Tale of the Fake Hero - Chapter 229



Only Noblemtl

Season 3: Episode 37

“Since marked the boundary between the civilized world and the demon world, it was only natural that the 17th century wars of the Demon Tribe would be centered on the invasion of the southwestern coast.”

In such a situation, on the Lengeti Peninsula, which juts out into the sea, was a strategic point both geographically and militarily.

The Demon’s invasion became more intense as time passed.

The Uruk maritime tribes and the Naga clan soldiers who had settled on the western coast relied on distant sea charts to target humanity.

“Accordingly, the development of coastal defense systems was also accelerated.”

Cheongseong Mirngadia establishes three military camps and six bases in the Ilga Islands scattered around the Lengeti Peninsula.

“The three counties are the three large islands. Grandfather Island. Father Island. Mother Island.”

The 6 islands are smaller than the 6 islands, namely Eldest Son Island, Eldest Daughter Island, Second Son Island, Second Daughter Island, Third Son Island, and Third Daughter Island.

“Camilla Alter Aradmantel was first deployed to Mother Island, the second of the three armies. The history we will cover from today is the history of the struggle between the three armies and six camps, or the prelude to the ‘Black Summer’.”

Your scent, first appearance (3)

Starting with a simple welcoming ceremony held at the garrison, I would like to look back on my memories of my first deployment.

“Okay, now let’s introduce our new cuties to our unit, so focus!”

Now, the faces of those I will never see again, except for a few, throbs painfully in my heart.

“Here, there are fewer people who don’t know John than those who do!”

“He needs no introduction!”

“I don’t need anyone with pepper on them!”

“Then how about this! Here comes Kamikami, the disciple of Captain Laminea! Everyone, applause!”

Loud laughter, smiles, and chatter.

The rough calluses of hands stroking my head one after another. The smell of charcoal, briquettes, and coal from the steam core.

A memory of light that even the smell is vividly remembered. Light and darkness always coexisted like that on the battlefield.

“Now, I should introduce you to the main figures of the corps.”

The Red Lotus Corps’ executive team, or warrior party, consisted of a total of four people.

I have already met and introduced Master, Delfred, and Mr. Griffveron.

The last one was the Witch of Sloth, Melene.

“Melene, say hello to both of you.”

“……bothered.”

“I’m going to get scolded by my sister.”

The origin of Melene’s nickname is actually quite absurd when you look into it.

It is a well-known fact that witches who value the master-student relationship give their disciples nicknames directly from their master.

Melene found everything annoying.

He was an eccentric person who found everything except eating, talking, and wearing things bothersome, that is, sleeping.

It is said that before she became a witch and a genius with telekinesis, her master would personally wash her, feed her, and bring her in front of him to teach her magic.

However, because his talent was so outstanding, he was a genius who learned most of the magic while learning in that way.

In fact, he is more of a madman than a genius.

The story of the witch’s appointment ceremony was already famous among witches.

– Melene~ If you don’t wake up, I’ll give you a nickname, ‘The Witch of Annoyance’? I’ll register you with the association right away without you being able to do anything? You’re really registering? Huh? Are you serious, Master? You want to make Master get on his knees and beg?

Despite her repeated threats and pleas, Melene proved her character by never getting out of bed.

That’s why her nickname is the Witch of Sloth.

The master’s tears can be felt in the naming. No matter what, it seems he couldn’t give his disciple the title of ‘the witch of bother’.

Anyway, everyone, even those who see Melene for the first time, immediately accept the nickname and nod their heads.

“You guys, don’t bother me… … .”

Melene was almost always sitting in a chair with her knees hugged, using her telekinetic powers to levitate the chair.

That’s a real madman… … .

He said that he couldn’t do it now because he didn’t have enough magical power, but that he would walk around while lying in bed later after he had developed his magical power. It seemed like he was being sincere.

“Even though Melene lives up to her reputation, she is not incompetent. As a direct disciple of the Southern Republic priestess Silamine, she is capable of using a wide range of sorcery.”

“But… …Mr. Delfred is here too, so do you need one more sorcerer?”

“The more sorcerers the better. We’re having a shortage of manpower. Above all, unlike Delfred, who specializes in battle magic, Melene is versatile in auxiliary areas such as enemy distraction, friendly communication, reconnaissance, and defensive barriers. It’s a division of labor.”

If that was the world of light, then there was a world of darkness right beyond it. On the battlefield, the two worlds were always intersecting.

“Okay, so now that the welcoming ceremony here is over… …we should hold a welcoming ceremony for ‘that side’.”

On the first day of the expedition, torrential rain poured down. Clad in volcanic ash, the rainwater was unrealistically black.

Volcanic ash… … .

Yes, the world of darkness always appeared with volcanic ash. In my memories of darkness, that eerie, twisted stench comes back vividly.

– The Three Witches’ Association provided observation information. They said that an Uruk army of nearly 50,000 men is approaching the coast of the Second Army.

I remembered what the Master had said while we were moving here. And what Delfred had said too.

– If we intercept them before landing, we can reduce the number by 20,000. Will the clan that uses magic be included?

– There is no such exact information.

– High Tark… … No matter how many times I kill him… … he keeps switching to a different clan… … It’s so annoying.

Melene spoke as she slowly turned the chair floating in the air. Her body also turned along with it.

– Currently, the 2nd Army has 3,000 troops stationed, and the command structure has been transferred to the commander. It consists of one infantry regiment, one engineer platoon, and two artillery companies.

– Wow, all together there are 7,000 of us.

– So you’re scared, Delfred?

– It’s not a frontline engagement unless it’s a 1 vs. 10 ratio. What are the rules of engagement?

– If possible, capture about ten prisoners for interrogation. But there’s no need to push yourself too hard. I’ll go with the principle of killing first.

Anxiously, painfully, my heart was pounding, and cold sweat was pouring out of the pores on my back.

Why?

Why on earth?

The damp wind, the thick, fishy smell… … Why on earth does it smell the same as the day my mother died?

“Are you ready?”

Why, in the hand gesture of the teacher who put the helmet on, does the hand of my mother caressing my cheek before she died come to mind…?

“Never step forward. Just stay here in the rear and watch with Johan. Delfred, make sure to thin out the numbers on the sea.”

“Already in the process.”

In the dizzyingly rotating vision, the sea was seen to be frozen red.

This is Delfred’s magic.

Delfred’s magic was red even in the color of his ice magic due to the vision magic of the Vlado family.

Chaeng, chaeng, chaeng, chaengchaeng, chaechaechaechaeng!

The raging waves surged up like ice picks, smashing, crushing, and breaking the warships that were washing up on the shoreline.

“Wow!”

“Wow, that’s refreshing! This is the wizard GLaDOS (4 star)! It’s been a while since I’ve seen him, but I still get goosebumps!”

“Kids, stay here! You’re not supposed to participate in the first battle! You’re just getting in the way!”

Amidst the soldiers’ cheers, the Master was giving various deployment orders to the corps through Melene.

“I heard it was a small battle, but aren’t there too many enemies?”

Even when I asked John that, the thumping in my chest did not stop.

That’s the tension right before a bloody fight.

On the path of a warrior who will be drenched in blood and become drunk on blood, I encountered this countless times… … It was the first time I felt the tension brought on by the smell of blood.

“The Ilga Islands here are a strategic point on the southwestern coastal border, so the units for judging their size are different.”

John said, wiping his glasses, which were blackened by raindrops.

“What would normally be considered a large-scale invasion in a coastal city or town is called a small-scale invasion here.”

That was the first time I witnessed actual combat.

‘I was mistaken.’

While dealing with the demons who were welcomed during the warrant officer training course, I had a vague illusion that war would not be a big deal.

That’s not it.

In real life, there is no scoring system.

The score isn’t based on how many people died or how many people were saved. When you die, you actually die and disappear.

“First row, prepare to fire!”

“The enemy is approaching the coastal batteries!”

“Defend the artillery positions! Enuel assault team, forward!”

Just like my mother who disappeared like that, and I never saw her again… … .

In the pouring rain that plunged the world into darkness, the sound of thunder, shouts, groans, and screams began to intersect.

Through the rain, the scenery was hazy, but someone’s head was visible as it was crushed by Uruk’s hammer.

‘ah.’

Dead.

I don’t know your name, but I remember your face. I remember your smiling face at the welcoming ceremony just now.

The face of his mother on the day she died was superimposed on his collapsing body. His body would not stop shaking.

‘Maybe at that time, I was looking for a reason.’

A reason to run away from here.

Because all the despair from the day my mother died overlapped with a sense of deja vu in that moment, at that scene.

‘Darkness without a single ray of light.’

In a dark abyss where there is no light and you cannot see ahead, the feeling of helplessness and inability to do anything. The feeling of despair where everything in the world has disappeared.

scared.

scared.

scared.

If I stay here any longer, I feel like I will return to the scenery of that day. If I look at the smell of this place, the stench of this place, the scenery of this place.

“Are you scared, Kami?”

“S, Master.”

“It’s natural to be scared.”

As he spoke, I could feel the Master’s fingers trembling as he placed his hand on my head. I could see that the hand holding the sword handle was trembling.

“Are you going? Over there?”

“Yeah, I have to go.”

You’re shaking just like me, no, even more than me.

But why?

But how.

I wondered if it was possible for you to smile at me while you were trembling like that.

“This wonderful teacher is a warrior.”

I still don’t know how to describe that moment.

Dawn… has broken?

The world’s scenery changed beautifully, and even the drizzling rain seemed to be soaked in a quiet harmony.

“I am Laminaria Alter Aradmantel.”

It is amazing that the world can be filled with such anticipation and joy and praise just because of one person’s existence, when in reality nothing has changed.

“Today too, please spread your fragrance to this land through me.”

Often, very often, the sword dance that the Master had performed that day would be reenacted above the dark curtain of the stage.

A single flower… … .

A flower blooming above war… … .

It is miserable yet beautiful, pale yet vibrant, and shakes the soul with the light of passion and the thrill of mystery.

“It’s the captain!”

“The captain is here!”

He is truly a master.

He is truly a master.

“The first enemy line will be annihilated!”

“Follow the captain!”

“Lord Delfred is crushing the rear!”

He was a playful, bright-smiling teacher who was kinder than anyone else… … But what was there seemed to be something other than the teacher, something other than a human.

‘beautiful…….’

That light leads.

That scent leads me.

The light and fragrance transform the horribly slaughtering reality of the world into a sacredly tranquil unreality.

– No matter how painful and hopeless it was, the soldiers did not give up.

Would this be how I would feel if I could actually witness the lines from the fairy tales my mother used to read to me?

– Because there was a warrior there.

A ray of light that tears through all nightmares, just like in fairy tales.

That’s what it is.

That’s what it was.

So that’s why people, like the teacher, have been calling him by the same name, Warrior, even after countless years…

“The captain’s reserve force has annihilated the enemy’s second formation!”

“Push it out!”

“Break through Jinyeong’s weak points first!”

I was just looking at it like that.

The darkness subsides, disintegrates, collapses, and disappears in a haze of light.

I was just staring blankly for so long that I didn’t even realize it. Maybe that’s why I was able to see it so clearly.

“It’s over!”

“I won!”

“Kyahoooooo!”

As the noise of battle turned into cheers… … the sight of the Master’s blood-soaked and bloodshot eyes covered in a veil of fatigue and loneliness.

I didn’t have the courage to go there.

The loneliness I saw then felt like an untouchable barrier that no one could approach or touch.

“… … It’s an artillery unit belonging to the 2nd Army, but it’s already dead.”

I saw it again. Another light from the Master that later led me to the path of a warrior.

There was clearly something different.

There was something intangible, a light, a fragrance, that made you a warrior and made you serve as a warrior.

“What should I do… … I’m sorry I’m late.”

In the sight of you holding the hand of a fallen soldier whose name you didn’t know, whose background you didn’t know, and crying over him…

That day, vaguely, I could see.

That day, I could vaguely see.

That day, I could clearly feel it.

What is a warrior, who has always been called by the same name throughout time since before the origin of the universe…?

“How could this be something you should apologize for…?”

Early summer of 1671 AD, when I turned 14.

I am.

Perhaps I saw a scene where the fiction of a fairy tale was embodied in reality through the light of a warrior.