The Knight King Who Returned with Gods: Chapter 72
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 72: The New Knight Cadet
In the early morning hours, when tractors normally come
and go. There were a four-legged creatures running hard across the field.
-Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da!
Farmer Choi Yeong-Gam was greeted by the huffing and puffing
of the steeds and the clopping of their hooves.
“Oh my, Your Majesty. You seems to be in good spirits
since morning.”
Leon stopped at the sight of Choi, who removed his hat
and bowed to greet him.
"Old man Choi, you've been working hard this early
in the morning."
"I'm here to catch some bugs. Are you out for
breakfast with the cadets?"
“It’s horseback riding training.”
"I see."
As a priest of Demera, the goddess of life and fertility,
Choi was delighted to see the Pantheon growing larger and larger.
Once he could barely keep his head above his shoulders
when he saw his land decaying, but now he couldn't be happier.
All this has happened since he came here. Old man Choi
bowed gratefully to Leon as he resumed his ride.
The scarecrows that had been suspended behind him seemed
to bow down along with him.
* * * * *
After riding with the more than 44 cadets since the early
morning hours, Leon began teaching the cadets in a nearby empty clearing.
“There are many skills in horseback riding, but the most
important thing is to be friends with your horse. The one you can rely on the
most on the battlefield is your comrade on your side, and your horse is your
closest comrade.”
Hearing Leon's words, Jae-hyuk raised his hand,
"Your Majesty, horses don't even understand human
speech, so how can we befriend them?"
"You have a point. The Imperial Scholars have said
that men are the masters of the creatures, not their friends."
Leon led Stallion on a trot, looking around at the cadets
and horses which had their eyes at him.
“Horses are much smarter animals than you think. But they
are also timid animals.”
Stallion, who was walking at a trot, stopped in front of
Jae-hyuk's horse. Then, the horse did something unexpected.
“Uh, huh?”
Jae-hyuk's horse, which had been panting and grunting,
slowly lowered his head. As if that wasn't enough, he bent down on all fours
and lowered himself in front of Leon and Stallion as if in reverence.
“What’s wrong with this guy?”
Leon said to everyone in front of a bewildered Jae-hyuk,
"Stallion is indeed the king of horses. Cadet
Jae-hyuk's horse has humbled itself in submission to Stallion's
authority."
It was no wonder. Stallion is a divine being, and his
status is like a reigning king among the horses.
None of the cadets' horses would question his leadership.
“However, you must become close enough to the horse to
overturn this hierarchical relationship. That is, to be willing to challenge the
lance for the rider on his back."
With a wave of Leon's hand, Stallion made a grunting
sound, and Jae-hyuk's horse straightened his legs.
“Horses are timid, but when they have a rider with them,
they are willing to charge even beasts. What do you think is the reason for
this?”
Cheon So-yeon raised her hand,
"Is it because they trust their rider?"
“That’s right. Whether it’s a wild beast or an
infantryman packed with spears and swords, the horse throws itself forward,
trusting that the rider on its back will be able to handle it.”
Build such a relationship of trust, a relationship that
you can entrust your life to on the battlefield.
"From this day forward, you will ride horses for two
hours every day and spend time with them. You will also have to learn how to
aim a jousting spear while riding a horse.”
"Your Majesty, does that mean you're taking away two
hours from our daily training?"
Jae-hyuk asked. Leon slapped it down as if he were
talking nonsense.
"Fool! Why would I cut two hours of training when I
can cut two hours of sleep? When I was a squire, I slept less than two hours a
day!"
There it goes again. "In my time--"
If anyone else had said it, they would have laughed it
off as a joke and said, “Yes, yes, of course”, but since it was Leon, they had
no choice but to truly believe it.
In the month they'd been together, they hadn't seen him
lie once.
"And there will be a new knight cadet."
"Yes?"
“At this timing?”
The cadets tilted their heads at Leon’s words. Everyone who
deserves to come from the Academy has already joined in. These were the same
ones who turned down the draft offer.
In other words, all the cadets who didn't come here have
already signed contracts and negotiated their salaries with other guilds.
If they were to tear up their contracts now and come to
the Pantheon Guild, they would have to pay a hefty penalty.
“He will be training with you from now on and will
challenge for the title of knight in the future.”
A horseman trudged towards them from beyond the clearing.
The horse stamped the ground uncontrollably, and the
rider reeled, trying to steady it somehow.
Unlike the cadets, whose youthful exuberance had made
them quick to take to the challenge, he looked worn with age.
Only after a few minutes of trudging does the new cadet
awkwardly nod his head.
“I am a member of the 1st generation recruit and the Men
at Arms… My name is Gu Dae-Sung. Please take care of me in the future.”
The man's expression was anything but confident.
* * * * *
Gu Dae-Sung, a Man at Arms first-generation cadet, was
overwhelmed with emotion as he watches the second-generation cadets approach
their graduation ceremony.
They were like him a month ago. They were able to clearly
see that they had grown and improved from D class to C class.
Above all, the moment when they managed to clear an
Orange Gate, which they thought was unbeatable, while assisting a knight, was
nothing short of a joy.
Of course, the gate that Gu Dae-Sung and the first
generation cadets cleared was not an ordinary gate, but a Shifting Gate and a
Daemon Gate.
Gu Dae-Sung thought back to his situation.
He is a modern man with a high school diploma and no
qualifications. When he was in his twenties, many of his peers were
accumulating qualifications, which was natural, but he had a calling card:
Awakener.
Awakener. Hunter. Superhumans of this era.
But Gu Dae-sung had no talent. Even among Hunters, the
title of Ten Thousand Years D-class was an insult.
Most Hunters his age are promoted to Class C or higher.
Even if they don't have a unique skill, they're still good enough to go to the
Orange Gate.
Gu Dae-Sung, on the other hand, had never even approached
the Orange Gate even as a porter.
From the moment Gu Dae-Sung invested the money he earned in
equipment and saved up to try even a cheap elixir, he knew that he would end up
wandering around the lower class.
But he had a goal. Something to aspire to while living in
a rented room.
S-class hunters. Heroes who live such brilliant and
wonderful lives. The Real heroes who earn people's praise and beat the gates.
This was something that Gu Dae-Sung, a lifelong D-class
hunter, cannot even dream of. But──
'If
I follow his teachings, wouldn't I be able to become stronger?'
Gu Dae-Sung's life had been going extremely well lately.
A survivor from another world he met by chance. Thanks to
this, he was able to increase his level and get the precious Orc Warrior's
Heart Elixir.
The shabby D-class, who had been going through life and
death at the gate for over 10 years, has now reached a level where he can stand
on his own among the C-class.
He doesn't deny that meeting Leon was a great fortune.
He's never lacked for money here.
But that doesn't mean he's satisfied with his current
situation.
Consuming the heart of the Orc Warrior and the blessed
crops had certainly made him stronger. But that was all.
His growth remained stagnant, and there was no guarantee
that he'll ever see another breakthrough like the Orc Warrior's Heart.
Just because a D-class becomes a C-class doesn't make
them stronger in many ways. He realized that when he saw the cadets from the
Academy.
The cadets that Leon had brought in as knight squires
were dazzlingly talented.
Even if Leon was dissatisfied with them, they were like
heavenly talents to Gu Dae-Sung. A B-class at their age.......
With a unique skill, able to lift tons of iron with ease,
and able to go one-on-one with orcs, doing things that Gu Dae-Sung can't do
now.
Such dazzling, fantastical talents.
The world is so different. Unlike Gu Dae-Sung, who
decided to enlist to try to raise his rank, they had knighthood in mind from
the beginning, and their growth rate could not be compared to Gu Dae-Sung.
He envied them.
He wanted to aim to become a knight like them.
As Leon had said, unlike a soldier who only had to be
good at one thing, an all-around superhuman who could do anything.
'Arianna.
Pethos. Thank you again today.'
Gu Dae-Sung first thanked the two deities, and then
suddenly remembered the goddess of life and fertility whom the farmers
worshiped.
The one who purified the land polluted by magic and
nourished believers with blessed crops. They say there is no superiority or
inferiority among the deities, but is there anyone more important in today's
world?
There is a good reason why farmers are so grateful to
Demera and offer tribute toward her.
'Is
this a blasphemous thought?'
To appreciate Goddess Demera more than others.
Gu Dae-Sung offered a separate prayer of thanks to the
goddess Demera before returning to his quarters. As he passed by the training
ground, which emanated an auspicious energy, he suddenly recalled an object in
it.
“There is a hammer, right?”
The Holy Grail Knight's Hammer, he was told, is an Epic
item that is a holy relic in its own right and possesses immense power.
Despite the many challengers and the many challenges from
outside and within the Pantheon, Gu Dae-Sung had never thought to pick up the
hammer.
Because he was aware of his own story.
The dream was lofty, and he was pessimistic about his
story, so he figured he wouldn't be picked anyway.
“Is there anyone…?”
He didn't even look at the hammer first, not wanting to get
bullied over it unnecessarily. Gu Dae-Sung realized that there was no one
around and cautiously approached the hammer.
“Wow….”
The hammer was truly auspicious and noble.
The hammer stood firmly on the ground, as if it could
clear away all the filth just by looking at it.
The hammer's weight and even the handle were beautifully
carved with detailed patterns.
"If you want to give it a try......."
Gu Dae-Sung put his hand on the hammer's handle. He
lifted the hammer with all his strength from the beginning, but──
Kkiig!
And the hammer creaked. Just enough to be able to feel
the minuscule hint of lift.
“Off…!”
This was all he could do, even though he had squeezed out
all his strength. Gu Dae-Sung let go of his blue, tired hand, and the hammer
thudded against the ground.
"Heuff...! S, so it's not working after all?"
Right on cue... The moment Gu Dae-Sung was about to turn
away in disappointment.
"This is... surprising."
Leon's voice stopped Gu Dae-Sung in his tracks.
* * * * *
After the Cataclysm in 2002, countless Gates appeared on
Earth.
Each has its own theme and level, but there are always
goals that must be met above all else.
High-ranked Gates are the first priority.
The higher the rank, the greater the risk of dungeon breaks,
so they're a major threat.
The second priority is the gates in the farmlands.
Since the Cataclysm, humanity has lost as many farm
fields as there are people.
Since no crops can grow and no people can live on land
contaminated with maso, it is natural to prevent the contamination itself.
However, among all these threats, there are exceptions
that are prioritized for clearance as soon as they are detected.
In such cases, the government takes the lead and issues a
‘conscription order’ to forcibly mobilize hunters.
"Chairman... We have cross-checked with the East Sea
Fleet, the US 7th Fleet, and the Korea Maritime Self-Defense Force.”
Oh Kang-hyuk, the chairman of the Association, was silent
as he listened to the same observational reports. The cross-checks from
neighboring countries are too convincing to be a miscalculation.
"A Dragon Palace... It's practically
confirmed."
A Sea Gate. Also known as the Dragon Palace.
The appearance of the gate is usually spotted on land. Naturally,
people expected gates to appear only on land, and at the beginning of the
cataclysm, when there were no satellites to observe the gates, they did not pay
any attention to the sea.
But 25 years ago, the world's first Sea Gate appeared in
Tokyo Bay.
Left unchecked until the dungeon break, the Tokyo Bay
Gate not only wiped out Tokyo Bay, but also polluted the entire coastal sea and
transformed sea creatures into monsters.
It became the worst gate disaster in history, and Japan
had to waste 15 years to put an end to it.
Therefore, it is imperative that neighboring countries
work together to attack the Dragon Palace Gate, even in a time of international
politics where countries are prioritizing their own interests.
The United States and Japan have already notified that
they will dispatch raid teams. But that wasn't the problem.
“Why, at this time….”
Association Chairman Oh Kang-hyuk turned on the news.
Climate information delivered as an urgent breaking news on public
broadcasting.
[Yes, I have now arrived at the coast of Ulleungdo.
Typhoon Nabi, which was scheduled to head toward the Pacific Ocean, suddenly
changed course and is moving slowly toward Ulleungdo.]
[Nabi, expected to be the biggest typhoon this year, has
a speed of 64.5 m per second, exceeding the record set by Cicada in 2003, and
serious damage to Ulleungdo residents is expected.]
The annual storm forecast. This year it seems to be
particularly strong, but that's not the point...
The path of the typhoon overlaps with the Dragon Palace
Gate.
“Assemble the hunters. Urgently! And….”
Oh Kang Hyuk added,
"Prioritize contacting His Majesty Leon of the
Pantheon Guild."
Leon. The Lionheart King of another world, who performs
mysterious miracles and is loved by the gods.
Oh Kang-hyuk instinctively felt that he was the only
solution.
***
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