My Students Regret It After I Retired

49 – The Empire’s Nobles

-pasa-sak…

Each step Leos took crunched the debris created by the destruction around him. His body was a mess. Despite using the monster’s special ability to form a shield, the sheer force of the impact was overwhelming, resulting in internal injuries, not just external ones.

Every bone in his body felt like it was about to shatter. Yet, the pain was reassuring. If this much damage was inflicted even with the shield absorbing almost all of the external force, Artan, who hadn’t even been able to defend himself, would be in an even worse state.

Leos dragged his unresponsive body towards where Artan had been standing.

“He’s dead.”

Due to the incredible explosion, not even remains of the body were left, but Leos could deduce Artan’s death because an artifact he possessed was lying on the ground.

‘A sword.’

The sword that sliced through cave walls and rocks like tofu.

As powerful as it was, its durability was incredible too. Not even a scratch was on the sword after such an explosion.

As Leos slowly picked up the sword, its information surfaced in front of him.

[Bloodied Blade]

[A legendary sword forged from countless lives. It absorbs a powerful aura from each person killed, growing ever stronger.]

After confirming the artifact’s name and simple description, Leos couldn’t help but be amazed at its rank.

[Rank: Mythic]

Above even lower, mid, and high-tier artifacts, a Mythic grade. He’d gotten his hands on a Mythic artifact, something thought to exist only in legends.

Leos immediately raised the sword, checking if he could use it. Such things were often bound to someone or had strict usage conditions. But the sword, as if made for Leos, resonated powerfully the moment he gripped it, emitting a radiant light. He lifted it and swung it towards the wall.

-Thud!

Even though the explosion had weakened the ground, the solid wall, a mass of rock, stone, and earth, was sliced through as smoothly as if cutting soft tofu. Leos let out a disbelieving laugh.

He knew it was an absurd weapon when Artan used it, but seeing it and wielding it were worlds apart. Now that he’d used it, he understood. This was a weapon beyond compare to any high-tier artifact.

‘I’ll still mainly use the chain sword though.’

The Blood-Slaughter Sword was long, not ideal for ranged attacks. Too heavy and bulky to throw. So, when fighting at a distance, the chain sword would still be effective, but the Blood-Slaughter Sword’s overwhelming sharpness and durability were so amazing that they made up for those drawbacks. He figured it’d be his go-to weapon in close combat without question.

‘Aren’t there any other artifacts?’

Leos searched every nook and cranny, but found nothing other than the Blood-Slaughter Sword, Artan’s clothes, and other traces of his presence.

‘Looks like everything else was blown away in the powerful explosion.’

He felt a moment’s regret, but then shook his head. What he had was already more than enough. And it would only get stronger the more people he killed, meaning room for future growth remained.

There was no shortage of b*stards to kill, so Leos figured that the Blood-Slaughter Sword would rapidly evolve into an even more overpowering weapon.

‘I should head up soon.’

He slowly started climbing, grabbing onto the wall. Then he heard the sounds of the Strike Force and Heresia who had heard the explosion, rushing to him.

“Leos! Are you okay?”

Heresia shouted frantically, running towards him and grabbing his arm as he climbed. Seeing Leos’ disheveled state, Heresia urgently cried out,

“What on earth happened! You were supposed to be on patrol! Why are you in this state?!”

Leos didn’t answer her question. Instead, he asked,

“Where’s Bendict?”

“That person, Hemi, is with Roczen-nim at the temporary shelter. I was worried, so I was wandering around when I heard the explosion and came straight here.”

“Don’t go around alone.”

“I was traveling with the Execution Squad members.”

Leos glared at Lacart, the head of the Execution Squad, who spoke as if wronged.

“We told him to return to the shelter several times, but he wouldn’t listen, so we protected him because it seemed dangerous. We didn’t lure him or accompany him with bad intentions, so I wish you wouldn’t look at us like that. If we were going to take him hostage or do something weird, we would’ve done it by now. Wouldn’t we?”

Leos conceded to his words and turned his gaze away. Lacart, not particularly offended, asked what he was curious about.

“Anyway, what the hell happened? Did the Empire commit some kind of bombing attack?”

Herisia asked from beside him.

“The Empire…the Empire possesses superior aerial floating artifacts, right? Couldn’t they do something like this if they used it?”

“That’s true, but a Red Gate has formed near the Imperial Army’s front line. There’s no way they’d waste this much mana-bomb on something else. The Emperor is a man who prioritizes his own safety. Until the Red Gate is dealt with, he wouldn’t let any of his troops or artifacts move away from his vicinity.”

Herisia, Paron, and Lacart all looked at Leos. Leos brushed the dust off his body and opened his mouth.

“I fought one guy.”

Lacart chuckled in disbelief.

“Just one guy? So, this was his doing?”

“No. I used Spirelle to detonate it to kill him.”

“You’re crazy. This amount is enough to completely wipe out an entire Red Gate. Just who the hell did you fight? Did some kind of mutated monster appear?”

Leos pondered for a moment, then spoke only to Lacart, so the others wouldn’t hear.

“I fought Artan, who belongs to the Heavenly Assembly, and I killed him.”

“The Heavenly Assembly…?”

“You don’t know about them?”

“First time I’m hearing about it.”

Leos had hoped Lacart might know something, but when a satisfactory answer didn’t come, he turned his head away, a touch of disappointment in his gaze.

“Let’s head back for now. Don’t tell the others about what I said. Just in case.”

“Is this ‘Heavenly Assembly’ you just mentioned, is that important intel?”

“Yeah.”

“Got it. If you need information, I could look into it.”

“…Then, it’d be good if you could gather some info within your reach.”

“Alright. But to find info on the Heavenly Assembly, I’ll have to tell Faron. No one can match him when it comes to finding information.”

“Do as you see fit. But make sure no one else but Faron gets wind of it.”

“Understood.”

As Lacart stepped back, Leos felt a jolt go through him. A horrible pain, like needles stabbing all over, was sweeping through his body. There were no external injuries from the explosion, but the ones he had gotten while fighting Artan still lingered. And on top of that, the explosion had caused internal damage as well, pushing his body to its limit.

‘I want to rest.’

With that single thought, Leos walked on slowly.

“Leos…sir, could you tell me what happened? I’m worried.”

Leos glanced at Herisia, pausing for a moment in thought. He weighed whether to tell her or not, but naturally, the conclusion was that it was best not to.

Even if Herisia knew the name of the Heavenly Assembly, there was nothing she could do, and she might even get into trouble by knowing information she shouldn’t. Leos, who knew better than anyone that terrible things could happen simply by possessing information, brushed her off with a vague reply.

“I fought a strong guy, and I won. Don’t ask about anything beyond that.”

“…Alright…”

Herisia walked silently for a while, before entering the temporary lodging.

*

As dawn approached, Hemina, who had been outside, entered the tent. Herricia asked, her voice laced with worry:

“Where were you?”

“I went to see Leos…”

Herricia tilted her head, puzzled by the familiar way she spoke, but then shook it off and continued,

“How is Leos? Is he doing a little better now?”

“Well…it seems his whole body, inside and out, is a mess… He’s never looked like that when conquering dungeons before, but this time, it looks especially hard for him…”

“Has Hemina-ssi ever seen Leos conquer a dungeon before?”

Herricia asked, a touch confused, and Hemina just vaguely brushed it off.

“It’s been in a lot of articles, right? That’s how I saw it…”

“Ah…”

Herricia nodded, then after a moment of silence, lay down on the makeshift cot and spoke,

“Did Leos tell you if anything happened?”

“Nope? Just said there was a fight.”

Herricia’s face brightened at that.

“Really? He didn’t say anything else?”

“Um…yeah…just said he fought. Told me not to ask for details, so I said okay.”

Herricia had been upset, wondering if Leos didn’t fully trust her yet since he wouldn’t explain the situation in detail. But seeing he had given even less information to Hemina, she just figured there must be a situation Leos didn’t want to talk about… and felt much lighter.

“Hehe…”

Herricia giggled foolishly, and Hemina cocked her head, asking,

“Did something good happen?”

“No! I just need to step outside for a bit!”

Heresia arrived at a run at Leo’s temporary lodging. Leo was using the room alone. Entering his room, she saw him shirtless, treating his wounds.

“Sir Leo, can I help you?”

“It’s fine. And don’t go wandering around, get some rest. We’ll be busy again starting tomorrow.”

“Don’t say that!”

Heresia pulled out a healing artifact, and as it scanned Leo’s wounds, it automatically began emergency treatment.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“Yeah! I was modifying it up until just now. It recognizes the injured areas, disinfects where needed, and even stitches up where needed. Fine-tuning it is difficult, but it’s still way better than treating wounds by yourself. You already drank a potion, right?”

“Yes. But the wounds aren’t healing even after drinking it.”

“That’s weird… Normally, all external injuries should disappear completely.”

Leo knew the reason. The reason the wounds weren’t healing even with the potion was probably because he’d been struck by the blood-draining sword.

“Just go inside and rest. We’ll have to move quickly starting tomorrow.”

*

The next morning, after a good rest, people began gathering, bustling about.

Soon after Leo opened his eyes, Lacart, who had been waiting outside the tent, waved at Leo.

“Why are you out here instead of coming in?”

“Before, when I tried to protect my comrades, you were wary of me. I was worried that if I went inside, I might get stabbed or something, so I waited outside.”

Leo stared at him expressionlessly, and Lacart waved his hand, saying,

“Just kidding.”

“What is it you want?”

“We’ve spotted the Empire’s forces nearby. But there’s something peculiar.”

“Peculiar?”

“A group bearing the insignia only worn by Imperial Knights have been found.”

Leos’s expression hardens at the mention of the Imperial family.

“If they’re the ones, shouldn’t they be guarding the Imperial Palace?”

“Probably some noble’s forces. The nobles’ forces they had hidden within the Palace, with a massive incident erupting, they’ve clearly fled from there to a safe location. The news that we’re creating a safe zone has already spread like wildfire, hasn’t it? There’s probably a noble—their employer—nearby. What do you want to do?”

Leos replied as if it was obvious.

“If they’re nobles who’ve been deceiving the Emperor, they’re no different than those b*stards. Just seeing how they ran away just to save themselves in an emergency, there’s nothing more to be said.”

Rakart laughed and gave the order.

“Prepare the Pharon. This time, we’re going to go and kill these high-ranking nobles with our own hands.”