The Knight King Who Returned with Gods : Chapter 57
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 57: The Knight Squires Are More Equal
Like the previous cadets, the Academy cadets were to eat,
sleep, and train in the Pantheon Guild compound.
"Heh, the look on the cadets' faces will be
priceless."
"That's right."
The first batch of cadets at Pantheon. Gu Dae-sung and
Jim Do-han, now enlisted as regular soldiers, pictured the looks on the Academy
cadets' faces when they saw their dinner.
And that applies not only to the first-batch cadets but
also to the second-batch cadets. During their training, they had become
accustomed to the vicious diet of the Pantheon Guild.
A mind-numbing diet centered on calories, with a heaping
helping of salt and a heaping helping of sugar.
Only now, as soldiers... the first-batch cadets who had
been promoted to the ranks of the Man-At-Arms, were eating decent meals, but
the memories of those days... they were as horrible as it can be.
The new cadets, on the other hand, weren't looking
forward to dinner either. They were in the Naju Plains, which was to say, the
countryside.
"I see the villagers walking around, and what do you
think is......."
"Corn and potatoes."
"Or maybe canned vegetables from the fields."
"Can you eat that?"
"Why do I feel we will be back to nature?"
For the Academy cadets, most of whom were natives of
Seoul and the metropolitan area, this was what rural hospitality would be like.
Although there was a gap between the soldiers and the
cadets, nobody really expected a high standard of food. But there was one common
sentiment.
Hunger.
The hunger brought on by the day's intense training was
bubbling up to a growl.
"Mmm, I feel like I could eat all the rice they
serve."
"......I agree."
Jae-hyuk and Su-ho, who were selected as part of Group 1,
had to endure Leon's harsh training, regardless of their mood. Next to them,
Hari sent a pitying gaze.
"Well... you better not get your hopes up."
I'm starving, and all I can eat is salt and sugar water.
Even in the orphanage, I never had a rumbling stomach.
"Hmm, I'm glad there's no shortage of places for
everyone to sit."
Leon strode in. There were a lot of people sitting in the
courtyard on makeshift seats. It was the kind of scene you might see at a
middle school athletic meet, but Leon didn't mind.
They will have to eat here even when it rains, so they
will have to get used to it.
"Bring in the meal."
At Leon's command, the gate to the courtyard opened and
the locals entered with meals. The meal they were serving the second-batch
cadets was... needless to say, sugar-salt water.
"Ah~ of course."
“I was wondering if today would be a little different.”
"Let's have some sweet potatoes before bed."
The second-batch cadets, who had gotten used to the Pantheon
Guild's drill, gulped down the sugar-salt water in front of them, and the
expressions on the Academy cadets' faces changed.
"What is that?"
"Water? No, is there something in the water?"
"Aah, that's brine water."
"???"
Eating something like that? The Academy cadets'
expressions become distorted due to the unbelievable culture shock.
"N, Noona, what is it?"
Su-ho asked wide-eyed, and Hari replied with a dejected
expression,
"Salt water. With sugar."
"......Why?"
"Sir Yappy will explain that part to you in a
'logical' way......!"
At Hari's mention, Yappy, who was serving the meal,
scurried over. The minimalistic mechanical spider offered a logical explanation
for the sugar-salt-water diet.
-Humans. Can survive with only the minimum nutrients and
calories.
"?????"
-Reduction of food costs. Enhancement of the 'virulence'
factor. Very efficient.
""?????""
The Academy cadets trembled by the vicious logic.
"Uuh, we have to have that stuff too?"
“That’s ridiculous. How can you live by consuming only
that?”
When the Academy cadets' faces grew grim, Gu Dae-sung
spoke up,
"Ekhem, don't misunderstand. After the training
period is over, they will give you proper food."
True to his word, the first batch of cadets... now
promoted to the rank of soldiers, were being given proper rice and side dishes.
Kimchi, a staple of the Korean diet, is served with the
rice, and there are plenty of meat-based dishes as well. The rice and local
crops they were given were all 'blessed' and rare-grade.
Aside from the taste, the soldiers were very satisfied
with the fact that they were getting stronger and less sick with each meal.
All they have to do was to get through the training
period. For the second-batch cadets, the diet of the first-batch cadets was a
hopeful prospect.
Therefore, they can endure. Just a little longer. The
Academy cadets now had to face the salt and sugar water placed in front of
them.
"...... Do we really have to consume this?"
Even Han Su-ho, who grew up as an orphan, was stunned by
the sugar-salt water in front of him, let alone Cheon So-yeon, the heir to the
greatest guild in the country.
He turned to his sister, the one he'd always relied on,
but Hari just smiled and turned her head away.
"It's easier if you accept it."
"...... Unbelievable."
Having said that, this was Hari's second time drinking
salt and sugar water.
The first time, she tried it because she'd seen the
first-batch cadets survive on it, and she wanted to see if she could.
But then she spit out the salt water with an
"eep!" and had to listen to Leon's reprimand.
‘Haa,
you can do it. Han Hari! You're an orphan! You suffered hardships as a member
of the bottom 1% of Korea!'
Well, no, orphanages have gotten better these days, so
maybe 3%?
Hari sipped from her glass, trying to sublimate her
misfortune into willpower.
The moment the water slid down her throat, the saltiness
burned her throat.
‘Salty...!’
'Salty.
Too salty. So salty that it burned my throat. I wondered if I will get
esophagitis1 from this.'
But the salty taste was quickly overcome by another
flavor. It was the sugar.
'Too
sweet!'
If the salt made her mouth burn, the sugar made her tongue
burn. The problem was, the jumble of flavors was agonizing.
The others felt the same way.
Cheon So-yeon, who had undergone harsh training, and Han
Su-ho, who lived in an orphanage, knew that eating means living.
As for Jae-hyuk, he tilted his glass onto the ground to
dispose of it.
-Cheating detected.
Kwachik! With a snap, the steel wire swung at him
menacingly.
"Aah, that's dangerous!"
He protested, but the mechanical spider was relentless.
The Disciplinary Head of the Pantheon Guild will not take no for an answer.
When the shocking brine meal was over, Leon stood up.
"Then let's get you digest it and start
training."
"What?"
To digest the 'meal' right after downing it... Hari was
more curious about Leon's behavior, which was different from his usual
approach.
"Y- Your Majesty... You don't give us time to rest
after meal?"
This was the basic schedule for the trainees.
Morning training, then a meal. Rest, then training again.
Then a meal and then bed.
In other words, after dinner, it was straight to rest and
bed. Unofficially, they also fed them potato and sweet potato snacks.
"Tsk, tsk, you are not cadets, you are aspiring
knights. How could you have thought that the training of a soldier and a knight
are the same?"
"Is, is that so...."
Leon's gaze flicked to Chief Kim Jin-soo, who was also
participating in the training as an observer, apparently unfazed by the
shocking visuals of the salt and sugar water.
"I told you to do the preparation, did you get it
done?"
"Ah, yes, yes, I did! You said you'd be getting
ready to raid a gate soon......."
"Not soon. It's right now."
"......?"
"The second-batch cadets will rest and sleep as
usual. Sir Spinner will supervise. Gu Dae-sung, Jim Do-han, and the rest of you
will be ready to depart in ten minutes."
"Yes! Understood!"
"As ordered, Your Majesty!"
The first batch cadets, clearly armed with military
discipline, ran straight to the weapons storage room. The Academy cadets were
confused and had no choice but to follow them.
* * * *
To match the Academy cadets' visit, Leon bought a gate
pass.
An orc gate with orcs in it. It was easy to get.
By its nature, an orc gate offered little in return for
the effort.
The most expensive item you can get was the Orc Warrior's
Heart, which was worth at least 400 million won.
The problem was, the Orc Warrior was like a raid boss.
Not only does it look intimidating, but it also possesses
senses, strength, and special abilities as a fighter.
As such, it was usually supposed to be taken by A-class
raiders, but given their salaries, Heart of the Orc Warrior wasn't even an
expensive item.
The rest rewards were a handful of elemental weapons, and
even these were too scarce to be a viable option for taking down orcs that were
at least B-class.
As a result, orc gates were often bought up and sold at
bargain prices.
Such a sale was difficult for the Association to handle,
so when Leon stepped forward to buy it, the bidders handed it over.
"An orc gate."
"How is it? Has anyone here cleared an orc gate
before?"
"Cheon So-yeon, Jae-hyuk, and Han Su-ho are probably
the only ones......."
The Academy cadets couldn't believe that they had come to
attack an orc gate.
After suffering the torture of such a poor meal, they had
to come to an orc gate to digest it.
[Quest: A civil war among the orcs is raging. You are
mercenaries from outside who has come to join the fray. Help one side to end the
civil war and gain the title of Great Chieftain.]
"We are supposed to take sides?"
"At least one orc group will be on our side."
The Academy cadets breathed a sigh of relief. Normally,
this kind of quest can be safely cleared by using the allied orcs as shields as
much as possible. If they fight wisely, the gate shouldn't be too difficult──
"Hah......."
"This... it's that, huh?"
"Of course."
However, the soldiers' reactions were quite different. Gu
Dae-sung, Jim Do-han, and the other cadets of the first batch had foreseen a
certain future.
"????"
What's wrong? Su-ho was about to ask Hari when a group of
orcs approached from across the field.
"Are you mercenaries from outside? I am an orc
warrior from the proud Big Tusk tribe——”
-Whoosh!
The orc warrior didn't even finish his sentence before
his head was blown off. A lance that had flown in from nowhere had blown the
orc's entire head off starting from the top of his chin.
"Huh?"
The Academy cadets couldn't react as they saw the orc's
head blasted away before their eyes, and neither could the orcs.
They search for the culprit who threw the spear in
disbelief. No, there was no need to look.
Wherever it had come from, but the Lionheart King riding on
a pure white horse hurled a verbal abuse with a contemptuous gaze.
"By whose permission does this filthy beast open its
stinking mouth?"
The overwhelming sense of disgust, contempt, and hatred
made your skin quiver. If the cadets who weren't the targets were feeling like
this, what about the orcs?
"Stand at attention!"
His voice boomed before they had time to react. The
first-batch cadets reflexively stacked their shields and stabbed with their
swords.
"Ugh!"
"Y, you cowards!"
The orcs, caught by surprise, fell back, while the
Academy cadets were unable to keep up with the rapidly changing situation.
"W, wait a minute, this is not a quest where you can
just kill them, is it?"
"Why, why are we attacking? Someone tell me the
reason!”
But the soldiers answered without the slightest
hesitation.
"To kill orcs."
"Because that's the way it should be."
""?????""
【 Most Accomplished
Orc Butcher of the Primates 】
◆Effect
: Grants a 50% increase in critical hits against orcs.
: Inflicts fear, confusion, and despair on orcs.
: Spreads a well-deserved hatred for orcs.
Then it appeared. The system message flashed before the
cadets' eyes. But the system message didn't end there.
【 Aura of Lion's Heart
】
◆Effect
: Grants enhanced defense to army.
: Grants enhanced mental and physical stats to army.
: Grants enhanced large-scale type fortifications to
army.
: Grants enhanced valor to army.
: Grants enhanced weightless armor to army.
: Grants enhanced tough skin to army.
: Grants enhanced heavy blow to army.
: Grants magic empowerment to army.
: Grants enhanced resistance of ranged attacks to army.
: Grants enhanced keen gaze to army.
: Grants enhanced anti-infantry slaughter to army.
: Grants enhanced contamination resistance to army.
【 Living Demigod 】
【 War Knight's
Blessing 】
【 Holy Grail Guardian 】
【 Dragon Slayer's
Favor 】
【 Terror of the
Demonic Race 】
【 Demon Lord Slayer 】
【 Most Accomplished
Demon Slayer 】
【 Long Distance Attack
Detester 】
【 Strongest Assaulter 】
"C, crazy. What is this?"
A near carpet bombing of buff traits. As the new cadets
still couldn't come to their senses, Leon scolded them,
"Draw your weapons! Take up positions to the left
and right sides of the phalanx! We will charge into their flanks!”
A few cadets mindlessly followed the menacing commands as
Leon mounted his horse. The orcs clashed with the phalanx in a fury, their
flanks hollowed out.
"Charge!"
Leon ordered the charge. While the soldiers hold on as
the anvils, the Academy cadets as the mallets become the assault force,
crashing into the orcs.
The Academy cadets' combat strength might be higher than
the soldiers', but they didn't know how to charge as a single mass.
"Ugh...! These guys!"
“Aaaah!”
The Academy cadets dug into the flanks, but their
breakthrough power was lower than expected. They didn't have enough strength to
break through the orcs' massive size and heavy defense.
"Th- they're through!"
The cadets' formation was about to collapse and crumble
under the onslaught of orcs. Just then, flames scorched the air and dispersed
the horde of orcs.
"S, Senior Hari!"
Hari grinned, having slashed two orcs and burned a third
in a single blow.
"Careful, kids, take them down calmly."
At least Hari, who was used to this insane hatred of
orcs, created a spark and made up for the lack of impact power.
'The
problem is the cadets on the other side.'
The cadets were divided into two groups centered around
the soldiers' formation, and they besieged the orcs.
The number of orcs was less than fifty, so they were able
to surround them with ease, but unlike on this side, where there was Hari,
there were only pure cadets on the other side.
'I
don't think His Majesty will help.......'
It was then. A series of eerie cries rang out from the
other side of the orcs that Hari was burning.
"You, you little wench!"
"I'll chop you in half with my axe!"
Even in the midst of the bustling swarm fight, a figure
pierced through the space, thrusting with a rapier.
Cheon So-yeon, the granddaughter of the great swordsman
Cheon Su-jin and the strongest cadet from the Academy, was piercing through the
orcs' throats.
She was not the only one. Han Su-ho, a sword fighter, and
Jae-hyuk, a spearman. The two were also coping with the orcs' momentum without
being pushed back much.
It was not the first time for the three of the Academy's
top graduating class to deal with orcs.
"Hmm......."
Leon summoned the Holy Grail to heal his troops on the front
lines and watched their performance.
Han Hari was by far the most dominant performer. In fact,
she single-handedly covered half the damage of the right-wing damage dealer
infantry.
She had been criticized for her lack of refinement, but
in a mass battle like this, her Blessing of Fire was unbeatable.
"Now! Deal with the burned orcs!"
She got talent, after all. Teach her well, and the God of
War and Flame will be pleased.
On the other side, Cheon So-yeon, Jae-hyuk, and Han Su-ho
were the big guns.
The three of them had experience hunting orcs, so they
had a good response. Han Su-ho used his shield to deflect the orcs' attacks,
while Jae-hyuk used his reach advantage to mow them down.
When it comes to Cheon So-yeon, the delicate strikes of
the rapier were quick and light. The sword rained down like flashes of light,
striking only the critical vital points.
"The others, on the other hand, are ordinary."
Those four were exceptional, while the rest could not be
said to be good enough.
Even though the shield infantrymen, who were barely
C-class, were holding the attention of the orcs, they were not able to properly
attack from the flank.
If it weren't for their natural physical prowess and a
few standouts, the lots would be swallowed up by the enemy.
If it weren't for Leon's massive buffs, they'd be
crushed.
The battle ended in an easy victory.
Leon ordered the already exhausted cadets to rest and
prepare for the next battle.
"Your Majesty......."
Cheon So-yeon approached. She breathed evenly, as if she
had never broken a sweat in a single battle.
"I allow you to ask questions."
"Why... why did you attack the orcs? The quest is
clearly to help one of their sides."
"We do not spare orcs. Not a single one."
"Yes?"
Leon decided that it would be more efficient to declare
it in front of everyone rather than explaining it to just Cheon So-yeon.
"Remember. Orcs are green-skinned beasts."
"These beasts may speak the language of men, talking
of honor and glory, but their honor and glory are nothing more than the vain
violence of beasts."
"Have you seen them build a civilization? Have you
seen them choose dailogue over savage violence?"
In the thousands of years of repetition of Lionheart's
history, Leon had learned one truth:
Orcs are talking beasts.
"A beast masquerading as a man."
"It covets the honor of a warrior."
"The beast sings of glory above your life."
Despicable. These trashy beasts dare to discuss honor and
glory that only an honorable race can discuss.
"You must be resolute in your actions. These beasts
are not worthy of existence. Filthy parasites who should not live."
On modern Earth, orcs were not treated well, to say the
least.
Their brutality and violence made them difficult to
accept in civilized society.
However, since this was a world that guaranteed the human
rights of orcs in the name of political correctness, no one expressed extreme
hatred like Leon.
"Smash those disgusting molars and stinking snouts.
There’s no need to hesitate when it comes to slaughtering beasts!"
"Good orcs? Only dead orcs can be good."
"There is no need to discuss the concept of shame in
hunting beasts. All that is needed is to kill and righteous fury. Nothing but
killing intent to destroy them!"
[【
Most Accomplished Orc Butcher of the Primates 】
Spreads a well-deserved hatred for orcs.]
As Leon's speech continued, a certain fire ignited in the
hearts of the cadets.
There may had been no rationality in his logic, but there
was a certain trust.
The soldiers, already steeped in the teachings of Leon
and the Pantheon, were even more inflamed by the divine spirit, and──
"Kill! Kill the green beasts!"
"Kill! Kill them!"
"Kill them! Kill!"
They respond with the pounding of shields and swords.
Until the young cadets who were swallowed up by the madness were imprinted the
right values.
"Annihilate!"
"Ravage!"
"Don't leave a single beast behind!"
Glory to the Lionheart.
May there be honor in your swords and spears.
* * * * *
Loathing and Hatred. Under the overwhelming charisma of
Leon, every single orc in this orc gate was slaughtered.
The slaughter continued nonstop until there were no more
orcs left at the gate, and the profits were far greater than the original
expectations.
"Wow, three Orc Warrior’s Hearts and an Elemental
Weapon... how much is the magic stone?”
The profit was close to 1.2 billion won. The revenue
might not seem like much for a Class A raid team, but the Hunters here were
C-class and cadets who hadn't even graduated from the Academy.
Jae-hyuk looked at the pile of loot and calculated his
share.
"There are 96 Hunters, so even if we're being
economical, it will still be around six million won per head."
"I've never hunted so many orcs before......."
"Su-ho, you've made some money in a while. Are you
going to send it to the orphanage?"
"Half."
An Orc Warrior's Heart was an item that can be auctioned
off for half a billion won. The profit will be even higher then.
After clearing the orc gate, the cadets were told to
collect their rewards and approached Yappy, who was managing the finances, with
expectant faces.
They weren't used to having an artificial intelligence
machine calculate their payments, but since it was a machine, they figured it
would calculate honestly.
-Payments completed.
"Wow, that's fast. Did you pay us in advance?"
"The Orc Warrior's Hearts hasn't even been sold
yet... eh?"
After checking their accounts on their smartphones, the
two were dumbfounded by the amount of money they had received.
"Um, Yappy-ssi, I think you made a mistake in my
deposit?"
-There are no mistakes in the calculation ability of this
machine.
"No, no, why is it only showing 700,000 won in my
account? Shouldn't it be at least 6 million won?!"
-Jae-hyuk. Battle video analysis. Calculated payment of 7
million won.
"Uh... You got me a little high. No, but why is
there only 700,000 won in my account!"
-Tax.
"What?"
Cadets who had received their allowances came flocking to
ask questions. and they got the same answer from Yappy.
-Tax. Taken in advance to save you trouble.
Nonsense.
The cadets were stunned by the vicious tax system.
***
Notes:
1 Esophagitis is inflammation in the esophagus, the swallowing tube that runs from humans throat down to their stomach.↩
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