The Weight of Command
Anxiety. Even though Eclipse had already been overwhelmingly strong, his power had grown even greater. Realizing this, hollow laughter spilled from the lips of Hwanryeong Team 2. “Hah...”
Shin Seongmin, who had crossed blades with Eclipse directly, was especially stunned. Yusoha, who knew his strength well, asked him.
“...How much stronger has he gotten?”
“It’s not that he’s become stronger. A more accurate way to put it is that some of his original power has returned. There may not be a huge difference, but... at least swinging his greatsword once won’t leave him exhausted.”
That alone was enough to leave Yusoha dumbfounded. He could swing multiple times the strike that had silenced Shin Seongmin during the Hwanryeong tournament?
“...We don’t have to worry about the Orc King anymore, right?”
At someone’s words, the people around them nodded instinctively. They all remembered what Eclipse had shown during the Hwanryeong tournament.
“Well. That’s something we’ll only know by fighting him ourselves. We still don’t know anything about the creature. All we know is that he’s strong enough to sense from a distance. So we need to prepare thoroughly.”
“...You heard him. So rest today. Starting tomorrow, we begin serious preparations. Each of you should check your mana limits and study how to utilize them in the battles ahead.”
“Yes!”
After resting comfortably for a day and recovering some of their condition, the members of Hwanryeong Team 2 began preparing in earnest for the Orc King’s attack. Eclipse reported to Yusoha that the Orc King’s arrival was not far off, and she led the team in laying numerous traps across the surrounding terrain. Though the traps might not have much effect, they could at least slow the enemy down. They had to use every means available.
Thinking this, Yusoha immersed herself in setting the traps alongside her team members. Yet her expression remained strangely dark.
Even after Hwanryeong Team 2 finished all their preparations, Yusoha sat deep in thought inside her tent that night. She had done everything she could. Nevertheless, a sense of unease began to creep into her heart. They had no idea how many enemies would come.
Even with S-class Awakened Shin Seongmin and the far stronger Eclipse, even though Hwanryeong Team 2 had grown stronger... the orcs they had encountered here were monsters that couldn’t be compared to ordinary ones. If such creatures came in a horde, it would clearly be dangerous. Some of her team members might even die or suffer serious injuries.
Yet Yusoha couldn’t carelessly suggest retreat. It was already too late for that. Even if they retreated now, reached the base camp, and contacted Hwanryeong, the enemy’s movement speed meant they would likely arrive first. And they would undoubtedly turn the military units near the base camp into ruins. The hatred the creatures held toward humans went beyond imagination.
Guns didn’t work on them, so the military had no power to stop them. There was no telling how much damage would result. I can’t let that happen. So retreating is out of the question...
Suddenly, a thought struck Yusoha. ...Is that really right?
If I do that, it means I’m driving my team members into a slaughter. Can I really call myself a competent leader then? Wouldn’t that make me the same as him?
Yusoha lowered her head and sat silently, gritting her teeth.
Was this expedition too reckless from the start? Was it just my own greed?
Even though their pioneering efforts had been successful so far, she couldn’t stop the anxious thoughts from quietly rising. No matter how much she believed she was right, no matter how much she thought she could stop them... she was the team leader guiding them. She had to always consider the worst-case scenario.
If the Orc King was as strong as Eclipse, her team members would face considerable danger. If that happened, there was no guarantee the nightmare she had experienced in the past wouldn’t repeat itself.
She couldn’t help but recall a fragment of that past. A team wiped out because of an incompetent leader. She had barely survived alone. The emotions she felt then, the self-loathing, now turned toward herself.
Yusoha shook her head fiercely. No. I’m different from him. That’s right. I need to tell the team members...
In the end, Yusoha resolved to tell the other team members about the current situation tomorrow.
And I’ll let them choose. Whether to stay or leave. But I must stay no matter what. Even if they all leave.
Yet even after organizing her thoughts, the discomfort lingering in one corner of her heart refused to disappear.
Thud. In the end, she could only slam her head onto the simple table.
“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”
“Eclipse?”
“Is it because of the upcoming battle with the Orc King? It’s true there aren’t many days left. No, even saying ‘days’ doesn’t seem right. Judging by his presence, he’ll arrive here soon.”
“...Yeah.”
Yusoha spoke to Eclipse in a weary tone that was unlike her.
“We don’t know the enemy’s strength, but we can’t carelessly consider retreating. Communication is impossible, so we can’t contact Hwanryeong either. In the time it would take to make contact, who knows how many might die.”
“Is it because you don’t know the Orc King’s approximate strength?”
“Yes. We don’t know how many subordinates he’ll bring... Given the title of king, he might bring an army. If that happens, everyone here will be annihilated.”
“That’s not like you.”
Eclipse shook his head.
“I wanted to learn arrogance from you. The sight of you pushing forward because you believe you’re right, and ultimately proving that you were right. Yet right now, I don’t see that side of you at all.”
Even hearing those words, Yusoha didn’t flare up. No, she couldn’t.
“This situation is entirely my fault. If I had just chosen to retreat a little sooner... If I had retreated the moment we saw the gray orcs and requested help from Hwanryeong... we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Wasn’t it unavoidable? You didn’t know anything. And isn’t the Orc King coming here entirely because of my presence?”
“Saying it was unavoidable isn’t something a team leader who guides everyone should say. You should have considered even that and acted accordingly. What have I even done since coming here? If you hadn’t told me about the Orc King, I wouldn’t have been able to prepare even this much.”
Yusoha spoke to Eclipse with deep self-reproach.
“Now that I think about it, why do you feel such resistance to using my power? During the Hwanryeong tournament, you used me quite well, didn’t you?”
Eclipse honestly conveyed the feelings he had long held while watching her.
“You’re right. At first, I did. But every time that happened, I thought of when we met Seo Eun-ah recently.”
She covered her face, which was filled with self-loathing, with one hand as she spoke to Eclipse.
“That bitch I crushed was exactly like that. I called her incompetent for relying only on her Guardian Star. But look at me now. Aren’t I the same as her? Without you, I’m utterly incompetent. I find that fact absolutely horrifying.”
“You are not incompetent. Haven’t you utilized your team members in the right places and successfully carried out the pioneering so far?”
“It’s been successful until now. But if the pioneering ahead isn’t successful... then that would be no different from incompetence.”
Yusoha was mentally cornered. The obsession that she must not be incompetent was binding her. To her, incompetence was something too far removed from the person she wanted to be. Admitting her own incompetence meant she had no right to be arrogant. Because her self-love overflowed so greatly, even while relying on Eclipse, she couldn’t accept her own incompetence in this situation. This was the result.
She had considered herself supremely arrogant, put her pride first, yet this was the pathetic state she ended up in. She felt so pathetic she wanted to die. In this state, it was inevitable that Eclipse would be disappointed. What he had expected from her was, as he said, the sight of her proving her convictions without yielding to others’ opposition.
“...”
“Of course, I know that worrying about such things in this situation is insane. But I can’t help it. This is the only way I know how to live.”
“...Do you have no thoughts of running away?”
“As you said earlier, having everyone retreat is impossible. If we did that... enormous damage would occur. Still, I can’t drive everyone to their deaths, so tomorrow I’ll ask. I’ll ask who wants to stay. I won’t stop those who want to leave. Even if everyone retreats, I’ll nod my head.”
“...And you will stay?”
“I have to. I’m the one who led this expedition. I’m the one who must take responsibility.”
“From what I see, you seem too afraid of the creature. You’re worrying excessively.”
“You said you couldn’t tell how strong he was. That’s why. The people you’ve called strong until now have all been extraordinarily powerful. When even you say you can’t gauge how strong he is, of course I end up like this.”
Only then did Eclipse realize why Yusoha was trembling with such anxiety. In the end, it was because of his words.
“Hmm. It seems the reason you’re showing this side of yourself now is because of me.”
He spoke to her as if it were nothing significant.
“...What?”
For a moment, she looked at Eclipse with a dazed expression.
Pat. Eclipse placed his hand on her head and said,
“You trust me too much, so you’ve become preemptively afraid of the Orc King. Don’t worry too much. It’s true he is extraordinarily strong, but... this time I’ve also regained a bit of my original power.”
“...”
But Yusoha couldn’t hide her anxious expression even at Eclipse’s words.
“You just need to keep showing the side of yourself that you’ve always shown. I will make it so. Have you forgotten the contract condition? In exchange for learning arrogance from you, I become your strength.”
“...That’s right.”
“Last time, I learned the arrogance you defined from you... Isn’t it time for me to become your strength this time? So don’t worry too much. I will win against him.”
Thanks to what Eclipse had just said, Yusoha strangely felt her anxious heart calming down.
“Yes. We haven’t even faced the Orc King directly yet. There’s no reason to be scared in advance like this. Being frightened beforehand makes no sense.”
“Has the anxiety eased a little now?”
“...Yes.”
“That’s enough. Anyway, it really won’t be long now. Tomorrow, or the day after at latest. He’ll arrive around then, so get plenty of rest.”
“...Thank you.”
Yusoha whispered a small thanks to Eclipse’s back as he left the tent, and he nodded as if to say he understood.