Ranker's Return

Chapter 691

“Your Majesty, this is a high level strategy,” Hyeonu opened his mouth without panicking as he turned toward the emperor.

“Strategy? What does that mean?” the emperor replied with an expression that was telling Hyeonu to explain.

Hyeonu smiled at the emperor’s expression.

“If you fight Baler now, you will only be fighting one demon king. No one knows when the next demon king will appear.”

The emperor listened to Hyeonu’s explanation.

“However, if you are a bit more patient, you can fight at least three demon kings.”

There were seven demon kings in the demon world in total. Then Damanos died at the hands of the emperor, and Callioraks turned Galiya into a bead. So there were five remaining demon kings in total. One of them was Lebron and the emperor’s teacher, John Blake. Baler, the party he had an agreement with, made four. Thus, there were only three left.

“Yes, that is how it is.”

The emperor knew it to some extent, so he didn’t stop Hyeonu’s arbitrary behavior. It was good to be able to fight with Baler here, but his desire was too great to end it with this one battle.

“I think we will have to talk later, Your Majesty.”

Hyeonu felt the wriggling around him and placed his right hand on the handle of the Mysterious Sky Sword hanging from his waist.

“The predator has disappeared, so they will be forced to run wild.”

The emperor noticed the meaning of Hyeonu’s words. The battle had entered a brief lull thanks to Baler’s appearance on Teramas. In their presence, the demonic creatures and demons lost their fighting spirit and fell to the ground. Now that the existence of their fear had disappeared, it was natural for fighting spirit to be rekindled in the demons and demonic creatures.

“Everyone, get ready for battle!” Hyeonu turned and screamed to the rankers. The moment Baler appeared and the battle stopped, the rankers naturally restored their health and magic power. They returned to their initial condition apart from some dead players.

‘The battle will begin the moment the emperor leaves.’

Baler and Teramas might be gone, but the demons and demonic creatures didn’t rush over immediately due to the emperor standing in front of Hyeonu. They were overwhelmed by the pressure released by the emperor and didn’t know what to do.

‘Callioraks… there is definitely a similarity.’

The emperor couldn’t help remembering Callioraks when he saw Hyeonu yelling to the players. The two of them gave off a similar feeling, although one side was like a sun while the other side was a weak match. The essence was similar.

‘It isn’t at the level of meeting a few times…’

The magic power felt from Hyeonu and the magic power that Callioraks unleashed on Galiya.

It was obviously the same type of magic power. They could never have the same magic power if they just met a few times. It was clear that there must be some secret.

‘There is a possibility that he will grow similar to that later…’

This was good news. The better Hyeonu’s abilities, the better it was for the emperor.

‘So… I want you to grow up quickly. Quicker…’

The emperor smiled at Hyeonu.

***

[Demonic creatures killed 9,751/???]

[Demons killed 21,495/???]

[Demon noble killed 30/30]

The field was stained with blood. The dark green grass looked red. There were only humans standing on both feet. All the demons and demonic creatures had lost their lives.

“It is the end!”

Hyeonu placed the Mysterious Sky Sword in his inventory, climbed onto a rock, and lay down on it. It was a tiring and tough hunt. Nearly 5,000 players resumed hunting the remaining demons and demonic creatures, but they quickly fell back. Only a few people with the support battery called magic power recovery potions could continue the hunt. Naturally, the remaining demons and demonic creatures flocked to them.

The good news was that the emperor and Lebron killed the demons and demonic creatures who ran toward the players drained of magic power.

‘I was left alone and ran around like a dog.’

In the end, it was Hyeonu who remained alone until the end and struggled. Hyeonu might’ve scattered the magic power recovery potions, but this didn’t restore mental strength. Rankers were also people. Infinite hunting was impossible. Of course, they could hunt for a much longer period of time if it was at the level of killing rabbits or goblins. There were no actions that crossed the line. It was a real hunt.

Meanwhile, killing the demons and demonic creatures continued to gnaw at their mental strength. This was a battle rather than a hunt. It was close to training to improve their skills. However, it was still a hunt for Hyeonu. Especially now that his stats had risen and he received the buffs of Go Eunho and Yuri. He simply had to inject magic power and swing it around and the demons and demonic creatures would fall. The problem was that there were so many prey that it looked like a huge wave.

Just then, a black shadow appeared over Hyeonu’s body. It was Lebron.

"Good work. You also have strengths in this area. I didn’t know.”

Lebron sat down right next to Hyeonu. Lebron admired the battle that Hyeonu had shown. Hyeonu’s battle was outstanding. It wasn’t a big deal to release pure energy. It was the fact that he could maintain his initial appearance after fighting for such a long time. This was what Lebron admired.

“Knights who believe in artifacts should be fighting like this.”

Hyeonu raised his body with a puzzled expression on his face. “If the number one knights division of the empire is lacking, what knights division do you like?”

Hyeonu was talking to Lebron with a relaxed expression because he turned off the livestream once the army of demons and demonic creatures was destroyed.

“Lacking is lacking, even if I trained them. Additionally, I won’t be the commander of the knights division forever. I need another successor.”

“What does that mean? Another successor?"

This time, Hyeonu was truly confused.

Another successor.

“Are you thinking of abandoning me now? How can Teacher say this…”

Hyeonu looked at Lebron in a betrayed manner. Lebron responded by lightly patting Hyeonu’s back.

“If you become the commander of the Knights of Keon, you must stay in the capital unless there is something special like an imperial order. Can you do that?”

Hyeonu shook his head. He could never do that. It was true that he liked to lie around at home, but this was a story for reality. In Arena, he would be chased by others the moment he lay down and would eventually be surpassed. He didn’t want to stop for a single moment.

‘I can enjoy it later.’

Lebron smiled at Hyeonu’s response.

“Even if I raise another disciple, you are the first one. In any case, there isn’t enough time to train a student to the extent that they become the knight commander even if I start training a student from now. The next knight commander… first, roughly…”

Hyeonu listened to Lebron and once again made a puzzled expression. Lebron was the same as the emperor.

‘He will leave his position as the knight commander of the empire…’

Lebron’s explanation was really absurd. It took a long time to raise a disciple. Therefore, he would hand over the position of acting knight commander of the Knights of Keon to the current deputy leader and travel across the continent to find a child with a talent suitable to be the next knight commander.

“Did you receive permission? Surely His Majesty wouldn’t easily agree?”

The biggest obstacle and problem to Lebron’s plan was the emperor. The emperor wouldn’t be able to watch Lebron wandering the continent alone.

“We’ve already talked about it. Why do you think I came to the demon world?” Lebron spoke with a smile.

“Was there a condition like this? I had no idea…”

Hyeonu cocked his head. Then he found it understandable once he thought about it.

‘This is why he followed even though he grumbled like that?’

Under such a condition, it made sense for Lebron to follow the emperor despite grumbling.

“You should go now. They seem to be looking for you over there.”

Lebron, who had been talking for a long time, raised his finger and pointed to where the players were gathered. Many players were staring at Hyeonu and Lebron.

“Yes, everybody is looking for me. It is embarrassing.”

Seeing this, Hyeonu got up and started to run quickly. Lebron watched as Hyeonu got further away and muttered as if Hyeonu could hear it, “I’m sorry, Disciple.”

Lebron’s words to Hyeonu were a lie. It wasn’t until the emperor came to the demon world that he promised Lebron freedom. That was just a few hours ago.

***

It was 10 minutes before Baler appeared. The emperor and Lebron watched the battles of Hyeonu and the players from far away.

“I don’t think it is possible for my disciple to become the knight commander,” Lebron hinted to the emperor, who was looking at the battlefield with eyes that were about to lose their focus.

“Hrmm… It was as I guessed. The marquis is strong, but his essence is an adventurer. What is the advantage of being the knight commander when he has to stay in the capital?” the emperor responded to Lebron without hesitation.

“That isn’t what I mean, Your Majesty. How can he serve as both the emperor and commander of the Knights of Keon?”

The emperor’s expression stiffened at Lebron’s words.

“What does that mean? Is Marquis Gang Hyeonu aiming for the emperor’s throne?”

“Who knows… he doesn’t seem to have that type of heart, but… can’t you force him to sit in the emperor’s seat, Your Majesty?”

The emperor’s face hardened. The emperor raised his right hand and pressed it against his face several times before turning to Lebron.

“What do you want?”

“What I want… why do you think there is something? Who became feeble from being a damn duke?”

Lebron laughed.

Right now, the two men weren’t bound by the status of duke and emperor of the empire. They were villains plotting for their own gain.

“You must want something to be saying this to me. Tell me before I change my mind. I can’t stop you even if you leave anyway. I don’t care.”

The emperor’s tone changed.

He knew.

Currently, they weren’t the emperor and a duke. They were children who trained under the same teacher. It was like the days when they were thinking about how to get less training.

“I want to go around the continent while the deputy leader temporarily takes my spot as commander of the Knights of Keon. Of course, it isn’t just a tour. It is a journey to find the next knight commander.”

The emperor scoffed at Lebron’s words.

“I understand. I will use the imperial seal when I go back to the imperial palace. So… from now on, you must help me.”

The emperor smiled and extended his hand. Lebron hesitated for a moment before grabbing the emperor’s hand.

‘Please forgive your ugly teacher, Disciple.’