30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue - Chapter 262

On the train heading south, the members of the Hero Party were quietly looking out the window.

“Are we out of alcohol!?”

“You idiots!! I said let’s prioritize the important supplies first, the ‘coffin’!!”

“Shut up!! Who knew we would have this many people!!”

They could only stare out the window in silence.

“What did you say…? You bastard—!! Come out!! I will have you sent to my ancestors!!”

“I will accept your challenge!!”

They had no choice but to continue gazing out the window.

What was going to happen when they got off a moving train? Why exactly should alcohol be included in the essential supplies? Why couldn’t these people sit still for even a moment?

Such questions were meaningless. This was Drovian, after all. As they turned their eyes, they noticed several warriors who had not boarded the train running alongside it on foot….

“Apocalypse….”

Yuri muttered while making the sign of the cross. Only Ecdysis, who found this entire situation painfully familiar and had to reveal it to her foreign friends, buried her face between her knees and wept.

Just because they formed an army doesn’t mean discipline comes forth. Among the rules they recognized, there was no such thing as “strict adherence to military discipline.”

This atmosphere would only get messier as the number of this group increased. The current situation arose because they were rallying warriors, not “one clan.”

“Well, then, it’s impossible unless Einar specifically commanded it.”

“Shut up.”

Isabelle sharply fired back at Wulfric’s sneer.

She and her companions had looted three clans. Her memory recalled the initial command was to “directly meet the lords of the southern territories and, if there is a lord, surrender after a duel,” but the moment the train stopped, the warriors all jumped out simultaneously and started pillaging, throwing any plans out the window.

After the violent ‘coffin-war’ left an entire village ablaze, a flustered Ecdysis approached the bewildered lord, trying to communicate their purpose as politely as possible.

– This is a summons from Great King Einar! Join the gathering immediately!

– …At this point…?

The bewildered lord looked around, confirming the burning village and fallen warriors. After they had destroyed the gates, broken everything, and looted, were they now summoning him?

Yet, naturally, all lords were wise. If looting their own citizens meant a summons, couldn’t they potentially recover the “losses” they had just experienced?

Consequently, the three lords Ecdysis met at that point would all ask the same question.

– Which number are we?

– Third.

– Then you plan to ‘visit’ eight more territories?

– …Yes?

– Good… very good.

Ignoring flustered Ecdysis, the lords, having been completely stripped of their assets, called upon the warriors with screams of rage and desire. They boarded the train once more and sped toward the next village.

After this had occurred repeatedly, we now find ourselves here. Ecdysis was on the verge of drowning in embarrassment.

However, Isabelle stared out the window with cold eyes and thought.

As she organized the plan for the last time and was about to send Isabelle as the leader of the Hero Party, she recalled Ivan’s words.

*

When roles were assigned for the operation taking place in both the southern and northern regions of Drovian.

Ivan looked down at his party with deep-set eyes and said.

“Burn Drovian.”

“…?”

Eugene momentarily doubted if Ivan was contaminated by the Ihamaterium. More than half of those talking such nonsense could not be free from the corruption of Chaos.

But this was not a gloomy universe that housed only war. Ivan’s eyes were calm and steady.

“What nonsense are you spouting, Uncle!!”

Ecdysis, shocked by the call to burn their homeland, jumped in, but Ivan didn’t even glance at her as he suppressed her and made her sit.

“The reason Wulfric joined without complaint is simple. He intends to replenish the losses incurred through plunder with plunder.”

“That’s… possible?”

“And Wulfric is just an ordinary lord of Drovian.”

Thus,

“If we do the same in every territory, all the lords will react similarly.”

“A multi-level—?!”

“It’s a networking business, Eugene.”

The plundered lords would submit under the justification of ‘unlimited looting permits.’ In the current situation where overseas expeditions were impossible, it was hard to ignore their defenseless citizens basking in peace.

It wasn’t that Ingvar or Wulfric had exceptionally cruel natures. All Drovian lords would behave like them. After all, to lords, Drovian was not a single nation.

This ethnicity, divided into dozens of clans and having battled for hundreds of years, found the sentiment of being a single nation unfamiliar. Given the opportunity, they would likely consider it ‘plundering other clans’ instead of ‘plundering their own citizens.’

After all, Drovian lords couldn’t be controlled. You couldn’t teach discipline to the Drovian warriors, nor could you expect unity. Even with trained agents accompanying them, such tasks would be utterly impossible for this inexperienced Hero Party.

This meant that the more their forces increased, the more difficult it became to control the group. In a society where a large-scale army was required, creating one only heightened the risk of collapse.

Unless there was authority and power at the level of Einar, Drovian could never become one.

So, the conclusion was simple.

Rather than trying to force cohesion, they should entice them through benefits and accelerate the chaos. In other words, to resolve to burn the whole of Drovian—

“All the territories will be plundered, and the rewards will be distributed variably.”

“You monster….”

They would instigate internal strife, ensuring that the clans joining quickly could reap more benefits.

Thus, while following this side’s directions, they could imply that significant rewards awaited.

“The duels will be a matter to deal with afterward. Allow the warriors to plunder and plunge the south into chaos.”

“This is what the Hero Party does, right…?”

“Hmm.”

Who but a Hero could undertake such tasks?

Isabelle hesitated and nodded at Ivan’s declaration. Ivan patted her shoulder a couple of times and spoke in a low voice.

“And Isabelle, you will now stand in as Ecdysis’s duel representative in my place.”

“I was prepared for that. But are you sure it’s okay? What if I lose?”

“There is no possibility of that.”

Could there be anyone stronger than Isabelle in Drovian? Certainly, there would be. While Isabelle possessed explosive power, her swordsmanship was still somewhat inadequate to be considered refined.

While she was exceptional against large monsters or magical beings, she lacked when facing a well-trained human.

However, given that she was Isabelle, there was a possible winning strategy.

“As soon as it starts, use ‘Sky Slash.’”

“…What…?!!”

Isabelle could only look at Ivan in horror.

A move that could deal a blow to the Seven Dragon Lords; to unleash such a technique, which had the shock power akin to a barrage of cannons, immediately was—

“Anyway, if it goes to a prolonged battle, your chances of winning diminish. As you know, the lords of Drovian are no easy opponents. So you must stab with the intent to kill on the first strike.”

“What if I die in the process?”

“We’re not in a position where we can afford to fight leniently.”

“Wait, hold on, Uncle. You know I can’t move for a while after using that! If I can’t finish it in one shot—.”

“That’s why I sent Yuri.”

Ivan gestured with his chin at Yuri, who was chatting away with Eugene far off.

“If Eugene and Yuri are nearby, you can escape in any case. As long as she’s there, although you may not win, the chances of total annihilation are greatly reduced. It’s an operation with minimal risk.”

“That’s cowardly!!”

Ivan ignored Isabelle’s absurd accusation. As anyone with common sense would know, an operation with minimal risk is another way of saying ‘adequate training scenario.’

This was killing two birds with one stone. They could risk their lives fighting a sufficiently powerful opponent while simultaneously providing a training opportunity without risk and lead Drovian southern lords to execute the operation.

Physically and psychologically separated from the academy for a long time, Ivan still acted as an “educator.” He shared this golden nugget of wisdom with Isabelle with a proud face.

“You’re a monster….”

Having convinced Isabelle, Ivan left with a satisfied expression. She grumbled for a while, watching his departing figure. How did she end up getting entranced by such a man?

No, that’s not it.

It was because he was such a man that he could captivate a Hero. A Hero, above all else, is a being who renounces evil and elevates the banner of righteousness. They are always someone who serves as a model for humanity, referred to as a “Hero.”

Thus, guiding someone like that man, seemingly the most refined distillation of human malice, along the path of ‘virtue’ was a Hero’s mission. Perhaps, it wouldn’t be surprising that a Hero would find such a man attractive.

As she sighed and organized her thoughts, Isabelle departed. That had been three days prior.

*

For three days, aside from their human skins, they acted almost identically to the demons and looted three villages.

Simultaneously, these so-called ‘victims,’ differing from demons only in their human skins, aggressively played the position of ‘perpetrators.’

Currently, in southern Drovian, embodiments of value investment that would astonish even Warren Buffet were proliferating. A hedge bet where winning would increase one’s wealth and losing would merely send one to their ancestors’ embrace. Whether winning or losing, there were no losses, and even if they succeeded here, they wouldn’t need to worry about the future as long as Einar’s daughter was present; it was literally a no-risk, high-return investment—a dream investment destination.

This was indeed Drovian Dream. The sight of small investors (investing their lives) swept up in an investment frenzy racing alongside the train resembled a scene from the end of the world, as Eugene put it.

At that moment, in the front car of the train barreling through the wasteland, a Drovian warrior pressed the accelerator.

“More! More! Step on it!! There’s no time!!”

Drovian warriors didn’t know how to drive. Their culture lacked toys like trains. Aside from riding horses, the only other means of transport used by Drovian to cross the ocean and head toward the Demon Realm was boats.

Which meant that entrusting train operation to a Drovian warrior essentially meant abandoning the concepts of ‘stopping’ and ‘slowing down.’ They didn’t know any other means to operate except for rushing.

“If we keep this up, we’ll derail!!”

“Don’t use difficult words, Tylesse inhabitant.”

The Drovian warrior sternly transmitted the importance of societal language. The terrified Tylesse engineer stood trembling, dumbfoundedly staring at the tracks.

Please, let us arrive at the station safely. His fervent prayer had already been answered three times, so may God grant them the same favor this time.

Of course, even if they arrived safely, it wouldn’t change the fact that as a Drovian, he was bound to share this hellish race until the end.

At that moment, he suddenly froze and jolted upright.

“What’s that? Are we there?”

“No! We’re not!! Quick, hit the brakes—!! Damn it, it’s too late!!”

“What’s going on! Speak!!”

As the Drovian warrior, who had been monitoring him, shouted, the engineer, with a pale face, blurted out.

“There are no tracks!!”

“What does that mean!!”

“Damn it, you dumbass! The tracks are broken!! At this speed, we’ll topple over—!!”

– Kugugugugugug—!!

Before the engineer even finished his words, the entire train began to shake with an awful sound. The engineer stumbled and fell.

It was already too late. He felt the gravity tilting in despair and tightly closed his eyes.

In that moment, a thick hand was placed on his neck. When he opened his eyes, he saw the smiling face of a warrior.

“You fool. What’s all the fuss about?”

“What do you mean… We’re all doomed!!”

“Accidental death does not lead warriors to the Lord’s sanctuary. Drovian warriors cannot die in such a manner.”

The warrior spoke gravely and regained his balance within the bucking train. His eyes gleamed as he swung a mace bound to his waist wide.

Kwa-ga-ga-ga-k!! The sound of metal crumpling echoed as the iron door was ripped off. The engineer screamed and shut his eyes.

“Open your eyes and look, kid. Having joined us, you too are a Drovian warrior!!”

“I never volunteered for such a thing!! I’ve lived in Tylesse my whole life—!!”

“It’s not about how you lived, young warrior. It’s about how you die that represents a warrior’s life!!”

With that, the Drovian warrior adeptly used the wildly rocking car to leap upward. His movements were almost acrobatic. Just being able to keep his footing in the swaying carriage was worthy of praise for his sense of balance.

Wulfric the lord glided down gracefully to the ground and observed his surroundings.

– Kuuuu—!!

The train overturned with a loud noise. And soon after—

– Wazang-chang!!

– Kkyaaaaek!!

– Ancestors!!!

Countless warriors erupted like a swarm from the shattered windows.

As the engineer blankly watched, Wulfric let out a boisterous laugh and shouted.

“Drovian warriors—!!!”

Most of the warriors were covered in various injuries. The bloodied warriors simultaneously tore at their shirts and let out howls.

Among the muscle-bound figures, fervently excited from pre-battle wounds, Wulfric proclaimed triumphantly.

“This is the atrocity of cowardly protectionist trade practices!! But will we retreat like this? Will we give up, believing that they’ve already started fortifying themselves for the deluge of damage ahead?!”

Logically, it would be right to give up looting their own citizens. However, just like one must adhere to Roman laws in Rome, one must follow the customs of Drovian in Drovian.

And in the common lexicon of Drovian, there was no word for surrender. Investment does not cease until diving into the open sea.

“Not a chance!!”

“We have no trains or horses!!”

“We have legs!!”

“Right!! We have legs!!”

Wulfric nodded vigorously, laughing at the warriors’ cheers.

“That’s right! We have two legs!! Go, run, Drovian warriors!! Everything you see is yours!!”

“Waaaaaaaaa—!!!”

The warriors began to charge toward the horizon, screaming as if they needed no guidance or leadership; Wulfric merely smiled, watching their charge.

It was only natural. This was Drovian, and among Drovian, they could never lose their way.

The beast following the lead of its leaders is called a herbivore. Piranha and great white sharks don’t need someone’s orders or guidance. True predators instinctively seek prey.

Isabelle, who had torn open the window and jumped out, stared at the scene and couldn’t help but chuckle. She turned to Yuri and asked.

“How did you know?”

Yuri and Eugene had already taken measures before the train overturned, each leaping to grab Ecdysis and Isabelle to minimize harm. They had reacted as if Ivan had possessed them, even before Isabelle had sensed the sudden circumstance.

“It was about time for the cutscene to come out.”

“Isn’t it common sense for a train journey to overturn in the middle if it’s too ordinary?”

Eugene replied with a grin.

“And if I were a neighbor lord, that’s what I would have done. If I had noticed the preceding three lords were being ‘opened up,’ I would have cut the tracks to buy time.”

Once the train arrives at the station, it would already be too late. That would mean the raiders had safely reached the city. Therefore, blocking the train’s entry, isolating the raiders in the middle of the wilderness, would be the priority.

With the time gained, establishing a stronghold and asking for support from other lords would be the rational move.

To stave off the lawless marauders starting to plunder neighboring territories, even the most selfish of lords would have to cooperate.

The maximum limit of the operation Ivan had directed was to rally a total of seven southern lords. Once they had secured three, encountering rebellions in the interim was an event that could easily be expected if one had any common sense.

Isabelle nodded as she listened to Eugene’s explanation. This was now unmistakably the Ivan mk.2.

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