Strike 105

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Upon arriving at the Araham domain, Hyun-soo was on his way to meet Commander Philip.

It was then that he quickly reacted to the sound of a soldier filled with terror.

Hyun-soo’s vision captured a shell glowing red and showing signs of an explosion.

Before the shell exploded, Hyun-soo quickly activated the lord’s command to contain the explosion.

This power was not absolute either, and due to a bit of clumsiness in control, he sent it soaring into the sky.

Boom!

With a loud explosion, Hyun-soo let out a small sigh of relief.

And then he was conscious of the gazes around him.

Nobles or knights.

Or commanders.

Hyun-soo thought they should not be greatly disturbed.

“Their disturbance soon spreads to those around them.”

Therefore, he tried to act as if nothing had happened and patted the shoulder of the soldier in front of him just a moment ago.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes…! Thank you for saving me! But, who are you?”

“I’m Hyun-soo, a Viscount . I came to see the commander.”

Soon, Hyun-soo was able to find Commander Philip, who was looking at him.

“Magic…?”

Commander Philip was quite surprised.

It was the first time he had seen such a strange power.

And wasn’t the blacksmith showing a power like magic?

But soon, Philip corrected his thought.

“Is this the power that Duke Luckburg spoke of?”

Duke Luckburg had emphasized continuously.

“He stopped the assassins with a mysterious power, and the paladins cut them down.”

Certainly, this power could be considered peculiar, but the thought occurs whether it can be compared to a knight in terms of force.

Soon, he approached and bowed.

“Knight Hyun-soo, I am Commander Philip.”

“Let me express my gratitude, thanks to you, we were able to prevent the sacrifice of soldiers.”

Philip was a person who strictly distinguished between public and private matters.

He gives praise where it is due.

Sincerely, Philip was grateful to Hyun-soo.

[Your intimacy with Philip has increased.]

Philip immediately got to the point.

“This place is not only a training ground for soldiers but also a place where knights learn command and leadership, and to qualify as leaders. I will assign you 30 soldiers. If you enter the extermination area with these soldiers, kill the ogre chieftains, and complete 20% of the extermination, that will be enough. One thing to note, do not ever enter the forest filled with blue leaves, a place where knights and extermination squads of your level should not enter.”

Ding!

[Kingdom Quest: Ogre Chieftain Hunt]

Rank: A

Requirement: Viscount 

Reward: Three soldiers.

Penalty for Failure: Title Revocation.

Description: As a Viscount, you have taken your first step. Return safely after completing the extermination.

Hyun-soo knew that in quests formatted with percentages, the reward increases astronomically the more you achieve.

He recalled the time when he was raising the development rate of the Balas domain.

Hyun-soo had been given a development rate of 20% and had achieved over 100%.

What was the reward he received then?

‘I gained 100 charisma stats and was unexpectedly bestowed with a forge.’

Looking back, Hyun-soo wondered if one of the reasons Bard had him in mind as a successor was because of this.

“What are the ways to increase the development rate?”

“It’s simple. The soldiers must not get injured as much as possible, and if they grow and have loyalty towards the knight leading them, it will increase. Additionally, you have a total of two weeks here. If you carry out additional exterminations within that time, you can increase it.”

“Understood.”

“Prepare to depart in 30 minutes.”

As Philip was about to turn away, Hyun-soo asked another question.

“May I ask one more thing?”

“What is it?”

“Why does someone as esteemed as Commander Philip stay in this Araham domain?”

[Commander Philip Lv.341]

In the case of NPCs, having the same level as a user does not necessarily mean they are on the same level.

This is especially true for named NPCs or those in command ranks.

Philip was Araham’s commander and a high-level NPC at level 341.

And currently, in the Araham domain, including Duke Luckburg, seven nobles had been demoted here.

The Araham domain that Hyun-soo saw firsthand had lost its function as a domain.

Domains should be places where the people farm or produce specialty goods to sustain their livelihoods.

Moreover, it is right for the domain’s residents to live there.

However, many residents of the Araham domain had already moved away, leaving only soldiers and knights.

Their role was to guard the fringes of the Goyard Kingdom, preventing monsters from crossing over.

It might seem like an important mission, but in the end, they were those who struggled daily on the final front.

“…This is the first time someone has asked me this question.”

Philip was internally surprised. It was a sharp question.

“There is no task more noble than protecting the people from monsters, now go prepare for the departure.”

“Understood.”

Hyun-soo did not ask further. After he left, Philip personally selected the soldiers.

“Sigh…”

He sighed.

There had been too many soldiers annihilated recently by foreign commanders.

Philip was upset by the needless loss of lives.

“This must not happen again.”

Thus, Philip approached one soldier.

“Kahn, disguise yourself as a regular soldier and protect the others.”

“Understood.”

Philip felt reassured seeing Kahn.

It was an odd sight to others, and Kahn asked cautiously.

“…But, Commander. Are we just going to disappear into history like this?”

Philip couldn’t say anything to Kahn’s sad gaze.

The knight named Hyun-soo had seen correctly.

Philip, a war hero, was not supposed to be here but had been assigned this mission by the king long ago.

“Raise soldiers who can even cut down the enemy’s knights.”

That was the task given to him just 20 years ago.

Since then, the war hero Philip had been secretly training soldiers.

They started training from a young age.

At the time, Philip did not understand the king’s command.

Why raise soldiers when you could make knights?

Over time, Philip came to understand its meaning.

Knights and soldiers are distinctly different, given the higher status of knights. In times of war, enemies target knights first.

A more crucial reason is that being simply called “soldiers” can catch enemies off guard.

Enemy leaders tend to underestimate soldiers.

Indeed, at that time, individuals who could not reach knight-level talent through magic power measurement were selected.

In the land of Ares, magical power is a measure of strength.

In reality, they had reached their limits at a certain level.

Yet, interestingly, they were as strong as knights.

This was due to “real combat experience, skill, and experience.”

Though their natural capacity was limited, they developed knight-level strength through unique experiences and real combat.

They were known as the Gale Squad, now fading into history.

Originally, they were trained for assassinating heroes of other nations or for escorting major nobles.

However, for various reasons, the Gale Squad was abandoned here.

There were two reasons why they remained hidden in this place.

One was that endless monster extermination allowed them to continuously hone their skills.

The second reason was to find a lord they could serve.

“…It’s already been 10 years since the disbandment, it’s going to be difficult for you and the few remaining members to find the knight you’re looking for.”

The king too felt sorry for them.

Therefore, he gave them a choice.

If there is someone you wish to serve, then serve them.

The problem was, finding a lord worthy of the Gale Squad was not easy.

They were looking for knights here who could soar higher and farther.

“This too is an important mission.”

Yet, Kahn’s expression did not show signs of improvement.

“I think I will seek an audience with His Majesty to discuss this issue.”

“…I will be waiting.”

A hint of color returned to Kahn’s face.

And Philip mounted his horse for the first time in years to seek an audience with the king.

***

Hyun-soo looked at the 30 or so soldiers assembled before him.

[Soldier Kin Lv.201]

[Soldier Lock Lv.198]

The soldiers’ levels seemed mostly similar.

And Hyun-soo saw fear etched on their faces.

Indeed, one soldier asked with a feigned look of fear.

“Expedition leader, is it true that your level is really around the 220s?”

Hyun-soo could not lie.

“That’s correct. But there’s no need to worry.”

The soldiers’ faces turned pale.

The average level of knights here is 290.

It’s natural to be concerned with a blacksmith in the 220s leading them.

But Hyun-soo knew he just had to show them.

‘How much can we increase the extermination rate?’

Soon, Hyun-soo spoke with conviction.

“We depart.”

***

Three days later, at the border between the Goyard Kingdom and the Frahm Kingdom.

In just three days, Philip was able to meet Bard not in the capital.

“Your Majesty, can’t we affiliate the Gale Squad with the royal family?”

Bard was firm.

“You know that’s impossible.”

Philip was aware of this fact.

They could not be integrated into the royal family.

Soldiers with the bizarre ability to defeat even knights.

The royal family would doubt their identity, and the Gale Squad, which had been raised in utmost secrecy, would likely be exposed to the world.

“…I’ve said it before, I would give them treasures to take responsibility for their lifetime.”

Bard was a man of his word.

But the Gale Squad was resolute.

“Their true mission was to secretly protect the king. Having lived their lives that way, it would be difficult for them to live peacefully.”

Bard sighed.

“You said, if there’s a knight who can exceed an extermination rate of 60%, the Gale Squad would follow them without question.”

Bard shook his head.

“There has been no one who has exceeded 40% so far, the level you’re asking for is too high.”

He knew that. But that wasn’t what Philip wanted.

What the remaining members of the Gale Squad wanted.

In the end, Philip gained nothing.

Three days.

In just those three days, Philip returned to the Araham domain with drooping shoulders and immediately got busy.

Today was the day of the soldier assignment ceremony.

This ceremony was an event in the Araham domain.

As the commander, he couldn’t miss this event, so he hastily took the stage.

Philip saw 1,056 soldiers lined up before him.

These soldiers were to be assigned to knights, who could not be present at this event.

Five knights had conducted exterminations over the week.

Philip first wanted to ask if there was anyone willing to serve Knight Ken from the Balroco territory.

“Is there anyone who wishes to serve Knight Ken…?”

“Commander.”

At that moment, a soldier raised his hand.

Philip, looking puzzled, gestured for him to speak.

“We all wish to serve a knight.”

“…All?”

Philip looked puzzled.

1,056 soldiers.

Did they all wish to serve the same knight?

Philip asked with a surprised expression.

“And who would that be?”

“Sir Hyun-soo, the Viscount .”

Hearing this, Philip let out a hollow laugh.

He asked them again, marveling at their response.

“So, all 1,056 soldiers. You all wish to serve Viscount  Hyun-soo?”

“Yes!!!”

“We wish to serve him!”

“Please send us to Viscount  Hyun-soo!”

Philip saw in their eyes the desire to be with Viscount  Hyun-soo.

He looked at Kahn with wavering eyes.

Kahn’s eyes were brimming with tears.

Philip saw the other members of the Gale Squad as well.

They too were nodding slowly with resolute eyes.

Philip was astonished.

‘What on earth happened while I was away?’

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