TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 159
Felray, the Hero of the Commoners.
Feeling the weight of this sudden title, he was now experiencing a different kind of burden.
“Ugh!”
A groan escaped from Felray’s lips.
Beneath the yellow sky, atop a snow-covered mountain.
Felray stood in front of a cave.
It was one of the caves cutting through the Hardenhartz Mountain Range, typically used as an emergency shelter.
But in front of that cave were swarms of erosion species, like packs of wolves.
Emerging with the World Erosion, they appeared starved, their bellies clinging to their spines.
Hairless, with only skin covering their bodies, they were riddled with red, bulbous boils.
Their appearance resembled wild beasts, but their size surpassed that of humans—monstrous creatures.
Pustule Wolves.
Individually, they weren’t particularly strong, but their tendency to travel in enormous packs that could blanket mountains earned them a 5-star threat rating.
They were creatures that now filled the entire Hardenhartz Mountain.
And their objective was singular: to enter the cave.
It was no wonder—inside that cave lay countless prey in hiding.
“Kang!”
“Khaaeng!”
Unable to hold back their greed, they drooled and charged toward the cave again.
The moment Felray saw the advancing Pustule Wolves, his sword flashed.
Even though he’d been gasping for air just moments ago, his body moved before his mind.
Swish!
“Kehng?!”
A Pustule Wolf was sliced in half, its body cleaved apart.
As its body split, its boils burst, scattering their contents and melting the snow around it.
It was due to the acidic nature of the liquid within the boils.
Sizzle!
Some of the pus splashed onto Felray, searing his skin.
Despite the self-repairing capabilities of the Rahelrn Academy uniform, it had been through countless battles already.
The pile of Pustule Wolf corpses in front of the cave testified to how fiercely Felray had fought.
As a result, the uniform had long since lost its functionality.
Because of this, the constant explosions from the boils of the dying Pustule Wolves continued to injure Felray.
These relentless injuries steadily drained Felray’s stamina and clouded his mind.
“Ugh, Commander, let me…!”
“It’s fine. Rest.”
At that moment, a member with one leg blackened and charred tried to get up near the cave entrance.
But Felray stopped him and resumed his position at the front of the cave.
The previous battle with other 5-star erosion species had already left the Geohaedan members in shambles.
It was a situation where even 5-star erosion species roamed freely.
No matter how exceptional the first-year students of Rahelrn Academy were, there was a limit to how much they could handle.
‘The Lion Order members should be safe.’
During the skirmishes, they had been separated from Charlotte’s Lion Order.
Though he didn’t know their fate, Felray silently prayed for their safety.
“Kang!”
Meanwhile, the Pustule Wolves charged toward the cave once again.
Unlike before, their numbers were increasing steadily.
They, too, could sense that Felray’s strength was nearing its limit.
Felray gritted his teeth hard.
Deep down, a weak thought surfaced—a desire to flee from this spot immediately.
Felray was human, after all.
Though hailed as a hero, he, too, wanted to live and feared death.
Perhaps because of that, every time such weakness crept in, he was forced to admit it.
That he was not someone suited to be a hero.
“Khaang!”
“Kang!”
Clang. Clang!
Swish!
Crack!
The Hero of the Commoners.
What a grandiose title.
But wasn’t a hero someone who, in a moment like this, stood tall without a trace of fear?
Someone who ultimately overcame the crisis and saved everyone—that was the kind of person called a hero.
‘I’m nothing like such a hero.’
He had picked up the sword only out of sorrow for his hometown, which had been vulnerable to the World Erosion.
His feeble sense of justice was too small and laughable to proclaim heroism.
Clang!
Thud!
Yet even so, Felray did not retreat from the front of the cave.
Though fear of death caused his legs to tremble, they stood firm at the cave’s entrance.
His breathing grew heavier than before.
Clang!
His chest rose and fell erratically.
His heart pounded wildly, and sweat dripped down, even in the snow-covered peaks of Hardenhartz.
Clang!
It was hot.
From head to toe, his body burned with the heat of labored breaths.
“Khaeng!”
Neither his sweat nor the surrounding air could cool him down.
But Felray’s mind remained sharp.
Inside this cave were many inhabitants of Hardenhartz Mountain.
The moment he fell, the jaws of the erosion species would tear them to pieces.
Even a flimsy sense of justice was enough.
If he could pour out that justice here, Felray would do anything.
Clang!
“Commander!”
A Geohaedan member cried out in a panicked voice toward Felray.
Felray had been slashed across the side by a Pustule Wolf’s claws.
Blood gushed, trickling down his side.
But Felray, unfazed, split the Pustule Wolf’s head and stood once more at the entrance.
The blood loss began to blur his consciousness.
With emergency treatment, he forced aura into his muscles, compressing them to crudely stem the bleeding, but the loss was still significant.
Yet, his bright blue eyes shone even more vividly.
To the Geohaedan members, Felray’s back came into view.
They, like Felray, were all commoners.
They, too, had struggled and toiled to gain admission to Rahelrn Academy.
Perhaps because of that, their hearts ignited as they watched Felray.
The Hero of the Commoners—there was no one more fitting for that title than Felray.
Even if he denied it over and over again.
To them, Felray was a hero.
Felray was never arrogant.
He humbled himself, agonized, and agonized again.
And even amidst that agony, he never backed away from his place and stood firm.
Separate from his overheated body, his mind became calm.
“Keh-heng!”
Once again, the Pustule Wolves charged at him.
Their numbers were even greater than before.
Why was that?
The movements of the Pustule Wolves began to appear clearer than before.
A genius is one who grows even in moments of crisis.
And Felray, who stood among the ranks of geniuses, was also taking another step forward at this moment.
However, unfortunately.
A crisis, no matter how much it fosters the growth of geniuses, still takes them away.
Even though he had grown a step further, his body had already long reached its limit.
Crack!
And the price of that limit was his left arm.
The teeth of a charging Pustule Wolf sank deep into Felray’s left forearm.
The curse-infused fangs quickly dyed Felray’s arm red.
It was the price of the Pustule Wolf’s delayed reaction during its charge.
“……!”
A rough scream escaped from Felray’s lips.
But he didn’t even have time to finish screaming.
Another Pustule Wolf took advantage of the moment he was struck in his left arm and tore into his shoulder with its claws.
Blood sprayed and splattered across the walls of the cave.
The Pustule Wolves, seemingly more excited by the scent of blood, snorted violently.
“Kang!”
Then, as Felray collapsed, several Pustule Wolves immediately stepped into the cave’s entrance.
“No!”
The sword he swung desperately cleaved one of the Pustule Wolves in half.
However, Felray only had one sword.
Aside from the one he had just cut down, the others were still charging into the cave.
And right in front of them were the injured members of the Geohaedan.
Felray’s face turned pale.
In that moment, seeing the eyes of the Geohaedan members, he realized.
They had already resolved themselves to sacrifice.
Each of them held their weapons, showing their determination to fight against the Pustule Wolves.
But regardless of their resolve, their lives were as fragile as candlelight in the wind.
Because just as Felray was battered, their condition was no better.
“Commander!”
A Geohaedan member, shouting, lit their final aura with a trembling smile.
“No matter how much you deny it, to us, you were a hero!”
Even as he saw that smile, like a final testament, Felray screamed and ran.
A hero—how could he possibly be called a hero?
How could someone who couldn’t even protect a single member dare to utter the word hero?
“Stoooooop!”
Felray’s stride unfolded.
It was the Thousand Miles Ten Steps technique he frequently used.
But even so, it was still too far.
Felray’s face was crumbling.
The sensation of the ember of hope he had nurtured his whole life being extinguished swept over his heart.
At that moment, when his member’s final smile overlapped with the image of the Pustule Wolves.
Something moved before Felray’s desperate sprint could reach them.
Crack!
With the sound of a skull twisting, a charging Pustule Wolf was sent flying into the air.
Crack!
Simultaneously, a second impact shook the Pustule Wolves.
Unable to withstand the shock, the Pustule Wolves rolled across the ground, trembling.
Despite seeing only one swing of a fist, two distinct impact sounds echoed, and Felray’s eyes widened.
At the same time, he caught sight of dark blue hair fluttering in the air.
And there stood a face Felray recognized.
“Kraush Balheim?”
Felray muttered the name blankly.
Then Kraush, who cracked his wrist with a satisfying sound, exhaled lightly.
“Felray.”
Calling out his name, Kraush had already pulled out a potion bottle from his belongings.
Then, as he walked forward, he casually handed it to Felray, tapping it against his chest.
“Didn’t I tell you before? To grow stronger.”
Felray’s blank eyes slowly began to widen.
Because it was the same phrase he had replayed in his mind countless times during the Martial Arts Tournament.
[Grow stronger.]
The Night Raven member with a peculiar appearance had defeated Felray in the Martial Arts Tournament and said this.
[So that even when your hope finally crumbles, you can leave behind an ember.]
Following Kraush, Felray’s head turned instinctively.
“Grow stronger. So that you can continue to stand in your place moving forward.”
Leaving those brief words behind, Kraush was already standing at the entrance of the cave.
“Kraush, you!”
Before Felray could finish his sentence, Kraush drew Rain Thunder Prime.
Then, exhaling lightly, he glared at the Pustule Wolves.
Truly, what a bothersome number had gathered.
If Hardenhartz Mountain was like this, then the city area must truly be in utter chaos.
‘I can only trust that One Sword and the Hardenhartz Knight Order are holding their ground well.’
After all, Rai and Sena had gone there.
If it were those two, they would surely deal with the master of the World Erosion effectively.
[A guy who can barely manage his own body sure spouts a lot of bravado.]
At that, Crimson Garden’s scolding voice rang out once again.
Just as she said, Kraush’s condition was far from normal.
But Kraush wasn’t worried.
“That’s why I didn’t come alone, didn’t I?”
Thud, thud!
As Kraush spoke, the mountain began to tremble.
Even the Pustule Wolves momentarily showed signs of confusion at the sudden shaking.
And in the midst of their bewilderment.
Beneath the snow-covered ground of the mountain, numerous figures began to rise.
Monsters made of pure white skeletons, each gripping their weapons, glared fiercely with both eyes.
They were none other than Ebelasque’s Skeleton Legion.
A look of wariness filled the eyes of the Pustule Wolves.
The numerical advantage had been overturned in an instant.
Simultaneously, Haring appeared next to Kraush, deactivating her Invisible skill.
Judging by the venom still coating her dagger, she had already dealt with several of them.
“Kraush.”
“Yeah.”
Kraush lightly rolled his shoulders.
“Let’s clean up.”
“Thoroughly, without leaving a single one behind.”