Chapter 618: Knight Selection Ceremony (4)

A king.

The parent of millions of subjects.

No matter how small the kingdom might be.

Under a single king served at least 10,000 knights, and the total military force under his command never numbered fewer than 300,000.

One of the minimum requirements for a kingdom was vast territory. A king controlled at least three major territories, and once smaller fiefs were included, that number could range from ten to several hundred.

A single kingdom also contained hundreds of merchant groups, large and small. Even men called Merchant Magnates, people influential enough to dominate an entire continent, could not dare act carelessly before a king.

Merchant Allen understood that reality better than anyone.

Especially because he was a merchant, he understood the state of the nation of Hyun.

If he could secure even a contract with the nation of Hyun, whose rare artifacts dominated the market, Allen’s merchant group could become the greatest on the continent.

And Allen understood reality better than anyone.

A king...? Of the nation of Hyun...?

Allen commanded exactly 261 knights.

He had 2,230 soldiers.

By comparison, the man standing before him commanded more than 10,000 knights and over 500,000 troops.

And—

“The first outsider ever to become a king...?”

“His Majesty Ben’s friend... and the benefactor of His Majesty Frak of Azure Heaven?”

“He is also the benefactor of this Karsel Territory.”

The lords and merchants continued to look at Hyunsoo with doubt.

The man who looked like a blacksmith appeared to have merely delivered a sword.

And he looked so young that they could not help wondering whether he could truly be the king of the nation of Hyun.

Rumors had said that the king of the nation of Hyun was young.

But no one had known he was barely in his early twenties.

More importantly, Karsel Territory still belonged to the Prime Kingdom.

It was already well known that Master Blacksmith Hyun had cured Frak’s eyes using a single bottle of a potion called Troll’s Blood.

Frak had since become a king.

Even if Hyunsoo ruled another nation, the power he possessed was beyond common sense.

And Hyunsoo was thinking—

How do I screw this bastard over?

He had more or less grasped what was going on.

But if he beat Merchant Allen to a pulp simply because he disliked the man, his reputation would surely plummet.

And even though he and Frak were close, punishing Allen without cause could lead to a diplomatic incident.

Still, Allen’s words from moments earlier gave him an opening.

Why did he take me for some backwater lord?

Then Hyunsoo noticed what he looked like.

He had rushed over straight from the forge, still wearing his work clothes.

His clothes were riddled with holes from flying sparks, and his face was streaked with black soot. He looked exactly like a man who had come to deliver weapons.

But perhaps that was for the best.

Even as they whispered about him, the people gathered here were still doubtful.

Especially—

“Th-That’s a lie...”

At Allen’s attempt to deny reality, Hyunsoo decided that would do nicely.

He equipped all his artifacts at once.

The continent-famous Twin Dragon Sword, gleaming with a keen edge, crossed his back.

And then—

CLACK. CLACK.

He donned the first Mythic armor.

“For Our King!” Armor.

Thousands of blacksmiths had stayed up day and night to create it for him alone.

“Beautiful...”

“How can armor be that beautiful?”

“No. It shines so brilliantly because both the armor and His Majesty Hyunsoo are beautiful.”

“I have lived a long life, but I have never seen artifacts so beautiful...”

Even seeing a single Legendary artifact was rare for provincial lords and merchants.

Yet Hyunsoo stood before them clad head to toe in Mythic and Transcendent artifacts.

The pressure emanating from him overwhelmed everyone in the hall.

Then—

[The title Supreme has been activated.]

[You will receive favor more easily and be respected more readily.]

[Against targets at least 100 levels lower than you, all stats increase by 15%.]

The title Supreme only revealed its power once people learned who its owner truly was.

“They say he defeated the strongest outsider not long ago.”

“The strongest outsider? Wasn’t he the strongest on the continent?”

They could not stop marveling at Hyunsoo’s transformed appearance. Their bodies instinctively stiffened.

The quicker-witted lords and merchants hurriedly began to show their respect.

“I am Adra, head of the Goron Merchant Group. Meeting His Majesty Hyunsoo, the first outsider king whose might reaches the heavens, is an honor for my family!”

“I am Hardro, head of the Belpo Merchant Group. Just as the rumors said, you possess the bearing of Sword King Barad himself. My knees grow weak merely looking upon you.”

“I am Karhen, lord of Anaso Territory. Though you are the king of another nation, I offer you my respectful greetings.”

More and more people began trying to curry favor with Hyunsoo.

Allen was genuinely panicking now.

Hyunsoo twisted his lips into a smile.

“A mountain? You are the mountain?”

What had Allen said to him moments ago?

Because Allen had whispered it, the other lords and merchants only looked puzzled.

Hyunsoo continued.

“Did you say that you were so high I could never climb you, so I should shut up and get lost?”

Allen froze.

He had never told Hyunsoo to shut up and get lost.

But—

“Eek...”

“He said that to His Majesty Hyunsoo...?”

Only then did Allen begin to realize just how petty and insignificant he was.

A king.

The truth did not matter.

A king was someone who could make the truth.

Only now did Allen understand that the power he had flaunted moments earlier was utterly meaningless before a king.

He hastily bowed.

“I have committed a sin deserving death!”

And he understood something else as well.

A mountain was merely something that rose from the earth.

But the sky had been there from the beginning.

Still, Allen believed that even a king could not casually mistreat the head of a merchant group from another nation.

Then Hyunsoo suddenly asked the lord of this territory.

“Lord Poxo.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“What do you think should be done with this man?”

At that question, Allen let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

Unfortunately, Poxo was on his side.

He failed to recognize Your Majesty and committed an offense. He is certainly at fault, but it was due only to his ignorance. Please grant him one chance.

Allen was certain that was what Poxo would say.

However—

“Kill him.”

Kill him?

Allen’s face went blank.

Lord Poxo opened his mouth.

“Your Majesty, I believed Knight Kal had become useless as a knight and was preparing to dismiss him. But I have realized that my judgment was simply lacking. However, Merchant Magnate Allen has gone beyond all limits. Not only did he insult Your Majesty, he violated the rules of the Knight Selection Ceremony and attempted to seize Knight Kal through power and influence.”

Poxo’s gaze was cold.

“It is only right to charge him with insulting royalty and put him to death.”

Allen raised his head and glared at the traitor.

“Lord Poxo! Do you think the other merchant group heads and lords will stand idly by!?”

But events did not unfold as Allen expected.

When he looked around, every noble and merchant was staring down at him with contempt.

“Have him killed.”

“Wipe out three generations of his family.”

“He deserves death.”

“...”

They looked down on Merchant Magnate Allen with utter disgust.

Hyunsoo spoke.

“Do you understand now? You may be able to crush people with power, but that does not mean you can win their hearts.”

“...”

Only then did Allen understand why Hyunsoo had specifically asked Lord Poxo what should be done.

Truthfully, Hyunsoo disliked Poxo too.

But Poxo had clearly tried to restrain Allen.

He had tried to stop him. He had told him to ease up.

That was enough for Hyunsoo to see that Poxo truly regretted his actions and had at least respected Kal enough to let him leave of his own accord.

Allen trembled.

“Please! Please, spare my life!”

The punishment for insulting royalty was severe enough to justify an immediate execution.

Allen groveled desperately.

If it was Hyunsoo...

Yes...

Why had Kal sought Hyunsoo out?

Because Hyunsoo had come for an old friend.

He was a merciful and benevolent king, a ruler overflowing with affection and generosity.

Surely he would extend that same mercy to Allen.

“I’ll spare you.”

Fortunately, Hyunsoo accepted his plea.

Allen raised his head, his face filled with emotion.

Hyunsoo smiled.

“Only your life.”

“...What?”

“You said it yourself. You asked me to spare only your life, didn’t you?”

Hyunsoo smiled coldly.

“Hand over all your assets.”

“...!”

Allen finally understood.

Behind that young face was a truly crafty bastard.

But Allen had personally begged for only his life to be spared. He had no grounds to protest.

“We will gather and bring over all his assets.”

Those bastards?

Allen’s knights stepped forward as though they had been waiting for this.

Some of them even knew every detail of his hidden assets.

They handed Allen plain clothes fit for a commoner and stripped him of his luxurious garments.

That day, Hyunsoo sent Frak a letter.

He believed that Frak, not himself, should be the one to decide Allen’s punishment.

The reply arrived only five minutes later.

“Sixty years in the Altreo Mine, apparently.”

The Altreo Mine.

The Prime Kingdom’s worst slave labor camp, where prisoners had to perform brutal mining work while surviving on only two potatoes a day.

It would become the place where Allen, once a Merchant Magnate, spent the rest of his life.

“H-Hyuun...!”

Allen screamed as he was dragged away to the Altreo Mine.

Hyunsoo had truly spared only his life.

From that day on, Allen would live in suffering worse than death.

*****

[Hyunsoo: I’ll be back.]

The nation of Hyun executive chat room.

Only twenty hours had passed in real time since Hyunsoo left.

In Ares time, it had been about three days.

But the executive team of the nation of Hyun already felt like they were dying.

“When are you going to approve our migration applications? Hurry up and accept us already!”

“We’re sorry. There are simply too many migrants. The nation of Hyun cannot accept any more people right now.”

Hyunsoo had led Team Korea to victory in the World Championship.

As a result, migration applications to the nation of Hyun had reached unprecedented levels.

Yet the nation of Hyun could not accept them.

There was not enough territory.

There was not enough manpower.

And more than anything, there was not enough money.

“There are migrants everywhere, so why can’t we accept them? Sob...”

The executives of the nation of Hyun had no choice but to rush around frantically.

“Hunt, do quests, do anything we can. We need money!”

“Damn it, even break your savings accounts if you have to!”

“The soldiers and named NPCs need to hunt too! We need to focus every available resource on securing more territory!”

They had to strike while the iron was hot.

The problem was that they had no hammer.

Nell rushed around as well, only to receive another terrible report.

“The number of soldiers volunteering has reached its limit!”

“Oh, come on!”

Even though more soldiers kept volunteering for the rapidly growing nation of Hyun, there were no capable people left to lead them.

And despite running around in chaos, no one resented Hyunsoo for being away.

Hyunsoo, please pull it off.

Hyunsoo, make your breakthrough with the new race and come back.

We’ll be waiting.

They did not °• N ?? v ?? l i g h t •° want to dump the burden of the kingdom onto Hyunsoo.

For so long, he had been shackled to the nation’s growth.

They wanted him to see a new world.

That was why they wanted to shoulder the burden themselves.

But it was harder than they expected.

Hyunsoo had only been gone for twenty hours in real time.

Then another crisis arrived.

“Nell, a total of 90,000 soldiers have applied! What do we do? Do we accept them?”

“Excuse me!?”

Nell was stunned by the report.

Soldiers had come from every corner of the world.

They had heard that Hyunsoo had conquered the heavens.

But there was nowhere to house them.

Nothing to feed them.

And no one to lead them.

Still, if they were sent away now, they would never volunteer again.

If the nation failed to accept them now, they would drift away from the nation of Hyun forever.

Just as they found themselves completely trapped—

[Hyunsoo: I’ve sent the money I earned over the past three days. It should arrive by now. Everyone, just hold on a little longer.]

Hyunsoo’s message in the executive chat made the guild members smile.

Resil thought,

That punk. How much could he have earned in three days? He should save it for potion money.

Baku thought,

Ho ho. He knows we’re suffering, so he is trying to send us every coin he earned.

Nell thought,

It may not be much, but it will be precious.

Nell postponed the decision about recruiting the 90,000 soldiers and headed for the city wall to receive the money Hyunsoo had sent.

By then, every guild member had gathered atop the wall.

At that moment, a middle-aged knight who looked to be in his forties appeared in the distance.

But what was even more shocking was the long line of wagons following behind him.

What is that?

What the hell is that?

Then they heard a notification.

[You have recruited the Legendary Knight Kal, an aging knight who broke through his limits through For My Knight, the sword crafted by Master Blacksmith Hyun.]

[Legendary Knight Kal Lv. 567.]

[His ability to lead and command soldiers surpasses that of every knight in the nation of Hyun.]

[Military strength increases by 5%.]

Knight Kal approached and offered a respectful greeting.

Then he explained the procession of wagons behind him.

“His Majesty Hyunsoo instructed me to deliver all the money. Altogether, it comes to approximately 11 million gold.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Hyunsoo had been gone for three days in Ares time.

And in that time, he had sent them 11 billion won and a Legendary Knight.