The suggestion of the association's president, Oh Kang Hyuk, was a pleasant one for Leon.
An impregnable gate that no one has been able to close in a year and two months, if he could capture such a place, he would be able to spread his reputation quickly.
Leon would gladly accept the offer.
"But, old man, I heard that this gate has been abandoned for a long time, so why are you suddenly interested in it?"
Leon thought about the prestige he would gain by taking on the impregnable gate, but he weighed the situation calmly.
It's a special gate that won't cause a dungeon break so there should be a reason why they wanted to resume their assault on such a place.
"It's not uncommon, isn't it, to take a risk and attack a gate because it's worth it?"
"Think about it."
Oh Kang-hyuk smiled bitterly at Leon, who was clearly looking down on him.
He was the head of the Hunter Association and the first generation S-class Hunter representing Korea, a living legend.
But Oh Kang-hyuk, who had been observing Leon for a while, knew that Leon was treating him very well.
The way he treats the so-called "commoners" like Han Ha-ri or Mr. Park of Doojeong Group who approached him was different and considering Leon's high-handed attitude towards them, even this was pretty good.
'The unfortunate ones have to bend.'
Because of Leon absolute value is in his ability to cleanse the land of miasma contamination, Oh Kang-hyuk is willing to bend over backwards for the sake of the country.
"The condition for closing the dungeon, the Grail of Wisdom, has been found in America. It was the reward for a recently cleared Vermilion Gate."
"It must be of considerable value.
"Yes, it is. The Tower studied it and proved that it contained tremendous power, which encouraged the higher-ups of the Association."
In short, they wanted to secure this treasure trove of wisdom, no matter the cost.
"Who is accompanying me?"
"There will be contingents from the Golden Lion Guild, one of the Ten Guilds, and from what I've heard, the Tower has decided to send a mage of their own."
"The Ten Guilds… are they like the knights of this country?"
"They're not affiliated with the country, so… they're more like mercenaries."
"Hmm. I see. Protecting the people is a knight's duty and honor."
President Oh didn't bother to point out Leon's mentality since authoritarians like him are always outraged by disagreements.
They are so sure of their point of view that they ignore everything else.
If they don't have the ability, they won't recognize it, and if they do have the ability, it's not something that can be fixed by a third party.
"Okay. On two conditions."
"You can tell us anything. As long as it doesn't violate our principles… we'll support you."
"Well, that's not much of a condition. First, I need you to spread this king's name after this battle is won."
"We haven't announced your existence as a survivor yet, Your Majesty. We were planning to do so after you'd sufficiently adjusted to life on Earth...."
"I have a general idea of the situation on this planet and your ecology."
Leon, who had lived in a world so anachronistic and different, was hard to understand, even with the flexible mindset of Earthlings, but would it be easier the other way around?
"The second is...."
Leon's gaze traveled beyond the Association's headquarters, where the Association's staff… Han Ha-ri… was also present.
"Here I am!"
Ha-ri rushed over, holding out a prepared notepad.
"What is this?"
"A list of cadets to be trained by your majesty guild. It's a bit of a mishmash, but it's good enough for now."
It contained the names of several hunters, including D-rank Hunter Koo Dae-sung.
Leon had noticed one thing in common among the hunters he watched during the test.
"Most of them are D-rank…C-rank at best. I don't think anyone would stand out in front of a powerhouse like Your Majesty."
Oh Kang-hyuk mentioned that he could assign more promising hunters to Leon if he wished, but he shook his head.
"I'm not looking for a knight. This is enough for now."
"We'll look into it, Your Majesty, but the choice is theirs, so we won't be able to force them all to join."
Even as he said that, Oh Kang Hyuk was confident that they would not refuse his offer.
All of them were low-ranked Hunters who couldn't even get into a decent small or medium-sized guild, let alone one of the Ten Guilds. Would they turn down an offer like that?
Oh Kang-hyuk didn't think so.
"If they refuse, they're out of luck."
Leon decided that it didn't matter if they refused. Rather, he was confident in how generous and blessed my offer was.
"When will it be?"
"In three days, we'll meet in front of the Cheongju Sports Complex."
"Good. I'll show you the Dance of the Lionheart King."
President Oh Kang-hyuk smiled bitterly and eagerly agreed.
I'll have to give Miss Ha-ri a nice year-end bonus, he thought.
* * * *
The attack on Cheongju Gate has resumed and the indefinite suspension of the Cheongju Gate, which has been elevated to a red gate, was a high-profile event in Asia.
It was a special gate where three raid groups were wiped out by one monster.
Unable to overcome that single Yakt Spinner, countless Hunters turned Cheongju Gate into a graveyard.
As a result, Cheongju Gate has become a nuisance in Cheongju City and has been a source of unrest for the people of Cheongju City ever since.
-Ahhhhhh!
It was then. Citizens gathered at the Cheongju Sports Complex began to cheer.
"The Golden Lion is here!"
As the crowd cheered, reporters fired off flashes at the black vans entering the stadium.
While the association's staff fends off the crowd, people start to get out of the 20 black vans one by one.
"Golden Chul! Golden Chul!"
The man who stepped out to the cheers of the crowd was over two meters tall.
At first glance, he seems intimidating, but he looks like a successful rapper with gold necklaces and bracelets, just like black rappers in the United States. In fact, he was one of the top rappers in Korea.
"I'm here, citizens of Cheongju!"
Golden Chul, one of the hippest hunters in the media, smiled and enjoyed the cheers of the citizens.
"It's embarrassing, can't you stop doing that?"
"Fanservice~ fanservice~ record and sell t-shirts."
Golden Chul smirked at her sister who was hanging a t-shirt. She complained about him taking time out of his walk to pose for photos with fans and sign autographs.
"If you're going to do that, why not just be an entertainer? You've got a lot of douchebags listening to your shitty rap. Give up the guild and start an entertainment agency."
"My dear Sister, being a Hunter is more profitable."
"Love you."
That was it. Fans flocked to his sister, who was famous as an A-rank hunter even though she was never in the entertainment industry.
"Kaaaahhhh! Hwang Yeonha is here, too! Sis, look at her!"
"Is that so, dear My Sister Geum Soon?"
"I told you not to call me Geum Soon, you golden pig."
When the name change was over… Hwang Yeon-ha headed for the Cheongju Gate, which was set up by the Association but there was more.
"Mage Gil Tae-sung, I'll escort you inside."
"Hmm, thank you for your guidance."
Under the polite guidance of the Association's staff, Mage Gil Tae-sung appeared with his chin held high.
He's a promising member of the Korean branch of The Tower, a combat mage who's almost a quasi-S in the hunter world, where mages are rare.
He was followed by dozens of foreign Hunters.
"Black Mamba?"
"The mercenary hunters who are said to be charging over two grand per head?"
"Is he really that serious?"
A wizard is at his best when he has a bodyguard and with The Tower full support, Gil Tae-sung mobilized the Black Mamba, a mercenary group of B and A-ranks hunters.
"Uh, there's another vehicle coming in."
"An Association vehicle?"
Stepping out of the last Association vehicle to arrive was a female with braided red hair.
Straightening the lapels of her suit, she was the most talked-about recruit in last year's Academy Draft.
"Han Ha-ri?"
"Oh no, the Association is putting Hanhari in?"
Well, yes, it makes sense. She's known for being one of the best hunters in the country.
There are quite a few A-grade hunters in the country, but it's her age that makes her stand out.
She awakened at the age of fourteen, activating her unique skills while training at the Academy and became the youngest A-class Hunter ever.
She was approached by the top 10 guilds in Korea with huge contracts, but she turned them all down and joined the Association.
Everyone naturally expected her to participate. But....
"Your Majesty, we have arrived."
She bowed and guided someone from inside the vehicle and it was a blond foreigner, unexpectedly.
"Who is this foreigner?"
"I don't think he's with Black Mamba…"
Reporters and onlookers alike were curious about the man's identity.
* * * *
When multiple factions want to attack a gate, they need to coordinate in advance.
Who should tackle the boss first, how to distribute the items that come out, etc… It's hard not to have conflicts over everything, starting with the order, and these discussions often take days and days.
In that sense, this Cheongju Gate strategy is pretty straightforward.
There's only one boss mob, a Yakt Spinner, and the only reward is the Wisdom Gem, which is a mining resource.
"We'll hand over all the rewards to the Golden Lion Guild, and all we want is the Wisdom Gem."
Hwang Yeonha was stunned by the words of Gil Tae-sung.
"That's the key, and if you take it, we'll have nothing to live on."
It was an expected reaction but Gil Tae-sung smiled and said,
"I'll give all the credit for defeating the boss to the Golden Lion Guild. In addition, I promise you a reward of 50 billion won if you hand over the gem safely."
""...!""
Huang Yeonha was stunned by the unexpected amount of money.
Fifty billion? A Legendary ranked weapon was about ten billion.
Even as a quasi-S-class, she had been saving up for a Legendary-class weapon, but 50 billion was enough to buy not only a weapon, but a full body set.
He's willing to give that much money away?
'Why would he do that?'
Huang Yeonha hesitated, unsure of what to say but,
"That's a lot of money. Okay, we get the credit for defeating the boss and you keep the gem."
"Hey, you can't do that…!"
"My Sister~ We can't understand it anyway, even the Pentagon couldn't interpret it, so they gave it to the Tower. What's the point for us to keep it?"
"...."
Golden Chul wanted to hand it over because he didn't know the value of the Wisdom Gem but because there's no point in fighting over something he didn't understand.
Golden Chul was known for his toughness and boldness on the battlefield, but he was surprisingly cautious.
"...60 billion. Oh, no, 55 billion. I'll… demand that much."
At that, Gil Tae-sung smiled broadly.
"Let's just go with 60 billion."
"Hmmm…!"
Hwang Yeon-ha regretted that she didn't ask for 65 billion.
The agreement with the Golden Lion was over, and Gil Tae-sung was confident in the outcome of the raid.
"By the way, aren't you going to negotiate with him separately?"
Golden Chul glanced toward the end of the dais, where Han Ha-ri, the Association's A-rank Hunter, was pouring a cup of tea from a thermos.
"It's called barley tea."
Gil Tae-sung and Hwang Yeon-ha scratched their heads, but Leon gracefully lifted the cup to his lips.
"Hmm, not bad."
"Come to think of it, you were the hunter sent by the association, and I was wondering what kind of person you were, since we needed to free up a seat...."
Gil Tae-Sung didn't consider the two of them to be a viable force.
There were 49 Black Mamba members, made of B-rank or higher raiders, including himself, and 49 Golden Lion members, one of the Ten Guilds while the Association sent 2 people.
Even if there was the A-rank Han Ha-ri, what could two people do?
"Since I don't want to be the one to talk about it, I'll make a proposal to the Association. Once we get our hands on the gem, we'll pay the two of you 500 million regardless of your contribution. Not bad, right?"
"Fool!"
Ridicule flowed from Leon.
"What is so ridiculous?"
"Mage Gil, the Association sent him here and they're using this year's Rookie of the Year, Ms. Han Ha-ri, as his servant. Don't you see the significance of that?"
"Are you saying he's stronger than...A-rank hunters?"
At the very least, a semi-S-class. Maybe S-class. Of course, neither Gil- Tae-sung nor Golden Lion had ever heard of him.
But Golden Chul had an idea of his identity.
'The black gate that recently disappeared, most likely a survivor from there.'
Usually, powerful people who suddenly appeared from nowhere without any connections were survivors.
Heavenly demons, killer stars, witches, adepts, and countless other named survivors had similar behavior to Leon.
'It's probably some kind of debut match organized by the Association, and they're pushing him into the Red Gate for nothing.'
The Association was overconfident and Gil Tae-sung thought so too.
"Excuse me… Then we have a new proposal…"
"Same thing."
The first words out of Leon's mouth stopped Gil Tae-sung in his tracks.
"What…?"
Leon recognized the look on his face. He looked like Leon said something he didn't deserve.
"You're already talking about loot without even standing on the battlefield. Your eyes are full of greed."
"Are you disrespecting the mages of the Magic Tower?"
"What honor has a spellcaster to disrespect?"
Gil Tae-sung was dumbfounded by the unexpected outburst.
"I don't know how great a dance you loot-blinded bastards will put on, but…well, I'll let you lead the way."
It's like a surrender, but in a very unpleasant way. He was dumbfounded.
"What, you're letting us take the lead? So while we're fighting to the death, you're going to stand back and watch with your arms crossed?"
Because it was the first time he was yelled at in this world Leon brow narrowed.
"You tease with your tongue, woman."
"What are you saying, boy, you want to challenge me to a fight?"
"You have no right to challenge this King."
"You've got to be kidding me!"
She was restrained by a golden iron grip on her shoulders from behind but her gaze was on Ha-ri, not Leon.
-Are you not going to take care of the survivors?
Ha-ri shook her head with a grim expression at Golden Chul gaze.
-I was going to try, but no....
-Okay. He's a fuck-my-way type.
"Okay, then, Your Majesty, you're saying that we have first dibs on this place, right?"
Leon didn't answer, but silently affirmed.
From what the surviving Hunters have been able to gather, it seems the boss was quite powerful, but whether or not it's a warrior worthy of facing Leon it's another matter.
It's unlikely that anyone would have the honor and skill to take on Leon, who has regained some of his strength from spreading the faith of Demera.
"I… Your Majesty, are you all right?"
"What do you mean?"
"The goal of this raid is to spread Your Majesty's fame...."
Ha-ri had a point, if the Golden Lion or the Tower took down the Yakt Spinner, he wouldn't fulfill his goal.
"No matter how important honor is, it's not a good look for the Lionheart king to go first, pushing everyone else aside."
This man is an oddball but Ha-ri had learned the true art of socializing by not letting it show.
* * * *
"Just like I saw in the video… the weather sucks."
Cheongju Gate is a city in the middle of a wilderness.
Random sandstorms blow in, and those who delay too long are quickly trapped in them. The unlucky raiders were faced with a sandstorm as soon as they entered the gate.
"Do not enter the city, the Yakt Spinner has a higher chance of appearing inside."
Golden Lion had set up a base camp on the outskirts of the city, rather than "inside," based on the information from the failed raids.
There are quite a few buildings on the outskirts of the city, so it's not hard to set up a base camp.
"Your Majesty, we've set up camp over here!"
"Hmm."
Inside the large building, Ha-ri sat down and opened her lunchbox.
"Your Majesty, I have prepared some scanty food – please eat!"
"Not enough to complain about on the battlefield."
Ha-ri looked uneasy though she prepared the meal.
"How is it?"
"Hmm… I'm worried if it goes well, and I'm worried if it doesn't."
If it goes well, that's the best thing that could happen to Leon and if it doesn't work out, that's the worst of it.
"Actually, it would be best if it worked out without your Majesty having to do anything."
Even as she spoke, Ha-ri glanced at Leon and wondered if the anachronistic Lionheart king was going to tell them to stay out of the way so he would have a chance to make a name for himself.
"Yes, it's for the best."
"What?"
"If the Lionhearted King doesn't do it himself, it means the job is lighter. What do you think is the role of a king in the Kingdom of Beasts?"
"Uhm… ruling… no?"
"That, of course. But that, too, can be filled by anyone. Unless, of course, they are flawed."
The Lionheart King makes a statement that has no place in an absolute monarchy: that the work of a king can be replaced by anyone.
"Well, then… as the king of knights, taking the lead… ah."
He had never taken the lead at the Hunan Plain Gate, nor at the Seoul Station Gate…nor at the current Cheongju Gate.
He continued to assert himself with his actions that the sword of the king would not be drawn in a petty battle.
"No way… The title of Lionheart King is...."
"The last bastion."
At those words, Ha-ri swallowed hard.
All this time, she and the Association had thought of Leon as a barbarian king from the Middle Ages, with the power of faith thrown in for good measure.
But if he's telling the truth, Leon is more than just a ruler. Nor was he a hardened knight or general.
He is the last bastion of the Lionheart Kingdom. And when he stepped forward, it meant that the final weapon would be deployed.
"Do you understand? The very fact that the Lionheart King himself has to step forward is a disgrace to the knights and means that the situation is serious."
As he spoke, he gave a rare sigh.
"It looks like this king will have to do the heavy lifting once again on your pathetic, weak behalf. I miss the glory of this king's Knights."
It was an eerie foreshadowing as if something big was about to happen and he would have to step in.
"But we have an S-class Hunter here, the Golden Lion Guild, and a Wizard from the Magic Tower."
There was only one opponent and even if I was a killing machine with a terrible record, they should be able to handle the raid with an S-rank hunter and a mage…
"I'll admit that hunters are a bit more powerful than normal humans."
Leon snorted, sneering at the superhumans of modern Earth.
"But they don't know about war. The outskirts have been safe so far, I'm sure, having only fought three battles."
"What? What's that....?"
"You call yourselves raiders. You're supposed to recognize patterns in monsters and counter them. How ridiculous."
Ha-ri felt uneasy at Leon's words.
"The long-lived learn to adapt to circumstances. There's no pattern to it, and I think that Yakt Spinner is a born warrior."
And then, as if on cue, the proof begins.
-Kaaaaaahhhh!
-What, what, this!
-It's the enemy! He's attacking──!
Screams echoed eerily in the sandstorm as Yakt Spinner attacked the camp.