The Knight King Who Returned with God-Chapter 19 The Hunting Spider (2)

Chairman Oh Gang-hyuk's proposal was a welcome one for Leon.

A gate that had remained unconquered for a year and two months—an impregnable fortress.

If he could raid such a place, his name would spread like wildfire.

Leon was more than willing to accept the offer.

"But tell me, old man—this gate was abandoned for good reason. Why are you suddenly interested in it again?"

Though the glory of conquering an impregnable gate tempted him, Leon assessed the situation with a cool head.

It was a special type of gate—no risk of a dungeon break. There had to be a reason for resuming an assault on such a place.

"It's nothing unusual. If people risk their lives to raid a gate, it means it holds something worth the danger."

"Then speak plainly."

Chairman Oh gave a wry smile at Leon's tone, clearly treating him as a subordinate.

He was the head of the Hunter Association and one of Korea's founding S-rank Hunters—a living legend.

But having observed Leon for a while, Oh Gang-hyuk knew this treatment was, in fact, generous.

Compared to the high-handed way Leon dealt with people like Assistant Manager Han Hari or Director Park from Dujung Group, this was quite polite.

The one in need must bow.

Leon was someone of absolute value simply because he could purify mana-contaminated land. Oh Gang-hyuk was more than willing to yield—for the good of the country.

"The dungeon-closing item known as the 'Gem of Wisdom' has been discovered in the United States. It was the reward from a recently cleared crimson gate."

"So it's quite valuable."

"Yes, very. The Tower of Magic analyzed it and confirmed that an immense power is compressed within. The Association leadership was thoroughly impressed."

In short—they wanted that Gem of Wisdom. Even if it came at great cost.

"Who else is coming?"

"The Golden Lion Guild—one of the top 10—and representatives from the Magic Tower. I've heard the Tower is even dispatching mages directly."

"The top 10... Would they be like a knight order of this nation?"

"They're not state-run, so... they're closer to mercenaries, really."

"Hmph. Greedy rabble, chasing coin. A knight's duty and honor lie in protecting the people."

Chairman Oh didn't bother correcting Leon's worldview. People like him—authoritarians through and through—often lashed out at dissent.

He was the type to ignore everything outside his own perspective. And when someone with overwhelming power held such views, no outsider could change that.

"Very well. I have two conditions."

"Whatever they are, Your Majesty, as long as they don't go against our principles—we'll support you."

"They're not difficult. First, once we win this battle, you must make my name known."

"We've not yet made public Your Majesty's survival. We planned to do so once you'd sufficiently adjusted to life on Earth..."

"I've already understood enough—the state of this planet, and how your people live."

Had he really? For someone so anachronistic and steeped in alien values, even Earth's open-minded ways struggled to understand Leon. Could the reverse really be true?

"The second condition..."

Leon's gaze drifted past the chairman—to the Association staff. Among them was Han Hari.

"R-right here, sir!"

Hari hurriedly ran up and handed over a prepared memo pad.

"What is this?"

"A list of recruits to be trained under my guild. Mediocre rabble, but for now, they will suffice."

Names like D-rank Hunter Koo Daeseong were listed, along with a few others. Leon had asked for enough people to fill a triple-digit roster of "suitable" Hunters.

They were all ones he had noticed during ranking assessments. And they all had something in common.

"Mostly D-rank... At best, C-rank. For someone of Your Majesty's caliber, they seem quite lacking."

Chairman Oh offered to assign more promising individuals, but Leon declined.

"I'm not looking for polished knights. These will do for now."

"I'll see what I can do. But Your Majesty, the choice must be theirs. We can't force them to join your 'Temple of Ten Thousand Gods' guild."

Even as he said this, Oh Gang-hyuk was certain they wouldn't refuse.

They were nobodies—people who couldn't even make it into decent mid-tier guilds, let alone the top 10. Would they really turn down a chairman's offer?

Oh didn't think so.

"If they throw away this blessing, then their luck's run out anyway."

Leon didn't care if they refused. He was convinced that even his offer was a rare and generous honor.

"When will you be ready?"

"Three days from now. We'll gather in front of Cheongju Stadium."

"Good. I will show your people—the might of the Lionheart King."

Chairman Oh forced a smile and agreed. He also made a mental note to give Hari a generous year-end bonus.

The Cheongju Gate Raid was back on.

Its indefinite suspension had caused waves throughout Asia when it was reclassified as a crimson-level gate.

Three strike teams had been wiped out there. And all by a single enemy: the Jacht Spinner.

One monster had turned Cheongju Gate into a graveyard for countless Hunters.

The gate had become a thorn in the city's side, a source of constant fear and frustration for its citizens.

—Waaaaah!

Suddenly, cheers erupted from the crowd gathered at Cheongju Stadium.

"The Golden Lion is here!"

As citizens roared in excitement, camera flashes from reporters lit up the black vans pulling into the stadium.

While Association staff held back the crowds, people began stepping out one by one from the 20 black vans.

"Goldsteel! Goldsteel!"

The man who stepped out to the cheers of the crowd was a giant, well over two meters tall.

At first glance, he exuded an intimidating aura, but adorned with gold chains and bracelets like a rapper from the U.S., he looked more like a successful entertainer. And in fact, he was one of Korea's top rappers.

"I have arrived~ Citizens of Cheongju!"

Hwang Geumcheol, often called the most 'hip' Hunter in the media, stuck out his tongue and basked in the crowd's cheers.

"Could you not do that? It's embarrassing."

"It's called fan service~ Fan service~ Gotta sell those albums and T-shirts."

He grinned at his younger sister who was throwing shade at him. She had stopped walking, annoyed by how he kept delaying to take photos and sign autographs for fans.

"If you're gonna do this, why not just become a celebrity? You've got a whole fanbase of suckers who actually like your crap rap. Hand over the guild leader title and start an entertainment agency or something."

"My beloved little sister, being a Hunter pays better."

"Screw your 'beloved'."

At that moment, even though she didn't do entertainment work, a group of fans rushed toward the sister, who was also a well-known A-rank Hunter.

"Kyaaa! Hwang Yeonha is here too! Unnie! Look this way!!"

"Hear that? My beloved little sister, Geumsoon?"

"Don't call me Geumsoon, you fat pig."

She had even filed for a legal name change... Hwang Yeonha ignored him and headed toward the front of the Cheongju Gate, prepared by the Association. And she wasn't the only one arriving.

"Magician Gil Taeseong, this way please."

"Hm. Thank you for the escort."

With his chin raised slightly, a man emerged under the courteous guidance of Association staff — Gil Taeseong, a mage from the Tower of Magic.

He was a rising star in the Korean branch of the Magic Tower. In the world of Hunters, where mages were rare, he was treated almost like a quasi-S-rank combat mage.

Following behind him were dozens of foreign Hunters.

"Black Mamba?"

"Those mercenary Hunters who cost over two billion won each?"

"Is the Magic Tower that serious about this?"

Mages could only fully exercise their power when backed by proper escorts. With full support from the Tower, Gil Taeseong had brought along a mercenary squad composed of B and A-rank Hunters known as Black Mamba.

"Hey, there's one more vehicle pulling in."

"That's an Association vehicle, right?"

The last to arrive was a striking female swordswoman with braided red hair.

She adjusted her suit as she stepped out. She had been one of the biggest names in last year's Hunter Academy draft.

"Han Hari?"

"Oh wow, is the Association really deploying Han Hari?"

If so, it made sense. Han Hari, an A-rank Hunter, was renowned in Korea as a prodigy.

There were plenty of A-rank Hunters in Korea, but what made Hari special was her age.

She awakened at fourteen and unlocked a unique skill during training at the Academy, becoming the youngest A-rank Hunter ever.

Even though Korea's top ten guilds offered huge signing bonuses to recruit her, she turned them all down and joined the Association instead.

Naturally, everyone expected her to participate. But then...

"Your Majesty, we have arrived."

She bent over slightly and ushered someone out of the car. And from within emerged — of all things — a blond foreigner.

"Who the heck is that guy?"

"Doesn't look like he's part of Black Mamba..."

Even the journalists and citizens watching were curious about the man's identity.

When multiple factions attempt to raid a gate, prior coordination is essential.

Who gets to fight the boss first, how loot is divided — it all has to be negotiated. Sometimes it takes days just to figure all that out.

In that sense, the Cheongju Gate raid was relatively simple.

There was only one boss monster — the Yakht Spinner — and aside from the usual mining materials, the only special reward was the Gem of Wisdom.

"Our Magic Tower is willing to give all rewards to the Golden Lion Guild. We only want the Gem of Wisdom."

At Gil Taeseong's declaration, Hwang Yeonha smirked.

"That's the main prize. If you take that, what are we supposed to survive on?"

Expected reaction. Gil Taeseong responded with a pleasant smile.

"We'll leave all credit for defeating the boss to the Golden Lion Guild. And if you safely deliver the gem to us, we'll provide a reward of 50 billion won."

"...!"

The unexpected offer of such a huge amount left Hwang Yeonha stunned.

50 billion? A legendary-grade weapon usually cost around 10 billion.

Even she, a quasi-S-rank Hunter, had been barely scraping together funds for a single legendary weapon. But 50 billion? That could buy a full set of top-tier gear.

And they were offering it without hesitation?

'Just how valuable is that thing?'

She hesitated, wondering whether she should try to dig a little deeper. But Hwang Geumcheol simply whistled.

"You're being mighty generous. Fine, even if we kill the Yakht Spinner, we'll hand the gem over to you."

"Hey! Why would you—!"

"My sister~ It's an unknown item. Pentagon couldn't even decipher it, so what can we do with it?"

"...."

Geumcheol wasn't handing it over because he didn't understand its value.

They simply didn't know what it was. And there was no need to cause friction with the Magic Tower over something so uncertain.

Despite being known for his toughness and boldness in battle, Geumcheol was surprisingly cautious.

"...600 billion. No, 550. We should at least ask for that."

Gil Taeseong responded with a warm smile.

"Let's just make it 600 billion."

"Cough...!"

Yeonha inwardly cursed for not asking 650 instead.

With the deal with the Golden Lion Guild settled, Gil Taeseong felt confident about the upcoming raid.

But then...

"By the way, Mage-nim. Are you not negotiating with that guy?"

Hwang Geumcheol glanced toward the end of the platform. There, A-rank Hunter Han Hari was pouring tea from a thermos.

"It is barley tea, Your Majesty."

Why was she talking like a character from a historical drama? Gil Taeseong and Hwang Yeonha tilted their heads in confusion, while Leon raised the cup to his lips with elegance.

"Hmm, not bad."

"Your grace is overwhelmingggg..."

Watching this odd little exchange, Gil Taeseong chuckled politely.

"Ah, right. He's the Hunter sent by the Association. I was wondering who they were keeping a spot open for..."

Gil didn't consider the two Association members as effective combatants.

He had brought 49 B-rank and above Hunters from Black Mamba, and the Golden Lion Guild had another 49 members.

Just two from the Association. Even if one of them was A-rank, what difference could two people make?

"To avoid any conflict, I'll extend our offer to the Association's team as well. If we obtain the gem, we'll give both of you 500 million won each, regardless of contribution. Not a bad deal, right?"

"Pfft...!"

A scoff came from Hwang Geumcheol.

"What's so funny?"

"Mage-nim, that guy is who the Association cleared a spot for. And they assigned this year's rookie of the year, Han Hari, to serve as his attendant. Don't you get what that means?"

"...Are you saying he's stronger than an A-rank Hunter?"

At the very least, he was near S-rank. Possibly even S-rank. Of course, neither Gil Tae-sung nor Hwang Geum-cheol had ever heard of a man named Leon.

But Hwang Geum-cheol had a hunch about his identity.

'That recently disappeared Black Gate... there's a high chance he's a survivor from there.'

Strong individuals who appeared out of nowhere with no known background were often survivors.

The Heavenly Demon, the Killing Star, the Witch, the Hermit—countless famous survivors had followed a similar path to Leon's.

'This must be some kind of debut match organized by the Association. To think they'd throw him straight into a quasi-red-grade gate.'

The Association must really be confident in him.

Gil Tae-sung was thinking along the same lines.

"If I may be so bold... then perhaps we should revise our offer──"

"Pathetic."

Leon's first words silenced Gil Tae-sung instantly.

"...What did you say?"

To Leon, the whole display was laughable. They were chattering about loot before even stepping onto the battlefield—it was absurd.

"You speak of spoils without having stepped onto the field of battle. Your eyes are clouded with greed."

"Are you mocking a mage of the Tower?"

"Is there any honor worth respecting in a mere spell-chucker?"

The unexpected insult left Gil Tae-sung dumbfounded.

"I don't know what kind of great feat you think you'll achieve with your greedy eyes... but fine, I'll leave the frontlines to you."

He said it like he was being generous—an incredibly condescending kind of generosity. That, of course, sparked Hwang Yeon-ha's temper.

"What? You'll leave it to us? So while we're out there busting our asses, you're just gonna stand in the back with your arms crossed and watch?"

Maybe it was because it was the first time she'd been spoken to so rudely in this world, but Leon's brow furrowed slightly.

"Your tongue is most unruly, woman."

"What the hell did you just say? You wanna throw down?"

"You have no right to challenge this King."

"I'm seriously losing it! This guy—!"

Just as she was about to charge, Hwang Geum-cheol held her back by the shoulder from behind. But instead of looking at Leon, he turned his gaze to Hari.

—You're not gonna manage this survivor or what?

Hari looked apologetic and shook her head.

—I tried. It didn't work...

—Okay. So we've got a full-on "screw-the-rules" type here.

"Alright then, Your Majesty or whatever? So just to be clear—the right to engage the boss goes to us and the Tower mage, yeah?"

Leon didn't answer, but nodded silently.

Yakht Spinner.

The hunters who'd survived it claimed it was fairly powerful. But whether it was a foe worth his personal attention was another matter entirely.

Now that some of his power had returned thanks to spreading Demera's faith, there weren't many people worthy of him facing them directly in battle.

"Um... Your Majesty. Are you sure about this?"

"What do you mean?"

"The objective of this expedition is to spread Your Majesty's name and reputation..."

If the Golden Lion Guild or the Tower ended up killing the Yakht Spinner, wouldn't that defeat the entire purpose? Hari's point was valid.

"No matter how important honor is, it's unseemly for the Lionheart King to step forward before the lesser ones have had their chance. It could look like I am hoarding glory."

This guy's a total boomer... but only about the weirdest stuff, Hari thought. Still, she wisely kept that opinion to herself—she was learning the fine art of professional restraint.

"Just like in the video... The weather's a complete mess."

The Cheongju Gate revealed a city sprawled in the middle of a wasteland.

Random sandstorms could blow in at any moment, and even the slightest delay meant getting trapped in one. Unfortunately, the raid party encountered a sandstorm the moment they entered the gate.

"Don't go inside the city. The Yakht Spinner appears with much higher frequency the deeper you go."

Relying on intel from previous, now-destroyed raid teams, Hwang Geum-cheol had set up the base camp outside the city rather than inside.

There were still plenty of buildings on the city outskirts, so setting up a camp wasn't difficult.

"Your Majesty! We've secured a spot over here!"

"Very well."

It was a large building—easy to gather in, easy to keep watch from. Inside, Hari spread out their gear and opened a packed lunch.

"Your Majesty, it's not much, but I've prepared some humble food~ Please, partake~!"

"A soldier does not complain about rations on the battlefield."

But despite preparing the meal, Hari looked uneasy.

"What troubles you?"

"Well... I'm worried, whether things go well or not."

If everything went smoothly, Leon wouldn't get a chance to shine.

If things didn't go smoothly, that was even worse.

"Honestly, the best-case scenario is that everything goes well and there's no need for Your Majesty to step in."

Even as she said it, she glanced cautiously at Leon. She half-expected the anachronistic Lionheart King to shout at her for trying to deprive him of his chance to spread his name.

"Yes. That is indeed the best-case scenario."

"...Pardon?"

"If the Lionheart King does not need to act, that means the matter is not grave. Tell me—what do you think is the role of a king in my kingdom?"

"Um... To rule... Your Majesty?"

"Naturally. But that, too, is something anyone can do. Unless someone is particularly incompetent, they'll manage just the same."

It was an unthinkable statement in an absolute monarchy—he was saying the king's job could be replaced by anyone.

"Th-then... as the king of knights, to lead at the front... Oh."

He hadn't stepped forward at the Honam Plain Gate, nor at Seoul Station Gate, nor now at the Cheongju Gate.

He'd shown it with his actions over and over: the king's sword does not move for trivial battles.

"Could it be... that the role of the Lionheart King is..."

"The final bastion."

Hari swallowed hard at that.

Until now, she and the Association had viewed Leon as a kind of savage, medieval king—albeit one empowered by divine energy.

But if what he said was true, Leon was no mere ruler. He wasn't just a rigid knight or general either.

He was the final defense of the Kingdom of Lionheart.

In other words, when he stepped forward, it meant their ultimate weapon had been deployed.

"Do you understand now? If the Lionheart King must act, it is both a disgrace to the knights and a sign of a dire situation."

He sighed—a rare moment of visible emotion.

"Unfortunately, it seems I'll have to trouble myself once again, in place of you pathetic and feeble people. I find myself missing my glorious order of knights."

It was a chilling premonition.

As if something truly terrible was about to happen—bad enough that he would need to act.

"But Hunter Hwang Geum-cheol is an S-rank, and there's also a mage from the Tower here..."

There was only one enemy. Even if it was a killing machine that had racked up terrifying achievements so far, how could it possibly stand against a raid team with an S-rank hunter and a mage?

"Hunters, was it? I'll admit—they're strong for mere humans."

Leon scoffed, ridiculing the superhumans of modern Earth.

"But they know nothing of war. The outskirts have been safe so far? You grow overconfident after just three skirmishes."

"What... what do you mean?"

"You call yourselves a 'raid team.' You analyze the monster's pattern and respond accordingly. What a laughable notion."

An uneasy feeling crept in.

His words carried an eerie weight.

Whether that was a good thing or not...

"A commander adapts flexibly to the situation. There are no 'patterns.' From what I see, this Yakht Spinner is a natural-born warrior."

And then, almost as if on cue—proof arrived.

—KYYYYAAAAAH!

—W-What the hell is that?!

—Enemy! We're under attack──!

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Screams rang out clearly, even through the howling sandstorm. Cries of horror, mixed with the hiss of wind and grit.

The Yakht Spinner had attacked the camp.