Chapter 495: The Hero of Humanity’s Army

「…I heard that the people here are a bunch of idiots. I think so too. What about you guys? 」

Lugis’ words of encouragement began with that phrase. They didn’t seem like encouragement words at all. He literally ignored the script in the parchment.

Standing on a high platform, Lugis looked at the soldiers and titled his neck in a dignified manner. His words sounded like a joke spoken out loud.

But his tone was serious. The parchment that Lugis had tossed aside was swept away by the wind, and it lay on the ground, like a mere piece of paper. No one bothered to pick it up.

All the soldiers were looking only at Lugis.

Those who knew him from the past, those who had heard stories about him, and those who admired him. Everyone had that hero in their eyes. They wondered what he was going to say.

Lugis took a long pause, looked around at the soldiers, and then said.

「There’s only a crowd of people as far as I can see. I didn’t think there would be so many bold humans who would want to defeat those magical devilish beings. You could all be dead by tomorrow. 」

Many soldiers gasped at Lugis’ words. Some of them knew that this battle would be extremely tough, while others thought that, based on the hero’s words, this could be a very bad idea.

A murmur arose among the soldiers, and agitation spread like waves. Everyone felt their hearts race.

「You know, those who stay here to fight are idiots…That’s right. Do you know what happens when a human fights a magical devilish being? 」

Lugis pointed at an unlucky, or perhaps lucky, soldier from the platform.

The soldier choked and coughed for a moment, but then glanced around before answering loudly. There was even a hint of determination in his words.

「Many will die. But we don’t fear death! 」

「You’re not wrong. But that’s not the point. 」

Lugis spoke quickly. He continued while looking at the soldier from the platform.

He was probably looking down on the soldier with disgusting eyes. For a moment, Eileen was about to leave the scene in anger, but she saw Hind, who somehow held her down.

「There are two answers… either you die, or you kill the magical devilish beings and become a hero of humanity. 」

Lugis spoke while looking into the soldier’s eyes. This time the soldiers didn’t make a fuss or say a word.

All those soldiers could see was Lugis’ figure. They simply listened intently to his voice.

「In short, you are all suicide volunteers and wannabe heroes. You are all complete idiots. How do you feel about this? It seems you are on the front row of history! 」

Even though Lugis asked how they felt, he surely had no interest in such things in his current state. He was most interested in the fact that there were so many people who were willing to take on those magical devilish beings, the living disasters.

What would they gain from this battle? Territory, huge amounts of money, or power?

Surely none of those things. All they could gain was honor even if they saved the nation of the Bolvat Dynasty. Even so, they were ordinary soldiers who were drawn into a dangerous war without any prospects.

It would be natural for them to run away. It would be normal for them to turn their backs. That was the general sensibility that Lugis knew of.

But they didn’t run away. They stayed in a situation where it was natural to run away.

…If that was the case, then they deserved praise and admiration.

They were so small and weak. This was the magical devilish being Lugis’ view of humanity. In the path of righteous destiny that Rabel spoke of, Lugis’ soul had hardly felt any human virtue.

The way of the world was that vice flourished. Lugis himself understood that he was in the exact opposite position of these good people.

But now, they were right before his eyes. They were great fools who were willing to fight even at the risk of their lives. They were people who had not tried to run away in the face of deadly threats.

Lugis opened his eyes. It was the first time he had seen something beautiful.

「If you can’t kill them, then they’ll kill you. But aren’t your lives just a steppingstone for someone else? You need to open your eyes because it’s you who are risking your lives. If all of those who are here can’t do anything about those magical devilish beings, then it would be better if humanity were wiped out! 」

The Heraldic soldiers held their breaths. Lugis’ words were direct and extreme, unlike usual. But they were filled with heat. A momentary emotion ran through the soldiers. Everyone cleared their throats.

Being a soldier was a tough job. A soldier had to fear death and yet face it. Most of those soldiers were ordinary citizens, and even sorcerers and magical armored soldiers weren’t necessarily from high-ranking noble families.

Many became soldiers in order to buy food and survive.

They acted as if they weren’t afraid of death, but deep down they didn’t want to die. If they died, they wouldn’t eat, and they wouldn’t satisfy their desires.

Therefore, it would be normal if they showed fear and turned their backs upon facing a powerful enemy. That was what a normal soldier would do.

But the fact was that sometimes, even ordinary soldiers would no longer fear death on the battlefield.

When? Well, when they thought that they too could become heroes. At such times, the soldiers would no longer fear the enemy’s great swords or spears.

The soldiers’ breath grew hotter. The soldiers who had been setting up camp were also watching Lugis.

Lugis casually placed his demonic sword on his shoulder and slashed the air. There was a bird whickering. A demon bird that had apparently come to scout was cut in half from the front and fell to the ground. Splashes of blood scattered in the white void.

「It’s simple. It’s just one battle. If you lose, then you’ll become just ordinary people. If you win, then you’ll become the strongest army in humanity that has killed magical devilish beings. Let’s see which outcome prevails. 」

Lugis said those words without hesitation. The demonic sword drank the blood of the demon bird, and its purple lightning shone, increasing in light as if in tune with its master.

The soldiers listened with clenched fists. They were beginning to think that it was a blessing to be here, even though they were on the verge of death.

Only they could tell whether this was true, or a falsehood born out of excitement.

「…Well then, just go and become heroes and brave warriors. There’s no impossible path as long as you are the embodiment of free will. There is only results! Don’t worry. That enemy of yours will kill you if you end up being useless. 」

After a moment of silence, the soldiers responded to Lugis with a loud voice. Everyone raised their fists. It felt like their deadly-looking eyes had slightly regained their usual color.

Excitement, fighting spirit, and the madness unique to the battlefield swirled within the soldiers’ hearts. Everyone gritted their teeth and took a sip of the ale they were provided with. Their eyes, which had only thought of enduring, were beginning to see the enemy’s life and how to end it with ferocity.

Lugis, standing on the high platform, narrowed his eyes as he looked at the soldiers and what was ahead of them. Yes, a dark wave that engulfed the entire road. A demonic nature that crawled through the sky and the ground.

Within the next few hours, the demon army would prepare their formation and launch an attack towards these humans.

Normally, the magical devilish being Lugis didn’t care about such things. He wasn’t on anyone’s side, since all he had were enemies.

But he felt a little different right now. He had seen something good. Something very beautiful. It was enough to make him feel like he could be carefree for a while.

…The image of Lugis as a person conveyed through history books wasn’t clear. The descriptions of his persona sometimes changed, and there were lapses in what people said of him.

In particular, there were many theories that the encouragement given in the capital of the Bolvat Dynasty had been mixed with anecdotes of bards. Lugis’ appearance and speech were different from the ones always described in historical documents, and the content of his words was different from the ones that remained written.

But what was certain on this very day was that whoever it was, there was a hero who led humanity’s army for the first time since Altia.

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