The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 988. Upheaval and Factions

The one who suddenly contacted the royal palace was none other than the Enforcer himself. A man who had always reveled in war, had delivered such a message during a private conversation with the king.

Given his nature, he should’ve escalated the conflict, not attempted to defuse it by any means.

Clearly, something extreme had happened to him.

As the confusion spread, the faction led by the Enforcers dismissed the message as complete nonsense.

hey weren’t willing to let the resistance rats or the aristocrats keep the wretched election-based system; they had no intention of letting the delusional rats have it their way.

With this in mind, they tried to ignore them completely. They weren’t willing to let the resistance rats or the aristocrats keep the wretched election-based system; they had no intention of letting the delusional rats have it their way.

With this in mind, they tried to ignore them completely.

But the massive warping interference magic circle, that took forty 6th Circle mages to painstakingly set up across the entire royal capital, had suddenly collapsed in an instant.

And it was only natural that the moment the interference field vanished, warping-based offensives would begin.

The resistance had one of the four 7th Circle mages of Atrellia, part of the kingdom's greatest military force.

They might not be able to cast the legendary 8th Circle spell Warp, but teleportation alone was more than enough to launch an attack.

But they couldn’t possibly think of anyone who could have managed to destroy such an intricate and powerful magic circle.

"How could the interference field break?!”

A young man in his mid-to-late thirties shouted in disbelief.

"Tell me, am I going insane?!"

"W-We’re still investigating the cause, but..."

"For the resistance to have hidden such a trump card..."

"Your Majesty, it may not have been the resistance."

"What?"

"They do have a 7th Circle mage, but this magic circle was created by dozens of 6th Circle mages. Destroying it is far harder than creating it, and creating it was already supremely difficult."

In other words, no matter how powerful a 7th Circle mage might be, shattering the interference field in an instant, without a trace no less, was impossible.

"Deploy the Wyvern Cavalry immediately! We must protect the people in the fortress! Sir Vadov, investigate this matter at once—!"

"Y-Your Majesty!!!"

Someone burst into the hall, screaming in terror.

The king frowned, ready to shout at the panicked intruder.

"What now—"

Booom!!!

The entire area quaked.

The sheer intensity of the impact and the overwhelming density of mana that accompanied it made the room go silent at once, as if time itself had frozen.

Everyone rushed toward the terrace to check what was happening.

What they saw left them speechless.

They saw an enormous barrage of meteors raining down.

Precisely speaking, each of them was targeting just the area around the fortress.

At a glance, the message was clear. It was as if the meteors were asking if they still weren’t going to surrender.

"M-Meteor... Strike."

Someone muttered in sheer disbelief.

Meteor Strike was an extremely high-tier spell that even 8th Circle mages couldn't imitate.

Throughout the history of Atrellia, only two individuals had ever successfully cast Meteor Strike.

The legendary being, revered as the God of Magic—Odin.

And the Grand Mage Gilbert who, five hundred years ago, burned his own soul to mimic a 9th Circle spell, only to die from mana depletion shortly afterward.

Even with all the advancements in magic, not even the now-extinct dragons had ever reached the realm of the 9th Circle. That level of magic was believed to be nothing more than a myth.

And yet...

It wasn't a single Meteor Strike.

There were dozens, all at once.

Crackle...

[I will state my purpose only once.]

A calm voice resonated again, making the king flinch.

"Your Majesty... this is..."

"The mage who cast the Meteor Strike... He’s not with the resistance."

If he were, he wouldn’t be calling for an end to the war—he’d be demanding their surrender.

Instinctively, the king knew that whoever this person was, he was not someone they could handle.

[Three days from now, a ceasefire negotiation will be held at the abandoned fortress in the Gorgon Plains. You don’t have to attend, but if you choose to continue this war...]

The voice trailed off.

No more words were needed.

The message had been delivered loud and clear.

* * *

"Kyaaah!!"

The ground trembled violently with a massive impact.

Illenia, the commander of the resistance, screamed out loud as she was supported by her aging lieutenant.

Whatever was happening seemed impossible.

Just moments ago, a man—likely one of the leader’s subordinates—had contacted her through his communication crystal and had told her that the war needed to stop immediately, and now was not the time to be fighting.

At first, she thought it was nonsense.

But then the disaster struck, leaving her speechless.

"Marcan..."

"Yes, Commander?"

"That’s... a Meteor Strike isn’t it?"

Massive fireballs rained down from the sky, crashing into the ground not far from their fortress.

She knew it was magic. She recognized that spell—the legendary Meteor Strike, said to be impossible to cast in real life.

But despite being able to process what was happening, her mind refused to accept it, questioning whether it was really something possible.

"Yes, it is. And not just one strike—this is a bombardment."

"Is that even possible??”

"Are you asking if I could do it? Even the greatest mages on the continent—those who have gone into seclusion—would turn to dust after summoning just one. No, they wouldn’t even be able to summon it in the first place. Even among the now-extinct dragons, few ever reached the 9th Circle. Honestly, calling this ‘magic’ is misleading... It’s more like a natural disaster—"

"No."

At that moment, a voice interrupted.

A blonde woman strolled in, chewing on a grilled chicken skewer.

"Hovana!"

"Yeah, that’s magic."

"You... You’re a dragon, aren’t you?" Illenia asked in response.

"Mhm. Dragon,” she nodded.

"Then... was it—?"

"Pfft. Do you think simply being a dragon means reaching the 9th Circle is easy? There are only a handful throughout history who ever did."

"But you speak as if you know exactly what’s happening."

"Of course, I do."

How could she not?

Gold dragon Hovana let out a hollow laugh.

"I never said a dragon did this. It was a human."

"What...?"

"That’s Meteor Strike. And not just one—dozens of them. There’s only one person on this continent capable of that."

Technically, she was unaware of Odin’s presence, but that didn’t make her statement any less true.

"The person you know...?"

"And the one I’ve been looking for."

Illenia had first met Hovana by pure chance.

She had been caught trying to dine-and-dash at a street vendor. Hovana had grinned shamelessly and tried to offer a gemstone as payment—only to realize her Pocket Plane wouldn’t open.

It had taken her quite some time to retrieve the gem, but by then, she had gotten tangled up in other matters.

Illenia, however, had noticed the immense power she possessed.

So, she made an offer—if Hovana helped the resistance, Illenia would help her find the person she was searching for.

Hovana was a full-fledged dragon, capable of wielding 8th Circle magic. There was no way the resistance would ever let such a powerful ally slip away.

That was how Hovana ended up staying by Illenia.

"Hey. Hovana.”

"You said you received a message earlier? To stop the war?”

"Yes."

"Did he say anything else? He may be an oddball, but he’s a good person. He wouldn’t attack you for no reason."

"You don’t know what you’re talking about!"

One of the resistance members, overwhelmed by panic, shouted angrily.

Hovana sighed, shaking her head.

"Listen," she smirked. "If he really wanted to wipe you out, he wouldn’t have done it like this. He’d have dropped those meteors directly on your fortress."

A single human had shattered the interference field and summoned a veritable fleet of meteors.

That alone was enough to leave them stunned.

"Did he say anything else?"

"He said... three days from now, there will be ceasefire negotiations at the abandoned fortress in the Gorgon Plains. The royal family will be attending, and we should also join.”

"Hmm..."

Hovana thought for a moment.

And then, she smiled.

"Go."

"What?! It could be a trap!"

Several people shouted in alarm.

But Hovana shook her head.

"It's your choice, but if you refuse to attend and cut off communication, next time the meteors will fall directly on your fortress. Surely you don’t think he dropped them just for fun, do you?"

The meteors were a show of force—a clear warning.

"And while our relationship is one of give and take, I’m on his side. If you choose to oppose him..."

Hovana grinned, baring her sharp teeth.

"Then I’ll have no choice but to manifest my true form right here."

Illenia clenched her teeth at her words.

* * *

Neither side fully understood the situation, but they still chose to attend the so-called negotiations.

Whoever was responsible for the storm, they figured they’d find their answer at the Gorgon Plains. That was their only thought as they made their way over.

The royal faction, led by the king himself, arrived with eight Enforcers and hundreds of elite guards.

The resistance, led by Commander Illenia, brought their own forces, including Marcan, a 7th Circle mage; Hovana, a gold dragon; and several 6th Circle mages.

As soon as both factions laid eyes on each other, the atmosphere turned ice-cold.

They didn’t know the full story yet, but that didn’t stop them from glaring at one another with murderous intent.

"So? This was your plan to stop the war? Dropping a few meteors to force them to gather under the name of negotiation?”

"They came together right away... after I told them I’d hit them with a couple if they didn’t.”

"Sigh, just what I’d expect from Hercules’ disciple. No subtlety at all."

"It’s the most efficient method."

At those words, she let out a weak laugh.

Right now, she looked fine on the surface, but internally, her consciousness was in complete disarray.

She could barely move properly, which was why she was still in his arms.

"Alright, alright. Put me down already."

"Sure."

Davey had been holding Odin in a princess carry. She curled and stretched her legs, smacking him in the face with a few solid kicks.

Despite her rough movements, her previously cold expression had softened considerably.

"Just stop the war. The rest is my job."

"I know you’re keeping things from me," he said. "But don’t overdo it."

Her face flushed red in embarrassment.

"If you disappear, that damned authority of dimensional management will be left hanging. No one else can deal with it."

At those words, her expression turned ice-cold.

"I’ll show you that I haven’t been wasting my time just watching you."

With that, he leaped lightly from the massive tower into the fortress square, where both factions had gathered.

From the moment he jumped to the moment he landed, not a single person noticed his approach.