I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 108: Hector (5)

After passing through the door, the familiar sight of the Yoo Seong Castle and the figures of Rene, Jillian, and the knights appeared.

“Did you have a good trip?”

As always, it was Rene who came approaching with a bright smile.

“Yeah, it went well. By the way, did you see or experience anything during this expedition, Rene?”

“No, nothing happened this time. After passing through the barrier, only the Heir and Sir Hector disappeared, so I thought it might be just their expedition…Was it really like that?”

At Rene’s question, Yoo Seong nodded immediately.

“Just as you guessed.”

It seemed that, unlike during Sir Kay’s expedition, they hadn’t seen different memories and didn’t do separate expeditions this time.

Rene asked again, following Yoo Seong’s words.

“What kind of expedition was it?”

“I saw Hector’s memories. I also met King Arthur.”

“Wait, really?”

While it was understandable to hear about Hector’s memories, the mention of meeting King Arthur was surprising.

Not just Rene, but Jillian, who had been listening nearby, also widened her eyes in shock.

Even for them, King Arthur was a special figure.

That’s why Yoo Seong couldn’t help but chuckle.

He could already predict how Rene and Jillian would react to the next statement.

“Heir?”

Rene asked, furrowing her brows as if anxious, and Jillian looked similarly curious.

Their expressions were so cute that Yoo Seong felt like drawing out the moment a little longer, but everything had its limits.

Rather than dragging it out, he decided to speak plainly.

“I met King Arthur. And I fought him.”

“What?”

“I fought King Arthur.”

“With King Arthur?!”

Just as he expected, their reactions were exactly as anticipated.

Rene was wide-eyed in surprise, while Jillian blinked rapidly with a face full of confusion and astonishment, though she didn’t scream.

Fighting King Arthur.

Why on earth?

Was it some kind of test, like during Sir Kay’s time?

And if they actually fought, what was the outcome?

Could they even fight him?

Seeing all sorts of questions surface in Rene’s eyes, Yoo Seong chuckled again, before saying something a little cruel.

“I know you’re curious, but it’s a long story. I’ll tell you later.”

“What?”

You’re going to cut it off here?

Rene silently protested with a look, while Jillian was about to say how the most infuriating thing in the world was when someone stopped talking mid-sentence. Unfortunately, she couldn’t do that.

Just as Yoo Seong was cutting off his speech, something happened that made it impossible for them to keep talking.

“Kate.”

Hector called out to Kate, who had been standing silently.

Unlike Yoo Seong and Hector, Kate hadn’t participated in the expedition, so she hadn’t seen the exact same memories, but she had some of them unlocked, and among those memories was Hector’s final moment.

That’s why Kate gave a complicated smile.

Without realizing it, her eyes reddened, and she took a deep breath before, instead of her usual gentle smile, just smiling brightly and saying,

“I’m glad we met again.”

It hadn’t ended that day.

She was able to meet again like this.

“I’m glad too.”

Hector chuckled and patted Kate’s head with his large hand.

Normally, Kate would have scolded him for being impolite, but this time it was different.

She just smiled and looked at Hector.

Because of this, Rene and Jillian couldn’t continue to pester Yoo Seong about King Arthur.

What on earth was going on here?

What memories were they recalling that made them act like this?

“Heir, is there something going on between the two of them?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

“No!”

Rene couldn’t help but raise her voice, and Jillian, too, was about to protest when another voice interrupted, either intentionally or by coincidence.

“King Pellinore’s axe.”

Vanadain’s words, mixed with indifference, were not a lie.

Up in the air, a massive axe, much larger than any regular person, was positioned.

It was King Pellinore’s axe, with a black axe blade.

At Vanadain’s words, Rene and Jillian looked at the axe and Hector with awe in their eyes, and Hector, who had been patting Kate’s head, turned with a grin toward the axe.

“It’s been a while, you.”

The axe that had been with him from the time he set out with King Arthur to leave the Nine Hills, all the way to the final battlefield.

Just like Vanadain getting Tristan’s bow.

Hector, having reclaimed his beloved weapon, could now use the strength of the Round Table Knight, albeit imperfectly.

And added to this was one more thing.

As Hector grasped King Pellinore’s axe, a group of soldiers appeared, as if summoned by a light.

Soldiers armed with axes, holding flags bearing the image of a massive axe.

At the forefront of this group, leading about a hundred soldiers, was a red-haired man who looked familiar to Yoo Seong.

“Hank.”

“It’s been a while, Boss.”

Hank smiled brightly.

When Yoo Seong saw him on the hill, Hank was still a young man, but now, his red hair showed signs of graying, and he had become a middle-aged man.

The axe brigade, which had been with King Pellinore since the Nine Hills, was a unit without any heroic-grade knights, like Rando’s ballista unit. However, it could still function well alongside Hector’s heavy infantry.

Seeing Hector reunite with Hank, Kate smiled warmly, and noticing this, Rene and Jillian stopped bothering Yoo Seong and smiled as well.

And the final addition.

Following King Pellinore’s axe and Hank’s axe brigade, an emerald-colored flash of light appeared in the air.

What could this be now?

As Yoo Seong quickly approached, the light gathered into the shape of a key.

[Merlin’s Treasure Vault Key]

A key that can open Merlin’s treasure vault.

“Wow.”

Yoo Seong was momentarily impressed as the name of the great wizard Merlin was mentioned.

Merlin’s treasure vault. Just hearing the name gave the feeling that something extraordinary might be inside.

Wasn’t it also Merlin’s work that was mentioned as the royal secret treasure?

When Yoo Seong took the key floating in the air into his hand, Rene approached and asked,

“Uh, Heir, does that mean we have to find Merlin’s treasure vault now?”

What they had gotten was the key to the treasure vault, not the vault itself.

At Rene’s question, Yoo Seong smiled bitterly and replied,

“Probably. But…if we keep developing Yoo Seong Castle, I think it might eventually show up.”

After all, the development system of the Yoo Seong Castle had been created by Merlin and Morgana.

Since this key had appeared as part of that development, it would only make sense that the treasure vault would eventually appear too.

“Ah, that makes sense. I guess so.”

“Yeah, it seems likely.”

Though Yoo Seong couldn’t use it right away, it wasn’t a bad feeling, considering it was something useful for the future.

“Moreover, Merlin’s treasure vault.”

Merlin, the great wizard.

The great sage who opened the age of mankind with King Arthur, and the only one who could rival the witch Morgana with magic.

If it was a treasure vault belonging to such a being, anything inside wouldn’t be surprising.

As Yoo Seong carefully stored the key, another voice came.

“You said you fought the king, right? Did you get any results?”

It was Morgan’s voice, the one who served as Yoo Seong’s swordsmanship teacher.

At her question, which came quietly, Yoo Seong grinned and nodded.

“Of course. You can look forward to it.”

Though he hadn’t tried it yet, he knew.

Now, he could imbue his aura with ideology.

Morgan, impressed by Yoo Seong’s confident smile, smiled back and said,

“Just as expected, our Heir. I knew I could trust you.”

With that, Morgan stepped back.

The actual results could be confirmed later through sparring, once the expedition was fully complete.

“Well, I guess it’s mostly wrapped up now.”

The fourth expedition had been successfully completed.

He had learned Hector’s true name, and the memories of the knights, including Kate, had been unlocked more than before.

Although it needed to be checked through the status window, everyone must have gotten stronger, just like during the previous expeditions.

And what was newly obtained was King Pellinore’s axe and his axe brigade, as well as the key to Merlin’s treasure vault, which couldn’t be used yet but would certainly be useful in the near future.

Also, Yoo Seong himself had personal achievements, so this had truly been a successful expedition.

‘Though I feel like Rene and Jillian will grab me the moment I return.’

After all, he still had to finish the story that was interrupted earlier.

“Kate, I’ll leave Yoo Seong Castle to you.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Kate, the military commander of Yoo Seong Castle.

After exchanging a glance with the ever-reliable Kate, Yoo Seong looked at the knights one by one and finally turned to Hector.

“I’ll see you soon.”

“Yeah.”

No more words were needed.

Rene and Jillian stood by Yoo Seong’s sides, while Kate and the knights lined up opposite them.

“Glory to Camelot.”

“Glory to Camelot.”

With that familiar greeting, the fourth expedition came to an end.

“Then, what happened?”

The words came right after the golden light disappeared and, as usual, I supported Rene’s waist, which was staggering, to steady her.

“Are you really that curious?”

“Ugh…just a moment. Hoo, hoo. Uh, yes. Of course, I’m curious.”

King Arthur!

And Hector and Kate suddenly getting along like that!

Well, of course, after Morgan showed up, their relationship had improved, and actually, it wasn’t a bad relationship from the very beginning.

But what should I call it now?

Should I say they really look like father and daughter?

“Ugh, wait, could it be that Kate is actually Sir Hector’s daughter?”

At Rene’s hypothesis, Jillian also looked at Yoo Seong, as if agreeing there was a possibility, her face showing excitement.

But that was all.

Turning around as if to look for Robin, who should have been waiting in the room, Rene suddenly froze and her eyes sharpened. Jillian hurriedly opened the window.

It was full of red.

The scenery outside the window, which should have been filled with pitch black darkness, was on fire.

And then the sounds of shouting and screaming followed.

An ambush?

Did monsters invade while we were out on the expedition?

No, it wasn’t that simple.

Yoo Seong, drawing his sword, kicked open the door and rushed out of the room.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ruan and Robin were fighting monsters.

Ruan was struggling against two monsters, and Robin, covered in blood, was on the verge of collapsing.

Without thinking, Yoo Seong dashed towards the monster that was cornering Robin.

“Arrgh!”

The monster roared as it turned toward Yoo Seong.

It wasn’t a lizardman.

It was a half-human, half-beast monster with the head of a wolf.

But Yoo Seong didn’t care and swung his sword.

The monster tried to block Yoo Seong’s sword with its claws that shot up like blades, but it was pointless.

With the ideology of “to cut down,” Yoo Seong’s sword cleaved not just the monster’s claws but also its head and chest in one swift motion.

-Splat!

Blood gushed from the wound as the monster collapsed.

Yoo Seong quickly glanced back at Robin, who was sitting on the ground, and saw Rene and Jillian, who had come out of the room a little later, acting quickly.

“Magic Missile!”

“Blessings of Omphalos be with you!”

The magic bullets Rene fired struck the heads and chests of the monsters that were attacking Ruan.

Thanks to that, Ruan managed to retreat and widen the distance, and Yoo Seong immediately sprang forward to join Ruan.

“Sir Robin! Sir Robin!”

Jillian, pulling Robin into her arms, cast a healing spell.

Though Robin was covered in blood, thankfully, it didn’t seem like there were any fatal injuries, as her expression quickly relaxed.

“It’s an ambush!”

Just as Ruan managed to speak, the wolf-headed monsters, instead of charging at Yoo Seong and Ruan, backed off and distanced themselves. Then, they suddenly began howling toward the ceiling.

“Awooo!”

It wasn’t a roar to break the enemy’s morale.

It was howling for communication.

In that moment, Yoo Seong immediately understood not just their intention, but what was happening.

“An ambush.”

It wasn’t much different from what Yoo Seong had done before.

He infiltrated the castle with monsters that had strength beyond the reach of regular troops and concentrated their attacks on a target.

So what was their target?

There was no need to think about it.

The reason the monsters started howling the moment they saw Yoo Seong’s face was only one thing.

“The Black Knight of Lothian.”

A monster with the head of a lion appeared in the corridor and spoke.

Black mane, red eyes.

A monster much larger than Hector.

It wasn’t the Lion King but it was definitely related to that being.

“I’m going.”

There was no need for introductions or conversation.

The monster, grinning fiercely, raised a huge greatsword with a bright red aura and took a step forward.

It charged straight at Yoo Seong.