You Want Me to Stop This?

Morning training was over for the new recruits.

"Off, I think I'm going to die…ahhh...."

Trainee no. 33 Park Dae-gil is bleeding all over and feels like he's going to die. As he goes to eat his lunch of sugar water, he hears an irritated voice behind him.

"Hurry up."

"What the fuck?"

Park Dae-gil reacted nervously to the insignificant words.

The trainees who had been pounding each other like crazy had a lot of bad feelings toward each other. Even if they recovered, they would still swing their fists at each other, and no good feelings would arise.

"You want to die, asshole!"

"Try me, motherfucker!"

As they're about to collide, the trainees stiffen as they hear the dull, cold sounds of machinery.

-Dispute, military offense in effect.

"Hic...."

"Sir Yappy, it's not that...."

-Dispute. Military discipline in effect. Corporal punishment by whipping is considered.

"Hic!"

This was the problem. No matter how much stress the cadets were under, they couldn't relieve it as long as they had a non-human, mechanical supervisor.

And once a cadet rebelled, no one dared to stand up to Yappy, now that they'd seen what it was like to have their calves whipped.

Just when they thought they were going to get whipped a savior appeared.

"Lord Yappy, the king wants you!"

-Recognition.

At Ha-ri's words, Yappy disappeared before he could carry out the punishment and Ha-ri breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you all right, Hunter Park Dae-gil, Hunter Han Jong-hyuk?"

"Thanks to you."

"Ugh…what a bastard."

The hunters' complaints were naturally directed at Yappy.

Yappy, who has no thoughts and only acts according to the principles that have been thoroughly typed out, was resented by everyone. Whereas....

"Man, if it weren't for our deputy, I don't know what would have happened."

"I thank you every night. Hmph…!"

Ha-ri had been bringing nightly snacks to the Hunters, who were starving on sugar water.

If it weren't for the sweet potatoes she brought, the Hunters would have been finished long ago──

'We won't lose!'

'But thanks to Miss Ha-ri, I'm barely thin!'

Han Ha-ri was an angel who saved them from the tyranny of the unkind and harsh Yappy, and without her, this arduous training would have been even more painful.

Ha-ri smiled awkwardly as she watched the Hunters express their gratitude.

'Hmm… I can't say I'm doing this with the king's permission.'

Leon divided the roles of Yappy and Ha-ri, into the good instructor and the bad instructor.

Appeasement and intimidation along with carrots and sticks was an age-old psychological tactic.

Yappy whips the trainees while Ha-ri gives them carrots. With a harsher instructor, there would have been a lot of complaints, but Ha-ri's presence kept them in check.

"Hmm, is the meal ready?"

"Yes, Your Majesty!!!"

After the sugar and salt meal, Leon began the afternoon drill with his usual pep talk.

"The water, sugar, and salt you drink comes from the sweat of the peasants. Always eat with gratitude."

"Yes! Thank you!!!"

What's Leon's role in all this?

He's a division commander in the internal affairs squad.

People freeze in the presence of a higher power and dare not show their displeasure.

"Rejoice, cadets; the king is pleased that you have eaten well."

-Eh?

-No way…he didn't catch us eating late at night, did he?

"Then this king will conduct a special tactical training session for you, so that you can use your strength after eating like pigs!"

-No.

-Save me.

The hunters were anxious but at the same time they were glad that they wouldn't have to beat each other up for the afternoon, still, they feel strangely uneasy.

"Oh, and before that, I've prepared a reward to motivate you."

At Leon's command, Yappy and Ha-ri brought in a red lump and displayed it in front of the trainees, and its identity was easily deduced.

-Oh, the heart of an orc warrior!

-That's what they're giving away as a prize?

This Orc Warrior's Heart is an item from a powerful monster and a unique enhancer worth hundreds of millions of won that can increase strength and stamina so much that it's a favorite among low-rank Hunters.

There are five of them.

"We'll do tactical training in groups of ten. At the graduation ceremony in two weeks, I will select the best one from each group and give them this as a prize."

-Ohh!

-That's awesome!

The morale, which had been chipped away by hellish training and sugar-salt water, instantly soared. As if on cue, Leon shows a satisfied look and begins to speak.

"Your role on the battlefield is that of an iron wall that must not be broken under any circumstances!"

Tankers, in short.

The cadets' primary weapons were shields and spears or swords.

"Raise your shields! Form up, and we will have to hold off the charge of this king."

"...?"

The afternoon drill was in groups of 10.

On the vast plains of the harvested Naju Plain, one group huddled together with thick shields while behind them, 40 trainees sat and waited.

"Fighting in the gate is mostly hand-to-hand, except in unusual cases and the basis of cavalry warfare, without a doubt, is formation fighting."

It was a no-brainer: break down the opponent's formations and defend your own.

"All but those with ranged aptitude will be trained with shields. These are what you call tanks these days."

At those words, the trainees murmured and Koo Dae-Sung asked an innocent question.

"I, Your Majesty…You mean, except for the ranged soldiers, all of us will be tankers?"

"Yes."

The uproar grew louder at that, and rightly so. Two trainees wielding bows to a group of ten made sense…but the other eight were all tanks.

"No, if we're all tanks, who's going to do the damage?"

"Archers aren't going to be enough to deal damage...."

Koo Dae-sung was very clear about the Hunter raid system.

Modern Hunter composition is gate-specific.

You have a handful of rare tanks running aggro and dealers diligently chipping away at the monster numbers.

Tankers are good for killing mobs, but they're not much more than a deterrent from the mid-boss onwards.

Obviously, you need a dealer who can deal heavy damage instead of a tank who can't deal enough.

'If you want to be a tank in the first place, you need to have that skill so you can take all the damage from the powerful monsters.'

How in the world are low-rank hunters with no unique skills supposed to be tanks?

"Don't question it. Your job is to hold off the enemy charge, and that's all you need to do."

Nothing else matters. Only to stop it.

"This king will charge, not at full strength, of course, so brace yourselves."

Leon stood upright on his horse, facing ten shield-bearing Hunters.

The Hunters had witnessed Stallion's ridiculous maneuverability and power.

-It's that horse.

-It could decapitate an orc with its hind hooves.

-It's not going to do it to us, is it?

It was then.

[Aura of the Lionheart]

◆Effect

Grants Legion-Hardened Charge Defense.

Grants Legion Fortification.

Grants Legion-strengthened Battalion Reinforcement.

Grants Legion Strengthened Valor.

Grants Legion Upgrade Light Armor.

Grants Legion Upgrade Tough Skin.

Grants Legion Upgrade Heavy Strike.

Grants Legion-Enhanced Archaic Empowerment.

Grants Legion Upgrade Ranged Resistance.

Grants Legion Upgrade Keen Gaze.

Grants Legion Improved Anti-Infantry Slaughter.

Grants Legion-Powered Pollution Resistance.

They felt the overwhelming sense of omnipotence at the Orc Gate.

The amount of buffs was overwhelming, to the point where they wondered if they were really going to train with all of these buffs.

"Defend! This king will charge"

With this many people defending themselves with shields, what could a single steed do?

"Let's go, Stallion."

At Leon's command, the white horse begins to trot.

Koo Dae-sung and the other Hunters of the First Hunt braced themselves, arms gripping their shields. And then…Stallion speed increased.

Even a sports car's zero-back wouldn't be this good.

"What?"

At what must have been thirty meters away, the tiny figures of Leon and Stallion filled their vision.

The momentum was so frenzied that the Hunters felt like they were facing a dump truck charging at full speed.

-Bang, bang, bang, bang!

The sound of horses' hooves was deafening, and the vibrations from the ground assaulted their entire bodies.

The idea of horses has long since flown out the window for modern people who are used to cars, trains, and airplanes but all the hunters felt one thing.

'You want me to stop that?'

'This is crazy!'

Even the valor granted by the Lionheart buff could not compel them to act recklessly.

"Ugh!"

"Save me!"

The cadet in the forefront threw himself down, followed by the cadet in the second row.

Unfortunately, Koo Dae-sung, who was keeping his shield upright in the last three rows, didn't dodge and was hit from the front.

"Huh?"

At the moment of the collision, Koo Dae-sung saw that 'Assault Defense', 'Fortification', 'Massive Reinforcement', 'Valor', 'Lightened Armor', and 'Tough Skin' had been activated simultaneously in the system messages. Nevertheless──

'Keen Gaze' recorded this moment, the moment when his colleagues, who were just next to him, turned into black dots.

It was three hours later that Koo Dae-sung, who had fallen under the influence of gravity, opened his eyes.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… Even with the protection of the Lionheart, you're still this weak. How pathetic. Next!"

The trainees who had witnessed Koo Dae-sung's fall were pale.

-What the hell?

-A man is flying.

-You want me to stop that?

-I don't want to die yet.

That day, not a single one of them stopped Leon's charge.

* * * *

It's been a month since the attack on Cheongju Gate.

Reynald Shelman, Master of the United States of America Tower, was still praying to his late master.

"Great One! Please, whisper to your lowly servant once again!"

Since the capture of the Cheongju Gate, the voice that had been imparting knowledge from the Wisdom Gem had disappeared.

Leon Dragonia Lionheart, a survivor of the Cheongju Gate raid in Korea, was the most likely culprit.

Reynald tries to investigate the cause of the disappearance of the voice, but the information is extremely limited.

Should he retaliate? Would the Voice return if he killed Leon?

But even the great one had fled in fear and Leon was said to have overpowered the Yakt Spinner, the killing machine of the Cheongju Gate.

'Master when are you coming back, are you really coming back?'

How many sacrifices have I made? After a month of patience, Leonard Shelman became irritated.

"Damn you, demonic bastards, you're so damn expensive──"

-Hiss!

"Great One! We were counting on your return!"

Reynald, who had made a brilliant posture change, glared at the Wisdom Gem.

[Shit… I did get it after all....]

[Hmph…! Get down on your knees, you fool!]

"Yay!"

Reynald immediately prostrated himself, not knowing why the voice had changed, but only that the evil aura from the purgatory was powerful.

[I will teach you the truths and wisdom of Samra, and of course you must honor me and make a worthy offering]

"Of course, Great One! What shall I prepare? Shall we prepare a living sacrifice? Or shall I make servants of the Hunters at the gate, as I did last time?"

[No, for the time being, you'll just have to do what I tell you to do....]

Soon, a voice came from the Wisdom Gem.

[Place a spatial transmission spell on the gem, and shoot it in space in case of emergency]

"What? What do you mean....?"

[Fuck you! Just do as you're told!]

Reynald did as the orb told him and cast a transmission spell on the box the gem was stored in.

[Good, you did as you were told]

"Are you sure about this? I know the orb… is supposed to be a tool for the descent of a great being, but I'd rather open a gate than shoot it in space in an emergency...."

[Are you crazy? I'm not going to enter that pit!]

"What?"

[Listen to me, I'm never going to stick my head on a planet where that freak is alive and breathing]

"Who the hell is he....?"

[....]

The gem was silent for a moment as if it was recalling some horrible memory.

[I will find a way to kill him. This is one of the few times when the Holy Knights and his legions are not present, and I must somehow enter the same gate as him!]

"Ah, I see!"

Reynald listened to the voice from beyond.

The knowledge imparted by the Archdemon was astonishingly great, and he marveled once again at the wisdom of the Purgatory.

[Please die....]

However, the voice from beyond sounded very unconfident.