Chapter 1299 - 586: Are You Still Willing to Serve?

Chapter 1299: Chapter 586: Are You Still Willing to Serve?

"Lift your head."

He stared at the Heroic Spirit who was like a walking corpse, making no response, his eyes lowered as if he were looking at a pitiful lamb.

A lost lamb.

A leader who, despite being lost on the road for thousands of years, still leads others to persist in wandering.

"Now, you know part of the truth and have seen clearly part of the obscured past."

He paused and softly asked, "Regarding the Divine, regarding the faith you’ve waited for thousands of years... What do you think?"

"Will you still pledge loyalty to Him?"

!!!

The massive body of the Legion Commander trembled violently, as if he couldn’t believe his ears.

"What?"

Loyalty?

Do I... Do I still have this qualification?

The Legion Commander thought that after committing such a "great mistake," all that awaited him was judgment and destruction.

Swayed by the enemy for thousands of years, viewing the Divine’s Apostle as the enemy, even indirectly causing the sacrifice of numerous comrades.

He even felt that even suicide to atone would tarnish his Lord’s honor.

The reason he didn’t take his own life was simple—he was unwilling.

Truly unwilling!

This thousands-year wait shouldn’t end for such a ridiculous reason.

More importantly... the enemy responsible for all this has yet to pay the price!

Those who toyed with his destiny have yet to pay the deserved price!!!

He cannot die!

In the depths of the Legion Commander’s soul, a raging flame burns—the fire of revenge.

Before taking revenge on those people, he must not die!

Otherwise, he would let down his other comrades.

Yet the Legion Commander did not know how to speak.

As a "sinner," he did not know how to soften the Divine’s heart, allowing him to cling to life persistently until he achieved revenge.

But now, Master Herbert, his Lord’s Contractor, handed him an olive branch before he could speak.

He actually said nothing, directly asking him... if he was willing to continue his loyalty?

After the immense shock and disbelief, what filled the Legion Commander’s heart was a near-suffocating hope, like a sudden gleam of light in the darkness, making him almost afraid to look directly.

"I..."

Trembling, he very slowly, with great difficulty, raised his head, the Soul Fire flickered unstably, filled with panic and a trace of incredulous hope, his voice fractured:

"I, I, we, are deeply sinful..."

"How dare we dream of our Lord’s trust again..."

"I..."

He looked blankly at Herbert, his humble words left unfinished.

From Herbert’s eyes, he saw no reproach, only a deep, all-encompassing gentleness.

"Sin?"

Herbert gently shook his head and softly said, "If there is sin, it belongs to those who manipulate from behind the scenes. You and your legion are victims, Defenders, not sinners."

"You have never been sinners."

"On the contrary, you are heroes, heroes of the entire Divine Kingdom."

His voice became even gentler, yet carried a force that healed the trauma of the soul: "Your Divine... He has never blamed you."

["Of course not! My poor Warriors, you have suffered!"]Nenasha strongly echoed in his heart.

"He knows your pain and appreciates your perseverance."

"In His eyes, you are His loyal guardians lost in long years, the people He desperately wants to retrieve."

Herbert’s gaze towards the Legion Commander grew gentler, even revealing a holy compassion, as his voice became softer.

"Loyal servants, after enduring hardships and finally finding the way back... should not be blamed anymore, and they should not continue to bear the guilt and grievances that are not theirs to bear."

The gentle words, like warm sunshine, instantly dispelled the chill and haze accumulated in the Legion Commander’s soul for thousands of years.

"My Lord..."

He choked, no longer able to maintain a kneeling posture, his massive body completely prostrated on the ground, forehead pressed tightly against the cold scorched earth, emitting a mournful cry mixed with endless grievance and relief.

The solid armor collided with the ground, creating a dull sound.

Dong.

The Soul Fire burned brighter than ever before, no longer the furious red, nor the despairing ice blue, but a pure, brilliant radiance filled with the hope of rebirth.

That light even penetrated the cracks of the heavy helmet, shimmering slightly in the night.

"Thank you, thank you for your forgiveness! Thank you for your... acknowledgment."

He was choked with sobs, the persistence, confusion, pain, and humiliation of thousands of years finally found an outlet at this moment, transforming into the most devout gratitude.

"My Lord! Thank you..."

He trembled, calling out in thanks:

"The remnants of the Heroic Spirit Legion... will, with their remaining bodies, continue to be your sword in hand, your shield under command, ready to die for you!"

"Master Herbert!"

"Thank you!!!"

This thousands-year wait finally reached its end.

No, this is not just the end.

It is a new beginning.

Just as the expectation was placed in the name "Elda"—the Land of Beginnings.

Here was the end of their past.

At the same time, it was the start of their rebirth.

A whole new beginning filled with hope and goals also descended at this moment.

Even though the Divine Kingdom has shattered, the Divine remains with them.

That is enough.

"...Hehe."

Herbert looked at the Legion Commander at his feet, excited beyond control, feeling the other party’s soul of pure joy and loyalty, completely relieved and reborn, and let out a light sigh.

"Fortunately, there were no problems."

Though Herbert appeared relaxed, he had actually done quite a bit of maneuvering behind the scenes to save the Heroic Spirit Legion.

Just as Herbert said, these Heroic Spirits are heroes, not just pawns to be casually eliminated.

He could have taken the easy route, capturing all the Heroic Spirits, then throwing them into the Heroic Spirit Pool to get a "factory reset" new Heroic Spirit after a few days.

But Herbert couldn’t do that.

These Heroic Spirits have proved their loyalty through years of perseverance.

Now it was the turn of the Divine to reward them.

Since his own Miss Harmonious God was unreliable and didn’t know how to operate, the task fell on him.

He couldn’t let the heroes bleed and shed tears.

So, Herbert set up multiple tests, dividing the legion led by Julia into different batches.

It wasn’t just to test their will, faith, strength, and other capabilities, but also to divide the batches for subsequent treatment.

The most challenging to treat was the present Legion Commander.

As the earliest Epic Heroic Spirit to fall into the Resentful Spirit form and secretly influenced in his mind, he couldn’t be handled directly.

Herbert had to suppress power and engage in mental intervention, trying to awaken the will sleeping at his heart.

It seemed rough, but it was actually delicate work, with the risk of pushing the Legion Commander into complete madness if mismanaged.

Fortunately, he finally succeeded.

He uncovered the mastermind behind the scenes and awakened the remnants of the Legion Commander’s will.

A happy ending for all.

After everything concluded smoothly, a tight string within Herbert’s heart quietly loosened.

"Phew..."

Though he was already capable of fighting Epic Strongmen, he had been stuck at the bottleneck of the Legendary Peak due to ceremonial reasons.

Herbert knew his strength and accumulation were sufficient, but he lacked a key opportunity.

The final step of ascension.

And now, that thin yet extremely tough barrier, at the moment of giving redemption to the Heroic Spirit Legion, seemed to quietly melt away under some warm and powerful force.

A deeper understanding of "protection," "responsibility," and "redemption," like a trickle, naturally nourished his heart, completing the last missing insight for the ceremony.

The Epic Realm was now in sight.

He slightly tilted his head upward, looking at the night sky washed by moonlight, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Epic..."

"This step is finally reached."

.

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