The Last Place Hero’s Return - Chapter 226

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 226. The Spider and the Empress (3)
Clang, clang.
With each step the iron knights took, metallic echoes reverberated through the vast Hall.
Not knights clad in armor forged from iron, but knights whose very bodies were composed of iron itself.
A form of golem, essentially.
And if the ability to create such golems were in question….
‘The power of the Earth God.’
That’s right.
Among the Seven Gods, the one who presides over earth and metal.
These beings were undoubtedly created through the Earth God’s power.
‘Is this the blessing of the Seven Stars that the Empress possesses?’
An absurd blessing that allowed one to draw upon a fragment of the Seven Gods’ power.
I narrowed my eyes and glanced back at Camelia, the Empress, reclining languidly upon her throne.
“Hehe. It’s only natural to be captivated by the Empress’s beauty….”
Camelia, the Empress, rested her chin in her hand with a languid smile playing at her lips.
“But surely you don’t have the leisure for that now?”
Shring.
The iron knights drew their blades.
Platinum-hued aura blazed along the sword edges.
‘Golems using aura too, how amusing.’
I let out a soft chuckle and lowered my stance.
Boom!
I charged forward with a rough, thunderous gait.
The iron knight swung its blade with swift precision, utterly unshaken by my sudden assault.
“But ultimately….”
Crack!
I seized the platinum-aura-wreathed blade with my bare hand.
The dull, heavy metallic sound that rang out was far too thick for a blade caught in an ungloved grip.
Barreled Martial Arts.
Blade Breaking.
Crunch!
I shattered the iron knight’s sword with my bare hand.
The iron knight, its blade destroyed, lost its balance and toppled forward.
I seized the falling knight’s head and drove it straight into the ground.
“Nothing but scrap metal.”
Boom!
With a heavy, resonant crash, the iron knight’s head was pulverized to fragments.
“Ho.”
A glimmer of interest flickered across Camelia’s eyes, which had moments before seemed ready to close in slumber.
“So the rumors were not mere fabrication after all.”
One.
“The test has only just begun.”
Snap.
As Camelia flicked her fingers, the Iron Knights surrounding us from all sides rushed forward in a thunderous charge.
Thirteen of them.
“Huh.”
I drew in a slow breath and summoned the Primordial Flame.
“Bloom.”
Whoooosh!
Ashen fire blazed, wrapping around my body.
Dense gray smoke rose from every pore.
‘Just ignition for now.’
There was no reason to reveal more of my hand for a mere “parlor trick” of a test.
Whoosh!
I swung a sword ablaze with platinum-hued aura, meeting the Iron Knight charging from the front.
Simultaneously, two Iron Knights crouched low from the side and thrust their spears forward.
It was hard to believe these golems were created by divine blessing—their coordination was flawless.
There seemed to be no opening to slip through.
‘If there’s no opening to escape…’
Then I’ll simply destroy them.
Ashen Flame Sword, Third Form.
Flame Halberd.
Concentrated ashen fire pierced through the body of the knight charging with sword raised from the front.
And immediately I leaped high from that spot.
Clang!
The two spears thrust at my sides crossed in an X formation.
Tap!
I landed on the crossed spears as if performing acrobatics, gripping my sword in reverse and pointing its tip downward.
Ashen Flame Sword, Fourth Form.
Fire Rain.
Ashen fire spread outward from my sword in a wide arc.
I pushed off from the spear shafts and leaped once more.
After soaring high enough that my back nearly touched the Hall’s ceiling.
I hurled my sword downward, gripped in reverse like a javelin.
Whoooooosh!!!
A downpour of ashen fire cascaded toward the ground.
The Iron Knights clustered together around where I had stood were pierced by the torrential rain of ashen fire and melted away.
“…Heh.”
Camelia let out a soft gasp, watching the Iron Knights collapse.
The emotion gleaming in her eyes could be summed up as: ‘This is a Candidate? And from the lowest year at that?’
“Hmm. Now I understand how she destroyed Marian’s Barrier.”
The moment she, reclining diagonally across the throne, nodded her head.
Tap!
I landed on the floor after jumping to the ceiling of the Hall, and immediately kicked out a punch.
My target was one Iron Knight that hadn’t been swept away by the ashfire rain… or more precisely, one I had ‘deliberately left behind’.
‘She told me to put on a show.’
How could I claim to have put on a satisfactory performance by merely dealing with a handful of scrap metal like this?
“Huff.”
I rushed forward, concentrating the ashfire in my fist.
Treading heavily on the ground, I swung my fist toward the last remaining Iron Knight’s abdomen.
Boom!
The Iron Knight’s belly burst open, and ashfire shot through it.
At the end of the path where the ashfire was fired lay an elongated throne.
The place where the ‘Empress’ was seated.
“Hmm?”
Watching the ashfire approach her, Camelia’s lips curved into a deep smile.
“Indeed, quite an entertaining performance.”
Camelia didn’t even flinch as the raging ashfire drew near.
Just before the blazing ashfire engulfed her.
Whoosh, crash!
A woman in a maid’s outfit appeared from nowhere, blocking her path and swinging a spiked mace.
Boom!
The ashfire struck by the mace scattered into the air.
“…How dare you target Her Imperial Majesty.”
The woman with black hair and thick-framed glasses glared at me with fierce eyes.
“Target Her Imperial Majesty? I was merely targeting the last remaining Iron Knight.”
“Ha. Did you think such a pathetic excuse would work?”
The woman in the maid’s outfit gripped the spiked mace and stomped her feet roughly.
In the blink of an eye, she closed the distance and raised her mace toward my head.
“Melina. Stop.”
“Your Imperial Majesty! This wretch aimed at you, a traitor…!”
“I said stop.”
“….”
Grind.
The woman called Melina gnashed her teeth fiercely before lowering her mace.
“…If you show disrespect before Her Imperial Majesty Camelia one more time, I won’t hold back.”
Melina issued a cold warning and turned to walk toward Camelia.
“Hehe. You’re usually so docile, yet you always get excessively worked up when it concerns me.”
“Your Imperial Majesty is the pillar supporting tens of millions of Imperial subjects. Please be more careful with your conduct….”
“Ugh, how tedious. I’ve heard that so many times it’s grown tiresome.”
Camelia waved her arms dismissively, her expression one of clear displeasure.
“Anyway….”
Camelia, who had been reclining against the armrest, slowly pushed herself upright and sat properly.
“Gasp…!”
Melina’s eyes widened in shock, her mouth falling open at the sight.
“Why are you so startled?”
“Y-Your Majesty the Empress…! You’re actually sitting up straight!”
“…Is that truly so remarkable?”
“I-I had always believed Your Majesty’s spine was so shattered that you could never sit upright again!”
“…It seems you are the one committing greater discourtesy here.”
Tsk.
Camelia clicked her tongue and narrowed her eyes, then turned her gaze back toward me.
“Rumors truly cannot be trusted.”
Camelia continued speaking with a deep smile playing at her lips.
“You exceed even the rumors I’ve heard.”
Though she hadn’t even properly utilized half the power of the ‘Blessing of the Seven Stars’ she possessed.
Yet to so effortlessly sweep away a golem created by the power of the Earth God—it was extraordinary.
‘I like this.’
Camelia’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at me intently.
“Then might I ask why you summoned me here?”
“Hmm. How bold of you to speak first without my permission.”
Camelia’s lips curved upward with interest as she opened her mouth in her characteristically leisurely manner.
“I find it tedious to explain everything, so I shall speak directly.”
Camelia extended her hand toward me.
“Would you consider entering the Imperial Palace?”
“…Entering the Imperial Palace means…”
“To become my servant.”
“….”
A servant of the Empress.
“I am from the Republic, however.”
“Hehe. Your origin matters not to me. After all….”
“Everything in the world except Your Majesty is insignificant?”
“Precisely.”
An unexpected recruitment offer.
Since it came directly from Camelia herself, I would certainly be able to secure a fairly high position within the Imperial Palace.
‘What should I do.’
I had no intention of accepting the proposal, naturally.
However, if the reason for this summons was merely to recruit me for the Imperial Palace, refusing outright would likely result in her saying, “Then there is nothing more to see. You may leave,” and dismissing me.
‘That would be problematic.’
I could not afford to let the Empress issue an expulsion order while I still needed to remain in the Imperial Palace to pursue traces of the Eternal Order.
“….”
As I deliberated on my response, Elisha stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, forgive the interruption, but….”
“I do not recall granting you permission to speak.”
“Currently, Dale is enrolled as a third-year student at Hero Academy. According to the Tripartite Agreement, recruitment proposals are prohibited outside of graduation periods.”
“How presumptuous.”
Camelia raised her hand.
Snap.
With a flick of her fingers, an azure aura ensnared Elisha.
“Gack, hack!”
Elisha clutched at her throat, gasping and choking as her breath was cut off.
“I said I did not grant you permission to speak.”
Camelia’s platinum eyes gleamed with chilling intensity.
The azure aura deepened, and bubbles began seeping from Elisha’s mouth as though she were drowning, drifting through the air like soap bubbles.
“So your answer is….”
Whoooosh!
Fierce, crackling flames engulfed Elisha’s body.
The azure aura strangling her neck intermingled with the ashen fire.
And then.
“…Hm?”
Camelia’s blessing was ‘devoured’ by the flames and scattered into nothingness.
“You… erased the blessing of the Seven Gods?”
Her eyes widened in disbelief.
Camelia’s perpetually composed expression hardened into rigid displeasure.
“How is this possible….”
“I refuse.”
“What?”
Leaving Camelia with her furrowed brow behind, I approached Elisha.
“Gasp!”
Elisha coughed violently, gasping for breath.
“Are you alright?”
“D-Dale….”
“There’s no need to say anything.”
I gently patted Elisha’s back as she struggled to breathe.
“What… did you just say?”
Empress Camelia narrowed her eyes and asked.
“Did you not hear me?”
I turned to face Empress Camelia and clicked my tongue in disdain.
“I said I won’t do it. I’m not becoming your servant.”
“….”
A profound silence descended upon the vast Hall.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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