Book 1 Chapter 747
747.
“The famous student council president of Rummern! It is an honor to meet Leo Flove!”
The commander of the Diviana region. Duke Dear said with an emotional expression.
He was a scrawny man with an impressive goatee.
A duke is by no means a low position.
A position that can influence a nation.
But for a man with such a position, Duke Dear was excessively obsequious.
His face looked as if it were labeled “scheming courtier.”
Leo clicked his tongue at the sight of him even rubbing his hands together.
‘Has this country’s fate declined?’
He couldn’t shake off that thought.
To Leo, Duke Dear seemed incompetent to lead such a major battle, and indeed, he was.
“Since the great hero has joined the battlefield, those wicked rebels will soon be defeated!”
Leo replied to Duke Dear’s words.
“It seems this country’s heroes haven’t contributed to this civil war.”
Even if Shan didn't engage in external activities and gained hegemony over the eastern continent, a great power is still a great power.
When Devian split in two and a civil war erupted, even countries in the eastern continent connected to Devian were drawn into war.
In this era, the measure of a great power isn't solely determined by national strength and the number of soldiers.
It’s the number of heroes.
That is why a great power can remain a great power.
And Devian was the country with the most heroes in the eastern continent.
Yet, they remained silent in this war.
“Them, you mean?”
Duke Dear frowned, showing his displeasure.
“After the previous king passed away and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also tragically lost his life on the battlefield, they declared their silence.”
“I see.”
“How could they do that! Even if they are heroes chosen by the gods! In the end, they are vassals who ate the country’s sustenance and received the grace of the previous king! How can they so callously ignore the nation’s crisis! Ah! With the juniors of Rummern watching them so clearly! It seems they feel no shame!”
Duke Dear erupted in anger.
But Leo assessed the heroes of this country positively.
‘It seems the heroes of this country are at least not ones who would satisfy their personal greed.’
A hero, to establish great deeds acknowledged by the gods, inherently possesses formidable military power.
However, even with overwhelming power, not all were noble beings.
Over the past 5,000 years, selected heroes were those chosen by the gods.
Only those accepted according to the gods’ preferences.
In an age ignorant of gods, people tended to view gods as perfect beings, but gods are not perfect.
Their interest is not only given to noble beings.
Even villains, if they achieve great deeds, are selected as heroes.
They don’t care even if they know a person will change once they reach a high position and make those around them suffer.
The gods’ standards tended to be greatly distorted for earthly beings to comprehend.
Some purely pursued only fun.
That's why, while heroes up until now were strong, not all were noble.
Leo had stripped such individuals of their heroic status countless times.
And he intended to continue stripping titles from those who were unworthy.
Leo was the Hero of Beginnings.
He represented all those who risked their lives for a new era.
‘I don’t have much attachment to the title of hero. But I absolutely cannot tolerate it being sullied.’
He believed that was the sole duty of a hero of that era, living in the present time.
In that sense, he thought the heroes of Devian were righteous individuals.
Heroes are those who change the tide of battle.
Called beings who lead an era, they possess powerful charisma that inspires people.
The appearance of one hero further invigorates a war.
Currently, the forces of both the First Princess and the Second Prince are suffering from severe morale degradation.
‘Because this war has no justification.’
A meaningless war, merely driven to the battlefield by the greed of those in power.
There was no way the soldiers could fight with conviction.
But what if a hero appeared on that battlefield?
The morale of the soldiers would be greatly boosted simply by being with a hero.
An era where a hero is justice.
Simply by being with a hero, ordinary soldiers would unknowingly give legitimacy to their participation in the war.
The name "hero" in this era held that much power.
Since emotions are easily contagious on the battlefield, the war would eventually become increasingly fierce.
‘If that happens, it will truly become irreversible.’
As Devian possessed the most heroes in the eastern continent, it was also the nation responsible for the forefront of the eastern front with Tartaros.
If Devian falters, the entire eastern front falters.
‘Knowing that, the heroes have no choice but to watch the civil war.’
The atmosphere on the Tartaros eastern front was already unusual, to the point where the Crown Prince died in battle.
Devian’s heroes are highly vigilant about Tartaros’s movements.
Presumably, all competent commanders would also have been deployed to the Tartaros front.
‘Should I call it a blessing in disguise? That all those interested in the civil war are merely incompetent individuals.’
The entire country being split in half was certainly a serious matter, but at least it prevented the civil war from escalating.
The best the two factions could do was to take and lose major cities around the capital.
If this situation continued for a long time, the problems would grow increasingly large.
However, in the current situation where a civil war has erupted, maintaining a balance of power, rather than having the balance tip to one side and intensifying the civil war, was the relatively better situation.
Leo, who had easily inferred the current situation from the Devian heroes’ attitude, looked out beyond the city walls, then turned his gaze toward the Rummern students.
There, students other than Elena, Lil, and Runbar wore tense expressions.
They had experience in combat with people.
But this was their first experience in a large-scale battlefield where thousands of soldiers bled.
They weren’t afraid of war.
But the battle they were about to face was very different from the fights they had had so far.
Most of the enemies they had fought until now were demons and monsters from Tartaros.
In the case of humans, they were clear villains who harmed others.
Or, even if not, most of their experience was in the world of heroes.
But those they were fighting now were ordinary people forcibly dragged into war.
That fact weighed heavily on the hearts of the hero candidates.
“Leo, aren’t you nervous?”
Celia approached and asked.
Leo answered calmly to the question.
“Not really.”
“You’re amazing as always.”
Celia smiled bitterly.
Same age.
They took the Rummern entrance exam together, entered together, and have been attending school together until now.
Yet, Leo was always mature.
“Your nervousness is natural.”
“Huh?”
“Never forget the burden you’re feeling right now.”
Boom- boom-
The sound of drums echoed.
Pwooouuuuu-!
The sound of a horn trumpet echoed.
In the distance, thousands of soldiers belonging to the Second Prince’s faction appeared.
“It’s natural to be afraid of harming people. A person who loses that feeling can never get it back.”
Leo glanced at Cheon Sia.
Cheon Sia, who, as a shadow, had eliminated countless traitors.
As such, Cheon Sia was accustomed to killing people.
Still, she was at least not numb to it.
But he was different.
He had eliminated far more traitors than Cheon Sia, beyond comparison.
That wasn’t wrong.
It was something someone had to do, and it was for the world.
He never regretted stepping into the darkness.
‘If the same situation came, I would make the same choice countless times.’
But because of that, Leo had become numb to harming people.
Leo hoped that the heroes of the next generation would not become like him.
Not just heroes.
Shadows were the same.
‘A world without heroes like me would be a better world.’
Thinking that, Leo spoke.
“There’s one thing I want to say.”
Leo climbed onto the city wall.
Everyone’s gaze turned to Leo.
“In this mission, absolutely do not kill ordinary soldiers.”
“What?”
“We came to mediate the civil war. So there’s no need to shed blood.”
“But aren’t there times when we have no choice but to use force?”
Celia looked slightly flustered.
Leo smiled, looking at Celia.
“So I’ll show you an example right now. So watch from here.”
Having said that, Leo looked at the advancing soldiers.
At that moment, Cheon Sia approached Leo and whispered softly.
“Shall I help?”
“You just watch quietly.”
“I know you’re worried about something, Lord Leo. But I…”
“I’m not worried about you.”
Leo chuckled.
“It’s what I want to do.”
“…”
Cheon Sia stared intently at Leo.
Leo looked at Cheon Sia and burst out laughing.
“Why?”
Cheon Sia was flustered, seeing Leo suddenly burst out laughing.
“No. It just suddenly occurred to me that I, too, had a time like yours.”
Leo looked at the battlefield.
“I can’t imagine it.”
“What’s so unimaginable? I had comrades like you too.”
“Were you like this back then?”
“Do you think I was an old man from birth?”
“You were an old man from birth, weren’t you?”
Leo burst out laughing at Cheon Sia’s muttering.
“Comrades like us… are they the Great Heroes?”
“No. Literally, my first comrades. We were immature. Both them and I.”
“…”
Cheon Sia fell silent.
Because she knew well what "first comrades" implied.
“No need to be so self-conscious.”
Leo smiled faintly and jumped down from the city wall.
‘…Back then, I thought everything would go well.’
It was a faint childhood memory.
Perhaps he, when he was Kyle, was exactly this age.
Thinking back to himself then, he seemed to shine brightly, just like Cheon Sia or Celia now.
His comrades too.
A time when they believed they could be anything.
‘Am I being sentimental?’
With a bitter smile at the sudden memory of the past, Leo looked at the soldiers.
‘By the way, what on earth is Lisinas doing?’
Didn’t she say she was testing the Seirun students?
As Leo looked puzzled.
Gooohhh-!
From the front of the distant forces, a massive energy surged.
Along with it, a black dragon appeared.
Lisinas breathed fire at someone.
Seeing that, Leo looked slightly flustered.
She hadn’t breathed fire with that much power even when testing the Rummern students before.
“No… that seems a bit too much, doesn’t it?”