The Knights of Belhard
A week had already slipped by. A lot had happened in that time. I stayed grounded in reality while logging into Another Dimension to help stabilize Boa Village. The kingdom was contacted right away. The moment word spread that the village’s ruling class had been taken down, the training instructor marched straight to the city hall and smashed the corrupt official Paren’s head in.
After that, we used teleportation to head straight to the royal palace and exposed everything that had gone down in Boa Village. Inside the village itself, things were cleaned up quickly too. The Swordsmanship Guild Master, who had been under the influence of drugs, was freed along with countless NPCs rescued from the underground prison. Among the prisoners were officials, the Fist Guild Master, and all sorts of other NPCs.
Of course, high-level NPCs like the Fist Guild Master were furious and openly hostile toward the players in Boa Village. The situation in the southern forest had changed dramatically as well, thanks to the birth of the first player who had actually class-changed into a Spirit Tamer. His class-change method spread rapidly, and because the spirit-related gimmick had nothing to do with level, most players in the southern forest succeeded in changing classes.
The newly copied Spirit Tamers were immediately put to work securing public order in Boa Village. The fact that they could handle Nightmare Wolves—beings immune to physical attacks—made the Spirit Tamer legion an enormous help to the village. And today was the day a helper was visiting Boa Village. The knight order dispatched from the Belhard Kingdom, the kingdom representing the Rahim Continent, was arriving.
The Belhard Kingdom was allied with the Meriam Kingdom, which ruled Liam, while relations with the neighboring kingdom on the opposite border were poor. Meriam Kingdom felt similar to Korea—also allied with the Empire, the strongest nation in Another Dimension, and maintaining friendly trade relations with Belhard Kingdom. In contrast, Belhard Kingdom was hostile toward the kingdoms on its opposite border, much like modern-day China. That was why most of its forces were concentrated along the borders, and relatively little attention was paid to Boa Village, a remote settlement with a smaller population.
Still, in an era where players were weaker than NPCs, the news that Belhard Kingdom—one of the great powers—had sent a knight order to Boa Village became a major issue even in reality.
“Are you sure this is all right? The Third Knight Division of Belhard that’s visiting this time is nicknamed the Devils of the Battlefield.”
I reunited with Eden as well. Once the village situation was sorted out, he came looking for me.
“Ever since this incident came to light, the Belhard Kingdom has been keeping a close eye on the Six Great Heavens. They maintained a smooth relationship with the royal family while committing enormous crimes behind the scenes.”
In the midst of all this, I was being mistaken for an executive of the Black Dragon Room. That meant I had become a target of interest for the Belhard Kingdom. But this wasn’t a problem. As long as I could prove I was a foreigner affiliated with the Meriam Kingdom, everything would be fine. The one who really needed to worry about their response was Eden, who belonged to Seogwang.
“Hmm. You seem worried about me, but there’s no need. It’s only dangerous here. In reality, it’s not. The guild’s image has improved a lot. A righteous guild that refuses to tolerate injustice and has saved countless people. That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”
“It is.”
Seogwang had indeed begun receiving attention from media outlets around the world thanks to this incident. Meanwhile, China’s image had sunk even further.
“Besides, I’m the type who follows orders from above. There’s a lot I’ll have to take responsibility for because of this. Fighting the Belhard Knight Division is impossible, so I’ve already prepared myself.”
Thinking about it, I wasn’t in a position to worry. Just like Sung-chul hyung, who had assembled a massive team of lawyers, being part of Seogwang meant belonging to the top 0.1% in the country.
“That’s a relief, then. I have my own reasons to feel confident as well.”
Time passed, and the moment to welcome the Belhard Kingdom’s knight division arrived—along with the people who would prove my innocence.
“Attention! All off-duty Spirit Tamer legion members, assemble!”
“Attention!”
They had begun handling public order in Boa Village in place of the relatively small number of soldiers. They were in charge of distributing drinking water and spent twenty-four hours a day tracking down and eliminating the Six Great Heavens’ spies who had infiltrated the village. Now they had gathered, presenting themselves as my personal guard.
“You can speak freely. As I said before, I’m not part of the Black Dragon Room. I came from Liam. I’m Korean.”
Since the situation had been resolved, I revealed the truth as well. I was just an ordinary player who had crossed over from Liam. Though, to be fair, I did like helping newbies more than most people.
Anyway, they were useful allies too. They were clearly foreigners affiliated with Belhard and had a high chance of growing into a formidable fighting force.
“Yes. And you’re the benefactor who opened the future for us. News that the value of the Spirit Tamer class has approached 500,000 yuan is still a hot topic these days. We offer our endless gratitude for releasing such a valuable class for free.”
500,000 yuan. Roughly 100 million won in Korean currency. Hearing that news honestly left a bitter taste in my mouth. The more money, the better. Still, if they were the grateful type, I expected they would help me out plenty in the future.
“Leave it to us. We’ll make sure to protect our benefactor’s dignity.”
“Thank you.”
They weren’t the only helpers. Beside me stood the training instructor, the Swordsmanship Guild Master, and other powerful figures from Boa Village.
“Kekeke. If you want to naturalize, I’ll help anytime.”
“Then I’ll help too. Did you know the Belhard Kingdom is also called the Kingdom of Gastronomy? We’ll treat you to some excellent food as well.”
Everyone was favorable toward me. It was reassuring.
“I’ll open the gate now.”
Ziiing—
The royal mages who had arrived a few days earlier created a massive teleportation gate in front of Boa Village’s fountain. Since an entire knight division was crossing over, they had prepared this kind of event.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The knight division began emerging from the enormous gate. Their jet-black heavy armor etched with blood-red lines like magic circles was quite striking. These were probably armor imbued with special magic as well.
Thud. Thud.
The knights, marching in formation, lined up on either side of the fountain. Then they stomped their right feet in place, creating an overwhelming pressure.
Thud! Thud!
The atmosphere was instantly dominated. It wasn’t just for show—actual debuffs began applying.
Debuffs in Effect
Witness the God of War (Degraded)
Movement Speed Massively Reduced
Agility -20, Luck -10
Duration: 10 minutes
The degraded version of the debuff was already this strong. There were civilian NPCs present, so they had deliberately weakened the effects. Imagining what this debuff would be like in actual combat sent a chill down my spine. It was the kind of debuff that completely erased the option of a tactical retreat.
“The Belhard Kingdom’s knight division is quite aggressive. No wonder they earned the nickname Devils of the Battlefield.”
Eden looked at the knights with a disgusted expression. Even at the current level of rankers, facing a kingdom’s knight division seemed close to suicide.
Thud.
Soon after, the knight division commander appeared. He had a massive build comparable to the training instructor.
Thud. Thud.
The commander walked straight up to the training instructor. In Boa Village, the training instructor held the highest position.
“I greet the former Sword Demon.”
Sword Demon. I had thought the training instructor here wasn’t ordinary, but he even had the title of Sword Demon. That meant there was a current Sword Demon as well.
“Kalix. You haven’t changed. How is the Second Prince?”
“He is well. Recently, he personally subjugated the High Orc Lord.”
“A High Orc Lord. As expected, he was born with great talent.”
“He is a noble who inherited the blood of the Tyrant King. More importantly, you said you were poisoned. Shouldn’t you seek help from the royal healers immediately?”
The training instructor smiled faintly and looked at me.
“Thanks to my benefactor here, I’m fine now.”
Only then did the knight commander Kalix’s gaze turn toward me. Just meeting his eyes sent a chill through me. Was this what it felt like to be looked down on by the strong?
“……I heard you’re an executive of the Black Dragon Room, affiliated with the Six Great Heavens.”
“That’s false information. I’m a foreigner who came from Liam.”
“If you’re a foreigner from the Meriam Kingdom, you might be connected to Seogwang. They say you committed a massacre in the middle of the village.”
The killing intent radiating from Kalix grew stronger. But it only lasted a moment. His killing intent was instantly shattered by someone else.
“I belong to Seogwang.”
Crack.
The knight commander extended his arm at invisible speed and grabbed Eden by the throat.
“How insolent.”
“Kuh! H-here… the Meriam royal… letter…”
Eden trembled as he held out a letter that appeared to be magically sealed.
“Seogwang has no intention of becoming hostile toward the Belhard Kingdom.”
“……The intentions of a group of foreigners are meaningless.”
“But this is a letter from the Meriam royal family.”
“……”
Eden hadn’t come here without a plan. He had a solid trump card—the royal letter.
“My apologies.”
“Not at all. More importantly, you’ve gotten stronger.”
“Yes. I’ve made some progress. More than that, it seems the former Sword Demon intends to protect this foreigner.”
“That’s right.”
“Forgive me for asking, but do you intend to go against the will of the royal family, former Sword Demon?”
“Not that, but I’d like my benefactor to be treated as one. He’s not just my benefactor—he’s a benefactor of the kingdom. You should be grateful my body is in this state.”
Right now, I wasn’t saying anything, but the Spirit Tamer legion was also desperately grinding their teeth and glaring at Kalix. The training instructor represented them. I felt reassured.
“……Understood. From this moment on, the Belhard Kingdom’s Third Knight Division will take responsibility for protecting Boa Village.”
At that moment, a message appeared.
Hidden Quest: ‘Freedom for Boa Village’