428.
“It’s bigger than I thought.”
“This is Lord Leo’s family house…!”
In front of the mansion located within the Flove family estate.
As Lunia muttered upon seeing the main gate of the mansion, Eiran beside her looked tense.
“Eiran, let’s go in.”
“Lunia-sama, wouldn’t this be enough? Surely Lord Leo’s parents will be here. Is our gift sufficient?”
“I thought you said having too lavish a gift might make them uncomfortable.”
“Aaah! What an idiotic thing to do!”
Eiran berated himself, overwhelmed by excessive tension causing confusion.
“Just a moment! Let’s go back and get another gift…”
“It will be too late.”
Lunia grabbed Eiran by the nape and dragged her inside.
“Aaah, Lunia-sama! Just a moment!”
“Yikes! Stop it and come on!”
Lunia pulled Eiran, who was clinging to the wrought-iron gate, dragging her towards the entrance.
Just then, as the two elves stood there.
“You’re probably scared of going on this training camp, huh!”
From behind came a confident voice.
Turning her head, Lunia could see a beastman, Arga, standing with her hands on her hips and a white tail swaying.
She let out a snort, her nostrils flaring.
Beside her stood Driana, arms crossed.
“Are you here?”
Lunia, with a slanted look and not letting go of Eiran’s nape, propped her hand against her hip and tilted her head.
Driana remarked, watching Lunia’s typical fierce movements.
“Always felt this, but Lunia, you really look like a thug.”
“Huh? Aren’t I supposed to be?”
“Who are you calling a thug right now?! You perverted dwarf and stupid cat!”
Lunia burst out in irritation.
Watching such Lunia, Eiran muttered softly.
“You do look somewhat like a thug when seen occasionally.”
“What?”
“Hiiik?”
As Lunia’s eyes darted around, Eiran clutched the iron gate even harder.
Lunia tried to pull Eiran away, but Eiran’s basic strength was much stronger from the outset.
“Hey! Cat, can you get her off? She’s resisting!”
“You’re blocking the way and causing inconvenience to others, aren’t you?”
“My point exactly!”
Ar came to help Lunia by trying to pull Eiran away from the gate.
Creeek!
With Ar’s help, a peculiar sound came from the gate.
This time, Eiran showed signs of fatigue on her face unlike before.
“Why is she being so stubborn!”
Ar, fired up by determination, clenched her teeth and used even more force.
Driana observed this scene with an air of helplessness when…
“What are all of you doing?”
The moment Leo’s voice was heard, Eiran let go of the gate.
“Kyaaa?”
“Ugh?!”
Lunia and Ar, who had been pulling on Eiran, lost their balance and tumbled terribly on the ground.
In stark contrast to the two who looked disheveled, Eiran stood neatly, tidied herself up, and stepped in front of Leo.
“Lord Leo! I hope you’ve been well on your vacation? I thank you for the invitation! Here… it’s a small gift but…”
With a bright smile, Eiran handed over the gift, causing Leo to smile faintly.
“Thank you, my mother will be pleased.”
At his words, Eiran blushed, covering her cheeks, and fidgeted around, at a loss for what to do.
Watching such an Eiran, Ar and Lunia didn’t hesitate to pounce.
“Why are you doing this?”
“How could you not know?”
“You should taste it yourself!”
Both of them approached, their eyes glaring, but the flailing Eiran put on an upset face and ran away.
Driana observed this while showing a disapproving expression.
“They call these two the future of their race. Truly concerning times ahead.”
“That’s not something for you to say, right?”
Leo remarked while shaking his head, but Driana paid no heed to him.
“What? Senior students who graduated are coming as instructors?”
“Right? I heard it directly from Senior Toluah yesterday. Though they disappeared by evening.”
Already, many students had gathered in the mansion.
It wasn’t only from Lumeran.
Students had arrived from Seirun, Azonia, and Demian as well.
Invitations had been sent to students with outstanding performances from each school.
Moreover, not just second-year students but first-years were present as well.
“Hmm! It feels like an inter-school competition!”
Iliana stroked her chin while her eyes sparkled.
At her muttering, Borham, ranked 5th in Azonia, crossed his arms and burst into laughter.
“That sounds fun. The best will be Azonia, no doubt!”
His shout was received with cheers from the Azonian students.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Iliana clicked her tongue and wiggled her fingers while observing the Azonian students.
“Sorry, but you’ll never defeat us! And you know why!”
Iliana proudly raised her head, covering her mouth with her hand, then laughed.
“Because we have Leo Flove! Heheheh! And we’re going to make all of you taste the bitterness of defeat.”
“Gurgh?!”
Borman clenched his teeth and balled his fists.
Watching such an Iliana, Chelsea showed an expression of disdain.
“What’s with the arrogance when it’s not even due to your skills?”
“Someone, do something. It’s embarrassing.”
Teid covered his face while speaking.
On one side, Duran, sitting with his eyes closed and arms crossed, said,
“Chen Sia, pull her back.”
“Me?”
“Should I do it?”
Zzzt-Zzzt!
Small sparks flew from Duran’s body.
Seeing this, Chen Sia, wearing a troubled smile, approached Iliana.
“Iliana-san, that’s enough, please come back.”
“Why? I just need to break the spirits of these students from other schools… Hm? Hm?”
Before Chen Sia could finish, Iliana tried to provoke students from other schools again, but Chen Sia blocked her mouth and nose with a white cloth.
Struggling intensely, Iliana soon fainted and collapsed.
“Our student has been rude.”
Chen Sia smiled brightly, causing all the students from other schools to look at her with fearful expressions.
“Is she dead?”
“There’s no movement.”
“Lumeran’s upperclassmen are terrifying.”
While the first-year students from other schools murmured among themselves, Celia arrived.
“There are so many people gathered here, lively, lively.”
Seeing Celia brushing her hair as she shook her head, Chelsea greeted her.
“Welcome, Celia.”
At Chelsea’s words, Celia paused momentarily before frowning.
“What? That’s annoying.”
Chelsea’s unusually kind smile made Celia feel uneasy.
Celia’s remarks didn’t make Chelsea’s kind smile fade.
“Hey, guess what? I found something pretty interesting?”
Fishing around in her pocket suspiciously, Chelsea pulled out a photograph.
“Whaaaaat?! Where did you get that picture?”
“Who knows? Where could it come from?”
“Arrgh!”
Celia, blushing as she dashed towards Chelsea, tore the picture into pieces and incinerated it with a flame of aura.
Afterward, she rushed to Leo.
“Hey! Leo! What kind of thing is this!”
Leo, talking with Chloe and Abad, shrugged his shoulders.
Chloe showed a troubled smile while Abad sported his usual gentle grin.
“Wasn’t that a good fit?”
“Erase it from your mind when it’s still a good thought! Butter!”
Abad’s statement caused Celia to react with combat-like movements, grabbing the front of Leo’s shirt and shaking him wildly.
“I thought we agreed to keep this secret! Keep it secret!”
“I didn’t show it. Mother did.”
“My aunt?”
Celia showed an upset face at the revelation. There was nothing she could say after Reina showed it.
“Grasping the collar of the young master you serve… quite impolite of you, isn’t it?”
“Exactly. Miss Celia, such aggressive behavior isn’t fitting for a servant.”
Seeing this, Eliza openly mocked, and Chen Sia who subdued Iliana earlier smiled gently and commented.
An upset Celia ran towards them and throttled their necks.
“Let her go, Miss Celia!”
“Don’t be angry, Miss Celia.”
Eliza flailed against her while Chen Sia calmly replied.
While the commotion was unfolding,
“Everyone looks very lively, which makes me happy.”
A clear laughter was heard.
The voice resonated clearly in the students’ ears.
Everyone directed their gaze towards the second floor of the mansion.
There, they found a small girl wearing a veil, causing everyone to widen their eyes in surprise.
“Lord of Dragons.”
She was the Lord of Dragons who had appeared during the last summit meeting.
Every student had seen her at least once.
But despite that, this was the first time they were seeing her this close.
While everyone was tense,
Merina tied a banner to the second-floor railing.
Flutter!
“Welcome from the bottom of our hearts to all present here today for the start of the training camp!”
Merina joyously clapped her small hands with a bright smile.
However, the students who saw the banner froze.
“Welcome to hell?”
Chelsea muttered with a sour tone.
Seeing this, Kal sighed deeply, looking like someone who’d lived a long life.
“As expected.”
Why are premonitions of doom always accurate?
With a sigh, Kal silently smiled.
Just as everyone swallowed hard,
And then…
Screeechhh! Boom!
The open door made a heavy sound and slammed shut.
“Well then, everyone.”
“Hey, the atmosphere doesn’t feel good.”
“What’s happening?”
As the students murmured,
“The training camp begins now.”
At that moment, the scenery changed.
Suddenly dumped into a mountain valley, the students dumbly looked up at Merina.
Merina waved her hand while looking down at the students from the cliff above.
“Take care.”
KyaAAAAAAAAAAAH!
YahAAAAAAAAAAAH!
Under the law of gravity, the students plummeted down the cliff.
Whooooshhhh!
While plummeting down the endless cliff, Ar maintained a calm expression.
‘No need to panic. I’ll use the aura.’
When Ar was about to activate the aura, she suddenly looked surprised.
The aura within her body responded much weaker than usual.
She couldn’t use her normal power.
But this moment of panic was brief.
Ar quickly enhanced her hands using the aura.
Then, she sharpened her nails and scratched at the cliff wall.
Koowhaaaaahhhhhh!
Using the friction, Ar forcibly slowed her falling speed.
At this moment, Ar smiled confidently.
Booooom!
“Uh?”
Suddenly, her body weighed heavily.
Chhrrrr-
Her hand’s strength couldn’t counterbalance the weight and slipped.
Koowhaahhh! Bang! Grrrr! Crash!
Ar screamed in pain after crashing onto the ground, writhing in pain.
Though she didn’t suffer serious injuries, it was extremely painful.
Ar was not the only one who fell among the surrounding areas.
Eiran, Celia, and Duran also fell down.
“Ah, it hurts.”
Eiran painfully stood up, looking distressed.
Celia gritted her teeth as she endured the pain.
Duran stood up calmly but moved slowly due to the pain.
Ar also stood up.
Out of the second-year students invited by each school, fifteen were selected.
Among them, Ar fell together with these three.
“It seems we’ve been scattered.”
To Celia’s muttering, Ar replied,
“Could we have been randomized to fall here? Or were we predetermined to be this group?”
“Hmph. There is a higher probability that we were already set as a group.”
Duran snorted.
“Are not all four of us frontline fighters?”
“That’s right. Our role is to hold back the enemies at the forefront.”
Eiran also nodded in agreement when,
“A little bit different.”
A voice came from above.
All four looked up simultaneously.
With superior dynamic vision, two of them noticed Leo sitting at the edge of the cliff, looking down on them.
“In battle, your role isn’t to ‘hold back’ the enemies but to ‘annihilate’ them, isn’t it?”
He has outstanding physical abilities and strength, yet he also wields overwhelming firepower.
“Like the mighty Aron.”
“Lord Leo!”
“What? Black Rabbit! Why are you alone and comfortable on the cliff top! Come down quickly!”
“You’re not participating in the training camp?”
Eiran grinned brightly and waved her hand while Ar pouted.
Celia inquired with a curious face, while Duran crossed his arms.
“No, the guy has already ascended back up the cliff.”
“That’s right, Duran,” Leo agreed with a smile.
“I cleared the first task right at the start.”
“So, were you going to wait for us?”
In response to Duran’s question, Leo chuckled,
“I’ll keep waiting for you guys.”
“What?”
At this unexpected statement, Duran, as well as the others, looked puzzled.
“So?”
Leo spoke,
“How long do you think you’ll make me wait?”
Looking up at Leo standing far above, Ar snickered,
“I’ll come soon. Just wait.”
“Okay?”
Smiling, Leo stood up,
“Then, I’ll wait.”
Saying that, Leo disappeared without a second thought.
Watching Leo leave, Merina asked,
“Does it feel like you’re waiting for those kids to catch up?”
“It does.”
Leo smirked,
“Can these kids replace the Great Heroes?”
“They can’t replace them. Neither can you or the Heroes of the Cataclysm.”
“…No, it’s beyond us. We can’t possibly compare to the Great Heroes. Absolutely, we can’t replace them.”
Merina apologetically shrugged.
To her, Leo reached out his hand,
“It’s not what you think.”
“Hm?”
“They’re themselves.”
Ruffling Merina’s hair, Leo continued,
“Just like you can’t replace them, they can’t replace you either.”
Leo chuckled,
“Do you think we saved the world solely with our own strength? We just happened to be stronger than others. So, anyone who is willing to risk their life to save the world is a dependable and precious ally.”
After taking his hand off Merina’s head, Leo walked away casually.
“Hurry up to the stage. They’re anxiously waiting.”
Watching Leo’s receding back, Merina looked down the cliff and said,
“You all need to work hard. The Hero of the Beginning is waiting for you.”
![[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")
