The Good Orc (4)

The results of slaughtering over 4,000 orcs were staggering.

The average D-rank Hunters easily killed dozens of Orcs that would normally be too much for them to handle one-on-one, and they scavenged for supplies.

"Wow… Mr. Gu, look at this. There are over five hundred axes in this camp alone."

Team Leader Kim Do-han, who had been mining the resources inside the gate, and Team Leader Koo Dae-sung, who had only been a porter at the green gates, were mesmerized by the loot in front of them.

"This is amazing…"

With more than four thousand orcs, the supplies were enormous.

From weapons to alcohol to meat to orc boars, but as is often the case with orc gates, only weapons and certain items are useful.

"Elemental weapons! We need to find an elemental weapon!"

The orcs' weapons were sometimes imbued with spirit beasts.

These were weapons that could only be imbued with the help of an orc shaman, and could only be wielded by at least a mid-level warrior.

Most of them use spirits to lighten their movements, such as the Wolf Spirit, or to harden their bodies, such as the Rock Spirit, so the drops couldn't be better for low-rank hunters.

"But how do we recognize a spirit weapon? I've never been inside an orc gate!"

Team Leader Kim Do-han, who only mined, couldn't tell the difference between spirit weapons but Koo Dae-sung said.

"The orcs put a tooth or a piece of the corresponding spirit on the spirit weapon as an ornament, you just have to look for something like that."

"You know your stuff, Mr. Koo!"

Fifty hunters circled the field of death but the gate was so large that they had plenty of time before it closed.

"Hahahaha, Mr. Koo, look at this, twenty spirit weapons, twenty!"

"Seven Orc Shaman Staffs…Five Warrior Hearts."

The Orc Shaman's Staff was a favorite of Elementalists, and the Great Warrior's Heart was used to make powerful Permanent Enhancers.

If a Rank D Hunter ingested an enhancer made from the Heart of the Warrior, it would instantly boost their physical abilities to rank C.

The effect was so powerful that it was the standard training route for all high-level Hunters to consume one.

'Should I…steal one?'

He wasn't that greedy but the enhancer was worth at least 400 million won.

When will I ever be able to get something like this when I'm just a porter at the Green Gates, let alone the Orc Gates?

"Hmph…"

Koo Dae-sung put the Heart of the Great Warrior down in the storage box. He wanted to be strong, but he also wanted a clear conscience.

"Kaaaak…!"

A piercing scream rang out, and all eyes turned towards it.

"What are you doing, you damn robot!"

There was a Hunter tussling with the Yakt Spinner.

* * * *

[Gokrok's severed right arm]

The remnants of Gokrok's dismembered body were still there but the question was what to do with it.

-Bam!

It was then that Yappy's voice came from above Ha-ri's head, drawing her attention.

"You have a message, Lord Spinner."

-Message. Delivered. Heto.

It was Heto, the god of iron and blacksmithing, trying to deliver a message through his knight.

Yappy immediately brought up a holographic image of Heto in his likeness and delivered his words in real time.

[I sense a great deal of magic in the severed beast's arm, Lionheart. If you absorb it through the Grail, we will channel it and give it to you to help you]

"Is that so?"

Leon said no more, and took out the Grail from his storage. He absorbed Gokrok's arm into the Grail, just as he had done when he destroyed the Orb of Wisdom.

"Tch."

Even though Gokrok's arm was effectively absorbed, Leon kicked his tongue. In his mind, this was a power similar to holy power.

"The beasts' worship must be quite sweet."

Gokrok was the Orc Shaman God. Though he had to admit that he was a type of god, Leon had no intention of recognizing him as one.

The gods of demons and green beasts are not gods, they are absolute evil, unworthy of worship, that must be extinguished.

Therefore, Leon does not recognize them as gods, even if they are. The only gods he recognizes are those who show love to their subjects.

It was then that Leon heard Arianna's voice in his ear.

[Lionheart, my knight]

"...Goddess. What is wrong with you?"

He hadn't even performed the ritual, but the goddess herself had spoken to him. Leon reminded himself that he was not in the fullness of his holy power as he had been in the past.

[It's okay, my knight, I've absorbed the magic of that foul beast, so this should be easy]

"Is that so?"

[I have come to you, my knight, because you must make a choice]

Leon nodded.

[This power is not unlike concentrated divine power, so I believe it can be used to restore the power of the holy object you desire].

"Is that true?"

Leon has four holy objects.

The first is the Lionheart, the most powerful heart, forged from the holy power passed down to the Lionheart kings.

The wielder of this heart strengthens countless soldiers with his mere presence and grants himself infinite vitality.

Second was the Holy Sword that has the same indestructibility as the holy swords commonly possessed by Holy Knights. This means it can never be broken.

Then there's Brilliance, the sword that can cut through anything but it's not something Leon will be able to maintain for long.

The final power of the Holy Sword is too powerful. If he could regain that power....

"The Holy Sword is on hold."

[Yes, it's not time to regain its power yet, it consumes too much energy]

The final power of the Holy Sword is the most powerful power Leon has ever possessed but it consumes a lot of energy. For now, since he has no immediate followers, he has chosen the Holy Grail.

The two remaining holy relics are the Holy Spear and the Holy Grail. Leon hesitated for a moment, then made his choice.

"I will restore the function of the Holy Grail."

[Yes, I will honor my knight's choice]

Arianna understood Leon's intentions and breathed life into the Holy Grail. Gokrok's arm, which had been transmuted by the gods of the pantheon, restored the Holy Grail power.

The Holy Grail, once a ceremonial object, now glows brightly. Its golden color is restored to its former glory.

"Aaah…."

Leon couldn't hide his excitement at the sight.

After the Great War two hundred years ago, when all humans but himself died, the Grail lost its light.

He couldn't help but feel sorry for the Holy Grail as it lost its shine. Still, it was the Grail that had quenched his thirst from the endless battles.

Though not all of its functions were restored, Leon was able to generate holy water from the Grail.

It was no different than before, but as the Grail's guardian, he knew that this holy water had different powers than before.

"It's done. This is a great harvest."

Leon turned to Ha-ri and Yappy to tell them to gather the loot and prepare to return, but Yappy was nowhere to be seen above Ha-ri's head.

"Where did Lord Spinner go?"

"Uh, yeah, when did he disappear?"

It was then that a piercing scream came from the loot area.

"What are you doing, you damn robot!"

There, a Hunter confronted a Yappy.

"What's going on?"

"Ugh… this, this damn robot attacked me…."

"Insulting a Holy Knight, watch your language unless you want to get your tongue cut out."

The Hunters were stunned, but that was to be expected from Leon.

How could a lowly commoner disrespect a knight…a Holy Knight, chosen by God?

"Sir Spinner is a Grail Knight, directly under this king. You will treat him as you would treat this king himself."

"What, what robot...."

"Shut your mouth. How dare a lowly creature address this king?"

Leon ignored the Hunter, who was bleeding from a slashed wrist, and walked over to Yappy.

"What's going on, Sir Spinner."

-Loot. Thief.

The Hunter denied with a flushed complexion at Yappy mechanical voice.

"Oh, no, you fool… no, it's a misunderstanding!"

"I'll know if it's a misunderstanding or not when I'm done looking. Han Ha-ri!"

Leon instructed Ha-ri.

"Search him."

"Ah, old man!"

"What, what are you doing, you're taking a robot's word for it…Now, wait!"

A pouch fell from the struggling man's arms. It was a crude, blood-stained cloth pouch and inside, Ha-ri found a large heart.

"This, this...."

What the man had stolen was the most valuable loot in Orc's Gate, the heart of an orc warrior

"This is…a misunderstanding. I, I would never...."

It was the moment. Leon's sword flashed, and the man's wrist went flying into the air.

"Huh?"

For a moment, the man stared blankly at his missing wrist. Then, as he realized what had happened, a wave of pain washed over him.

"Aaahhhhhhhhhh, my, my arm…!"

The Hunters' attention was focused and all but Yappy had pale faces as Leon spoke calmly.

"I recognize that your laws and common sense are different from my own but you have entered the gates of the Lionhearted King, and that means you must obey my military laws, not yours."

The thief got his wrists slit. That is the sovereign law of the Lionheart Kingdom, a military code where obedience to the knight is more important than life.

"This is the law of the land and the military code, and those who cannot obey it must die here and now!"

The Hunters hesitated at Leon's declaration.

This powerful otherworldly survivor is out of their league and many of his laws and regulations were unacceptable to modern Earthlings but aside from that…

-All those buffs....

They felt like they went from a D-class to a C-class Hunter…no, more than that.

-Wasn't it wrong to steal the heart of an Orc Warrior in the first place?

-Damn, I don't know. I'm going to die like this anyway.

The Hunters hesitated, but eventually decided to accept Leon's reasoning.

Since the Cataclysm, this world had been the world of the top Hunters, and stealing from the Gate was often met with death.

How would anyone on Earth recognize a man who had stolen from the Gate anyway? In the Gate, where betrayal and thievery were commonplace, you could get away with anything.

In fact, they were even convinced, as Leon had said, that it might be better to have proper military law and discipline.

"…Your Majesty."

Then, cautiously, a man stepped forward.

"State your name, soldier."

Leon knew who he was, but he demanded a name. The point was to make a claim in front of everyone.

"I am Koo, Koo Dae-Sung."

"Why have you stepped forward, Koo Dae-Sung?"

"Can't you at least let me take the thief's… arm?"

"Are you going to reattach it?"

"...Yes."

Modern medicine has come a long way since the Cataclysm, especially to the point where severed limbs could be reattached with a little haste.

"But there is no point in doing so. Your words dwarf the Lionheart's punishment."

"Ah, I realize that. But...."

Koo Dae-Sung looked at Hunter, whose wrists had been cut off, and made a bitter face.

He was an old D-rank Hunter like himself, and it was understandable why he would steal the heart of an Orc Warrior. Above all… he had a family to be responsible for.

"Your Majesty… we were raised differently than you, with different common sense. Your discipline was unknown to us, and now that you have made it known… we ask that you give us a chance."

In short, he said, they couldn't abide by a military code they didn't understand, and the price for stealing was too high.

"You have a point."

"I apologize."

"By nature, a soldier cannot answer to a knight, but there are rules and laws on this planet."

Leon conjured holy water and, holding the severed arm, spoke to the tearful thief.

"Be thankful that you have a man of reason among your comrades."

He poured the holy water and then something amazing happened as an arm sprang up from the thief's severed section and regenerated!

"It's healed?"

"What the…!"

It was amazing to see a cut arm grow back.

Of course, there were healers in charge of recovery. But even they could only reattach a severed arm.

Even S-class hunters, the best healers in the country, could heal it quickly, but they couldn't do rapid regeneration, where cells grow from nothing.

'Crazy… That kind of power, and a recovery that surpasses that of an S-class healer?'

'What the hell is that guy, is that the strength of a single person?'

The Hunters, and even the Hunter whose arm was cut off, were dumbfounded by this miracle. Instead, the Hunter who experienced the miracle firsthand fell to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong, thank you, thank you!"

"Hmm. Out of respect for the laws of your world, I forgive you this time, but you have lost your right to enter the gates of this king."

"Argh...."

He regretted his momentary greed but Leon turned to the soldiers behind him and declared.

"Those who wish to enter this king's gates shall remain, and those who do not, divide the spoils and leave."

No one chose to leave. How could they, having witnessed his overwhelming strength and miracles throughout the battle?

Leon sensed the longing and expectation in their eyes and was satisfied.

One out of fifty, but that's not bad.

"Good. Then we'll get straight to training. I trust that you will not fail to survive even this training.

This was an opportunity and they would do it unconditionally but it would not be until three days later that the Hunters would tearfully regret their choice.