The fame of TTG Guild has been growing day by day, but it reached its peak after the Demon Archduke was killed.
-Wow, a guild less than half a year old cleared a Black Gate?
-Technically, it took over 20 S-class forces from both Japan and Korea.
-According to the TTG Guild YouTube channel, the real main force was the TTG Guild.
-Mechanical Holy Knight Praise be to Lord Yappy!
-Queen Beatrice Have you seen her magic? It's so magnificent.
When a Black Gate causes a dungeon break, it's not just a country that suffers, but an entire continent.
TTG Guild has been able to pull off this black-tier capture twice.
The ability to artificially open and close the gate was a big deal, but it was the power of the Lionheart King that people focused on.
-Have you seen the sea parting on Shikoku Island?
-The sea evaporates in thunder, and the flames reach the sky. Is that a human?
-Did you see the analysis of the battle between the Archduke and the Lionheart King? How the hell can a human move in 300 frames and not be analyzed?
He was a man-made disaster, a super-powered king who creates storms with his sword.
-If that's the Archduke, what's the demon above it?
-An Archdemon alone takes S-classes to capture, but an Archduke is a real monster.
-What would we have done if it wasn't for the Lionheart King?
It's because of Leon's presence that the people were able to feel safe even in the face of the Demon Archduke.
Leon Dragonia Lionheart and the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods were strongly recognized in people's minds.
Two weeks after the defeat of the Demon Archduke, TTG Guild announced a new event: a formal knighting ceremony.
* * * *
The TTG Guild knighting ceremony caused quite a stir in the country.
Even the monthly cadet graduation ceremony was a big deal, so the expectations for the knighting ceremony were high.
"It's amazing."
Reporter Park, who came to cover the knighting ceremony at TTG Guild, was impressed by the colorful placards and the prepared venue from the entrance of the building.
Unlike the junior reporter's pure admiration, Kim analyzed the TTG Guild soberly.
"They're nowhere near the size or funding of the top ten guilds. No, it's the new Top Ten Guild, since Hanbit has taken it upon itself to join the ranks of TTG Guild."
"But why would Hanbit join the TTG Guild?"
"I don't know. It's the same religious organization, so they must have gotten some kind of favor."
TTG Guild… or rather, a survivor named Leon, has been causing trouble since he first appeared.
His first appearance was at an unrated gate that the Association claimed to have cleared.
He clashed with Lee Yong-wan of the Firebird Guild and almost single-handedly cleared the impregnable Cheongju Gate.
Since then, the TTG Guild has been built with the full support of the Association's president, Oh Kang-hyuk.
The emergence of Rakshar, the Demon Archduke of Chaos in the East Sea Gate, and Akasha, the Demon Archduke of the Wandering Demon Sword, and the power of the Lionhearted King to subdue even them.
"It's almost a myth in Japan, but under the new system of the Japan Hunter Association, the conversion rate to the Ten Thousand Gods religion is said to be over 80%."
"And the new president of the association, Mr. Takeda, is also a believer of the God of Light and Justice, right?"
Hunters who have come into contact with the Ten Thousand Gods Guild have a particularly high conversion rate, as do S-class hunters like Allen Taylor and Minuteman of the Maverick Guild in the United States.
Is there really something that touches people?
"Does God really exist? There are a lot of eyewitness testimonies, but they don't show it on camera, so I want...."
"Even though all the religious organizations in Korea deny it."
TTG Guild is ostensibly a large hunter guild, but it is actually a strictly religious organization.
It is an emerging religious force centered on a leader called the Lionheart King who claims all sorts of pseudoscientific things.
The rooted religious communities in Korea…especially the Protestant Alliance, seem to deny the existence of a pantheon of gods, but there is too much evidence of an actual god.
"The blessed crops are too good to be merely superior magical skill."
The fall harvest season is upon us, and the blessed crops centered on the Naju Plain have produced a bumper crop and are being prepared to supply the entire country.
But is it enough? Formerly neglected land contaminated with miasma, such as the Beidahuang Great Plain and Ukrainian black soil, is being reclaimed by farmers who worship Demera, the goddess of earth and fertility.
"I even heard that most of the profits go to the TTG Guild because of a religious law called the Ten Commandments? No matter how religious you are, the ten rules are a bit...."
"Apparently, the land of the farmer whose profits were taken in the middle dried up immediately."
It's only been half a year, and although it hasn't been in full swing yet, it is said that the operating fund of the TTG Guild will be the size of a city.
"It's like a medieval knighting ceremony for that kind of money."
The junior reporter was also unfamiliar with such an unbalanced organization.
"A cadet graduation is one thing, but do you know what a knighting ceremony is? It's a knighting ceremony in the 21st century."
"Isn't it a bit more advanced than a graduation ceremony?"
The TTG Guild cadet graduation ceremony is famous.
It raises hunters from the lowest class to at least Class C. and it's the first of its kind.
Not only that, but these Hunters are trained and educated to be thorough group warfare masters, and their group combat power is no less than that of a B-class raiding party.
Their group combat power has already been proven in the defeat of the Demon Archduke.
Hunters who have gone through the training process of the TTG Guild are no longer hunters, but 'soldiers'.
"The Knight Cadets are the next level up from those soldiers. In short, officers. Given the medieval doctrine and the title of knight...."
The knights are the centerpiece of the pantheon, the so-called high-class soldiers.
And today would be the day that the knights would be sworn in as the core of the pantheon.
Reporter Kim looked toward the center of the venue but unlike usual, there were no tourists because of the ceremony.
The venue is a huge training center that has recently been expanded.
The private property was expanded to accommodate the large-scale training of more than a thousand Man-At-Arms. It seems that everyone related to Man-At-Arms has gathered there.
-Chirp! Chirp!
-Chirp!
Yappy organizes everyone in an orderly fashion, while Kim Do-han from Man at Arms, Kim Jin-soo from the association, Choi Young-gam from Naju Plain Agricultural Development, and so on.
In the midst of such a large group of TTG Guild officials, there was one group that stood out like a sore thumb──
"What is that, senior?"
"...Slaves?"
The serfs were carrying materials in shackles.
They were the demon followers captured in Akasha territory and were being used as excellent laborers for the TTG Guild.
-Move it.
-Screech!
-Quack!
The sight of them being whipped relentlessly by overseers who appear to be mechanical spiders and hunter-gatherer warriors makes them wonder if this is really 21st century South Korea.
[TTG Guild Disregarded Human Rights! Slavery Controversy Intensifies!]
This will be one of the headlines tomorrow, but I doubt the Lionheart King will care.
Regardless, the knighting ceremony went on as scheduled.
* * * *
"Whoa...."
Ha-ri nervously took her seat.
The chairs in the front row in front of the dais where Leon would stand were the seats of those who would be officially recognized as knights at the knighting ceremony of the TTG Guild.
Ha-ri herself, Han Soo-ho, Kim Jae-hyuk, Chun So-yeon, and seven others sit there.
The only thing they have in common is that they can use the Holy Law, and they've passed Leon's threshold.
"That's not as many as I thought, sister."
"Well…they're officially recognized as Kingdom Knights, but I'm sure they'll catch up."
Soo-ho and Jae-hyuk were also de facto Class A hunters. Considering that they were only B-rank just a few months ago, that's a lot of progress.
And this is true for the other cadets as well. The cadets who have initiated the Holy Law are confirmed to be Class A. The rest are at the top of the B class.
Considering that the number of cadets who have awakened to the Holy Law is increasing one after another, the cutoff for knights of the TTG Guild will be Class A.
"Still, junior Chun So-yeon is incredible. Wasn't she evaluated as a quasi-S rank by the Association this time?"
"Not as much as you, senior. S-class evaluation, congratulations."
"Hehe…It's not official yet."
Ha-ri and So-yeon were the highest-ranked cadets in this promotion.
Ha-ri, who was the youngest A-class hunter, was set to become the youngest S-class titleholder after the Demon Archduke's annihilation, and So-yeon, who was temporarily linked to the Archduke of Slaughter, Akasha, had also made progress.
"Ah, the king and queen are coming up."
"And Lord Yappy."
The installation ceremony began as the officers of the Temple of the Ten Thousand Gods stood on the dais and everyone fell silent as if they had made a promise.
"I am the Lionheart King."
Leon opened his mouth. It was a clichéd introduction, but the reporters' camera shutters clicked.
"I am the First Knight of Arianna, Goddess of Light and Justice, and I execute the will of the pantheon. Which means…"
Leon saw many faces focused on him.
The knight cadets and soldiers he'd trained for months to follow him, and the civilians of the world who had endless questions and curiosities about this pantheon.
Today, Leon would proclaim to them what it means to be a knight.
"Let me tell you, the country, nay, the world, is on the wrong path these days."
The crowd stirs but not a single one can speak up since the Lionheart King authority does not permit it.
The cameras zoom in and the screen goes live, broadcasting the Lionheart King speech.
"Evil races are uniting and eagerly targeting this world. You have seen the world destroyed by them."
Cheongju Gate.
The Fluctuation Gate.
The East Sea Gate and the territory of Akasha, the Archduke of Slaughter.
Demons were involved in the Shanghai disaster and the London tragedy.
Suspicions were crystallizing that the gates were a bridgehead for a demonic invasion.
"But when this king arrived on earth, he surveyed the world, and found that the strong were at peace, and the weak at ease, even as the promised doom approached."
Leon recognized that this world was not weak.
While they may not have the brute force of a Holy Knight at their peak, S-class Hunters are powerful in their own right.
There are many hunters and many people but there was a crucial difference between them and the Lionheart Kingdom.
Loyalty, conviction, and honorable duty.
"Evil will come to you, soon to show its true colors and bring ruin to the world. Who will protect the common people, who are forced to live within the hedges of the strong, who will take on this duty?"
Leon looked around at the Men-At-Arms. They were soldiers, faithful men. It is their duty to serve with loyalty and valor.
But it is not enough, they need someone to lead them, to be a paragon of valor.
"A knight. Knights will protect the people. They will protect the world."
The Knight.
A rider on horseback.
A man trained for war all his life.
In the modern age, they have become anachronistic tales, but the Lionheart King speaks earnestly.
"Han Ha-ri, stand on the dais."
"Yes…!"
The first to be called was a dangling-haired girl.
A young knight, just coming of age, but no less talented than anyone else.
She knelt before Leon on one knee and drew her sword, placing it in her palm.
"Han Ha-ri, you have proven your valor, borne the karma of battle, and earned the approval of the gods. Therefore, I hereby swear you in as a knight."
Ha-ri looked at the sword in her hand.
Stardust, her own sword, blessed by the gods.
Leon recited an oath worthy of such a sacred weapon.
"Be courageous and do good."
"Speak only the truth, and never compromise your convictions in the face of death."
"Protect the weak, do no injustice."
"Die for noble ideals, do not be ashamed to right wrongs."
"Love with purity and good will. Do not give in to the impossible."
"Have faith, reach for the stars."
"For it is your calling."
"You are a knight of the Lionheart."
"Thou art the goddess of the sea and the waves."
"Horseman of war and flame."
"Wilt thou accept thy duty, knight?"
Ha-ri felt the heaviness of all those duties and virtues. She knew they were not light.
The knight before her was proof of that.
She knew the sacrifice that Holy Knight Georgic had made.
And heard of Holy Knight Jerea's convictions.
She witnessed the fierce power of Holy Knight Vulcanus.
The chivalry now imposed upon her was to follow in the footsteps of those paragons.
Han Ha-ri understood this well enough, and sincerely chose to emulate their virtues.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I accept."
The moment she did, the back of Leon's hand slapped her hard across the cheek.
Her mouth was torn open, blood trickled down, and her cheek was tattered but strangely, Ha-ri wasn't flustered.
"It's a reminder that you must value your calling and your duty above your life."
"Yes!"
Ha-ri's turn was over and after her, So-yeon, Jae-hyuk, Soo-ho…and several other cadets were sworn in as official Kingdom Knights.
"Wow, they're giving me a cloak, so I'm a noble now, or something. Do I still have to pay taxes?"
When Jae-hyuk asked about the tax exemption using Earth's common sense, Yappy slapped him across the cheek with a wire.
-Pitiful creature.
"Eh."
There was no such thing as tax exemption, even for knights but there were other rewards for the remaining knights.
"The following thirty-two knights will be rewarded with a golden seal and a free meal ticket."
-Goodbye sugar and salt water!
-I'm going to get a hamburger!
It was a frenzied moment.
Unlike the Man-At-Arms, who are officially soldiers after completing the ceremony and are freed from the evil sugar brine, the knight cadets had been eating sugar brine the whole time.
The only good thing was that they were fed properly when they captured the gate, so they actively participated in the actual training.
Anyway, with the knights' reward in hand, Leon delivered his final message.
"The cadets of the first class will be grouped together to form a Knight Order. Han Ha-ri, Han Soo-ho, Kim Jae-hyuk, and Chun So-yeon will be candidates for the officer positions, but I will select the leader and vice leader through command practice."
In short, he was going to appoint an interim commander to lead the knight cadets that Leon had been leading up to this point.
"How will that be done?"
"Maybe some sort of test?"
The four candidates for command soon found out.
"...Chief Kim Jin-soo, what is this?"
Ha-ri stared at Kim Jin-soo, the Association's senior supervisor who organized the gates.
"It's an orange gate, but it's been cleared out and only the field bosses are left. I had to go through a lot of trouble to get this."
No, I know that. They were alone in the vast gate plain.
To be precise five hundred people stood in front of the four candidates: Han Ha-ri, Han Soo-ho, Kim Jae-hyuk, and Chun So-yeon.
All in torn robes, skinny bodies with bony bones and all they held was a broken dagger no more than 15 centimeters long.
Before them, Leon said.
"From now on, you will hunt giants with serfs."
This was King Lionheart, talking nonsense from the morning breeze.