Chapter 184. The Knight’s Assault (7)
His right arm was gone.
His right eye remained closed.
He had been unconscious for so long that he didn’t exactly look clean or well-groomed either.
And yet...
he still walked forward with confidence.
“Cheon Sangwoon...?”
“Who else would it be, Lee Hyeonje?”
Cheon Sangwoon.
The Contractor once considered the strongest among the Eight Guardians.
After losing to Kang Yujin in the previous Scenario, he had suffered severe injuries and remained unconscious ever since.
And now...
he had appeared before Lee Hyeonje again.
“How... are you awake?”
“What? Were you hoping I’d stay asleep forever?”
“No, that’s not what I meant...”
“I had to wake up eventually.”
Lee Hyeonje could hardly believe it.
Cheon Sangwoon, who had fallen into an indefinite sleep...
was standing here with his eyes open.
“I finally regained consciousness after all this time. Can’t you look a little happier to see me?”
“Cheon Sangwoon, I...”
“Well, never mind that.”
Cheon Sangwoon turned toward Arthur.
“Excalibur... so you really are King Arthur’s Contractor.”
“Hmm. You recognize Excalibur?”
The two men had similar atmospheres.
Both were handsome, with upright and dignified appearances reminiscent of knights.
And both possessed the commanding presence of someone accustomed to standing above others like a king.
“By the way, King Arthur’s Contractor.”
“I’d prefer you call me Arthur. That is my codename.”
“Then, Arthur. I have one question.”
“You have my permission. What is it?”
“Who gave you the right...”
A smile appeared on Cheon Sangwoon’s lips.
“To cause this much trouble in the Capital Region managed by the Eight Guardians?”
At that instant, sword qi erupted from Cheon Sangwoon’s body in every direction.
Normally, sword qi was produced through a blade.
But Cheon Sangwoon unleashed it with his bare body.
Not just one or two.
More than ten streams fired simultaneously, almost like a barrage of Magic Bullet-Type Magic.
“My lord!”
"...!"
Mordred shouted urgently.
Arthur’s expression stiffened as he raised Excalibur into a defensive stance.
The unavoidable storm of sword qi engulfed them.
With a tremendous crash, even the surrounding walls collapsed.
“Making a one-armed man do such heavy labor.”
“Is this really acceptable?”
“Cheon Sangwoon, how did you...”
“I wasn’t just sleeping.”
Cheon Sangwoon shrugged.
Watching him...
Lee Hyeonje was overwhelmed by an emotion he couldn’t put into words.
So Cheon Sangwoon really is still Cheon Sangwoon.
But when the dust from the collapsed walls cleared...
Arthur emerged again.
“Excellent.”
“Tch.”
Cheon Sangwoon clicked his tongue upon seeing Arthur standing there unharmed.
“That was an impressive aura.”
“But with a body like yours, you can’t keep launching attacks like that.”
"..."
Cheon Sangwoon frowned slightly.
Arthur had struck directly at the truth.
“In the end, your future contains nothing but defeat.”
Arthur approached with Excalibur in hand.
Mordred followed with his own sword.
“Hmm. This is a little dangerous.”
“Cheon Sangwoon...”
“But it should be fine.”
Even in a life-or-death situation...
Cheon Sangwoon remained relaxed.
“I bought enough time.”
"...!"
At that exact moment, a man entered through the shattered window.
“Kang Yujin...!”
“Sorry I’m late, Lee Hyeonje.”
Kang Yujin, who had supposedly been delayed fighting other enemies outside...
had finally reached the hospital.
“And... huh?”
His gaze shifted toward Cheon Sangwoon.
“When did you wake up?”
“I’m glad to see you’re healthy, Kang Yujin.”
Cheon Sangwoon smiled at him.
“But we don’t have time to celebrate our reunion.”
“We need to deal with those two.”
“Those two...”
“Kang Yujin, those men are the Contractors of Arthur and Mordred.”
Lee Hyeonje spoke quickly.
“They’re incredibly strong.”
Kang Yujin frowned and looked at them.
“I fought guys called Gawain and Percival on the way here.”
“So you’re the boss of those bastards?”
“Watch your mouth!”
Mordred shouted.
Kang Yujin ignored him.
“How exactly do you plan to take responsibility for causing all this?”
“Responsibility?”
“Yeah.”
“If you make a mess in someone else’s country, you take responsibility.”
Kang Yujin pointed at Cheon Sangwoon.
“For reference, that man took responsibility by ending up like that.”
“Lee Hyeonje, Kang Yujin is still as merciless as ever.”
“He really knows how to stab people right in the heart.”
“Cheon Sangwoon, just give up...”
Ignoring their exchange, Kang Yujin continued.
“A lot of people were hurt because of your subordinates’ attacks.”
“One arm and one eye probably won’t be enough.”
“You okay with that?”
“You bastard...!”
“Interesting.”
Arthur stopped Mordred, who was already raising his sword.
“So you are Kang Yujin.”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you for presenting yourself before me.”
“Thank me?”
“Yes.”
“Originally, I agreed to leave you to Gawain or Lancelot.”
"..."
“Defeating you personally should prove to be excellent experience.”
Arthur raised Excalibur.
But then...
he stopped and looked out the window.
“What a shame.”
“What?”
“The time has come.”
At that moment, a tremendous sound echoed from outside.
It wasn’t nearby.
It came from some distance away.
“What was that?”
“Avalon.”
Arthur answered coldly.
“Our headquarters has surfaced.”
Something strange happened in the middle of the Han River.
A little west of Yeouido...
an island rose from the water.
“Avalon...!”
Arjuna’s astonished voice came through the communication window.
“I’ve heard of that!”
“That is the Constellation Armament of the A-rank Constellation ‘Lady of the Ideal Land,’ Morgan le Fay!”
“That island... is a Constellation Armament?”
It was small, but beautiful.
Flower fields and forests spread across it.
An elegant palace stood in the center.
And despite having just risen from underwater...
not a single part of it was wet.
“Don’t tell me...”
I remembered the Nautilus, the Constellation Armament of Captain Nemo.
Is it a Constellation Armament capable of traveling underwater like the Nautilus?
Morgan le Fay was a fairy, or perhaps a witch, from the legends of King Arthur.
After receiving a fatal wound in his battle with Mordred, King Arthur had supposedly gone to Avalon, the paradise island under her rule.
“Then that island must be Round’s mobile fortress.”
“That would seem to be the case.”
Now I finally understood how Round’s members had suddenly appeared in the middle of the Capital Region.
They had secretly traveled up the Han River using Avalon.
“Round has always been famous for appearing and disappearing unpredictably.”
“So they’ve been using that for their operations.”
“They likely concealed it with magic as well. That would make it difficult to detect.”
“But the fact that they’ve revealed it openly this time means...”
Arjuna’s voice became calm.
“They intend to act on a very large scale.”
“A bloody battle is about to begin in Korea again.”
“Mordred, we’re returning to Avalon.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Arthur turned to leave with Mordred.
“Stop!”
Kang Yujin shouted.
Arthur paused and looked back.
“Kang Yujin.”
“Round came to this land for two reasons.”
“What?”
“One is to secure the wicked witch Ha Mina so that we can exterminate the Vessels scattered around the world.”
“And the other...”
Arthur’s gaze sharpened.
“Is to eliminate Kang Yujin, the Vessel of Korea.”
"...!"
When Kang Yujin thought about it...
that was obvious.
If Round had been hunting Vessels all across the world...
then Kang Yujin would naturally be one of their targets.
“At first, the operation was simple.”
“A small force would capture Ha Mina, kill Kang Yujin, and withdraw.”
“But the operation took longer than expected.”
“So we moved on to the next plan.”
“The next plan?”
“To conduct large-scale live combat training with this land as our battlefield.”
“Live combat training?”
That was not what Kang Yujin had expected to hear.
“Separate from our Vessel extermination campaign, Round conducts live combat exercises in various regions.”
“Live combat... exercises?”
“Yes.”
“Round must become stronger.”
“For the final battle.”
“Are you talking about war against Pandemonium?”
Kang Yujin asked.
Arthur gave no answer.
He simply looked away.
“Do you think we’ll just let you do whatever you want?”
Lee Hyeonje spoke up.
“Don’t underestimate us, Arthur.”
“I do not underestimate you.”
“That is precisely why we selected you as opponents for a large-scale live combat exercise.”
Arthur answered coldly.
“I’ll tell you this in advance.”
“We will not accept surrender.”
“Even if you offer Ha Mina and Kang Yujin to us, it will change nothing.”
“We have already passed that stage.”
“Gather as much strength as you can and resist us.”
“Arthur...!”
Kang Yujin moved to stop him.
But suddenly...
Arthur disappeared.
“What?”
“He vanished...!”
Mordred disappeared as well.
Without leaving a trace.
“Where did they go?”
“Ah. Right.”
Cheon Sangwoon sighed.
“Among King Arthur’s treasures, there was a cloak or carpet that could make someone invisible.”
“They probably have something like that.”
“They turned invisible?”
“Then we should find them right now and...”
“Forget it.”
“They’re probably already far away.”
Cheon Sangwoon shook his head with a troubled expression.
“Yeah... someone told me about that before.”
“I definitely remembered it.”
“Can’t believe I forgot. I should’ve thought of it sooner.”
“Someone?”
“It’s nothing.”
Cheon Sangwoon turned toward Lee Hyeonje.
“Anyway...”
“Looks like this has become a serious situation, Lee Hyeonje.”
“Cheon Sangwoon...”
“I don’t know the current state of the Capital Region.”
“But is there still room for me to help?”
“You bastard...”
Lee Hyeonje grabbed Cheon Sangwoon’s left shoulder with a complicated expression.
“After everything you did...”
“You stayed asleep all this time, and now you show up and say that?”
“I know I have no shame asking.”
“Yeah.”
“You really don’t.”
“I’ll serve without rank or privilege.”
“Can you accept me temporarily?”
“My arm and eye are both gone, but I should still be somewhat useful.”
“Somewhat?”
“From what you just showed, someone like you is more than...”
Lee Hyeonje couldn’t finish.
Emotion seemed to choke his voice.
Cheon Sangwoon smiled at him.
“Let me help, Lee Hyeonje.”
“That’s my line.”
Lee Hyeonje released Cheon Sangwoon’s shoulder and gave a small smile.
Then he extended his left hand.
Cheon Sangwoon took it with his own.
“Welcome back, Cheon Sangwoon.”
The man who had once stood at the top of the Eight Guardians...
the strongest Contractor in the Capital Region...
returned after a long silence.
“Hey, Nameless King.”
The one speaking in such a frightening voice was none other than Jason.
“I’m extremely angry right now.”
Jason was a man who could laugh shamelessly no matter what happened to him.
And yet...
now he was furious.
“Of course, there weren’t many people at the Golden Ram Order headquarters, so the casualties weren’t enormous.”
“But we can’t just let this pass.”
“I agree with Jason!”
Lee Gyu, sitting on the floor nearby, raised his voice.
“Even those bastards from Japan weren’t this rude!”
“This is absolutely unacceptable!”
“We need to smash every one of their heads open!”
Lee Gyu was clearly furious too.
His face was even redder than usual.
“I agree as well, Nameless King.”
Even Princess Longji, who normally clashed with the rough-tempered Lee Gyu, agreed with him.
“Kang Yujin and Lee Jukheon finally reunited, and everyone was enjoying a pleasant atmosphere.”
“Then these people had to ruin everything.”
“I cannot forgive them.”
“I think the reason you’re angry is slightly different...”
I replied.
Then I looked toward the Observer floating in the air.
Avalon.
Round’s mobile fortress that had suddenly appeared in the Capital Region.
That small island now floating near Yeouido.
I stared at it and slowly opened my mouth.
“Still, I’m glad everyone feels the same way.”
“Nameless King, then...”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“Let’s smash every last one of those arrogant bastards’ heads open.”
