The Knight King Who Returned with God-Chapter 22 The Hunting Spider (5)

As the sandstorm grew more intense, the Hunters cautiously moved between buildings, heading toward the city center.

They had witnessed the terrifying combat capabilities of Yakt Spinner, but their spirits remained high.

That was thanks to the heavy damage it had taken and its subsequent retreat. The crushed joints and destroyed main weapon were undeniable proof of a serious blow.

The Hunters assumed it would take the machine a long time to repair itself.

Though Leon had refused to cooperate, attacks from S-rank Hunter Hwang Geumcheol, quasi-S-rank Hwang Yeonha, and the mage Gil Taeseong had all been effective.

Yakt Spinner was not invincible. The Hunters were confident.

"But are we really okay without that weird knight guy?"

"Why are you missing him already? He was the one who basically told us to piss off."

"Still... if he could completely overpower that monster, doesn't that mean he's stronger than our own guild leader?"

Leon's identity had become a hot topic among the Hunters. Those with some experience in the field had all reached the same conclusion:

"He's probably a survivor. Those guys are usually pretty unhinged."

"Still, that was way beyond just unhinged, don't you think?"

"But where the hell did he come from? I haven't heard of any survivors showing up from recent gates."

They tried to fit Leon into the framework of what they understood — but even they couldn't fully accept their own theories.

There was something different about that man. Their instincts told them he didn't belong in this world — almost like a foreign element.

"Wait."

Just then, the Hunter at the front gestured for the others to stop.

He pointed with his finger toward something heavy and metallic in the distance.

"250 meters ahead. On the rooftop. A machine gun is sticking out. It's him."

The Hunters cautiously confirmed the shape he pointed at.

A familiar, crab-like body was visible at an angle. The sightline wasn't great for a rocket shot.

Conveniently, there was a 10-story building with a clear line of sight directly opposite the one Yakt Spinner was on. If they sniped from there, the enemy wouldn't even have time to react.

"Ranged dealers, carefully get up to the opposite building. The rest of us will wait here. If it notices us, we'll distract it to buy time."

Following his command, the long-range Hunters began making their way across. It would take a little while since they were moving slowly and silently up the stairs.

"You're dead, you spider bastard."

The Hunter smirked triumphantly, waiting for the signal from his allies above.

One minute. Three minutes. Five minutes...

Frozen in place for fear that Yakt Spinner might notice them — but the signal never came.

"What the hell's taking them so long? Someone send a guy up to check."

...

Even after sending someone to check, there was no signal for a long while. Just as the Hunter began to feel something was off──

-Shhk.

"Huh?"

He realized his vision was rising — floating. Twisting and spinning, and then he saw it.

The familiar shape of the 'spider.'

"Yak...t...ner?"

Something was... different. It looked much smaller... No, wait. If that's the real Yakt Spinner, then what the hell was the thing on the roof they'd been watching all this time──

His airborne eyes caught the rooftop from a different angle.

A large carapace. More precisely, a partial section of armor made to look like the body. Attached was a crude mock-up of a machine gun.

"A de─coy?"

-Shhk!

-Shhk! Shhk!

By the time his head hit the ground, dozens of whip strikes had already been delivered.

Yakt Spinner lived up to its name.

Its revolutionary mobility, gained from extreme weight reduction, allowed it to crawl across building walls like a spider.

Its many robotic arms wielded wire cutters that sliced through air with a signature screech, cutting its prey to pieces.

It didn't even use its autocannon. The lightweight frame and flexible limbs moved with uncanny precision, allowing it to massacre Hunters using only the wire cutters.

"Fire! Hit it with anything, just stop that thing!"

A near-hysterical scream.

Magic missiles, fired through the raging sandstorm, tracked Yakt Spinner.

-Kriiik?

The metal spider, sensing them, ran across a wall.

With incredible finesse, Yakt Spinner reoriented its body vertically and slid itself through the narrow gap between buildings.

-BOOM!

Two missiles failed to follow the sudden movement and exploded against the wall.

Three others, reacting more quickly, adjusted course and veered vertically upward.

Arrows of magical energy shot toward Yakt Spinner, who was crawling through the narrow crevice.

But it was impossible to maintain such speed in that tight space. The gun barrel rotated.

-TUTUTUTU!

Despite their tracking capabilities, the magic missiles were essentially linear projectiles. The autonomous AI shot them down flawlessly.

They exploded midair, and the Hunters who saw it could only stare, jaws agape.

"That's... insane. That's even possible?"

"That's not marksmanship — that's something else entirely..."

There was no way they could've imagined it. How could they anticipate the actions of a killing machine born solely for combat, run by advanced AI?

As they held their breath in stunned silence, Yakt Spinner had already flanked them.

"S-shit! Cover! Get to cover now!"

The robot arms lashed out with their wire cutters.

Having replaced its main weapon entirely with wires, Yakt Spinner's ferocious assault had already killed more than twenty Hunters.

Even the mage's long-range support had failed. The Hunters swallowed their screams and ran.

They just wanted to live. The fear of death took control.

The few survivors, desperate and wild-eyed, finally reached an old cemetery. One stumbled on thick weeds and a jagged gravestone.

"Gahk...!"

The hunter, who had tumbled across the ground with the same momentum he had while running, gasped for breath and tried to crawl away to escape.

– Creak! Creak!

But the Yakht Spinner, with its four legs, approached, and the hunter, realizing there was no escape, sank into despair.

"No, no... Please spare me... I... I don't want to die..."

He cowered behind a shabby tombstone as if it were a shield, begging for mercy—mercy he himself didn't believe in.

– Creak...

The Yakht Spinner came to a stop in front of the hunter, its autocannon aimed at him.

Its logic circuits, which had never let a single intruder leave alive, made their judgment.

"Second Logic Protocol – Priority: Eliminate intruders."

"Third Logic Protocol – Priority: Eliminate intruders."

The autocannon locked on. Regardless of what weapon it used, the Yakht Spinner could crush the hunter. However—

"Autonomous judgment. Logic protocol decision override. Sub-logic silenced. Priority forcibly changed."

It lowered its weapons.

The autocannon. The steel wires from its auxiliary joints. All of them were retracted.

And in that moment, when it paused without a weapon—magical arrows rained down from the sky.

– KRA-KOOM!

The magic strike landed a direct hit on the Yakht Spinner. The combined firepower of Gil Taesung and the Black Mamba Hunters blasted into the machine.

"Yes! Direct hit!"

"That idiot just stood there!"

The Yakht Spinner's wide-angle lens turned toward the hunters who had ambushed it. It could have easily dodged the attack if it had moved inside the cemetery. But...

"Final Decision: Top Priority – Protect civilians."

It looked at the tombstone the hunter was clutching. Fighting here would mean unavoidable collateral damage.

The Yakht Spinner immediately chose to retreat.

"...Huh?"

Ignoring the dumbfounded hunter, it exited the cemetery. The once-chased hunter, not understanding what had happened, was simply relieved to still be alive.

"The Yakht Spinner's running away!"

"It must've reached its limit!"

"After it!"

It fled, leaping between buildings on its remaining four legs, distancing itself from the cemetery as much as possible. It didn't even retaliate, not wanting to risk stray bullets.

"Yafi, look! I made a crown out of flowers!"

The safety of civilians—that was always its highest priority.

Even if they were now only the dead.

The Yakht Spinner returned once again to its maintenance facility.

It repaired the damage sustained in battle, replenished snapped wires, and reloaded its self-manufactured ammunition.

Even though it wasn't a proper facility, just a self-built maintenance space pieced together over the years, it could still hold on—for now.

"Protect the seal. Do not allow anyone to approach."

The last order still embedded in the machine's command system. But the AI was beginning to coldly assess that fulfilling that order might no longer be possible.

If it managed to repel this intrusion, then what about the next one? And the one after that? Sooner or later, it would fail. The time it had managed to endure so far was nearing its end.

As it replaced broken parts with others made from scrap metal melted down from the city, and with its self-produced ammo and wire, it accessed the city's remaining surveillance cameras.

– Estimated enemy survivors: approximately 49. Level 5 threat still present. Level 3 threat still present. Multiple Level 1 threats. Chance of successful repulsion: 35.7%.

– Continue combat operations.

Nothing had changed. The machine would simply carry out the orders it had been given.

As it slowly moved its sluggish body, completing its repairs—

The sourc𝗲 of this content is freēwēbηovel.c૦m.

"Had your fun playing with the small fry?"

"...!?"

The knight had been watching the entire time.

Leon worships chivalry.

No, he is practically the embodiment of it.

He despises cowardly ambushes and pursues fair, honorable combat.

Of course, not all his opponents return the favor.

The countless foes he's faced have resorted to ambushes, schemes, and dark arts to bring him down.

But even so, that's no excuse for him to abandon the virtues of a knight.

He belongs to the kind who smash such tactics head-on in battle.

He may break—but he will never bend. A true avatar of knightly honor.

That is what made him strong.

That is what made him chosen.

That's why he waited for the Yakht Spinner to finish its repairs.

Because, with only rare exceptions, a knight's honor is no trivial thing.

Even if the opponent is not human.

Leon had met countless non-human races, many completely unlike humans.

Though born on Earth, he had long lived in worlds of the alien and the extraordinary.

So, to him, the Yakht Spinner's cold, inhuman armor plating and mechanically alien joints were simply traits of another race.

"A robot it may be, but its grandeur and might are impressive. The rabble outside would never stand a chance."

Before he even finished his sentence, a steel wire slashed across where Leon had been. He stepped lightly aside to dodge it, but the Lionhearted King's pride had been pricked.

"So I was wrong to expect honor from a machine."

The Yakht Spinner's eyes glowed a deep red.

Weapon check: 60mm autocannon, 480 rounds remaining.

Wire cutters: 4 units. Final resort within the maintenance facility: '2 Ton'.

The sound of supersonic lashes filled the air.

Calculating trajectory, speed, and timing so none tangled, the perfect assault of wire cutters lashed out.

The supersonic whips struck from ground, sky, front, back, left, right—no escape.

The target did not move. Unshaken, Leon held his stance and faced the barrage with his sacred sword.

Because the assault had calculated for a moving target, only one wire cutter struck true when Leon didn't move. And he deflected it as though brushing it aside with his holy blade.

"...."

Here's the English translation of your text:

The alloy forged by melting iron ore should have shattered under the whip of the supersonic wire cutter.

Yet the steel sword remained intact. It wasn't beyond calculation—though the machine's database and knowledge couldn't comprehend it.

The Jacht Spinner used its four legs to move more nimbly than before, trying to throw Leon off.

If the opponent planted himself like a heavy tank, that would be ideal. A stationary target is just cannon fodder for the autocannon.

– Tutatatatatat!

A barrage of autocannon fire erupted from the muzzle. As expected, the first volley missed.

But the Jacht Spinner quickly analyzed the trajectory and grouping of the rounds and adjusted its aim, just moments away from hitting Leon—

– Thud!

As it landed, the concrete was crushed beneath it, and debris shot upward.

The moment the airborne debris obscured its view, the Jacht Spinner compressed its joint hydraulics and launched itself like it was fleeing.

– Boom!

A spear pierced through the spot it had just vacated. Of course—it had anticipated that.

It had analyzed the combat pattern of a Level 5 threat, considering every possible scenario.

A spear appearing midair.

A steel sword that wouldn't break no matter what.

The ability to shatter tank-grade armor with raw strength.

Nothing made logical sense—but the threat before it was real, and that was all that mattered.

– Tap!

The noise filter caught the sound of a running start. Even if it couldn't see it through the debris, the sound never lied.

Leon plummeted down like a missile, landing in the spot where the Jacht Spinner had been sprinting along the wall. Mounted on his summoned divine beast, he retrieved his holy lance.

Fast.

It couldn't understand. How could an organic being reach such speeds?

But it had long since given up on logical understanding. The now-lightened Jacht Spinner leapt through the buildings to obstruct Leon's advance.

"Stallion, looks like he wants to play hide-and-seek with us."

The Jacht Spinner fled, weaving between walls and pillars, while the cavalry crashed through them in brute pursuit.

Though it looked contradictory—the guerrilla tactics of the Spinner versus the straightforward charge of the rider—Jacht Spinner wasn't merely running away.

Wire cutters lashed out in ambush. Deadly, dangerous. But it was all just to buy time.

Leon, while seemingly brute-forcing his chase, parried and countered with poise and experience.

A human chasing down an armored vehicle—an absurd situation. The Jacht Spinner increased its speed, avoiding Leon at all costs.

– Creak!

But its joints began to wear down.

It was originally designed to take on armored vehicles and slow infantry. Its structural limits were now being tested by a superhuman.

– Screeech!

Its parts screamed.

This excessive strain wasn't part of any calculated machine operation—it was causing an internal collapse.

How would a machine interpret the ludicrous reality of tiring before a human?

After several minutes of pursuit, the tables turned at a calculated point.

It hooked one of its thin legs around a thick pillar and sharply changed direction.

"...Stallion!"

The suddenly turning Jacht Spinner rammed into the cavalry.

Even though it had been lightened, it still weighed over 40 tons—a shock no organic body could withstand.

"Not bad."

But Stallion, though pushed back by the impact, slid smoothly and endured.

Despite a blow that should have obliterated flesh and bone, the rider and horse casually nodded and continued charging.

Nothing changed. The Jacht Spinner, now with some distance, unleashed the rest of its autocannon rounds without hesitation.

"──!"

Stallion dodged the hail of bullets with unbelievable movement.

Each shot was precious, but even after spraying them recklessly, Stallion's charge didn't slow.

– Rumble!

The relentless 60mm autocannon fire tore down the aging buildings in real time.

Walls, ceilings, pillars—everything collapsed like sponge, showering heavy rubble.

Stallion leapt lightly over each massive falling rock, and eventually even began leaping off the falling debris itself, ascending higher and higher.

This mythical beast, called a divine steed, scaled the waterfall of rubble and reached the ceiling in seconds.

────!!

With only gravity left to pull them down, Leon and the Jacht Spinner locked eyes through their camera lenses.

Facing each other vertically, they aimed—Leon with his lance, the Spinner with its autocannon.

– Remaining rounds: 68. Full burst fire.

"For the glory... of Lionheart──!!"

Gravity-defying autocannon fire versus a vertically plunging cavalry charge from the shattered ceiling.

The already-cracked ceiling finally gave way under the impact of the white horse's stomp.

A white comet descended. A falling star bombarded by cannon fire. But—

"...?!"

The divine beast, bathed in radiant light, bore not a scratch. The unleashed divine power and perfect synchronization with its rider rendered all physical attacks useless.

– Smash!

An overwhelming blow filled with dense holy energy slammed into the Jacht Spinner.

– Crack!

It pierced straight through, tearing off half its frame.

Even as it flew back like discarded junk, the Spinner's robotic arms still moved.

Its foe was momentarily motionless from impact and descent—it had 2.7 seconds where its body could still act. It lashed out with all four wire cutters.

The high-performance AI calculated the trajectory, even while being flung through the air. It ensured the enemy, now still, would be killed.

Four wire cutters, slicing in from all directions, on a set trajectory that would cut flesh without fail.

Silver snakes lunged from all sides to devour their prey.

This time, it would be a certain kill.

"Magnificent...!"

"...?!"

The Jacht Spinner instantly checked for camera malfunctions. In that fraction of a second, Stallion—carrying Leon—disappeared like a mirage, and Leon launched himself from the ground.

The trajectory of the wire cutters had been based on the assumption he was still mounted.

With the target now half its previous size, the perfect calculation had become a fatal flaw!

Leon, fired like a projectile, slipped through the very center of what should've been a perfect trap.

With the kind of destructive power he'd shown, he could sever even the Spinner's main computer in an instant.

「Yafi... What's sealed here must never escape.」

Even in that fleeting moment, the strong AI completed its calculations.

The maintenance facility built atop the sealed site—this was its final defense. If there was even a 0.01% chance of success, the machine would act.

– Initiating self-destruct sequence. Detonating all facility-embedded explosives.

– KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-BOOM!!

A massive series of explosions erupted throughout the facility, detonating all the bombs planted inside.