My Students Regret It After I Retired - Chapter 86



85 – Crimson Dawn vs. Royal Knights

When they reached where the Crimson Dawn was gathered, there was a significant number of people.

Rumors of the Emperor’s evil deeds and various other incidents had started to spread, and the discontent people had been harboring had finally exploded. In a normal revolt, there would be at least several thousand people gathered, but unfortunately, red gates were appearing all across the empire.

It was impossible for people who were struggling to keep themselves alive, let alone those who were inherently weak, to even approach Leos.

“What’s the total number?”

“Like you said, those who are not fit for combat are being housed in the safe zones. Aside from them, those who are usable as combat forces number approximately 500, 521 to be exact.”

Leos felt genuinely grateful. The Crimson Dawn was, in clear terms, aiming to revolt against the Emperor. In the midst of the chaos of red gates spreading across the empire, a revolt? In a situation where they could die at any moment, they had gathered solely with the intention of saving the empire.

‘Of course, there must be some who came here driven by a desire for revenge against their families.’

There would be countless people who suffered injustice at the hands of the Emperor. Regardless, the people in this space now were those who could be a meaningful fighting force for Leos.

“How many of the Assassination Squad members are left?”

“After several battles, quite a few have died. Around 100 remain.”

The Imperial Assassination Squad had roughly 100 members, and the Scarlet Faction had around 500, so at present, they possessed a fighting force of around 600.

“This is incomparable to the beginning.”

“Yes, it’s overwhelmingly different from when it was just you, Leos, and our Assassination Squad members.”

Leos looked at the faces of the people waiting. They were all filled with rebellion against the Emperor. Leos went to each one and shook their hands.

“What’s your name?”

“Chetto.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Your name?”

“Berachi.”

“Thank you for coming.”

Leos asked their names and offered each person thanks. It wasn’t to memorize their names. It was because he considered it the proper courtesy to them. Of course, as a bonus, he was using recording and sound-recording artifacts to record their faces and names. Just in case they fell in battle, he needed to know the names to write on their tombstones. These people, whom he didn’t even know, had come here risking their lives for the sake of change in the Empire. Courtesy was a given, and in case of death, they deserved proper funerals and aftercare.

Leos genuinely believed that.

As he was asking people’s names one by one, a familiar face caught his eye.

“…”

Leos didn’t say anything. In front of him was Enas.

– Do as you please.

Enas was someone who never trusted Leos. Yet, despite that, she hadn’t directly done anything harmful. So, instead of punishing her, Leos merely wanted to sever their ties. To live as if she were a stranger from the start. The method of this severing was, to push her away.

He meant to say, “I don’t care how you live in the future. Live as you wish.” But Enas was truly acting as she pleased. Joining the Crimson Dawn was proof of that.

“Name?”

Leos hesitated, but decided to treat her no differently. What if he rejected her here? What if he pretended not to know her? Creating discord for a mere personal feeling would be no different than insulting those who had risked their lives to come here for the future of the empire. Those unaware of the circumstances might also think Leos was discriminating against a Crimson Dawn member out of personal feelings.

With a crucial battle looming, Leos didn’t want to create any trouble. So, he asked Enas for her name.

Enas slowly opened her mouth.

“Enas… it’s Enas. What’s your name?”

A question he’d never heard before. Leos glared, wondering if she was mocking him, but she was asking the question in a state of tension, her body hair practically standing on end.

There must be some intention behind it.

Leos thought only that and answered.

“I am Leos.”

“Leos… Lord Leos. I will fight for you with my life.”

“If you will act as a member of the Crimson Dawn without involving emotions, then do your best as a Crimson Dawn member.”

With those words, Leos turned to the next person.

Enas nearly collapsed, but managed to right herself.

‘Still… still, it’s a relief he didn’t cast me out.’

Leos had said that he would treat her as a stranger. That he wouldn’t interfere in her life going forward. So, Enas was going to try to start the conversation again.

She intended to mend the relationship that had gone wrong at the Gate Management Headquarters, within the Crimson Dawn.

From the very beginning, from zero, if she could improve her relationship with him, she would gladly do so.

Of course, the emotions that have already broken won’t ever return.

*

Leos scanned the five hundred or so people one by one. But even still, no one awakened separately.

[Ability Inducer]: You can awaken the abilities of those around you. However, this ability only applies to those with an intense will that cannot be compared to anything else. This characteristic only manifests in those whose fates are intertwined with yours.

‘An intense will that cannot be compared to anything else…’

Everyone here has gathered with the single-minded desire to ‘kill the Emperor.’ Having risked their lives to participate in this rebellion, their will should be more intense than anyone else’s. But even their will didn’t elicit a reaction from the Ability Inducer.

‘Are you saying it needs the kind of madness Keltazar had?’

Leos was genuinely disappointed. It seemed that only the kind of chilling madness that Keltazar had for the Emperor was enough for the Ability Inducer to react.

‘Maybe Keltazar had a desperate will to protect the Emperor, which is why he was affected by the Ability Inducer. I wonder if anyone here has the kind of will needed to activate the Ability Inducer?’

To be clear, Keltazar had heard from the Heavenly Assembly that the Emperor was being used like a puppet, and he had a tremendous desire to kill them, which acted as a trigger that resonated with Leos’s Inducer ability.

Leos felt lost. He had thought he could make use of the Ability Inducer to some extent, but he was frustrated by the fact that even risking his own life in battle wasn’t enough to awaken the Inducer’s ability. But despite that, the situation wasn’t so bad for now. The initiative was in the Crimson Faction’s hands.

“We’ll start training now. I’ll explain the formations and fighting methods to everyone.”

Leos quickly explained a simple command system, and began teaching swordsmanship and basic fighting methods.

To be clear, they were beginning training to move as a group. Each individual was a powerful soldier who had broken through the Red Gate, but it was still difficult to coordinate when fighting as a group.

After about three days of training, Leos finally spoke.

“The training is more or less finished. It’s excellent so far.”

People’s growth rate was fast. The members who were formerly in the Execution Squad and were now part of the Crimson Faction were a given, but those who had also come through the Red Gate were growing quickly as well.

‘It would be good if we had more time.’

He was itching to train for a month, or even a year if possible. But there wasn’t time to be so leisurely now. The enemy was moving as well.

Benedict approached Leos and spoke.

“Brother. I just got word from Bartier. He says that, under Bartier’s orders, they’ve split into groups for patrol. They’ve reorganized the forces into groups 1 through 10, and they’re operating separately.”

Bartier was once a member of the Heavenly Assembly, a disciple of Benedict. He initially witnessed Benedict’s will with his own eyes, and vowed to aid Benedict.

Originally, he planned to immediately abandon his post as Commander of the 1st Imperial Guard and flee, but he judged that it would be better to stay and leak or manipulate internal information than to run, so he remained in his position, within enemy territory.

“The Imperial Guard has been reorganized into groups 1 through 10, and they’re patrolling separately in those 10 groups?”

“That’s right. They’re at a level we can take down one by one.”

“What’s the possibility of backup arriving during our fight?”

“Of course… there’s a possibility. Group 10 is the furthest away, so, if we target Group 10, it’ll be about 30 minutes. After that time, reinforcement troops from the Imperial Guard are likely to arrive.”

“How many are in Imperial Guard Group 10?”

“There are 5 ability users affiliated with the Heavenly Assembly, and 165 elite knights, a total of 170.”

“I’m going to kill them.”

Leos started walking forward.

The Imperial Guard, who appear to be working for the Emperor, but are in reality forces of the Heavenly Assembly.

And the Scarlet Guard, who are working to kill the Emperor.

The clash between these two forces was now imminent.