Chapter 671
Chapter 671
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 671
Chapter Title: A New History Begins
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“I want to go back to school. No, I just want to go home.”
“Fire! I hate it!”
Iliana muttered blankly while hugging her knees in a corner of the tent, while Driana recoiled in terror at the sight of the campfire visible through the open tent flap.
Watching them, Chelsea crossed her arms with a look of disbelief.
“What in the world happened?”
“I heard Leo Flove took them for morning training.”
“Leo did?”
Chelsea clicked her tongue at Eliza’s words.
“Then it’s no wonder they’re so broken. Leo’s training can be pretty harsh.”
She nudged Iliana with the tip of her foot, and Iliana suddenly grabbed onto Chelsea’s uniform skirt, clinging to it.
“Chelsea! The president is here! The president is here!”
“Let go! You’re pulling my skirt down!”
Chelsea yelped and shook Iliana off.
“The president tried to kill meeeee!”
“It takes more than that to kill you.”
“You devil!”
Iliana shouted at the voice that came from the tent entrance.
“Seeing how full of energy you are, I guess we can increase the intensity of the afternoon training?”
“He’s a devil! The president is a devil!”
“And here I thought you once called him God’s agent.”
“What’s that about?”
Leo asked with a baffled expression, and Chelsea shrugged.
“The Kyle research club she founded is called the Church of Kyle. This idiot is trying to act like a cult leader now. Maybe a pair of handcuffs will snap her out of it.”
“A cult?! Kyle was a real person! And it’s not a religion in the first place! It’s just a fan club!”
Of course, Leo knew someone who had mistaken his fan club for an actual religion and tried to join.
And that person, despite being a former one, was a real god.
Iliana, who had been helped by Kyle during last year’s Festival of Heroes, had become completely infatuated with the Hero of the Beginning ever since.
She researched records related to Kyle and collected merchandise.
As her passionate investigation into Kyle continued, she eventually reached the point of half-jokingly worshipping him as a god.
It seemed that along the way, she had started calling Leo, who was an All-Class like Kyle, God’s agent.
“Anyway, Kyle and the president are completely different! Kyle was incredibly kind and gentle! Nothing like our vicious president!”
*I am Kyle, and I was the one who saved you back then.*
Leo let out a short sigh at Iliana’s outburst.
Then he noticed Chelsea covering her mouth and snickering, and he asked.
“You find this funny?”
“Ahem-hem! Ahem!”
Chelsea cleared her throat and turned her head away.
“Come out and eat.”
At his words, the female students came out of the tent.
In a corner of the clearing where the tents were, Duran was sparring with the trio of second-year Knight students.
*Flash—*
Aina’s golden aura pressed in on Duran from all sides.
“Fast.”
Duran gripped his longsword.
“But that’s all!”
*Clang-clang-clang-clang!*
“...!”
After parrying all of Aina’s strikes, Duran immediately thrust his sword toward her neck.
*Whoosh—! Clang!*
Haviden, flying in like a gale, tried to bat Duran’s sword away.
*It’s not budging?*
Haviden’s eyes widened.
He had tried to use his speed-infused sword to deflect Duran’s.
But Duran’s longsword didn’t move an inch.
All it did was slightly—ever so slightly—alter the trajectory of Duran’s blade as it aimed for Aina’s neck.
*Fwoosh—!*
That small deviation was enough for Aina to dodge the attack.
*Just how strong is he!*
The moment Haviden gritted his teeth and tried to create distance from Duran.
*Flash—!*
With a flash of light, Duran’s sword swung toward Haviden like a bolt of lightning.
*Clang—! S-s-s-sizzle—!*
“Kugh?!”
“Hesitate when you retreat, and you become prey.”
As Duran spoke, Aina closed the distance to help Haviden.
*Crackle—!*
“Aura discharge…!”
The moment Aina saw the lightning aura swirling around Duran’s body and clenched her jaw.
“Haaaaahp!”
*Fw-fw-fw-fw-fw-fwoosh!*
“Luke!”
Luke charged into the storm of lightning that Duran had unleashed.
“Arggghhh?!”
A scream burst from the electrocuted Luke’s lips.
But Luke didn’t stop his charge.
In fact, he accelerated.
*Fwhoom—!*
A silver flash threatened Duran.
Duran dodged Luke’s sword.
“Oh? You’re tough, aren’t you?”
“Thanks, Luke.”
“Save the thanks for later!”
Duran’s aura was famous for possessing power comparable to Celia’s Grand Magic.
“I’ve noticed this before, Luke Elda. Your fighting style isn’t very refined.”
“Haha, well… compared to Aina and Haviden, I guess I do fight a bit recklessly. I know I need to fix it so I can fight more efficiently.”
As Luke laughed awkwardly, the corners of Duran’s mouth curled up.
“Is there really a need to fix it?”
“Huh?”
“There’s no safe place on the battlefield, but it’s true that we fight in the most dangerous spots.”
The Knight class fights enemies on the front lines, buying time for mages and summoners.
Occasionally, there are those with aura that possesses overwhelming firepower.
Duran was a prime example.
But that didn’t mean Duran could replace the role of a mage.
“A knight is one who fights face-to-face with the enemy, breathing the same air. You don’t need to fight while getting injured, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. Depending on the situation, you’ll often have to risk injury.”
*Crackle—*
Duran retracted his aura.
It signified the end of the training session.
The second-years sheathed their weapons as well.
“You mentioned efficiency, but what’s efficient depends on the situation. Sometimes, you have to be able to inflict a fatal wound on your opponent, even if it means giving up your own life.”
Duran’s gaze turned to Aina and Haviden.
“You are certainly crude and rough compared to Aina and Haviden. The high risk of injury is a definite, fatal flaw. But you also possess a distinct advantage over the two of them.”
“An advantage?”
“Yes. The fact that you can catch your opponent off guard.”
Aina and Haviden had been rigorously trained as knights since they were young.
As warriors, they were bound to be more polished than Luke.
But because they were so polished, they were also easier to predict.
Luke, on the other hand, had only started wielding a sword in earnest after enrolling at Lumerne.
During his first year, Leo had shown him the way, but it was just a path.
He had taken what he saw and learned at the academy and refined it in his own way.
“It’s primal.”
Duran let out a small laugh.
“Aina, Haviden. You two would do well to observe Luke’s movements.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Yes, sir.”
Nodding at Aina and Haviden, who stood at attention, Duran sheathed his longsword.
Watching this, Karl spoke while chewing on a piece of grilled meat.
“The kids from the Knight Department have so much energy. Training since morning on an empty stomach.”
“Fufu. They’re diligent.”
Artian smiled gently.
“Miss Driana and Miss Iliana also trained hard this morning, didn’t they?”
At her words, Karl glanced at the traumatized pair and let out a dry laugh.
“Why can’t Driana even look at the campfire?”
“Lord Dweno threw her into a furnace.”
Karl looked dumbfounded at Ar’s answer.
“…What kind of training is that?”
“He said you have to build up resistance to control strong flames. He was going to make the black rabbit do that training too.”
“Waterboarding, electrocution… and now torture by fire? I’m scared he’ll try burying us alive next.”
Karl muttered under his breath.
“But does that actually work?”
Karl asked Leo, who nodded while eating his stew.
“It works. I saw it with my own two eyes.”
It wasn’t like Leo had just thrown Driana into a pit of fire without a second thought.
He had already confirmed that this training was incredibly effective for building fire resistance.
The test subject had been none other than Ar-on.
*He’d consulted Dweno, thinking he needed fire resistance since he stood on the front lines with him.*
When Luna found out at the time, she had angrily asked why he would consult Dweno about it.
But having been subjected to Luna’s signature howling training, Ar-on’s trust in her regarding training methods had already hit rock bottom.
Besides, among the party members, Dweno was the foremost expert on ‘fire.’
And so, at Ar-on’s request, Dweno had forcibly shoved him into a furnace to build up his fire resistance.
*He started distrusting Dweno after that, too.*
With that thought, Leo looked over at Ar.
Ar was cackling as she waved a burning piece of firewood in front of Driana.
*Come to think of it, Ar needs Dweno’s training too, doesn’t she?*
The moment he thought that.
Ar suddenly flinched, shuddered, and then lifted her head to look around.
Her tail shot straight up, and her twitching ears made her look like a cat that had sensed danger.
Leo stealthily averted his gaze from Ar.
*Her senses seem to have gotten unnecessarily sharp after learning Extrasensory Perception.*
In this state, she would probably scream her head off refusing to get into the furnace.
But Leo was determined to put Ar through this training as well.
*After all, Ar-on hadn’t been able to withstand Erebos’s flames.*
Of course, there was a limit to the fire resistance one could build with Dweno’s training method.
But completing Dweno’s training was one of the minimum requirements for Ar to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Ar-on.
*How can I coax her into walking into that furnace of her own free will?*
Leo was pondering this when it happened.
*Ding-ding-ding-ding—*
Suddenly, the bell on the watchtower began to ring frantically.
*Bwooooooooooo—!*
At the same time, the ominous sound of a horn echoed through the air.
“Air raid! Air raid!”
“It’s an attack from Tartaros!”
A commotion began to stir atop the fortress walls.
*Keeeeeeeeeak!*
Countless Fafnirs appeared in the sky, letting out monstrous shrieks.
“Fafnirs! Activate the barrier over the fortress!”
***
Hearing news of the invasion, Dweno immediately emerged from his workshop.
It hadn’t been long since the Gigantes unit had invaded.
And now another massive invasion?
“What’s the enemy’s scale?”
At Dweno’s question, Enniha replied urgently.
“We don’t have the exact details! But… the numbers are so immense, it looks like the Giant King’s entire legion!”
At those words, Dweno narrowed his eyes and looked out beyond the walls.
“…It certainly looks the same as back then.”
“What?”
“What about the Giant King Gias? It should be hard to hide that massive body.”
“He hasn’t shown himself!”
“Hmm.”
“An army of that size… I wonder if the walls can hold.”
“Don’t say such weak things.”
“B-But… Lord Dweno! Seeing that overwhelming force, the soldiers’ morale will surely…”
“This place will not fall. Isn’t that right?”
“Why are you asking me?”
Leo, who had been watching the Giant King’s army from the wall with his arms crossed, scoffed.
“What…! When did you get up here!”
“Outsiders are not allowed on the walls!”
“Get down!”
The nearby Beastkin and Dwarves grew wary of Leo.
Although they had been allowed into the fortress, this was an age of disaster rife with traitors.
They couldn’t let an outsider onto the walls, a key point of the fortress’s defense.
Especially not now, when the Giant King’s legion might be launching an all-out assault.
“Leave him be.”
“B-But Lord Dweno.”
“He would never betray us.”
“How can you be so sure?”
At the dwarf’s question, Dweno glanced at Leo.
“A hunch.”
Having said that, Dweno turned to his Beastkin adjutant.
“We’ll need help from this young man’s companions as well. I’m certain they’ll be a great help.”
“Yes, sir! I’ll bring them at once.”
The wall bustled with activity.
Through it all, Leo stood on the wall, unmoving.
Dweno stood beside him and spoke.
“What do you think will happen?”
“Why do you keep asking me that?”
“Because I have a feeling you know the answer.”
Leo smirked at the chuckling Dweno.
“We’re going to win.”
***
“Whoa, that’s insane. There are so many of them.”
Karl clicked his tongue as he looked at the endlessly sprawling army.
“It’s almost the same scale as in Lord Dweno’s world last time.”
Driana, too, clenched and unclenched her fists.
“We weren’t allowed to fight on the front lines back then.”
On the grounds that they were still inexperienced.
But now was different.
Just then, Iliana spoke in a slightly trembling voice.
“But in actual history, this place fell, right? If this is an all-out assault… can we really defend it?”
Karl scoffed at her words.
“I don’t know if it’s an all-out assault or not. But this place isn’t going to fall.”
“How can you be so sure?”
In response to Iliana’s still-anxious question, Karl turned his head toward Leo and Dweno and said.
“You call Kyle a god, don’t you?”
“Huh? Well, that’s…”
“We have a god with us right now, too, don’t we?”
“Are you talking about Lord Dweno?”
At that, Karl grinned and shrugged.
*If Leo is a god, then so is Lord Dweno. That means we have two gods with us right now! And.*
“There’s also us, right?”
Karl glared at the Giant King’s army.
“I don’t know what happened in the old days. We know the result of that history, but not the process. So let’s not get hung up on past results.”
At his words, everyone’s gaze turned to Karl.
“A history we don’t know? We just have to write a new one. So for now, let’s just look forward. Because this moment.”
Karl grinned.
“Will be the beginning of a newly recorded history.”