The Imperial Hunter

The battle was over. As the gunfire ceased, the forest’s tension subsided shortly thereafter.

The results of administering the truth serum to the higher-ranking member weren’t particularly impressive. They didn’t seem to have any special knowledge about real magic, the Round Table, witches, or those who possessed the Eye of the Golden Age.

‘These guys were thoroughly useless.’

It wasn’t entirely unexpected, but it was somewhat disappointing. From the perspective of the Witch of Wales, it was likely a casual attempt, where they’d take it if it worked and leave it if it didn’t. The potential gains outweighed the investment.

What was surprising was the capacity of the forces she directly or indirectly led. Not only did they manage to operate beyond the scrutiny of the Round Table, despite being based in the heartland of the UK, but they also used fanatics of this caliber without batting an eye…

Unlike the small groups of two individuals that manned the outer perimeter, the individuals guarding the heart of the forest were united as a group of nineteen. The fact that these nineteen were unafraid of losing control due to the formation of malignant cells was evidence enough. It meant that they were so devout to Satan, to a dimension where they could accept even excruciating pain as a test. They were prime candidates for recruitment if the Order of 7 Angles (O7A) were to expand its influence in the future.

The underground church of Satan worshippers, corroded by the grace of magic, seemed to have secured a more massive following than expected. Although their organizational structure might be lacking, they had managed to build a substantial religious base.

I checked the only loot while calming down from the excitement of combat. It looked like a wristwatch, but inside the bezel, there was only a disk with a star and a single bead. However, this was the missing piece of the puzzle.

“It seems like it just by looking at it. A watch that doesn’t tell time.” 

Kyung-tae said as he examined the devil worshiper’s watch, lying next to his body.

“Is there such a thing?”

“Yeah. Don’t you think I like watches? A few years ago, a brand called ‘Heutlence’ released a ‘watch that doesn’t tell time.’ I think it was a Heutlence product. They put a single bead on the watch dial if I remember correctly.”

Heutlence…? I didn’t know that brand. Unless it was a brand with the world’s best reputation, it was not worth knowing. Luxury watches, for me, were nothing more than decorations or bribes for politicians. Occasionally, they were used for money laundering and transportation.

At that level, Patek Philippe watches cost millions of dollars when you wear them on your wrist. They were also suitable as collateral or a way to set aside emergency funds.

Kyung-tae evaluated the devil worshiper’s watch after carefully examining it.

“But it doesn’t look like such a luxury item.”

I nodded in agreement.

“It’s a kind of compass, a detection device that follows magic power and mana.”

“Wow. A magical item?”

“Item?”

“Uhh, people usually call them that these days, both in games or novels.”

“Well, at least not in the Round Table.”

Things created by their worshipper of the “Golden Age” were called “relics” or “antiquities” to signify their sacred nature. Objects made after the “Golden Age” were referred to as “artifacts.” Among these, particularly important ones are distinguished by spelling them as “artefacts.”

Miscellaneous things that didn’t qualify as artifacts were classified again as “talismans.” These were usually the oddities created by the Round Table’s masters before this “change” occurred. If we were to categorize this detection device as resembling a watch, it would probably fall into the talisman category.

“Well, I suppose it doesn’t really matter what you call it.”

For convenience, I had given the arbitrary name “magic power” to the source of magic. In London’s Round Table, they might call it “Aether” or something, but the future wouldn’t necessarily conform to that. The Masters of the Round Table might have some influence over the process of the British government and international standards in the future, but that was something to see when the time came. They, too, had to be careful not to expose their foundations recklessly.

“Anyway, is there a way to turn this thing off?”

Lost in thought, I responded to Kyung-tae’s question with a question of my own.

“Do you think it could be turned off?”

“No.”

“That’s right.”

“I knew it…”

Kyung-tae scratched his head.

“Still, I was kind of hoping it might. It’s the reward we got for all this chaos, after all.”

“Weren’t there supposed to be real rewards as well?”

“Haha. Well, it’s a magic item, so I had my hopes up. Would it be okay if I tinker with it a bit?”

Instead of replying, I tossed him the detector. Catching it, Kyung-tae tilted the disc, occasionally defying gravity to roll the golden bead within.

“Wow. It’s like those magnet experiments I did when I was a kid. It has a different taste than the magic you’ve shown us, though.”

“The Masters each have their own specialties.”

This wristwatch-like detector, in the past, would have been utterly useless, a bottom-tier gadget. Its sensitivity was so low that it wouldn’t react to anything less than a fairly strong magical power. However, in the environments of the past, there didn’t exist the kind of magical power that met these criteria.

‘An item that might or might not react even when placed right in front of each of Round Table’s Masters, but where could it have been used?’

But creating even such a discarded item wasn’t easy.

The technique of attaching the soul extracted from a mountain sacrifice to objects to permanently establish magical properties was one of the signature skills of the masters that Grace assassinated, particularly in the field of miniaturization. My master, although an exceptional mage, lacked the ability to create a 2-millimeter diameter bead using only talismans.

Now that the world had changed, with repeated experimentation, I might be able to mimic it.

While fiddling with the detector, Kyung-tae suddenly spoke up.

“Hyungnim, I just had a brilliant idea.”

“An idea?”

“Yeah. Whether it’s the toothy ones surrounding the Round Table or the Witch of Wales pleasuring herself with a crucifix, they probably can’t make something like this as well as you, right?”

“But?”

“The nature of this forest seems to be getting even rougher than what we experienced earlier.”

“Most likely.”

“So, what if we build secret strongholds in places where only your eyes can find them, instead of playing around with these bead toys?”

“…Isn’t that a given?”

“Oops.”

Kyung-tae rolled his eyes. There was no way I hadn’t considered that option. It was a way to utilize the asymmetrical advantage granted by the “Eye of the Golden Age.” The utility of building multiple strongholds within the green labyrinth, even with a simple thought, was boundless. Emergency shelters, smuggling relay points, secret warehouses, and more.

With luck, it could also make potential hostile forces mistakenly identify my base. That was the part I found most charming when I first thought of this idea.

“The problem is that good opportunities are surprisingly rare.”

“Yeah…”

“Just in Korea, for instance. How many suitable places do you think there might be?”

Kyung-tae’s contemplation of the question didn’t last long.

“There probably aren’t many, to be sure.”

Korea wasn’t an ideal environment in this regard. With 70% of the land being mountainous and its relatively small landmass, and in terms of quality, the entire national park and forest where the “President” was located didn’t even come close to matching up to the vast organism that was the “Trembling Giant,” encompassing an entire forest, as a potential site to divert the enemy’s attention from my real base, making it an unsuitable candidate for a dummy site.

Looking overseas, the number of potential sites increases significantly. However, establishing and maintaining a stronghold there would be a challenging task given most of them would be remote areas, not to mention the need to secure additional personnel.

Kyung-tae chimed in hesitantly, 

“I was thinking of something like ‘Eight Gates Transformation.'”

“Eight Gates… what?'”

“Eight Gates Transformation. You know the techniques and strategies that Gongmyeong (Xu Huang) uses in ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms.’ You must have read it too, right?”

Even in a country where novels were considered a waste of time, everyone had read Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Not because they found it interesting, but because it provided some insights into dealing with those pesky Chinese bastards. It was considered the representative work of what remained of their cultural heritage, post-Cultural Revolution.

There were few who read it with genuine interest, though. And that’s where I came in. Understanding their culture deeply enough to engage in a conversation that didn’t bruise their ego but showcased my knowledge instead was essential. It was like showing them a little respect without actually making them feel inferior. If you could show off a bit of knowledge that they didn’t possess, you’d become an extraordinary individual in their eyes.

For example, if someone bragged about reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms dozens of times, and you, instead of admitting that it was a big deal, showed that you knew even more about it, they would elevate you as a superior human being rather than acknowledge that their dozens of readings were just a show-off.

Without their pride, those idiot folks were nothing but corpses. But accommodating their level was such a tiresome task…

I extracted the information Kyung-tae mentioned from my memories.

‘Surely there were descriptions that Gongmyeong was adept at handling the spirits of the Six Gates and proficient in the Eight Gates Transformation.’

He was known to summon 24 divine generals, manipulate them, use the Red Secret technique, and change the direction of winds using the secret of the Five Senses. There were many bizarre descriptions about him.

I remember many bizarre descriptions, such as summoning and controlling 24 divine generals, using the Technique of Direction Control, and changing the direction of winds using the secret of the Five Senses with his abilities

I also remembered that there were also contents related to

principles