The Max Level Hero Has Returned!-Chapter 1045

The main reason the seniors of the 266th class had lost so miserably to the newcomers wasn’t simply a lack of individual strength—they had been too cautious and scared. They had burdened themselves with unnecessary supplies, which had shackled their own movements, over-prioritizing the gathering of intelligence instead of focusing on the fight.

Frankly, Davey found it to be funny as hell. He couldn’t help but wonder what the hell they had been thinking back then.

The 270th batch had used their own hesitation against them, thereby completely crushing them. As a result, despite the 269th batch being respectful to their own seniors—Davey’s group—the 270th batch had no intention of showing that same courtesy.

They strutted around declaring that if they wanted to be treated as equals, they had to prove their worth. Such was their attitude.

The 270th batch had finally gotten the chance to face the legendary 268th batch.

Even those uninterested in what was going on in the continent knew their names.

Illyna de Rowane. Davey O’Rowane. Even within this isolated knight order, the two of them were famous. It was only natural, considering Davey had single-handedly flipped the entire knight order on its head. For the rebellious 270th batch, he was practically an icon.

And yet, their great senior was doing the exact same thing the vanquished 266th batch seniors had done.

“What the hell? What kind of dumbass pushovers do they see us as?”

“Forget it. We’ll just prove to them that our strength is beyond their willful ignorance.”

Barus, leader of the 270th batch, looked at his nine fellow cadets. “We’re no strangers to these fights. You know the rules, and so do I. We don’t have to bother with the seniors acting like they’re above us—all we have to do is reach the core. Only three people are allowed within the core’s radius, so the moment we break through, we pretty much win.”

He turned to a fellow classmate beside him.

“Urkan.”

“Yeah?”

“You can infiltrate their ranks, right?”

“Easily.” With a wave of his hand, his figure flickered before disappearing moments later.

“Let’s show them who’s boss. Show these arrogant seniors how powerful we are! Let's split up. While Urkan and I move around solo, everyone else will stay in pairs. Our goal is the core—everything else is irrelevant,” Barus commanded.

Once they made their move, they found signs of the 268th throughout the forest.

“See? Nothing special.”

They moved in calm silence, their confidence unwavering.

A pair spotted Lucia Shelman and the paladin Fildyr wandering the forest, appearing to be searching for something.

“When I give the signal, we strike. I’ll take the priestess senior while you take out the paladin.”

The two didn’t even consider the possibility of losing. Their confidence in their own strength was absolute. On top of this, they noticed that their opponents were wearing gas masks—their vision had to be heavily impaired.

Three.

Two.

One.

The signal soon dropped, and the two launched forward like lightning, aiming to strike before their targets could even notice. Yet, once they approached, Lucia immediately retreated while Fildyr raised his shield to block their attacks.

The two couldn’t believe how their seniors had reacted so quickly despite their vision being compromised. They began to find it more likely that the 268th class seniors were truly different from the other seniors.

The four were in a tense standoff, but the trainees didn’t hesitate.

The moment they clashed, they realized that they could actually beat them, since those two seniors weren’t as strong as they had expected. The two knew there was no need to drag out the fight.

They then relentlessly attacked Lucia and Fildyr. While Fildyr did a great job of defending himself with his shield, holding off two people at once was impossible.

“Sorry, senior—you're just too weak!” The other trainee that had pushed toward Lucia gathered his strength to overpower her completely.

Boom!!

But she nullified the attack with a heavy mace she’d pulled out from her robe.

However, since the trainee had the upper hand in physical strength, his blow still pushed Lucia back. She was staggered just from deflecting the blow.

“O’ Saintess Daphne, grant me strength.” Though the unexpected counterattack had startled them, it was still within their expectations.

The trainees grinned confidently and launched a follow-up attack.

The seniors had gas masks on, which the trainees knew would significantly limit their field of vision. That made their assault overwhelmingly advantageous.

Even though Lucia’s counterattack had been surprising, it wasn’t long before the two began pushing Fildyr and Lucia back once more.

It was because one of the trainees was a Special One.

“Ugh. My body feels heavy!”

“That’s what you get for wearing something useless like a gas mask! Goodness, old seniors, you two are really weak! If this is what the famous 268th batch amounts to, maybe you should all just retire already—we can handle things from here!” one of the trainees shouted confidently, slipping through Fildyr’s guard and tilting his shield.

As soon as Fildyr was exposed, the apprentice knight who had been fighting him moved in for the finishing blow. Or rather, they tried to. They would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it weren’t for the violet energy blast that flew in at that exact moment.

The ground shook violently with a sudden explosion. Since the shot wasn’t precisely aimed at them, the apprentice knight ignored it and charged at Fildyr, grabbing his arm and trying to pin him down.

But that was a foolish move.

The fallen blast began to emit a secondary effect.

“Gah!!!”

The moment it hit the ground, it released a thick cloud of smoke, and the trainees began coughing violently, clutching at their throats in panic.

“W-What the hell is this!?” one of them managed to shout in between fits of coughing.

Along with an overwhelming dizziness, their eyes, noses, and throats burned, completely disorienting them. They had no clue what was happening.

“There are evil beasts in the Zone of Evil that can release toxic gas at a moment’s notice. If you don’t take that danger into consideration before moving, then you’ve already lost.”

“W-What a cowardly move!!”

“Cowardly? Do you think the evil beasts care about fighting fair? That’s just naive. Also, just so you know—the reason we let you fan away the shield was to bait out an opening.”

Boom!!

With those words, Fildyr threw aside his shield and drew a massive bastard sword, instantly overwhelming the apprentice knight he was facing.

Lucia then charged toward the remaining one, left completely defenseless.

She swung the mace that seemed way too heavy for anyone to wield.

Still, in terms of sheer strength, the apprentice knight clearly had the upper hand. No matter how disoriented he was by the damn smoke, there was no reason he should lose in close combat to a mere priestess like Lucia.

Her buffs were applied to Fildyr, so effectively, she was at best a girl with some training.

However, an unexpected blow shattered his weapon and sent him flying.

“W-What?!”

Staggering on the ground in disbelief at the sheer power, he tried to get back up, but the persistent dizziness and suffocating smoke kept him from regaining focus. Meanwhile, the seniors, equipped with gas masks, moved as if they were simple clouds.

“I was the one who cast buff magic on Fildyr, little one.”

Spinning the giant mace single-handedly, she stomped hard and swung again. “O’ Saintess Daphne, lend me your strength.”

Boom!!

Just like that, the seniors' strategy had only just begun.

* * *

“Gah!? What the hell is this!?”

“Damn it! Fall back!”

Originally, the plan had been to confront the seniors, and if they held back, abandon them and dash for the core.

Their goal was to buy time—just enough for Urkan, who was proficient in stealth abilities, to reach the core.

But even that time-buying plan had become difficult. The 268th batch seniors, whom they thought they could easily outmatch without Davey O'Rowane or Illyna fighting, turned out to be far more coordinated and deadly than expected. Violet blasts continued to rain from the sky as if the seniors were tracking their exact positions in real-time.

The biggest problem was how the seniors moved. The 270th class apprentice knights were completely unprepared for the entirely different tactics being used, and the seniors—equipped with the right gear—resisted any adverse status effects while relentlessly cornering them.

Unlike before, where brute strength alone had decided the outcome, the 268th batch seniors used calculated openings and environmental advantages with what seemed like practiced familiarity acquired during warfare.

“The seniors probably just wanted to teach you the same thing, but their execution fell flat. Now that it’s inflated your ego, it’s about time for us to show you—the hard way.”

Over half of the ten apprentice knights had swiftly been taken out.

The 268th class was using everything possible—lures, traps, and more—to strike back.

Despite lacking the physical strength to overpower them, they made up for it with teamwork and information.

The seniors understood each other's strengths and abilities thoroughly, and exploited weaknesses the apprentices didn’t even realize they had.

That led to the worst part—the matchups. The senior best suited to deal with a specific apprentice knight always seemed to be the same one to confront them. It was as if the seniors knew exactly where they were going and what they were planning.

Whenever things turned unfavorable and the trainees thought they had a chance to turn the tables, they’d simply retreat and lure the apprentices into another trap.

The ever-present choking smoke that poured in like a living nightmare kept the apprentice knights in agony, leaving them riddled with openings for the seniors to attack.

The truth was unavoidable. While some of the seniors were clearly weaker in brute force, they weren’t like the other seniors that they had taken down with ease.

“Wondering why you’re losing? It’s because you know nothing about your opponents,” Shayir Renda said, smiling after trapping an apprentice knight inside a massive water bubble. “I’ve already studied your abilities and levels in detail. On the other hand, you didn’t even bother to figure out what kind of spirit I’m contracted with, let alone analyze what I can do.”

They were still young, far too confident in their own strength, to the point that they hadn’t even tried to understand their opponents.

“And even now, I see no changes in your attitude or strategy. If you can’t gather information, then you need to test things out during the fight and figure out your enemy’s capabilities. In the Zone of Evil, every bit of knowledge can be the difference between life and death. Yet here you guys are, not even doing that bare minimum.”

All they remembered were the generic traits of elementalists. It was no surprise they were getting crushed.

Shayir Renda stared down her opponent—the same damned junior who’d dumped his food tray on her.

“Don’t worry. We’re not letting you off that easily. We’ll give you plenty of chances to come at us again.” Her sweet smile sent a chill down Bethel’s spine.

He began swinging his sword wildly in panic, but his blade proved unable to cut through her water bubble.

“The Zone of Evil is way more dangerous than this training ground. Even with all this preparation, a person could still get taken out. That’s why it’s a shame for guys like you, with real talent—if you were just a little more careful, you could become incredible knights.”

In the blink of an eye, most of the apprentice knights had been taken out. Their lines of communication had already been somehow cut off, meaning they were no longer exchanging information properly.

Barus, the leader of the 270th class, watched in shock as his comrades were baited and neutralized so quickly. Gritting his teeth, he sprinted through the battlefield, which had seemed outright cursed from the start.

The seniors weren’t giving him a single inch. With the constant pressure they were applying, his plan was unfolding slower than anticipated.

‘It doesn’t matter, since they’re just stalling for time. As long as there’s no time limit, we can’t lose!’

Davey had told them that the battle wouldn’t end until one side was completely wiped out. They had to be careful, since he knew that if anyone got hit by those demonic energy blasts raining down in their path, they wouldn’t walk away unscathed.

His abilities as a Special One were impressive, sure, but it was completely useless against such an endless barrage of energy shots.

This strategy battle was unlike anything they’d faced before.

‘They’re seriously underestimating me!!’

At that point, his only option was to fight back.

“Urkan! Use your stealth ability and move in. Now!”

The seniors kept lingering in front of them, luring them, or taking cheap shots from behind—but Barus figured they could just be bypassed instead.

Fueled by arrogance, Barus picked up speed again. Weaving through the hail of bullets, Urkan and Barus finally made it to where the core was located.

There were indeed only three seniors stationed in the area. Barus was confident he could take them down in an instant with his ability—as long as Davey or Illyna weren’t there.

“We can win this if it comes down to a head-on fight!”

His biggest confidence came from the difference in abilities. That belief was what kept him going.

He knew they weren’t far from the core zone. The seniors wouldn’t be able to intervene directly there. If Urkan could just make it inside with his stealth ability, he figured they would have a solid shot at victory.

Clank!! Vrrr!!!

Something suddenly emerged from the far side of the forest. A massive figure made of metal appeared, then morphed its arm into a giant saw and began spinning the blade.

[Communication module engaged. Initiating dialogue.]

When the golem approached with its eerily flat voice, Barus felt an icy chill of unknown fear crawl up his spine.

There was no way something like that was just waiting there by chance. He knew this thing was dangerous, clearly way above the level of the seniors they’d seen so far.

Nobody had said anything about having to fight monsters like that!

But there was no time to complain. They had to break through the golem and push forward—no matter what.

Barus slammed the ground, activating his seismic ability and shaking the area around him. With all the quaking, even an average person would have trouble simply standing upright.

Yet the golem wasn’t affected at all. It just kept advancing, as if it had been prepared for something like that from the beginning. The golem’s assault gave the feeling that it had been specifically designed to counter Barus. It neutralized all of his attacks and kept pushing in.

The ominous buzz of the rotating saw overwhelmed Barus with primal fear.

He screamed, scrambling across the ground, “T-This is cheating!!”

Unfortunately, his outburst was met with a calm reply that silenced him instantly.

“Cheating? The seniors already gave you all the information you needed. They told you what might show up, and what you might face; they told you to try and adapt. But you all were too full of yourselves to listen.”

Someone unexpected had been watching them this whole time. Perched atop the only untouched tree among a field of shattered trunks, a beautiful blonde woman looked down at him.

“S-Senior... Illyna.”

Seeing her smiling sweetly at him from her spot in the tree, Barus flushed without realizing it.

“Remember what Davey said? He wouldn’t take the front line, and neither would I. But it’s a different story with the golem he controls. Even though we scaled back the golem’s numbers and abilities to keep things fair, you should’ve at least considered that golems might appear. Even the 266th class seniors you all mocked as weak weren’t taken out quite so pathetically as this.”

His stomach turned at her words. If they had just thoroughly prepared, they could’ve won. Alas, they hadn’t. If he’d known, he never would’ve entered so boldly without even bringing a standard gas mask.

“You really thought your seniors brought all that gear for no reason?”

“U-Umm.”

“You didn’t bother to understand your opponent—that’s on you. And I bet you’re curious how that golem ended up right in front of you at the perfect time, right? Want me to tell you a little secret?” she said with a chilling smile. “Megatron was here from the very beginning. Your seniors just had to lure you into its range.”

In other words, even from the start of the whole battle, they’d been played without even realizing it.

He had no words to respond with.

“Earlier, you said something funny, didn’t you? Something about how, since there’s no time limit, eventually you guys will win.”

A wave of unease washed over him.

“Sorry, but it’s the opposite. The fact that there’s no time limit will become unbearable pressure for you.”

His face twisted in frustration at her words.

“Damn it! Even so, we’re still going to win in the end. You seniors really underestimated us.”

“Oh, are you talking about Urkan, the stealth user?” Illyna tilted her head in response.

The moment she mentioned Urkan, Barus flinched, but didn’t say anything. He’d just realized how terrifying information could be, and so he had to be careful with every word he said.

“Yeah, he did get in, didn’t he? But did you know that aside from Urkan, five more of your classmates made it into the core zone?”

‘Five?! Just Urkan would’ve been enough, but there are five more who made it through?’

He figured they’d successfully caught the seniors off guard and broken in, which meant they only needed to touch the core to win.

At least, that was his first thought. But his expression quickly hardened.

‘Wait a second. Something’s off. The seniors who have been toying with us this whole time just let more than five of them waltz right in?’

Even Illyna, standing right there, knew about it yet didn’t seem the least bit concerned. She soon gave him an answer to his growing sense of uneasiness.

“They’ll probably be running back out any minute now. Honestly, even I don't really like dealing with what’s in there...”

His body trembled at her words.

* * *

At the same time, despite being battered by the traps and baits the seniors pulled off, the apprentice knights had unexpectedly managed to enter the core zone.

They mockingly smirked at the seniors who had failed to stop them, but then all of them felt that something was off.

The seniors looked disappointed, sure—but they seemed like they didn’t care too much. It was as if they were saying they’d meet again real soon.

A total of five had entered. More than expected, to be sure.

“Urkan should’ve ended the mock battle already. What the hell is he doing?” one apprentice knight muttered.

Another frowned and looked around before her eyes widened. “There. Found him. Urkan!”

The other four turned their attention to where she was pointing—a knot in a nearby tree. There, curled up and trembling, was Urkan. He had used his stealth ability to enter the core zone first while Barus distracted the seniors.

Yet he wasn’t even trying to get to the core. He was curled into a ball, violently shaking.

“Urkan! What happened?!”

“Damn it, damn it, damn it...” he muttered over and over again, as if he’d lost his mind.

Frustrated, the five apprentice knights brushed past him and kept moving forward.

“What’s the big deal? There are only three of them—we’ll take care of them quickly in no time at all.”

“But wait. Didn’t we already see all three other seniors? Then... who the hell is guarding the core?”

That question brought a sudden silence to the group. Now that it was said out loud, it really did seem strange.

But they didn’t have any answers. They’d been too lax about gathering intel. Only focused on what was spoon-fed to them, they hadn’t considered other possibilities.

A female apprentice knight—her face drained of color—pointed at something up ahead. “What... the hell is that?”

Everyone turned to look and saw the core, glowing with a cold, deep blue light.

Before it stood three chairs lined up in a row.

“What... the hell?”

Sitting in those chairs were three very unique beings. They looked like gatekeepers, waiting for enemies to approach while emanating a pure, overwhelming presence.

Each one stood roughly two to three meters tall, legs crossed as they sat in silence.

A snow-white rabbit bursting with muscle; a massive minotaur with what looked like the night sky etched on it; and finally, a horned monster cloaked in rags, resting a spiked club on the ground like a cane.

Their simple presence left the air thick with moisture and pressure, making the atmosphere suffocating.

No one dared imagine taking them on. When the apprentice knights of the 270th class had focused only on Davey not fighting them directly, they had missed everything else.

They still weren’t even aware that the true nightmare was only just about to begin.

Among the three monsters, the snow-white rabbit blinked its tiny, beady red eyes, watching them silently.

That tense silence only made the fear even worse.

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