Chapter 559

Book 1 Chapter 559

559.

The Ruse War.

A legendary clash between Lumerne and Seirun, both of which possess an extensive background and rich heritage.

Even though it was a yearly event alternating venues between Lumerne and Seirun, the Ruse War constantly generated an unparalleled level of excitement.

It was only logical that the public’s gaze focused here, given that it served as a platform where the most gifted prospects destined to guide the future of humankind and elves put their skills on display.

Furthermore, a single year in the life of a Hero Academy cadet held far more weight than a year experienced by regular individuals.

It was quite common for a student who went unnoticed twelve months prior to emerge as a central figure during the Ruse War.

As a result, the competition functioned as a grand showcase for the progress achieved over the preceding year.

People are perpetually fascinated by the rise of new legends.

Because of this, the sudden arrival of an unforeseen underdog remained a major reason why the public eagerly anticipated the Ruse War every single time.

Fully aware of the immense scrutiny they faced, both Lumerne and Seirun dedicated every resource at their disposal to organize the Ruse War each year.

Massive funding and extensive labor were deployed, and guest registries were meticulously crafted.

“But despite having so little time left, suddenly bringing in Azonia and Damian as well! Gathering all four institutions under one roof! She might be my relative, but she has completely lost her mind!”

The sun rose on a morning just one week following the investiture.

Celia let out a frantic cry inside the student council chambers.

In truth, looking at it from Seirun’s perspective, the situation wasn’t particularly problematic.

Since Seirun was traveling as the visitor for this iteration, their sole responsibility was to journey to Lumerne and participate.

The only real adjustment for them was that their pool of rivals had expanded from just Lumerne to a trio of schools, now incorporating Azonia and Damian.

Conversely, for the Lumerne student council tasked with organizing the reception for everyone, the situation was an absolute nightmare.

Council officers dashed madly through the corridors of the Tower of Heroes.

The Hero Academy boasted a heritage stretching back three millennia.

While these four hero institutions had maintained a cooperative alliance over centuries, history had never witnessed a single moment where all of them assembled concurrently to battle.

It was quite literally an unprecedented endeavor.

“Is it truly feasible to assemble all four hero institutions simultaneously?”

Niel, a senior in his fourth year of Knight Studies who was assisting Celia with sorting paperwork, wore a skeptical look.

Niel hailed from the Roda family, which served as a vassal lineage to the Zerdinger family, making him a sworn knight to Celia, a direct descendant of the principal house.

Hearing Niel’s question, Martina, a freshman in Knight Studies who also served the Zerdinger family, wore an identical look of skepticism.

“Reaching out to Azonia and Damian on such short notice is a massive hurdle in itself, isn’t it?”

Celia clutched at her hair in response to their comments.

“That guy Leo is someone who executes whatever he declares. He will find a way to force it through regardless, won’t he?”

“Even so, this is far too impractical. Shouldn’t we attempt to reason with Young Master Leo?”

Just as Niel adopted a somber expression.

“Hmph, is a Zerdinger servant seriously questioning his master’s directives just because the workload is heavy?”

“Excuse me?”

A prominent vein throbbed on Niel’s forehead.

The speaker was none other than Mazel Luzia, a fifth-year student specializing in Magic Studies.

As the heir to the Luzia family, which served the Ruwallyn family, he was notoriously competitive with Niel, who was a year below him.

An invisible tension crackled between the pair.

Thud—

“Uh? N-Niel senior?”

Niel dumped his stack of documents into Martina’s arms and stepped toward Mazel.

Martina panicked slightly as the towering pile of paper completely blocked her line of sight.

Crossing his arms tightly as he faced Mazel, Niel retorted,

“Who claimed it was about the workload? I am suggesting we reason with him because the entire premise seems completely impossible from the start.”

“Is there really a difference?”

“Ah, so the Ruwallyn servants just shut their mouths and utter ‘Yes’ blindly whenever their master gives an order? Life must be incredibly simple and pleasant for you then.”

Celia watched the two exchange glares with an expression of sheer exhaustion.

“Pardon the interruption, but I have a directive from senior Elena.”

Kyle, looking completely drained of life, stepped directly between the feuding pair.

“She mentioned that the noise is breaking her concentration, so please take your romantic bickering elsewhere.”

“Who on earth is having a romantic bickering?!”

“As if I would ever align myself with a Zerdinger!”

“Though Celia and Chelsea seem to get along perfectly fine.”

As Niel and Mazel shouted in unison, Kyle rubbed the back of his neck and offered a retort.

“Who exactly is getting along with whom?”

“Just endure it for the moment. The situation is only going to escalate from here.”

Kyle offered a heavy sigh in response.

Right at that second.

“Hey.”

A dark, menacing tone echoed through the room.

The entire group shuddered and shifted their gaze toward the origin of the sound.

Hark stood there, looking utterly devoid of any human vitality.

“Are you people taking a break?”

“Senior Hark, this isn’t exactly a break…”

“Are you taking a break?”

Hark pressed forward aggressively, leaning his face directly into Niel’s space.

“I am pushing through the labor like this as well, you see. Thanks to those ridiculous underclassmen, I am a senior and yet I am grinding away like this. So what gives you the right to relax?”

“S-Senior Hark? Please regain your composure.”

“Whoa, hold on, Hark. Take a breath. Why the intense hostility over a brief chat while we work?”

Niel and Mazel, who had been on the verge of a fistfight moments ago, were completely intimidated by Hark’s sheer aura and desperately tried to placate him.

Yet, Hark’s tirade showed no signs of stopping.

“Brief? Brieeef? You lot have it incredibly easy, don’t you?”

His eyes widened fully as he jabbed a finger toward other cadets who had paused for a moment of rest, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“No food! No water! Absolutely no sleeping! Do not blink, do not breathe, just keep working!”

“Senior Hark? If people stop breathing, they generally perish, you know?”

“Then perish. Just keep laboring until you drop… Mmph?!”

“Alright, alright, that is quite enough. Consume something sweet and soothe your nerves.”

Elena materialized silently behind him, a subtle smirk on her face as she popped a piece of candy straight into Hark’s mouth.

Just as a furious Hark seemed ready to lose his mind completely.

“Leo mentioned that you should sign off for the rest of the day and return to the council chambers in forty-eight hours.”

“Is that the truth?”

Hark eyed Elena with intense skepticism.

“Indeed. Leo explicitly stated that senior Hark has gone above and beyond and absolutely requires some downtime.”

Hearing those words, Hark’s expression instantly turned radiant.

Hark typically appeared exhausted and snapped easily, but his underlying features were those of a refined, striking young gentleman.

The moment a smile like that broke across his face, it felt as though an aura of vibrant energy suddenly filled the room.

Swirling the sweet candy around his mouth, Hark exited the council office, softly whistling a melody without even realizing it.

The remaining council members watched his departure with deep sorrow.

Despite the fact that Hark had spent the past week causing chaos for everyone in the student council, they couldn’t help but feel bad for him.

They were all painfully aware that Leo was the direct cause of Hark’s sleep deprivation.

‘Can a person truly be that ecstatic over a basic right?’

‘It is said that when individuals are thoroughly overworked, they find immense delight in the simplest of freedoms.’

As the council members collectively shook their heads in sympathy.

“Why are you all staring at him with such sorrowful expressions?”

“Regardless of how strained your interactions normally are, don’t you feel even a shred of pity witnessing him like that?”

When Niel spoke up in a critical tone, Elena offered a brilliant grin.

“Nope. Not in the slightest.”

The council members were just about to think, As expected of the Lumerne witch, when she continued.

“Because that exact fate awaits all of us. We are destined to endure the identical torment, so what point is there in pitying him?”

“…….”

The moment she spoke, every council member’s face turned pale.

“Leo possesses a far greater talent for exploiting labor than I initially anticipated. It is almost as if he possesses an exact science for driving people to their absolute breaking point.”

Elena remarked with genuine fascination, extending her hand.

Kyle, who had been gradually slipping away from Elena’s vicinity, was instantly grabbed firmly by the back of his collar.

“Where do you think you are going? Since senior Hark is off duty, you and I need to divide his responsibilities between us.”

“H-Help me!”

“Rest assured, it won’t claim your life.”

Elena smiled radiantly as she hauled Kyle away.

Observing the scene, Celia stared up at the ceiling and released a heavy groan.

“When will this nightmare finally conclude?”

The student council was far from the only department overwhelmed with tasks.

The entire student populace had been drafted to prepare for what used to be the Ruse War, but was now more accurately described as the Hero Academy Battle Royale.

It occupied their mornings, their afternoons, and every single intermission.

Once classes concluded, the labor extended deep into the dark hours of the night.

Clang—!

“I certainly didn’t register at Lumerne just to shovel dirt like a common laborer!”

El Jane, a first-year student in Knight Studies, shrieked as she slammed her tool violently into the earth!

As a shadow cadet, she belonged to the faction from the Shan Empire that remained loyal to Chen Xia.

“And why does this task never seem to decrease?!”

Clang, clang, clang—!

As El Jane swung her tool with pure irritation, Luke, working alongside her, let out a soft chuckle.

“Word is that they are expecting tens of thousands of onlookers for this event. This marks the very first time Lumerne will host such a massive crowd in its entire history. Consequently, we must construct living quarters for all of those arrivals.”

“Luke, are you implying that absolutely every directive issued by Leo-nim is automatically flawless?”

El Jane shot him a skeptical look.

Luke focused on El Jane and offered a piece of advice.

“Jane. You are going to exhaust yourself if you wield the tool with that much tension.”

“What?”

“Relax your lower back slightly…”

Luke stepped in to alter El Jane’s stance.

“You seem remarkably knowledgeable about this.”

“I used to assist with agricultural chores back in my village.”

“Ah, of course. You possess familiarity with manual labor. My entire education has been restricted to methods of piercing targets.”

Luke offered a nervous smile at El Jane’s ominous statement.

“Luke, how does my form appear?”

Aina strolled over toward Luke to seek feedback.

“It would probably benefit you to apply slightly more tension through your wrist.”

“Understood.”

Aina gave a slight nod in response to Luke’s correction.

“This could easily serve as an alternative form of physical conditioning.”

“You manage to twist absolutely everything into a conditioning routine, don’t you?”

El Jane muttered, shaking her head at Aina’s perspective.

Though the hero cadets were youthful, they commanded immense physical prowess and represented an elite class capable of wielding extraordinary traits at will.

When a force of this caliber was funneled into various structural and development operations—like erecting lodging for visitors, assembling grand viewing areas, and shaping combat grounds—the rate of completion was blindingly fast.

Even so, the sheer volume of requirements made the project appear entirely bottomless.

“On another note, what kind of caliber are we looking at regarding the first-years from the other academies?”

“Up until now, our only real concern was Seirun.”

The freshmen shifted their dialogue toward a subject of shared curiosity.

Within any Hero Academy, remarkable prodigies naturally emerge during their inaugural year, gaining international renown.

Nevertheless, concrete data regarding the general student body remained remarkably scarce.

By the time they reached their second year, prominent figures who had earned a reputation would gradually surface, but during the initial year, their capabilities remained shrouded in total obscurity.

For this reason, drawing direct comparisons with cadets from rival Hero Academy branches was a challenging task.

“Regardless of who steps onto the field, we will simply demonstrate to the entire world that we stand at the pinnacle.”

The surrounding freshmen nodded firmly at Habiden’s declaration.

“Exactly! Let’s completely crush Seirun, Azonia, and Damian!”

“Yeah!”

“Let them come!”

The first-years raised their voices in a collective surge of passion.

Aina, who had been observing the display with a completely blank expression, injected a quiet remark.

“Complete this task first.”

The moment those words left her mouth, the fiery enthusiasm of the gathered freshmen evaporated instantly, as if a bucket of freezing water had been dumped over their heads.

“Interrupting right when everyone was getting fired up like that…”

“Pardon? What was that?”

As Luke rubbed his cheek and spoke softly, Aina tilted her head slightly, appearing entirely oblivious.

“No, it’s absolutely nothing.”

Luke offered an awkward smile and dismissed the matter.

In this manner, while the entirety of Lumerne remained fully immersed in organizing the cross-institutional tournament.

A formal missive made its way to Lumerne.

The communication, delivered straight to the seat of the Lumerne student council president, originated from none other than Dragonia.

And Lumerne was far from the sole recipient.

Identical missives had simultaneously been dispatched to Seirun, Azonia, and Damian.