Chapter 485

"Archer unit, prepare again." Lily gave an order to the knight beside her.

At her command, the knight urgently pointed his sword at the archers. "Archer unit! Prepare!"

The archers quickly nocked their arrows. However, as part of the border kingdom's capital defense force, they were poorly trained, and their reloading speed was noticeably slow.

"Can't you hurry up?! The enemy is already within range!" the knight shouted impatiently.

Seeing this, Lily let out a small sigh and raised her hand.

Kugugugugugu—!

The earth elementals contracted with Lily shook the ground, causing Thamus' advancing army to lose their footing and fall down. During that time, the archers finished reloading and released their arrows.

Shugagagagak!

As the sound of arrows cutting through the wind rang out, Lily summoned wind elementals to enhance their speed. Empowered by the wind, the arrows struck down Thamus' soldiers.

"A-Amazing…"

"Were elemental summoners always this powerful?"

Lily's presence alone had an overwhelming influence on the battlefield. She was still young, but her command ability, honed through countless battles, was overwhelming. Just by existing, she was shifting the tides of war.

The other commanders on the walls, who were leading their troops, were left speechless.

"Lady Lily! You're incredible! It's as if a goddess of victory has descended upon us!"

"I'm not that amazing. My Hyung-nim is far greater. That person alone could be called a god."

"H-Hyung-nim?"

Hearing Lily, who was obviously a young girl, refer to someone as "Hyung-nim," the knights looked bewildered.

At that moment, a blinding flash lit up the sky. Everyone turned their heads in shock and looked up.

"Look," Lily spoke calmly.

Just then, one of the orphan soldiers, Ru, ran up and saluted. "Commander! When can we join the fight?"

She was itching to charge in and defeat the enemy.

Seeing her, Lily said firmly, "None of you will participate in this battle."

"What? Why not? We're much stronger than these people!" Ru looked confused.

"You are indeed stronger than them, but you are also at an age where you should be protected."

There was a section of the city wall that had collapsed. Some of Thamus' knights had infiltrated through it, but Anya had already informed her that she would deal with them.

The Shadows are helping with the evacuation.

The intruders were quickly being dealt with. This allowed Lily to focus entirely on the battlefield.

"What is your true duty?"

"To defeat the enemy…"

"No. It is to find what you want to do," Lily firmly interrupted.

The orphan soldiers widened their eyes.

"So leave this to the adults. Right, knights?" Lily winked.

It was an action completely unsuited to the battlefield, but in that moment, she captivated everyone. And with it, she brought them reassurance.

"Are you the Lumene third-year representative leading this battlefield?" a voice asked from above.

Everyone turned their gaze toward the speaker. There stood a man clutching his severed arm, his face twisted in pain—Jerome.

"Are you the guildmaster of Justice?"

"You know me well. Surrender command to me. I will save you all in this battle."

Despite his words, Jerome gritted his teeth in frustration.

My hero's title was revoked? Why?!

Having conquered countless Hero Worlds, Jerome knew what he saw was real. However, never in history had a hero's title been revoked. If this were made public, Jerome would be forever remembered as a disgrace.

I can't accept this. I must accomplish something great and reclaim my hero title!

His mind was consumed by that single thought.

Lily hesitated as she looked at him. Even if she ignored his severe injuries, she was unsure whether she should relinquish command. She knew what kind of ideology he held.

However, he was still a hero and might be better suited to leading this battle than her.

Just then, the knights of the Carnel Kingdom voiced their opinions.

"Light Seeker, I appreciate your offer to command, but… Justice abandoned us. If we follow your leadership now, it will greatly damage the morale of our soldiers."

"Yes, and Lady Lily has been leading this battlefield well enough."

Hearing their response, Lily's eyes widened.

"You ignorant fools." Jerome's face turned grim. "If I offer to lead, you should be on your knees in gratitude, yet you dare reject me?"

Gooooooo—!

A whirlwind of spiritual energy erupted from his body.

Lily's eyes sharpened.

Whooong—!

She swung her battle hammer directly at Jerome.

"Hmph! Such a crude attack!"

Jerome's eyes flashed. He had already exhausted much of his strength fighting Thamus and had lost an arm, but he was still one of the strongest heroes of his generation.

Lily, still just a hero candidate, didn't stand a chance against him.

Nevertheless, she gripped her battle hammer even tighter. If she backed down here, all the knights of Carnel would die.

Realizing this, Lily gritted her teeth and spat, "You're trying to kill people just because they won't follow your orders? What do you think human lives are?!"

"Are you lecturing me?! What do you, a mere girl, know about being a hero?! Heroes are special people who lead the era! The rest are just disposable tools meant to follow the will of heroes!" Jerome bellowed.

Lily's shoulders trembled.

"And I'm curious to see what happens to you with that weak mindset!"

"At least I won't end up like you, you bastard!" she screamed.

"What?!"

At Lily's furious outburst, her strength surged past its limits.

Pazizijik—!

Cracks formed in the barrier of light Jerome had created with his elementals.

"What?!"

Kwaduk—!

"Kuhek?!"

Lily's battle hammer struck Jerome squarely in the chest, sending him flying.

"Haa… Haa… How…?"

[Impressive.]

Someone ruffled Lily's hair as if patting her head.

"Laruel?"

What Lily had just used was none other than Laruel's power. She had momentarily unleashed the strength of the Elemental Armor Leo had set up for training.

[Well, you were only able to use my power thanks to Leo's help.]

When Leo first activated Elemental Armor for Lily's training, Laruel had briefly resided inside her. This had created a sort of provisional contract.

However, using Laruel's power had been entirely Lily's own doing.

[If it weren't for Leo, you might have been the one to contract with me.]

Laruel gave Lily with a proud expression, when she suddenly saw the young girl grimace.

"Uurp?!"

Lily clamped her hands over her mouth and ran to a section of the wall.

"Uweeeeek…"

It was the cost of exceeding her limits. Feeling her head and stomach twisting in agony, Lily trembled.

Watching her with an amused expression, Laruel patted her back.

"Waaaaaah!"

"Lady Lily, hurrah!"

"The goddess of victory is protecting us!"

The knights and soldiers, realizing that Lily had saved them, erupted in cheers.

[They're calling you so eagerly. Why don't you wave at them?]

"If I… Ugh! Wave? Uwek!"

[Yeah… that wouldn't look good. Do it when you feel better.]

sep

With a blinding flash, Thamus crashed to the ground.

[That was incredible.] Arty let out an exclamation of awe.

"Well, I just unleashed an overwhelming burst of firepower for a moment."

Even for Leo, maintaining this level of firepower was difficult. If the opponent had dodged, it would have been meaningless. No matter how powerful an attack was, it had to hit to matter.

At that, Kiran asked with interest, [How does your current self compare to your past life?]

"In terms of attack power, it's similar to how I was when I first met Lysinas, but I still have a long way to go to reach the level of strength I had when I fought Erebos."

Having replied, Leo continued his pursuit of Thamus.

He's not completely dead yet.

As expected of someone with such overwhelming strength, he had survived the blow.

Whoosh—! Boom—!

Just then, Jerome, who had been struck by Lily, flew through the air and crashed to the ground in front of Leo.

"Keuhk! Cough! That damn girl!" Jerome, getting to his feet, shouted with murderous intent in his eyes.

Looking at him, Leo snorted, "Lily got you, huh?"

"Leo Plov?" Jerome flinched.

Leo, realizing that Lily had summoned Laruel, smirked. "So, how does it feel to see a real hero?"

"It was you… Are you the reason I lost my hero title?!"

"Think whatever makes you feel better," Leo sneered.

Jerome trembled with rage. Seeing that attitude, he was convinced. Leo was responsible for his expulsion from the ranks of heroes.

"Why?" Jerome screamed as if vomiting his frustration. "Why?! Heroes are chosen beings! And I was the chosen one! I have always been the best! I have executed justice for the world! So why was I cast out from the ranks of heroes?! Why must I, who have accomplished such great feats, suffer this?!"

Leo responded indifferently, "I don't think you're that impressive at all."

"What?"

"To me, you're just an idiot who thinks that having a bit of power means he can do whatever he wants to others," Leo said coldly.

Jerome's face stiffened.

"Isn't it a waste to give the title of hero to an idiot like you?"

"Graaaaahhhh!" Jerome's eyes turned bloodshot as he charged at Leo.

Leo easily evaded him.

Swek—!

With a chilling sound, Jerome's body froze.

Puhwak—! Thud—!

His severed head rolled to the ground.

Leo, still expressionless, flicked the blood off Nox and continued pursuing Thamus without sparing Jerome a second glance.

The capital of Carnel was in chaos due to Thamus' army.

If I don't take him down, they'll keep coming endlessly.

Leo chased after Thamus. Before long, he found him standing in the middle of the ruins.

Realizing Leo had arrived, Thamus, headless, glared at him and shouted, "It's not over yet! I haven't regained my full strength! If I regain my power as a spirit summoner, killing you won't be impossible!"

Thamus was burning with murderous intent. Leo had inflicted a fatal wound, but he had not completely finished him.

"Stop struggling pathetically and accept your death with dignity," Leo said, raising Nox in irritation, when a brilliant light erupted from the ground beneath Thamus.

Flash—!

"This land was under my rule 3,000 years ago." Thamus' eyes gleamed. "Of course, I remember the location of my treasure vault."

Smirking, Thamus reached out his hand, and a door materialized before him.

"You need a key to open it, don't you?"

"Hmph. Do you think I would need a key to enter my own treasure vault?"

Scoffing, Thamus swung open the treasure vault's door.

Flash—!

A dazzling light burst forth, and the surroundings changed.

When Leo opened his eyes, an enormous armory stretched before him. Standing beside a throne in the center was Thamus.

Thamus picked up the skull resting on the throne and placed it on his neck.

Flash—!

The skull's eye sockets gleamed.

"With this, I have regained my full strength! Hahahahaha!" Thamus let out a mad laugh and raised his hand. "Now, Hero of the Beginning, witness the power of my proud hero army!"

Gooooooo—!

The spiritual energy surging from Thamus' body permeated the weapons filling the armory.

Flash—!

The spiritual energy manifested the living forms of the weapons' original owners.

Thamus' eyes gleamed. "I remember how you all defied my command 3,000 years ago! But I forgive you! Foolish spirits! You will now serve as my slaves and rule this world once more! We will expel the fake heroes who gained their titles through Hero Record! We will show the fools what a true hero is! Kill him at my command!"

At Thamus' frenzied order, the spirits began advancing toward Leo.

Thamus' spirit summoning, empowered by the Lich King, was akin to necromancy. It forcibly controlled others and reduced them to mere undead.

As the spirits closed in on him, Leo's expression hardened.

It wasn't due to fear or anxiety. He could hear the voices of countless spirits, filled with suffering.

I see.

Leo looked down at his hand.

I awakened the power of spirit summoning as well.

The sorrowful voices of the spirits echoed in his head, just as they had in Lysinas'.

Flash—!

A pure white spiritual energy radiated from Leo's hand. At its touch, the spirits halted.

"You're free to do as you wish," he said. "You're free now. No one can bind you anymore."

Clang—!

The spirits trembled upon touching the white light, and one by one, they disappeared. The weapons they had been holding clattered lifelessly to the ground.

Thamus' eyes widened in shock. "H-How?!"

"I just imitated a greater spirit summoner than you," Leo explained as he stepped toward Thamus.

Gooooooo—!

An ominous killing intent emanated from Leo.

Seeing this, Thamus' voice trembled. "S-Spare me."

As both a knight and a spirit summoner, he had suffered complete defeat.

Now, only two choices remained—accept death or beg for his life.

"The Hero of the Beginning! I… no! I can resist the Lich King's power! That wretched Lich King said it himself! Another fragment of Erebos has revived! He possesses Erebos' fragment! In this era, I can be of great help! Please spare me! Show mercy to your junior as the unparalleled Great Hero!"

Kneeling, Thamus clasped his hands together, groveling.

Leo looked down at him and said, "Indeed, a hero of your strength would be a great asset."

"Y-Yes, that's right…"

"But…" Leo raised Nox.

Thamus' face stiffened.

"You're not a hero, are you?"

"S-Spare me! There will never be another like me!"

"There are plenty in this era who will surpass you."

"Kraaaah!"

In one last desperate struggle, Thamus lunged at Leo.

Slash—!

Just like 3,000 years ago, Thamus' head flew through the air, severed in the exact same trajectory as before.