Chapter 88
“Please, you need to rest more! In your current state, the moment you try to use aura, you’ll collapse and be carried back again!!”
Pushing aside the medic who said that, Johanna opened the door and advanced like a demon, sword in hand… then suddenly stopped in place.
The very front line… though calling it that was vague.
Because the barricade had been pushed back and back until it was now extremely close to the inner fortress. And there, in that close space, she blankly stared at her master rampaging.
“…Who…?”
Johanna unconsciously spoke, then widened her eyes as if more shocked by her own words.
It made sense… it would be an enormous shock even to herself.
She knew the names, personal details, and appearances of every soldier. There was no “soldier” Johanna didn’t know. Especially not someone who stood out like that.
For a moment, she stood there, unable to process it. Then she took one step forward. Then two. Three. Four.
Soon, her steps turned into a run.
The medic, who had been trying to stop her, also forgot and stared at Leon before shouting after Johanna.
“Commander!!!”
Come back. Please.
At that voice chasing after her, Leon turned his head. Gripping the neck of something like a grotesque starfish flying in the air, drenched in dark blood, he looked back.
Johanna ran up and stood before him.
Like a lost child, she looked at Leon.
The sword she held reflected her stubbornness, and her incomplete equipment reflected her urgency.
And in that state, she stood before her master.
“……”
She opened her mouth, wanting to ask something, but no words came out. Leon looked at her briefly, then spoke with an annoyed expression.
“Being born and raised in Hermadion doesn’t mean you’re immune to frostbite. Do you not realize how careless you are? How can you still cause trouble like this at your age? Whose decision was it to stand before people in that state? Are you going to fight without even proper equipment? Ha… I regret the time I spent teaching you. I should have made you study more so your brain wouldn’t turn into muscle.”
As a barrage of criticism and concern poured out like rapid fire, people were left in shock.
First, because of Johanna’s unstable state.
Second, because the young man hurling harsh words at her carried a strangely familiar presence.
And third… because he claimed he had personally taught Johanna.
But there was only one person who had taught Johanna.
No… more precisely, only one person here who could say that.
Everyone else was dead.
That person was Leon Wolf.
Which meant that that stubborn old man… was now standing before them in the body of someone in his twenties.
The shock on people’s faces meant nothing to him as Leon kept speaking.
Watching this, only one thought came to mind.
“…We’re screwed.”
That old man used to complain about his throat hurting and lacking stamina, so he’d stop at a reasonable point… but now that he’s back in his twenties, he’s just letting it all spill out.
And now the one who has to deal with him… is me.
“What are you staring blankly at? Look at your face. What a pathetic sight. Would anyone see you as a commander or just a beggar on the street? I always told you to behave and dress according to your title–”
“…Uncle.”
Johanna quietly called out to him.
Then she slowly approached and embraced him.
The nearly two-meter-tall body suddenly felt small, like a child.
“…Am I seeing things? How is it that you’re…?”
“Do I look like an illusion? You can’t even see that I crawled out here at this age to clean up the mess you left behind? Move, you brat. You’re heavy.”
“How is this possible…?”
Leon finally pulled Johanna off and said,
“Go put on proper winter gear and arm yourself before coming back. Fool. Do you want to die of frostbite? You’re wishing for a pitiful end.”
Then, just as he was about to turn his head again…
Someone came running frantically and threw a sword.
“Leon!”
What the hell… who throws a sword?
The massive blade flew in a straight line, and before it could pierce someone, Leon casually caught it midair with magic.
It would’ve been enormous for me to wield, but in his hands it didn’t even look big.
Just the right size.
“…Otto.”
Leon glanced between the sword and the blacksmith called Otto, then gripped it lightly and familiarly before charging forward again.
Magic infused the blade… sharp enough to cut anything, or blazing hot.
Yet without melting the sword.
It was control on a completely different level from what I had shown before.
—
[Well, that’s because he’s someone who was born with great talent and never neglected effort.]
[You could say his starting line is different. He’s clearly on a completely different level from you.]
[Ha. Ha. Ha!]
—
Ignoring the mocking narrator, I fixed my eyes on my master’s movements again.
I wasn’t the only one…Johanna also stood there, watching him.
He leapt into the air and stepped once… then, when moving the next step, he simply used another foothold he had already created.
That entire sequence was chillingly clean.
There was no hesitation in the sword that advanced without a single trace of emotion.
And because there was no emotion, there was no excess.
—
[Very different from your sword. Yours has far too much unnecessary movement.]
[You think too much. Even for a single swing, you consider this and that…]
[Look at that. That’s talent. And unlike you, there’s no rambling… just a perfect strike.]
—
Dodging the sharp projectiles flung at him with ease in midair, he pivoted on one foot, using rotational force to deliver a powerful slash.
Slash
With a tearing scream, the target ignited instantly from a single spark embedded in the blade.
The sword was sharp… but its destructive power far surpassed even that.
Watching this, people began to rise one by one.
This wasn’t just movement.
It was the mechanism of hope activation.
An overwhelmingly powerful presence… perhaps excessive, even beyond reason.
Someone like that was fighting for them.
Then this battlefield was already as good as won.
If victory was within reach, there was no reason not to fight.
No reason to hold back.
People picked up their weapons and charged again.
In the battlefield filled with rising morale, they struggled to push the barricade line forward.
Johanna, who had been standing still, didn’t refuse the hands reaching out to her and followed them.
Soon she reappeared, properly equipped in winter gear and armor, and shouted,
“Victory is with us! Rise to protect! Move for your own sake!”
“WAAAAAA!!!”
Cheers erupted among the people as they seized momentum.
The roar came back like waves, lifting everyone.
Medics moved even faster across the battlefield, tending to the wounded.
Even those who had been reciting their last words struggled to stand again.
They moved to survive.
They moved to protect.
And the one who created all of this… was a single person.
Among them, I spotted Lee Hoin.
He continued swinging his sword in silence.
This battlefield had existed without Johanna, without Leon.
Maybe the reason it hadn’t completely collapsed… was because of that guy.
Because someone had held the line, everyone else had been able to hold onto hope.
Lee Hoin exhaled heavily.
It was as if his soul might leave his body… his breath was that long.
A long plume of vapor rose above his head.
‘…After putting him through hell.’
I don’t even know anymore if I’m the one saving him…
Or if he became like this because he followed me.
Thinking that, I let out a breath.
Damn it. My mana is draining so fast, I don’t even have strength left.
I want to move… but I can’t.
Shin Yerim was already running around everywhere.
Meanwhile, my master kept lowering his percentage, sustaining his presence on this battlefield.
Even a small scratch on him transferred the burden directly onto me.
Maybe he knew, because he tried to avoid injuries… but as his available power decreased, it became nearly impossible for him to move perfectly.
‘…Monster.’
He really is a monster.
No wonder everything I’ve done feels insignificant…
‘Just what kind of person was Ludwig?’
If he earned recognition from that man, he must’ve been on a completely different level.
‘Well, most people with epithets are monsters anyway…’
Unlike me.
—
[Indeed. Contrary to what the clown said before, perhaps you’re not someone meant to possess a “title” at all.]
—
The narrator said that… almost as if hoping I wouldn’t obtain one.
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