Son of the Hero King

[Fortress, Lustburg]

After dealing with Echidna, Sol was far from finished. Initially, his goal in coming here had only been to see how the war was going on this front and make sure Nuwa didn’t lose her body to that old hag.

While Echidna had caused the death of his Parents, if he had to be honest, Sol did not feel much about this. While he recognized Mars and Blaze as the genitors, he wasn’t particularly attached to them.

‘Well. I might kill her if she proves herself to be useless.’

Echidna was far more valuable alive than dead. All this knowledge could not go to waste. As for what to do to her after this depends on what his harem member wished.

‘Without Nuwa and Gepard we would have lost this front.’

The war was not going as well as Sol had expected. After all, without using the resources he developed, humans were too disadvantaged when fighting other races.

Even more so in winter like this.

‘A few sacrifices are necessary to make the whole stronger.’

Sol's goal wasn’t to beat Wratharis. If his only goal had been destruction, all these tactics would have been useless. All he needed was to send his heavy hitter and bring chaos everywhere.

What he wanted —was to conquer the entire world. For this goal of his, he didn’t just need personal power. He needed a powerful administration that could oversee his dominion and he also needed a powerful army that could crush everything without needing him to send individuals.

‘I nearly lost a great general.’

Sol’s eyes twinkled as he brushed past all the defense of this zone and reached the Heaven Gate.

The place where Bai Hu was sitting helplessly.

“You are Bai Hu.”

He gazed at the Tiger man with a slight indifference but with admiration concealed within.

Sol was gifted.

He was someone blessed with all the luck one could possibly have in a lifetime. While he certainly worked hard, Sol would never be hypocritical enough to say that he managed to reach his current power through arduous training.

Everything was thanks to Fate and Luck. This was an undeniable fact.

Born in the royal family as a Blessed, the son of a demigod and a King ranked Dragon. The grandson of a Divine beast and the one Luxuria was interested in.

Because of all this luck, rather than becoming arrogant, Sol started to respect people who put in the hard work despite being dealt shitty cards.

“I salute the King of Lustburg. I apologize for my lack of decorum but I am unable to move from this place.”

“I do not mind.”

Bai Hu breathed deeply as he looked up at the young golden-haired man floating above him who was barely a fifth of his age.

‘Humans are frightening.’

Genius they were called. For Bai Hu, the word Genius did not suit the entity that was facing him currently.

‘Monster. A Sovereign of the age, ready to crush an era.’

Bai Hu was old enough to have witnessed the era of the three Kings of Lustburg. He still remembered how Mars Luxuria’s presence alone was enough to suppress so many powerhouses.

But what he was seeing now was different.

Mars was sunshine. A man whose aura and grandeur made people follow him simply because they were charmed by his charisma. He was like the warm sun that bathed the heart with its light and allowed growth.

His son thought —

‘I feel like I am standing in front of an Inferno.’

An overpowering aura. A crushing presence. The feeling that you were standing against a beast that should not be provoked.

A harsh sun in the desert that was ready to burn down everything.

‘ — And he is just a Duke? What will happen when he becomes a King.’

Bai Hu laughed. His thoughts were becoming clearer and this made him aware of a ridiculous truth.

He laughed so hard tears even gathered in the corner of his eyes. First with the Snake girl and now this.

“Oh Mighty King, tell me — Is this whole war yours doing? Are we all moving in the palm of your hand?”

“Lupus is the one who declared war.”

Bai Hu covered his face and laughed more. “Indeed. He did so after he thought the Saintess was weak and helpless. Pfft Hahaha! How amusing! How ridiculous! To think we are all moving like chess pieces under your control.”

Bai Hu was smart. He had to be. Only by becoming smarter could he make his race prosper when he was weak.

This was why he had managed to connect the dot. They had been moving within the expectation of Lustburg this whole time.

“I am not the one who came up with this plan.”

Sol made his throne appear and took his seat, he looked at Bai Hu, more interested than ever. He had not expected the man to understand the flow with so few clues at his disposal.

This made him once again remember that he should never assume that his enemies were stupid.

“So you admit.” Bai Hu nodded, “Indeed. There is no reason for you to worry about me.”

He looked up at Sol once again and finally — He stood up.

The rules of his zones were clear. He did not have the right to move as long as he wished to maintain it.

Already — the zone started to fracture and would disintegrate in a few seconds.

After standing up, Bai Hu kneeled, and his two knees on the ground and his forehead pressed so hard against the ground it was bleeding.

“I, Bai Hu, Leader of the Tiger clan, beg His Majesty to accept my worthless self under your umbrella. I vow to serve you until my last breath.”

Why would Sol stop and discuss it with him? Even without saying anything, Bai Hu understood what he had to do.

He did not ask anything. He did not even bother bargaining. All he did was Kneel and vow.

Sol smiled. The picture he was witnessing did not make him sneer. This picture was overlapping with a picture that was seared deep in his mind. That of him kneeling and begging the goddesses for Camelia’s life. This was why he could understand all the more how helpless Bai Hu must feel. But this did not stop him.

Clearly, both he and Bai Hu had very similar values.

“I like your way of doing things. As such I will give you what you want. The Tiger clan will prosper under my rules.”

Bai Hu did not answer. He simply buried his head deeper, hiding the tears that were flowing from his eyes.

Here he was, bowing low in the most humiliating way possible to beg for a chance of survival for those he had to care about.

But his tears were not born out of humiliation but out of relief. Unlike the flimsy words of the Tyrants, the quiet poise of this young man felt a hundred times more sturdy.

Pride?

Pride was nothing in front of the survival of his race.

If necessary, he would kneel a thousand times. He would cut himself open, and would even boil himself alive if it could help protect what he had to protect.

Noblesse Oblige.

For all the power and rights he received as the leader, it was his duty to protect those who believed in him.

‘Father, may your soul rest in peace.’

After simply sacrificing something as useless as his pride, he managed to ensure the survival of his race.

This was a hundred times worth it.

(AN: Sol really came a long way from the events of Vol 2.)