Chapter 164: Chapter 161: A Knight’s Training

– Increased threat to critical production assets. Troops must be dispatched.

Yappy, who had commanded the Korean Hunters to efficiently capture the gates, declared the protection of the growing number of TTG Temple assets overseas.

-No, you’re actually sending some of your troops overseas at this point?

-Korean Hunters have been mobilized to protect their country, isn’t that irresponsible!

These voices were raised, but Yappy dismissed their arguments as if they were obvious.

-Get out of here, organism.

The Internet dictator was becoming more and more like a humane dictator in the real world, and his self-righteous, overbearing demeanor had them looking for the Lionheart King.

‘Damn it, Lionheart, come back!’

‘Someone take control of this killing machine!’

There was no compromise for the AI Holy Knight.

I’ll do it if I have to, and why would a stupid organism question the strategic plan of a wise mastermind? This attitude drives me crazy inside.

Of course, Yappy had good reason.

-It’s harvest time for the overseas farms. It was necessary to capture the gate for food security.

-But with only a handful of knights and Man-At-Arms, you’ll be limited.

-There are other ways.

It didn’t take long for the overseas TTG Temple raiders to figure it out.

“This is War Dog, calling from the Grave Arms PMC. Are you part of the TTG Temple contingent?”

“This is Tom, Black Mamba’s boss, and he’s a pretty thick one.”

Greeting the handful of knights and Man-At-Arms troops are two thousand Hunter mercenaries hired by Yappy. They were all B-class and above at the very least, including six S-class Hunters.

‘How much money did he spend?’

Koo Dae-Sung, a Knight who had volunteered for the overseas contingent, was aghast at the number of mercenaries Yappy had hired.

At the very least, there was an A-class raiding party and three S-class raiding parties. It must have cost trillions of dollars to hire this many people. Even if he had that kind of money, he wouldn’t be able to get a priority contract even if he wanted to hire them, as they would be sought after all over the world in the current times——.

“Ah—!

Koo Dae-sung looked at the items being unloaded from the transport they had come with and realized why they had been hired first.

Drones that could operate in the gate, and enough stellar armor to arm hundreds of people, that’s enough to make any mercenary hunter drool.

High-tech blessed weapons and stellar iron armor are not available, unless it’s a national defense contract and it’s not something a mercenary group can get.

“Lord Yappy.”

Koo Dae-sung, who was communicating with Yappy while reporting their arrival, asked cautiously.

-Mr. Koo Dae-sung.

“Are you sure it’s okay to leak these items without His Majesty’s permission?”

– No problem. These items are classified as low-grade among the Blessed Armaments. The technological gap between the outside world and the TTG Temple is vast.

In other words, it shouldn’t be a problem to smuggle them out.

-Our scouting assets will assist. Close the gates at this point quickly.

Yappy began to deploy his mercenaries and Man-At-Arms to defend the various granaries.

He sent troops to the Beidahuang Granary in the Heilongjiang People’s Republic, Chernozem in Ukraine, the Ganges River Plain in India, and Java in Indonesia, all in the name of protecting the worshippers of the TTG Temple in developing nations that had been neglecting land contaminated by miasma.

The countries welcomed the troops with open arms because they were already short on hunter power.

A week later Koo Dae-Sung successfully completed his sixth raid in the Heilong People’s Republic.

“Wow, we’re going to get some breathing room.”

Kim Do-han stretched out in the sunlight for the first time in two days.

“So, roughly speaking, isn’t this a safe zone around here?”

“I think so.”

Gudae Castle was a large-scale gate situation, but since most of the gates were yellow or green, the capture itself was not difficult.

The gates that were too difficult for the contingent to handle were taken care of by the mercenaries.

-Good effort.

“Ah, Lord Yappy.”

Yappy, who was communicating in real time via drone, praised the Man at Arms for finishing the gate.

“Any more gates to take?”

-No. All immediate threats have been eliminated. Gave them a vacation.

“Oooh, a vacation!”

Captain Kim Do-han is thrilled to hear the word vacation and the rest of the Men at Arms were equally excited.

-Deposited special bonuses into their bank accounts. In two days, a military transport plane would be sent to Heilong Airport to pick them up, and they could enjoy their vacation until then.

Kim Do-han, who immediately checked his smartphone to see how much money had been deposited, was ecstatic about the generous bonus and hugged Koo Dae-sung’s shoulder.

“Let’s drink, Mr. Koo!”

“Shall we?”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

The two men, their faces fresh from their days as porters, headed into the city in high spirits.

The TTG Temple definitely trains soldiers and knights, but it’s a bit harsh on people.

Koo Dae-sung, a former knight cadet, was especially hard on himself, and he was glad for the vacation.

“It’s Mainland China after all, and the food is amazing!”

The Heilongjiang People’s Republic is one of more than 50 countries that have broken away from China since its collapse. Most of the country is grain land, so food was not a problem, since it was an agricultural, primary-industrialized country.

“I haven’t been here since China broke up. It’s still pretty backward. Is the capital any better than here?”

“I hear it’s not much different there.”

In Korea, even rural Naju has a few buildings standing tall. But here, despite the city’s reputation, there isn’t a single building taller than 10 stories.

“Well, it can’t be helped, can it? After the Shanghai incident, the country was torn into 50 parts.”

The Shanghai incident.

After the unleashing of the Archdemon Skazakari from the Black Gate in Shanghai, the once largest country in the world, Greater China, was completely shattered.

The country had been slowly dying after failing spectacularly to deal with the initial Gate outbreak and the Shanghai incident was just the final straw that drove the wedge.

“Well, we just need to protect our own land, right?”

At Kim Do-han’s words, Koo Dae-sung thought, “I don’t know,” but he didn’t say it out loud.

-The KMT decided to extend martial law.

At that moment, the restaurant’s TV flashed a state broadcast. With Yappy’s translator, they had no trouble understanding.

“Martial law has been extended.”

“An orc general.”

On the news, a decorated general was speaking about the gates, announcing that the mighty Hunter Legion was taking them down one by one.

“This neighborhood is just a bunch of propaganda.”

Koo Dae-sung and Kim Do-han looked around and saw no sign of the mighty Hunter Corps.

Each of the 53 countries torn from the continent generally claimed legitimacy, each claiming to be the continent’s heir, but all they’ve inherited is their own corrupt administrative systems.

In the end, it’s the innocent civilians who suffer.

Kim Do-han was about to clink his glass when

──────!!

a peculiar wave of magic power that awakened Hunters can feel was sensed. The two men jumped to their feet when they realized it was a dungeon break.

“What the fuck?!”

“Get your gear!”

Leaving the alcohol and food behind, the two grabbed their equipment and hurried to the alleyway where their senses led them.

From there, they heard a tearing scream.

-Caahhhhhhhh!!!

The two exchanged a glance and entered the alleyway with shields and swords in hand. What they found was a girl running away from something and quadrupedal monsters chasing her.

There were at least ten of them and they were so large that they lined the alleyway, tackling each other in an attempt to eat the girl.

“Come here!”

-Hick!

The girl spotted the two of them and rushed over, panting. At the same time, a monster pounced on her.

“Stop it!”

Koo Dae-sung blocked the charging monster with his shield. Despite its weight, it was a simple beastly lunge and he immediately counterattacked by plunging his sword into its throat.

-Quack!

The monster collapses in a single blow and it was a good thing for the old knight who can’t use the Holy Law.

“Captain Kim, call the kids!”

“No, I just called them! They’re all around here, so I told them to come except for the drunk one!”

It was a good thing this was the only city nearby with a nightlife.

The majority of the 200-odd deployed Men at Arms arrived in the slums one by one, and they formed a shield formation in the narrow alleyways, picking off the monsters one by one.

Along the way, Yappy’s hired local mercenaries arrived, and it was only an hour before the dungeon break was resolved. It would be another three hours before the city’s Heilong Hunters arrived.

“It’s a mess.”

“I know.”

There was a dungeon break in the middle of the city.

This was unthinkable in South Korea and when he asked how this happened, he was told that it was even worse.

“Our observation lenses have a failure rate of over half.”

The mercenary captain who came as backup shrugged his shoulders but it didn’t make sense to Koo Dae-sung.

“Is that so? Don’t we import them all from the US anyway?”

“Poor management, cheap or second-hand replacements, embezzlement–that’s the usual stuff. That’s why we don’t trust the satellites. We’ll get a citizen’s complaint and show up.”

The mercenary captain concludes by saying that dungeon breaks are not uncommon in this country.

Hunters and their equipment cost a fortune, and in a country where every aspect of society is rotten with corruption, the Hunter’s Association should be no exception.

“It’s a mess.”

“It sucks.”

At times like this, Kim Do-han is glad he was born in Korea while the mercenary captain speaks in a cynical voice.

“I’d rather they let the orcs in, like the neighboring Republic of Jilin. Sure, we’d get coup threats, but at least we wouldn’t have monsters on the road.”

“Monsters on the road?”

“There are monsters all over the country. Well, when we find them, we hunt them down and mine them for magic stones. That’s actually what we do more than gate raids.”

Does this mean that dungeon breaks are that common, and if you don’t trust the satellites, you’re effectively out of luck outside the city?

Hundreds of people have died in dungeon breaks in the middle of the slums, all because of a single blue gate.

Bodies are strewn everywhere, and the residents are already returning to their daily routines, unperturbed by the deaths.

The only ones crying in the middle of the Dungeon Break are the families of the dead.

This is purgatory.

“Well, they’ll be fine in two days, let’s not bother them, they’ll take care of themselves.”

Is it really okay? Koo Dae-sung suddenly remembered the virtues Leon had spoken of at the knight’s ordination ceremony at the TTG Temple.

[Be courageous and do good]

[Protect the weak, do not do injustice]

[Love with purity and good will]

Koo Dae-sung kept thinking about it and reported to Yappy that day.

“Sir Spinner.”

-Mr. Koo Dae-Sung.

“I– I would like to stay here.”

“”——!!””

Koo Dae-Sung decision drew the attention of the troops. All that was left to do was to return to the TTG Temple with their backs to the sun and their stomachs full, but what is he talking about now?

-Wait.

Yappy disappeared from the communication. Meanwhile, Captain Kim Do-han and the rest of the Man at Arms crew were asking Koo Dae-sung.

“What does that mean?”

“Knight Koo Dae-sung, what are you thinking?”

Everyone was puzzled by Koo’s decision.

He is a knight of the TTG Temple, whose power and position was incomparable to that of a mere soldier.

They secured the granary so there is no reason for them to remain here.

They’ll just have to hire mercenaries periodically to guard the granary and that’s it.

“No, Mr. Koo, is it because of what happened? It’s nothing new that this neighborhood is in shambles.”

Just as Kim Do-han was about to rebuke Koo Dae-sung, the communication was restored but it wasn’t Yappy on the other end.

[You said you were staying.]

“Your Majesty?!”

As soon as they heard the voice, they all knelt down and picked up the receiver. For the jade sound of the Lionheart King was not something they could hear in a comfortable position.

[Knight Koo Dae-sung, why did you say you would stay?]

“What? Ah, that’s——.”

Koo Dae-sung reported what had happened, and cautiously expressed his desire to stay and help the innocent citizens as a knight.

[What good will you do there if you stay?]

“That, that——.”

[Are you going to join another raid, what do you think a B-class hunter can do?]

“I’ve heard that there are monsters in this place, both on the roads and in the mountains, when you go outside the city.”

It would be helpful if he could ride around on horseback and hunt them down.

Koo Dae-sung is a man who speaks for himself, but is not very confident.

He’s a knight of the lowest rank, a lowly B-class at best.

Although he had improved greatly from his days as a D-rank, he was still weak and unconfident.

How much good would it do him to be alone?

[Do you want to prove yourself, to this king, to be judged by the gods?]

When Leon asked him if he was trying to make a name for himself by becoming a knight, Koo Dae-sung was left speechless.

In fact, isn’t this his own excuse? Isn’t he just blinded by his achievements and making up reasons?

Even he can’t answer that with confidence. He was an underdog, unable to prove anything, unsure of anything.

He has no great power like King Lionheart and no natural talent like the other knights.

He wondered if he wanted to be recognized by pretending to be a good person.

[Because you don’t need anyone’s approval for a challenge.]

The words came out of nowhere.

The knight who had failed endlessly, who had been frustrated, who had been told by the gods to give up, had rejected it all without a moment’s hesitation.

“Your Majesty——.”

[Speak]

“I don’t need your approval for my challenge.”

“”——!!””

Everyone was stunned by the imperiousness of Koo Dae-sung but beyond the phone, there was no fiery rebuke, no matter how much time passed, but rather──

[Cackle—!]

There was only an irrepressible chuckle, stifled between dignity and amusement.

[Is that so?

As if this reminded him of his great predecessor, the Lionheart King’s heart thumped with joy.

[Very well, if you choose to tread the path on your own, so be it, for not even the gods can discourage a journey of cultivation.]

[Strength, faith, and the care of the gods will guard your path, and this king will expect the best from you.]

That was the end of the communication, as if no more words were needed.

“Well, well, well, I see the king approves of this.”

“I’m sorry.”

Captain Kim Do-han apologized and followed Koo Dae-sung as he removed his luggage from the transport.

“Mr. Koo, as always, you’re too good to be true!”

He followed Koo Dae-sung to retrieve his own luggage.

“Captain Kim?”

“I’m staying too!”

“No, what’s wrong with you too, Captain?”

“Mr. Koo, we’ve been friends since we were both baggage carriers, and I owe you a favor for saving us from being overrun by monsters the raiding party missed, so I’m staying!”

“What kind of movie are you making? Why are you staying behind?”

He was a fellow who had completed the first Man at Arms training with Koo Dae-sung and Kim Do-han.

“If I go back, I’ll have to pay taxes, so I won’t be able to save any money~”

“If we catch a monster here, we’ll get paid as a personal allowance, right?”

One by one all the members of the first generation Man at Arms put down their luggage.

“No— If you all do that, it’ll be too much for me.

Koo Dae-sung, who hadn’t expected fifty of his classmates to follow him, was moved, and he couldn’t keep the corner of his mouth down.

“Forget it, we’re going to look for monsters floating around, and I’m sure Lord Yappy can give us some intelligence support, he’s got a very fearsome satellite up there!”

“Captain Kim, that’s classified.”

About fifty soldiers and one knight from the TTG Temple’s overseas contingent remained in the area and neither Yappy nor anyone else in Korea could predict what they would do.

Thus began the knight’s training.