The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1238

Unexpected situations always had a way of catching people off guard, though Mit Chyde could at least understand why he had been brought somewhere other than Tionis for real combat training.

The Saint of Tionis was a man shrouded in secrecy. When Mit had first heard about him, he thought everyone was probably just overreacting and exaggerating in their descriptions. After all, how great could a lone human possibly be? The idea of there being a single faction powerful enough to make the Three Empire be on their toes sounded utterly ridiculous. He knew that numbers had always been the ultimate weapon. Always was, always would be.

Ultimately, the descriptions hadn’t particularly impressed him. He also knew that wasting his time learning about someone like that wouldn’t make his life any easier.

However, his perception of the Saint of Tionis changed after he took a hard look at himself, began to grow, and entered into a contract with Josiah.

She was so overwhelmingly powerful that Mit didn’t even dare to look down on her, yet she was somehow only that man’s disciple.

Vampires, as far as the world was concerned, were a cruel and vicious race. Even so, Mit trusted Josiah Frances. She had been the only one in the world to notice his change and even attempt to help.

Though it was called a contract, she could’ve broken it at any time. Nonetheless, she had shown him compassion, discarded all the minor stipulations in the terms and conditions, and simply taught him magic. Her passion and sincerity changed something inside him.

Davey O’Rowane was that amazing woman’s teacher, yet he wasn’t that much older than Mit himself. He couldn’t even imagine just how great he must be.

That fogginess had turned to clarity the moment Josiah suddenly surpassed the barrier of the 6th Circle. At the height of her pride, she had taken off to brag to her teacher. Once she returned, Mit had been treated to the terrifying sight of Davey casually unleashing a level of destruction far beyond the large-scale bombardment spells, even those used by strategic-level military mages.

He then understood why the man called Davey O’Rowane was nicknamed the Human Calamity and One-Man Empire, and why even the Three Empires had tried to tie him down by marrying off their princesses to him.

There was no way Mit would miss a chance that was given by someone like that!

Crash!!

Disappointingly, the sharp Magic Missiles Mit just manifested amidst the battlefield shattered when facing a special shield, crumbling mid-air. His expression twisted in frustration. “How is this... even possible?”

“Their equipment scatters the structure of your spells, disturbing the stabilization,” Josiah explained.

“Then... that’s a total hard counter against mages, isn’t it?!”

Ping! Ping! Ping!!

As bullets rained down, Josiah effortlessly summoned a barrier and continued to explain, “But if you get better at mana control; use the casting method I taught you; hold onto the magic once it’s been cast; and maintain control until the end, you’ll be able to find their weak points.”

For someone like Mit who had never even seen such a thing as firearms until recently, Earth’s battlefields felt terrifying. Yet to Josiah, it was so mundane that it was almost boring. After all, her goal wasn’t to eliminate the terrorists.

It was to help Mit gain real combat experience.

“Now, it’s your turn. Before we begin, I want you to know that I’m only going to apply some protection over your vital points using my blood power. Every time you would ‘die,’ you’ll be getting hit with a penalty that’ll make you curse out loud. So do your best.”

She promptly kicked him straight into the ruined city block in front of them, exactly where the terrorist group was entrenched.

The kind of combat experience she offered was absurdly dangerous.

Bang!!

A gunshot struck his shoulder.

“Aaaagh!!”

He had barely just become a 2nd Circle mage! A bullet wasn’t a big deal if he managed to cast a barrier, but the time it took to activate it was the problem.

Since he wasn’t hit at his solar plexus, Josiah didn’t shield him from the blow. She literally only protected his instant-death zones.

Gritting his teeth, Mit rolled into the remains of a destroyed building and gasped for breath.

From what he’d been told, the city was empty aside from the terrorist group, everyone else having left after countless rounds of urban warfare. Unfortunately for him, that meant he was the only one there to stop them.

Normally, the group would’ve pulled out quickly, but they instead showed zero sign of retreat. He figured Josiah had intervened, as they were trapped within the area.

Despite being presented with such a difficult mission, Mit harshly gritted his teeth and forced his bleeding to stop by manipulating his mana, tying his injured arm with the bandages he’d brought.

Tears welled in his eyes from fear, his body trembling with rage and betrayal. He wanted to scream and shout at Josiah about the unfairness and the betrayal of it all. Still, with bullets flying past him, he slowly pulled himself together.

If he couldn’t accomplish anything there, he had no hope of reaching the 3rd Circle.

He began analyzing his tools, gear, the number of enemies, their weapons, and their estimated combat power. The more he calculated, the more hopeless the answer became. Still, he didn’t twist his face in despair.

“Let’s see who wins.”

There was only one thing he could believe in at that moment—Josiah Frances, his mentor and teacher, had thrown him into the situation because she believed he could make it through successfully. Having been made to be pretty much immortal, he knew he had to take advantage and try his best.

“She always said a mage must remain calm...”

Using a ruined wall as cover, he began to plan. Every tool at his disposal, every ounce of knowledge, he was going to use it all to find a way to survive.

* * *

The terrorist organization Patroshist had always been a threat. They were sometimes open and blatant in their actions, but most often attacked and plotted from the shadows.

They had stirred up conflict across numerous regions for years on end, earning the resentment of countless governments and international institutions. The only reason they hadn’t been wiped out yet was that most of their activities had been limited to war-torn areas of conflict.

However, after joining forces with the remnants of the Nacha Empire, their actions could no longer be ignored. At least, not by the nations that had already suffered from those remnants’ assaults.

Once governments put maximum effort into gathering intelligence on them, they managed to identify and locate a significant number of their key bases. Of course, despite knowing the locations and intel, direct action wasn’t so simple.

The Patroshists had always used the threat of biochemical weapons and even nuclear armaments as leverage to protect themselves. Yet suddenly, many of the organization's branches were collapsing at an astonishing pace.

All because of Davey.

Boom!!

A thunderous explosion ripped through the building, blasting apart the walls. Two men tumbled across the floor, ragdolled without even having the chance to scream.

Step. Step.

“Cough. Cough. Why... Why is the Saint of Tionis attacking us?!”

The Patroshists had never directly declared hostility toward him. In fact, they hadn’t even antagonized Al Hajat’s nation. Davey had never planned to target them, and they had no intention of provoking him either, effectively creating a tacit agreement not to interfere with one another. Alas, such fragile relationships could crumble into an all-out war over just a single spark.

“Cough. Cough. Don’t think you can wipe out our whole organization with these attacks.”

“That’s not my job,” Davey replied flatly. “That’s for NATO or the Central Union. I was only asked to cut out the part of your group that collaborated with foreign demons.”

The man in charge of the base glared up at Davey with bitter hatred. “You think we’ll let you walk away after messing with us? We’ve got ties with radical groups everywhere, from the Mexican cartels to dozens of other outfits! Crushing the things you care about won’t be hard for us.”

“Go ahead.” Davey’s calm response made the man pause. “Go on, then. Don’t just sit there drawing up some half-baked plan and watching to see what happens. Try it.”

Davey smiled faintly and crouched to meet his gaze.

As the ancient draconic power of Eclipse, the force Davey had devoured long ago, began to stir, the man’s face twisted in terror. The Fear of Species was useful in many ways.

Davey watched in silence as the man trembled, lost in thought. Patroshist had never been his concern. However, once they had crossed the line, there was no going back. Whether it was the right thing or not no longer mattered.

“Heh. Hehehe.” The man had suddenly begun laughing like a madman.

“You find this funny?”

“No. We won’t be able to do anything to you.”

“So?”

“But we’ll never go down quietly.” Without hesitation, the man reached into the pouch on his chest and pulled a pin.

Ping!!

Rinne and Reina both instinctively flinched, then froze.

“Error. Error.” Reina immediately deployed a shimmering white barrier, seconds before a blast of green energy erupted.

Suicide attacks were pretty common, but the grenade the man set off wasn’t an ordinary one. Instead, it was something far more powerful.

“Hmph.” Reina smirked in satisfaction as the light faded, clearly pleased with herself.

Rinne stomped her foot in frustration. “Rinne states she can do that too.”

“Really? Didn’t look like it.” Grinning with pride, Reina turned and walked off, her mood soaring. It was just as Davey expected.

“Hehe. In the end, I’m the best, right?”

“Yeah. Thank you, Reina,” he responded.

“I’ll clean up the area. You can come out when you're ready.” She fluttered her wings and vanished in a streak of light.

Left behind in the quiet aftermath, Rinne returned to her usual expression as if nothing had happened. “Master Davey, Rinne requests confirmation if this is sufficient?”

“I can’t say for sure, but let’s take it one step at a time. For now, you’ll probably be the one she’s most wary of.”

There were three individuals Reina showed jealousy toward. First was Rinne, a semi-subjugated entity who had undergone partial sephirothization through his divine power. Second was Josiah Frances, the Vampire Lord, who was also semi-subjugated. Lastly, the one Reina remained most wary of—Saintess Shuneria Recken, currently residing in another dimension.

There was only one thing that all three had in common with Reina. They were all somehow subjugated and subordinate to Davey.

Naturally, Davey first tried to approach it from a medical perspective. Yet just in case, he made sure to cover all angles. With the help of the World Tree Al and following a consultation with Divine Physician Hypocria from the Saint Sanctuary, he confirmed that her condition could be improved more easily than expected.

Her jealousy and inexplicable coldness were simply the result of her viewing Rinne, Josiah, and Shuneria as rivals. She had an obsessive desire to be the only one who followed him.

What truly corrupted her was a dark fixation on becoming the sole existence entirely bound to Davey. The obsession was slowly eating away at her.

Sure, Illyna and Reina both had obsessive tendencies to a degree. However, in Reina’s case that obsession had twisted unnaturally once she became fully subjugated as a Celestial.

[Ahh... My god... please grant me your grace.]

At that moment, a voice echoed inside his head.

It was a prayer. There were only a handful of beings in the world who could pray to Davey regardless of distance.

“Shuneria Recken...” Smiling faintly, Davey scoffed at her bold attempt to freely borrow his divine power. “So brazen. If you’re going to pray, do it properly.”

It was almost as if she had forgotten her past, suddenly daring to shamelessly demand blessings.

Whatever reason she had for praying to him, he didn’t know. Davey unceremoniously cut a portion of divine power in half before sending it over to her.

[Hey... Hey, my god! This isn’t fair, is it?! Give me the full blessing!!]