My Students Regret It After I Retired

67 – The Struggle Against the Shadow Corps, May the Deepening Misunderstanding Be Resolved

Litan, unable to properly resist, stared at the blades piercing his body.

The situation was as if an orc, alive and writhing, was embedded in his body. The orc, enhanced by their abilities, possessed such overwhelming power that even Ritan struggled to contend with it.

“Damn it… When the Heavenly Lord finds out you’ve done this… she’ll surely be furious. I am her messenger, delivering her words. If you kill me…”

-Thwack!

Leos’s orc ripped itself free from Ritan’s body and instantly pierced his neck. The man tried to defend himself, but Leos’s blade, ignoring his abilities, snuffed out his life.

Ritan, the Heavenly Lord’s envoy and faithful servant, was dead. His corpse had already begun to turn to dust. Leos stared at it, thinking. This too was a vicious curse laid by the Heavenly Lord.

When a person dies, they leave behind a body and blood; yet, members of the Heavenly Assembly vanish without a trace. As liquid becomes gas, then is carried away by the wind, they disappear without leaving so much as a speck of dust behind.

“Leos… what happened?”

Rakart arrived on the scene late, finding nothing but Leos’s face and the blood splattered across the ground.

“Don’t tell me…”

“Yeah, a member of the Heavenly Assembly came. A messenger of the Heavenly Lord. He was spouting nonsense, so I killed him. From now on, the moment I see anyone from the Assembly, I’m going to kill them all. They are dangerous b*stards, and their way of thinking is different from ours. They are not the type you can reason with, nor are they ones you can leave alive. We have to kill every single one of them, no more, no less.”

“Alright, if that’s what you think.”

Rakart didn’t argue and readily agreed. He turned to head back to his tent, saying,

“If anything comes up, let me know. I’ll be ready to carry out your orders, anytime.”

*

Leos entered his tent and checked the Interrunner. Even though he hadn’t posted in a while, his old posts had been bumped up, accumulating a considerable amount of points.

Current Points: 30,200P

Over 30,000 points. He could craft three high-grade artifacts, but he decided not to use them for the time being. Not knowing what kind of abilities the Heavenly Assembly possessed, he felt he needed something more advanced than artifacts for preparation.

Leos was browsing the store when he spotted an item that could be useful.

[Replicated Elixir]: A replica of an Elixir. It can heal all physical wounds on the body, but unlike the original Elixir, it cannot solve issues related to illness or mental problems.

As the name ‘Replicated’ suggested, the elixir only worked on physical wounds. Even so, its value was immense. It could heal injuries that couldn’t be treated with normal potions or healing artifacts.

In the current situation, it was a higher priority to purchase elixirs that could react fluidly to incidents, rather than high-grade artifacts that could be instantly neutralized by abilities.

Leos immediately purchased two duplicated elixirs.

Remaining Points: 200P

The points had shrunk in an instant, but it didn’t matter. Someday, there would come a day when these elixirs would be used effectively.

Leos, without much thought, wrote and uploaded a post containing information about a few monster types. Just with the idea that the more points, the better.

Naturally, the post was instantly ranked as popular the moment it was uploaded, and points started flowing in again.

*

“How many is it now?”

Rakarth asked, and Leos, while sealing a Red Gate, answered.

“The 120th.”

Leos nodded, wiping the monster blood that had splattered on his body.

“Rakarth, those guys, they still haven’t reacted?”

“Yeah. They haven’t caused any problems since then. I searched for information, but there’s still nothing coming up.”

“Just in case, keep an eye on my companions.”

“Anytime. It seems like they can’t be caught by detection magic, but either way, they’ll inevitably have to show themselves to use their power, so don’t worry about that. We’re always right beside your companions.”

“Alright.”

Leos gave a short answer and then immediately sealed a few more Red Gates. As expected, the number of vagrants entering the safe zone was increasing more and more.

Within the empire, Leos was called the Silent Savior. He never spoke a word to the vagrants but always created safe zones, giving them a way to live, and received nothing in return for their staying there, hence the nickname.

People, whether they liked it or not, began to rely on Leos. Even though they hadn’t had a proper conversation, just the fact that they were residing in the safe zone was as good as entrusting their lives to him.

Rumors spread that Leos hated looting and crime, so people didn’t try to take from others, and some even began to share their own possessions with others in an attempt to gain Leos’s favor.

Rakarth watched the gathering forces and thought to himself,

‘It’s about time. Now, as much as expanding our territory, reducing the Empire’s forces is becoming crucial.’

Of course, the Imperial core force, the one that could be called that, was the Shadow Unit. More than anything, dealing with the Shadow Unit quickly was paramount.

“Paron, did you find any information on the Shadow Unit?”

“Yes. Firstly, Keltazar is still the leader of the Shadow Unit, that hasn’t changed. However, after the recent battle with Leos, they’ve started recalling all the scattered Shadow Unit members. Their numbers have increased to a different scale than before.”

“Their location?”

“They’re still guarding the palace. But unlike before, they’re fully prepared, and they now easily handle things like mutant monsters or hordes. It seems the Emperor’s approval of using high-grade artifacts has had a big impact. They’re using thousands of high-grade artifacts haphazardly, making it easier to defend compared to before.”

“But it’s still puzzling, why are they still trying to guard the palace? They could just escape and go somewhere else.”

“I investigated that too, and it seems it’s because of the Emperor. According to rumors, it seems they’re trying to protect a treasure hidden beneath the palace.”

“…Hmm… I don’t understand, but alright. Then secondly, when are they moving?”

“They’ll probably move soon. Up until now, they were stuck at the palace because they had to fend off monsters every 24 hours, but as you know, the Emperor has approved the use of a large number of high-grade artifacts, changing the situation, so the Shadow Unit will be looking for Leos again. Capturing Leos would have the advantage of being able to seal the Redgate, but more than that, the Emperor is now keeping Leos in check.”

“Keeping in check?”

“Yes. Just the vagrants gathered around Leos number almost in the thousands. Leos is the only one who can create safe zones, so naturally a force is gathering. The Emperor is wary of Leos’ abilities… the ripple effect those abilities have. It seems like he’d rather kill him immediately to prevent any more safe zones from being created.”

“So, the Shadow Unit will be moving again to capture Leos.”

“Yes. It’s clear that a much stronger force, with a much larger number of members, will be coming.”

“Well, the Shadow Unit is one of the most skilled groups in the palace. But it doesn’t matter. We have Leos too.”

*

The time of the final battle approached rapidly. Once the area around the palace began to stabilize, the Emperor ordered Keltazar to pursue Leos again.

“Keltazar. Due to various circumstances, I haven’t killed you even though the week I spoke of has passed. But the situation has been resolved, so now you need to get back to work. Capture Leos. If you can’t capture him, kill him. As quickly as possible.”

“Understood, Your Majesty.”

Keltazar stepped outside, and shouted to the 700 or so Dark Shadows waiting there.

“It’s time for all of us to move. We’ve already pinpointed Leos’s location. Today, we will either bring him back or kill him. Until one of those is done, no one will set foot back in the palace.”

Keltazar scanned the area with a grim look.

Not just the Dark Shadows, but also Syrna, Enas, and Kozarik – the survivors from those newly reassigned to the Gate Management Unit, were included.

“Where’s Bellin?”

“His Majesty summoned him separately. Looks like we have to deploy without him.”

“Well, it’s no matter.”

Keltazar felt a surge of emotion as he looked at the countless Dark Shadows. All those who had been scattered were now gathered. Each and every one of them was nothing short of elite. This time, they had also received an ample supply of artifacts. It was different than before. Every aspect was meticulously prepared, unlike before.

‘This time is truly different. Preparations for Spirell are also completely finished.’

Keltazar smiled and vowed.

‘We will either bring him back as a tool for His Majesty, or we will surely kill him.’

*

Enas, watching Keltazar from afar, stared blankly at the post Leos had uploaded on the Interrunner and whispered.

“There’s still…still a chance I can see him again. This time…I hope…I can be of help to Leos-nim…”

She had hidden the artifacts she had saved and never used all over her body and, her hands trembling, vowed.

“Please…this time, let my heart reach Leos-nim.”