The Lord of Iron
The maximum altitude of a military helicopter was 7,000 meters.
From there, Jinhyeok leapt off, spreading his arms and legs wide.
A dazzling nightscape unfolded beneath him.
Jinhyeok let out a gasp of admiration.
His eyes were truly being spoiled.
This is easy. Way too easy.
Maybe it was because he'd already jumped from an even greater height before.
Today, he felt remarkably relaxed.
He pulled out the Yodel Compass and checked the direction and distance to Windsor Castle.
That castle coming into view—that was Windsor.
He shifted his weight toward it.
There were two objectives once he infiltrated Windsor Castle.
Find the Sword of Berid hidden beneath the castle, and rescue Queen Elysia.
Then, regroup with Olivia at the predetermined location and the operation would be complete.
Windsor Castle was becoming clearer by the second.
Jinhyeok opened his mouth.
"Kancho, deploy!"
"Deploying!"
Kancho, commander of the Yodel Ranger unit, whooshed past him to the side.
Kancho's role as the scout was simple.
Disable any detection devices that might be present before Jinhyeok landed.
Go get 'em, Kancho.
As the castle drew closer, Jinhyeok activated Stealth.
There was no harm in being cautious—he could be spotted with the naked eye otherwise.
He continued falling for a while.
Then, from a corner of Windsor Castle, a flickering light appeared.
It was Kancho's signal.
After deciding on his landing point, Jinhyeok reduced his weight with Hermes' Shoes.
His body floated upward for a brief moment.
Thud!
Jinhyeok quickly adjusted to the reduced weight and completed a flawless landing.
Clap clap clap clap clap clap.
Kancho, who had been watching nearby, applauded enthusiastically like a seal.
"As expected of the Supreme Commander! That was a splendid landing! Five hundred points out of a hundred!"
Standing proudly, Kancho pointed off to one side with his stubby finger.
"This is an old castle that looks like it could collapse any moment, but the security is excellent! Laser detectors, alarms that go off when weight is applied—there's a whole variety!"
Kancho rummaged through his pocket.
Bits and pieces of some device spilled out.
"I removed all the critical parts, so nothing should be working anymore."
"Good. Excellent work, Commander Kancho. What about the guards?"
"There are tons of them! More than two hundred armed guards!"
"Damn."
That was far too many to be considered a normal deployment.
It was probably the force Prince Widrick had scraped together from all directions, just as Olivia had said.
"Let's find the sword first."
"Understood!"
Crouching against a corner wall, Jinhyeok pulled out a structural map of Windsor Castle.
The room lay far beneath ground level.
Most likely, it was a place no one had ever discovered.
"Let's go."
Kancho and Jinhyeok, both in Stealth, moved forward side by side.
It wasn't Britain's representative castle for nothing.
It was even larger and more magnificent than Conwy Castle.
Taking in the sight of Windsor Castle, they followed the map to their destination.
"What on earth is going on? More than two hundred people entered the castle just today."
"I don't know. They don't look like ordinary people… Could it be related to why Her Majesty collapsed?"
"Whatever it is, I hope it ends quickly. Things have been so ominous lately."
They pressed themselves tightly against the wall and waited for people to pass.
Just because they were inside Windsor Castle didn't mean everyone belonged to Widrick.
Most of them still hadn't grasped the true nature of the incident.
If something unexpected happened, they'd have to be careful about who they struck.
After walking a bit farther, they arrived at the marked location.
"Hm."
Jinhyeok rubbed his chin.
"A fountain."
"A fountain."
"It's full of water."
"Full."
What the map indicated was the main fountain located inside Windsor Castle.
After glancing around, Jinhyeok quietly submerged himself into the fountain.
In the past, he wouldn't have lasted even a minute.
But with his increased stats and dramatically improved cardiopulmonary endurance, he could stay submerged for quite a while now.
Gurgling as he moved inward, he soon spotted the pattern he'd seen earlier carved into the bottom of the fountain.
Between the patterns protruded several small stone knobs.
He pressed them in the order shown on the map.
Rrrrrk.
Ohhh.
With a slight vibration, the fountain's floor began to move.
Jinhyeok immediately summoned Dark.
If all the fountain water got sucked into the revealed space, it would be a problem.
Explaining with frantic gestures, Dark instantly understood and spread ice around the area.
Perfect timing—the floor opened, revealing an underground staircase that had been hidden for ages.
The fountain water, trapped within ice, flowed down along the stairs.
"Hoooo."
Taking a deep breath, Jinhyeok gave a thumbs-up to the drenched Dark.
Summoning him straight into the water without warning—
from Dark's perspective, it was practically a surprise soaking.
Water dripped from his clothes as Dark shrugged.
"I lowered the chill as much as I could, but it won't be long before the fountain freezes over."
"I'll be out before that. Even at night, they'd notice immediately if it froze."
"Call me again if you need me."
With a casual wave, Dark dismissed his manifestation.
Cool guy, no matter how many times you saw him.
"Let's go, Kancho!"
"Ready to sortie!"
Jinhyeok pulled out a Luminescent Stone from his inventory.
A stand-in for a flashlight.
Illuminating the pitch-black stairs, they began descending cautiously.
Since it was a place hidden since ancient times, who knew what kind of trouble might be lurking.
He didn't neglect his presence detection either.
"Feels like I'm Indiana Jones."
"Jones? I know that! Isn't that lotion?"
"That's Johnson's Baby Lotion. Indiana Jones is an adventurer."
"Then are we adventurers too?"
"Of course. We're setting foot in a place no one's ever entered before—and more importantly, we're hunting for treasure."
"Ooooooh! I'm excited!"
A smile full of anticipation spread across Jinhyeok's face as well.
Adventure and treasure—
how could that not make one's heart race?
This is smooth sailing.
At the bottom of the stairs, multiple branching paths appeared.
Truly a hidden ancient site.
It wouldn't feel right without a maze or traps.
Of course, since this was an operation, they had no intention of wandering aimlessly.
Unlike movie protagonists who suffer through needless hardship, Jinhyeok and Kancho followed the Yodel Compass straight to the right path.
"So boring."
"We're just that good as adventurers."
Thanks entirely to the compass, but still.
How long had they walked?
The path ended, and a small door appeared directly ahead.
Without hesitation, Jinhyeok opened it.
"Oh!"
He let out a quiet exclamation.
A perfectly preserved ancient stone chamber, untouched by human hands.
And there, resting against the far wall of the chamber—
The sword of Berid Windsor of the Black Knight Order.
Ding!
The moment he stepped forward, a cheerful alert sounded.
[You have discovered the reward for the Epic-grade sudden quest, 'Save the Child of Windsor!']
A hazy hologram spread out around them.
The man who appeared was the one they'd seen earlier—Aman Windsor, the founder of the British royal line and Berid's disciple.
He looked far older than before, suggesting that quite some time had passed since Berid had departed.
After gazing at the sword for a long while, Aman walked toward the wall.
"One day, one who possesses the proper qualifications shall come."
The holographic Aman turned his head and looked straight toward Jinhyeok.
"For the one who bears those qualifications, I leave this sword here."
With those words, the hologram scattered into nothingness.
Seira, who had been waiting for Jinhyeok's call, manifested.
She examined the sword mounted on the wall.
"It's certain. This is Berid's sword."
A connection between two worlds that seemed completely unrelated.
He'd seen it many times before, but this time, an inexplicable surge of emotion welled up inside him.
This wasn't just a simple connection.
It was the British royal lineage itself.
And the one who enabled that lineage to begin had been a member of the Black Knight Order.
This is fun. Truly.
Jinhyeok smiled.
Since his Awakening, the world had continued to expand.
The realization that what the world knew was not everything made his heart pound.
How much more would he see and hear in the future?
"Master."
After a brief silence as each of them savored their own thoughts, Seira smiled at Jinhyeok.
He didn't need to ask what it meant.
That sword belonged to her master—he should go claim it.
Nodding, Jinhyeok stepped forward and reached out.
Ding!
[You have acquired the Black Knight Order's Berid Windsor's sword, 'Ferrakan'!]
Level Requirement: 75Grade: EpicAttack Power: 300Unique Skill: Brand of IronThose slain by Ferrakan are marked with the Brand of Iron.You can control the weapons wielded by those who bear the mark.Only weapons made of iron can be controlled.The mark disappears when combat ends.
Holy…
Considering it was a level 75 weapon, its raw attack power wasn't particularly high.
But the unique skill was insane.
Being able to control the weapons of enemies you killed—
the longer the battle dragged on and the more enemies he cut down, the stronger he became.
Standing beside him, Seira quietly gazed at the silver sword.
"At the start of battle, Berid was an unremarkable knight. But as the battle neared its end, no one could help but watch him."
It was still vivid in her memory.
The thousands of weapons densely surrounding Berid.
"There was a saying among his enemies. If you wanted to kill Berid, the Lord of Iron, you had to do it at the start of the battle. Miss that moment, and he would become an existence that could never be slain."
The Lord of Iron.
Just hearing the epithet made his blood race.
That's cool as hell.
With a satisfied smile, Jinhyeok quickly registered Ferrakan in his Weapon Collection.
[Weapon Collection 3/7]
Ganjiang and Moye.Salamanca.Ferrakan.
The spot where Slither's Pillar had been returned last time.
Ferrakan slid into that place, and from now on, no matter which weapon Jinhyeok used to cut down his enemies, the Brand of Iron effect would activate.
I want to try this out soon.
He was already looking forward to the next tower climb.
Still, one thing puzzled him.
The British royal family had only begun using the Windsor surname less than two hundred years ago.
Even though the first king had been Aman Windsor, why had the surname disappeared midway?
After pondering briefly, Jinhyeok shrugged.
He was in the middle of an operation.
There were more important things to deal with—he could ask Sophia or someone from the royal family later.
"No treasure…"
At some point, the greedy Momo had appeared, trudging along with slumped shoulders.
"It's fine. We got the sword."
Unlike Momo, Jinhyeok wasn't disappointed at all.
For someone who wielded swords, there was no greater treasure than this.
It was also a weapon that would turn the world upside down if revealed.
"Ughhh."
After stretching languidly and rolling his neck from side to side, he let out a breath.
The first objective of this visit—the Sword of Berid Windsor—was secured.
Thanks to that, his mind was completely at ease.
Now there was only one thing left.
"Let's go."
With a smile, Jinhyeok started walking.
The rescue of Her Majesty the Queen begins now.
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T/N:
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