The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Novel

Most of the continent’s kingdoms were slowly getting used to peace, so they weren’t going to just sit and watch when a near pan-national disaster suddenly appeared. Furthermore, it was not a fight between nations, but an invasion from the Undead, which were unholy beings.

Massive plagues began going around, and the Undead were taking over major food sources.

If the Pallan Empire wavered, others would soon follow. All the other kingdoms knew this for a fact, so they cooperated and began working together as one. The Lyndis Empire offered several supplies and Grand Duchess Kathryn. The Holy Empire offered the service of two girls, who were candidates to be the next Saintess, the 6th and 7th devout holy knight orders, and several soldiers. As for the other kingdoms, they gave the Pallan Empire numerous soldiers and supplies.

In fact, Contas Magnus of the Contas Empire, a western force that had been keeping an eye on the Pallan Empire, sent over three Swordmasters who were part of the Royal Guards.

To Davey’s knowledge, this was the first time that so many kingdoms were coming together.

Davey arrived at the Pallan Empire four days after deciding to participate in the war. He couldn’t shake off an odd feeling, so he couldn’t help but take action after gathering more information about the situation through Aina.

The war was already ongoing when Davey arrived. The other participating kingdoms had formed a large force that would usually only appear during continental wars. The force had been assembled quickly because of the Pallan Empire’s own battle prowess and the surprising news that the Pallan Empire’s prince had passed away.

“With the passing of the crown prince…tens of thousands of Undead have already taken over. And that number is still steadily increasing…”

After dying in battle, a lot of soldiers had been turned into the Undead. It didn’t help that the Undead crawling out from the ancient dungeon, which was the origin of this problem, was already beyond imagination.

Needless to say, this was a battle that would keep increasing and affect the entire continent.

Before anyone else could get there, Davey used magic to warp directly to the command headquarters, which was located behind several mountain fortresses. It was also located behind Herro Mountain Fortress, where the war was happening. He grabbed Rinne, who looked around while sniffing their surroundings, by the arm.

“Stop! Where are you from?”

The guards noticed that a boy, a young man, and a small girl in a robe were approaching them without any soldiers or servants. That was the reason why they were suspicious.

Before Rinne could speak…

“I was waiting for you. Welcome, Class-5 Yulis and Prince Davey.”

Davey immediately glanced toward the voice, which came from a man dressed in fancy armor.

Recognizing the man who stared at them with a soft smile, Yulis said, “Ah, Prince Sullivan. It has been a while.”

“Haha, I apologize for the lack of hospitality. As you can see, the situation...”

Yulis and Prince Sullivan conversed with friendly smiles.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Davey O’Rowane.”

“I have heard many stories about you; although it is not yet fully acknowledged, you are the Saint who has been chosen by God. Thank you very much for your participation, Saint. My name is Prince Sullivan de Pallan of the Pallan Empire.”

The young man introduced himself, then reached out to shake Davey’s hand. He had longer and softer-looking hair than Yulis and had square frame glasses on. His soft smile gave off a warmth that was different from Yulis.

“I was curious who Illyna’s new friend was, so I am honored to finally meet you,” Prince Sullivan said.

“Oh… Yes. Is Illyna alright?” Davey asked.

As Prince Sullivan spoke, Davey pulled Rinne’s arm as she looked around. Rinne looked like she wanted to leave at any moment.

The headquarters was surrounded by seven or eight mountain fortresses, which blocked the enemies. Behind the headquarters was a natural fortress that blocked the only route leading to the Pallan Empire’s capital. A large army and hidden modern weapons could be found at each mountain fortress, which shielded the command center that was behind the frontlines.

Davey entered the headquarters. He could see numerous soldiers, knights, and mages who had come to help.

“That is the symbol of the Holy Empire. They seem to be part of the holy knight order. Oh, the mages over there have the symbol of Coloned, the Blue Tower, which mainly studies the water attribute,” Yulis explained the different groups in the headquarters as he walked with Davey.

“It’s the first time in my life I am seeing such a diverse army in one room. The number of people aside, it is difficult for different organizations to come together for one common purpose.”

Although everyone had joined forces for the first time to deal with a common enemy…

—Humans will fatten their pockets even in a situation like this.

It was exactly as Perserque said.

Dozens of eyes turned to Davey and Yulis as they entered the barracks, where the commanders had gathered.

“Class-5 Yulis.”

Of course, as Yulis was the famous genius mage and youngest elder, many people knew about him.

On the other hand…

“Who is that boy?”

“Yes. I have never seen that person before. If he has the authority to attend the operational meeting of the leadership…”

There were only a few people who recognized Davey, whose name was only somewhat known. They might recognize him if they were told the name, ‘Davey O’Rowane’, but there weren’t many who knew his face. Furthermore, Davey had shown up with an emotionless girl who stuck out like a sore thumb. Whether he liked it or not, he was bound to attract attention.

From those who recognized Davey, one said with a chuckle, “Hahaha! Prince Davey, we meet again. It seems our paths are quite intertwined, right?”

Everyone’s attention was drawn to Davey again as Kathryn, the amber-haired woman, approached him with a mysterious smile. She spoke to Davey like they were close. To bother him, she was going out of her way to introduce him.

Davey wanted to believe that this wasn’t Kathryn’s motive, but he couldn’t help but be suspicious. He was unsure of Kathryn’s true nature.

“Grand Duchess Kathryn, did everything go well?” Davey asked.

“Of course. I didn’t imagine that I would be dispatched to such a situation, ahaha! Anyway, I didn’t think I would see you again this soon; perhaps this is destiny?” Kathryn asked.

Davey smiled bitterly. “Please do not try to feel me out with remarks that could cause unnecessary misunderstandings. If you rub me the wrong way, I might just tell your commander.”

“Hahaha, you can’t do that. My commander is such a cute person; how could you make such a person cry?”

Although women’s rights weren’t in the gutters in this world, it wasn’t the best either. It wasn’t easy for a woman to have the social position that Kathryn held, especially in a world that was full of societal expectations and traditions.

“What a bummer. You are so charming that I would just eat you up if it wasn’t for Her Highness.”

—Ah… She nailed the last nail in your coffin.

Davey couldn’t help but sigh as he watched the crowd murmur amongst themselves.

“Take your unrelated chit-chat somewhere else. Do you think we are joking around here?” A woman spoke up in irritation. She wore a look of dissatisfaction as she said, “We are gathered here for the survival of the continent. If you are going to discuss trivial matters, leave.”

Grand Duchess Kathryn grinned at the cold criticism. She commented, “Oh my, it seems that the Saintess candidate is quite frustrated.”

With a smile, Kathryn rose from her seat and knocked on the table twice.

Then, she charged toward the Saintess candidate so quickly that no one had a chance to stop her.

The woman who was wearing a simple white uniform with antique gold embroidery did not flinch even as Kathryn charged toward her.

“Stop, Grand Duchess. If you harm the Saintess candidate beyond this, we will consider taking action from the official position of the Lyndis Empire.”

Kathryn was stopped before her attack could land, but she wasn’t stopped by the Saintess candidate. She was stopped by the female knight who stood behind the potential Saintess.

“What?” Kathryn glared at the female knight with a smile. “If you want a war…”

“Stay in your place. Do you think someone like you can drive a wedge between the empire and the Valchas?”

“You bitch…”

“Quit your bullshit. How dare you get in my way, you nameless bitch. Did I seem like someone that something as lowly as yourself could talk to?”

It was an extremely huge insult; however, Kathryn changed her tone and continued smiling. She simply said, “Assert your dominance elsewhere, kid. If the Holy Empire and whatever else protecting you flies out the window because you can’t see how things are being run here and keep acting out, there will be nothing left to protect you.”

The female knight standing between Kathryn and the potential Saintess went pale as an intense killing aura surrounded her.

The sudden burst of aura was so intense that everyone close by was terrified.

—Even if she suffered a ridiculous loss against you…

It was clear that Kathryn was one of the strongest people on the continent. What made her the most difficult to face was her determination and calculative nature hidden under that playful smile.

The fiery battle ended with the Holy Empire’s loss.

“...I will apologize for speaking overdramatically, but I believe that you must view this situation more seriously, Grand Duchess Kathryn. We are not here on vacation,” the Saintess candidate said. She stared at Kathryn and did not back down.

With an eerie smile, Kathryn nodded and said, “Then, you should refrain from that condescension. To be honest, this was beyond rude; I had to stop myself from killing you.”

“...”

“Since His Highness, Prince Davey, will be Her Highness’ husband, he is now basically the same person as Her Highness, the one who I have pledged my allegiance to. You should all be careful of your tone.”

Davey glared at Kathryn with squinted eyes.

Kathryn had ended the dispute with one grand declaration. To Davey, she was inciting trouble and fabricating things without considering the consequences.

Perhaps Davey’s thoughts were sent straight to Perserque, who quietly sat on his hand and shook her head.

—Forget it, you should just suck this up this time. No one will understand even if you did something, and you will just be disliked by all.

Davey murmured bitterly in his head, then slowly sat down beside Kathryn. He didn’t really have a choice, since there weren’t many seats left.

“Now, everyone has gathered. I am Sullivan de Pallan of the Pallan Empire. Although I am lacking, I have been given the position of Chief of Staff for this battle,” Prince Sullivan said.

Among the silent crowd was Grand Duchess Kathryn from the Lyndis Empire, Alice, one of the two potential Saintesses from the Holy Empire, mages from wizard towers including Yulis, alchemists who were dispatched to technology advisors, and council members of the Coalition of Disease Control, who were in charge of taking care of the plagues that were happening due to the war. There was also the Slaughtering Army, the direct subordinate of the Contas Empire, the hegemonic kingdom of the western continent and the rival of the Pallan Empire.

It was almost impossible for each kingdom’s main forces to gather in one place, but it seemed like no one was complaining. They understood the importance of this gathering. Of course, naturally, there was still some butting of heads between people.

“First of all, you should have heard of the current situation. The people who have heard this news first should already know that this is no light matter. This battle is important to us all and not just the Pallan Empire.”