Chapter 1: The death of a war hero (1)

The river of history flows relentlessly, cruelly.

The weak are eliminated, and the strong reign.

The law of this world, brutally clear.

Yet, humans are strangely peculiar beings, seemingly finding joy in defying that mighty current.

“Isn’t that just so romantic?”

Saying that, I had cheered for a team with an eagle logo for nn years—

“But this is a bit much.”

Perhaps because of that, I was transmigrated into an unknown novel, as an orphan in a small, failing nation under imperial invasion.

There were no special perks.

Even complaining was a luxury in this damn world.

I was thrown into the heart of war, without parents or possessions.

“Rookie, take this.

It’s your lifeline.”

All I had was a standard-issue sword, carelessly tossed to me by an officer from a pile of corpses, and a tin helmet I’d picked up and worn in my first battle.

And so, my long, long war began.

When my sword broke, I picked up a spear, and when even the spear broke, I swung a helmet lying at my feet like a blunt weapon.

It was horrifying.

It was like hell.

But I endured.

I had comrades to protect, and behind my back, a crumbling nation.

Using a tin armor of unknown origin as my rain gear, I weathered the downpour of war with my entire body.

Hundreds of battles flashed by.

As layers of dried blood splattered and caked onto my helmet, making the armor appear as if it were originally brown, rumors about me began to spread across the battlefield.

A single soldier, clad in blood-soaked tin armor, was bringing victory to the Kingdom of Ordyn.

One who couldn’t even use aura was successively defeating the Empire’s stellar generals.

The Crimson Malick.

The Brown Carlsen.

The Ochre Marcus.

The news that the Empire’s proudest forces had fallen at the hands of an unknown soldier shook the continent.

The continent stirred.

The common folk yearned for a hero.

And the moment that became reality, they unleashed unexpected power.

“We are also Knights of Tin!

We are also heroes!”

Inspired by victory, people began to fight with courage.

With all sorts of helmets, iron masks, and even buckets, bolstered by the fact of an unknown hero, people became each other’s Knights of Tin and held back the imperial army.

Around the time the war with the Kingdom of Ordyn, which was expected to vanish within a week, extended beyond a year, the Empire pulled out its trump card.

“The Golden Rydeloff has arrived!”

As the glorious title “Golden” suggested, he was the strongest swordsman, called the Empire’s greatest force.

It was a trump card to instantly change the dragging war situation.

However—

“That’s… Rydeloff!

It’s Rydeloff’s head!”

“The Knight of Tin defeated Rydeloff!”

“Charge!

At this very moment, we are the strongest army on the continent!”

Absurdly, Rydeloff lost his head with an almost pathetic ease in his first battle against the Knight of Tin.

The news that even he, the Empire’s living legend and greatest force, had been defeated by the Knight of Tin, became a myth.

From that day on, people called me this, with reverence and respect.

‘Jack the Colorless.’

It was the first instance where someone who was not an aura user was given the title of Aura Master.

The wave of resistance we ignited spread beyond the kingdom, stirring other small nations that had groaned under the Empire’s hooves.

Seeing Ordyn, which seemed on the verge of collapse, persistently hold out, other kingdoms one by one began to rebel against the Empire.

The situation was changing.

The hope of ‘We can win too’ spread like wildfire.

However, it wasn’t only heroes who rose with the wildfire.

All sorts of opportunists and scoundrels did too.

“Lord, why are you withdrawing the troops?!”

Inside the tent, my voice echoed low.

Lord Rodrick, who had been glaring at the map, turned his head as if annoyed.

“I told you, Jack.

What we need now are veteran commanders.

Seasoned commanders like your unit members, who have survived since the beginning of the war.

Our territorial army will merge with the allied forces and recover the western territories.

It’s a good opportunity.”

“What do you take the Empire for?!

The western front is hopeless.

We’re barely maintaining balance here, and if more forces are withdrawn, the capital’s fall is only a matter of time!”

“Can’t you just win, then?!

Haven’t you done well until now?!”

At the brazen shout of a lord who had never even been to the battlefield, I was momentarily speechless.

“It’s true that I have until now.

But it was impossible with just me.

It was only possible because my comrades risked their lives to tie down the enemy!

If you take them, the front line will collapse!”

Slap—!

My head snapped to the side with a sharp, cracking sound.

The lord’s palm had struck my cheek.

“I put a commoner in a general’s position, and now you have no respect!

Do you think I haven’t thought that far?

I have a secret plan!”

Just then, a slick-looking young man, who had been hiding behind the lord, stepped forward.

He wore a sneering smile.

“Don’t worry, General.

If you follow my advice, I, the prodigy of the England family, can surely lead you to victory with even half the troops.”

“…A new strategist, I presume.

What is this method?”

At my cold question, the young man puffed out his chest and declared proudly.

“The mountain.”

“The mountain?”

“Yes.

General, lead your troops and set up camp on the mountaintop.

Soldiers with their retreat cut off will fight with desperate resolve, unleashing a hundred times their usual strength.

With that momentum, if you cut down the Imperial Army’s commander, Elysia the Azure, you can easily win.”

“Ohh!

My nephew, indeed!

He’s been living with military treatises since childhood, truly a prodigy among prodigies!

Isn’t he the pride of our family?!”

The lord exclaimed in admiration, patting his nephew’s shoulder.

Watching them, something churned within me.

“What do you think, General?

Right now…”

Thwack—!

I couldn’t listen to his ridiculous nonsense any longer.

My fist landed squarely on the young man’s face.

Watching him fall back, I spat coldly.

“You, who hid in the rear throughout the war, dare crawl out of nowhere and spout such nonsense just because victory seems within reach?”

“Y-you insolent commoner!

Do you think you’re someone important just because you can fight a little?!”

As I left the tent, I heard the lord’s furious shout.

It was understandable.

Since he was the first to flee when the war broke out, there was no way he’d know what we had done.

But at that time, I didn’t know.

That it wasn’t just the lord who failed to acknowledge the victories we had achieved.

“The Western Reclamation Operation… was a crushing defeat.

Lord Tyson’s unit… was annihilated.”

“Sob…

Brother Max’s side too… by the Imperial Army… those damn allied nobles… used us as cannon fodder…”

Despite my objections, the England lord ultimately pulled out my adjutant, Tyson, and the elite soldiers, forcing through the Western Reclamation Operation.

The outcome was horrific.

The best warriors who had been with me since the beginning of the war lost their lives in vain.

The veteran heroes who had achieved miraculous victories against enemies dozens of times their number were absurdly scattered and defeated one by one.

“……”

It felt as if a hole had been punched through my stomach.

Emptiness and futility poured endlessly into my heart.

‘What had I been fighting for?’

It had always been unwavering.

My comrades who protected my back, the common folk who welcomed us and willingly emptied their meager possessions to throw us parties.

I had fought to protect them.

‘But what do I have left now?’

Ten years since the war began, I no longer had comrades to protect, and the lives of those who cheered for us only grew more ravaged by the war.

‘If only I hadn’t existed.’

Would the war have ended sooner then?

Had my struggle to prevent destruction instead birthed even more tragedies?

After long deliberation, the conclusion became clear.

The hero was to die, and the legend was to depart.

I familiarly picked up my tin helmet and put on the armor, which had turned completely brown from layers and layers of dried blood.

It was time to prepare for the final battle.

****

Boom—.

A dull drumbeat echoed.

I stood, facing the battlefield one last time.

“As the lord said, this battle will minimize losses.

I will handle Elysia alone.”

At my words, my adjutant Ben opened his mouth urgently.

“But in that case, it will be difficult to secure your retreat, General!

If we flank…”

“Would England, that foolish lord, allow it?

As a scion of a noble house, you must have heard of his scheme.”

“…”

I cut Ben off.

Count England.

The uncle of that esteemed strategist young master, who had only read military treatises in his room and came up with the outlandish tactic of ‘setting up a desperate stand on the mountaintop.’

They intended to lure the Imperial Army and me into a desperate fight with the enemy commander, then unleash a massive artillery bombardment, supported by the alliance, in the midst of it.

‘With discontent brewing from the failure of the territory recovery operation, they must be planning to eliminate me to prevent future trouble.

The Empire wouldn’t expect its greatest force to be used as a mere pawn, after all.’

A mutual destruction, sweeping away me, the enemy commander, and even the soldiers of both armies all at once.

It was a vulgar and utterly characteristic plan, right to the very end.

Ben squeezed his eyes shut.

When he opened them again, a light of resolve flickered within.

“I assure you, there are no traitors among us who would follow that lord’s words.

If not for you, General, we would all be dead.

If you wish it, I will cut off those pigs’ heads right now.”

“No, do as they say.”

At my firm words, Ben’s eyes widened.

“What?!”

“It’s an order.

If we don’t do as they say, who knows what those foolish bastards will do.

The allied nobles are stupid, but they’re persistent, and I don’t want you all to suffer any more harm.”

“General….

But you…”

I gently patted my tearful adjutant’s shoulder.

I forced a smile and said.

“Don’t worry.

Who am I?

I’m Jack the Colorless.

I’ll easily dodge a mere bombardment like that.”

“…Understood.

Please… please stay safe.”

Ben saluted with a somber face and withdrew.

Watching his retreating back, I murmured softly.

‘Missing in an explosion.

Not a bad end, I suppose.’

It was the most perfect way to escape this tiresome war.

I gripped the sword at my hip.

A renowned blade, imbued with a faint blue aura.

Three years ago, a brat who called himself my rival had thrown it to me as a sign of respect.

Now, it was time for this sword to return to its true owner.

“Let’s go.”

Entrusting my body to a single horse, I headed alone towards the battlefield.