Former Warrior Turns Into A Million-Dollar Actor [EN]: Chapter 174

Let’s Go to New Zealand (7)

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At the edge of a plain overgrown with rough weeds,

Beneath a mountain range overlooking a valley created by nature stands a pure white castle.

This set, the castle shining brilliantly white under the New Zealand sun, is truly a product of the production team’s efforts.

Three months and 24 days.

Director Peter Sean poured resources into completing the set, even substituting some filming with miniatures.

This is because Caldwyn Airas—the fortress of the mad emperor’s empire and the final destination for Ido—deserved extra attention.

-Behind Airas’s shining glory were dwarves mining silver. Fairies blessed the unyielding white ramparts. In gratitude, humans drove both races to the ends of the earth.

Like a minstrel’s passing song, two actors stood upon the white ramparts that held the empire’s history.

The mad emperor, Caldwyn, played by the veteran actor, and the young wanderer who would slay him.

“Well made, isn’t it? You could believe it’s a fortress mined by dwarves and blessed by fairies.”

At McClain Jabasrunty’s words, Gun nodded.

“Yes. In some ways, it looks more real than the real thing.”

“More real than the real thing? Have you seen many castles like this?”

“I’ve always been interested, so I’ve visited many tourist spots in Europe.”

“Indeed, Germany and Romania… even just going to England, there are many fine ones. When I was young, I wandered through Romania and Belgium in search of more elegant fortresses. It must have been around the time I played the lead in Hamlet.”

Most of the film crew was surprised by the veteran actor, who was a mad emperor in the play but had a down-to-earth personality in person.

Rick Michael and Jameson Overbay were a notorious troublemaking duo in Hollywood, but the old man, who had reportedly smashed paparazzi cameras until recently, was surprisingly gentle.

McClain smiled gently.

“People are surprised when I say I loved legends of castles, lakes, and heroes when I was young. They ask if I was interested in such romance.”

“Romance, you say?”

“Yes, romance. You don’t know anything about it. Medieval life was far from romance or sentimentality. That world was a daily struggle for survival, as Park also knows.”

Perhaps the old tale had briefly taken him back to the past.

The veteran actor’s eyes, who had filmed all sorts of legendary action spectacles in his youth, gleamed with anticipation.

And Gun nodded.

‘That’s right. Earth’s Middle Ages might have been a little different, but.’

Lines of cavalry and blades reflecting light, echoing bugles and the king’s banners… the dust kicked up by the hooves of thousands of horses advancing.

The one who had fought directly for decades knew best how useless such glory was.

-Kill, stab them all to death!

-The demons are coming! Beat the drums and raise the horns of the knights… Keuk!

That is not romance. It is a bloody battle where flesh and blood splatter, and if you don’t plunge your sword into the enemy, your head will be torn off.

The hero’s saga is just an illusion. How many lives were lost and scattered in the stale legends where the hero achieved victory?

“That’s why I chose this work.”

Gun said, looking down at the distant below. McClain, who was also looking down, asked.

“That’s why…?”

“Because all these stories are so cruel, barren, and extremely realistic. Those who try to save the world can’t save themselves.”

In the story, the wanderer Ido suffers from terrible loneliness and the ghosts of old memories.

Even as he massacres monsters with overwhelming force and annihilates the imperial army, there is an unhidden regret deep in his eyes.

Like… a hero of a certain kingdom who became desolate and numb as the episodes continued.

McClain, watching Gun intently, stroked his white beard.

“I’m looking forward to when we face off. It’s been the best choice I’ve made in almost three years… no, five years.”

“I will do my best.”

Whether in Korea or abroad, shooting scenes in order is a matter of the director’s preference, but Peter Sean also did not prefer to shoot the later scenes in advance.

‘Is there any need to do that unless it’s unavoidable? Hey, Ben. Bring me the schedule! No, not a month from now, but who we’re shooting with tomorrow!’

Thanks to this, the scenes inside the ‘Pure White Castle’ where the emperor, princess, and protagonist Ido meet and the story unfolds like a storm have not yet been filmed.

‘Around this afternoon, I guess…’ McClain muttered and suddenly said.

“Are there many good actors in Korea?”

“Of course. There are many good works as well.”

“Well… it wasn’t bad before, but these days it’s a bit disappointing. Maybe it’s because I’ve lived too long, but I feel like this inside has grown old. I can’t be satisfied unless it’s a really good movie or play.”

McClain used polite English despite the nearly forty-year age difference.

He playfully pointed to one side of his chest and suddenly changed his expression.

“But the Black Priest was amazing. I never thought I’d see that faithful unbeliever’s performance in front of me. For once, I was grateful to my agent.”

“You flatter me.”

The veteran actor shook his head.

“No, it’s not flattery. It’s like he’s mixed the basics of method acting with his own unique acting system… and his ability to immerse and disengage is very fast. I’ve rarely seen an actor as amazing as you in my life.”

“It’s because I’ve already experienced it.”

“What, acting?”

The story on the ramparts was coming to an end. The sound of footsteps was heard in his overly sensitive hearing, and the hero’s senses recognized it as an assistant director.

‘There’s another staff member behind… Is it filming time? They’re looking for us.’

Soon the door opened and people walked in. Sending his gaze to the fluttering lion banner, Gun replied to his colleague, who might be the same age.

“The struggle to survive.”

*

The content flows quickly.

The ambiguous father-daughter relationship between the princess and the emperor is highlighted, and Gail, the corps commander who seems to blindly loyal to the Airas family, also makes a full-fledged appearance.

Gail: (In a darkened room, looking down at the tattoo on his body) I have been waiting for a long time. Just a little, just a little more and….

In particular, the dinner scene of the emperor, princess, and corps commander, each hiding their own intentions, was enough to impress the staff even without Park Gun.

Caldwyn: (Expressionlessly) Your achievements have increased, Corps Commander.

Gail: You flatter me, Your Majesty. While cutting down countless monsters on the battlefield, I happened to acquire a new skill through a series of coincidences.

Raywen: (With an innocent smile) Oh my, Corps Commander, haven’t you been on the southern front for the past few months? I heard that only rebels are rampant there, not monsters… I wonder what you went there for.

The corps commander left his position, deceiving not only his close aides but even the emperor’s close associates for a while.

That secret is revealed from the princess’s mouth, but Corps Commander Gail calmly responds.

Gail: (Raising the corners of his mouth slyly) What are you talking about, Princess? I have been in the north all along.

Raywen: It’s different from what I know….

Gail: (Interrupting) There are rumors that the princess is sending her escort knights to captured fortresses. It is regrettable that you are trying to escape His Majesty’s sight with your rash desire for power.

Raywen: …Even if you are the corps commander, I will not forgive any more rudeness than this.

Gail: Oh, my, my, the little girl I used to take care of has grown up like this. Now I can feel the dignity of a monarch.

One is virtually the holder of all power next to the emperor, and the other is the emperor’s own daughter who inherited his blood.

Just as their war of nerves intensifies, the man sitting on the silver throne raises one hand.

Caldwyn: Enough.

The emperor, who is said to be over one hundred and twenty years old, looks only in his early to mid-fifties.

When Gail and Raywen shut their mouths, a weary voice follows.

Caldwyn: The tombstones of kings are being carved, and the magic cast by the old fairies has faded. In these harsh times when the invasion of foreign forces is accelerating… should my left and right arms bite each other?

Gail: I am sorry, Your Majesty.

Raywen: I’m sorry, Father.

As the conflict intensifies, Ido and his party finally enter the imperial capital.

Crowd: (Running around) Demonic beasts, demonic beasts have appeared!

Imperial Soldier 1: (With a terrified face) This, we can’t beat that guy….

Imperial Soldier 2: (Suddenly pointing somewhere) Wait! Look over there, someone’s coming!

Imperial Soldier 1: I heard he’s in the imperial capital, could it be the corps commander…!

Was it a coincidence? Just as a demonic beast in the shape of a dragon appears leading other demonic beasts, Ido draws his sword and flies up.

Gail: (Watching Ido tearing apart the dragon’s wings from afar) Ho, is that the famous monster hunter these days?

In the end, the demonic beast that lost its wings to Ido falls to the ground, and the monsters on the ground are defeated by the combined forces of the fairy prince and the old swordsman.

The emperor’s soldiers ran away or hid inside the castle, abandoning the commoners. Therefore, the cheers of the people erupt like flames.

Gathered People: (In a thunderous voice) Wanderer! Wanderer! He is the hero who saved us!

And at that moment, the castle gate opens and the emperor’s knight invites Ido and his party into the castle.

As if it were a good opportunity, Hectan twitches his wrinkled forehead. Ido stops the old swordsman, who has met his old enemy, with one hand.

Ido: (Expressionlessly) Let’s go in for now.

Hectan: Hey, what about after we go in? If you’re not going to cut off the emperor’s head, you shouldn’t even set foot in that castle, it’s a hellhole. Allow me to launch a full-scale attack.

The fairy prince, Jerin, who was watching, adds without being heard by the knight who is going ahead.

Jerin: (With a rare worried expression) Over the decades, the emperor has crudely and viciously transformed the magic cast by the old fairies with his court wizards and his own knowledge. Going in right away is a big risk….

Ido: They can’t harm us now. Not until the ritual is over.

Jerin: …?

Ido: (Looking up at the sky) The power of the sun god is weakening day by day. That’s why the dragonkin I just killed flew in. Until the last day when enough light gathers, the emperor and his subordinates cannot move carelessly.

At the incomprehensible words, Hectan and Jerin inadvertently look at each other and then quickly turn their heads.

Thus, they enter the pure white island, Katarm.

In a huge hall where hundreds of elite imperial knights, as well as the 1st, 3rd, and 4th corps commanders, are gathered, Ido and his party face the mad tyrant.

Caldwyn: (Sitting on the throne, looking down) Are you the ones who caught the demonic beasts without permission?

Ido: (Does not answer) ….

Caldwyn: A fairy, a fierce-looking old man, and a wanderer from who knows where… truly, you have the faces of those who have come to cut off my head.

In the silence, the atmosphere turns as cold as a blade with that one word.

Hectan: (Gritting his teeth) Damn it, I knew this would happen…!

This place is not only guarded by the empire’s elite soldiers and wizards, but it is also a space where the old fairy magic is cast to attack intruders and protect those inside the castle.

Even Ido cannot guarantee victory, so the faces of both parties turn grim.

Ido: I have come to kill your god.

A violent declaration fell.

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