384.
“The chain reaction of the Hero Dungeon hidden in the Forest of Monsters bursting out has been sufficient to lure the dirty Shadows guarding this place, insolent as they may be.”
Delean, who had infiltrated the underground casino Shadow, curled his lips upward.
“Come, let’s go.”
Leading his subordinates, he entered the maze entrance with a smirk.
“The inheritance of the Dragon of the Cataclysm hidden here… It belongs to me.”
The northern gate of Dovella.
“Uuuuaaahhh!”
“Evacuate! Everyone evacuate!”
Panic had spread throughout Dovella.
The sudden abnormal situation that arose from the Forest of Monsters was akin to a catastrophe.
“Fight! Mercenaries! Didn’t we hire you for money to protect us? Stop those monsters!”
The knights of Elehem stationed in Dovella harshly urged the mercenaries.
“We’re mercenaries! There’s no way we can stop something like this!”
“Yeah! You’re the knights! You’re always boasting about how we commoners can’t even compare to you!”
“Show off your skills at the forefront! Then we’ll follow!”
“Grrr! You insolent…”
Friction broke out between the Elehem knights guarding the walls of Dovella and the mercenaries.
While the knights urged the mercenaries from behind to stand at the forefront and fight, the mercenaries resisted such demands.
When the conflict between the two groups reached its peak—
Kuung-! Kuung-!
Heavy sounds echoed on the castle walls.
“Hmm. How pitiful, to have such a magnificent wall and yet shrink in fear without standing on the battlefield! You are truly spineless.”
All gazes turned towards the towering beastman who resembled an immense tiger.
“Fearing is a natural instinct any living creature should have. If there were none, it would simply be reckless.”
Clopping-clopping
By the side of such a tiger beastman walked a young girl with platinum hair, staff in hand.
“Hmph—That’s right. Then, how about these people? Can they overcome their fears?”
Borman smirked as he took the fore.
“Students of Lumeran and Azonia…”
“But what can just the two of you do?”
The Elehem knights looked at them with distrust.
But the mercenaries gulped.
Chloe glanced around at the mercenaries.
“You, who’ve fought in countless battles, surely know this: there’s a higher chance of survival by standing your ground rather than fleeing.”
Although the mercenaries were paralyzed by the fear of imminent d*ath…
Even mercenaries well knew that in a situation like this, where the monster armies had invaded in vast numbers, survival chances would drastically decrease if they scattered instead of uniting.
Seeing the mercenaries’ faces filled with despair, Chloe spoke.
“What if we fight? We’ll take the front line, so why don’t we fight together?”
At her words, the mercenaries began to murmur.
“Taking the front line?”
“Students of the Hero Academy!”
“They can retreat from the battlefield using a warp gate whenever they want, can’t they?”
Voices filled with distrust.
At that moment, one mercenary muttered amongst them.
“No. We can trust them. If they could warp away whenever they wanted, it means they could have left this city by now. Yet they’re still here.”
He looked at Chloe and asked.
“Why?”
To this question, Chloe smiled faintly.
“Because we dream of becoming heroes.”
The mercenaries looked at Chloe dazedly.
Tubuk-tubuk
Chloe stepped onto the castle wall with a light step.
Wooong-!
Extending her arm, a staff was summoned from another dimension.
The vast army of monsters could be seen rushing towards the castle walls.
“Need help?”
Borman, having approached alongside Chloe, crossed his arms and asked.
“I’m fine, dealing with this is a wizard’s job.”
Chloe started chanting her incantation.
Seeing this, Borman clenched his crossed arms.
‘What is this absurd fluctuation of mana?’
While chanting, Chloe gazed at the monstrous army.
‘It’s natural for people to feel fear. I’m scared too.’
She clenched her staff tightly as she continued her chant without pause.
‘However… I learned that giving courage to those afraid is the role of a wizard.’
Chloe smiled, remembering her friend who was far ahead.
‘Let’s go forward.’
“Huff.”
Having finished her incantation, Chloe exhaled.
A powerful cold emanated from her body.
“Ice World.”
Tjerjerjerjerjer-!
In an instant, the front of the wall was covered in ice.
The monstrous army, which had been bringing fear, was completely frozen.
“Amazing.”
Borman muttered, his mouth agape.
Chloe turned to the mercenaries and said.
“Let’s fight together.”
“Uooohhhh!”
“Let’s fight!”
The mercenaries, emboldened by Chloe’s magic, began to fight with renewed vigor.
At the eastern gate, Kal watched the retreating back of Duran who was charging at the Cyclops.
‘He’s definitely an annoying guy, but Duran. That kid is definitely going to be a hero.’
It wasn’t just Duran.
Many close friends he’d made in school had already gone far ahead, to the point where their backs were barely visible anymore.
‘Well, in a way, it’s natural.’
Ever since he was accepted into Lumeran, he never dreamed of being a hero.
‘Just surviving is the best option.’
It’s the same now.
Kal, the wizard.
He was supposed to support Duran from behind in the original plan.
But Kal knew one thing.
No matter how much he added his magic power, it wouldn’t help Duran much.
‘If I don’t hold him back, it’d be a bonus.’
A wizard’s magic was inferior even to Duran’s aura-powered attacks.
‘So dreaming of being a hero is impossible.’
Kal smirked.
‘All I aimed was to stay in Lumeran as long as possible. If by fortune, I could be a hero’s supporter, that’d be great.’
A calculated choice by the quick-minded Kal.
It was not necessarily wrong.
Rather, it could even be a path for the world.
‘But lately, I’ve had an even more unrealistic goal.’
“Uh!”
From the rear, Juen was firing magic bullets at another Cyclops.
The revealed Cyclops were not just one.
Except for the Cyclops Duran was battling, there was another herd rampaging about.
Ziiiiing! Flash! Kwaang!
A powerful magic b*llet charged with immense magical power struck the Cyclops.
With a tremendous explosion, the Cyclops struck by the b*llet spat bl**d, wobbling.
But the Cyclops soon regained its balance and roared.
“Guoooooohhh!”
Seeing the Cyclops, Aina charged at it, glowing with a golden light.
Flash! Puhaaak!
Aina’s sword pierced through the Cyclops’ flesh.
Uooohhhh!
“Cough!”
However, she couldn’t take it down.
The Cyclops’ enraged eyes turned to Aina who had attacked it.
The Cyclops, flashing its eyes, swung its arm towards Aina.
‘Too late!’
While Aina surrounded her body with an aura armor to prepare for the impact—
Whoosh!
A powerful wind blew in.
Swoosh!
“Uoohhhhh!”
Habidden swung his spear to create a wind slash, severing the Cyclops’ arm.
Aina’s and Habidden’s eyes met in midair.
The wind generated by Habidden lifted Aina, and she quickly leaped towards the Cyclops’ neck.
A golden aura surged.
“Haaaaaaaah!”
Yelling, the golden aura sliced through the Cyclops’ neck.
“Kiieeeeerr!”
Clutching its neck, the Cyclops let out a scream of pain.
The headless Cyclops began to wildly thrash around.
Seeing this, Juen complained.
“Even after cutting off its head, it continues thrashing!”
“Of course, it’s not like that monster would just be a regular monster, right? It’s a tenacious creature boasting a disgusting amount of life force.”
Kal approached Juen, who was performing the sniping.
“Though, you three aren’t bad monsters either, right?”
“Is this a time to joke?”
“It’s a compliment. It pains me to see such terrifying juniors, surpassing seniors in the blink of an eye.”
Kal smirked.
“But for now, I can help you as a senior.”
Kuung!
Kal placed an iron box in front of Juen.
“What is this?”
“It’s a special magic b*llet made by me, your senpai.”
Kal removed a magic b*llet from the box.
“You, Juen, have a vast amount of magic power, but your magical output compared to that is rather low at the moment, you lack that ‘overwhelming one-hit’. That’s why you’re struggling with such monsters with overwhelming life force. But the finishing blow is originally the wizard’s role.”
“I understand! But even though I’m a classic mage active from the rear, I’m not the type of mage to overwhelm opponents with overwhelming firepower!”
“I know. So, try using this once.”
Kal took out the b*llet.
“Even though it’s called a magic b*llet, there’s a limit to how much magic power can enhance it……”
“It’s my special magic b*llet. The more the user’s magic power, the stronger its power. I may not have much magic power, so the effect won’t be great, but Juen, I think your magical power will change drastically.”
Looking at the mentor who confidently smiled, Juen loaded the b*llet into her staff designed for sniping magic.
‘The compatibility is perfect.’
Since Kal had been making magic bullets for Juen anyway, there was no discomfort in using it.
However, the magic and magic formulas swirling within the b*llet were a field difficult even for Juen, who was the top-ranked student in the first grade of the Department of Magic, to understand.
Ziiing!
The magic b*llet reacted to Juen’s magic power.
Juen aimed at the Cyclops.
Feeling the magical reaction emitted from Juen, Aina and Habidden distanced themselves from the Cyclops.
Flash! Kwaaang!
A sound like cannon fire erupted along with a tremendous explosion on the Cyclops’ upper body.
The Cyclops’ flesh and bones cascaded down.
Khuuududududuck!
The Cyclops, whose upper body had been blown off, fell.
Kuung!
Exceeding all expectations of its power, Juen was left speechless.
‘I can’t catch up to the heroes. But if only in some way, I want to see their figures.’
It may not be possible to walk alongside them.
It may not be possible to chase after them.
Even so, when the great heroes faced trials visible to her,
She wanted to help in any way she could.
This was the new “goal” Kal had set.
“Hmph.”
Duran, having chopped down the first Cyclops and slashed the neck of the second, snorted and curled up his lips.
“Not bad, Kal Thomas.”
*
At the western gate.
Ar, standing on the castle wall while swaying her tail gently, saw the charging Gigantes.
Ar standing on the wall firmly stamped the ground with a loud ‘Creak’.
Simultaneously, she charged at the Gigantes.
“Haaaaaaaaa!”
A powerful battle cry accompanied by a golden aura bursting out from her.
Ar, having formed hand seals, flashed her eyes as she kicked the Gigantes’ head.
KwaAAAAng!
The Gigantes swayed and fell to the ground.
Kuuuung!
A massive noise reverberating the earth sounded.
But that was not the end.
Ar, wrapped in a blue aura all over her body, used the Ora-Step to kick off the air and then rushed to the ground.
HAAAAARRRRNGGG!
Ar growled savagely while kicking the Gigantes’ abdomen.
Watching her from atop the wall, Chelsea made an expression of disbelief.
“You talk like you’re a monster, but she really is a monster cat, huh.”
“Chelsea, saying such things won’t do.”
When Chen Sia scolded, Ruwen, a fellow Azonia student, said,
“Exactly a monster cat. Chen, you’re not wrong, right?”
Chuckling at her answer, Chen Sia looked inside the city and said.
“I have to go somewhere briefly.”
“Huh? Where to?”
As Chelsea tilted her head, Chen Sia smiled faintly.
“I have some business.”
Saying that, Chen Sia disappeared instantly.
“The foolish Hero Candidates. Being distracted by the monsters and demons outside.”
“Hmph, they’re just rookies. They will crumble without properly handling the chaos arising inside.”
“And yet, this sudden rampage, doesn’t it signal the end of our mission here?”
The black-hooded figures exchanged stories.
KwaD!
At that moment, one of their necks was snapped.
Thump-
Stunned at the sudden situation, the other black-hooded figures tried to draw their swords.
KwaJ!
“Kuaaahhhhhh!”
A small yet beautiful hand that emerged from the darkness twisted their wrists.
“Hero Hunters, all of you. I want to hear in detail about the matter of your mission.”
A smiling Chen Sia emerged from the darkness.
“Shadow!”
“Just one person!”
“They’ve lost all sense of fear!”
The moment the Hero Hunters drew their weapons,
Kwaang!
Another Hero Hunter’s head exploded and the body was pinned against the wall.
“Princess, weren’t you supposed to completely step away from this kind of business?”
Kirin, emerging from the darkness, tilted his head and asked.
“Hero’s duty, Shadow’s duty—don’t we learn that there’s no need to distinguish such things?”
Chen Sia calmly answered.
“If the path we seek is one, then we must do what we can, as that person taught me.”
“Princess, you seem to have grown even scarier than before.”
“Why is that?”
“Because Princess no longer hesitates.”
The Shadow Lord, Kirin, cracked his fingers and said.
“Judging by the smell, it’s a beastman. And some of you can probably ‘form beast hands’, right? This is my last consideration.”
Kirin’s expression disappeared.
“Even though you’re a traitor, it’s pointless trying to mimic that Great One’s greatness. If you continue doing such acts,”
A heavy killing intent emanated from her body.
“I’ll k*ll you with the worst method I can manage.”
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
