Chapter 51: The Fake Hero

To risk one’s life for others embodies a unique kind of courage and presence, and for a knight like Valentina who possessed combat abilities, the signs of such courage were even more evident. At first, everyone thought Valentina was simply displaying her prowess, but when she was completely surrounded by blazing green flames, most people realized what was happening. Tures and Mathuya were relatively remote areas, but as a necessary route to Monstoke, adventurers often visited there, so they had some knowledge from hearsay.
“Miss Srod is burning her life force! That beast is powerful and cunning—it’s far stronger than it appears! Miss Srod is in danger!”
Similar messages quickly spread among the people, inevitably causing unrest.
Seeing chaos arise among the migration group, Tamro naturally seized the opportunity. With full combat strength, he launched fierce attacks, momentarily overwhelming Valentina. The beasts also roared loudly under Doge’s leadership, boosting their morale, while the migration group grew increasingly panicked.
Throughout their journey eastward, if Dev represented perseverance, kindness, and never giving up, and the Wind Squad represented intelligence and protection, then Valentina was the symbol of the migration group—the source of courage for overcoming difficulties and striving to survive. Through repeated confrontations and bloody battles, Valentina’s heroic image had taken root in people’s hearts. Liz, who appeared suddenly, was seen by the people as a stunning and mysterious powerhouse, but she gave the impression of having dubious origins and being emotionally distant. Valentina, on the other hand, was recognized as the commander of the guard force—a tangible and deeply loved figure, the strongest warrior in the migration group.
No one wanted Valentina to die like this, especially the people of Mathuya, whose feelings for the Srod family were far deeper than those between lords and subjects in other territories.
Yet Xavier remained silent, simply watching as Valentina stepped toward death. The people’s emotions finally erupted. From individual voices to a unified cry, “We surrender” quickly spread and echoed across the battlefield.
The druids of the Senmu tribe followed the will of the people; they too did not want to see Valentina perish here.
By now, Valentina had gone mad in battle and could not be persuaded with mere words. The druids sent a team, along with Tamro, to stop her from continuing to burn herself out. Tamro’s action saved face for both the migration group and the Senmu tribe. This had nothing to do with kindness. In fact, for the various races striving to survive in Monstoke, concepts of good and evil were rather weak. Until there were enough children and enough food to feed everyone, progress in spiritual civilization was nothing but foolishness.

Tamro believed Valentina was finished—unless she died, she would be useless, unable to change the outcome of this battle or hinder any future conflicts. So what if he let her go? Tamro had made up his mind: letting Valentina go was far more valuable than killing her. She hadn’t learned any military tactics, but she had some practical combat experience. He knew that killing her would only fuel humanity’s determination to revenge and resist.

Tamro’s judgment was sharp. For Valentina, time had been a costly drain. Within a short while after fainting, she showed signs of aging—wrinkles, age spots, gray hair… It seemed as though 30 years had vanished in just a few minutes.

When Valentina was carried back to their camp, many witnessed this act of aging. Everyone couldn’t help but cry, including many strong adult men. More and more people learned what had happened, and a mood of sorrow spread through the ranks. The morale that had once been high dropped to its lowest point due to Valentina’s severe injuries.

Liz was gone. Priest Norlund’s divine magic couldn’t restore lost life force, and the Gale Squad had suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Wurtzburg (as explained to the people by Valentina, Xavier, and others). Aside from the Wood Druids who managed to stop Valentina’s life force from fading further, no one could think of anyone else who could save their young leader.

“Pray! Let’s pray devoutly to the gods…” someone shouted hoarsely. When problems became beyond human resolution, people turned to the gods again. Many agreed to this suggestion and prepared to pray for Valentina. Then someone asked Dave to lead the ceremony once more.

To calm everyone’s nerves, Dave agreed and urged them to stay calm and restrained. The battle wasn’t over, and a major conflict might soon arise. Addressing this crisis was also equivalent to helping Valentina recover.

Everyone agreed with Dave’s reasoning, returned to their positions, and comforted those around them. Gradually, the migration camp settled back from chaos.

Dave ordered Valentina to be carried straight into the sled boat, preparing to leave, and asked Millien to take care of her personally. Then he began praying to the gods once again.

Over by the side, Priest Norlund shook his head. Not only was Valentina not a member of the Light Church, but even if she were, Norlund didn’t think Dave had a chance of success.

Norlund was well-versed in religious theology. He knew clearly that the gods had said, “Those who fight for my glory shall be welcomed in heaven.” The successive popes of the Light Church also said in their inaugural speeches things like, “It is because of those who sacrificed themselves bravely, died heroically, persevered, and fought tirelessly that the Light Church has such strong cohesion—its glory grows ever greater.” Given the church’s history, the concept was clear: when it came to heroes, the gods preferred those who died gloriously rather than those who tried everything to keep them alive in the world.

This time, Norlinde’s speculation and judgment were correct—the gods would not save Valentina. Meanwhile, the third confrontation had entered its countdown due to Dorgi’s arrival. Dorgi strode forward with his head high, holding his long sword aloft, circling the arena. As he approached the Migration Group, he clenched his fist with his thumb pointing downward, making a universal provocative gesture. Valentina’s defeat had revealed the weakness of the Migration Group, and Dorgi believed victory was within reach. All he needed to do now was defeat his opponent cleanly and decisively.

The people of the Migration Group were enraged by Dorgi’s arrogant behavior and chanted in outrage. Someone took the lead, and a name was called out, becoming a slogan: “Take root! Take root…”

Yes, take root. This lone hero who saved the people of Tulip Town from peril, though an outsider, was regarded as a family member by countless families. In the Migration Group, Take Root’s reputation was even better than that of the Gale Team; he was the embodiment of justice, a synonym for bravery and wisdom. His strength was unfathomable. Although no one had ever fought him, many said even Valentina was slightly inferior to him. The vast majority of the people accepted this view. Though the “Valkyrie” was powerful, she was still a woman with her inherent weaknesses. Take Root, who was approachable, often helped those in need, and only occasionally showed off his skills, was seen as the true master in everyone’s eyes.

Take Root was at the forefront of the guard formation. Not long ago, he had spoken passionately out of indignation. Now, it seemed he had brought this upon himself.

Filled with frustration and resentment, it was meaningless at this point. Take Root wore a calm smile on his face, while his mind pondered the current situation.

“It seems I can no longer stay hidden!” Take Root had planned to wait untilNeo was captured and then leave under a noble pretext. But he encountered such circumstances unexpectedly. He had considered using his excellent acting skills to achieve a semblance of honor despite defeat, like Valentina. However, he didn’t dare take that risk and felt it wasn’t worth it. Not to mention being killed, even a minor injury he couldn’t afford—not only the pain but also the exposure of his identity as a dark cultist.

In a short time, Take Root thought deeply and quickly made up his mind. Amidst the roaring cheers, he accepted everyone’s request, slung his sword over his back, and strode forward toward the battlefield with a solemn expression.

“A strong warrior’s action will surely intimidate all enemies. Watch! The instructor is the true master of our Migration Group, unlike that Liz, who just showed off and left without saying goodbye!” A Tures militia member earnestly introduced Take Root to the new recruit from Wurtzburg who had joined the guard just the day before, filling the recruit with admiration.

“Take Root, victory! Take Root, victory!” A group of young girls cheered for Take Root by beating on their bowls, with some even exclaiming excitedly, “Take Root, I love you!” Take Root was their idol, the perfect man in their eyes. Their admiration for him had reached levels of near-religious fanaticism.

“Wansheng! Wansheng!” The people of the Migration Team reignited their enthusiasm in fury; many of them had full confidence in Zhanza. They believed this people’s hero would once again write a legend of a ‘savior’ at a critical moment.

Watching Zhanza, who was even more popular than Valentina and carried an even more imposing presence, Dorji frowned slightly. “Who is this guy? He seems not even to master Zhancheng. But would the human side send such a mediocre fighter to save their fate? Could it be that he has reached a level where his power remains hidden? Unlikely! He’s too young…”

Dorji’s doubts about Zhanza’s strength made him visibly nervous. His expression turned solemn as he gripped his long combat sword tightly, preparing for both offense and defense from afar.

“Look, that man-beast isn’t ordinary. He sensed the instructor’s subtle and awe-inspiring presence. But so what? If he’s timid, just that alone means he’s already lost!”

“The instructor is truly amazing. Hidden power in plain sight—just by stepping forward, he made that man-beast feel like facing a mighty enemy.” …

As an actor and a swindler, Zhanza was undoubtedly very successful. He had a wide base of support among the Migration Team and was highly revered. In terms of popularity and status, he ranked only after Di Fu. His influence, especially among the common people, was enormous. Although Xavier and the others knew he wasn’t trustworthy, they never found the right opportunity to deal with him. Today, the people inadvertently pushed him to the forefront. Instead of thinking of it as a leader’s responsibility, Zhanza saw it as persecution. “I’ve been screwed! I got fooled by these idiots’ usual behavior. Damn it! They’re using me as a scapegoat at a critical moment. Hmph! Don’t blame me if I’m ruthless!”

Stepping forward to a distance of 10 meters from Dorji, Zhanza, under the gaze of everyone, suddenly drew the great sword he carried on his back.

“Beautiful!”
“Amazing!”
“Majestic!” …

Even Dorji, who was facing Zhanza, had to admit that Zhanza’s sword-drawing motion was truly that of a master. Whether from a technical or artistic perspective, it was outstanding—seemingly lighting up the world itself at that moment.

Just as Dorji was ready to fight, he saw Zhanza perform a move that shocked him greatly. Swinging the great sword in a dazzling arc, Zhanza placed both hands on the hilt, knelt on one knee, and bowed his head: “Sir, I surrender. I offer this sword as proof!”

At that moment, silence fell over the battlefield, broken only by the whistling wind.

Then, amid Dorji’s loud laughter, the Migration Team erupted in chaos.

“How is this possible? How did this happen?”
“Instructor, what are you doing?! Ugh…”
“Black magic! Those man-beasts must have cast black magic on the instructor!”
“Damn it! A traitor! The most shameless traitor ever!”
“It’s over! We’re done!” …

The crowd was in complete chaos, yet Xavier remained unmoved. It wasn’t that he was calm enough, but rather because Ebute had done an excellent job. The guard unit had not existed for long, but having withstood numerous tests, they could still maintain order and discipline. This was why Xavier stayed composed—the guard unit was like the chessboard, and the crowd were the pieces; as long as the board remained stable, even if the pieces were in disarray, it remained under control.

The people of the Senmu tribe arrived, led by an older druid who asked, “What’s going on? Is the one who surrendered his sword really the third challenger sent by you?”

Xavier had already prepared his explanation. “This man is a dark agent lurking among us. How could he possibly be our representative? You might want to investigate him further.”

The expressions of the druids instantly turned serious and stern. From a public perspective, the dark forces had incited the Cordim tribe to provoke the Frey Alliance for petty gains, which filled the duty-driven Senmu druids with hatred. Privately, it was the dark forces who had secretly attacked the Senmu tribe, weakening them significantly and preventing them from spreading their traditional druidic culture among the Cordim people over the years. Moreover, this incident, with its origins and the arrests involved, was more or less connected to the dark forces. With both old and new grievances, both publicly and privately, the druids hated these dark agents deeply.

Returning to the battlefield, the druids told Doji in the Cordim dialect that Zhanza was a dark agent.

Doji’s gaze toward Zhanza sharpened, and without hesitation, he took action immediately.

Zhanza was good at reading situations. Seeing this, he realized his plan to defect to the man-beast tribe had failed. He tried to run away but was too late—Doji, wielding his long sword, caught up with him. Forced into desperation, Zhanza transformed into a demon, barely managing to withstand Dogi’s attacks. Yet this act revealed his true nature to the crowd.

“A dark claw? This guy’s real identity is actually a dark claw?”

“We’ve all been deceived!”

“The dark agents have attacked us several times—this must be him giving them information.”

“The so-called rescue of Tulip Town is clearly a scam! A big liar!”……

As Zhanza’s true identity was exposed, the crowd’s anger ignited completely. Besides hating Zhanza’s villainy, they also despised their own stupidity for mistaking him for one of their own.

“Kill him!”

“People like him should be burned to death on a pyre!”……