TKWRG 8

Chapter 8

Section Chief Kim Jinsoo, the party leader and tank of the raid team, swallowed hard at the horde of skeleton soldiers swarming toward them.

“There’s a shitload of them.”

“S-Section Chief, should we distribute potions?”

“……Distribute up to the maximum allowed.”

Unlike private hunter guilds that invested lavishly in gate raids, the association’s raid team had limited resources and budget.

Short-duration enhancement potions—which a hunter guild would supply without hesitation—and even healing potions, the lifeline in moments of crisis, could not be supplied in abundance.

In the end, the Hunter Association was also just an institution belonging to the government, and as a state agency, it couldn’t help but be constrained by a fixed budget.

“Still, it’s a relief. Our opponents are just bones.”

“Don’t let your guard down anyway. Even a blind blade can kill you.”

Skeletons were the easiest type of undead to deal with.

Strength fundamentally comes from muscle. For hunters who had awakened mana, the proportion had shifted, but as living beings, the basics didn’t change.

Skeletons were nothing but skin and bones—quite literally, with not a single scrap of muscle. Such things moved through the power of lingering thoughts or mana.

Their basic power was different too, so the ones to watch out for were skeleton archers firing blind arrows and the occasional skeleton mage.

Section Chief Kim shouted to his subordinates.

“Deputy Sa, Employee Park—you two tanks, fall back! Join Deputy Han’s second damage-dealer squad and stay in reserve!”

They were the youngest and most talented members of the party. Kim Jinsoo placed them in reserve and searched for any skeleton mages that might appear.

“Manseok! How many archers and mages?”

“From what I can see right now, thirty archers and two mages!”

“Those with sniping skills, take them out first! You shield-bearers, block the ones charging in! I’m counting on you, you bastards!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than the skeleton army charged. As the mass of bones crashed against them, Kim felt his shield grow heavy.

‘Heavier than I thought? Is this what makes a crimson gate different?’

But it wasn’t enough to overwhelm him, a B-rank tank. With one hand he blocked the skeleton warriors in front, and with the other he crushed skulls with his warhammer.

-Whoosh!

That was when it happened. An arrow flew between a skeleton’s ribs. If his shield hadn’t been a bit longer, he would have been sniped in the knee.

‘What the hell? Skeleton archers can snipe too?’

Kim was momentarily taken aback, but he split a new skeleton apart and shouted.

“Archers, mages—hurry up and take those bastards out! Skeleton archers’ blind arrows are the scariest thing!”

“Sorry!”

In retaliation, the association hunters’ snipers picked off the skeleton archers one after another. As the skull-pierced skeleton archers fell in succession, he wore a smile of satisfaction.

-Grrrrr!

That was when it happened. A magic circle was drawn toward the front. The skeleton mages had cast a spell.

‘Damn it, we don’t have a single mage on our side, and those boneheads over there have mages!’

No wonder Magic Tower mages commanded such high prices. Kim swallowed the sorrow of a poor organization and shouted.

“I’m! Right here!!”

Mana laced his voice. A momentary spike in threat level. The skeleton mages’ gazes turned toward Section Chief Kim.

Thanks to that, the coordinates of the bombardment spell that had been about to land in the middle of the party twisted. So that it would strike him directly.

-KABOOM!

“Kuh…!”

Thunder crashed down from the magic circle and struck Kim directly. But Kim endured. He could endure.

“Section Chief!”

“I’m fine… It just tingles. This armor is expensive—”

At that moment, a shadow fell over Section Chief Kim. Kim met its ‘gaze.’

A head cradled at the waist. A headless knight. A massive warhorse. All of them were staring at him.

“A Dullahan…!”

Before he could react with his paralyzed body, the headless knight charged together with the massive warhorse and slammed straight into Section Chief Kim Jinsoo.

“Kuhk?!”

Boom! Kim was sent flying. He heard voices calling his name from here and there, but they were soon replaced by screams.

The headless knight Dullahan. The boss of this dungeon had begun to rampage with its massive sword.

“Kuhak…!”

“Wh-What the—swinging a greatsword that fast…!”

“What are you all doing! Plug the gaps!”

Gaps had been torn open in the wake of the devastating cavalry charge. Skeletons poured through them in a tangled mass.

Skeletons weren’t that fearsome an opponent. With proper formation, even a D-rank-centered party could handle them.

Conversely, the most lethal moment with skeletons was in a melee.

Unless you crushed their skulls, skeletons could move with nothing but finger bones, and they’d get tangled up with allies.

“Aaah, Section Chief Kim!”

Han Hari and her party, waiting in reserve, fidgeted anxiously as they watched the front line collapse in an instant.

“What do we do? We have to go save them, Deputy Han!”

They had to save them. They needed to provide support right now. That was what the reserve was for.

But Hari’s gaze naturally drifted to Leon, who stood waiting behind her. If it was him… if it was this self-proclaimed Sage King who had slain even that great demon……

“Your Majesty! Please, I beg you, lend us your support!”

Everyone’s gaze naturally turned to Leon. But even under those gazes, Leon merely looked indifferent.

“A king does not stand at the forefront of a trifling skirmish like this.”

“What? What do you mean—!”

“One must find ways to elevate one’s honor oneself. Do you expect me to move my royal body for such worthless bones?”

The Knight King genuinely expressed disgust toward that horde and did not draw his sword.

“For this king’s blade to touch such undead rabble would be an insult to the goddess as well. It is revolting even to look at them further.”

What the hell is he saying, seriously!

But Hari understood clearly. This man had no intention of stepping forward now. His gaze was fixed on the headless knight with nothing but interest.

“Deputy Han! What are you going to do?!”

“Ah, damn it! Reserve squad, moving in now!”

Hari drew her sword. The allies tangled with the skeletons were in danger, but the most dangerous thing was the Dullahan rampaging in the center of the formation.

“I’ll handle the boss! Everyone else, support Section Chief Kim and our allies!”

She kicked off. Leaping through the air with skeletons as stepping stones, she closed in on the Dullahan in an instant.

“Hup…!”

A perfect surprise attack, suppressing even her breath. But the Dullahan must have had eyes in the back of its head—it laid its greatsword against its back and blocked Hari’s blade.

“I-It blocked that?”

Her surprise attack was stopped in an instant. It was a setback, but she had a follow-up.

She kicked off the Dullahan’s horse and spun in place. Whoosh! Performing an acrobatic spin, she slashed at the Dullahan’s chest.

-KAANG!

But the strike was stopped by the Dullahan’s armor, leaving only a scratch.

‘Ahh… I should have bought a more expensive sword!’

It was the best weapon available within the limited budget. But the dungeon boss’s armor was heavier and harder than she had imagined.

For now, Hari was satisfied that she had drawn the Dullahan’s attention to herself. Indeed, unlike when it had been recklessly tearing through the formation, the Dullahan was now focused solely on her, pulling on the horse’s reins.

“Come at me!”

As if responding to the provocation, the pulled reins moved the horse. Just by opening a bit of distance, the Dullahan performed its most reckless cavalry charge.

Thud! The Dullahan slammed into Hari. It was a charge that had sent even B-rank tank Kim Jinsoo flying in one blow. A sharp impact would be delivered to her—whoosh!

Flames erupted at the moment of collision. The impact of the charge was cushioned by them. Hari grinned at the Dullahan, who realized this was no ordinary flame.

“Sorry, but my skill’s range is just too wide.”

As if waiting for this moment, flames whirled from her sword.

She had waited for the cavalry charge to carry it away from her allies before activating her skill.

The flames generated by her heart’s mana spinning at full force instantly became a massive conflagration that swallowed the Dullahan.

-GAAAAAAAA──!

A shriek erupted from the burning Dullahan. Hari didn’t stop and pierced through the burning Dullahan’s head.

-KANG!

“Huh?”

The strike she was certain would be victory made a strangely light sound. As if the attack had struck steel.

‘It blocked with the flat of its greatsword in that situation?’

“Ho-oh.”

Someone’s admiration, and a moment’s hesitation. A fist flew through the flames.

“Kuhk…!”

Hari rolled across the ground from the blow. She couldn’t understand. It was possible she couldn’t take it down in one strike. But there was no sensation at all.

“Hari!”

That was when hunters rushed in to help her. But their attacks couldn’t even get past the Dullahan’s swordsmanship.

“Kuhk?!”

It swung its human-sized greatsword lightly, blocking strikes and using the momentum to counterattack.

It must have been an unavoidable choice to protect its head, its fatal weak point, but the sight of the Dullahan overwhelming the hunters with such a penalty was almost awe-inspiring.

The sheer dominance of pure swordsmanship. It was the moment it let a fatal attack pass and was about to swing a lethal blow.

“Magnificent!”

That was when it happened.

A voice so resonant it seemed to shake the entire dungeon rang out.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the golden-haired man in the rear.

– – – –

He had despised it as undead, calling it a headless knight.

Leon had always loathed wicked things.

From bone soldiers to ghouls, corpse golems, and death knights.

There was no honor or glory in raising the dead and using them as meat shields.

Those who had lost the skill they possessed in life and pushed forward with nothing but strength and mana were not even worthy opponents for a Holy Grail knight.

‘I was mistaken. That is no mere undead.’

Leon had faced countless undead, but none had possessed such swordsmanship.

It was a movement fundamentally impossible for undead. How could a corpse perform such refined swordsmanship?

“Magnificent!”

And so he decided to enter the fight.

Having witnessed an outstanding knight, would it not be honorable to defeat him?

His resonant voice drew everyone’s attention, and even the bones were no exception.

“First, let me apologize. For these shallow eyes of mine that mistook a knight as magnificent as yourself for mere undead.”

-……

The Dullahan folded the sword it had been about to swing at Hari and listened to his voice.

“You. Despite having only one hand, your swordsmanship is magnificent. The way you employ strategy and tactics. Surely you were a renowned knight in life.”

He was talking to the dungeon boss. Even the hunters stopped in their tracks at this absurd situation.

“Good! I, the Sage King Leon Draconia Lionheart, permit you to speak your name! Tell me your name!”

-……

The Dullahan did not answer. To be precise, it couldn’t.

The Dullahan had no vocal cords. It was close to an undead moved by lingering thoughts, yet not quite undead—an unsullied fairy—and had no means of communicating its will.

Leon nodded, understanding this.

“Hmm… I see. This king has been rude. It is a pity I cannot know your name, but let us leave it as a tragedy of the battlefield.”

“……No, Your Majesty.”

How can you be talking to the actual boss… Hari couldn’t bring herself to finish that sentence.

Whether the hunters were dumbfounded or not, Leon continued in his utterly self-assured way.

“Nameless knight! I grant you the right to challenge this Sage King to a duel!”

A duel? No, he wasn’t even challenging it to a duel—he was granting it the right to challenge him? To a monster?

It was an unprecedented eccentricity in the history of gates since their appearance. But his eccentricity didn’t end there.

“There is no need to harm innocent soldiers. Let us end this battle with an honorable duel between two knights!”

Would that even work? Everyone swallowed those words—and then.

-Nod

It worked?!

It was something that had never happened in history. A dungeon boss accepting a hunter’s duel challenge?

No, there had never even been a hunter who challenged one to a one-on-one duel in the first place!

The eccentricity didn’t end there.

“Hmm… However, as a knight, I lack the warhorse necessary to face you in single combat. Circumstances have arisen and I am presently unable to procure a horse. This is clearly this king’s fault, and yet…….”

So what do you want him to do about it……

“Knight, for the sake of your honor as well, would you not dismount and face me fairly, two legs against two legs?”

It’s not like the boss is an idiot, why would it get off its horse—

-Step!

It got off!?

Hari and the hunters couldn’t close their gaping mouths. The headless rider who had been swinging a greatsword larger than a person and charging on horseback had dismounted of its own accord.

For the sake of a fair duel between knights!

By the time they realized the battlefield had shifted from a melee into a circle, the hunters’ minds were reeling.