Tale of the Fake Hero

Chapter 49 – The Path of Counterattack, The Behe-ric Expedition(2)

“In March of 1698, just before the spring equinox, six Fake Warriors were split into three groups to subjugate Neigalas.”

Joining forces with Seira Alter Solang, who was defending the mountain range, Loveris Alter Shirfang headed to the center of the mountain range to gather the remaining forces.

Gorgothia Alter Zierda went to the eastern mountain range to secure supplies for the expedition.

Ria Alter Tasalpo joined Isla Alter Gaumris and headed west to receive the armored trains.

“All three regions were strategically important and were under massive attacks by the main force of reptilians.”

Naturally, three high-ranking Old Nobles led the enemy forces.

The Bone King, Hyrkan.

The Gluttonous Duke, Behe-ric.

The Mocking Courtier, Salti’ras.

The largest of the three Old Nobles, the Gluttonous Duke, Behe-ric, headed to the plains to break through the most heavily-defended stronghold.

“The battle was truly a race against time; humanity had to get to the armored trains before the Gluttonous Duke devoured the coast.”

Kaisen Alter Aradamantel was reassigned to the Black Rose Corps by order of the Heavenly Castle, Mirngadia. Passing through the Western Plains, which had become a battleground, he hurried to the coastal area, where the armored train was waiting.

“The fierce coastal battle became the key starting point of the fight against Neigalas. It began on March 14, 1698, a month hotter than any other in history.”

10 giants from the Dragon Hammer Corps were waiting in Area 49.

“You have come! Lowly Kaisen and Ria, the great dragon, Isla, welcomes you as her subordinates!” Isla shouted from the top of a giant she was sitting on while eating raw eggs.

The giant was a titan with the number ‘701’ engraved on its right shoulder (the number ‘01’ symbolized he was the captain’s. On paper, the Dragon Hammer Corps was the 11th Independent Army).

She was safe…

Although it was the first time they met again after separating at Aurelinople, there was no time for niceties.

“Isla, how long does it take to get from here to the coastal base?”

The smell of blood and the sounds of fighting drifted over the long wall to their left.

“Are you so foolish that you can’t smell the ocean? If you walk for half a day, you will get there!”

“…”

“What’s with those eyes…I didn’t steal this egg! Dragons don’t steal anything! It was a tribute from a lowly farmer! …I might have stared a bit, but he still gave it willingly! I didn’t take it!”

“I didn’t say anything. I guess the loudest one is really the most guilty. Moving on, half a day, huh? There’s still some time.”

Lia shook her head as she saw Kaisen sigh and push away Isla, who rushed to bite his head. “It’s too dangerous to take the train, and we can get there faster with the speed of ten type-16 titans. Let’s go straight to the coast.”

The light cavalry of the Black Rose Corps led the way.

Following them, the titans walked, shaking the ground with their heavy steel axes.

Isla raised such a fuss that Kaisen ended up riding on the shoulders of 701.

“What do you think?” Isla asked, her eyes sparkling.

Kaisen wondered if all dragons had such clear eyes by nature. Suddenly, he remembered the smiles of his family members when he was young.

“Isn’t the ride great? It’s making me feel sleepy.”

“I don’t know.”

“What don’t you know? Look! It’s this comfy!” Was it because she wanted to personally prove a point? Isla soon rested her head on Kaisen’s shoulder and started to doze off.

“…” Just as Seira said, Isla was truly a child. She had said that Isla was just three years old. Though her physical growth was fast due to her draconic genes, her mentality couldn’t be said to be mature.

On the path of the sword, things such as age were useless, and Isla was a Fake Warrior who was already set on that path.

[The elevated base is in front. Get ready.] A butterfly of light flew in front of Kaisen’s eyes, binding particles of light together to transmit information.

It was Ludien, the skill Arte, a wizard belonging to the Black Rose Corps, used.

Just before Ludien arrived, Isla’s eyes opened slightly. With her absolute sense of smell, she smelled the sea and the blood on the shore. “Have we arrived?”

“Yes.”

“Is the lowly Kaisen afraid?” Isla wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, jumped up, and crossed her arms. “I am not afraid! I am the strongest! Nothing can stand against me.”

“You know I can only use my dragon spirit for less than three minutes a day, right?” Kaisen asked.

“I haven’t forgotten! Do you think I am stupid? Kaisen is weak! That’s why I protect Kaisen!” Isla, who had been swinging her fists, held out her pinky finger.

Did she want to promise that she would definitely keep him safe? There was no need to go that far.

When he only stared at her, Isla grabbed his wrist and forcefully locked pinkies with him. “Pinky swear! Now stop worrying! Unlike humans, dragons make sure to keep their promises.”

The West Coast Elevated Base was under invasion by the reptilians’ main force.

The dwarves defended the base with long-range artillery fire from 144 cruisers led by three battleships and 5,024 ground-based fixed-wing artillery.

All around the elevated base were the strewn corpses of the human defenders.

After the appearance of Neigalas, a sinister change took place in the temperature. The summer of March 1698 was terribly hot, causing corpses to rot quickly beneath the withering heat.

The dead, in their military uniforms, were rotten and decayed, crumbling like ash.

A sandstorm blew over the broken corpses, and yellow demons scurried within the wind.

“Reptilians!”

“There must be at least 200,000.”

“We have to break their formations!”

Reptilians were not like the demon races who worshiped the as unholy idols. They were one of the Kings’ direct subordinates.

The exact reason was unknown, but reptilians had a pathological preference for curves since ancient times. That was why not only the elements of their civilization, but even their weapons were curved.

The curved blades were modified to slice through human flesh, and their priests were notorious for controlling the power of the burning desert, the power of lava.

“Let’s go, Dragon Hammer Corps! We’re going to turn those lowly lizards into jerky!”

Gaumris was a hammer-shaped holy sword with the ability to cover more surface area than any other holy sword in existence. Its special ability was ‘Pressured Light’, which could burn a large cone of enemies before it with an explosion of light and air when its wielder struck a surface.

Boom一!

Dozens of reptilians were swept away in an instant by Isla’s hammer. “Kya kya kya kya kya! The best!”

The titans made their way forward, trampling the yellow nightmares. There were also some that came close with camouflage and climbed up the titans’ bodies.

By the time those controlling the titans noticed, the creatures were already at the cockpits.

Single Flash—

A flash of red lightning sent reptilian heads flying.

“Great handiwork, Fake Warrior!”

He didn’t have time to reply. The Dragon Hammer Corps and Black Rose had to break through the siege. No matter how many times he cut down the reptilians, they didn’t seem to stop coming.

The noise…

The noise didn’t stop…

The tragic cries, the blood thumping in his eardrums, and the sandstorms swirling around him all came together in a cacophony of sound.

“Kyat! Are you going to keep attacking me? I’ll show you the power of a dragon!”

“I can see the main gate straight ahead!”

“Reptilian priest on the left! Beware of the lava!”

“There are a lot of gigantic reptilians and trolls on both sides of the main gate!”

“I’ll break through. Follow me.”

“Kaisen, I’ll go with you!”

Yellow beasts pounded on and howled at the main gate of the elevated base.

Two Fake Warriors ran forward. Blue and red lights burst out from each of the holy swords and intersected.

Cross Sword Style, 6th form—

Extreme Spider Sword, 8th form—

The red light cut through the nightmares’ cervical spines in a single line; the blue light pierced through five points, and the demons’ hearts were torn apart by the sword’s tip.

As the light dispersed and the monsters fell, the iron gate creaked open and someone spoke over the gate’s loudspeaker

[Welcome to this shabby place, Fake Warriors. Hurry up, before those lizard bastards get inside.]

“Huh?” Lia’s mouth dropped open in surprise. The commander-in-chief of the dwarven forces defending the coastal landing base was none other than General Halvaron.

“For the dwarven emperor to participate in this operation… That means the Steel Fleet and the Royal Guard are both here.”

“Of course, His Majesty would have called them over.”

“To put so much trust in my plan…”

“That means you did great, so be confident.”

“Halvaron is not a dragon, but he is useful! Isla approves!”

“No, not Halvaron, but Lia is great…”

They thought they could take a breather there, but they were wrong. Of course, the gate was still intact. Yeah, the gate… but that was it.

After the reptilians stealthily swarmed over the walls, the dwarven soldiers engaged in fierce fighting throughout the castle.

“The platform is this way.” Dwarven officers and soldiers guided them.

The dwarves, although not as much as the fairies, had a strong sense of racial pride and did not respect the Fake Warriors.

They advanced forward while cutting down hundreds of reptilians until they finally reached the southern end of the platform.

“You’re here. If you had been just a little bit later, we would have gone on a trip by ourselves.”

Impressively-sized gun barrels, an unrealistically large engine room, and numerous carts stretched as far as the eye could see. It was a new weapon designed by Halvaron called the ‘armored train’—a fortress of steel running on the railroad.

‘It’s even more amazing when you see it in person…!’ Suddenly, the immense majesty sent shivers down Kaisen’s spine as it reminded him of the first time he saw the Inferno Line.

‘This is not a train. This is a castle on the railway.’ When he thought about it, wasn’t Halvaron also the one who designed the Inferno Line?

Truly, it was no exaggeration to call him a great person of the century.

Halvaron, Smith of Ten Thousand Weapons, clad in his Emperor’s Battle Attire, led his guard out to meet them. “I wanted to take it out with my own power, but unfortunately, it was impossible. All I could do was protect it. Now, take this to the Heavenly Castle quickly. I will lend you engineers.”

Saying that he ‘met’ them felt a bit strange. It would be more correct to say that the dwarves protected the armored train from the reptilians by setting up a defensive line on the platform and then handing it over.

“Kaisen, Isla… Take it before those lizard bastards destroy my masterpiece.”

“What about you, Your Majesty?”

“What are you going to do?!”

“When you become a Fake Warrior, do your eyes become decorations? You must have seen the steel fleet floating on the sea. It’s obvious that the sea route is more comfortable than the land route. Go quickly.”

This world was not so easy that a story like theirs could end so simply and heartwarmingly.

Such things never happened.

The first sign of true trouble came as the horizon suddenly receded and then came back again.

‘The ground… No, did I float into the air?’

What followed was a roar akin to the world collapsing, piercing Kaisen’s eardrums.

Debris from the collapse flew in and destroyed the outer wall and roof of the platform, but luckily, the armored train was unharmed.

Desperate voices flowed out of the speakers installed over the platform.

[Y-Your Majesty… th-the wall, aaaaarrrrgh!]

[What the hell is th-that? The… the mountain is moving… the mountain is moving!]

[Your Majesty, an ‘Old Noble’ has appeared! It’s breaking down the walls and running straight to your location… it… it’s the Gluttonous Duke!]

Was it originally supposed to be like that? Was it because the Heavenly Castle foresaw such a future that he sent Kaisen and Isla there?

Kaisen’s hand on Aradamantel trembled at the sounds behind them.

“Lia, launch the armored train. We’ll stop the Gluttonous Duke here.”

“What? No, no! Then I will also…”

“Prioritize our mission first. Have you forgotten? We have different missions. You were to receive and transport the armored train, and we were to escort you here. This is how it was supposed to be.”

“Lowly human! Leave this place to this strong dragon and weak Kaisen and go quickly!”

What could she say to that? Did she want to say she wanted to stay and fight?

Emotions she couldn’t express reflected on her face, but Lia nodded while biting her lips. “…Don’t die, Kaisen.”

Soon, black smoke erupted from the exhaust pipe above the armored train’s engine room.

Tttoooooo…!

The steam engine drew its power from the burning coal and wood, and Kaisen felt his own fate reflected in the dwindling fuel.

“Your Majesty, please go quickly. We will do our best to buy you as much time as possible.”

Halvaron smirked as if he found that funny. “It’s still a hundred years too early for you to say that to me, Rookie Fake Warrior, Kaisen.”

“…?”

“I came here to subdue the Gluttonous Duke. That was my intention from the beginning. I tried to solve it on my own without involving Isla or you, but everything turned out just as the Heavenly Castle said.”

Was it meant to be like that? Was it an unavoidable future? Halvaron handed his crown to the captain of the guard and then flung the imperial coat from his shoulders.

He wore the leather armor worn by titan pilots beneath.

“Captain, take out the giant titan. I will personally pilot it.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“If an Old Noble is begging to see me, shouldn’t I personally welcome him as the emperor? Why, he could be so impressed by my character that he might kneel before me.”

____