I Became a Mythical Knight King

Chapter 102: Deployment (2)

The Silatein Kingdom could be broadly divided into the west, central, south, and east regions.

From the perspective of the central region, where the royal capital was located, there was also a northern region. However, the royal capital’s location being tilted towards the northeast made the northern area much smaller than the other regions.

The west and central regions were similar in size, the south was much larger, and the east was about half the size of the central region.

The Silatein Kingdom bordered two kingdoms and one empire.

To the northwest lay the Kingdom of Bertoria, to the north and east was the Empire, and to the south lay the Kingdom of Cabal.

The Kingdom of Bertoria had been a long-time rival, with the Count of Baltois, the western frontier margrave, consistently defending against Bertoria since the foundation of the kingdom.

Relations with the Empire, the continent’s most powerful nation, had been relatively amicable since the previous emperor’s reign. The Kingdom of Cabal had been an ally since Silatein’s founding.

In his military tent, Yoo Seong examined a large continental map.

It was a map issued by the Empire, specifically acquired by Count Carian.

“The Empire sits at the center of the world.”

Centering on the Imperial capital, the Kingdoms of Bertoria and Silatein were to the Empire’s west, while the Kingdoms of Cabal and Basil were to the south.

The final kingdom, Midgal, was located to the Empire’s north, with various small principalities spread across its eastern region.

The Empire’s vast territory meant that the capital’s position within the Empire was significantly skewed to the southwest. However, from the Silatein Kingdom’s perspective, the Imperial capital was quite distant.

Yoo Seong placed game pieces one by one on the map.

The Lion King’s forces, emerging from the uncharted lands south of Cabal, continued their advance north.

The lizardmen forces, pressing north from the uncharted lands west of Silatein’s southern region, attacking the south.

The forces of Crown Princess Elizabeth, holding back the monsters in the south.

And Yoo Seong’s own forces advancing south from the west.

The monsters attacking the southern region were maneuvering in a somewhat peculiar way.

Instead of expanding their forces from the area near their initial appearance in the southwest, they were recklessly charging toward the northeast.

Understanding their objective—reaching the Imperial capital to plunder the fire of civilization—explained their seemingly erratic movements.

“Their movement southward actually makes it easier to cut them off.”

The lizardmen were cutting straight through the southern region, so Crown Princess Elizabeth was holding them off in the southern area close to the central region.

This meant that if Yoo Seong advanced directly south from the west, he could attack the lizardmen’s rear.

Monsters also needed sustenance to survive. Considering how ratmen and goblins had used conquered regions as supply bases in the past, Yoo Seong planned to seize the rear to disrupt their supplies.

“Quickly neutralizing the monsters and countering the Lion King’s forces is the best course of action.”

The ideal scenario would be to swiftly stabilize the south, join forces with the Crown Princess, and lead reinforcements south to save the Kingdom of Cabal.

For this to work, the south needed to be secured quickly, the Crown Princess had to be brought to Yoo Seong’s side, and the Kingdom of Cabal had to hold out against the Lion King’s forces.

Could the already-fallen royal capital of Cabal withstand the onslaught?

And could Yoo Seong himself, along with the Silatein Kingdom’s forces, stop the Lion King?

Yoo Seong’s eyes rested on the lion-headed game piece representing the Lion King.

One of the seven kings beyond the wall.

The most powerful forces Yoo Seong could muster were the two Master Knights: Count Bisten and the Lord El Cardo.

With these two, himself, and the Camelot Knights of the Light Army, the best plan would be to defeat the Lion King.

“It’s not going to be easy.”

There was no guarantee that the Lord Protector, who had gone to the Empire, would return in time, nor that the alliance with the Crown Princess would go as planned.

The worst-case scenario could see Yoo Seong fighting the Lion King’s forces under dire conditions.

But that was the nature of war.

As always, Yoo Seong planned to build up whatever resources he could reach immediately.

Unite the western lords to form an allied army, raise the morale of the troops through a grand send-off ceremony, and continually train to enhance personal capabilities and chances of victory.

Yoo Seong turned his gaze from the map to the front.

The status window had appeared before him, its glowing text sharply defined.

[Swordsmanship Hall has leveled up.]
[The Forge has leveled up.]
[The Training Grounds have leveled up.]
[The Tavern has leveled up.]
[A new function has been unlocked at Yoo Seong Castle.]
[New military facilities have been added.]
[New troop types have been added.]
[Yoo Seong Castle’s rank has increased.]
[An invitation has been issued for Yoo Seong Castle.]
[Time required to charge the invitation: 160 hours, 21 minutes, and 51 seconds.]

The fourth stage of development.

A strategy to maximize immediate chances of success.

Closing the status window, Yoo Seong summoned Rene and Jillian to the tent.

It was close to midnight, but both Rene and Jillian were awake.

They had been expecting the Swordsmanship Hall’s level-up to complete that day.

“It’s kind of distracting.”

Normally, Rene would hum a tune and head to Yoo Seong’s tent without hesitation, but tonight was different.

Rumors from Juliet weighed on her mind.

It wasn’t about herself but about Yoo Seong’s dignity, reputation, and overall image.

Yet, there wasn’t much she could do about it.

Rene, having yet to discover an invisibility spell in Camelot’s spellbooks, settled for pulling her hood low over her face as a disguise.

“I’m off, Robin.”

Watching Rene leave, Robin thought to herself, She’s a mage, and mages are supposed to be smart, but sometimes she seems… less so.

“That disguise won’t fool anyone.”

It might even provoke misunderstandings.

But instead of pointing this out, Robin simply waved as Rene left.

At Yoo Seong’s tent, she greeted a soldier with an awkward smile, signaling her arrival…

…The unfolding scene highlighted her determination, the burdens of war, and the stakes surrounding the decisions to come.

[220 hours, 14 minutes, and 59 seconds until the completion of the Magic Tower construction.]

As expected of an important building, the construction took quite a long time.

Rene, who was watching the dwarves scurry around, turned to Yoo Seong and asked,
“What’s next?”

Her curiosity-filled question made Yoo Seong smile as he moved his fingers.
In truth, Yoo Seong had already checked the newly added features before Rene and Jillian arrived.

“First, the upgrades for the Swordsmanship Hall, Blacksmith, Training Grounds, and Tavern are complete. Each of them has some meaningful changes.”

Yoo Seong shifted the view of Yoo Seong Castle to the Blacksmith.

What appeared was the Level 4 Blacksmith, which seemed twice as large as it had been at Level 3.

“Wow, there are so many more blacksmiths now!”

“Right, and a lot more equipment can be crafted too. But most importantly, when the Magic Tower is completed, we’ll also be able to mass-produce magic weapons.”

“Mass-produce?”

Rene’s questioning tone prompted Yoo Seong to nod.

Of course, this didn’t mean churning out hundreds or thousands of magic weapons at once like in a factory. The key was that as long as the materials were available, they could be produced steadily.

“Yes, then in the future…”

“We’ll even be able to equip regular soldiers with magic weapons.”

Naturally, it would take quite a long time to replace all the weapons of the Army of Light with magic ones before it would be the turn of the ordinary soldiers, but the possibility alone was significant.

‘I can start by equipping knights and notable figures first.’

Magic weapons were inherently rare.

Even Robin and Edgar didn’t use magic weapons, and even individuals like Ruan or Baron Anjou wielded ordinary ones.

“Even if they’re not magic weapons, just increasing production capacity adds immense value. Upgrading gear for each unit… In other words, improving their equipment has become possible.”

Until now, upgrades were limited to a “Workshop Level 1.” But now, upgrades could extend to “Workshop Level 3.”

The Army of Light that Yoo Seong could summon was still small in number, but its combat power continued to increase, to the point where calling it a “heavenly army” didn’t feel out of place.

“There’s also an interesting feature added to the Training Grounds: automatic hunting.”

“Automatic hunting?”

As Rene tilted her head, unsure what that meant, Yoo Seong shifted the view to the Training Grounds.

“Until now, the soldiers trained under Kate’s supervision, but now they can undergo more systematic training. And once the training is complete, they’ll earn points based on their performance.”

Rene’s eyes lit up as she listened to Yoo Seong.

She understood what automatic hunting meant.

“Wow, does that mean the points can be self-generated?”

“Yeah, although it’s less efficient than earning them through battles, the advantage is that they’re accumulated consistently.”

Looking at the Training Grounds, soldiers were already training under Kate’s command.

“It seems like Kate is even more motivated now.”

After all, there was a great new purpose to training.

However, Rene couldn’t keep smiling. Watching Jimmy, who was running at the front, made her worry about the soldiers’ future.

‘Surely… she’ll keep it reasonable.’

Kate would keep things under control.

And if it came to it, Morgan would step in to intervene.

Thinking about it, she felt reassured.

“You don’t have to worry so much. There’s a limit to the amount of training they can undergo in a day, and it’s just training. I’m not planning to overwork them for the sake of earning points.”

“That’s true, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but we’ll still have them train daily.”

In fact, they were already training daily thanks to Kate, so it wasn’t much different.

Jimmy might have wailed if he’d heard these thoughts, but the main point was the introduction of a self-sufficient system for earning points.

“This will let us upgrade things more properly.”

With the need to reinforce troops and build new structures, there were always too many places to spend points. Even with the expanded upgrades available in the Blacksmith, it had been impossible to cover everything.

But with points earned from the Training Grounds, more upgrades could be implemented than before.

“What about the Tavern and Swordsmanship Hall?”

Excited by the Blacksmith and Training Grounds, Rene asked. Yoo Seong shifted the view to the Tavern.

“The Tavern has increased capacity. A few new waitresses have also been added.”

“That’s all?”

“Yes, for now.”

Although the variety of drinks and dishes had also expanded, compared to the other buildings, it seemed less impactful.

But that impression didn’t last long.

As Rene examined the newly added waitresses one by one, a smile spread across her face again.

The increased food and drink variety had also boosted the soldiers’ satisfaction.

“Then the last one is the Swordsmanship Hall.”

At Jillian’s remark, Yoo Seong nodded.

“Yes, the Swordsmanship Hall now has a Training Chamber.”

“A Training Chamber?”

At Rene’s question, Yoo Seong showed her the Swordsmanship Hall.

It had grown slightly larger, with some additional decorations, but didn’t appear drastically different. Once activated, however, a new feature became visible.

“It’s a private training room. You can visit it once a day, and inside, you’ll engage in combat with illusions.”

These illusions allowed trainees to battle against opponents they’d faced before. While it wasn’t a perfect simulation of real combat, it provided a different quality of training compared to ordinary sparring.

Even though Rene and Jillian weren’t warriors, they were sharp and quick-witted.

Understanding the value of the Training Chamber, they exchanged smiles.

“There are so many new features this time.”

“Yes, and we’re not done yet.”

“Oh, right. You mentioned new unit types as well?”

It wasn’t just new buildings; there were new unit types too.

Yoo Seong wasn’t the only one preparing for the decisive battle with the Lion King.

Since increasing the available units was a faster and more reliable way to strengthen the army than building new structures, both Rene and Jillian looked expectantly at Yoo Seong.

“I’ll show you.”

Yoo Seong smiled at them and activated the Army Management screen.