The Knight King Who Returned with God-Chapter 16 Cowardly Ranged Weapons

In Leon's world, ranged weapons are cowardly tools used by the lowly.

To a knight who values honor, such weapons are utterly unacceptable—meant only for peasant soldiers or commoners who have no need for glory.

Of course, Leon himself was a born commander, an undefeated rising general.

He had utilized archers, catapults, and cannons without hesitation in the past.

But ranged weapons have limitations—there's only so much power you can squeeze out of a bowstring, and firearms are no different.

Gunpowder has limits. Firepower has limits. In the end, these are weapons with a ceiling.

But swords and spears? They're different.

Swing harder, throw farther—it all comes down to the wielder's personal skill.

Can't split a boulder with a blade? That's the knight's own inadequacy.

Can't break through enemy ranks on horseback? A true knight, even against pikemen, can pierce through with enough strength and courage.

In the end, to earn true honor and renown, one must accomplish it with their own hands—not by relying on tools like a bow.

That's why, to the Grail Knights—those chosen by the Holy Grail after completing their quests—ranged weapons are a disgrace, a symbol of one's lack of ability.

"Hey, what the hell is wrong with you!?"

Of course, such thinking is impossible to understand by modern standards.

"Keh-heh, what an amusing fellow," said Oh Kang-tae with a chuckle, brushing it off. But the other party members were far less amused. Just as they were about to speak up, the Hunter Association staffer called out urgently:

"You need to depart now!"

"Tch..."

Leon's role hadn't even been decided yet. Koo Dae-seong followed the staff member toward the starting point, already feeling like this test might be doomed.

"So... how does this test work?"

The staff member kindly explained in response to Dae-seong's question:

"Basically, you just need to hunt fifty kobolds. Gnolls also appear in the field, but if things get too dangerous, I'll step in."

They only needed to hunt kobolds, but Koo Dae-seong wanted a higher score.

Naturally, hunting gnolls or boss monsters would earn more points, and those creatures appeared in specific zones.

"Everyone, I know a good spot. How about we head there to hunt?"

"You've got more experience than us..."

"I've got no complaints," the old man nodded.

"..."

Three agreed, Leon still said nothing. Koo led the party away from the grasslands and into the forest.

The rookies, Tae-hoon and Na-yeon, looked around uncertainly as they followed.

"Dae-seong, I see a settlement at the edge of the meadow—shouldn't we go there? There might be more kobolds."

"It's risky to approach settlements recklessly. We're few in number, and we could get surrounded by kobolds or gnolls moving in groups."

Koo was a veteran—this was his tenth time entering the Seoul Station Gate.

While it's mostly used for testing, kobolds and gnolls are common across many gates.

"We'll target the kobolds living in caves."

He explained the advantages of fighting in the caves:

First, the tight, one-way passages mean there's no risk of being surrounded. Then, as he plucked a wild plant along the way, he added:

"We'll burn this plant to generate smoke and flush them out. That'll make clearing the cave kobolds a breeze."

"Ahhh~"

"No wonder you're experienced!"

Even as his teammates praised him, Koo gave a bittersweet smile.

What was there to brag about, really? Ten times at a test gate.

If he had ranked up, he'd be assigned to different gates. A C-rank Hunter would be at Samjeon Station. A B-rank would go to the 63 Building Gate.

He had studied and prepared for every possible strategy, imagining the day he would step into those upper-tier gates.

"I have to rank up this time. I can't be stuck as a D-rank forever."

He wanted to grow stronger. He was sick of being called a "forever D-rank."

"There are kobolds ahead!"

At that moment, Shin Tae-hoon, who was leading as the tank, came to a halt. But his loud shout had already alerted the kobolds.

"Grrrr...!"

Kobolds—humanoid monsters with dog-like heads, about the size of elementary school kids, and rivaling goblins as the lowest-tier monsters.

"Tae-hoon, shield up and hold the front!"

"Roger!"

The kobolds charged with reckless simplicity. Their attacks were straightforward and raw—a test of brute strength versus brute strength.

In such situations, unless they had overwhelming numbers, Hunters always came out on top.

"Kyaaaa!"

One of the charging kobolds collapsed from Na-yeon's arrow.

Seeing their comrade fall, the rest immediately turned their aggro on the archer. One veered off and lunged for her, only to crash face-first into Tae-hoon's shield and fall back, nose bleeding.

"Stupid mutts."

Tae-hoon drove his sword into the fallen kobold.

Just then, another kobold lunged at him, catching him off guard and knocking him to the ground.

"Uwaah...!"

"Tae-hoon!"

As the kobold opened its jaws, about to strike, Dae-seong's sword pierced through its neck. Warm blood splattered across Tae-hoon's face.

"Don't let your guard down! They may be weak, but they move fast!"

Five kobolds remained. But before they could act, Na-yeon fired another arrow, and it struck a second kobold cleanly.

"Hm."

Old man Oh Gang-tae stepped in to fill the gap in the frontline, slamming his gauntleted fist into the kobolds' faces with sharp jabs.

"Yelp!"

"Hrk!?"

The kobolds' faces crumpled under the force. As Dae-seong helped Tae-hoon back up and rejoined the fight, the remaining kobolds fell one by one.

"Phew..."

"S-sorry... I messed up."

Tae-hoon, who had stumbled and broken formation, apologized. Dae-seong waved it off with a reassuring gesture.

"It's fine. Everyone makes mistakes at the beginning."

He himself had made plenty of errors when fighting kobolds in his early days. Compared to his own rookie mistakes, Tae-hoon's slip was nothing.

"Na-yeon took down two, and thanks to the old man, no one got hurt. Everyone did great."

He had been worried at first, but this party wasn't bad—

Except for one person.

"Hey, foreign guy. You... didn't do a thing while we were fighting, did you?"

"Yeah! You just stood there with your arms crossed, watching! Is that even allowed, Mr. Staff?"

With Leon still silent, the others turned their frustration on him. They were clearly hoping to boot him from the party and get someone else.

"Haha... Don't worry, that'll definitely be taken into account."

Meaning Leon would likely get the lowest score, while the others would get bonus points.

Dae-seong was short on capable members, but if it meant bonus points, he could live with it.

"In that case... let's move deeper in. The cave should be nearby."

Just as he said, after walking a bit further into the forest, they found a cave.

"There really is a cave."

"Ugh... don't tell me we have to go inside? I hate dark places."

Dae-seong wanted to say, then maybe you're in the wrong line of work, but held his tongue and smiled politely.

"No, no. We're not fighting in the cave. We're going to strategically clear it."

"Strategically?"

"The basic task of a Hunter is to clear gates. Let's all gather some leaves from around here. We're going to light them and send smoke into the cave."

"Ahh! So we're going to suffocate them with smoke?"

"Wow, that's smart! Then we just have to deal with the ones that run out!"

Exactly. Based on Dae-seong's experience, this cave housed more than twenty kobolds.

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In a gate where managing stamina was crucial, being able to eliminate over twenty kobolds with minimal effort was huge. He'd been using this method since his sixth run.

As they collected leaves and dry grass for kindling, Dae-seong noticed Leon standing off to the side with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"Hey, could you stop just standing there and help out a little?"

Leon opened his eyes, his piercing blue gaze locking onto Dae-seong.

"Do you see Me as someone lazing around?"

If not that, then what...? But Dae-seong couldn't say it out loud.

He couldn't explain why, but something deep inside told him it would be dangerous to push further.

"Erm... a-anyway! You'll be getting the lowest score, just so you know!"

Avoiding Leon's gaze as he spoke was all he could manage.

"We've gathered everything!"

"Shall we use a lighter to ignite it?"

"This old man's got a lighter. Don't worry, I quit smoking years ago."

Just as they were about to light the fire—

"Do you truly believe that's the best option available?"

Leon spoke suddenly.

"What? You haven't helped at all, and now you're criticizing us?"

"I asked if that was truly the best you could come up with. Do not make Me repeat Myself."

"I've used this method three times. It worked every time."

"Experience, then. Not bad. But if that experience is shallow, why rely on it alone?"

"What are you even talking about...?"

For a moment, Dae-seong questioned himself.

Maybe he was missing something better.

But he didn't know any other way.

"Whatever. You're just a kid—what would you know about experience..."

He lit the leaves, then used large leaves to fan the smoke into the cave.

–Kyaaaaah!

Screams and thudding echoed from inside.

"They're coming!"

Tae-hoon raised his shield, and everyone got into battle positions.

As the first group of kobolds burst out of the cave and saw the flames blocking the entrance, they hesitated.

"Now!"

Na-yeon's arrow flew, and the rocks thrown by Oh and Dae-seong crushed the kobolds' faces.

–Ghak!

–Grahhkk!

The kobolds fell one after another.

After taking down five of them in quick succession, Dae-seong couldn't help but cheer inwardly.

"I knew it! My method wasn't wrong!"

The next group of kobolds came rushing out of the cave. Perhaps to avoid suffocating on the smoke, they stumbled out in a hurry, breathless and dizzy.

"Good, let's keep going!"

Just as he brought down the seventh kobold—

"Grrr...!"

A growl, similar but distinctly different from the others. For a moment, Dae-seong doubted his ears.

"A gnoll?"

He turned toward the noise on their flank—and there it was.

A gnoll, armed with armor, a shield, and a one-handed axe, was staring right at them.

It had a savage hyena-like head and a body nearly one and a half times larger than a normal gnoll.

"Gnoll Captain?!"

The Gnoll Captain—boss monster of the Seoul Station Gate. A native tyrant.

Its rank was a solid C-class, making it a formidable opponent for them.

"N-no... Why now, of all times?"

Suddenly, Dae-seong recalled what Leon had said ten minutes ago:

"Do you truly believe that's the best you can do?"

It was as if he'd seen this coming... But how?

"Mr. Dae-seong! What should we do?"

Na-yeon's urgent cry snapped him back to reality.

"You and the old man hold off the kobolds inside the cave! Tae-hoon and I will handle the Gnoll Captain!"

They needed experienced fighters on both ends.

More importantly, facing a Gnoll Captain head-on without a vanguard was suicide.

Tae-hoon was a rookie, but he did have a shield. Dae-seong had no choice but to hope he'd hold out, even a little.

"RRAAAAAAAAHH!!"

With a beastly roar, the gnoll charged. Tae-hoon stepped up with his shield, but the trembling in his legs was obvious.

He won't even block the first hit at this rate!

"Tae-hoon! Get a grip—!"

Before Dae-seong could even finish his shout, the gnoll's axe slammed into Tae-hoon's shield.

He couldn't withstand the blow. The shield flew from his hands, and he was thrown backward.

"Damn it!"

The Gnoll Captain raised its axe again, ready to strike the fallen Tae-hoon. Dae-seong threw himself forward without thinking.

"Grrr...!"

But the Gnoll Captain effortlessly blocked his wild charge.

Dae-seong's longsword bounced off the gnoll's shield, and a powerful kick sent him flying.

"Guhh...!"

His body folded with a wheeze as the wind was knocked out of him.

The gnoll's axe struck his side, and pain exploded in his torso.

He tumbled to the ground—armor scraping against dirt. The blow had landed hard enough to make his insides feel like they might burst.

"Ugh... Aaagh..."

Through blurred vision, he saw Tae-hoon—frozen in fear.

The shadow of the gnoll's massive axe loomed over him.

The rest of the party hasn't cleared the kobolds yet? Where are the staff from the Association? Why aren't they doing anything?

No time for questions. He couldn't even remember to grab his sword—

Instead, he snatched Tae-hoon's dropped shield.

"Tae-hoon! Fall back!"

He raised the shield and blocked the gnoll's incoming strike. The weight behind the axe was monstrous—his knees buckled.

"Ghhh...!"

But he held on. In a split second, he instinctively angled the shield, deflecting the axe's blow.

"Grrr...?"

The Gnoll Captain growled, frustrated as its weapon slipped past.

It raised its axe again.

Can I block the second strike?

If Tae-hoon could just pull himself together and counter, maybe we could...

The axe came down again—Dae-seong braced himself—

CLANG—

—Except no metallic crash followed.

Dae-seong's eyes widened. He hadn't looked away, hadn't blinked—

And there it was:

The gnoll's axe—caught mid-swing—trembling in the grasp of Leon's fingers.

"Wha—you saved me...?"

"Try again."

"...What?"

So slow. His reaction. His thoughts.

Back in his day, no one gave you a helping hand. You had to survive on your own.

"Pick up the shield. Face it again. You've done it once. Why can't you do it again?"

"???"

Leon let go of the axe, motioning for him to go again.

Dae-seong... and even the Gnoll Captain tilted their heads in confusion.