Chapter 1193: Parade (7)
Cwooosh—!!!
A black pyramid shimmered, floating above the wide-open Skyway.
Beneath it stood Ethan Bajour on a platform, his expressionless face gazing at the ground.
A visage resembling Kaiser Bajour, yet precisely because of that resemblance, it served as a stark reminder that he was not Kaiser.
As their eyes met, people fell silent for a moment, hesitating even to voice their thoughts on his unique appearance.
Ethan quietly shifted his gaze.
A silent gesture, so subtle that even seeing it, one couldn’t be sure if he was truly there.
Clank!!
But the Legion Commanders, arrayed to his left and right at the front of the platform, reacted instantly.
“4th Legion Commander Mirva Neosoto. I greet the Marshal.”
“6th Legion Commander Atiya Elixon. Congratulations on your return…”
“7th Legion Commander Deimus Rayon…”
“8th Legion Commander Townsend…”
The generals stood with eyes fixed straight ahead, hands placed respectfully on their chests as they saluted.
Following these commanders, the Legions stationed outside the Command Headquarters moved simultaneously.
Boom! Boom! Boom!!
Thousands, tens of thousands of soldiers simultaneously turned and placed their hands on their chests.
Like a prearranged signal, countless tanks and heavy equipment lined up, turning towards the Command Headquarters.
An overwhelming spectacle: a military force stretching to the horizon, pledging allegiance to a single person, bowing their heads.
Yet, Ethan stood before the saluting Legions with an impassive face.
As if he felt no emotion towards those who had come to welcome the return of the Marshal, who had been absent for so long.
Lennok, too, watched his face intently, his expression subtly hardened.
“……”
He bore a striking resemblance to Kaiser Bajour, yet, in another sense, he did not.
The unique, hollow atmosphere was similar, but his emotions seemed even shallower than Kaiser’s.
So profoundly alike Kaiser, yet the minor differences were all the more sharply pronounced.
That sense of incongruity and strangeness defined Ethan Bajour’s existence above all else, casting a clear shadow.
“How could this be…”
“Truly, he is the spitting image of his father. Does blood truly not lie?”
“…I thought he had come back to life. He resembles him that much.”
Perhaps there were others among the invited attendees who harbored the same sentiments as Lennok.
They wavered and stirred, some wary, others nostalgic.
These were individuals who knew Kaiser Bajour but had no dealings with his son, Ethan Bajour.
They wondered why Deadrise’s Legion, even after Kaiser’s departure, pledged their lives in loyalty to Ethan.
Even those who didn’t know Ethan understood a part of it the moment they saw his face.
But as Lennok stood among the crowd, looking up at Ethan, he was simultaneously thinking of something else.
His magic and aura… are incredibly faint. In that regard, there’s almost no similarity to Kaiser.
Ethan Bajour was the one and only [Revived] in this world, having met death once and been reborn.
This was possible because Ethan, as Kaiser’s son, had inherited a comparatively weaker form of the Regressive Talent.
His ambiguous Regressive Talent had grown stronger after his death, becoming powerful enough to ‘reverse’ him from death itself.
Wasn’t even the name of the Legion, Deadrise, a reference to Ethan, who had returned from death?
Thus, Lennok had believed Ethan would be a Transcendent who exuded a Regressive Magic as formidable as Kaiser’s—
Yet, Ethan’s aura upon arriving at the parade was remarkably faint.
Neither the cursed nature that flowed backward through his veins, reversing through every blood vessel in his body, nor the recoil of reversing time to defy aging, were apparent in him.
The aura or fragmented traces of the constitution that had plagued Kaiser Bajour his entire life were nowhere to be seen in Ethan.
Was he simply suppressing his Regressive Talent, or had he, conversely, perfectly controlled it?
Either way, Ethan’s ‘faintness’ felt far more dangerous than Lennok had imagined.
As Lennok pondered a question without an answer, replaying memories of the Restricted Zone, Ethan opened his mouth.
“There was one task, begun long ago, that remained unfinished.”
“……”
As soon as he spoke, the surroundings instantly quieted for his voice.
His tone was devoid of emotion, making it impossible to guess his personality or temperament.
Yet, Ethan’s whispering voice, without any amplification, clearly resonated throughout the entire Legion.
His transcendence allowed him to convey his will to tens of thousands of people without needing to raise his voice.
Ethan muttered as he slowly walked down the ornate platform’s railing.
“I believed I had done what I could, but there remains a lingering regret that catches my eye even with time.”
Whoosh—!!!
Tens of thousands of people watched the screens, determined not to miss a single moment of him.
Ethan, with the torrent of gazes behind him, looked down at the Legion arrayed to the horizon with an expressionless face.
“I should not entrust the task of bringing closure to an unfinished mission to another.”
Ethan slowly lifted his gaze, then closed his eyes.
“From this moment, I will once again command the Legion.”
Whoa-a-a-a-ah!!!!!
As Ethan’s words ended, explosive cheers erupted from all directions.
Tanks raised their gun barrels and fired shells, and fighter jets flew overhead, breaking the sound barrier.
Above the 2nd Command Headquarters, the fortress Primo Alert slowly rotated, casting deep shadows everywhere.
Soldiers shouted with flushed faces. Even the commanders at the front of their units could not hide their excitement.
The mastermind who had brought Deadrise to its current position.
The return of the Marshal who had transformed Vulcan’s private military company into a warlord faction ruling the entire continent.
Everyone sensed the changes and upheavals that awaited the Central Front, and the honor the Legion would gain.
Clatter!!
As Ethan moved, the Legion Commanders arrayed to his left and right followed him in unison.
Deimus, the 7th Legion Commander, stood behind Ethan, who was dressed in an old military uniform, and draped a coat over the Marshal’s shoulders.
“Marshal. Congratulations on your return.”
Mirva, the 4th Legion Commander, standing beside him, spoke in a calm voice.
The tobacco she always had in her mouth was nowhere to be seen.
“A brief meeting is scheduled after the parade, but since you arrived earlier than planned, we have a little leeway.”
“Lieutenant General Neosoto.”
“How about you take a moment to rest before the meeting begins?”
Mirva bowed her expressionless face at the Marshal’s words.
“We will seek the understanding of the guests invited to the Command Headquarters.”
“……”
Ethan glanced at her words, then looked at Mirva with an expressionless face.
Ethan gazed at her scarred face and spoke in a faint voice.
“I heard what you accomplished leading the 4th Legion in Yorta.”
Like his expressionless face, his voice was quiet and faint, like a whisper.
But his words were still clearly audible even in a crowded place.
“Advice from an excellent commander is worth hearing.”
“…Thank you.”
At the Marshal’s public praise of Mirva’s achievements, the expressions of the other Legion Commanders subtly changed.
Ethan silently walked past her, turning his steps.
As he turned, the crowd gathered near the platform parted, clearing a path.
Envoys from various organizations and factions, including alliances, cults, and city-states, had come.
But Ethan passed them without a single glance, disappearing from view.
He surely knew the identities of those who had come to the parade, yet he ignored them with a detached attitude as if they weren’t there.
However, no one gathered here expressed displeasure at Ethan’s reaction.
They were merely absorbed in their thoughts, observing and watching Ethan’s figure.
Ethan passed through them with a natural stride, as if accustomed to such gazes, and vanished.
Only after the Marshal, whose mere appearance had driven the Legion into a frenzy, had departed, did the assembled people begin to move.
They must have assumed that with Ethan having left to rest, no major incident would occur immediately.
“Commander.”
Enel, the 5th Legion’s Vice Commander, who had been standing carefully beside Lennok, bowed his head.
“I will guide you to the Command Headquarters meeting room where the Legion Commanders are gathering for the parade.”
“……”
“We received word that the command staff had already prepared your seat. Please, this way…”
So, this was the gathering point for the Legion Commanders that Lieutenant General Atiya of the 6th Legion had mentioned.
Now that the Command Headquarters was in an uproar with Ethan’s return, having a Legion official assist was not a bad thing.
Lennok lightly nodded and immediately followed Enel, turning his steps.
As he moved, he felt gazes from all directions pierce him.
“Cheonbeon… he really was at the parade.”
“Is the Apostle-Slayer newly joining the Legion?”
“For such a Grand Mage to accept a Legion Commander position. What kind of deal did he make…?”
Powerful superhumans renowned in the Central Front, including Conjunction Spell Masters, Cardinals, Druids, and Knights.
They must have recognized Lennok long ago, even if they hadn’t shown it.
“They say he burned to death an 8th Legion Brigadier General right after arriving at the parade. He’s still incredibly aggressive.”
“I heard he slandered the Lighthouse Keeper and had his head blown off. They say he died instantly on the spot.”
“Is he still upholding his mission after leaving the Eyes of Blue? He’s truly an incomprehensible person…”
“He’s known for a temperament unbefitting a spellcaster, isn’t he? That’s also why he’s a talent receiving higher regard in the Central Front.”
The wizard who defeated the Conjunction Spell Master of the Alliance. The slayer who subjugated the Apostle of the Cult. The Watcher who survived after being defeated by Adamant Thunder.
The Transcendent attending the parade as the newly appointed Legion Commander of Deadrise.
Some with murderous glares, some with curiosity, some observing, analyzing, and comparing.
As Lennok let those immeasurable will-thoughts and fragments of emotion flow past and continued his steps,
A familiar voice echoed from beyond the myriad of people.
“Evan.”
“……”
Upon hearing the voice, Lennok involuntarily stopped.
A tall woman with dark skin stood, looking at Lennok with an expressionless face.
A shabby robe. Tattoos etched on her cheeks and a pipe clutched in her mouth. Vast magical power emanating from her entire body.
Then as now, her appearance was no different from what Lennok remembered.
That must be because she had existed as herself for an immeasurably long time.
A Watcher of the Eyes of Blue who had lived for centuries, inheriting the legacy of Heavenly Sight. The Lighthouse Keeper’s closest sorcerer.
Lennok stopped upon seeing Grisha’s face, and Euphoria, who was following behind, naturally turned her head.
As Lennok and Grisha looked at each other, the gazes fixed on Lennok from all directions intensified.
“……”
“……”
The reunion of Lennok, who had left the Eyes of Blue, and the sorcerer who served the Lighthouse Keeper most closely.
Everyone present wondered what emotions these two spellcasters, who had achieved immense feats across various Central Front battlegrounds, would display towards each other.
It was true that the circumstances surrounding Cheonbeon’s departure from the Eyes of Blue were not accurately known to the public, as it was an unexpected anomaly at the time.
Given that Lennok was attending the parade as a new Legion Commander candidate, it would be no surprise for the Eyes of Blue to show a strong reaction.
But Grisha, even facing Lennok, showed no particular emotion.
She merely tilted her head faintly, as if recalling memories while looking at Lennok.
The gazes of the Watchers standing naturally behind Grisha intersected with Lennok’s.
“…Lord Evan.”
“Long time no see, kids.”
Seonmyeong and the Twin Watcher standing behind Grisha wore complex expressions.
The relationship between Lennok and the Eyes of Blue. The surrounding gazes and the unusual environment of a military parade.
Lennok nodded to them as they exchanged small greetings, then turned his gaze to Grisha.
“Are you here on behalf of the Lighthouse Keeper?”
“Lapis is observing the [Outer Sea].”
Grisha replied, as if knowing what Lennok was curious about.
“After completing her succession, she’s been focusing on inheriting the mission of Heavenly Sight. She’s probably at the Lighthouse by now.”
“……”
The Lighthouse Keeper’s mission to observe the Outer Sea and delay destruction.
Had Lapis truly begun her mission in earnest after fully inheriting the ability of Heavenly Sight?
But Lennok didn’t comment on that, instead asking back.
“Did you come to the parade to meet the Marshal?”
“Riza belongs to the same Martial Sect as Lieutenant General Atiya.”
Grisha gestured over her shoulder.
The muscular female martial artist standing behind her nodded, her arms crossed.
“Thanks to their accommodation, I took a moment to drop by. Though I didn’t expect you to be here.”
“……”
He had wondered why Riza and Atiya had subtly similar impressions, so they were from the same Martial Sect after all.
There were several other Watchers behind them whom Lennok didn’t recognize, but Grisha didn’t seem to intend to introduce them individually.
She merely spoke to Lennok again in an even tone, her hands tucked into her old robe.
“It’s been a long time. Practically the first time since we met in Vulcan, right?”
“……”
“How much the Eastern Continent buzzed when you and Adamant Thunder clashed back then. I really thought a war was going to break out between the Autonomous Region and Vulcan.”
The decisive battle where Adamant Thunder and Cheonbeon clashed in Vulcan’s outskirts.
At Grisha’s casual mention of that past event, the voices around them instantly quieted.
Even those quietly eavesdropping fell silent for a moment, precisely because they, too, were interested in the topic Grisha had brought up.
“The last time we met, things were too hectic for me to properly greet you.”
Grisha, unconcerned by Lennok’s words, spoke calmly with the pipe in her mouth.
“Thank you for saving Lapis then. You were probably the only one who could have helped her in that situation.”
“…Is that all you have to say?”
“Come to think of it, you’ve always been like that since we first met.”
Grisha dismissed Lennok’s retort and raised her gaze.
“You said you only moved as necessary, but you always did what you believed was right.”
“……”
“So, I don’t think I need to ask why you left the Eyes of Blue. If you decided it, and Lapis accepted it, there must have been a good reason.”
Grisha muttered, then slowly moved forward.
“If you were always the same person to Lapis, if you hadn’t changed after leaving her side…”
The Watchers arrayed behind her followed, moving through the crowd.
Grisha, passing by Lennok without regret, tilted her head and spoke in a calm voice.
“Then the Eyes of Blue should also treat you in kind.”
A massive meeting room with Legion insignias hanging in rows on the walls.
Monitors and screens displayed the power dynamics in the Central Front, with data on unit formations and combat power analysis appearing one after another.
Situation reports from Legion Commanders streamed in real-time through speakers and radios.
A place where the movements of the Legion, commanding their forces to repeatedly move and station, could be seen at a glance.
Ethan Bajour sat with his eyes closed in the chair at the head of the meeting room’s table.
Rumble rumble rumble!!!!
With the Marshal seated at the head of the table in the very center of the meeting room, the Legion Commanders sat in parallel rows to his left and right.
Behind the Legion Commanders, their adjutants, responsible for managing duties, waited with tense expressions.
Enel, who had guided Lennok, also couldn’t hide his nervousness as he led the two to their seats.
There was an empty spot at the table where the Legion Commanders were lined up.
As Lennok and Euphoria took their assigned seats, Deimus rose from his own.
“7th Legion Lieutenant General Deimus Rayon.”
Holding a command baton in one hand, he stood before the projector screen in the meeting room and turned his gaze.
“I will now brief you on the Adamant Thunder Annihilation Campaign, which is a prerequisite for our return to Vulcan.”