The Max Level Hero Has Returned!

“This is…a confirmation pass from the empire’s Royal Palace. I–I’m sorry, but who are you?”

“The First Prince of the Rowane Kingdom, Davey O’Rowane. I really want to believe that you people won’t give me the obvious answer.”

“Huh!”

The doctors would know of Davey, who had a major influence in their field, if they weren’t idiots. Even if they didn’t know the details, they should know that Davey was the genius prince who had found the cure to a disease that even their coalition had failed to do so. They were also aware that Davey had the one and only stigmata.

Realizing who Davey was and seeing how he had done acupuncture, an art that was now huge in the medical field, the doctors all widened their eyes in shock.

Davey’s frown became harsher when the doctors just gaped at him. He snapped, “Are you done?”

“P–Pardon?”

“One more person has died. How many people do you intend to kill?”

“Y… Yes!”

After evaluating the situation, most of the doctors shouted and moved. However, some of them still stood around like they were trying to stop Davey. They knew of Davey’s reputation, but they probably still saw him as a rookie who was half their age and had half their experience. Their gaze was not driven by jealousy, though.

Professional and good work couldn’t be done without pride and passion. Just like art, medicine required one’s passion to grow and be executed well. And just like most jobs, a level of intelligence and professionalism was required.

As soon as the doctors realized who Davey was, they began to move quickly and efficiently.

Davey pulled out a normal acupuncture set he often used from his Pocket Plane, organized it, and closed his eyes.

To save twenty thousand people, Davey knew that curing everyone in the treatment center wouldn’t be enough. However, that didn’t matter; the details of the deal was to save those suffering in pain, not recovering the damage caused by the necromancer.

—Tens of thousands of people may die from this, Davey. War is an insane thing; one slip-up could cost thousands of lives.

Perserque spoke to Davey with a frown. She was very disgusted by war and all that it brought about.

—Tell me. I am on your side, so I cannot just let this go. This situation will result in too many sacrifices. I can’t let you do whatever you want. You should know that there are many other good ways to fulfill the deal without needing to do this.

As Perserque presented a logical opinion, Davey nodded and said, “Yeah, you’re right.”

The world was truly unfair. Davey held strength and power, but he would be criticized when he did not use that strength and power in favor of others. Funny, wasn’t it?

“However, there will be much more serious catastrophes.”

When it came to unexpected situations, Davey’s instincts had a way of being right on the money. There was no effect without cause; he would be stupid to expect anything less when huge events kept happening in a span of mere months.

—Ones that are even more severe than this? How’s that possibility linked to this war?

Davey didn’t like the idea of thousands of people being unnecessarily sacrificed in a ridiculous tug of war of power. Thinking about it, he stated, “I have to establish my power from the beginning.”

—That creepy smile again!

The necromancer that had awakened from the ancient ruin would not be able to go on further than this. As for the Slaughtering Army, they would fail to kill the enemy. Criticism and condemnation were going to fall on the people who were in charge of this situation, and all Davey had to do was play politics and benefit from it; that would make things easier for him in the future.

* * *

There was a difference between a Saintess and a Saintess candidate. Both Alice and Lena of the Holy Empire were Saintess candidates, so they weren’t the same as Davey. They had the absence of a stigmata.

A Saint or Saintess candidate was only considered for the actual role. Boys who were blessed with a large amount of holy power from birth became part of the Holy Empire, so they could be nurtured into a potential Saint. Girls would be nurtured as potential Saintesses.

That was how Alice grew up, since she was blessed with a large amount of holy power. However, she did not have a stigmata. As she had devoted her entire life to receiving a stigmata, she couldn’t help but be jealous of Davey, who had been chosen out of the blue. It was she who had served God in the holy land of Valchas, the Holy Empire, and it was she who had studied and spread the word of God. It was also she who had practiced the teachings of God.

Alice had endured all the hardships and done things she didn’t like or want with a smile on her face. She truly couldn’t understand why a prince from a small kingdom who had been unconscious for six years and had barely any contact with God had been given a stigmata.

God had given a boy like Davey a stigmata and hadn’t answered Alice once in her twenty-five years of devotion, so Alice’s frustration had hit its limits. That explained why she had acted the way she did.

Due to her position as a Saintess candidate, Alice had to remain objective at all times. She was only a candidate, but that position still had some authority and recognition. However, she did not want to act objectively earlier on.

Thinking that Davey’s position as Saint should have been hers, Alice was frustrated that some random kid had stolen her rightful place. The other Saintess candidate had accepted it as the divine will, but Alice could not understand it at all.

‘Oh, Goddess Freyja, why are you not answering me when I serve and pray to you with all my heart?’

Alice, who was reverently praying inside the quiet tent, slowly rose up. She heard rustling from outside the tent.

She could smell the intense odor of death from the surroundings ever since arriving at the mountain fortress. She was so close to the battlefield.

“They are ready for the meeting, Saintess,” a holy knight reported to Alice. He called her a Saintess and not a candidate.

Not correcting the holy knight who served her, Alice said stiffly, “Those who refuse to obey God will surely be taken care of by me.”

Alice’s firm expression did not look like it was going to loosen anytime soon.

* * *

Davey already started walking on a tightrope, so he had to see it through to the end. He wouldn’t be able to last long if he caused a scene without thinking it through. However, he could take advantage of the situation and screw everyone over if he carefully caused a scene.

What Davey had learned in the past was that he should carefully plan out his actions if he had decided to go rogue. He had to drag things on for just the right amount of time, and the enemies had to be kept away at a certain distance.

Shwoop!! Pahh!!

Whether it was a warp spell or teleportation, Davey needed to know the coordinates of where he was and where he wanted to go. Those were basic requirements. If Davey was being honest, one of the most dangerous magic to explain was teleportation; for example, if the place he teleported to was in the middle of a cliff, it would only take moments for him to become a crushed body between densely packed rocks.

Teleportation magic worked by the molecularization of one’s physical body. Warping consisted of folding up the entire space and moving the person to another location. As such, warping was more stable and had less of a rebound effect than teleportation, but that didn’t mean that it was so OP that one could just ignore the importance of coordinates.

There was one big benefit to warping. If there was something present at the chosen coordinates, warping would push it away and even penetrate it depending on the caster\'s power. Although, it wouldn’t happen if the caster’s mana was worthless.

So, how was Davey able to warp to a place he had never been to before? There was a simple and unexpected answer: a mana gate. Specifically, it was the fact that there was a firmly shut mana gate present in the city that Davey was trying to go to right now.

A mana gate utilized predetermined coordinates that were entered in advance and the transportation portal was left open for a long period of time. As such, there was no reason for Davey to work hard if the coordinates were already predetermined.

Crack… Crack…

If Davey had to come up with a disadvantage…it was the fact that the location he could move to was already chosen. After all, he was using the coordinates from a mana gate that had already been taken over.

—Oh my… You are reckless. The world is nothing to you, huh? You think that you are invincible and nothing is going to be able to hurt you, huh?

“Hey, what are you talking about? I can act this recklessly because there is something watching my back.”

If an overwhelming strong opponent that even Davey couldn’t deal with were to appear, perhaps an opponent like the true World Tree… If Davey were to fight a monster that was as powerful as the World Tree or an opponent who went all out, he would have no choice but to use his one and only card up his sleeve.

—Why did you accept the World Tree’s battle so recklessly if the World Tree is so strong?

“Because I can deal with the World Tree with a cheat.”

If his initial plan didn’t work, Davey could use the only attack-type dark magic he had learned from Rho Aias. She had mostly taught him dark magic as a defensive tool rather than an offensive one, since she extremely disliked him harming another person with dark or devil magic. In the end, Davey had practiced by himself the attack-type spells that Rho Aias had taught.

There was also magic that Rho Aias had taught Davey as a form of protection.

“Don’t worry. There is no way I will die.”

—Hmph! Do you think anyone is worrying about someone like you? You always do whatever you want. Neither logic nor common sense works on you, you nuisance.

Davey felt a sense of deja vu.

Crack!!

“Ahhh…”

Alongside dozens of skeletons, the Undead began gathering toward Davey, who was the only living being present. They were drawn over as soon as he was discovered. The Undead, who had been wandering around the city without any command, did not hide their hostility toward him.

“The city has become fully dead now.”

There was not a single survivor in this wicked city; no sense of life could be felt, and all Davey could see was destruction.

Shwing.

Davey retrieved Red and Blue Ribbon from his Pocket Plane before sliding them into their sheaths, which were along his waist. Afterward, he reached into his Pocket Plane again and pulled out his staff, the Transcendence’s Demise.

“Capture them seven times and let them go for seven.”[1]

Davey had to do one thing right now: he had to draw out this fearless necromancer who hid in the ancient ruins. He wanted to beat the crap out of the necromancer, who was probably amused by the situation and enjoying the war.

Twirling the staff in his hands, Davey slowly activated his devil mana. His devil mana vibrated intensely, as if scolding him for using it so late and telling him to hurry up. As he released it, a dark and cold energy quickly overwhelmed the death energy that surrounded the place.

[The Dead are bound to gather toward light.]

Davey, who mumbled quietly, moved the Transcendence’s Demise and tapped the floor with it.

[And they will begin yearning for the light they cannot reach.]

Even though Davey did not verbalize the incantation, his will flowed out of him easily. The incantation sounded more like a poem than a spell. Soon, his will erupted before him and lit up the surroundings.

[I am your commander.]

Crack!

“Euhhh…”

The Undead who initially gathered together with great hostility toward Davey…stopped moving. Then, with a grin, Davey looked at the skeleton closest to him and raised his right hand.

Crack.

At the same time, the skeleton raised its left hand to meet Davey’s right hand.

Clap!

With that high-five, Davey playfully raised both arms and shook them. At the same time, the skeleton with empty eye sockets threw down its weapon and did the same.

“Twinkle twinkle little star,” Davey sang.

Craaackk!!

The skeleton couldn’t sing along, since it did not have vocal chords. Its jaw creaked open noisily.

[Red Ribbon can sing it better!]

[Blue Ribbon wants to sing, too…]

Since it was a children’s song, Red and Blue Ribbon began vibrating in their sheaths. They wanted to sing too. Normally, Davey would play with them, but unfortunately, he couldn’t right now.

“I didn’t intend for this, but how can I refuse when you offer?”

—You fraud.

“I will take all of it. Let’s go boys, grab your weapons,” Davey addressed the Undead.

The Undead slowly grabbed their weapons. They surrounded him once more, as if to escort him.

“It just has to look like an unexpected rebellion to the necromancer.”

It didn’t matter to Davey whether hundreds of the Undead died or not. To him, this was a simple way of obtaining tens of thousands of workers that would work for him in the dark.

1. This strategy refers to the psychological tactic used by Zhuge Liang, a Chinese military strategist from the Three Kingdoms period. It is a way of making the enemy impressed and therefore follow someone by capturing them seven times and letting them go seven times. ☜