Book 1 Chapter 750

750.

Seeing the soldiers clutching their spears and closing in on him, Leo raised his sword.

At Leo's action, the soldiers recoiled.

Step- step-

Leo took a step forward.

In response, the soldiers who had been closing the distance flinched and trembled, taking a step back.

A peculiar sight: a single person overwhelming hundreds who had surrounded him.

Step- step-

As Leo slowly advanced, the soldiers retreated backward.

They felt it instinctively.

That the boy before their eyes was dangerous.

The overwhelming presence Leo exuded was something even the soldiers could vividly feel.

A knight watching the scene from behind shouted.

"You cowards!"

Clang-!

"To shrink back in fear when it's just one person! Are you still proud soldiers of Debian?!"

The knight, having drawn his sword, approached a soldier in front of him, intending to cut him down.

"Only after being cut by my sword will you come to your senses…!"

Thud-!

At that moment.

Leo charged towards the soldiers with incredible speed.

"Gah?!"

"Oh, don't come! Don't come!"

As Leo approached, the leading soldiers, terrified, thrust their spears.

That served as a signal, and the soldiers simultaneously charged at Leo.

Soldiers forming a group tend to move together.

Even if initially daunted, once they move, they rush forward like water bursting through a dam.

Clang-!

"Ugh?!"

Leo parried a spear aimed at him.

Then, he rushed at the soldier who had lost his balance and cut him down.

"G-gah?!"

The soldier screamed in terror and tumbled to the ground.

But in that instant, Leo was surrounded.

The soldiers who had surrounded Leo gritted their teeth and thrust their spears.

Leo, scanning the spears flying from all directions with his red eyes, stomped on the tip of a leading spear and leaped.

Swish! Swish!

Even then, he didn't stop moving his sword.

It was a movement close to divine skill.

He didn't use a single speck of aura.

He simply read the flow of battle, evading, blocking, and cutting through the soldiers' attacks.

From the soldiers' perspective, it was like fighting a ghost.

Hundreds of soldiers attacking Leo were terrified by his overwhelming martial prowess.

Leo instantly reached the soldier at the very rear.

"Uhhhhh…!"

"Quickly, cut him down!"

As the knights behind them roared, the soldier trembled and lunged at Leo.

Slash-!

"Guh?"

Leo's sword flashed.

The soldier clutching his neck froze in place.

With an expressionless face, Leo tapped-! the soldier's helmet with his sword blade.

Thud-

Then the soldier collapsed.

Thump- thump-

Leo, with cool eyes, headed towards the knights.

"Indeed, swordsmanship close to divine skill. But you must be exhausted from cutting down hundreds of soldiers."

The leading knights, sweating cold, formed a formation.

Leo tilted his head, looking at the knights.

"Killed? Who?"

"Didn't you just now massacre hundreds of proud Debian soldiers! Though they may be commoners, they are ones who sacrificed their lives for their country! To honor those soldiers, I will certainly execute you!"

The leading knight pointed his sword at Leo and radiated aura.

Leo chuckled, looking at the knight.

"It's strange how people like you, both in the past and now, are so good at spinning things in a way that benefits yourselves."

"Say whatever you want, enemy of Debian."

Saying that, Leo hooked- his sword over his shoulder.

And pointed behind him.

"Sadly, though I cut the soldiers, I didn't kill them."

At the same time, the soldiers slowly rose to their feet.

"W-what is it?"

"I definitely thought I was cut…! I felt it too!"

"It doesn't hurt!"

"W-what in the world…"

Despite being cut, no blood flowed, and there was no pain.

***

"…What kind of magic is that?"

Helena, arms crossed, wore an incredulous expression.

Before her eyes, Leo's battle scene was playing out on a magic screen.

Lil, clenching both fists, shook them wildly up and down, showing an excited reaction.

"As expected of my brother! Amazing!"

"That seems to have lightly surpassed the realm of amazing, doesn't it?"

No matter how one looked at it, it wasn't magic.

Nor was it summoning.

Pure swordsmanship.

Even to Helena's eyes, who didn't know much about swordsmanship, it seemed extraordinary.

Meanwhile.

Celia, watching the scene, clenched her fist tightly.

Then Abbad approached.

"Celia. What in the world is that?"

"…It's swordsmanship."

"Such swordsmanship… exists?"

Abbad's expression turned bewildered at the question.

Celia stared intently at Leo on the screen and said.

"It's not swordsmanship that has a defined form."

"What do you mean?"

"It's just… I find it hard to explain too."

Celia wore a confused expression.

"Xia. How should I describe this?"

"Hmm…"

Chen Xia fell into thought.

Then, she said.

"The magic of blooming flowers."

At her words, everyone's gaze turned to Chen Xia.

Receiving the gazes of the Lumen students, Chen Xia smiled gently.

"Lady Luna's magic, the magic of blooming flowers, is magic, but I heard it's magic that has stepped into the realm of creation."

"That's right."

Chloe nodded at Chen Xia's words.

"Lady Luna's magic of blooming flowers… must be magic in a realm that cannot be understood by current magic theory."

Literally, magic that creates life.

Even if it is just a flower, it is no exaggeration to say that it is magic that has entered the realm of the gods simply by itself.

"Like that, I have a feeling that the swordsmanship Young Master Leo performs has also stepped into a realm close to it."

Chen Xia took a dagger from her pocket.

"To cut is an act that harms the opponent."

That is an absolute, unchangeable law.

"But that swordsmanship seems to have excluded harming the opponent from the act of cutting."

This is swordsmanship, but it is a kind of profound state.

A state comparable to the magic of blooming flowers.

Having said that, Chen Xia added.

"Could it be swordsmanship left to Young Master Leo by some warm-hearted person?"

"Who?"

"Lord Arion."

"Ah…!"

Celia's eyes widened.

"Young Master Leo spent more time with Lord Arion than we did… so wouldn't he have seen and learned a lot?"

Chen Xia was talking about Leo's past life, but Celia recalled the training camp period.

Indeed, Leo had spent more time with Arion than other students.

Celia tightly clasped her hands.

Looking at her cousin, Celia felt an indescribable emotion.

She knew there was a difference.

That their levels were different.

Of course, that didn't mean she intended to stop trying or chasing after Leo.

But seeing Leo displaying a dimensionally different realm, she couldn't hide her confused thoughts.

Celia often wondered what kind of being Leo was.

At that moment.

"What are you worrying about so much?"

Chen Xia came behind Celia and rested her chin on Celia's left shoulder.

"I think we should observe that sight carefully right now."

"What?"

"Perhaps Young Master Leo wanted me, Miss Celia… and the knight academy students to become like Lord Arion?"

"Every knight wants to be like him. Why the sudden…"

"No."

Chen Xia took a step back and stood beside Celia.

And looking at Leo on the screen, she said.

"Perhaps he wanted us to become warriors with a warm heart like Lord Arion?"

"What?"

"Think of Lord Arion."

Celia recalled Arion's appearance she had seen before.

Contrary to what she had imagined, he was very timid.

A warm-hearted hero.

A kind-hearted beastman who cherished all living things.

"Protect the weak. Cherish life."

Chen Xia looked at Leo.

"Not intimidating others with power. Showing courage when true courage is needed."

Chen Xia smiled gently.

"Isn't that… what you call chivalry?"

"…Those are things that only appear in old fairy tales."

"Yes. But Lord Arion was like that, wasn't he?"

It was literally true.

A person like a hero from a fairy tale.

"Young Master Leo surely… wants us to become like that."

A knight fitting for a peaceful era.

Like Arion… a knight from a fairy tale.

"That's why he is definitely showing us that sight."

"…Arrogant. Who does he think he is."

Celia, arms crossed, snorted, but her red eyes held Leo's image.

Then she muttered.

"I really don't know how I'm ever going to repay my debt to him."

She was not the type of person who could live owing a debt.

She definitely wanted to repay it someday.

"The same goes for me."

Chen Xia cupped her cheeks and let out a deep sigh.

"But he never wants anything."

Chen Xia glared slightly at Leo with disgruntled eyes.

***

In the face of the incomprehensible situation, the soldiers wore bewildered expressions, and the knights' eyes widened.

"Those fellows were clearly cut…!"

"I see! You too are a demon using black magic!"

"Those guys are also resurrected corpses, just like before!"

"Say whatever you want."

It was when Leo wore a bored expression.

One of the knights said.

"White hair and red eyes… Could it be… Leo Flobe?"

At that, the knights began to murmur.

Leo Flobe.

The pressure conveyed by the weight of that name was considerable.

And with that remark, people among the knights and nobles began to recognize Leo's appearance.

"Gasp…!"

"Indeed, that face! I've seen it in the newspapers!"

"Leo Flobe, you say!"

"Why is Lumen blocking our path!"

Leo said blandly, looking at them in astonishment.

"You guys brought in Sayrune."

Leo pointed his finger towards Lisinas.

"Kyaaaaaaak! S-save me! Save me!"

"…"

At that moment, the Sayrune student bitten by Lisinas screamed.

Leo realized that the elf bitten by Lisinas was Sayrune's second-year valedictorian, Rhea Tingle.

'Is there a need to bite?'

Leo shook his head with a slightly dumbfounded expression and said.

"Since Sayrune has intervened, Lumen has no choice but to step in to mediate the Debian civil war."

"What kind of absurdity is that!"

"Unacceptable! This is Debian's affair!"

It was when Leo, ignoring the enraged nobles, wore a bored expression.

[It's unfair…! It's unfair…!]

[I can't die like this…! My family…! My wife…! My daughter…!]

Spirits summoned by Lisinas gathered around Leo.

Though they became spirits, they were originally not qualified to be spirits.

Ordinary soldiers with no power.

People who simply farmed, fished, and chopped wood… living their lives diligently day by day.

They had no connection to war.

There were even those who had been unjustly killed by the hands of knights.

Leo looked at the spirits gathered around him with an expressionless face.

These spirits, who had risen in complete form due to Lisinas's spirit magic, had their lower bodies and arms torn off in battles with the knights.

No matter if they became spirits, they were ultimately ordinary soldiers.

It was impossible for them to fight against knights who used aura.

Leo looked down at a soldier clutching his ankle as if pleading.

It wasn't an act mixed with resentment.

He had simply grabbed Leo to ask for help, so overwhelming was his unfairness.

"Even if I kill those people with my own hands, will your grudges be resolved?"

That is not the case.

The lingering attachment of a spirit is something it must resolve itself.

It can never be resolved with the help of others.

Even if those people were killed, the grudges of those who suffered unfair deaths would not be appeased.

The process of becoming an undead is extremely simple.

When resentment towards the living deepens.

Eventually, even spirits lose their reason and fall into corruption.

Lisinas had not summoned them for revenge.

He had merely summoned them to listen to their unfair stories.

It couldn't be helped.

The King of Wisdom… that kind-hearted dragon knows.

That the chain of grudges is never broken.

That there is no solution other than comforting them and apologizing on their behalf.

'That's why Lisinas is noble.'

Because he is one who can weep for the dead.

"The one who summoned you as spirits did not summon you to resolve your grudges. Nor would he want you to resolve your grudges."

Even if Lisinas had tried to resolve their grudges, Leo would have stopped him.

Because that wasn't Lisinas's job.

Lisinas shouldn't do that.

"Lumen's student council president, Leo Flobe. It is an honor to meet you on the battlefield."

The commander of the Second Prince's Royal Guard stepped forward.

"To cross swords with a hero like you on the battlefield. It is an honor for my family."

He spoke boastfully.

He couldn't tell what kind of trickery was involved, but Leo had not killed the soldiers.

'It must be because he is Lumen's student council president.'

The student council president of the prestigious Lumen.

Even if he intervened in a civil war in another country, he would not take lives on the battlefield.

'He probably doesn't want his reputation stained with blood.'

Blood can be honor for a hero, but it can also be a disgrace.

Although he intervened in the civil war because of Sayrune, spilling blood in this situation would clearly not benefit the Lumen student council president's reputation much.

'This is an opportunity.'

One could gain great fame just by fighting a hero on the battlefield and surviving.

Even if one were to suffer a humiliating defeat.

Moreover, it was none other than Leo Flobe.

The Royal Guard commander drew his sword, thinking of solidifying his fame and status.

"I ask for a single lesson."

It was when Leo stared at the commander with an expressionless face.

[Kuaaaaaaaah!]

The spirit that had grabbed Leo's ankle let out a monstrous scream, shedding tears of blood.

The resentment in its eyes deepened even further.

Leo, seeing that, stood up.

"It's quite amusing, isn't it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why do people like you always think it's natural for others to die, but act as if you'll never die?"

"What is that…"

Slash-

A chilling sound echoed.

The Royal Guard commander felt a stinging sensation in his neck.

Swoosh-

Suddenly, his vision tilted.

Thump-!

At that moment, the Royal Guard commander realized his head had fallen from his neck.

"Aaaaaaaah!"

He screamed, realizing it.

A burning pain erupted from below his neck.

It was cut so cleanly that for a long time, not even blood gushed out.

Splash-!

"Ugh!"

Finally, after a few seconds, blood gushed out.

"S-save…"

The Royal Guard commander pleaded, then collapsed.

Thud-

Silence enveloped the battlefield.

'Lisinas might not, but I'm different.'

Just before cutting down the commander.

Leo also cut off Helena's magic.

'Because this is bad for the kids' education.'

Leo smiled coldly.

Thump- thump-

Leo moved his steps.

"If you step onto the battlefield, you should be prepared to risk your life equally. Even more so."

Leo's red eyes flashed.

His gaze turned to the knights and nobles.

"I know the world isn't fair. But don't you think it's fairer for those who wanted war to die, rather than those who didn't?"

"Aaaahhhh!"

"R-run away!"

The knights and nobles screamed and fled.

Leo watched them and said.

"Lisinas might not want to repay grudges…"

Leo's gaze turned to the spirits.

By now, the spirits' eyes glowed with a chilling blue murderous intent.

In a normal state, perhaps not.

But in such a panicked, fleeing state, it would be difficult to deal with the spirits.

The spirits reassembled their bodies and pursued the knights and nobles.

Spirits stained with blood have their grudges deepened.

However…

'Because Lisinas is there.'

Lisinas would surely guide the spirits to peaceful rest.

Thud-

Leo, who had sat down on a nearby rock, looked up at the sky.

"M-my lord…"

The surviving soldiers of the Second Prince's faction approached.

"T-thank you."

"I didn't do it to be thanked by you."

Leo said without looking at the soldier.

"It just reminded me of old times."

His first war had also been a war like this.

A war where those in high places sacrificed those below for achievements.

It had also been the moment he most longed for the blue sky he now gazed upon.

Leo closed his eyes and murmured softly.

"Disgustingly clear."