The Knight King Who Returned with Gods: Chapter 74
Translators: Nyx and Ririi Rain
Episode 74 AHHH-SHITT!!!!
It had been 14 hours since the Dragon Palace Gate was
discovered. The Hunter Association quickly completed preparations to attack the
Gate.
The capture of the Dragon Palace Gate is of national
importance. Orders were quickly issued from the top of the Hunter Association,
and warships were mobilized to reach the gate in the middle of the sea.
Helicopter landing area of the 1st Fleet in Donghae Port,
Gyeongsang Province. Blackhawk helicopters from the Republic of Korea army land
with their rotor blades spinning violently.
Those who got off there were a group of people who
appeared to be civilians, not soldiers.
"You may disembark, Your Majesty."
The first to disembark were Hunter Association Chief Kim
Jin-soo and Deputy Han Hari. The two of them escorted Leon off so respectfully.
They were followed by Lee Yong-wan, the Hunters of the
Phoenix Guild, and the cadets of the Pantheon.
"Good mounts. We should have three or four of
them."
'The
military helicopters? That's ridiculous.......'
"I'll speak to the Chairman of the Association.
Would six be enough? We're sorry we couldn't give you a better answer."
'You're
going to allow it?!'
Lee Yong-wan was stunned by Kim Jin-soo's offer to give
away tens of billions of won worth of military helicopters.
'It's
not his decision. The highest authorities to give their consent.'
There's no way a mere chief has the authority to decide
to give helicopters away.
But judging from the Chairman's straightforward demeanor,
Oh Kang-hyuk must have told Leon to do whatever he wanted.
"Your Majesty, this model is a bit outdated. There's
a brand new model that just came out in Korea, called the Surion... It's not
much, but if you'll take a picture with it and say a few words of praise when
you receive it, I'll-"
'What?'
"It's fine. I like the exterior, that massive
outdated something. It can carry horses, so that's a plus."
"Yes......."
Hari patted the shoulder of Chief Kim Jin-soo, who was
frowning.
The Pantheon and the Phoenix Guilds headed straight for
the First Fleet headquarters. There, the commander, captains, non-commissioned
officers, and hundreds of enlisted men who had been notified in advance were
lined up all in a row.
"Salute! Welcome to the headquarters of the First
Fleet of the Republic of Korea Navy!"
"Greetings, Your Majesty Leon Dragonia
Lionheart!"
-Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!
A raucous chorus of cheers and welcomes. Even though
hunters are treated as semi-heroes on modern Earth, there is a distinction
between civilians and the military.
No sane developed country, at least not one that isn't a
continent torn into fifty countries or some hunter dictatorship, would offer
such hospitality.
"Hmm, are you the commander of this base?"
"Yes, I am Commander of the First Fleet, Commander
Choi Jae-Seong!"
Commander Choi had been thoroughly briefed beforehand, so
he didn't make any rude remarks in front of Leon. But the reason he treated him
so politely wasn't just because of orders.
“It is an honor to meet you, Your Majesty! My
granddaughter was cured of leukemia after eating Goddess Demera’s crops, and if
you don't mind, I hope you'll pass on my gratitude."
Commander Choi Jae-Seong's granddaughter had long been a
terminally ill patient with leukemia.
But after seeing his granddaughter cured of leukemia
after consuming the blessed crops, he burst into tears and praised God for the
first time.
"I see. If you have received the grace of the
Goddess and are grateful, you are also my brother. Always be grateful and
worship her."
"I am honored!"
Leon had been on Earth for three months now. His
influence had spread to every corner of the country.
"Then, before I brief you on this operation, let me
introduce you to the allies you will be fighting together with you."
Commander Choi led the hunters visiting the base to a
gymnasium. It was the largest of the rather small Donghae Port facilities, one
of the few places that could hold hundreds of people.
Waiting for Pantheon and the Phoenix Guilds there were a
diverse group of foreigners.
"Are they from the United States?"
Commander Choi answered Lee Yong-wan's question with a
small nod,
"Yes, they flew in on a Navy aircraft, which is
unusual."
Commander Choi was right, it was indeed unusual.
The Dragon Palace Gate was located on the East Sea. South
Korea and Japan are neighbors in this sea.
Even if the United States was a military ally of South
Korea, why would it need to send a raiding party? It's not like Korea and Japan
are lacking hunter resources right now.
"The group departs from Sasebo1, so it seems they're
taking it pretty seriously."
It was still a bit of a mystery why the U.S. would join
in, but it could be overlooked. In any case, since the Korea-US-Japan joint
attack force is dispatching only two S-class soldiers, there will be adequate
forces.
A tall man with blonde hair approached the Korean
hunters.
Like Leon, the man was blond and pale, but his air was
more like a scholar than a nobleman.
"Huh?"
"Reynald Shelman?!"
The Korean hunters who recognized him made surprised
expressions. Isn't this the American Magic Tower’s Lord?
Why would such a big shot be in Korea?
Reynald Shelman chuckled when he saw their reaction to
him. He began to introduce himself confidently,
"Good day, Korea Hunters. I'm Reynald Shelman, the
Lord of the Magic Tower who's been invited to attack this gate──"
The introduction was cut off. Reynald's pupils trembled.
His gaze was fixed on the blond man in the middle of the room, same as his.
"FUC──"
* * * * *
[Go to Korea right now!]
The top floor of the American Magic Tower branch. The Jewel
of Wisdom, enshrined in the Magic Tower's office, spoke out of the blue.
“Korea…?”
[Yes! There's something you need to do there! You can't
do it alone, so I'll come with you!]
"......."
Reynald was mesmerized by the knowledge the Jewel of
Wisdom had imparted, but he hesitated to answer the request to go to Korea.
This was because he had already been there once before
and encountered a 'fearful being'.
"That... Leon──"
[You bastard! Don't you dare say that name! Damn it, I
have to clean my ears!]
Before he knew it, Leon had become the man whose name
should not be spoken between them.
'I'm going to have a seizure like this.......'
Then why do you want me to go to Korea? Aren’t the two
incoherent?
As if reading his mind, the Jewel of Wisdom spoke
reassuringly,
[Don't worry, I will teach you how to make an artifact
that can completely conceal demonic energy, and you can make it as long as you
have the ingredients.]
"R, really?"
With just that, I can escape the Lionheart King's
detection?
"What should I use?"
[A unicorn's horn, a phoenix's wing feather, a piece of a
dragon's claw──]
A unicorn's horn was worth 3.4 billion won in the market.
Phoenix wing feather had a price of 2.1 billion won. The chunk of Dragon's claw
was not for sale. In addition, it was full of at least unique and legendary
grade material items.
"......Great One?"
[What?]
"These items are not immediately
available......."
[Well, so be it, it's a bit of a degraded version, but
this should be easy enough to craft!]
As a possessor of great knowledge, the Jewel of Wisdom
created a solution on the spot. Looking at this, it could be said that this one
was even more competent than the previous demon in charge of the Jewel of
Wisdom.
“With this, I will be able to immediately procure
materials from the Magic Tower’s warehouse!
You are indeed great, Great One!"
[Still, it's a poorly sourced piece, so it's not very
durable, but... even if Korea is a minor country, we should definitely go
there.]
"Yes, well, it's not like the one whose name
shouldn't be called is the only hunter in South Korea."
[Hahahahahahahaha, like that, you have got to be born
with bad luck!]
The logic of the two smart villains makes perfect sense. Leon
isn't the only hunter in Korea, and what are the odds that they'll run into him
right away when they go there?
However, sometimes──
"Please remember to be polite."
Some things are just irrational.
[AHHH-SHITT!!]
* * * * *
Reynald and the Jewel of Wisdom shuddered at the
unreasonable misfortune of encountering Leon. Reynald hurriedly tried to borrow
wisdom from the Jewel of Wisdom,
'Oh,
G, Great One! He's right in front of us, he's right here, ah?!'
[C, cccccca, calm down! With his temper, he would have
cut your head off as soon as he found out, and he hasn't yet!]
Indeed. The Jewel of Wisdom prepared this artifact in
advance, thinking they might encounter him in Korea. This artifact was in the
form of a ring that suppressed and hid the demonic magic power as a form of
minimal insurance.
'Y,
you're indeed the great Demon of Wisdom! I believe you!'
It was then. As Reynald rubbed the magical ring, their
lifeline, he felt the ring slowly wearing away.
'G,
Great One!!!!!'
[Kiiiiiiiiiiii!!! Calm down! It wears away because it's
in opposition to that guy's holy power!!]
Reynald couldn't even manage to process the screaming
Jewel of Wisdom to calm down.
His only lifeline was wearing out in real time.
[B, back off! Back away quickly! We're moving away from
that guy's holy power!]
Reynald displayed the greatest wit of his life and
displayed a calm expression.
"I, it's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty. Your
fame is great, even in distant lands. I, I've always wanted to meet you."
Reynald was about to offer a handshake, but he hesitated,
fearing that skin-to-skin contact would give him away.
'Shit,
that's going to raise suspicion!'
Reynald glanced at Leon with uneasiness, but Leon looked
satisfied.
"A spellcaster who knows his way around the
room."
Where in the world did he get that point?
Leon brushed past him and headed to his seat, and Reynald
barely managed to calm his chattering teeth.
"L, let's leave. I'm sure Great One agree, right!'
[Ah, w, we can't... this is important. I, it has to be
done.......]
'Is
it more important than life?!'
[It, it was an order from above. We have no choice but to
enter this gate.......]
Motherfucker, why does the Jewel of Wisdom have such a lowly
archdemon running it!
Reynald could only swallow his profanity and listen to
the briefing in silence.
* * * * *
As an employee of the Association, Hari diligently
organized the information presented in the briefing.
Since she couldn't participate in this raid, she wanted
to provide as much help as she could.
"Ho... His Majesty said that women should never be
allowed on warships......."
Although Commander Choi admired Leon, he had a puzzled
look on his face when he heard that having a woman on a ship was considered
bringing bad things.
At least he managed to pass it off as a cultural
difference, since Leon was a medieval man........
The warships that will be used in this operation were
originally without female crews.
The Navy had to achieve maximum efficiency in limited
space, so it was not possible to prepare separate bathrooms and bedrooms for
women, so there were no female personnel in the first place.
“Emergency rations just in case... and combat rations
that can be cooked without fire...”
In order to get these things, she headed to the supply
depot at Donghae Port.
In front of the supply depot guarded by naval guards, she
saw a hunter carrying a large backpack.
"Huh? Hunter Gu Dae-sung?"
“Deputy Han?”
Hari, who encountered Gu Dae-sung, made a puzzled
expression.
"Hunter Gu, why are you carrying luggage? Shouldn't
we be the ones doing this.......?"
"Oh, no, it's just a small chore."
It wasn't that Hari didn't understand Gu Dae-sung's
words. In the Pantheon, chores were usually done by the Men-At-Arms, but Gu
Dae-sung's position was different now.
“Hunter Gu, you’re a knight cadet now. His Majesty
wouldn’t have bothered to ask you to do chores.”
“What kind of thing is that….”
Gu Dae-sung waved his hand and made an awkward
expression.
After joining as a knight cadet, he trained with them for
a few days, but Gu Dae-seong was left out among the knight cadets.
Not only was he old, but more than anything, he was weak.
One after another, the others said they could not understand why he, a soldier,
was selected as a knight cadet.
Since no one dared to challenge Leon's authority, the
question naturally turned to Dae-sung.
"I feel like I'm being treated unreasonably for
merely lifting a hammer."
"That's not true!"
Hari encouraged Dae-sung.
“I tried lifting that hammer too, but I really couldn’t
move it even a little. Out of over a thousand challengers, only Hunter Gu
Dae-sung succeeded. Isn't it some kind of getting chosen by the goddess or
something? And you got that!"
"Me?"
Dae-sung was stunned at the mention of being chosen by
the goddess, and rightfully so.
"That can't be true."
"No, why are you so sure?"
"Well, I'm... I'm much weaker than the other cadets,
I'm older, and I'm not particularly devout......."
Dae-sung glanced at Han Hari subtly.
Han Hari. Korea's youngest A-class Hunter.
A genius with a dazzling talent, a youth who silently
followed her own convictions and joined the Association despite the Top Ten
Guild's offer of scouting.
Hari and himself were from different worlds. Dae-sung
knew that all too well.
"In the first place... if I had truly been chosen by
the goddess, I would have raised the hammer."
Sure, Dae-sung raised the hammer the highest. But that
was only because the hammer had just been revealed.
There are plenty of potential hunters out there, as
evidenced by the fact that quite a few of them succeeded in flinching the
hammer.
He may have just been lucky enough to be the first to pick
it up.
"Hunter Gu Daie-sung, it was His Majesty who decided
to make you a knight cadet, right?"
"I, I guess so?"
"Then won't His Majesty be thinking like this when
he hears of Hunter Gu's troubles?"
Hari set down her backpack, snorted in fake regal
fashion, and began to imitate someone's vocal tone,
“How dare this foolish bastard doubt the king’s choice?
What right do you have to judge the goddess’s will? If I tell you to, you will
receive training as I tell you!”
"Uh, uhm... Deputy Han. There......."
"Hold it! And His Majesty would have said, [Oh ho.
You're thinking too much because you're too relaxed. Four more hours of
training! You can train without sleep!]"
Hari realized that Gu Dae-sung, who had been listening to
her vocal imitation, was looking over her shoulder without speaking.
"......."
"......."
A moment of silence. Hari opened her lips, unable to stop
her pupils from quivering.
"Is he behind me?"
A nod.
And then a cold voice came from behind, as if saying
everything,
“Have you seen something so outrageous? A lowly being
arbitrarily assuming the king's true intentions and mimicking him?"
"Hic...! I, I'm sorry, please kill me!"
Hari prostrated herself. Leon glared down at her.
'I- I'm
in trouble!'
Why would he be behind me when I'm doing the vocal
imitation?!
Hari, who was trembling at the reprimand she was about to
receive from Leon, flinched at the voice she soon heard,
“Tsk, tsk, how does someone like this even receive His
grace?”
"Yes?"
Hari slightly raised her head at the incomprehensible
words.
“Han Hari.”
"Y, yes!"
"Glorious news. One of the deities has taken an
interest in you."
"Yae?"
Hari remembered what Leon once said. Once the knight
cadets' training is over, the deities will each choose someone.
The first step to ascension to Knights of the Kingdom is
to connect with a deity first. That was exactly what Leon was saying now.
"Umm, which deity?"
Arianna, goddess of light and justice?
Pethos, the god of war and flame?
Whoever it was, Hari was hopeful, because it would be a
good match for her disposition. But the name that came out of Leon's mouth was
completely unexpected,
"Foma, the deity of the sea and waves, has offered
to take you as his priestess."
"......?"
“You should also participate in this expedition.”
With that, Leon placed his hand on Hari's shoulder.
Uncharacteristically, he looked at Hari with pity in his eyes.
She couldn't immediately understand the meaning of that gaze.
***
Notes:
1 Sasebo is in Japan. There’s U.S. Fleet Activities Sasebo is a United States Navy base in Sasebo, Japan, on the island of Kyūshū. It provides facilities for the logistic support of forward-deployed units and visiting operating forces of the United States Pacific Fleet and designated tenant activities.↩
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