Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Hero of the Commoners
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Pelei, Hero of the Commoners.
One day, the title had suddenly stuck to him, and he could feel its weight. But right now, he was feeling a different kind of weight.
“Ugh!”
A groan burst from Pelei's lips.
Beneath the yellow sky, atop a snow-covered mountain peak.
Pelei stood before a certain cave.
It was one of the caves that crisscrossed the Hardenharts Mountains, used as an evacuation route in emergencies.
And in front of that cave swarmed a pack of erosion beasts like a horde of wild dogs.
Spawned by the World Erosion, they looked starved for ages, their bellies clinging to their backs.
No fur covered their bodies—only taut skin, blotched with inflamed pustules.
They resembled wild beasts, but their size dwarfed any human, monstrous hulks.
Pustule Hounds.
Individually, they weren't particularly strong, but their tendency to roam in packs vast enough to blanket mountains had earned them a 5-star rating as erosion beasts.
At this point, they filled the Hardenharts Mountains to the brim.
But their goal was singular: enter the cave.
And understandably so, for countless prey hid inside that cave right now.
“Kang!”
“Kyaaang!”
Drool spilling greedily from their maws, they could hold back no longer and charged the cave once more.
The moment Pelei spotted the onrushing Pustule Hounds, his sword flashed out.
Even though he'd been catching his breath, lungs burning, his body moved first.
Slash!
“Keng?!”
The Pustule Hound split open, its body cleaved in two.
Pustules erupted from its corpse, splattering everywhere and melting the snow.
The acidic contents within.
Sizzle!
Some of the pus splashed onto Pelei, searing his skin.
No matter that the Raheln Academy uniform had self-repair capabilities—it had been in constant battle for far too long.
The piled corpses of Pustule Hounds before the cave alone spoke volumes of Pelei's desperate struggle.
Thus, the uniform had long ceased to function properly.
Every time a Pustule Hound died and its pustules burst, the explosions kept wounding him.
Those relentless injuries steadily drained his stamina and clouded his mind.
“Ugh... Captain, me too!”
“It's fine. Rest.”
In that moment, a squad member with one leg charred black staggered up from the cave mouth.
But Pelei stopped him and took position before the cave again.
The prior battle against other 5-star erosion beasts had already left his Abyssal Squad in shambles.
In a situation where 5-star erosion beasts roamed freely.
Even as first-years from Raheln Academy, there were limits to how they could cope.
'The Lion Squad should be safe.'
They'd gotten separated amid the fighting with Charlotte's Lion Squad.
He had no idea if they lived, but Pelei prayed silently that they did.
“Kang!”
Meanwhile, the Pustule Hounds charged the cave again.
Unlike before, their numbers were swelling.
They'd sensed Pelei's stamina reaching its limit.
Pelei gritted his teeth.
Deep down, a weak urge flickered: run away from this place right now.
Pelei was human, after all.
Praised as a hero, he still wanted to live—he feared death like anyone.
And so, every time that frailty bubbled up, he had to admit it.
He wasn't the stuff of heroes.
“Kyaaang!”
“Kang!”
Clang. Claaang!
Slash!
Crunch!
Hero of the Commoners.
Such a grandiose title.
Didn't a hero stand tall here, unyielding to fear, facing the foe head-on?
And triumph over crisis to save everyone—that was the hero's tale, wasn't it?
'I'm miles away from that kind of hero.'
The sword he'd swung for his vulnerable hometown felt so inadequate now.
His meager sense of justice was too small and laughable to claim heroism.
Claaang!
Thwack!
Yet Pelei didn't retreat from the cave mouth.
Though fear made his legs tremble, they held firm before the entrance.
Pelei's breaths came even rougher than before.
Claang!
His chest heaved and fell in violent rhythm.
His heart pounded wildly; even on the Hardenharts' snowy peaks, sweat poured down.
Cling!
Hot.
From head to toe, scorching with ragged breaths.
“Kyaaang!”
Sweat and chill air failed to cool him.
But Pelei's mind stayed sharp.
Innumerable residents of the Hardenharts Mountains sheltered in that cave now.
The moment he faltered, erosion beasts' fangs would tear them apart.
Meager justice or not.
If he could pour it out here, Pelei could do anything.
Claang!
“Captain!”
An Abyssal Squad member cried out in horror.
A Pustule Hound's claw had ripped Pelei's side.
Blood gushed down his flank.
But Pelei ignored it, cleaved the beast's head, and resumed his post.
Delirium set in from blood loss.
He'd forced aura into the wound to staunch it crudely, but in this situation, the bleeding was severe.
Yet his blue eyes burned brighter than ever.
The squad members watched Pelei's back.
They were commoners like him.
Through desperate effort upon effort, they'd made it to Raheln Academy.
And so, seeing him ignited fire in their hearts.
Pelei was the true Hero of the Commoners.
No matter how he denied it.
To them, he was a hero.
Pelei never grew arrogant.
He humbled himself, agonized, agonized again.
And amid that torment, he never yielded his post.
His overheated body aside, his mind cooled to clarity.
“Kyaang!”
The Pustule Hounds charged anew.
More numerous than before.
Why was this?
Their movements sharpened into view.
Genius grew even in crisis.
And Pelei, among the geniuses, took another step forward now.
Regrettably.
Crisis claimed countless geniuses amid their growth.
Though he'd advanced a step, his body had hit its limit long ago.
Crunch!
The price: his left arm.
A charging Pustule Hound's fangs sank deep into his left forearm.
Its cursed teeth dyed his arm red in seconds.
Delayed reaction from the charge.
“...!”
A raw scream escaped Pelei.
But he had no time to finish it.
Another beast exploited the opening, claws shredding his shoulder.
Sprayed blood painted the cave wall.
The Pustule Hounds, scenting blood, grew frenzied, snorting wildly.
“Kang!”
Seizing Pelei's collapse, several bolted into the cave.
“No!”
He swung desperately, bisecting one.
But Pelei wielded only one sword.
Beyond the one he felled, others plunged inside.
And right ahead lay his wounded squad.
Pelei's face drained white.
He'd seen it in their eyes the instant he looked.
They'd resolved to sacrifice themselves.
Weapons in hand, ready to fight the hounds.
But their resolve changed nothing—their lives flickered like candles in wind.
Pelei was battered; they were no better off.
“Captain!”
A squad member shouted, igniting his final aura with a trembling smile.
“No matter how much you deny it, you're our hero!”
Pelei screamed and charged, even as he watched that deathbed smile.
Hero? How was this heroic?
How dare he, who couldn't protect even one squad member, claim the word?
“Stoooop!”
Pelei's footwork unfolded.
His signature Thousand-Li Ten Steps.
Yet it fell short.
Pelei's face crumpled.
The lifelong ember of hope guttered out in his heart.
As the squad member's final smile crossed with the hounds' forms.
Something moved before Pelei's all-out sprint.
Crack!
A skull warped with a twist; the charging Pustule Hound flew skyward.
Crack!
A second impact rocked it instantly.
Unable to withstand, it tumbled across the ground, convulsing.
One punch, yet two strike sounds echoed—Pelei's eyes widened.
Then he glimpsed dark blue hair fluttering.
And there stood a face Pelei knew.
“K-Krash Valheim?”
Pelei murmured blankly.
Krash, cracking his wrists, exhaled lightly.
“Pelei.”
Calling his name, Krash produced a vial from his pocket.
Stepping forward, he tossed it lightly to Pelei's chest.
“Didn't I tell you before? Get stronger.”
Pelei's dazed eyes widened slowly.
Words he'd chewed over endlessly from the martial tournament.
“Get stronger.”
The odd-looking Nightcrow squad member who'd bested him had said it.
“So even if your hope crumbles, an ember remains.”
Pelei's head turned, following Krash.
“Get even stronger. So you can always hold your ground.”
With those brief words, Krash now stood before the cave.
“Krash, you—!”
Before Pelei could continue, Krash bellowed like thunder.
Exhaling lightly, he glared at the Pustule Hounds.
Damn, what a pain—they'd all gathered here.
If the Hardenharts Mountains were this bad, the city center must be chaos.
'Nothing to do but trust One Sword and the Hardenharts Knights to hold there.'
Rye and Sena had gone.
Those two would surely handle the World Erosion's master.
[A guy who can barely handle his own body spouts all kinds of bravado.]
Crimson Garden's snark followed, as usual.
As she said, Krash's condition was far from normal.
But he wasn't worried.
“That's why I didn't come alone.”
Boom, thud!
As Krash spoke, the mountain shook.
The Pustule Hounds faltered at the sudden tremors.
And in that gap.
From beneath the snowbound earth, multitudes rose.
Monsters of pristine white bone, gripping weapons, eyes gleaming ferociously.
Evelask's Bone Legion.
Wariness filled the Pustule Hounds' eyes.
Their numerical superiority flipped in an instant.
At the same moment, Haring dropped her invisibility beside Krash.
Her daggers dripped venom—she'd already taken down a few.
“Krash.”
“Yeah.”
Krash rolled his shoulders.
“Let's clean up.”
Thoroughly. Not a single one left.