever the opportunity arose.
Would any guild be willing to release their S-class
hunters for the Phoenix Guild that had outbid them on this Red Gate?
There was not enough time to do any negotiations. If the
Red Gate caused a dungeon break, they'd be screwed.
Rather than invite the 10 guilds to a negotiation table
that could potentially last forever, Yong-wan chose the surest way out.
"Well, we're here."
“You said you would give me money, so I took an early
morning flight.”
“Oh, my sister. Our guild’s situation is a bit bad.”
Hwang Geum-cheol of the Golden Lion Guild and Hwang
Yeon-ha, a semi-S rank hunter. There were also forty Golden Lion members under
them.
It would be no exaggeration to say that the Golden Lions,
who had been heavily damaged by the Yakt Spinner at the Cheongju Gate, had
brought virtually all of their strength with them.
"It's been a while, Hwang Geum-cheol-ssi."
"Senior Lee Yong-wan, long time no see. After the
Honam Gate government intimidation incident, you've been trying to stay out of
harm's way, yet you bid for the Red Gate?"
"Of course, thanks to my self-sacrifice, I avoided
having anybody from my guild sliced to pieces."
"Hahaha~"
"Hahaha~"
The two S-class guilds stabbed at each other with smiling
faces. This was the usual atmosphere when the Top 10 guilds met.
"Wow, the one who didn't even give us a bone to eat
in this small land has provided us with a true sacrament."
“I’ve been so busy these days. I have to take care of my
junior.”
The Phoenix Guild wanted S-class forces and veteran
raiders who could come quickly,
The Golden Lion Guild needed funds to repair its damaged
reputation and restore its power.
The two Top 10 Guilds were able to come to a quick
compromise in the face of such an alignment.
"The settlement is five-for-five, right?"
"What are you talking about? It's obvious that your
junior guild is the one who's going to get the short end of the stick."
“Ah~, if it’s not us, who else will come to help the
traitor Hunter Lee Wan-yong1 of the Phoenix Guild? If anything, you can call
someone else right now~”
"It's Lee Yong-wan for you, junior, so don't you
cross the damn line."
The name was a complex for Yong-wan. It was a terrible
name his parents had given him.
"Six to four. No more than this."
“Oki~ Instead, you pay for the meal.”
"You can eat with your own money."
The two had a harsh but quick settlement. They both
wanted to get things done as quickly as possible.
“…Why do men fight such useless fights?”
"I know, right."
"Oh, my God!"
Hwang Yeon-ha glanced at the short-haired beauty who had
suddenly appeared behind her.
It was Hayuri, another S-class Hunter from the Phoenix
Guild. She was a dagger-wielding assassin who had mastered the art of stabbing
monsters in the back of the head without them even realizing it.
"Hey, you should fucking stay upright."
"Talk nice."
Three S-class hunters, one semi-S-class.
Add to that 150 or so elite raiders, and you have an
unparalleled force.
The Hunters entered the Jeju Island Gate, expecting a
steady victory, and──
[Quest: Save the Massacred.]
Conditions: Defeat the field boss, 'Majestic Geobrick'.
There, they encountered a knight.
"How dare you try to save those wretches in front of
me, in front of this Geobrick! You have crossed the line of tolerability!"
A massive one-handed hammer and shield. The hulking
knight was in heavy armor, his fierce gaze and voice overwhelming everyone.
“I am Geobrick, the glorious Grail Knight of Lionheart! I
will bring you the divine punishment!"
The Majestic Geobrick.
Holy Grail Knight of Life and Fertility.
The field boss of this gate.
***
Notes:
1 Not typo.Lee Wan-yong was a Korean politician who served as the 7th Prime Minister of Korea. He was best remembered for signing the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty, which placed Korea under Japanese rule in 1910. ↩
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